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.

I hope you are having a lovely Spring, and have had a wonderful Easter and Passover! I've been enjoying the jonquils outside my window next to my sculpting table, as well as watching the beauty of the trees starting to bud with leaves. Each day brings something new to enjoy outside at this time of the year!

I was not able to make a Bird of the Month collection for sale this month, however, I do have a new "scrap clay" necklace for you! It is on auction on eBay for the next week. A portion of the final sale price will be donated to the Oasis Sanctuary Foundation.

For those of you interested in placing a Custom Order Request, the entry form is on my website here: http://www.parrotjewelry.com/orderform.html I draw a limited number of custom orders on the first day of each month. (You can read the full details about the current system of placing custom orders on my website.)

Also, some of you have been asking about the "VIP Custom Order" option, as I had planned to have it set up this month. Due to some health issues that came up this month, I wasn't able to work on it, so this addition will be postponed until next month.

In honor of Mother's Day just around the corner, I'm having a sale of 5% off through May 31st, on all eBay Store items! There are still several unique pieces available for immediate purchase in my eBay store, including this Congo African Grey face charm necklace. To see all items that are available, visit my eBay Store.

I have also listed a whimsical blue African Grey necklace & earring set in my Flights of Fancy style, from my own personal jewelry collection, on eBay. The bird holds a charm with the word "Believe", and is beaded up with some gorgeous glass beads in periwinkle blue, silver, grey and black. The set is on auction for the next week, with a low starting bid!

Kilian and Kaleena (pictured) and I wish you a Valentine's Day that is absolutely overflowing with love!

To celebrate Valentine's Day, from now until the end of the month, all of the items in my eBay store are on sale! Below are some of the birds currently available - the birds shown here happened to be sold, with non-paying bidders, so are now back for sale! If you missed them earlier, here is your chance to snap them up at a discount.

Female Eclectus Necklace

Red Lory Earrings

This has certainly been an eventful and rather challenging few weeks! If you are one of the many people who wanted to place custom order earlier this month, or want to in the future, please take time to thoroughly read through the following.

I have been booked up solid with custom orders from my last opening about 2 years ago, so the opening on February 1st was a long awaited event for many of you. At noon, I placed the order form up on my website, and the plan was that I would leave the order form up only until I received the number of orders that I could fill within ONE MONTH. I would then "turn off"/remove the order form, until the next month, and continue on in this way. The strain and constant demand of custom orders has taken a toll on me over the years, and I refuse to book myself years in advance any more. I have had to consider no longer doing any custom orders. However, I hoped that working in a monthly system as described would be more manageable and comfortable. The plan sounded great.....in theory.

Well, we "live and learn", don't we? Things did not quite go as planned. Within only 6 minutes I had received the maximum amount of orders that I could fill within one month, and I quickly removed the order form. However, it turned out that many people were still in the midst of completing the order form during those moments, and despite the form being "turned off", these orders were still successfully processed by the form, and came through within the following 3-4 minutes. What was only supposed to be one month's worth of orders, quickly turned into about three month's worth, with each of these people expecting to have their order filled in February. What followed were several hours of sorting through the pages and pages of orders that came through, as well as the countless emails from others who were sorely disappointed that their order did not make it in time.

Needless to say, changes are required if I am to continue to take custom orders in the future. I have given this great thought and have come up with what I believe will be a much better plan, detailed in a separate post above. Some of you may not like the new plan, however please realize that it was either THIS, or no more custom orders *at all*. Please understand that the demand is far more than you may realize. It is simply beyond what I, as one person, can actually fill, considering I personally hand sculpt each custom created one-of-a-kind piece of art, which takes time due to the amount of detail and customization that I put into my pieces.