Christmas in July! (Yes, It's That Time Already)

Another blog post you say? What?! Sorcery! Alas no, not quite! But Halloween is really just around the corner. Soon, my lovelies. Soon. ;)

But is is July and it's the 4th so...Happy Independence Day!

I hope you are all having a wonderful and safe day. I also hope you didn't have to work today and got to enjoy the day at home with your loved ones. It cooled down here significantly and I am enjoying the reprieve from the nasty, sticky heat. It rained (thanks in no small part to Hurricane Arthur I'm sure). Despite the cloudiness the rest of the weekend will be sunny albeit hot and probably sticky again. But for today I enjoyed my time indoors and playing around in my shop. My family postponed our BBQ plans until tomorrow so it all worked out.

But with July comes other things. What you ask? Well, Christmas in July of course! I'm celebrating in my Etsy shop (and soon my Artfire shop) with 15% off everything: Handmade, Accessories, Vintage, AND Clearance! Just put in coupon code CIJ15 during checkout for your discount. It also applies to custom orders too!

I'm not the only one celebrating. Many, many shops around the handmade, vintage, and supply community are too. I took some time out of my evening to put together some lovely little treasuries. If you haven't begun thinking of what to get people this holiday season or you just don't know what to get for everyone why not take a look? There's a little something for everyone. :)

Share the links around if you can to help gets these fabulous shops some added exposure. Have a great weekend everyone!

Craft Shows! Late but Better Than Never

I've been so hard at work getting things situated in my shop but I haven't forgotten about my Blog readers. :)

Earlier this year, just two months ago in May, I attended the Skyline Lakes Fire Department Annual Mother's Day Weekend Craft Show. This was their 9th year! We were a bit nervous about the weather. Just like last year we were supposed to get terrible roaming thunderstorms and just overall generally crummy weather as far as craft shows are concerned. But the morning of the weather did a complete 180. It was sunny and there was a fabulous turn out.

 My friend Michelle attended the show with me and was a wonderful help and great company during the down times. It was nice getting a chance to sneak away from the booth with her watching the shop while I was away. I hope she is able to attend my future shows with me! :)

Despite the scorching heat a lot of people showed up and the Threaded Chains outdoor booth was a big success compared to last year. I'm so glad to have given this venue another chance! I plan to continue going back and hopefully next year will be just as wonderful.

We did eventually get some rain but not until the end. I was so busy I didn't get a chance to take photos until just before the rain hit. I had very little time to prep the table for photos so some things are a little disheveled from shoppers.

I've made some progress in how to lay out the tables and I hope my next one turns out even better. I'm VERY pleased with the white table linens. They'll be good until I find some permanent cloth ones of the proper colors to match my shop logos. :)

I am planning to do a bunch of craft shows this fall as well. One is being held in Wanaque and I'll be submitting my application before the end of July. As I am very much looking forward to attending the Packanack Mother's Club annual November Holiday craft show which is held right here in Wayne, New Jersey, my home town! :)

There was also one other show I had my eye on so once I have finalized dates I'll be sure to update everyone! And as always you can tune in to my Facebook and Google+ pages for updates.

I hope everyone has a Happy 4th of July tomorrow and a great weekend. There will be a Christmas in July special coming up in my shop within the next few days so keep your eyes out for that!

I'll see you all in the next post.

Craft Show Prep

Things are starting to get rather busy as the days are just flying by, counting down towards the day of the craft show! Believe it or not I am still trying to acquire some supplies for the show.

I'm still working on the shop and it's definitely tough trying to get things listed on Etsy while thinking ahead for what I will need come November 3rd. One of the things I have been stressing over is prepping one of my mannequins. I was lucky enough to acquire a full torso with head and realistic face through a Haunter (Halloween) friend. She came to me bald and has some minor damage plus paint peeling. My dilemma has been agonizing over whether I want to tackle trying to re-paint her. I'm just too in love with her current face and know that I can't make an exact re-painted copy of it (since every artist's style is different).

Instead, I opted to try and find a wig that could cover the paint peeling on her forehead and just a few weeks ago I found the perfect one. It shipped from China and I was worried it wouldn't arrive, but it just got here two days ago.

With all the rain we've had I had I wasn't able to get outside to take pictures of her until today.

My biggest concern is covering up her breasts. The person who owned her before me painted on nipples so I can't leave her naked. She also, sadly, did not come with arms or legs, so I have had a hard time locating a shirt for her to cover the holes in her arm sockets.

I'm definitely very happy with how she is coming along. I've seen many mannequins that don't have nearly as nice a face as this one does. A lot of the ones I have seen have that dopey/droopy eyed face coupled with an elongated facial structure that makes them look less realistic. Sadly, though, she still has no name.

In regards to shirts I found this awesome shop on Etsy called Couth Clothing. I've been talking with the shop owner, Daniel, and she's been a pleasure to work with. I've already picked out this shirt and this sheer top. Please go check out Daniel's Etsy shop, I assure you that you won't be disappointed! I'm also super excited to be show casing another Etsy artisan's work in my craft show display to help me in promoting my jewelry and accessories.

In other news please be aware that come November 3rd I will be putting my shops on Vacation. So if you have had your eye on any items in the shop don't hesitate! Whatever sells at the show will be removed from both my Etsy and Artfire shops before I make them active again. Only my Vintage sewing patterns and other Vintage items will remain unaffected. Any jewelry items, accessories, or other handmade items of mine will be subject to removal if I sell them at the show.

Well, I'm off back to work. Have a great Friday everyone, TGIF! :D

~ Remmie

TGIF! :D

Happy Friday everyone! It's been a long week for me and as Fall approaches so does the impending date of my very first craft show. While exciting I am so nervous. There is so much that I still need to do, items that need to be made, and supplies that need to be purchased.

I have had to contend with juggling my day job with working on the shop and things have gotten pushed aside. I'll definitely need to do more now on the days I have off and the time I have before I need to head to work at the day job so I can get things ready. Wish me luck!

What are you preparing for this fall? Are you doing any craft shows? Please comment on this post and let me know! I love hearing from others whether or not you follow my blog. :)

And to kick off this weekend with a bang I'm going to be offering 15% off everything in the shop, both sewing patterns AND jewelry! Use the coupon code SWEETSEPT when you check out to get the discount. The same code applies to both my Artfire and Etsy shops. The code will expire Monday night at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard time. Don't miss it!

Now I'm off to clean up my work space so I can get to listing some new pieces. :)

TGIF!

~ Remmie

Whimsical Photography

As an artist I appreciate many aspects of art. I have always been more into drawing and within recent years creating handmade items like jewelry and accessories. But one thing I have a huge respect for is photography. It has always been an art form that has somewhat eluded me in the past. As time has gone on I continue to improve especially now that I must take crisp, clear photos of my jewelry and vintage items when I list them in my online studios and social networking sites.


I admit, I envy photographers that sell prints because it is something I have always wanted to do but never had the true talent to achieve. But this doesn't stop me from looking through shops and "ooh"ing and "ahh"ing over photos that grab my attention.

I really adore whimsical, and fantasy based or inspired artwork. But sometimes I can be pleasantly surprised and taken by imagery of very real life things or people.

At the end of the day though it always comes back to nature and animals.

These images are just the very tip of the huge cache of gorgeous prints that Photographer and Artist Danny have to offer in their Etsy shop named Maximonstertje.

But she doesn't just offer prints. She also has a beautiful selection of jewelry, postcards, and even iPhone cases.

I am continually inspired by the artwork she lists and I am always eagerly awaiting her Facebook updates so I can catch sneak previews of her newest print.

Be sure to check out Maximonstertje Photography on:

Facebook

Blogger

Etsy

Flickr

I hope you all find her work as inspiring as I do. I am hoping to get a print or two from her to hang on the walls of my studio here at Threaded Chains.

And for the month of July she is offering FREE WORLDWIDE shipping! That's such an awesome deal. :) Just enter the code FREESHIP at checkout to get free shipping on your order.

May the rest of your day and week be filled with wonderful art, inspiration, and love.

~ Remmie

Winner Chosen!

The winner for my Friday the 13th giveaway has been chosen! Congrats to Maureen for winning. :)

That said there are some things I need to say to clear the air, as this giveaway has upset me a bit in regard to how some people have acted.

For the future I may need to rethink my giveaway strategy. I was a little disappointed with the very small turn out but to be fair it was a very spontaneous giveaway with little notice. There was also some big squabbling that went on after I started receiving entries so I may not offer my giveaways to include friends and family in the future. I can also just run all of my giveaways using rafflecopter.

As a reminder to anyone participating in future giveaways, please make sure that you read all of the rules thoroughly. I let a lot of things slide this time because it was my first real giveaway. In the future I won't be issuing reminders to those entering if they don't follow all of the rules. Reading everything and all of the instructions is key!


I hope that for my future giveaways this sort of thing doesn't happen again or I may have to ban people from participating in my giveaways altogether and I don't want things to have to come down to that!

We are all adults, so I hope for the future we can all act as such.

I apologize for this mixed feelings blog update but these are things that needed to be said. I am going to try and enjoy the rest of my weekend before heading off to my day job tonight.

Don't forget, it's still Christmas in July at my shop so even if you didn't win the giveaway you can still get a great discount on all items in my shop through July 31st! Hop on over to my Etsy Studio or my Artfire Studio and use the coupon code XMASINJULY10 at checkout to get 10% off your entire order!

~ Remmie

Behind the Scenes

I am taking a short break from updating my Artfire studio and I thought that since it's Christmas in July I'd like to share some behind the scenes pictures of just how I strive to go the extra mile for my customers.

All of my fans be them on Facebook, Twitter, here on my blog, or anywhere else you are watching me and my customers are the ones that make it possible for me to do what I love. I know for me when I go shopping at other handmade, vintage, and supply shops on Etsy, Artfire, or anywhere else I love it when my order is given that personalized touch. I have bought items that came to be wrapped so beautifully and included little notes, thanks yous, business cards, and even coupons. I love knowing that the artisan and shop owner I am supporting has taken the time to stop and appreciate my business to them.

Orders are gift wrapped in colored tissue paper and sealed with festive stickers that I change around depending on the season and holiday at the time of purchase. A hand written note is also included to voice my thanks and to let you know just how much I appreciate your business. :) I also have been including my new business card with my orders for you to share with others.

Recently I had an order for two pairs of my grape cluster earrings. My customer was purchasing these for a friend of hers for her birthday. We talked on Etsy for a bit and I was given the go ahead to customize her order a little further. Polka dotted tissue paper was used to wrap the earrings and each package was sealed with some adorable birthday stickers.

I also included a special Hallmark card, with matching envelope, with a personalized greeting (as requested from my customer), to go with the order. And as always, I included a note for my buyer. Two business cards were sent so she could share one with her friend.

Everything here is included for free with her purchase. I have stickers for just about every occasion and I am always looking for more. I definitely have a lot of fun wrapping my orders. It feels like Christmas to me, wrapping things up to send off to people. :) My hand written notes are also different for each order. I have many different note pads to use for this purpose. Someday I would love to have some stationary with my shop name on them.

Currently my vintage items are shipped in ways that maximize their safety with in the mailers. However, I can offer gift wrapping if asked. :)

What do you guys do for your customers? Do you offer gift wrap options or do you gift wrap everything, like I do? I'd love to hear what you guys do for your clientele.

Back to work for me now. Have a fabulous evening!

~Remmie

Goosebook + Christmas in July

I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday! Things have been super busy over here so I apologize for not updating sooner as I had promised.

I'll get right down to it and start with the big news first.

There is a new social networking site and it is small business friendly! I am personally tired of Facebook making changes that negatively affect small business owners like myself. Lately all Facebook has done is make changes that many of it's users hate. Their motivations are to please shareholders now that they have gone public. So Goosie Girl took matters into her own hands and created her own social networking site. About 70 people signed up in just the first 24 hours alone, and I was one of them. Businesses seeking membership are asked to pay a small $5 per year fee and regular profiles for non-business members are completely free! No "promoted posts" like on Facebook. Your posts will reach everyone who watches your profile and won't get hidden, unlike on Facebook. I'm excited to be a member and I am certain the site will only continue to grow.

Goosie has named the site domain mombition as many people who wanted to sign up in the original wave are mostly stay at home, self employed mom's, but EVERYONE is welcome to join! I am currently awaiting approval for my account so i should be up and running on there within a day or so. Come and join me, and many other small businesses, and check it out here: Goosebook

Christmas in July!

And with July comes Christmas! It's that time again so I've been working very hard to get some more Christmas themed items ready to post into the shop. I just listed two handmade jewelry items for Christmas in July the other day. Check out my Christmas Shop Section and stay tuned for more!

Also coming to the shop to celebrate Chistmas in July I have two brand new jewelry styles I'm introducing to the shop: Lariat necklaces and Adjustable Macrame Hemp Jewlery bracelets/anklets. Below you can find a sneek peek preview! I will be adding these and much more to the shop over the coming days.

And lastly to celebrate Christmas in July I will be offering 10% off ALL items in my shop using coupon code XMASINJULY10 until July 31st at midnight, eastern standard time. This discount is not available with any other percent off offer (like the 5% discount offered through the My Etsy Shop app on my Facebook page) but IS good in conjunction with the two for $11 glass pearl earring sale as well as the 3 for $7 Vintage sewing pattern sale. So now is the perfect time to get some early holiday shopping in whether you want to buy my handmade jewelry or some of my mother's vintage items. More will be added as the month goes on.

I will be activating the code within the next few hours on both Etsy and Artfire. Keep an eye out on my Facebook and twitter accounts as I will announce it once the codes are activated!

That's all for now. Have a fabulous weekend everyone!

~ Remmie