My Corner of the World (or the Drum Room, at least!)

I knew the de-clutteredness wouldn't last long, so I snapped this with my phone--not so bad!

This is where the magic happens, folks. HA! :) But really, this is where I do all my hammering. It is, of course, a work in progress, but here's how it's set up:

1. The work bench. My aunt, a yard-sale extraordinaire, found this for $20 I want to say. It was unfinished, so she finished it and used it in her own kitchen until she moved and it didn't go with her new house. I happened to be visiting her when she arrived at this conclusion, and it subsequently rode home from Houston with us. It is SOLID. I love it. Mike is going to add some locking casters onto the legs, which will give it a few more inches of needed height and allow me to roll it out so I can more easily access my shelves. You can see my pretty new jewelers bench block chilling on the counter, as well as my tiny desktop trashcan. Love them both.

2. Shelves. Michael put these together for me. Already, I have plans to rip it up and redesign them--which is completely like me, perhaps to the annoyance of the man I married. :) It's just that, after I started working with them, I realized exactly what we could improve to make them more functional. In ANY case, on these shelves I store all necessary materials: Everything from blanks to jump rings to bubble mailers and boxes with ribbon can be found here. SUPER convenient, SUPER compact.

3. Pegboard. Installed as part of the shelving unit, this keeps my pliers and hammers at the ready in an organized fashion.

4. Green organizer & magnetic holders. On the left side of the shelves, I've organized thank-you cards and business cards, along with a few of my favorite writing utensils, so that we can easily include them as we ship out Etsy items. The green pouch helps us keep track of orders that I've stamped but that are yet unfinished.

5. Stool. It doesn't match, but it was $4.95 at BB&B. Sold.

6. Lighting. Pretty sure this is one of the surviving pieces from Mike's college dorm. I'm in the market for a better one. In fact, I just purchased an OttLite, but as of yet I remain unimpressed, particularly with regards to price vs. quality. I'd also like to purchase one that attaches to the shelving so that it doesn't a) get smashed accidentally by a hammer or b) be ruined by the reverberations of my hammering metal. Long story short: The OttLite is going back to the store just as soon as I can get it back into the box, and the search will continue...

7. To add: My beloved llama prints that I've found over the years. I love them. :)

Well, that's probably the extent of your attention span--and mine!--so I'll say goodbye for now. Before I go, I wanted to let you know that Becca Winslow Hand Stamped Jewelry will be featured on a blog during the first part of January, and--drum roll please--we're sponsoring another giveaway! I'll have more details for you the closer we get.

Enjoy the day...AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Christmastime is Here!

My new favorite! This will be available in the shop beginning January 1.

Wow. Sent out my last two holiday shipments today--just in the nick of time. I upgraded everyone to Priority mail in order to avoid disappointed (angry!) customers who didn't get their shipments on time. Now I simply I hope, hope, hope the USPS holds up their end of the deal. So far, they haven't let me down (excepting that Global Express mail to Canada, which is currently held up in customs. Come on, Canada!).

I learned A LOT during my first Christmas season in business:

1. When customers have a good experience, they will come back. We had SO MANY repeat buyers--thanks to all who allowed us to create gifts for you! It is truly, truly an honor that you would choose us. We had a blast, listening to Christmas carols and stamping the names of your dear ones.

2. STOCK UP ON SUPPLIES! I ended up 2-day shipping jump rings (of all things) just so I could sleep at night rather than stay up wondering if I'd have enough to make it. 200 of each size I keep in stock arrived on my doorstep within 48 hours, and I slept like a baby that night. Actually I slept like a grown adult who has a baby who sleeps all through the night. I do NOT understand that expression--sleep like a baby. My baby didn't sleep!! Now she does, though, and we are all good dreamers again. BIG :)

3. Stamping has become my creative outlet. I hadn't realized how completely true this is until I didn't have time to make anything new because I was stamping so many Christmas orders. Finally, I had had ENOUGH and stayed up until the wee hours of the morning so that I could master my first rivet--a feat which I achieved at exactly 2:16 a.m. on Sunday, December 12th. I was like a woman possessed! Here's a photo of the fruits of my labor:Check OUT that beautifully riveted flower! This will be available in the shop beginning January 1. I guess the real lesson I learned is to MAKE TIME for creativity. When I don't, I become a very unhappy lady.

4. If I'd like to do this volume of business year round, I need to implement additional organizational strategies. I've spent the past few days thinking on this and putting a few things in place and plan to continue doing so throughout the first of the year. We'll see...

All in all, we're having a lot of fun...but I'd be lying if I said we're not enjoying this brief space of time that the shop is closed. :)

Thank you for stopping by the blog and taking a moment to see what we've been up to. As a small thank you gift from us to you, visit the shop and use the promotional code "CAPTIV8" January 1-31 to enjoy 10% your total order.

Here's wishing you a tremendously joyful Christmas!

I Heart Canada. Among other things.

I've been working steadily on Christmas orders that are already coming in. I swear I need a shirt that says "I'm big in Canada." Canadians love me!...and the feeling is mutual. :)

I'm also getting ready for my first-ever craft show. It's a small one, but I'm really excited about the opportunity to get my feet wet. Not to mention it's at one of my favorite places in the wide world, the Harper Alexander House. I can't wait to sip yummy coffee, look at my friends' handcrafted wares, and stand by my super cute pink, black and white table in eager expectation of new orders.

Anyhow, here are a few photos of things you can expect to find at the craft fair, as well as in my new shop. . .

Mini-tag necklace in fine silver

Little cardinal with flowers and flourishes

A closer view.

Another lovely monogram. I've done several different styles of these, all of which I really like (of course)!

FYI--At this point, I think I'm only going to try to publish weekly. With Christmas coming so soon, I doubt you have time to read much more than that anyway!

Enjoy the day. :)

Vacay & Promo

Hi friends! We're taking a few days off, so no blog entries for the rest of this week (sorry!). In lieu of Etsy Treasury Friday, please take 10% off your purchase from our shop (www.beccawinslow.etsy.com) simply by telling me you visited the blog in the "message to seller" area upon checkout.

Our view for the next few days. :)

Y'all enjoy your weekend!! See you Monday.

Sneak Peak: Allisa Prize Designs

I'm still awaiting the arrival of my new little Brother (IE the Brother label printer I so excitedly shared with you last week). I'll let you know how much I love it once I've actually started using it. For now, it's still the drudge, drudge, drudge of printing my shipping labels on regular computer paper, then cutting them out and taping them to packages. Lame!

In the meantime, try not to worry yourself about me drudging it up and instead feast your eyes on a few newly created pieces:

Fine Silver Pendant: Little Birdie Among Dotted Twigs, with Monogram. I didn't sand it down before firing, so it has a nice vintage--almost dirty--look to it. So fun! This is another one that will go in the new shop, set to launch next week (Yikes! I need to get busy!).

Another view

And another.

These next two pieces are in our current Etsy shop, but I thought I'd share them anyway because...well...I love what I do. :)

Little Birdie Among Twigs: Made of silver-plated pewter and measuring just 1/2" x 1/2", I guess you could say this is the more economical version of the PMC piece above. No room for a monogram though. Sad.

I textured and domed this 5/8" disc just for your BFF, and added a pearl for good measure. It can, of course, be personalized with whatever name or word you would prefer. I'm really digging dots and circles lately. They just seem like the right thing to do. In addition, I only polished this piece to a matte finish--rather than our usual mirror finish.

Well, that does it for today! Remember to tune in again on Wednesday to find out what blog I'm featuring. I'm off to print out some shipping labels (really!)...... Thanks for reading!

Enjoy the day. :)

Friday Treasury: Plaid

Inspired by the leaves that are falling--and also perhaps by the tree stump in my front yard that needs lumberjacked--this week's treasury features plaid.

Favorite Seller: refab

I found so many things to love in this shop, filled with funky up-cylced items featured in very good photos. In fact, I had a very difficult time sticking to Etsy's "one item per shop" treasury guideline. I don't think it will take these folks long to move some serious inventory.

Favorite Item: Tweedy Bib Necklace (pictured below) from refab. Love love love it.

Strangest Find: Cloth panty liners. Really! You'll have to view the treasury to see those...and all the other things that caught my eye.

Enjoy the day! :)

Wednesday Find: aurajoon

My Wednesday find is a blog. In fact, for the next several weeks my Wednesday finds will be blogs. I'm STILL sifting through the list Jill gave me weeks ago. :)

I'm hoping you'll take a moment to stop by Aura Joon, a photoblog that intrigued me, and

made me wish I

had an amazing camera,

could finish my own work space,

would have had a better pregnancy wardrobe (this chick is too cute),

& grew vegetables in my backyard.

I think you'll really have fun taking a look around.

Enjoy the day. :)

3 Cheers for Making Life Simpler!

I know, I promised more photos of my new stuff, but I am so excited about a new gadget that I had to share it with you.

BEHOLD...the Brother RQL-500.

This little beauty will soon make its home on my desk. According to the specs (which I have read ad nauseum), it prints up to 50 labels per minute on heat-sensitive, self-adhesive tape. In addition to making the mailing process MUCH easier and cost-effective for us in the long run, it's going to be a fun new toy for around the house. I absolutely heart organization and labels, so I'm sure I'll find many many additional uses for this little bad dude. :) I will let you know how much I actually love it once I receive it--in a mere 4-14 business days (sigh).

Also, an ANNOUNCEMENT:

Tomorrow, Shannon, whose blog is Bless our Nest, will be hosting a giveaway for Becca Winslow Jewelry. Be sure to stop by--maybe you'll win something! This is our very first giveaway, so we're excited to see how it goes.

Enjoy the day. :)

Sneak Peak!

Hi friends!

As you know, in the past few months--in my vast amount of spare time--I've been playing with Precious Metal Clay (PMC). I've put a few things in my Etsy shop; however, after some consideration, I've decided that my PMC creations are just too different from the metal stampings in our current store. Therefore, on November 1, we'll launch a new shop called All is a Prize Designs.

Although I'll be busy creating new things for the shop, you'll only be able to find samples of them here on the blog until we launch on November 1. Here's your first sneak peak of the kind of items you can expect to find at allisaprize.etsy.com:

Textured brag tag and family initial tag with Swarovski charms.

Textured brag tag

Family initial charm with couple's birthstones

One of my favorite things about PMC is that you can texture anything! I love to adding extra touches to the backs of my pieces. :)

Come back each Monday for a look at what we've been up to and what you can expect in the new shop.

Enjoy the day. :)

Saturday Extra! A promotion.

Hi friends!

Take advantage of free shipping in my Etsy shop now through Monday, 11 October (5 pm, CST) by telling me your favorite item from this week's Etsy treasury (see previous post). This offer is good for as many pieces as you care to purchase.

Enjoy!! :)

PS - I posted some new items in the shop, which I'll also be featuring on Monday's edition of the blog, so stay tuned...

Etsy Treasury Friday: Woodland Chic

This week's treasury is brought to you by all the woodland creatures I've seen scampering about--and some I wish I could glimpse, even if from afar (come on, who wouldn't want to see a hedgehog running around??).

As always, I did my best to feature relatively undiscovered sellers. Enjoy!

My favorite this week: The owl knit hat. You'll have to visit the rest of the treasury to view my other picks! :)

Wednesday Find: Years Ago Tableau

This past weekend I had the pleasure of modeling designs by Trisha of Years Ago Tableau. She and her partner in design, Amber, were featured as new designers in this Fall's Box Turtle fashion show. Disclaimer: I am NOT a model. This was a favor for a friend and turned out to be an unexpected day of pampering for this Mama. :) It was QUITE the fun night!

Since it's fresh on my mind--and since these girls have awesome taste and creativity--Years Ago Tableau is this week's find.

Here are a few photos from the show:

Me on the runway. Tiered lace tunic with layered denim belt; red jacket with lapels; brown leggings.

Another model posing it up! This is such a great photo. The wind was blustery that night, too, which made the skirt look killer on the runway.

Backstage: All of Years Ago Tableau's models with designers Trish (left, in polka-dotted repurposed vintage skirt) and Amber (right, in pin-striped dress that she, of course, designed and handmade).

You can find Years Ago Tableau on Etsy, where they sell gently used and repurposed vintage clothing; and you can also friend them on Facebook to find out what they've been up to lately--and find more information about their designs.

Finds: Lindentree Boutique & Stella and Dot

My cousin Laura, who is ever savvy and cool, linked this website on her facebook a while back, and I wanted to share it with you. It features pretty nifty items for men, women, and kids. Two confessions: 1) I was a little disappointed with their selection. 2) Their pricing is a little steep for me--I'm pretty stinkin' cheap--but I think I may keep them in mind for gift-giving.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Metal Lunch Boxes

I Heart Tee for Men

And while I'm talking about Laura, you should visit her Stella and Dot website and become a fan on facebook to view a really beautiful, unique selection of jewelry and accessories. I love this stuff!

Here are some of my favorites:

Garden Party Necklace

Stackable Deco Rings

I hope you enjoy looking at these pretty things as much as I do! I'll have more for your viewing pleasure on Friday with a new Etsy Treasury, created by yours truly.

Oh! And I'm still plowing my way through the blogs shared by Jill. I'll keep you posted on the ones I like as I discover them.

My First Etsy Treasury.

I spent the better part of the morning creating this treasury on Etsy. I intentionally chose autumny items from little-known or recently opened shops. It seems like well-known shops are featured quite a bit on Etsy's front page, and I think it would be nice to see some new sellers every once in a while. There's plenty of room for everybody!

Here is one of my favorites:

Handmade soap with shea butter and avocado - Pumpkin Pie Spice. This soap looks good enough to eat!

You'll have to visit the treasury to see more! WARNING: Once you start looking through treasuries, you better count the clock, Cassius--because hours have been known to march silently by as one admires beautiful handmade goods and works of art. Enjoy!

New Toy.

Another reason to heart the USPS: They bring me fun new toys. My ears are now trained to hear the mail truck as it revvvvvvs and then stops! with a slight squeak at each mailbox along our street. To save my pride, I make myself stay inside until he's turned off our street. It's not like I'm waiting around for this stuff, right?

A few days ago, the mailman (I really should learn his name) brought my Lortone tumbler. I am ready for some polishing! :)

I'll try to shoot some before and afters so you can see how much easier this is going to make my job. Up until now, I've been hand-polishing every single piece. Perhaps now I won't be so arthritic when I grow old!

Behind the Scenes: Getting Items Ready to Ship

My daughter, Laila, and I had to stay home sick from church today. While I wasn't watching Elmo's Potty Time or streaming our service online, I took advantage of the unexpected time at home by getting orders ready to ship on Monday. I took a few pictures so you can see what I'm up to about 1/4 of the time. **I put captions BELOW each picture.

In my husband's Dr. Pepper t-shirt (did I mention we are home sick?) at the kitchen table. This is my favorite part: attaching polished pieces to their respective chains, adding birthstones, boxing gift items. Very fun.

I still believe in old-fashioned, handwritten thank-you notes. :) I write one to each customer.

In the computer hutch/cave, logging on so I can print out mailing labels from my Paypal account. I've just recently started doing this rather than going to the local USPS. Though I'm sure Mr. Nik will miss seeing Laila a few times each week, I do like the fact that I only have to go to the Post Office when I have an international order. Which reminds me: I get to ship to Athens, Greece this week! I'm excited.

My girl awoke from her nap just in time to watch our service online. We sat together at the computer whilst I finished affixing labels to envelopes, being especially careful to make sure the right jewelry was packed into each envelope. One of my worst business fears is sending a piece to the wrong place. Yikes.

Packages, ready to mail and loaded into one of my favorite bags--a green canvas one with ribbon embellishments on the side pockets, purchased at a garage sale when I was about 17 years old. I love it!!

And there you have it, folks: a glimpse of what I do when I'm mailing you some jewelry. :)

Lost in Blog World.

I've been reading other people's blogs all afternoon, and I'm amazed by their creativity and voice. Sometimes I feel like I have no voice of my own. I feel like George, Steve Zahn's character from You've Got Mail, who isn't "online" because he simply views it as another place to be rejected by women. Except I'm not a man, and I'm not interested in women.

I am, however, afraid of being rejected.

Or worse--unnoticed.

BUT. I will plow ahead, endeavoring to follow the Pioneer Woman's advice and "Consider your blog a precious bloom that requires daily nurturing."

Here are the blogs I've been exploring today:

320 Sycamore - This one has a lot of traffic--and for good reason. Great ideas and fun links for everyone.

The Pink Peony of Le Jardin - Found this one via 320 Sycamore. It's a new one, with less traffic, which I like because I'm a little blog right now too. :)

Bless Our Nest - Very cool crafty ideas in all kinds of categories. In addition, she's a fellow Arky. (Holla.)

Team Lashlee - Fun to read, and you won't believe this chick's pregnancy photos. She's gorgeous and carried twins to term. The photos of her boys' nursery show how beautifully she can put together a room. I can't wait to explore deeper into this one.

That should give you enough to do for now. :)

My thanks to Jill for sending me links to some of the fabulous blogs listed above--and more! I haven't had time yet to scour them all, but I promise to share the ones I like as I read them.

And by the way--this post was really really NOT intended to elicit sympathy from anyone, so don't feel obligated to leave sympathetic comments (though if you have some in your heart, you may share them by clicking the "comment" link below--haha!).

A few finished pieces

Here are some things I finished today!

1. ESMTG Pendant--Next time the texturing will be lighter so that you can see the text better, and I think I may stamp the text horizontally instead. Haven't made up my mind.

2. Brag tag for a friend. Name on front, DOB on back.

Alchemy perhaps not so fictional after all.

I spent the morning playing with PMC, and these are the products (from left to right, beginning at the top):

1. A brag tag for a friend of mine. Her daughter's name is on the front and her birthdate is on the back.

2. A long-awaited ESMTG pendant. (The Christ followers with whom I am delighted to serve do our best to live by several guiding principles, one of which is "A soul is a soul is a soul, and every soul matters to God." We shorten it to ESMTG because life is always made brighter by cryptic acronyms.) I'm planning to sell this and give all profits to Assemblies of God World Missions. You can find another piece of mine that benefits world missions on this listing in my Etsy shop. I'm a little afraid that the edges of the pendant will be too fragile, but we'll see how it goes after firing.

3. The heart cut from the ESMTG pendant. I think I'm going to use a steel design stamp to impress a cross in it and then use it on a bracelet, which will pair nicely with the necklace IMO.

4 & 5: Charm-sized versions of the pendant pictured in my previous post. One is for an order, and one is for ME. :) ...how I do love making jewelry.

Hard to believe that these little pieces of putty will be .999 fine silver by tomorrow afternoon. That is, after they are fired at some insanely high temperature, courtesy of my tricked out Coleman camp stove (don't worry--I didn't do the mods myself, so the chances of it turning into a bomb are, I have been assured, minimal). Then, a vigorous round of sanding and polishing, and voila! This muted grey pieces of clay will turn into silvery, shiny, beautiful pieces of fine jewelry. It is a process that totally blows my mind. I'll be sure to post pictures of the results.

Though I hate to leave you in such suspense, I must retire. Word to the wise: Be sure to follow me on Twitter for some sweet deals and promotions, especially throughout the holidays.

Here's my blog.

Hi guys, and thanks for stopping by. I plan to use this little piece of Internet as a catch-all for those miscellaneous thoughts that go through and through my head when I'd rather be doing something else--like sleeping. Ha!

You can, of course, expect to find updates about what I've been up to in my "workshop" (aka the 2x2 corner of the music room in our house), but I also hope to bring you some bonus features (!!!) like my favorite recipes; fun things I have found in the supermarket, online, or at the B&M Emporium--my favorite local flea market and general trash heap; and neat ideas for exploiting your own craftiness.

Tonight I can't quit thinking of the pieces I plan to make with my PMC (precious metal clay--see link here or here if you have no idea what I mean) that is in the mail AS I TYPE. The photo you are seeing at left is of my favorite PMC piece so far. It's incredibly simple...and that's what I love about it.

That's all for now... I'm off to swim in my thoughts until sleep takes me.