Mother's Day GIVEAWAY!! Etsy Jewelry Design and Supply Shops

One Etsy Street Team of incredibly talented Artsians, Etsy Jewelry Design & Supply Shops, is holding a Mother's Day Giveaway to promote their member's shops for you Mother's Day shopping fun. A handful of winners will win multiple prizes each. I'm giving away a white turquoise and carnelian earring set...like in this photo...

Check out the details of the promotion, under "how to enter" here.

In short, all you have to do is visit the team blog, click on 10 different shops listed, (including mine, of course!) and look in the featured items (i.e. the top 3 photos in each shop). Our mom's first names are placed inside one of the photos. Write down the name of the shop and the mom's name, then email the promotion leader at the email address provided on the team blog page in the "how to enter" section. While you're browsing, make sure you take a look at the awesome talent represented by the EJDSS street team. That's it! Hope you win!

We have a WINNER!!

A few days ago I announced a contest to name this necklace that I'm submitting to the Blockhead Radio Live Artisan's Challenge, which begins again on March 23. Check out the comments on the post to see all of the GREAT name suggestions that people offered. It was a hard choice, but I have picked the one that resonates most with me, and what I was thinking about the necklace when I made it.

(DRUM ROLL PLEASE...)

I chose "Indian Summer" by Susan, of Hot Rocks Glass Jewels.

Susan said...
The first thing that struck me were the warm tones that this necklace evokes, with the reds and copper. So what came to mind was "Indian Summer", which is the warm Autumn weather that occurs after the first frost, usually September or early October up here in my neck of the woods. Good luck with the contest, it is a beautiful necklace!

Thanks, Susan! Movement, texture and color are all very important to me when I design a set, and when everything comes together as I think it should, the result is a pleasant feeling of confidence and satisfaction.

In appreciation for her excellent name for my necklace set, I'm giving her a pair of earrings similar to the ones in the set.

Help me name this necklace for a contest...

I'm scratching my head trying to name this necklace for a contest that I would like to enter. Could you help? This necklace features hand-made copper wire swirls, with Leopardskin and Poppy Jasper. I'm entering it in the Blockhead Radio Artisan's Challenge, that I heard about on RoseWorks Jewelry's blog. I've decided to get my mind off of the economy, and on to having fun with my craft, so I'll be entering contests and playing around, getting to know other crafters and enjoying myself. Personally, I've been a little blue due to lack of sales, and I know this is almost a universal feeling out there in the handcrafted arena. I also know that a little positive energy transfused into my business will stimulate my creativity and my spirits.

That's where YOU come in. I thought I'd have a contest to name this necklace, the first I've entered into any public contest. I will post when it's up for vote. The winning name will be posted on my Etsy site, my blog, and will receive a free pair of earrings made with the same materials as the necklace set you are naming, complete with the handmade ear wires and copper swirls!

I'll look through the entries on Tuesday after noon US Eastern time and choose a winner. I'd like to get the contest entry in by Tuesday evening. Thanks in advance for your participation!

Interview and Perspective by Youniquely Chic...

Recently I won a contest for Valentine's Day by Youniquely Chic, an Etsy seller specializing in uniquely-designed Swarovski crystal jewelry. I was impressed by the quality of the necklace set, and after browsing her shop, I struck up a conversation with her about her jewelry. The jewelry market is slow right now, with so many people cautious about the economy, and reluctant to buy jewelry for themselves. Mother's Day is coming up, so I thought I'd do a feature on her jewelry, which is very different from my personal style, and though I didn't think I was really into crystal myself, I'm finding it's growing on me! Check out her shop. You'll love what you find!

Youniquely Chic is having a giveaway in honor of St. Patrick's Day. Check it out! not much time left! You could win the Emerald green set below, if you visit her blog and follow the instructions.

1. How when and where did you "get into" jewelry? About a year and a 1/2 ago a friend of mine decided to make jewelry and try to sell it, and she would come to my house to hang out and make it. Well it wasn't long before I couldn't stand it and decided to give it a try myself, I started out making items for myself, because I am a person that believes you can NEVER have too much jewelry! Then I started giving it as gifts and had a pretty favorable reception, but it all changed when I went to a family reunion last summer and everyone in my family was going nuts over my stuff, I made just about everyone there earrings or necklaces... for FREE! They kept telling me I was crazy to just give it away and I should sell it (they would say this as they were taking the set I made for them for free!! lol) When I got home I started doing some research, and decided yeah, I should give it a try. I signed up for an EBay store, then Etsy and now Artfire as well.

2. Do you have any other hobbies or interests? I love to read and watch movies but my business has pretty much become a full time thing so finding time to do anything other than make jewelry or promote my jewelry is pretty hard... I do try though!

3. How are your designs inspired? That is a tough question! I'll admit it I am inspired by other jewelry designers, of course I would never steal someone else's design but sometimes looking at the overall layout of a design will inspire me to make something... I think mostly my inspiration comes from my own imagination... I can sit for hours with a bunch of findings and crystals spread out in front of me and just stare at them, building different designs in my head until I come up with something I love.. And I only make jewelry that I love; I simply cannot make myself create jewelry that I would not be happy wearing myself.

4. Do you have any advice for other crafters, jewelery or not, for selling "in these difficult times?" any success tips? Promote yourself everywhere! That is the single best tip I can give, I am far from an expert in the subject but my sales have greatly increased since I joined social networks... As far as jewelry designers go, we are all very small fish in a very very large pond and if we aren't constantly getting our name and brand out there for people to see it doesn't take long for us to be lost.

5. What do you know now that you wish you knew when you first got started? That Sterling Silver wasn't as expensive as I thought it was... also that it is a LOT easier to work with then the cheaper stuff.

6. What's on your horizon -- what skills would you like to acquire, goals that you'd like to accomplish? I plan to take some metal smith classes. I would also love to make the front page on Etsy! My main goal is to just continue to push myself to learn new things!

7. Do you sell to boutiques? Craft fairs? Online Exclusively? Where do you get most of your sales? Yes I do, I sell at just about any craft fair that I can afford to get into and there are a couple of stores here locally that sell my items. Just recently I was put in touch with a great Etsy seller who is opening a boutique at the end of March in downtown Colorado Springs and she has graciously allowed me to sell my items there, it is a great gig because she just charges a monthly space fee for a certain number of items and then when things sell she will send me the money and she takes zero out of sells, can't get any better than that! I'm not sure if she is accepting any more people or not but if anyone is interested you can find her on Etsy at http://kabibimei.etsy.com/

8. Tell me about your giveaway... I am giving away an emerald Swarovski necklace and earring set on my blog.. All you have to do to enter is post a story of good luck in your life. The contest runs until midnight March 9th and I will choose the winner the morning of the 10th and I will ship the item to the winner at no cost.. Everyone is welcome to enter, even those won don't live in the U.S., and I ship worldwide!http://youniquelychic.blogspot.com/

Build a bear giveaway!

AAAWWWwwwwww, Isn't this little guy CUTE? My friend Jacqueline, at Blessings Abound, is giving away a $10 gift card to Build-A-Bear on her blog.

My kids have enjoyed Build-A-Bear ever since they opened at the Avenues Mall here in Jacksonville. What a great program! We had a birthday party there, once. My daughter absolutely loved it.

One thing I like best about the snugglies at Build-A-Bear, besides their cuteness, is the softness of their plush. These animals are the highest quality I've seen anywhere, and the craftsmanship is excellent. When I used to work in retail gift shops, I became very familiar with the different brands of stuffed animals. Even the least expensive $10 bear at Build-A-Bear is one that will last a lifetime.

So head on over to Blessings Abound, and enter her contest. Imagine the delight of the loved one in your life who gets to take a trip to the Build-A-Bear workshop! I'm already planning to take my 2 year old, even if I don't win. It's just time to get him a lifetime little friend.

How about a Bloggy Giveaway?

We were having a discussion about Etsy on Etsy's forums this morning, and sharing our observations that out of everyone we talk to on a daily basis, not enough people know about Etsy. Now, I know this isn't the case as much in the blogosphere, because you can hardly go anywhere without running into an Etsy seller trying to promote their shop. We tossed around the idea that WE have to be responsible for marketing Etsy, since it is US (and the customers, too) who directly benefit from it.

So I've decided to run a contest. How'd you like to win this cute pair of earrings? The dangles are 1 1/2" for a total length of 2". The stones are white turquoise, carnelian and more white turquoise, and the ear wires and spacers are copper. Guys, you can win them too. They're perfect for gift-giving. It's the season to shop for the ladies in your life!!

Here are the rules: You must do three out of four to qualify for the giveaway: Contest runs until November 15.

1. Click this link to sign up for Etsy. http://www.etsy.com/register.php?referral=LauraStaley if you are not already a member. (10 entries) (It is so quick and easy!)

2.) heart my shop (as a buyer, click "add to my favorites"). You'll need to have your favorites set to "public" in order to do this. (5 entries) I'll confirm your signup date (if and heart for your entries.

3.) comment this post and tell me your Etsy user name, and I'll heart you back! (5 entries)

4.) Tell me your favorite item in my shop (5 entries). (Awwww, thanks!)

For the duration of the contest I'll offer another free gift -- a free pair of earrings -- with any purchase, when you mention "bloggy contest" in the notes to seller.

Ready, set....join Etsy! It's super easy, and you won't regret it. While you're browsing, check out your local Etsy Artisans by clicking "Buy" in the header next to the orange "Etsy" on the front page and then clicking "shop local", or take a peek at the "Treasuries"...which are hot, hot, hot in the Etsy community! OR, click on guides and browse items handpicked by the Etsy staff.

Or you could just spend the whole time in my shop. That's just fine by me.

all of the normal disclaimer stuff applies. You get the pair of earrings advertised as being the prize. I'll change to sterling or gold-filled at an extra charge. I guarantee the workmanship, and will give you every measurement I know to make sure you'll like them. Everything else is subjective and I'll do my best to help you. please be patient!