Zen Creations Jewelry needs your help!

Zen Creations Jewelry is currently a one woman show, with occasional help from my husband and daughter. I spend as much time as possible learning techniques, developing and creating my jewelry. I am working on a new soutache line, as well as continuing to develop my mixed metals/steampunk line. This requires a lot of time, tools and materials. I need your help to develop and promote my work. I have set up a fundraiser @ gofundme.com The funds donated will go towards purchasing the necessary tools, packaging, advertising and materials needed to grow and promote our brand. As a thank you for backing my campaign, I will be offering special rewards. Updates and sneak peeks of new pieces will also be posted as I go along.

To view more of my work, please visit my Etsy shop . If you like what you see, please consider telling your friends about Zen Creations. You can also follow Zen Creations on Facebook , Instagram , Pinterest and Twitter . Your shares, tweets, retweets, and comments really help! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I will answer you as quickly as I can. As always, thank you very much for your support!

Vote for Zoe!

Vote for my daughter Zoe (the Z.E.N. in Zen Creations)!

Getting Back on Track

    Wow! It has been almost a year since I last posted. Creatively, I was burned out and needed some time to take a break and let inspiration come to me.  Personally, I needed time to learn how to approach jewelry making while dealing with yet another chronic illness - fibromyalgia.  
   I cut back on shows this past year to allow me time to figure out an approach to production that cases the least amount of pain, and to spend more time with my family and it worked!  If you follow me on Facebook or my shops, I'm sure you have seen some of the new pieces I've made the last two months.  If not, here is just a taste:

This Saturday I will be set up in my usual spot for Mercersburg Townfest with many more new steampunk, crystal and gemstone jewelry!  Keep an eye on my shops for new listings!  

Giving Back To Mother Earth Festival - This Saturday!

This Saturday we will be set up at the Giving Back to Mother Earth Festival, in Greencastle, PA.  Here is some info about the event and band listings.  Looks like it will be a beautiful day, hope to see you there!

Open House - This Saturday!

This Saturday, Zen Creations Jewelry will be participating in the 9th Gate Film & FX Studio Open House in Chambersburg, PA.  Zen Creations Jewelry provides 9th Gate with custom jewelry for their various projects and we are very happy to be included in this event!

Here's 9th Gate's official press release about the Open House:
Ever wonder what takes place behind the scenes of a movie set, film production company, or special FX studio? If your answer is yes, then please join us on Saturday April 6th, 2013 for 9th Gate Film Production Company & FX Studio's open house. We have a lot of things planned for you, such as: A meet and greet session with the cast and crew of 9th Gate's films Zombie Girl Diary, The Black Woods Footage, and Blood Stream. We will put on acting and FX demos that will give you a taste of the full length classes that we will be offering on a regular basis. We will have door prizes and face painting for the kids (Yes! We are a family friendly production company!). We will have the trailers for Zombie Girl Diary and The Black Woods Footage for your viewing pleasure and MUCH, MUCH more. Refreshments will be served, so please join us for some food, fun and networking! This is a free event but some actors may charge for autographs. Hope to see you there! 


Schedule for Open House 04/06/2013
10am: Start of Open House
10:30am-11am: Actor Work Shop
11:30am-12pm: FX Work Shop
1pm-3pm: Meet & Greet
3:30pm-4pm: 2nd Actor Work Shop
4:30pm-5pm: 2nd FX Work Shop
5pm-6pm: Photos with Zombie Girl Diary lead actress

Actors from The Black Woods Footage that will be there for a meet and greet include:

Hillary Styer, Gus Zucco, Frederick Cowie, Lance Nowell, Andrea Marie, Tara Ferrero, Cameron Tyler and Cindy Ching.  There will also be an opportunity to meet Zombie Girl Dairy's Vanessa Rae Bent and Mikayla Wagaman.

There will also be special appearances by:

- Jim Krut, actor from Dawn of the Dead and 9th Gate's own film Zombie Girl Diary. Jim will be selling signed autographs at a discount of $15.00 per autograph and will also be available for taking pictures with guests for FREE!

- Ernest M. Garcia, actor From Dusk Till Dawn, will be bringing his guitar and performing his music.  

The Open House will be taking place this Saturday, April 6th, from 10 am to 6pm; 439 Ramsey Ave, Sec E, Chambersburg, PA.

SALE!!!

Our big sale starts tomorrow! The last of the items has been listed and everything is set. Here is the information:

March Sale:
Starts: Friday, March 22nd
Ends: Midnight, Sunday, March 24th

To get 15% off all regular priced items, enter this coupon code - ZENMARCH2013 during checkout. Please make sure that your discount has been applied before finishing checkout.

I would also like to welcome Breakfast With Tiffany viewers! Thank you for watching the show, and thank you for your interest in my jewelry.

SALE - This Weekend!!!

Starting this Friday, all regular priced items in both shops will be on sale. Throughout the week, I will be listing new items in preparation of the sale.  Keep an eye out on both shops, and if you would like me to reserve an item, please contact me though the appropriate shop.

MARCH SALE

Starts: Friday, March 22nd

Ends - 10pm EST on Sunday, March 24th

All regular priced items will be on sale, prices will be marked down to reflect the sale price. Coupon codes cannot be used during the sale, and clearance items will not be marked down.

Zen Creations Jewelry Arfire Shop         Zen Creations Jewelry Etsy Shop

...And Just Like That, They Were Gone!

Yesterday I was struck with an idea for gear bangle bracelets, and quickly grabbed what I needed and headed to my work bench. I wanted to create bangles that had some of the steampunk elements, but were more delicate.  A little while later,  I emerged with these: 

 Wear them individually, loose, or.....

........together as one wide bracelet.

So, where can you find these new bracelets? Well, you'll have to wait at least until this weekend before I can list any in my shops. The first set sold withing hours of making them and posting pictures on facebook and instagram.  When they are listed, they will sell for $16 each or $45 for a set of 3.  The bracelets are brass, copper, antique silver, and gold-copper-sterling silver plated pewter.

In the meantime, 3 new Unisex Steampunk Cuffs have been listed in the shops, and more hair clips should be finished and listed very soon. :)

Gears, Clocks and Gemstones

Inspiration has hit and I've been very busy working on new pieces. Here are two mixed metal/gemstone pieces I finished recently:

Brass, ink, sterling silver, aragonite and blue sky quartz

 

 

Sterling silver, antique silver, labradorite and onyx

 

Here are a few of the gear/steampunk pieces I recently finished. I've been working on adding more layers, and tried a few hair clips to see how well they go over.

Cuff - Antique silver, copper, brass, sterling silver

Hair clip - Antique silver, brass copper

Hair clip - antique silver, brass and copper

Cuff - antique silver, brass, copper, sterling silver

 

New Items - Inks and Steampunk

I had a very productive weekend last weekend, and made several new pieces, both with inks and gears.  The new pieces will be listed in both shops this weekend and early this week, so keep and eye out for them.  Here are some pics of the new pieces:

Giving Back To Mother Earth Festival - New Event!

I am very pleased to announce that Zen Creations Jewelry will be vending at the 1st Annual Giving Back To Mother Earth Festival on April 27th. The festival will be held at Jerome King Playground in Greencastle, PA.

logo by Write Pain Breathe

The festival will feature many great artists, musicians and craftsmen.  Be sure to check out the Festival on facebook for more info and vendor updates!

The Black Woods Footage, Steampunk and Shop Updates

I'm very excited to announce that 9th Gate Film Productions has released the trailer for The Black Woods Footage.  The film is about ---  "A group of high school friends that get back together to go on a camping/hiking trip, they stumble upon a few strange things.  Soon they get the feeling that they are not alone in the dark woods of the Appalachian Mountains.  This is the footage that was found." ---   The film stars: Andrea Marie, Daniel Mascarello, Matt Flenner, Cindy Ching and Tara Ferrero.  The movie also features Lance Nowell, Hillary Styer, Gus Zucco, Frederick Cowie, Dylan Hintz, and Cameron Tyler.   You can view the trailer by visiting The Black Woods Footage facebook page.

  The movie also features music by Wings that Buzz and LoveHateThing.  Here's a little taste of both bands. Enjoy!





Also, take a minute and check out the recent steampunk photoshoot  that Andrea Marie did with  Maze Photography. If look closely, you'll see she's wearing some Zen Creations Jewelry! You can view the photoshoot pics here. Thanks again Andrea!!

Coming this month at Zen Creations:
     - look for big shop updates, our February Sale, and spring craft shows!   A few items were added to both shops on Sunday, with more to be added this afternoon and weekend.  Our first craft show of the year will be on March 2nd at Green Grove Gardens in Greencastle, PA.  I will post more events as dates are confirmed.

Steampunk, Inks & New Listings!

Yesterday I listed pieces from the Steampunk collection that I have been working on for the past two months.  The majority of the collection was added to my artfire shop, with some pieces in the etsy shop as well.  A few new inked pieces were added as well.  Check them out and grab them while you can!

Unisex Wide Gear Cuff 

Follow me:
Twitter - @zencreations04
Instagram - zencreations04

Sandy, Flooding and Zombie Girl Diary

Well, Sandy has come and gone, and while our house has sustained some damage, we're not off as bad as most.  My main work space was flooded and we were without power for about 2 days, so production of new pieces has been halted until the mess can be cleaned up.  I'm hoping to get back to work by the end of this weekend, and start getting new pieces in the shops by the end of next week.  Here are some pics of the newest cuffs that I made before the storm:

The official trailer for Zombie Girl Diary was released online on Halloween.  I am very happy that my husband appears in both of his zombie forms in the trailer :)   Here it is for you to enjoy:

New Cuff Bracelets & Townfest

Just finished 2 new steampunk cuffs and had to share right away. I am very pleased with how they turned out and already I have ideas for more. 

Tomorrow is Mercersburg Townfest. We will be set up in our usual spot on West Seminary St., near the square, from 9am to 4pm. If you are in the area, stop by and say Hi.

Fall Events, shop updates and more Zombie Girl Diary news!

Fall Events:

September 29th is Townfest in Mercersburg, PA.

October 27th & 28th is The Great Outdoor Festival at Whitetail Ski Resort, Mercersburg, PA.  

*Set up locations and times for both events will be posted on the Zen Creations Jewelry facebook page, closer to the events.  

I am also very pleased to announce that our skull earrings will be available for purchase at the Zombie Girl Diary table at the Eerie Horror Film Festival!  If you are a fan of horror films and are in the area, please come out on October 11th - 14th and meet the director of Zombie Girl Diary - Mike Pine, as well as some of the cast: Mikayla Wagaman, Vanessa Rae Bent, Hillary Styer, Tim Cassidy, Lance Nowell (my husband!) and Frederick Cowie. 

Keep you eye out for new listings in both shops! Some of the new gear pieces, as well as some new inked and gem pieces will be listed in both shops tonight.  Sorry for the delay in shop updates, we are still operating without a computer and maintaining the shops via cell phone. 

Zombies & Skulls

      A few months ago, I had posted the trailer and info on an independent movie that is shooting in my area, called Zombie Girl Diary.  Over the weekend, we had the opportunity to stop by the director's shop - Creepy Cadavers Prop Shop in Chambersburg, PA., and get a look at some of the amazing props, molds and other monster making goodies he has there.  Mike was very nice to take the time to not only show us around, but to answer our questions, and even show us the deer he made for the movie Lovely Molly.
    Directed by Mike Pine, the movie is about "a mother and daughter fighting to survive throughout a zombie apocalypse.  Along they way they encounter other survivors and come together to make their way through the crazy world, now turned upside down."  The movie stars Vanessa Rae Bent, Mikayla Wagaman, Tim Cassidy, Hillary Styer, Mike Pine, Jimmyo Burril, and Jim Krut. Behind the scenes photos have been posted on on Zombie Girl Diary's facebook page.  Here is my favorite pic, an amazing shot of my husband, aka the Amish Zombie, taken by King Photography:

For see more behind the scenes pics, please visit here.

     To help support this amazing movie, Zen Creations is having a fundraiser. Purchase any pair of skull earrings from the Zombie Girl Diary section of my Artfire shop, and Zen Creations will donate a large portion of the sale to the production of Zombie Girl Diary.  With just one purchase, you get a great pair of earrings, and support independent film!  More styles and colors will be added over the next few weeks, so be sure to check back. 

 

Peach Festival, gears, inks and death of my computer...

My computer has died. :(  Correction, both computers in our house has died, all within  a month.  What are the chances???  We didn't panic when the laptop died, we still had the pc as back up.  Then a few weeks later ---- dead.  At first, I thought, we have our phones and my kindle fire, we can deal when we're at home for a few weeks until we get a new one.  And then it hit me --- no computer means no new listings in my shops!!!!! Of course this happens when I'm in the middle of a big creativity burst, making new pieces almost every day. Until we get a new computer, I will have to settle for posting pics on here and on the Zen Creations facebook page.  

Here are two pictures of things I have been working on lately.  I'm pretty excited to be playing around with some different materials/parts/objects and using inks and patinas.  The first one is the start of the piece in the 2nd picture:

Excited to work on more pieces, and soon include some feathers and other materials!

As for upcoming events, I have 3 in the next few weeks:

Peach Festival - August 18th -8am to 2pm @ Fort Loudon
community grounds, U.S. 30 and Hawbaker Drive; by Trinity United Church of Christ

Shippensburg Corn Festival - August 25 - 9am to 4pm, Shippensburg, PA

Boonsboro Days - September 8th and 9th, 9am to 4pm, Shaeffer Park, Boonsboro, MD. 

7 Years on Etsy, Zombies and more!

 On June 20th, Zen Creations celebrated 7 years of selling on Etsy.com.  I can't believe it's been 7 years, seems like just yesterday Etsy was a brand new site with a small community of sellers.  Both Etsy and Zen Creations has grown and changed over those 7 years!

I've been very busy lately experimenting with new techniques and materials, and creating new pieces for the shops and upcoming shows.  Later this week I will have photos ready and will be listing some of these new pieces.  For anyone local,  next week you can find Zen Creations at the Summer Jubilee in Waynesboro, Pa on July 4th, and on the 6th, we will be set up at Incognito Tattoo Studio in Greencastle for their First Fridays event:

Here is a sneak peek at some of the new pieces:

More pieces with skulls, mixed metals, inks and patinas in the works!

Zombie Girl Diary has started filming and has released a new teaser trailer:

Visit the Zombie Girl Diary facebook page for more behind the scenes pics and if you can, please donate to help support this film. 

Skulls and Supporting Independent Film

Zen Creations Jewelry having a special fundraiser for the movie Zombie Girl Diary! I added a special section to the artfire shop - Zombie Girl.  In this section there is a selection of skull earrings, and a portion of the sales from items sold in this section will be donated to the movie.  Now you can get yourself a cute pair of skull earrings and support indie film!  

The movie is being filmed in and around the Chambersburg, PA area, and stars Jim Krut (aka the "hellicopter zombie" from George Romero's "Dawn of the Dead".   The story is about "a mother and daugther fighting to survive throughout a zombie apocalypse. Along the way they encounter other survivors and come together to make their way through the crazy world, not turned upside down." Here is a teaser trailer for the movie: