Tis the Season of Giving!

We absolutely LOVE this time of year. Not only because we have lots of holiday shows and sell a ton of jewels, but because this is the time of year that brings out the best in all of us and no matter what our circumstances, you can't help but be grateful for all the blessings that you. The holiday season reminds us that we can do good for others through the smallest of gestures.

Through our business, we hope to do our small part in making a difference, especially during the holidays. Thus, we are very excited to be working with a few non-profit organizations, having created jewelry that brings awareness to the cause and with each sale, we donate a portion to back to the organization.

With that said, don't wait to buy your holiday gift. Each piece of awareness jewelry comes with a card explaining it's significance and we are gift wrapping all gifts through December 19. Order online through www.tuvida.etsy.com or feel free to email us at tuvidadesigns@gmail.com to order a custom piece, orders taken until December 19 at 12 noon.

Gifts that give back:
1. Alzheimer's Awareness Necklace- We are very excited to have partnered with The Alzheimer's Association, Maryland Chapter. Each necklace retails for $65, and $20 is donated!
2. Eternal Love Necklace- Retails for $65, $5 is donated to The Trisomy 18 Foundation and $5 is donated to Donate Life Maryland. This necklace is holds a special place in my heart and I am grateful for all that have already purchased this very meaningful necklace. Custom orders for this necklace will be taken through Tuesday, December 15.
3. Breast Cancer Necklace and Bracelets- 10% of the proceeds from the sale of our breast cancer jewelry is donated to The Susan G. Komen for the Cure.


Thank you for your continued support. Know that your gift this season is one that will also make a difference! Have a great holiday season!

Thank you to all that joined us for our Holiday Event at the Pearl Spa to officially Kick Off the holiday shopping season. It as a HUGE success and we are even more excited for all of our upcoming shows. We are offering FREE gift wrapping throughout the holidays. And as always, our holiday incentive begins December 1. For every $100 you spend, you will receive FREE Tu Vida earrings. For every $250 spent, you will receive FREE Earrings and Necklace. Don't forget to shop online through www.tuvida.etsy.com

Featured Event:
Join us Sunday, December 6 for Merry Mart at the Creative Alliance on Eastern Avenue. Shop from 11 am to 5 p.m. We will be offering all of our designs at special holiday prices, and we will have our bargain deals, with necklaces starting at $20 and earrings starting at $10.

Join Tu Vida for our Holiday Shopping Event!

This is an event you do not want to miss! Get your holiday shopping done early at the Tu Vida Holiday Soiree at The Pearl Spa, 821 Key Hwy, on November 22 from 5-9 p.m. Event to include: Special discounts on Tu Vida Jewelry, with necklaces starting at just $20 and earrings starting at $10. Plus FREE Gift Wrapping!! Exclusive tours of The Pearl Spa at the Ritz Carlton, Tastefully Simple products and gifts, signature drinks, hors d'oeurves and holiday treats.

Each customer will receive a shopping bag filled with coupons and discounts, including FREE Tu Vida earrings.

Getting married in 2010? Come to our Holiday Soiree and receive a 25% discount if you book that evening. Offer ONLY valid on November 22! So tell a bride to be and come ready to get your wedding details started with us!

Be sure to RSVP by November 20 to tuvidadesigns@gmail.com or call 410-814-3744. Forward this to a friend, the more the merrier!

Trunk Show at MAC Harbor East

Join us next Tuesday, October 27 from 10-12 at the MAC Harbor East for Halloween Juice Box Jam. The event will feature activities for the kids, including face painting, trick or treating and crafts! Come in costume, bring the kids and enjoy some snacks, shopping and don't miss the Tu Vida jewels!

If you have not checked out the MAC, you don't know what you are missing! With locations in Harbor East, Timonium and Hunt Valley, it is a fantastic gym with amazing staff, programs, classes, equipment and kids facilities! Not to mention that the indoor pools at Harbor East are perfect, a lap pool for adult swim and a kids pool that my daughter loves!! For more information about he MAC, contact 410-625-5000 or visit www.macwellness.com

Hope that you will join us for our trunk show next Tuesday. Get into the spirit of Halloween and purchase some Tu Vida wares!

Eternal Love Necklace Launch!

Since losing Alex, I have made it a goal to create a necklace design in his memory. I wanted to create something that was symbolic to me but could also be a universal symbol for anyone wishing to support my cause. I know right away that the name of the necklace would be "Eternal Love". Because no matter what your motivation for purchasing this necklace, "eternal love" is a powerful phrase for every aspect of your life. To me, "eternal love" proves that even though I will never be able to hold my baby, my love for him will last a lifetime. And even though I will be celebrating my nephew Jason's 21st birthday without him this Saturday, he is always in my heart.

The "Eternal Love" Necklace will be available as early as tomorrow on our etsy website, www.tuvida.etsy.com , as it is very important for me to showcase this necklace on October 15th, as this is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. We will be donating $10 from the sale of each necklace back to both Trisomy 18 Foundation and Donate Life. My nephew donated his organs through Donate Life and it is the official charity of the Richmond Marathon and Half Marathon, that Katie will be completing in just one month from today, November 14, 2009. Katie has made it a goal to raise $1600 for Trisomy 18 Foundation. To learn more visit her personal blog at www.itwasasweetsixteen.blogspot.com or visit www.trisomy18.org/goto/alexramirez.



"True love is eternal, infinite, and always like itself. It is equal and pure, without violent demonstrations; it is seen with white hairs and is always young in the heart."

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and we are honoring all cancer survivors this month with our "Hope Necklace". This necklace was created for breast cancer survivors and their families to show the power of hope in fighting a cancer diagnosis. Each necklace comes complete with a tag explaining that a portion of the proceeds will be given to Susan G. Komen for the Cure and gift wrapped with pink ribbon and a customized tag.
This necklace retails for $50 and during the month of October we will be giving $10 from each sale back to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. To order a necklace for a friend, family member or yourself, go to www.tuvida.etsy.com and place your order TODAY! We will continue the $10 donation through October 31 of this month.
In addition, we will be at the Fells Point Fun Festival this weekend, October 3 and 4 from 11-7. We will have TONS of jewelry for sale and you can order the Hope Necklace this weekend as well. If you are unable to make it to the Fells Point Festival, we will also be attending a Breast Cancer benefit on Friday, October 9th at Pier 5 from 6:30 til 11 p.m. The event will feature vendors of many crafts and a portion of our sales from that evening will go to breast cancer research and patient services.

We hope you will join us in our fight against cancer. Our jewelry is the least we can to do provide "HOPE" and raise funds so that one day we will find a cure!

"Fall" In Love with Tu Vida Jewelry!

I don't know about you...but I love September. It means that fall is in the air...which means festivals, art shows, and only 3 months til the holiday season is upon us!!!!

We also love to work with Fall weddings, we currently have 10 brides getting married in September and October (including Melissa's brother on September 26!) and we are looking forward to seeing some amazing pictures of these autumn themed weddings. September is also an important month for Melissa Ramirez, her and her husband will be celebrating their 4 year wedding anniversary on September 24. Congratulations Melissa and Ivan!

We always get into holiday mode as soon as September 1st hits. Fall festivals get underway and our clients start ordering gifts for the holiday season. This fall, we are excited about all the opportunities on horizon, including:
Bel Air Art Festival- Sunday, September 20 11-7
Fells Point Fun Festival- Saturday and Sunday, October 3 & 4 11-7
Susan G Komen Fundraising Event- Friday, October 9- Pier 5 in the Inner Harbor 6:30-10
Bethesda Holiday Show- Sunday, November 1, 1-4
Tu Vida Holiday Event- Sunday, November 22 at The Pearl Spa at the Ritz Carlton 5-9 P.M.
Merry Mart- Sunday, December 6 at The Creative Alliance, 11-6

Mark your calendars now for our Fall events. We will be offering custom designs until December 11, 2009 and we will be offering FREE gift wrapping again this holiday season. Our Holiday Event on November 22 will also feature great food and an opportunity to receive great discounts for The Pearl Spa. If you have not been, make sure you attend this event!

Looking forward to a great Fall and Winter. Enjoy the changing seasons and make this a time to "fall" in love with Tu Vida Jewelry & Design. Thank you for your continued support!

Chao,
Katie

Making Moments Last a Lifetime

We are in the thick of wedding season and as we continue to create one of kind invitations and jewelry, we are reminded how important every detail is to make a wedding unforgettable. From something as simple as adding "something blue" to a bridal necklace to the major details of making sure invitations are assembled perfectly, ribbons tied just right and stamps added to RSVP's, Melissa and I make sure that every bride walks away feeling as if Tu Vida contributed to making their wedding day memories last forever.

Just recently, a bride asked me to create a necklace for her mother that would include a locket which she would put a picture of herself as a child with her mom on one side and a picture from her wedding day on the other side. I was so excited to create this piece as I know how much this meant to the bride. The picture above is the design that I created. She wanted something that could match everything in her mother's wardrobe, thus the multicolor crystals allow for this necklace to be worn just about everyday. The locket that I found is unique in that it closes with a magnet and the spiral design makes it a contemporary "twist" on the traditional locket. Since designing this necklace, I have since sold 4 more at various jewelry parties and it will soon be added to our Etsy page. I took this picture on a framed quote that I use as my business motto:

"Life is not a matter of milestones, but of moments"

Through our bridal line, our awareness jewelry and our everyday jewelry, we strive to make sure that every piece of jewelry and stationery helps to make moments last a lifetime. We look forward to many more designs to come...

The Pearl Spa- A Gem in Baltimore City!

Melissa and I are always thinking of ways that we can work with local Baltimore businesses to promote our jewelry and to market their services to our clients. We were blessed to meet with Fran, the manager of The Pearl Spa at the Ritz Carlton, as we continue to grow our relationship with this unique and amazing spa in the heart of Baltimore City.

First of all, their services are one of kind and we HIGHLY recommend trying the Blue Grotto service if you are looking to unwind. From first impression, to staff, to service, The Pearl Spa strives to be the very best in salon treatment and they definitely succeed. It only helps that the location is within the Ritz Carlton, thus from the moment you pull in, you feel like a Hollywood star. A day of pampering never felt so good, believe me, I can speak first hand..I leave their feeling like a million bucks!

The Pearl Spa recently hosted a "It's a Charmed Life" Fashion Show on August 16, 2009. We created the invitations for the event and gave away FREE earrings in each gift bag. The event sold out and it was a great success. The goal was to celebrate healthy living, fine dining and exquisite fashion. Food and beverages (delicious martinis'!!) were provided by Sullivan's Steakhouse. Boutiques such as Whimsy-Reason, Babe and The Bottom Drawer, took part in the fashion show which was a great way to showcase fashion that is versitale and effortless.

We were also able to have a display of our jewelry for the guests to view and we provided jewelry for the fashion show as well. We were lucky enough to network with many businesses and have since already been in touch to create both jewelry and invitations for clients and upcoming Baltimore events. We have The Pearl Spa to thank for these opportunities.

Finally, we are looking forward to working with The Pearl Spa to create a permanent display of our jewelry for clients to purchase. We have been working up some design ideas to create "pearl" jewelry, specifically for The Pearl clientele. We are also very excited to host a Holiday Show sometime in November at The Pearl, as well as hosting another Bridal Happy Hour this coming Spring. We will of course post dates and details once those are established.

If I have learned anything in the past few months it has been that you need to make time for yourself. We all live very busy lives, what with work, babies, house cleaning, bills...but that is no excuse not to take care of yourself. Even if it means getting a facial once every few months, a massage 4 times a year and I definitely recommend a pedicure (who doesn't love their foot massaged!) I promise you that you will leave The Pearl with energy and as they say" with a new appreciation for the small things that we can each do for ourselves to live a truly charmed life."

Great Georgetown Bridal Salon

Melissa and I made a trip to visit the DC area bridal salon, Hitched, located in historic Georgetown in Washington DC at the corner of Wisconsin and Volta (1 block north of P Street). The owners, Julia and Carin are not only amazing business women, but they are also new moms, and thus we have the utmost respect for their dedication to their professional and personal life.

We had met with Hitched over 2 years ago, when Melissa was just 4 months pregnant with Julian (she bought her first outfit for him at BabyGap). They have been carrying a few of our bridal pieces since that time and we have received several referrals from the salon. We met with Julia and Carin yesterday to update our designs and provide them with our most popular bridesmaid jewelry designs.
One such necklace, which just so happens to be based on our best sold necklace, was designed specifically for a Hitched bride. She got married this past May 2009 and we customized this necklace to match her bridesmaid dresses. She was a pleasure to work with, such a fun necklace to design. We just recently posted this necklace on our etsy site, www.tuvida.etsy.com. It can be made with varying colors and length, the possibilities are endless. You can honestly wear it with anything, which is what makes it our best seller.

Thank you to Hitched Salon for continuing to support our business and for referring brides that have helped us continue to create unique, one-of-a-kind jewelry!

Create Your Wedding

Many of our clients come to us with no idea what type of wedding they would like: elegant, whimsical, casual, cultural, religious, most of all, unique . Your wedding is a representation of you! From start to finish, each element should make a statement about the couple, their love for one another and their vision for a lifetime of happiness together.

We work with each client to custom create Save the Dates, Invitations, Bridal Jewelry, and Day of Stationery that is truly a symbol of the couples love for one another. While many of our clients as for our opinion and many put their trust in us to create the elements based on our expertise, it is always our goal to get to know the couple, asking them what they vision: colors, style, budget and overall effect. It is based on this initial meeting that we are able to better design a wedding that will really speak to the couples hopes and dreams.

It really is a joy to get to know our couples and see the love that goes into planning a wedding. Each invitation, each bridesmaid gift, each table number is unique and a joy to design. It is an awesome feeling to see the look on a brides face when she receives her completed invitations, tries on her bridal necklace for the first time or picks up her placecards and table numbers. We feel humbled to know that we played a small role in creating the wedding of her dreams.

Our goal as part of our blog is to post completed wedding invitations for the bride to share with family and friends, sample bridal jewelry to share as well as post wedding pictures- to see the vision come to life! We hope that you will continue to follow our blog and you too will be inspired by the love that a wedding brings to all those involved.

"Life is not a matter of milestones, but of moments" It is our goal to continue to create designs that help make the most special moments in life, memorable.

Eternal Love

"I Will Love You"

As long as I can dream

As long as I can think

As long as I have a memory

I will love you

As long as I have a heart to feel

A soul stirring inside me

An imagination to hold you...

I will love you.

This week's blog comes from the heart. While most of our clients are brides to be and new moms, we have been touched by many clients stories of love and loss. Our cancer awareness bracelets have meant to so much as a symbol of hope patients and their families. Whether it is a gift for a bridesmaid, a mother recently diagnosed with cancer, a sister that just gave birth to her first child or a friend who lost her only child, our jewelry continues to bring comfort and joy to the faces of our clients and that makes me smile.

We have been working with Hightail Studios for some time now in creating our initial necklaces and cancer awareness "Hope" jewelry. The owner of Hightail Studioes, Nina, lives right in Federal Hill and thus it has been a great partnership to help us expand our designs and offer customized pieces to creating lasting memories. We found the above design to be very breathtaking and we have decided to name this necklace "Eternal Love"

"Eternal Love" can be have many meanings. To me the larger circle represents a mother with the smaller circle representing her child. The stone can be inter-changed, to represent the birthstone of a child. The fact that it is a circle design implies eternity, forever going round and round..a love that never ends. To a bride to be, this necklace could represent her heart inside her new husbands, and the stone could be symbolic of the month of the wedding or colors of the wedding. The possibilities are endless. This necklace will be designs in several ways but the symbol of "eternal love" will remain throughout.

I chose to share this new design this week, as today is July 29, 2009. It is exactly 2 years after the death of my nephew, Jason, in a fatal car accident. He was my sister's only child and we miss him everyday. For those of you that do not know my personal heartache, my husband and I were pregnant and just this past July 6, 2009, we lost our baby boy. I was just 16 weeks pregnant. I have started my own personal blog, click here if you wish to follow my personal journey of love, loss and healing. The poem above was given to me by my sister during my loss. She told me that she often turns to this poem to remind herself that Jason will live forever through the love that we have for him and now for my baby Alex.

The loss of a loved one is never easy and we have seen too many close, dear friends have to deal with such a tragedy. It is through encouragement, strength and hope that we see our lives continue to thrive and we find the courage to find a reason to live. I plan to take my love for jewelry design and make that a source of healing for myself and provide hope to other families. We plan to have the Eternal Love Necklace ready for sale by end of August and we will be providing a portion of the proceeds from the necklace back to The Living Legacy Foundation, which is the organization that helped my nephew donate 5 of his organs to help save lives and the Trisomy 18 Foundation , which is the diagnosis that my son received. Each necklace will come complete with the poem above on a card and an explanation of the charity that will benefit from each sale. We welcome your comments and suggestions and we hope that you will consider ordering the Eternal Love necklace to help us make a difference.

We're BACK! While I realize that it has been over 5 month since we have blogged... I promise that we have good reason and we are fully committed to sending out loyal customers weekly blogs to keep you inspired and to inspire ourselves as well!

New Beginnings

Where do we begin? Back in March 2009, we were contemplating the idea of closing our storefront in order to focus more on custom jewelry, online orders and wholesale jewelry. Fate stepped in and our landlord was able to find a new tenant..only problem, we had to be out by March 31. Basically, we had 2 weeks to pack, sell furniture and determine how we were going to manage our business. We worked in overtime and moved our storefront to our homes. Melissa continues to do all graphic design, marketing and invitation design from her home in Bel Air and I continue to meet with clients and create unique, custom jewelry from my home in Fells Point. The past few months have been challenging and a new adventure for our business, but we have been working hard to build our Etsy site and we have now sold to 3 brides via Etsy! Katie traveled to Colombia, South America for a little R&R and inspiration for new designs for the business. Working from home is rewarding, as we get so spend everyday with our babies. Melissa's son, Julian, is going to be 2 in one month! And Katie's daughter, Elena, is now 16 months. Afterall, the name of our business, Tu Vida, means "your life". The purpose of our business is to inspire our clients for all the moments of "life". At the same time, we want a business that allows us to live a life that matters, and we beleive that we are finally at a point were our business is making a difference!

Exciting Changes!

As one door closes, another opens. We are embrassing the changes that have occured over the last few months and we are moving forward with new goals and new opportunities. So, what has been happening:
1. We are now selling via the world wide web through Etsy. Click www.tuvida.etsy.com to view our site and order through the secure site. We will be posting custom bridal orders and we are now using Etsy as we main website. Which leads me to #2
2. Tuvidaonline.com is no longer. For 2 reasons, one, we were victims of online hacking and our website was compromised and two, in an effort to try to save money, we are focusing on Etsy and our Blog to keep our customers in the know!
3. We are in the process of switching our email as well to link to our Blog and Etsy. We are asking all customers to switch to tuvidadesigns@gmail.com. Our tuvida@comcast.net email will continue to be in use for a few months while we transfer our accounts.
4. We are focusing on creating jewelry that makes a difference. We are in the process of creating new cancer awareness jewelry, jewelry for new moms and jewelry for the loss of a child. We have unfortunately seen many go through the death of a child and it's impact is like no other. Jewelry is a small token of remembrance for loved ones' and especially for the parent of the child. We will update our clients with the new designs!

Look forward to an inspirational blog each week starting week of July 26. We hope that you will be motivated to make a difference in your life and support our business in our quest to do our small part for our clients.

Jewelry for the New Mom

While we specialize in bridal jewelry, it is only natural that once our clients get married the next step is starting a family. Many of our clients have returned upon becoming pregnant to have us create baby shower invitations, baby announcements and jewelry for mom, baby and proud grandma.
We work with Meaghan Elliott Photography not only as our referral for wedding photography, but to take pictures of our jewelry and she is a fantastic photographer. Her attention to detail is amazing. She recently took pictures of my daughter for her first birthday!
Back to the subject at hand.. Mom to Be, New Mom, Proud Grandma, or know someone who is...check out our jewelry to celebrate baby! As with our bridal jewelry, everything is custom made with the colors of you choice, length of your choice and we gift wrap! Check out our etsy site to see detailed pictures.
Visit our boutique at 300 E Fort Ave for more new mom/baby gifts. We carry Tree by Kerri Lee and of course would be happy to do custom baby annuncements or shower invitations.
We love to celebrate the special moments in your life...nothing is more exciting than getting married and having a baby...let us help you celebrate!

Jewelry-The Perfect Bridesmaid Gift

Below is an article from Bride & Bloom.com, which explains why Tu Vida Jewelry & Design is the perfect place to customize your bridesmaid gifts:

"Your bridesmaids have thrown you a blow out engagement party, some fantastic showers and a bachelorette party that was over the top. They are trotting across the country to be in your wedding, and doing it all while wearing bridesmaids gowns of your choosing and biting their tongues if it isn’t their favorite color or style. One gal is probably nine months pregnant and paid more to have the dress altered than the original retail price. They are the dream team of attendants, and they deserve that special gift that tells them how much you love them and appreciate everything they have done to be a part of your big day. Here are some tips and ideas for some gifts as unique and fantastic as your bridal party!
Bridesmaids are not clones!
Passing off matched sets of jewelry, wraps or handbags that match their bridesmaid gowns and make you happy because they all look appropriately accessorized for wedding photos is more of a gift for yourself than it is for your girls. How about choosing jewelry or accessories that coordinate, but also ultimately compliment each attendant’s unique tastes? Something traditional and delicate for your older sister’s conservative wrist and a killer set of the hottest chandelier earrings for your best friend. Or find a company that can help you customize the perfect piece of jewelry for each bridesmaid individually or at a pre-wedding party. (of course that means, Tu Vida Jewelry & Design)
Personalize your gift
Whether it’s a make up case stamped with each girl’s initials and stuffed with all their favorite beauty products or a silver box etched with their name and holding a fun trinket or gift certificate for their favorite store, something that has been customized is always personal and shows that you put time and effort into pre-planning your gifts.
Stuff your gift with Surprises
Perfect for stuffing with everything from beach towels and sunglasses to bedazzled bridesmaids undies and bath and body products, everyone loves a tote stuffed with their favorite things. Each bag will look the same at first, but will contain tons of little surprises for each recipient. For those friends that are the serious Fashionista types, try doing a small accessory from a great brand. Pop in their favorite shade of lipstick or gloss and it’s a done deal.
Focus on their interests
Within your little clique, you probably have friends with interests, passions and personalities that range from tomboys to girly girls, scholars to travelers, and hopeless romantics to the painlessly practical. What better way to tie a theme together than starting each gift with a year subscription to their favorite magazine – whether it’s French Vogue, The New Yorker, Cosmopolitan or Better Homes & Gardens! Add a travel journal or photo album to the voyager’s travel mag and the coveted hard cover version of the summer’s hottest romance novel to the romantic’s publication. Spice up the chef’s cooking magazine with ingredients for the month’s featured recipe, and sponsor a donation for your politically correct friend’s pet charity along with her subscription to Organic Style."

So....when you are thinking about your bridesmaid gifts, keep in mind that we can personalize each gift to reflect your bridesmaids personality.

Happy planning and we look forward to working with you to create jewelry that makes a statement!!