New blog, new site

Hello friends,

I know it's been a while here. I've recently launched a new website (still under construction), and with is, a new studio blog. Please visit The Constant Crafter, or ilanaleah.com.

To celebrate, I'm running a contest for a chance to win a $25 store credit to Duchessa! Details are on the new blog, or on Duchessa's Facebook page.

This blog will eventually be deleted, and relevant material moved to the new one.

Hope to see you over there!

Custom Boleyn style letter necklaces price list

As of April 6, 2011.

Standard Custom Anne Boleyn style necklace- $36
Genuine freshwater pearls strung on sturdy beading wire. Customer specifies letter, gold or silver tone, white or offwhite pearls, necklace length, and method of closure desired.

Double strand Anne Boleyn necklace- $46
Two strands of genuine freshwater pearls strug on sturdy beading wire. Shorter strand is length specified by customer, with an appropriately longer second strand. Can be done in any letter.

Single strand Anne Boleyn necklace, individually knotted- $48
Identical to the standard, except that pearls are hand strung on silk cord and individually knotted for jeweler's quality strength and durability.

Deluxe Anne Boleyn necklace- $76
Two strands of individually knotted pearls plus a length of gold plated chain, with customer's choice of letter. Finished with a gold plated triple strand clasp. My closest recreation of Anne's necklace in her famous portrait.

Custom Boleyn style pearl enhancer pendant- $18
Customer's choice of letter pendant on a special pearl enhancer bail which allows you to "click" it on and off of whatever necklace you choose.

Simple White pearl necklace- $24
Excellent as the base necklace for the pearl enhancer, and lovely on its own as a simple, classic strand. Strung on silk cord and individually knotted, with a gold plated clasp.

Boleyn letter style bookmark- $10
Gold tone 5" shepherd's hook bookmark with a miniature letter pendant, accented with pearls, pearl drops and/or crystals. Can be custom made with any letter.

Also available-
Ribbon ties can be added in place of a toggle or lobster claw at no additional charge.
Coordinating pearl drop earrings on gold or silver plated fish hook earwires- $3 with purchase of necklace

I'm happy to customize anything to your liking. As long as it is possible, I'll do it. Visit my shop for other items, from medieval interest to modern style!

www.duchessa.etsy.com
duchessashop@yahoo.com

Price change for Boleyn style necklaces

I have tried very hard to keep prices at the same level they have always been, and have been absorbing extra costs for a while. So imagine my irritation when I discovered one of my most used supplies has nearly tripled in price. So unfortunately, after much thought (and postal increases, and the cost of most of my other supplies having gone up), I've decided that a price change is an order. Not a lot, but enough to cover the various expenses that have come up in the past few years.

Changes apply only to Boleyn style necklaces for the moment, bookmarks and enhancer pendants remain the same.

Visit Duchessa on Facebook for an updated list, which will be published here shortly.

Busy, busy!

It's that time of year. Busy, busy, busy.

Tonight I sculpted 3 pendants, completed 6 orders (including a deluxe and a single strand knotted), fired up the torch for some lampworking, and I think I'm off to sew.

I'm not complaining. It's nice to have the time to do it all.

Am I the only one super excited that Prince William got engaged? I don't usually follow celebrity gossip, but...they're royalty. Sure, it's not my usual preferred time period, but I just find the monarchy fascinating. I anxiously await more details of the wedding (as I plan my own!)

Find Duchessa on Facebook!

So I caved and created a Facebook fan page for Duchessa.

The page will allow me to share information on upcoming products, contests and more!

EnhanceYourself and Duchessa contest

The masterminds behind EnhanceYourself and Duchessa have teamed up to offer our loyal readers/watchers/customers a chance to win their very own custom Boleyn style necklace.

Head over to EnhanceYourself and watch the video for full details.

The contest will run from now through November 19, with the winner announced on November 20. To enter, you must follow EnhanceYourself (hearting Duchessa on Etsy couldn't hurt either!), and post either a comment or your own video on the EnhanceYourself page discussing what Anne means to you.

The winner will be contacted by me at the close of the contest so I can get her/his specs- letter, gold or silver tone, white or offwhite pearls, necklace length, and closure preference- individually knotted on silk cord.

One runner up will be chosen to receive a letter B pearl enhancer, which can be worn on almost any necklace.

Good luck!

My first video review

Been super busy lately, but I wanted to share this.

Kirsty of Enhance Yourself was kind enough to do a video review of one of my custom Boleyn necklaces. I sent her a goldtone B with the individually knotted pearls, but she discusses different versions as well. She even goes into some history on Anne, which I thought was wonderful!

Enhance Yourself

On a seperate, but related note, I have awesome customers and I'm so glad to be able to work with such great people!