HOLIDAY TWENTYTWELVE

It's Holiday Gift Time!  This year with your purchase of $35 or more (before shipping), my special present just for you is a pair of sterling silver earrings with your choice of gemstone!  Choose from milky minty SERPENTINE, deep blue AVENTURINE, or royal purple AMETHYST.  Your special gift will be lovingly boxed and ready to give to that special someone - who may very well be, ahem, yourself!

Want to order in time for Christmas?  Order by these dates...

2012 HOLIDAY SUGGESTED ORDER BY DATES:

• USA - December 1
• CANADA - December 5
• LOCAL DELIVERY (Lower Mainland, BC) - December 8
• AFRICA - November 9
• EVERYWHERE ELSE - November 21

Wishing you all a lovely holiday season full of lots and lots of handmade presents!

SHOP NOW at len&len on Etsy!
SHOP NOW at len&len on Big Cartel!

CYBER MONDAY TWENTYTWELVE

Happy Cyber Monday everyone!  Please enjoy 15% off at len&len on Etsy on your entire order (before shipping) with coupon code "CYBERMONDAY2012"!  This sale is on TODAY ONLY, so head on over to the shop right now!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP NOW AT LEN&LEN ON ETSY!

HOLIDAY TWENTYELEVEN

It's gift giving time again! Buy handmade this year and give the special people in your life something lovingly made just for them! (Aw, aren't you a sweetie-pie!)

And this year, my gift to you is a FREE PAIR OF STERLING SILVER AND LABRADORITE EARRINGS with your purchase of $50 or more (before shipping)!

Want your order in time for Christmas? Order by these dates...

2011 HOLIDAY SUGGESTED ORDER BY DATES:

USA - December 5
CANADA - December 9
LOCAL DELIVERY (Lower Mainland, BC) - December 12
Everywhere Else - November 30

Hope everyone has a lovely holiday season full of love and handmade goodies and (mmm...) peppermint hot chocolate!

SHOP NOW at len&len on Etsy!
SHOP NOW at len&len on Big Cartel!

BLACK FRIDAY TWENTYELEVEN

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Please enjoy the Black Friday to Cyber Monday sale at the shops! Get 15% off your entire purchase (before shipping) from Friday, November 25 to Monday, November 28. Enter code "BLACKFRIDAY2011" during check-out to receive your discount!

SHOP NOW at len&len on Etsy!
SHOP NOW at len&len on Big Cartel!

GIVE LOVE

Ah, l'amore! Valentine's Day is fast approaching! And what better to give your sweetheart than a little bit of bling handmade with love???

Here are my suggested order dates for estimated delivery by Valentine's Day...

MADE TO ORDER designs:
• Canada - January 20
• USA - January 14
• Everywhere Else - January 10

READY TO SHIP designs:
• Canada - January 31
• USA - January 25
• Everywhere Else - January 19

And if you miss the made to order deadlines, no worries folks - I'm planning to list a few ready to ship designs at my etsy shop next week!

XOXO from me to you...

TWENTYELEVEN

Happy new year everyone!

2010 was such an amazing year for me! I launched my new shop, len&len, got featured in some of my fave blogs, learned how to spin yarn (sort of), and of course, was honored to be a front page Etsy Featured Seller! It's going to be a hard year to top, but I really hope 2011 has more happy surprises in store!

I've got a few plans for the shop this year - I worked on some new metal designs over the holidays that I plan to reveal very soon, and I also started working on a couple of new lines using different materials - I'm so excited about getting these new lines launched!

And I'm still working on last year's resolution of being content with my real self... it's probably going to take the rest of my life to really get that one down! What's your resolutions for this year???

DOUBLE THE EXPOSURE

I was so lucky to get double the exposure during my Etsy featured seller interview when my Thick Ripple Cuff Bracelet in Sterling Silver was also featured on the front page simultaneously!

Here's the breathtaking all white treasury that made it to the front page...

WHO'S THAT GIRL?

Who's that crazy looking girl on the front page of Etsy today? Why, it's ME! YEEHAW!! (*Hi Mom!*) I am so freaking fantabulously thrilled to be Etsy's Featured Seller! Read the interview here...

A DREAM COME TRUE

So... I've been ranting and raving about having some BIG news to announce this coming Monday. Well, I thought I'd let y'all in on the secret a little early!

No, I'm not pregnant with my second child. And no, I didn't win the lottery.

My big news is...
I am officially Etsy's next "Featured Seller"!

WHOOOHOOOO! FRONT PAGE BABY!!!! I can't believe it - I'm going to be featured on Etsy's front page starting on Monday with my very own spotlight interview!

When I got an email from the folks over at Etsy back in September saying that I'd been handpicked to be a featured seller, I couldn't believe what I was reading! I've always read their front page interviews and never even dreamed that they would ever pick me from amongst over 264,500 sellers! I guess I did win a lottery... :)

Gosh, I am so nervous! This whole experience has been so surreal already, and it hasn't actually started yet!

Please stay tuned for the link to my interview on Monday! But till then, here's a sneak peak of my studio picture for the interview...

INSIDE OUT

Inside Out Disk Earrings in Sterling Silver by len&len

I'm turning inside-out as I impatiently wait for the unveiling of my big announcement next Monday! Speaking of which, Inside Out Disk Earrings are now available in sterling silver! Oh, and don't forget the Holiday Gift Special - get a FREE SURPRISE GIFT with every $50 purchase (before shipping)! So, yes-siree, that's right - you'll get a free gift when you order a pair of these babies! Order yours here or here...

OFFICIALLY STALKED

Circle Initial Pod Necklaces in Sterling Silver by len&len

I'm so honored to be officially "STALKED" by the amazing folks over at Etsy Stalker with my very own Solo Exhibit!! Read the interview here, plus leave a comment to enter the contest to win a custom Initial Pod Necklace!

UPDATE: Congratulations to Jo Rossi from Portland, Oregon for winning the giveaway!

HARVEST MOON CRAZY

Harvest Moon Necklace and Earrings in Brass by len&len

Have you ever felt like the stars have all aligned for you? For me, it's an extremely rare occurrence. But for some strange reason, 3 crazy lucky things have just happened in the last week that makes me definitely believe the stars have all aligned just for me!

First of all, I can hardly believe it, but my Harvest Moon Brass designs are currently featured in FOUR Etsy treasuries simultaneously! Check them out here, here, here, and here! (And that last one was just created as I was typing up this post - SO CRAZY!)

Secondly, I was asked to be a featured seller on one of my fave blogs! I'm keeping this on the down-low until the details are all finalized, but stay tuned to find out which blog! Here's a hint - it's one of the blogs listed on the left under "blogs I heart". Oh, and there's going to be an awesome giveaway with the feature, so you don't want to miss it!

And thirdly, just before typing this (much to my downstairs neighbors' dismay), I was jumping up and down in my pj's because of some incredible news just emailed to me! I am so gawsh darn tootin' pee-in-your-pants excited about this news! It's just so freakin' CRAZY!!!! Unfortunately, I've been informed that this news has to be kept "hush-hush" until November, so I have to somehow keep this a secret until then! But please stay tuned to find out about my super fantastic news - it's scream out-loud on the top of every mountain AMAZING!

In the meantime, don't forget to witness one of life's most beautiful marvels - this year's full harvest moon, popping up in the skies on September 23 at 5:17AM PST! Hope you'll be watching with me... :)

SUMMER VACAY

Hey guys...

I'm taking a lil' break from the handmade world and closing up the shops for summer vacay! Actually the shops will be open for perusing and purchasing, but there will be a delay in shipping until June 30th. But to make up for the wait, order from my etsy shop, and get a FREE SURPRISE GIFT with your order until June 30th. Or if you prefer a discount, order from my big cartel shop, and use discount code "SUMMER10" to get 10% your entire order until June 30th!

Thanks so much for your patience during this time, and hope y'all are enjoying your summer too!

NEW SHOP JUST LAUNCHED

So, with spring fever in the air, I've been having this aching sudden desire to decompress, reorganize, and simplify my life. The result? I've decided to combine all of my separate handmade ventures into one brand!

I'm a little nervous about this idea, as I know from past experience, shoppers, in particular Etsy shoppers, tend to prefer browsing through shops with related items. And being that I have a wide array of handmade products, this could be a little disconcerting. But alas, I've been struggling with maintaining three separate identities for each of my crafty ventures, and quite frankly, I REALLY need to make my life easier! So here it is, my brand new SINGULAR identity - len&len.

You can check out my brand new shop here... lenandlen.com on big cartel.

Why big cartel? Well, if you check out my new shop, you'll see that I get to have a bit more license on the design and layout of the site. Plus, I get to join a fresh new community of awesome artists. And my favorite reason, big cartel allows discount codes during the check-out process! Nice, huh? So, in light of that, here's my first discount code...

Until April 30, enjoy 15% off your entire purchase at my new shop with discount code "OPENING15".

Oh, and don't worry, I'm not abandoning Etsy. I'll be slowly moving all my products from KUKUkachoo, apartment49, and Tweet Treat to my brand new Etsy shop, lenandlen.etsy.com. And my first 5 customers there GET A FREE GIFT with their order!

If you're wondering where I came up with the name, as my closest friends and family already know, "Len-Len" is my alter ego and childhood nickname, so lovingly given to me by my horse racing loving father. Apparently, one day long ago when I was a baby, my dad jokingly decided to call me by whichever racing horse won that day. A horse named "Jok-Jok" won. My mom hated it. So my dad started to call me "Len-Len," the horse that won second place, instead. I personally don't think that this story is actually true. But it's funny and ironic, as I always tend to fall second place in many aspects of my life. And hey, there's nothing wrong with second place, right?

I apologize to my modest fan base for being such a fickle monkey! Y'all are awesome for following me around from identity to identity. And with len&len, I will truly attempt to stick with this brand. Besides, I can't really get tired of it - it's my name.

Oh and why len "AND" len? Well, that's my little joke on the multiple personalities disorder that I clearly suffer from.

BACK TO REALITY

Hey guys! I'm back from my holiday break, all chipper and re-energized with a little extra vitamin d coursing through my veins from the tropical sun! Ah, what an awesome vacay! It's a little sad coming back to my usual gray Vancouver, but man am I ever proud of our Canadian athletes and their amazing performance at the Winter Olympics! GO CANADA GO!! Anyways, I’m working on some fresh new designs for spring, so keep an eye out for new stuff coming soon!

TWENTYTEN

Ah… another year! It’s always so nice to start fresh and begin a new era of goals and plans and wishes!

I’ve got so much planned for this year… expanding lines of new creations at my Etsy shops… fulfilling a few dreams that I’ve had since I was a little girl, like learning how to hand spin my own yarn… and the goal of learning to be my real self and being content with who that person is.
 
I think that last one is a big toughie that will most likely take the rest of my life to figure out. Although spinning yarn is pretty hard to do too - I've already thrown my drop spindle across the living room a few times!

“Perseverance with balance” is my new motto. “Balance” meaning if it just gets to be a little too much on my plate, I promised myself that I would practice the all too important skill of learning to let go.

So I wish you all, whoever you are out there actually reading this (please feel free to comment and say hello – I feel so all alone in blog land!) a safe, healthy, and bursting year of whatever it is you dream for…

TWEET TWEET

I've finally decided to join the Twitter bandwagon!Check out my twitter page here: 
http://twitter.com/apartment49

Thanks for all your continued support, and HAPPY TWEETING!

A CHANGE IN TASTE

Time for another post? Nah, nothing's popping up in my brain. Why is it that when I'm actually in front of my computer, fingers on the keyboard, I can't think of a darn thing to write about? I know I came up with tons of thought provoking topics last night while I was trying to go to sleep!

Sleep...ah yes. It's so strange lately, I haven't been able to fall asleep as quickly as I used to. It's quite unusual for me. I used to fall asleep at the drop of a hat. I used to fall asleep quicker than I could mutter the word out loud. I used to fall asleep in the same amount of time that a fresh baked cookie could survive untouched in front of me. (That's approximately 0.5 seconds by the way) Now I find that I have to put effort into falling asleep. I actually have to think about it, decide to want to fall asleep, concentrate really hard, take a deep breath, and count some sheep. Yes, really, I actually visualize plump, woolly sheep jumping over a white picket fence surrounded by the green beauty of Ireland. Is Ireland really green? Note to self: Find out if Ireland is really green.

I guess I'm getting older, or rather, I'm getting OLD. Even my tastes are changing. I mean, the other week, I baked three loaves of fruit cake. I hate fruit cake! Well, I used to hate fruit cake. And now I crave those weird, unnaturally bright green and red candied fruit chunk thingies! Although, it was a butter pound cake fruit cake. So I guess it wasn't really that dark rummy traditional fruit cake that I loathe. I still won't eat that stuff. Ick.