Back to crafting

I've been away for a couple of weeks.  My body is falling apart.  I've had things going on with my neck and was in the ER Sunday night for my lower back.  I'm 33 years old and have the body of a 75 year old.  So, I've been recovering and unable to create until now.  I'm finally feeling better and so I wanted to share a couple of new items I made today.

This first necklace was made with all Thunder Polish Glass Crystal.  It will sell for $14.75 plus shipping.  I took a picture of it on me, so that you could see how it might look if you were wearing it.  :-)

I also made a few more pieces in the My Chains Are Gone line.  I'm loving this line and the message behind it.  I have earrings now with both sterling silver and gun metal hooks, so that those with sensitive ears will have the option.  The gun metal earrings will be $6.25 and the sterling silver earrings will be $8.75.

Gun Metal Earring Hooks

Sterling Silver Earring Hooks

I made another bracelet, this time using a different "hope" charm, and all hematite beads.  The clasp is heart-shaped too, adding just a little more uniqueness to the piece.

My Chains Are Gone bracelet - $10.25

  

My Chains Are Gone necklace with gun metal chain, selling for $12.50.

What do you think?  I have several sets of the earrings that can be ready this weekend, so let me know if you want them, and whether you want sterling silver or gun metal hooks.

FREEDOM charms!!

I finally got my "Freedom" charms in the mail!!  I'm so excited to start making the "My Chains Are Gone" pieces!!!  I know that these are going to go over well and I get to participate in Faith Fest and Jesus Fest, local events coming up in August!  Praying God will bless this business and I can make a difference with it at the same time.

Now, I can reproduce my favorite pieces of jewelry!!

Going pink!

Borrowing some Swarovski pearls from my friend Bethanie, and using my own Thunder Polish Glass Crystals I made a new necklace.  Sadly, I don't have a fancy camera or a better way right now to showcase my pieces.  These with the crystals that "sparkle" look a lot prettier in person than they do in the picture.  These pictures do not do the necklace justice.

Weekends off

Most likely, based on this past weekend, I will be taking the weekends off from at least blogging.  But I did want to share a little bit of exciting news.  An upcoming new item.  I think that it is going to be extremely popular!  And I decided that, even though I won't have it in my hands until at least June 18th, I would give you a little sneak peek!  What do you think??  I know I am excited!

I may or may not have found this on Ebay, and I may or may not have ordered some!  

Fun new designs

I am so excited to share these fun new jewelry designs with you!  This is this first time (aside from the single Swarovski crystals I've used) that I have used real, raw, gorgeous stones.  The higher end material.  And I couldn't be happier with how they look. I want to just keep them all to myself!  But then again, money is always useful around here these days!

This first bracelet is made with these really pretty glass beads I found that have beautiful, pink roses painted inside them.  I mixed them in with some small Swarovski pearls, in 3 different shades and created this:

Next up is a piece I am in love with.  I recently participated in the West County Relay for Life, and sold several pieces of "costume" jewelry, using this cancer ribbon hope charm.  I love the ribbon charm and was thrilled to put it together with some real Swarovski crystals and pearls, Thunder Polish Glass Crystal, and Stardust.  It's so much more beautiful in person than the picture shows.

This last design is gorgeous!  I love green, and so when I saw these beads, I knew that pairing them together would turn out to be a really stunning piece.  This is the "fanciest" (i.e. most expensive) jewelry I have ever made.  I have to say that after making this, it makes my other costume jewelry look...well...not cheap.  But not this beautiful either!  I made a necklace, bracelet and just for fun, a pair of earrings.  The earrings have pewter findings.

Closeup of the necklace

These pieces are made with etched Jade stones, small round jade stones, Mint Alabaster (color) Swarovski Crystals (bicone shape), and Jade Sugulite (also known as hemi).  If I don't end up selling these (though I am praying I do!), I'm sure I can find an excuse to keep them for myself!!

The bracelet (7 inches)

Obviously...the earrings

And here is a picture of the set.  It isn't easy to see all the details, but I am going to sell them as a set (at a discount) or each piece individually.

What do you think?  Contact me if you are interested in any of these pieces. I am going to a vendor event tomorrow and will have them on display and for sale, unless someone contacts me before 10am tomorrow morning saying "I just have to have those!"

Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop

I've always loved Mama Kat's blog and writer's workshop.  I used to participate in it on my personal blog a lot.  Recently I've had so much other real life stuff just waiting to take up space in my blog that I haven't had a chance.  But I thought I'd take a moment and break from jewelry and headbands and just write.  As this blog is quite new and small, I am hoping that other writers from the workshop take some time to visit and that this will help me build up my readers.
The prompt I chose was to write an open letter to somebody that I used to know in 15 lines or less.  The person I chose was myself.  The old me.  The ugly, sinful, selfish woman that almost allowed Satan to ruin her marriage and her family.
Dear sinner Jamie,
You were so young and naive when you got married.  
You thought marriage would fix all the problems and struggles you were facing, and change everything.  
You were right.  
It did change everything.  
But it didn't fix the problems; in some ways, it made them worse.  
And no matter how hard you prayed or tried to wish them away, still they remained.  
And then you got stupid; you were such an idiot.  
You made some of the dumbest mistakes and selfish choices you have ever made; and you hurt a lot of people along the way.  
I can't believe the person you became.  
I was so disappointed with you and when the darkness was brought to light, you were ready to give up and run away, rather than face the light.
I am so thankful that you finally understood the Cross and let Jesus take the punishment; that you let him carry that guilt and shame you put upon your shoulders for so many years.  
You have been made new and you are a beautiful creation.  
Thank you for letting God finally replace your stony, stubborn heart with a tender and responsive heart, and give you a story that you can share with others and someday use to change lives for His purpose.
Goodbye forever,
Redeemed Jamie

Local Vendor Fair

Anyone in or near the St. Louis Area, check this out on Saturday if you are looking for something to do:

When:  Saturday June 9th

Where:  8450 Watson Road, next to The Book Shelf

Time: 10am-5pm

There will be food, drinks, games and a RAFFLE!  Little Bishop Creations will be there along with other vendors:

Velata

Pampered Chef

Arbonne

31 Gifts

Vault Jeans

Avon

Little Chickie Bows

Tupperware

Tastefully Simple

D.U.O Designs Jewelry

Here is a sampling of what I'll have available (quantities are limited):

Here is a sampling of the headbands and tag blankets I'll have with me as well:

Freedom

I want to keep this blog centered around my crafting and sewing, but sometimes my real life will spill over onto here.  So, if you already know my story, you'll just have the pleasure of reading about it again.

There isn't a short version really.  It's all found at Little Bishop Chronicles, which is where I write about anything and everything.  Frustrations.  Joys.  Kids.  Marriage.  Freedom.
That's what I want to talk about tonight.  Freedom.  I didn't understand freedom until April 6, 2012.  I was a "Christian" all of my life.  I went to church.  I went to Bible college.  I tried to teach my children about Jesus.  I knew all the right things, but until I was thirty-three years old, I didn't really understand the Cross.  And the FREEDOM we have, if we choose to lay our burdens down at the foot of the Cross.  The Cross is an amazing place and finding myself there on Good Friday this year, understanding that Jesus took the punishment for MY sins was pivotal.  It was chaotic and crazy and amazing!  My chains are gone and I've been set free.  
That being said, a friend gave me some handcuff charms.  Settle down, now.  Nothing naughty here.  The handcuffs are not link in the normal fashion, and "FREEDOM" is written on them.  I immediately had an idea for jewelry that I could make with them. I promptly set to work and am loving the finished product!!!  
The first day I wore them I had three different people comment on them.  Being a shy person around strangers, (unless I'm blogging-and then I lay it all out there for all to see), I couldn't believe how easy it was to tell complete strangers how Christ and the Cross had changed my life.  How I had freedom from sin and guilt and shame.
God is so good!

This is the bracelet I made.  The Cross, to symbolize what Christ did for me, when He took my sin and died for me.  The freedom handcuffs with a red Swarovski crystal to symbolize that my freedom was bought with His blood.  And the hope charm, to symbolize the hope that I now have.  This is especially significant because it wasn't just a renewed hope in Christ I had found.  It was a renewed hope in my marriage.

On this one, I used the same handcuff charm with the Swarovski crystal , and used a jump ring to attach it to a chain that I cut and added a clasp to.

And these?  These are my favorite!!!  I just love the way they look and what they symbolize to me.

Starting from the bottom

It isn't always easy to start at the bottom, or to start something new. If you want an active and consistent business, one thing I know is that it takes a lot of HARD WORK. Our family needs me to bring in some income and I am ready to do the hard work.

That means promoting my blog.

Promoting my products.

Promoting Little Bishop Creations.

I am a stay at home mom for the first time in YEARS. I haven't been home with my kids since they were 6, 5, 4, and 1. It was a nightmare! I couldn't have been happier to get out of the house and work for a bit. What started as part-time turned into more than full-time, with me in a management position. Working for your husband has benefits. When he started thinking about taking an even larger pay cut than we had already taken by reducing my hours, I told him "Why don't I take the pay cut?"

I mean, he was still going to be working the same amount of hours and so was I. The biggest difference is that I didn't want to work anymore. And while in that regard it worked out great, it has left a huge hole in our family's wallet. My husband I and I talk all the time about what I can do to help meet that deficit. In our ideal world, his company would flourish and he could increase his salary to compensate for the difference. However, we live in reality and the company just isn't growing as quickly as we'd like.

And when I think about what I want to do, with different physical ailments I have, coupled with being home with my kids during the summers and potentially trying my hand at home schooling next year, getting a full-time job isn't the right answer. So why not try something I love? Why not use something I am good at to try to make some money to compensate for what we are losing each month? And so this is my attempt.

Today is my 13 year anniversary to the most amazing man God could ever have brought into my life, and as a gift to me, he is purchasing the domain name littlebishopcreations.com. It's the perfect gift for me, really and I love that he was able to surprise me with it. I usually drag surprises out of him! So he did good keeping it from me until HE was ready to tell me.

I love to hear feedback from readers and those who have used my products. Please let me know what you think after perusing the site. It's still "in the works" so to speak. I am basically building it myself (with a lot of help from my husband), so it isn't going to look as "professional" as some of the other sites out there, but I do have the ability for online ordering, which I think is huge in this industry. I don't have to go through another hosting site, like Etsy or Ebay. Nothing wrong with those sites at all, but if I can do it all through Google with no cost to list my items, I'm already making money, right?  Or, at least, I'm not LOSING money.

My biggest challenge now, with the blog in particular, will be drawing readers to it.  So, if you want to keep updated on the new products, sales, etc...please feel free to follow this blog or have updates emailed to you.  I appreciate all the support I can get.

And lastly, go check out www.littlebishopcreations.com and let me know what you think!!!  I have several items in my inventory under "Online Ordering" that are already made and ready to go.  All you have to do is buy it!  ;-)  You can change the category from Headbands to Jewelry or Tag Blankets.  I'll continue to add more as I complete more projects.  Take some time exploring the site and feel free to leave some feedback for me here in the comments section below.