Of Meows, Noms and Shinies

This is Loki.

He likes chin scratches and face pets.

He also likes to lay awkwardly.

This is his signature pose... flat on the ground with legs spread. Super attractive, eh? haha

I also made macarons.. 1 batch of batter, with three very different results. It's confusing.

First batch: (same batter)

Ugly and cracked.

Second batch (same batter):

um... the feet pooled out and the shells were super fragile

Third batch:

Perfection. Strange.

And at some point, I went on an earring binge!

Emerald, one of a kind earrings!


These were one of a kind, and out of stock, sorry I'm late in posting :(


Some classy earrings:




Giant SWAROVSKI leaf earrings:


And Faerie Forest collection:






Over the weekend, I made my first batch of lip balms.
I have yet to perfect the recipe-- but I'm giving out samples for you to try :)--- you will have a chance to give your input before the formula is finalized!


Tonight, I had the craving for potato chips... so I put my new mandolin to work and made some!

Frying in olive oil..

Seasoned when hot:

So that the flavoring will stay...

and this is the seasoning I used and it's awesome:


How is everyone's week coming so far?
What are you looking forward to this week?

love,
Lisa
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Giveaway Winner & Life Updates! (with new handmades thrown in)

How was everyone's Christmas? What goodies did you give and receive?

I had an amazing time with my and the bf's family. We had dinner on Christmas Eve all under one roof, and it was AWWWWWWWWWWWEsome. We had tons of good food and laughs together... all in all, it has made me wish that we had more downtime in the year. We need more Holidays!!!

I have also moved again! The bf and I rented a house along with our ex college roomies, and since we are all working in the same area, we decided that it'd be nice to pool our resources and finally get a nice home to stay in. I will post house photos later-- we also have 3 kitties now which are loving the extra play room. And finally, I have an amazing kitchen to work in. I will be creating more delectable goodies for devouring.. I am excited. Once we all settle in, all will be well :)

These last two weeks have been tiring for me-- aside from moving, I have been clocking long hours at work. However, that hectic period is behind me (I think...) so I will be able to dedicate more time to blogging....

First off, please allow me to catch up on what I was supposed to announce earlier this month; the winner of the 2011 Holiday Giveaway..
... Congrats to LILLY!
Please email me your full name and address! heqicrystaldesigns@hotmail.com -- Thank you!

I made some Brass/Copper earrings today:


The leaves and flowers are painted with nail polish-- the colors are VERY subtle, but provides something very unique :)


They also come with NIOBIUM hooks-- niobium is many times more expensive than gold/silver. It is an inert metal that is hypoallergenic-- safe for even the most sensitive (mine included!). I made the decision to include niobium in collection to broaden the color range I can work with (brass!!!)

Also made some baroque clusters:


As I have a real job now, I can splurge more on gemstone earrings... so I am in the middle of purchasing a bunch of gemstones. These Rose Quartz are beautiful, and very, very clear with lots of facets for more shine:


The following two earrings contain beads purchased (by me!) from the Forbidden City in Beijing, China when I visited a few years back.



I finally decided that it was time to part with them now :)


I have a 3-day work week this week, whoohoo!
Then, a 4 day weekend, WHOOHOO!

More time to spend with loved ones, to cook to eat, to work out, to sleep.

What are your plans for the New Year? I'd love to hear about them!

Lisa
heqicrystaldesigns@hotmail.com
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Cyber Monday Youtube Vid + NEW STUFF!

IMPORTANT:
As of 9PM pacific time, Nov. 28, 2010, MY ECOMMERCE HOSTING SITE IS DOWN.
I will extend the discount for another day because of this problem. They said they don't know when it'll be back up. Sorry for the inconvenience :( 
Site's back :)


I haven't made a video in the longest time... so here's one =)


I noticed that my bracelet collection has really been dwindling.. so I went bracelet crazy!

2 more dainty clusters: these are TOP NOTCH craftsmanship. Every single crystal is wire wrapped-- ensure long lasting quality.



I had a lot of heart chains left in about 7-inches length (from my bulk roll of chain), so I thought bracelets would be perfect =)






All bracelets are one of a kind, once they're sold, they're gone!

Couple earrings with mini wings:



Lastly, a one of  a kind necklace:

The Blue Morpho, to match the blue morpho earrings & cuff set (which are out of stock, sorry!)

Hope you all had a wonderful long weekend-- enjoy Cyber Monday!
I haven't done much shopping this weekend, the only thing I bought was $100 worth of bras, undies, sweats and vest from AE (GREAT DEAL BTW, 25% off and free shipping!)-- but these were actually necessary new buys. Otherwise, no money spent on anything else. I need to spend another $400 to maintain my car, and another $200 to get a smog check and re-register that info online. GEEZ. So much maintenance!

NOTE: I won't be blogging until at LEAST wed. I have TONSSSSS of stuff to do for classes. 2 presentation/projects and a paper. I'll still be answering emails and processing orders though!

love,
Lisa
heqicrystaldesigns@hotmail.com
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Winner, Replies to YOU, + embedded updates!

Thanks to everyone who gave their input last post! I'm going to take your feedback and try to work on those--
I thought I'd do this post a little differently and incorporate my updates + replies to your comments! =)

London's-beauty : Thanks for always dropping by, love! I have done anklets before, wayyyyyyyy back in the day. I will try to make more cuffs in the future =)

D : Thank you for leaving a comment! I stuck to making ONLY sterling silver jewelry for the LONGEST time because I thought I personally couldn't pull off gold-- a fellow jewelry artisan introduced me to the beauty of gold (thanks, STEPH!) and I have been in LOVE. I wear gold earrings all the time now. Lesson learned: you can pull anything off-- just try it. What's there to lose? =)

The Little Dust Princess: Thanks!


KIMB! : I've always been an earrings kinda gal-- so it's always hard for me to make necklaces! I'll try to work with my limited necklace skills and see what I can do =)

Elana: YOU are a mind-reader. I've been planning this collection for a while, including using some AWESOME Negamoon (spelling?) charms that I designed myself, and I'm trying to get them cast in sterling silver. I'm so excited for this!! You can be sure these will be unique and super cute :D


Shiseiten : I'll definitely try to come up with more necklaces. The only issue I have with necklaces is that I like to be unique, I hate it when I see people make pendants out of crystals, but I know a lot of people like that-- however, I feel like other jewelry artisans already covered this ground many times over :X. I definitely have a gold/red necklace in the works for the holidays!


Anna : Hi Anna! It's always good to hear from a Soompier!
I made a new phone charm today =)

and thought about you =). I'll have more coming!

Susan: Have you seen the mother of pearl birdie earrings? I wish to make more earrings with these little cuties :D. I will keep a look out for fleur de lis and celtic designs-- I've stayed a bit away from celtic sterling silver items because they tend to be pricier. 


Michelle: Hello Michelle! It's good to hear from you! I PROMISE that I will make some cuffs for the holiday season! Do you have any colors/shapes you'd like to see? Email me!


Kittin : Will do! It seems a consensus that people would like to see more necklaces =)

Jamie: Hello my love. Whenever I think of card captor, I think hearts and wings, lol. I'll try to make some more plain pearl bracelets soon! I'm thinking of coming up with a series of to quality, thick-chained sterling silver charm bracelets-- what do you think?


lee_lena : A while back, I had some moon+heart black/red designs, I'll try to make some necklaces with those combos, hope you'll pick one up ;)

Rachel : I do have bows and star coming, as well as charms! 


KittyBonkers: I make a set of Angelic earrings today!


As well as a cartilage earring version:

Were these what you had in mind? =)
Also, I'll definitely pair up with the wings with other color crystals as well :D

vanity-fashionista: I'll try to make some exclusive gift sets for the holidays! That is an excellent idea =). It's not too complicated to wire-wrap earrings, it just takes time and patience. I notice that you like wire wrapped work!

mint: Hmm... I'm not quite familiar with the term "party jewelry"-- do you mean something a bit fancier?

Anna: Anna, you're getting and HQCD Addict mirror with your next purchase! REMIND ME when you place your next order! I made some BAT earrings in honor of Halloween :D



They come with a special goodie bag..

heehee! I think it'll be fun. I'll be adding more to the Halloween collection, maybe cats, too!
I haven't tried the clamp yet, I haven't been pressing powder, I've been making jewelry these passed few days, and catching up on orders!
Woman, you are a hurricane of ideas!

Rena: Candy corn jewelry just sounds so cute.. .I'll have to see if I can make it with polymer clay :D
I'll also have more angelic necklaces =)

CHEECHUN™: CHEEEEEEe!! Me too. lol 


Crystal.S: Babe, your new site looks fricken amazing. I haven't gotten a chance to personally tell you yet :(. I made some angelic earrings today!

~Lisa : Whenever I think of those shapes, I think of the japanese hime style-- I LOVE that style. You'll see a bit of that in every piece, thought now like... crazy, haha!


MissPukku : Thank you!

Laura @ Sawan-Heaven: SWEEEEEEEt. What's his punishment if he doesn't get them for you?
Haha, just kidding ;)

contests and such: I'm on a wing binge, too! I think these certain motifs overwhelm the jewelry world in waves-- it's very in at the moment =)

Emmeline L.: Have you seen the PEGASUS necklace, or GOLD necklace? They are both double stranded. I tend to not make many of these because they are pricey, and take hours, even days to complete!


lixuehui2yueh: Thank you! Everyone seems to like the volcanic threaders =) When I design the winter collection, I'll keep in mind your ideas!

Anyway... I wanted to thank you all for coming by, I randomly chose a winner, congrats, lee_lena!! Your small little thank you prize is as follows:

A cookie mirror, some earrings + a He Qi Eyeshadow in "Plum", one of the more popular colors ^^.
If you could email your address, that'd be great!


I also customized a rockstar bracelet:




I hope this post hasn't been too confusing, haha :X
Thought I'd try something new!

Anyway, HQCD's blog has been live for a year now, and I'd love to host another giveaway soon, so keep your eyes peeled for that!

- Lisa
heqicrystaldesigns@hotmail.com
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Eclipse Earrings GIVEAWAY, Soap, New Jewelry + CIRCLE LENS

First, the fun and engaging news..

A small earring giveaway, in honor of ECLIPSE that's coming out at the end of the month.

"Eclipse"-- only ONE pair will every be made, so rest assured you're getting something truly one-of-a-kind. Measures aprox. 4.5 cm in length, with SWAROVSKI hearts, disco balls, and rhodium plated moons on sterling silver chains and hooks. Value: $25
How to Enter:
- Ends on June 27, 2010
- Open to residents world wide
- You must be a follower of this blog!
- Simply leave a comment to this post with your name and the link to your favorite piece from my website.
- Get an additional entry by spreading the word about this giveaway somehow -- facebook, twitter, blog, myspace, whatever social networking site you have-- remember to post the link in your comments!
Winner will be announced sometime after the 27th-- come back to this blog to find out who!


In other news-- I've successfully made LAVENDER soap! I'm selling them official on my site HERE

I'm VERY satisfied with the way they turned out :D.
Description taken right off my site:
Handmade from scratch using only the best materials NOT found in mass-produced soaps!


Ingredients: Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Shea Butter, Lavender Essential Oil (100% naturally derived unlike fragrance oil), purple soap coloring, kaolin clay


Measures aprox. 1.6 x 2.5 x 0.75 inches


Each bar weighs aprox. 2 ounces-- regularly the size of a guest bar. However, due to the special properties of kaolin clay added to these, these bars will last as long as your average 4 ounce bar of soap without compromising quality. This also minimizes waste. The high quality ingredients ensure a creamy lather and shea butter is excellent at helping your skin retain moisture. Wonderful for sensitive skin.

And some that I made for wedding favors or small gifts:


Yay!!!

 And showing off some new creations:

^ Purchased these wing pendants when they first debuted, I only got to use a couple of them in my work so far, all in bracelets.



Fancy heart!


Octopi, haha


And two pairs of cute, girly earrings:



I've been on a circle lens ban for a couple of years now.... because I know I'll order like 3 more pairs if I decide to get one pair (And I don't really need more contacts....) But during finals, I was sitting with my friend, and she mentioned how she ordered lenses and I finally caved in and bought my first 2 pairs in four years :X I got purple and green, both of which are MINIMALLY pupil increasing and subtle blends.

Here's me with purple lens:

Photo taken inside, with flash, no editing.
Sorry, I look sleepy. 

And I went to my first casino last night, haha.
I ended up spending $10, and losing all of it, BUT I got this ticket during the beginning of the trip...

puahaha, lame.

And Achilles, sleepin' on the bed like a cutie, as usual:

This is his "you're too loud so I need to cover my head with my paw" moment.

Alright guys, hope you have a wonderful weekend!

- Lisa
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heqicrystaldesigns@hotmail.com