Win A Stunning Orchid Bracelet from Creations by GMarie

Creations by Gmarie is celebrating the 100 fan mark on Facebook with a special giveaway! You can win your own personalized orchid petal bracelet...but you'll have to use your sleuthing skills! Creations by Gmarie first launched this bracelet on Etsy in January 2012. Here's what you need to do to win one of your own.

1)You MUST have liked Creations by Gmarie on Facebook for your guess to count.
2)Use your sleuthing abilities to count up how many of these bracelets she has sold from Jan. 2012 to May 30, 2013. The count closest to the actual number without going over is the winner! Remember she has two shops on Etsy: http://creationsbygmarie.etsy.com and http://Creationsbygmarie2
3)Send a PM to Creations by Gmarie on Facebook with your guess. One entry per person please! Remember the closest without going over wins!
4) All guesses must be submitted by midnight June 15th. The winner will be announced June 16th

Happy Sleuthing!

New Product Sneak Peek

I've done a few custom orders for charm bracelets in the past but have decided to add some as a regular product in my Etsy shop. Here's your sneak peek at the very first one which I hope to list later tonight (cross your fingers the kiddos go to bed at a reasonable time!).

Each bracelet will be one of a kind and their current introductory price will be $12.75 each plus shipping. Blog/Facebook fans will always have a sneak peek (and thus first chance at claiming them for themselves). In addition to this fabulous Sewing Lover Charm Bracelet I have started a Country/Western themed one and Cooking Inspired bracelet. Interested in a custom bracelet of your own? I'm always happy to work with you! What other themes do you think I should explore?

New Products Coming for Holiday Season!

Now that we are finally settled in to the new house and (somewhat) organized I've got my creative cap on and am ready to bring you some new beauties just in time for the holiday season. Since each new product will be limited in quantity I am giving readers a first crack at the items (along with a special readers discount) before listing them in my Etsy and Artfire shops. Today's new product features a small silver filagree leaf topped with a sparkling capri blue fire polished crystal (I am happy to change the crystal colour if you prefer a different one). They dangle approx. 2" in total length. Get yours for the sneak peek price of only $5 plus shipping (free local delivery available). Offer valid until October 28th. Just send me a message via one of my shops and I will be happy to set up a special listing just for you. Hurry, only 10 pairs available!

Enter for a chance to WIN free earrings!

I'm so proud of my mom, she's joined the world of Facebook! I never in a million years would have thought that I would be checking out my mom's Fan Page. If you would like to be entered to win these awesome earrings from her brand new shop Creations by GMarie all you have to do is stop by her Facebook Fan Page and show her some love by "Like"ing her. Draw will take place Sunday May 8th!

Custom Order Inspiration!

I had a wonderful customer contact me the other day to create a pair of earrings and necklace to match the Purple Flower Memory Wire Bracelet that she wanted to order. I decided to do a cascade style necklace and she had requested a fairly long chain. I have created several of this style of necklace over the past year and every time I make one I remind myself that I need to make more (including one for myself!) I love the way that it turned out and the combination of purples creates such a rich and luxurious piece. We decided to go with a chunkier style chain and then she can shorten or lengthen it depending on her outfit. I'm definately feeling inspired by her order so watch for some more of this style of necklace to come soon!

Tidbits Thursday

Thanks to all those who sent warm wishes following my post on the jewellery party. I did have a couple of questions asked via email so here is a quick follow up:

How many people attend the party and of those how many bought? About 20 guests attended the party and of those 18 made purchases.

What was your price range on items? Prices ranged from $5- $40 with the majority of guests spending about $15, although there were afew who had their Christmas lists in hand and were definately ready to do some major shopping.

Hope that helps those of you planning on doing your own jewelry parties. I have done parties with only a couple of guests as well that also led to more sales down the line and have helped get my name out there so any party is a good party!

I also wanted to mention that I am having a SUPER SALE in my Etsy, Artfire AND Zibbet shops from now through September 30th. Everything $5 and under! Happy shopping!

Jewellery Home Party Fun!

I want to thank everyone who came out to the jewellery home party last night and to my great friend Darlene for being such a wonderful hostess. The continued support of the girls I work with at the restaurant (as well as those who used to work with us but have moved on to bigger and better things) never ceases to amaze me and warm my heart! For everyone else here's a quick recap of the evening:

* I arrived early to set things up before the guests arrived. When the party/craft show season is in full swing it usually only takes me about an hour, but since I hadn't had a show since the spring I needed a bit of extra time. If you are having your own party and can't go more than an hour early to set up try practicing your display on your own table to give you an idea of how/where you would like things to go. This tactic also works well for craft shows.

*Door Prizes- I had several door prizes to choose from and we did draws every half hour. On the door prize ballots there was also a place for the guests email address and a box for them to check if they wanted to sign up for my newsletter.

*Munchies- Not everyone agrees that you need to have a bunch of munchies to have a successful party but Darlene put out quite the spread and people stayed a LONG time. Some of them even shopped a second time after they had refueled! It also gave the guests and myself a chance to chat about the business if they wanted while they enjoyed their tasty treats!

*Relaxed atmosphere- The party was open house style so people could arrive and depart as they wished. I find that this system works best, especially for those that can't make it right from the start and feel that if they arrive part way through they will be "interrupting" so then they don't come at all.           

*Inventory- This is another point on which opinions may differ but I find that people enjoy being able to purchase and take home their new goodies that night. I offered a variety of price points so that even those on a limited budget had something to choose from.

BONUS**** Of course every great party has its own surprise. Last night we had put balloons out on the railing so that guests could easily figure out where they were going. A group of college guys (who had perhaps had afew beverages) came to the door asking who's birthday it was because they were there to sing. Of course it wasn't a birthday party but we couldn't resist so one of the girls went to the door and they sang to her! It was definately a good giggle for us!

For those of you who have been thinking about doing a home party with your own handmade goodies I hope that this answered some of your questions about how to go about it. If you would like to host your own Kawartha Beads home party just send me an email at kawarthabeads@gmail.com and I would be happy to set something up with you!

Festive Cheer and a Super Sale at Kawartha Beads!

 SUPER SALE! I have introduced these adorable Christmas Tulips and Christmas Stack Earrings in Red and Green for a special price of only $5 with FREE SHIPPING in the United States and Canada. Hurry, this special offer only runs until August 31st. You can find your special pair in my Etsy, Zibbet or Artfire shops. They are sure to add some festive cheer to your holiday season!

Eggplant Pearls~ A beautiful handmade treat!

Handmade gifts are always a treat to give and receive. I am in love with pearls, they are such a timeless classic, and the rich and luxurious colours that are out there these days add that extra punch. This week I listed these stunning Eggplant Pearl Earrings, a great deal at just $8.00 with Free Shipping.  I couldn't resist making a pair for myself as well!
If you haven't had a a chance to enter to win Ad Space for a month there are only a couple of days left to grab your chance! Just click here.

New for Fall

Despite a busy week last with the little one I managed to get a couple of new listings up in my shop and had a blast with a Trade and Stay event over the weekend. I can't believe I am already starting to stock my shop for the fall season! I hope you will stop by for a visit!

Halloween Buds

Autumn Blossoms Earrings

 Autumn Blossoms Bracelet

My Experiences as a Giveaway Participant!

I had heard that doing a giveaway can bring you lots of exposure but I have also read horror stories in the forums about reviews/giveaways and so have been cautious of actually doing one myself. This spring when I saw the call for submissions for Simply Stacie's Spring Bling Jewellery Event I figured I would at least contact her. I was already a follower of her blog and enjoyed her postings, reviews and giveaways AND she has a great following. My concern was that my shop wasn't "big" enough and still too new to play with the big guns. She emailed me back and said she would be thrilled to have me join so I figured I would give it a shot.

 I excitedly packaged up a pair of my Lavender and Lace Pearl Earrings and sent them away to review. As my review/giveaway date approached it was like waiting for your report card to see what the teacher said! You can read my review here. The review was not only a great confindence booster but I also saw a great increase in traffic to my shop. I gained several new blog followers (welcome!) and reading the 270 comments also helped me to learn what products people like the most in my shop.

I definately think that reviews/giveaways have the potential to be great exposure for your business but be sure to do your research and choose wisely! What are your giveaway experiences? Do you tend to approach blogs or wait for them to approach you? Any words of advice?

♥Featured Artist~ Paperiffic Crafts♥

When I saw the yummy creations from Lisa of Paperiffic Crafts scrolled across my screen the other day I couldn't resist these calorie free treats! Lisa kindly agreed to share a bit more about her shop and her story although I don't know where she found the time amongst her busy schedule. Read on and enjoy!

What would you like people to know about you as a person?

I am a SAHM with two girls and I have a wonderful, loving husband that tolerates the messes I make with my crafts.  I have been involved in making crafts of all sorts since I was a child. I’ve always had a fascination with paper and still do! Scrapbooking, card making, gifts and home décor have been my main interest with miniatures, jewelry and gardening a close second. I built a 1:12 dollhouse quite a few years ago, and to fill it, I learned to make miniature food, furniture, plants, curtains, bedding – you name it – I taught myself to make it.

Tell me a bit about your art and your products?

I decided I needed to focus on only a few items, hoping that I might be able to make some pocket change by opening a Handmade store. I chose to make Polymer Clay charms, bracelets and possibly some other misc. miniatures. I sort of fell into Chain Maille weaves to make bracelets and I can’t seem to stop – I love it! Adding charms to some of these bracelets make them even more fun to wear! The charms are predominately food items such as cupcakes, ice cream cones, cakes, pies, etc.

What inspires you?

My children inspire me to make such whimsical charms – they bring the child out in me. They are also girlie-girls who love jewelry so anything I make goes through their inspection first. It passes if the eyes go saucer-like and the word “pretty” is stated J. My dad inspired my lemon meringue pie charms as it is his favourite pie. I guess this means I will have to make some miniature strawberry shortcake too….pumpkin pie….oh see, inspiration never stops!

How do you share your creations?

I have a blog for all my “crafty” things. There is even a post on my Fairy Garden there: http://paperiffic.blogspot.com/

Where can we find you?

I have a shop on Zibbet. http://zibbet.com/PaperifficCrafts and I also attend a few craft fairs in Calgary.

What is your most important lesson since starting your craft/ business?

Don’t get your hopes up to make a lot of money doing this unless you have a very unique and sought after product. There is a lot of competition and a large variety of products out there. As I said, my goal is to try to make some pocket change so that I can fund making more to sell

Some fun tidbits:

Coffee, tea or hot chocolate? – Coffee – coffee – coffee – coffee!!

Your favourite candy? – Jelly Belly Gourmet Jelly Beans – all flavours except cinnamon

Your favourite colour? – Green

Your favourite movie? – Lately – the Twilight series.

If I were to catch you grooving it would be to this song…. The Proclaimers “I’m Gonna Be (500 miles)”

Exciting Earth Tones

Last week we check out some Outstanding Oranges from fellow artisans. Today I want to share these exciting earth tone creations!

1. Country Primitive Sheep Papier Mache Jewelry Pin from Browns Country Originals

2. Beaded Necklace with Polymer Clay Pendant from Mels Art Buffet

3. Purse from Chocolate Dog Studios

4. Adjustable Length Wood, Jasper, Glass Necklace from Suzanne Stevens

"Charming" Additions!

I have always loved charms, collecting them and seeing what cute treasures can be made from them. I had such a good time hunting for the perfect tractor charms for a custom order at Christmas and decided that I would like to add more charm related items to my offerings. I recently listed this cute Scissors and Button Bookmark and Sewing Machine Necklace, two great gift ideas for the crafty gal!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Selling your handmade goods~ Home Parties!

Last week we explored Hosting an Open House of your Handmade Goodies. If you missed it be sure to check out that post here. Another avenue for growing and selling your handmade creations is through home parties.

I just love doing home parties. They are a great opportunity to showcase your wares while chatting with some great people in a relaxed environment. Best of all there is little to no cost! I thought I would share with you today a little of what one of our home parties look like:

Try to get there at least an hour before the guests are scheduled to arrive. The thing with home parties is that your setup is always different and of course there are always those that arrive early so you want to be ready.

I always offer something small for a door prize and have little ballots for people to fill out. The ballots also have a place for their email address and a box to check if they want to join our mailing list (most people do). Once the majority of guests have arrived I often play an icebreaker type game such as celebrity trivia, however this is entirely optional depending on your hostess/crowd. You can find all kinds of quiz/trivia games just by searching the internet. It gets people fired up and in the spirit!

I usually give a little "intro" speech-who I am, how long I've been creating, I talk about hosting a home party (and the incentives) and any specials being offered that night. Then I have the hostess draw for the door prize and let people start shopping!

I make sure to have lots of postcards/business cards on hand about our website and little flyers about hosting a home party that I put in with each guests purchases. Hostess incentives can vary depending on your product pricepoints but ours consists of a set $ amount for hosting the party to be used towards merchandise, a % of the sales for the hostess to use towards merchandise and a set $ amount for every person who books a home party for her to use towards merchandise. And that's about it!

If you are in the handmade business and have never tried having a home party in your own or a friend's home I highly recommend it. What are your experiences with home parties? Do you do anything differently? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Etsy Shop Now Open!

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend so far. I have finally began to list some items in my Etsy shop! Here are some of the goodies you can check out (just click on the pics for more details):

Hosting an Open House of your Handmade Goodies

I have written about hosting an open house in your home on Bijoux Designs For You blog but thought it was worth revisiting here. Open houses/home parties are a great way to increase sales, gain valued feedback and get together with friends and family. I will post separately about home parties (held by someone else) later this week. Last year I held a couple of open houses (one in the spring and one in the fall) and both had great turnouts. Here is the posting I wrote about it:

Yesterday was our open house in my home for friends and family. I had several visitors and many of them were first timers and even some friends brought other friends that I didn't know. I set up a small display in my living room using a dropleaf table, some tv trays, my entertainment unit and my patio table (on the other side of the room). It was open house style, with guests dropping by between 1-8.

Invites: I sent out an email to my mailing list, an invite on to my friends on facebook and put up a little poster at work. Just something simple with date, time, directions and a link to our Etsy and Artfire stores so they could browse ahead of time if they wanted to. I offered a door prize and had guests fill out a ballot with their name, email and a box to check if they wanted to be added to our mailing list (everyone checked the box) AND I had one girl book a home party.

I loved doing the party in my own home. I could invite guests on a day/time that worked for me, I didn't have to find a sitter for the baby, when there was no one here I could just work like normal, I set up the night before so I didn't have to rush AND there was no overhead cost or competition! If you have been contemplating having an open house I say go for it! Even with a small inventory it's great practice to work on your display and get the hang of dealing with customers face to face (especially if you have only ever sold online). You can also team up with another artisan in your area to offer a wider range of products and have them invite their friends as well.

Hope this was helpful to others who have been contemplating an open house. If you have any questions feel free to contact me.

Spring has Sprung!

The sun is shining and we are looking at record setting high temperatures for this upcoming Easter weekend! I think I might take part of the day off and take the little man to the park this afternoon, but before that I wanted to share some springtime beauties from some wonderful artisans. Enjoy!

Mom Bookmark
Pink and Green Fresh Water Pearl Chandelier Earrings
Medium Wallet - Chinese Lanterns

Green Glass and Blue Bead Earrings

Mama's Dress-up Beads

Do you ever sit at the computer with a listing ready to go and draw a blank as to what to name it? I have had this beautiful necklace completed for awhile but a name didn't jump out at me. I decided to get it loaded up on the computer in hopes that the listing gods would be on my side and I would be suddenly inspired. Lo and behold a tiny voice whispered "Mama's Beads". I looked down to see my toddler pointing at the screen and smiling and I thought....how perfect! Since this style of necklace is a little fancier I thought that Mama needed some Dress-up Beads for a night on the town or lunching with the gals! Inspiration sometimes comes when you least expect it!

Tidbits about Turquoise!

Turquoise is always a hot colour for spring and one of my personal fav's! It is said to have healing properties and the ablility to detoxify and create balance. For the artistic soul it is also said to assist with creativity and communication skills (maybe you should be wearing turquoise when trying to write your product descriptions!)


This fabulous piece named the Virginia bracelet was created by In Pursuit. Be sure to stop by her studio for a great assortment of jewelry in every colour!

Know any other tidbits about turquoise? What are some of your favourite colours for spring?