some new goodies:)

I made a few items during the weekend, and finally managed today to photograph them since the weathers been decent and the sun was actually shining.

CV is now...

COMPLETE!

So I finally updated my CV, the nice man at the job shop kindly edited it for me and basically restructured the whole thing to make it look more professional, and he's sent my CV off to a local university who are looking to recruit people from the area i live. so will wait to see what happens next week.

I'm at the process of putting my cv onto the online version since msot jobs now want their own electronic versions filled in..so i can apply for other jobs incase the above one falls through.

wish me luck!

Things on my mind

Its been a pretty good month overall, except I hate not working or studying. My husband finds it hilarious when i say I feel like i'm doing nothing, since i'm making things, i'm stuck on here most nights and have been doing relatively well in terms of sales on etsy.

But it just doesnt feel like i'm 'working' as such...

so isntead of feeling down about it, i noticed a huge banner outside my childrens school for a job shop type thing in the local church/community hall. so I thought why not? I went down on Monday, and it was really good. Had a mini interview with a lovely woman there, and we discussed jobs i'd be interested in, and what my limitations are etc. She gave me a usb with some cv templates. i do have a CV but it's not updated and since a virus struck my computer i havent got it on my hard drive anymore, so it need retyping really.

Tomorrow morning i'm down there again, just to show them my cv and get some pointers on improving it and see if they have any possible jobs i can apply for.

In all honesty, i'm not sure what i really want to do. I know what I can do, but whether it matches what i want i havent figured out yet.

so i basically told her, i'd do admin work (as boring as it is, it tends to be flexible), or work within a school environment, since i'm hopefully going to apply for my pgce this march...fingers crossed i pass the dreaded maths gcse first ofcourse... which led me into possibly thinking about teaching english to adults, i went to an adult elarning centre to apply for maths, and found a sign outside, wanting english tutors, and i thought why not?? i'm pretty sure i can do that. So i might add that onto the list, but i'm unsure whether a degree in the subject is enough to get work teaching english to adults...so we will see...

The other thing i'm doing, is trying to lose weight!! Since my second child i seem to be on a steady decline when it comes to my health and fitness and have gained quite a bit of weight that it's bugging me now. So i'm watching what i'm eating and doing 1 hour step excercises each day...so i'll be keeping you posted with the progress....or lack of it...:D

and the last thing, is i managed to nab two alchemy requests this week, one for a pair of earrings which i will post the final item here and another for what i know will be the most gorgeous twisted multi coloured pearl bracelet. pictures will be posted as soon as I get the amterials at my door to get started on the items.

Also, i'm planning on adding some info on the etsy d listers. Its a wonderful group i joined a little while ago. it's kind of like a network of really wodnerful people from etsy, to support one another and guide and promote each other. So i'm going to include a shop on here every so often, so you can see what wonderful items they have and the great talent there. I'll also be creating an etsy d lister gift guide so look out for it:)

byes!

FREE GIVEAWAYS!!

I have been kindly added to take part in a giveaway by http://jewelrybysolange.blogspot.com/. Theres quite a few etsy artists involved, so if you're interested in getting yourself some wonderful freebies for yourself or even to save those extra pounds/dollars/francs/dinars/yins or whatever! join in and you can be in with a chance of winning some fantastic prizes.

My amber bracelet is in th running:

So join in NOW!! Giveaway is running from the 12th till the 17th october:D

my guest book!

hello all

I havent posted much on here, even though i had added many more items and been busy re photographing everything..althoguh they probably look worse than they did before!! need to try some new approaches!

but anyhow...need to remember to tell you about the etsy d listers which has been fantastic!

and my sales in the alst two weeks:D yey

my parents survival coruse which is awesome..so i'll share some things from what i personally learnt

and my girls pictures:)

so i obviously have a lot of work on my hands:D

a sunny day...

means i can take pictures that dont look yellow!


so here's some of the creations i have uploaded onto my etsy site today:

A change of picture for a reserved listing for kidstime:) check her shop here http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7879225



Loops necklace and earrings set






Three peach pearls necklace



Hot pink bracelet

One Fall night

Fall bridal/bridesmaids choker style necklace

Alexandria is stunning!

Got back from my holidays just over a week ago...back to a welcome of rain and temperature below 10C...which is unfair!

Had a great time, spent most of it shopping....beads...clothes...fittings...beads.....that kind of thing:) so did start working on some new designs. created a really beautiful choker style pearl and glass necklace, bracelet and earring set...havent taken any pics yet but will post soon.

Also been having a thing for chunky charm bracelets in different shades. Trying to incorporate a fall theme, but not sure if it's working yet.

Anyway pictures will follow soon...as soon as i get some decent ones taken.

in the mean time enjoy some picts of the beautiful view from my flats balcony in egypt

holidays are approaching....

yey!!!!

So as per usual, i'm flying out to Egypt in just over a week from now, and i cant wait!!!

I'm not one for hot weather, it doesnt seem to agree with me, but a flat situated right across from the medittarenean ocean in the beautiful city of Alexandria is definetly worth putting up with the hot weather. Especially since the sea brings in quite a nice breeze in the evenings.

My whole family this year...excluding my older brother whose working...will be going to Egypt this year, so thats going to be quite interesting i think..

I also have some plans for what I plan to do to change my shop in order to hopefully get more of my jewellery in store, and a plan of how to get myself more sales.

This post recently on the etsy discussion boards has been of great help, http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6229078 and has inspired me to write down my plans and ideas, instead of merely thinking of them which is always chaotic...writing it down is likely to make me think about it all better...i hope.

So thanks to the owners of this great store
nomadcraftsetc's http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6747382 for fantastic advice and inspiration, I wish them many more sales:)

So I got myself a notebook, and i'm going to spend this holiday writing down all my ideas and buying supplies, as most of my beads are finished, and fill up again. And once i'm back i'll be creating again!

Wedding watch

So finally finished and sent off the wedding watch which was an alchemy request!

This is the final piece, with the bird charm which had me stressed at the start of this week....hate sellers who dont respond to messages!!

All has ended well!

Really loved making this watch, especially for someone to use for such a special occasion in their lives. :)

Hope theres more to come!

obsession

The whole swine flu thing has got me obsessed...especially since we're travelling away i really dont want anyone getting ill before we're due to leave!

so keeping away from crowded areas, stopped my daughters from school only a few days before the official holidays...so it's not too bad, carry anti bacterial wipes and gel around EVERYWHERE and make sure everyone uses them at all times, even touching surfaces when not neccessary is stopped! so I hope it all goes ok.

managed to pack up a few of our things...but theres so much to sort out still.

on a happier note, i won an alchemy bid!! yay...to make a beaded pearl and Czech glass wedding watch. so it's almost finished, just awaiting a bird charm to arrive from an ebay seller, but he hasnt responded to any of my messages, so i'm really worried it wont come in time. the buyers wedding is on Saturday, and although she says she doesnt mind if it doesnt turn up, I would really love to create for her exactly what she wants. I would have ordered from etsy, but the buyers with the charms i wanted were all in the US and shipping would take too long...here's hoping that the charm arrives no later than Wednesday morning because it really needs to be sent to ensure it arrives before Saturday.

I'll post pics when it's finished:)

the swine flu story...

I wasnt to be honest overly concerned by the swine flu apademic, the same as i was concerned by the bird flu issue, and this was mainly due to the fact that it always seemed far away from me and people i knew...until now.

Today we received a letter from my daughters school informing us that a child at her school may have a case of swine flu. Its not yet apparent whether he has or not, but that apparently a family member of his has caught the virus and they seem to be worried this poor child may have the virus too. The school seems to have made the necessary arrangements to ensure there is no spread, the child is no longer attending school, staff are on alert for any children with flu like symptoms and the school is kept immaculately clean throughout the day.

But i'm still worried. I dont know if it seems a little jumpy or over reactionary but i dont want my daughter attending the school. this is the last week till the start of the summer break, so i've decided to take her out of school as a precautionary measure.

for more info on swine flu heres the gvt guidlines and NHS guidelines

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Pandemic-flu/Pages/QA.aspx#Whatis

as for the symptoms here they are, and how to check if the symptoms you have could be related to swine flu

http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/Sat/Topics/WizardStepOne.aspx?Host=Nhsd&SyndicationPartnerGuid=d19370ea-a100-407d-9695-b73407f701c7&TopicGuid=8c903315-a302-412a-bfae-9cb576d4b4cd

stay safe

Summer sale!

So, i've been trying to sell as much as I can during this month of July in order t totally revamp my shop after I get back from Egypt.

This is because each year I go to Egypt and spend my money on beads and findings, and since opening my etsy store, i also plan of getting my promotional material printed there too since its much cheaper and getting new packaging also.

was thinking of going from black with a teal blue....or an emerald green...something sophsiticated and great looking. but this may well change when i get there!

so here's some of my new sale items:

Mother of pearl charm bracelet and earrings. matching necklace is also available, the whole set costs $28 if bought together!

Also have some other items:

Ruby and mother of pearl bracelet

All earrings are now $5!

Theres loads more, but this adding images on this blog are a pain1 There must be an easier way to put images where you want without needing to shift them after uploading them:S

So check out my summer clearance sale

www.amzjewellerydesigns.etsy.com

check out Erins handmade wedding blog

This is Erins blog, which is fantastic. She's basically wanting to prepare a beautiful wedding where everything is handmade, from wedding invites, to wedding dress to ofcourse my area jewellery.

She has kindly offered to feature some etsy members who make products for wedding to feature, and luckily i was one of many whose been featured. So check it out:)

http://eringetsmarried.com/

Thanks Erin for the feature, I wish you the most beautiful wedding and an even happier life after:)

to me:D

well it was on Tuesday at least.

Had a brilliant time. We dont normally celebrate individual birthdays for adults in our family, since a lot of us fall in the same period of time, we just have one big party!

But my birthday fell on the day of the week where my family were all free, so it was nice.

We went out for dinner, but ended up staying for like 4 hours as we had to wait for my dad to come after a lesson he was teaching....

It was kind of funny, because my sister had bought a cake so that the waiter can light up the matches, close the lights and put on the birthday song as a suprise for me....which it was....a suprise and mildly embarassing at that....except the waiter seemed to assume that it was my dads birthday and thats why we were waiting for him to arrive to have our coffees and the suprise cake...

so as soon as my dad finishes dinner and the table is cleared, we order some hot drinks, and the guy sets about lighting the candles and preparing the cake...turns to me and starts waving instructions at me which i realized later was to ask if it was time for the cake! anyway i was somewhat baffled, but he shuts the lights and this awful tape of happy birthday song comes on and i have a fit of giggles as the guy places the cake in front of my dad! My dads face can say a million words, and everyone is laughing and the poor guy gets confused and embarassed and shifts it down to me....I blew out the candles...which i honestly dont remember the last time i had a birthday cake with candles to blow out! felt like i was a little kid again, which is nice when i've jsut turned 26:)

it was all lovely:)

happy birthday.........

shopping, potty training and coffee shops

Spent most of this afternoon shopping, mainly for my brothers wife who wants two dresses for her brothers wedding...but shes abroad, so it's apparently my job to choose a dress thats likely to suit her,...which is nice that he trusts my taste in clothing!

Managed to get a few decent items on sale in Debenhams, a really pretty summery dress in beige and cream and some jeans. though since i'm so short a good two inches needs to come off from the bottom!

which comes to how exphensive coffee shops seem to be getting. a mocha cost £2.95!, normal soft drinks over £2 per bottle. it'd cost nearly £30 for a small group of people jsut having a coffee and a piece of cake at one of these places.

my youngest is stressing me out. Been trying to potty train her since her 3rd birthday, which has been a struggle sicne i was working full time...now i quit my job i decided to take it seriously, and she's been doing ok, but not enough to feel entirely confident to take the pull ups off completely. i dont remember it takin this long with the oldest!

The sale/fun day!

The nursery my sister works at and my youngest attends had a really great fun day idea. It was well planned , bouncy castle, face painting, henna tatoos, raffles, painting and crafts for children, stalls....one of which was mine, lots of great food, indiand cuisine, Polish, Carribean, Arabic, English, Italian to name but a few! Fabtastic cakes and pepsi max which i overdosed on!

Except it decided to rain. Although it didnt seem to spoil the event, a lot of people turned up to show their support ...with unbrellas on tow ofcourse!

Managed to make a relatively decent amount of money even though I made everything dirt cheap and the people seemed to be more interested in spending their money on food and their kids activities. Which is where all my profit went!

Here's a few pics of the stall....sadly i didnt take any pictures when I first set it up, when it wasnt so cluttered and all over the place, so I only have messy pics!

And my hand made business cards...a little scattered! but a lot of people commented on them which is nice:)

second sale!! woohooo

I made my second sale!!!

I am very happy right now!!!

had a great lunch with friends, they were both glowing, one has just come back from her honeymoon which was amazing, the other is expecting any time now! was great to catch up. as usual the main topic of conversation was work...or ex work place as it were, since we all quit!

anyway some politics to get to:)

chilli con carne!

Had planned to get some lunch with some friends from when i used to work, but because one of them is almost due, infact she's overdue!

so we decided to have lunch at my place just incase! so it's chilli con carne all round:)

makes a nice change from not bothering to even think about lunch!

New additions!

Amethyst in oval

So to try to attract some attention to my etsy shop I decided to d this $5 earring promotion, except so far none of them have sold!! however, i'm not going to let that get me down, so I've added some new items today so check them out!

Teal my heart:

My daughter love these adorable earrings:)

So tell me ya'll what have you made today?

shopping with kids

A good shopping trip should never been done with children!

4am wake up:S

So due to atually managing to sleep before midnight yesterday I end up waking up at am and not getting back to sleep. Alhough it has been a suprisngly productive day. It was sunny most of the morning before he thunder and rain kicked in:S

I'm trying to sort out some display things for this upcoming sale I'm doing. i dont really want to spend much and the whole diea of DIY neck busts and the like just seems a little like too much work!

Just made a couple of neclace and earring sets specifically for weddings for a blog of a fellow etsian which is focusing on a handmade wedding. I had hoped to get the pictures done today but they didnt come out as reat as I'd hoped

though here's one necklce and earring which came out relatively decent

Pearl lariat style earrings and necklace for weddings

These also werent too bad after cropping!

Two layer mixed pearl necklace and earrings

Tell me what you think

and please add on what you've made today! even if it's just a cup of tea:)

beautiful days

It's been suprisingly incredibly warm and sunny the last two days which is seriously strange for the UK! I dont even think people know how to respond to the weather when it does actually get warm!

spent most of yesterday taking pictures of a huge load of jewellery items I made over the weekend, and i'm suprised by how wellt hey actually came out!

I had planned to make this photo box things, but havent had the chance, so i just palced some tissue paper on the living room window seal and because the weather was so beautiful they actually came out looking pretty good:)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26097394@N07/3627406677/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26097394@N07/3627406679/

Anyhow gotta do the school run:)

Try Handmade website!

So because I've jsut recently opened a shop on etsy selling my jewellery, everything i've read has told me to get social and et my stuff out here....so i did some searches and found this great little site called www.tryhandmade.com, which has a litle gallery where you can post a picture of your work. So I sent this just less than 2 days ago, and toda I found an e-mail to tell me that my pic is up and people can vote for it. So if anyone is interested to rate it, i'd be really grateful:) check it out here:

http://gallery.tryhandmade.com/classic-chique-necklace/

ta very much:)

This is new!

hey all!....if anyone actually gets to read this!

This is somewhat weird for me, Im not really a social networking type of person and would never have thought to set up a blog like this, but it seems to succeed in business online the social networking thing is the way to go.

However, I dont want it to be really about me, and would love to get as many other people posting as possible. In the words of Martin Luther King, 'I had a dream'...not quite as profound as his ofcourse but I wanted to create a blog to not only promote my shop and what I make, but to also find out what others can make, to get more people into the handmade mood and see perhaps how easy it is to go handmade.

So I make beaded jewellery, you can check out my etsy store here:
www.amzjewellerydesigns.etsy.com

Tell me what you think, give me your opinions and let me know what you can make. Doesnt have to be anything too fancy, even a paper plane will do, if you can send a pic, that'd be great too!!