11.23.2011

Most Awesome Christmas Gift Pack EVER!!!

Okay! So a few weeks after I joined Etsy, I meet some great people who wanted to make gift baskets via trade! Well, the time has come to give it all away! But first you need to meet the people who made the giveaway possible and you need to know what the prizes are.

First off, I would like you to meet Kayte Rackliffe of KaytesTreasures! Kayte is an awesome woman, mother of two, and a great crafter. She does a lot of great things with fabric. So here is what Kayte is giving the winner:
There are two headbands with an area to clip something else onto the headband! Pink and purple are included.
This is an adorable hair clip that can clip onto the headbands mentioned above!
Next on the list of generous and crafty ladies for you to meet is Kristy Schultz from DeadForestCreations! Kristy is a jewelry maker who love to make custom jewelry. She is adding these to the winners loot:
Aren't these lovely earrings?!
Shea of CleariqueBoutique is a really great lady too! She makes wonderful things and after I received the item that is going to be given away...I had to do a trade with her for some of these that I could keep! Here is what she is giving away:
I seriously love these!! Adorable hair clips!

Nicole Callis of SomethingWyrd is also a jewelry maker. She is giving the winner this lovely bracelet:

Isn't it darling?
Customtotes is run by Meghan Haskell. Meghan does amazing work and I have traded twice more with her since I found out what great work she does! She is offering this:
This was actually a custom order...I just told her to have fun!
Okay, one more and then we are done! I am offering a gift certificate for $28 to my Etsy shop! The gift certificate will be valid for items in my shop, shipping, and even custom orders! I have a ton of items that would end up free with the gift certificate, so just look around! the winner of this giveaway will really make out like a bandit!

So pretty!
Good Luck everyone!


Please ONLY use Rafflecopter below the linky of participating bloggers for The One Stop Christmas Hop to enter this giveaway, leaving comments for entry will not be included. If you have any questions please let me know. Thank you!

11.22.2011

One Week Later

Wow! I can hardly believe it has been a whole entire week since my last post! That is ridicules! I completely forgot about Thursday Treasuries because I was getting ready to go to New York City.

I had to go to New York for a school field trip. Yeah, we get field trips in the MBA program. Crazy huh?! Anyway, I was gone from Friday until I got back Yesterday afternoon. It was a whirlwind adventure and I had a fun time...my feet still hurt though!
Tile work in the subway.
The first thing we did was go to the New York Stock Exchange right there on Wall Street! It was really neat and we were the first MBA group to actually get onto the trading floor! We got to talk to a guy that was in charge of 50 different stocks - he is the only one there who trades those stocks. Pretty interesting. We got to ask all kinds of questions and we even found out why the place was strewn with litter. Those guys jobs are so important that they can not take a little walk over to a trash can to throw things away. Why is their job so important? Well, most companies use complex algorithms to do the trading. In fact, all the other stock exchanges around the world, only use algorithms and no people. The problem is that computers do not realize that selling 100 million shares might be a mistake or that you have to sell off shares slowly. People are there so that they can find the mistakes and stop the market from completely imploding. Pretty awesome all told. These guys are the heroes of our time. they are making sure that our retirement funds and college funds never go away entirely.
NYSE, I took this picture!
After that we rode the subway to Bloomberg. I stood up on the subway because that is what all the cool people do in the movies right? Well, it is a lot harder than it looks and I have a new respect for all the people who stand up on the subway.

Bloomberg looks like a perfect place to work. Why? Because no body really works, you can wear jeans, and there is free food courts on ever 6th floor. Oh, and they have a circular escalator!
The circular escalator and I took this picture too.
After that...we walked....and walked....and walked. We walked about a mile and a half and it took us about 45 minutes because the foot traffic was unbelievable! It was all good though because we made it to our destination - Tony's Di Napoli! It was amazing!
So much food!
After dinner we walked about half a block longer to Time Square which was amazing. I got to go into the Toys R Us, M&M Store, and the Hershy's Store! Very cool indeed. The Toys R Us has a working farris wheel and an ice cream shop inside!
Time Square was amazing. 

So many lights.

Picture of Broadway ads.

The ferris wheel at Toys R Us!
On Saturday we went to Little Italy and China Town. China Town is so packed full of people! It was just like the movies.So Crazy! We had dinner at Il Cortile. It was really good too. I handmade Gnocchi stuffed with Mascarpone cheese, spinach, and chicken...soooo goood! For dessert? An ice cream bomb with chocolate and vanilla ice cream, slivered almonds, and a Marciano cherry all covered in a chocolate coating!
Totufo (I think) from Il Cortile.
After dinner we had to run to catch the subway train to get to our Broadway show. We got there 5 minutes before they closed the doors. Phew! Just in time! We went to Sister Act at the Broadway Theater and it was amazing. I seriously do not think I stopped smiling the entire time! Awesome!!
Not my picture...not allowed to take photos.
On Sunday morning we went to the Brooklyn Tabernacle church which was litterally huge. Not my kind of church too much "can I hear an amen?". And the preacher talked down to the congregation as though we were all children under 5 years old. The music was nice though. Too much clapping for me though...and way too much audience participation type stuff..."Go shake hands with 10 people you do not know."
crazy big church - like 150 in the choir!
After church we ate a Junior's which is famous for it's cheesecake. I had a beef brisket and it was soooo good!
Great food again!
Sunday night we all went to Ground Zero and the Staten Island Ferry. It was about 9 pm when we got on the ferry and the skyline was lovely.
Really nice ride.
It was a fun time...you know, I did have to do class work though. We all had to give presentations. My group did our presentation on "How to Globalize a Brand or Market." We chose the Nintendo Company as an example and the presentation went really well.

Okay, so that is my excuse for forgetting about you guys! I am sorry though. I will get back to blogging regularly soon, probably after Thanksgiving!

Happy Holidays!!


11.15.2011

Tuesday Trades

Today's trade was great! Eileen from eileenastudio had seen some dread beads I made and asked me to make some rings for her. The rings were really simple and cute. Here is what she got
Three cute little rings !
And look at what I got:
This is such a pretty little felt necklace!
So, that is the trade for the day! Happy almost 30-some days till Christmas!!!


P.S. Don't forget the giveaway from Trinkets by Dana! Moreover, Dana is hosting a giveaway of a pair of my earrings. Go check it out here.


11.12.2011

TrinketsByDana Feature and Giveaway!!

Hiya guys! How has your weekend been? Mine has been pretty great! I was involved with two different trade days on two different Etsy teams and that is always fun...but, I digress. You are all excited about the giveaway. Well, I have to tell you it is going to be wonderful!


Dana is a really cool girl! She is a Psychology and Anthropology major and has a great attitude about life:  "Do what you want and say what you feel. If no one makes it out alive, then we should at least have fun along the way."



Dana has a fun blog that is all about everything! She does not have one things she loves - she loves it all! Isn't that a great way to create? Do it all! Origami, Jewelry, Photography, Painting! She does it all.




Dana says that one of her favorite dreams is to become a Renaissance woman. To live her life painting in a loft and singing the day away.


So, now for the giveaway! Dana is offering up 100 of her adorable puffy stars!! One of you lucky readers will be the proud owner of these lovely little trinkets!!


These stars are great for decorating! You can string them and make an oh so pretty garland. Stick them on a toothpick and make cupcake decorations! Put them in organza bags, decorate a cake, throw a handful on each table for some color, or put them in display vases for a special touch.


Good luck everybody!





11.11.2011

Amazed

Okay, so I totally suck...I know it too. I just saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 tonight. And I have to share some love for Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem!
I mean! Isn't it fantastic?! I need to know who designed it. This diadem is so wonderful! It says "Wit Beyond Measure, Is Man's Greatest Treasure."
They had it a Comicon this year too! How cool is that? A piece of jewelry being so famous. Maybe people will start wearing them again. I would so love people to wear diadems casually!
I would also like to see some more detailed photos, but I could not find any. Have you seen anything better?

What are your thought on diadems? How about the last Harry Potter movie?

Updated 2.11.12 with a special thanks to Catriona!

11.10.2011

Thursday Treasury

It always surprises me when I get an Etsy convo saying "I put your item in my treasury!!" It is never anything I am expecting, but I do always love it. The great thing about being put in a treasury is that your item is seen by more people and there is a better chance of it selling. The treasury for today is called "Feel the Calm" and features one of my memory wire bracelets! Have a look:
So pretty!
On another similar note....I feel like my photos are nowhere near good enough to be put into treasuries like this one. My pictures look so bad :( I need help!!

11.08.2011

Tuesday Trades

Today I want to introduce you to Esther Lee of Eugene, Oregon! Esther is the wonderful lady behind MermaidsGems which is a fantastic Etsy shop full of beads!! My favorite Etsy Bead shop :D Well, Esther and I made a trade over a month ago and we were both extremely pleased! Here is what I got:
I so LOVE these Labradorite drops!!
This is my favorite stone shape - Marquise!
And here is what she got:
Pale Mesa Necklace
That's all for now! Don't forget to enter the Mosaic Jewelry Giveaway from WildTiles!!

11.06.2011

Giveaway from WildTiles!!

Hey everyone! We have a winner for the Great Headband Giveaway...you will have to go and see who won!

Now! It is time for a new giveaway! This time I want to introduce you to Candy from WildTiles. Candy is the amazing lady behind a really great Etsy shop. When she was little she always wanted to be an archaeologist! Candy has harnessed this love of ancient things and translated it into great modern mosaic jewelry! Here are a few of her great items:
I LOVE this pendant!!!
This has my name all over it as well!
Soooooo cute!!
Candy is a great artist and has many other fantastic items available in her shop. You can go and take a look at what treasures she has. Candy has also been extremely generous and has offered all of you, dear readers, a coupon for 20% off at her shop! Just use code "BLACKANT " This code will work throughout the month of November and is good on all orders! Isn't she great?!


Now onto the giveaway!! Candy is offering up one pair of mosaic bobby pins and one mosaic brooch to the winner! The winner will have her choice of color! See the possibilities?!?!?!
Here are the brooches! Too adorable!!
She has tons of Bobby pins to choose from!
I love these...so festive for Christmas!
Aren't they the cutest things ever?
So pretty!
These might be my all time favorites :D




Good luck everyone!!! And happy only 40some days till Christmas!!!



11.05.2011

What I have been up to!

I realize that lately, I have not said anything about what I have been doing crafty wise!! That is so bad! I am sorry guys!

Okay, so remember how I was playing with black clay back in February? Well, I got the itch again and had to make some more stuff last month. Here are a couple of things I made:
Can you believe it is just black clay?
Cute huh?
Love these!!!
Then I made this necklace...I think it is going to be a Christmas present for someone....
I love necklaces like this!!
Love all the color!
Also, remember my recent post about Gini and her Dorset buttons? Well, I was naturally curious about them and decided to see if my local library had a book about them. I was lucky enough to find a book and have been trying my hand at Dorset buttons:
Don't you dare think these are my first ones. Those were really bad!
                                     
I love them!!!
Gini was right! These little guys are addictive!! Anyone have any thread or bone rings laying around that they would like to get ride of?
I did the center part first and then transferred the colors to Dorset buttons!
Now I need to decide what to do with them. I love just looking at them all together, but I should make them into something....hmmmm........

Well, that is what I have been up to these days! I also made like a million pair of earrings for my Etsy shop...I should probably get those posted...


P.S. Do you think my photography skills are improving? Compared to these?