Wow - it's only 166 days until Christmas! Shop in the cool comfort of your home and avoid the stress of last-minute shopping with my Christmas In July sale. Save 15% off of your total order on everything in my Etsy Shoppe. Also receive free shipping! For every item you purchase, your name will be entered in a drawing for 4 deluxe soldered glass ornaments, to be drawn on August 1!


Now, onto more important news!
We just found out that the stork will be making a delivery to our happy home sometime in late Feb./early Mar. of 2009. This will be baby #2 for us, so to celebrate, I'm going to give away any custom jewel of your choice from my Etsy shoppe. Please leave a comment with your best parenting advice, especially how to transition from one to two children, or favorite memories from your childhood. I will draw the winner on Friday, July 18.

New Jewels for Mother's Day

It is hard to believe that it is nearly April already, which means Mother's Day is just around the corner. Get your shopping done early! I just listed some new personalized stamped and soldered jewels in our Etsy shop:

Blessed bracelet:


















Signify necklace:
























And, a bracelet perfect for a bride-to-be, or for an anniversary gift, Wedding Day:





















Keep a lookout for more new jewels next week!

Yowza! Has it ever been a long time since I last posted! The Christmas season brought almost too many orders to handle = lots of sleepless nights. Thanks to all of our faithful customers for their orders and support! You're all the best!





One sad note - my husband was laid off from his job the week before Christmas. He had been with the company for nearly 7 years and they all of sudden decided that his position, along with several others, was not needed. We were blessed to receive 4 months worth of severance = 3 months after all of the taxes came out. My only question - why can't these people that make those decisions wait until after the holidays? That part I cannot fathom. At any rate, he is still searching for a wonderful new job. Please pray for us, that his new job will come along soon, as we will be out of money at the end of this month.





On a brighter note, I just ordered my very own stamping supplies to create some new jewelry.






I'm planning on a combo of stamped sterling tags and soldered photo charms for some very meaningful Mother's Day gifts. Keep checking back to see what I'm up to!





We were also featured in the February edition of Australian Beading Magazine. I wrote a tutorial on how to create soldered glass charms, and they also printed the interview I gave to the editor. I will post pictures soon of what the layout looks like. I feel so blessed to have been noticed and asked to participate in this amazing opportunity.

Thanks for reading!

Christina

Happy Thanksgiving!

Be Thankful

By Author Unknown

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire. If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don't know something, for it gives you the opportunity to learn.
Be thankful for the difficult times. During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations, because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge, because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes. They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you're tired and weary, because it means you've made a difference.

It's easy to be thankful for the good things. A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for the setbacks. Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive. Find a way to be thankful for your troubles, and they can become your blessings.

Many Blessings,

Christina

Just listed this new ornament! I am so pleased with how it turned out. It would make a wonderful gift for grandparents, aunts/uncles, godparents, co-workers, you name it. Customize it any way you'd like, with favorite pics, verses, poems, etc. Remove the ribbon afterthe holidays and hang it from a decorative hook. Receive 10% off your total purchase if you mention this post! Happy Holidays!

Find it here!

Just listed! Some new hand-stamped sterling jewelry in both our eBay and etsy stores. Can be personalized/customized just for you!

These make beautiful holiday gifts and stocking stuffers!

Wow - time goes by so fast! What I wouldn't give for 3 or 4 extra hours in every day just to get everything done.

Let's see - what have we been up to? We made a trip out to a local pumpkin farm for some autumn fun. They have a petting zoo, lots of fun games and play equipment for the kiddos, a huge corn maze, and hay rack rides. The weather was perfectly crisp and cool, and we just had the best time!

Happy Autumn!