Family Dinner Revival

A while back I would have been completely embarrassed to share our family dinner routine--mainly because we had no routine; or structure. With such picky eaters (much of it due to my own lack of discipline), my husband and I found ourselves making separate dinners for each of our children. He and I wouldn't eat together until the kids were in bed where we could eat in peace without the "eww" and "I don't like that".

I have a magnet on my refrigerator that says, "Everyday I give my family two choices for dinner...take it or leave it." I've intended to live up to this, but it's rarely happened. I have always envied families who have sit down dinners, where everyone eats and passes the side dishes around the table. I admit, I hate cooking with a passion! In order to balance the need for family dinners together and the kids actually eating we eat out quite a bit at "sit down" restaurants.

I'm excited to say I've found a solution! It's only been 1 week but I'm blown away at the results. Curious yet? Okay, here it is; we have a family of 5. Two days a week, Fridays and Saturdays, we've committed to eating out still for tradition's sake, and because those days we're often away from the home at dinner time. For Sunday through Thursday each of us have drawn days out of a jar. Those are our permanent days we are each responsible for preparing dinner for the family--yes, even our 2 year old daughter with help from Mommy and Daddy!

When it's our day to cook, we get to choose what everyone eats. We lead prayer, and we set the table. We each bus our own dishes afterward. This is what has happened as a result:

• The children get excited to create what they want knowing (within reason) everyone will eat it or at least try it, no rude comments allowed.
• They learn cooking skills.
• They also learn to be sympathetic toward those making meals they may not like and try them anyway knowing a lot of work and preparation went into it. After all, they wouldn't like it if someone complained about the meal they carefully planned and made with love.
• The children have gained such pride and self confidence as they watch their family eat what they've prepared.
• My husband and I kind of get a break from cooking. We still help guide them with their preparations.
• We are bonding and creating lasting memories. Today as I was helping my 9 year old make French toast, he offered me a high five with our spatulas as one of his toasts turned out beautiful.

I'm sure there are other benefits of our new dinner routine. Finally, we get to live up to the magnet quote about two choices; taking it or leaving it. My hope is my kids, oral sensory issues and food aversions or not, will learn to appreciate new things and cherish family dinnertime.

The Big "C"

The big "C" I'm talking about is "cancer". Recently another close family member of mine was affected by this disease; my mother-in-law. It seems all too common now days and no doubt cancer can have an impact on the whole family as well as the patient.

My husband and I traveled out of state to be there for his mom while the doctors removed her tumor. As we returned home after a successful surgery, I thought about how wicked cancerous tumors are. I prayed for my mother-in-law's continued recovery and complete healing. I thought about how God can take something so awful like cancer and make something beautiful out of it. I envisioned what His love love could grow in the place of my mother-in-law's cancer: love, perspective, endurance, patience, faith, strength, perseverance, courage, hope and compassion, to name a few. This vision is what inspired the piece to your left.

This exact drawing will go to my mother-in-law but I will be offering prints of it in my shop soon. 50% of the profits will be donated to cancer research centers in hopes of one day finding a cure.

If you know someone who is about to go through chemo therapy and risks losing their hair, I'd like to recommend a shop on Etsy called English Traditions. This seller makes and sells well crafted chemo scarves. She will ship directly to your loved one if need be and thoughtfully wrap the items and include a personal message if you wish to send one. My mother-in-law's package also included a nice poem.

What's New and What's Happening

I can't believe how long it's been since I've written! I promise I've just been busy rather than lazy.

This last week I passed my Colored Stones class with the Gemological Institute of America bringing me a step closer to my gemologist diploma. Since completing this class I've found time to paint and to wire wrap a bit. I look forward to bringing new pieces to each of my shops soon.

I held my anniversary drawing in my jewelry shop but never got around to blogging showing what was being given away. It'll be a surprise to my winner whose raffle ticket was drawn today. Missed this drawing? No worries because there'll be one in my art shop in August.

I plan to add more gems to my gem shop, however, since I'm taking Gem Identification next, I am going to hang onto whatever I can until I'm done with this class.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Gemology Pursuit

Today's challenge is to see how much I can get written with my toddler competing for my attention. It's been difficult to write lately with daily demands of appointments, school, working and full time with my kids, still making time for my husband... but I really want to give an update.

With my latest store sales I've been able to pay for some of my classes to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) "The world's foremost authority in gemology." Recently I received my AJP which stands for Accredited Jewelry Professional. Currently I'm studying Diamonds and Diamond grading with the intent of completing the program to gemologist.

I've been studying gems since I was about 16 years old and as I'm sure I've mentioned before, have built my own gem lab more recently. I've always had a love for fine jewelry especially. While in high school I would save portions of my lunch money to buy jewelry at the local pawn shop. From there I would trade items up as I had money and ended up with a nice collection of gemstone jewelry, much of it in karat gold.

My grandma had a love for jewelry and perhaps influenced my early appreciation for fine pieces. She has since passed on but I'm sure she'd be proud of me pursuing my interests.

Well, it only took me 45 minutes to write this.

Thank you for your support in helping me do something I've always wanted to do.

Considering a Store Close

I have a passion for jewelry making and design but the reality is, the time it takes to produce my pieces and the cost of my supplies versus the price that moves them through my store leaves me at a financial disadvantage. There are so many jewelry artists out there and in order to compete with others' prices I feel I'm having to sell myself short.

In order to get items noticed among the hundreds of thousands on Etsy I must advertise and/or consistently relist pieces to move them toward the top of the "most recent". Doing this also puts the piece in a brief front page viewing as "recently listed items". This costs money and can add up quickly. So while Etsy's commission is very reasonable, an item, for example that cost me $5 to make that I'm selling for $10 on clearance, I may have to pay several dollars in relisting fees to get it noticed before it actually sells; thus being out time and possibly money. This is not to mention Paypal's fees.

In my jewelry I use sterling and fine silver. If you've followed precious metal prices lately, you'll know they've gone up exponentially. In fact sterling wire prices alone have nearly doubled since I started my Etsy shop just less than 2 years ago. Fine silver in clay form has always been pricey but so far my vendor has kept the prices the same. As a result I've been making more items out of fine silver lately. While the supply cost is not much different, my prices are higher because it takes me 2 days to make these pieces. I've considered doing a tutorial--and perhaps at some point I will. Experiencing the labor that goes into PMC and Art Clay pieces in forming and finishing them, I've come to appreciate other artists' creations in a renewed way.

So, what's happening now in my jewelry shop is I've clearanced out many pieces. I have no official plan should I phase out completely. I'm considering pulling some pieces I've gotten compliments on from family and friends and may save them as gifts and keep some samples of work for my own collection; things I've put a lot of heart into. I will not likely reduce the prices anymore than I have but have a coupon code being offered on my store's front page for additional savings. I also may auction some off on Ebay.

Another shop I'm considering closing is my gem shop. I've got hundreds upon hundreds of loose gems. Listing these take a bit more time because each one is measured weighted and sometimes run through expensive tests before being photographed for entry into the shop. It's a bit much for a $5 gem. I've got a coupon code floating in that shop too.

As for my art shop, I don't have plans to close it down anytime soon. I need some sort of outlet after all. I do, however need to move things along so, that store as well has a coupon code.

I'm not going to close out anything in a haste. I thought posting this might give people a head's up as to what may be coming. If there is something you're interested, please consider purchasing it while it's still there. If there are multiple items you're interested and want to make an offer for a discount, I'm totally open to that.

Thanks to those of you who have taken time to read my blog and especially those who've supported my shops. I can't thank you enough.

Last Blog Update for 2010

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and Hanukkah time. Thanks to all my wonderful customers I was able to, not only give my family a decent Christmas, but pay for my first class of school. I've begun my courses at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) to become a gemologist. I've studied gems for more than 15 years and as you may know, I sell them on Etsy as well. I have a complete gem lab and a vast array of rare and exotic gems used for my study so this is right up my alley.

Between caring for my 3 children and my dear husband, and managing all their appointments, I'm finding time to study, paint, make jewelry pieces and manage my shops. I'm not Super Woman so something is going to have to give--and it can't be my kids or husband so it'll be time on my projects. I'll be a bit slower paced on getting pieces made and listed.

I've reduced prices (some drastically) in my art and jewelry shops on most items to clearance out older pieces. New jewelry should be released by next week and I hope to create and list more new paintings sometime this week as I have ideas stewing in my head.

Thank you all for a wonderful 2010. I understand we're in an economic recession and there are many things you can choose to spend your money on. I'm humbled and honored that you'd chose to invest in one of my art pieces whether it's a painting or pendant.

May God bless you and keep you safe. Happy 2011 to you and yours,

Melissa

THANKSGIVING SALE!!! Preview

This is the biggest sale of the year for me and for the first time, I will have great sales in ALL THREE stores! Etsy (the site my stores are on) has made it so we can issue out coupon codes. The reason this is so great is you don't have to wait for me to refund savings any longer. You get your savings immediately at checkout.

So, onto the sale specials. These specials will begin on Thursday. This means the coupon codes you see here will not work until then. These codes will all expire Cyber Monday.

Embound (jewelry store)

Use coupon code "thanks201" for 20% off your entire order. This includes chains that never go on sale (nor should they with today's silver prices) as well as the already discounted items in my clearance bargains catagory.

EmBoundArt (my paintings shop)

Use coupon code "thanks102" for 10% off your entire order. PLUS, buy 3 of my necklaces in this store, get 1 free. Just enter your selection at checkout and please allow up to a week for shipment. THERE'S MORE! With any $30 purchase (after savings, not before) get a free "thank you" gift! This is a sample pack of my work. It includes a blank card, 2 stickers, a glass magnet, and a metallic ACEO signed print. Your pack will vary slightly. One per customer while supplies last.

EmBoundGem (my store for loose gemstones)

Use coupon code "thanks103" for 10% off your entire order in my shop. This is really special because I've never done a sale in this shop. I price my gems competitively anyway and often find I've priced them lower than I can replace them for. Nonetheless, they are overstock of my personal collection and are great for creating your own jewelry or just adding to your own collection.


So, there it is. Please know I really appreciate all your support :). Happy Thanksgiving!!