Fresh new giveaways!

Enter to win these beautiful handmade stacking rings at Trudie Davies Designs!

Win these fabulous handmade soaps at MadeOfSnails

Win one of these hand painted signs in color of your choice from a little of this...a little of that!

Win a $50 gift certificate to mylittlechickadeecreations!

Enjoy and good luck!

15% OFF SALE! Repurposed handmade jewelry, accessories, and home decor!

I'm clearing out the cobwebs and sprucing up at home and thought the shop could use a little spring cleaning too! I'm offering 15% OFF your entire order from now until April 4th.

15% OFF SALE! Repurposed handmade jewelry, accessories, and home decor! Use coupon code SPRING2011 at http://plumbpretty.etsy.com

Everything that Glitters.....

I love the treasury feature on Etsy so much!  If you haven't checked it out before you should!!  Buyers and Sellers alike create collections of items being sold on Etsy that usually follow some theme.  And if you think the shops on Etsy are creative let me tell ya honey you ain't seen nothin yet!

Check out the treasuries here

Here's a sparkly treasury I was recently featured in....soooo pretty!

A pretty Valentine's treasury!

Check out this fabulous Valentine's treasury titled "Be Mine".

Don't forget to Enter my giveaway!

Only a couple more days left to enter to win this oxidized sterling silver and freshwater pearl necklace I made from heckofabunch's giveaway!  Good Luck!  Giveaway ends Oct 1st.




Here's a pic of my beautiful stepdaughter Paige modeling the necklace for me.

Handmade business reality tv! lol!

You gotta see this!  A website that shows the average (non crafty) person why handmade items cost more than machine made mass produced products.  

I bet you can't even get through 2 minutes of these videos! lol!  

Check it out here

September Etsy Treasuries

If you've never been to Etsy's treasury you really need to check it out!  I'm so lovin all the cool new fall treasuries. 

Here's some treasuries I've been featured in
blue harvest
Changing Season's
Lost in wonderland
Early Autumn
Zesty Lime & Teal Twist
Feeling Blue
Blush Pink and Celery Green
Astral Autumn
Mustard Greens
Bohemian Flair


And here's the pictured one I curated myself! :)
Night time is the right time...

Enjoy!

Hand painted wooden cross

I love the look of hand painted wooden crosses.  Normally I'm all emcompassed with my jewelry but I thought I would try out a design I'd had in my head for awhile.  My mom makes a lot of wooden hand painted craft type items but for some reason I've always shied away from them.  I really like the way it turned out. 

 Here's my first attempt.  What do you think?  Should I make more?

My Trinket Box Was On The Front Page of ETSY!!!

 

OMG I'm so excited!  My trinket box was on the front page of Etsy today!!!! I'm celebrating with 10% Off everything in my shop for my blog followers today! When you make your purchase put in message to seller that you follow my blog and I'll refund your discount back! :)

New trinket box and black rose ring

I should have these posted in my shop soon!  Thanks for looking!

25% Off Sale!

Christmas in July Sale 25% Off everything in my jewelry shop!
http://plumbpretty.etsy.com

Christmas in July Sale! 25% Off!

25% off anything in my shop!

Vintage Ornate Fork Pendant Handmade

My first fork pendant! 

Vintage ornate gold plated large serving fork made into a unique pendant on a long thick vintage chain. 

This is a "first peek" I will have it listed in my shop shortly!

Handmade jewelry wall hangers on Etsy

My Mom was just complaining that her jewelry box is too small and she can't find the necklaces she wants or they are getting tangled together in the jewelry box she has.

Being the Etsy afficianado that I am I set to work to find just the thing! Check out these fab handmade jewelry holders I came across

I love this beautiful jewelry "tree"! By RedBarkDesigns

This pretty and simple peg board holds a ton of jewelry! By JewelryHoldersForYou

Here's a cute painted board to hang on the wall by tammnoony

This stunner is by Melissa Woods

I love the diversity and creativity that can be found on Etsy and these jewelry holders are a great example of the beautiful craftmanship that the artists put into every piece.  Enjoy!  Maybe my mom will find something she likes!

Oh and if you need any jewelry to hang on your new jewelry holder check out my handmade jewelry shop here.  ;)

Topaz Crystal Angel Wings Stretch Bracelet by plumbpretty on Etsy

Topaz Crystal Angel Wings Stretch Bracelet by plumbpretty on Etsy

Gunmetal Filigree Blue Crystal Set Necklace and by plumbpretty

Gunmetal Filigree Blue Crystal Set Necklace and by plumbpretty

How to Wear Hair Accessories

 

As the mercury rises and chic hair baubles heat up the runways — from outsize bows at Marc by Marc Jacobs to understated crimson barrettes at 3.1 Phillip Lim — learn to don headbands, pins, and clips without looking like a Gossip Girl reject. - Marie Claire Magazine

 

The best and most stylish way to wear hair accessories is to fix your 'do first and then add the accessory. 

 Pull your hair back into a ponytail or chignon first. If you prefer to wear your hair down, tease the crown to add height. 

Add a product to your hair when wet like mousse or gel before styling to give your hair some hold but avoid slippery, silicone-based serums that can make your hair more slippery and risk your accessory sliding out.

You can buy my cute hair barrettes at my Etsy shop!

New Steampunk Scrabble Tile Pendants

Free tutorial! How to make spoon pendant jewelry.

Here's a simple necklace I made that I wear all the time.  You don't have to be a master jewelry crafter to make one of these just handy with a dremel tool. 

My Aunt Mary is queen of the auction circuit and since her and my Uncle Ronnie are both retired they love to take their little RV around to all the best auctions from Texas to Wisconsin!  Since my Aunt knows I love to make jewelry from vintage pieces she's always on the look out for special items for me. 

When she told me she had a spoon for me that she got in a lot she bid on that was broken I was mildly interested.  I figured it was just a regular spoon and I could surely find something to make out of it. 

Little did I know how beautiful the spoon was going to be!  I've never seen a spoon with this gorgeous design before. (although I'd love to find more if you know of any place to get them!)  ;)

I set to work immediately sanding down the sharp edges with my dremel sanding bit, running my finger over the sharp edges until I had them super smooth.  Dremel's are great tools and if you don't already have one you should definitely think about investing in one! 

I changed the sanding bit out for a small drill bit and carefully drilled a small hole in the top of the spoon.  Just below where the handle would have been.  Always drill on top of a board or piece of wood so you don't break your drill bit or drill a hole through something you didn't mean to!  If there are any sharp edges around the hole you drilled then just put your sanding bit back on and sand them down the same as you did before.

I then cleaned the whole piece and used some polish and a soft cloth to make it all shiny and pretty.

Depending on how small the hole is you drilled you can either just thread it on your necklace or attach a jump ring for threading.

That's it!  Now that wasn't so hard was it? ;)

If you'd rather just buy your spoon pendants already made here are a few available in my shop.

A few new handmade jewelry items *first peek*