Make Your Own Rosary Kits!

Premiering on Etsy today - I have listed my Make Your Own Rosary Kits!  I've been very excited putting these together and getting them ready to go.  It's been something I've wanted to do for a long time. 

Everyone will recieve enough beads, spacers, string and other parts needed to make one full 5-decade rosary.  Complete instructions and a pamphlet on how to pray the rosary will also be included.  No tools are needed to make the rosary.  If you can string a bead and tie a knot, you can make one!

These are especially fun for children (under adult supervision, of course!), parents who homeschool or anyone who needs a rainy day project.  I would have loved to do something like this when I was in RCIA!

I've priced them very inexpensively, at $3 each.  With materials, free shipping & shipping envelopes, etc. this is zero profit for me.  I am offering them at such a low price because I want them to be affordable for those who want learn more about their faith and the use of sacramentals in prayer.

I have lots of these little kits available.  If you want more than one just send me a Convo through my Etsy shop and I can create a custom listing for you.

Blak/White Rosary Treasury

A lovely Etsy user, BeadedTreasuresEtc, created an all-Rosary Treasury featuring black and white rosaries.  My Black/Silver-capped rosary was selected to be featured among the other beautiful beads fro my fellow Rosary makers.  How nice!

Shepherd's Hook Bookmarks

Today I am making a whole bunch of bookmarks.  Some may go in my shop and some may just wait in my inventory for the Holiday craft shows.  I have enough bookmarks and enough holy medals to make 16 different pieces.

I love the way these bookmarks hook over the side of my books letting the beads & medals dangle down.  I love the pretty jingle noise they make when the beads and the medals clink together.  And the idea of them being a "Shepherd's Hook" is beautiful imagery in just the words themselves. 

I really like making these pieces and they have proved very popular in sales.  I have had several custom orders for multiple bookmarks with specific Saints.  I can't always find all the Holy Medals requested but I do try. 

Visit the Bookmarks/Magnets section of my shop to see the other bookmarks I have to offer.

St. Anne's parish - Seattle

Sunday I went to a different church. I went to St Anne's parish, aptly located on Queen Anne Hill in Seattle. It's a whole world of different than going to the large Cathedral I normally go to. Much more intimate with only 200+/- people in attendance whereas I'm used to standing-room-only 1000+ people in the big Cathedral.

Something weird happened before Mass started. A guy was at the podium greeting everyone and making a couple announcements. Then he asked for any new people or visitors to raise their hand. The people sitting next to me raised their hand so I did too. Then the guy asked us to stand up and introduce ourselves.

WHAT? Why is he look straight at me? Oh crap - stage fright!

So I stood up and a couple other folks did too. I was the first one to speak and I just said my name, said I lived in Seattle and regularly go to the Cathedral - just visiting this parish for the first time. Everyone else who stood up was out of state visitors. Made me feel like a dork for being the only local newbie.

Then the guy at the podium told everyone that we'd start mass soon and while we wait we should greet our visiting newbies. People are shaking my hand and all that kind of stuff.

I was a pretty freaked out by that whole greet the newbies thing. I had flashbacks to when I would go to a Morman church service with a friend of mine. Whenever I came with her I was vultured over by dozens of people who wanted to know all about me like they'd get Amway points or free Tupperware for converting the new girl.

I hated being swarmed like that and this thing at the Catholic church made me feel a little like that. Other than a handshake and a hello and a nod and a peace sign people left me alone. The lady next to me did hold my hand during the Lord's Prayer but I like that so it was cool. I've never expereienced that newbie greeting thing at any of the other parishes I've been to so it was odd. But once mass started it was business as usual and I could chill out.

Other thoughts about the parish. It is a very modern building with some very modern artwork. I liked it. Put some pictures below. The priest was cool and funny - although there were times I think I was the only one giggling. Not inappropriately, but I guess he said things that only tickled me during the homily. When mass was finished, before the blessing, he cracked a joke about how someone's cellphone went off during the Eucharist. He didn't want to stop and ask who it was...but now he wanted to know "So, who was it?" I don't think anyone admited to it but everyone got a good chuckle.

I am thinking about going back there next weekend. They are having a big to-do because they are getting a new crucifix for the space above the baptismal font. It's going to be a life-sized corpus of Christ and they will have it down at the altar for people to venerate before they hang it up on the big wall. I'd like to see that. But this time I'm not going to stand up as a newbie...cause I'm not new anymore.

Time to Destash

Went through some crafting stash and found some things I no longer need or use.  My Destash could be your Treasure!  Check out my Destash Sale  Free shipping on most items.  Help me clean house!

Memory wire, seed and bugle beads, glass marbles and more!

Sales and inventory

According to Etsy, I am 10 sales away from 100 sales.  I know I have sold many more than 100 items, most of my custom orders are multiple items inside of one listing, but this is a little milestone to look forward to. 

Thinking of inventory, I'm trying to figure out if I should put my shop on Vacation mode if I get accepted to these big craft shows.  I'll find out if I make it to one or both of them in the next 3 weeks.  So for three weeks it will be Etsy business as usual.  But if I get accepted to the shows, I may have to close shop for a while to  conserve inventory. 

My concern is if I get accepted to both big shows that will be 4 days I will need to stay stocked.  Since I have never done shows of this scale before I can't predict in advance what will sell and what won't.  I want to have a good-sized inventory.  I have 61 things listed online right now.  I have another 40+/- things not yet listed.  I'll be making a few more items out of supplies I already have. But I don't want to spend a lot of money on materials to bulk up inventory because that essentially eats up any profits I haven't even made yet!  Heck, I don't even know if any of my products will sell!  I could come out at a loss just paying the booth fees! 

However...I don't want to have my shop closed for over a month and shut out my dear online customers.  Especially it being so close to the gift-giving season and all. There's got to be a happy medium.

How do you crafty folk do it?  How do you balance your shop and your craft show inventory?

Crossing fingers...again

So, I pretty much went crazy and applied for a SECOND big craft show.  Am I insane??  LOL!

I've been wanting to be a part of an Urban Craft Uprising show ever since I started my Etsy shop.  They do two HUGE shows a year - Summer and Winter - and I always enjoy going to the shows but have been too sacred to apply.  They have huge exposure in the Seattle community with sponsors and advertising all over the place, including Craft: magazine.  People line up over an hour before the doors open to get a Swag bag (I know I did!).  Last Winter alone they had over 8000 buyers in the door over the course of the 2 day event.  This is a HUGE deal.

Since I already got the nerve to apply for the other Big Show, I figured I might as well throw my hat in the ring for Big Show #2.  This one would come 2 weeks after the first.

Either I get in to one, or I get into the other, or I get in to both, or I get in to neither of them.  There's a 25% chance for anything.  Might as well, go for it, right?  Right!

I'm trying very hard to be confident but I am honestly very, very nervous!