Of Recent Adventures.. and in the pipeline ;)

Hi all!

The last few weeks have been a whirl wind of experimentation, planning..executing.. messing up, waste... but finally, success!

I have made a few new earring creations since last post...

First off, some more gemstone earrings, this time featuring a pink quartz, AAA grade with the slightest mystic sheen:

The onion briolettes are simply adorable. See them HERE.

I am on a cluster kick again lately, thanks to my housemate who's been feeding the frenzy, and I couldn't help but to make a pair of Bollywood earrings to match the Bollywood necklace:


And while Loki was sleeping in Dad's lap,


I was creating these:

Inspired by the sea:


And by Tiger's Eye (both the actual animal's eye, as well as the natural stone!)
Tiger's Eye is secretly a tribute to Loki, because his eyes are super fierce and look awesome in the daylight.


I am also selling some handmade stickers that I have wayyy to much of on my Etsy Account:

If you are in the need for supplies, check out my store for some destash packaging materials, beads, etc!

And lastly.. something that I have been working on since October 2011 to create:

That's right. Sailor Moon inspired perfume lockets.

Ok guys, please use your imagination with this one, because I know that initially it sounds like a stretch. Perfume lockets are not new, and definitely not this type of locket (though I have worked hard to get my hands on a unique design), but as I fell in love with solid perfumery, I wanted to combine my interests. As many of you already know, Sailor Moon has been a huge muse for me over the years, and continues to me. I wanted to transform my thoughts about her character into a scent. I know, many of you are probably shaking your heads and think I'm nuts. I might be a little nuts. I might be pushing a little. Oh well ;) What's creativity without a bit of crazy and unexpected? Am I making a whole Sailor Moon series of solid perfume lockets? Maybe.

.. so after months of research, market research, designing, failing, sucking, making some really disgusting smelling things, I think I'm almost ready.

These lockets are made by a family owned business in the USA, and the quality is simply breathtaking. When I got my first one to hold in my hand, I was surprised. NOTHING beats the quality of these perfume lockets. They come with a little recess on the inside where you can swap out the aluminum pan with other scents or refills as you need over time. I am designing over perfume locket centerpieces right now, but am not ready to release them. Heck, I couldn't wait to show you these, and I'm not even ready to reveal the exact details of these yet, but thought it might be fun to show you what's in the pipeline.

Pretty cool, hmm? I'm pretty stoked to say that with a huge amount of Googling, I have yet to come across a Sailor Moon inspired Solid Perfume. I'm stoked.

Many consumers do not realize how much time artists put into developing work. Just like how the R&D department of a Biotech company takes a huge amount of money to run to make a product, causing the end product price to be 400-1000% or whatnot of material price, same idea applies across the board to something like what I do. The price of a piece reflects not only the materials, but the time spent on developing it, including all the fails, wasted materials, time spent redesigning, time spent on designing package... well, the list goes on and on. Keep that in mind the next time you're shopping for an artisan good; though I am not a full time artists, I have grown over time to value other handmade artists' goods because I know first hand how hard it can be to make art one's livelihood :)

Thank you all for dropping by and taking part in my little adventures of late.
Please head over to the He Qi website and take a look at all the new goodies there.

If you choose to place an order, I am currently giving away a sample of my new Vanilla Clove lip balm with all purchases!

I hope everyone starts on Monday with bright, positives attitudes.


Until next time,
Lisa
SHOP
TWITTER
FACEBOOK
heqicrystaldesigns@hotmail.com

Calla Lily Lariat Necklace, earrings + winner of Matcha Sugar Scrub sample!

HELLOOOOOOO!
Happy almost-Friday!

Thank you all for sharing what you'd do with $1000, there are some interesting answers! Congrats to Joanne-- you've scored a sample of the Matcha Sugar Scrub! Do email me with your full name & shipping addy to claim your prize :D

So I've been taking a break from the beauty products and getting back on my jewelry kick...

I've been hoarding these Calla Lily findings for so long, today I finally found inspiration and used them to create a LARIAT necklace!!

I'm actually quite proud of this creation; many customer in the past have asked for more lariats.... well, here is the first in a long time! I hope I've made you proud :)

Close up of the adorable lilies:


And of course.. some earrings to match :)

I do love this set as it's so simple and classy; lilies are timeless! The owners of these pieces will notice that they are made to last :) The calla lilies on the earrings are slightly bigger than those used on the necklace piece.

I took the vintage SWAROVSKI crystal hearts I got a while back and married them to wavy pearls for a fun dangle for any outfit:

Yes, I do have different color combinations for those who are looking for bright options!

As I continue with my jewelry adventures this week, I found myself nostalgically yearning for Sailor Moon when I came across this video:

Did I mention that Lara is an extremely talented musician? She makes me miss my piano.

Anyway, as a tribute to miss Sailor V, I created the following:

The colors are SO Sailor Venus, I just could resist but to name them after her :)

Finally, I created SWAROVSKI Bridal Clusters today; it was the most random creation of the day, but the mood was right:


I hope you've enjoyed the goodies today! Please visit my website if see anything you're interested in; He Qi makes unique, lasting gifts for loved ones! I appreciate the time you've taken out of the day to stop by.. please say "hi" by leaving a comment below!

love,

Lisa
SHOP
TWITTER
FACEBOOK
heqicrystaldesigns@hotmail.com

Lisa's Proud, Julu, and New HQCD (Alice in Wonderland!)

Thanks to those of you who answered that question for the little The All Natural Face giveaway-- I think Jamie had an exceptional answer. There will be lots more of the philosophical questions in the future for my readers. It gives you something more to think about besides just what's going on right in front of one's eyes. And that's that, for now =)

A couple of months ago, the Internal Vice President of the UC Davis Vietnamese Student Association asked if I'd contribute some pieces for a charity auction-- of course, I was more than happy to!
I got a letter from Ai Phi yesterday:

Click HERE to read the whole thing.


I often think to myself that HQCD interacts with a limited amount of people/resources, and that no way would I ever be able to make a somewhat significant contribution-- but this is one of the many events I hope to attend in the future (and maybe even host one!). HQCD helped raise over $500 for UNICEF through donation of 6 pieces of jewelry. Bidders bought these, and the money will go towards providing hygiene kits, medication, clean water and other aid to those who were affected by Typhoon Ketsana in Vietnam.

So needless to say, I feel great today.

-------------------------------------

I wanted to share with you a pair of earrings I bought from Julu Jewelry.
Steph's one of my favorite designers in the blog-sphere (and probably one of the only that I keep up with, because she's awesome). Her creativity and sense of style is super.

She recently came into possession of a beautiful pair of angel wing earrings OMG.

BUY THEM HERE. Quick, last two pairs! If no one buys them, I think I'll buy a second pair as a back up, just in case. Yes, because I'm that paranoid about earrings I like.

I did make an alteration, though. I have two ear piercing on the lobe, and in order to make them attach to my ear that way, I added an extra stud needle:

That way, they stay upwards and do not slowly fall throughout the day.
BEAUTIFUL. My favorite pair of earrings I've owned in a LONG time.

----------------------------------------------

Here are some new things from HQCD:


^ YES YES! This is RESTOCKED.
I've made slightly changes to it (very subtle, mostly for quality purposes).

Some every-day classic earrings, great for any occasion, formal enough for work:



Fun spring-time earrings;


The 2nd HQCD double-stranded bracelet ever:

This one's called "Raven".

And the long planned for Alice in Wonderland Cluster Bracelet:


I finally realized why I got so many emails for cluster bracelets. Will not disclose the reason, but will say that if you ask me to duplicate another artist's jewelry, don't expect to hear an answer from me. That's quite insulting, actually. If you don't like my style, don't make a purchase-- it's very simple. Clustering is a STYLE of jewelry making that has very similar basics (so basically, every single cluster bracelet will have similarities because a "cluster" has already been defined in our minds), but if you want to change my cluster style into someone else's... you're better off purchasing directly from that person.
I also don't have the time and resources to go blog/website stalking to check if all custom orders are copied orders, so I trust you to never bring me those requests. I'm a busy gal, so I work based on an honor system. That being said, the same applies if you think I'm "copying" someone. I just DON'T have the time to search the net for things to copy because I'm BUSY. My school work is demanding, and living on my own is as well. Shoot me an email and bring it up to me if you have any issues.


Don't forget to check out the PROMOTIONS on the sidebar!

love,
Lisa
heqicrystaldesigns@hotmail.com
Open to all sorts of custom orders, just ask!

Eternal Sailor Moon Necklace and more!

For those of you who haven't read my blog in the summer-- well, whenever I make jewelry, I almost always put on some anime, or some show other random show (Huan Zhu Ge Ge, anyone?). Usually, it's Sailor Moon-- because there are 200 episodes and it takes me a while to finish. Just two days ago, I finished the season, again.I watch it in Japanese with English subs on Veoh. I've been looking for the COMPLETE DVD set with English subs... anyone know a good place to get an original? And if so, price?

I'm not a crazy fan, but I really do enjoy watching Sailor Moon. It brings me back to my elementary school days, lol :X

In honor of my favorite transformation, "Eternal Sailor Moon", I've made a necklace inspired by her. I've been searching for the right "wings" for a long time, and this is.. one of the better ones I've found. One downside is that the wings aren't sterling silver :(. I'm currently negotiating getting sterling silver wings, but those are PRICEY. Currently, this goes for $25-- and I think that's a very reasonable price tag. With sterling silver wings, it'd be at LEAST $35-40. What do you guys think? Sterling silver wings, yes no?

Here's my fav Usagi transformation:


And my necklace, Eternal Sailor Moon:

** These match my "hearts with wings" earrings! ;)
If you want matching earrings, let me know... I might give a discount.
Here's the link to the earrings:
http://heheproductions.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=5550446
Available in the matching PINK!

Modeled:

If you guys want other colors, shoot me an email and we'll work something out!
Also, only 3 available.

Other things I've worked on...
I used up the last HK charm I had to make a simple necklace:




Earrings:




Promos for November 16-17, 2009
Special Discounts for orders placed and paid for during the above time. No exceptions, sorry!
Handmade Jewelry Only. Only one promotion per order, and promotions do NOT apply to custom orders OR sale items. Let me know you're a reader of my blog. Email me with your order to qualify: heqicrystaldesigns@hotmail.com
I will then make a personal listing for your on my site.
Website: http://www.heheproductions.ecrater.com
Discounts exclude S/H charges unless otherwise noted.

1. Buy 1 bracelet, take $10 off the second one!
2. Holiday Bulk Discounts (share the love!) 10% off all orders over $100! If you're ordering an even larger amount ($150+), ever larger discounts will apply, ask me about it!
3. Buy any necklace, and take $5 off any pair of earrings! (Whoa, that means, if you buy a necklace, you'll get a pair of little heart or flower dangles for only $3.75!)
4. FREE shipping if you buy 2 or more SALE SECTION items.

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter! I think I'm going to have RANDOM Giveaways on there! 
^ I'm not starting that till I get 100 followers!