Welcome!

Hello - I am Francine, I love jewelry!

I try to make this fun and informative. So if you are interested in learning more about jewelry and want to know more about a jewelry related topic, let me know and we can blog about it!

Have fun!!







Monday, April 26, 2010

Advertising/Passion!!!!

Hello!
I know, I know I have promised to talk about diamonds, however, I have not had a lot of time to put anything together and I promised to update this once a week.  Therefore, I am going to talk about advertising.

I recently was featured on My Give Away Today.  It is a way of advertising where you not only pay the host but also give away either a piece of jewelry or a gift certificate.  I chose a gift certificate, this way the winner could choose what she wants!

I just found out who the winner is and I just emailed her the prize.  I hope she enjoys what she purchases!
I also hope that she passes the word around about my site.  If , of course, she is happy with her gift. 

This all leads me to the question - is this type of advertising worth it?

While this may not be all that much $ for a small business it can get costly.  While I did not generate any sales from this campaign, I did get 55 more fans on Facebook (or likes)  This is something that is truly priceless as I post a lot of my new pieces on FB and therefore, get a lot of exposure. 

Also, it has only been a few days since my feature so I am confident that it will generate sales in the future.

The drawback about doing this type of advertising is that I am now a target for other folks who have these types of blogs.  I have received at least 3 e-mails from other bloggers intersted in featuring my site.  I told them that I wanted to give it a few weeks before I made a decision on what I wanted to do. 

This is a part of the business I truly enjoy, I actually enjoy everything expect the tax part and thankfully that happens only two times per year.

Enjoy life and do want you are truly passionate about as life is short.  My husband lost a dear friend this week at a far too young age - left a wife and two teenagers behind.  Do not fret about the small things, take time to slow down and play with your dogs, read that book or just sit outside and smell the flowers!!  I need to take my own advise.  Until next time...

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Tucson

Hello!

Hope everyone is well.  Sorry for the late post, but I was in Tucson at a conference for work.  I went from 90 degree weather to 40 degree weather in 7 hours. 

Having never been to AZ, I thoroughly enjoyed my visit.  The weather was absolutely wonderful!!  Warm during the day and cool in the mornings and after the sun went down.  We did a lot of outside sightseeing.

The first day we went to the desert museum which was recommended by the concierge at the hotel.  What a good suggestion!  I was even later able to identify a snake I saw outside of my door at my hotel!!!  It was not poisonous:)

The food at the hotel, El Conquistador, was outstanding.  That is saying a lot for conference food since it is difficult to serve hot food for that many people.  Kudos to them!!!

The conference was also great!  Took away a lot of great ideas this time - super excited to implement them.  Hopefully all of the attorneys will think the same way...

I promised that I would talk about the April birthstone, but I want to gather some additional info before posting on that, plus I wanted to talk about my little trip and share some pics!

Oh - I also got a lot of ideas for jewelry while I was bored in a few of the sessions LOL!!!

The site on our nightly walks!
The two people walking were from Ohio!!
A cave at the Desert Musuem
Man made but very realistic!

Friday, April 9, 2010

Give Away Today and Jewelstruck Blog

Hello!

I have had a wonderful week off.  I was able to get so much done.  However, the week flew!  Retook a ton of pics on my site and created some really fun new pieces. (see pic below) I also had lunch with a few friends, helped my Mom out and went to the zoo!  Hope you all had a great week.

I am very excited about an opportunity that presented itself to me and it involves, of course, jewelry.  I now am able to post on a very popular jewelry blog and my first post was published today.  http://blog.jewelstruck.com/
It was so much fun writing about what I love and the other 10k followers love to do and there is so much variety discussed - all kinds of jewelry.

I also wanted to mention that I will be teaching two classes at a local bead store, Embellish, in Rocky River, Ohio.  A great ring and a great bracelet so if you are local, check me out - should be a great time!

Lastly, I wanted to welcome vistors from Give Away Today.  I will be featured next week and hope to get some more followers to the blog - HELLO!!!
http://www.mygiveawaytoday.com/



Catch us next time when we review the birthstone for April - the diamond - LOVE IT!!!





http://www.jewelrybyfrancine.com/store/index.php?app=ecom&ns=prodshow&ref=10265

Friday, April 2, 2010

What Size Should I Get?

Hello!

Happy Friday!  It is the 1st day of my staycation and I got a lot accomplished - even starting on cleaning out my closet:) 

Before I jump into jewelry, I want to talk a little bit about my puppy, Piper.  She is just such a character!  At the part last night she got to go into the creek and retrieve a golf ball which thrown to her by a little girl (frient) she met at the park.  When Piper could not find the ball in the water (it was sort of deep) she gave up but instisted that the little girl had more balls in her pocket and stared at her for forever hoping that she would, once again, throw something in the water.  Let me tell you, it was hard to pull her away from that little girl:) 

I have been getting a lot of questions about sizing for rings and bracelets so I thought I would share some of my knowledge with you. 

First of all I have ring and bracelet sizers on my website - take a look - no you do not have to purchase something to use them.  http://www.jewelrybyfrancine.com/sizingfr.html

Rings - Do you go a size up or a size down if you are in between sizes?  Answer:  A size up.  Our body swells depending on water retention and if you purchase a size larger you can always wear it on another finger.  You may also purchase a guard at a jewelry store.

Bracelets - While bracelets may go around your wrists, some are meant to hang a bit longer and fall on the hand than others.  On my site I will indicate if a particular bracelet should be worn loose or fitted.  However, it is generally up to taste of the person who is purchasing the bracelet.  If I specify that the bracelet should be worn fitted, then you should typically add .5 inch or less to your wrist size.  The bracelet and bangle sizers are a great tool to determine what size to order on all other bracelets. 

Necklaces/Chains - The most common length necklace/chain size is 18 inches. This length chain can accomodate many different styles of charms or pendants and in a necklace, it typically hits in the right spot it shoes when you wearing most shirts.  This is also the most flattering length for the general public.

16 inches - is more of a choker length and looks good on a person with a longer, thinner neck.

20 inches - is, of course, a longer chain and I think looks great with our Love Tags and personalized pieces and is becoming more popular as it can be worn over most shirts.

http://www.jewelrybyfrancine.com/store/index.php?app=ecom&ns=catshow&ref=charms

Until next time...