Technical woes

Our internet connection is still as bad as ever, and now they think it might be a circuit problem, in which case it probably won't be fixed for a while. They're sending someone out to take a look. In the meantime, it's taking me almost an hour to write this post! Very frustrating.

To add to my technical difficulties, my camera decided to conk out. There I was all excited because the sun finally decided to make an appearance and I set everything up to take more pictures as quickly as I could, trying to catch the light, when I realized the camera was out of batteries.

So I raced to the drugstore to pick some up, raced back home, and was just about to get started a second time, when the screen on the camera went black - and black it stayed, no matter what buttons I pushed.

Understandably, all the pictures it took then turned out to be all black too.

I'm going to take it to a camera shop to see if it can be fixed, but I suppose it wouldn't be the end of the world to shell out money for a new camera since it would be tax deductible. I'm hoping I won't have to just yet though.

Very frustrating!

In the meantime, I'm staying productive by continuing to work on more pieces, and then there's always Britney to entertain all of us.

A new item

I managed to get this photo loaded so you can get a quick preview of this necklace in spite of our internet problems.

This one is "Kate," and she's made up of a white bone butterfly pendant measuring around 1.5" x 2", and blue howlite beads on sterling silver wire. This was the first time I've worked with howlite and I love the way it turned out.

I also really love the sharp color contrast between the beads and the pendant.

As usual, the sun hid behind a cloud and stayed there for the rest of the day when I took this picture so it's not as bright as I would like. I may have to re-take some shots tomorrow.

In the meantime, I'll try working on posting the rest of the pictures.

Lots of cool new stones

Yesterday I spent about five hundred hours at the bead shop and came away with a bunch of great new things for you: some gorgeous blue howlite, beautiful Thai silver pendants, orange and red carnelian, and some pretty amazonite.

I finished two new pieces yesterday and took pictures of them today. I was very excited to post them but unfortunately we have been having major problems with our internet connection, so I am having a hard time loading the pictures on both Blogger and Etsy.

Hopefully it will get fixed soon so I can add them to the shop and post them here for you to preview!

The U.S. Postal Service: my new best friend

In researching shipping options to use for sending packages to my customers, I have come to learn more than I have ever wanted to about all the different ways the post office can deliver packages and letters. Insurance? Signature confirmation? Delivery confirmation? Retail or online rates? Priority, first class, parcel post? Overnight, ground? What constitutes a small package vs a parcel?

I've been scouring the post office website, learning all I could about the different options until my eyes started rolling to the back of my head. But when I went to the actual post office, I was presented with even more options.

What happened to the days when it was just one man on his horse, riding on the rugged plains, carrying your package on a leather rucksack?

*****
Thanks to highmaintenancemom for hearting Hazel Designs on Etsy!

Someone hearts me

(...and I'm not just talking about Mr Hazel!)

It's been an exciting 24 hours here at Hazel Designs. First, I finalized "Jane's" sale, and then a friend of mine bought "Lindsay". Thank you to both!

I also received a really sweet message from a fellow Etsy seller letting me know that she likes my wares and wishing me luck on the store.

Additionally, Etsy has this feature called "See who hearts this shop" on each storefront, which shows all the buyers who have tagged the store as a favorite. And I got my first tag today! I am someone's favorite shop!

I have a serious case of the warm fuzzies.

I have begun working on some new pieces to add to the shop and also re-working some existing pieces (that are not currently displayed at the shop) to improve them - like the turquoise and citrine piece that wasn't a fan favorite the first go around.

So watch for new items being added!

I made a sale!

No one told me how incredibly exciting it would be to have people actually pay real money for stuff you make with your own two hands!

Today I made my first two sales! Someone is in the process of ordering "Jane," and my cousin, Highmaintenancemom, bought "Celia" today. The package pictured above is Celia all set to be shipped to her new home.

This also officially makes Highmaintenancemom the best cousin ever.

I love how Etsy has this great feature on the shop's site where you can see what items have been sold (it's to the right-hand side, under "hazeldesigns' other items").

I feel a little like a parent sending kids off to college for the first time. I'm sending my babies out into the big, wide world, anxiously hoping someone will like them enough to take them home with them (er...wait...that's not a parent, that's actually more like a pimp.)

Nevertheless...you go, babies!

Grand Opening Day!

I am very pleased and excited to announce that my Etsy store is finally open!

www.hazeldesigns.etsy.com

I would also like to take this opportunity to send a huge thank you to the following people for all their encouragement, input, help, support, and invaluable feedback, without whom my new endeavor would not have been possible: Mr Hazel, Karmela, Highmaintenancemom, Meridith, Mom2Amara, Alissa, and Marnie.

And a huge thank you to all of you as well!

Wishing you the best for a wonderful, healthy and prosperous 2008! Happy New Year!