mother’s day | Down to the Wire - Jewelry by Jodi Zulueta

I am so super excited to announce that my newsletter is going to be handled by the lovely Natalie Bannister!

Natalie

I met Natalie and her now husband, Tony in DenverCon last year. Her husband had approached me asking me to design an engagement ring, as he was going to surprise Natalie by proposing to her on stage during Tahmoh Penikett’s panel – and to his word – HE DID!

Natalie wearing her Gadreel-inspired engagement ring – and I LOVE her wedding ring!

Natalie and Tony approached me in VegasCon and announced they had just gotten married – I’m soooo happy for this lovely couple!

Tony is an EPIC Crowley cosplayer – here he is as Good Doggie Crowley!

She and I hit it off from the gate and in my search for my newsletter ninja and I knew within the first 5 minutes of speaking with her that she was the perfect fit.

Please follow both Natalie on Tony on Twitter – she’s @hufflecas and he’s @CrowleyInSales

Starting Monday, 4/18, Natalie will be handling all of my newsletter needs but I’ll still be the point of contact.

If you’d like to be a Newsletter Peep – you’ll have access to sales before the general public, you’ll get special deals only available to Newsletter Peeps, and find out about my newest designs before everyone else – just email me eldwenne@yahoo.com and make sure to include your birthday – I’ll be sending you a special gift around your birthday!

Mother’s Day is May 8 – if you’d like to have something delivered in time for Mother’s Day – make sure your order is placed NO LATER THAN April 25! Any orders received afterwards cannot be guaranteed for Mother’s Day delivery.

AKF Reality Check

It’s with a very heavy heart that I have to write this – it’s come to my attention that there are people out there that are abusing the Always Keep Fighting message.

The abuse is coming in the form of stealing other artists’ designs and using them for profit.

Some of these artists weren’t even selling there wares, they were spending money out of their own pocket and giving their items away at conventions – but people stole their ideas and decided to sell what didn’t belong to them on sites such as etsy.

And to add insult to injury – these people aren’t even DONATING their ill-gotten gains.

AKF Stainless Steel 1 inch

Always Keep Fighting’s message runs so much deeper than mental health awareness – it’s about the heart of the SPNFamily and while not everyone has these struggles that AKF lends its support to – everyone in the SPNFamily should respect what AKF is about and put greed, attention-seeking, and negativity aside.

I’m an approved AKF fundraiser. I donate 50% of each AKF item’s sale to To Write Love on Her Arms. The other 50% is used to cover fees I get charged and the materials needed to make the items. I was up front with this when I pitched my proposal to fundraiser when Jared first launched his campaign over a year ago and it was approved with enthusiasm.

I’m pleading with the SPNFamily to please be aware of where you are buying your AKF gear. Please vet out the seller or site you are considering purchasing from. I understand some of the merchandise is cool, fun, or hell, you just want it. But in order to maintain the integrity of the AKF message, please consider how your purchase will impact the AKF mission.

Think about how Jared, Jensen, or Misha would feel knowing their message is being pretty much pirated for profit – I know it breaks my heart.

Just remember why AKF was started – what can YOU do to make a difference?

Tell me what AKF means to you – email me eldwenne@yahoo.com between 4/17/16-4/23/16 – I will choose the top three responses and feature them in next week’s blog

Thanks, y’all!
Jodi

To Goth or not to Goth – that kinda was a question I asked myself a while ago. I went through a Goth stage in my life (one of the original goths and very proud of it!), and it’s still a piece of me that is engrained pretty deep.

I still refuse to wear anything other than black, although I do have the rare exception here and there – I’ll throw on a deep forest green once in a blue or a gorgeous merlot, but most of the time – black is the old/new/forever black for me.

Wearing black always gave me a strong sense of security. I mean what other color takes off 10 pounds, hmm?

When it comes to Goth jewelry – it’s really hard to veer away from the stereotypical; bats. famgs. spider webs, lace – not that there is ANYTHING wrong with these, as a matter of fact I adore these design elements and still use them for my daughter’s jewelry.

But I wanted to find the “sophisticated goth” path….and I think I’ve found it! And in some pieces, I actualyy (GASP!) use colors other than black! Well, ok, the main colors are black but look how red just pops in each piece and still retains it Goth dignity!

Now let’s take this a step or five further – Mother’s Day is nigh….yes, the day where mom pops open the card for the ever-present gift card…or gets the umpteenth 1-800-flowers delivery, or kinda noticed the quick run to Sears’ jewelry section.

Mother’s Day doesn’t necessarily need to be TRADITIONAL. You can start the new tradition by getting Mom (especially the hip and cool moms that introduced you to The Cure and Siouxsie) the best, one of a kind jewelry that screams with their personality – mine! All lack of modesty aside, getting mom something that is about who they are and their personality is what it’s about, right?

AND if you want to stay traditional, and there’s nothing wrong with that at all – I make spectacular custom made charm bracelets! Here are some that I’ve made for moms, sisters, best friends, etc and are all still available as custom orders in my etsy shop: www.eldwenne.etsy.com

Now let’s take this a few more steps forward – what about throwing your mom a jewelry making party? Or if your mom isn’t the hands-on type but wants a unique piece made before her eyes – it sounds like she needs a JODi (Jewelry on Demand) party! The best Mother’s Day gifts, no??

For all my blog readers that email me at eldwenne@yahoo.com with the words, “I LOVE YOUR BLOG” will get a 10% off a JODi party or a two hour jewelry workshop!