Holiday Shop Hop 2011 - Are You In??


Okay ~ so here's the scoop :



"Holiday Shop Hop" - My idea is to have a “Holiday Shop Hop” for a weekend on our blogs with a link to each other's shops so all our friends, family and internet connections can ‘hop’ around our shops/websites and shop for some wonderful handmade goodies for their family and friends for the holidays.

Carved Wooden Snowman Ornament by Gordon W. Baldock



When: Saturday and Sunday, December 3rd and 4th, 2011 (some folks suggested this weekend - so I listened)



Who: We're looking for people who sell quality, handmade items with an online storefront or shop of some sort (like Etsy, Artfire, your own website or other craft site, etc.) that have blogs or active Facebook Fan Pages that could post links on the specific weekend for people to 'click' on and hop around to.



What:  Items can include, but are not limted to:



Jewelry, jewelry components and supplies, art beads, art sculptures/paintings, beauty products, handmade soaps and bath gels and products, clothes, accessories (shoes, handbags, belts, etc.), photography prints, vintage goods, home decor, candles, ceramics and pottery, furniture, glass, housewares, gift cards, paper products, children's items, toys, holiday decorations, books, sewing/quilts, scarves, woodworking, carvings, yarn crafts, holiday decorations, wrapping paper and goods, etc.

I would like to limit things to hand-made, (vs. manufactured or store bought) and a nice mix of all sorts of handmade items would be great.



Where: A "link List" that weekend on your blog to all the participants. Or, a link on your Facebook page or your website, or your Etsy/Artfire shop announcements, etc. to the Host blog(s) so people can find the list of 'shops to hop' around to.




Why: To help spread the word about 'shopping handmade' this holiday season, because I've heard so many people wonder (out loud) what they could do to boost their online sales this season.



Now, here's all the other details:



You can offer any type of incentives, or discounts codes, or free give-a-ways, etc., on your own shops, Etsy stores or Artfire shops or blogs, websites, etc., (however each person sells their wares) whatever it is you want to do.



It’s your shop – do what you want.
(you're responsible for all your own orders, shipping, etc.)

I cannot promise you any increase in sales,
but more traffic to your shops wouldn't hurt!
This is an ‘Attention Getter’ ,
with the purpose of getting more people to view your handmade products this Holiday Gift Giving Season.

Realistically, it shouldn’t be any extra work or stress for the participants or anything out of the ordinary other than what you would (should!) normally be doing for your shops at this time of year.

Unless, of course, you wanted to make extra items for your shop so that it's well stocked when people stop in to shop, or create discount coupons, and things like that.

**Here's the important part***

I would like those with a blog and/or facebook page to please do one or two posts leading up to the event, getting the word out and helping to get people to stop by on the dates set for the Holiday Shop Hop.

And, if you are on Facebook and/or Twitter, then a FB post/note and a few Tweets would be really great, too.

Basically, any Social Media things you would be doing for your own blog during the this time of year would be something nice to do for the "Holiday Shop Hop".

***Please Note***

I'm of the mindset that "there's enough for everyone" and so it will not be the sort of thing where there's only one
 type of product in each category
(say only one jewelry shop in the jewelry category). 

Shoot,...with all the jewelry peeps I know, it could all be jewlery!  But I'm really hoping to spead the word and get a nice, wide variety of handmade items to show our guests who visit and give them some great items to choose from.

Any help on getting shops in a wide variety of categories would be greatly appreciated!

So what do you say?

Would you like to play along?

If so, please leave a comment with your shop name, blog name and your email so I can contact you.

If you don't want to leave an email on the comments, please make certain that you leave a blog or facebook link that leads me to an email or phone number so I can reach you and get all your information and proper links to post that weekend for everyone.

I've got several folks who have already asked to participate, so early next week (after I've gathered everyone's responses), I'll post a link button for you to grab for your blog and for those with only shops and no blogs, I'll have the link for you to post in your shop announcements for people to click on.


I hope all of this long winded stuff just made sense.

If you have questions - please contact me.
My email is: Shel@asicj.com.
 
And, there's a link to it over here --->
on the right side of my blog somewhere, too! 


Old Fashioned Santa
Hand Carved by Gordon W. Baldock

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Spreading Good Cheer, Baby!!

Cheers,

Gearing Up,...

I hope everyone had a very Happy Halloween yesterday!!

Today's a day of "Gearing Up" for some things that are going to be happening around here, so I'll jump right in.

Multi-Strand Knotted Bracelet
by MiShel Designs
1st up, my sister and I are having our
at her house this coming Saturday, November 5th,
from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

I hope those of you here in Arizona will join us!

I Invite all of my Blogger family, Facebook friends
and beloved online connections who can't physically be with us in Arizona, to join us online this Saturday for our Annual Fall Jewelry Boutique by stopping by here and over on my
MiShel Designs Facebook page and grabbing your "coupon code" that you'll be able to use upon check out in my
Etsy Store.

Plus, we'll also have some online Jewelry Give-A-Ways here, and over on my MiShel Designs Facebook Page as well,
so you'll want to check in both places on
Saturday afternoon and see what's going on!

Desert Sagebrush Necklace

I really love connecting with all the women who come to 

They have shown me their support for several years now.  They're my trusted "board of advisors" on what's good and what's not and they are a fun group of gals that I love to hang out with for the day, while we laugh, joke and share.

They are truly some of the best clients (and friends!!) 
anyone could ask for. I cannot wait for Saturday!!
"See" you there!!

Next up for business today is this idea
I've been swirling
- or should I say "Twirling"-
around in my head.  

These days, I see more and more people who enjoy giving handmade gifts to those they care about. 

The Pippy Golden Pom Pom Scarf by Sew Stacy on Etsy
(I have one in black and white - simply stunning!!)

It's a wonderful feeling gifting someone something
that is handmade and unique - it's very delightful indeed!

One of my favorite handmade purchases was this
Red Leather Recycled Clutch from Lori Plyer over at Studio Waterstone
Yummy - isn't it!?!  I just LOVE carrying this around!!

I don't know about you, but knowing my purchase of handmade items helps to support the
small business person as well as the arts/craft industry
is double the delight for me! 

So, come back tomorrow
(yep, gotta stop by here again tomorrow!)
as I give you all the juicy details for the
"Holiday Shop Hop" I'm putting together.

And, if you're one of the people who have an online shop,
say on Etsy or Artfire, or you sell your wares online via
your website or another craft market place, you'll definitely want to check back in here tomorrow to see how you can participate in this fun and exciting venture and have the possibility of putting more of your handmade items in the hands of those that want them this
Holiday Gift Giving Season!


Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and Gearing Up For Fun Things!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

I Heart Macro - It's Sunday!!

It's Sunday and that means it's time for
"I Heart Macro" over at Studio Waterstone with Lori Plyler and the group.



Go check it out - you will not be sorry!!

Halloween Mummy
Since it's the day before Halloween
*** My FAVORITE Holiday!! *** 
I thought I'd share some 
Autumn colors and a few 
"Halloween-ish" sights!

Scary Halloween Spider!


Beautiful "Halloween Orange" Flower


October Leaves

Halloween Pumpkin - Up Close!


Enjoy!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Happy (almost)
All Hallow's Eve!

We Three Pumpkins,.....


Cheers,
~Shel~

Friday's Fab Fav's

Happy Friday Folks!!

My Fabulous Fav's for this Friday are all about education - bead, jewelry or gem related education - but education none the less!



1st up there's Beaducation.com.
and this site is jam-packed with tons of cool tools and jewelry components for stamping,
drilling and working with various metals



There's loads of inspiration on their site and they have (in my opinion) the best online videos and jewelry tutorials out there - both free and ones you can purchase.  They're Beaducation Blog is also packed with oodles of information, videos, tips and inspiration! 


Next up this week is Alyson B. Stanfield's Art Biz Blog.
Alyson's the author of the ever so popular book "I'd Rather Be In The Studio" (Pentas Press)



She's also the 'no-excuses, get it done now' Art Biz Coach who believes in self-promotion and no excuses (as I mentioned) and uses her years of experience as a museum curator (among other fascinating jobs) to steer you in the right direction if you're serious about making a living with your art. 

Not for the faint of heart, this is instense stuff worth reading, watching, learning and growing with! 



And last, but certainly not least, we have the




(You were warned there'd be info on my fav organic gemstone quite frequently - you were warned!!) 

Photo by Michelle Buettner


Established in 2003, with more than 3000 participating members and more than 30,000 pages of pearl related information and content, Pearl-Guide.com is the world's largest pearl information source where questions are answered and where history, technology and the latest news are center stage. 

Photy by Michelle Buettner

There's ongoing forums with a range of topics such as pearls in fashion (Pearls are ALWAYS stylishly in fashion!) and many other pearl related topics.  This is your one-stop, get your pearl questions answered and facts found website!

Photo by Michelle Buettner
Okay - I hope you've enjoyed this week's edition of Friday's Fab Fav's and will check out these amazing websites/blogs and see for yourself all the great information and education they provide!

Have a good weekend everyone!

Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and Loads of Fun Information!!
Cheers,

This or That Thursday!


Thank goodness for 'auto-posting' so that I could participate today when I'm actually not here!

Rusted pipe from the cabin after the fire this summer


This is,...well, it's just RUST!

I love the texture of rust and it's fun to play with when photographing!

Enjoy!

Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and Texture Fun!
Cheers,
~Shel~

No Beads on My Bead Table This Week,...


I'm hoping to create a bunch of jewelry this weekend
for our Annual Fall Jewelry Boutique
my sis and I are having on November 5th.  

Earrings are my favorite pieces to create
but aside from the ones pictured here,
I haven't made very many lately
and am just itching to play!!



What?  Why am I waiting until the weekend? 

Well, today (Tuesday) was Jury Duty all day
and the next two days I'm going to help a dear friend
who's having some post-cancer surgery
and so it's going to be a no-internet, no work,
no jewelry making, couple of days. 

Days filled with happily caring for another during
a time of need and relaxing with tea,
girl talk and funny movies!



My feet will be hitting the floor at 5:00 a.m. tomorrow (Wednesday) and I'll return sometime late on Thursday
at which time I will hug the hubby and son, grasp my tempurpedic pillow and drift off to sleep and wake to a lovely, sunny Friday morning ~ ready to work, design, play and create! 

I hope you're having a creative week
and making lots of fun things and
I also hope you're enjoying lots of
lovely fall weather and gorgeous inspiration!

Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and Hangin' with one of my girls!
Cheers,
~Shel~

I Heart Macro - It's Sunday!!

With All The Gorgeous Macro Shots



Happy Sunday Everyone!






Cute Little Bee's Butt! :)


Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Sunday Funday!
Cheers,
~Shel~

Steel Shot Down the Drain!

Okay, so one day this week - we won't mention which day - I was tumbling several orders of earring wires. 

All was going well as I stopped the tumbler, removed the drum, took the lid off and started to carry it to the other side of the kitchen counter.

That's when things went down hill - quickly! 

I tripped on the rug in front of the sink, hit the sink with my arms and the barrel carrying all the steel shot went sliding out of my hands and,....yep,...you guessed it,...right into the flipping garbarge disposal!!

HOLY CRAP! 

A 1/2 a pound of steel shot just escaped from the barrel and was clogging up my garbage disposal!

HOLY SHIT!
I mean SHOT!

Seriously - You gotta be kiddin' me!!! 


My son comes running as he hears my screams of distress

(The, "Holy SHIT!" comment brought him right in!).

So, as he sees that I've not burned holes through
my skin with any kind of acid
( I was just putting some ear wires through the whole liver-of-sulfur thing which he thinks is the most 'acid' type of thing I could ever do,...if he only knew!)
he comes around the sink to help. 

As he sees all the shot in the sink he stops and then says

"Hang on Mom, I'll be right back.
That stuff is magnetic, right?" 

At this point, I'm like, "I have no idea!" 
(shoot me now,...just shoot me now!)

My son returns with this rectangle magnet that's sooooo strong and which proceeds to lift so much of the steel shot out of the sink that I'm pretty sure we'll only need minor repairs if we ever want to use it again!

Fast forward a half hour or so,...
My son helped me get most of the shot out of sink with his miracle magnet and I wrangled all the little pieces I could manage with my fingernails and only about 20 or so little pieces still remained!
(20 or so pieces,...WTF?!!) 

And then, it's time to go to our Parent/Teacher conferences.
Yeah life really does go on,....

So, we call the hubby and give him the scoop and he says "Relax, I'll use the shop vac and get all those pieces out, not to worry!"
 
(I'm thinking,..."yeah right!")

However, we all meet up and then return from all the family stuff we had to do and guess what? 

Not a single little itty bitty piece of steel shot remains in the garbarge disposal!

All is perfect again in my kitchen! 
Woo Hoo!
Seriously,...WOO HOO!

And that's the end of another perfect day in Shel's World!!

***Sorry there's not pics, but my hands were a bit busy scraping steel shot and a few tomatoes out of the drain!***

Friday's Fab Fav's!

T.G.I.F.!!   Time for my list of Friday's Fab Fav's!

Here's the scoop - these are blogs or sites I regularly follow and think have something special to offer. 

This week, unlike last week, they're all jewelry related in some fashion. (i.e. - they have some sort of jewelry related posts or pages on their blogs), but each have something other than just "pretty jewels" to offer. 

 
So, grab your drink of choice tonight and sit back, relax and allow yourself to be thoroughly engulfed!


You've all heard me whine about my jewelry photographs and how I'd like to improve them, so when I found out that
Kerry was making her "Snaptastic" photography class available as an eCourse,...I signed up! 
(You should seriously check this out!!)


Kerry's blog has great inspirational photos, links to her fabulous book, (Totally Twisted: innovative wirework and art glass  jewelry) and amazingly colorful glass beads she creates and sells, as well as informative posts and links for those in the jewelry and bead world.  

 

Next up this Friday is the creative
Lori Anderson with her blog, Pretty Things.
Lori's the mastermind and host behind the Bead Soup Blog Party I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in this past September (Cool experience!). 

Lori's one of those rare and amazing people who instantly put you at ease and make you feel you can accomplish anything. Down to earth and very real (and oh, so funny!!) Lori share's tutorials, wonderful sites to check out, where to catch all the latest 'goings on', great books (and some bizarre ones, too!) and a plethora of stunning jewelry designs,..just to name a few things! Seriously - you will not get bored with this site - check it out!

And last, but certainly not least this Friday is Rena Klingenberg and her website and newsletter:
Home Jewelry Business Success Tips

I'm not sure I can even put into words what all Rena's site encompasses or what it's meant to me.  

I was so excited to find Rena's website and to receive her newsletters many years ago,...2004 or 2005 I think it may have been. I'd already been designing jewelry (mostly earrings) since the late 1980's (yep, I'm old - 46 to be exact!) but stopped when my son was a toddler and had just started to revise my passion when I found her site. 



She's been a source of great business information over the years with everything from setting up booths at trade shows to expanding your business with various services to using social media to expand your business,....everything that you could want to know - she's touched on the topic - trust me on this one! Plus, there's a ton of people who regularly post to Rena's site with gorgeous inspirational jewelry photos, great business advise and all sorts of fun jewelry topics.  This is one you need to book mark and read regularly!

Althought I've only given you three again this week,
 trust me - you'll be filled to the brim! 
"But it's all good, Baby!!" 
(as the hubby always says!) 

I hope you have an excellent weekend! 
Go out and do something creative!

Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and Fabulous Friday Favorites over at Shel's!

Cheers,