Love is in the Air

 Valentine's-themed treasuries are already cropping up on Etsy, and have been since around the start of the year. I'm really not prepared. My heart jewelry is really picked over, in fact, I think these two bracelets might be all I have left! I'll have to add romantic jewelry to my list of things to make this week, right up there with steampunk jewelry and hairsticks. Maybe I can triple up and make a hairstick with a heart key hanging from it?

If you're looking for a unique Valentine's Day Gift, you can pick up Blue Heart Spiral Bracelet or Lovestruck Crystal Bracelet in my shop!

Love and Sparkles!

Happy Valentine's Day! You know I am not the sort to usually celebrate this holiday -- not because I'm not in love, or not because I feel like it's overly commercialized, but mostly because it falls between the gem show and our anniversary, so I would feel silly expecting to get additional sparkly gifts. This year we are having a bit of a romantic day, with plans for him to get off of work early and make me a delicious dinner. No gifts needed, just a night to ourselves without work, house guests, or outside obligations of any sort.

But I do have a gift for you! Well, not really a gift so much as an offer. You can use the code loveandsparkles at Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs to get 15% off anything and everything in the store! So buy yourself something beautiful, or get someone else a sparkly surprise. And have a lovely day, whether or not you're celebrating romance.

Gothic Romance

I told you I wasn't going to make traditional Valentine's jewelry! Instead, I'm offering two darkly romantic offerings. First, Romance and Corsetry, which features a sexy little pewter heart by Green Girl Studios! This beauty was already featured in a treasury, I give you my HEART for Valentines Day.

Love Hurts is less elegant and more in-your-face. The awesome focal is by Earthenwood Studios, and is paired with black pyrite and red Swarovski crystals. Very dramatic and Goth.

I have to admit that Valentine's Day is not a big deal for my husband and I -- it's sandwiched neatly between gem show and our wedding anniversary, so I'd feel rather greedy asking for anything to mark the day. But I'm more than happy to facilitate a happy holiday by providing handmade, romantic jewelry from Erthe Fae Designs.

Wuv.... twue wuv... that dweam within a dweam...

Valentine's Day is just a month and a half away, which means that most people aren't even thinking about it yet -- we're all basking in the post-Christmas afterglow, enjoying our gifts, getting ready for New Year's revelries. But as a jewelry designer, I have to think ahead and decide what I'm going to create to capitalize on the holiday. To inspire myself, I created this Thoughts turn to romance... treasury. It features elegant designs that evoke a Valentine's Day feeling, while still holding a year-round appeal. I've never been one for making blatant holiday jewelry, maybe because I've never been one for wearing it. So I'll design with hearts and flowers, and in red or pink, but not all of those elements together. Starting next month, keep an eye on Handmade Jewelry by Erthe Fae Designs for new one of a kind pieces evoking a sense of Victorian romance.

This was supposed to post while I was in Vegas, but it didn't. Apparently if you accidentally post something right away, and then try to change it to post later, it doesn't work. So I apologize for the long silence here. I had intended things to be slightly more entertaining while I was gone!

Vegas was fun, it was nice to spend a few days with one of my friends, just shopping, enjoying the sights, and hanging out.

Earrings! You can win a pair!

As promised last week, some new goodies made with Valentine's Day Beads from Artbeads.com. These two pairs of earrings feature the glass heart beads that didn't quite match the ceramic heart pendant that I used for The Sun Spirals Ever Onward.

I didn't pay much attention to the description, and thought that the brown hearts in Herbal Love Potion were bronze metallic, but they're actually dark brown pearl. The finish is slightly satiny and very attractive. It seems pretty durable, too, and didn't have as much excess pearl-coating around the hole as some pearlized beads do. There's a bit of angling at the hole on a couple of them, but they still hang straight and are perfectly heart-shaped.

Hearts in Motion features tortoise shell glass heart beads. I love tortoise shell because it's such a warm, earthy color. In these earrings, it's joined by Swarovski crystals and crystal pearls as well as red tiger's eye, for a rainbow of yummy brown shades. These hearts are even more well-formed than the brown pearl ones. I like this size of heart because a 4mm Swarovski bicone nestles perfectly at the top.

Do you know what else is special about the Hearts in Motion earrings? I'm giving them away! To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is become a fan of Erthe Fae Designs on Facebook. Current fans are automatically entered into the drawing. On Friday night I'll draw a random name and the lucky winner will receive these beautiful earrings free of charge.

(Boring official rules: Contest is only open to US residents age 18 or over. My family members are exempt from the drawing, even though I know they're my fans, because that's how these things go. Earrings have a retail value of $25. Winning fan will be notified via Facebook on Friday night).

I know some of you aren't into Facebook, but I have plans to start doing giveaways every month, and each time the way to enter will be different, so everyone has a chance to win something.

Speaking of winning stuff, do you know what's even better than winning a free pair of Erthe Fae Designs earrings? Winning a $1000 Artbeads.com shopping spree! That's a lot of beads. The contest is about to close, so don't forget to enter before it's too late.

FTC Disclaimer: The glass heart beads used in the above earrings were provided free of charge by Artbeads.com for promotional consideration. I have provided my honest review of the free products given to me.

The Sun Spirals Ever Onward

Due to everything that I had going on this month, I am just now getting around to using the beads that Artbeads.com sent me to promote their Valentine's Day category. For shame! Of course, I chose earthy hearts, so the things that I'm making have year-round appeal for heart lovers.

I was especially drawn to this heart pendant by Golem Design Studios, from the Ceramic Pendants section. The design reminded me of spiraling gears, or the cross-section of a nautilus shell. I had originally picked out some nice brown heart beads to go with it, but when they got here I decided that the colors didn't quite match, so I dived into my stash for inspiration. I found Swarovski crystals, chatoyant stones, and vintage topaz-hued glass. The result is this almost-steampunk necklace called The Sun Spirals Ever Onward.

I still have the brown heart beads, and a pretty copper heart clasp to use, so keep your eyes open early next week for more earthy love! I'm thinking there might even be a give-away involved.

In other news, I feel like buying some more dance costumes, and my budget doesn't think I should, so I'm having a free shipping sale! All purchases over $25 qualify for free US and International shipping. Just purchase as usual and I'll refund the shipping fees. This sale ends at 11:59pm MST on Sunday the 28th. Visit my Etsy shop and see what catches your eye.

Edited to add FTC Disclaimer: Some of the items in the above necklace were provided free of charge by Artbeads.com for review purposes. I provide my honest opinion of the products I receive, and I get no other compensation for it.