I like making jewelry!!!

A few weeks ago, I was approached to make a set of jewelry for a friend of mine who is a bridesmaid this coming weekend.  I said of course and we began discussing what she wanted the look and feel of the jewelry to be.  My friend got her order in the mail earlier this week and said she was in love with everything so I thought I would share a few quick pics with you all here (the pictures are from my phone so they are a little fuzzy sometimes but I had to share because I had so much fun making it all).

The wedding colors are purple, black, and pearl.  The bridesmaids are wearing black gowns (its an evening wedding) so we ended up with designs that focused on the lighter colors for some accent pop.

For more info on custom orders or to check out my ready made designs, visit my Etsy shop at snsnsnsibility.etsy.com or click on the the shop link on the right!  Or send me an email (snsandsnsibility{at}gmail.com)!

Have a beautiful weekend, everyone!

Style Me Pretty & Destination Weddings!

A few months ago, I had the pleasure to contribute some jewelry to a beautiful wedding photo shoot that was going to take place in my beloved Hawaii.  It got my creative juices flowing in a lot of ways and I loved being able to do some custom pieces for a stylized situation that was elegant and unique.

Anyway, long story short.  That photo shoot was featured on Style Me Pretty's Destination Wedding blog today!  Rebecca Arthurs is an amazing photographer who did a fantastic job capturing the day (also, Hawaii being such a small place, I found out later on that she was the photographer for a friend's wedding!).  Let me put it this way.  If I had to do my wedding over again, I would probably do whatever was necessary to have Rebecca be my photographer and get all these amazing vendors to help me with my wedding.  =)

Check the full post and all the photos at Style Me Pretty!  Or visit Rebecca's blog!

Hope you enjoy it and have a beautiful day!

Thanksgiving is done, now for Christmas!

Did anyone else's Thanksgiving seem to fly by?  And now that that holiday is gone, we are racing at breakneck speed towards Christmas!!!

some of the new earrings going up in the shop today!

my Santa Barbara inspired necklace

And to help some of you with your Christmas shopping, Sense and Sensibility Designs is still running our Black Friday - Cyber Monday sale!  You can get 40% off your entire purchase with coupon code "BLACKFRIDAY"!  There are some new items in the store as well as some old favorites.  Check it out and keep an eye out for more deals as we get closer to Christmas!

Have a beautiful day and snag some good deals today!

kah-ray-zee week!!! (in pictures!)

I have come across different points in my life when I look at my calendar and things that I have to do and think to myself, "Man, you can not say no, can you?"  But then I give myself a minute and think, "But you were Super Woman in your dream last night.  Get your rear in gear!"  =P  So this is some of what I did this week.

I was getting crazy creative.  So here is a snapshot of what I made.  Some of these things may end up in the shop pretty quick so visit snsnsnsibility.etsy.com to see some of it pretty soon!

And then I was rearranging furniture to get my little reading nook.  So excited to look for some art work for that empty wall! (In case you hadn't heard, my father-in-law, brother-in-law and hubby spent last weekend putting laminate floors in my living room.  It was amazing.)

before and right before

the finished result - totally LOVE!

And then Sunday was Father's Day so we got some pool time with the hubby and the baby.

And my new favorite flowers...peonies make me smile.  =D  See?  I smile - even in blog posts.  =P

Linking up with:

 

Have a beautiful day!

10th Deal til Christmas 2011!!!

I'll make this one short and sweet, people.  I know you want to get to the good stuff anyway.  =)

10th Deal til Christmas!!!

Anyone who buys an item in the shop today, will receive a surprise coupon code to use after January 1st!  Any item, any amount will get you this exclusive code!  (And I'm not pulling your leg here - it is a good one!)

So come visit the Etsy shop and I will see you soon!

Have a beautiful day!

17th & 16th Deals til Christmas

So I made my first blunder of this Deals til Christmas series!  I missed my post today!!! I was doing some work online this morning and getting ready to post the new one for the day and then next thing I know, I'm out the door and realizing that I didn't actually get it up!!!  So today you all get two Deals!  =)

The holidays are always really exciting for me because it is the one time of the year that my usually thrifty family won't yell at me too much for spoiling them.  =)  But this year, I think I've grown up and into a new stage of life.  This is my second Christmas as a married woman and life has been progressed around me.  I am hearing about more people getting sick, growing old, and in some cases, even dying.  I don't mean to be depressing here but it has made me so thankful for the time I still have with my family.  I am fully aware that it won't last forever and that one of these days, God is going to call some one or another of us home to Himself.  But I am learning to count my blessings and savor the time I have with my family and friends now.

That being said, I have a request for all of you and it has to do with the fundraiser items that I have in my Etsy shop.  As you may have read, Michelle is a single mom who has Lyme's disease and it has progressed to an uncurable stage.  There is, however, a medication that will help keep the disease dormant for a period of time.  Michelle's health insurance will not cover the cost of the medication and it is several thousand a month.  So a few of her friends have done fundraising through different means but something that is always available are the earrings in my shop named after her.  50% of the sale of any pair of earrings goes straight to Michelle.  My request is that you spread the word to as many people as you can.  It is the perfect way to get your shopping done and help a woman who could really use our help!

So the two Deals til Christmas are: 

1) Gift with purchase of Michelle Earrings  (my thank you to you for your kind help!)

2) 25% off Judith Earrings in Green!

Michelle Earrings in Apatite and Pearl

Judith Earrings in Green

18th Deal til Christmas

Man, the days are flying!!!  Sometimes time seems to drag on and I think to myself, "You're good, Aime.  You have lots of time to finish up all those loose ends, brainstorm blogposts and new products."  Or not.  Like when I started writing this blog post this morning and realized that holy cow! I only have 18 days until Christmas!  Which means 12 days until I am flying to Hawaii!

But regardless of how fast time may or may not seem to be flying, there is another Deal til Christmas!  And today it is 25% off Becky Earrings with Pearls and Garnets!  This is the original version of Becky earrings that were inspired by a dear college friend of mine whose father passed away of brain cancer before she graduated.  His birthstone was garnet and Becky loves the stone so I made these in their memory and honor.

Have a beautiful day!

My Package from Cold Hands, Warm Hearts

So I had a rather largish box waiting for me when I got back from Arizona yesterday and could barely wait to get my things put down so I could open it!  And I was ecstatic with what was in it!!!  I was soooo excited to join Cold Hands, Warm Hearts and got a wonderful partner and someone I think (I hope) will be a great pen-pal!

I had a whole big box full of beautifully wrapped little gifts that have made my day and very possibly, the rest of my week!!!  I put the boxes under my jewelry tree to show you how awesome my swap partner is!!!  As you can see, I got an amazing assortment of little goodies!  I got a scarf, mittens, beads, green tea, coffee, peppermint stick, soap, pancake mix, syrup, hotpads, spatula, handmade Christmas ornaments, and two amazing little things that made my day!  

In our correspondence, Morgana and I had talked about several different things.  She told me about her favorite scent company, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, and I had never heard of them before.  So as I opened the little packages that were under my little tree, I was thrilled to find a little bottle of an amazing scent!  But more than any of these things, I LOVE this gift!

This beautiful little item is a hand made canvas tote featuring my logo and website!!!  I was so confused when I saw Morgana's little sneak peak picture but I am LOVING the actual item!!!  The logo flower is made of felt, exactly the color of my logo and she also made a little matching card case!  I have such a talented swap partner!!!  Ah!!!  I LOVE IT!!!  =)  

Morgana, I am so thankful that I got you as my swap partner!  You have inspired me by your creativity and sincerity about your life and family.  I was so blessed by this swap and can't wait to keep in touch!

Have a beautiful day and I hope you all have a chance to get such a great package too!  

Selling Myself

Every once in a while, I take the plunge and troll through the endless sources of wisdom and information that Etsy has made available to its users.  Whether you are a buyer, seller, or just interested, there is a ridiculously large amount of reading material in their forums and community areas.  To make matters worse, once I start reading, I feel like I have to keep reading because I might miss something really valuable!  And then I look up at the clock and two hours have gone by... Sadly, this is from more than one experience...  =)

The one piece of advice I keep seeing on Etsy is to be unique, to have something that separates you from the competition.  I guess I have been feeling a little less than unique recently.  Sometimes selling handmade goods is an uphill battle in a seasonal Gucci, Chanel, and Prada world.  But Etsy is constant proof to me that people do actually like buying handmade and vintage items - things that will be treasured for a long time to come or have already seen a lot of loving!

So this post is my brainstorm "outloud" to you, my blog readers, to see if you think I am on the right track. Here goes:

Hi!  Welcome to Sense and Sensibility Designs - the home of "sensible" jewelry!  

Every piece is made by hand and many of them are completely one of a kind.  

I like to think that I have jewelry for every woman!  I have long and dangly earrings for the trendsetter or shorter and stylish for someone who likes the classics.  Necklaces are long and layerable or petite and pretty!  But my favorite thing of all is making something special - just for you!  So if you have a special request, that's what I love to make happen.  Your idea can become reality!

All the metal I use is sterling silver.  I have sensitive skin and ears so I make it at that high quality so no one else has to worry about what it will do to their skin!  Not only do I only use sterling silver but I endeavor to use the highest quality shells, pearls, and gems that I can find.  You want your jewelry to last you a long time and so do I - I will do everything I can to make that reality.

Every piece of jewelry I make ends up feeling like an old friend.  When you decide you want to give my pieces a home and a future, it makes me very excited!  I always love seeing pictures of my creations "in action."  I am also a little weird like that and give inanimate objects personalities.  =P

That is Sense and Sensibility in a very small nutshell.  =)  

What do you think?  Am I on the right track?  

And don't forget!  There will be a Black Friday through Cyber Monday sale @ Sense and Sensibility!  Click on the sale button on the right to see some other great vendors doing the same!  

Have a beautiful day!