Thursday, December 4, 2008

The Ultimate Gift


Choosing gifts for loved ones can be stressful or can give you a great sense of accomplishment and joy as you select a gift to put a smile on someone's face. In my opinion, the greatest gift and one that can only bring deep satisfaction to your life is being what I call a natural helper.
For the past year and a half I started a new endeavor in the jewelry design business. I learned how to set up a shop on Etsy, started my own business, learned how to take decent photos of my pieces and correct them on Photoshop. I have also learned a bit and I do mean the smallest little bit about SEO and how to promote my site on line. All of these skills did not come easily because I am truly computer challenged. I out am not part of the generation of computer mavens.
The Ultimate gift for me was the wealth of information and kind words I have received from people I have never met or spoken to in person. These are people who are willing to share their secrets of success without worrying about giving out information that could potentially bring success to others in competition with them. Two people that stand out in my mind are Contrariwise, another jewelry designer and Timothy Adam Designs ,who does modern metal jewelry furniture and art. Both of these artisans are successful and talented and yet find the time to give incredible tutorials and advice to others like me who are struggling through this process. Their information has been incredibly helpful and valuable. Don't miss their wonderful blogs, Contrariwise Ramblings and Timothy Adam Designs . I thank them both for their gifts. Come back tomorrow for part 2 of this post.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Holiday Boutique -Part 2

Here are the rest of the promised photos from my Holiday Boutique show. Getting a group of artisans together to show and sell their items is a great way to get publicity and new customers. It's also a lot of fun!



























Thursday, November 27, 2008

My Holiday Boutique 2008











The past few weeks I have been extremely busy with preparations for two holiday boutiques. The first was held at my friend's home in Pennsylvania and the other was held at my own home. I have always looked for unusual, handmade gifts for my friends and family and find most of my gifts at craft shows or the boutique shows at my friend's home. This year I decided to do one myself and was pleased with the results. Everyone enjoyed the food and had fun shopping in a relaxed atmosphere. The show featured my own jewelry as well as handmade scarves, pottery, an exquisite handmade lamp, hand knit baby booties and more. Stay tuned for more photos tomorrow...

Monday, November 10, 2008

Finding Motivation


Do you sometimes feel that all the effort you put into your work isn't worth the time spent? Do you get into a funk and lose faith in your ability to create or to motivate your students if you are a teacher? Having trouble impressing your colleagues or your boss or even yourself with your work lately? I just viewed this short video and loved the quotes and sent it out to my sons. Thought I would share it here . http://thejoymovie.com/ Take a few minutes to take a look at this and send it off to some friends.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

A Home for Your Feathered Friends




I found the perfect items for the bird lovers on your holiday list. The etsy shop of http://birdhouseaccents.etsy.com/ carries the most charming birdhouses I have seen. These handmade homes come in many different styles, shapes and colors. The two birdhouses shown here caught my eye because of all the little detail work and great colors. The camper would make a great conversation piece and look adorable in your yard or on your deck. Any bird would be proud to call one of these dellightful creations home! Take a look at all my HOLIDAY SHOPPING GUIDE suggestions and get your shopping done early.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Favorite Things 2008


Debbie Lawrence of Bird on a Wire has just released her lovely holiday catalog. Favorite Things 2008. Inside it you will find 70 pages chock full of great gift ideas. Debbie was kind enough to include my items on pages 42- 44 of this wonderful gift catalog. You will find all kinds of great holiday gifts in this catalog such as stationery, luscious hot cocoa, adorable children's shoes and many other interesting items. Don't miss it and then take out out your list and get that shopping done before Thanksgiving.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

For the Men in Your Life

This item really blew me away as a truly unique and unusal gift for a man. It is one of the outstanding pieces of Steampunk Jewelry offered byhttp://edmdesigns.etsy.com

This is just one set of amazing cufflinks offered by this artist. I chose them because I think they ooze class.

I wondered exactly what steampunk means so here is the definition by wikipedia:

"is a subgenre of fantasy and speculative fiction that came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. The term denotes works set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century, and often set in Victorian era England—but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy, such as fictional technological inventions like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, or real technological developments like the computer occurring at an earlier date. Other examples of steampunk contain alternate history-style presentations of "the path not taken" of such technology as dirigibles or analog computers; these frequently are presented in an idealized light, or a presumption of functionality.
Steampunk is often associated with cyberpunk and shares a similar fanbase and theme of rebellion, but developed as a separate movement (though both have considerable influence on each other). Apart from time period and level of technological development, the main difference between cyberpunk and steampunk is that steampunk settings usually tend to be less obviously dystopian than cyberpunk, or lack dystopian elements entirely.
Various modern utilitarian objects have been modded by individual craftpersons into a pseudo-Victorian mechanical "steampunk" style, and a number of visual and musical artists have been described as steampunk."

This item caught my eye as a nice gift for one of my sons. The shaving jelly contains aloe which is always soothing on the skin. I love the packaging and the idea that a lip balm for chapped lips is included. This shop http://ibrodar.etsy.com/ is another one with unusual gift items . Don't miss it!


This luscious brown scarf is handwoven with lambswool and silk by http://davyjones.etsy.com/

who has some beautiful offerings in his shop. Make sure to visit his shop today for top quality handwoven items.



Finding the right gift for my guys is never easy. I have two sons and a husband to shop for every holiday season and of course birthdays and other special occasions. I spent the morning searching etsy for some fine items for men to add to my HOLIDAY SHOPPING GUIDE and although it was challenging I found some pretty nice offerings. There are multitudes of gifts available for women and children while the men seem to get stuck with another boring shirt or tie. I chose three different shops to show you for excellent men's selections.