Showing posts with label D Celestine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label D Celestine. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Giveaway: Flirting in the Dark

Well, I've decided to kick-off the giveaways today, so get ready, because I have lots of fun goodies planned to ship off to you fine friends. I'd love to do some sort of weekly giveaway for a certain period of time, but I honestly can't commit to a weekly giveaway. Some weeks I have a harder time finding the time to post than others. What I can commit to is several giveaways over the next couple months, so check back often for the next goodie I'm giving away.

Since I was on vacation this past weekend, and I'm still finishing up Christmas gifts (better late than never, right?), as well as working on some handmade birthday gifts, I haven't had time to create much of anything crafty just for fun, so I'm giving away something I already have made. Enter this week to win this beautiful necklace & earring set, "Flirting in the Dark."

(click here for necklace details)


This necklace set is very versatile with peacock colored freshwater pearls and shell beads and sterling silver. I love the peacock color because it goes with almost everything, making it a very wearable necklace for everyday occasions to your Little Black Dress (LBD) event.

(click here for earrings details)


This fun, handmade jewelry set retails at $62, but you can enter this contest to win it for FREE! This jewelry set is part of my jewelry collection that I design and create under my business name, D Celestine Limited.

*** GIVEAWAY INFO ***

Two Ways to Enter (and you can do both if you want to enter twice!):
1. Leave a comment on this post (only one comment per person, unless you do #2, too)
2. Do a post about the contest on your blog and leave a comment with a link to your post (if you do a post about the contest, you may use either or both of the two Flirting in the Dark images in your contest post)

All entries must be received by Sunday morning (1/13/08 noon EST), as the winner will be selected Sunday evening.


Good luck everyone!

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Jewelry Party

I had a mini jewelry party at my house today. I was supposed to have it at a clubhouse, but thank goodness I was able to do it from the comfort of my home! I'm feeling much better, but I'm still pretty tired. I actually had to leave my company holiday party early last night! Waaa. Ok, enough whining...here are some photos from my party today:


Hmm...this appears much more cluttery than I thought it did earlier today. What can I say, but it's Murphy's law that the one item I leave put up will be the one thing someone wants, right?



I've actually been working a lot of de-cluttering my displays because I have a tendancy to put too many jewelry designs out, but I like having a good variety out.



I love this little art frame to display my earrings. I made this with a wood frame, some corkboard, some fabric and satin roping. It took a long time, but it was worth it.



When I first started my jewelry business, I said that I would never put anything on "sale". How long did that last? About a year or two...I did pretty good, but sometimes you just want to make room for pretty, new designs.



Anywho, we had snacks and stuff. Next time, when I'm feeling better, I want to have really nice, handmade snacks...even if I have to buy them from a local bakery. I want my guests to feel extra special!



Love these napkins!

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

New Etsy Items 10/23/07

I finally updated my Etsy shop since I first opened it a couple months ago. I was going to photograph some of my new designs, but *grrr* my camera battery just died. It's charging away now, so maybe I'll have time later this week. I hope I do. We're having some people over for dinner this weekend...it will be like my first real dinner party, so while I'm' kinda scared, I'm pretty stoked, too...I've got some Halloween decorations and other fun stuff and lots of goodie bag ideas from my latest Martha Stewart. And a couple MS Halloween projects to show off.

Anywho, my etsy shop is dcelestine.etsy.com - I hope you visit soon!

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Another Busy Weekend!

No sitting around and relaxing for me this weekend. I knew going into it that it would be quite action-packed. Hmm...maybe "action" isn't the right word, but I knew that my plate was pretty full. First, I went to a birthday party for a friend at a local bar where she was collecting new toys or donations for a newly opened hospital. But, I couldn't stay out late b/c I had to go to a jewelry/gift show for wholesale buyers with a friend who also makes jewelry Saturday morning. I was disappointed to see that there was pretty much only wholesale goods for resellers b/c I was there to get wholesale jewelry supplies. I ended up still spending a pretty penny on new bead strands as there was one booth with a relatively good selection, so I'll have lots to work on in the next few weeks (if not longer). It was probably a good thing that there were only a couple vendors with beads, b/c I had something special lined up at 11:30am Saturday. Something I've been dying to try for what seems like the longest time - a fused glass class (to make pendants). Here are some photos:


The instructor uses a special cutter to score the top of a sheet of glass



Then, the black clamp tool is used to completely break off the scored section into two pieces



I quickly picked out my colors - the turquoise was an obvious choice for me



Here are some of the pendants I designed in raw form. These still need to be fused together in a special kiln at a mere 1400 degrees farenheit. Hmmm...I made a bit of a mess, no?



I'd show the finished product, but the pendants go in the cool kiln, which is then heated up in a slow process. Overall, it takes a few hours to completely heat up, fuse and cool back down. I won't be able to pick my pendants up for a couple days since the instructor needs to bring me some bails so I can make these babies into wearable art.



The instructor said we could take a peek at the pendants about an hour or so after she put the first batch in. To kill time, I grabbed a quick bite to eat at a local market - very funky...I should have taken pictures, but was too timid to ask and didn't want to offend anyone by just whipping my camera out. Anywho, see that Famous Pumpkin Roll? It was quite tasty...I knew when it said famous, it'd be worth trying...they were right.



As you can see, the sandwich was quite yummy, too. I had chicken salad on marbled rye. After lunch, it was back to the bead store to peak at my new creation...which is beautiful (I suppose nearly all artists say that of their own work when they're super proud). Can't wait to pick it up...even if it will take a couple days.

No problem for me as I had lots more to do Saturday. Next, I made a quick trip to Salvation Army to do some thrifting

I found this vintage-y floral bowl - quite used - but that makes it easier to actually use it, an interesting plate, a gravy bowl (maybe?), some yellow gingham fabric, and a couple baskets.

Then, it was back to the house to clean before we went to a charity BBQ dinner for a friend who passed away a couple years ago. They had a golf tournament, the dinner, and a silent auction to raise money for scholarships that have been set up in her name. I donated a necklace/earring set with Swarovski crystals for the silent auction. The event was at a golf course, and all around were signs of fall.



Then, it was to the bar to hang out with some of my SO's friends to watch some games. Then, a tennis lesson Sunday morning. Phew! I'm exhausted! Can't wait to see my pendants, though...yay!

Sunday, October 14, 2007

I'm a Craft Pioneer!

At least that's what the girl running the Etsy Crafting Patch Market craft show told me. When I signed up for the Etsy sponsored event, I knew it was the first one of it's kind in NC. What I didn't realize was that the event I participated in on Saturday was the first Etsy craft show EVER! Can you believe that? I'm honored...seriously!

The show didn't have the traffic I was hoping for, but I had a blast and met a lot of super cool crafters. Everyone there was so nice and it was like everyone was part of a little family. People were helping each other set up their booths, gabbed all day, swapped goodies, and even helped each other take their booth displays down (even when they had a 6 hour drive to make directly after the show - thanks Michelle and hubby :) ).

One of the highlights of the day was my booth display. I didn't win any awards, but in a way I won a personal victory. It's taken me a really long time to get my booth looking in a way that I'm actually happy with, so I'm super proud to share these photos - there has been a lot of hard work and heart put into getting the booth this way:



To my left, I had the lovely Michelle and hubby with AsianCharm (click) and to my right, I had two super friendly girls with Microwave Girl (click)

I also got a fab organic shirt from Ahpeele (click)

Thanks to Angelica and everyone who helped put this together. I hope to be accepted to the Market for '08 - I'll definitely be applying! Hey to all my new Etsy friends - it was so nice meeting all of you and I hope to see you around the craft scene.

Monday, October 08, 2007

Long Weekend Work

We had a relatively relaxing weekend, this past weekend. I wish I could have spent more time crafting or making jewelry today since I had Columbus Day off. I love being at home during the day, watching the craft shows on TV, and making stuff (jewelry, crafts, whatever). I don't get enough days at home, and it stinks b/c when I finally have one, I usually have to run errands I normally can't do b/c of traffic or not having enough time. I think I spent about 3 hours at Target today, but I guess that's what happens when you don't go for months at a time.

Anywho, we had a pretty good weekend. We visited my honey's mommy and got to hang out with his dog (I think it's funny how she sleeps almost like a human - my SO says that she copied him by the way she hangs her arm off the side of the bed. I know...he's crazy! lol...jk)


I figured out that there's a bead store about 3 miles away from his mom's house and hit it up twice, yes twice, to get lots of fun beads for some upcoming shows. I think I spent a total of 4 hours in that store. Wow - do I have my work cut out for me? Look at all those beads! This is after I spent nearly the whole weekend beading with my new beads!


I even had some time to make some nice snacks. This is one of my favorites. It's a baguette, sliced somewhat thin (about 1/2 thick), drizzled with olive oil and toasted under the broiler. Served with a soft cheese, this is simply yummy. You seriously have to drizzle the bread w/ olive oil - it makes a huge difference in taste that I hadn't expected the first time I made it:


I actually did manage to get a couple fun Martha Stewart crafting project done and I can't wait to share them with you later this week!

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Can't. Remember. Sandwich.

I did something bad today...ok, not really, actually bad. See, I work for a major bank, and this bank, being quite major and quite large, has multiple buildings in the downtown area. One of these buildings had a small fire a couple weekends ago, which caused all the of the sprinklers in the building to turn on, thus flooding the entire building. To make a long story short, the building was closed for almost two weeks, so as a welcome back, they've been having little events all week...free breakfast on Monday...free lunch today. Now, I have meetings in this "problem building" all the time, but I don't actually work there, however, I took it upon myself to attend two of the events this week. What? What do you mean that's not nice? Sure the party was private, but the signs around the events didn't say "Only for Employees of Company XYZ Who Work in this Building"...they said "Private Party for Company XYZ." I work there...ok, ok...you guys keep catching me. I don't work work there. I'm a consultant...whatever...details, details. I went late and waited until they were about the pack up the food...that means I was just helping clean up...yea...I was just trying to help by not wasting food and stuff.

At today's lunch event, my friend and I were some of the last people there, so they told us we could take the flowers off the table. Aren't these little yellow flowers cute?

There was a shopping event downtown where roughly 20 vendors set up tables to sell their wares, so, I had to stock up on Tupperware (they always have discounts at this thing, so I always hit up the Tupperware Ladies' table) and with the Tupperware and the flowers, my load was really growing for my walk back to my car (3 blocks from my building). Throughout the day, I glanced over at my little hoard of goodies trying to figure out the best way to carry it all home. I could put this in my work bag, this in my purse, this I'll loop over my wrist...I also had to remember to take my daily sandwich home with me. I've been trying to save money by eating in and bringing sandwiches to work. However, since I got free lunch today, I decided to eat my lunch sammy for dinner to save money and not waste food. Can you tell I'm big on that? Anywho, I started thinking that a sandwich and fries...sounded pretty good. I made a mental note to take the sandwich w/ me. At around 5PM, I remembered my plan to take my sammy home, and even thought to go ahead and put it in my bag, but I knew I'd be at work till closer to 6 and didn't want it to spoil. Certainly, I can remember to take a sandwich home with me I thought. I tried to remember over and over again for the last hour of my day:
5:10PM - remember to take the sandwich home
5:17PM - gotta get the sandwich out of the break room
5:23PM - maybe I can go ahead and get my sandwich now? No, no...just wait. You'll remember
5:35PM - remember the sandwich
5:42PM - remember sandwich. must. remember. sandwich.

Then, right before 6PM, I knew it was time to go. It was the time when you look at the clock, smile a bit inside, and know you get to home...YAY! I love this time of day. I even like my 3 block walk home (except when it's raining). The weather today was nice - a bit gray by the time I was leaving, but the temperature was nice - not too hot, not too cold - a slight breeze gently blowing through the trees along the street. I left the building, smiled at the security guys (a friendly smile, not a Joey-hey-how-you-doin smile), and made my way down the sidewalk towards my car. I noticed the very tippy-tops of the leaves were starting to turn gold. I notice a lot of stuff, usually. I notice weird things a lot of the time...someone bouncing their head to the music in their car as they pass me...birds playfully chasing each other through the trees. I noticed one of the security guys waving at several cars as they drove by. Some honked, leading me to believe they must drive by there the same time every day and he's out there the same time of day ever day to wave hello. I got to the intersection where I can see my car from across the parking lot, and I noticed...uh oh. I noticed that I forgot my sandwich. :( It's amazing that someone can be so forgetful so much, but sure enough...I do it all the time. I decided that with my hands full of Tupperware, flowers, and purses, I'd just drop everything off at my car (except my purse b/c that's just asking for it to be stolen) and walk back to get my sammy. Yea, I had to walk back to the building, go all the way back up to my floor, get the sandwich out the fridge, and walk the 3 blocks back to my car. I didn't notice as much this time around, but at least I got some exercise, right? Right? Ok, not really.

Anywho, I did manage to bring my sandwich home and toasted it a bit in the oven while I baked some seasoned french fries. Not the fanciest dinner, but it was hella easy.

I get so jealous of the other bloggers I see crafting and creating all the time. I bought lots of craft goodies, but haven't had the time to make anything. At least, I thought I was making anything. Sometimes, I don't even think about making jewelry as I do as crafting or being creative. I really need to work on that perspective, I think, b/c my jewelry making takes up lots of time and I make cool stuff, too...at least I hope I do.

This is a jewelry set that I've been making for awhile, but not in this color combo. This is actually one of my best sellers, but I've been trying to make more of these in some sports-colors. People seem to go crazy for their sports teams and love to have anything in their fave team's colors. I hope they think this when they see me selling my jewelry later this month. Wish me luck...I have so much debt to pay off...grr.

Anywho, I simply love how sparkly these Swarovski crystals are. They're much more expensive than glass, but I think they're so much more worth it. The sparkle and shine you get from Swarovski crystals is practically unbeatable. I love the sparklies...I think that's one reason I got into jewelry making. Ooh...sparkly!

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Where Have I Been?

Ok, so sorry for the delay...I'm sure (or maybe hoping) that a couple of you noticed that I haven't been posting hardly at all lately. You're probably (maybe) wondering where on earth I've been.

Well, I've been super busy the last 3ish weeks with two back-to-back craft shows:

My friend and I each setup a table at a couple shows around town. This is a photo from day one of the first show - it looks nice doesn't it? The weather was actually ridiculously hot...actually I'd say painfully hot, but we still had a pretty time and had a pretty good show. The second show was another story altogether - it rained the entire first day, then was windy the second and to make matters worse, people were shopping for cheap junk jewelry (think imported from overseas less than $10 crapola) so we hardly sold anything. :( We still had a good time, though, and met some interesting people, so not too shabby overall.

Look, the cotton candy matches my dress!

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Designing Wedding Jewelry

One of my favorite friends from college (and sorority sister - my "little sister" actually) asked me to design her wedding jewelry. How exciting!? I love to design wedding jewelry! I've even designed some for another close sorority sister last year (click to see pictures). Anywho, after receiving pictures of my friend's wedding dress, I was off to the races!

Here's a picture of the wedding dress beadwork:


I got my bead board ready:

Pretty messy, eh? I try to keep it clean, but I like to have my different ideas and future jewelry designs laid out, or at least coordinating beads paired together. Perhaps the chaos adds to the creativity factor? I like to think so. :)

I decided to do a couple designs and let her pick her favorite. Here's one pair of earrings in the works:

I get my sterling wire on a spool, and I have to cut off little pieces and hand-wire-wrap the beads to each other using the wire pieces. The wire on the left is cut and half-looped - the one on the right is fully-wrapped.

Then, I just add earring components, and TA-DAAAAAAAAAAA!

Three beautiful bridal earrings to choose from! Can you guess which one she picked?

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Channeling Martha

I've been busy working the night away making and preparing these bridesmaid earrings for shipment to the lovely MOB (Mother of the Bride).


I decided to include an extra lil something for the bride to take on her honeymoon and tried my hand at channeling Martha for the packaging with some new heart ribbon I picked up at Michael's earlier this week


I hope she likes it!