Merry Christmas!!!

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Kreativ Blogger Award

I have been awarded the 'Kreativ Blogger Award' by Yvonne of Bluebonnet Jewelry Design. Thank you for thinking of me Yvonne, you're a super sweetheart! ;)

These are the rules:

1. The winner may put this award on their blog.

2. Please put a link to the person that presented you for this award.

3. Nominate 5 blogs.

4. Put links to all their blogs.

5. Leave a message for your nominees.

I nominate:

1. Susan of Perfectly Twisted Wire Jewelry
2. Susan's crazy critters and their blog 13CatTales
3. Bev of Bev's Jewelry
4. Mei of WireBliss
5. Elayne of ChezChani

There's a million blogs I want to nominate, but the rules say only 5! I could come up with 20 more...so if I didn't nominate you please remember that I was thinking of you! })i({

Which reindeer are you?

You Are Rudolph

Sweet and shy, you tend to be happiest when you're making someone else happy. Why You're Naughty: You sometimes stick that nose where it doesn't belong Why You're Nice: Christmas would be a sad affair without you!

Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You?

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New relists and items for the day, don't forget about our eSMArts team shop!!!

5 items relisted and 1 new item listed in my shop this morning! What work at 6:30am!!!

Relisted:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=17172868 Pastel Crystal and Butterfly Chain $18
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=17151703 Swarovski Snowmen Earrings $12
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=17149932 Blueberry Quartz n Chips Necklace $18
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=17149475 Black Pearls n Chips Necklace $18
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=17149132 Black and White Spiral Rope $22

New item:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_2&listing_id=18876123 Springtime Hoop Earrings $10 (Made to match Springtime Butterfly Necklace http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17176651 $26)

Thanks for looking! Vote for my CheapTweets at http://cheaptweet.com/search?q=creationsbyjae })i({

PS - Do not forget our team shop at http://esmarts.etsy.com for a great variety of items at incredible prices!!!

4 items relisted in my Etsy shop, and I made a sale!

I made a sale today! It's one of my favorite pairs of earrings, Pink Jade Star Earrings. Sad to see them go, but glad they have a new home!!! ;)

I also relisted 4 other items in my Etsy shop today. Please check them out!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17146497 Grape Leaves and Pearls Bracelet $25
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=17146147 Butterfly Tile Necklace $20
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=18043534 My Favorite Blue Jeans Earrings $25
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=17038243 Fluttery Butterfly Dangle Earrings $15

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I just LOVE the attention!!!

My friend Helene AKA glass0beads has been just wonderful to me the past couple days. I really enjoy talking with her, and helping her out with the technical aspects of this crazy internet marketing when she needs it. In return, she has mentioned me in a couple of her blog posts! (To the left, Helene's 'Hearts and Teardrops Earrings', just lovely, and available on Etsy!) Visit her store at Glass0Beads.etsy.com (#0, not letter)

We all love some publicity, don't we??? I'll take what I can get!

Her first post was titled 'Notes to Self - Footloose and Fancy Free' where she lists some great websites to visit, including mine!!!

Her latest post is 'A Great Christmas Season' and she gives kudos to some of our eSMArts members, myself too! She includes some really nice pictures of different items.

Please, please check out her blog at Glass0Beads.blogspot.com (#0, not the letter) and see what the wonderful woman has been up to! })i({

Goodies I personally selected from our eSMArts team members, YUmmY!

Etsy Buy Handmade esmarts

Christmas Gifts Abound!!!

I've been working like crazy to finish Christmas gifts for my family and friends. I'm ready for it to get here and be done with, I feel so stressed out about it!!!

I thought I'd show some of what I've made and maybe get some compliments! Shameless self promotion it is!!!

First up is my mom's gift, which I'm particularly proud of! I love it, and wish I could keep it for myself. I think every woman should have some pearls, and I combined some gorgeous white round freshwater pearls with her birthstone, sapphire. Sapphires were purchased from my favorite gemstone supplier, GaHooleTreeSupplies. Visit at http://gahooletreesupplies.etsy.com for all sorts of goodies!



Next is my stepdad's gift. He's one of those guys that actually wears jewelry, so I made him a masculine 1 into 4 spiral chainmaille bracelet in a golden color.



I also made my grandmother's gift, which was difficult because I've already made her a Mother's bracelet and Grandmother's bracelet. She isn't the type for a lot of fancy jewelry, so I wanted to make her something with significance. She had 11 siblings, and I came up with the idea of a 'Family' bracelet, with a crystal birthstone representing each sibling and her parents. What do you think?



Finally, my best friend's gift. I hope she doesn't read this blog before Christmas LOL! For her, I wire-wrapped Iolite roundelles onto silver hoops and made a matching necklace with moonstone rounds. Didn't take a pic of the necklace, and it's already wrapped so I will take one later and post it. She has beautiful blue eyes, so I thought the Iolite would compliment them. Turned out fantastic!



Please, let me know what you think of these! I'm quite proud of myself for getting all this done and still having 9 days to spare! ;) })i({

My Christmas Present

My best friend is a true best friend. She's the type of person that will give you the shirt off her back or her last $5 if you need it. I've never met anyone as kind and caring as MaRanda. And, I'm lucky enough to have her as my very bestest friend!

I've been talking about getting new pliers for, well, a long time now. Sometimes I talk about it more than others. I was trying to decide what brand to get, and how I was going to afford them.

I know Lindstrom are supposed to be the 'best of the best' when it comes to pliers, but I was having a hard time justifying spending that much money on something when I'm not really making money consistently on my sales.

Then, I think I was reading some posts in the WWJ Yahoo Group and they were talking about pliers. A brand I had never heard of was mentioned: Wubbers. What a crazy name. I decided maybe I should check them out in my usual fashion, research a million websites and try to find the lowest price. Like I needed something else to research.

I went to the recommended website, the website of the creator of the Wubbers pliers at www.wiredupbeads.com. So what did I learn?

1. They have super-long handles! Fantastic! I hate short pliers that dig into the flesh of my palm! As a matter of fact, these babies are 6.5 inches long!
2. They are great working with all different gauges of wire, from 12 gauge to 28 gauge.
3. They have a nice matte finish to the jaws of the pliers to help hold the wire but not mar it, and the edges of the pliers come already filed and rounded.
4. Nice smooth lightly padded handles are great on the ol' tired hands, along with a sleek shape that fits to the palm of your hand.
5. They have nice leaf springs to pop the pliers open smoothly without effort on your part.
6. Best of all, they are nearly half the price of Lindstroms, and offer many fine qualities that more expensive pliers have.

I did some price comparasion shopping and found that FDJ Tool had Wubbers on sale! More great news! But, I didn't have the money for the 3 pliers I was looking at specifically; the round nose of course, bent nose, and chain nose. So where does my best friend fit into all this?

She had been standing in the background all this time, quietly watching, asking questions. She had secret conversations with my stepdad, whom I talk with all the time about tools. One night, she hands me some money and tells me to get the pliers.

I was shocked. This was quite a chunk of dough, and it wasn't even Christmas yet. It still isn't Christmas yet!!! She had that look in her blue eyes that said 'Don't even argue with me.' She waited right there for me to order what I wanted.

Some might say it's awful for you to have to order your own present, but I understand. That way she was sure I got what I wanted. Finding the correct item for a beader is a nightmare. We are very specific. I think she understands that.

In any case, I got them in the mail the other day. And man, they are beauties. I played around with some black coated craft wire to see how they work, and they feel smooth, and fit right into my hand. They don't mar the wire. I'm trying to practice not having that 'death grip' on pliers by pretending that my thumb is broken, a tip I read, but it's hard to get into the habit.

I love them! All in all, I can say this is the best Christmas present I've gotten so far! ;) And, I want the world to know MaRanda is the best friend I've ever had, and not just because of the pliers! })i({

(This post is simply an opinion on Wubbers pliers, not an endorsement of any particular pliers, or of any website. I am not being paid or compensated for this blog!)

2 NEW ITEMS in my Etsy shop! Shop Cyber Monday!

For Cyber Monday, I have listed 2 new pairs of earrings and renewed 10, yes 10, listings! But, sorry folks, one sold, so it's 9 renewed listings! Please check them all out and have a great time finding deals and shopping the 'net!

New Listings:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=18043268 Pink Jade Star Earrings $22
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=18043534 Blue Jeans Earrings $25

Renewed Listings:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17038243 $15
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16709316 $25
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=16708562 $45
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=16652050 $15
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=16651237 $9
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=16220730 $12
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=16170823 $30
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=16170479 $15
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=15619355 $13

I am continuing FREE SHIPPING to the US and Canada until December 15th on all items in my store! International customers enjoy one flat rate with no additional costs for multiple items!

Also, do not forget our eSMArts team store on Etsy for all your shopping needs! Get that browser open to http://esmarts.etsy.com and congrats to Lois of A Beaded Affair for making our second official team sale! })i({