Mission: Style - Brown mini t-straps

I've been searching for the perfect pair of t-strap shoes for a while. These aren't it, but aren't they cute?! I was out at Off Broadway Shoes today. After browsing the clearance section and not finding anything too eye catching, I saw these! Now, they're cute shoes I will admit, but the thing that REALLY caught my eye was the $34.99 sign, and the even bigger 50% off sign right above it.

That's right. These shoes were less than twenty bucks, even with the horrendous Tennessee sales tax included. I was having a rough morning before that, but then I felt better. Can we say retail therapy?

Now what I really want is a pair of mustard yellow tights to wear with them. Hm.

Vacation time!

I'm on a much needed etsy vacation! Here's the scoop:

I am on etsy vacation until further notice. This means that if you go to my etsy store at http://redpanda.etsy.com, you'll notice almost all of my items are gone! Not to worry though, they'll be back soon. :)



Now, I'm not on chainmaille vacation, just on etsy vacation. If you need some lovely maille (which of course you do), almost all my items from etsy are now available in my artfire shop at http://redpanda.artfire.com as well as on my website www.redpandajewelry.com.

Throughout my vacation I'll still be working on custom orders, making new items, taking product pictures, and packaging and shipping orders along with pretty much everything I do when I'm not on vacation. I just need a pause in my etsy orders so I can get caught up, and to finally take some relaxing time once I am fully caught up.

In the week I'm on vacation, I plan to have all pending custom orders made, photographed, listed, and shipped out. I'll be completely up to date with all orders. I plan to completely reorganize and clean my crafting space, to make better use of everything. I intend to work out a new shipping system, so the process is more smooth and my boyfriend can help me out when things get hectic. I also plan on reading a book in a bubble bath, going out to dinner, and watching a movie on the couch with my boyfriend. Vacations are for relaxing, too! It's been really hard for me to find time to relax lately, and I think a de-stressing is in order.

Thank you everyone for your continued support! I'm still around and online, so if at any time you have any questions, comments, or if you'd like me to start a custom order for you, send me an etsy convo, artfire message, or email to redpandajewelry@gmail.com.

See you in a week!
Jessica

Who's got red hair?

I've got red hair!



I redyed it just last night. Naturally, my hair's a medium brown. I use the Miss Clairol's Real Red series, which you can pick up the color and some developer at Sally Beauty for less than a box at the grocery store. It works great! I can't comment on how the gray coverage is because *crosses fingers that I don't jinx it* I don't have any yet.

A while back, Walgreen's had Revlon's Colorist dye on sale for only six dollars. It normally sells for $15.99 so it was a pretty good deal. It's so expensive because it comes with "color glaze", a once a week treatment to put the oomph back in your color. I got a box (light auburn) to try it out (with red hair, you ALWAYS need any oomph you can get!). Turns out it was not a winner in my books. Left my hair feeling horribly brittle, unlike any other dye I've used. The color glaze just wasn't conditioning at all.

If I'm ever getting box anything again it'll always be Clairol's natural instincts line. I buy that stuff when it's on sale in a color I don't even want just for the conditioner it comes with. It's not a permanent hair dye; it washes out after 6 weeks or so. My routine from now on will probably be something along the lines of Real Reds permanent color and condition once a week with the stuff from the Natural Instincts line. Oh yeah.

Handmade Highlight - laurenmc18

This week's Handmade Highlight is on laurenmc18



Could you GET more spring? Aren't these coasters lovely? Here's another set.



Love them! Each set of 4 is only $12.00. I'd love to snag these up and even hang them on the wall.

New this week at Red Panda - 3/29/09

RedPanda

Buy Handmade

In order from left to right:
1. Stretchy Bangle Chainmail Bracelet - Three shades of lovely blue in this one.
2. Electric Blue Tetra Earrings - Chalcedony, black garnet, and sterling silver
3. Copper Diamond Cut Chainmail Necklace - Yummy copper in the simple JPL pattern
4. Shenanigans Basics Chainmail Bracelet - Silver tone bracelet in a cool weave
5. Copper Twist Chainmail Earrings - I love the twisty rings at the bottom of these
6. Sterling and Purple Niobium Parallel Chainmail Bracelet - The purple rings are niobium, which is hypoallergenic. :)

Check back next Sunday for more new maille goodies. :)
Jessica

Artfire is awesome!

Hi everyone! I want to share with you a relatively new site called ArtFire. It's mostly for handmade items, like etsy, but there's also sections for design, and for supplies/vintage. They have some pretty cool features that are different from etsy, and once the site gets going (it's still in beta now) I think it is going to be Fabulous!!

Best part about it? They're offering $7.00/mo verified memberships for the first 5000 people that sign up. Seven dollars a month. That's it. That's 23 cents a day. That's the same as it costs to list or relist one item per day on etsy (about). My etsy bill is usually about $30 to $50 per month, so seven is a GREAT deal! There are no listing or transaction fees. Just the one monthly.

They have individual item in house stats as well as google analytics. They also have have a feature called My Market Hub which allows you to link to your presence on social networking sites like twitter, myspace and facebook, but also to your blog and even to your etsy site!

They have a one page listing process that's nice and simple. You can accept offers on your items (although this is not something that I do). Google Checkout and RME are integrated! You can set your items to automatically markdown themselves. It's super easy to have a sale because you can just use the feature to mark down your items however much you'd like. Then when your sale is over it'll turn right back. Lots of other great things are features as well. :D

Of the first 5000 accounts, there are fewer than 100 left! This is the final countdown. The $7.00/month is only for the first 5000, so sign up now to secure your price. Traffic is good there, and I've made enough so far in the few months I've been there to cover my fees for years. Anything I sell there is pure profit, no pesky fees! It's great. Admin there are so responsive, too. That's one of the best parts is the helpful administrators.

Here's the link if you all would like to sign up!

Click here to sign up for a verified artfire account. :)

Can't wait to see you all there. :D

<3 Jessica
http://redpanda.etsy.com
http://redpanda.artfire.com

Handmade Highlight - Pincushions!

I don't sew. I couldn't hem a pair of pants if my life depended on it. However, I've recently been fascinated with pin cushions! Just look at them! They are just so gorgeous. Selections above are from various stores on www.etsy.com and www.artfire.com (click any picture to go to the listing). I want to buy three or four pin cushions and maybe put them in a glass bowl on a table in a foyer. Unfortunately I live in a small apartment with no foyer, nor a table, nor even a glass bowl. Super cute idea though, yes?