New in Shop: Raven Book Page Envelopes

If you've been following along on Instagram, the subject of this blog post - raven book page envelopes - may look familiar.  This week, I added a set of 10 of these small handmade envelopes to my Etsy shop.  Spooky and perfect for Halloween gifting or parties, these delicate envelopes can also be used for your seasonal DIY projects and function as bookish Poe-esque home decor, too.

                            

Raven/Crow Book Page Envelopes

Close-up of the raven/crow image, which I stamp by hand using a rubber stamp and archival black ink.  Layout varies slightly per envelope, as does ink saturation.

These upcycled book pages each have a different visual text layout.

No top closure allows for use as tiny gift bags - tape the top closed with your washi tape of choice and you're all set.

Size-wise, these handmade envelopes are around 4" tall x 2.75" wide.

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See the listing here.

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Retro '60s 3D Postcards

Something fun and different!  Added a few of these kitschy '60s 3D postcards to the shop this week.  If you're interested in purchasing all eight, I can give you a discount off the listed price - which includes free US shipping.  Great as large bookmarks or as gifts, these postcards are sturdier than standard paper ones because the entire front has a finely ribbed plastic that creates the (semi-distorted) 3D look.  Each postcard is slightly curved due to this.  Imperfect and fun, these postcards are blank on the back except the one with the kittens.

New Jewelry Designs

Two Dainty Pink Amethyst Dangles
(Best friends jewelry or interchangeable earring drops)

Fiery Raw Citrine Point Pendant - Copper Wire

Small Rose Quartz Cluster Pendant

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New jewelry designs will be added weekly!  

Visit my shop here.

New in Shop

Small kraft boxes with phrases made from a vintage copy of Jane Eyre and a new interchangeable dangle...

Love Love Love -Small Kraft Box

Moody Smoky Quartz and Garnet Dangles

To be added this week:

Friendship Small Kraft Box

Poetic Soul - Small Kraft Box

Teatime Small Kraft Box

NEW Wordsmith Gift

Purchase these punctuation manila hang tag-bookmarks here.


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Have you entered my giveaway yet?  Win a solid 14k gold necklace with a dainty golden tourmaline cluster.  Enter for free on Instagram here.  Also, each purchase in shop = 1 entry.  Winner will be drawn on 12/1--good luck!

New in Shop: Holiday Gift Tags

Festive hangs tags, gift tags, or whatever you want to call them, are now available for purchase in shop for the holidays.  I had actually linked one of these holiday designs in a post last week; since then, I have been a nonstop Christmas tag-making machine (and Hanukkah and Kwanzaa because these tags are so versatile--I can stamp any custom word that fits).  Each tag is stamped freehand image-by-image, and letter-by-letter, for unique holiday gifting.  Current offerings:

Holiday Small Manila Tags - Joy, Peace, Noel

Holiday Branches or Noel Mini Hang Tags

Peace, Joy, Noel Mini Hang Tags

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Sending my positive thoughts to Paris... #prayforparis

Introducing: New Shop Offering

I am excited to share my newest shop offering with you: interchangeable earring dangles!  In the past, I have received comments from buyers stating that they use pendants from my shop as earring dangles.  So I have been thinking more about this lately, as most of my handmade jewelry are single pendants, necklaces, or earrings.  This offering is a candidate for the perfect solution. 

Stones: agate, jade, howlite, and sodalite

With this new line of interchangeable stone dangles, you can purchase two nearly identical pieces that serve a double purpose: wear them as earring dangles or pendants.  Keep one, give one to your best friend--or even purchase a single pendant instead of two (read more below).  Versatile and dainty-stylish, each will arrive with a jump ring for durability.

These gems are not listed for sale yet, as I am still editing the photos taken this past week.  However, when listed (starting next week), there will be an option to purchase one piece or two, depending on your preference--a single pendant or two earring dangles.  This option gives the buyer more choices at an affordable cost, which is helpful come the holidays.

Personally, I love this idea because I myself use tiny, sturdy earring hoops to dangle stone charms from.  The versatility of interchangeable dangles is perfect if you want to try a new look without accumulating ear wires.  If you are not a hoop earrings person, my new pieces can easily be slipped onto interchangeable leverback ear wires (shown in above image).  Leverbacks are a great alternative to traditional ear wires, since the latter can be removed from your earlobe if not careful--such as when lying down and then getting up.  A pair of dainty sterling silver leverbacks will be listed next week.

Follow along on Instagram for sneak peeks of shop life and new designs...

Back in Stock: Spider Plants

Back for a limited time in shop are spider plants.  I currently listed a few for sale, but will add more once the pups (aka baby spider plants) develop thicker roots and leaves.  Grown in organic soil in a biodegradable indoor planter, these plants are a favorite of mine because of their ease of care.  They demand little light and grow well in small-to-medium-sized containers.

Purchase a spider plant here.

P.S. I recently went on a jewelry-making streak and created some gorgeous pieces with an autumn color palette.  Can't wait to photograph and share them with you all!  Check back here for sneak peeks, or find me on Instagram @ectiwshop.  (Note: I have decided to nix my 15% off for IG followers because PayPal has a new-as-of-10/30 policy where those receiving refunds must have a PayPal account in order to obtain the discount!)

Catching Up

It feels like I have not blogged about the comings and goings of shop life lately.  Beyond writing services and jewelry making, I have been coming up with gift tag designs (for weddings and the like).  Lots of them.  It's funny how my brain follows one train of thought until it exhausts all possibilities.  The other week, I designed five mini tags--with three of these designs finding their way to the photography table, and then subsequently to my shop.  For me, creativity and inspiration come in unparalleled spurts, so my ideas often do not quite translate as envisioned onto paper the first time around.  Typically, it is just a small change that will better the design, fill in the awkward spaces.  But I have been known to crumple up a once-revered idea, and toss it back into the recesses of my mind.  And the wastebasket.

Between the prototype and the final draft though is lots of coffee drinking, talking aloud, and walking around to loosen up the original idea in order to make coherent mental edits.  I need the mental and physical space to work through an idea, the freedom to look like a bumbling fool to the mere passerby.

Oh, the woes of the creative mind.  Others may lovingly refer to it as the "creative process."  Whatever your preferred phrase may be, know that you are not alone.

New in Shop

A little belated, but here are some new EC | TIW items...visit the shop for more.

Simple Garnet and Rose Quartz Sterling Silver Bracelet

Dark Onyx Orb Brass Necklace with Copper Accents

Floral Hand-Stamped Be My Bridesmaid Card

Elongated Raw Amethyst Point Pendant

Floral Hand-Stamped Pale Pink Merci Tags

New in Shop: Pale Pink Custom Wedding Cardstock

A few weeks ago, I took a fairly large creative leap and ordered pale petal-pink cardstock for my shop's hand-stamped paper goods.  I've always gravitated to more neutral colors, so although this light pink hue is brighter than my typical color palette, the lighter shade seems to fit into my shop aesthetic pretty well.  This sweet, feminine color, which I call "pale petal pink," can also be described as "pale carnation pink" or even "light blush," making it a perfect touch for spring weddings, bridal showers, and engagement parties.  It's girly without being over the top.

My new designs with this cardstock showcase a hand-stamped floral flourish symbol and/or typewriter font (stamped letter by letter), giving it a sweet English garden-teatime aesthetic, which is both pretty and quaint.  Below is a visual comparison of my signature sage-green cardstock with this new pale petal-pink one:

The petal-pink hue, as you can likely see, is difficult to capture on camera.  Also, since this cardstock is light in color, stray stamp markings are more noticeable than on my other paper goods for sale (click on the image above for a visual).  Unlike printed items, my stamping is done entirely by hand and letter-by-letter using stamps and archival ink, which allows for slight handmade variances per tag, as well as optimal uniqueness that cannot be replicated by using a printer.

I will be adding more paper goods in this sweet hue to my shop soon--  

see the latest offerings here.

New-ish Work: Point Pendants

Truthfully, I am a little behind schedule in terms of sharing new work with my blog readers prior to listing them.  This is especially the case for what has consistently been my top seller: raw point pendants in citrine or amethyst.  I've noticed lately that there's been quite a rise in point pendants being sold on Etsy, but the ones that I am referring to here were made into pendants via adhering plated metal to the stone itself--instead of what I do, which is wire wrap by hand.

You might wonder if there's a difference at all between these two techniques.  For me, the main differences are materials, attention to detail, and price.  My point pendants are handmade by me via wire-wrapping techniques; I use my own two hands and a good aesthetic eye to select distinct stones and create each pendant with quality components.  For instance, I utilize argentium sterling silver wire to secure each stone onto a sturdy soldered-closed sterling silver jump ring for most of my pendants.  My solid sterling silver components have a 100% sterling silver composition, hence the higher price for these very pieces (as opposed to plated metals which are a base metal, typically brass, that has been given a thin plating of silver or gold at the surface).  In essence, handmade items are priced according to the time put into the design and the materials used.  To put it differently, not all jewelry is made equal.

On that note, here are some new raw point pendants for sale in my shop:

The last item here is not a point pendant, but are book page envelopes (created from Sylvia Plath's Ariel) that I alluded to a few posts back.  I recently took a book page envelope of a similar size and made it into a decorative mini bag for a gifted piece of jewelry--so my handmade envelopes can be utilized as (delicate) little gift bags, too!

New in Shop

Write More Large Manila Door Hang Tag

Geometric DIY Gift Tags

Rustic Large Oak Slice Table Numbers

Ethereal Smoky Glass Pendant with Pearl

Large Thank You Sign Plaque for Wedding Display

Cloudy Skies Pendant

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Many more designs to come in time for Valentine's Day.  

Visit my shop here.

Winter Light

Blue Mood Necklace

We finally got some great winter light for photos this past week.  The Earth shifted a few feet to the right, at least from from my Earth-bound vantage point, and now the sun is slowly beginning to filter into my workspace once again.  It's only for a few hours at most in the afternoons, but it gives me enough time to snap some shots--and makes the houseplants happier, too.  Okay, "great winter light" is a vast understatement because it's great and moody.  As you know, I love a good mood.

Quality Pink Tourmaline Dangle Earrings - Sterling Silver

The first image in this post was taken in mid-to-late December during the height of "no-light" in my workspace area--the necklace is aptly named "Blue Mood."  It was one of my favorites to create, this necklace, and it even perhaps holds the record for the longest time a piece of jewelry has sat on my desk only half-finished.  Maybe two months.  Three?  The photography session of this particular necklace was tough, as I only had ambient lighting, which as a result, cast an unsightly blue tint on the white book page background (I painstakingly edited the blue tint out).  White backgrounds occasionally turn a funny yellow color as well, making it difficult to take photos that are truly representative of one's work when the background is more visually prominent than the item itself.  

Late autumn-early/mid winter light also tends to lend a strange orange tinge to sterling silver components, and is reflected in photos, which is not representative of the natural metal coloration at all.  When this all happens, photos must be tossed (usually after an entire afternoon is spent photographing items), and another day must be designated as "photo-taking day."  This is the life of an online seller, but I do have to admit that the good days far outnumber the bad--especially since I can then take the rest of the afternoon off and go outside for some fresh air before getting back to work again.

Fiery October Birthstone Opal Chip Pendant

The last two images were taken this past week.  I was particularly taken by the pink tourmaline earrings, whose AA-quality stones radiated a deep, vivid fuchsia hue with a gorgeous depth that only high-quality stones exude.  In natural light, of course.

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As for the belated nature of this post...I've also been working on some editing projects, so I apologize for the gap in blogging between this post and the previous one.  More consistent blogging is to come.  Thanks for being a loyal blog reader and hanging in there with me.

New Last-Minute Holiday Work

Peppermint Bark Earrings
Garnet + Rainbow Moonstone Hypoallergenic Niobium Ear Wires

Winter Dreamcatcher Necklace
Aquamarine and Tanzanite 10k White Gold Necklace

Art Deco Green Aventurine and Black Onyx Pendant 

Eggnog Earrings
Creamy Opal Chips and Sterling Silver

Fancy Peridot Briolette Pendant 

AA-Quality Pink Tourmaline + Ruby Pendant

I told myself not to create any more new items for the holidays with Christmas coming in less than two weeks, but along came the holiday spirit in the form of a well put together Christmas-theme catalog.  Typically, I am not one to fall so hard for this time of year, but alas, here I am--so of course I had my husband purchase some peppermint bark, which inspired the creation of my peppermint bark (color-inspired) earrings for sale here.  Early-to-mid December also saw the creation of the above jewelry, which are eclectic variations of the traditional red and forest green of Christmas, as well as the shades of blue and white that characterize the winter season.