Happy Thanksgiving to all. I hope you had a safe, healthy and relaxing Thanksgiving.

Our Etsy NJ sale has been in full swing since Wednesday and will continue on until tomorrow, November 30th. I have decided to extend my sale until December 1st. Most items in my shop are 10% off, one item is 20% off, so hurry before anyone else gets it. Also, any item that costs $45 or more has free shipping. You can visit my shop at www.demdesigns.etsy.com and the Etsy NJ Team link is www.EtsyNJ.com

I have 2 craft fairs coming up, the first is on December 5th at the Middle School in Bridgewater. The address is in the bottom right corner of my blog.

The second is December 12th at the Hope Hose Humane Fire Company in Bordentown. Again, the address is in the botom right corner of my blog.

I hope you will come out to either or both. Tell me you saw the announcement for the craft fairs on my blog and I will give you 10% off your entire purchase. I have some great pieces; earrings and bracelets made with Swarovski crystals, chain maille bracelets, and other great items. I know you will find something for yourself or as a gift.

Enjoy what is left if the weekend and come back to read my blog often. You are welcome to leave comments too.

First Craft Fair

This past weekend, November 7th and 8th I had my first two craft fairs. They were both successful in their own way. Saturday I sold a few things and got the experience of my first craft fair. The 2 vendors right by me were very nice women that I know through the SOMA Artist Guild, Jo and Ann, so I felt comfortable. Pictured on the right is my booth on Saturday.

Sunday I was on my own, and it was outside. It was a little cool in the morning but ended up being a beautiful day. It was a little breezy and kept knocking down one of my displays, so that kept me busy. I met some very nice people and sold some items, just enough to cover the cost of my table. All in all it was a good weekend.

Of course I had to make some purchases and I did by some cards from Jo Bradney who makes some wonderful charcoal drawings, then reproduces them into cards. Check out her Etsy store at www.etsy.com/shop/JoBradney and Ann has great t-shirts and prints, her store is www.etsy.com/shop/BeastlyBeasties. On Sunday I bought a piece of pottery that is a honey pot, it's so cute and reminds me of Winney the Poo, that was from Karen of Burnt Mill Potters and her Etsy store is www.BurntMillPotters.Etsy.com

I sold lots of eyeglass holders and badge holders, charm bracelets, rings and earrings. My next show is on December 5th at the Bridgewater Raritan Middle School, Merriwood Drive in Bridgewater, NJ from 10 am to 4 pm. This is an all hand made fair, no commercial items will be sold. If you can make it, stop by my booth and let me know that you read my blog and I will give you a 10% discount on your purchases.

New Rng

I hope you had a Happy Halloween. I can't believe it's November already.

Been busy making jewelry and decided to try somehing new with silver wire. I made this ring with sterling wire and a glass bead. I am very proud of the way it came out. It took quite a while to get the wire small enough to fit my finger but it finally worked. I'm going to take orders at craft fairs so I can customize the ring to the size and color that people want. If you would like to order a ring you can contact me through email at demclach@yahoo.com Tell me your ring size and the color stone that you would like. I'll send you a price quote, then will post the ring as a special order on my Etsy site at www.demdesigns.etsy.com That way I'll get shipping info right through Etsy.

I'm going to be very busy over the next 2 months so blogs may be few and far between but I'll try to keep writing at least once every 2 weeks.

It would be nice to see you all in person at at least one of the craft shows, if you can't make it I'll take pictures and post them on the blog, . The craft fair locations are in the bottom box on the right side of the blog. Englishtown Street Party was rescheduled to May 15th because of the weather and that is one I was really looking forward to. All the others will be fun too!

Happy crafting.

Holiday Season Ahead

This weekend I was supposed to have a booth at the Englishtown Street Party; due to the rain and cold weather it was rescheduled and will be held on May 15 2010. I've been working really hard to get enough to sell, so I have lots in stock. The good news is that I have 2 other craft fairs lined up, one on November 7 and one December 12. This delay has given me a head start on the stock for my other booths.

The picture on the right is a pair of really cute earrings that I made. I thought the poka-dots were really fun and the blue will make them great to pair with jeans.

Look for me at the following craft fairs:
November 7: The Woman's Club of Maplewood Holiday Bazar
60 Woodland Road, Maplewood, NJ
10:00 am to 3:00 pm - there will be over 30 vendors and crafters
50% of the profit will benefit Autism New Jersey

December 12: Hope Hose Humane Vendor Fair
150 West Burlington Street, Bordentown, NJ 08505
9:00 am to 3:00 pm
Part of the profits will benefit the fire company.

The Englishtown Street Party is rescheduled and will be held on May 15, 2010.

I'm disappointed that it has gotten so cold so fast, we didn't really have a fall this year. I went right from summer to winter weather. My friends in Florida are complaining that it's too hot, apparently they are having a heat wave - or should I say they are hogging all the warmth. I was looking forward to a beautiful crisp fall day to be outside showing my jewelry at the street party.

If you can come to either of the upcoming fairs, stop by and see me at the Designs By Denise booth. I have a banner with the store name on it. Meanwhile if I can get into any other craft fairs I'll let you know.

By the way, there is a page on my website that lists the craft fairs that I know of, so check it out if you are looking for something to do on the weekends. My website is www.JewelrybyDM.com

Donations Needed

This week I'm going to go off the subject of jewelry and talk about another subject that is important to me, and that's helping others. I am a supporter of cancer research, not just one type of cancer, any type. The way I look at it is, if they find a cure for one type then the others won't be far behind.

That being said, I received an email from a doctor that I worked for when I lived in Florida and she is doing a fundraiser for a group called Free To Breathe, it's lung cancer research and they have a website where you can donate, or, if you live in Florida, they are doing a walk on October 31st and you can walk too. If you can, please help. Just click on this link: http://participate.freetobreathe.org/site/TR/RunWalk/General?px=1091901&pg=personal&fr_id=1230&s_tafId=1442 where you can donate to the cause, I did. It doesn't have to be much, every dollar helps. If the link doesn't work, cut and paste it to your browser's address line.

Thank you so much.

New Items to Share

Hello All! I hope you have had a great weekend. I've been busy making items for the upcoming craft fairs. So busy that my fingers hurt from bending wire. Got a new shipment of crystals and they are in many of the upcoming fall colors. Here is a picture of earrings that I made. I call these the beach lovers earrings because of the sand and sea colors. I also made a matching bracelet.

I hope you will visit my booth at the Englishtown street fair on October 17th. I will also be at the Hope Hose Humane Co. #1 Fair in Bordentown City, NJ on Dec. 12th from 12 - 5pm, it is a fun raiser for the fire department. More on other fairs where I'll be. You can also check out a list of other craft and street fairs on my website at www.jewelrybydm.com.

My first newsletter will be published within the next 2 weeks and it's going to talk about all the new fall colors and what the upcoming fashion season has in store for us. Sign up for my news letter on my website home page www.jewelrybydm.com, there is a link at the bottom of the page.

Have to get back to work. Come back next week for another post and feel free to make comments.

Craft Fair Prep

In October I'll be doing my first craft fair and I'm really nervous about it. I got together all of the jewelry that I made to sell, that isn't posted on Etsy, to see how much I have - and it's not enough. So today I have to decide how much and what to make. I know it's a month away, but when you're busy a month goes fast. I want to be prepared ahead of time and not have to rush at the last minute.

While going through my things I found these little pixies that I made. My friend's daughters loved them so I made quite a few of them, some are pins and some are charms with the cell phone charm cords on them. They are really cute. Here is a picture of a few. What do you think?

It's so exciting, I can't wait to get out there and see how people react to my jewelry in person. I haven't had any success on Etsy although there are quite a few hits on the items in my store and a few items have even been marked as favorites. This will be face to face and I think that's important in sales.

That's all for now.
Happy crafting.