Bead Shopping and Free Shipping!!

So I just got back from visiting the Intergalactic Bead Show here in Nashville... don't you just love that name?! I guess they call it that because the vendors come from all over the Southeast, I even met one from Maryland! My sister came with me, and I think it's safe to say that I will never go to a bead show without her again! I had been to one before and didn't buy a thing- I was so overwhelmed by all the choices and my head was just spinning with all the options. But this time, she was all "Oo Heidi, come look at this!" or "You could get these and do this and that". It was just so nice to have someone to bounce ideas off of, and to make sure that what I had in mind was something someone else might wear. If it was up to me, I'd probably buy all bright yellow, orange, and pink beads and my sister was there to remind me that SOME people like purple, green, and blue :) But now I'm really excited to get started, I have a lot of work to do this week and a lot of new items to introduce to my shop!!

I'm also excited because I've decided to introduce free worldwide shipping to my shop for the month of June! Business has been slow and I think I can do this as my "stimulus buster" haha. Plus we have a family vacation in Seabrook Island, South Carolina, starting the 4th of July weekend and I need some spending money!! So hopefully free shipping will help out a little :)

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Oh so Lovely!

Imagine my surprise the other day when Michelle from Tile Me Beautiful left me a message to say that she was passing on the 'Lovely Blog Award' to me! Oh you are so sweet! If it had been a few days earlier I might have laughed, because I was sooo not proud of my blog. But now that I've given it its makeover I feel like I can accept it without reservations!

Here are the rules to receiving this award... 1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link. 2. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. 3. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

So here are the fifteen blogs I have picked. And FYI there were a few of you I considered handing it off to, but when I checked your blogs I noticed you already had it. I tried to spread the love and choose blogs that hadn't received it yet. So here they are, listed in alphabetical order:

1. Ambers Accents Adventures
2. EtsyExpo
3. Etsy Technology Help
4. Ingo Jewelry
5. I'd Rather be Stitching
6. Lilac Pop
7. Little Card Maker's Paper Creations
8. Natalia Designs
9. PolkaDot Moon
10. Sitting Pretty
11. SmuTopia! Behind-the-Scenes of a Funky Handmade Jewelry Business
12. Southern Belle's Blog
13. SuaVoce Jewelry Designs
14. Sweet Cuddle Cakes
15. tiny bird arts

So thank you for the award, I'm glad that you enjoy my blog! And thank you everyone for reading!!

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There's something different about you....

Notice anything different? Maybe just that I've redone my ENTIRE blog again?! hehe... do you ever just have that nagging feeling that something isn't right but you don't know how to fix it? Well that's what I felt about my old blog layout, and then as luck would have it, I stumbled across this free template from Our Blogger Templates and decided to do it! I downloaded the template and then became inspired to fix up and replace some of my widgets. I think this new template gives me a little breathing room and I am really really happy with it. I think I might have found a keeper!

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Mid-Week Pick-Me-Up #4

I'm running a day behind on everything since I took Monday off. But here is the Mid-Week funny to help you finish out the week! Sooo cute!

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Featured Artists- Angie and Sarah from SuaVoce Designs

I ran across this week's featured artists when they mentioned their bridal blog in one of the Etsy forums. Angie and Sarah of SuaVoce Designs are a pair of twin sisters in college living in Chicago. When I checked out their blog and shop I was immediately impressed with the professionalism and thoughtfulness these young girls have established at such a young age.

Their shop is called SuaVoce Designs, named from the Italian phrase meaning "your voice." They design and make jewelry using mainly sterling silver and copper wire, and are constantly experimenting with different and non-conventional materials. Portions of their sales are donated to women's charities such as National Breast Cancer Foundation and Battered Mothers Resource Fund, Inc. "Jewelry making lets us channel our crafty side as well as our love for business. We really want to make a difference in the world too, so by selling our jewelry and giving a portion of the profits to charity we can give back."

Angie and Sarah began making jewelry their junior year of high school after taking a jewelry making class. They began making pieces to give away as gifts, but then decided to take the plunge as they started SuaVoce in September of last year. Their goal is that by the time they graduate, they will have a budding full-time business.

I asked the sisters what their favorite reaction someone has had to their work and they said it was from their younger sister when they made her a necklace and earring set to wear at her prom. Their sister loved the jewelry and was so excited to wear them on her special night.

SuaVoce's plans for the future include making "Pride and Prejudice" inspired journals... simple black journals in which they collage various elements and jewelry techniques together, including some of their favorite quotes from the book.

The sisters have also started an interesting blog you should all check out (http://suavoce.wordpress.com/), in which they periodically feature artists who do bridal work. They are also working to introduce their new line of jewelry they call the "Pink Line," where a quarter of their profits will go toward breast cancer research. Soon they would like to start "Feature Friday" where they will be featuring different artists every week.

Be sure to poke around SuaVoce, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6989347 where some items are on sale with free shipping! And if you're on Facebook, join their group at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=94180108452

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