The 3/50 Project & helping your community!

As my followers know, I make & design a line of jewelry. You might not know that I also work for a local, independent store called Revolve Clothing Exchange in Ybor City, FL. I also come from a family that owns their own small business in my home town.

In a world that is becoming overly convenient with gadgets & mega-marts, the small businesses are struggling to keep afloat. The 3/50 Project aims to change that, though. And their strategy to save small business is easy to get on board with! Pick 3 independent stores and try to spend $50 per month in each one. This could be a restaurant, dry cleaner, coffee shop, bookstore, retail store, independent grocer, etc. As long as it's independent!

The basic principle of this strategy is based on the fact that every $100 spent in a local independent business, puts $68 back into the local economy. If you spend the same $100 in a chain, only $43 comes back to your community.

So, please think twice before you go to the mega-mart, there's probably a unique place to get what you need that could use your business much more. Plus, the customer service & sense of community you get from shopping at an independent business is well worth the switch.

To find out more about The 3/50 Project, go to: Project 3/50

Back in action!

I haven't blogged in months! Mainly because I haven't had anything to say that anyone would want to read. It kinda felt like my life was in a blender! (NOT in a tasty, fruity drink kinda way)
So, now I'm back to focusing on myself & my jewelry line. My creative juices are flowing, and I've been getting great feedback! I've been working on custom pieces for some wonderful customers, and I've been selling some of my work at my day job! (Revolve Clothing Exchange) I'm also filling up my etsy shop, with lots of ecclectic jewelry for the holiday shoppers. (www.spunkichick25.etsy.com)
Also, etsy has just started a coupon code option in our stores, which I think is amazing! I'm running a holiday discount until December 25 with the coupon code HOLIDAY15! (it takes 15%off of your purchase) BUT, on Monday November 29th, I will be having a 40% off coupon code: CYBERMONDAY. In order to get the discount, you have to enter the coupon codes when checking out!
Here's some pics of what I've been making lately:

An Amazing Giveaway!

These Lovebirds are going to be GIVEN away, crazy- i know! I want to win them, but I'm spreading the word so more people have a chance, as well. All you have to do is go to her blog:
sixtyoneA
Become a follower, write a comment & post on your blog about the giveaway- and you will be entered in the giveaway 3 times! (fingers crossed)

Business and Busy-ness

In the past few months, I have been slammed with work! Those who know me, realize that this is my favorite mode to be in. I love to have projects to do and I thrive on new ideas! Most of my focus has been on my day job (Revolve Clothing Exchange) lately, and I miss having time to make jewelry for SuperFantastic!, but I am grateful for the opportunities that I've had. I count myself very lucky to be able to enjoy what I do every day. Not too many people can say that they actually LOVE going to work!

I made my small screen debut a few weeks ago on the local news! Fox13 Tampa Bay showed up at the shop one day (out of the blue) for an interview! I was nervous, but I think the little piece came out well. They wanted to know more about the concept of Revolve, and I was excited to get the word out! Click the link to see our news story!

http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/local/staying-trendy-in-tough-economy-040210

On April 10th, Revolve participated in the 4th Annual Heart Show. The heart show is an evening of hair, art & fashion hosted by Tribeca Color Salon to raise money for the James Anthony Ray Sadler Scholarship. This scholarship is designed to put new high school graduates through cosmetology school. My boss let me take charge of coordinating our role in the show, and it was a blast! I love to organize events & parties!


This is one of the photos from the show! For all of you ANTM fans, you might recognize Mollie Sue. She is from Tampa, and is a close friend of the stylist who produced the fashion show. Ben Chmura, from the current season of Project Runway, served as one of the judges for the hair design competition, too.





So, for now, the excitement is over. I'm back into my normal routine at work and at home, so I will have more time to work on my own business soon. Be prepared for many more blog posts, and photos of new jewelry designs.

I'm so thankful to be able to enjoy my life. It may not be perfect, but at least I have the ability to see the wonder & beauty in it's flaws.

GIVEAWAY!

I have reached (and exceeded) 100 Facebook Fans! I'm offering a giveaway to say thanks to all of my fans. All you have to do to enter is become a fan of my page on facebook and comment on the album titled GIVEAWAY! There is a link to my facebook page on the right side of this page. Here's a photo of the necklace that's up for grabs!

new obsessions

Today, a harmless looking box arrived in my mailbox. It was deceptively simple in it's design, but contained objects that I was destined to be addicted to. This box came from an etsy shop called whimsy&spice. http://www.etsy.com/shop/whimsyandspice



I ordered a marshmallow sampler of chocolate, maple & caramel. I had been curious about this trend of home made marshmallows for quite some time, and after careful consideration of feedback & price comparison, I chose to order from whimsy&spice. They had the most consistent feedback of all of the etsy shops that I found.



While I was in their shop, I also decided to buy the coconut 5 spice white chocolate cookies. OMG. I may eat all of it before the day is over.

The marshmallows taste amazing, like what every packaged marshmallow wishes it could taste like! My favorite flavor is the chocolate. They are like little squishy pillows of cocoa goodness. The caramel flavor takes a little getting used to, it's not my favorite. It does taste pretty good melting in my coffee, though. The maple marshmallows are delicious, as well- but I recommend cutting them into smaller pieces as they're very sweet. My next order will include cardamom marshmallows because I'm intriqued. I like cardamom in my yogurt fruit dip, so I might try a fruit salad with them.

We have now arrived at the coconut 5 spice white chocolate cookies. They are complex, spicy, sweet, crunchy and absolutely scrumptious. They will probably be my go-to gift for every occasion from now on. Amazing. And they all came in very simple, beautiful packaging- perfect for gifting. Every product had perfect texture & freshness, too.

I give whimsy&spice 2 very enthusiastic thumbs up!

working

I have been working hard! Between trying to make my Etsy shop successful, working at Revolve & trying to take care of my animals- I have barely had time to sleep! I am training 2 new employees, so work has been a little draining. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, but it's hard to have to be "on" all the time. These first couple of weeks with new employees are stressful because I feel like I can't forget anything & I have to be perfect all the time. I really like the girls that I hired, though- and they are learning super fast. I love the possibilities that come with fresh starts, it's exhilarating!

On top of my job at Revolve, I have been trying to network like crazy for my Etsy shop. Making jewelry is something I truly enjoy, so I would really like to have it become a source of income in the future. Does anyone have any good ideas on how to increase my sales? I appreciate any advice you guys have!

promotions!

I'd really like to expand my customer base and gain more followers, but I'm pretty new to blogging. I'm not sure how to grab people's attention yet. I see that a lot of people do giveaways to gain more readers/customers, but I'm not sure how to execute a giveaway. So, I'm reaching out to you guys for some ideas.
1. What do you think would be a good way to showcase my work?
2. If I decide to do a giveaway, what should I give away? (you can see all of my work by clicking the link to my etsy page to the left of this page)
3. What is the most fair way to decide the winner of a giveaway?

I would appreciate any advice you guys have to give! Growing my little business is important to me, however I am limited on time & funds. I thank you for your time!

Inspirations

For most of my jewelry, I am inspired by the beauty of nature and the colors of spring & summer. This is probably due to the fact that I was born and raised in beautiful, sunny, Florida. I love to surround myself with things that remind me of my favorite times. So- even if I'm stuck inside all day, I can bring nature with me! What's your inspiration?

Today....

...was a struggle. With every new day, comes another lesson in patience for me. So, I keep moving forward. (I think I can, I think I can) I am a person who values hard work, determination and personal responsibility. I become frustrated with the many people I meet who display none of these qualities. What happened to pride in oneself? Or taking responsibility for one's own choices?

Ok, so that's my rant of the day. Back to positive thinking for me! So, I listed some adorable new jewelry to my etsy shop today! I would love to take credit for all of the work, but I cannot crochet to save my life. So, I support my fellow etsy crafters every chance I get.



the crochet flowers in these earrings are from www.2kute.etsy.com. She makes beautiful crochet pieces! (and she's really nice, too)



again, the crochet pieces in this bib necklace are from www.2kute.etsy.com, and the illustration charm is from www.thethinveil.etsy.com. These women are both very talented and accommodating, as well as inspiring!(more photos of these pieces in my etsy shop: www.spunkichick25.etsy.com)

I'm working almost 24 hours a day lately, between trying to focus on my etsy, running Revolve and trying to keep up with my animals. I think we need to figure out some way to make days longer. Maybe a 28 hour day? 2 more hours of productivity & 2 more hours of SLEEP are desperately needed in my life! What do you think? Let's start a revolution!

Sorry Blog, I didn't mean to abandon you....

So, it's been a while since I've posted... sigh.
My life feels like a snow globe that some mean little kid keeps shaking. Upside down. Every time I turn around, it seems there is something else that I was supposed to do yesterday. Groceries? I can live on whole wheat bread, jam, and nutella for weeks! As long as I have coffee, that is.
I have been working on jewelry


hiring new shopgirls at "work"


and trying to nurse my sweet little ferret (Bugsy)back to health.

Bugsy has recently celebrated his 5th birthday, which is ferret old age. He's just getting old, I guess.

Oh, and I turned 31 somewhere in there. Sigh. I am now "in my thirties", that just sounds weird. Mostly because I generally like to act like a child. Life's too short to miss all of the fun. I did buy a new vacuum with my birthday money, which is a very practical/grown-up thing to do. Having a dog that sheds like 20 cats, will make even a frivolous soul like me do something responsible.

Oh, and I also apologize to all of my loyal readers for abandoning you as well. I hope that I didn't offend the 2 of you!

Bye for now!

Feeling Hopeful...

Today, I sold 2 more items in my etsy store! I feel like I'm starting to gain momentum, and it feels good. I'm so glad that other people actually like my jewelry designs, I was worried that i might be the only one! I just finished a bunch of new pieces yesterday, but I haven't had time to list them on my etsy, yet. Here's a preview:

I got those great illustration charms from The Thin Veil on etsy! They are super fun!
I made my own necklace with 3 little bird illustration charms:

Well, I'm off to my day job at the best little shop around! (Revolve Clothing Exchange) Have a superfantastic day!

New Earrings!

I made these adorable earrings today! Stop by my etsy shop to see the rest of my jewelry! Have a great day! Gotta run to my day job!

I heart Tiny Hands Jewelry!

Tiny little bites of adorable to string around your neck!

I stumbled upon this jewelry designer today while networking for my own etsy shop. I believe that all of us little indie shops need to help each other to succeed, so please check out her etsy shop, too!

http://tinyhands.etsy.com/

I am seriously impressed with the amount of detail that goes into this work! Some of her charms are even scented! (not the sushi ones- I hope) These tiny little sculptures are truly works of art! She is now running a contest each month, where you can win some of her super sweet charms! The link below will take you to the contest page!

http://tinyhandsjewelry.blogspot.com/2010/02/tiny-hands-monthly-contest-debut.html

New Item for my etsy shop

These little sweeties were just posted to my etsy page this morning! I love them dearly, so much that I'll probably make myself a pair! I recently ordered supplies for my spring/summer jewelry to be created very soon! Stay tuned...

Intro!

Welcome to my blog, it's my first! The purpose for my blog is to share & gain inspiration and ideas. I work full time at Revolve Clothing Exchange in Ybor City, make jewelry for my etsy store, and take care of my little ferret & adorable dog! I try to socialize sometimes, too- but it's a tight squeeze! I enjoy learning, in fact- I hope to never stop learning as long as I live! Here are some pics of my jewelry (they are for sale at http://www.spunkichick25.etsy.com/)

I hope to inspire & be inspired! Bye for now!