TREASURE HUNT - PIF

A super nice friend of mine, Delina, who owns a jewelry shop in New York, had a giveaway on her site yesterday. I thought it was a wonderful idea eventhough I didn't win. LOL

The concept of a giveaway is a great idea. I get to do something nice by PIF (passing it forward) and the recipient gets a free gift for participating. It's a win - win situation!!

But my nature dictates that it was too easy. Hehehe! Where's the sport in that? Lets make it interesting.

So here's my plan. Sometime during the month I will change the price on one of my listings in my shop Leather Made Nice to $0.00. (Normally there is a monetary value of no less than a dollar but since it was already listed I should be able to change the value to $0.) In the event that it does not accept the $0.00 value, I will change the cost to $1.00 and the buyer will need only to complete the transaction stopping at PayPal.

Shipping included.

I will post the winner and the item won.

Happy hunting!!! :D

Anne ^i^

A Walk In The Park

AWWW! look at that face! Yes you have seen him before but I can't help it. Isn't he adorable. This is Toby and his owner is my friend, Michelle . Am I bad? I miss my Friday, so now Toby is my...., surrogate doggie. :D

Now that spring is officially here it's time to get our quadruped friends all prettied up and outside for some fresh air and exercise. It wouldn't hurt me any either ;D

Toby is wearing his personalized and very fashionable mahogany collar. My most favorite style and color.

When I jogged. Yes I used to jog..., once-upon-a-time...., I hear snickering back there!!! I would take my dog, Friday with me - for company mostly. Funny though, I always knew that she would take off to parts unknown the second I unclasped her leash. Subsequently, I designed and created this stylish Shake-A-Paw ID bands (and pendant set) just in case she lost her way back to me. One buyer suggested a phone number instead of a name ..., great idea!

With bigger dogs like Friday, she needed a 6 foot leash. We cut ours from a continuous strip of premium "Live Oat" sole grade leather. Trust me even the big dogs can't break this one. :D

It's always nice to get a new piece of jewelry. So why wouldn't you think about your pooch. Whether it's one piece at a time or all together - they deserve it too?

Any and all of our products can be customized to suit your needs. We can add rhinestones, grommets, eyelets, studs.... whatever you want we can create it for you. So give us a try.

It's sunny out in my neck of the woods so I think I will take advantage of this gorgeous weather and work in my garden. :D

Thanks, Michelle for helping me set up my gadgets. It worked!!! You rock !! _\00/

Anne ^i^

Our One Year Anniversary Celebration with Etsy

John and I are thrilled to announce that we have crossed a major milestone as Internet sellers in the Etsy community.

Our road was a slow and unsure one but with perseverance and some wonderful buyers we did it. We want to share our good fortune with the community and listed many of our items for sale at greatly reduced prices.

Below are just a few of the items that are listed on sale.

Leather Earring with Concho and Turquoise

John is very fussy about incomplete edges. So, as you can see from the passport folder he made below, it was finished, in what I now consider, his signature double laced edge.

All Leather Passport Folder W/ Double laced Edge

This is one of my mini shoulder bag designs and very much my personal favourite. This style of bag was designed to be hands free and spacious enough to carry all your essentials without the clutter. I prefer the thicker leathers like this one for its durability.

Mini Chap Shoulder Bag

John and I started out in this business handcrafting belts. The pattern on the belt pictured below has been our most popular selling designs for both men and women.

Black Leather Stepped Southwest 1.5" belt to accommodate trophy buckles

We invite you to visit our site and take advantage of the sales. Feel free to convo us with any questions you might have.

Our sister sites are:

Catch A Shining Star

CK Signature and

All Things Inspired

We look forward to working with you for another great year.

Thank you so much for your support and a wonderful beginning!

Anne & John

The Stud In Me \00/_

Like every mom, I try to encourage my children to succeed. Not in a bad way but a supportive way. My son, Chris, has an artistic eye. He can sit down and make something out of anything - even a remnant piece of leather that I have discarded.

Last year, for a lark, I gave him a piece of leather because he wanted to try his hand at leather work like his dad and I. I figured why not..., he usually wears what he makes anyway.

The wristband below is what he came up with. I have to tell you though, working with pyramid studs is tricky..., they are slippery suckers that pop right out of your hand just as your about to set it in. Well, *proudly* he mastered it quite nicely - and some, showing up his ole mom. :P

It wasn't until recently did Chris make another one, the first one he kept for himself. If you get the chance show your love to an up-and-coming young artist and view his shop.

Studded Leather Wristband from CKSignature.etsy.com

Good ole mom tried her hand at something new too. I aspire to be unique in my designs. I don't want to be usual - I want to be superb! This was my attempt to be stylish without overworking the design. This is a wristband I made. I offset the diamond clusters - which was a "B" to do *pat on back* while keeping the clusters aligned. It can be viewed it in my shop. :)

CLASSIC ROCK Pyramid studded wristband

I've always wanted to design studded earring too. For about a month now I have been awake at nights tossing idea around in my head. Maybe if I just slept I might have dreamt up something sooner. This pair of earrings are my most recent creation... I am so proud of them... It is quite a challenge to line up the pyramids and center them on a small piece of slippery leather... GAWH!!! but with perseverance I did it. \00/_

DIVA Pyramid - Diamond Studded and Leather Earrings.

This was my first attempt at designing pyramid studded earrings. I am so pleased with them.

Now that I have accomplished this I have a ton of ideas bouncing around in my head. I am hoping to have more designs in our shop soon.

Pyramid Studded Linear Earring and Leather.

Thanks for dropping by!!

Have a Happy Easter everyone!!

Anne ^i^

"SEX AND THE CITY" GUINEA!!

This is Spike \00/_

To lift spirits - I would like you to meet one of our pet guinea pigs.

This is Spike!!

He's not your average everyday, garden variety guinea pig ..., he's a punker pig.

My son, Chris, made this wristband before the movie, "Sex and the City" aired. Imagine our surprise to see SJP wearing the very same belt!!

We are huge fans of the show and we were thrilled to see it.

It just goes to show you that fashion has no limits. \00/_

I would be remiss if I didn't also introduce to you the other punker pig, his brother - this is Smokey. He is the noisier but smaller of the two.

I hope this brought a smile to your face - because we have to live for today because our tomorrows may be few!!

Drop by and visit our shop!! \00/_

Anne ^i^

Hyatt

Like most of the inquiries, I received this one from a convo via our Etsy site. A young lady by the name of Taylor B. asked if I could make her some custom "Signet wristbands". She wanted the name of her good friend, that recently passed, on it.

Her heart and ideas were bigger than what I could accommodate her with - but together her and I came up with a design that would suit everyone.

One evening while I working on her order my oldest daughter, Amanda - born in 1992 was browsing the internet. She decided to google the name of the young man that I was making these wristbands about. While my family and I stood around the computer watching ,she played a video on Hyatt Ebeling. By the time it had finished I was in tears and there was silence in the room. My heart sank. That young man, just a couple months yonger that my daughter had passed in a 4 car collision. It was a sobering reminder that we should always treasure the gifts that God has given us.., our children, spouses, family and friends.

Leather Signet wristband

As I stamped each piece of leather my mind wandered. All I could think of was his family. Only a parent - or sibling - that has lost a child/brother/sister could even imagine the grief they were experiencing and I wanted to reach out and hug them. My heart ached for the family and friends of Hyatt.

I knew there was nothing in this world that I could have said to them that could ease their pain but I wanted to show them that even as far away as in Canada we feel their loss.


I sent a email to Talyor and asked her if she would hand deliver a small token of love to Hyatt's family. She agreed to do so.

Memorial Leather bookmark

Our hearts and prayers go out to the Ebeling and Roberts families. We wish both Tyler Ebeling and Scotty Roberts a speedy recovery.

Taylor wanted to include more on the wristbands, but instead I will put it here.

Edward Hyatt EBELING

April 14, 1992 - January 31, 2009

~~ Gone but not forgotten ~~

A Verbose Anniversary Gift

I am no stranger to texting leather objects. Actually I find great satisfaction in creating things that come from the hearts and minds of our customers. I feel privileged to be given such a task. My customer provide me with a list of 60 or so words, places, names and dates that conveys their special memories of particular times in their lives.

Each belt is handcut from premium tooling "Live Oak" cowhide - the best leather you can buy. Once we have choosen the hide we hand cut it to size. We take great care in measuring, centering, stamping and finally finishing (dying) the leather. It must be perfect to our standards - no short cuts, no flaws, or it doesn't leave our hands.

Leather Made Nice - Custom 1.5 inch Memory Belt

The belt above was finished in our unique blend of brown dyes. The buyer decided she wanted a nickel plated buckle on this custom piece. It was an anniversary gift for her husband.

Happy 5th Anniversary, Sara and Brad!!

The text that buyers choose always intrigue me. As the words are stamped out I get a sense of the life these people enjoyed together and what was important to them. It reads like a novel as their life unfolds. What a wonderful keepsake!! The lady that ordered this one plans on having one made for her father. It will read the names of all the children and grandchildren. Again, what a wonderful reminder of the joys in one's life.

Happy 4th Anniversary to you and your husband, Camille @-}--

The last belt pictured was my first request. It came from a lovely young lady by the name of Ashlyn. She has been preparing for her wedding day and this is a gift for her husband-to-be. I have a bit of history with her. She has visited our site a few times and I feel rather akin to her. She has submitted some quite unique and refreshing ideas which have brought fruition to us. So this was a very special creation that I wanted to be perfect for her. For a young person she has the wisdom and insight of an old soul.

Our good wishes and love go to her and her husband-to-be on their marriage and life together!!!

Ashlyn and Justin - March 14, 2009 @-}--

Other text possibilities: historical anniversaries, favorite groups, favorite novel or books read, comic books, sports teams or personalities, sayings, concerts attended..., the possibilities are endless. If you have an idea that you would like to pass by us send us and email or visit our shop.

Smiles, Anne ^i^ & John