Morsels

Totem Ring

{Sterling Silver, Chalcedony, TeePee Canyon Agate)

Totem Ring

{Ocean Jasper, Prehnite, Sterling Silver}

Winged Dangles

{Sterling Silver}

Stand Firm Ring Stones

{Your Choice, Made to Order}

Early Endings Ring

{Agua Nueva Agate, Citrine, Sterling Silver}

Among others . . .

In the Etsy Shop now.

Happy Friday, friends!

RR

Tonto and a Ticket System

I'm just full of information this evening.

First, the puss has been named.

Tonto.

Tonto, which as an adjective in spanish means "silly man" or "clown."

Here he is sleeping in the studio,

curled up in my mail bag.

{{Go ahead, kiss your computer screen.

I know you want to.}}

* * * * *

And . . . the bigger bit of news.

In thinking about it,

I've decided that I want to do something special

for my customers this month,

as a sort of "thank you" for shopping in my Etsy store.

I know full well how many other talents there are online,

and that there are plenty of other places where you could be choosing to spend your money.

So.

I've devised a sort of raffle for those who make purchases now

through the end of the year-

which makes this a closed contest-

meaning you must make a purchase

to receive entry into the drawing.

Here's how it will work:

I have this huge role of pink tickets.

The tickets come in pairs,

with each half in the pair having

a number that matches its mate.

See?

Every item that is purchased through the end of 2011

will be sent out with a ticket attached.

I'll send the customer the half that says

-KEEP THIS COUPON-

and I'll keep the half that says

TICKET-

upon which I will write the customer's name.

My ticket halves will be kept in one of my zillion Mason jars,

and shuffled up for a random drawing on January 13th.

(Entries will only be accepted for this particular contest through December- but to ensure that all entries have been

awarded a ticket and allowed time to ship to customers,

the winners will not be announced until mid-January.)

It is up to you as a customer to

hold onto your ticket(s) until then,

when I will draw the winning number.

The winner will get a $50 shop credit

and a Stand Firm Mug.

If this goes well, I'd very much like to make

this drawing a regular monthly contest.

It's a sales tactic, of course,

but it's also is an affordable and genuine attempt on my part

to say how much I appreciate your business . . .

which is why these monthly contests

will be open only to that respective month's customers.

Each month,

the prize will be different.

Maybe a shop credit,

maybe a piece of jewelry,

maybe Wilbur.

{You never know.}

We'll see how this goes and plan for a routine contest

that will be renewed on the 1st day of each month

in the new year, and ending at midnight on the last.

Winners of the previous month's contest will be announced around the middle of the month, again, to make sure all customers have

had time to receive their tickets.

This will be the ongoing pattern.

RULES:

Since I'm keeping track of tickets and their corresponding names,

I will know if you claim a false win.

Don't be nasty.

The winner will have 24 hours to contact me and claim their prize-

otherwise, I'll draw again and post a new winner.

There is no limit to the number of tickets you can earn-

tickets will be issued by number of items purchased-

not by the number of transactions.

If you purchase two items in one transaction,

you get two tickets.

There is no price requirement for earning a ticket.

Both a $29 pair of Earrings and a $268 necklace

qualify you for the contest entry.

I think that's all.

I am, however, making this up as I go along,

so I reserve the right to make additions or changes

in order to improve this system.

This starts tonight!

(Incidentally, tickets that were photographed in my Mason jar

were for display purposes only and have already been removed.

The jar is empty and ready for entries.)

The next shop update will be on Friday MORNING.

Yes, morning.

I know . . . you're stunned.

Shoot me a note or leave a comment if you have questions.

I'm excited about this and hope you are too!

Now then-

if you'll excuse me . . .

there is a petite fur face that needs my attention.

Goodnight, friends.

Jess

Winner!

I picked a winner tonight,

with the help of mathgoodies.com

{I miss the days when Raisin would pick the winner.}

And the winner is "Jane"

or

comment number 159!

Congratulations!

Jane, please contact me with your mailing address

so that I can send you your necklace.

If the necklace is not claimed by Wednesday,

I'll post another winner Thursday morning.

Thank you all so much again for entering.

I saw a lot of new names

and always appreciate the loyal long-timers.

I think we need to do these GiveAways more often-

it was a lot of fun for me to read through all your

traditions- I may have to swipe one or two to call my own.

Like some of you,

one of our new traditions

since The Monkey is old enough to understand the concept of Santa,

is the Elf on a Shelf.

Monkey named ours George Marker.

George, after Curious George.

And Marker because, well . . .

I think that's what he was holding in his hand at the time.

George Marker is perched in a vase of peacock feathers

at the moment, keeping an eye on all things little boyish.

By the way,

whoever invented this thing is brilliant.

It's an instant magic-maker for children.

Anyway-

I really want to do something different to wrap up the year.

I'm looking to do a sort of raffle for customers who make

a purchase between tomorrow and the end of December.

I'll map out details for you tomorrow.

Now, off to get supper cleaned up.

Thank you again, everyone.

Smooch,

JJ

Our Christmas Kitten

I'm going to tell you a story because

I find it to be a sweet one.

My friends Jessica and Jebb attempted to take in

a stray cat some months ago-

a female, and shy to say the least.

She would only come around for food but not allow herself

to be touched,

would not venture close or stay long.

She had several litters of kittens,

all of which Jessica and Jebb fed regularly.

All of whom stayed distant albeit nearby,

and who are grown now.

The mother cat slowly warmed up,

gradually drawing closer and

allowing herself to be pet.

She even began coming inside.

They named her Alberta.

One night, Alberta came to the door with a present in her mouth.

Assuming it was a mouse or bird,

Jessica was stunned to find it was a newborn kitten.

Alberta carried it inside and nursed,

stayed an hour or so,

then left again.

She reappeared a bit later with a second kitten in her mouth,

again stayed for awhile, and left.

She brought them four kittens that night.

The five cats stayed with Jess and Jebb for several weeks.

Alberta continued her inside-outside lifestyle,

coming in to warm up and tend to the kittens.

Last week,

Alberta's breathing changed.

A severe uterine infection had developed that, to treat,

would require extensive and expensive surgery.

Even then, there was no guarantee the surgery would work,

the vet said,

or that the infection the only problem.

Jessica called me late Friday night in tears.

They had had to have Alberta put down.

Four playful and healthy kittens remained.

Unbeknownst to me,

Keith had already arranged for us to adopt the spotted gray male.

The furball showed up with a green raffia ribbon around his neck,

in an old wine box that Keith claimed we needed to repurpose.

I found the kitten when I opened the box lid.

Happy 29th birthday to me.

So we have one of the four,

and the other three will stay where they are

until they find good homes.

The whole situation was bittersweet and heart-warming;

knowing that Alberta had brought

her kittens in out of the cold,

and had made sure they were safe and cared for.

As Jessica said,

it just seems as if it were all supposed to happen this way.

One of those minor everyday miracles-

something that could easily be dismissed as coincidence,

but which seems all the more poignant and significant

at this time of year.

Here he is-

on the night he came home.

{{Wilbur, by the way, is ecstatic.}}

He has no name yet-

just as it took me forever to name Wilbur,

I'm waiting for the cat to essentially name himself.

He has some lungs, this one does.

He squalls something fierce when not being cuddled,

played with, or fed.

He's so small that to keep from stepping on him,

I tied a miniature cowbell around his neck.

Between the bell and his vocals,

we were thinking of naming him Bellow-

but I'm not yet convinced.

It's officially a full house, with two dogs and two cats,

But everyone seems to be getting along splendidly.

(Incidentally, if Keith is home, I don't see the kitten.

I think he's more smitten than even I am.)

Christmas came a bit early here.

I hope your holiday is every bit as warm and bright.

RINGRINGRING

Changeover Rings

{Sterling Silver- Peach Moonstone, Citrine, Chalcedony}

Celebrating the turning of seasons...

Laurels Rings

{Sterling Silver- Peruvian Pink Opal, Chrysophrase}

(A new ring and a NEW BIRTHDAY PRESENT!!!)

In the shop very soon.

Off to celebrate my 29th year!

Cake?

Hugs, you.

Rosy

Ring Update Today

It's GIVEAWAY TIME!

Time for a GiveAway!

It's long overdue.

Before going into details,

I just want to thank all of you for being a part of my 2011.

I've opened up quite a bit about my personal life,

my personal struggles outside of business,

my fears.

My thoughts.

I've met some amazing people,

hit a thousand sales

(I never imagined I would)

and learned more than you could possibly know.

I owe you each sincere thanks,

and wish you all the best possible ending to the year.

Merry Christmas,

JJ

* * * * *

TO BE WON:

All That Falls Necklace

(Sterling Silver, Chalcedony}

Adjustable up to 20" in length.

You want to wear it?

Here's what you'll need to do!

1. Leave a comment on this post,

sharing a holiday tradition you hold dear. While Christmas

is preferable, ANY holiday is fine.

(Value: 1 Entry)

2. Put both a link to this post

and a comment on your own blog regarding this GiveAway,

and leave me a comment here so I know you did so.

Don't forget to include a link here to your own blog so I can check it out.

(Value: 1 Entry)

3. Post a Facebook comment regarding this GiveAway,

and leave me a comment here so I know you did so.

(Value: 1 Entry)

4. Tweet about this GiveAway,

and leave me a comment here so I know you did so.

(Value: 1 Entry)

5. Become a fan of Rosy Revolver on Facebook,

and leave a comment for me here so that I know you did so.

(Value: 1 Entry)

6. Become a follower of this blog, and

(you guessed it) leave me a comment here so I know you did so.

(Value: 1 Entry)

7. Become a follower on Twitter.

Tell me via a comment that you did that too.

(Value: 1 Entry)

You have 7 total possible ways to enter this GiveAway.

Enter via one, two, or all of seven!

Please leave a SEPARATE comment below for EACH ENTRY you choose to make.

(Makes it easier on me when totaling entries. . . sorry.)

Entries will be accepted up until midnight EST on

Sunday, December 11th.

The winner will be announced Monday, December 12th

both here and on Facebook.

Shoot me an email if you have questions.

Good luck everyone!!