Free shipping

Tomorrow, New Year's Day, is my one year anniversary on Etsy (or Etsyversary, if you will). To celebrate this momentous occasion, I will be offering free shipping at my shop for one week (January 1 to January 8) on all orders to anywhere in the world. This offer is for USPS First Class mail and includes delivery confirmation.

So take advantage of the promotion and treat yourself to some much-deserved new year bling!

Twilight Tuesday

The first item on today's Twilight Tuesday agenda: the Filipino remake of Twilight was apparently a hoax. This makes me happy; it appears that I won't have to suffer through Gabby Concepcion pretending to be a vampire doctor.

The second item: Cullen jewelry! The movie featured the members of the Cullen family sporting jewelry emblazoned with the Cullen family crest, which confused some of us at first because the books never made any reference to a Cullen family crest. Found out it was something made up just for the movie.

Both Edward and Emmett wore this wristcuff, which I must say really added to Edward's hotness. It emphasized his biceps and stuff (don't you agree, fans?)

Carlisle's ring.

Alice's choker.

Rosalie's necklace.

Esme's bracelet.

And guess what, you can also buy the complete set of replicas on Amazon! Hmm, I just noticed that Jasper got left out...maybe the crest is on his wig?

Guess what arrived

My Twilight necklace from 2dy4, in the mail, a few weeks ago. I love! I wore it to my work Christmas party and everyone wanted to know what it meant, and who Edward was. So of course I told them. Ad nauseum. In minute detail.

Pearl bracelets

Here are the bracelets I made for my friend Lisa's Christmas custom order. I loved how they turned out so much that I'm planning on making more and selling them at the shop.

Christmas bling

Sapphire drop earrings in white gold, from Mr Hazel. So lovely.

Happy Christmas Eve

This Christmas Eve, I continue my annual tradition of tracking Santa's progress on NORAD's site. The guy went from Norway to Belgium in less than three minutes, tops!

My friend Michele and I checked out the Christmas market downtown yesterday. They had all kinds of handcrafted jewelry and purses.

Tonight, I rushed to the grocery store before they closed because I needed some last-minute things to bring to Christmas lunch at my sister's tomorrow. I found out that the rest of the world had the same idea as me - the grocery store parking lot and checkout lines were war zones as my fellow slackers and I fought for parking spaces and the last of the green beans. I barely got out unscathed.

Later on are other traditions - the start of 24 hours of A Christmas Story and midnight mass. And I'm very much looking forward to spending some time with my family on Christmas Day.

Merry Christmas to all, and peace, health, and happiness for the coming new year!

Twilight Tuesday

Ahhh!

Earlier today my friend Jeremy threw my world into upheaval by sending me this news. Seriously?! Apparently, Meyer sold the television rights for 1 million US dollars to ABS-CBN.

I think as a super fan who happens to be Filipina, this news holds significance for me in a way it might not to non-Filipinos. And so these are why I think this latest development is absolutely atrocious:

1. Stephenie Meyer = super greedy
2. Edward actor = super ugly (come on, they couldn't find a hotter Filipino actor to play Edward? This cheesy 12-year-old looking boy is the best they could do?)
3. I have never heard of Filipinos with last names like "Cullen," "Swan," "Hale," "Newton," or "Stanley."
4. Is this going to be in Tagalog? And if it is, how in the world will my favorite lines sound? How do you even translate "...and so the lion fell in love with the lamb" into Tagalog without it sounding totally lame? Some things just don't translate.
5. Gabby Concepcion, of all people, is going to be playing Carlisle Cullen. Bahahahahahahaha!
6. Like a train wreck, I'm going to be compelled to watch this when it comes out, and I just know I'll hate myself afterwards.
7. And lastly, leave my beloved books and my beloved R-Pattz alone!
   

I'm just...yeah...

So while I recover from this news, feast your eyes on R-Pattz (the real Edward) with his trademark locks finally chopped off. He kept saying during interviews that he couldn't wait to do this after he finished all the premieres and publicity for Twilight. He looks really good, but he had better start re-growing that hair in time to film New Moon.

Film noir

I took new pictures of the hand-stamped metal disc LOVE earrings listed on Etsy a few months back. Don't they look kind of film noir?

Hanukkah

Happy Hanukkah to all my Jewish family and friends!

More tradeshows

I just listed the matching Margery necklace in the shop.

Earlier today I braved another tradeshow. I only went because I needed to re-stock some supplies, so I was happy to see that the vendor I usually get my aqua chalcedony brios from was back. I bought a few strands from him, which means I can again offer my bestseller, the Leslie earrings.

I also bought some liver of sulfur, so expect some antique-y looking pieces to appear in the shop soon, as well as Batterns flux and more pickling solution for my metalsmithing. I find that the paste flux I'm using now isn't as good as the Batterns, so hopefully this will make soldering go a little easier. Other than those and just a few more beads (apatite, more chrysoprase, turquoise, and quartz), there wasn't really that much new or exciting in the way of beads and gemstones, so I didn't leave with my usual haul.

And of course, this being the weekend before Christmas (still hard to believe!) all the other places I visited today were total madhouses.

Happy Festivus

In honor of Festivus, I am now going to air grievances in the form of brief open letters.

Dear US Weekly:
If you want me to continue subscribing to your fine publication, I am begging you to stop featuring Heidi and Spencer on the front cover every other week. I can no longer stand looking at their ugly mugs. To atone for this grievous sin, you should feature R-Pattz on the front cover in various naked poses.

Dear Homeless Man By the Train Station Begging for Fare Money:
When you stand in the cold and beg passersby for a dollar so you can get your fare and be on your way, and the passersby are jerks and ignore you, but then when someone (aka me) gives you the dollar out of the kindness of her heart, you should really say "thank you" and not "okay, sweetie, bye." This is probably why no one wanted to give you a dollar in the first place.

Dear Au Bon Pain:
Why, for crying out loud, did you stop offering shrimp rice bowls and replace them with salmon curry? I am a loyal shrimp rice bowl customer and probably have spent close to a million dollars on your shrimp rice bowls over the years. Because of this boneheaded move, you are going to lose revenue as I am now boycotting your establishment over this atrocity.

Dear David Gibbins:
I hate your book.

Dear Fellow Train Passengers:
If you persist on sitting next to me, please don't take up the space allotted to me with your splayed knees and jutting elbows and rattling newspapers. If one more person hits me with their shoulder while reaching for their cell phone, or squishes me against the wall because of their inability to stay in their own personal space, someone is going to get punched in the face.

Happy Festivus.

MyCraft

Mr Hazel discovered a social networking site for crafters, called MyCraft. I joined it, and have friends! Come visit me there.

Also, many, many thanks to those of you who have become fans of Hazel Designs on Facebook. I'm really tickled pink! However, it appears that I can't fan or friend people back, because I'm officially categorized as a "store." That makes me sad.

But know that I am a fan of all of you.

So thanks!

Twilight Tuesday

The first big and very exciting news of the day is that Taylor Lautner probably won't be back to play Jacob Black in New Moon (sucks for him), but the incredibly hot guy below, Michael Copon, is the favorite to replace him. His filmography includes playing the blue Power Ranger and was also in Scorpion King 2, but, more exciting than those is the fact that he is half-Filipino. A Filipino Jacob Black! Represent!

I mean, if this dude ends up playing Jacob, then I am hard pressed to confess that Edward will have some serious competition for my affections. For the first time ever, I may have to be on Team Jacob. And get a "Team Jacob" necklace. Uh oh...dilemma...

Also, Ben Barnes - of Prince Caspian fame - is rumored to be a contender to play one of the Volturi - Aro, to be exact. That would also be a very cool thing.

And lastly, they announced that New Moon has a tentative release date of November 20, 2009! In my excitement at the news, I started a New Moon countdown clock on here, but then decided to take it down for the time being until Twilight closes in theaters. Didn't want to seem too obsessive.

Busy, busy

Last night I babysat my two most favorite little people in the world, and after they were happily snoozing away in dreamland, I had enough time to finish my custom project (that I can't reveal yet - I promise to post pictures after the holidays). Who knows, maybe you are the intended recipient!

And today, I braved the mall. Yes, I did. I figured I've put it off long enough. And was reminded again how much I loathe - absolutely loathe - malls and big box stores during the holidays. But, brave them I did, and crossed off a whole bunch of names on my Christmas/Hanukkah shopping list.

Amidst all of that, I managed to take some time to list a new pair of earrings in my Etsy shop. Quartz and pearls, and named Margery after medieval writer Margery Kempe, who I confess I've never heard of until now. I just really like her name!

Fresh stock

Of pearls! Cultured freshwater pearls in different colors.

Owww

Well, I'm officially old. How do I know this? Because I've come to the point where I need to ice my knee. During plies in ballet class tonight, I thought my left knee would give out. I had a chance to stretch it at the barre, but then we started doing all kinds of jumping and bending and more plies on the center floor, and by the end of class, I was in a lot of pain.

My knee had been bothering me on and off for months now, but nothing really too serious. I thought it was because I wore heels too often. But in the past week, it has gotten worse to the point where I can barely walk down the stairs without feeling like someone shot off my kneecap, and now I'm finally admitting defeat.

It's time to ice my bum knee.

I never thought I'd see this day.

Lessons learned

Two rings, one set with a red coral and the other with a pink coral. The bands are made from 12g sterling silver wire. At first, I was pleased with the results. And the photographs came out well. But after looking more closely, I realized the gauge I used for the band was too thick for rings that are meant to look delicate. Also, my soldering job isn't as good as I initially thought, owing to the fact that thick wire requires more solder. Some parts underneath the bezel cup got a little bit globby, requiring extensive filing.

I'm a little annoyed that I seem to have wasted the cabochons, but I'll chuck it to a learning experience and hopefully the next rings will be even better because now I know what works and what doesn't. After all, a little experimentation never hurt any (except maybe for Dr. Frankenstein).

Red necklace

Ha - I just realized that when I really love a background I use it ad nauseum, like with this necklace. I am calling her Natalie, after Natalie Portman, whose picture I just saw on Perez Hilton. I also realized that depending on what you wear with this necklace, the length could be somewhat awkward (like the tank top in the pictures - it sits right on top of the neckline and some people might not like that look), so I'm offering the option of having it shortened by request. Check out Natalie's Etsy page for more details!

Twilight Tuesday

I was originally going to post pictures of the Cullen family crest jewelry, but since there has been a deluge of big news about Twilight this week, I'll save that for next time. The first big news is about the orchestral score: it's finally available! I've put this on my Christmas list from Mr Hazel, though I don't know if I can stand to wait - I've been highly anticipating this since the movie came out. The entire score was composed by Carter Burwell and, combined with the soundtrack, should tide me over with reliving the movie experience until the DVD release.

Second - and this one is a biggie - word came out over the weekend that the Twilight director, Catherine Hardwicke, will not be directing New Moon. There have been conflicting reports - either she was fired by Summit or it was by mutual agreement - but the end story is that she will not be at the helm of the sequel.

It's beginning to look like the issues are the budget and the timeframe - Hardwicke, understandably, wants a bigger budget than what she got for Twilight (especially as New Moon will require more special effects) and a longer pre-production prep time, but Summit wants to keep costs as low as possible and rush the sequel out quickly, presumably in order to maximize profits. Hardwicke reportedly balked at these conditions, while Summit ended up looking like a bunch of money grubbers with no appreciation for artistic vision.

Hardwicke broke the record for the biggest movie opening by a female director, which is a staggering accomplishment (especially for a movie that was originally supposed to be an indie film); to be fired after that seems wrong. And since the special effects for Twilight left a lot to be desired (see Edward, glitter), the small budget for New Moon has me worried about how they're going to do the wolves and the Italy scenes. Particularly with a rushed production. What if it ends up looking like crap? On the other hand, the wait for the second and third movies will be excruciating, so a rush job doesn't sound too bad right about now.

Lastly, the latest rumor is the director job was offered to this guy, who directed About A Boy and Golden Compass. I loved, loved the former, but the latter sucked so much we almost walked out in the middle of the movie. So I'm not sure if I'm rooting for the rumor to be true or false.

Garden necklace

Still freezing like the north pole, but as promised, here is the matching Agatha necklace to go with yesterday's earrings. I love the background that I used for this. And if you look, one of the pictures of the necklace has a bee next to it. How's that for gardeny?

Hope you're all staying warm wherever you are.

Garden earrings

Well, it's absolutely freezing where I am - not to mention we got our first snowfall of the season (yuck) - so I thought I would defy the cold and the snow by listing this pair of garden earrings in my Etsy shop. They're Agatha, named after one of my favorite mystery writers of all time, Agatha Christie. A matching necklace will be posted very soon.

I think I'm in some kind of denial because I have refused to put up our Christmas tree to date. Maybe next weekend - I'm not in the holiday spirit just yet. But hopefully by next weekend I will be in my full Christmas music 24/7 mode, hot cocoa, gifts, stockings, the works. Right now, I hate this cold and I want to go to the Caribbean.

Anniversary dinner

For our wedding anniversary, Mr Hazel and I went out to dinner to celebrate. The restaurant was inside a gorgeous boutique hotel.

Here are pics of the front room that I couldn't resist taking.

And here is what they called the library, except there weren't any books. It was still a gorgeous room, though.

The dining room, where we dined on duck, foie gras (which was to die for), steak, chanterelle mushrooms, and a chocolate pot de creme for dessert.

The front entrance of the hotel.

As we were walking back to the car after dinner, we passed by this European furniture store and I pretended it was the inside of my house. I loved the high ceilings and that staircase!

Mr Hazel also got me my favorite flowers, gerbera daisies.

A wedding anniversary

...to many more!

I made it into a Treasury!

Check it out - the Laura necklace made it into an Etsy Treasury! This is the first Treasury I've ever been in. Inclusion in the treasuries is great because the powers-that-be from Etsy often pick out items from them to be featured on the front page.

This one is a CREST Treasury titled Crumbs on the Forest Floor, and it will expire at 6:31 am on Saturday, December 6, so take a look while you can. And make sure to check out the other cool items in the Treasury by fellow members of the CREST team!

Twilight Tuesday

Today is an Etsy-related Twilight Tuesday. I did all the hard work for you and scoured Etsy for some handcrafted Twilight swag, and found many things - quite a few of which are extremely creative - that my fellow Etsy artists have made. Below are some of my favorites.

For starters, I really wanted a necklace and settled on this one by 2dy4. I had it customized to say "Team Edward." I should be getting it soon!
I also like this tile pendant by Vanity Designs that says "Edward Cullen Prefers Brunettes".

Twilight bookends by Patreska Papers:

A really cool "Alice Cullen" necklace by Laniebeth.

A "La Tua Cantante" pendant from New Moon by Annielou Designs.

This amazing photo charm bracelet by Shadesongs.

I also really like this pendant by Sumner2 that lists all four titles of the books in the saga. According to the description, Stephenie Meyer has this necklace.

Another charm bracelet, this time with text from the book by Lilbellagirl.

Bobby pins by Designs By Appletree.

This one cracked me up! Shirt by Scream Beauty:

And lastly, a new twist on the classic World War 2 poster by Janey Garnet, and, at a guess, quite possibly Mr Hazel's favorite: