Review *BLACKBERRY DESIGNS JEWELRY*

When I was younger, I LOVED charm bracelets! You know, the kinds you could get at Claire's with little pink unicorns and colorful rainbows to attach. I never got any though. I would only stare at them longingly, wishing my mom or my dad would get me one. They probably would have if I had said anything about it. 
   Now, I'm older (much older) and I can get myself my own charm bracelets! And other charm jewelry. I love the way you can personalize a piece of jewelry with charms. It just makes it more about you! The way I see it, you pick out the charms and when you do, you are showing the world little pieces of the wonderful person you are! 
   Or you can buy a piece with the charms already attached and listen to the delicate clinking noises they make when you move around! Already made jewelry is available at Blackberry Designs Jewelry on Etsy. 
   One of the things I LOVE about this store is that it is rather eclectic. Owner Dea Shelton of California goes beyond the standard children, family and love charm bracelets and necklaces that pop up everywhere. She has a Wizard of Oz bracelet for the die-hard fan. Or the Harry Potter bracelet. How about a Day of the Dead bracelet? Or Camelot, Jane Austen?
   Shelton started making jewelry in the 1970s and dropped it for a while to pursue other creative interests, such as mixed media art, sculpting and costume design. Her creativity knows no bounds! But, it's a good thing she came back to jewelry in 2002.
   The time she puts into her pieces are well worth it. New designs, she said, can take months as she searches for just the right vintage images to include and the correct charms to add. 
   "I do all my jewelry as 'made to order' so I can custom size and make minor modifications at no additional cost to the customer," said Shelton. 
   If you want some stunning pieces to add to your jewelry collection, check out Blackberry Designs Jewelry at http://www.etsy.com/shop/BlackberryDesigns

Review *MISS ASHLEY JEWELRY*

Personalized jewelry is always an excellent gift for a special woman in your life. Or even for yourself. And when the jewelry is sleek and carries some color with Swarovski crystals -- well, there's a winner. 
   I've been trying to find an awesome Etsy shop that creates my style of personalized jewelry and I found one in Miss Ashley Jewelry, which is in the wonderful southern peach state of Georgia. 
   Owner Ashley Westfall first got bit by the jewelry making bug when she was 9 years old. A lady taught her how to make stretchy plastic beaded bracelets and hemp jewelry. From beads to metals Westfall went, creating the designs that are visible on her Etsy site today!
   "I came up with designs inspired by my husband and they became a huge hit!" said Westfall.
   It was while her husband was deployed in Iraq that the soldering and hand stamping of the metal became a common practice for her.
   "With each sale I made, I bought more supplies to do what I do today," she said. 
   As a self-proclaimed perfectionist, Westfall said each piece of jewelry can take, on average, 45 minutes to make. "I am always taking my time to critique my work before it's boxed up."
   In addition to personalized jewelry pieces, she also take custom orders. So, if you have something in mind, contact her on Etsy. "It may take me a little bit to imagine the design in my head, but I have so many of my designs from my customers!"
   Her favorite piece that she has created is a puzzle piece necklace set she made for her brothers and sisters. "I wanted to make a necklace set for my brothers and sisters to help keep us together," according to Westfall. "We all have never been together in one place at the same time, but this necklace set is very near and dear to our hearts."
   Check out Miss Ashley Jewelry on Etsy at http://www.etsy.com/shop/MissAshleyJewelry?ref=pr_shop_more

Something Special for Mom Giveaway Hop: *NECKLACE, BRACELET AND PLANTER*

The month of May is a special time to celebrate Mothers.

Whether you are a mom yourself or you're doing something special for your own mom, the Something Special for Mom Giveaway Event is for YOU! A great group of bloggers have come together to show you special items you might like to receive or give as gifts this month. You'll be able to enter to win these great products from May 10th-26th thanks to the Blogging Mamas Network! Be sure to hop around to all of the participating bloggers, in the linky below this giveaway, as they have some great prizes to share with you! Make sure you also enter the Grand Prize - a $250 Gift Card to Mía Mariú! One lucky Mama is going to look so pretty with all that eco-friendly makeup!
   Here at Ethereal Influence, I have three prizes to give to one lucky reader! The first is a personalized Hand Stamped Double Heart Necklace with Swarovski Stones from Miss Ashley Jewelry worth $25.
   


The second is a personalized Children's Names Jewelry Mother's Bracelet from Blackberry Designs Jewelry worth $48.
   




The third is a Succulent Planter Box from Andrew's Reclaimed worth $31.
   That's $104 worth of prizes to make that special woman in your life feel like a queen! That woman can be your mom, your grandma or even YOU! Decorate your home or your yard with the planter while you decorate your neck and wrist!
   After you enter in the Rafflecopter form below, be sure to hop to all of the other blogs and enter theirs! Good luck!
   The winner will be chosen via Random.org and contacted via email. According to Jenny, So Easy Being Green, the Blogging Mamas Network, and the Something Special for Mom participating bloggers are not responsible for sponsors who do not fulfill prize obligations.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway *DOCKING STATION AND NURSERY PRINT*

Welcome to the Mother's Day Gift Ideas blog hop! More than 140 bloggers have found wonderful gifts for Mom (or you!) all valued at $25 or more!  
Everyone loves their mom and always wants to find the best gift to make her feel loved and appreciated. These are the gifts I have found and would love to share with you. After you enter my giveaway head over to Makobi Scribe to see her mothers day gift ideas worth over $3000. Then enter the grand prize drawing of a $1000 worth of Karina Dresses.

The gifts here at Ethereal Influence include a print from Yassi's Place and a gift certificate from Undulating Contours

   If you want to help organize all those cords for various iPods, iPhones and others around your house, Undulating Contours is the shop to check out. With the $36 gift certificate, you can get a sleek docking station. Trust me. Tangled cords will not be a problem! Owner Chris also makes wooden iPhone docks. These will look wonderful on your mom's or your own desk. 

Yassi's Place is offering a print that would be a wonderful gift for mom-to-be or a new mom -- her $24 Dr. Seuss Quote print. How adorable is that! And I have always loved that quote! It just tells of new adventures that a mother's baby will embark on as they grow. 
   After you enter to win here, make sure you hop to all of the other blogs and check out what they have! Enjoy!
   A winner will be chosen by Random.org and contacted via email. Ethereal Influence is not responsible for prize fulfillment. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Makobi Scribe Reviews, LLC or the Mother’s Day Gift Event Bloggers are not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes.

Review *YASSI'S PLACE*

I find the task of decorating my home somewhat daunting. I know what I like, but everything I like does not always fit together in the same room. So, then I have to deal with where I'm going to place this item or that item. And what not. After that, I get tired of my decor and I start shopping for again.

   The stores here in Tulsa offer some wonderful items. They are truly marvelous, but most of them are waaaaayyyy out of my price range. That is where Yassi's Place on Etsy comes in and helps me put some fun prints on my walls for reasonable prices. And since I am expecting a fourth member to my family (in September!), Yassi's is perfect. There is a LOT of cute, colorful prints for nurserys and just about any child's room. 
   Owner Yassena has been creating home decor for as long as she can remember. 

   "There is not a craft that intrigued me that I have not tried," she said. "I like to learn new things every day."
   And that dedication and energy flows into the work. Her inspiration is drawn from everyday experiences, as well as the imagination. Since she has a love for color, she loves experimenting with it. The end results -- stunning!
   The most popular piece she sells in her Etsy store is the "You Are My Sunshine" print in yellow and gray with birds. I can easily see this gracing the walls of my patio (when I get a patio). In the meantime, it could easily fit on a wall in my hallway -- give it a little color. 
   If you are looking for some great, colorful prints for your walls or your children's walls, check out this store!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/YassisPlace?ref=pr_shop_more

Review *UNDULATING CONTOURS*

Not only can you find fashionable items on Etsy for your own personal look, your house and your yard, but also for practical uses.  And sometimes those uses show up in unique ways. Such as the Etsy shop Undulating Contours, owned by Chris Fandz.
   Fandz had a problem looking for a simple charging station that would accommodate his family's needs. Unfortunately, most of the stations Fandz found were not simple to set up. So, the obvious solution? Invent your own! 

   Now, many households in America have a problem with charging cords getting all haywire in the house -- tangled with one another, in various locations and just looking a little cluttered. The charging stations, called U-DOCKs, take care of that problem in a fashionable way. And people have taken notice!
   Undulating Contours has not only been a hit on Etsy, but outside of the crafty online community, as well. The products have been featured on other outside websites such as the Huffington Post and philly.com. Not bad for a product that came on the market in January of this year. 

   And Fandz keeps on designing new items for people to use.
   "I get so much joy from exploring creative possibilities through design," said Fandz. "Right now, I'm working on a set of audiophile quality desktop speakers and I believe I'm approaching it from an angle few others have. I can't say much about them yet, but I've set a high standard for their design. They must earn the right to be on my desktop by enhancing my desktop's overall functionality."
   I highly recommend checking out Undulating Contours on Etsy -- http://www.etsy.com/shop/undulatingcontours?ref=pr_shop_more
   The prices are very reasonable and you will get something that will help get some organization into your living space while looking sleek. 

I'm back

Readers,
Well, I know it has been a while. It's been a hectic few weeks and during that time, I have thought about Ethereal Influence and changes that need to be made to it. To be honest, I was getting rather frustrated. My recipes and my book reviews were just not getting any reaction and few readers. So, I have decided to stop posting those every week. 
   My Top 10 Thursday is still drawing, so I will continue that, as well as a monthly giveaway (I have plans to do more than one per month, but that will be a while yet). 
   If you have any ideas as to other posts I could write, please let me know.