D'Elle Juwelen

Bewaarwafels

2010-03-02T13:29:00.000+01:00

Iets heel anders tussendoor. Een aantal van mijn vrienden spelen jeugdtoneel bij de Goorse Molenwiek (allen doorheen!:)) Om hun toneelstukken te bekostigen gingen ze wafels verkopen. Ze vroegen aan mij om mee te bakken, natuurlijk, zo'n dingen doe ik graag. Dus het beste kookboek ooit erbij genomen "Ons Kookboek", jawel de huisvrouwenbijbel van KVLV oftewel de boerinnenbond. Deze versie is volgens mij van 1984 trouwens.

Omdat er zoveel complimenten kwamen op de wafels heb ik hier het recept ook eens geschreven. Het is lichtjes aangepast vanuit het boek.
- Begin met 350 gram boter zacht te maken, volgens het boek mag je niet smelten maar who cares
- Hier voeg je 5 eieren toe, gewoon breken en erbij en dan roeren
- Vervolgens 2 dl melk en weer roeren
- Dan 500 gram bloem en natuurlijk weer roeren
- Tot slot 450 gram suiker en 5 zakjes vanillesuiker, zo worden de wafels erg zoet, iets waar ik heel erg van hou

Weer roeren natuurlijk! Ik roer altijd met zo'n ouderwetse houten lepel, niet met de mixer. Dan kan je de wafels gewoon bakken, ze zijn wel redelijk breekbaar dus opletten

www.beautybyelke.be/shop

Now and way back then

2009-04-07T19:35:00.002+02:00

I read this really cool topic on the etsy forum about people showing their crafts how they were back then and right now. Here is mine.

Back then (end of 2005):

And a few weeks ago:

The techniques aren't very complicated but I do feel like I have a feeling for design now which I clearly lacked back then.

Shoe story + Etsy favourites

2009-04-05T20:23:00.002+02:00

On Saturday I went shopping with a friend. I bought myself some shoes that were originally priced at 60 euros and were now only 30! They are comfy, with a low heel and good to wear everyday. It's a kind of grey leather with design on it. But... of course there's a but it's never that easy. When I came home I noticed both shoes weren't the same size :( But my mom was so nice to go back to the shop today and exchange them for me which wasn't a problem. The shop is called Il Pattino and located at Scherpenheuvel, a small city know for it's euhm well big church, I don't know the English word. Lots of people go there on a pelgrimage, I go shopping :)

But there are also new etsy favourites!

I noticed this shop in the forum and had to write about it.

Out of the Blues

She designs and carves these stamps. They are sooooo adorable. Also check out the rest of the shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6727254

I also love these charms from Nostalgems

They are in my favourites and if they aren't gone I will buy them in a few days.
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=51394

This mirror from Sybile is another favourite of mine. Oh whoops, I bought it yesterday :)

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5652572

Finally

2009-04-03T12:19:00.002+02:00

Easter vacation has arrived! And I'm bored already :)

In an hour or so Nele comes to pick me up to do some shopping. I'm going to look for my webshop software too, hope I can find it and if not.. well it's a nice day to shop.

I don't know what happened to my etsy shop but it exploded. In 3 days I went from 13 sales to 21 sales! And of course I love it :)

Yesterday I also got making faces, a book for make up artists by Kevin Aucin. It is a nice book but I still prefer fashion make-up over normal make-up :)

Well it's a short one today but I'm going to have to find something else to entertain me. Take care!

Send out my orders!

2009-03-30T12:06:00.002+02:00

This is sooo exciting (again!!). I send out my first 3 orders for my webshop. I ordered nyx make-up (lots of it, especially lipstick and lip gloss).

There is also lipbalms in following scents:
Raspberry
Strawberry
Apple
Pina Colada
Banana rose
I am using them right now and I adoooore these balms, they are so smooth on your lips.

I allso ordered perfume sticks. I've used mine for a week and you can't even see it has been used! I ordered 6 different scents and little sample vials too. The cutest thing is that they all come in a cute organza bag with a lollipop!

Got accepted again!

2009-03-25T21:47:00.003+01:00

Taxes accepted the one change I needed to start my shop so yeeeey!!! I can start ordering on April 1.
I got one of the perfume sticks today and they are lovely. You can smell them all day. They are soft and melt on your skin but not in your hand.
The lipbalm is great too!

I made a new email adress for the business: beautybyelke@gmail.com . Now I need to ask my web designer to change my website so that I can host the shop there too.

My nyx order is already very big but I want moooooore :)

Things I do good

2009-03-18T16:44:00.002+01:00

A few days ago I made a list with my beauty sins. Today I had a headache all day long, my class didn't go very well but that can happen. To cheer me up I've made a list with things I do right!

- I use moisturizer twice a day. I'm still in love with Lush' imperialis
- When I rinse my hair properly, I rinse with cold water. My hairs love it, I don't.
- I scrub my body twice a week and it's soooo much softer than it used to be.
- I use foot lotion every evening, it doens't seem to work but hey, it's the thought that counts!
- I also use hand and body lotion every night!
- I adore lipbalm and use it all day long.
- I try to take my make up off at night, I'm getting good at this
- I don't spend a lot of time sunbathing and if I do I use sunblock

Hm that's all I can think about now, headache is too strong.

16 march 08

2009-03-16T19:27:00.002+01:00

I got this list from www.makeupandbeautyblog.com and since I'm bored I'm putting it here.

Mood: Bad, very bad. I guess it's a girls thing. I'm feeling weird and disoriented. A bit relieved that there aren't important lessons tomorrow. A headache coming up and my drink doesn't tast good.

Hair:Also bad, as usual :) Like said in my previous post I need to go to get a new hair cut soon.

Mascara: I haven't seen mascara in 2 days

Outfit: Blue jeans, black socks, brown top and black sweater. Sounds sexy don't you think?

Nails:Ah-ha! They are looking good but short. Wearing chocolate martini by orly.

My guilty pleasures:Since it's that girly thing I can eat as much chocolate as I want. I started with my nail polish name, then I bought chocolate rabbits this morning (can't find them anymore, wonder if I ate them already) and there is still some chocolate cake left!

I’m really great at _____:Euhm I've been making thank you cards for the last 1,5 week and they do look cute.

What’s for lunch?At noon I had bread with chicken and for diner it was salmon with veggies and potatoes.

What’s the weather like in your neck of the woods: Best day of the year and I'm inside.

Weekly goals: Getting a facial on friday, teaching kids to make keychains on friday, fotoshoot on saturday and wednesday. I hope to get approval of my accountant to start shopping for the shoot and I want my new visa for the shop.

I'm a beauty sinner

2009-03-16T19:20:00.003+01:00

I got my inspiration for this post by reading www.deltacephei.nl.

Here are my beauty sins:
- Last time I got my hair done was in september 08. I don't have splitting points yet but my hair just falls down
- I hate rinsing out my hair when lying in bath, it's a real effort for me to do this
- I love the look you get the morning after the night you didn't took your eyeliner and mascara off.
- Putting extravagant make up on others is fun, I look stupid with it.
- I don't drink enough water because I don't want to go to the bathroom to much when I go somewhere.
- I'm a nail technician but I don't wear artificial nails myself.
- If I can't get my eyebrows done by someone else they wont get done.
- I love spraying perfume in my hair, very good for it, but not really.

Admit it, you have beauty sins too! I challenge you to write this list for yourself. Especially you Serena, I know you will be reading this someday!

Webshop + Estetika

2009-03-14T16:12:00.003+01:00

Yesterday I went to my accountant and the bank to talk about my new webshop. Both agreed immediateley and were very enthousiastic. They gave me lots of helpful tips and in the end everything is so much easier than I thought it would be. A small tax thing has to be changed and I have to wait for my new credit card and then shopping will begin!!!

As I told before there will be NYX but it's very hard to start with everything they have, so I guess I have to decide which ones to take now and which ones later. I did it the easy way, I pick what I like best. I have the same problem with the lipbalms I'll be selling, which flavours to pick? Some samples are on their way here so I can make a better descision. Same with the perfume sticks. So exciting! I want to have everything ready to launch on July 1! That seems like a long time but I have to order, get it here (shipping can take long), photograph it, weigh it, get all shipping supplies,... oh and graduate in the meantime :)

Today I went to Estetika. It's a kind of congres about new products and techniques in the beauty industry. I had a long list with new things to try and things to buy. But it wasn't what it was last year. Instead of big halls filled with interesting stuff there were small stalls with French speaking people. And everything was the same, machines for weight loss. For some reason I am feeling so tired right now, but my mom promised me to bake me a chocolate cake tonight so everything will be fine :)

Take care!

Pictures + Biiiig News

2009-03-12T18:25:00.006+01:00

I got the first pictures from my shoot with Jeroen and they are great! Also a great motivation to lose a few pounds :) Hehe but which girl doens't want that. Here are some of them:

And I got more big news! I have gotten approved to open a webshop with make-up items which include NYX make-up! If you look a few posts down you can see a review about this brand which I already adore! More news will follow soon.

Photoshoot

2009-03-06T22:52:00.002+01:00

I still have to tell you about my photoshoot on wednesday! I worked with a photographer called Jeroen Strijbos (I always have to check his name) When I arrived it was like Oh-oh, it was at the end of a small road in a building with noone around. But once inside there were 2 nice studios, a dressing room, enough room for make-up. Very interesting.

We had to wait for a bit since there was no white paper for the background. When that arrived I changed my clothes. I hardly ever wear skirts so of course I chose to wear those ;) I also had a pair of new boots on that I love. I also wore a corset and more new shoes (that were only 9 euros a pair, can you believe it?). Jeroen was so nice to make a picture of my tattoo too. It looked very cool. I had this beauty for more than a year and still no decent picture.

The shoot went very relaxed, I would do it again anytime. Now the hard thing, waiting for the pictures! As soon as I have some (probably in a few days) I will show some.

The Secret Garden

2009-03-03T16:35:00.003+01:00

I've known Serena for a while since she and her mom like to make jewelry too. A while ago she started her shop http://www.thesecretgarden.nl/ and it was time to check it out.

There is a a piece of shampoo bar in the organza bag. I got it for free if I would let her know what it was like. Last week I started a shampoo bar made by lush and I really like the idea. It smells neutral but nice.
In the other bag in a facial mask with oatmeal, milk and honey. Sometimes this smells really bad but this one is fresh! It does seem a small bag for 6 uses but we'll see. I'm going to use this tonight for a special thing tomorrow.
There are also 4 bath tablet. These aren't melts but they are like those bath bombs. I got Sweetie Pie (a favourite with lots of people but I'm not sure if it is my thing) and Orange & Grapefruit (this is a scent I do like a lot!)

They arrived right on time. Tomorrow I have an assignment for my make-up classes but after searching for 3 months for someone to work on I've given up. I didn't want to spend the day doing nothing so I arranged a photoshoot. Maybe we can't find a model and then I have to pose for the pictures! So tonight I'll have a long bath with my new stuff.

Lush Baby Face

2009-02-28T21:56:00.002+01:00

Oops, I forgot to say I already used lush babyface yesterday evening. You know those evenings when it's late, you have make up on but you are just to tired to take it off and you go to bed without washing. Then you stay awake feeling guilty and in the end you get up again to wash it off. The result is the same but you wasted half an hour.

With baby face this isn't necessary, it's even fun to wash your face! (sounds silly I know). You make it a bit wet and rub your face. You can even use it on your eyes, it won't hurt. Then just rinse it off and it's done!

It's a cute cleanser with a neutral smell, I think this is a keeper.

Photoshoot + High Tea

2009-02-28T21:50:00.002+01:00

Yesterday I had my first real photoshoot as a make-up artist. Well not really, there were 2 shoots with in total 4 people. The first was really easy. It was about a group of people that made a mountainbike route to collect money for charity. It was really fun to work with these people. The second shoot was with Karen and Stijn, a couple that wanted extreme make -up. That was a lot harder to do. I had to come up with a design on the spot and make it on her face. But in the end it was ok and I still want to do more shoots. Next one is on March 15!

Today I had a family high tea for my birthday last week. As usual my mom made way to much food. She had: 3 kinds of sandwiches, meat pie, scones, euhm dunno the name dough with sausages in it, brownies, cupcakes, apple cake and some more. Of course I wanted to try it all, everything was so yummy I am still eating it. Not smart I know but for once it is ok. Hmmm I think I'll make me another sandwich with salmon. Tomorrow back to my diet! I would like to go under 60 kg by easter break. That's about 1,5 - 2 kg and I have a month to do that. Doable if there aren't more high teas :)

Oops, more lush :)

2009-02-27T13:47:00.003+01:00

I admit, I'm getting already addicted to lush. I use Imperialis everyday and my skin feels a lot better. A few days ago I couldn't sleep so I had a bath with a dreamtime bathmelt, really relaxing. And my hair never was as soft as with jungle conditioner. So I ordered some more :) This is the last batch for at least a month, I first have to use things that I have.

I really wanted to buy a henna bloc. I thought it would be like 1/3 of this size. I still have dyed hair so I'm not sure if I can even use it well but I'll try.

From Jungle I got silky smooth hair but it looked fluffy, that's why I wanted to try Fluff-Eaze.

Babyface is one of those things people seem to love so I had to have that one too.

I love the idea of shampoo blocks, and when you buy two you get a tin for free, just couldn't resist. I got Ultimate Shine and Godiva.

The look of fever is to die for with that little kiss, hope it works too.

The you've been mangoed bath melt is a bit over the top to use in one time, I will cut this in 3-4 pieces, I do like the smell but it is too much.

I also got a lot of samples, yeeey more jungle! I also got the charity pot, sympathy for your skin, I should Coco (sorry I don't like coconut) and Red Rooster.

Tonight I have 2 photoshoots (with 4 people!) so I can't try them. The first shoot starts at 17.00 and is for an event with mountainbikes. The second one starts at 20.00 and is about extreme make-up. These are my first real shoots and I'm exited!!!!

Non Pareil Boutique Order

2009-02-24T11:40:00.004+01:00

On february 14 I ordered from Non Pareil Boutique for the first time and about an hour ago the mailman was trying to get my order into the mailbox :) Everything was very well wrapped, I also adore their business card, it is beautiful and feminine.

This is what I got:

I was amazed at the quality of the packaging for such cheap make-up. Oops I now noticed I also got a lip liner that isn't in the picture. Except for the 4 colour palette, everything is from NYX, the 4 colours are from Kleancolor.

Here is my review:
Amethyst Lipgloss: I first noticed the smell, not smelling cheap at all. I prefer another way to bring on since I can't use this applicator on a lot of people but that's a detail. It isn't sticky at all, just feels good. It isn't blinding you with it's shine but it is a good product.

Lipliner Citrine: I don't get the name because citirine is yellow and this lip liner is a great dusty pink. It's a beautiful basic colour that anyone should have and it's easy to bring on.

Trio Nude/Taupe/Brown: Another must-have. These are the perfect colours for a naturel look or just to use everyday. If you could only buy one trio this should be it and it will be empty before you know it because you will use it almost everyday. The colours are chosen just right. I will use this a lot, even in my work.

Pigments: I got mink and sky pink but they aren't that different from each other. Pink is more well pink and mink is more brown. They are beautiful though. These are 1,25 dollars now, the ones I use are 6 dollars. I'm not sure if they are the same size thought but certainly not 4 times more. The thing I would change are the pots, they aren't that practical to work with.

Lipstick: I love the fact that you can see the colour without opening, this idea deserves an award!
Sparkling plum: Great Glam-colour
Hestia: The find of the season! It is dark red on the outer sides of your lips and almost black to the middle.
Prefect: A bit too brown for me
Aphrodite: total misser for me, a kind of grey-purple on my lips
Herades: a perfect everyday-colour, I will use this a lot!

Glitter Liner Silver: This isn't really what it should be, the brush wouldn't come out like it should and not as glittery as I hope, nice for accents though.

Kleancolor eyeshadow palette: Nothing to say about this, this is a nice product with nice colours for a great price!

I think this was a good order and I will order again!

The Black Market

2009-02-23T12:24:00.002+01:00

Yesterday I went to the black market too. It are a few halls with mostly foreign people selling their wares. I wanted to get some hair accesoiries and maybe something more. A few years ago it was always very crowded and there were lots of nice things to buy. Well not anymore. All the clothing just screamed cheap, the shoes were for drag queens, messy and greasy stuff. It wasn't good at all. The funniest thing was the fact that there was this great drag queen show :)

I also bought Turkish strawberries but I didn't like them, but the olives were divine :)

20something

2009-02-22T18:06:00.002+01:00

Yup Yup, since yesterday I am 20something too. I keep saying that now I only have 10 more years to mature but I think that will never happen :) My birthday was a lot of fun. I celebrated it with two close friends who had their birthday too and we invited more friends. We baked pancakes (it had to be a low-budget party) and we played games. The night after that we went out to a custome party where we all went as a gipsy.

I also have an interview on www.20something.nl but this is in Dutch. You can find this article here: http://www.20something.nl/schoolwerk/elke-studeert/ For people that speak Dutch this is a fun and new website and really worth checking out on a lazy day.

Well this is all for today since dinner is ready ;)

Shopping!

2009-02-20T15:54:00.007+01:00

Serena asked for a picture of a man wearing make-up in my last post. Here it is

This is my uncle who is always very nice and even takes off from work to come help me in class. In this picture he is wearing foundation (he has very red cheeks), blush, mascara, eye pencil, consealer and lipstick. This is make up meant for tv or pictures but if you would see this man on the street would you notice he is wearing make-up?

Today I went shopping for hairstyling equiment. I bought a straightener and a curling iron from babyliss. The price was a lot less than I thought I would spend, they were less than 60 euros for both of them.

Then I went to some other stores and got this

There is dry shampoo (to spray in your greasy hair and make it looks like it's washed, it really works!), two kinds of gel, some hair clips and a tooth brush to remove dead skin of the lips.

More hairclips

More hair clips, roses for the hair, satin ribbon to braid with and a sewing kit. You never know when a model bursts out of her skirt!

My day

2009-02-18T17:48:00.003+01:00

I don't feel like doing anything right now :) I had to go to a kind of hospital with elderly people that are mentally ill to practice my pedicure. We have to do this every 2 weeks and sometimes it is a lot of fun to work with these people and rewarding but today was aaarggh. The first woman was the worst, I wasnt sure if she was sleeping or awake (thank god she was still breathing) but she was kicking me all the time. It is hard to work this way but I also worried about hurting her because she wouldn't hold still.

In the afternoon we had make-up for men which was fun. My uncle went with me as a model, he even went to the city with make-up on. Respect for man who dare doing this ;) It wasn't like a dragqueen or something, just the make up men wear on tv.

But after that we had more hairstyling and it isn't something i'm good at, certainly not with fake hair on weird looking dolls :)

Now I'm going to watch Cooking for Kids with Louis, always makes me smile :)

New Jewelry

2009-02-16T11:28:00.004+01:00

I haven't made a lot of jewelry lateley but yesterday I made a new set. It isn't completeley finished yet because I didn't have a clasp anymore for the necklace. I tried playing with textures, colours and shapes. There is onyx, freshwater pearls and lava in it.

My Etsy Wants

2009-02-16T10:45:00.003+01:00

It's about time I would write another wishlist since my birthday is in a few days. I will be 20 then. Yeeey! Only 10 years left to grow up hihi.

Angel Wings are something unique, most of the time they look like something for a 13-year-old but I really like these. They aren't so small that the angel wouldn't be able to fly but they aren't all over the tshirt either. They aren't like those demon wings and they aren't trying to be cute. I like these. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19030878

I make jewelry myself but no rings and this is a ring I like. I adore the combination of pearls and crystals and the assymetric style in here is nice. It isn't in your face but a stylish ring. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=18854416

I'm sorry for the big picture but this wall decal is sooo sweet. I have to have this one day. It would make me smile everytime I see it. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17707295 You should check out the rest of the shop too, those designs are amazing!

This last one is really clever. It is a gift certificate with a lipbalm inside. That way you can already give a small gift and the one who gets it gets to try a product. Nice packaging too! http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14807889

Tag + lush review

2009-02-15T22:18:00.003+01:00

Whoops I only noticed now that I got tagged in January by http://monacodesigns.blogspot.com/, she has really cool pictures on her blog. These are the rules:

- Link to the person who tagged you
- Post the rules on your blog
- Write six random things about yourself
- Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them
- Let each person know they've been tagged

My random facts:
- My mom won't let me go with her to the supermarket anymore because she ends up buying 50% more than when she goes alone
- I have 82 silver coloured lobster clasps which is stupid since I work with sterling silver, not silver plated
- I first wanted to name my dog Elly, like the first letters of my name (Elke) and my mom's (Lieve). It became Tessy, Elly is too sweet for this dog, Tessy is a much more fun name
- I had 8 years of French lessons and I forgot like 97% of it.
- When I read beauty blogs I always go searching for make up on ebay and end up buying nothing. Then at 1 am I check it out again and buy for 50 dollars
- I collect scraps of sterling silver hoping someone can melt it into a ring for me

Hm so now I have to tag 6 other people, I don't want to bother others and I don't read a lot of English blogs so I have to think about that

Next more lush reviews. I got a sample of herbalism cleanser. It is ment for oily skin but I used it on some impurities on my forehead. I don't really like the smell, it smells like the thing I use to keep musquitos away. It also felt very weird and my sink looked like an entire army used their camouflage over it. I won't buy this.
I will buy the dreamtime bath melt. They send this instead of the dreamtime balm. I took about 1/3 of it and put it in my bath tub. The smell is great and relaxing and when you get out of bath you don't need bodymilk because the melt will leave it's butters on your skin but not an annoying thick layer. THis is definateley something I will buy again

Lush Jungle

2009-02-15T11:22:00.002+01:00

As promised I tried the jungle conditioner yesterday. It wasn't as easy to bring on than a liquid conditioner but I think it is just something I have to get used to. I first used a lush mask, then a normal shampoo and then the conditioner. There are less knots in my hair, it is shiney and smooth but it seems like I didn't completey rinse out the product when I thought I did. It looks a bit like I didn't wash my hair for 4 days in some places. But I will try it again so I can give an honest opinion. So far I like it.

I also ordered some make up, I discovered www.Nonpareilboutique.com and they sell NYX, a brand a lot of people seem to love. So of course I had to try, I call those things business investments ;) I ordered 2 pallettes of eye shadow, a glitter eyeliner, a lipgloss and 5 or 6 lipsticks and it cost me under 40 dollars with 10 dollars shipping included. Now I have to wait for it.

Lush Cosmetics

2009-02-14T16:29:00.002+01:00

I loooooove bath and beauty products. It's so great to go in bath with a ton of new products to try out in delicious smells. That's why I gather a lot of products. Most of the time I prefer to buy sample sizes. That way I can try something out first but I also don't have to clean out the entire product before trying something new. I like to try lots of different things.

I also love bath and beauty shops. I read a lot about lush lately so now I wanted to try. There are two Lush stores in Belgium but I rarely go to those cities and I didn't want to go just to buy some shampoo or something so I ordered online. Nowadays the British Pound isn't as strong as it used to be so I had an exchange rate advantage when I ordered in the UK so I did.

They were really fast, I ordered on Friday or Saturday evening and paid with visa, Wednesday morning it arrived, nicely and securly wrapped too. Inside there was this smell of something, I openend up the box and it seemed to be filled with popcorn as a protective. Very cute and funny but my products were also covered in small pieces or corn which was not that funny.

One item was missing and for the other one they send me a bath melt instead of the balm in that scent. But I send an email and they said they would send the right items and I could keep the wrong ones. And mistakes can happen of course so I'm happy about the service.

I got Aqua Marina cleanser, it's not milk but more like a blob of cleanser. You take a small piece and mix that with water. But there is seaweed in this product and it smelled like fish. I tried it two times and the smell just horrifies me, I threw this product away.

Next there was this asian style named hair mask (I really cant remember or pronounce the name). It was made with fresh ingredients like avocados and eggs. The smell isnt great, a bit too much cinnamon. I applied it to dry hair, let it rest for 20 minutes and rinsed. The next day my hair was more soft and shiney and I got compliments but it had some more knots as usual.

To solve the knot problem and to make my hair more straight I ordered Jungle. It's a conditioner but in a solid block. I haven't tried it but I will tonight.

I also got Imperialis daycream, the smell is alright. It does take a while to absorb, it's not very fatty but it stays on the skin for about 10 minutes. This is a fine product that I will keep using (at least until I run out of it)

Next there was sakura solid perfume. This is very solid, it is rather hard to get a bit out of it, well enough to smell it. I do like the smell.

Fair trade Foot Lotion was next. Finally a foot lotion that isn't white! It is a very cute pink. It does smell like peppermint and spearmint, I guess almost every foot lotion does that.

The other two products where a kind of balm with lavender that makes you sleep good and a tablet to put in hot water to steam your skin above and then use as toner. These are the products they will send me later.

I also like the fact that when you return 5 of their packages you get a free mask. Isn't that nice?

Styling Hair

2009-02-14T15:44:00.002+01:00

As some of you might already know, I'm training to become a make up artist. I've have had lessons since September so that's about 5 months now and every day I'm getting more fond of it. In a few weeks I'm having my first photoshoots. At a lot of places the make-up artist is a bit the person that has to do it all, make up, hair and styling. I was never really good at doing hair but I guess I have to learn :) I'm saving to buy those big curling things, I only have a small one now.

Something that already gave me a lot of ideas are these videos from Ford Models: http://www.youtube.com/user/fordmodels?gl=NL&hl=nl&blend=1 There are a lot of different videos about styling, make up and hair. I just did a friend's make up and now I have a lazy saturday ahead so this is what I will be wathing today and hopefully be able to make it too one day.

I'm back!

2009-02-09T18:53:00.003+01:00

I've been soooo sick and busy that I forgot about you, my readers but I'm back, trying to blog to relax :)

I had a driving lesson today again so I really need to relax. I would like to take my exam in a few months so I took a lesson to see what else I still have to practise. It wasn't a big disaster but I'm just not fond of them. My own car is 20 years old and you can imagine its a lot different to drive than the teachers car that was just 3 weeks old. So I really had to get to know it first. I didn't hit anything or anyone so that's postive I guess :) I do know now that I still have to practise a lot more in the city where the exam will be. It's about a 30 minute drive and I just never go there but I will now.

I also ordered my first lush products a few days ago. I heard people bragging about it all the time and since I looooooove taking long baths and beauty stuff I decided to check out what it is all about. I mostly ordered products that looked like fun to me. Like this pink blob of stuff with seaweed around it. You should take a small piece and mix it with water to use it on your face. We'll see. I ordered on friday and I heard from others it usually arrives in a day or 5.

I got these cool things today to. I belong to some Dutch jewelry maker's forums and I bought swarovski colour charts for the people that wanted one, so now I have 13 or 14 of these charts. I wanted to send them today but the office shop was closed so I couldn't get any bubble wrappers. They are really cool.

I'm gonna put a mask on (with sunflowers and carrots) and go watch some tv. Have a fun night!

More samples arrived!

2009-01-11T11:21:00.002+01:00

There are more samples for the goodie bags I'm putting together! This time they are from BigBangzola http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5879401 and they are really cute. She really has an adorable shop. Most of the things are painted since that's her favourite thing to do but she also sells needlework items such as this chocolate cake:

For the goodie bags she donated clothespins, they are amazing with lots of detail.

Thank you very much!

My eldest piece of jewelry.

2008-12-21T14:54:00.003+01:00

I started making jewelry a bit more than 3 years ago in 2005. Here in Belgium on December 6 we have a holiday that is mostly for children that is called Sinterklaas. Actually Sinterklaas (Saint Nicolas) is a historic figure but I have to admit (shame shame) I can't remember the exact story. I'm not sure if it was religious. On December 5 children put one of their shoes near the stove and at night Sinterklaas comes and visits all children that have been good. He comes through the hole in the roof from where smoke goes away (chimney?). He rides the roofs on a white horse and he also brings Zwarte Piet. Zwarte Piet is one of his helpers. In their shoes, the children put sugar and carrots for the horse and sometimes even a bottle of beer for Zwarte Piet. Because my mom didn't drink beer I usually put some ice tea for him. Then Sinterklaas en Zwarte Piet would leave gifts for the children, usually toys and chocolate (hmm belgian chocolate ;) )

Usually children believe that Sinterklaas is real until they are told by their parents or find out themselves around 8-9 years old. However I still get some small gifts (yes I'm 19, not 9). So in 2005 I got some beads and a how to book and that is how it started (euhm long story I know).

Sooooo fast forward, well a few months. I was experimenting all the time and after a while of giving away I started selling too. I still have some necklaces from back then, I believe the eldest one is from march or april 2006. I still have that and it's still for sale. There is nothing wrong with it, it just hasn't found the right buyer yet. It is made with velvet cord in black and beads in transparant with a pink core. I'm not sure what material they are but I think they are acrylic.

Here you can find a picture of this necklace:

I think it has been with me for long enough and now I would really like to sell it. It is also very cheap, only 16 dollars with shipping included!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_list_10&listing_id=16078165

30!

2008-12-10T18:34:00.002+01:00

No I haven't turned 30 yet (I'm 19) but this is message number 30 on this blog! I'd never thought it keep doing this for soooo long but well I did, yah for me.

First I have to announce the winner of this month's give-away, it's Liz D! Congratulations!

Don't forget there is free shipping on my entire shop before december 15 if you tell me you found me here!

A few days ago I ordered some eye shadow samples from MoiMinerals on Etsy and they arrived yesterday, it was rather fast shipping too! Well today I had make-up class and I tried some of them; I absolutely adoooooore Angle Eyes, if you are looking for a colour to use every day and every where this is the one. You can put it on your entire eye all the way to your eyebrow or do as me and use it as a highlighter on your cheecks! I also like rockstar red very much, it is a really vibrant colour but I couldn't use it in my design today. You can find moi minerals here : http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6018362

Goodie Bags - Flute Teacher

2008-12-09T17:26:00.002+01:00

I am making etsy goodie bags to send out in Belgium and the Netherlands on jewelry makers forums I visit a lot. Today I received my first samples! They are cute lip balm cozies form Flute Teacher! http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5739143

I also love her tissue covers:

These are the samples she send in, you can't really see it but i love here business cards where she advertises for Etsy too.

Thank you Lisa!

Almost a month... + Give-Away

2008-12-01T14:25:00.005+01:00

It's almost a month ago that I've written here. Big oops again. Well some things happened. I stayed away from Etsy for a bit because I got a bit demotivated. I put a lot of effort in with very few results. So I decided to stop a while till after my open house. That was saturday and I looooove open houses. I sold 13 necklaces, 7 pairs of earrings, 5 bracelets and 2 birthstone charms. So it was good and I'm ready to rock again!

I would also love to stop with glass and metal jewelry, I'm almost not making it anymore but of course I got a huge inventory. Because of that a lot of glass jewelry is now 30% off. You can find it here http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5613182&section_id=5778442 24 necklaces and bracelets to choose from and more on the way!

And since it's december again there is a give-away!

You can win a birthstone charm for the month of december this time.

This is just an exemple. It is made with sterling silver, freshwater pearls and swarovski crystal in the colour turquoise. Such a cool colour! The pearls are a product of nature so they will be different. The head pins and bead cap can be slightly different depending on what I have in stock. So it's always a small surprise!

Of course you don't have to celebrate your birthday in December to be able to win this, maybe it's your favourite colour of your nieces.

How can you win?

- Check out my etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5613182

- Come back and leave a comment telling me what your favourite piece is and why you haven't bought it yet

- Do make sure I can reach you if you win! If I can't reach you, you can't win!

This give-away starts right now and will end on December 10.

All participants also get free shipping until December 15, just tell me you where in my give-away.

Good luck!

Eyeliner

2008-11-05T17:12:00.002+01:00

Today I had make up classes all day. In the morning we have been discussing different shapes of eyes, lips, eyebrows,... and ways to adjust them with make up.

In the afternoon we were taught how to applie eyeliner. Since this wasn't very difficult, just something to practise a lot we were given some time to express ourselves creatively. We could do whatever we wanted but we could only use black eyeliner. I just loved this assignment. I have curls near my eye and on my cheek now and everybody on the train was watching me, it was really funny. Then it was my turn and the girl I could practise on had this great idea: puzzles. So I made half of her face and neck into a large puzzle with all kinds of pieces going over her ears, nose and eyes. There are a few pictures but I don't have them yet.

I also registered myself on twitter but I still need to get to know it. Here is my profile: http://twitter.com/dellejuwelen Hope to meet you there soon!

Don't you hate batteries?

2008-11-03T12:22:00.003+01:00

I sure hate batteries right now! I had a week of from school and thought about working on my business. I guess I don't have to say that I didn't get a lot done because I have just been browsing the internet? I first had a day of working as a nail technician with two new clients. That's always exiting but they are nice people. Then I had two days doing nothing. Other day working. On Tuesday I went to a market nearby with the dog and practiced a bit for school. On wednesday I went to IKEA the whole day. And the rest of the week... I can't realy remember what I done.

But yesterday I brought out my note pad again and started making a to do list. That's already 2 pages long and contains stuff like: listing new items on etsy, blogging (doing that now ;) ), making thank you notes, order new supplies,... But the first thing on my list what to photograph my new jewerly and retake pictures of my old. So even thought it is very rainy weather (as it always is in Belgium I guess) I started taking them, wanting 5 pictures from every necklace to show everything off. And you can probably guess it, after just a few pictures my batteries where empty. Don't you hate batteries? I sure do.

Buying and helping at the same time

2008-10-13T21:16:00.002+02:00

With october being breast cancer month, a lot of shops on etsy donate a portion of their sales to charity. I'm willing to donate myself but I would like an item I have use for, not something that I buy just to donate and will maybe even throw away. So I went on etsy search and this is what I found.

10% of this gorgeous pendant will be donated to kiva.org, an organisation that helps with micro-loans. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_list_10&listing_id=15985386

I just had to show you this one. I can't stand people hurting or neglecting animals. Just look at those eyes and say again that they don't have feelings. 100% of this sale will go to AWBAR - an animal rescue organisation. You can read their story here, it is so cruel that someone would do that. http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5832788

I bought a button from them. Not a lot but I hope this will help them a bit, the smallest things help.

50% of this beautiful soap will go to breast cancer research. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_list_17&listing_id=16121909

There are so much more listings on etsy that will give you a nice item and great karma. If you are having a good live, be lucky, be thankful and help people or animals who don't.

Give-Away Results!

2008-10-13T09:13:00.001+02:00

The winner for the give-away for oktober is Monky! Congratulations! Your charm is on it's way to you and I hope it will arrive soon.

Birthstone Earrings!

2008-10-09T20:07:00.003+02:00

After a hint someone gave me on my blog give-away a few posts down, I decided to make birthstone earrings too! Thank you very much for the inspiration!

As the charms, these earrings are made with sterling silver, big freshwater pearls (11-12 mm) and swarovski crystals in a colour of the month or the colour of your choice.

These are the birthstone colours:

January - Siam or Garnet

February - Amethyst

March - Aquamarine

April - Crystal

May- Emerald

June - Pearl or Light Amethyst

July - Siam

August - Peridot

September - Sapphire

October - Rose or Light Rose or Green Turmaline

November - Topaz

December - Blue Zircon, Turquoise, Light Sapphire

These are the colours in swarovski crystal, of course there will be people using other colours but these are commonly found.

For now I only made earrings for the next 4 months, simply because I ran out of earring hooks and I want to use these.

Here is a picture:

They cost 12 dollars each, it's a low price but I decided this because I love it when people give my jewelry as gifts.

A million blogs!

2008-10-09T11:40:00.000+02:00

I was checking a topic in the Etsy forums about blogs. I got onto http://monacodesigns.blogspot.com that way and kept reading. It is such an entertaining blog. She talks about her jewelry, her live, adds funny and true quotes and a lot of humour.

I also noticed something that was called the ‘million blog list’ and went to check it out. It seems that more than 70 million blogs exist and someone thought it would be funny to see how long it would take until 1 million of those blogs signed up for a list. I think it is a great idea too.

First rule is that you can’t have an NSFW blog, I have no clue what that is so they insured mine would be fine then. Then you just add yourself to the bottom of the list. You can read the rules here: http://www.millionbloglist.com/Add_Your_Blog and on the bottom is a link where you can add your blog.

That was very easy and now I’m on their list, I’m number 2237! Guess they still have a long way to go. But if you have your own blog, add it there and let’s see how long until they get 1 million! Oh by the way they started april 2008

Apple Crumble

2008-10-07T11:17:00.002+02:00

I had a craft fair on saturday where it was really cold and now I'm sick. I'm sitting at home and I just want to eat something sweet. So I thought I could share one of my favourite recipes with you. It's apple crumble and it's great. The first time I ate it was in Disneyland where we got it during a diner show. When I got home I wanted to make one like that immediateley.

I got this recipe from the La cucina website and it goes like this:
- 450 grams of apples in slices or cubes whichever you prefer
- 50 grams of brown sugar
- some cinnamon
- 200 grams of non-salted butter
- 150 grams of regular sugar
- 300 grams of sifted flower

I'm sorry that I only know the measurements in grams, what do you use? Please let me know and if I can find it I will add those measurements too.

1. Preheat the oven at 180° C.
2. Mix the flower with the regular (white) sugar and butter until you got a crumble like dough.
3. Arrange the apple slices or cubes in something you can put in the oven (I'm sorry don't know the english word). Put some connamon over it according to your own taste and some brown sugar.
4. Cover the apples with the dough.
5. Put it in the oven for about 40-45 min.

As you see this is really easy to make. It even taste better with a bit of vanilla ice cream that is slightly melting on top.

Second give-away!

2008-10-05T19:41:00.006+02:00

Here I am again and I decided to host another give-away! October has just started and of course I also have a birthstone charm for that month.

October is of course a pink month as you will probably already know. That's why this month's charm is made with a pink swarovski crystal. As always the rest is sterling silver and of course a big (12 mm) freshwater pearl. This kind of charm is perfect to put on a sterling silver chain that you are stil having lying around somewhere.

So what do you have to do:

1. Check out my etsy shop at http://dellejuwelen.etsy.com

2. Come back here and comment which is your favourite piece AND tell me what keeps you from buying that one or buying in general from my store. Being it the price, shipping, you don't liking my name, ...

3. Make sure I can reach you by leaving your email adress or etsy url or any other way on the internet.

4. A winner will be announced on October 12.

This is a great give away to enter for yourself or to get a gift for someone else!

2008-10-04T18:36:00.002+02:00

Whoops, this is so long ago. I went to school again on the 16th and have been busy ever since. Today I had a market with my jewelry and I'm so tried right now but I have some time to write something.

The first little black box that I contributed to has gone on sale on september 22, I have seen a picture on flickr with my sample on it but so far nothing else.

I've made another 180 that will go in the box for december because the others didn't have anymore open spots. And I'm making a lot more to be contributed by Always Amy. She wants to give a sample bag to every teacher in the city where she lives, that's more than 1000 bags! I also added all the earrings I have made on my etsy shop on http://dellejuwelen.etsy.com

Wish I could write more but I'm too tired :)

My Favourites

2008-09-13T10:24:00.002+02:00

It's been a while since I mentioned some of my favourites on Etsy. I heart all the time when I see something I like and here are some of them.

These are way to cute:

They are little notecards or thank you card made by Trails of Paper (http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5306899) really cute to attach to what you sell.

I ordered the Purple Box the other day and I got a sample of caribean island perfume oil by Skin Journey. It smelled soooooo good. But I'm a bit hesistant to buy because I'm not sure what it will do on the way here with temperature changes. http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5253488

I use the pounce feature almost everyday just to check out what's new. I love mosaics and I came across this shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6222823. My favourite item is this one:

Those colours are just beautiful!

Almost back to school

2008-09-12T10:45:00.003+02:00

I haven't written for a few days because my mom was in the hospital. Everything is fine now.

In a few days, I will start school again and in jule or july I will be a fully trained beauty technician, pedicure and make up artist. Looking forward to that, but not to early mornings. Having to travel by car, train and bus, getting waxed, having to drive for hours for a 10-minute exam. Actually, I think I'm a bit tired of going to school :)

But who wouldn't love staying at home, playing with the dog and beads while spending time on Etsy and other websites?

I've made a lot of friends this summer and I hope I will have time enough to spend time with them.

I also bought my first navigation system. I had to drive to Diest to get my mom, a 45-minute drive but I've never driven in the center. I had been thinking about buying one and this was the perfect time. It went great, I forgot to switch transmission a few times, but other then that just perfect.

I also had my second etsy sale yesterday! I was so happy and did my happy dance. I do a happy dance everytime, I think it is for good luck :)

These are the earrings I sold.

Give-Away Results!

2008-09-08T18:38:00.001+02:00

This is the winner of the give-away!

DZFANTASY

Congratulations, I will contact you for your adress so I can send this charms to you. Thank you for participating everyone!

2008-09-06T11:53:00.002+02:00

Hurry to the give-away because it is almost done! I went out yesterday and today I'm not going to do a lot. I think I'll make more gift tags for my next LLB. I'm making them out of scraps of paper. Very relaxing and green in a way.

Oh my first samples arrived at the little black box all the way in Arizona!! http://thelittleblackboxes.com/etailers.html You can find me on this page, somewhere in the middle. I wish I could copy what she wrote about my samples. It was very nice saying that language can be a barrier but art can't. She also said she loved my business cards. Actually I just took my regular ones, in Dutch and wrote an English message on the back.

So now I took my box of paper scraps and I'm making gift tags. Last time I send in 77 samples, now I want to send 300, but December is still far away.

My story isn't really interesting today but hey, it's my day off.

Interview with Earth and Sun Folk

2008-09-03T10:46:00.004+02:00

***Hi Earth & Sun Folk and thank you very much for this interview.When I look at your etsy shop (http://earthandsunfolk.etsy.com) the slogan reads think green, wear green, be green. When did you decide you would work with eco-friendly materials and try to inspire others to do the same?
I started working with hemp a little over a year ago and bamboo just recently. I love making creations that are unique and earth friendly. I've been upcycling,or recycling, clothing into goods since I first started sewing. It's amazing what you can do with a sweater with some life left in it!

***How did you find out about etsy and what made you decide to start a shop here?
I learned of Etsy through an online sewing group I belong to, known as the SB's. I immediatly set up shop and have been having a great time with it since.

***What is the most beautiful thing you have ever made and do you have a picture?

My most beautiful creations aren't sewn.

***Is it hard to find eco-friendly materials?

Not at all...it can be hard finding them at decent price though. I purchase my hemp and bamboo through Marlena at http://www.infinitecosmoshemp.etsy.com/ and she has the best prices that I've found. She's also a wonderful person to work with!

***In your profile you say you love the mountains, do you live near mountains and how do they inspire you?

I live about 20 minutes from the Colorado border, so yes the mountains are very close! They (and nature in general) inspire me in many ways. Being outdoors refreshes my mind. It's breathtaking waking up in the mountains and watching the sun creep up over the peaks. It really humbles me and fills me with a passion to create. I try to reflect that in my work. If I could bottle up some of natures positive energy and send it with my goods, I would. It just doesn't get better than that.

***How do you help the etsy teams you are in and how do they help you?
I am a member of Team Ecoetsy (you can search teamecoetsy on Etsy to see their beauitful work!) and Etsy Hempsters. I try to create treasuries when I can and feature members in them. Starting in November I will be blogging for EcoEtsy.I'm really excited about that!

***Do you plan to expand your inventory even more and what would you like to add to it if you do?
I do. I'd like to have more clothing in my shop and hope to have it in there by Christmas. I'm always thinking of new things, I just don't seem to find the time to get to them right away. I write them down though so I guess that's a start.

***Where do you craft your designs? Do you have a picture. We would love to see it, especially if it’s a real mess.
Our little back room is my haven. There's always music playing. It's often messy because I always find myself working on many things at a time. I've got tons of fabric right now, so it's especially tight in there. I usually do my tub dyeing in the backyard in the sun.

***Thank you so much for this interview!My last question: How do you think I could make my shop (http://dellejuwelen.etsy.com) more eco-friendly?
Recycled packaging is a great way to treat our planet kindly. Wether it's buying recycled boxes, making paper packaging yourself, or reusing tissue paper. There's a great tutorial on The Storque at Etsy for making paper boxes. You can find it here http://www.etsy.com/storque/section/howTos/article/how-to-make-a-box-out-of-paper-scraps/243/Recycled packaging saves you money, helps cut down on waste and will surely brighten your customers day knowing that you are being eco~friendly. I'd love to receive a package lined with or wrapped in newspaper ,especially from Belgium! It would have the added bonus of putting that little extra personal touch on it as well.

And a small personal favorite of mine in her shop is this one:

It is a beautiful bag and a beautiful picture of it. And it is green! You can find it here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14663978

Wire Wrapping Tutorial: Earrings

2008-08-29T18:06:00.012+02:00

I made this tutorial on a lazy day some weeks ago and thought i would share it here.

We will be making these earrings:

These are the things you need:
- Beads of course, I used faceted rectange amethist beads but you can choose what you like best. It's also very cute with swarovski bicones 4 mm
- Sterling Silver head pins, I prefer dot headpins because of their look
- Earring hooks or posts, which ever you prefer.

1. Put a bead on a headpin.

2. Bend the headpin about 2 mm above the bead at a 90° angle.

3. Using Round nose pliers, make have a loop.

4. Finish the loop.

5. Put the round nose pliers in the loop and hold it in place with them. Take the end of the head pin with flat nose pliers and turn it around the rest of the headpin.

6. Voila! Your first finished bead!

7. Repaet steps 1, 2 and 3 on the second bead.

8. Put the loop of the second bead in the loop of the first one.

9. Repeat step 5.

10. Repeat for the third bead and until you think it it full enough. You can switch between making it longer and more filled. Just play around this you like it.

These earrings are made with the same technique

Have fun!

My first Give-Away!

2008-08-29T10:16:00.001+02:00

Here I am again with some great news! First of all I added some new stuff to my etsy shop. I promised myself to put 50 items in there and then see how it goes. The first 50 weren't nice to do, I had to force myself to list them. But then I got my first sale and now I love it! I just love making better pictures, tagging better ( I even used all the tags on some!) and write a description.

Even better is what I got in the mail:

It's an order I placed a week or 2 ago and I'm so happy with it. I kinda didn't notice the measurements of the agate on the right, they are 3 cm, really big but I still love them. I've got: sodalite, jade, labradorite, howlite, moonstone, agate, amethyst, blue howlite, peridot and citrine. I really want to play with them!

To celebrate this great package I'm hosting my first ever give-away! Well the first on my blog I mean, here is another one, I made the earrings for it: http://woolies-woolies.blogspot.com/2008/08/earring-giveaway.html You can still participate for 2 days!

Well here is mine. I loooooooove making those charms with freshwater pearls and crystals. That's why I'm giving one away. Cause when I have one less, I have to make one ;)

This one is made with sterling silver components, a 11-12mm freshwater pearl and a swarovski crystal in the colour mint alabaster.

So how do you play? It's simple just leave a comment mentioning your favorite gemstone. It's that easy! Everyone can participate once and make sure I can reach you if you won (best is to leave your email adress).
This will end the 7th of September here in Belgium. If you aren't sure about what gemstones there are or which one you like, you could check out http://dellejuwelen.etsy.com/

Have fun!

Birthstone Charms!

2008-08-27T11:09:00.001+02:00

Here I am again! Had a great night yesterday. My friends and I had spend the evening watching movies and eating. More eating than watching to be honest but it was so much fun.

Have you already seen my birthstone charms? They are all made with sterling silver. On a dot headpin there is a large freshwater pearl (they are 11-12 mm so really big). On top of that is a sterling silver spacer or bead cap. And the charm is finished with a swarovski crystal in birthstone colours or just a colour you love. Here is an example:
I made them for 9 months now since I didn't have the right colour for the others. But I ordered those and I hope they will be here in a few days. For some months, there will be a choice because they have more birthstones.

I also lowered shipping on a lot of items so have a look! Instead of 6.95 a lot of them are now 4,50.

When playing on the etsy forums I noticed this cute bag: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14580069 . It really is the love it or hate it fabric and I love it! Check our her shop she has lots of beautiful stuff!

On that same game I also discovered Filiadavidus. Those prints are great! Only the Gusi isn't my thing but I would love to paint my wall black just to put them on it and make them stand out. Here is the link to the shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6038581

2008-08-24T13:13:00.000+02:00

Whoops, my last post was 3 days ago, not so good :) But well, I'm back again and this time it didn't take me 2 years.

I send in the promos for the little black box. If they reach Arizona on time they will be in the september box I think.

I din't hear back from the blog with the earring give-away, I hope nothing serious happenend.

But the best new of them all!!! I had my frist Etsy sale when I woke up this morning!! It was such a great motivator. I sold these earrings:

I really loved the small leave charms and I hope their new owner all the way across in the USA will take care of them. This is only my second pair of jewelry that goes across the Atlantic Ocean. Most clients still come from the Netherlands which is rather funny because I live in Belgium.

Because of this sale I added some more earrings. I also listed some earrings that are perfect gifts for the holidays. They are only 14 and 15 dollars each pair. This is an example. You can find them at my etsy shop: http://dellejuwelen.etsy.com

I also want to give you this link. A friend of mine who lives in the Netherlands makes these tiny food charms out of polymer clay. I just adore her strawberry croissants. They are entirely made with coloured clay, they aren't painted. They are also scented. http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5246444 She is very talented and very patient and her charms looks like you could eat them.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11462820 Here is a picture of the croissant.

2008-08-20T22:37:00.001+02:00

Yippie I finished my entrance for the little black box and I will be mailing it tomorrow!

These are 77 little gifts with coupons attached for 15% off. Hope people will like them!

I even made a to do list today for the first time ever. Listing on etsy was on it so I added a few lower-priced earrings, you can find them here: http://dellejuwelen.etsy.com

There is also an opening sale on my shop! Until this friday shipping is only 1 dollar to everywhere in the world!

I've been making a lot of pictures today. They are all different angles on pictures I made before and I think it looks a lot better.

2008-08-19T13:55:00.000+02:00

Today is kin of a lazy day. You know those days that you have to do a lot but nothing gets done because you are too busy surfing the net?

I was awake until 1 a.m. this morning making those mobile phone straps for the little black box. I ran out of supplies when I had 78, quite good I think?

Of course this doens't look very good but I will pack them in organza gift bags. I'm writing the cards to go with them right now. On the back of my business cards I'm writing to link to my etsy shop: http://dellejuwelen.etsy.com/ and a coupon for 15% off on first purchase. I hope people will like it.

I'm also participating on a blog give-away. These are the earrings I will give.

They are made with sodalite gemstone and sterling silver components. If you want to join you have to check out my shop and comment on what you like about it. You will find this give-away here from wednesday 20th august: http://woolies-woolies.blogspot.com

2008-08-18T11:27:00.000+02:00

Hehe made it to the second day and I'm still writing here. Today I have three clients to have their nails done but I think it is important to be active here and on Etsy as well.

I showed my shop http://dellejuwelen.etsy.com on the forum and got lots of great tips. I used to have a picture of myself as avatar but now I have a bracelet picture.
I also asked someone to make me a banner.

Surfing on Etsy, I found this listing: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9538315 I thought they were figurines made of stone but they are felt! So wonderful that someone can make such a thing! She also makes them to look like your dog.

I also found a cool website on the etsy forum called the black box. You provide up to 150 samples each month that get distributed across everyone who buys a box. Buyers are people looking for new and interesting shops to buy from. Since I make jewelry I was thinking about providing glass earrings. But I rememberd I still have a lot of cell phone lanyards laying around so I decided to make those. Wonder how much I can make and if it pays of. I also bought a bunch of orgaza bags a while ago but made a mistake, they are too small for my jewelry so they are perfect for these samples. Will update you with pictures!

Oh and here is the link for anyone who is interested: http://thelittleblackboxes.com/index.html

2008-08-17T15:23:00.000+02:00

I've been looking a bit around on Etsy and ... wow. Such cool things people make. I came on this shop called Quiltyasin: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=108088 those card cozies are so great and I want one for myself.

I've also been listing on the dutch advertising site http://www.marktplaats.nl/ this morning. At noon we went out for a meal with the family and when I came back, this pair of wonderfull earrings had sold to someone in the Netherlands. It is made with sterling silver, freshwater pearls and swarovski.

I still love it everytime someone buys one of my beauties. I like the thought that others like what I make too.

2008-08-17T11:01:00.000+02:00

Wow it has been a while since I made my last post here. It's almost Septembre, school will start again in a few weeks so it's the perfect time for a new beginning.

Unfortunateley, my keyboard isn't working correctly so it takes a lot of time to type this, guess it's a test to see if I'm commited enough. Like most people, I plan to write everyday, let's see how that goes in a few weeks.

Yesterday I made a shop on the online mall for handcrafted beauties, Etsy. My shop there is still in development but there is a lot more to see and discover. You can find my place through http://dellejuwelen.etsy.com/ I hope I typed it right, it's all very new.

I also made this wonderfull sterling silver and amethist bracelet. I had the nuggets in my stash for quite a while but it all came together in this design. I showed it to a few people and they all liked it, so nice to hear people enjoy what you made.

Nieuwe foto's gemaakt vandaag

2006-12-30T14:20:00.000+01:00

Vandaag was het wel een goede dag om nieuwe fotos van mijn juwelen te maken...dacht ik. Het licht bleek helemaal niet in orde te zijn en de foto's zijn dan ook niet super gelukt. Ik laat er even enkele zien die wel redelijk zijn.

Het is dan uiteindelijk toch gelukt de foto's hier te plaatsen wat niet gemakkelijk was.

Deze ketting heb ik geketteld. Het zijn glaskralen met daartussen kashmiri kralen. Kashmiri zijn kralen die in India gemaakt worden, ze zijn altijd mooi versierd. Deze ketting kost 16 euro.

Deze ketting is ook geketteld. Alle kralen zijn van glas en vooral de kleine groene kralen maakten dit een heel karwei. De andere kralen zijn geel en bruin van kleur. De ketting valt in het echt iets langer dan op de buste. De prijs hiervan is 18 euro.

Deze ketting bestaat uit 6 strengen met daarop kleine donkerbruine kraaltjes. Ik ben niet zeker of het kleine zaadjes zijn of misschien kralen van hout. Deze draden komen samen in een mooie bloem van palmhout. Deze ketting kost 20 euro.

Voorlopig staan deze foto's nog niet op de website, als u interesse heeft kan u mij een e-mail sturen op elke.tuteleers@gmail.com. De website is www.dellejuwelen.info.

Begin blog over handgemaakte juwelen

2006-12-28T21:45:00.000+01:00

28 december 2006. Het jaar is dus bijna voorbij. Ongeveer een jaar geleden kreeg ik een setje kralen cadeau en een boek met enkele patronen. Sinds toen heb ik de kralen niet meer losgelaten. Net voor de zomer had ik mijn eerste sieradenparty en in de loop van het jaar heb ik ook nog twee keer een open huis gedaan. Begin september kwam de eigen website… en nu heeft D’Elle Juwelen ook een blog.

Eerst even voorstellen dan maar. Mijn naam is Elke Tuteleers en ik woon in Heist-Op-Den-Berg op de grens van de provincies Antwerpen en Vlaams-Brabant. Ik zit in het laatste jaar van het secundair in de richting economie-wiskunde. Zoals hierboven al stond ben ik dus nu ongeveer een jaar bezig met juwelen maken.

Al snel groeide deze hobby nogal uit proporties. Heel het huis kwam vol te liggen met sieraden, kralen, sterling zilver, swarovski kraaltjes,…En het ergste is dan nog dat ik zelf amper juwelen draag. De meeste bleven dus gewoon liggen wat al helemaal zonde is. Ik gaf op een keer enkele boekjes mee en er waren mensen die interesse hadden in een juweel dus kwam ik op het idee ze te gaan verkopen. Op mijn website www.dellejuwelen.info kan je een idee krijgen van wat ik zoal maak.

Waarom heb ik nu deze blog? Wel hier kan ik mijn nieuwste creaties laten zien aan wie ze wil bekijken, ik kan enkele tips doorgeven over de mode voor het nieuwste seizoen, enz. Ik ben ook altijd op zoek naar bijvoorbeeld markten en beurzen waar ik mijn handgemaakte creaties kan showen dus tips zijn meer dan welkom.

Ik zou zeggen neem eens een kijkje op mijn website en kom ook regelmatig hier terug kijken.

Beste wensen voor 2007!

Elke
www.dellejuwelen.info