Naomi's Designs: Win FREE Handmade Wire Wrapped Jewellery!

Before I explain how you'll have the chance to win one of my handmade jewelry pieces, first some exciting non-jewelry news: My new novel F#@! BOMB is coming out on March 30 and is currently available for pre-order on Amazon!

To celebrate its debut, I am hosting an online Facebook party on March 30, 6-8 p.m. ET. Everyone is welcome to log in and join the event!

During the party, I will be chatting with readers, doing an author Q&A -- and will be giving fans the chance to win some prizes, including free copies of my book, Amazon gift certificates ... and some pieces of my jewellery!

So far, the two pieces I will be giving away are a pink wire wrapped abstract triangle pendant and my silver wire wrapped rainbow infinity ring.

The triangle pendant is made from 18 gauge copper wire, which has been plated with pink coating and the infinity ring is made of 18 gauge silver plated wire, which has been adorned with colorful Swarovski crystal bicones. The pendant is a new item, but the rainbow infinity ring is one of my most popular pieces! Though most of my jewelry is designed with women in mind, a man could wear either of these. The wire wrapped pendant would look great on a black cord or silver chain, and the infinity ring works on any finger.

If you read the description of F#@! BOMB on Amazon, you'll see that one of the main characters is gay ... and so yes, these pieces do reflect a theme! For our LOVE NOTES music book anthology party, I gave away wire wrapped music note earrings, so I am trying to choose jewelry that matches the book. The triangle pendant also matches my new book's bright pink cover, so it serves a dual purpose.

Between my writing and jewelry making, I sometimes feel like two different people, so it's always fun when I can bring my two interests together. I hope you'll join me on Facebook. If not, please be sure to check out Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations.

Selling Handmade Jewelry: March Madness

March is always pretty quiet in the retail industry and this year is no exception. I haven't made as many jewelry sales, mainly because Christmas and Valentine's Day are over and we still have some time before Mother's Day. It's still been busy, though! This is the proverbial calm before the storm.

I'm still working on my Morrocan-inspired enamel and wire wrapped bib necklace. We didn't have class this week, but I just got a new shipment of light blue square crystals, which I'm going to hang between the square tiles and the long, skinny pieces. They'l break up the pattern on the enamel pieces and add some extra "zing" to the necklace. This piece is taking me forever to finish, but I'm done with the squares and am about a third of the way through with the skinny blanks. So I'm getting there!

I haven't worked on any other new jewelry designs because I've been putting so much energy into this necklace, but I am gearing up for spring, which is the start of the craft fair season. I didn't do so well with fairs last year and would like to have a more active season. So far, I'm planning to do a charity fair with my friend Christopher, who works for a United Cerebral Palsy school. I'd also like to sell at some fairs in Manhattan. The registration fees are a little higher, but it'll be worth it if I sell more pieces.

Meantime, I'm working on my writing. Yeah, I feel like two different people sometimes, but I love to write and I love making jewelry! I'm finishing up a memoir writing class and signed on for a class on writing children's books. I'm also editing my second novel and plan to send it to some agents. I haven't forgotten about my jewelry book -- I still need to do that, too.

This has been a long, cold, hard winter in NY and I'm glad it's over. Just one more day until spring! Please check out my wire wrapped and enamel jewelry at Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations. And check out my novel REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD, just $1.99 on Amazon.

Making Handmade Jewelry: Split Personality

When my job ended earlier this year, I feared that I'd have nothing to do. I thrive on being a busy person and having multiple projects to work on and worried that I'd go crazy not being in an office.

Know what? I'm busier than ever. Sure, I can sleep in and work in my jammies, but I have so much going on that it's sometimes overwhelming. I often work well into the evening and have to force myself to just stop and watch TV or read a book.

Right now my big projects are my jewelry lines and my book so I feel as if I have two different personalities. For the first half of the day, I'm Writer Naomi. She posts entries on her author blog, does some work for HubPages and spends time e-mailing other bloggers in the hopes of getting her book reviewed. That's a lot to handle in of itself.

The later half of the day I'm Jewelry Naomi. She writes blog posts about her jewellery lines, contacts stores in the hopes of some picking up her jewelry creations and plans for upcoming craft fairs. Again, that's a lot of work!

I don't mind, though. I do have so many goals and ideas that I sometimes feel as if my head is going to explode, but I'd rather be swamped by creative ventures than be bored. Right now, my book is getting more of my time, but I'm sure that my jewelry will become my priority in the future. Either way, it doesn't matter. I'm my own boss. I can work on whatever I want to work on, which is really cool.

In working for myself, I've found that the problem isn't finding things to do. It's me wanting to take on too much at once. I know that I need to stay balanced so that I can put enough time into each of my pursuits. For now, I'm very pleased with where I'm at!

To purchase my jewelry, head to Naomi's Designs. To purchase my children's jewelry, head to MayaGirl Creations. To purchase my book, check out REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD.