tinahdee

I love to give stuff away and it’s been a long time since I hosted a giveaway here at my poor neglected blog. So, it’s time! I’m going to give away two very different items. The first thing is one of my recycled sterling silver personalized rings, stamped with your choice of 5 letters or fewer, in whatever size you like.

Second, is one of my silver dogtag unisex bracelets:

I’ll choose two winners: one person who specified the ring, and one who specified the bracelet. Here’s how you play:

For one entry,  leave me a comment and let me know which item you’d like to choose, what you’d like inscribed, and why.  For extra entries: tweet with a link back, make a blog mention with a link back, become a Facebook fan (or if you’re already a fan let me know), and/or recruit a fan (get someone to sign up as a fan then comment and let me know who). Each one of these actions get you another entry, but you have to make a separate comment for each action.

The giveaway begins now, and ends Thanksgiving night. I’ll be choosing one winner via random drawing, and the other winner according how much I liked your inscription idea, so give me your best!

Good luck.

This little widget from eSellerAds is going to come in really handy for savvy Etsy sellers, since we are always looking for new ways to promote our shops online. Type in your user name at eSellerAds and the software automatically generates a widget that contains every listing in your shop, in a scrollable and clickable format that lets browsers click right through to an Etsy shopping cart if they decide they can’t live without one of your creations. Take a look:

The widget comes in several different sizes, all IAB standard sizes (to make it easy to purchase ad space). What’s more, the ad automatically updates itself whenever you change something in your shop. That’s right, no matter where you have published your widget, there’s no need to change the code or update it, because it does that for you.

These eSellerAds widgets will be available for a small, affordable monthly subscription fee, and there will be additional benefits added on as time goes by. If you’d like to be added to a mailing list so you’ll know when eSellerAds widgets are available, leave me a comment below.

Darin and I went to the granite yard to look for a couple of small pieces of granite to go in the new part of our house. We needed a piece to go in the niche above the fireplace, and also in the new bathroom. The scrap yard is a good place to find a bargain – all the cut pieces leftover from jobs go there, and since technically they’ve already been paid for, the granite supplier lets these leftovers go very cheaply.

While we were there, we found a very lovely piece that looks handpainted. It looks like an artist took a brush and made strokes with different paint colors. It’s amazing to me that something this beautiful was literally cut out of the side of a mountain. The piece is about 2.5′ x 3.5′ x almost 2″ thick. Darin says a piece of “rosso fuoco” like this one would easily go for $75 a square foot – but because it was a scrap, we got it for $5 a square foot. Now that’s a bargain!

After examining it, we decided it is too beautiful to cut, even though it is big enough to use for a bathroom vanity top. Instead, we’re going to find a place to hang it – a very sturdy place, since it is so heavy. Here’s a close up shot of the pattern.

rosso fuoco granite

A couple of weeks ago my oldest child Heather asked me to come with her as she was fitted for her wedding dress. I brought my camera, I hope she didn’t mind too much. I’m not sure the shop owner was too happy with me. But hey, I want to remember what I can remember, and I may not be privy to every detail of Heather’s wedding planning. But I was there for this part. And I want to remember.

The dress shop

The cute little shop Heather ordered her dress from is in downtown St. Petersburg.

Will it fit?

Happy Face

Heather’s face in this picture reminds me of when she was a little girl. She looks excited to be finally trying on her wedding dress. I can only imagine the thoughts running through her mind. Isn’t this what every little girl dreams of? I’m happy for her.

It needs some adjustments, but overall she’s looking lovely – as she would regardless of the dress.

I can’t believe she’s 27 already, and that next month I’ll watch proudly as she takes another step into womanhood. Being a wife is one of the most difficult, challenging, but supremely rewarding roles a woman can fill. My prayers and hopes go with her!

Heather, Mackenzie and Liam - three of my five lovely children

So glad to find out that someone says I can call what I do “art”. I’m a non-conformist from way back. I have my own “special” way of doing things that don’t follow the established rules. Lots of people out there just can’t understand not following the rules. But Chris Guillebeau says breaking the rules is an art form. In case you haven’t heard of Mr. Guillebeau, I thought I would share a bit about him and his site, called “The Art of Nonconformity“.

Guillebeau says: “My mission is to help people live unconventional lives, make their own choices, and change the world.” He has never had a “real” job, having been self-employed his entire adult life. Guillebeau sells advice but he also gives away a lot of very interesting and inspiring content, like his “A Brief Guide To World Domination”, available in PDF format. Here are a few interesting tidbits:

“You don’t have to live your life the way other people expect you to.” Now that’s music to an artist’s ears, right?

“You can focus the majority of your time on the things you enjoy, and you can also make an incredible difference in the lives of other people while you are at it.”

“…you need to devote as much time as it takes to find out what you can offer the world that no one else can.”

“When you finally come out with something truly worth caring about, people will notice.”

I just signed up for Guillebeau’s email updates, so I’m looking forward to reading more of his stuff. He also recently published a for-pay report called “Art and Money: How to Thrive as an Artist Without Selling Out”. I’m thinking of purchasing that, and if I do I’ll write a review of it here. In the meantime, here’s a preview video:

I got the idea to make a piece of jewelry that could help breastfeeding moms from a customer who was asking if I could make her a couple of my initial rings with L and R. She explained her idea, and I thought it was a good one! She never did do the custom order, but the idea stuck with me. Finally, yesterday, I sat down at my bench and came up with what I think is an even better method for breastfeeding moms. The ring is made from #10 flat sterling wire, and holds a 5mm round stone (there are a lot of different kinds, check the listing). On either side of the stone is a small letter – an L, and an R. Each is facing a different way, so that when you’re wearing the ring, the letter on the left is right side up and the letter on the right is upside down. When you’re done breastfeeding, take the ring off, flip it around, and put it back on.

I’ve been wearing mine since yesterday, and even though my breastfeeding days are long gone, I love this ring! The tiny letters are subtly small, so this is not like trying to wear your nursing bracelet out in public. No one would know what it is unless you showed them. This attractive ring goes everywhere – to the store, out to eat, or anywhere your day takes you. You can even sleep with it on, which helps for that groggy first feeding of the day (or middle of the night).

Sterling breastfeeding reminder ring $60

You don’t have to have it all mapped out in order to create something beautiful. Especially if the lack of a concrete idea is becoming an obstacle to your creating. If you’re telling yourself you can’t sit down and make something until you have an idea, you’re probably procrastinating. See, I believe that creative people always have ideas floating around in their subconscious mind. Otherwise, we wouldn’t know that we were creative people. It is the idea that is the seed of creativity. The conscious mind acts like a sentry to those ideas sometimes – probably for myriad reasons, not all of which are valid. Sometimes, it just might be that we want to sabotage ourselves. Sometimes, we have irrational fears. Whatever it is that is keeping your inner idea from expressing itself, let’s just go ahead and ignore that.

How do you ignore your conscious mind? You bypass it. Don’t listen to the voices telling you that you have to have a plan mapped out before you can create. Go to your place – get your tools, whatever those are, and place them within reach. Get your supplies out and put them in front of you and look at them. Put on some inspiring music. Close your eyes for a few moments if that helps you relax. Clear out the thoughts of your busy day and all your troubles. Open your eyes and look through your supplies and pick out something that catches your eye. Play with it. Use your tools to play with it. Don’t try to have a certain idea about what you’re going to make. Just play.

The purpose is not to come up with something “useable” or “pretty”. The purpose is simply to let your subconscious mind bypass your conscious, strict sentry, and just create. Don’t judge whatever results from your play time. When your time is up, just put the item aside and go back to your daily routine. Your subconscious is still working on being creative, and you just gave it something to “gnaw” on. Make a practice of this, and pretty soon your conscious mind won’t work quite so hard to discourage you. Either that, or you’ll just get better at ignoring it.

Peridot and Sterling Lariat $35

I had to make a run to the bookstore this morning to pick up my copy of Bust Magazine. The August/Sept. issue is out and that means the Etsy Buy Handmade ad is in there! I think it came out pretty good. It will be interesting to see if it brings any attention to my Etsy shop. See if you can find my little spot.

I offer free worldwide shipping in my Etsy shop. I used to be afraid to ship anywhere but the US. Boy, have I come a long way. Just today I heard from my customer in South Korea, who got her shipment from me eight days after I sent it. Last week, one of my customers in Australia received his order after only four days. That’s astounding, considering it takes at least that long sometimes for a letter to make it from one side of the US to the other.

I hear from handmade artisans all the time who say they only ship within their country. I live in the USA, so this blog post is coming from my perspective as an American jewelry maker. I have no problem with shipping my jewelry all around the world. When I first started on Etsy, I was apprehensive about shipping outside the US. No one makes it really clear exactly how to ship a package to another country, and I didn’t want to risk losing my product simply because I didn’t know what the rules were.

So I’m here to tell you that shipping from the US to other countries is easy and economical. The first ounce, via First Class International (package rate), is only $1.44. I’m lucky because the vast majority of my orders are under an ounce. Here’s how to ship a parcel via First Class International:

1. Pack your item as usual but include a slip of paper with your return address in case something happens to the envelope or box. I’ve never had anything untoward happen, but just in case, it may help your item make its way back to you.

2. Tape the outside of your package very securely. I ship in an envelope and tape the entire outer surface to make it more durable and at least somewhat waterproof. If you’re going to do this, make sure you address the envelope, including your return address, before you cover it with tape. If you use a box, tape all the corners and seams very securely.

3. When you address your parcel, make sure you copy the address exactly as it is listed on your Etsy receipt, and make sure you write the country name under the address. Write USA under your return address as well.

4. Fill out customs form 2976, for orders that are valued under $400 USD. For orders over that amount, use form 2976-A. There are two parts to the form. One part goes on the outside of the package, and the other part stays at the post office on file. You can fill out a customs form online and print it at home (http://webapps.usps.com/customsforms/) or pick one up at the post office. If you fill it out at home, you can tape the customs form onto your package so it is not obscuring the address. Make sure the form is flat and smooth so the bar code gets scanned correctly.

5. If you have a scale at home you can weigh your package and put your own postage on. First Class International (package rate) starts at $1.44 for the first ounce. Or you can take it to the PO and have them weigh it for you. To find out exactly what your postage will cost, you can visit the USPS postage calculator.

6. Some countries may have restrictions on shipping your type of item. Many countries bar the shipping of precious metals like gold and precious gems like diamonds. My jewelry is not considered “fine” jewelry (although I think it’s just fine), and so has never had a problem making it through customs. When you fill out your customs form, be honest about what your item is, but also be wise. Instead of writing “fine artisan jewelry” on my customs forms, I write “handmade fashion accessory”. Both may be true, but the second is probably a lot less likely to invite closer inspection. To check various restrictions, take a look at the USPS’s Index of Countries and Localities.

7. Make sure the postal worker scans your customs form and prints you out a receipt. This gives you at least some proof of mailing, since First Class International mail doesn’t carry delivery confirmation. Additionally, you can pass the customs form number, which should be printed on your receipt, to your customer, and they may be able to use the number in their country to check on the package if it gets held up in customs. You can also look up the customs form number at the USPS website and it will show that the package was accepted at the post office on a certain time and date.

8. If you’re going to ship internationally, make sure you have noted in your shop policies what your customer can expect. First Class International carries no delivery guarantees and makes no promises about a delivery time frame. Your customer should be prepared to wait several weeks for their delivery, even though most of the time it will be sooner than that. Make sure your customer knows that if they need their item by a certain date, they’ll need to upgrade their shipping, and that most of the time that carries a very greatly increased cost.

Stay in touch with your customer – email them when you ship, and ask them to let you know when the package arrives. Reassure them if they’re getting nervous – my South Korea client had emailed me just yesterday wondering where her package was. I sent her the customs form number and let her know that she needn’t worry yet.

Of course, if you ship internationally long enough, you’re bound to have an “incident,” just as you will if you only ship within the US. Plan for that, and count it as part of the cost of doing business. I hate to think of all the sales that I would have missed out on if I felt it was too risky to ship my silver jewelry all over the world. The benefits have far outweighed the risks. And they will for you too. So give it a shot!

Copper Hinged Hoops $32