Time for a GIVEAWAY!

I promised that I'd give away some swanky handmade-by-me keychains a while back, and I am following up on the promise!

Check out this rafflecopter giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


When I get 500 fans, I'll host ANOTHER giveaway to celebrate!

New Year's Sale and Giveaway! ::: Tree Wings Studio

You can find the giveaway by clicking HERE. :)

&

The Sale from Tree Wing Studio HERE!

And the winners to my Giveaway are, drum roll please!:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'll be getting in touch with each winner via EMAIL. So please watch your email boxes, ladies! :)

And some nice music...

Plus! A giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

400(+) Fantastic Fans Giveaway!

I promised a FABULOUS and FANTASTIC giveaway once I reached 400 fans on facebook! Not only have you guys given me THAT, we've gone OVER! :)

All entries are worth 4 tickets each! You can (potentially!) tweet EVERY DAY for 4 tickets. Or just tweet once! Whatever floats your boat! ;)

Prizes are To Be Announced.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Southern Gals Design - A Giveaway!

Southern Gals Designs on Facebook (click here)

From Tiffany's facebook page: "Ok guys in order to help boost likes on my page. I am having a give away. All you have to do is share this with your friends and you get 1 entry. If you blog about this give away you get a second entry. Post on this message individually how you shared. I will draw one name out next Sunday 7/21. You will win one of my handmade lampwork sets. Easy Peasy" (permalink to post, click here)... (and BOLD my emphasis).

Of course, now I have to tease you with pictures of Tiffany's AWESOME beads!

I have no idea which bead set Tiffany is choosing to give away either... I love surprises! :)

PS, each of these bead sets & beads are available on Tiffany's facebook page... some of them might already be sold, I just picked out my favorite pictures to share! Aren't they COOL?! :)

MicroMacrame Tutorial Giveaway!!!

So my friend, Sherri, is having an AMAZING and AWESOME and ADVENTUROUS (triple A!) contest... she's offering up a tutorial on how to do MicroMacrame... it's macrame, jewelry style. (Oh, the puns!).

Here's the prize she's giving away:

She's using a RaffleCopter Widget for entries, and entering is incredibly easy. :)

Here's the link to her blog and the RaffleCopter widget: http://www.knotjustmacrame.com/2013/07/micro-macrame-wrap-bracelet-class-and.html

I am officially drooling. Learning MicroMacrame has been on my "to-do" list... and this would be a great reason to officially start! :)

A New Newsletter from ZenithJade Creations

New news! There's several NEW blog posts up in my blog- most of them are about taking stellar photography! Here's the link: http://zenithjade.blogspot.com/ .

You probably don't know that I participated in several cool contests and blog hops. Their content is on my blog as well! My favorite, so far, is the Bead Soup Blog Hop run by Lori Anderson. It is wicked fun! In a nutshell, I was assigned a partner to send beads to, and my partner did the same for me. The next step was to design piece(s) from those beads! It is a HUGE bead and jewelry blog hop/party! I had so much fun designing for this one, that I'm going to do my level best to participate next year, as well. (The Bead Soup Blog Party post is currently the third post down, but in case you don't want to scroll for it, here's the link: http://zenithjade.blogspot.com/2013/04/bead-soup-blog-party-7-reveal.html .

Also recent news for all you beady types- I joined a wonderful site called Bead Swap USA. It is AMAZING. There are boxes full of beads to swap, as well as finished item swaps and person to person swaps, plus SO MUCH MORE. http://beadswap-usa.com/ . It's set up in a forum type format, with each section run by moderators. It is really nifty!

Have you noticed I've been trying to blog more? :) I'm doing my level best! My good friend Kerri says that I have interesting stories to tell, and I sure hope that's the case! I surely don't want to bore anyone! *winks* Maybe each time I write a blog post, I'll email it out. I'd love some feedback on that! I don't want to spam your inboxes. Opinions on the matter can be emailed to me at zenithjade@yahoo.com.

I also chat passionately about charitable causes I'm involved in. Here's an update from my ZJC Facebook page I posted fairly recently:

"You can join Jilly's Bead Posse, (it's a crazy group of crazy artists and jewelry designers who believe in fighting for the cause of Alzheimer's) by going here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/JillysBeadPosse or here: http://www.jillysbeadposse.com/ . I made and donated 36 pairs of earrings to the cause. Others are making (even more) earrings, bracelets, keyrings/chains, necklaces and what-have-you. :) Another thing I'm doing is taking over 150 pictures of earrings & editing them for my friend Kerri, who is donating 163 pairs of earrings!!! (And I thought 36 pairs was a lot! LOL!). ANYONE IS WELCOME TO JOIN. There are at least TWO fundraisers going on RIGHT NOW. Please check out the website for details. (It's under Fundraisers!).

I have several new blog posts up, two of which detail photography tips & tricks + editing. Mostly, I'm just linking to others blogs, eventually I'll write my own tutorial on how to get good pictures... but until I do, there are a couple of great ones that link from my blog! Here's the link to my blog: http://zenithjade.blogspot.com/ .

Tonight I made five new polymer clay hearts! Yes, the pretty rustic ones. I recently bought some LOVELY vintage cabochons from Lindsay, (a Bead Swap USA member: http://beadswap-usa.com/ ), and had so much fun incorporating them into my heart designs. I hope you'll like them! I promise to show some pictures tomorrow. And I don't think I'm done playing with polymer clay yet tonight! :) I am having WAY too much fun. You can view a rustic polymer clay heart component here, to see what I'm talking about: https://www.etsy.com/listing/123593014/rustic-polymer-clay-heart-set-with . Woot woot! Lots of new news!
PS- if you've read this far, I'm having another GIVEAWAY when I reach 400 fans! I only have 31 more peeps to "like" my page and we're good to go! If you'd like to help, please do so by "sharing" this page with your friends. I'm very rarely boring, I promise!"

So that's what I've been up to! :) Have a wonderful, fantastic day, and don't forget to give me feedback on whether or not I should email about blog posts! zenithjade@yahoo.com!

Love,
Andrea

Original Email:  http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=2e39a3b8ab9b48f3cf3a22c14&id=1901fb711f

ZJC Online Trunk Show!

Hello everyone!

I'm having an Online Trunk Show Monday, November 19th & 20th, and you're invited!

Click here to go to the facebook event where I list all the details and teaser photos!

Here are a couple of photos to whet your appetite:

 China crystal & Swarovski crystal pendant on copper.

 Swarovski crystal & Swarovski Pearl Angel with a Swarovski crystal halo!

 Tree of Life pendant in amethyst. There are going to be two more (but different) Tree of Life pendants available. :)

 Hand-stamped custom pendant with a freshwater pearl!

 Beautiful hand-made focals with gemstone cabochons set in polymer clay. (There are going to be three total available, I think! If there's interest, I will make more!).

I will be posting the link to Artisans Open Market (that's where my trunk show is going to be) on Monday at 9am on my event page and on my facebook business page! Be there or be square. Plus, most items are discounted at least 50% off, some are MORE than that. :) This is first come, first served.

If you "JOIN" the event, I'm offering a chance at winning a $50 gift certificate to either my Etsy shop or my ArtFire store. If you "SHARE" the event, you get an extra entry!

Beautiful jewelry, ornaments and bookmarks at great deals + friends + gift certificate = FUN!

Pay It Forwad - Handmade!

So I signed up for a creative challenge from my Creative Outlet, (Mel).

Basically, the idea is to share a surprise with three people that leaves comments on the post. Those three people, the first three that comment, will receive a handmade gift from me through the mail within the next year (365 days.) You won't know when it is coming...

Here's what you need to do:
1. Leave a comment that includes your name, email address, and either blog address or Facebook address. (You may need to add me as a friend so I can see your page.)
2. Pay it forward by doing the same for three people through your own blog or facebook page.

Here is what I will do; I will confirm that you, my three commenters have met the requirements, above and then contact you via email to get your snail mail address, color preferences, and other info to help me make you something personal and special.

This is going to be a blast, and the only string attached is that you also pay-it-forward, (do something special for another three people).

*love*
Andrea

Giveaway Time!

There are three ways to gain entries:
1) Share my facebook fan page with your friends using your personal page! Here's the link: http://facebook.com/ZenithJadeCreations (Because the more, the merrier!)
--> Please link me to your "share". Nevermind, I have no idea how to do this, either! I'll just have to trust you! (But PLEASE let me know you've done this, so you can get your extra entry in).
2) Sign up for my newsletter (right hand side of page).
--> Please let me know you've done this. (Everyone who has done this already automatically gets an entry. I realized after the fact that if you sign up for the newsletter, I get a notification via my email. So let me know if you want to, but it's not necessary).
3) "Like" my facebook fan page with your personal page. (Everyone who has "liked" my page automatically gets an entry).

--> Please comment below to let me know you've done at least one of the three! If you do all three, you get three entries. :)

I'm doing this old school, and writing down everyone's names and sticking them in a bowl to pull out the winners.

The FUN part, PRIZES!

1) Bright and Brilliant 8x10" signed print. Link here: http://www.deviantart.com/print/29306905/
2) Purple Lightening Mousepad. Link here: http://www.deviantart.com/print/29485410/
3) Pastel Hearts Postcards Set of 2. Link here: http://anjicle.deviantart.com/#/d5d24hq
4) $25 gift certificate to my ArtFire shop.
5) $15 gift certificate to my Etsy shop.
6) Smoke AB Necklace and Earring Set

Yes, I'll be pulling out people's names in this order. :)

If you have any questions, please ask!

I'll be contacting winners via email, so please leave your email in the comment boxes below! Please put zenithjade@yahoo.com in your address book, because that's where I'm emailing from. (I also like funny jokes, so feel free to send me some. LOL!).

ALSO! Contest ends on September 15th at midnight, CST. Get those entries in!

Have fun!
Andrea

PS- for those having problems leaving comments, feel free to message me via my business facebook page. http://facebook.com/ZenithJadeCreations

The Interview: Paasch E Pottery!

Every once in a while, a seller on ArtFire REALLY strikes my fancy, and I decide I want to do an interview. Here's my interview with PaaschEPottery! Please share the love and visit her links! :)

Tell me a little bit about yourself- your inspiration, your life story, your passions...

My name is Erin Paasch. I'm 24, happily married to a man who swears he's not artistic (though I know better), and obsessed with pottery. Seriously. Obsessed. If I'm not drooling about another artist's work or making my own, you can tend to find me pawing disapprovingly at friends' and relatives' mass-produced work and talking about how their stuff is so much more likely to break because it's cast and the clay molecules aren't as compressed as they should be for functional work.

Also, I might be a horrible friend and/or relative to have.

Why did you select pottery as your artistic medium?

When I went into art school, my portfolio was filled with drawings and paintings. It was what I was certain I was going to do for the rest of my life.

I don't know if you know what it's like to be at a prestigious art school, but it's not easy. They make you try out several new mediums while still doing the medium you wanted the most. We were putting out paintings and small sculptures every 2-3 weeks. I quickly learned that although I enjoyed painting, it wasn't enough of a passion that I wanted to do it day-in and day-out like this. I got burnt out.

At the same time, I was planning and getting ready for my wedding. Because we were on a tight budget, the soon-to-be hubby and I ended up making a lot of our decorations: The flowers, the cake topper, even the wedding invitations. Unlike the painting, doing all of this work and making these small crafts thrilled me.

Here's a picture of him and me. You can see the bouquet in my hand and the boutineer on his suit that we made.
Anyway, when I returned to college the next year, I knew I wanted to work in 3D. I tried out different mediums, and settled from there on wheel throwing. I liked how responsive the clay was, it was almost as fluid as paint, and how challenging it was as a medium.

I love the colors you blend on your wares- how do you come up with the color combinations? Where do you draw inspiration from?

I actually have to credit this to my husband. Glaze is tough to control because when you put it on a form, it's just watered down minerals. It isn't until after it comes out of the kiln that you can actually see what those minerals turn into. Add the fact that several things can affect these glazes, like how you layer them, the type of firing you do, etc., and it becomes extremely challenging. I myself took a semester-long course just to understand how to use and test glazes effectively.

My husband was interested in learning, so I taught him the basics on how to test glazes, tweak recipes, and take good notes. Less than a month later he came up with a gorgeous glaze combination that I couldn't accomplish in 3 years. Maybe it's beginner's luck, maybe my hubby is just that damned good.

I see that you're making buttons! Why did you decide to try that? Are beads in the near future?

Sometimes I get really frustrated with the wheel. No matter how good you are at it, you're still going to have that day, or week, or month, that you're just off. Sometimes it's just a small thing and you can blow it off, but a short while ago I was having an off 2 weeks.

I've found that the best thing to do when I am in a rut like that is just to build by hand. By the end of a few days, I'm rearing to go on the wheel again. And yes, I am working on a few bead designs ;)

Why do you use a wheel? Tell me about the process! :)

I love how instant the wheel is. When you're hand-building, you're building something up little by little, layer by layer. But with the wheel you can make the main part of a form in as little as 20 minutes. Sure, there is more to it than that -- the wheel alterations, adding handles, glazing, and that adds up, but because the main form is pretty much done right away, I can make several of the same piece with just small differences. This allows me to be able to constantly evolve my work and make very good, functional pottery.

What other creative endevors do you enjoy doing? Do you scrapbook? Crochet? Bead?

Every year, my friend over at Naked Light Bulbs and I have a sale together. To help out, I help her crochet her simpler dolls -- like bees or bear heads, for her to put them together.

For the most part though, I keep to the pottery. Every now and again I'll catch a bug and have to draw, paint, or maybe even make jewelry, but in the end, I love clay most of all.

What new skill would you love to learn?

Carpentry would be nice. I need more shelves to hold all of my pots! Seriously though, I've always wanted to make large mosaics and being able to construct furniture to make them on would be an amazing skill to have.

Did you go to school to learn your art, did you take classes or are you self-taught? If someone helped you with your journey, please tell me about them!

Well, I think I mentioned this already, but I went to college. The School of the Art Institute of Chicago -- you know, the big art museum? That's where I spent 4 years.

Although it helped me discover what I wanted to make and where I wanted to go with my art, I was surprised to find that I learned a LOT more about pottery out of college. When you're in a class and not trying to sell your work, you don't think about how to make multiples of work or where to order glazes and materials from. I feel like after college I've pushed my work so much more and learned so much more just having to deal with the real world while making work.

Do you enjoy what you do?

If I didn't, I wouldn't be here.

What is your least favorite part of being an online arts seller on ArtFire?

This isn't just limited to ArtFire, but it's so frustrating to hear people say how much they love your work time and time again, but you don't make a sale for over a month. It starts to make you wonder if you're doing something wrong.

I've joked more than once that when I was in High School and college and making work that wasn't for sale, everyone wanted to buy it. But the moment I actually put a price tag on the stuff, everyone walked away.

What is your favorite part of being an online arts seller on ArtFire?

The community. Hearing from so many other artists, seeing people help each other out and promoting for others. It's amazing.

How do you balance work/making stuff/play/family/pets?

With plenty of naps throughout the day.

What's your favorite snack while you're working and why?

I've found it's best not to snack when your hands are full of clay. It makes everything taste chalky.

Any suggestions for other sellers out there?

Actually, if some sellers had any suggestions for me, I'd appreciate it! I'm so new at the whole online thing, I don't feel qualified!

Seriously though, I'd say to try and keep all of your options open. I'm not just selling work online, I'm also selling wholesale or through commission with local stores, submitting work to galleries, and selling at arts and crafts fairs. It's a lot of work, but I'm having a lot more success selling in several ways than just one.

Please link me up! Blog, twitter, facebook, myspace, etc!

(Shop) http://www.artfire.com/users/PaaschEPottery
(Blog) http://paaschepottery.blogspot.com/
(Facebook) http://www.facebook.com/pages/Paasch-E-Pottery/145926675469995?sk=app_106171216118819
(Twitter) http://twitter.com/#!/PaaschEPottery

Special promotions for blog readers? Any specials you'd like to share?

Right now I'm running a sale as part of ArtFire's XMas In July Event. I have 25% off all of my inventory, and at the same time I'm running a contest to encourage people to help me advertise my sale.

Jewelry Show, PaaschEPottery, and MORE!

One of my prints! -->

Well, another weekend has come and gone, and this one a HOLIDAY weekend for us in the USA! It was the 4th of July! Friends, family, could it get any better??? The BEST part was when one of our fireworks exploded ON THE GROUND. The pipe holding it just, well, blew up! I didn't manage to get any pictures of that happening, unfortunately. What a sight! The guys ran from it like their butts were on fire! (Maybe their butts WERE on fire! Who knows?!).

I just listed about 20 new Mother-of-Pearl rings in my ArtFire shop! And remember, I'm running a Christmas in July sale, (15% off everything!), until July 31st!

Up next are Mother-of-Pearl hair bobs with Swarovski crystal centers. If I'm ambitious, I'll do that this morning! *grins*

I really should make more hair flowers, too... and I need to make bracelets for my upcoming JEWELRY SHOW this Saturday, July 9th! (It starts at noon! Be here or be square!). As per usual, I will be discounting everything at my show. Plus, free gift with every purchase!!!

How's that for incentive??? Wootz!

Another ArtFire seller by the name of Paasch E Pottery is also running a FABULOUS sale. 25% off all items in her shop. And MAN, does she make some STUNNING pottery-ware. Here's a link to her blog if you, too, want to enter this contest of blogging, promoting, and sharing her fabu sale! Personally, I could resist the chance of winning one of her great mugs! (I NEED A NEW COFFEE MUG, darnit!)

Don't forget to follow me on twitter, facebook or visit my artfire shop!

GIVEAWAY, Jewelry Updates, Mailing List and More!

It's kind of funny how I always end my blog post titles with "and More!". LOL! But there's always so much to talk about!

Look to your right for my new mailing list sign-up. I plan on offering special deals and steals and new news in my newsletter. I'm hoping to only send one once per week, so I don't spam anyone. :) --------------------->

I've decided to have a Jewelry Show Saturday, January 15th, noon to six pm, and Sunday, January 16th, two to four pm. You can see the flyer by clicking here. LOTS OF NEW JEWELRY to choose from. I've been making jewelry like a mad woman, so please come and check it out! You can RSVP by clicking here, (it's a facebook event!). I do hope to see tons of you here! I'm also hoping to offer some sort of refreshments, but we'll see. (Maybe apple cider and cheese and crackers? Any ideas would be appreciated!).

THE GREAT BLOG CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY!
Win a $25 Gift Certificate to my shop!

*Comment below with your email, get an entry.
*Tweet this blog post, get an entry. (Link to your tweet!)
*Blog about this giveaway, get an entry. (Link to your blog post!)
*Mention on facebook, get an entry. (Link to it, please!)
*Follow my blog, get an entry. (I WILL CHECK THESE!)
*BUY SOMETHING FROM MY SHOP, get TWO entries! (Cool, huh?)

Seven CHANCES PER PERSON TO WIN. I'm going to be throwing names into a hat, and drawing out a name to win the gift certificate on DECEMBER 25th, at 9pm CST.

Yes, a hat. ;) I will take a picture of said hat for everyone to view!

It's the best Christmas present I could think to give. SO! Enjoy the giveaway, and post post post!
Because it's an emailed gift certificate, this giveaway is open WORLDWIDE. *love*

Follow me on:

twitter // facebook // artfire // RSVP to jewelry show