Busy Bee - Updates

Just wanted to write a quick blog post to say, no, I'm not dead. Just really busy! As you all know, my grandma passed away a few weeks ago. Since then, my life has been a whirlwind. I helped my family plan the funeral, attended the funeral and other things for my grandma. I also spent a lot of time with family that I never see.

My kitten was also very sick for a while. We had to take him to the vet a number of times, but luckily the last vet we went to actually had some great advice. We had him on a lot of medications (maybe 4-5) to try to get him better, but the new vet we went to see told us to take him off all medications and put him on a special diet. It's been a few weeks and he is so much better! He is starting to put on weight and grow like a weed! He is about 4 1/2 months old so I feel like he gets bigger every day. So that is good news.

On top of all this, all these hectic events happened to coincide with me returning back to college full time. This is my second week back at school and I am really trying to figure out a better way to manage my time. I have five classes this semester: Corporate Finance, Law for Business, International Business, Entrepreneurial Finance, and Ethical Political and Social Environment for Business. So none of my classes are easy and are already starting to overwhelm me.

Anyway, if you are wondering about my blog giveaways, listing in my etsy shop, posting on facebook etc...it has all been out the window lately and I'm super sorry about that. I hope, in the next couple of weeks to get adjusted to my schedule this semester enough to get back into my routine with everything FFD. I have really been missing it. I finally got to update my Etsy Shop today with about 4 new items, some really cute stuff. So please go have a look! 


Anyway, this month I will start up the giveaways again, so please look out for that in maybe 1-2 weeks :)


xo Aubree

Family Emergency

I just wanted to let you all know that if I am noticeably absent lately or within the next few weeks, it's due to some urgent things happening in my personal life. On Tuesday, my Grandma was taken to the hospital and over the past few days we have learned that she is in very bad condition and will need 24hr care and could pass away at any time. So if I don't list anything in my Etsy Shop for longer than usual, or I don't post anything here for awhile, or reply to comments, it's due to this which is taking up a lot of my time and energy. I hope everyone understands.

Anyway, if you ordered something from me recently, don't worry it will ship as normal. Also, if you order anything from my website or etsy shop soon, it might take a couple days longer than usual to ship out, but it will be in a timely manner. So please don't let me discourage you from making a purchase.


xo ♥ Aubree

July Jewelry Giveaway Results

I got a great response to this month's giveaway and want to thank everyone for entering. Once again you all did awesome features of Fatally Feminine Designs! 


So now for the results. This month's winner is entry # 10, April! Congrats!! 

Don't feel bad if you didn't win this time. Don't forget you will have another chance to win in a few weeks during August's giveaway!

xo Aubree

July Jewelry Giveaway: Eat Me Cake Necklace

Today is the official start of the FFD July Giveaway. I have been overwhelmed with response to my new Alice in Wonderland Collection and in particular to my Eat Me Cake Necklace. So I thought what is better than giving one away this month?? Best part is, if you win, you get to choose which version you want! Don't forget to read the rules below and enter before next Monday, the 19th.

How to enter:
1) Visit the FFD Website or Etsy Shop, linked in the right column. 
2) Find your favorite item and feature it in your blog, twitter, FaceBook, add to your Flickr page, DeviantArt Journal etc and link to the item. Basically you can use any social network tool you want. 
3) Send me a link to the feature in a comment here.
4) If you use Facebook, please take a Screenshot of the feature since many of you have privacy settings that block me from viewing. Send your screenshot to aubree at fatallyfemininedesigns.com. Please do this in addition to your comment here. Thanks!

5) Leave your email address with your comment. This step is optional, but makes sure I have a way to contact you if you win.

Entries Due next Monday, July 19th! I will randomly choose a winner on July 19th and announce it here that day. You must check here next Monday to see if you won. Anyone is free to enter, please do so between now and July 19th. Once a winner is chosen I will need that person's shipping address. If I do not receive your address within one week of July 19th, you will forfeit your prize. Please send your shipping address to aubree at fatallyfemininedesigns.com. Good Luck!

xo Aubree

Today's Outfit 7/3/10

Today I wanted to be comfortable and cute. Here's what I'm wearing today...

♥ Bow Tee: I'm Your Present

♥ Jeans: Macy's

♥ Watch: Guess Jeans w/ Swarovski Crystal

♥ Strawberry Ring: Betsey Johnson

♥ Cupcake Ring: Fatally Feminine Designs (Me)

♥ Flip Flops (not pictured): BCBG - Dillard's

This tee is one of my absolute favorites, I wear it at least once a week. I also have a cupcake ring exactly like the one I'm wearing for sale in my etsy shop, so check it out. Have a happy and fun 4th of July everyone!

xo Aubree

New Cupcake Jewelry

Cupcakes are always delicious and cute. I don't think I will every get sick of making kawaii cupcake jewelry, charms, and necklaces! So here is some new stuff to get your mouth watering...

Party Cupcake Ring - $14

Birthday Cupcake Bag Charm - $15

Eat Me Cupcake Charm or Necklace - $14-$16

Yum, yum! Happy Friday everyone, now go eat a cupcake! (:

xo Aubree

Free Shipping Offer

This week I am offering Free Worldwide Shipping on Orders $40 and over in my Etsy Shop! I'm doing this to celebrate finally getting a semi-full shop and also 4th of July. I had taken several months off from listing in my Etsy Shop to get ready for a benefit. So it took me quite a while to get over 60 items back up. 


So celebrate with me by getting Free Shipping this week! All you have to do is browse, check out,  and pay. Once I process your order, I will refund all shipping charges through Paypal. This offer is good on orders over $40 before shipping charges and expires on Sunday July 4th.


My next shop update will be tomorrow. I will be listing around 4-5 items.


♥ 

Laduree + Fauchon Macarons

Arguably macarons are one of the cutest desserts around. I had always been obsessed with cupcakes, which are cute without a doubt, but several years ago I discovered the macaron while browsing the internet. But I had never tried one before or even seen one in person. Here, in New Mexico, they are not very common. The first one I tried was about a year ago from a place here called the Grove, a small cafe and bakery which also makes delicious cupcakes. 

I had become inspired by the macaron from the first time I saw them and even more so after tasting them. I created my first macaron charm made from polymer clay over a year ago. I continue to perfect my charms and hope to create new macaron charms soon. As I look to perfect a charm, I usually research pictures from the internet for reference and Inspiration. Overwhelmingly the most popular and beautiful pictures of macarons I found were from a place called Laduree. I browsed their website and was captivated by the beautiful interiors and pastries.


Ever since then I have wanted to go to Paris just to see Laduree. A few months ago my Mom told me she was going on a trip to Paris with my dad. I sent her on a macaron hunt for me. She brought me back macarons from both Laduree and Fauchon (which several locals claimed is much better than Laduree). I tried one from each before snapping pictures.

The box from Laduree that my macarons came in, isn't it gorgeous?

The yummy macarons (there were 6 in there). I can't remember the flavors since I haven't tried them yet!

The macarons from Fauchon. There were also 6 in this box before I ate one :)

I think that the packaging alone on the Laduree Macarons makes them better, but I am a sucker for anything pink and floral, girly and sweet. The other cool thing about the package is it is sturdy and could be used over and over for any number of things. My mom chose the packaging for me, she knows me so well! The flavor I tried was Mimosa (a new one I'm told). I have to say I wasn't a huge fan. It was very floral and reminded me a little of fancy soap. But I'm not sure this is any indication of the quality, just not my favorite flavor.

The Fauchon macarons are beautiful. I like their simple packaging that shows off the macarons, but I do miss all the girlyness the Laduree package has. Plus, you really cannot use this one over again. The flavor I tried was chocolate. Just chocolate cookies with ganache. Since I'm a chocoholic, it was amazing! I'll have to compare the chocolate from Laduree when I try it next.

Just wanted to share my macaron experience with you. What do you think of macarons? Like them, dislike them? Never heard of them?

xo Aubree

Alice in Wonderland Charms Collection

Just wanted to share with you the items I have developed so far for my new Alice in Wonderland Collection that merges my love of everything Alice with my love for polymer clay. The Eat Me Cakes are available in my Etsy Shop & Website. The Cupcake Necklace is available in my Etsy Shop and will be added to my website very soon!

What do you guys think of the new collection? What other charms/characters are you interested in seeing?

xo Aubree

June Giveaway Winner

The winner for the June giveaway is entry # 7, Noemie! 


Congrats! Please send your mailing address to aubree @ fatallyfemininedesigns.com within one week to claim your prize.


Thanks again for everyone who entered this month, I really appreciate all of the lovely features that you posted about my work! Don't forget that you will have another chance to win next month, so comes back in about three weeks to enter July's blog giveaway.


(Sorry I forgot to take a screenshot of the random number generator results this time!)


xo Aubree

Studio Sunday + Random Cute Stuff

Today I worked on some new Alice Jewelry in my studio. I made a bunch of Alice pendants for necklaces and earrings. A couple weeks ago I introduced black and white illustrations to my collection. Some of these are a new black and white cheshire cat pendant that I'm going to be adding to my Etsy Shop soon. These pendants haven't been sealed or drilled yet. Once they are, they'll be made into jewelry and photographed for listing. There is also a new color pendant for the collection of Alice and the Garden of Live Flowers. It's so cute and is my new favorite! (I'll have to make one for me)

A couple of days ago I was also in my studio working on some new polymer clay charms. Some have been since put up for sale and others are still a work in progress.

Now some random cute stuff I thought I would share! My two hello kitty plushies which I love (my brother tells me I'm too old for hello kitty but what does he know?!) And my collection of Harajuku Lovers perfume (of course mostly just purchased for the dolls) ;)

Hope you all have a great Sunday! I hope to have the FFD June Newsletter sent out in a few days so look out for that.

xo Aubree

Fresh New Items

Today I added some brand new Sweet Treats charms to FatallyFeminineDesigns.com. If you remember the post I did a few weeks ago about summer inspirations some of these charms are the result of that. Hope you like them. They are all available now as charms or necklaces!

Frozen Yogurt Twin-Cone Charm

Frozen Yogurt Single Cone Charm

Strawberry Shortcake Charm

Don't forget to enter June's Blog giveaway for your chance to win a Pink Strawberry Cake ring!!

xo Aubree

June Giveaway

Yay! Today is the start of June's Blog giveaway. This month you can enter to win a Mini Strawberry Cake Ring handmade by me from polymer clay and valued at $15. This time there is less than 1 week to enter.

How to enter:
1) Visit the FFD Website or Etsy Shop, linked in the right column. 
2) Find your favorite item and feature it in your blog, twitter, FaceBook, add to your Flickr page, DeviantArt Journal etc and link to the item. Basically you can use any social network tool you want. 
3) Send me a link to the feature in a comment here.
4) If you use Facebook, please take a Screenshot of the feature since many of you have privacy settings that block me from viewing. Send your screenshot to aubree at fatallyfemininedesigns.com. Please do this in addition to your comment here. Thanks!

Entries Due next Thursday, June 17th! I will randomly choose a winner on June 17th and announce it here on Friday. You must check here next Friday to see if you won. Anyone is free to enter, please do so between now and June 17th. Once a winner is chosen I will need that person's shipping address. If I do not receive your address within one week of June 17th, you will forfeit your prize. Please send your shipping address to aubree at fatallyfemininedesigns.com. Good Luck!


xo Aubree

Chains Available Now

I just wanted to write up a quick post to let everyone know that chains are now available on fatallyfemininedesigns.com. Any charm can be made into a necklace for just $2 more! Choose between Sterling Silver Box Chain, Silver Plated Cable, and Gold Plated cable. Buy them on the same page as your favorite charm. 

Check out the new Birthday Cake Slice Charms, which can be customized by you! Choose you icing flavor, cake flavor, sprinkles, and candle color.


Look out for this month's giveaway starting in just a few days! Remember to check out the FFD Etsy shop for fresh items daily!


xo Aubree

Alice Cameos - Preview II

This is the second preview of a new design I have been working on and I LOVE how these ones turned out! More than likely I will be selling these soon as necklace pendants on fun colored ball chains. I'm thinking about having color options of gunmetal, gold, pink, and red (maybe mint too). I also got a suggestion from several people to make them into pins, so I think I will make a couple of those too and see how they sell.

For now I just decided to do the White Rabbit and Alice. I definitely will be doing more characters in the future. Overall I love the girly, vintage-inspired, lolita style of the pendants. Another idea I had was to add some micro-fine glitter to the finish. I tried it on a test pendant and it is so cute. That might be an option if people like the idea.

What do you think of them? 

Summer Inspirations

The weather is getting warmer and the days longer...


What is better this time of year than an ice cold sweet treat? This week I have been drawing inspiration from delicious looking summer desserts: my favorite of which is ice cream! Check out these photos of some unique and yummy ice cream I found on flickr:

delicious by adamCL

An ice cream to share. (I had most of it) by Trevor Coultart

Ice Cream Cones - Colours by  just4pics

I have already made some really yummy charms inspired by ice cream which you can buy on fatallyfemininedesigns.com . Check them out:

Fancy Ice Cream Cone Charm

Citrus Popsicle Charm

Look out for more ice cream charms & pendants inspired by the photos above!

We Have a Winner! - May Blog Giveaway

And the winner is....


Little Miss Sunshine!


Please send your mailing address to aubree @ fatallyfemininedesigns.com within one week to claim your prize. Congrats!!


If you all are curious about how I choose winners, I use the comments on my blog post to count how many people have entered. Then I use the random number generator (seen below). When it gives the result number, I use the order that people commented to find out who won.

If you didn't win this month, look out for June's giveaway in about 3 weeks!


xo Aubree

Work in Progress - AIW Collection

Lately I have been working on new designs for my Alice collection. I really want to improve and grow the line. So I have been updating older designs, adding new scenes, and improving quality. I don't know about you, but I LOVE the classic novel and Tenniel illustrations. It was my favorite childhood book and constantly inspires me with endless possibilities for designs.

I wanted to share with you a new idea I had for the Alice collection that is still in the works. I had this idea a few months ago for "framed alice pendants". It sort of evolved and took on a life of its own into black and white "Alice Cameos", using the original black line illustrations from the book.

The other day I finally made a prototype, which you can see in the pictures. This one features the white rabbit in an ornate frame with a cute bow. Eventually I would like to have a whole line of Alice Cameos featuring the main characters from the book and maybe a few scenes.

Let me know what you think! Of course the final cameos will have some changes. One of which being making the cameos slightly smaller and making them into necklaces, bracelets, and rings.

Look forward to the final products soon!

May Blog Giveaway

Today is the official start of the May giveaway. This month's prize is a necklace from the Alice in Wonderland Collection: White Rabbit Wonderland Necklace, an $18 value! Handmade by me from acrylic and my own original design, attached to a 17" silver plated chain, closes with a toggle clasp.

How to enter:
1) Visit the FFD Website or Etsy Shop, linked in the right column. 
2) Find your favorite item and feature it in your blog, twitter, FaceBook, add to your Flickr page, DeviantArt Journal etc and link to the item. Basically you can use any social network tool you want. 
3) Send me a link to the feature in a comment here.


Giveaway Ends next Monday, May 17th! I will randomly choose a winner on May 17th and announce it here. You must check here next Monday to see if you won. Anyone is free to enter, please do so between now and May 17th. Once a winner is chosen I will need that person's shipping address. If I do not receive your address within one week of May 17th, you will forfeit your prize. Good Luck!


xo Aubree

New Website Grand Opening

Yesterday was the official grand opening of the new fatallyfemininedesigns.com!


I hope everyone will go check it out and let me know what you think! I think that you will find it more attractive, user-friendly, and modern. I only have 6 products for sale currently, but I hope to have around 75 for a fully stocked website. I'm almost done adding 6 more products and will be updating the site with those soon.


The checkout will be much smoother with the new website and I hope to add the payment option of credit cards without the use of Paypal sometime in the future. I will let everyone know when and if that happens. 


I have a new Sweet Treats Collection that I hope to soon debut on the new website so look out for that.


Also, May's blog giveaway will start in a few days, and this month's prize will be from the Alice in Wonderland Collection!


xo Aubree

FatallyFeminineDesigns.com Makeover

I just wanted to let you all know that the FFD website will be going through some major changes over the next two weeks. As I posted previously, I am transitioning to a Yahoo Webstore. 


This process will be happening over the next few weeks, which means some growing pains will occur. The site might experience a few days downtime between the current and new site, so please don't be alarmed. If it does experience any downtime it will be back up very shortly. 


I also will be closing down the shopping portion of the website soon so that I can start transferring the products to the new site. Also, my Email Address may experience a day of downtime, so if you e-mail me, please be patient and I will get back to you as soon as I can. 


But don't worry, this will all be worth it. I hope everyone loves the new site and finds it much more attractive and user-friendly. If you have any questions about the transition or site downtime don't be afraid to comment here, send me a message on DA, flickr, facebook, or Etsy. Thanks so much for bearing with me as I improve the FFD website!


PLEASE NOTE: The new website will be located at the same address. I am just giving it a makeover. It will still be fatallyfemininedesigns.com


xo Aubree

GNO Pictures

Last Friday I participated the GNO Benefit for Ronald McDonald House Charities. As you know, I have been preparing for it over the last couple of months.


Overall, it was a really fun experience. I met a lot of really nice women and got a lot of wonderful feedback about my jewelry. I also met a lot of other local business owners that I might end up working with in the future. I also made a few sales, but I think I was over-prepared as far as inventory goes. I have a lot of left over stock. 


I have already started to list in my Etsy Shop again. I have a lot of new Alice items to list (some already available) and tons of other cute jewelry, so check my Etsy Shop often for new items!


Here are a few photos from the event. It was indoor and the lighting isn't that great but I hope you enjoy them:

Me at the table. I don't know what I'm doing, but I promise I wasn't picking my nose! 

A photo of just some of the stock I brought to the show. People were really impressed 

with my Sweet Treats Charms!

A Giveaway for May will start next week and just run for one week this time. I have also added a rule that the winner must claim their prize within one week of the drawing or they will forfeit it to someone else. The last giveaway winner has yet to contact me with a mailing address and I hate for the necklace to go to waste!

xo Aubree

April Giveaway Winner Chosen!

And the winner is....


Caroline!


Congrats! Please send me your name and mailing address so I can ship your package. Send this info to aubree at fatallyfemininedesigns.com


I used the random number generator to pick a winner. I want to say thank you to everyone who entered! You all did a great job of posting features about my work. If you did not win this time, don't worry. I will be hosting another giveaway here for May. That will begin in a few weeks!

Discontinuing the 'Edgy Feminine' Line

After some long consideration, I have decided it would be best for my business and for my customers to discontinue my Edgy Feminine Line. This is the line of vintage inspired jewelry sold through my Etsy Shop.

   

There are several reasons for this decision. The main one being that it is the least popular of my three lines. I get a lot more sales from my other two lines (Sweet Treats and Alice in Wonderland). Many people have a much stronger response to these other lines as well. Also, the other two lines are original to me. Yes, others make Alice and Sweets inspired jewelry, but both collections have unique attributes and styles that my customers seem to really enjoy. Discontinuing the Edgy Feminine Line will also allow me to really focus on Alice and Sweet Treats. I want to give all of my customers and fans a more dynamic selection and higher quality product in both lines, and I think this will happen once I allow myself to focus.


To sum up, I will no longer be designing or producing items for this collection. The ones that are left in my etsy shop will have a free worldwide shipping promotion on them until they sell. So if you want to grab up these last pieces please do so soon. I will have them marked down by tomorrow.


What do you think about this decision? I want to hear your opinions good or bad! 


xo Aubree

Inspirations - Japanese Snacks

Like a lot of you, I love all things Japanese: food, culture, clothes, and much more. I have a huge list of things that inspire me and one of those is japanese snacks. I love how unique and cute their candies and snacks are. I am always on the look out for things like this to inspire new charms or styles of charms. I gather inspiration from rare and unique sweets from around the world. One of my most popular charms, boba tea, was inspired by the asian drink, originally from Taiwan. 


This past week, I went to my local world foods market and picked up these kawaii goodies:

"Caramel Corn", which is nothing like the American version, but interestingly yummy! It is almost like cheetos without cheese and coated in a crunchy caramel glaze. I love the kawaii packaging on this one! I probably won't be making an Japanese caramel corn charms, but I love the inspiration of bright colors and cute characters on the package.

"Pudding" candies, which look just like the picture on the package and were creamy and delicious. I am thinking about making some pudding charms as inspiration from these.

Hope you all have a great Wednesday. Don't forget to enter the giveaway by April 25th!

xo Aubree

April Giveaway - Big Cupcake Necklace

This is the first giveaway here at FFD! Up for grabs is a handmade necklace, designed and made by me. A huge kawaii cupcake pendant made from polymer clay, accented with a pink satin bow, hangs from an 18 inch silver plated chain with a lobster clasp and pink Swarovski Crystal bead in the back. This is your chance to win this necklace, valued at $25!

How to enter:
1) Visit the FFD Website or Etsy Shop, linked in the right column. 
2) Find your favorite item and feature it in your blog, twitter, FaceBook, add to your Flickr page, DeviantArt Journal etc and link to the item. Basically you can use any social network tool you want. 
3) Send me a link to the feature in a comment here.


I will randomly choose a winner on April 25th and announce it here. Anyone is free to enter, please do so between now and April 25th. Once a winner is chosen I will need that person's address. Good Luck!


xo Aubree