Cupcake Charm Leather Bracelet

I understand I have a cupcake problem.

With the success of the She's the First Cupcake Necklaces and how much fun they are to make, I starting fooling around with sketches of simple cupcake bracelet designs. I know that many people already have a favorite necklace that they wear every day, so I thought a cupcake bracelet may be a perfect, logical next step for my cupcake jewelry line to take.

Cupcake Charm Leather Bracelet, $45

The result was this "sweet" handmade cupcake charm bracelet - elegant and simple, I strung a high quality black leather bracelet with a single antiqued silver-plated pewter cupcake bead. The cupcake charm is available in either pink or white frosting (aka, strawberry and vanilla), with"sprinkle" rhinestone colors including red, blue, light blue and green.

Each frosted cupcake charm measures 11x11mm in size, and the black leather bracelet with sterling silver clasp is available in the standard size of 7.5", and larger sizes are definitely available. I just thought that this would make a perfect gift for a little sister, daughter, or best friend!

White Cupcake Leather Charm Bracelet, $45

The high-quality black leather also makes a fantastic base for other large-hole bead charms, available at a fraction of the price - so grab yours today @ the Ash Tree Etsy shop! :)

Wedding Calligraphy: Navy Ink on Cream Envelopes

Calligraphy for Wedding Invitations, $2 per envelope

Featured here are some images from my latest work with a bride who had navy blue as one of her wedding colors. Her invitations were a cute and simple design, with two birds hanging out in a gorgeous deep navy embossed branch.

After the consultation, we decided the blue would look beautiful on her cream envelopes. I did a custom ink mix to match the embossed design, her return address on the envelope, and the invitation text perfectly.

She opted for a thicker nib for the calligraphy pen, so the lettering made more of a statement on the envelope. The bride also requested less of a flourish on her addresses - and with a thicker pen to work with, that was more than easy to accommodate.

Wedding Calligraphy for Invitations, $2 per envelope

Are you looking to have your wedding invitations professionally addressed by a calligrapher? Contact me on how to get started: I've worked with brides all over the country - and if you're local to Boston we can grab some coffee and talk about what you're looking for. Talk to you soon!

Cupcake Necklaces Reach First Goal to Support She's the First!

Cupcake Necklace Sales Have
Raised $300 Towards our goal!

We did it! Thanks to the generous and fabulous supporters of She's the First, I've reached the first tier of my goal to help raise $300 with cupcake necklace sales to reach my goal of donating $1,600 to this great organization.

With She's the First now going to be on NBC's American Giving Awards, I thought this would be a great time to spotlight some of the great work they are doing. STF are currently the running to win $1,000,000 - which comes down to Facebook voting. So if you have a moment, please vote for them to  help to unlock this tremendous donation to send girls to school and share before December 4, 2012.

Back to stunning little cupcake necklace sales: if you look on the She's the First website, $300 is enough for an all-inclusive yearly package for everything a girl needs to go to school in Kopila Valley in Surket, Nepal.

About Kopila Valley School

The girls who go to school here come from poor circumstances. The girls all come from poor or illiterate families, and fall into the “high risk” category of being married off to a man, work as domestic servants, have to work in hotels, or by dry riverbeds to earn a living for their family. These girls are the first of their generation to be educated and literate. Kopila Valley is a co-ed primary school that is a safe place for students to spend the day, receive an education in basic English, Nepali, Math, Science, Health, and Social Studies and have their basic needs met. School runs from Sunday-Friday, with Friday being a half day for extracurricular and fun activities, i.e. racing, sports matches, dance competitions, debate, art, and other activities.

What Does This $300 Do? 

This is enough to provide the following for one girl for a YEAR:

• School uniform: $28 (includes 1 skirt, 1 pair of pants, 2 school shirts, 1 sweater, 1 hat, belt, school tie, a pair of shoes, socks, and warm tights for winter)
• School bag, supplies, and set of the year’s text books: $22
• School lunches: $75  (this includes, rice, fresh vegetables, and lentil soup 5 days a week)
• Tuition: $120 (goes towards everything needed to keep the school functioning and sustaining itself, i.e. staff, teachers, and cook salaries, repairs, and construction, school materials, and classroom needs)
• Medical needs: $55 (i.e. vaccines, vitamins, sanitary napkins, medical emergencies, and dental care for the year)
                                     
Total: $300

Interested in helping to sponsor a girl Kopila Valley, or any other girl around the world? Here's how to help!

Puchase a STF Cupcake Necklace: 75% of proceeds
Go directly to She's the First!

• Give the Gift of Awareness for yourself or a friend: 75% of all specially designed Ash Tree She's the First Cupcake Necklace go directly to She's the First
• Explore the Directory on the STF website to read more about girls who need your help
• Organize your own Bake Sale to sponsor a girls' education in your school with these great tips from STF. 
• Vote for She's the First before Dec. 4th to win the American Giving Awards so they may receive their $1 million grant!