I've received some great comments from those of you wanting to continue to see "Work in Progress" photos, so here are a few more! Pop over to my Facebook page to see more photos of this recent custom flock necklace as I was creating it.

You can also find many more new photos in my various Facebook photo albums: https://www.facebook.com/AliciasCreations

If you have a Facebook account, you can click the "Like" button at the top of my page to be informed of updates, and you are welcome to leave comments on my page. I love hearing from you!

If you would like to see some of the recent custom orders that I've completed, as well as an assortment of various pieces in stages of the sculpting progress, be sure to stop by my Facebook page, where I've been sharing a lot of new photos: http://www.facebook.com/AliciasCreations

It's not necessary to have a Facebook account to view the photos on my Facebook page. Under the photo on the left hand menu, look for "Photos" (or click here: http://www.facebook.com/media/albums/?id=137935228728 ) to see the selection of albums that you can browse through. If you do have a Facebook account, you can click the "Like" button at the top of my page to be informed of updates. I love hearing from you and reading your comments!

Summer greetings, I hope you and your flocks are staying cool in the heatwaves! I've got a lot of news to tell you about! It's been a few months since I've updated my blog, and it's great to be back in touch with you all! Due to some health challenges, I had to take a break from creating the monthly newsletter and Bird of the Month collections, which you can read more about below.

BIRD OF THE MONTH COLLECTIONS

As you probably know, for quite a few years I have offered a collection of new jewelry in a different species, for auction on eBay at sale prices, every month. It's become a bit too much for me to continue doing this each month, while still keeping up with custom orders through my website. So, at least for now, the Bird of the Month will change from being a collection of items to just a single item auctioned on eBay.

"VIP" CUSTOM ORDERS STARTING AUGUST 1!

As mentioned a few months ago, I had planned to have the "VIP Custom Order" option going by now, for those of you who wanted to be able to place rush/confirmed orders for a higher fee. There were some delays, but I have good news for you! On August 1st, I will be putting the form up, and will begin accepting a couple of VIP orders each month. To read more about it, please go to the new VIP Custom Order page.

For those of you wanting a "regular" custom order, I'm continuing to do monthly drawings from the custom order requests that I receive, on the first day of each month. If you haven't had your order drawn yet, please keep trying and know that I appreciate your interest. When I have cancellations, I generally pick a replacement from those of you that have been entering the longest.

WHITE BELLIED CAIQUE & BARE EYED COCKATOO ON AUCTION

The Bird of the Month is the White Bellied Caique and this Glass Beaded Necklace and Earring set shown above is currently on auction. I have also listed a Bare Eyed Cockatoo Charm Choker necklace, shown below. They are on auction on eBay until July 27th.

Killian happens to love St. Patrick's Day! ;) He wanted to spread the green, so I've made a pair of beautiful earrings with some of his molted feathers! They are adorned with jasper, glass beads and a some dangling dragonfly charms. The earrings are on auction on eBay for the next week.

In other news, I'm making my way through the stack of orders that came through on February 1st, and it's coming along well! If you'd like to see a few works in progress and recent custom orders I've created, you can find new photos in my Facebook photo albums.

At this point, it is looking like I should be able to have February's custom orders all completed sometime in April. I will be putting the Custom Order Request Form back up on my website at the end of this month, on this page: http://www.parrotjewelry.com/orderform.html You will be able to place your custom order requests on March 31st.

On April 1st, I will be drawing just a few orders that I will fill around the end of April, and the exact number that I take will depend on how many I still have in line from February at that point.

Happy 2011 everyone! My furry and feathered friends and I have had such a wonderful holiday season with friends and family, and we hope you did too! One of the most memorable moments was a shocking surprise gift from a dear friend, of a special trip that I have wanted to do for over 5 years! Because of this wonderful surprise, this month's auctions will be running for just 3 days instead of 7 days, and any unsold items will be re-listed when I return later in the month.

CUSTOM ORDER OPENING ANNOUNCEMENT

Alright, here's the big news that I know you've been waiting for! On February 1st at noon (central time), I will be putting up the order form on my website for custom orders, and leaving it "turned on" until I have received a certain amount that I can fill for one month, then the form will be "turned off" again until the next month. This may take a few hours or perhaps only minutes to reach the limit that I can take, I really can't predict! If you want to place an order, I recommend that you be ready to fill out the order form as close to noon as possible.

Orders will be taken on a "first come, first serve" basis, and I am no longer going to book further than one month ahead. ONLY A LIMITED NUMBER OF ORDERS WILL BE TAKEN. Once I receive the maximum number of orders that I can fill for the month, I will remove the order form until the next month.

There are several hundred people waiting for a chance to place a custom order, so I expect that there will be a mad rush to get an order in this first month, as many people have been waiting for several years to be able to place a custom order. If you do not get in the first time however, you will have a chance the next month, and so on, and I will let everyone know through each newsletter of the exact time that I will open the order form each month.

Want to place an order on Feb. 1st? The order form will be found on this page: http://www.parrotjewelry.com/orderform.html
Please be prepared to make your full payment within 3 days.

NEW PRICING AND WEBSITE UPDATES

This year marks the 10 year anniversary of my website, ParrotJewelry.com! It's hard to believe it's been that long since I first started the website! I am currently in the process making some much needed updates. The updates will be ongoing through the next month or two, as I have a lot of old photos to remove and replace with examples of newer work.

The new custom order pricing has been updated, and can be found here http://www.parrotjewelry.com/pricelist.html. Since the last price change two years ago, the pricing has increased significantly for custom orders due to the continually rising demand for my custom work. The good news however is that I will continue to offer monthly eBay auctions at discounted sale pricing!