Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Well it's that time!  Christmas get togethers to celebrate the season and a new year coming up!  Tonight I am with my "Scrum Sisters" we're having a nice evening together at a restaurant.  I had purchased some small glass jars (among many other items during her sale!) with some 'enchanted' designs on them from Kate of Enchanted Shaman and filled each from my essential oils for anti-aging lotion (carrier oil Jojoba or Almond Oil, lavendar, geranium and rosemary). Put the cork back in and put them in pretty bags.  These are the jars;

Aren't they adorable?  One for each gal!

I also decided to make them a card too with the logo we use on our business card.  Turned out great.  These are the shots and the items I used to put it all together!






The stars were done with  white UTEE mixed with gold pigment powder, black UTEE and then heat embossed!


Completed front cover, I added a little Versa-mark on Star so I could add some UTEE to give it some dimension and sparkle!


Inside cover 

Let your Light Shine!



Monday, December 12, 2011

Yikes! December 12 already!  I haven't purchased many items for Christmas yet. Was relying on good sales to finance that. I am working on some "alpaca slippers" for some family members that live through the frigid Alberta winters!   (Mind you when they get the 'chinook' winds come through the temperatures can go up to 70 degrees!)  Anyway, it's pretty much going to be a handmade Christmas year, as money has been very tight the past two years since my 'downsizing' occurred.
I did secure a part-time position with Michaels, the Arts and Craft Store as one of their Jewelry Instructors!  Whoo hooo! I've done one class already and a couple of demos on the floor and I also applied for a part-time position in their framing department!  Might as well keep it all under the same creative roof!
I've also gone in to help them with face painting for the many birthday parties that they put on as I have years of experience painting lovely young faces!  I love being all around the artsy fartsy stuff!  I am in a happy place for sure when I am there!
All my shows are done for the year.  I have to say, that the most successful show I did was a "home" show.  A dear friend of mine that purchases jewelry pieces from me asked if I would bring some jewelry in as well as giving me specifics on a few pieces she was looking for and mentioned that she will invite other friends over to have a look if they were interested.  WOW. The sales there in one evening were more that the last three shows I did combined!  I was thanking the LORD all the way home for that blessing!  No wonder there are so many "jewelry" distributors doing those home parties!  I think that I too will offer some "hostess" incentives and  try to do more of them!  The best part is doing it this way is, I don't have to haul in tables and display items and then pack them all back in the truck etc.  I can use their kitchen table with minimal display items.

My back has been telling me to lay off the shows for a bit too. A lot of heavy hauling even though I am doing it safely (dolly's and pull-a-alongs) it's still a strain.  I own a vibrasizer that is fantastic for my sciatica issues and lower back problems.  They say ten minutes on one of these is equivalent to a one hour workout for muscular strength.  I love it and it helps that's all that matters to me!  I told my mum about it too because I read it was great for diabetics (circulation issues with them) and my dad is a diabetic.

Okay, I'm going to upload a video that I made showing one of my bead storage solutions that is very inexpensive to purchase!  Talk soon!