The BIG Giveaway!

My Bloggy Giveaway is up and going! Scoot on over there right away and enter for your chance to win one of three $25 gift certificates to Chic Made. $25 goes a long way at Chic Made!

Big things

I'm super busy these day making up a storm of new jewelry. There will be a Chic Made giveaway on Bloggy Giveaways on March 23 and I want the shop to be super-well stocked before then. So, if you haven't lately, check out what's going on over there. Fun stuff! New necklaces, earrings, hair do-dad's, etc. I'll be sure to remind you when the actual giveaway is open.

Wire Wrapping

Wire wrapping has been a somewhat illusive technique to me. It was one of the things I wasn't able to learn from a book or tutorial online. I've tried and tried and practiced and practiced and I kinda got it but I just couldn't really master it and get the nuances down. Until now when I found the perfect, succinct little video to teach me. Margot Potter is quickly becoming my biggest hero.

I still have some practicing and perfecting to do - but in one afternoon I feel like I made more progress than I have in the last 6 months. So, thanks Margot! (If by some miracle Margot actually visits this blog due to the fact that I linked to her blog I will be amazed and humbled and maybe a little embarrassed.)

Here are the first earrings I completed with my newly learned technique:

They are, of course, for sale at Chic Made now.

Winner!

And the winner of my Loyal Follower Giveaway is SewsCute! Congrats! I went to college with Katie, so I'm glad she won. She will receive the Kami Dainty Dangle earrings and the Purple Checkered Double Strand bracelet. And thanks again to our loyal followers!

Secret Giveaway

OK, so it's not exactly a secret since I'm announcing it on the world-wide web. But what I mean is that I'm not going to blog about this anywhere else or go looking for more entrants. This is a giveaway for my loyal followers. Your loyalty will be repaid!

Here's how you enter: Go take a look at the Chic Made Etsy shop and decide which piece of jewelry you'd like to receive for Valentine's Day. Then come back here and tell me what it is and why you'd pick it. Convince me you need/want it bad! I'll choose the winner using a random number generator, but if your comment is the winning one and your reason why you'd like that piece for Valentine's Day is very convincing, you just might win that exact piece that you've been desiring! Make sense? (If your reason isn't convincing enough or the piece you chose is just a little too pricey, well, we'll work something out. You'll get some great jewelry - don't you worry.)

I'll close the giveaway on February 9 to give me enough time to mail the winner his/her prize.

Happy shopping and dreaming!

Winner!

Congratulations to Ashley! She is the winner of the Chic Made jewelry gift certificate. Thanks to everybody who visited and commented on my jewelry. Please let me know if there's any way I can help you.

Color Choice

I recently heard that to choose your eye makeup color you should look at a color wheel and choose a color that is opposite your eye color on the color wheel. I have blue eyes, and my favorite color eye liner that I think accents my eyes the best is a greenish khaki color. That is so NOT the opposite color on the color wheel. What IS opposite the color wheel for my eyes is red and orange. WHAT? Red or orange eye makeup? I think not. I think red or orange eye makeup would make me look stoned or half dead. But then I got to thinking about that in relation to jewelry. I look great in red jewelry (I've never tried orange...that may be a little too funky for me)! It really does bring out my blue eyes. So maybe I don't want that red on my eyes - but I still want it near them. So earrings are the answer! Red earrings!

To find out what color is opposite your eye color on the color wheel go here. That's the Wikipedia entry for color wheels and there are several examples. Then go get yourself some new earrings at Chic Made! If I don't have the right color for you, let me know. I'll make some!

Giveaway!

It's giveaway time at Chic Made! It's also Bloggy Carnival time! I (me, Nancy) love Bloggy Carnival's. I've hosted 4 or 5 giveaways before at my family blog Worth A Million. But I am excited to this time introduce you to the new Chic Made Blog. I've been making jewelry and selling it on Etsy for about a year now, but I just recently created this blog so YOU all could keep up with the latest and greatest Chic Made going's on's. Jewelry making is a passion of mine, so it's not hard to blog about it often.

This time's giveaway is very exciting! I'm going to let the winner pick her favorite piece(s) from Chic Made! Basically, I'm giving away a $15 "gift certificate" to Chic Made. The winner may choose any piece or two or three worth that much, OR you could order a custom piece! I'm always so excited to make something custom for someone. Jewelry is such a personal thing to me. I like my necklaces exactly 15 1/2 inches long (which is pretty short). I like earrings that dangle, but don't hit my neck when I turn my head (that makes me think I have a bug on my neck or something). I have a small-ish wrist so I like smaller bracelet's than the norm. I'm guessing that at least a few of you out there have preferences like that too. So I'd love to help you create the perfect piece. Or maybe there's a "gap" in your jewelry collection. You know, like you've been looking for the perfect black earrings. Or you need a looong gold chain with a little added bling. Anyway, the point is, I'd like to help. So here's you chance.

Details: To enter this giveaway, go to Chic Made and look around. Then come back here and leave me a comment telling me how you'd spend your $15. If you'd spend your $15 on a custom piece, describe it to me. If you don't leave me a comment like detailed above, you will not be entered in the giveaway! This giveaway is open to anyone with a US mailing address. You don't have to be a blogger, but be sure I have a way to contact you if you aren't (or if your blog is private). I'll close comments and choose a winner from all eligible comments on Saturday, January 31 at 9AM Eastern. If, for any reason, the winner doesn't get back to me within 3 days, I'll choose another winner.

And don't forget to go enter all the other fabulous, generous giveaway's back at the Bloggy Carnival. This is always a busy week for me. So many giveaways! So little time!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED! CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNER, ASHLEY.

Valentine's selections

I love Valentine's Day. I always have - even when I didn't have "a Valentine" to call all mine. Now I have at least 4 Valentine's! You see, I really think all the people I love are my Valentine's. My kids get little love-notes and gifts just like my husband.

Speaking of gifts, it just so happens that I have several pieces in the shop right now that seem very appropriate for Valentine's Day to me.

I call this bracelet "Coming Up Roses" (Sorry, SOLD!). The silver beads as well as the larger red beads have the silhouette of roses. You can give your Valentine roses that last all year long...and more!


These are my Kami Dainty Dangle earrings. My friend Kami designed them and I made them for her then copied her design for you! They are "dainty dangle's" because they are less than 2 inches long and are very petite. The pink bead is freshwater pearl.

I call these Splash of Red earrings. They would go with so many different outfits- not just red things. This Pink Glass Bracelet and Earrings Set are made from pretty pink glass and the filmy, white Czech glass. The photo never really picked up the subtle pink, but it's there and it's beautiful. The gold is the perfect accent.

These beautiful, romantic earrings never actually made it into my shop. I gave them to a nice repairman who was installing a child gate in my basement for me. He mentioned his wife so I let him select any piece of jewelry for her. You see, his installing that gate for me is what allows me to make jewelry while the kids play near me. But they were just so romantic that I couldn't stop myself from including them here. I'll have to see if I can find any more of those sweet little heart beads.

There you have it: a few of my most "Valentine's-ee" pieces. But let's not forget that jewelry in general is a romantic gift and any piece would make a great gift! It being red or pink is not actually required! So cruise around the shop and pick something out for your Valentine!

The final product in action

Here's a shot of me with Karen on her wedding day with her donning her ChicMade necklace and earrings. Congrats again, Karen! You were beautiful, the wedding was beautiful, your love is beautiful. Thanks for letting me design your jewelry. It was an honor.