Customer Feature – Adina!!

Posted on March 28, 2014 by eldwenne

Jodi here – Adina is one of the most passionate souls I’ve met through this glorious fandom we call the SPN Family.

A little selfie action with me and the amazing Adina!

Adina is the epitome of what the fandom really means to me – warm, compassionate, driven, supportive, and has an impeccable taste for quality, handmade jewelry (ok, so sue me, lol!)

Seriously though – this woman rocks and as you read through her interview you’re gonna see exactly how and why.

Take it away, Adina!

Tell us a little bit about yourself, anything you’re comfortable sharing, work, family, philosophy, etc. Also, if you have a website or a brick & mortar business, please feel free to include that here!

I like to describe myself as dedicated and passionate; also, a deep fangirl. I love analyzing characters and plots.

In my “regular” life, I work for a healthcare consulting firm, fighting insurance denials for hospitals. I’ve been working at the same place for about 10 years, starting at entry level, and recently was promoted to supervisor.

On the side, I’m a certified graphic & web designer (www.squarepins.org) and that spills over into my fandom life. I’ll come back to this for the creative question! I also have a Fandom Page on FB: http://www.facebook.com/AdinaRJ I include celebrity birthdays, fun pics, and encourage interactions.

Just LOOK at the creative ohoto op this woman did with Jensen and Jared! Please come check out her FB page and Like it! It’s addictive!

Do you have any creative outlets? Tell us about them and if you have photos of your work, please feel free to share!

I do have creative outlets! I’m a computer graphic designer by hobby and side business. I mentioned my website earlier (www.squarepins.org). I have designed book covers as well as custom websites. I also make fandom graphics such as The Year of Winchesters, which was my desktop wallpaper for several years. I don’t currently write fanfic, but I did dabble in it for several fandoms over the years. I’m always analyzing shows and thinking “what if” – it just hardly ever turns into an actual story!

Adina’s Graphic Design Biz – Square Pins! LOVE the designs, Adina!!

A fang-tastic (stop groaning, you know you giggled) book cover Adina designed – which is available on Amazon!

A Year of Winchesters – Adina knows how to pick ’em!!

Who would’ve thunk that Chuck + Lucifer = adorable graphics! I LOVE Adina’s work!

What draws you to handmade jewelry as opposed to store-bought, factory manufactured pieces?

I think it’s the personal touch that goes into it. Also, the ability to customize – I went up to Jodi and said “Hey, can you do something like this, but a little different like this?” and she was able to do it right then and there! It’s the knowledge that no one else has something exactly like yours.

Adina and Ally! Wonder Twin Powers ACTIVATE! Form of…TWO AWESOME SPN bracelets!

What types of pieces stand out to you, for example, wire work, crystals, etc., and why?

I would say I notice the crystals first, but I’m more likely to buy the hammered sayings because I’m all about the quotes!

Adina wearing the “Today is Tuesday, but Yesterday was Tuesday Too!” necklace which goes smashingly with her Mystery Spot shirt!

Is there something about Eldwenne’s Fantasy – Quality Handmade Jewelry by Jodi Zulueta that stands out to you?

Jodi herself is so personable and friendly! Her work is lovely and it’s a pleasure to buy from her. Plus, her stuff is different than the typical charms bracelets and necklaces.

Adina wearing a one of a kind piece designed by my son, Phoenix!

Wow – THANK YOU ADINA! I really look forward to seeing you again! Maybe DCCon???

DCCon
That’s right – I’ll be at DCCon this coming May! And not only will I be there – my whole clan will be there too! You’ll get to meet my amazing kids and husband. I might be able to take a bathroom break at this convention – look out! After all that hard work training myself to not pee for 12 straight hours…

I’m in the midst of creating a brand new contest for this upcoming convention since the Crowley vs. Abaddon election was such a great hit! And thanks again to Mark Sheppard and Alaina Huffman for being amazing sports and joining in my madness!

I’m also still holding a promotion that will be ongoing until I get what I want, lol! If ANYONE has the divine influence to get Mark Sheppard to take a selfie wearing my “King of Hell” leather cuff bracelet I made him – I will give you The Deception of Crowley necklace for free!

You can win this necklace!

So in the meantime, I’ll be working on developing the new contest for DCCon.

Are YOU going to DCCon? If so and there’s something you’d like me to have ready and waiting for you there, drop me a line! Either convo me in etsy through my shop at www.eldwenne.etsy.com, or you can reach me on FB at my Eldwenne’s Fantasy page at www.facebook.com/EldwennesFantasy – oh and by the way – I tend to get very VERY generous to peeps who share my links, retweets, etc – so, I’m just sayin’ ; )

And don’t forget I still have a special promotion running for my SPN Necklace series:

Castiel’s Grace, The Deception of Crowley, The Purification of Sam Winchester, The Tenacity of Dean Winchester. Unfortunately The Heart of Castiel is no longer available, but version 2 of this design will be out soon!

These pieces are all marked down to the special convention price of $35 each (regular price is between $40-45) and free US shipping.

This special offer ends on April 15! Please note, The Heart of Castiel is no longer available, however, I am creating a second version of this piece that will be presented on this upcoming Two for Supernatural Tuesday posts on FB, Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram! Come follow me! I’m @eldwenne of course!

Next week’s post is going to be something very special – I had the honor of meeting a beautiful young woman named Brittany – she will be doing a guest post for me and it’s going to be extremely powerful. Stay tuned and see ya’ll next week!

Two Days to Goal, The Walking Dead is Ruining My Life, and to All Those Who Have Screwed Me Over in 2013- I THANK YOU!

Posted on December 28, 2013 by eldwenne

Today marks two days left before my Click Start Me campaign comes to an end. I’ve made $200 of my $5,000 goal…I want to thank all of you who have donated and supported my campaign.

The campaign is needed in order to grow my handmade jewelry business, Eldwenne’s Fantasy. Eldwenne’s Fantasy has two specific components; an online presence via my etsy shop: http://www.eldwenne.etsy.com and I travel all over the country (and to Canada) selling my jewelry at Salute to Supernatural conventions, where I specialize in making custom Supernatural-themed pieces for you.

Misha Collins shopping around at my table at a Salute to Supernatural convention – if it’s good enough for Misha…

I’m in good company here…

With just two days to go, I’m trying to rally the troops – if you could please share my link for my campaign – http://funding.clickstartme.com/project/help-fund-my-handmade-jewelry-traveling-business/

You’ll be helping me jumpstart my dream by providing the resources to grow Eldwenne’s Fantasy into a healthy, flourishing business where I can provide you with quality, handmade jewelry. My jewelry is original, one of a kind, and also inspired by the hit show Supernatural.

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

Family Don’t End with Blood – Bobby Singer, you’ve never been more right.

I love working with wire and glass to create ethereal, one of a kind pieces

Making ordinary materials extraordinary

And now a new fandom has wormed its way into my life – The Walking Dead. SERIOUSLY?? Screw you Netflix, The Walking Dead, Norman Reedus, crossbows, the whole shebang! My husband and I have made it our mission to catch up on the entire series. We’re 4 episodes shy as of this writing. We only started watching it about a week and a half ago. Yup. This is serious, personal, and now the jewelry ideas are brimming. Watch this space for my The Walking Dead inspired pieces!! AMC – bunch of jerks. THANK YOU AMC AND FRANK DARABONT – WE LOVE YOU!

The Walking Dead – aka my new life-ruiner.

And now, as we all prepare to kiss (or kick) 2013 goodbye, I took some time to reflect on the year in general. As most of you know, my husband got sick in September 2012 (and still is.) I lost my job on January 23, 2013. I’ll never forget that day for as long as I live. It was quite literally the end of an era.

I spent the past 20+ years of my life on the corporate treadmill, terrified of jumping off. We couldn’t afford for me to not continue to work in the financial industry. But my former job took that choice away from me. As I left the human resources office, I called my husband, got into my car, and by the time I met up with him 20 minutes later, already had my plan formulated to start a new life for all of us.

So while losing my job was definitely not something I planned on, not something I was happy about, it was definitely something that needed to happen in order for me to take my life by the reins and move forward.

Within a short period of time I was able to start doing flea markets and eventually my first Salute to Supernatural convention. That was a life-changing event for me if there ever was one. The convention showed me that my jewelry is desired, wanted, even demanded! The wonderful people I met encouraged me to plow ahead and make a name for myself in the convention circuit.

This year I was able to sell my handmade jewelry at NJCon, VanCon, TorCon, and most recently, BurCon. Each of these events were a success for me and allowed me to learn how to do things better. If I can continue to do this, it would mean the world to me. Thank you all for being so incredibly supportive!

We had setbacks. My husband got sicker. Our 11 year old was so severely bullied we had to take it to court. Things spiraled out of control. The saying is to “roll with the punches.” Nope. I’m putting my arms up and swinging back. Rolling with the punches got me 20+ years of my life being thrown down a corporate toilet.

The universe has thrown some balance into my life and allowed me to pursue my other dream – to become a teacher. Through an extremely arduous application and interviewing process, I was proudly accepted into the Teach for America program!

Providing education equality and my passion for teaching!

The organization has made it possible for my family and me to have a brand new life. We will all be moving to Nashville, Tennessee by the end of July 2014! A brand new environment will help us all thrive.

Another eye-opener this year has been that I definitely needed to pare down the baggage in my life. You’ve heard the rant before – when things are going well, cheerleaders are in your face. When things start to fall apart, ‘friends’ and ‘family’ kind of take several (many?) steps back in the opposite direction. Run to the hills. Start judging and blaming. The few times you do wind up hearing from them is for them to have the balls to actually try to one up me on the crap things that happen scale.

Seriously, there are so many people, just in my life alone, that thrive on “wow, your husband’s sick? I had a nightmare and think I may have the same problem your husband does.” “You lost your job? Wow. Sucks. Sorry it took me so long to write, but I was busy working a full time job.” Yes, I’ve gotten emails like that. That last gem was written about a month after I lost my job.

As a result of these things (and many others that I really don’t think I’ll post here – yet!), I’ve decided to remove those people from my life equation. Wow, that felt GOOD!

This pretty much describes exactly how I feel!

2014 is a clean slate, a fresh start and any other cliche you can think of. It’s been liberating, honestly.

So to those of you who have screwed me over, went out of your way to kick me when I was down, to judge me, my family, I want to thank you. Without you all showing your true colors, I’d be jumping right back onto that corporate treadmill going nowhere exceptionally fast and setting myself up for continued failures. Thank you for revealing who you really are and I thank the universe my eyes were open enough to finally see things for what they really were.

In 2014, I will be doing the things that make me happy for the first time ever. I think I’ve earned that.

Goodbye 2013 and Happy New Year to you and your loved ones!

Goodbye 2013 – Hello NEW LIFE!

T-Minus Ten Days, Christmas Crunching and Habla Espanol?

Posted on December 20, 2013 by eldwenne

Today marks the beginning of the 10 day countdown to the end of my Click Start Me campaign.

It will end at 4pm on December 30, 2013. My birthday, of all things. The campaign has been wildly popular in terms of views – Click Start Me has put me FIRST on their Featured Projects page – come look!! http://crowdfunding.clickstartme.com/projects/featured-projects

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

VERY exciting! Not only that – my project was awarded the “Most Popular Projects” badge because it’s made it to the first page of the “Most Popular Projects” search results!

Two great honors from Click Start Me!

This is such a huge honor that so many people are interested in my dream of making my handmade jewelry on the convention route a success.

I’ve received a few donations from very generous people and I cannot thank you enough for that!

My goal is $5,000, of which I have raised $100. I have just ten days to try to achieve my goal and then my campaign will be closed by Click Start Me– if you can share my links in the hopes that it will reach someone that will make a donation, I would be greatly appreciative.

As a matter of fact, if you share my link with someone who donates, YOU will receive a gift certificate worth $20!

So far from my goal – help spread the word?

To get an idea of where the money will be used, the money is needed to go towards jewelry making supplies, traveling expenses, and materials that will allow me to develop new techniques and enhance my existing ones.

For every donation you make, you will receive a gift certificate equal to the amount of your donation – my way of thanking you for your generosity and believing in me!

You’ll receive this in the amount of your donation. If your donation is $25 or more – your gift certificate will have an extra $25 value!

If you donate $25 or more, I will add an ADDITIONAL $25 to the value of your gift certificate! So if you donate $25, your gift certificate will be worth $50! If you donate $50, it will be worth $75! There’s no limit!

So if you’re suffering from gift-givers block, the gift certificate comes in super handy! I guarantee that every gift certificate will be emailed to you within 2 hours of donating or if you purchase a gift certificate directly in my shop at www.eldwenne.etsy.com. Emailing is free, of course – no shipping charges!

But if you want more bang for your buck, donating via Click Start Me gets you more, since I’m adding $25 to every donation $25 or greater : )

If you want a hardcopy certificate, today is the last day to guarantee Christmas delivery within the US. I will mail to wherever you like via Priority mail (additional shipping charges will apply).

I can personalize with a message for free as well.

Like many others, I’m still working on my Christmas crunch – just when you think that list is finished, you remember someone else. It never ends!

Are you in the Christmas crunch?!?

I hope that I can help you out of your Christmas crunch – I’m ready, willing, able, (desperate?!?) to make your Christmas gifts a reality! Don’t hesitate to contact me!

Now an update on my impending move to Tennessee and Teach for America – I’ve recently learned that I will be expected to get an endorsement in English as a Second Language instruction for elementary school. This is incredibly exciting for me!

Providing education equality and my passion for teaching!

What this does mean, however, is that I need to cram 6 college credits of Spanish between now and May 2014 – which is going to be QUITE the challenge. And expensive as all hell. Gotta figure that one out.

I took Spanish in high school. 30 years ago. I remember one very important phrase, “Donde esta el cuarto de bano?” I’m sure I spelled most of it wrong, but the gist of it is, “Where is the bathroom?”

We’re in the process of looking at places to rent down in beautiful Murfreesboro, trying to figure out where Raven is going to be (mainstream versus auditory/oral program), and preparing for a trip to Nashville this coming April for a job fair.

Gorgeous shot of the Rutherford County Courthouse

The job fair is going to be super exciting because I’ll be meeting representatives from schools all over Nashville looking to hire.

A lot of new changes are coming up very fast for us. I’m trying to keep up with all of it!

And I hope that all of you try to keep up with me and my newest adventures in making my handmade jewelry accessible to the masses and bridging the gaps in education inequality through Teach for America!

Remember to come to www.eldwenne.etsy.com for all of your handmade jewelry needs, including some kick-ass Supernatural pieces that I will custom make just for you! I’ve created a contact form that you can use right from this post to get a hold of me also!

Red Glass Encased in Woven Silver Necklace

Silver Goddess Spiral Ring

Clear Glass Goddess Spiral Frame Necklace

My Eldwenne’s Fantasy Mystery Hex Bags are always a very fun gift option! Each bag is $16 and contains a fabulous piece of jewelry, keychain or bookmark! If you want it to be SPN-related, just let me know!

Let’s pay some respect to Kevin Tran – aka Kevin Fricking Solo!

Thanks everyone and have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS/YULE/WINTER SOLSTICE!!

The Hoboken Shelter, Nashville in Motion , and ClickStarting Me is Down to the Wire

Posted on December 6, 2013 by eldwenne

I know I promised you a feature on my customer of the month, Melstiel, but we’re running just a bit behind schedule with that, so I will do my best to get that posted next Friday. Today I wanted to … Continue reading →

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 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!!

My ode to Charie Bradbury

Setting It Up, BurCon Prep, and It Takes an Eco-Village

Posted on November 8, 2013 by eldwenne

LOTS of good things going on!

As you all heard in my last post – I’m officially now in the Teach for America organization – very exciting!

This change will take my family and me down to Nashville, Tennessee this coming summer. We really look forward to building our new life down there!

I keep getting asked what about my jewelry – oh that’s not changing one iota! I will ALWAYS have Eldwenne’s Fantasy and it will not be slowing down for anything. Now I have the opportunity to do both things that I love – making handmade jewelry and teaching!

Will I still be going to conventions? OF COURSE! As a matter of fact, BurCon is coming up in just two weeks – GASP! I’m working my fingers to the bone with a ton of new pieces to bring with me.

A couple of pendants that I’ll be putting onto cords:

A rich purple sphere is wrapped in silver goddess spirals – you NEED to see this in person!

A royal blue rectangular piece of glass is wrapped in woven silver wire – a very intricate piece!

Here’s an unfinished Supernatural piece I’m working on…it’s a leather cuff stamped with the ENTIRE exchange between Sam and Dean in the episode ‘Mystery Spot’ – you know the scene. When Sam tries to explain to Dean for the 100^th time that today is Tuesday. And yes, you see YESTERDAY was Tuesday too, Dean doesn’t quite believe him at first. Until this string of gems:

Mystery Spot themed leather cuff bracelet – Sam Winchester cries his way through sex is now immortalized on your wrist

I’m in the process of darkening the stampings so that the text reads clearer. I’m also going to embellish it with a charm or two as well.

And of course, I will also be bringing along my one of a kind Supernatural-themed hand-painted coffin jewelry boxes, such as:

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!

I do hope you’ll be at BurCon, and if so, please stop by my table! If you mention my blog, I have a special gift for you!

And I’ll be selling Clifhanger gear for my friend Shannon! Your wardrobe is missing something if you don’t have a Clifhanger shirt. If you have a shirt, you need a beanie. If you have a shirt and a beanie, then you need a hoodie! It’s just the way it is, folks. Clifhangers can go Clif out on FB over at https://www.facebook.com/Clifhangers

Men’s t-shirt

Women’s t-shirt and the best t-shirt I have ever EVER owned

Hoodie – THIS IS AMAZING!

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

I am the proud owner of a Clifhanger shirt and I can tell you I have never owned a better t-shirt. It’s the most form-flattering and forgiving shirt you will ever own!

Another new thing you will see at BurCon is the debut of some jewelry sets!

One of my friends, Abby Levine (who is one of the most brilliant and thought-provoking artists I know, by the way, and can be seen here: http://www.abbyart.com) suggested to me that I offer a discount to those who wish to purchase matching pieces of jewelry for themselves and a friend or family member. So I now offer a 25% discount on these orders!

This also got me thinking about making sets in general, as I haven’t really done that in a very long time. So I hereby introduce the first set I’ve done in quite literally years:

Black spheres with silver stars embraced by pewter bead cages. I LOVE the textured black sphere accents as well!

Necklace closeup

Bracelet closeup

Earrings closeup

I’m really proud of this!

To get myself inspired, I dug through some of my older supplies and when I came across these, the design pretty much designed itself.
Some of you will recognize the star beads as those I use in my Across the Universe pieces from my Stellar Harmony series. Here are the earrings from that series:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/73127124/across-the-universe-stellar-harmony?ref=shop_home_active

I created a matching set of a necklace, a bracelet, and a pair of earrings – this will also be available in my etsy shop www.eldwenne.etsy.com – so come check it out!
Speaking of etsy, I was contacted by the lovely Brandi LaMere on etsy. She is the mastermind behind Project Eco-Village.

Project Eco-Village is a self-sustainable eco-village. It’s going to be a place where families can come to have picnics, learn about self-sustainability, view the many Herb, Flower & vegetable gardens, 3 of which are raised gardens that she built herself this year, 2 raised vegetable gardens and another raised herb garden.

I She also has several raised flower beds and side gardens she had started creating over the last couple of years

Brandi studied Herbology and grows her own herbs, flowers and plants from seed until full maturity.

This coming year, she is going to start selling and shipping out established herb plants, since she starts them under gro-lights indoors.

She has a GoFundMe campaign at www.gofundme.com/473450 for donations to build a greenhouse.

She is a single mother and cannot afford to do it all herself. She also started a Facebook page at www.facebook.com/HelpBuildAnEcoVillage.

She has incredible vision. For example, a full orchard is in the plans for this 5 acres, as well as several more gardens of herbs and vegetables.

So what does this have to do with Eldwenne’s Fantasy, you must be asking yourselves?

Well Brandi took a gander at my hand-stamped jewelry https://www.etsy.com/listing/156168925/vampire-diaries-name-stamp-necklace?ref=shop_home_active and asked if I would be interested in creating tags like my necklace pendants that would allow visitors to view the Herbs and be able to identify them.

Being the owner of a small business, I fully understood where Brandi was coming from and decided to create tags and donate them to her Eco-Village!
Here are some photos of the works in progress:

Some samples of the herb and plant markers I’m donating to Brandi LaMere’s Eco-Village

Closeup of a couple of the markers – These will withstand weather and allow visitors to identify what they are seeing in Brandi’s Eco-Village!

I am not charging Brandi a dime – I believe in what she is doing and admire her vision and hard work.

Knowing the struggle we women have in keeping our small businesses afloat, I wanted to demonstrate my support for her.

I know that every little bit counts and if it saves Brandi some overhead by donating my handstamped tags, then I know I’ve made a difference and have also contributed to her cause.

I have a similar campaign over at Click Start Me – read on to learn how you can get gift certificates towards my jewelry!

Do you want to know how you can help a woman’s small business get on its feet?

I have a ClickStartMe campaign that has FANTASTIC rewards!

The funds raised by Click Start Me http://tinycs.me/9T will provide the funding I need to cover everything needed to grow Eldwenne’s Fantasy: