Friday the 13th Earring Giveaway!

I know a lot of people feel today is a bad day. No good. Horrible luck...well, I would like to change that.

I have actually had such a pleasant day today that I would love to give away one pair of my grape cluster glass pearl earrings to one lucky winner.The winner will get to pick the color glass pearls they want (they can be mixed if desired!) AND choose the base metal of the ear wires: gold or silver plated.

I will ship the item domestically OR internationally. So everyone has a shot at winning.

The giveaway will end on Saturday, July 14th at 11:59pm, eastern standard time. Only ONE winner will be chosen!

Here are examples of the earrings:

More images can be found in my facebook galleries here: Gold Earrings, Silver earrings

Or, you can view my Rings and Earrings Etsy shop section.

How Can I Enter?

All you have to do is answer the Trivia question by leaving a comment on this blog post. I will not accept answers anywhere else! You MUST post your answer as a comment to this blog post in order to win. The first person to reply with the correct answer wins!

You must also leave a valid e-mail address through which I can contact you if you are the winner! The winner will have 24 hours to reply back to me. If no response is received I will go to the next person.

Trivia Question

In the television show Stargate: Atlantis, what is the name of the character played by Jason Momoa?

Good luck!

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