Contest! Win a Fingerprint Ring!

Well hello!  It has been a while!  I'm still busy writing and making jewelry.  Also started a new writing project a little over a month ago and it's going well (more on that in a future post)!

In jewelry news, my shop, CarmellasJewelry, reopened in April and I've been wanting to add a new fingerprint ring.  The thing is, I want it to be more of a man's width and I don't know any men that wear rings.

Since I haven't actually made the ring yet (I'll need the winner's fingerprint for that), I can't show you an image of what the ring will look like.  I can give you the basic concept though.  The below image is of a piece of metal clay that I wrapped around my mandrel.  It overlaps where the name Jane is displayed.  Picture that same overlap, but on a larger scale (a wider band) with a fingerprint where the name is.

So to be absolutely clear, there won't be a name on the ring you win.  There will be a fingerprint.

This general idea, but a wider band and a fingerprint in place of the name--
see above for more details

THE CONTEST:

To win the overlapping pure silver (.999) fingerprint ring, you can enter by doing any of the following:

(1 entry)  ------- Follow my blog

(1 entry)  ------- Use that same account name to comment on this blog post (check out my jewelry shop and tell me what you like most or what you think I should add)

(1 entry)  ------- Share this contest on Facebook (mention my facebook page in your post @carmellasjewelry so I can give you credit)

(1 entry)  ------- Tweet about my contest (mention me @charms4moms in your tweet to get credit!)

This contest will start as soon as I make this post live and will run until Friday, July 18, 2014.  You can get up to 4 entries and I'll choose randomly from the pool of entries on Saturday, July 19, 2014 (get all 4 to increase your chances of winning!).

THE FINE PRINT:

Upon being notified of winning, please email me an image of the fingerprint (let me know if you have trouble getting a fingerprint--an inkpad on white paper is usually the easiest method) AND the size of the ring.  The fingerprint MUST be the fingerprint of an adult.  The ink image of the fingerprint must be defined and I reserve the right to request a different image.  Keep in mind, the ring will have a wider band than the one displayed in the above image.  The above image is only to illustrate the overlap design the ring will have.  The ring will not be adjustable.  The winner must have an address in the United States.  The ring will be shipped at my expense through the USPS First Class.  I'll create a 3D stamp from the image of the fingerprint and the winning ring will be photographed and listed as a new item in my jewelry shop CarmellasJewelry.etsy.com.  I will create the winning ring and ship it within 3-4 weeks after receiving an acceptable image of the fingerprint.

Good luck!!!

Just another image so you can have a better idea of what it'll look like:

It'll look sort of like this, except the silver will overlap like a belt

The Jewelry Shop

I'm getting really anxious (a sort of good kind of anxious) to open my jewelry shop again.  There's a new type of metal clay I've ordered that I look forward to trying out this week, and that, along with catching up on a couple of projects I needed to do, has been making me feel confident that I can do this again.  Even with the full time job and the fact that I have twice as many children now as I did when I started the shop, I still think I can spare the time to work on the jewelry shop again.  I've thought about it and this time of year especially is usually slow in orders, so it'll give me a chance to ease back into it (and if I have an influx of orders, it's never a bad thing).

Some of the things I'm going to do when I open the shop (my ETA at the moment is around mid-April)...

1.  Go through all the processing times, shipping information, pricing, etc.

I'd like to believe I can still get things ready to ship between 2-3 weeks but that isn't realistic now, and I don't want to add that unneeded extra stress.  I'm going to go through the listings I want to activate and make sure each one has an updated description with something that says 'read the shop banner for processing time' so I don't have to worry about changing each one in the future.  I want to make sure all my pricing makes sense for the time put into the piece, the product itself, and the supplies needed to create it.  Some prices may go up, some may go down.

2.   I'm only going to activate a limited amount of items to start.

Some of my more popular items will be back, for sure.  A lot of the less popular items won't be reappearing, and one or two of the most popular things won't be back just yet (one of my most popular, the men's fingerprint band, won't be back until I have enough supplies to make it a less challenging piece...with the techniques I was using before the holidays, it was the most stressful item in my shop and also the most popular).

3.  I'm going to try narrowing down my niche.  

Fixing up my categories is long overdue and I'll work on making the shop easier to navigate overall.  I feel like it was just a mix of several types of jewelry before.  When I reopen, I want to focus on meaningful pieces, like fingerprint jewelry, puzzle jewelry, and handwriting jewelry.

4.  I want to look into adding new pieces (ones that fit into said niche)

More keychains with white copprclay (depending on how hard it is to fire the new metal clay, which worries me).  I also want to figure out a way to make charms for the pandora bracelets.

I want to come up with another way to make jewelry with a lot of personalized meaning.  One of the only souvenirs I get when I travel is jewelry; it makes it easier for me to be reminded of the fun times I have, even if  it doesn't necessarily represent the place I'm visiting.  I know I purchased that item in that place and I remember most of the important parts of that moment...like the weather outside, how I felt on that particular day, who I was with, etc. But I haven't been able to narrow these thoughts down to anything I can represent in a piece of jewelry.

5. Add to the puzzle jewelry line. 

_____________________________


And that's about it.  So there are things I look forward to doing with the shop, I just want to take it slow and make sure I can offer quality items.  There is nothing worse in the whole world than having an unsatisfied customer.  I mean, obviously there are worse things in the world...but I guess when it comes to things that aren't earth shattering (something to do with family/friends...job loss...illnesses...things like that would be worse).

Anyway..I'm excited, but also very anxious.  I didn't know if I'd want to reopen after having been closed as long as I have been, but I'm pleasantly surprised to find that I really, really miss that creative part of my life.  My husband has been urging me to reopen often (the extra $ never hurt) but I wanted to wait to see when I was ready.  And I'm almost there.

Off to make a few charms.

8/9/96 and Jewelry



8/9/96

Diary, This is what happened today.  I didn't get to run cause it rained!  I still haven't gotten a letter from Kathy!!!  **************  I learned a new card trick, but it screwed up until I did it my way.  And I got all this feelings that my family loves my sister more than me!  I still think its true.

 

Diary do you think I'm dumb to have those feelings?

 

       Gotta go, sorry I didn't write a lot.

 

                                      Millie

 

I'm pretty surprised at how censored I made myself back then when I was feeling emotional.  I had absolutely no problem writing about my ridiculous fantasized crushes, but when it came to being upset that my friends were making fun of me or my family made me feel sad, I just glossed over the info.  And I don't remember being the type to bottle up my feelings like that as a kid.  I'm certainly not that type today...if I'm upset about something, I cry.  I cry a lot.  I'm surprised I was so interested in sounding like someone I wasn't.  What a weird form of therapy this is becoming for me.  It's really making me reevaluate why I am who I am today.


As far as jewelry goes, I listed a new item last week that I was really excited about.  I was excited because it was a mostly original idea (I'll explain more later) and the 'sample' one I made was a gift for a friend who recently got married.  It was sent the Monday before her wedding but unfortunately, it didn't make it to her in time for the ceremony.  I was so sad my gift turned out to be so useless...

The reason I say it was mostly original was because I wanted to make the charm itself...had the design already ready with the date and the Swarovski crystal all added in my mind's eye...but I didn't know what to do with the charm.  So I looked around online and saw suggestions of adding it with a bow to the bouquet for the wedding day, so it's not flashy or obvious, but it's still 'with' the bride.  Then, when she transfers it to a chain after the wedding day, she can always have a reminder of such a great moment in her life.

So, I'm sorry, good friend of mine in PA...I should have used a faster shipping method. 
:'(

She has it now, and says she loves it.  She's one of the people who helped inspire a few different popular items I sell in my shop...like the fingerprint heart charm...the one photographed was the one I made from the prints of her and her boyfriend (now husband :)

I'm glad it did end up getting to her.  And she saw a photo of this charm on her wedding day (through a text I sent), so in her mind, she can remember it from that day, I guess?

Break and Day 3 of Journal (8/3/96)

I'm taking a short, rare break from my tasks.  I just needed a breather from the task I'm working on, so I figured I'd use the moment here.  Also, I'm eating lunch and there's no one here to take an official break with.

I still haven't made a new game plan on how I'm going to approach the last edits on my manuscript.  After which I need to write a good synopsis and send out more queries.  I figure this time away from the book is only going to help.  Diving back in with a fresh outlook is usually recommended, so aside from the fact that I don't want to put it off so long that I just never get around to it, I'm not beating myself up over this time not editing.

The jewelry is going well.  I've been busy to the point where I'm making something or polishing and finishing something on a nightly basis.  That's all fine except for the fact that I really want a break from everything once in a while and it has been a few days since I've felt like I've been able to have that.  I get home from work after picking up the kiddo from daycare, then she and I watch a cartoon, play, eat dinner, she goes to bed and I start working on jewelry.  I get done by 9:30 and I'm too tired to read or do anything much for myself. 

On Sunday, I made time for myself (even during Father's Day, haha) to go to the Central Library in Phoenix during the kiddo's nap.  It was GORGEOUS.  Five floors!!

I checked out a bunch of kids' books and two books for myself.  Every time I go to the library I have a mental battle over whether I should get myself a book.  I always break down and check one or two out but I usually never end up reading them or even opening them. 

The first of the two I checked out is Tenth of December by George Saunders.  I had heard a lot about it when it was first released, and since it was available and I knew it was a compilation of short stories, I didn't feel bad about checking it out.  I've already read a couple of the short stories and I'm really enjoying it.  The second is a full novel but it looked like a light read so I'm hoping I can start it in a week or so and actually have it done before they're due back.


Now on to my journal entry from August of 1996...

 

Diary 8/3/96

Forget those first pages!  That was a while ago and now I am not who I was!
  The other day I went for a run and on my way home I was walking up a hill and (I was too tierd to run!) I saw a huming bird!  It was as big as a wasp!  The thing that was so great about it is that I touched it!
  I'm crying now because I think, I don't know how to put this in words so I'll explain.  Never Mind!
  I still HATE Jessica and Sarah!  Their both BITCHES! (excuse my french) I'm trying to make new friends but that's hard to do during the summer!
  I haven't done much during the summer, just stuff with Rose and Jeanette.
  On the 22nd My family and me are going to Hershey park.
  Why is my handwriting so bad?!?!  It gets worse every day!  I guess I'll just have to live with it!
  Sarah would have made a good friend but she hung out with Jessica too much!

                                Oh Well!

                                         Millie


Why do the French get all the blame for bad language?

It's back...hopefully it sticks around.

I don't know if it's because I was finally invited back for the second interview of that job I interviewed for a few weeks ago, or because I had such a ridiculously lazy weekend, but I'm feeling much more motivated again.  I got up (super early with the toddler who can't seem to sleep past 6:30 in her new big-girl toddler bed), made coffee (after laying on the couch for cartoon hour), cleaned up, put a load of laundry in, emptied the dishwasher, did some potty training (we'll get there), worked on some jewelry, then at 10 AM I threw on workout clothes and we went to the gym (they have a fun daycare there).  I did the stair-climbing machine for 20 minutes (actual stairs that revolve and you walk up...it's the most hardcore I can get aside from going for a run), chatted with a friend, then did an hour of Hatha Yoga.

Back home, we had lunch, I finished a ring and three necklaces, showered, and took the kiddo after her nap to the post office so I could mail out the finished jewelry (it's super annoying that I have to drive to the post office if I have outgoing mail...I can't wait to live somewhere that I can just walk to the end of the driveway).  We went to the park after that little trip, then daddy got home and took her to the grocery store with him so I could get started on another ring.  I finished that while he was out so I sat down to edit for a little while (a very short while...but I got over a hump in the story, so I still feel good about it).  After they got back, I filled out a questionnaire for a life insurance application my husband signed me up for (yea...so keep that in mind if I suddenly have a mortal accident in the next few months).  Now I'm blogging and looking forward to the kiddo's bedtime.  I'll hopefully do some more editing and I really want to take the doggy for a walk.

I'm sad that all this motivation returned the day before a cold spell in Arizona that's bringing a very rainy Wednesday, followed by highs in the 50s for the next few days.  Couldn't it have shown up a few days ago, so I could have really made the most of the mid 70s and sun?  Oh well, beggars can't be choosers, and I live in Arizona now...so if there's one thing I can count on, it's that the sun and heat will return.