New Blog!!

Hi everyone!!

I just started a new blog about my quest to go natural in my life, and was hoping that you guys would go and check it out. If you follow me on that blog I will gladly follow you back, just leave your blog in a comment! I want to thank you guys for reading this blog (even though I have been lacking on posting, but hopefully my new blog will see more posts :D)  

Here is a link to my new blog:

http://naturallywacky.blogspot.com/

Thanks for reading!

Winter Jewelry

Hey everyone! Sorry it has been forever since I have blogged, I feel like I have been neglecting you guys. But I have just started listing my winter jewelry and thought I would check-in with you guys.

But I am so excited to tell everyone that the Nov/Dec sampler village boxes come out in 4 days, and one thing I know for sure is that I can't wait to get my hands on one! Be sure to check me out in them, I only sent in 25 samples but hopefully you will be able to get your hands on one that I am in. I sent in Holiday Chocolate Chip Cookies (w/red and green chocolate chips).

Also hop on over to For Goodness Grape on etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ForGoodnessGrape and see the holiday tube toppers that I custom made for her items.

Finally, I was thinking about starting a lip balm review series. Winter is here and I know this a horrible time for dry lips, let me know what you think!!

Thanks for reading!

Here Comes Irene!

Well folks its about that time, we are supposed to begin getting hit by Irene at 5pm this afternoon. With the hardest part of the hurricane coming at around 1-3 am. All I know it that I will be sleeping in the basement tonight and won't come out until I know it is over.

I don't think we are going to have terrible damage, but they are saying high winds (and we are basically living in a forest :D) and rain but we aren't that close to the eye so hopefully the storm won't affect us to much.

Around my area we have already been notified that there will be wide-spread power outages and it could take 24 hours for our power company to even get out and assess the damage. 24 hours!! What could they possibly be doing for those 24 hours??

Well, it is already starting to pour down rain and wind is starting to pick up so to the basement I go!!

Wish me luck and I hope everyone else stays dry as well :) Thanks for reading my blog!

Fall Jewelry Coming Soon!

 

FALL JEWELRY COMING SOON!! Release dates (more to be announced later!):
Aug 27- Pumpkin Earrings
Aug 28- Candy Corn Earrings
Aug 29- Eyeball Earrings
Aug 30- Pumpkin Pie Studs
Aug 31- Candy Corn Studs
Sept 1- 2D Glow in the Dark Ghost Earrings
Sept 2- Bat Earrings
Sept 3- 3D Glow in the Dark Ghost Earrings
Sept 4- Caramel Apple Earrings
Sept 5- Jack-O-Lantern Earrings
Sept 6- Pumpkin Pie Earrings

WINTER JEWELRY COMING LATE OCTOBER!Sign-up for our newsletter for updates on the new holiday lines! http://creationsbycolette.blogspot.com/p/sign-up-for-our-newsletter.html

Can't wait to get your hands on one? Send me a convo of the earrings you want to see along with your e-mail. I will e-mail a pic of it to you and if you like it I will set up a custom listing for you! 

My etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/CreationsbyColette?ref=si_shop
Thanks so much for reading my blog and happy last days of summer!

Meet Your Newest Sampler Villager!

And if you couldn't guess, I was meaning me. That's right I am so excited to announce that I will be a part of the awesome Nov/Dec box from Sampler Villager.

Check them out and pick up a box because they are absolutely amazing. I just received a box from her and I can't wait to try out all the fantastic goodies (20 in total!!). There is everything from soaps, soy tarts, eye shadow to cupcake topper and a cute dog bow (which my dog wasn't to happy about wearing :() Their next box comes out Sept. 21, I believe, so be prepared to place your order :D 

http://samplervillage.com/

http://www.etsy.com/shop/samplervillage

I am planning on sending in ring samples and I was thinking eitheir cookies with red and green M&M's or donuts with red and green sprinkles. Also possibly a present cut in half so it lies pretty flat on the ring. Which one do you guys think you would most want to recieve?

Thanks so much for reading my blog!

Etsy Shop Review: For Goodness Grape

Welcome to ForGoodnessGrape the Etsy shop where you'll find ALL YOU NEED TO LOOK & FEEL GRAPE!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/forgoodnessgrape

Before I made my purchase with this shop, I had been wanting to order SO many things and I had a hard time narrowing it down to even just the things I ordered. Although one thing I really wish I had ordered from her shop was her lip candy (which I am really eyeing at the moment, but am going to have to wait because I have already splurged this month :D)

Okay, enough of my wants and wishes...on to the amazing review I have for you guys!

What I Ordered:

Let me explain how I ordered these first. I made my purchase during the Christmas in July event  so she had tons of awesome specials going on. She only had one of the perfume stix sales up, so I contacted her about listing another and by the end of the day it was up, fantastic!

Here are the scents of the perfume stix I ordered:

1) Soapy Clean

2) Citrus Explosion

3) Pin-Up Girl

4) Doni

5) Plumeria

6) Butt Naked
Each perfume stick costs $6.25 normally, but I got great deal on them during her Christmas in July event.

Customer Service

I must say her customer service was fantastic! She responded so quickly to all of my questions and listed the listing I asked for at lightning-speed. All of her responses were so nice and caring and I really could tell she cared about her customers.

Shipping

Shipping time was the area that disappointed me the most out of this whole order, but would definitely not deter me from ordering from her again (her products are fabulous). Now, let me make something clear, she does make it very clear that shipping will take 7-10 to ensure freshness. I am not complaining about the time, more just letting you guys know that she makes you wait to enjoy her fantastic products :D But the products are totally worth the wait! I ordered my products on July 8 and received them on July 28.

Quality

The quality of these products is unbelievable and I am in love with them. My favorite scent: Plumeria, lasts forever and smells divine. The solid perfume is very smooth and creamy and glides on very easy. The scents as I said above last the longest amount of time I have ever seen from a solid perfume. While they don't last all day long it is so easy to just to pop one in your purse or pocket and re-apply partway through the day.

Scents

1) Soapy Clean- this scent really does smell like a soapy clean. To me it reminds me of the smell of the little soaps you get when you stay at hotels, very clean!

2) Citrus Explosion- I am a big fan of the Satsuma scent and was hoping this would stand up to that scent. I must say it doesn't smell much like Satsuma but it does smell very citrusy and fruity with a hint of sweetness in it.

3)Pin-Up Girl- this one is really hard to explain but I really do like it, I would explain it as fruity and fresh with a hint of sophistication in it. I don't wear it as an everyday scent but it is great for going out and parties.

4) Doni- I would have to say this one is probably my least favorite scent, to me it smells like a store where they burn the incense sticks. It does smell really good but it is not really my kind of scent.

5) Plumeria- THIS IS MY FAVORITE ONE!! I love the scent of this one, it is so fresh with a hint of floral to it. I have been wearing this almost everyday since I have gotten it and haven't even made a dent into it.

6) Butt Naked- this scent is very sweet and reminds me of bubblegum and cotton candy (don't quote me on those, I am not the best at determining scents) but it is fruity and sweet all at the same time, awesome! 

Packaging

All of my products arrived in a padded envelope and were cutely wrapped in a little plastic bag (business card included) and tied with pretty ribbon. It all arrived in perfect condition and I was very impressed with the packaging.

Overall

Overall I am so impressed with For Goodness Grape, the products are top quality and last a super long time. Shipping, while it did take a bit, was fairly priced and honestly (even though it does take longer than ordering jewelry) is reasonable because she makes each of your items fresh and just for you.

 Go check out her shop right now and order and boatload, you won't regret it!

 Hopefully sometime soon I will order some of her fantastic lip candy and will also provide you guys with a review on those, which I am sure are going to be fantastic!!

Polymer Clay 101: Red Snow Cone

The summer months are here and not letting us off easy either. Here is a tutorial for a treat that is sure to cool you down during these record-breaking temperatures: SNOW CONE!

First start with a ball of white clay.

 Work with the clay and form it until you get something like this.

 Cut off the rounded area at the top so you are left with a flat top.

 With more white clay, roll out a long thin snake.

 Wrap it around the top of your bases.

 Next take some red clay (you can use any color depending on what color you want your snow cone, even rainbow!)

 Roll out two balls and cut the bottom off so they sit flat.

 Take some TLS on a toothpick.

 First poke a hole in the top of your ball (where you will later place your eyepin) and cover the ball with TLS.

 Next take some clear mini class marbles.

 Place your balls in it and roll them around until they are covered.

Now the next few steps I didn't take pictures of because I forgot all about it but here is how you finish them off.

1) First cook the white base until it hardens.

2) Next, use a little bit of TLS on the top of the base, then place your ball on top of it with the eyepin in it.

3) Bake this until it hardens, the TLS will harden as well creating a bond between you base and ball so they will not separate.

4) Glaze and attach to earring hooks, and your done!

While these exact earrings have already sold, here is a link to similar ones but in blue:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/77365998/blue-snow-cone-polymer-clay-earrings

Thanks so much for reading my blog and hope you like the tutorial. Stay cool during these hot days!

Reviews to Come! Yay!

I have been slacking on my reviews :( I always love reading review on shops and products so I am going to start making them a regular on my blog. For just a general overview, most of my reviews will be on jewelry and bath/body products with some stragglers here and there :D.They will be a mix of Etsy stores and commercial stores. Hopefully you guys like reading reviews as well. Let me know in the comments what type of things you would want to know about the products, things like: shipping, packaging, quality, what else?

(Please note: I don't think I have most of these items, if any, so please don't expect reviews on them :D)

Can't wait to flood this blog with reviews! Thanks so much for reading and check back soon!

Creations by Colette

Discover Something New: Metal Freak

http://www.etsy.com/shop/metalfreak?ref=pounce#

Discover Something New is back! And I want to introduce a NEAT shop that I ran across last night while browsing the amazing little website we call etsy.com. 

Here is what her blurb says when you first enter her shop:

“If you are a dreamer,come in. If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, a hoper, a prayer, a magic-bean-buyer. If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire, for we have some flax-golden tales to spin. Come in! Come in!” ~ Shel Silverstein

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you find something you love!

As you can probably tell from her shop name she specializes in metal. To be more exact jewelry made out of metal and in this case I hope it is safe to say wire (although I could be wrong in that statement). Her jewelry is so unique and fashionable, I don't think you could go wrong with any of her pieces! Stop by her store and give her some love :)

Squiggle Bangle with Balls- $35.00

Coral Smile Earrings- $30.00

Funky Vegas Star Earrings- $50.00

Expedition Impossible

At the current moment, as I am writing this post, I am watching one of the newest shows I have found: Expedition Impossible. Its airs on ABC, Thursdays at 10/9c but I just watch it on Verizon Fios on Demand so I don't feel like I have to catch it every week. If anyone has seen The Amazing Race it is a lot like that but with a lot more extreme challenges. If you haven't seen it check it out!!

As well, I am so excited to have some new products lined up. All I have to do is take pictures of them. I have just taken a break cause sometimes taking photos just frustrates me so much sometimes :( I am not sure if I am the only one but the pictures I take never seem to turn out exactly how I want them. I just need to take a break and I will get back to that fun tomorrow :D

I hope everyone is staying cool and having a fantastic summer! Do you guys have any fun plans for summer or for your shop this summer?

Thanks so much for reading, I appreciate every single one of you!

Friday Fun #6

Haven't done one of these in so long and I have missed doing them, so I am bringing them back!! First of all I want to congratulate the winner of the lasts Friday Fun's brain teaser:

Jenya 

http://wwwjenya2.blogspot.com/

Also check out her etsy shop in the sidebar, she has some super cute stuff!!

Optical Illusion

Believe it or not these lines are parallel, don't believe me?? Use a ruler and see for yourself.

Funny Picture

Comic

Thought of the Week

Dont take life to seriously. No one gets out alive.

Brain Teaser

If seven people meet each other and each shakes hands only once with each of the others, how many handshakes will there have been?

Think you know the answer??? Leave me a comment and the first person to get the right answer will be featured on my blog. Good luck!

Thanks for reading my blog :D

Complete Overhaul

So I haven't blogged in a long time, which I apologize for, but I have a reason this time! :)

I am attempting to do a complete overhaul of my shop. New items, new pictures, new feel.

I have been contemplating changing my photos for a long time because I found them to be pretty boring and didn't match the feel I wanted to have in my shop. I decided on an idea that I have seen many miniature food stores do. They placed their items on small plates with colorful backgrounds. All I have to say is I am loving the new look. I have only photographed one of my items but I love it.

Its going to take me quite a while to rephotograph and upload all the pictures but I think it is going to be totally worth it.

As well as new photos I have made so many new items including donuts, cake, snow cones and tons of others. But what I am so excited about is what I am calling my "new line" of jewelry which is more adult-like I like to say. Here is a link to the first ring I have listed: http://www.etsy.com/listing/77278675/gorgeous-polymer-clay-rainbow-swirled?ref=v1_other_2.

Finally before I go back to my pictures I want to welcome all the new followers. I can't believe I am up to 70!! Wow!! As soon as I can get to it I want to look at all your guys blogs and follow back. Thanks for everything guys!!

Colette

Polymer Clay 101: Cherry Cheesecake

It's finally time for another tutorial!! This time I am going to show you how to make cherry cheesecake. Once you make the cheesecake you can make dangle earrings, studs and charms. Let's get started!

As well they are listed in my etsy shop for $7.50, check them out: http://www.etsy.com/listing/75422181/cherry-cheesecake-polymer-clay-earrings

You will need:

• White Clay
• Ecru Clay
• Brown Clay
• Red Clay
• TLS
• Red Chalk Pastel
• Exacto knife
• Sharp pointy tool
• Wax paper
• Eye pins

Instructions

 First take your white clay.

Form it into a ball and then squish it flat. Work with it until it is circular and even.

Take your brown and ecru clay.

Mix some ecru clay with some brown clay.

Flatten your ball of clay.

         

Wrap the brown clay around your filling and roll it so the clay sticks together. Use your exacto knife to cut off the excess and roll again.

Roll out the excess and place it on top of the crust and push to secure.

Slightly cut your pie into eight pieces and push eight eyepins into the middle of those pieces. Put in your freezer to help the clay cool.

Cut up your pies after allowing them to cool.

Use a sharp tool to indent the crust and texture the crust.

And a toothbrush to texture the filling.

Take your red clay and form tiny balls. Place three on each slice.

Squirt some TLS into a container and mix in red chalk pastel. Pour into onto your slices with a toothpick, and bake!

Glaze your slices and superglue your eyepins in to secure them. Attach earrings if you wish.

Thanks so much for reading my blog!!!