Birthday Woes......

Well, the hubbs turns a quarter of a century on Friday....woohoo!

I had the most AWESOMEST (I know, not a real word, but really, it's cool!!) and just straight up kick arse birthday present in mind, and was well on my way to getting it......then life happened. We've got three kids; it happens.

Still, I am MAJORLY bummed. We have had our rough patches, and our doubts and fears and confusion, but he's still my husband and I've NEVER been able to do anything big for him for his birthday or Christmas. So when I found out one of his favorite bands was playing here in town ON HIS BIRTHDAY, I was like PERRRRRRRFECT!!!!

But, school's about to start, he's going out to the field for a week in a few weeks, our oldest and youngest have birthdays coming up soon, and etc etc....and I just can't swing it with what we've got. :((

I'm having a sale in the store to try and make the rest of the money we'd need in order to get tickets, or if all else fails, at least throw him a cookout with his friends up here. I know he'd like just hanging out with friends over burgers and beer (but we have no burgers......or beer lol) but I was *SO* looking forward to being able to get him tickets to see this concert (Five Finger Death Punch...yeah, we're a rock family).

I know, I know, I'm whining. I'm not trying to play to "sob" story, but I really am disappointed. I feel so bad too, even though I know I probably shouldn't. But, he's my husband and I want him to be not just happy, but thrilled.

So, if you're interested, I'm offering 20% off all orders over $30 (before shipping), and free shipping and the 20% discount on all orders over $50. Want to buy a bunch of the supply listings? Make me an offer, I'm just trying to get that stock moved!

Take a look, what can it hurt? ;)



http://www.eldjewelry.com

It's so late!!!!!

This picture was taken at 4am one night while out trying to get my son to fall asleep in the car. It didn't work. :/

Ok, it's only 1:45am, but still, I should be in bed! My boy has become noctu-baby and I am TIRED!!!!

And cranky. :/

So here we are at almost 2am watching the Disney channel because I have to have some sort of background noise yet it's probably keeping Blake up which is NOT what I wanted so here I am writing a boring run-on sentence. Yay me!

On a better note, I am making great progress going through my current supplies for destash listings in my shop. There is hope for me yet! I just wish I could get outside and take some pictures, but it's been so rainy and dark outside.

I guess that's all I have to say today. I win the most boring post award, so yay me!!

Slow down a bit!

No, not you, unless you're riding my behind on the freeway. :)

I am slowing it down for a bit. I want to go in a new direction. No, maybe not new, but more centralize what my store and what I make is about. I feel like I'm trying to learn everything, and in turn, do everything, and that's just not possible. ;)

I'm also starting to think that I may just not have the budget to go where I want to go with my jewelry. And that makes me sad, because it's what I would really like to do. Offer high-quality, elegant and unique jewelry with crystals, gemstones, and sterling silver. Argh!

In the meantime, while I'm figuring out where to go, I'm suspending the store on Facebook so I can focus on one thing at a time. The Etsy store will still be open, but as you may notice, not much is being newly listed.

:)

Winner for the Birthday Contest!

Hello! I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday weekend, or if it's not a holiday for you, I hope you're enjoying your week!

I want to thank everyone who entered the birthday contest for a $25 gift certificate, I'm so happy you took the time to enter!

The winner has been chosen; each entry was given a unique number, and then randomly drawn from random.org for the winning number. And I'm happy to announce the winner is....


Karilan!


Thank you so much to Karilan for entering, and has made her purchase using her gift certificate for $25!

Didn't win? Don't worry, you still get a great deal!!

To thank everyone who entered, I am offering a discount of 25% off your entire next purchase, or 10% off a custom order. This discount is effective on regular prices in my Etsy and Facebook stores. Simply leave "birthday contest" in the message to seller when checking out in Etsy, or contact me with what you'd like to purchase on Facebook and I will make a custom listing for you with the correct discount. Refunds on Etsy will be given through Paypal.

Thank you again, have a wonderful 4th and a wonderful weekend!

Hmmmmm......changes

I'm really wanting to go in a new direction with my jewelry. I still want to do lanyards and such, but I want them a bit.....more sophisticated. After all, I *am* 25 now. (Ha......ha.)

But seriously, I am really liking the Swarovski crystals still (my mother knows that anything with Swarovski in the name is good in my book), and I really have a new-found fascination with gemstones.


I want to go into more sterling, gold-fill, etc........in a nutshell, higher end pieces. But still unique. I have been pondering about what makes my jewelry "Erica", and it's proving to be harder than I thought it would be. I was told to do what I love.....but I love making all my pieces. What a conundrum!

Sooooo....what would you like to see coming from my shop? What current pieces do you like? Which ones don't you like? Honest opinions are valuable; I think of it as market research.

Birthday Contest!

As you may know, tomorrow I'm turning 25, and on top of the special 25% off sale I have running right now, I've decided to also run another contest! The prize? A $25 gift certificate to my store on Etsy or Facebook!

There are a few ways to enter, but you must comment here with your entry in order to be counted. You can enter as many times as possible, but only one entry per comment will be counted, so if you enter more than once, remember to leave additional comments!

1. Follow this blog

2. "Like" my fan page on Facebook ( http://www.facebook.com/eldesignsbyerica )

3. Leave a comment on one of the pictures on Facebook (or you can comment here on one of the items on Etsy if you don't have a Facebook)

4. Follow me on Twitter ( http://www.twitter.com/eleighb85 )

Remember, leave one comment for each entry here on this blog, and please make sure I have a way to contact you if you are the winner!

The contest will run until June 30th, to give everyone a good amount of time to enter.

**(Please note, the $25 gift certificate is not valid on custom orders. Any pre-made pieces/supplies are eligible however.)

Edit: I also want to add, which Amy helped bring up: If you already follow or "like" me, PLEASE feel free to comment here stating that! You may already have a few entries! Comments on my facebook page will, however, only be counted if they are new, since some are from previous contests. :D

Holy Crap I Have a Blog

Well whaddyaknow. I have a blog. Oops. SORRY!!!!

Long story short I'm in Alaska now. We're semi-settled, and the shop is doing, well.......I have stuff listed. ;) It's going to be a little harder than I thought to swing back into things.

For one, Alaska is BEAUTIFUL! I want to get out of the house as much as possible and be out in nature, which is very unlike me, but hey, if you were here, you'd want to be outside too!!

^See what I mean? GORGEOUS!

Aaaaaanywho, I am trying to network to possibly get my jewelry into some sort of gift shop or salon, but I'm not able to leave the house very often. It's hard to be taken seriously when you're toting three little kids at the same time.

On a personal note, my oldest will start FIRST grade in two months!! I feel old. I seriously thought she just started school, and here she is already in first grade.

She's starting to take interest in my jewelry designing, and "approves" of certain designs. She's really just trying to blow up my ego :) I think I'll take it, lol.

And of course, for the promo bit, I'm turning 25 tomorrow and am running a 25% off sale on Etsy and on Facebook until Saturday, June 26th. Great time to get the patriotic pieces I have listed in time for the 4th!



I promise, I will TRY to update this more often, although you're more than welcome to berate me for waiting so long. I'm a horrible blogger!