canada - leilani handmade

April’s Giveaway is a Triple Play

Posted on April 22, 2015July 11, 2017 by Leilani — Leave a comment

Today is my birthday! To celebrate I have an extra special giveaway with 3 chances to win. April’s giveaway via the newsletter is a game of sorts. You enter telling me your first and second choice of prize from bb3.ca. I’ll draw the first name at random, and they will win their top choice. The second name will get either their first or second choice, whichever one is not already taken. Same with name #3: however, if both of #3’s choices have been taken, I’ll draw for another winner. Clear as mud? Check out the entry form for a more concise explanation. Hey, it’s my birthday, my mind is definitely not on blogging…blah blah blah… 😉

I’m taking entries until April 30th, 2015 11:59EDT. The only thing I ask is that you are a subscriber to the newsletter. You can sign up here and unsubscribe at any time, no problem! The newsletter is a once a month emailed publication, and I do a giveaway every month, so why not? The newsletter helps me share my creative ideas and also keeps me on point, per se. It’s my monthly butt kick to keep the creative juices flowing. 🙂

New Clearance Jewelry Items – More to Come…

Posted on February 28, 2015July 12, 2017 by Leilani — Leave a comment

sterling silver turquoise chip hoops on sale at 40% off

I’m going to be adding new items to the clearance section for the next little while. I finally have to give up some of this stuff. I have a huge bin of product that I made, either it was once available for sale and I took it down for some reason or another, I had plans to develop it further – or for no particular reason they just never made it up on the website (probably because I am so busy. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it ;)). For example that cute pair of earrings above is available at 40% off. Sterling silver people! 🙂

I also have items that I engraved to fill orders but they weren’t quite up to my standards so I redid them. Maybe they are engraved slightly off center, the blank was scratched up or I simply made a mistake and engraved the wrong letter. They are essentially handmade seconds. 🙂 So I’m thinking I should list these deeply discounted as well. Why waste them? They may be perfectly acceptable to someone else. Score if you can get them below cost!

I’m starting with earrings and I have quite a few pairs. Some of these I can make more of and I just might do that if they sell/time permitting. I do so much custom stuff these days it is fun to just play around with stones and beads again just for the heck of it. 🙂

Introducing: My New Mach III Spinning Wheel by SpinOlution

Posted on February 27, 2015July 12, 2017 by Leilani — Leave a comment

close up of the front of my new Mach III

The best gift ever. DH got me a Mach III Spinning Wheel – by got me, I mean, he said “go ahead and order that spinning wheel you want”. Ha ha! So I ordered it in the New Year, and 3 weeks later, my Mach III by SpinOlution was shipped from California and on its way to my dealer in Vermont.

lendrum (left) and Mach III by SpinOlution (right)

We drove down to Burlington to pick it up, and after arriving home and removing all the pieces from the box, the initial overwhelming feeling of “how am I going to put these pieces together?” was short lived. It was actually really easy to assemble! With the exception of attaching the strap to the front (which helps you move the 35lb studio wheel from one end of the room to another) – it was in a new, but totally obvious place. Thanks to Leah for helping me out with that! Putting it beside my Lendrum was almost comical – the difference in size. This Mach III is a beast and I mean that in the most affectionate way!

I got all the bells and whistles with my Mach III, including the largest bobbin/flyer – 32oz – you can make up to 2 lbs of yarn with it!

Take a peek at some of the other accessories:

Mach III lazy kate (left) vs. lendrum lazy kate (right)

The lazy kate is genius as it attaches to the wheel as well as free standing.

This is a pretty nifty attachment. You simply treadle and the yarn winds. I need a lower chair though as I find it does brush my thighs while rotating. And, I really like my 2 yard skeins, so I still use my niddy noddy more than this. I do find with yarns with large inclusions this is a really handy tool to have.

and here's what approx. 2lbs of handspun yarn looks like! — and here’s what approx. 2lbs of handspun yarn looks like!

For the first few days I had the wheel I simply played around with it. Like buying a brand new car I really like to sit and get acquainted with a new piece of equipment. I tried out different tensions (settings) and fibers before settling on a kid mohair to make into my first skein of yarn (the orange you see above). The first skein took me only an evening to make – approx. 4 hours in total. The large 2lb skein took me 2 evenings – about 3 hours each night. I was determined to fill that large bobbin and I was surprised at just how quickly it took. This is an easy wheel to use and the biggest hurdle was to get used to the bigger rotation of such a large bobbin as well as treadling much slower. This wheel is very smooth and will get going quite fast much more quickly than I am used to.

I’m currently working on a core wrapped yarn with large flower inclusions. I put the flowers together with left over handspun, felted in place and tied with a pearl bead. Very fun and so easy to do with the hook attachment & open pegs SpinOlution is known for. I really want to try the many different techniques of textured art yarns I have grown to love so that I become comfortable with the Mach III. Thus far it has been an easy wheel to fall in love with.

If you are looking for a dealer for any of SpinOlution’s products on the east coast/New England, I highly recommend Leah Rosenthal! She was on top of things giving me updates by mail and she really knows her stuff. You can find out her details on the SpinOlution website under Vermont, and be sure to checkout her blog.

New Pearl Option for the Flower Child’s Personalized Necklace – with Engraving

Posted on June 9, 2014July 12, 2017 by Leilani — Leave a comment

A customer recently asked me if I could do a pearl instead of a Swarovski crystal for her flower child’s necklace order. I had some 4mm freshwater pearls on hand, and I loved the result so much I decided to add it as a permanent option for both silver & gold versions of this product. Now added on the website and coming soon to Etsy (my Etsy shop is closed as I am currently travelling).

DPP_3106 — pearl option gold (click to view listing)

As an aside, I get asked every now and then if the blanks I use are black. What you are seeing here is the reflection of the camera lens. Often the glare is so bad on these very shiny blanks I cannot capture the detail in the engraving. Often times the best way to take a clear picture of the engraving is to have the reflection of the camera lens absorb the light. So in the closeups this is why sometimes the blanks look black. My photography skills leave much to be desired, I know. 😉 I try to post several photos to help best represent the piece so always browse through them all to get an overall feel for the product. Photos are so flat and one dimensional they do not do my work justice. I think most – if not all – online sellers are feeling my pain, here. 🙂

New Engraving Font

Posted on May 18, 2011July 17, 2017 by Leilani — Leave a comment

I am excited about this new engraving font. And even more excited that I mastered it quickly. I engrave manually so it takes a bit of skill to have the letters of this monogram interlock:

Here is an example of it actually engraved:

This font will be available as part of my engraving collection on my website. The website will be going live shortly with my clearance section active – over the coming days I will be loading in the custom collections as well as upgrading to faster hosting.

Announcing: The Official WINNERS of the Great Jewelry Giveaway Contest!

Posted on October 11, 2009 by Leilani — 4 Comments

I have been prepping the emails, the blog post, the newsletter…and fretting excitedly awaiting the 11th hour…so that I could draw the winners of the Great Jewelry Giveaway Contest! Three prizes: $100, $50 & $25 in chosen jewelry from my Etsy & Artfire Shops was up for grabs!! Here’s the original post:

http://creativityinspired.wordpress.com/2009/07/26/the-great-jewelry-giveaway-contest/

So I waited…tick tock, tick tock…and even as the time drew near, the entries still came in…I am absolutely over the moon at the response. It makes me so happy to see so many people support & appreciate my creativity…remember this creative outlet saved MY LIFE…does that sound dramatic? Well, it’s true. Out of the depths of depression 11 years ago, I found a way to create & express & share…

Anyway, enough chit chat. Who won, right? We didn’t get 1000 entries, but it was so close! Probably in another couple of days we could have gotten there…but the anticipation was killing me too so…the winners, chosen at random (thanks to random.org)….

CONGRATULATIONS

Linda Kish of Winchester, CA~ Our Third Place Winner

Kim Powell of Sharon, PA ~ Our Second Place Winner

…and…drum roll please…

Kathy van Herk of British Columbia, Canada!!!!

OUR GRAND PRIZE WINNER OF A $100 SHOPPING SPREE OF HEAVENLY FLOWER JEWELRY!!!!

I am so excited for the winners, I am shaking while I type this…hopefully there won’t be too many typos… 😉

It’s Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada, and although we didn’t make our 1000 entry goal, I am feeling festive. Therefore, I randomly drew 5 more names. These lucky winners will get a $10 Gift Certificate to spend in my Etsy & Artfire Shops:

Tia Barton of Derry, NH

Rachel Abugov of Montreal, Qc

Alicia Chandler of Norman, OK

Sarah Reed of Green Bay, WI

Linda Chen of Australian Capital Territory, Australia

I will be in touch shortly as to how to redeem your prizes. Congratulations all, thanks to all who entered, and stay tuned for future giveaways!!

The Great Jewelry Giveaway Contest – $100 in Jewelry you get to pick!

Posted on July 26, 2009July 21, 2017 by Leilani — 42 Comments

UPDATE Oct. 11th, 2009: CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR LUCKY WINNERS WHO WERE DRAWN AT RANDOM THIS EVENING!! DID YOU WIN??

Official List of Winners

So I could probably find a more – er, creative name for it, but it is what it is. The largest giveaway I have ever done: $175 in free jewelry with top prize being $100 worth! You pick your prize from my Etsy & Artfire studios. You do not have to sign up for these sites. If you are the lucky winner simply go, browse & tell me what you want. So here’s the skinny:

Top Prize $100 Second Prize $50 Third Prize $25

HOW TO ENTER

Simply enter by visiting heavenlyflower.com and filling out the entry ballot at the bottom of the page.

WHO CAN ENTER

The contest is open to anyone, worldwide. Limit one entry per email address. No purchase necessary. Please note I will not be keeping the email addresses after the contest – they are only to inform you if you have won. If you have clicked the opt in button you will receive promotional info from me from time to time but let’s face it – I hate spam as much as you do, so they will be sporadic emails. IF YOU DO NOT CLICK THE OPT IN BUTTON YOUR EMAIL WILL BE DELETED AFTER THE CONTEST – you have my word on it. 🙂

CONTEST DURATION

The contest will continue to run UNTIL WE REACH 1000 ENTRIES. Upon reaching 1000 entries, the contest will cease the following Sunday, with winners drawn at 11pm EST. If we reach 1000 entries on a Sunday, then the draw will take place that Sunday night at 11pm.

I WILL ADD UP TO 5 ADDITIONAL PRIZES OF $20 EACH IF WE EXCEED 1000 ENTRIES!

Winners will be announced on this blog and on my Facebook Fan Page and via Twitter. Winners will be contacted via e-mail and will have 30 DAYS to redeem their prize. I will be giving status updates on the contest via these mediums so be sure to follow the blog or on Twitter, or fan the Facbook Page to keep updated.

PRIZE REDEMPTION

Winners will redeem their prize by choosing jewelry equaling the dollar amount of their prize from my Etsy &/or Artfire Studios. It is not a requirement to sign up to these sites. You simply can let me know via email which you would like. Winners have thirty days after contest close to choose their prize. Therefore any new offerings that I add during this time frame to the studios will be eligible as prizes, as well.PRIZE NOT REDEEMABLE FOR CASH. PRIZE NOT REDEEMABLE FOR CUSTOM WORK. Jewelry must be selected at one time; you cannot carry over any remaining amount after your prize has been chosen. You can pay the difference if your chosen jewelry exceeds the prize allotment. Prize is awarded “as is” and does not carry any warranty or guarantee due to breakage or defect. You must choose from active inventory listed on my Etsy & Artfire Shops; you cannot choose from work that has previously been sold or unlisted.

WINNERS WHO ARE RESIDENTS OF CANADA WILL HAVE TO ANSWER A SKILL-TESTING QUESTION AS REQUIRED BY CANADIAN LAW.

Prize must be sent to one address at the same time. The prize will be sent to the winner in a timely manner however I cannot guarantee it will arrive by a specific date. I am not responsible for prizes lost in transit. Cannot be combined with any other promo I may be offering.

NON-CANADIAN RESIDENTS: I am not responsible for any duty, tax or tariffs that are imposed by your country at time of delivery. I do write GIFT and HANDMADE CRAFTS on the customs form which should alleviate the need to pay any taxes; however it is out of my hands if your government decides to charge you tax.

WHO CAN REDEEM THE PRIZE

Winners will have the choice to give their prize winnings to a loved one to redeem. The winner will simply inform me via email who I can expect will be contacting me for redemption.

So fellas – you should enter and make your mother/wife/girlfriend/sister – happy! 😉

Handmade jewelry always makes a great gift & Christmas will be here sooner than you know it! 🙂

Please enter & help me celebrate phase I of my new website!

Shop Promo for Sales of $50 or more & background of Shop Philosophy

Posted on February 14, 2009 by Leilani — 1 Comment

I have an on-going shop promo that I wanted to mention. First, background on my shop’s philosophy…

I call my Etsy Shop my “playground” since I wanted a venue to cheaply & easily list pieces while I get my “feet wet” into the jewelry business game again. This is where I can create pieces freely, without any pressure of sales or expectation. I take left over beads from past custom projects & think of ways to breathe new life into them by making these limited edition pieces. Sometimes I do dip into the “good” supply that I am hanging on to for future custom work, but for the most part, I enjoy pushing myself creatively to figure out what to do with the leftovers…how can I make these all look good together when originally they were not purchased to be together…

So because of this, I make little to no money on the work that goes into these. In fact, if you think of the time that goes into making the jewelry, photographing, cleaning up said photos, posting them on Etsy with descriptions, then offering free shipping…well, do the math quickly in your head…there is no money to be made…

My Etsy Shop is simply for the joy of creating; to share my talents to the world and get back into it again. It’s a way for me to have an on-line portfolio to showcase my work. It also leads to custom order requests which is where the money is to be made…Eventually, I will complete my website so that I can offer many different styles for customizing. For right now though, it’s too overwhelming of an endeavour with a toddler and another baby on the way…

OK, so that leads me to the promo. Since the pieces are final sale I wanted to make purchases of $50 or more worthwhile. It also helps me move inventory, so really, you are doing me a huge favour here…

Buy jewelry totalling $50; either by purchasing 1 piece or several, and you will get $10 off an additional item. For example…

You buy a bracelet for $29, a pair of earrings for $14, and a pair of earrings for $12. Since the sum of these equal more than $50, you decide to take advantage of the promo & get a pair of earrings that are $14…with the $10 off promo, you get the third pair of earrings for just $4.

Or, you buy a necklace for $53. You then decide to buy a bracelet for $29 because the promo entitles you to that bracelet for $19…

You get the idea? 🙂 Of course, there is always free shipping worldwide & Canadians will pay at par pricing. All this info is located in my Shop Policies section. Simply include a note in your purchase that you would like to take advantage of the promo & I will send out a revised Paypal or Alert Pay Invoice (or advise the new amountif you are paying by cheque, money order or email money transfer). Off-line sales as usual, contact me with which pieces you would like to purchase, I will unlist them & proceed as mentioned above for payment. Happy shopping!

My Fellow Canadians…

Posted on February 13, 2009 by Leilani — Leave a comment

I am honoured to be able to sell jewelry on Etsy & most of my sales have been to our American cousins south of the border. Canadian sales so far have come mostly from pre-existing customers who I have sold pieces off-line or through custom work.

It wasn’t too long ago, that we enjoyed for the first time in many, many years the Canadian Dollar & US Dollar being matched exchange wise almost dollar for dollar. Now we are back to that ever fluctuating market game of dollar up & down…now, shopping in the US is not so attractive for us Canadians, eh? 🙂

Since Etsy lists in US dollars, I want to give my fellow Canadians a break & offer at par pricing on my work. Therefore, if you buy a bracelet for $29 USD, and the item is going to a Canadian address, you may have the piece for $29 CAD. Simply include a message with your purchase & I will either send you a new PayPal or Alert Pay invoice to the current exchange rate that day, or advise you the amount to make your cheque, money order or email money transfer out for.

More details on my Shop Policies page. As always, shipping is always free world wide.