Weiswomen Creations

I teased you all recently with a photo of our dog in a handmade Snuggie. Here's another shot of the handsome devil in his lovely handcrafted garment:



Now, a rational person might wonder why I decided to sew my dog a fleece snuggie in the middle of the summer (and before you say I was cruel to the dog, he only had it on for a few minutes and we were in an air conditioned room). The story starts last October with a pumpkin decorating contest at my husband's company. A several day process of brainstorming, craft supply shopping, painting, and bedazzling led to this beauty:
It was shiny and pretty and sparkly and had geeky, pumpkin-related humor. It didn't win. I vowed never to enter the contest again. Then they announced a new contest - a photo contest featuring employees and their family members wearing company swag. My super-competitive nature started kicking in. I had taking sewing classes this year. McCall's had just released a new pattern for snuggie-like blankets. Joann Fabrics was having a sale on McCall's patterns that weekend. It was like the perfect storm. So I got the pattern and some test fabric and in a few hours Bunk had a snazzy new garment. My husband helpfully provided me with a company-themed fleece blanket and now a photo of Bunk in his logo-adorned snuggie has been entered in the contest. If we don't win for that I swear I'm not entering more company contests. Until the next time of course.

You know what else I've been doing on my blogging vacation? Sweating. I know, oversharing. But this summer has felt particularly brutal. I read today that it was New York's hottest summer and while I don't know the stats for the Boston area we may be in the running for that title as well. Take a gander at the thermostat on our third floor taken today:

As I explained/complained last summer, we live in a very old two family house which means a couple of things: our bedroom and my home office are on the third floor and central AC isn't a viable option. Thankfully we have two window units but on days like today I basically go back and forth between my home office and the bedroom. With so many days like today I've been feeling a little stir crazy. Current forecast is for one more day like today and then a break in the heat. Feel free to remind me about this post when I start complaining about how cold it is...

So, um, yeah...I know how bad this looks. It was over a year ago that I returned from a blogging hiatus and now I'm back in the same boat. I have no real excuses...lots of stories and pretty pictures and shiny objects but no real excuses. In a fit of productivity this weekend I resumed tweeting and decided to focus primarily on our Weiswomen Creations shop on Artfire. I also did some major stash-busting in the bead collection and have lots of new earrings (and a few bracelets) to be posted in the coming weeks. In between showing off the new shiny objects I'll attempt to entertain you with some of the highlights of the past year. A few photos to hopefully pique your interest:

That's right, I said sale. Thanks to a cool new feature at ArtFire, we're have a 20% off sale on all of the jewelry in our shop there. Lots of earrings from our Etsy shop have even been temporarily moved there so you can have a wider selection to choose from. The sale ends this Saturday, October 10th and use the code OCTOBER at check-out.

More frequent entries coming soon about my new precious (i.e. MacBook), why weekend with your girlfriends rock, and the dates for this year's holiday shopping open houses.

Well, maybe not famous. But one of Judy's fabulous fall photo cards was featured in the Find of the Day on FoundHandmade! They did a wonderful collection of scarecrows and we're very proud that the photo in this post was included. FoundHandmade looks like a pretty cool site and I'm planning on checking out more of what they have to offer.

It's been busy here at Weiswomen HQ. The other half of Weiswomen Creations (aka, my mom) is headed to Boston as we speak, along with another Weiswoman (aka, my sister). We have a fun-filled weekend planned, including a Duck Tour. In addition to getting ready for their visit (oh, and working at my day job) I've been ramping up different aspects of our business. I already posted about rearranging our Etsy shop but there has been lots more going on:

*Making more jewelry (like the lovely starburst earrings pictured in this post).

*Adding all the new jewelry to our inventory program, photographing it, and listing it.

*Listing our fabulous Fall themed photo cards in all three shops.

*Setting up an ArtFire kiosk on our brand new Facebook Fan Page.

*Ordering a new design for our business cards and labels, by the wonderful Thompson Designs. They are going to have the same awesome design as all of our shop banners.

*Ordering mailing envelopes, jewelry boxes, earrings displays, and gift bags.

There are still lots more new products to come, including our Halloween photo cards. Plus, be on the lookout for the announcement of our first ever sale!

I'm so excited. After a long (reaaaaalllllyyy long) wait, we can finally rearrange our Weiswomen Etsy shop. Every who knows me can attest to the fact that I'm a little (well, a lot) anal retentive. It has always bothered me that our shop looked disorganized - the items are featured in the order they were posted, so items of different colors and types were all mixed in together. Well, today was my lucky day. The new "rearrange your shop" feature went live and I could take action. There are so many possibilities! Do I put all the channel set Swarovski earrings together? Or all the photo cards? Or all the cloisonne?

I decided to start with organizing by color, a preference I've mentioned before. Of course there are dilemmas - like the pretty mixed stone memory wire bracelet in the photo, where does that go? What did I decide? You'll have to visit our shop to find out.

And last but not least, the pet that lives with the other Weiswoman - Buddy Harry. Like Pierre, Buddy was an accidental acquisition. We had dogs growing up, most notably two different dogs named Daisy (and come to think of it, the second Daisy was an accidental acquisition as well, this might be a family thing). This story won't be as long as the other two Weiswomen pet stories (stop applauding!) because I wasn't there for this one. Apparently, my father came home from work one night with Buddy and now he's part of the family. My sister is a major Harry Potter fan so she added "Harry" to his name. He's a Pekingese, a pretty chill dog and as you can see, pretty adorable as well. When my mother started using Photoshop Elements to make photo cards she got the great idea to make Pop-Art style pet portraits. We're going to have her create one for Bunk and you can have one made for your own pet too!

It has been hot in the Boston area lately and because our house is old (and I mean old, like 1800s old) there is no central air conditioning. I work from home and our bedroom and my office is on the third floor. For over a week the thermostat read 90 degrees on the third floor and not much cooler on the second floor, which is where our living room and kitchen are. I know, I've just confused everyone not used to the whole two-family house thing. If I try and explain the layout of our house I'll probably just confuse you more.

So, all of that rambling was just an introduction to the fact that it was too hot to cook for quite a while. I really like baking and now that we have our nice new kitchen I like it even more (someday I'll write about what our kitchen used to look like, including the picture of the carpeted floor and the stove with two knobs). A few weeks ago I got two new baking cookbooks that looked amazing and last night it was finally cool enough to bake in our kitchen without baking ourselves. I started with Baked, from the guys at the bakery of the same name in Brooklyn. I have been drooling over this book since I got it and last night I tried the Pumpkin and Chocolate Chip loaf you see pictured above. I have to admit, I only really started liking pumpkin recently and if you're a skeptic at all, this will make you a major fan. Very easy to make and absolutely delicious. If you want to try an entree, I highly recommend the pumpkin ravioli with Gorgonzola sauce from Cooking Light magazine (recipe at the link). The thought of making a layer cake frightens me for some reason but someday soon I'm going to tackle two of the cakes from Baked: Malted Cake and Sweet & Salty Cake. Bon Appétit!

Moving on now to our current pet companion - Bunk. The Bunkster. The Bunkinator. Sir Bunkalicious. My husband and I were both raised with dogs and he's clearly a dog person. He grew to love my cat Pierre but he always wanted a dog. After Pierre was gone it was a while before we were ready for another pet. And then there was the kitchen renovation - who really wants to bring a new dog into the house when it looks like this?

So, we waited. Then the kitchen was done. Then we were headed to Michigan for a family event. Then there was a vacation. Then we started looking at local shelters and rescue organizations. Then I was traveling for work. We looked at a lot of dogs. My husband wanted a big dog. I wanted a small dog. I joked that we would get a medium dog and name it "compromise." Everyone said that we would know the right dog when we found it. And we did. There was a dog we liked at a rescue organization that ultimately got adopted by the foster family but the organization kept us in mind when "Jack" came in. They actually brought him to our house one night in March so we could meet him and we immediately fell in love with him. He stayed and we renamed him "Bunk," here he is the first night:

He's still a puppy and there have been some bumps along the road but we can't imagine life without him now. By the way, if you're in the Boston metro area we have some great dog-related recommendations. Looking for a veterinarian? Check out Highland Animal Hospital (they're great for all pets!). Need someone to walk your dog or take them to playgroup? Look no further that Wags 4 Walks, you can't imagine how excited Bunk gets when it's time to go to playgroup. Finally, if you need some help with training, Dan from Cavalletto Canine is amazing.

Part II of the "Meet the Weiswomen Pets" series is coming soon - you know what that means, more cute dog pictures! Before that, a brief moment of shameless begging. See that little box right above this post? If you're on Facebook please consider becoming a fan of Weiswomen Creations. They're be special offers, announcements, and photos. Thanks!

Pets are very important to the Weiswomen and I thought it might be fun to share a little bit about the furry creatures that have been so important to us. I'll start with the Massachusetts branch of the Weiswomen Creations family (a.k.a., Me!). I know I mentioned earlier that we have a new canine addition to our home. But before I get to him I feel that the original Weiswomen Creations pet should get some recognition even though he's no longer with us (consider that your spoiler alert if you don't like reading about illness and animals, this gets a little maudlin). He's the handsome creature pictured here: Pierre. And before you ask, I don't know why he's named Pierre, he came to me with that name.

To be honest, I've never been a cat person. Our family always had dogs and my father is violently allergic to cats (and I mean violently - when Pierre was still with us my father lasted about 5 minutes in our house and then had to leave). I basically accidentally adopted him when I lived in New York City. In 2000 (I actually think it was New Year's Day), a friend called looking for a temporary home for Pierre - someone was supposed to be adopting him but they were out of town. After warning my friend that I had no idea how to take care of cats, I suddenly had a cat in my apartment. More precisely, I had a cat under my bed. Eventually we lured him out with a straw (don't ask, that cat ignored most of the toys I bought for him but a plastic straw could make him ecstatic). One of my best friends came over and smugly said "you're totally keeping that cat." "No, I'm not," I replied, "This is just temporary." You all know where this is going...after a couple of weeks the intended adoptive cat-parent was still away, nobody knew when he coming back, and I was smitten.

When I moved to Maryland to start a PhD program Pierre of course came with me. It was a bit of an adjustment for a city cat but once he got used to those strange things called trees outside my apartment window he was fine. Then I met the man who eventually became my husband and I eventually moved to Massachusetts to be with him. He was not a cat person but knew we were a package deal and that Pierre had been with me longer than he had. So, Pierre ventured up north for his third home. I curious how he would deal with our new house - he was used to one bedroom apartments and now we were in a house with lots of stairs. We arrived very late at night, after a long day of travel in his carrier. We let him out and he immediately began racing around the house. Apparently stairs were pretty cool and all the extra room was great for running around the house at top speed.

All was happy and good in our little world. My boyfriend and I got engaged and then married and Pierre made a special appearance in our Save the Date newsletter. My husband admitted that Pierre wasn't bad "for a cat." In February 2007 I was trying to finish my dissertation. First we had a pipe break in the house. Then the next week I took Pierre to the vet for a routine exam (he was now a "Senior Cat" at age 11) and they discovered a lump in his throat which was eventually revealed as a tumor. I'll spare the gory details and crying that ensued but February was a pretty horrible month. They said he had a few months to live. I then informed Pierre that he needed to live long enough for me to finish my PhD, there was no way I could deal with the last stages of my dissertation and grieving his loss at the same time. People scoffed but he was still going strong when I finally finished my PhD in May. Then I told him that he needed to hang on long enough for me to get a job. During my job search my mother and I started Weiswomen Creations. Our amazing vet said that clearly my directives were working since he had already lived past their predictions. In September, a week after I was offered a permanent job my husband and I could tell that the end was near. I know this is cheesy and overly sentimental and has possibly crossed the line into "crazy cat lady" territory. but I do believe that he hung on until he knew I would be ok. He came into my life just as I was applying to doctoral programs and stayed until it was all over.

So, that's the first Weiswomen pet. Hopefully I haven't bummed all of you out but I felt Pierre needed his moment in the sun before we fully introduced our dog. Pierre was a pretty big Diva so I'm sure he would agree with my decision.

Congrats to Carolyn, who won the first ever Weiswomen Creations earrings. A lovely pair of Swarovski Channel Set Drop earrings will soon be hers! A random number generator from random.org was used to select the winning comment number.

Carolyn chose the Smoked Topaz earrings you see here, but they will be created in a silver version.

Thanks to everyone who entered and checked out all of our pretty earrings.

Although he is mighty cute, I know I can't just post a photo of our dog and have you all forget that I abandoned the blog for over a year. I promised a giveaway and here it is...

See those pretty, sparkling earrings in the photo? They (or a similar pair) could be yours! I am a huge fan of these Swarovski drop earrings and I've actually blogged about them before. They come in a huge range of colors, are appropriate for day and evening, and are affordable.

This is our first giveaway so I'm making it easy - check out the Swarovski Channel Set Drop Earrings that we offer in our Etsy Shop and/or 1000 Markets Shop. Let us know in the comments which one is your favorite (don't worry, if you win and change your mind you can choose a different pair). If you're ok with waiting a few weeks, you can even get a custom pair with the color, finish, and size of your choosing!

Here are the details on the custom pairs:

They are available in two sizes, 4mm & 6mm, and two settings, rhodium plated & gold plated. So, you are able to design the perfect pair just for you!

Available in all sizes: Crystal, Light Rose, Rose, Fuchsia, Siam, Smoked Topaz, Topaz, Light Colorado Topaz, Jonquil, Peridot, Emerald, Blue Zircon, Aqua, Light Sapphire, Sapphire, Light Amethyst, Amethyst, Black Diamond, Jet

Available in 6mm only: Light Peach, Padparadscha, Crystal Golden Shadow, Chrysolite, Ernite, Tanzanite

Winner will be chosen at random from the comments next Friday, August 14th so make sure you comment by Midnight EST on Thursday, August 13th. The winner will be contacted via e-mail and then announced on the blog (when you comment there should be some way to contact you - via e-mail or website). Weiswomen Creations ships internationally so this giveaway is open to everyone.

Well, this is awkward...seems I have totally abandoned our poor blog. I know, I know, excuses are lame but I do have a few. We renovated our kitchen. We were opening new shops on Artfire and 1000 Markets. Plus, you know, the whole work thing. Oh, and we got a dog. See? Picture of a cute dog. You forgive me now, right?

No, you need more? Well, fine, be like that. How about a giveaway? You'll have to wait just a little bit more but I promise (really) that it's coming. I want to do a little more housecleaning on the old blog. You know, clear out the cobwebs and such. In the meantime, check out the new shops or stare at the cute dog - he's irresistible isn't he? You can even follow me on twitter now, I'll be announcing the giveaway there too.

Does anyone else remember the kid's song "I Can Sing a Rainbow?" I thought of it yesterday as I was working on my latest series of bracelets. I've made them in six different colors so far - only the red one is listed in our store as of this afternoon but bracelets in orange, blue, green, purple, and black are coming soon. I've posted some photos here as a sneak peek. UPDATE: All posted in our Artfire shop!

Sadly, I can't really sing a rainbow and most people who know me will pay me not to sing. But I do love rainbows and have ever since I was a little girl. I would arrange my markers or crayons in rainbow color order, a habit that continues I continue to this day with all of my crafting supplies. By the way, you can all just keep those anal retentive comments to yourself!

I know it's cliche to comment on how quickly time passes, but I'm compelled to do it anyway. How can it be May already? May 1st is one of my friend's birthdays. We don't keep in touch that much anymore but every year on May 1st I think of him - I never forget his birthday because of the James Taylor song "First of May." If you haven't heard it you should check it out, it's a pretty great song, even without the personal connection! I'll have to crank it up on iTunes later in his honor.

I've been feeling a touch cranky lately, a statement my husband will quickly confirm and perhaps feel is an understatement. I figured since today was a new month I could get all wacky and start the month with some positive thoughts. It's a stretch for my sarcastic, pessimistic self but let's give it a go anyway. If pigs start flying later today you'll know who to blame.

So...some happy thoughts:

• One of my best friends is coming for a spontaneous visit tomorrow.
• While he's here we're going to plan our summer vacation.
• A new episode of Lost is on tonight.
• I'll be in NYC next week and will have some time to go bead shopping.
• This afternoon I'm going shopping and with my very cool former boss.
• Thanks to the birthday gift I got from my awesome husband I now have all five seasons of Alias on DVD and can watch Jennifer Garner kick ass anytime I want.
• Our kitchen renovation is moving along (I'm tempted to say but not as quickly as I would like but that violates the happy though rule).
• See those pretty pink earrings at the top of the post? I kept them, a fine example of the risks of owning a jewelry business I mentioned previously.
  

It's time to start my work day - a very happy first of May to you all!

Periodically we'll be having special promotions for our readers, including giveaways! Our very first promotion involves our newly created mailing list. It's that nifty box at the top of the column on the far right. Mailing list members will receive periodic updates on what's going on with Weiswomen Creations and be notified of new product lines, special events, and sales. Your information will never be shared and we promise not to spam you!

Here's our mailing list promotion: The first 10 people to sign up will receive free shipping (anywhere in the world - we ship internationally) on their Weiswomen Creations order. I'll e-mail the lucky winners with a special code to use for free shipping on an order.

Well, I'm not 100% perfect today and neither is the blog but I think we're both better! I have my new template mostly set up - I know the fonts need to be bigger. I've recreated the blog roll and other widgets. If your blog was previously linked and it's gone please let me know. This latest incarnation of the blog still needs some tweaking but at least it's not the hot mess it was last night! As for me, I'm not a hot mess anymore but I'm not 100% back to full health either. Here's hoping everything is back to full functioning very soon.

The free shipping offer in the previous post still stands - I'll keep it up until someone comments with the answer!

So yeah, you're not seeing things...the blog has been changing all afternoon. Since I'm pretty much couch-bound today due to my cold/illness/whatever I spent all day on my laptop and decided that my blogger template was boring. I found a new one and have now lost most of the page elements I spent so much time setting up. Changes will probably continue until I fix everything or get frustrated - whatever comes first. Please bear with me!


*Free shipping on a Weiswomen Creations order for the first person who correctly identifies this reference in the comments!