jewelry

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    The Hub of Hubbub

    ByHeather Bailey

    NeedleThreadEmbroidery_HeatherBailey

    What a week! Evan has chickenpox; my trusty little car is in the shop getting fit with a new harness; my Trash Ties patent needs some paperwork-love, I have a new fabric collection to deliver and another one to review. Oh! And another one to announce—shipping this week. And a big inventory-reduction sale to orchestrate. My store manager is out of town on vacation and Isaac is working a construction gig for our friend's new photo studio all week. So, he's not around either.

    I'm at the hub of hubbub. It's enough to make a gal appreciate some good, old-fashioned, downtempo embroidery. Slow it down, think things through, meditate, devise a plan….then pow! Make it all happen.

    Somehow.

    My meditation is your win. Because what I came up with when taking things slowly for a day is – so – much – fun. And I'm working out a way for you to get your stitchy fingers on it for free. Just give me one or two more days to sort out the details and I promise to tell all. Consider the photo a sneak peek. And start planning your summer projects, because we are putting together a Big Ol' Summer Sale* for next week as well — making space for more good things to come. 

    *Sign up for the Heather Bailey newsletter for full details.

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    Giveaway Day 17

    ByHeather Bailey

    Day17_HELLOgiveawayBanner

    How about a splash of fashion to keep the giveaway world in proper balance? Today's HELLO Giveaway is sponsored by Urban Attic Boutique, a great online store with a bohemian-chic point of view. Find tops, dresses, pants, skirts, and jewelry, all reasonably priced and right on trend.

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    Urban Attic Boutique is curated by sisters, Jenna and Tauny—who
    have an eye for bold prints and statement pieces. And I would say, as a
    group, the items in their shop look comfortable. Comfort is my ultimate
    measuring stick for everyday fashion, so this is a big one for me.

    Day17_UrbanAtticNecklaces

    Go have a look. But, don't beat me to that seahorse necklace!

    Keep current with the shop on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram, where you'll be the first to hear of new items, sales and Urban Attic giveaways. Today's lucky winner will receive a $25 gift certificate to UrbanAtticBoutique.com.

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    Comment to enter. One entry per household. Be sure to include your email
    address
    so we can contact you if you win. You don't have to type your email
    address into the body of the comment if you entered it in the email-address
    field on the comment form. Today's giveaway will close at 11:59pm PST on Saturday 8/17/13. Watch for the winner to
    be announced early next week at the bottom
    of the post.

    For more info on these August HELLO Giveaways, click here. Please
    share the word. Good luck!

    xo—Heather


    Read More “Giveaway Day 17”

  • The Vintage Pearl

    ByHeather Bailey

    When Erin offered to make me one of her silver, hand-stamped necklaces, I was
    all over it.  Who in her right mind would say no!?  What I didn't
    realize at the time was how much I would love my necklace — and wear
    it all the time. 

    VintagePearl470

    I
    have a soft spot for funky jewelry.  But, as it turns out, there are
    plenty of days where I'm not up to the funky stuff.  And it is
    sweet-sweet to joggle the charms on my necklace and think of my two
    kids. 

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    Wouldn't these make great Valentine's Day gifts?  I know that each of
    my brothers has received a loud hint from his wife for a Vintage Pearl
    necklace.

    So check this out — when I told Erin I planned to post
    about my necklace, she offered to set up a 10% discount for anyone
    who wants a necklace too (enter Bailey10 at checkout) — AND a giveaway of two $50 gift certificates to her store, TheVintagePearl.com.  There are a lot of jewelry styles to choose from.

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    Holy guacamole. (I'm kinda jealous. Which is so very wrong, as my necklace was a present after all.)

    Leave a comment to enter — and drop a 'hello' at Erin's blog as well.  Winners will be drawn on Thursday, the 28th.

  • Take Time to Wear the Flowers

    ByHeather Bailey

    FloralPendant350
    I had the best time bead-shopping with my mom & sister last night. 
    We clucked and cooed over each other's finds and left with an
    assortment of big plans.  We hurried back home afterward & sent the
    men out to a movie together.  Now to plan a jewelry night.  I'll
    probably have to wait a week or two — if I can stand it.  We'll see.

    As promised, I posted the floral pendants I mentioned yesterday.  They're similar to the blackbird pendant,
    maybe a tiny bit less shiny.  Same material though. These are also
    a discontinued design;  I was only able to get my hands on twelve.  Here they are.

  • Babblejabber

    ByHeather Bailey

    I'm scattered like these buttons between a bevy of projects.  It
    looks like they will all be wrapped up around the same time.  I'm
    finishing up several new patterns, an assortment of kits, a contract
    for a new product line (!!!), and so on.  (More on these soon.) 

    ButtonBowlsHB

    Next
    week I'll be at Creative Escape getting raspy from eight-hour days in
    front of a large crowd of crafters.  I'm hoping my loud, floral apron
    will distract everyone from the dark circles under my eyes.  That, and
    under-eye concealer.  Anyone have a favorite brand of concealer to
    recommend?  I'm planning ahead.

    I still need to do my annual
    birthday giveaway.  I've decided to wait till I release some of the new
    goodies I've been developing.  That way the prize will be fresh &
    exciting.  Ya, just you wait.  I haven't forgotten.

    Also, I've
    posted a handful of blackbird necklace charms for purchase.  Since my
    Laura No Peeky post, a ton of you have asked where to get one.  I did
    my research.  It turns out it's a discontinued design, so I decided to
    get what was left & just post them.  They're $3.50 each.  And I
    only have 20 of them.  When they're gone, they're gone.

    Off to a
    ridiculous, private bead sale this evening with my sister.  I'll be
    shopping for doll eyeballs.  Very exciting.  I'm sure I'll be tempted by more glamorous things though.

    Update:  The blackbird pendants are all spoken for.  I do have a similar pendant I'll post soon.  It's floral.  I'll take a photo & let you know when they're up.

  • Laura No Peeky

    ByHeather Bailey

    LauraNecklaceA

    I love to collect funky jewelry — the more colorful the
    better.  And I have gathered some beautiful and weird pieces over the
    years.  My friend and sister-in-law, Laura, has similar taste.  We often make or buy each
    other quirky jewelry for birthday presents — a tradition of
    sorts.  (17 years now!?!)


    BaggieW Amidst my bold tangle of jewelry, I don't have very many basics
    though.  I often wish I had an all-black necklace to wear with a black
    dress or a bright blouse.

    Assuming Laura runs into the same
    predicament, I made her a simple, black necklace for her birthday this
    year.  Hopefully, the blackbird carved into the pendant adds just
    enough chirp. 

    Charlotte then hopped-to & made a necklace for her cousin Lily — C's specialty 'candy-wrapper' design. Both trinkets are wrapped up and on their way to Laura's. Shh.

    Now to make the same one for me.  We'll be necklace twins.

  • Bead It, Kid

    ByHeather Bailey

    Necklace1new3
    Beadingnew So, guess who made these necklaces?

    Four-year-old Charlotte did this all by herself.  I thought I was
    embracing disaster by allowing her free access to several bins of beads
    while I worked on the computer today.  I was entirely wrong.

    Not
    only did Miss C patiently string together all of these designs without
    my oversight, but she made them all symmetrical.  Even her most
    eclectic necklace doesn't miss a beat
    bead.  Hours and hours of necklace-making.  All I did was add the
    clasps.  And I bent a loop at the top of her one pendant.  That's it.

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    When I was four years old, my bottom dresser drawer was stocked with
    white paper, a stapler and staples.  I made all sorts of wild
    inventions with white paper that year.  And here I thought I had been
    tricky-stuff at four, with my paper robots and elephants.  Looks like
    Charlotte has 4-year-old me mightily whooped.

    The moral: 
    Moms, Grandmas, Aunts and Alligators, let your kids have access to some
    of your precious supplies.  They may surprise you with tidiness and
    ingenuity!  I can only imagine what I would have done with real art
    supplies at that age.

    Of course, they may surprise you with a royal disaster instead.  I've been there too — many times.