Customer Feature: Kelly W and Two Weeks to Nashville!

Posted on May 16, 2014 by eldwenne

Jodi: This week’s post is a feature on the lovely Kelly W of Milton Keynes, UK! Kelly had contacted me recently asking for specific custom pieces and I was so thrilled to work with her on her items!

Kelly – the floor is yours, baby!

The beautiful Kelly rocking her Eldwenne’s Fantasy gear!

First off, my name is Kelly Winafred Work, I am a mum of 1 little boy named Marc who will be 5 in July. I have been with my other half Darren for 8 years now we have a cat called Scarlet.

Kelly’s son, Marc and her other half, Darren

Kelly’s kitty Scarlet – who looks like my kitty Molly’s doppleganger!

Molly aka the US Scarlet

I don’t work as I’m a full time mum home schooling my son (Jodi here – um, THAT’S WORK, Kelly! Hats off to ya!)

We live in Milton Keynes, UK. My favorite sayings in life have always been, “live life to the fullest” and “a smile will always brighten someone’s day.”

As you can probably tell by those sayings, I’m a very bubbly and friendly kind of person and always enjoy meeting new people, let it be online or in everyday life 🙂

I’m a MASSIVE supernatural fan and some day dream to meet the cast. I would also love to one day travel the world bit by bit. I’ve already traveled to some places: Africa, Florida, USA, Turkey, Spain and Ibiza.

I don’t class myself as having a creative outlet, but I do love doing arts and crafts with my son. We do things like animals from pom poms or flowers out of tissue paper and baking cakes to decorate 🙂 (Jodi here again – CREATIVE ALERT, WOMAN! GREAT STUFF!!)

Awesome tissue paper flowers made by Kelly and her son Marc!

I blew my diet just looking at this pic – it all looks AMAZING, Kelly!!! Very creative – and I love the Moose!!

I prefer handmade jewelry most because it’s more personal, made with care and unique. Plus I’ve always preferred to help out small business than to spend money in a shop that doesn’t need it or care if they get it or not.

The kind of pieces I enjoy when it comes to jewelry is gems and stones and anything shiny (swear I was a magpie in my past life). I prefer silver to gold as I feel gold always looks dull and fake but silver always looks new and shiny.

I like wire work as long as it’s done right there are some jewelry I have seen in the past with wire work on and it just looks out of place or like it was rushed or just added for no reason

I have to say when I found Eldwenne’s Fantasy Quality Handmade Jewelry by Jodi Zulueta I fell in love straight away.

I was looking at Supernatural jewelry online and came across etsy. When I looked on there a few people’s shops come up, but I saw a piece in Eldwenne’s and went to that one and I couldn’t stop looking!

As soon as my birthday came around and my other half asked what I wanted, I knew straight away. The hard part was to pick what I wanted most, lol! I’ve always wanted a salt ‘n burn necklace but could never find one design I liked. So when I sent Jodi all the pictures of the ones I liked, I left her to design it and somehow she knew exactly what I was after. It was PERFECT –my dream necklace and I love showing it off everywhere I go!!!! Jewelry from Eldwenne’s Fantasy is made with love and care and every bit in its own way personal to each person.

A salt 'n burn necklace with a pentagram, an angel wing, a pistol, and a handstamped Salt n Burn charm! Kelly's ready to face everything from vengeful spirits to demons!

A salt ‘n burn necklace with a pentagram, an angel wing, a vial of salt, a pistol, and a handstamped Salt & Burn charm! Kelly’s ready to face everything from vengeful spirits to demons!

And most of all, it’s all done in a friendly way. Jodi spoke to me and kept me updated every step of the way. It was not a case of ‘yeah, thanks for your money, you’ll get it when you get it…’ I felt nothing but safe buying from Eldwenne’s.

Jodi again – WOW, thank you so much, Kelly!! You rock!! And I must say your little one and other half make a lovely family! So proud to have my pieces in such good company!

Kelly brought up some things that I take to heart – one of the most important elements of my work is that it’s personal. Each piece I make is not only made exactly for you, but the buying experience itself is always personalized as well.

Every time someone purchases something from www.eldwenne.etsy.com, I contact the buyer to thank them, ensure I know proper sizing if they’ve not already indicated, and to let them know there’s a human being behind every piece.

When you receive your order, you get a handwritten thank you from me as well.

It’s that personal touch that I’m also going to be applying to my new upcoming career – teaching. I’m putting it out there right now – I am NEVER stopping my jewelry business. I will continue Eldwenne’s Fantasy both online and at Salute to Supernatural conventions!

In two weeks I’ll be in Nashville to begin my training with Teach for America. It’s going to be hard for many reasons; it’s a rigorous program, and I’ll be away from my family from June 1 through July 18. Forty-eight days. Then I come back to New Jersey, round up the troops and we move down to Tennessee permanently.

On May 23, we are rounding up a group of our friends and family for a “Farewell New Jersey” party – we are going to venture into New York City (which counts as a farewell to New Jersey-trust me on this), watch the brand spanking new X-Men movie, then venture back into New Jersey and grab a bite. Going out in true geek fashion.

If you can be in the metro area on May 23 to catch a 7pm showing, please contact me so you can join us! It’ll be a blast!

And now I leave you with the newest additions to the Supernatural Inspired Necklace Series: The Strength of Jody Mills and The Duplicity of Gabriel!

The Strength of Jody Mills – Sam and Dean Winchester are lucky to have her!

The Duplicity of Gabriel – you never know who you’re dealing with!

DCCon: The Jewelry, the Angel, and the Wormstaches

Posted on May 9, 2014 by eldwenne

DCCon. Far from the final frontier, but these are the voyages of Jodi and her son, Jaden. It all started out on a Thursday morning on Amtrak, trekking it down from Jersey to DC.

Don’t let this pic fool you – he was excited as hell to be going to DCCon

This trip to DCCon was not only another leg of my traveling jewelry tour, it was a chance to try to give my son, Jaden a decent memory from 2014.

Jaden went through quite a lot from 2013 up until recently. He was bullied all throughout last year of school. We were not aware of exactly what was happening, but we knew something was wrong. Finally, during the summer, we were able to figure it out – another child was brutally bullying Jaden. Psychologically. This kid had Jaden terrorized and afraid to speak up for himself.

Long story short, we pressed charges, the bully got what amounted to a slap on the wrist, but the act of standing up to this bully really empowered him.

But it wasn’t enough. Jaden has spent the past school year guarded, defensive, suspicious, and hurt. He was withdrawn. We basically lost the outgoing, chatty, vibrant young man we once knew.

I thought taking him to DCCon would be a welcome distraction for him, especially because he truly loves Supernatural, devours the novels, and finds a welcome escape watching the episodes.

Upon arrival in DC, we rushed to our hotel. Unfortunately we were staying in the spillover hotel, not the actual event hotel, but it wasn’t far away.

We settled in, unpacked, ate, and then went to the Con to start setting up Eldwenne’s Fantasy and Clifhangers tables.

Thursday was a loooong day for us and by the time the vendor room closed for the night it was after 10:45pm – we had been on the go since 3am!

Friday was going to be a cinch – the vendor’s room was going to be open from 9:30 – 6:30. Not bad.

When I did VegasCon, I had a raffle to vote for your fave – Crowley vs. Abaddon. It was wildly successful and the fans had a blast voting for their favorite. Will there be a King of Hell or a Queen of Hell? The fans chose Crowley (as did Supernatural, as per this past episode!)
I wanted to give the fans some more fun so I held a raffle to win the companion bracelet to Castiel’s Grace necklace:

The companion bracelet to my original necklace design: Castiel’s Grace!

In addition to trying to win the bracelet, it was also a chance to vote for your favorite version of Cas – Angel or Human!

Most importantly – half of the proceeds from the raffle were donated to Random Acts of Kindness! Everyone wins!

A chance to win my bracelet, vote for your fave version of Cas, and donate to Random Acts of Kindness!

What were the results? You’ll find out at the end of this post!

So what makes Fridays special at any Salute to Supernatural Con? KARAOKE PARTY!!! Jaden was up to going. So we went. And oh. My. GOD! This event really solidified to me how wonderful Supernatural fans are.

I can’t count how many lovely people saw Jaden and me and shooed us up to the front of the crowd so that he could see. We didn’t ask anyone, we didn’t complain, people just went out of their way to give Jaden an amazing experience. I cannot thank all of you enough for that! It really epitomizes the generous and giving spirit Supernatural fans have. I’m so proud to be a part of the SPN Family.

Here are some pics from the evening:

Matt Cohen channeling his inner Keanu

Richard Speight Jr – a man and his wig.

Osric – always a knight in shining armor

Father and son karaoke – the first time John and Henry Winchester are onstage together!

The beautiful Kim Rhodes rocking out on stage!

Some angel and prophet love – Sebastian Roche happy to see Rob Benedict!

VERY lucky to snap this one of Dr. Badass himself – Chad Lindberg!

The Rock Goddess – Stephanie with Richard Speight Jr – if you haven’t heard her rendition of “Time Warp” you have not lived!! You also need to check out her frigging amazing band – Samurai Fish!

The true highlight of the evening for Jaden:

Jade getting to meet Rob Benedict at Karaoke. Rob is AMAZING – thank you!!

We stayed until the lights went on – and the next day was going to be a long one for us in the vendor’s room – 11 hours!! Jaden decided to ease into his morning:

Jaden – life after karaoke

Saturday is always the long day for us vendors – it’s usually an 11 hour day. Jaden slept under the Clifhanger table for a bit, lol! Then he went off to some panels.

Saturday was the big day where a lot of people began to notice my Supernatural Inspired necklaces – it was quite an amazing reaction and I’m so pleased with how many of you came by to admire my work!

I always say that the biggest compliment I could ever receive is to see someone wearing a piece of mine. I was floored for the entire weekend!!
ALL seventeen of my designs were snatched up by you guys – THANK YOU!! It was such an amazing response to my work that I decided to mark down the necklace in my online shop: http://www.eldwenne.etsy.com – from now through midnight May 12, you can buy these necklaces at the same low prices I was offering at the convention! You can get the following:

The Impetuousness of Balthazar

The Sacrifice of Mary WInchester

The Soul of Sam Winchester

The Wisdom of Bobby Singer

The Complexity of Meg Masters

The Fire of Abaddon

The Genius of Charlie Bradbury

The Loyalty of Benny LaFitte

The Heart of Castiel II

The Purification of Sam Winchester

The Tenacity of Dean Winchester

The Deception of Crowley

Castiel’s Grace is still the all-time favorite!

Castiel’s Grace

For the Love of Supernatural

The Integrity of Dean Winchester

The Legacy of Henry Winchester

We Are All Team Free Will

ALL of these pieces are currently at their low convention prices at http://www.eldwenne.etsy.com

If you happened to buy a piece from me at the convention – send me a pic!! I’d love to feature you – like these beautiful ladies!

Sporting some Dean earrings!

Wearing The Impetuousness of Balthazar!

This young lady bought my pride and joy – The Winchester Family Tree necklace!

The Winchester Family Tree went to a good home!

This cutie loved my Sacrifice of Mary Winchester necklace!

Some other amazing people strolled into the vendor’s room:

Dr. Badass! Wearing his Dr. Badass bracelet I made him!

Jaden was touched by an angel

This whole weekend was so incredible for both Jaden and me. I finally saw Jaden smile for the first time in months. And who put that smile there? Not just the amazing cast of Supernatural, but YOU! The fans treated him so well and restored his faith that there are genuine, good people out there!

Kim Rhodes was super amazing and tweeted this pic of her beautiful daughter wearing a necklace I made for her!

Kim Rhodes’ daughter, wearing the necklace that matches the one I made for her mommy at VegasCon!

So without further ado, I’d be remiss in not including my Wormstache Brigade!

And I also want to highight some pretty frigging amazing cosplay by Mel!

And lastly – the memories my son will have for a lifetime!

Jared and Jensen got Jade to smile!

The results of the vote: Human Cas got 14% of the vote. Angel Cas received a whopping 84%!

Thank you Creation, Kim Rhodes, Chad Lindberg, Gil McKinney, Rob Benedict, Osric Chau, Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins, and all of you amazing human beings who made DCCon the best experience for Jaden!

Remember to stop by online at http://www.eldwenne.etsy.com and come say hi to Clif at http://www.facebook.com/Clifhangers

The next few weeks will be intense as I prepare for a six week stint in Nashville, preparing for my Teach for America training. Wish me luck and I’ll talk to ya’ll soon!

California Dreaming, The Supernatural Inspired Necklace Series is Growing, and DCCon!!

Posted on April 19, 2014 by eldwenne

I’m writing this post to you from the home of my family out in Santa Monica, California. My daughter Raven and I came in to spend some time with my cousin. It’s been an amazing time. Great weather, lovely company, Disney, the Santa Monica Pier, visits with dear friends and a trip to Universal Studios coming up next week.

Raven enjoying Disney

I’ll be back just in time to catch a flight down to Nashville to see more family and attend the Teach for America hiring fair – very exciting!

Then it’s back home for a few days and then OFF TO DCCon! More about that later in this post…

I have to say that my Supernatural Inspired Necklace series exploded into much more than I thought it ever could be.

It all started out with me wanting to design pieces that captured the essence of Sam and Dean Winchester. Oh, then there’s Cas, right? And then wait, I want to do another Cas piece too. And then what about the extended family like Bobby, Benny, Charlie…and bad guys need love too! So of course you gotta represent Crowley, Abaddon, Meg…sigh…

So without further ado, here is a Supernatural Inspired Necklace Series 101 for ya’ll!

The Tenacity of Dean Winchester: A necklace to commemorate our hero, Dean Winchester and his never-ending need to do what’s best for everyone, risking his own life, and being ‘The Righteous Man”

The Tenacity of Dean Winchester

The Purification of Sam Winchester: The end of Season 8 – Sam Winchester ready to sacrifice himself by curing Crowley; the third and final trial. Each trial purified Sam’s soul. The beautiful clear glass cabochon with magnification qualities represents his soul, the silver wire woven around it being the trials purifying him.

The Purification of Sam Winchester

Castiel’s Grace: I wanted to create a piece that celebrated the essence of one of the most amazing characters in the Supernatural universe – Castiel.

Castiel’s Grace

The Heart of Castiel II: I wish you could see this in person. It’s a stunning glass oval of sky blue with white and black inclusions swirling inside it.

The Heart of Castiel II

The Loyalty of Benny LaFitte: Benny Lafitte was the one creature that managed to convince Dean Winchester that hunting was more than just about killing. Benny became almost like a brother, who ultimately gave his own life to save Sam Winchester.

The Loyalty of Benny LaFitte

The Genius of Charlie Bradbury: Charlie Bradbury has come to the rescue on several occasions for the boys – each time using her intelligence and wit.

The Genius of Charlie Bradbury

The Deception of Crowley: A piece that hopefully Mark Sheppard would agree captures the personality of our favorite King of Hell!

The Deception of Crowley

The Fire of Abaddon: A necklace inspired by the hottest Knight of Hell! A red glass cabochon is wrapped in coils of woven silver, with a pentagram at its top.

The Fire of Abaddon

The Complexity of Meg Masters: Meg Masters is quite a complicated character, isn’t she? A demon who is in love with an angel? Wow. A demon who went from making it her mission to destroy the Winchesters to sacrificing herself more than once to help them.

The Complexity of Meg Masters

The Wisdom of Bobby Singer: Bobby Singer was always the go to guy for everything. Not just lore on whatever creature was being hunted at the moment, but for life in general.

The Wisdom of Bobby Singer

The Soul of Sam Winchester: I wanted to capture the intricacies of Sam Winchester in this piece – an opalescent glass cabochon is framed in silver, which has been wrapped with silver beads

The Soul of Sam Winchester

The Sacrifice of Mary Winchester: Mary Winchester is a woman of sacrifice. While she was alive she made a deal to save her soon to be husband, John Winchester. In death, she sacrificed her spirit to protect her sons, Sam and Dean. This piece was designed to capture the protectiveness, the maternal instinct, and the fierce love for John Winchester.

The Sacrifice of Mary WInchester

The Impetuousness of Balthazar: An angel who has authority issues but would drop everything to help Castiel, who in fact described Balthazar as ‘impetuous.’ Sebastian Roche brings such personality to our favorite bad boy angel.

The Impetuousness of Balthazar

Other pieces that are in development are: Kevin Tran, Henry Winchester, John Winchester, Jody Mills, Garth, Ellen, and Jo.

These are all currently for sale at Eldwenne’s Fantasy Supernatural Jewelry Section

And wait until you see the surprise piece I’m working on. It’ll be ready in time for DCCon and I’ll unveil it there!

Sooo excited to be going to DCCon! I’ll be bringing my eleven year old son, Jaden with me –it’s gonna be a total blast! Originally it was going to be the whole clan, but life gets in the way sometimes, so it’s just gonna be Jaden and me this time around.

And what kind of fun can you expect at my table at DCCon? Well, for one thing – wormstaches, of course!

Osric Chau doin’ the ‘stache at my table

Everyone’s favorite Executive Producer – Jim Michaels doing the ‘stache! Thanks, Jim!

And I’ll be having another great contest! This time you’ll have the chance to participate in a raffle for a chance to win the companion bracelet to my Castiel’s Grace necklace!

The companion bracelet to my original necklace design: Castiel’s Grace! You can win this AND donate to Random Acts at the same time!

In this raffle, vote for your favorite Cas – angel Cas or human Cas! It’ll be great and I’m trying to get Misha Collins in on the fun too! I’ll be donating half the proceeds to Random Acts – it’s for a great cause!

Can’t wait to see ya’ll in DC!! Come stop by and say hi!

My Featured Victim, Er, Customer – Judy G!

Posted on February 28, 2014 by eldwenne

Jodi: Judy is quite an amazing woman.

The Lovely Judy G!

I did an interview with her in May 2013 – you should check it out

https://jewelrybyjodizulueta.com/2013/05/31/featured-customer-of-the-month-judy-g/

I wanted to do a follow up interview with some fun questions this time around, so, without further ado, take it away, Judy!

What new and exciting ventures have you gotten involved with since your last feature? How did you get involved and what new things are on the horizon for you for 2014?

For 30+ years (since I was a teenager) I have been overweight and in the last 15+ years I have been the unwilling recipient of various health problems (many of which are made worse because of being overweight). So last summer I made the decision to seek the help of a Bariatric Doctor. I met with the Doc last August and hopefully if all goes well, I will be having Gastric Bypass Surgery this March to be able to finally lose weight and keep it off. I am so excited about this new “adventure” in my life.

2014 is going to be the year I take care of “ME”!!!!

Judy after beginning her journey and losing 18 pounds! WHOO HOO!

If you could have a superpower for 24 hours, what would it be and why?

To be able to pick the correct lottery numbers so to win lots of money to share with and help lots and lots of people. But really any superpower that allows me to help others would be awesome. (Jodi here – Judy – you already have that superpower!)

The Winchesters knock on your door and tell you that you need to evacuate your home immediately because apparently that gorgeous vase you bought from the antique dealer is a cursed object – the last three owners of that vase wound up having an overwhelming urge to sing Barry Manilow songs off key until their eardrums exploded.

Everything you own is completely accessible but you are only allowed to grab three things and they have to be completely shallow. What would they be and why? And Dean Winchester doesn’t count as one of them!

My cell phone, my laptop and an extra pair of flip flops.

Because:

cell phone – I can’t seem to live without it (and need to have it ready for Dean and/or Sam when they call me)

laptop – can’t live without it either (I need to stay in touch with the cyberworld and may need it to help look up info for Dean & Sam)

flip flops – Cause my tootsies always look awesome in flip flops and I gotta look good when I go out on the town with Dean.

Back to semi-serious – I’ve always found that humor has been a great way of getting me through some bumps in the road. What do you do to get through tough times?

Laughter is def the best medicine. I do look for humor and sunshine when it’s dark and cloudy.

I rely on my family & friends for the needed support –

My hubs is good at holding me and wiping away the tears.

My sister is my bestest friend – we’ve been through thick n thin together and boy the stories we could tell yah. Most would keep you rolling on the floor.

My best friend Courtney is the much needed humor for any issue or problem. She can keep you laughing till your sides burst. (Like when she thought “Keyless Entry” meant her car didn’t come equipped with a key hole.

What keeps,you coming back to Eldwenne’s Fantasy? (And will you come back even after that Barry Manilow question?)

I have returned to Eldwenne’s Fantasy several times because your jewelry is WOWSOME!!! The pieces you make each have their own “spirit”. They can be statement pieces or pieces to compliment something else.

And the compliments I receive on each item I wear lets me know that your jewelry speaks to everyone.

YES!!! I will definitely come back again and again for more jewelry (Barry Manilow can’t keep me away from my fave jewelry lady.

Wow – THANK YOU, JUDY!! We’re all so proud of you and look forward to more updates on your journey of doing something that’s incredibly difficult for all of us, but often neglected – taking care of OURSELVES! Kudos to you, m’lady!!

VegasCon Update

I am now officially in stress mode – I had a dream that I had a dream about VegasCon. Yes, you read that correctly. I dreamt that the vendors room was in some god-awful, dark, dank, basement the size of a closet and that my table consisted of a 3’x3′ desk. Then I woke up and realized, “Whew! It was only a dream.” Only to still be in a dream. And the vendor’s room was still in a god-awful, dark, dank basement the size of a closet with a 3’x3′ desk.

Then I woke up. An hour late!! My boys had to stay home from school. I can tell you they were SO broken up about it. It took hours to console them.

Ive been working my tail off with tons of cool new designs PLUS I’ve got some really cool new items that I’ll be selling, like my ode to Bobby Singer – an Idjit flask!

All of my designs are available at http://www.eldwenne.etsy.com

Bobby? Is that you?

As well as some brand new coffin jewelry boxes and more bookmarks and keychains, oh my! And I’m going to be having a MEGA cool contest there! More details to come!

Tastes Like Molecules…

Pentagrams and Red Crystals Bracelet

Ultimate Castiel Bracelet

There’s Nothing, Past or Present, That I Would Put in Front of You

Are YOU going to VegasCon?? Come say hi to me and my friend, author Kat Sloan! She and I will be hosting some fun giveaways that weekend!! Come check out Kat’s site at http://www.katsloan.com – her brand new book, Half Blood, can be bought directly from her site and you can read all about her plans at VegasCon, including a meet and greet with her!

Half Blood – The Lycanthropire Saga written by Kat Sloan

Come follow her on twitter @katsloan7 and see her FB page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheLycanthropireSaga/

Thanks again to the lovely Judy G and check back with me next week for yet another fabulous customer feature – Ana Marie S!! YES – two customer features in one month! Look out!

Until next week, by ya’ll!

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Thankful for My Family, the BurCon Experience and Phoenix Wins!

Posted on November 30, 2013 by eldwenne

Okay, well first things first – As you all know, I’ve been trying to get to BurCon for quite a while now. And thanks to my family out in California, Aunt Doree and Uncle Jeff – my son Phoenix and I made it!

BurCon was an incredible opportunity because it would be my jewelry’s first West Coast exposure in the US. A completely different demographic that I’ve never had the chance to tap into and meet.

Thanks to my my family’s generosity using my ClickStartMe campaign: http://tinycs.me/9T I was able to fly over from New Jersey to Los Angeles and see a part of the country I’ve never been to. And my son has NEVER been on a plane or left the tri-state area, so this was a special treat for him as well.

This trip wouldn’t have happened otherwise. Thank you, Doree and Jeff. I love you.

My incredibly supportive husband, Merrill, as well as our oldest son David, our younger son, Jaden and our daughter, Raven all are the most amazingly understanding people on the planet and I love all of you so much!

Phoenix channeling his inner William Shatner

Phoenix spent most of the flight doing his homework, since he was going to be missing three days of school. Responsible kid – who ARE you?!?

What made the trip extra special as well was that one of my cousins from Tennessee, Alexis, and her beautiful son, Zane were going to be there as well – a rare treat getting us together!

Upon arrival, seeing my aunt, my cousin and her baby boy were a heartwarming welcome.

Unfortunately my trip was mostly business, which meant I spent most of my time at the convention working while my family took care of Phoenix. But we did sneak in some quality time together and will be doing much more of that in the upcoming months, which I look forward to more than anything!

My first night there was spent learning that the rumors of LA traffic are TRUE! We spent forever on 405N. It was literally a parking lot. For those who chose not to turn their cars off while we waited learned the hard way and there were many stalled cars once the lanes opened up again.

I arrived to the convention late, but still had JUST enough time to set up the majority of my wares. I was very excited about the new coffin jewelry boxes I hand-painted and lined them up along the front of the table.

My very patient aunt Doree waited until the vendors room closed and we went back to her home in Santa Monica.

The next day I was to get a much earlier start and Doree drove me into Burbank. It was great! Almost no traffic! For me. After Doree dropped me off, she got stuck in traffic for hours on her way to work. Sorry!! I still feel terrible about that.

It was a great day. Many people stopped by to check out my table and budget the weekend away. Everyone was trying to figure out where and what to spend their money on. There was so much great stuff around like a makeup table, movie posters, books, a rare gem jeweler, and CLIFHANGERS!

Yup – I was Clifhanging again! I had a great table lined up with Clifhanger shirts and beanies (including rocking grey ones!). My beautiful friend Shannon designed the gear and owns the company with none other than Clif Kosterman – the shirts are amazing, the beanies are rockin’ and you NEED to get the edge and WEAR THE GEAR!

The Clifhanger table – Get the Edge – Wear the Gear

A very happy Clifhanger with her new shirt!

Come visit the Clifhanger page at http://www.facebook.com/Clifhangers

Saturday continued to be pretty eventful for both Phoenix and me. Doree and Jeff took Phoenix to Disneyland! How cool is that?!? He refused to wear the mouse ears, but did get an awesome Jack Skellington baseball hat!

As for me, I met some guy named DJ Qualls….a few weeks ago I had tweeted DJ asking him to come by my table at BurCon so I can give him something. He replied back saying he would. Oh SURE he would!

Would you believe He SHOWED UP?! I showed him the bracelet I made for him and he asked me to put it on him, gave me a huge bear hug and a kiss. I hereby declare that DJ Qualls is one of my favorite people ever!!! What a nice guy!!!

Saturday was when things started to pick up a bit. More people arrived, the excitement was building.

You think that would be the icing on my cake of a day, right? Nope. I had dinner with one of my friends that I hadn’t ever had the pleasure to meet in person. We’d been friends via internet for years, but never had the chance to sit in a room together.

Here’s the view of the other side of the dinner table:

The stunning Julie Anne Rhodes – even more beautiful in person

We had such a great time catching up and talking about our businesses, our kids, life in general. Julie Anne is the owner of http://www.personalchefapproach.com – I’m a proud member and her services have literally changed the way I cook and my family eats. If you’re a busy person – and who isn’t – this website will save you countless hours. Julie Anne has dinner all planned out for you or you can plan it out yourself with her menu builder! Check her out and tell her I sent you!

Julie Anne is extremely passionate about her membership – it’s a cyber family that she cherishes and appreciates so much!

Our selfie:

Julie Anne says hi to all of her amazing PCA members!

Phoenix was absolutely beside himself to meet her – she inspired him to start his own food blog:

phoenixphenomfood.wordpress.com

Sunday was a huge day because Phoenix would be with me for the day – I barely got to spend any time with him.

Phoenix was jet-lagged and a tad cranky, so I decided to take a break from the table and walk him down to the Random Acts table. Random Acts is a charity founded by Misha Collins. They had some cool activities to do at the table, so he decided to write a note in a book to Misha and color a Misha drawing in.

We made a donation and Phoenix’s name was entered into a raffle. Which he WON! Phoenix became the proud owner of a Random Acts journal signed by none other than Misha Collins!

Phoenix accepting his prize from Random Acts

Phoenix and Random Acts

Random Acts tweeted him – he was a bit overwhelmed, lol!

So the lesson Phoenix learned from all of this is “get cranky and miserable and you’ll win an autographed prize from Misha Collins.” YAY!

Then it was photo op time! Phoenix was getting a trio op with Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, and Misha Collins – WOW!!

When it was his turn, he showed Misha the journal. I then asked Phoenix if he wanted me in the pic – Misha grabbed me and said, “Of course he does!” and pulled me into the shot. Then Jared tried to pull my Clifhanger beanie off my head for some reason…I’m sure the photo came out well and we’ll have it in the next few weeks.

This was Phoenix’s first photo op and he was very VERY happy.

So what were some of my big sellers? My coffin jewelry boxes were a big hit!

My original coffin jewelry box painted ala the Impala, complete with its own devil’s trap under the hood and handstamped license plate!

Just add a miniature Crowley!

Carry on!

Some other big sellers of mine were my leather cuffs with stamped plates! Such as this one:

Family don’t end with blood bracelet – Sam, Dean, Cas, Bobby, Ellen, Jo, Ash, Rufus and Garth

The highlight of my weekend? Meeting YOU!

Ramona with her “Demons I get” “It’s people that are crazy” earrings

I thought she was cosplaying Ruby – does she not have Ruby’s face??? She’s beautiful!! I think she looks just like Gen!

Leah was one of the most interesting people I met – she collects quotes and gave me a couple of her faves”

“No artist tolerates reality” – Nietzsche

“Normality is a paved road – it’s comfortable to walk but no flowers grow on it” – Van Gogh

One of my new friends, Leah! She’s sporting an “I found a liquor store – and I drank it” bracelet

Here’s Leah again with her best friend, Brucie. Great people! They’re wearing matching “Bitch” and “Jerk” bracelets!

Crowley’s woman – Elizabeth!

I had the incredible fortune of meeting this young woman, Shanaya Fastje. She is an accomplished author who specializes on the subject of bullying, which all of you know is near and dear to my heart. I obtained a copy of her book, “Bully in the Mirror” and am sitting down with my son to read it tonight. If you’d like more information, please read on at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanaya_Fastje

Shanaya – a remarkable young woman! She’s wearing my Dean tribute earrings (One reads “Awesome” , the other reads, “Pie”

Susie and Taylar! Susie is wearing one of my woven necklaces and mosaic tile earrings and Tanya is wearing my white feather earrings with the goddess Diana symbols!

There were so many more of you – if you can send me a pic of yourself wearing the jewelry you bought from me to eldwenne@yahoo.com, I’ll publish your photos in an upcoming post!

And next week’s feature is going to be great! It’s going to be a Featured Customer of the month starring Melstiel!! Keep your eyes on this space!

As of today, I am 30 days away from the end of my Click Start Me campaign: http://tinycs.me/9T

Misha Collins shopping around at my table at a Salute to Supernatural convention

Misha Collins shopping around my table at a Salute to Supernatural convention

I will have exactly 30 days to meet my goal to raise funds which will go 100% towards building my handmade jewelry business:Eldwenne’s Fantasy

If you are in need of a gift idea this Black Friday or Cyber Monday – I have FANTASTIC offers!!!

If you donate $25 or more, you will receive a gift certificate from me worth the exact amount of your donation PLUS an additional $25!! Spend it on yourself AND use it to buy gifts – including custom orders!

If you share my Click Start Me campaign with someone who donates – they will receive a gift certificate in the appropriate amount – and YOU will receive a gift certificate for $25! It’s a win/win that costs you nothing!

My business is a primarily online presence which I am in the process of building in two ways: developing my own domain:www.eldwennesfantasy.com – which is currently under construction. In order to get the domain to a point where it provides my customers with an excellent shopping experience, it will cost me in fees and possibly bringing in developers.

The second way I am working on this is to put money into advertising on both Facebook and on Etsy.

I am also building my brand as I tour the convention circuit for Supernatural and The Vampire Diaries. The travel expenses I incur just in airfare and hotel alone are vast and while I am trying to build a strong presence, I am in need of support to get me to the locations that will be successful for the business, such as the upcoming The Vampire Diaries convention in Florida in a couple of weeks.

The supplies I buy are expensive and the funding will help cover those as well.

If you donate to my campaign, know that you are investing not only in my handmade jewelry business’s future, but you are also helping a woman realize her small business dream.

Thank you for reading and sharing!

And THANK YOU to DOREE, JEFF, ALEXIS, JENNY and ZANE!! I MISS YOU GUYS!!

Learning to Recognize Truths, Kicking Emotional Vampires to the Curb, and BurCon is ONE WEEK AWAY!

Posted on November 16, 2013 by eldwenne

Learning to recognize truths. Well what the hell do I mean by that one, you’re thinking. Or not, it’s ok, I can take it – because I CAN RECOGNIZE THAT TRUTH. Get it? Not yet? Let me explain…

As everyone who’s been reading this blog knows, my family and I have had our challenges set out before us. Not gonna get into the specifics of it here, but if you’re so inclined, please check my post from two weeks ago: https://jewelrybyjodizulueta.com/2013/11/01/teaching-for-america-what-kind-of-discounts-move-you-tell-me-and-win-a-gift-certificate-and-do-i-need-to-start-liking-country-music/

As difficult as these experiences have been for us – they’ve been freeing as well. “Sokath, his eyes uncovered!” Go check it out, Trekkies.

There are people we’ve surrounded ourselves with for years. Since childhood. ‘Friends’. ‘Family’.

Bobby Singer had it right when he growled out, “Family don’t end with blood, boy!”

I have people I have known since grammar school, high school, college, etc. I also have family members that have been in my life since childhood. And some family members that I’ve been fortunate enough to reconnect with fairly recently.

Some of these ‘friends’ from grammar school, high school, and college – not one single phone call. Not one single email to say, “Hey, how are you?” I have actually gotten a couple of snarky emails from so-called friends with hints of jealousy that I lost my job of all things. Seriously. They’re upset that I lost my job, but not because I’m unemployed. They’re upset because they’re still employed. Nuts you say?

This is where I began to learn how to recognize the truth. It only took me 4 decades.

So I hadn’t heard from pretty much anyone after I lost my job. Two months later, I emailed one of these ‘friends’, giving her the benefit of the doubt that maybe she does care, since she used to email me multiple times a day every day when I was working.

Now that I wasn’t working in an office (but working my ass off on my jewelry), maybe I was out of sight/out of mind and it’s an honest mistake. I recognize that truth.

She replied a couple of days later and it kind of sent me reeling. Her remark, “I’ve been so busy with holding down a full time job and doing homework with my son every night” took the wind out of my sails. OUCH.

I have never not worked from the time I was 16 years old. I never lost a job before. I never collected unemployment before. So she’s pissed that not only does she have a job BUT she has a child that she has to help do homework??

Talk about your first world problems…about 18 different memes just came to mind, if only I knew how to make those damn things…

Your heart may belong to a vampire – but an emotional vampire will drain away your soul

What bothered me most of all was something else she had written. She wrote about how she thinks she has what my husband has because of a few nightmares she had. That was the moment I finally recognized the truth.

For anyone who has suffered from depression or has loved someone suffering from depression – you all know you do NOT compare yourself to the one suffering. It’s insulting. Demeaning.

My husband was hospitalized at one point because of his struggles with depression. It’s not the blues, it’s not ‘oh I’m having a bad day/week’, it’s debilitating.

But this isn’t new for her. I should’ve expected it. This is the kind of person where if you have a headache – she’s got brain cancer.

If you stubbed your toe – she’s got an amputation scheduled.

Some people are only happy when they’re unhappy

Do I need this emotional vampire in my life? NOPE! Why? Because I can finally see the truth for what it really is. No more excuses being made for other people’s behaviors and shortcomings.

The family members that we just reunited with not too long ago? They can’t do enough for us. Even if we go for a length of time without emailing, I know in my heart that I am as much in their thoughts as they are in mine. There’s no question.

Last night we had a horrible time with our van. We went out to Staten Island and while making a turn, our wheel fell off our van. Yup – just fell off.

Trying to make light of it, I posted a pic of the mishap to Facebook. I have family that I’ve not seen in the longest time over in Brooklyn and they messaged me last night to make sure we were ok. They have an 8 year old and a 1 year old at home and they were ready to come pick us up and take us back to Jersey City.

Same thing for family in Jersey City that texted me to come into Staten Island and pick us up.

THAT’S FAMILY.

I have friends that I’ve not seen in years who messaged me to make sure we were ok, even though there was nothing they could’ve possibly done, they wanted us to know they were thinking of us.

THAT’S FAMILY.

And the friends that I’ve made in my handmade jewelry journey – I’ve only met them a short while ago and I feel as if I’ve known them forever. And they’ve been more of a friend to me than most have been my entire life.

I LOVE the fact that many of my customers that I’ve met at the Salute to Supernatural conventions and Vampire Diaries conventions friend me on Facebook, take the time to email me and actually become friends with me.

THAT’S FAMILY.

There are some friends that I’ve only met online and they’ve been more supportive than people who have grown up with me.

THAT’S FAMILY.

People in other countries. Other states.

What has this all taught me then? That I choose who I want to surround myself and my family with. It has nothing to do with blood lines, legal documents, just because we’ve known each other X amount of years, etc – IT’S SPRING CLEANING FOR THE EMOTIONAL CLOSETS TIME, GANG!

I’ve seen the light! Recognizing the truth, trusting your instincts – who would’ve thunk??

It’s sooooo liberating. I now can recognize the truth. See things for what they really are. They don’t seem like friends or don’t seem like family BECAUSE THEY’RE NOT.

Listening to that good old gut instinct is so freeing. So if I were to leave one word of advice behind – it would be to always ALWAYS trust your feelings. You feel that way for a reason.

You will feel so much better for being honest with yourself and taking action to make yourself happier.

The floodgates of creativity have been unleashed as a result of my recent introspection:

Family don’t end with blood bracelet – Sam, Dean, Cas, Bobby, Ellen, Jo, Ash, Rufus and Garth – who would YOU put on your own Family bracelet?

This is a piece I did with just that in mind. Included on this piece are all of the Supernatural characters – related by blood or by circumstance – that are family.

If you were to make a bracelet like this with people from your life – who would make the cut? Think about that!

I’ve taken the reins and am forging ahead. Too many new and exciting things to look forward to. No need to waste my energy and time on people who are simply just not worth it.

So BurCon, Salute to Supernatural is coming! This time next week I’ll be in the vendor room working my fingers away at custom orders for the amazing fans I’m going to meet – exciting!!

I’m going to have my amazing 9 year old son, Phoenix with me – please be prepared to laugh. He is everything short of a stand-up comedian. And an excellent cook, by the way. If you read his blog – phoenixphenomfood.wordpress.com you’ll know that already.

The Phoenix is coming to BurCon – prepare for belly laughs!

What I’m looking forward to most of all is that I’m going to be with my Aunt Doree. Really looking forward to being able to spend quality time with her, my Uncle Jeff, my cousin Jenny, and her pet snakes (they’re gorgeous!). My cousin Alexis and her beautiful little boy Zane are coming in as well – whoo hoo!

It’s going to be a great time creating a lot of fun memories. And hopefully I’ll be creating some of those memories for YOU!

Like this lovely lady:

She wears it well – Melstiel wearing a custom-ordered I love Castiel necklace – LOVE IT!

She commissioned me to make her an “I love Castiel” necklace back at TorCon – she wears it beautifully!

This is one of my favorite pieces!

I’m really super proud of this piece – it’s one of the coolest things I made there!! I loved how the texturing came out.

I LOVE the fact that she asked for the large wing. I originally wanted to use a different charm but Melstiel insisted on the larger one – and she was 1000% correct – just look at it!! And what Melstiel doesn’t realize is that I’m going to be asking her to be an upcoming Featured Customer of the Month – so Melstiel, if you’re reading this, message me on FB to let me know if you’re cool with that! Nothing like putting my friends on the spot, lol!

I have so many new pieces that are going to be coming your way next week at BurCon – I have gorgeous handpainted coffin jewelry boxes inspired by Supernatural like one that is painted like the Impala (with a devil’s trap when you open the lid!), keychains, and Eldwenne’s Mystery Hex Bags!

Inspired by the episode of the same name – Cas’ first episode as a human

There’s no way you can keep calm and carry on while watching an episode of SPN – but you can certainly try!

The Hex Bags are going to being a blast – you won’t know what’s inside! It could be a necklace, a bracelet, a keychain…who knows??

I’ll be customizing these for you at BurCon!

I’ll also have gift certificates available for sale as well in case you want to get some holiday shopping underway!

You name the denomination! It can be from $5 to $5,000,000! (Well a girl can dream, right?!?)

I’ll also be selling the most awesome t-shirts, hoodies and beanies – Clifhanger gear!!!

My beautiful friend, Shannon designed these groovy wearables and I’ll be doing her and Clif a favor and manning their Clifhanger table at BurCon!

Women’s t-shirt

Men’s t-shirt

Hoodie – THIS IS AMAZING!

Beanie – I’m buying me one of these at BurCon!

If you’re a Supernatural fan, then you’re a Clifhanger – simple as that. Clif Kosterman, Bodyguard4JandJ is the man who keeps Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles safe and sound.

He’s also an incredibly generous soul who cares a lot about the Supernatural fans. Let’s show some Clifhangin’ support and buy the best t-shirts, beanies and hoodies you will ever lay your eyes on!

Come check out the Clifhangers page www.facebook.com/Clifhangers

I wanted to remind you that there are just a little over 30 days left for my Click Start Me campaign and I need your help promoting/sharing my Click Start Me page:

http://tinycs.me/9T

The funds I raise with my Click Start Me campaign go towards the following:

– Travel expenses to get to the conventions where I can meet you and personalize pieces just for you!

– Much needed supplies and materials to create new pieces (that’s how my new line of hand-stamped pieces was born – through your generous donations!)

– Educational opportunities to learn new techniques and mediums

– Some venues charge high table fees to vend with them – this helps make these venues more attainable to me so that I can connect with you in person!

I have great rewards in return for your generosity! ALL donations receive a gift certificate worth the amount of your donation at Eldwenne’s Fantasy: http://www.eldwenne.etsy.com INCLUDING CUSTOM ORDERS, by the way!

For example, if you donate $20, you will receive a gift certificate worth $20.

If you donate $25 or more, I will add an ADDITIONAL $25 to your gift certificate!!

For example, if you donate $25, you will receive a gift certificate worth $50! If you donate $50, you will receive a gift certificate worth $75! There’s no limit!! I will always add $25 to all gift certificates on donations of $25 or more!

It doesn’t stop there. I always give rewards to those who share my link with someone who donates!

If you share my link http://tinycs.me/9T with someone who donates, you will receive a gift certificate for $25!

Remember – my gift certificates never expire!! They’re valid until they’re spent! Their value never goes down if you don’t use them right away. A gift certificate’s value is what it is – no fees, no expiration dates – just opportunities to buy one of a kind, handmade jewelry!

Thank you all for reading! I hope to see you all at BurCon next week!! Until then, remember to trust your instincts!!