Monday, December 28, 2009

Merry Christmas!

Here I am 4 days later showing up to say Merry Christmas... Last two weeks were overwhelming and right now I am actually putting quiet a bit of an effort trying to keep my eyes open:)

We had a great Christmas! We involved ourselves in all those little things that manifest Christmas... We set up a tree and decorated it with glass(omg!) ornaments. Last couple of years we had to put pinecones and ribbons on tree branches to prevent injuries to our curious toddlers. This year kids were old enough to get the message and did not pull on the ornaments, in fact they helped us to decorate the Christmas tree, carefully lining up 5 to 10 glass balls on one branch:)

We baked Christmas cookies! Growing up in Latvia my mom would always buy for us piparkukas (traditional spiced cookies) around Christmas time - they were decorated with colorful icing and sold on all major corners of my home city.
A couple of years ago accidentally I found the recipe for piparkukas in one of the cooking books at the library.
Now I make them every Christmas and my childhood home becomes a bit closer.

We went to see a Nativity Exhibit at the Dallas Arboretum. Unfortunately my camera really didn't do me much good there. But believe me, it was fantastic - they had handmade nativity collections from all around the world!



We celebrated with friends and amazingly had WHITE Christmas, here in Dallas Texas! Just 2 days before the Holiday kids got hot running around the park in long sleeved tees. It was anything but winter! Then on Christmas eve the air became freezing and by the end of the day snow storm came! Surprisingly some snow stayed till Christmas morning:) Kids even got a chance to play with it!

So here it is, my belated Christmas posting. I hope you all had a joyful Christmas!

Monday, December 14, 2009

Happy one month!

My shop http://www.studioelenus.etsy.com/ turned 1 month today! It is still such a baby but looks like it is starting to hold it's head:))))

This month was beautiful! I had sales, I met amazing crafters, I found support of old and new friends! It makes me incredibly happy to learn that people who never met me like what I make. Before I sold to coworkers, to friends, to friends of my friends and few people at the craft fair. But still, in all those transactions personal factor most likely played part. But this month showed me that my designs are liked and even loved by people who don't know me and probably will never meet me. To me as a crafter, this is the best compliment!

Of course, it wouldn't be the start of new business without downfall and turmoil in other areas. My home has been neglected, I haven't done much fun or meaningful stuff with my kids this month, which breaks my heart into pieces. My head is just now slowing down from all that spinning it has done in the past weeks. At some point I measured my life in new listings, treasuries, showcases, sales and was checking my profile, my policies and my favorites every 5 minutes with no reason at all. Now that the Christmas rush is coming to an end I feel much more relaxed. I have projects lined up, I am going to take kids for walks and enjoy myself and the holidays.

One of the things that made me very happy this month is that my favorite 3 strand design ended up being as attractive on photos as it is "in person". I sold a lot of them in Chicago and now 2 of them found home through my online shop.

Bella in earth colors and and Bella in turquoise were sold this month.
Mahogany and black copper (see pics) are still available in my shop.
This design is called Bella and ironically enough I don't have one in my jewelry box yet.
Oh well, I have different Bella "hanging on my neck" - my sweet little Bella who is dreaming of butterflies in her toddler bed right now:)

So here it is, my monthly update on the shop. I decided that once a month I am going to write about my etsy developments. It shouldn't be overwhelming;) next etsy update is on January 14.