NEW SALE!!!!

So, this is going to be short and very sweet -

I've slashed prices on everything in my shop by 20% !!!!

So come on over to the shop and get those stocking stuffers.  There's lots of gorgeous jewelry that would make awesome gifts for your co-workers, friends, family, baby sitter, dog walker, school teacher....everyone on your list, just about.  And don't forget to gift yourself, too!  You work hard for it, so why not get that bead or bracelet you've been eyeing - and at 20% less!!!!!

NEW HANDMADE POLYMER CLAY PENDANTS

So.  I finally sat myself down and make some polymer clay pendant necklaces.  This is a new handmade item in my shop.  They are hand painted, mixed media art pendants and they make awesome stocking stuffers!!  I will be selling them for $10 regular price, but with the sale they will be $9. 

I am working on several styles and themes at the moment - steampunk, vintage,  Alphonse Mucha ladies, dragonflies, butterflies, birds and also custom orders - an initial in your choice of color and also a photo pendant. (The Nanday Conure below is a photo pendant.)  For the photo pendant, you'll have to email me the photo and I will transfer it to your pendant.  I also plan to shrink down some of my own artwork and transfer it as well.  Think of these as having a small piece of original, OOAK, mixed media art to wear around your neck. 

 

I have listed two pendants so far, but more will be coming shortly along with more styles and themes. And, these are easily customized and made just for you if you want a necklace with a special meaning to you at no extra charge.

STRESSED OUT???

So, you're still stressing about what to get everyone for Christmas?  

 

 

 Look at all these great gifts in my shop, and all under $10 !!!!!

 

See something that a certain someone would absolutely love?  Just click on the image and viola!  you'll go right to the listing in my shop.  Don't see anything here?  Well there's plenty more great gifts under $10 in my shop - check out the bead sets, Pandora and Pugster charms, and the Christmas themed leather bracelets and bangles - all put together with the purpose of helping you to get some great, quality gifts as well as keep some money in your wallet in these tough economic times.  And don't forget! everything is on sale in my shop until Decemeber 17th and also my Black Friday/Cyber Monday Special Promotion - so dig out your coupons and get a start on your holiday shopping!!:-))

 

No fuss, no muss and quick as a blink you can mark that name off your list and go on to the next.  In  less than a week, you'll get a package from me and now all you have to do is wrap it when you have a spare moment.  But in the meantime, you'll begin to feel a whole lot happier and less stressed, and isn't that a good thing?  Now you can relax (hopefully!) and actually enjoy the holidays! 

 

Happy shopping!!!

 

SALE European Beads Set dark... CookalasHouseO... $3.79	SALE European Beads Authenti... CookalasHouseO... $3.80	SALE European bead bracelet ... CookalasHouseO... $7.12	SALE european beads Authenti... CookalasHouseO... $3.33
SALE European Beads Authenti... CookalasHouseO... $3.33	SALE European bead Set purpl... CookalasHouseO... $3.79	SALE European Beads Authenti... CookalasHouseO... $3.80	SALE European Beads multitra... CookalasHouseO... $3.79
SALE Christmas European bead... CookalasHouseO... $4.74	SALE European beads Santa Be... CookalasHouseO... $3.79	SALE Handmade Earrings PE045... CookalasHouseO... $8.53	SALE European bead bracelet ... CookalasHouseO... $9.49
SALE european beads Authenti... CookalasHouseO... $4.75	SALE European beads Bracelet... CookalasHouseO... $9.02	SALE European bead set gray ... CookalasHouseO... $4.74	SALE European Bead Bracelet ... CookalasHouseO... $4.74

Treasury tool supported by the dog

HOLIDAY SHIPPING AND MAILING DEADLINE DATES

The holidays means sending gifts and greetings to friends, family, and loved ones around the world. Make sure you know the recommended dates if you’re hoping your gifts will arrive by December 25.

I ship USPS First Class for Domestic Mail and Priority International with Insurance for International Mail - so if you shop with me you must purchase by December 18th at the very latest for 1st Class Domestic Mail. 

For international mails you must purchase by the dates below

Dec 1st -
Africa
Central/South America

Dec 8th -
Asia/Pacific Rim
Australia/New Zealand
Mexico

Dec 11th -
Canada
Caribbean 
Europe
Middle East 

For Military Mail you must purchase by  the dates below

Dec 1st -
APO/FPO/DPO AE ZIP 093

Dec 8th -
APO/FPO/DPO AE  ZIPs 094-098
APO/FPO/DPO AA  ZIP 340
APO/FPO/DPO AP  ZIPs 962-966
APO/FPO/DPO AE  ZIPs 090-092


Holiday Dates for Military Mail

 

Addressed to	Express Mail® Military Service (EMMS)1	First-Class Mail® Service	Priority Mail® Service	Parcel Airlift Mail (PAL)2	Space Available Mail (SAM)3	Parcel Post® Service
APO/FPO/DPO AE ZIPs™ 090-092	Dec. 17	Dec. 10	Dec. 10	Dec. 3	Nov. 26	Nov. 13
APO/FPO/DPO AE ZIP 093	N/A	Dec. 3	Dec. 3	Nov. 30	Nov. 26	Nov. 13
APO/FPO/DPO AE ZIPs 094-098	Dec. 17	Dec. 10	Dec. 10	Dec. 3	Nov. 26	Nov. 13
APO/FPO/DPO AA ZIP 340	Dec. 17	Dec. 10	Dec. 10	Dec. 3	Nov. 26	Nov. 13
APO/FPO/DPO AP ZIPs 962-966	Dec. 17	Dec. 10	Dec. 10	Dec. 3	Nov. 26	Nov. 13

 

      Holiday Dates for International Mail

 

Destination	Global Express Guaranteed® Service *	Express Mail International® Service	Priority Mail International® Service	Fiirst-Class Mail International®               Service
Africa	Dec. 19	Dec. 11	Dec. 3	Dec. 3
Asia / Pacific Rim	Dec. 18	Dec. 15	Dec. 10	Dec. 10
Australia / New Zealand	Dec. 18	Dec. 15	Dec. 10	Dec. 10
Canada	Dec. 20	Dec. 17	Dec. 13	Dec. 10
Caribbean	Dec. 19	Dec. 15	Dec. 13	Dec. 10
Central & South America	Dec. 19	Dec. 11	Dec. 3	Dec. 3
Mexico	Dec. 20	Dec. 15	Dec. 10	Dec. 10
Europe	Dec. 19	Dec. 15	Dec. 13	Dec. 10
Middle East	Dec. 19	Dec. 15	Dec. 13	Dec. 10

 

Holiday Dates for Domestic Mail

	Dates
First-Class Mail® Service	Dec. 20
Priority Mail® Service	Dec. 21
Express Mail® Service*	Dec. 22
Parcel Post® Service	Dec. 14
Destination Network Distribution Center (DNDC) Drop Ship	Dec. 19
Destination Delivery Unit (DDU) Drop Ship	Dec. 21

 

CLARIFICATION OF SPECIAL PROMOTION

In my haste I forgot to clarify the special promotion terms for you.  My bad!!  They are as follows:


Spend $25 minimum before shipping and get a free, authentic Pugster bead
(1 PER ORDER PLEASE)

Please copy and paste the bead's title into the "message to seller" area or send me an Etsy mail with your choice.   If you prefer to be surprised or forget to let me know, I will pick one for you :-)))

So sorry for any confusion!!

WHAT TO GET????

 

With the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy to so many along the East Coast, money is tighter than ever - I have seen a huge drop off in sales since Sandy hit so I know how hard many people have been hit.  I have been marking down and putting on sale my entire shop in an effort to help out  a little with the gifting this year - sales will range from 5% to 10% off, and many items have been marked down before that percentage was applied. 

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Check out my Pandora style bead sets - what woman or girl wouldn't love to get a beautiful, color coordinated set of beads to add to their collection?  Or maybe a special Pugster bead or two?  I have lots of holiday themed bead sets and beads, as well as everyday colors. And almost all are under $5, definitely wallet friendly! 

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If you need something a little more substantial, take a look at my Pandora style bracelets - all under $15.  I've made them in all the colors of the rainbow, plus I've made some in the traditional red and green holiday colors, some with authentic Pugster holiday themed beads.  And I have also put together several Limited Edition Christmas bracelets, this year with a nod to gold, for a little more money but under $25.

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And so the gifting season is fast approaching and you're stumped and stressing in a big way about what to get. Money is tight and yet you need to get a little something for the special people in your life. You're making your list - relatives, friends, the baby sitter, your daughter's best friends, your co-workers, the dog walker....so many things to get!!! You're wracking your brains.....Well, one thing you might do is look through the treasuries listed below to get ideas.  All of these items are handmade or hand assembled, and all of them would make awesome gifts.  I do it when I need some gifting ideas. 

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So grab a cup or glass of your fave beverage, and take a look.  I do 80% of my shopping from my laptop because it's safe and fast and I also save money on the outrageous price of gas.  I don't have to worry about catching some elses cold or watch out for the crazy drivers on the road.  I don't have to get out of my pj's.  I can shop while comfy and relaxed, and when you're relaxed your thinker is so much more focused on making the right choices.  :-))

THE ELVES HAVE BEEN BUSY!!!! by Eileen
TURKEY, Yams, and Pumpkin Pie!! by Jill York OBright 
Great Stocking Stuffers all under $5.00! by Sandy Prenzi
gift ideas for christmas by Nadin Sandler
Christmas lampworking; little critters and beautiful beads. by Emily Nelson 
 Amber and Chocolate by Astra Poyser Laughlin
Plum Perfect by Kelly Kellie
its-turkey-time by DIPdesigns

SPECIAL PROMOTION!!

I am offering an added incentive :-) to all my customers. 

The time is now to start your holiday shopping.  You already know my entire shop is on sale from now until December 17th midnight, but in addition to that I will be gifting you with a free authentic Pugster bead if your order before shipping  is over $25!!! (1 freebie per order)

So avoid the crowded, germy, overheated malls and crazy drivers, and cuddle up with your favorite brew, limber up your fingers and get looking!!!

Happy shopping!!

LOTSA SALES COMING!!!!

So now that I'm caught up with back orders from Sandy and everything is humming along again, it's time to announce a  bunch of sales coming your way! November 17th will kick off a series of sales for different percentages on different dates.  There will be 6 sales in all that will end on December 17th.  So keep checking the shop -  I have different percentages off planned for specific dates, and sales will be shop wide.

Time to get those coupons ready!!!!

Also, I am growing my line of handmade goods again.  I will soon be offering handmade by me polymer clay gift boxes, candle holders and plates, charms, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, wall art, ornaments, art dolls and more. 

Finally, you may have noticed that I am no longer selling leather bracelets in my shop.  Etsy has told me that I cannot sell items that are not handmade by me on Etsy.  There have to be over 25 other shops on Etsy who are still selling the same exact bracelets that I was and yet Etsy is allowing them to do this.  This is shades of Pandora vs European beads all over again.  This is grossly unfair and I would love to now why it seems I am being singled out yet again. *sigh*  nuff said.  If you were planning to purchase leather from me for the holidays, please email me directly at egrobeck@hotmail.com and I'll invoice you directly through paypal.  I will be uploading photos of what I have available to my flickr site (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cookala/sets/72157632002953673/) , so you can browse my Flickr site to find what you want.  Each item will have an item# in the title - all you have to do  is email me with the item#s and I will invoice you through paypal directly.  Once you pay the invoice I will immediately ship your order.  This is the only quick way to make these items available to you.  I will eventually find another online venue where I can sell the leather items.  Until then, we can work through FLickr and Paypal.

Also, I have had a bunch of international orders supposedly never arrive, and numerous non-delivery cases opened against me.  I suspect more than a few of these are plain and simple scams.  This is  grossly unfair to me. It is not my fault if the postal system loses an order.  The postal system should be made to pay for the item, not me!  Yet paypal and Etsy, in cases like this will take the customers word for it and side with them, and that results in me having to refund the customer in full AND lose the cost of the inventory.  Now, this may not seem like a lot of money, but when you multiply the average $20 order by 4 or 5 a month, that adds up VERY quickly. So, I've had it.  I am no longer shipping international orders unless the customer purchases insurance. Period.

AFTERMATH

Well, I am at the local library because it's warm here and I need to take care of my Etsy shop and get started on the backlog of orders. Just wanted to let y'all know we made it through the "perfect storm". We were really hit hard here by Sandy - whole houses just blocks away have disappeared, and more than a few, others have missing walls where loose boats sailed through, some areas look like a bomb went off - and this is just a few blocks away from me. 

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Power and cable lines are down, mangled trees have been chopped up and moved to the curbside and odd pieces of home siding and roofing decorate the roads. There is a curfew in effect from dusk to dawn. I heard my beach hangout at Robert Moses Park is gone because the waves were 25 ft high at the height of the storm and wiped out the access roads and traffic circle, and most of the beach itself.  2 of my favorite local waterside eateries are gone - one just disappeared and the other looks like a bomb went off inside. Most stores are closed and the ones that are open are only accepting cash because there is no electric in them either.

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The water came up as close as 75 or so ft to the house. The saving grace of all this is that no one got hurt and the house only has some minor damage - a miracle really when I see what happened to some others, and I'm deeply grateful for that. Thank you God, angels and Mom for watching over us during that very scary storm. At times the whole house shook and I was afraid it would come down on us. Two large tree branches hit the house, but glanced off and so didn't do too much damage. Thank God we all thought to move our cars out from under the trees, or some of us would not have them anymore.

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I am suffering Sandyshock in a huge, miserable and depressed way - no heat since 10/29 around 5pm - what is that, 7 days now? (i don't know, I've lost track of time, each looooong, frigid, boring day blurs into the next now), no electric, no gas, food shortages until yesterday, 29 degree nights and 50's in the day and it's been cloudy (did I say no heat?), and candles are nice but they really irritate my asthma. I've started to wheeze again.  
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The thermostat in the house is now saying 45 degrees.  I am living in 3 prs of socks and sherpa bootie slippers, 2 prs of thermals, a pr of sweats top and bottom, a quilted vest, sherpa hoodie coat, sweatshirt and gloves and I am still cold. My poor nose is so called I am afraid it will fall off. I sleep under 3 fleece blankets, a sherpa throw and a fleece throw, fully dressed in all those layers of clothes. Did I say this is really the pits? Have I said how piss poor LIPA service is? and that I have not seen one LIPA truck or crew anywhere since the storm? *SIGH*
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To make it worse the neighbors in back, front and at end of each cross block have electric 3 days ago - and not one of them has offered to run an extension cord or brought a hot meal.  How sad is that?  We finally got a person to talk to at LIPA yesterday after 35 unsuccessful tries since the storm hit and 45 minutes of waiting only to be told we would have electric back by tonight 11pm the latest.  mm hmm, we'll see.  And now, with the new Nor'easter that's going to hit us Weds/Thurs with buckets of rain and more high winds - well, if we don't get electric tonight as promised we probably won't get it for another week.  Meanwhile, the temps outside continue to drop into the Upper 20's at night and upper 40's during the day.
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If I had gas in my car I would seek refuge with a friend, but the gas lines are miles long at the stations that are open and I definitely will run out on while line. I have no choice but to stay put and suffer until power is restored and the gas is flowing again and the lines are gone. I have begun walking to the  library 2 blocks away just to thaw out and use the computers, then just to hang out awhile and read a little before walking home to a cold house. After this I sympathize all over again with Katrina victims. No one should have to go through this - it's a shameful travesty that bears direct reflection on our mismanaged, too well paid government.
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*sigh*