One of my very smart commenters suggested I do a 'use what you have' challenge. So I think I might try it (like how committed I sound? hahaha).
The only caveat is that if I get orders for certain items I may need to order supplies - for example, PMC if I run out or if I need some specific cabs for the Birthstone pendant necklace.
But I most certainly do NOT need any more pearls. Sheesh. It's ridiculous but I love them! :)
So, I will do my very best to use only what I have (not including basic findings, PMC, and wire if I run out and need it to complete an order) for any jewelry I create in the next few months.
Just the idea of not buying more makes me want to go shopping!
If I cleaned my jewelry work space every day for five minutes, I wonder how long it would take me to finish.
I'm very rarely embarrassed, and to be honest I'm not entirely embarrassed even now. But I'm definitely not thrilled with how trashed my work space (really, it's spaces...I'm spread out all over the place) for my jewelry has gotten. Hubby keeps getting on my case because as soon as the little man starts to crawl he'll be getting into everything...including my beads and supplies!
Yes, this is where I "work"...*hangs head in shame*... I like chaos but even this is a bit much for me. You can see the partially completed necklace, which is now finished, as I worked on it.
The last thing I want is my pumpkin head to choke on a bead that has fallen on the floor. I'd love a new system that allows me to stay organized and creates a work environment conducive to creativity.
Hubby wants to move me into the garage. I say that's not exactly conducive to creating. Especially since the garage is pretty much as trashed as my current space.
Above is my secondary space where all my shipping supplies and other beading / supply things are stored. I have a LOT of stuff. *sigh*
Right now I have these tool organizers with little drawers that I bought at Home Depot ages and ages ago. It works okay but I have three of them and I'm still overflowing with supplies!
And yes, those are dog leashes/collars hanging there. We have four dogs, and more leashes, harnesses, and collars than we need. And yes, the garbage can is sitting up high because one of those dogs (actually I suspect more than one, but I've only ever caught one) likes to get into it and eat things. Not okay with jewelry making supplies being discarded.
Maybe for Christmas I should ask for something like this...
If anyone has any recommendations I'd love to hear them! =) And if you can spare some time ... I'd love to take it off your hands!!!
I had this design in my head for weeks and could not for the life of me find time to sit down and actually make it. My original idea was to use this gorgeous huge green pearl that I have, but of course I couldn't find it. So I went with the pearls I could find.
I also decided to try a new background for my photos. What do you think? It's a really old (pretty sure it's antique) Spanish grammar book that belonged to my great grandma. It's got the coolest texture for a cover.
Looking at other jeweler's photos, I decided that mine were kind of boring. So I started digging through our stuff and am going to start experimenting. I like that, even though the book is a reddish brown, it doesn't seem to clash with the different colors of jewelry. Even the blue pearl looks good (IMHO).
Taking photos is not my favorite part of making and selling jewelry. Hopefully with this different background it'll make it slightly easier. If I can avoid using the mirror as often photos will require fewer touch ups. It is amazing how much dust and particles show up on a mirror in a photo. Insane!
I welcome any and all constructive feedback. =)
Now if I could find some more time in my day I have some more design ideas floating around my noggin. Anyone have a spare hour or three they could let me have???
This is my first 'official' review, for fun, unpaid and un-reimbursed in any way. Please let me know what you think and if you think I should do more of these types of posts.
Have you seen that commercial for Trident Layers gum on TV? A guy comes home and wants to pay his kids' babysitter with gum instead of money. Oh but it's not just ANY gum...it's Trident Layers gum and so wonderfully amazing that the kids (and the gardener, and the phone guy) are happy to receive gum instead of cash.
They're clearly insane (not to mention horrible actors).
I was really looking forward to trying this new gum because I enjoy chewing gum on a daily basis. The gum looks great and there are several different flavors to pick from. It's also sugar free (a big pre-requisite for my gum choices).
I rarely buy candy or gum without a coupon (I'm something of a coupon lady) so when I saw it was on sale at Fred Meyer for $1, and I had coupons for $0.75/1 and $1.00/2 I decided to buy five packs. I bought three packs of the Wild Strawberry + Tangy Citrus and two packs of the Green Apple + Golden Pineapple for a total investment of $2.25. The regular price I've seen this gum sold at seems to vary from $1.49 to $1.74. When did gum get so expensive?
The packaging for this gum is great. It's the new style that many gum packs seem to be going with these days - the 'box' flips up to reveal two rows of gum in neat little lines. It reminds me of an old fashion cigarette case...only healthier. The paper of the box is thicker than other brands of gum that I've seen (i.e. Extra).
Each piece is individually wrapped in heavy silver foil and the size of each piece is substantial at 1 1/2 inches long, almost 1/2 an inch wide, and 6 mm high. Getting the first piece out is a little challenging as they are all packed in there rather tightly and after a tug I managed to get a piece out with the wrapping a little rumpled.
I started with the Green Apple + Golden Pineapple. The initial flavor is very pleasant and sweet. I don't detect any sort of 'sour' notes that I'd expect with Green Apple. After a few minutes (less than 5), however, the pleasant taste turns into a sickly sweet. I've never experienced gum that makes my mouth feel like I've just taken medicine, but Trident Layers managers this feat swiftly. The Tangy Strawberry flavored one is the same - pleasant for the first minute and then it starts tasting like medicine.
After chewing the gum for less than 15 minutes I am ready to spit it out and move on. The texture has gotten to the point that it feels like I'm chewing on a rubber band, although it does seem to work when I try to blow small bubbles. It certainly isn't Bubbalicious bubble blowing gum though.
Ingredient Notes - This gum contains Soy and Phenylalanine. Say that three times fast.
What will I do with the extra packs I bought? The joy of couponing is being able to share with others. I knew that if I didn't like it I could just share it with my coworkers. There are enough people in the office that someone will like it. And I'm only out a couple of dollars total.
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If you liked this review I'd really appreciate your feedback (well, I guess I'd appreciate your feedback if you didn't like the review too!). I haven't decided if I'll make these sort of posts a regular part of my blog or not. I do enjoy it so we'll see what the response is like. :)
* UPDATE: I think I've decided to do a couple of reviews on my own just for fun...I'm more than willing to take feedback and suggestions as well. Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think. *
I have a lot of opinions on a lot of things and I think I would make a good reviewer of "stuff". Anyone have any recommendations for a site that actually pays you to write??? I used to be part of 451 Press but they went under last year. :(
I'm not looking to make a fortune...just a few extra dollars doing something I enjoy (writing...and sharing my opinion whether people want it or not Hahahah!).
I've actually already written two lengthy reviews of two different products. If I do say so myself, they aren't too shabby.
So ... anyone have any suggestions???
If not, that's okay. I may just start doing reviews on this website for the heck of it. Would anybody mind? Or, probably more accurately, would anyone care and read?
Not much to report today. I have three international orders to get out (YAY!) but that also means actually hauling my butt to the post office. Boo! I wish they would just let me do international orders (first class) from home. All they will let you do is priority which starts at some ridiculous cost like $20 or something. It's nuts.
I realize they have to examine the customs form and all that, but really what's the difference if I filled out the customs details for a label that prints on my printer and put the package in my mailbox, compared to having a Postal worker look at it and mail it? My content descriptions won't change. I weigh things for US shipments so that's also not an issue.
So I have to go stand in line at my local USPS, which sucks because they're always swamped (apparently they're trying to close the branch ... they've done everything but dig up the floors...even pulled out the clock from the wall!) and only usually have two workers.
Aside from that, I am beyond blessed to get any orders at all. I appreciate them more than anyone can ever realize. Especially after figuring out our future budget for when I'm no longer working at my current job (April 23 is my official last day!)..*gulp*...we're going to be in the red for awhile. So every sale of my jewelry will now start to help us pay bills...for pretty much the first time ever since I started selling my work. It's scary and the pressure kind of sucks.
Today's post is part of the "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" Blog Hop! Please click the blog link at the bottom of this post to Hop along and check out the other participants. =) Thank you The Frugal Housewife for letting me join.
I know that I've touted Mail Chimp in the past, but I must do so again. I started following their Facebook page and I'm so glad I did ... this morning I noticed a post about Mail Chimp 5.0 and decided to check it out.
My word! Talk about delivering a worthwhile product to the customers. These folks are constantly making improvements to their service and the latest ones are outstanding.
"Time Warp" - Pick the time of day you want to send out your newsletter and Mail Chimp will make sure that it arrives at that time of day no matter what the time zone. Previously, if I wanted the newsletters to arrive on the West Coast at 10 a.m. then I had to choose 7 a.m. East Coast time. No longer. Mail Chimp makes sure it will arrive at 10 a.m. everywhere.
"Geo Targeting" - The one thing I never loved about the way Mail Chimp collects data is that you can't always tell where some one is from location wise if they don't enter their address. Sometimes I want to send out e-mails to only local folks but it was a pain to keep a separate list for those folks. Now there's no need! You enter the location you want to target and the mileage radius to target and bang...Mail Chimp sends it to those people who fall in that area! Genius!!! No need for segmented or separated lists by location.
"Auto Translator" - This one might not be something I utilize...I worry that the translation won't pick up the nuances from the way I "speak" in writing. But it is a cool feature.
"Flickr Integration" - Being able to utilize Flickr with my campaigns will be super cool...I haven't looked into how it works but the idea is intriguing.
There are other new features but these four are the ones that caught my eye right off the bat. This company is such a great example of a company that continues to improve their product and service without gouging their clients with fees. Not only that, anytime I've had any issues (it's been awhile and they were minor issues) they were supremely responsive and helpful.
Now, if I could get up the energy to actually write a new newsletter, and fix my current list of recipients...*sigh*
* No, I am not paid to promote Mail Chimp. A couple of the links to their site are "affiliate" links and if you sign up through me I'll get bonus credits...and so will you! I just really love their services, or I wouldn't write about their awesomeness. *
Someday I want one of those "Melted Emerald" Rings with sapphires and diamonds (for my little boy's birthstone and my hubby & my birthstones). You know, when I win the lotto!
Okay...I don't always understand why people create the things they do, but when I saw this artisan (who I found through my Entrecard hopping...say what you will about this service but I have discovered more awesome blogs and even more awesome people than I ever would have without it), Nico Designs, I fell in love with this pear.
It's a PEAR for goodness sake. And I love it. :) What in the world would I do with it? [Not that I can afford to buy it...I just did our budget for when we're on one salary...ouch!]
I want to make a recommendation that she change her first picture to this one instead of the one she has...it draws the eye better I think. Head over to the listing in her Etsy shop and tell me whether you agree.
Or at the very least crop the photo with the 'white'-ish background so that the pear takes up the whole square. Do you think she'd be offended with my recommendation???
Catching the eye is by far the single most important thing for capturing sales on Etsy. Not that I'm so brilliant with it...it's a constant battle.
I do read my comments and will delete anything that is just a link to your website, even if you make your comment sound all friendly like. I can still tell that it's spam. Jeesh.
It's just rude. Like coming over to my house on the premise of bringing me something nice or just to say hi, and then trying to sell me something. Not cool.
I've started getting more and more spam...which I suppose can be considered a compliment right? I mean, my blog must be attracting some sort of attention. But clearly not the right kind.
