Saturday, June 27, 2009

Free Sterling Silver Earrings Studs with purchase

Hi there,

I'm offering a new promotion and I'm very excited about it. :)

From now until July 15th, 2009 I am offering a FREE pair of Sterling Silver Earrings with every purchase of $30 or more from my Etsy Store. The earrings are the shape of a swirl and are hand hammered for that extra bit of shine. This is a new design I've just come up with, so I'm very excited. They remind me of the sun, perfect for summer!







These are valued at $15 retail but you can get them FREE just by spending $30 or more in my shop. You can also purchase them separately without purchasing anything here!

After the promo they will still be available for purchase! And look out for the same earrings in 14 Karat Gold coming soon!

update: October 2014, these earrings are now available in gold filled and solid 14k gold

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Easy Silver and Gold Jewelry Care Tips

Caring for your Aziza Jewelry

It's essential to take proper care of your jewelry if you want it to last so I've come up with a new Jewelry Care Instruction Pamphlet and it will now be available with every purchase from my Etsy store. If you've purchased something previously from me, please let me know that you'd like one and I'll gladly email one to you. You can email me at: aziza@azizajewelry.com.

For my blog readers, I've outlined some tips below. This guide is especially for Aziza Jewelry so please keep in mind this method of jewelry care may not work for all other kinds of glass jewelry.

Maintaining clean shiny Aziza Jewelry: It's important to keep the following in mind when wearing and storing your jewelry.

Wearing: Never wear your jewelry in the shower or in the pool. Wearing your jewelry in the shower leaves it susceptible to soap scum residue building on your glass, gemstones, pearls and possibly your silver or gold tarnishing and dulling quicker. Wearing it in the pool or hot tub leaves it susceptible to chemicals and heat which may dis-color your jewelry. Exposing your jewelry to these and other chemicals such as chlorine also leads to quicker wear and tear of your jewelry, making it more brittle and stripping any luster or coating that may have been added as a protectant to your jewelry. Also be mindful not to wear your jewelry while working out, or doing any hard labor as sweating may add unnecessary body oils to your jewelry. Remember to apply all perfumes and lotions before putting your jewelry on.

Storing It: My Aziza Jewelry comes with a plastic ziploc style bag and a small pouch or box. When not in use, store your clean, dry jewelry in the plastic bag and put the plastic bag inside of your pouch or box. This will protect the jewelry from dirt, dust and keep the silver or gold from tarnishing due to being exposed to the outside air. Remember to wipe your jewelry dry after wearing it and before storing it in your plastic bag.

To care for the glass: If your pendant has accrued oil or dust, as it may, over time, simply get a soft cotton cloth, cotton ball or even a Q-Tip for smaller beads (like earrings), and apply some alcohol. Lightly wipe the surface of the glass with the damp cotton cloth until the residue is removed. For smaller jewelry, small dips and crevices, I would recommend using a Q-Tip.

To care for the silver: If your silver has tarnished or oxidized over time, as it may from regular wear and body oil, especially if it is a bracelet where both glass or gemstones and silver are combined, use a soft cloth designed especially for polishing silver. I am now offering these 4 layer cloths in my etsy store HERE.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/75274729/polishing-cloth-for-your-sterling-silver



For polishing the silver only, using the white layer of this polishing cloth, gently rub the silver until the tarnish is removed. You should begin to instantly see tarnish removal, restoring the piece back to its original shine. Remember, you specifically want to use the white sheets on the inside of this cloth.


Caring for your gold jewelry: First make sure that you only polish real solid gold! Gold vermeil, Gold Filled and Gold Plated Jewelry CANNOT be polished using this cloth or any cloth! Why? Because the gold coating will just be removed while polishing.
I offer a select amount of jewelry in my shop with solid 14 karat gold chains and findings and a few bracelets and its just as important to be able to care for those in addition to your silver! First, please keep in mind that gold is harder to polish than silver which is much softer. For this reason, it is important to care for your gold just as much as you would for your silver jewelry. You can also use the polishing cloth to remove any tarnish or oil residue but you want to only use the blue sheets for gold.
Gently polish any oil or residue away using only the blue sides of the cloth. The white sides may be too harsh for your gold jewelry. For any tiny, hard to reach places, simply use a dry Q-Tip and wipe softly.
Remember, the best way to keep your jewelry for a long long time, is to keep it clean and stored when not in use. For Proper Jewelry Storage Tips, please check out this post!

Happy Jewelry Care!
xo
Aziza

Monday, June 22, 2009

Winner of the Aziza Jewelry Giveaway is Announced!

And the Winner of the first Aziza Jewelry Giveaway is:




Drumroll please!!!




Get Ready for it!




Here it comes!




Isn't the suspense just awful!




Ok ok, here it is:




FiveStarProdj! Congrats! He entered via Twitter.

And to everyone else who entered the giveaway I am offering 15% off anything in my Etsy shop until June 30, 2009. Thanks so much for playing! This was so much fun for me that I'm having another giveaway soon! And I'll definitely be switching the format up a bit...So stay tuned!

You can check out Aziza Jewelry on Twitter at: @azizajewelry

Monday, June 15, 2009

First Aziza Jewelry Giveaway!!

Hi there! Thanks for being here!

To celebrate my new blog I’m hosting a FREE Jewelry Giveaway! Yep, you read correctly, its FREE! I’ve decided to give away to one lucky reader this beautiful pair of Copper Green Leaf Lampwork Glass Bead Earrings. I'm very excited!!




These are made from Murano copper green glass and sterling silver wire and measure 1 5/8 inches long. The copper green is such a wonderful color because if it catches the flame of my torch just at the right point, it produces a hint of a silvery metallic color. These have lots of silvery glints and veiny green flints as well.

These are a really nice pair of earrings! Now on to how to win them…

Two ways to win:

Via Twitter:
If you have a twitter account please follow me on twitter via @azizajewelry and then retweet the below to let others know about the giveaway:
“Follow me then Retweet this post for an entry to my FREE Jewelry Giveaway! Details: http://www.azizajewelry.blogspot.com/
(mention @azizajewelry in your retweet so I can trace your entry ofcourse ;)

Or Via this Blog:
Just sign up to follow my blog using Google Friend Connect right here on this page!

That’s it! Just do one of the above and I will choose one very random* lucky winner within 1 week. This contest ends June 21st at midnight and the winner will be announced June 22 here. *very random means I’ll probably be picking names completely blindly (like out of a hat) so everyone is eligible!

These earrings will be absolutely free to whoever wins this contest. There will only be 1 winner however please visit my blog often as I’m sure I’ll be hosting another giveaway in the near future! Good Luck to all!

Oh! and feel free to become a Fan on my Facebook Page

E-mail me or comment below if there are any questions! Have Fun and thanks for playing!

update: the winner was Fivestarprodj, who entered via twitter.

Friday, June 5, 2009

New Blog!

Welcome to my First Blog Entry here at my new blog Aziza Jewelry!

So what is Aziza Jewelry? Aziza Jewelry is a jewelry line created by me, Aziza Browne. My parents must have known I would be a jewelry designer, after all they named me Aziza which means 'Precious' in Swahili, lucky me huh? Precious jewelry...Aziza Jewelry...perfect fit!

My jewelry line involves mostly glass bead creations and most of my pieces are sort of built around these beads. I make all of my glass beads by hand using a process called lampworking or flameworking. I make some of my beads hollow, by using glass blowing techniques as well. Some of my pendants and earrings are also fused.




I incorporate swarovski crystals, pearls, silver, gold and many other components to achieve the desired result I have in mind. I also incorporate techniques like wire wrapping, hammering and soldering to create finished pieces. I even make some of my beads from Precious Metal Clay. You can find out more about PMC here.

So How Did It All Start?

I first dabbled with jewelry making when I was about 9 years old but I have always been creating things...well, as long as I can remember. I started out making beads from polymer clay and soon moved on to making other things from clay like refrigerator magnets. You can view some of my older creations here. Then, in college I studied ceramics, after all, it seemed more 'career' practical than making beads from clay. Practical, if there is such a thing!




I loved it! And best of all, it opened up the desire for me to study glass. After all, glass and ceramics are very much intertwined (I learned this in my chemistry of ceramics class). It wasn't until 2002, about a year after I graduated from college, that I took a class in glass beadmaking and rediscovered my love of beadmaking and jewelry making again.


My work is mostly centered around the glass beads that I make but I love adding in fun stuff like swarovski crystals and sterling silver bali beads...


and freshwater pearls and jingle bells...




and some of my jewelry is made from just semi precious gem stones and swarovski crystals...






Ok But What is the Aziza Jewelry Concept?


My jewelry line has several different themes including: bridal, young at heart, beach and classy chic. Most of it is just so much fun for me to make...infact I have so much fun, it hardly feels like work at all. Some have described my work as funky or whimsical. My inspiration for new work comes from many sources... from nature, everyday people and by doing everyday activities, like going grocery shopping...

having a glass of wine over dinner...



or just cooking breakfast...





Want to see more of my work? Check out My Etsy Shop!
Thanks for reading all about my jewelry line and how I got started.

Comments? Questions? Please feel free...