Goodbye 2008, Hello 2009!

I had hoped to write before Christmas, but the last minute craziness took over! I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! We enjoyed festivities on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. My family gets together the night before to have dinner and exchange gifts. Chloe and I always manage to make out very well! Here she is with some of her presents:

As you can tell, she's very into Disney princesses. Since getting this Cinderella dress, she insists on wearing it all day long, every day! I do take it off for bed, however. Notice the pink computer she got? That's because she loves mine so much, my mom thought she needed her own. Great idea! Here is the princess Christmas morning when she opened her presents from Mommy & Daddy:

To carry on with the princess theme, we got her a playhut. This is because she is obsessed with playing hide and seek, and I knew she would love to hide in here. Now I'm sure you're wondering why she has a pink dress on instead of the blue one in the previous photos. Well, she got a Sleeping Beauty dress on Christmas day from her Nana & Papa. Variety!

Here it is the last day of 2008. I hope everyone has a happy and safe new year! May 2009 be wonderful and prosperous!

Busy With Everything, Not Getting Anything Done

Well, what I mean is not getting anything creative done! I've been busy getting ready for Christmas: decorating, baking cookies and entertaining Chloe, that I haven't had time to just sit down and create! With a large show coming up in two months, I need to get moving. Why is it that everytime I try to have a little time to myself, I always wind up doing for others? Don't get me wrong, I enjoy taking care of Chloe, but at the end of the day, I'm kind of exhausted and don't have much left to give.

A few weeks ago I received a very nice award from TiLT Creations, and I'm just getting to post it now. It is the Marie Antoinette award and here are the rules:

Official RULES:
1) Please add the Marie Antoinette award photo on your blog

2) Place a link to the person from whom you received the award

3) nominate 7 exceptional blogs to receive the award

4) put the links to those blogs on your blog

5) leave a message on their blogs to tell them they are the chosen ones!

I have to say it's hard for me to choose, so I am going to give it to all of my readers to post on their blogs! Once you've posted it, let me know, and I'll add your link! As a side note, check out TiLT's etsy shop for some great bags and accessories.

I did manage to get one new item posted on the site. It's my Bloomin' Earrings set which I think would make a great gift ( I can get this sent out right away)! It comes with a brass elongated earwire and 4 sets of czech glass flowers, which are accented with a brass flower bead cap. The flower can easily be removed and switched out depending on your mood! The set includes:

Seafoam green

Amethyst

Topaz

Navy blue

It's on sale! I'm working on creating a bunch more colors, so keep checking back!

The Beginning and The End

I have had so much going on this year, it's sometimes hard to put it into words. I've been overwhelmed at times with being a stay at home mom. I have done so much work for my business to try and get our name out there and gain some more sales. There have been a lot of disappointments, mainly with advertising not working out or some flops with shows we've participated in. I am, however still perservering and am looking for new avenues to further promote my handcrafted jewelry business. I love doing what I do and want to learn some new techniques and really find my true style of design. I've already booked one big show for February, which we participated in last year. Shecky's Girls Night Out is a shopping event that is super fun with lots of great discounts. Check them out if they come to your area! For me, this is the beginning of a new year as I have had to make some major decisions in my life. Without going into too much detail, both my personal life and "professional" life will be going through some major changes I believe.

Another major change is the end of Skwigga-zine. The editor, Missy, started a really great community geared towards independant artists and helping us to promote each other. She put a lot of effort into it, but when life got a little too hectic, she asked me to step in as Co-editor. I was pleased to do so and had started a spotlight on jewelry designers, gained us some more advertising, and wrote a weekly feature on How Do We Get Ourselves Out There? Unfortunately, most of the members died off and weren't participating. Each week I'd post about a member of our Blog-Ring group but only a handful of us took the commitment seriously. I am sad to see it go, but completely understand Missy's decision to shut it down. She asked if I would like to take it over, but my plate is already full and I just couldn't commit to it at this time. With one last Blog-ring post, I'd like to spotlight Kelly from Macaroni & Glue. With the holidays right around the corner, check out her shop for unique and festive designs!