Featured Item of the Week

So, this is my first featured item of February…the month of love (or at least the month of Valentine ’s Day). Sadly, I don’t have any heart pendant necklaces in my shop. Instead, I decided to make all the featured items this month about items that y’all love (and when I say y’all, I mean people who heart things in my Etsy shop).

This week’s featured item is a Frayed Fabric Flower Headband. This Hand Made and Lovely piece has two hearts in my Etsy shop.

I love this headband as well. The fabric is so fun! It makes me want spring. The fabric features a bold paisley pattern with gray, pink, lime green, and teal colors. The button in the center is a vintage cream colored button. Its imperfections make me love it even more.

Head on over to my shop and “heart” some of your favorite pieces…maybe they’ll be featured next Monday!

A big thanks to everyone who linked up this weekend! Be sure to join in on the first Friday of March for the next installment of “See Where I…”. It’s a great chance to see where your fellow bloggers live, work, or play!

I’m currently looking for 17 more followers before my big GIVEAWAY! I’m super excited because it will be my first! I’ve already started preparing something Hand Made and Lovely for you!

Also, can I just say…Black Eyed Peas?? What?

Link-Up!!

The See Where I Blog link-up is still active. Link-up through the weekend and show your followers where you blog!

Lauren at A Modern Day Wife's Journey and I have decided to make this a monthly event. Be sure to check back on the first Friday of each month for the new link-up. Each month will have a different theme...See Where I _____. Comment with any fun suggestions you have!

See Where I Blog - Link Up

A fun link-up to show your followers where you blog…You could show pictures of where your normally blog, the weirdest place you’ve blogged, or where you are currently blogging. We all get to see what you blog, so show your readers where you blog!!

Be sure to come back the first Friday each month for a new fun link-up topic!

The rules:

1.  Follow the 2 hostesses (Hand Made and Lovely and A Modern Day Wife’s Journey)

2.  Post a link back to the link-up

3.  Share where you blog!

Now to see where I blog...

This is my extremely messy cozy blogging corner. I obviously love color. I post notes to myself religiously. I feel like we should be playing "I Spy" or "Where's Waldo". Who can spot my Hand Made and Lovely inspiration tag?

I want to see where you blog! Link up!

Inspiration

I was asked yesterday by Jen at Freckle on the Nose of Life’s Complexion about where I get the inspiration for my jewelry designs. As I was emailing her back, I realized that I should do a blog post about this. I figured other people might be interested in it too, and I’d love to hear what inspires everyone else.

I can also use this post to answer her in more detail, because there are many different ways I find inspiration.

Most of my pieces are completely unique. I recycle vintage jewelry and buttons to create new pieces. I get my materials from all over! Some have been donated, some I buy at thrift stores, and some were mine to begin with. I’ll start with this example…While at a thrift store in Calabash, I found a really cool pair of vintage clip on earrings. I just fell in love! They were beautiful, and I had to have them! This was near the beginning of my jewelry making and selling days. (See this early blog post for how I took over my parent’s den.) Now, we all know that clip on earrings are out. Almost everyone has pierced ears (besides my boyfriend’s mom and sister), but people who don’t still don’t really wear clip ons. I used one of the earrings as a pendant for a necklace, but it just wasn’t right. I knew the true called for this beautiful piece was as a ring.

 I had never made a ring before, so I went searching for ring bases. My basic inspiration was that I would want to wear that piece as a ring. I figure that if I like something, someone else will too. It must have been true because before I could even post the ring to Etsy, my friend Rachel bought it. I took the other earring off the necklace chain and made that one into a ring too. This beautiful purple floral ring is still for sale in my Etsy shop.

Sometimes, my inspiration comes from jewelry I see other people making, selling, or wearing. I’ve been seeing fabric rosettes and mum cabochons all over the place. I found the flower pieces for sale and got to making mum earrings and hair pins. Both are for sale in my shop.

Everyone has been seeing the fabric rosette trend. I had to have some for myself. I started looking online for tutorials and finally found a good one. I’ve just started making these, but I love them. I haven’t posted any for sale in my shop yet, but I can take special orders and create a listing for you. These are things that I’ve seen in stores that were just way too expensive to justify buying. I try to keep my prices down, because I’m on a college budget. When I price something, I think “Would I be willing to pay that?”.

Now to my buttons…I just love buttons. Vintage buttons were my first jewelry making material. I scrounged through local thrift shops to find unique charms. I can honestly say that I held on to a button from the time I started last summer until just recently. I was waiting for the PERFECT place to use it, because I just loved it. I ended up sewing that button into the center of a frayed fabric flower. It goes perfectly with the fabric. I really hope this flower pin finds a good home. I just love that button.

This post might get the award for my longest post ever! I’m just really passionate about my designs and my art. That’s why I get so excited when I make a sale. Then I know that someone else loves that Hand Made and Lovely piece just as much as I do. Thanks for sticking around. Let me know if there is a certain piece in my shop that you’d like to know the story behind.

Please check out my new Facebook fan page…

Happy Thursday!!

Choo Choo...

I found a new blog hop...actually Facebook fan page hop.

This is perfect for me, since I have a new fan page. I'm looking for "likes".

Head on over and hop on board the train if you're looking for "likes" too. This link up is for Facebook fan pages only, but of course, you can like my Facebook fan page even if you don't have one of your own. Check it out here.

Look for my post tomorrow about where I get my inspiration for my Hand Made and Lovely jewelry designs!!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

First of all, I'm loving that I'm finally able to link up and post this. I was having trouble with loading certain internet pages this morning. I was mainly having trouble with Google and PayPal. Has anyone else been having a problem? I'm linking up with Jamie again for WILW.

I'm loving that I woke up with this song in my head. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2Q-6wQXV90. I love Zac Brown Band, and this song is one of their best!

I'm loving that I woke up this morning to a sale. Kati is the new owner of this multi-strand beaded necklace. I love the color combination; cool blue, plum, and sandy yellow. Thanks for your order Kati! I'm sending your Hand Made and Lovely necklace out this afternoon. Get your own Hand Made and Lovely package in the mail; Check out my Etsy shop!

I'm loving that I had a cool idea for a new link up. This would be a one-time deal, not a weekly blog. Contact me if you would be interested in hosting this link-up with me and a co-host.

I'm loving Ashley's amazing article she wrote about my jewelry and Etsy shop. Ashley at All that Glitters writes fashion articles about the latest trends and and must-have items. Be sure to go check out her blog! I have a button for her in my sidebar...grab one of your own at her site!

I'm loving this giveaway from Katie's Journey. It's her blog's 2nd birthday day and she's giving away a Tervis Tumbler AND and $10 Starbucks giftcard. Be sure to check out her blog and enter this awesome giveaway!!

I'm loving my Facebook fan page. I currently have 17 wonderful followers, and I'm looking for more. Click here to had on over to the page and "like" Hand Made and Lovely! You can also simply click "like" on my sidebar. I also ask that you follow my blog and leave me a comment to let me know. I love checking out new blogs! I'm still looking for my 75th follower, and I'm very likely to send them a personalized coupon code for my Etsy shop. Happy Wednesday!

Top 2 Tuesday

It's that time again...time to link up for Top 2 Tuesday. This week's topic is

Top 2 things you've learned about friendship

I'm excited to go look at everyone's lessons and advice! Here are 2 of the things I've learned about friendship since going to college.

1.  Friends will stay in touch if they want to stay in touch. Distance won’t matter, but it does take both people making a conscious effort. True friendships (or any other kind of relationship) can last long distance.

2. Just because you like someone does not mean that you will like living with them.

Be sure to link up with the Undomestic Momma to share the top 2 things you've learned about friendship.

To any new readers, I appreciate new followers and comments. My 75th follower is likely to get a coupon code to my Etsy shop. Be sure to leave me a comment if you decide to follow so that I can check out your blog too! Also, I'll be having a giveaway in a couple of weeks, so you won't want to miss that!

I have a new fan page on Facebook for Hand Made and Lovely. Hop on over and "like" it! There is a link in my side bar. I'll probably be posting about this each time for a while. If you're sick of it already, I apologize and please bear with me. Thanks to my sweet followers who already "like" Hand Made and Lovely!!