Today I'm delighted to share about the little schremlin, a darling little shop with items like polymer clay jewelry "inspired by science fiction, nature, and food!"

Here's a bio of Sarah, who runs the shop:

 i am a big fan of sci-fi, fantasy, the planet, and animals. not a fan of capitalization, cloudy days, or current 'music'. my shop currently has a lot of food jewelry which i will continue to make, but i'm also adding more science fiction and fantasy jewelry, notebooks, pencils, and book marks. stop by, look around, and check back for new stuff in the new year!

Basically, another wonderfully quirky shop to geek out about! There are many unique items...

hummingbird and flower necklace

dirigible plum earrings

TNG crew: ST

personalized tengwar notebook

tengwar - the hobbit - LOTR // personalized mini notebook & twig pencil gift set

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P.S. I hope all you wonderful blog readers are having a great Christmas and New Year's break! I'm enjoying having no school. Very much. We just said goodbye to some 40 family members (we had a BLAST) and I know this post is coming out late. But hey, it's before midnight, so it's technically still the 6th Day of Christmas!

P.P.S. Also, she has a blog! Forgot to link to it before. :)

Long(ish)time readers will recognize Erika Heins from the lovely guest post she wrote last year about how much Tolkien's works have meant in her own life. Seriously, go check it out.

Erika runs an Etsy shop selling stationary made with her own gorgeous artwork. Isn't her linework and penmanship spectacular? Just look at this wonderful Hobbit collection she recently created!




And guess what? One lucky reader will receive these cards! Enter below for a chance to win "The Hobbit Assorted Notecards"!!!!!!!!!!!!

This set of images from the first part of Tolkien's masterpiece includes one each of four designs, printed on high-quality 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" notecards. The cards come complete with envelopes and sealed in a plastic sleeve. 

"Bilbo's Doorstep"--This card features the first line from the book, with a picture of Gandalf walking up Bilbo's front walk. 

"Over the Misty Mountains"--This card features one stanza from the dwarves' song, with a vista of the mountains. Bilbo looks on from the corner of the drawing, seated on his pony. 

"Adventures"--Bilbo's quote on adventures is paired with a drawing of Bilbo first looking at the trolls. 

"Go Forward"--Bilbo bravely feels his way through the Misty Mountain tunnel, holding Sting ready.

Have any questions? Contact the shop owner.

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Today's giveaway comes from the amazing shop foxwise. This is jewelry for geeks! Just look at all the geekdoms in her site's sidebar!

The shop is run by Rose, who stamps all the jewelry by hand. Just look at this glorious stuff!

Timey Wimey Wibbly Wobbly Spiral Pendant

"Shiny" Firefly Bracelet

"Aragorn's Speech" Bracelet

Guitar Necklace

Foxwise is giving away the winner's choice of either the Deathly Hallows Ring or the Accio Keychain!


These are totally awesome, and I'm so excited for whoever wins! Enter the giveaway with the Rafflecopter Widget below!

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Today's giveaway comes from Third Wind Studio, a really neat shop full of beautiful handmade glass ornaments and jewelry!

Think handblown icicles:



Third Wind Studio is giving away one beautiful Arkenstone necklace!


"Hobbit inspired pendant "Arkenstone" "Heart of the mountain" Crystal orb, Bronze filigree wire wrap, quartz crystal encased in molten glas"


Also, check out the sale going on for 25% off all Christmas items at Third Wind Studio!


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The package arrived all the way from Canada-- I'll admit that I was a little excited to see French on the package. I think that international packages are so much fun (even though they cost more... I always love mailing my jewelry internationally because then, even thought I can't travel there, something I've made is being enjoyed in another country!).


The packaging was so pretty that I just had to snap some pictures!


Here's my lovely haul! I simply couldn't pick, so I asked for random samples being sure to include at least one of the Elf inspired scents.

The samples came in miniature glass vials, which are cute (who doesn't love small things?) but I do have to be careful to store them upright because I had one leak a couple of drops when I left it on its side for a couple of days accidentally.



It's also a bit difficult to pop off the cap without risking the contents getting shaken out. Of course, it's just samples (there are very nice containers for regular sizes), but I was excited to see Sara post on facebook that she has new bottles for samples.
Elf Princess -- Lavandar and Rose

This one is lovely and a runner-up for favorite scent! It's a girly, floral scent but also a little bit tangy and wild.

And it's inspired by Luthien and Arwen!!!!







Logical Deduction is probably my least favorite, but that doesn't mean I dislike it! It's a unisex scent, but to me it seems very masculine. It definitely has a hint of tobacco lurking in there, which is why I think I don't like it as much even though there is a richer, sophisticated smell above the tobacco. The sense of smell is closely related to memory, I've been told, and the tobacco make me think of the weird texture in the air at my grandparents' house back before Papa stopped smoking.

Elven Prince is another one of my favorites, even though it's supposed to be for guys! It's a fresh and earthly scent, almost like freshly mown grass. Definitely a lot of lemon! (I just love citrus smells).
This one is really hard to describe because I just keep thinking about a really lovely lemon yellow and can't think of words. It just smells yummy yellow, okay peeps???


I seriously can't think of anything but that this reminds me very strongly of my grandma's perfume. It's not the same, but so similar... Very violet-y. I like.

According to the description it is inspired by the Victorian and Edwardian periods.
Lionheart is one that I enjoy but don't wear much because, like Logical Deduction, it's definitely a more masculine scent. It's a lurking smells that I can't explain, a bit like honey or incense.

(The description says spice and sandalwood!)



Elf QueenGUYS! This is an elixir of petrichor!
For those of you who aren't Doctor Who geeks, "petrichor" is the word for "the smell of dust after rain."

This is an almost fierce, earthy smell that literally smells like our neighbor's hayfield on those gloriously gloomy, purple-gray days of contant rain.

It is "powerful yet sweet" with "notes of vanilla cream, honey, jasmine, and patchouli."

I love the quote that is in the description for this listing:

"... and they were grave and beautiful. They were clad wholly in white; and the hair of the Lady was of deep gold ... but no sign of age was upon them, unless it were in the depths of their eyes; for these were keen as lances in the starlight, and yet profound, the wells of deep memory." ~ The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien 

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I thought long and hard about what item to give away this year to kickstart the 12 Days of Christmas giveaway extravaganza, and then I thought... why not let you choose?

The winner could pick something from my range of bracelets, earrings, rings, and necklaces made from guitar and violin strings:

Purple Crystal and Rhinestone Beaded Guitar String Bangle

...or my classy wirewrapped jewelry:

Imladris Filigree Necklace

...or chainmaille jewelry:

Blue Snowflake Flower Star

...or the ever-popular Evenstar Fantasy Jewelry Set, which I can make for the winner in her own choice of colors!


The giveaway is open internationally. The prize will be shipped USPS First Class for free. The giveaway will close January 12th, 2012.

The giveaway is limited to items at or under $30. At the moment, this includes everything in stock in my shop-- but I will be working on bringing my inventory back up after the holidays, so by Jan 12th there may be a few items worth more than $30, which will be excluded from this giveaway.

The winner may choose a custom item which does not exceed $30 as the prize.

If the winner chooses a prize which requires customization, he or she will be put at the bottom of my custom order queue and the prize may take up to 4 weeks to make. Customizations limited to colors that I have in stock (a large selection but not *every* color). 
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image via

Merry Christmas Eve, my dear friends! I hope you are having a lovely time with family and friends! Be sure to pray for those who cannot be with their loved ones this Christmas season.

Speaking of the Christmas season, the proper celebration of Christmas begins tomorrow-- on the 1st Day of Christmas! Once again, just like last year, twelve wonderful artisans have kindly offered to give away some of their beautiful pieces here on my blog! We'll spread some Christmas cheer and show you some wonderful shops to fall in love with!

(Update: I actually only have eleven artisans because one of them is very busy, so if you would like to give away something and have your own small business/blog/website featured on my blog, email me at shealynnsfaerieshoppe@gmail.com)

I can't wait until my cousins come over a couple days after Christmas. There are 30-some of us and it's always a blast! We'll probably have lots of good food and discussions about engineering and education as usual, along with some hairbrained inventions being shown off (like the levitating magnet toy that my little brother designed a couple of months ago).

 What are your favorite Christmas and New Years' traditions?

Bend it at the three inch mark. Make sure that the small loop this creates is actually a loop-- it's not as comfortable to wear ear cuffs in which the wire is pinched together tightly.


This is where the "double loop" comes into play.

First, bend the wire into a 1 inch zig-zag (just as you did with the swirly ear cuff). The next part is a bit tricky if you are working with tough wire like me (hard copper is not recommended to begin with). Take the tail end of the wire on the right-hand side and fold it down and around the right-hand loop. 

Did that make sense? Here's a picture of the finished double loop:


The next few steps are just like the other ear cuffs, so I won't narrate these photos...




Okay, now you get to have fun. How do you want the ends of the wire to look? What beads will you add? What loops and swirls and decorations will you make with the wire? Have at it!


I found that I had a bit of a hard time keeping mental track of the placement of the ear cuff, so I kept putting it on the marker (or my ear) as I designed, in order to make sure the swirls and beads were just perfect.

If you are adding beads, be sure to very, very slightly bend the wire just above and below the beads in order to hold them in place.

I only recently perfected this design, so I don't have any more double-loop ear cuffs to show you. Soon!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Please be sure to leave a comment if you used it!

Also, please note that you may use this tutorial to make your own jewelry to sell, but only if you credit me for showing you how. It does take time for me to make these tutorials! Thanks!