BIG Sale and a Blog Blurb

 Lots of news today!

Happy early kick-off to Memorial Day!  All of your favorites at Your Daily Jewels are on sale! 

No coupon code necessary.

 

Craft Gossip featured Your Daily Jewels in its 'Etsy Finds' section!

 Craft Gossip wrote:

"Pediatric physical therapist by day and jewelry designer by night, Norah at Your Daily Jewels creates sophisticated, handcrafted gemstone jewelry. Norah says, “My pieces explode with color and are perfect as spring and summer accessories.”

"I love these colorless, frosted Czech glass and gold vermeil earrings for the way light softly diffuses through the glass. These earrings make me think of beads of condensation forming on the outside of a frosty glass of lemonade on a hot summer day. Take a look at Your Daily Jewels and see which piece is your favorite."

Its almost the long weekend everyone! I hope you have a great day.

Memorial Day is Around the Corner

Here in the United States, Memorial Day is around the corner. It is a time that we honor those who, in our history, have died serving this country. We do it with festivities, as well as moments of silence. It is also the unofficial start of Summer, and, like all holidays, it is a big weekend for retail sales.

The JET's shops are no exception! Maybe your favorite item will be on sale this weekend? Do not forget to visit your favorite Jet shops to see!

Everything in my shop is already marked 15% off until Monday

Most importantly, do not forget to stop for a moment and honor those who have given their lives for our freedom, as well as families and friends who have lost a loved one at War.

My New Team: Project Etsy Embrace

My new team! I am honored and excited to be part of a new team on Etsy: Team Project Etsy Embrace.

Team Project Etsy Embrace  is a Universal Coalition of Artists, Suppliers and Vintage Collectors, who initially were brought together as a way to help a friend and wonderful Etsian, Laura Slocum who had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. You can read more about how the group got started in this article:
http://www.etsy.com/storque/craftivism/teams-spotlight-etsy-pr­oject-embrace-9179/

Today, Team Project Etsy Embrace. not only supports the American Cancer Society (ACS), but also The American Hospice Foundation (AHF).

I do not know what my family would have done without the loving care and guidance of our Hospice Team.

This Treasury features a few of my new wonderful team mates.

'All You Need is Love... and a Bubble Bath' by YourDailyJewels

For my new team members of Team Etsy Project Embrace. I am so happy to be part of this great group!

Heart Sugar Cookie Hair... aisha123 $6.95	BOGO SALE - Love - 8x12... Lori411 $27.00	Ares, Greek Warrior, Ha... sacredsuds $6.00
Birthday Cake Cupcake B... divatreats1 $6.00	Sterling silver stamped... littlebugjewel... $33.00	LOVE Letters Wedding Bo... hoganfe $168.00
what a LOVE-ly heart...... visionquest $32.50	Be My Valentine... Studio1980 $29.99	Surrounded by Love Brea... brefour $3.00
Love and Peace - Porcel... ShebboDesign $20.00	Soothing Spa Soap Saver... Easy123 $15.00	Sage and Pomgranate Loo... 1846housesoaps $6.50
Princess Jasmine - save... BubblesUpByBet... $5.00	love much little dish -... claylicious $15.00	Mountain Dew (type) Moi... LongLeafSoaps $2.00
Heart Couple Pull Out N... 2mommysscrapin $2.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Does Facebook Make You Crazy? 1st in a Series

Easy Peazy Guide to Putting a FaceBook “Like” Button on Your Blogger Blog

 

1. Go to your fan page

2. click on "Edit Info" (upper right)

3. click on "Marketing" on the left side

4. click on "Add a Like Box to your Website"

5. Put your pages link/ address  in the box titled "Facebook Page URL"

6. Tweak the settings ( peek at mine)

• Mine is 175 width, in order to line up with my other widgets
• I chose light because Dark is a black background, too dark for my blog
• I chose not to “show stream” because it looked too busy for my blog
• I chose “show faces” because I like to see my friends
• I chose “show header” because you can click and go to my FB page

7.   Hit:  "get code”

8.  Copy either "iframe" or "xfbml" code.  I used “xfbml” and it worked. 

      That’s all I know about this step. This is the only scary step.

9.   Go to your blog , sign in and click on "design". (I use the new Blogger   Platform, I am not  sure of the steps to get to “design” on the older format.

10.  You will see your boxes with "add a gadget", click on one.

11.   Click on "HTML/JavaScript,” (8 down from top)

12.  Title it (that’s up to you)

13.  Paste the content that you copied in the "content" section and save.

14   Check your blog and see where it ended up. Give it a few seconds to load

16.  You can go back in to design and move it around. You just drag that “widget” to wherever you want it.

see, easy peazy

 

Some New Pretties

I am still ironing out the details of my giveaway. Another huge blog wants to host it!







Wherever it ends up, I will keep you posted as to how to enter.  These are some of the items that may be prizes. I have not picked the final items yet.

Give Away!

Now that I have told you about my handmade, one of a kind bracelets and The pre.rog.ative Collection, I am going to give a bracelet away! Stay connected for details on how to win  this The pre.rog.ative Collection bracelet/necklace.

It is like winning two pieces of jewelry, because you will win the bracelet and the extension chain that converts it into a necklace!

Check back for all the details.

Thanks for reading,
Norah

The Bracelet

For me it has always been difficult to stop at just one bracelet. I like to make a little noise when I walk. Why stop at one?

Those following the spring trends know that piling one of a kind, handmade bracelets on is an easy way to get a statement look that's uniquely you.

Handmade Lampwork Glass Bracelet

Stack them up! Choose from gold or silver bracelets , semi precious gemstones or handmade glass;  wrap bracelets and bracelets full of charms, leather bracelets and hand linked bracelets. At Your Daily Jewels you will  also find handmade bracelets made with Swarovski crystal, fresh water pearls, Czech glass, gold filled and silver charms, and even, found objects! Your options are endless!






What is fantastic about this trend, is that most bracelets in Your Daily Jewels Store, double as necklaces with the purchase of an affordable extension chain!  Two pieces of jewelry in one! 







The pre.rog.ative Collection by Your Daily Jewels gives you the option of changing your mind, and changing your jewelry, instantly! The extension chain is the perfect length to turn your bracelet in to a necklace, or,  if you like, wrap it twice around your wrist

Periwinkle Czech Glass pre.rog.ative Bracelet

Black Lava from the pre.rog.ative collection

I will be back this week with many more handmade  bracelet ideas.
Thank you so much for reading,
Norah

Tuesday, May 10 is International Lupus Awareness Month

May 10th is World Lupus Day. As the Lupus Foundation of America’s (LFA) Global Ambassador, I hope you will join me and make the pledge today to educate others and raise awareness of lupus on behalf of the 5 million people worldwide living with this disease.

I have signed the pledge in honor of my childhood friend, Lucy Vodden, who lost her battle with lupus in 2009. Join me and add your name to the pledge!

(Lucy Vodden is Lucy, of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Julian's kindergarten girlfriend)

Please sign the pledge. Thank you so much

*********I will be donating 100% of my profits to the Lupus Foundation on May 10th. I hope lots of people shop********

Thank you, Julian for getting involve in this fight.

In Memory of My Mom

In memory of my mom I am re-running this post I wrote about my mother's illness and its effect on the final years of our relationship. I still think about her all throughout the day and miss her, endlessly.

It has been two years since Alzheimer's took its final ravage on on my mother's brain and body. I spent eight years, day in and out, with a lot of help, caring for my mom.

My mom on High School Graduation day

Caring for someone with Alzheimer's disease is like being back in school. Everyday you are learning more, and trying to remember what you have learned in order to apply it to the next lesson. You are constantly being challenged and tested by your loved one. Pop quizzes are the best, and you are often caught unprepared.

Nancy Reagan's quote is very true,"When you have met one person with Alzheimer's disease, you have met one person with Alzheimer's disease". Every patient has a slightly different presentation and every presentation changes by the day.  What I tell people who are fumbling through the early stages of care and feeling like they cannot do anything right to protect their loved one is: "The only plan is to plan for no plan to work".

It will sound odd, but my fondest memories of my mom are during her years with Alzheimer's. She became a kinder, gentler mom. Happy to be helped. Happy when I covered for her in conversation, or told her "I always forget...".Happy to laugh. Happy to have her children there, almost everyday.  She lived in the moment and enjoyed many moments. Yes, she had her battles, especially in the early stages, asking me "Why haven't I slipped away yet, why do I know this is happening?". My mom spent her last eight years with her children. Had she been healthy, we probably would have visited two or three times  a year. Instead, we moved her close to all of us, and few days went by when one of her children was not with her. All four of her children became bonded in the commitment to make her days happy and safe.

My mom had the brightest blue eyes you have ever seen. People would stop just to comment on how beautiful she and her eyes were. They shone bright and sparkled through the disease process, while the eyes of others fell dull. At the moment of her passing, after seeming to be asleep for over a day, she opened her sparkling eyes with her last breath. All four children around her; I believe it was her message that her light shines on in all of us. We became close siblings because of Alzheimer's disease, we became more patient because of Alzheimer's disease, we learned how to selflessly give to others because of Alzheimer's disease, and we learned of the healing power of laughter when you just do not know what to do next.

During the long goodbye to our mom, we became better people in the world. We graduated Alzheimer's University with honors. I thank my mom for living through the long goodbye with graciousness, humor, and trust. I thank my siblings for loving so unconditionally. I thank God that we could all find the positive in a situation that many cannot bear. This was my mom's final lesson to her children.

 My mom and her sisters

Thank you for reading,
Norah