W.I.W.W

Okay so it's a bit warmer this week than last week.  So no thermal shirt necessary.  It is a bit cloudy but the walk to the bus stop was nice and I wasn't shivering while waiting with my 1st grader.  If only it would stay this way but sadly, thunderstorms this afternoon and tomorrow it's going to be cold again.  Spring needs to hurry up!

On the top: off white tank (that you can't see)
'hope, grow, love' tee

burnt orange hoodie jacket 

On the bottom:  Wallflower jeans from amazon.com

Nothing on the feet, as usual :-)

So there you have it, my second What I wore Wednesday post.  Not quite ready to link up with anyone else but I'll continue posting because it's fun!

What are you wearing today?

Cowboy Hats and Hemp Necklaces

Sometimes when I'm not working on orders for a special customer or coming up with awesome new designs I like to make things (free of charge) for friends, family members or even lucky page fans.

Currently I'm working on a cowboy hat for a Sheriff Woody fan.   My youngest, Neezy, loves Toy Story.  He also love Cars, and pretty much anything else but Woody and Buzz are his current faves!  I subscribe to Crochet Today magazine and a couple months ago saw a pattern for a cowboy hat.  I'm just now getting a chance to work on it.  I know I won't get it finished right away, I'll probably be taking a break to work on something else but I'm happy to say that I at least got it started.

 Work in Progress

It doesn't look like much yet but we're getting there.  Neezy doesn't really know what it is yet so if it gets set aside for a day or two, I doubt he'll notice.

Another thing I'm working on is a necklace for my brother.  That and, a necklace for his lovely girlfriend.  I think we discussed designs around Thanksgiving and I am just now getting ready to finish them.  Things get busy sometimes.  You never know when 10 people are going to want to place an order all at once.  Those are always the best weeks.  Definitely the busiest, but also the best!

Oh so Close!

Don't worry.  I'll get these side projects done, before the month is over, I promise!  :-)

Guess what?!?!  The Cowboy hat is done!  Didn't stay in shape for very long but he loves to wear it. :-)

What I Wore Wednesday

So I've been following this blog, ButterBeans&ChicPeas, for awhile now.  Every Wednesday she does a post, 'What I Wore Wednesday' and I love it.  I love to see her different outfits.  I've wanted to do it for awhile now but never really did because, well... I think my clothes are kinda boring.  She also links up with the pleated poppy with a whole lots of other awesomely dressed people.  Maybe one day I will too but for now, I'll just share with my readers.

But here it is, awkward angle, and all.  :-)

On the Top: 'Only Kale Can Save Us Now' thermal from herbivoreclothing.com

There is also a black tank hidden under my thermal, which came from Macy's (I think)

On the Legs: Wallflower jeans from... no idea, lol

On the Feet: Blue starry slippers from Victoria's Secret

**EDIT**

~I wanted to add in my nails too~

Zoya - Tao

I love Zoya nail polish, it is the ONLY brand I buy.  <3

Don't you just love how the angle makes my head look huge and my legs are so itty bitty?  

The Cost of HandMade

I've had a few people wonder why my prices are so high.
Then there have been people who think I charge too little.

I agree with both.  But when it comes to doing what I love and being able to sell these things I feel like my prices are good.  If I wanted to pay bills with it, I'd have to up my prices quite a bit.  You see, I don't make a lot off each item.  Let's break down cost to let you see where your money goes when you buy something from me.


Say you buy this pair of earrings that cost $14.37

 this is where the majority of that money goes.  Almost 75% of the money from the price goes into materials and other costs.


Earrings      $14.37
Materials:   -$ 7.45
    Silver plated snowflake charms $4.99
    6mm Swarovski Crystals  $.76
    Sterling Silver Ear wires $1.60
    eyes pins  $.10
Shipping Materials:  -$ 3.27
    earring card $.11
    earring backs $.05
    gift box  $.71
    gift bag  $.23
    bubble mailer  $.48
    shipping label  $.05
    USPS shipping cost $1.64

Total leftover for me: $3.65

I use mid range materials for most of my items to help keep cost low.  I use Swarovski crystals a lot, they aren't cheap but they definitely aren't as pricey as natural gemstones can be.  I alternate between sterling silver and silver plated metals.  Occasionally I will use other plated metals to give different looks.  I will not use cheap materials and charge the same price just so that I can make more.  I want to send you beautiful handmade items that will last.


My crochet items breakdown pretty much the same.  Just like with the jewelry I do not use low quality items.  I've tried out many different yarns and if something isn't working or doesn't hold together well I won't use it.  I won't use itchy yarn for toys, I'm not going to make a babys hat with cheap thin yarn.  I do my best to provide a quality item at an affordable price.

Where Did Those Names Come From??

Now let's talk about the names.

eSpecially You.,  came from an idea that I had for a bakery or even mail order baked goods.  Which would explain why 'Special' looks different and is separated from the rest.  They would have been special made baked goods for people with strict diets which includes vegetarians, vegan, gluten-free, nut allergies and more.  Since my family is vegan I know how tough it can be to find yummy baked goods pre-made.  And that's when my idea started.  I wanted to be able to do something special for people.   But the longer I thought about it the more I realized that wasn't what I wanted to do.  Baking specialty treats would be very time consuming and would take me away from my family.  So, I put my design away.
Then once I decided to start selling jewelry I pulled the design back out.  I wondered how I could make it work and that's when I realized that by adding custom jewelry into the mix I could make my jewelry, <3 especially you <3 Each piece is made a little different.  Unless requested, no two pieces are exactly the same.  Every piece unique.

Now to talk about Neezy.  This one is a little different.  You know how newborns tend to sneeze a lot? Well, my little boys were always temporarily nicknamed Sneezy, cute, huh? So anyway, our third son is named Eban.  Just Eban, it's not short for Ebenezer, it's just... Eban.  But he has still been called Ebenezer or even Neezer.  I give my kids nicknames, I rarely call them by their actual name.  So once the new baby sneezes started he was immediately nicknamed Sneezy Neezy.  So when I decided to separate the crochet from the jewelry I had to come up with a new name.  And that's when I decided to go with Neezy.  To explain the bird, well, my little guy gets called Neezy Bird too.  Like I said, I like to give my boys nicknames.  

So now you know where these names came from.  

Entering the Blog World

So here I am, blogging.
I'm not sure how long this will last.  Honestly, how long can I blog about jewelry and crochet?    Maybe a couple blogs or, who knows, maybe I can get in one at least once a week.  We shall see...

So for starters I suppose I could start with a bit of an introduction of sorts.  A bit of who I am, what I do and why.  

Let's begin:
My name is Sabrina, I'm 27 and live in Virginia.  I am a SAHM to three little boys.  I've been at home since I was pregnant with my oldest.  It seems that this is what I do best.  :-)  I've always enjoyed being crafty.  I love to learn to do things and then be able to hold something and say, "I made that!"   At some point I picked up a couple kits to make earrings and bracelets.  I lacked the proper tools but I did it and ended up with some cute earrings which I gave out as Christmas gifts to my pen pals.

A couple years later I found a few pairs of earrings that hadn't been gifted.  I then decided to take some quick pictures to share with some friends.  Well, I was told that I should try selling them.  So I tried, and they sold! YAY!  So then I decided to reveal my simple hemp knotting talent.  And that stuff sold too!   And that is when it was decided that I would make and sell jewelry.  eSpecially You. was born <3  The name had come from another project I had wanted to start.  That story will come at another time.

On to my crochet half.  That came a little, but not much, later.  My mom had taught me how to crochet when I was around 10 years old.  I couldn't really get past the starting chain though.    It wasn't until years later (after I got married) that I gave it another shot.  I got past the chain and managed to make 3 blankets.  Two of those were small baby blankets.  Then later, I got adventurous, and made a really big striped blanket for my oldest son.  It took awhile and sadly, was very lopsided, but he loves it.  Then I wanted to get past the basics and do more.  I decided to make a giraffe for my youngest.  So I searched online for a pattern and made one.  It wasn't the prettiest little giraffe but I made it!  So again, wanting to share my work, I showed my friends.  They once again encouraged me to sell what I made.  And so along with jewelry I started offering crochet items as well.  After realizing that the crochet items were going to do better than I had originally thought I decided it was time to separate the two and that's when Neezy was born :-)  Story behind that name will come later, along with eSpecially You.'s name story.

In a way, making and selling things is great for me.  I absolutely love doing things for people, making people happy, and gifting.  I've had the opportunity to make some beautiful pieces of jewelry that were given as gifts.  I've crocheted toys that were cuddled by a sick child.  I've donated jewelry and crochet items to charities and auctions and I've made items to give as gifts.  I love doing this and appreciate all the business I receive.  I'm not earning enough to help out my family financially but enough to keep doing what I love.  Thank You all <3