Join us for a Birthday Charm Swap!

Do you love making charms?

So do we!

To celebrate our 16th birthday, we are having a charm exchange that you can be part of. You'll be able to make and share charms with artists from around the world and you'll receive a set of beautiful charms in return. As you join the swap, you may want to also join the We Love Ornamentea facebook group to watch as swappers post pics and updates about their projects. We'll also make Celebrity Swapper announcements there first.

The theme for this exchange is Birthdays and Sweet 16 and you are invited to interpret that theme in your charm and your packaging in any way you wish. We have no strong restrictions on colors or materials for this swap, BUT please make your charms smaller than 1.5 inches x 1.5 inches. Any bigger, and this would be a pendant swap!

the details!

• Charms due September 21st, 2015, by 7:00 p.m. Please submit 6 charms, no larger than 1.5x1.5 inches. Please make your charms wearable, meaning they can't be made of something that decomposes or decays (sorry, no teeny, real cupcakes! but sculpted cupcakes would be fab!)
• Please wrap or bag your charms individually with your name and (if you wish) contact information. We recommend including your contact information: it can be fun to see what people do with the charms you make! The wrapping is part of the fun with charms, so feel free to continue your theme to the packaging.
• Please fill out the submission form completely and include it when submitting your charms.The submission form will be available here on the blog, and at the shop, starting on September 1st.
• If you will not be able to attend the Pick-Up Party on Saturday, September 26th at 1:00 pm, please indicate whether you want your charms held for later pick up or mailed to you. the Pick Up Party will coincide with both Keith O'Connor's trunk show AND our Cup-Cake Pot-Luck. 
• ALL AGES are invited to participate! In the past we've had MANY young charm makers and we swap child-made charms with other child-made charms. 

Ornamentea Attn: Charm Swap
509 N. West Street
Raleigh, North Carolina 27603

• Please click here to purchase shipping in order to receive your charms by mail after the swap. Shipped charms will be mailed out on September 28th and 29th via USPS Priority Mail. The shipping fee covers US shipping only; if you are an international swapper, please contact Galen at the shop to discuss how we can best get your charms back to you! 

The submission form is available RIGHT HERE. You can print it out at home, or stop in and we can give you a copy to fill out. 

Still confused? Check out these blog posts about past swaps and exchanges. You will be inspired! 

Birthday Parties at Ornamentea

Our shop hosts LOTS of birthday parties. We always get excited when we see the guests arrive to the decorated classroom. We know that they will have a great time creating hand-made crafts while celebrating a friend's milestone.

One of the things that sets our parties apart is the projects. Unlike some of the big-box craft stores, our jewelry projects are made with designer-quality ingredients. Time and again we hear the moms say 'I can't believe how nice this jewelry is!' after their daughters are finished. We can't help it; we aren't a junky craft supply store! That means you won't have to find a place to display yet another foam-sticker-coated picture frame or tacky glued-together pipe cleaner creation after the party. Since I'm a mom, I understand that once the kiddo MAKES the craft, they will want to KEEP the craft.

We do parties for all ages - from decoupage for the youngest ones to more involved beading or paper crafts for elementary-agers, to 'whoa, that's a blowtorch!' silver smithing parties for teens and adults.

Some party specifics:
we can accommodate up to 12 in our classroom
we only make you pay for the guests who show up!
our party fees include the room use, an instructor, use of all the tools and supplies for each project
we have a lovely parking lot right next to our building - no parking garage hassle!

Want more info? Check out our parties page here. 

Newsletter - Labor of Love

Happy Birthday!

This month, Ornamentea turns 15. We opened in September of 1999 with the very leisurely hours of Wednesday-Friday, 11-7. Yes, that's right, we were only open three days a week. I could roll out of bed, no alarm needed, and still make it into the studio to open the doors. If we needed to do any major moving or shaking, or if we just wanted to switch out the beads, we did it on the days we were closed. That tiny store was a doll-house version of the real O, and it was so much fun to play in. 

All this month I'll be reminiscing about the olden days over on the store blog. If you want to see some fab old photos of the O, or read about some of the many artists, designers and business owners I've been lucky enough to get to know over the years, don't miss it. The posts will start later this week and I'll also add them to facebook and twitter as appropriate. 

Of course, if there is a birthday, there has to be a birthday party. Or how about parties? Our celebrations start today, with the beadfreak deal at the bottom of this newsletter. You can also join us for First Friday, this Friday, for a special Multiple Choice Free Projectand birthday treats. Our fun and games will continue all month, plus you can join us at Pop-Up Sunday on September 28th for cake and celebrating. 

It has been a labor of love-

(This post is the letter from Cynthia's weekly newsletter. If you don't get the newsletter, you can subscribe here. You can also subscribe to the Dispatch, a project- and sale-oriented email. Both are free and, of course, we never sell or share your info!)