ladderball.

Last week I impulsively splurged on a game of Ladderball at Wal-Mart,
(darn those check out line product placements! suckered me in)
but it's been well worth the $15 :)

Our whole family can play it,
and we all love the competition and the strategy.

I have yet to beat Ryan,
I may have to practice while he's at work this week ;)

*

Does your family have a favorite game to play?

money saving queen.

Five years ago Sarah had a son with life threatening food allergies causing her family to spiral into a financial crisis.

Today, she is an award-winning blogger, radio & television celebrity, speaker and author.

And she has listed her tvp necklace as one of her favorite things in a recent article :)



It's amazing how Sarah,
aka money saving queen,
took something that was an obstacle in her life
and has turned it into a career and a way to help others.

Very inspiring!

honesty.

Yesterday I received this letter in the mail at the store:



It says:

Hi Erin,

My apologies, enclosed find $35.00 for charms. I am embarrassed to have found 2 charms in my 3 year old's pocket today when I was doing laundry.

I looked online and saw that the 2 charms would be $30. This obviously was my fault; I should have been watching her more closely.

I have another lesson to teach her, again my apologies.

Have a Blessed Day

*

I so admire this honesty!

And I have to admit- been there before! I've had to call and pay Wal-Mart over the phone for stuff my kids snuck into their pockets! And then we had to chat about not stealing :)

Have you dealt with something like this with your kids?

absolutely. crazy. busy.

(what we got done yesterday!)

I can't help but look at this picture and feel incredibly blessed,
thank you God for blessing our little business!

It's full blown Mother's Day craze,
which means late nights and long hours,
lots of coffee (or Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper)
and some silly conversations.

We LOVE getting to read the notes on the gift notes,
they are so sweet (especially the inside jokes),
and amazing to think this item we are packaging up
will be opened up as someone's gift,
what an honor!

Thank you to all of our amazing customers
for keeping us busy
and spreading the word about us,
we truly appreciate your support :)

lil vintage angel.

A simple angel-
resembling mommy's little angels,
a guardian angel, watching over us or a loved one,
or a sweet remembrance piece,
to hold close the little one we will always love in our hearts.



The little angel is hand-molded out of fine silver
(each one is totally unique)
and can have up to 3 letters stamped across her skirt.
She is antiqued to a dark rustic finish,
and hung on a sterling chain with a freshwater pearl.

You can find this necklace here.

* * *

Hope you all had a fabulous Easter weekend!

baseball (via instagram)

2-3 nights a week we head to Caleb's baseball games-



pics above:

Caleb pitching- Oh my word this is SO nerve racking!
Ryan giving a pep talk, he's the head coach.
Caleb catching- just as nerve racking as pitcher!
Short stop- finally a position where my blood pressure doesn't rise!
My snack :)
Caleb catching again.
Caleb and Coach Dad chatting on third base.
Pitching.


I'm loving baseball season,
way more than I thought I would!

*

These pics were taken using Instagram, follow me- thevintagepearl.

miss the custom order deadline?

We still have some pretty amazing gifts for Mom!

Click HERE to shop our ready to ship page,
these items will ship within about 3 business days,
and can be ordered until May 2 for Mother's Day shipping!

These are all pre-made in limited quantities,
so they may go out of stock
(don't miss out!)

If you wish to customize, add a circle, heart, square or star initial to any necklace HERE.

Mix them up for a dainty eclectic:



Use code READY for 10% off your ready to ship items,
good through sunday night.

Happy shopping!

a giveaway with fabric bliss!

My sweet friend Jen is hosting a tvp giveaway,
and if one of MY blog readers wins it
then I will throw in an extra $25 gift certificate!
So hurry and go enter,
be sure to bookmark Jen's blog
and follow her on twitter,
she is lots of fun!



Just a little reminder:
Wednesday, April 20th is the last day to order
a custom piece for Mother's Day,
so please get those orders in!

i just knew...

Caleb can vacuum,
Tessa helps with laundry,
Jonah does dishes,
Eden wipes counters...



I just knew that having 4 kids would come in handy someday :)

customer pics.

We received this sweet picture from Krystle on our facebook page:



Her husband bought her the layered circle of love-
the inner layer has her boys' names,
and the outer layer says "my hands are almost as full as my heart",
love it!

*

This custom shutterbug necklace picture
was sent to us by facebook fan Irela:



She takes gorgeous pictures, check out her blog here.

*

We love seeing customer pics like these,
if you would like to share one please post to our facebook page
or email it to us!
(customer service at thevintagepearl dot com)

*

We might be having another customer picture contest very soon,
so start thinking :)

a date with my dad.

Yesterday my Dad took me golfing,
my first time in years.

I'm not a golfer-
(can you tell by my flip flops?)
I had to borrow clubs (thanks Lydia!),
but I had a great time hanging out with my Dad,
and I now have this extreme desire to head to the driving range!

After golf we went to lunch
and the waitress spotted my necklace and asked
if it was from The Vintage Pearl,
(I was wearing this one)
and I said yes,
and then my Dad blurts out "she's the OWNER!"
(embarrassing! and totally something Ryan would do.)

Thanks for a fun afternoon Dad :)

* * *

I was nominated as a top Mom Shop blog
from Circle of Moms,
will you vote for me?

Just click here or
on that button over there at the top right --->
(you can vote daily!)

Thank you!

autistic love.

A sweet token for those whose lives have been impacted by autism.
A portion of these sales will go towards autism awareness.



A hand-sculpted puzzle piece is made from fine silver and slightly hammered. A sterling heart is fused on top.

Customize by adding a name or initial charm from our a la carte page.

Hung on a sterling silver chain with a freshwater pearl.

You can find them on our website here!

April 20th (mark your calendars!)

That is in just 1 week!
Please mark your calendars,
(and mark your hubbie's calendar!)

Pick out the perfect piece for Mom...



...and don't forget to have it gift wrapped
(complete with a pearl).



This is for the US only,
because we can't guarantee International mail times (sorry!)
The USPS can be unpredictable sometimes,
but we DO have International Express mail available,
it usually costs about $40 (depending on the destination).
Please email us if interested.

Happy shopping!

creative estates.

I had a great time at Creative Estates-
although I have to admit-
conferences are tough for me, I'm naturally fairly shy and quiet :)

But I met old friends (like Megan, and Erin,
and new friends (like Kim, Amy and Becca)
(among many others!)
got inspired,
heard fab advice from amazing women,
ate great food (and yummy cupcakes!),
and laughed A LOT.



I spoke on a panel with Ashley (of Lil Boo Blue), Kim (of The TomKat Studio) and Shey (Shey B) about turning a hobby into a business.

Wendy, Jen and Heather (below)
are old eBay friends from the Jaynes group I was in-
I ran into them on the way to registration and they quickly became bff's.
They took a break from blogging and are hopping back in,
they are hilarious, creative and full of talent-
you should definitely follow them on their new journeys,
I think it's going to be a fun ride :)


(wendy, jen, heather and me)

Shey and Tauni did such a great job,
and I'm excited to head back next year!

birdie winner!

Seems like a lot of you love birds as much as I do!

The randomly picked winner of the birdie piece giveaway is Ali, who said: I LOVE all of them but think my favorite (at this second) is the Vintage Lovebirds. Thanks! :)



Congrats Ali! Email us at customerservice at thevintagepearl.com.

* * *

I had a great time in Phoenix at Creative Estates,
pics coming soon!

i heart birds. (a giveaway!) (CLOSED)

I have a thing for birds and nests...
can you tell?



We're giving away your choice of any of our bird pieces!

Just tell me, which one is your favorite?

Blog it and tweet it for extra entries.

Happy friday!

gift wrap.

We now have gift wrap available when you check out-
your piece is carefully placed inside one of our little organza bags,
then the bag goes inside the box,
with a turquoise ribbon, a sweet little pearl,
(we are the vintage PEARL, after all!)
and a gift note.

And since we will ship direct to your recipient,
it doesn't get any easier to send someone a gift!

* * *

I'm in Phoenix for a couple of days for Creative Estates,
I'm really excited to hang out with some blog friends,
meet some new bloggers,
and even some old eBay friends from way back
(when tvp first began)
will be here!

I always get stopped by airport security,
usually for liquids I missed, (once it was mascara)
or maybe I just look like a trouble maker?
But today I had a pair of large scissors in my purse.
Oops.
Security was not amused.

Ryan found a giant bead store here for me to shop (yay!),
so I'm heading there this afternoon,
I hope there's room in my suitcase ;)

sweet stuff to share!

A few of you asked,
and this is what I was making while the kids were building forts,
(see post below)
it's our new sealed with love necklace
and I just absolutely LOVE it...



This sweet little love links bracelet is also new,
it has become one of my favorite pieces to wear:



And I'm so excited,
we now have a cursive font option
for our vintage silver charm necklace!



Which one is your favorite?

studio play.

Yesterday I thought of a new idea for a piece,
(sometimes ideas hit me at the strangest times!)
and I just had to go to the studio and try it.
Ryan and Caleb were out
so I had to take Jonah, Tessa and Eden with me.

While I played with the new design idea,
the kids built forts with our shipping tubs...



It kept them busy and happy for over an hour!

:)

lots of winners!!!

Holy smokes.
I am blown away by the number of comments for this giveaway!
Since there were so many entries we are not only giving away the 5 $100 gift certs but we are also giving away 5 $50 gift certs,
so 10 winners total!!!

(heart on my wrist bracelet, photo by Tonya)

The randomly picked winners for the $100 gift certificates are:

1. Ana Lucia, who said: OMG this is beautiful!! Happy Birthday and thank you for this giveaway! And you have over 1000 entries...I have to keep everything crossed.

2. Stephanie Ann, who said: Happy Happy Happy Birthday!!

3. Pelkey Family, who said: I love your work, I facebooked ya too! Your 6 year old is super thoughtful! I hope you have an amazing day! Thanks!

4. Shannon, who said: Happy Birthday! It's my b-day next week...29 + 7 ;) Enjoy!!!

5. Chanda, who said: Happy Birthday to YOU!! And...Happy day to us with this fun giveaway! Thanks for the chance to win! Blessings on another year! LOVE your things!

(a flower and a circle necklace, photo by Tonya)

and the 5 randomly picked winners of the $50 gift certs are:

1. Mindy, who said: Awesome and Happy Birthday!

2. Katie May, who said: Happy Birthday! I live in Tulsa, but just found out about your site a few weeks ago...oddly enough from a friend whose mother purchased some of your jewelrey at a store in Nevada! This friend wanted me to check out your site because you give money away to missions and other service organizations!

3. Jennifer Bailey Photography, who said: Happy Birthday! You have some wonderful pieces!

4. Jean Marie, who said: and I shared about it on FB!!

5. The Harris Family, who said: Happy birthday! Love the panda cup...so sweet.

(the key to my heart necklace, photo by Tonya)

Congrats everyone!

Please email us at customerservice@thevintagepearl.com to claim your prize.

whew!

This was a busy week!

Time to relax and recharge a bit...



...enjoy a few soccer games,
a baseball game,
with dinner out
and an overnight rendezvous with Ryan-
(my dad's birthday present to me,
thanks Dad!)

Hope you have a great weekend!

(giveaway winners will be announced on monday!)