New Supply Items!

Brass Mollusk Sea Shell



Raw Brass Steampunk Gear Circle

These are the first of many supplies that I have made using the lost wax technique I'm now finally getting these made and in my shop over a year after taking the class. Both can bee seen at SacredSupplies.etsy.com

Crazy About the Kidlet Giveaway - Up to $100 Shopping Spree

COMMENTS ARE CLOSED THE CONTEST IS OVER

Welcome to my first giveaway inspired by how crazy I am about my little kidlet!
As you may or may not know I have entered Solace in the “Gap Casting Call contest” and she has a lot of catching up to do. So the amount of the shopping spree and how many chances you can enter to win it are dictated by voting on Solace.

Here’s the Prize Break Down:
0 – 100 Votes = $10 Prize
101 – 200 Votes = $20 Prize
201 – 300 Votes = $30 Prize
301 – 400 Votes = $40 Prize
401 – 500 Votes = $50 Prize
501 – 600 Votes = $60 Prize
601 – 700 Votes = $70 Prize
701 – 800 Votes = $80 Prize
801 – 900 Votes = $90 Prize
901 – 1000+ Votes = $100 Prize

How to Enter:
* 1 Entry Per Day For Voting on Solace Each Day
Post a comment with your email address letting me know each time you vote
(Voting is limited to once a day, you must create an account to vote)

* 1 Entry for posting the “Vote for Me” ad on your website or blog
Copy the code below the ad to the left and add it to your website or blog
Post a comment with your email address and a link to the page

* 1 Entry For blogging about this giveaway
Post a comment with your email address and a link to the blog

* 1 Entry For Posting a link to this giveaway on Facebook or Twitter
Post a comment with your email address and a link to your page

Which Equals a Chance for a Total of 20 Entries!

The giveaway starts 10-09-09 and ends on 10-25-09, I am not responsible for problems on the voting site, problems do exist on the site, if you are unable to vote try a different computer or enter with the three other options given. The winner will be randomly selected by the Random.org random number generator on Monday 10-26-09. The winner will be announced via a blog post on 10-26-09 and notified via email. The winner has one week (until 11-02-09) to respond or a runner up will be selected and notified on 11-03-09. Shopping Spree Prize can be used at Wenchie’s Sacred Relics and Sacred Supplies. Good Luck!

The place to get your eco-friendly packaging and other office supplies

Green Earth Office Supply
I have to share my new packaging supply find as this place has the best prices on truly eco-friendly products. Upon finding this site with it's html novice style layout I was a little deterred to try it as they don't use paypal however with it being through Yahoo Shopping I deemed it a bit safer to try out.
Below is a comparison of of the more expensive Jiffy padded envelopes that I got from another "green office" supply with the less expensive NatureWise ones from Green Earth



The more post consumer content the better as it's putting your recyclables to good (re)use.
I also applaud them for reusing packaging as my items were shipped in a reused box shown below! This is honestly the one green company that really works hard to to be green all around in contrast to where I was getting my packaging supplies from before the envelopes in their own separate 25 pack boxes creating more waste that I had to deal with.



The only cons are you must make a minim order of $40, they only ship UPS, and that it took a while for them to send out the items which seemed to be sent out after I called and emailed them and I didn't receive any response just my items a few days later. They also offer a free item with your order and I selected one but did not receive it as they may have ran out of the free items either way it would have been nice to get correspondence in some way. However these are the only down sides but not a big issue as I got what I needed.

Overall I am pleased with their dedication to being green and very cost effective I got my items and that's what counts, for this I look forward to ordering from them again and to better customer service/business management in the future from Green Earth Office Supply

Getting adjusted

Today was my first lone outing with Solace and the drive to downtown went smoothly. However after parking and getting the stroller set up I then tried to attach the car seat to the adapters that attach to the stroller and it clicked in but it didn't look right. I had the adapters backwards and now they were stuck to the car seat and wouldn't release. Flustered panic mode set in as I can't get the car seat back into the car without removing the adapters which were now stuck to the car seat! I take Solace out of the car seat and lay her on the floor mat then I turn the car seat upside down to try to pull the suckers off and they don't budge. I remember that my husbands tools are in the car so I grab the tool bag and find the longest flat head screwdriver to pop off the latch which doesn't work. I ten getting more frantic call the husband who's only solution was to break them off (cringe) which wouldn't work because that would break the handle of the car seat too making it rather useless. Then Solace decides to wake up and start crying while I'm on the phone and trying to pry the latch off at the same time but since it was latched wrong there was no way to pop off the latch because there was no slack to do so. After getting off the phone with the hubby I bend out the plastic a bit to get a better view and I realize that I can slide the latch off to the side which works! I thank God and pull the first adapter off and I hit myself in the face with it because I used too much force to get it off and yup it left a mark and will most likely bruise up.


I had better luck with the second adapter and I finally get it attached to the car seat correctly and then to the stroller and pick up the crying Solace and comfort her before putting her in the stroller. Disaster resolved! I head to my destination which is Bergers Beads and Solace attracts all sorts of attention cause shes cute, petite and Asian women (who pretty much run the store) adore her beautiful nose. I start getting my supplies and Solace wakes up and starts crying again the ladies can tell that she hungry and graciously let me breastfeed her in a secluded corner of the store! How friggin cool is that! Mad respect for the staff at Bergers Beads! This made my day and Solace's as well because she didn't have to wait till I was back at the car for boob-juice! After getting the rest of my supplies at Bergers I head to my other stops where the now sleeping Solace gets even more attention by the time I was done Solace started crying again but fell asleep on the way back to the car so I didn't wake her. Then I had to get some grocery shopping done at trader joes fortunately she remained asleep for that and finally woke up once we got home.
So overall doing an outing with the baby is like being permanently handcuffed to someone you are tied to this precious little being escaping the cuteness is futile. Anyways I'm exhausted and I need to muster up the perseverance to work outings more successfully.

Talented Friends Joanna Torres

In the previous posts I had you meet Julia LoVan of Julia LoVan Dresses and Corrie Hill Sullivan of Corrie Hill Design. Now I would like to introduce you to another fellow Etsyian Joanna Cheng Torres aka JojoCheng with her Jojo's Handspun Yarn shop on Etsy!



Joanna is another person that is a part of the Mosaic Community however I know her through her husband John Torres who is a very talented musician and a wonderful friend to my husband!
Joanna lovingly hand spins yarn which is a process I really want to see! Her yarn varies from rustic to ornate with a wide range of unique and vibrant colors. The color qualities seem to stand out even more with the attributes they are named with.

This one is called EFFERVESCENCE and is a delightful almost alchemistical mix of merino, corriedale cross wool, baby (cria) alpaca, tussah silk, BFL (bluefaced leicester), firestar (glitz). With such hand spun delights it's no wonder why her shop is near empty right now! But don't fret more will surly be up soon so keep an eye on this talented yarn maker!

I've fallen

For steampunk..... so this is the thing that I am currently obsessed with now, however it may be more then just a fad. I am really enjoying playing with the broken clock/watch machinery bits and pairing them with lovely vintage or vintage looking pieces of filigree and other embellishments. I love to make one of a kind pieces and this is the greatest outlet for that whim. It's almost like painting a picture or, for a better analogy, putting together a wearable collage. When creating these pieces it's almost like they create themselves where as pieces fit perfectly only with very specific pieces. For example I've had a brooch waiting for the perfect piece to finish as the focal and today I got in my supplies from Epoch Beads with some amazing consolation pieces (OMG I love her!!!) anyways one of the extras was a unique vintage plastic heart that just so happened to fit perfectly as the focal so now that item can be completed. I have been racking my brain for weeks trying to place something as the focal and the focal comes by pure chance (it really seems more than just by chance).
Along with my supplies from Epoch Beads (I would so give her a hug if I could) I received my supplies from Just Peachy Designs another really nice seller that I adore and got a really cute hand made box from her as a thank you gift (which I shall order more and perhaps use for packaging as promo for her shop). Back on to the topic at hand I got gears little and large a purely wonderful mix and several of them have already been used to finally finish some pieces a key pendant which will be set on rolo chain and a clover pendant.
I finally finished another steampunk necklace which was awaiting my trip to the Bead Source for some rolo chain and a clasp (Gasp it's amazing I love it but it must be sold)and tomorrow I shall finally finish the brooch. For tomorrow I also need to make another Chastity in chains necklace I've been flaking on the wire-wrapping.

Etsy Highlight: My Favorite Supply Seller

I love to experiment with jewelry, which is often creating something completely new or outright unique. Recently I have been sucked into the buyer mode addiction on Etsy which has further pushed me to experimenting with some very unique and usually vintage supplies. These are items that I've only found through the supply sellers on Etsy.
I look for supply sellers that sell vintage items because of my love for the unique and hard to find parts. I love vintage items because there seems to be more integrity with the quality of the work put into the piece, it has a nice rustic look or a lovely natural patina sheen.
The first thing I look for in supply sellers are the images. If it is one thing I value the most with being Etsy Tutored by Kieutiepie is that you need to take pics that view every angle of a piece. With supplies this is crucial because I need to know what it is that I'm getting since I can't see it first hand. Supply sellers who consistently do this are on the top of my list.
The second thing I look for is what the camera can't capture, a good description of the part. This is when a seller becomes a true sales person. What is the object made out of? What are the measurements? What style is the piece? Why should I buy this item? Also some sellers like to include what the item can be used for which is something that should be included in the descriptions as a selling point.
The first supply store I've purchased from which fits the bill precisely is Epoch Beads with great photos,fantastic descriptions, well priced items and shipping, super friendly, and most of all a sleuth at finding unique vintage items. Also with all of that that Epoch Beads hard work with images and descriptions has really paid off and shows with a whopping total of nearly 14,000 sales in only one year.
Below are picks of my favorite items from Epoch Beads.