Roses And Marbles

As I said in last post, my husband found two hideous clown paintings in the garbage spot – here is the first of them. I “shabbyfied” the frame, which was originally a dull pine green, in soft brushed sage green, and added a golden patina. After that I painted the roses and marbles. The texture was grainy in the original painting, so we just sanded it a little to take off excess paint and dust. I loved working on a rough surface, I really miss the thickness of oil paintings.

The piece is 35×51 cms, and it will be available for my local customers only – I’m not listing it at the shop because it would be very expensive to ship it since the frame is solid wood and would be too heavy. BUT, if you’re in love with it and are willing to pay the shipping expenses, contact me for details :).

Today, Fernando and I will be working on leather. We have sketched a lot of ideas for a new line of jewelry and he is very excited to start creating his own pieces. Think of Ctulhu-style with glamour! Pics very soon – yes, this time the camera batteries are ready :) .

Edited Later -oh I almost forgot! The Digital Rose was on its first Treasury today – thank you so much Camille for adding it!!!!! Click HERE to view.

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Busy, Busy, Busy

I’ve been working as a madwoman these past days, so blogging has been a little neglected. Here are some pics of my latest custom order – my sister asked for a necklace where I expressed “what I saw in her” and this is the result. It is actually more dimensional than it looks in the pics, with lots of flowing vines in all directions. It was made in copper wire with dyed mother of pearl and freshwater japanese pearls. The personal meaning of it all -well, I’m keeping that for myself :) .


Hopefully in the next days I will add some new listings to the shop – the camera batteries, OF COURSE, died during the photo session. Grrrr…being the busy bee that I am, I’ll pass the time painting over some hideous clown paintings that Fernando found in the thrah bin last week :).

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The Seeds Of A New Life

This post is all about seeds, literally and metaphorically.

Before I start the nonsense ramble, I would really like to thank the awesome amount of emails and comments about last post – your encouragement and good vibes will definitely bring even more miracles our way! We are filled with gratitude and love for all you!!!!

A seed is a promise for the future, a promise of abundance, susprises and unexpected turns. If there is something that makes you a Witch, is the ability to see the patterns of symbolism in our lives (and in the lives of my consultants) – and the pattern in these past two days was seeds. In magickal symbolism, seeds belong to the Goddess, which holds all metaphors of pregnancy and birth. The earth where the seeds sleep to germinate is her sacred flesh, and the light of the Sun, the symbol of the Male God’s fertilizing power. The water is both his divine semen and a vehicle for spiritual energies to be infused in the growth – we previously bless and fill with good energy all the water we use for our plants.


We started planting a seed bed – not exactly a bed because seeds go in small pots, but you get the idea :). To make it 100% recycled, we used an orange crate lined with plastic bags and put the tagged pots in it. To keep the seeds warm, mantain humidity levels and still provide them with light, we covered the upper part of the crate with translucent plastic bags. There is still room for air flowing on the sides and it will be watered with a water spray until seeds germinate. We planted peppers (green and chili), papaya, sage, summer savory, thyme, marjoram, basil, oreganum and hemp.

We wanted to give part of the seeds to Fernando’s parents as a way to thanking them for providing us with herbs, so I made this beautiful template for seed packets – you can take it and make your own, it’s free!

(you can go here for full size image)
I printed the envelopes, added the seeds and placed them in a small fruit can covered with wallpaper and shabby bits, along with a pretty rose handkerchief – an easy and cheap way to say thank you!


To end today’s post, here are pics of our herb and tea packaging – we have a small display where I make my Tarot readings for jewelry, herbs and sometimes baked goods – we made the packaging with folded paper in the way of traditional “yerberos”, which are the herb healers in the Canary Islands. When my grandmother went to the yerbero, he would make a “cartucho” (envelope) with paper and tie it with a hemp string – we have changed the hemp for wool, but this is our way to homage the herb doctors who came before us. My husband has named the garden “Rara Avis” (latin for “rare bird”, meaning something rare or hard to replicate) after a tattoo I made on him a few years ago. Now I have to make a sign for it!

I also added this Botany Pages Set to The Digital Rose:

Four beautiful pages in a botanic theme, made with antique botany prints. Perfect for album or journal pages, collage, scrapbooking, or even for your book of shadows, recipe book, gardening books… so many possibilities!

Ok this is really the last pic I promise LOL! Here are some 100% recycled and handsewn potholders I’m making in our free time – which is not much nowadays! Recycled fabric and blanket flannel for the padding.

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Facing Changes

I have been procrastinating this post for a whole week. I don’t like blogging about our personal life more than necessary. At all. But some changes are too big to stay on our personal life only, so I’m sharing this with you because I’m sure it will affect in many ways to my online presence.

My husband was fired from his job last Friday. Please, no drama! If I hear “economic crisis” again I’m going to punch someone LOL! His business (electric installations) is closing due to lack of work and that whole economy thing we have been hearing again and again in the last months.

We are not taking this as a dramatic situation. We are skilled, brave and determined to ignore that black clouds that everyone insists to put above our heads. As soon as we knew, we made immediate plans to start working togeter, OUR WAY, and leave this behind because this situation (his job situation) was not a blessing of security and abundance, but a prison sentence of underpayment and boredom.

We have always wanted to work together, and that is what we are already doing. Since last Friday we have made started to live in full time for our businesses, and believe or not, if we keep making money this fast we’ll be more than able to support ourselves completely in the future. What was supposed to be a week of uncertainty and sadness, it’s become a week of challenges, victories and good business!

On my side, everything will stay very much the same. The Digital Rose will keep serving you with your shabbiest graphics :), and Gypsy Deluxe will open on Feb. 21 as intended. We are considering adding Witchcraft items again, because now there are four hands to work on this project, and we are already structuring what to add, or if it would be better to open a separate shop for that items, but the witching is back M’ladies, take the dust off those brooms!

On my husband’s side, he is already working on creating a medicinal herb garden to supply herbs both locally and online, a dream we were unable to fulfill due to lack of time. As soon as the garden is going, he will go back to tattooing for the summer season, which is always the best -and I’ll work on henna and designs.

WE FEEL FREE, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OUR LIFE TOGETHER, AND WE ARE NOT SAD, BUT LIBERATED. I am telling this to all those crafters who are being scared constantly by media of unemployment and poverty, and also to those friends online that would be worried by reading this – please don’t worry. We have never been happier – and busier! We are not scared of hard times, as we are both survivors from long life struggles, and this cound be the end of our struggles and the beginning of our bliss, creating Magick and throwing help, beauty and herbal teas back to the Universe. Our faith in Eleggua is unbreakable and yes – he has already sent us a few miracles.

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Having A Successful Jewelry Party

Ginger and nut cupcakes, made for my jewelry party yesterday. Though only a few friends were attending I have to say it was quite successful! My best friend, who was hosting the party, is allergic to most metals, so I thought a good amount of her fave cupcakes would cheer her up for not being able to try and buy all the bling (LOL).

Of course, I forgot the camera :D ! I took the pic of the cupcakes at home before leaving and the camera was left at the tripod, forgotten. Oh well! It was quite an informal situation so no pretty displays to show – just beers and cupcakes and coffee while husbands played cards on the couch. I just love that kind of meetings :). My friend took a few pics with her own camera, so hopefully I will show them as soon as she emails them to me. Here are some pics of other jewelry parties I’ve made:

At the Tea Bar where I make my Tarot readings, two years ago!

At home, xmas 2007

As usual earrings were the best shot, but I sold a couple of bracelets, necklaces and rings too – and most important, got a few appointments for next weeks and gave everyone lots of business cards with the new shop address. I really think that fixing a next appointment is definitely much more important than making lots of sales and then nothing for months. I am trying to balance Gypsy Deluxe’s opening with my local work, and so far I’m doing fine – I love selling online, but local sales have always been my first priority: local means no fees, no shipping and packaging expenses, no waiting from the customer and the chance to speak to every buyer personally and knowing what they’d like to see in the next meeting, something that is not always possible when you sell online.

I love having jewelry parties, and though some times I’ve sold more than others, I have always had lots of fun and got great opportunities and priceless feedback from the buyers, who 90% of times turn out to end as friends. I really, really recommend to every crafter reading this to overcome shyness and simply go for it! If you have never made one, here are a few useful tips:

- Know your customers: I think this is The Golden Rule of jewelry selling!!!! While I always make pieces that I like and that reflect my style, and I would never recommend working on things you don’t like, that does not mean that I do not take my customers’ needs and likes very seriously. For example: I have a customer who loves feather earrings, and another one who loves gigantic hoops. Every time an appointment with them is made, I try to have their favourite pieces available, and 9 out of 10 times that will be the first thing they’ll buy. We should never forget that the best selling is made when you fill a need, not when you try to make everyone fit into your vision.

- Reward your customers and hostess: Second Golden Rule! Yesterday I gave out promo bags and free earrings to all those who bought anything, and the hostess got the cupcakes and a handsewn pouch. I also made small discounts on the more expensive pieces, because these were really my best customers and I do appreciate very seriously the money they spent on, let’s be honest, something completely useless as jewelry.

The free earrings I gave to them – actually cheap in materials, but good hours of love and work were put into them.

Contents of the promo bags: discount coupon for next purchase, a small notebook, a wire-wrapped hair pin, candies and a brochure with pictures.

- Try to fix the date for another appointment: you don’t have to get an exact date, but the intention of the customer to host a jewelry party. I try to make mine in rounds, so I give more or less one month until I contact my customer for a date that’s comfortable for everyone. You should never be pushy, but it’s your work to remind them that they said they would like to meet! If you stay at home wondering if they’ll call, believe me, it won’t happen. Getting their emails to send them images of your new products is great, but a good ol’ phone call is always the best choice.

- Loud and Proud 1: customers love to be informed of fashion trends, unique materials and details of your work. So, don’t stand aside while they are trying the jewelry! Sentences like “those pearls would go wonderfully with the jacket you’re wearing – did you know they are freshwater japanese pearls? Last year it was all about glass, but the hottest trend now is irregular pearls.” make better sales, because they show your customer that you are a real pro that knows the craft, the business and the styling. Also, it is very productive to inform them of any other service you provide, whether it is jewelry-related or not; I have got lots of Tarot appointments in jewelry parties and viceversa.

- Loud And Proud 2: Do not whine about the lack of work, lower sales, higher price of supplies or ANY other problem during the party: what people want from you is to be the personification of glamour and success. If you have been published, sold a piece to a VIP or got a new consignment, the party is the time to brag shamelessly about it. When you are selling jewelry, you are selling the dream of beauty and glamour, so take your time to look good, to smile and to give lots of compliments to your customers’ shoes, clothes, hair or whatever. There is something beautiful and unique in everyone and it’s your work to make it shine.

- Take your time: if you’re thinking about making your first jewelry party, prepare it with enough time to have a good amount of inventory (a 100 pieces is a good amount to start, even if only 3 people are attending), promo items, hostess gifts, displays, etc. Make a good checking list and add ideas as you prepare it – and of course get ready to forget something each and every time! Last time it was gift bags, the previous one was the calculator…you are not perfect, so things will never be perfect – learn to overcome any flaws and improvise!

- Have something for every budget: the fact that we are going through an economic crisis does not mean all your jewelry has to be low priced: actually, I usually sell the same amount of cheap and high-end pieces at every party. Some people like to buy lots of small pieces, others prefer to buy just one expensive, luxurious item. To make the less expensive items, search for wholesale beads and findings, so you always get paid fairly for your work. Underpricing is for losers!

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