Gems The Word: Xpress Yourself Collection & Some beautiful new items!

I've been working so hard on my Gems The Word shop as well as our brand new website!  We now have GemsTheWord.com!  Today, I unveiled my Xpress Yourself collection, that I absolutely love.  Each pendant is hand drawn and placed securely in an antique vintage style frame pendant.  It's laminated and has a PVC photo covering on the frame as well.  This is so durable and so adorable! :)  Here is what I posted!

Adorable Hand Drawn Animal Bracelet

"I Like Love U" Antique Frame Necklace

"Let's Roll" Adorable Toilet Paper Hand Drawn Necklace

"Do You Like Me - Check One" Antique Frame Necklace

For a limited amount of time, you can get 10% off your entire purchase with Gems The Word -- Just use code THANKYOU! 

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Home Decor added to Gems The Word Shop & COUPON CODE!

Valentines Day Yarn Wrapped Wreath

I absolutely love to make these yarn wrapped wreaths and actually find the tedious process of wrapping the wreaths in yarn very therapeutic and calming! lol  I do it while I'm watching TV or a movie.  The wreath pictured above is a yarn wrapped Valentines Day wreath!  The best part?  The hearts are removable so you can use this wreath even after Valentines Day!  The felt rosettes on the bottom are completely handmade.  (Another tedious process!)  You can view this here >> Valentines Day Yarn Wrapped Wreath.  This is added to my shop and the price for this is $28!  

Multi Color Yarn Wrapped Wreath

This one is a 12" wreath and is wrapped in multi color yarn.  I so love this wreath because of it's bright and cheery colors.  We have the purple, pink and blue colors in this wreath. Again, the felt rosettes are handmade and in varying sizes.  I love the colors of the rosettes; pink, black, purple and blue.  The embellishments are a beautiful sparkle blue spray on the top and hand-sparkled white leaves on the bottom.  Just beautiful!  You can view this here! >> Multi Color Yarn Wrapped Wreath. This is priced at $32.

We also have some beautiful jewelry that is in our shop as well.  I'd appreciate it if you checked it out!  Right now we are having a hard time with my not having a job yet and I really would like to make some income from this shop to help us out.  For everyone who visits our shop from my blog, I'm offering a 10% discount on your ENTIRE purchase!  Enter - THANKYOU at check out on Etsy!

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Great new vintage find.

This is so beautiful and is the perfect gift for that special someone who loves vintage and who loves brooches. I do believe I may turn this into a necklace if someone isn't interested in it within a reasonable period of time, because I'm in LOVE with this. (If you're really interested in my turning this into a necklace for you, please let me know. Convo me on Etsy or e-mail me at designsbykrissy@msn.com. I would be more than happy to make this into a beautiful necklace for you.)

Dating back to the 1950's, this brooch was made by an elite costume jewelry company called Original by Robert. Doing a lot of research on this piece, I have found that it was very rare. Only very few of them were made and even fewer are in circulation today! The price of this piece back in 1950's to purchase was.... *drumroll please* $40!!! Back in 1950, $40 must have been a thousand dollars to them! (Imagine that!) This piece today is worth over $100. You can purchase this brooch from Designs By Krissy for just $100 including FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING! It's really gorgeous and the picture does not do it justice.

This comes in a beautiful gift box with Designs by Krissy branding on it. Aside from that, I do definitely gift wrap for the holidays. If you would like to purchase this brooch as a gift, please include that in the *MESSAGE TO SELLER* section on the order.

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WE WERE ON THE FRONT PAGE!!!

http://www.craftcult.com/vault_list.php?list=6149

YES!! IT IS TRUE!! We WERE on Etsy's FRONT PAGE! I am so excited and in disbelief. I never ever thought that we would make it to the front page. Truth be told, we were actually an alternate for the FP. Though at 10:30 PM my items was FINALLY on! I missed it, unfortunately, and I wish there was a photo that showed my item on the FP so I could see how amazing it looked to be on there. LOL :)

I am so excited that we were on the FP. Just so excited!

I did add some new items yesterday. I was so sick and so tired yesterday that after I added them I just got off Etsy and promptly fell asleep. I was exhausted and felt like crap. I'll post those new items now. :)

Vintage Faux Wood Organizer
Onyx Desire Black Stretch Bracelet
Fresh Cinnamon Bun Wax Melts

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TODAY'S DAILY DEAL 10/17/09

DAILY DEAL TIME!!

Today's Daily Deal is this BEAUTIFUL

Past, Present, Future Swarovski Crystal Wire Wrapped Ring. The price for this was originally $19.99 BUT just for today until midnight, it will be priced at $12.99!! You CAN use this deal in combination with the WEEKEND DEAL as well! :) (Read the shop announcement for more information about our weekend deals!!)

REMEMBER -- FIRST FOUR PEOPLE TO PURCHASE ANYTHING FROM OUR SHOP THIS WEEKEND, RECEIVES A FREE PAIR OF EARRINGS WITH YOUR ORDER! :)

This weekend, the deals are great!!

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Such a sad sad camera day. :(

My best friend, my Canon S5 is about to bite the dust. It has survived so much and put up a good fight! lol It's survived my dropping it on the sidewalks of NYC about 40 times, my kids dropping it when accidentally getting a hold of it, it has survived SO much. The view screen is cracked and was working for a while, but the other day walking in the rain probably screwed that up. The view screen no longer works. The video function works but is very spotty when you take videos, the audio is messed up. BUT!!! When you hold the camera up to your eye the traditional way, it does work. Not the best, but still it works. I'm still going to keep my beloved Canon, but I do need another camera that works well with photographing my pieces. I do have a Canon Rebel XTi, but my mom misplaced that camera charger. So I am unable to use that until I get a charger. I still love to carry a camera on me if I am going out, so I need something smaller. I am not exactly sure what to get. I was looking on Home Shopping Network (that's where I got my Canon S5 from on flexpay!) and I found this Samsung DualView that looks pretty cool! I can do 4 payments of $74.98 for that. I am considering that. :) Ther is also a Kodak Z195 that's $59 for 3 payments. I used to have that camera before I upgraded to my Canon and I loved it! There are some others including a Fujifilm DSLR "Style" Camera that is not a DSLR, but takes DSLR quality photos. Maybe I'll go with something like that, though I am not sure yet.

I stayed up until 4 am getting a few new pieces done. Three are halloween-oriented and the other isn't. The last bracelet took 5 painstaking hours. It was the wire wrapping and making sure everything was the right measurements. I also had to adjust the clasp because It was a 4 strand clasp and I only made a 2 strand necklace. :) I'm excited to list my halloween items and the GORGEOUS bracelet I made. I'm inspired so I probably can crank out 4 more today. :)

Here's to hoping for another sale! (I got one yesterday too! Weeeee!)

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Feeling so very positive,

I don't know why, but today I was feeling very positive that my shop will succeed. I wish I knew why I felt this way, but I don't. lol It's probably a very fleeting feeling that won't last too long, but at least it has arrived. LOL :)

Tomorrow I probably won't be able to work on my shop AT ALL. I'm heading to New York City to go to a concert with my friend. We are leaving at 8 am because we want to be in a decent spot. #1. It's general admission and #2. It is going to rain tomorrow. We don't want it to pour and us be in the middle of times square. We want to be situated comfortably (but coldly) under the awning of the theater. lol I'm planning on having a lot of fun, since I go to concerts VERY rarely. I had been thinking of bringing my computer so that I can actually get things done, but #1. I am not exactly sure if I want to carry my netbook with me all day and #2. I would probably hate to be running back and forth to my car at the parking garage to put my computer back in there and then take it out again. lol I don't even know if I would trust my computer being in the parking garage without me. My Netbook is my baby. *pets*

I did add two new items today. The first would be an original painting and the second would be vintage but a very great gift. :) You can check those out:

Vintage Mom's Kitchen Wall Hanging & Hot Plate - GREAT GIFT!!!
Lazy Afternoon Original Acrylic Painting

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Butterfly Glam Necklace

I made this necklace last night and I absolutely love it. I actually think it is a stretch from what I have made before because it is larger in size, but it is just gorgeous and looks gorgeous when worn! I am incredibly happy with it. You can read more about this necklace from the link above. :)

I have had such a terrible migraine for the past two days. It subsides a little, but then comes back full force. I don't know why and I wish I did. Tylenol does nothing for it and I keep forgetting to buy Motrin. Maybe it's just the heat on in the house...too much heat can give me a headache, but the heat isn't on for long when we put it on. My mom said that it is probably my contacts. I may need new contacts or maybe a new prescription. I can believe that. They have been bothering me.

Tomorrow is a full day. I have to do things around here pertaining to our big move coming up (whenever we find a place) and I also have to work on the shop. I got a lot of great Halloween things to add, they just need to be fixed! :)

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Dreams...

I came upon the, "Quit Your Day Job" series on Etsy earlier today. Reading that made me realize that maybe I CAN actually get along and support a family with what I make and find. Vintage and handmade are two of my loves and if I can quit my day job as well and honestly feel comfortable with just creating and selling, it would be amazing. My ultimate dream is to open a brick and mortar shop. I actually already have picked the location it will be. It is this small little "island" in the middle of our city's most busy street. The shop is so small and petite and though everyone says it is cursed because nothing that opens there stays more than 2 months, I feel it is the right place for my shop. Though, that move will have to come if I ever win the lottery. LOL I could never get a B&M place without that! It's nice to dream.

Tomorrow I have to try to find the charger for my amazing Canon DSLR. My mom had it and misplaced it somewhere. It frustrates me that she lost it, because a new charger for that damn camera costs about $30. I guess I could find a generic battery charger at Staples, but I wish I had the one I had gotten with the camera. I don't need to spend the extra money if I don't have to. (BUT I DIGRESS) I really feel that I need to fix my pictures in my shop. My Canon S5 does it's best, but I believe maybe I should try my DSLR. It may give me better macro settings. I'm going to try, from now on, to completely revamp my shop and make things PERFECT.

I am exhausted and been sleeping most of the day. I had and still have a TERRIBLE migraine. :( Though I did get one necklace done. I love it and will tell the story of it and photograph it tomorrow.

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Sick and sales!

My daughter's birthday party went PERFECT! I think all of that planning was worth it. Even though it was just at Chuck E Cheese, I tried to make it perfect. I can't believe my little girl is already 4! It feels like just yesterday I was pregnant with her. She is growing into such a perfect little girl.

I really have wanted to get working on some new items for the shop, but I was so busy the past two weeks. Now that things have calmed down with the party and I'm free, I'm going to start again. We're actually cleaning out my studio so I can actually use it for a studio and not clutter my room with the mess of jewelry and soap supplies. :)

I did list some vintage items yesterday and sold some as well! I've been looking through some of my grandmother's vintage items that I had and found some that were perfect to list. It seems as if vintage goes like crazy on Etsy because so many people are interested in my vintage items! I'll probably list a lot more of that along with some of my own handmade things very soon. :) While you're waiting for me to list some new items, why dont' you check out some of the great things I've added. :) CHECK OUT THREESEVENTEEN!

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Learning a new technique.

A few months ago when I was in New York my friend and I went to a street fair near Times Square. I purchased a few pairs of gorgeous earrings that looked like the old string art I used to do as a kid. I have been in love with them since I got them and have been looking for some tutorials online to find out how to make my own. I finally, after a few months of searching, found the BEST tutorial for it and am heading out to get some of the supplies right now. I want to learn how to do it because I think they are absolutely gorgeous and I think they're so delicate and elegant. :) I will definitely be posting them to my shop when I get some of them done...providing they come out good! We actually learned in a 5th grade art class how to do the string art. It had some math theory behind it, I remember that... Knowing how bad I am at math, it may take a while to figure that one out!

Alayna's birthday is today so our sale is still going on... To celebrate my daughter's 4th Birthday we are having a SALE!!! BUY ONE GET ONE 50% OFF ANYTHING IN OUR SHOPS!!! ALSO...FOR OUR BLOG FOLLOWERS...GET AN EXTRA 10% OFF!!! This is a blow out sale to help us celebrate Alayna's 4th birthday!! Put "Weekend Deals" in the "Notes to Seller". :) Take advantage of our sale to help us! :D

Will be posting more items today!

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More time to work!

My daughter's party was this past Friday. She turns 4 on Monday. I can't believe 4 years have flown by already! It's so unbelievable. I never really believed that time flew, but it really does. I worked an outside job since my daughter was 2 weeks old and I never stopped and took time to really realize that she isn't going to be a baby forever. It's only a matter of months until my youngest will be 2. (December) Crazy.

Her party went great. All of the time I took planning things, it really turned out excellent. It was at Chuck E. Cheese and she and her friends had a great time. :) It has been so stressful, wanting to make this party perfect, and it was.

I will now have more time to spend on Etsy since I have downtime now. I am going to apply for a seasonal job at Bath and Body Works, but that is only because we need money. Until I can add more things to my shop and actually make things move quicker, I really have to get something outside the house where I can make money for my family. Though, I will primarily concentrate on Etsy. :) I'm going to be adding some new things tomorrow. I have a lot to add.

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Splitting my shops.

I had been adding my soaps and body products to ThreeSeventeen, but it was getting cluttered and I didn't like the feeling. I thought maybe more diversity would be better, but I don't think that is the case. Honestly, I think too much diversity is bad and realized I would feel better opening Oh My Cupcake back up. So I am!! To me, this feels a lot better. I can de-clutter ThreeSeventeen and use it for what I need it for; my jewelry. I am going to make my jewelry successful if it kills me! (And it just might!)

Another idea that I had, was to open up a vintage shop. I have one item in my ThreeSeventeen shop right now, however we are cleaning my grandmother's stuff and I realized that the amount of vintage stuff she left me is massive. I don't want it to completely overtake the entire shop. Since we have over 200 things, I may have to just open another shop. It wouldn't be terrible.

I have spent all night working on bath fizzies and soaps. That has been my last 6 hours. I now am feeling inspiration to do jewelry and have a vision of a piece I want to create. I may put away the bath & soap supplies and start on a new piece. I just have this clear vision of what I want to make. That happens very infrequently! Usually, I just go as I go and not have a definite vision. :)

Looking at a garage sale find of an antique shadow box, I am really thinking about making that into a piece of art. I feel I want it to express my childhood and who I was when I was younger. I will probably put it on Etsy when I am finished with it, but it is a project that I want to start sometime soon.

This entry was completely jumbled and not even one complete thought, but that's how my mind is working right now. :)

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Sitting by and hoping!

It's a pretty calm night with my 1 and a half year old being at her dad's house for the weekend. My 3 and a half year old is watching TV and drifting off to sleep so I may actually have some time tonight to list some items! I'm actually hoping that I may have some extra time tonight to actually create! :D Tomorrow is Saturday, so I don't have to be anywhere specific at any certain time. I can stay up as late as I would like. (Until my eyes close on me, that is!) The weather is supposed to be very rainy, so I am not able to go garage saleing like I usually do.

I won $20 today on an instant lottery game and felt hopeful, so I got 12 Mega Millions tickets for tonight. Man, I would settle with $1,000 or a little more. I don't even have to win the full $333 million! (Although that would be wonderful. I can save my house as well as pay off mine and my mom's debts!) If I won that much, I would also finally reach my dream of opening my own shop with my items and other Etsy artist's items. :) That would be my ultimate dream. If only I would actually win... I'm hopeful.

ThreeSeventeen had another sale today and I am so proud! I know that this person was from the Etsy message boards and I feel that now I should post there more since I got a sale from it. :) I feel very hopeful in EVERYTHING today. My life, my weight, my shop!

Today is officially 21 pounds lost for me. It's extremely amazing for me that I got this far. Whenever I had gotten this far in the past, I messed up and cheated. This time I am staying faithful to this diet. I am not going to venture off into cheating land because I know when I do I'll gain weight again and I won't be happy. I have a wedding to go to in 3 weeks and I need to look perfect. :) I have faith that I will. I just feel so good tonight and feel that there is going to be a turning point for me soon. Hopefully it involves my business! :)

I hope I can find the energy to list and create tonight!

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FIRST ETSY SALE!

I made my FIRST etsy sale the other day and I was so excited. I got to finally use my business cards and send it out. I was so excited. I hope this is the first of many Etsy sales. I dream of this business succeeding for me. I want to start a 2nd store with items that are of paper products (like cards and stationary) but it's going to be more time! I think I can do it.

My dream is to get my studio cleaned out and everything moved into there so I can actually do work in there and actually work instead of just mess around in the living room or dining room with my stuff. Not having a specific place to work really makes me just unmotivated. :( I really wish I could sell some too. *sigh*

More items are coming soon! Everything just has been so hectic lately.

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Valentines Day items.

I got a lot done tonight! After the kids went to bed, I went into the kitchen with the boxes of Valentines Day things and got a heck of a lot done. I finished 3 sets of mini cards, two regular standard sized cards, a picture frame and a mirror as well as two picture clip holders. They still need some touch ups, so I am not posting them as of yet, but I am very pleased with what I see, so far!

My mom and I have been not agreeing so much on THREEseventeen. I know she just wants the best for me, but she doesn't have much hope that I will succeed at this. I know I will. I have the faith. It is just that my mom has seen me try and fail so many times. She doesn't want me to put my money into something that won't succeed. I understand her fears, but I also know that this time I won't give up. I have given up so many times in the past, that I just can't give up again. I am putting my passion, my time and my love into this, at the moment. I would love for it to become my sole source of income and I do believe that if I keep up at this, maybe it can be! I just know I have to expand my inventory, work harder and come up with great and interesting ideas. I believe that I have a few now to begin with! I will do this. I will succeed. I will make my first sale on Etsy and feel that sense of pride. I am very excited.

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Ring Mandrels and cards!

I finally received my two new ring mandrels that I got from Finding King! I got 2 of them for such a great low price, it was crazy! I'm so excited that I can go ahead and start making rings again and sizing them properly! My old ring mandrel got so messed up when my daughter knocked it over and my dog got a hold of it. *ahem = this is why I need to clean my studio and actually use it* But I am happy that my new ones finally came, and now I have an extra just in case! :) I just really need to clean my studio and actually start using it so that I can organize everything. (I need Clean House)

I did more with my Valentines Day cards today. I got one partially finished. I have to let it dry and I have to get a thin sharpie to go over the quote outline inside. It's very simple but still stylish. I really like it and really can't wait to put it in the shop. I also have visions of other ideas for Valentines Day cards that I am going to start soon. (Tonight or tomorrow.)

I am watching Peter Perfect, right now. I sometimes like the show, it's interesting to see how they makeover shops and very interesting to see how that creative change is what really catches the customer's attention. I think it also relates to online stores and their design very much; but I digress... Today, the episode is about a family who runs an art shop/studio. That caught my attention because I am a former art student and an artist who loves all mediums and all forms of art. It was always my dream to start an art studio and teach art classes, so this is so interesting to me. What Peter felt when he painted for the first time in this episode is what I wish everyone could feel. It's what I've learned is one of the most amazing feelings ever. Feeling in control, feeling creative, being in your own little "creative zone" and thoughts, ideas, etc... just coming to your mind. It's such a great calm and such a great feeling! I really can't wait to see how this studio turns out.

I also heard of this really cool idea from another blog, I can't remember which one, unfortunately. However, it pays you to use Twitter and to "Tweet" certain adds. I've come to see that a lot of them are fun adds, like Etsy shops or other independent shops and definitely blogs. I've found some great blogs and some great Etsy stores from reading the advertisements! It's not a great income, but probably about $30 extra a month at the least. (If you use Twitter often!) I really like it. It's some extra pocket change, that's for sure! It gives you control of how often you want to "Tweet" adds and it doesn't even make it seem like it is actualy an add. It makes it seem like it is a cool site that you found. :) It lets you approve or deny any advertisements that you want or don't want. If you want to learn more about this really cool site, you can click on the image next to the text or you can click on this link. It's worth a try, right? :)

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Valentines Day Cards, coming up!

Valentines Day cards coming soon!

After a very long day, last night I took a trip to Michaels when I went to return a movie. I had to get some extra things so I could finish up the Valentines Day cards I have been working on. I really want to get them on Etsy either tomorrow or Tuesday. (Wednesday at the latest with everything going on!) I really hope they'll be good enough for THREEseventeen! I'm trying my hardest to really branch out, or planning on branching out!

I'm going to try to get my mom to get out the digital sewing machine that I bought at a garage sale last summer. I don't even if we know where it is, but I really want to starton some pillows and pouches, I found a crapload of fabric in my 'odds and ends' basket. Maybe I'll just have to start a separate Etsy store for everything else, who knows. I'll see what I can do. I want everything to look great. I really want this business to become successful for me.

This is an awesome giveaway from Blogaways.com. iTunes is so popular and I would love to win something like this! :)

Blogaways is an online coupon blog that is holding a $25 iTunes gift card giveaway! Check out Blogaways for coupons, giveaways and contests, and for a chance to win a $25 iTunes gift card!

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