My Newest Project

Good Monday morning guys!

For the first time in a really long time I am super excited to see Monday roll around! You want to know why? Because it means that the grand old USPS will pick up the new goodies I just purchased yesterday and start bringing them my way!

Now, this might not seem like such a big deal to a lot of you, but these aren't just your average everyday new goodies. Do you remember a while back when I talked about my surprise I have in the works? Well, the wonderful Larry of Chelsea Lynn Designs is the artisan I alluded to in that post. And dear, amazing, hugely talented Larry has finished, listed, and shipped the pieces he is helping me collaborate on!

I am about to burst with excitement!

So, while I won't yet tell you all that I have planned, I've decided to show you what Larry made for me. Take a look at these beauties!

Aren't they awesome!? (They're blanks that I am going to use for new pendant bases!)

I've always had this idea for pendants I want to make using vector images, but until I met Larry I had no way to get the ideas to come to life. But when I saw the wonderful scroll work Larry could do, I knew he was the man to ask!

Hopefully I will have them by mid-week, and by this time next week I will be able to show you at least one finished pendant. So wish me well, and do a little "quick shipping dance" for me, too!

I'm off to wait by the mailbox!

♥

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New Goodies and a Quick Reminder

Happy almost Friday everyone! Let me start with just a quick reminder: If you haven't left a "Ninja Fact" yet, and you want to be considered for the free prize, please be sure you do so by midnight (EST) on Sunday, 19 April 2009. I'll be taking Monday to review the "facts" and I'll post the winner on Tuesday!

Now, on to the new goodies!

I'm working on something I think will be really awesome for my studio. I can't tell you all the details right now, but I will give you a few hints:

1. It's jewelry.

2. It's a collaboration with one of my favorite fellow artisans.

3. It's totally cool and unique, and it still has that "ninja flair" to it.

I really wish I could tell you more, but we ninjas are a superstitious lot, and I am terrified I will jinx it if I say too much, too soon. But I promise that as soon as I get the first one done I will post pictures and details for your perusal and approval!

Please wish me luck as I try to iron out the details on this latest super secret Ninja mission!

♥

p.s. Don't forget to check back tomorrow for Free Press Friday! (You're going to love the sparkly treats I have in store!)

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New in my Studio: Avi-Tiles!

I decided a while back to start making custom jewelry with pet pictures on it, and since then I've been brainstorming about other ideas I can use to stand out in the sea of pendant makers. So I've decided to try a new style of custom tiles.

I like to call these custom tiles "Avi-Tiles". Avi-Tiles are awesome (IMO) because they give you a way to link your online world with your real life persona. Simply put, an Avi-Tile is a small piece of jewelry that has your avatar on it. This is what my Avi-Tile looks like:


So what good are Avi-Tiles?

Well, think about it like this: If you are very active on the internet, chances are you use the same avatar across the board. Your avatar is your "face" online. It's how people recognize you, and, if you are online long enough, people start to associate that avatar with you. It's sort of like branding yourself, or giving yourself a logo of sorts.

But what happens when you want to meet those people in the real world? How do you "define" yourself so that you will be recognized by your online friends? Do you offer to wear some loud, flashy hat? Do you carry a bouquet of yellow roses? Or, heaven forbid, do you stand around holding some silly sign that says "I'm *insert online name here*"?

Avi-Tiles get rid of that need! With an Avi-Tile, you can take that little picture everyone already knows you by and turn it into a fun little pendant, ring, pin, or even cufflinks! Then, when you go to a craft fair with your fellow artisans, or a tweet up with your fellow bloggers, everyone will easily recognize you! You won't spend your entire night thinking "I wonder who these people are... and I wonder if they know who I am.." Instead, people will notice you and introduce themselves! And, you'll have the added benefit of being the coolest person there... because, let's face it, how cool can you really be if nobody knows who you are?

If you want your own Avi-Tile, please check out my studio! They take just a few days to make, they are truly one-of-a-kind, and all you have to do is send me a picture once you place your order!

♥

p.s. My Avi-Tile listings disappear pretty quickly once I put them up, but if you want one and don't see them listed, please contact me and I will be sure to get a listing up for you ASAP!

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Online Jewelry Party!

I've decided to try having online parties as a way to drive more traffic to my studios. Below is the text from emails I sent out last night. Please take a look and let me know what you think! (And feel free to host a party with me if you want! :wink:)

"Hi everyone!



Just wanted to let you know about a new type of party I will be having in the next few weeks! I am sure some of you have heard about "purse parties" or "makeup parties", so you are already somewhat familiar with how MY parties will work. I am currently looking for hosts for my parties. All parties will be held online, and I will handle all of the details except for the invitations. That part will be up to the host(s). These parties will be a great way for the hosts to get free jewelry, and all party guests will given great deals on awesome handmade items! If you (or anyone you know) is interested in hosting a party, please contact me by email (jennjoyner76@gmail.com) or by phone (980.253.0464) for more information. Please feel free to forward this to anyone else you think may be interested!

*** To see the type of jewelry that will be sold at the parties, please click on both of the shop links in my signature! To see how the parties will work, check out this blog post: http://jewelrytokeep.blogspot.com/2009/03/online-jewelry-party.html (This is NOT my blog, but it will at least give you a general idea of what I mean!) ***

Thanks so much, and I look forward to hearing from each of you!

<3

Jenn
--
Support your local economy... buy handmade!

NinjaJenn.artfire.com
www.NinjaJenn.etsy.com"

<3

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RiskyBeads April Giveaway

So I realize it isn't really April yet, but I just listed this to add to her giveaway:

EARTH DAY UPCYCLED SCRABBLE TILE PENDANT


The theme for her April giveaway is "Earth Day, Eco Friendly Items", and i'll post more about the giveaway as it gets closer, but i just wanted to brag a little bit before hand! ;0)

<3

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My New Custom Tiles

Well, thanks to the advice and kindness of SpoiledBratzwear on Artfire, I have decided to try to offer a new type of listing. I won't bore you with the details (as you can click the link and read them yourself LOL), but here's the first one I have up:

CUSTOM PET PENDANT



Please check it out and let me know what you think! (And FWIW, I realize that the picture quality isn't the greatest... I plan on retaking that in the next day or so, but I was so excited I just couldn't wait to get it listed! LOL)

<3

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byhand.me

Well, I was reading the Artfire forums the other day, and I came across a post from Soapdeli about promoting yourself online at a new venue called byhand.me.

I clicked her link, and was surprised to find how easy it was to join and set up my profile. I added all my shops, and even created my first spotlight over there in less than ten minutes.

The awesome thing is that once you create your spotlight, the admins at byhand.me will tweet it to the world FOR you! Isn't that cool? I can already tell that my shop views have gone up from spotlight traffic!

Anyone else using byhand.me? If so, let me know so we can connect over there! Or feel free to connect with me once you do sign up!

<3

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Rapid Cart is AWESOME!

Artfire just rolled out this cool new toy for all verified sellers that let's buyers check out DIRECTLY FROM BLOG PAGES!

Here's how mine looks:

NinjaJenn

Buy Handmade

If you haven't seen it yet, and you're an Artfire artisan, go to "my studio" and look under "promote". See that little link that says "rapid cart"? Good... click it! It's SO super easy to use, and you just copy and paste the code anywhere you'd like!

I've figured out that it looks best using only two columns on my blog, but you can use up to a 5 by 5 grid if you have the space!

I'm sure there will be a few bugs, as it's still a new application, but overall it seems to work well. Yay to Artfire once again!

<3

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Thinking about branching out...

Well, so far I have been having slow, but steady, success in my various shops. I started out over on Etsy, and have since opened studios on both Artfire and Shophandmade. My Artfire studio is by far my favorite, because I just LOVE the community over there. I've made great friends and awesome connections, and I've only been there just about a month now. But I just can't say enough good things about the vibe at Artfire. If you aren't an Artfire Artisan yet, you really should check it out. I am sure you will be pleased with what you find.

But anyway... this post was supposed to be about branching out LOL

I am contemplating opening another Artfire studio that has NON jewelry items in it. I am a little nervous about this, as I don't quite know how well my items would be received, but I think that since it's free to have a small shop, it can't hurt to try, right?

If I do open that shop, I will use it to list handpainted goods. I love to paint on odd surfaces, rather than canvas or paper, and I often find myself painting on things like reclaimed windows, wine glasses, or coffee mugs. I also like to paint wood things like birdhouses or trinket boxes.

So, any advice? Anyone reading already a painter that sells on the internet? Any suggestions you want to give me to help me out? Anything you guys would like to see painted? Any help at all? LOL

I'd love to hear what you guys have to say...

<3

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Welcome to the madness!

Hi everyone!

I guess it's about time that I joined the land of the craft bloggers. I have long been an anonymous blogger, but never have I tried to write anything serious.

Please bear with... this could be a little strange in the beginning...

I am not used to having a "real name" attached to my writings, so I'm a little nervous about that! I have to get over the fact that I can't hide behind my keyboard anymore... and, to be honest, I'm not even really sure what to say now that my anonymity has been stripped away.

But doggone it... I am going to try!

Feel free to comment, suggest things, vent, bitch, whine, moan... whatever you feel like doing!

I welcome any and all interaction!

Thanks for taking the time to check out my little corner of the world... hopefully I won't fail to deliver in the future!

<3

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