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Showing posts from 2013

9 Days Til Christmas

Time flies when you are sick with a cold/fever/bacterial infection. Yup...that was me! So after Thanksgiving my son came down with a fever that lasted 5 days, a virus, which turned into an ear infection so since that's considered a bacterial infection he was prescribed antibiotics.  Thank heavens.  THEN I fell ill, with a fever...uh huh...they said it was viral.  My sore throat eventually erupted in nasty sores which meant what I had was actually bacterial...thank goodness for antibiotics. Not so happy that I had to weather 5 days of fever and take care of my son as well.  It's been one helluva 3 weeks! I've spent half of December being sick so now there are only 9 days left until Christmas!  Wow! I still have a discount code being offered at my Etsy shop .  The code is DECEMBER2013 for 20% off your purchase.  Make sure to take advantage of it.  I will slow down with the shop after Christmas because I will be gearing up to move again!  Yippee, finally, hooray, my ow

Cyber Monday-Week

Black Friday is over but Cyber Monday is here (more like cyber week for my shop ).  My son fell ill after Thanksgiving so it's been a rough weekend.  But the start of a new week always means it's time to start over and hope for the best. I posted some new bracelets on my shop site and they were priced at $12.00 but this week I've decided to slash the price 30% so now they are $8.40!  Also I have a new coupon code for my customers to use DECEMBER2013 will get you another 20% off anything.  WOW.  Deals right? Check out the bracelets: "Move and the way will open" "I have loved you at your darkest Romans 5:8" "life is a balance of holding on and letting go" "what you seek is seeking you" I guess I was very inspired by Rumi quotes this weekend since I used two of them here.  You can pick different color ribbons that I sell at my shop as well.  What do you think?  Enjoy the discounts! Thanks for reading! Xoxo,

Black Friday SALE

Ahhh the shopping season is upon us!  How do you feel about stores being open on Thanksgiving Day?  I don't know.  I feel like everyone should get Thanksgiving Day off but I know there are those who don't celebrate the holiday who would rather be out shopping.  Or those who have Thanksgiving Lunch and have the rest of the day free.  I'm bummed for the people who have to work on Thanksgiving that wish they didn't, but it seems like it's going the way of stores opening on Turkey Day.  Me, I'm always cooking on Thanksgiving Day so I will be home, in the kitchen! I am starting my black friday SALE at my store on Thanksgiving Day.  There is a 25% coupon code you can use.  The coupon code is TURKEY2013 .  Fitting isn't it?  I like to pride myself on selling affordable items, so if you like jewelry, check it out.  They make great gifts! Get it at FancifulWish I was also asked to sell some of my jewelry at a friend's craft fair so that'll be fun.  

Just Words

Words have power.  It's one of the main ways we as people communicate. I think that's why we gravitate towards books, poems, news, and music (song lyrics).  Besides being a way of sharing information with one another, it's also a way to express ourselves.  I love words.  So today I created some hand stamped jewelry for sale at my Etsy store Fanciful Wish. Here's what I have: "I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night." - Galileo Fanciful Wish Jewelry Mini dog tag necklaces, these are way smaller than the regular dog tag and oh so cute!!   fear not Follow Your Heart be brave Fanciful Wish Jewelry There is more to come, stay tuned! Thanks for reading, XOXO, Yolanda

Hand Stamped Metal Cuff Rings

Hi All! The shop is up and running but I've only posted my macrame bracelets.  I have not posted my hand-stamped jewelry just yet because I am awaiting a shipment of silk ribbons for my ribbon wrap stamped bracelets. I also ordered a new font set for hand stamping jewelry so I'm excited for that to come in! Since I've been experimenting with hand stamping metal jewelry and have been successful in selling bracelets and keepsake necklaces, I decided to try out rings.  I had been hesitant about them because I wasn't sure I loved the idea of a cuff ring (open back, not soldered).  But I've learned to try things out before judging them from a photo so I ordered some ring blanks and stamped away.  I ordered 3 width sizes for the medium sized ring.  The medium covers fingers measuring 6-8 in size.      Because the backing of the ring is open like this: ...it is easier to adjust the ring!  On good days when I'm not so bloated, I can close the gap of th

Fanciful Wish Shop - Reopened!

Yes it is true!  I decided to reopen my ETSY store Fanciful Wish , on a small scale just for the holidays!  I've been waiting for the right time to open my shop again.  And it felt right to reopen the store especially since I have been creating christmas gifts for friends and family.  Then a loyal customer who has been waiting for me to reopen asked if I would be.  That gave me the much needed push in the right direction, that I needed.  So yes, I am officially open again.   Hooray! So I will keep my shop open until February 2014 when once more I will be moving to my permanent home, for good (God willing).  Then once I am settled in, we shall see how I can keep my shop open while caring for my son.  I hope I can do it because I really love making jewelry.  While living at my parents house at least at certain times of the day, I have someone to watch him for just a little while.   I still have plans to broaden my knowledge in making jewelry, as soon as I can

Love - Wire Word Jewelry

It's almost the end of October and I am patiently waiting for the moment we get to move into our new home so I can feel "settled" again.  I got about 4 months to go! Ha! Part of this feeling of being unsettled is that I thought I brought all my jewelry tools/supplies to our temporary home but of course in the chaos of moving and packing, I guess my hubby put a box in storage that I am so not willing to look for or retrieve.  So I am parted from my stuff but oh well, it's just stuff and I can wait. While I wait, I have been itching to make things, daily!  But my son is a toddler which means the only times I can work on anything (blog posts or jewelry) is when he takes his nap or naps.  He is down to 1-2 naps a day.  An hour isn't much time to get many things done, so it takes me a few days to make anything now. On a day he was fussing and being a terror to his older cousins, I got the bright idea to take him to the craft store so I can see what I could buy to

Beaded Wire Hoop Earrings

I saw a bunch of these online a few months ago and decided to try and make some because I have many left over beads from various bracelet projects.  I also LOVE hoop earrings.  Plain hoops, silver or gold plated were my favorite accessory to wear and still would be if I didn't have a son who loves to pull jewelry off me.  Ow. But I remember rocking hoops since I was in high school!  A teacher of mine asked me if it hurt to wear them because I had these real big ones (she said a bird could make a nest in there...HA HA Ms. Kepner).  Over the years I've had an obsession with hoops.  Thin, thick, rhinestone, plain, large, small.  My favorites are big thin hoops. I scoured the internet once more and found a bunch of sites with instructions on how to make wire hoops.  I bought some wire and proceeded to make them. I didn't have hoops on hand so I made that part also.  It's amazing what a tylenol pill bottle can be used for!  Anyway, I tried different sizes and lo

Dream Catcher Bracelets Part 2

I did a post on a DIY Dream Catcher a few months ago and I was really surprised to find how much I enjoyed making it.  Even more so was I surprised to know it was popular in my Etsy shop as well.  By the way, I really miss making things and having my little store :-( Here are some dream catcher bracelets that sold in my store: When I reopen, I'll make more of these :-)  But for now, here is how you can make the dream catcher http://fwjewelry.blogspot.com/2013/03/diy-dream-catcher-bracelet.html Thanks for reading! Xoxo, Yolanda

Closing Shop

I'm sad :-(  but I know this isn't the END. Tonight I have closed my Etsy shop FancifulWish due to personal reasons (moving and my growing son).  But I feel a bit melancholy about it. I didn't know how much I loved it until I had to make the decision to say enough is enough, I have no time.  Which is totally true. I am very humbled to get messages from my customers saying they hope I come back.  I will!  I will!  (I hope...I REALLY hope I do).  I just can't predict the future. This first year of my shop was such a big learning experience: customer service, my products, packaging, advertising, techniques, creating.  The fact that I even opened up a shop to begin with and stuck with it for a year surprises me.  In the whole year I was pregnant, gave birth and was raising a child.  It was easy when baby boy didn't crawl and walk, that's for sure! But those days are over. I do want to tweak some things here and there when I open back in 2014.  I want to

40% off Use Coupon Code: GOODBYE

It's time to close up shop...but I do so reluctantly! We sold our home, but our new home won't be ready until Jan 2014, so we are moving in with my parentals, which means I won't have space to work on ANYTHING.  It will be cramped. So I have a 40% off sale at my shop FancifulWish  , just use coupon code: GOODBYE to get the discount. I'm sad but I will be reopening for sure in 2014 - so it's not total bad news, right?  Right. Xoxo, Yolanda

Vacation Mode on Etsy

Well, I wouldn't necessarily consider it a "vacation" but yes I will be putting my shop in vacation mode starting June 29th.  Why? Because just this past weekend, my hubby found a house he wants to buy which means we are putting up our house for sale immediately!  There are so many things involved in selling a home: cleaning up the clutter to stage the house for photos, then keeping it that way supposedly until the open house.  Mind you we have 2 dogs and a 10 month old baby boy who just learned to walk.  Every time I try to clean up the clutter, it looks like the clutter is back the next day!  I pray we get through this phase of selling our house quickly. Once we sell our home, our new home won't be ready until February 2014 which means we have to crash at my parents house for a good couple months...sigh...so I may have to close my shop for those months.  We shall see! I'm a bit stressed out with everything BUT it's all for the better, bigger future for m

Fanciful Wish One Year Anniversary / Hand Stamped Necklaces

Hi All! Well in 19 days I will celebrate the 1 year anniversary of my store FancifulWish on Etsy!  That is very exciting since I didn't think I'd be in it this long (which isn't very long when you think about it) only because I had my baby and am raising that baby at home so it's been a challenge but still a joy to get my orders out on time. Thank you to all my customers around the world that took a chance on ordering my jewelry.  I really appreciate and am humbled to know that there are people out there wearing something I made.  I can't really describe in words how that makes me feel, but I am quite honored. For the next phase of my jewelry business I am going to simplify the products I make so that I'm not wasting time experimenting too much (with a growing child, it's been a bit difficult to do). I am also taking a class next week on soldering.  FINALLY.  I've been wanting to do it since my son was born but haven't been able to attend cl

Ohm / Namaste / Buddha

I've been trying to write a blog post for weeks now!  With an 8 month old son crawling around and climbing it's hard to sit down and type! So interestingly enough what's been popular in my shop are Ohm and Buddha macrame bracelets.  These are really affordable and simple.  I knot the bracelet with the charm at the center. Get it at  FancifulWish Get is at FancifulWish I had a request for Namaste charms and I couldn't find any so I decided to make my own and those have been really good at selling as well! Get it at FancifulWish I've decided to concentrate on hand-stamping and macrame bracelets since these are my most popular items.  My necklaces and earrings just do not sell, but it's trial and error right?  It's time I focus on something anyhow since my son is growing and it's difficult to find the time to come up with new things.  I think I'm happy with this decision.  We'll see....I tend to need the urge to play with othe

Hand Stamped Metal Jewelry

One of FancifulWish 's best sellers (when I have the time to make them) are my hand stamped metal jewelry.  I like the act of pounding a metal stamp into a piece of metal.  Maybe it's stress relief?  I bought my first kit from Beaducation .  And yes I started off with a kit because I didn't know what went into metal stamped jewelry.  I would have taken a class from my local jewelry store but I was at home with a newborn with no babysitter, so learning on my own was the way to go. Now I will warn you - making hand stamped jewelry is NOT cheap.  You can get away with using a hammer you have at home to pound your letters into your metal but the letters themselves are pricey.  I've only managed to collect 5 different types of letters, 3 of them the same font in different size with numbers included. The other a different font in lower and upper case sizes.  And then there are punctation stamps and design stamps....not cheap.  Alphabet set stamps can run you from $

Mother's Day Gift Ideas

Mother's Day is on Sunday, May 12th, which means is coming up really soon! There are a few items in my FancifulWish store that will expire and I may not renew them again until the holiday shopping season which starts in November, so if you are looking for an affordable Mother's Day gift be sure to check out these item before they are gone. Also I have the 30% off coupon code: LOVEMOM2013 that you can use at my store.  The coupon is good until May 13, 2013. Here are some items that would make great Mother's Day gifts for the woman who loves to wear jewelry! Mermaid Earrings: Get it at FancifulWish The mermaid pieces are made of polymer clay by artisan PennyLane on Etsy.com.  I love mermaids.  I paired them with rhinestone star connectors to make these really fun earrings. Get it at FancifulWish Lotus Necklace: Get it at FancifulWish Another lovely focal piece from PennyLane!  I added the chain and then altered the chain a bit by adding these smal