Healing Mama Jewelry

Home Stretch

2012-01-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

This week I am 35 weeks pregnant with baby boy #2! (He has the hiccups as I type this.) I am deep into nesting in our home (which also where I hope to give birth) and also attempting to prepare for the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show which starts at the end of the month.

I intend to keep my shop open until I go into labor, or until my due date in mid February, whichever happens first. This means assuming I go full term, the shop will be open for anywhere from the next 2ish to 5ish weeks. After baby is born (or after my due date), I will play it by ear, but I am sure the shop will remain closed for at least a few weeks. This is the downside of being self employed with such a small business - no paid leave! It would be nice as our family adjusts to the new addition to take two or three months off of work, but we can't put our bills on hold that long. However once I do re-open, I plan to only take a certain number of orders per week for awhile - again, playing it by ear as our family adjusts and learns and grows with our fourth family member!

As far as the gem show and plans for my designs, I was still trying to figure out what I want to do with my line of beaded loop style necklaces. I mentioned in my last post that I have thousands of beads and inventory wise they turn over rather slowly. I am leaning toward not buying any new non-pendant beads at the gem show and simply using what I have for the remainder of the year.

This means that I will continually have to come up with new beaded designs as I run out of the beads for my old designs; it also means that some popular designs I have had listed for a very long time will eventually no longer be available. However I think financially and organizationally this will be the best move. So, if you adore any current designs that are listed, be aware that all are now officially "limited edition" and will only be available until I run out of those particular beads!

On a more personal note...

2011-12-27T21:01:00.000-07:00

I know I have been terrible about updates with this blog. What can I say - being a full time SAHM to a toddler while running my little home business keeps me busy!

If you've been a long time customer, you might have noticed some changes in my shop recently. First, I added the option of using Google Checkout as a payment method in addition to Paypal and money order. Now when you select "Other" as your payment method, I will email you an invoice to pay with your credit/debit card via Google Checkout. Paypal is definitely convenient as Etsy and Paypal have an integrated system; however, I know some people choose not to keep Paypal accounts but would still like to use their credit card to purchase, so I made this option available. To learn more about Google Checkout, click here for a virtual tour.

You may have also noticed that I lowered some of my prices. I wish I could say that I was able to do this because my costs for supplies have gone down. But really, they have gone up, as well as shipping prices. However, I have competitors on Etsy who have copied some of my original designs and then under priced them. This is one of the challenges of selling on Etsy as many shop owners will tell you: when other sellers undervalue their time and product. To price an item, one should take into account several factors: cost of materials, time spent designing/creating/producing the item, time spend photographing and editing photos, and time spent writing/making the listing. I do this because I love it, but also because it pays the bills, and I can't afford to work for $2 an hour like some sellers seem to be able to do. However I know my prices need to remain competitive, so I essentially gave myself a pay cut in order to do this (and believe me, my "hourly wage" wasn't much more than minimum wage to begin with!). Bummer for me as a small business owner, benefit for you as the customer! ;)

On a more positive note, I wanted to share about some exciting events I am looking forward to in this next couple of months. The end of January marks the beginning of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, the largest gem show in the country which happens to take place in my back yard. I purchase 80-90% of my inventory for the year at this annual event. It is a busy and fun and exciting time every year around here! This year, a bit more excitement is added because I am pregnant with our second child, who is due mid February. I am crossing my fingers he chooses to gestate for at least 38.5 weeks so that I have time to do my gem show shopping before he arrives. ;)

In anticipation of these events, I will likely have some sort of sale happening in January to clear out some inventory and make room for new. I will also be anticipating closing up shop for a few weeks after baby arrives. I hope not to have to shut down for too long, though. I anticipate that I will reopen soon but slowly, taking a certain maximum number of orders per week for a couple of months.

I also like to ask my customers this time of year what they might like to see in my shop. I try to take all suggestions into consideration when I set out shopping for my inventory for the year at the gem show. So if you have any special stones or pendant designs or anything else you would like to see offered, please let me know so I can keep that in mind!

And finally, one last change that I am considering in an effort to streamline my business. I like that as a nursing necklace seller, I offer pretty much the largest variety I've seen as far as types of nursing necklace (beaded, pendant, and wooden). However, I sell far more pendant and wooden necklaces than I do beaded necklaces. I have thousands of beads that turn over very slowly, inventory wise. So I am considering either phasing out my beaded loop design entirely, or only offering a small number of beaded designs at any one time (maybe 5-10 different designs), again in an effort to streamline my time, supplies, organization, etc. I still haven't decided for sure, but I will need to decide before purchasing at the gem show this year, so stay tuned for this potential change.

Just for fun, and because I love Alice. :)

2011-04-30T21:38:00.001-07:00

'Is she the right Alice?' by stonesofhealing2

Eat me - drink me - but remember: We're all mad here.

Paint the Roses Red Pos... FrostedTreats $7.00	12 Vintage Glittered &... windrosie $12.00	Giant Dwarf // Mini Hea... giantdwarf $35.00	Alice IN Wonderland Tic... jamiesdesign $7.00
From Wonderland ... Ant... aevalillithjew... $29.95	Alice in Wonderland Tea... mademoiselleme... $30.00	SALE Alice in Wonderlan... ililziv $12.00	Late... Late... I am ve... Marolsha $32.50
Alice in Wonderland'... darkcyclecloth... $21.00	Queen of Hearts - Steam... BeeBeetle $26.00	We're All Mad Here ... foxwise $14.95	Luscious Royal Three La... priscilladawn $400.00
Queen of Hearts charm b... XannasJewelryB... $57.00	Ready to Ship - Queen o... QUID $45.00	Alice's Teapot - B... RhondasTreasur... $18.00	Drink Me OblivionJewelr... $10.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Giveaway Winner!

2011-03-21T07:17:00.003-07:00

Congratulations Tara Canning! :)

Please contact me at info@stonesofhealing.com to claim your $25 gift code for my shop.

1000+ SALES = GIVEAWAY!

2011-03-10T19:45:00.004-07:00

Yep, it's giveaway time! My current Etsy shop surpassed 1,000 sales this week - thanks to all of my wonderful customers. :)

The last giveaway was for a New Mother Nursing Necklace Gift Set. I decided this time to simply give away... a gift certificate for $25US! That way the winner can choose a favorite item or two in my shop! :D

I am going to give you the opportunity to enter through March 20th. You can earn as many as six entries in the contest, by doing one, some, or all of the following... Each method/comment is worth one entry. So if you do all six, you will leave six separate comments total. :)

1. "Follow" this blog. Leave me a comment to let me know you are following. If you were already following, great! Still leave the comment for an entry.
2. Comment on this blog with your favorite listing from my Etsy shop - include the link please. :)
3. Blog about this giveaway and link to this blog entry on YOUR blog (leave a comment to tell me you did this with a link to your entry).
4. Post about this giveaway with a link to this blog on your Facebook and/or Twitter (leave a comment to tell me you did this). Use @stonesofhealing in your status so that I know I was tagged!
5. Email me a photo of you and/or your baby wearing or using your Stones of Healing nursing necklace (leave me a comment to let me know you sent a photo to info@stonesofhealing.com). NOTE: I may later contact you regarding permission to use your photo on my website - but I will not use it without your permission!
6. Create an Etsy treasury featuring at least one my items - the rest of the items can be anything you want! If it's an awesome enough collection it may get featured on Etsy's front page. ;) Comment here with the link to the treasury. Go here to create a treasury: Etsy Treasury.

VERY IMPORTANT: I NEED TO KNOW A NAME IN ORDER TO CHOOSE AND ANNOUNCE A WINNER. PLEASE INCLUDE THIS INFO IN EACH COMMENT. YOU CAN CHOOSE FIRST AND LAST NAME, OR FIRST NAME AND LOCATION, OR WHATEVER YOU ARE COMFORTABLE WITH. I will assign each entry a number for the purpose of using random.org (so if Wendy does the first four entries, she will be assigned #s 1,2,3, and 4), but I still need to be able to go back and match the number with the entrant. :)

On March 21st, I will choose a winner using random.org. I will announce the winner on this blog, Facebook, and Twitter, and give the winner 72 hours to respond (if I do not receive a response I will then choose another winner).

Good luck! :)

Treasury Fun

2011-02-10T22:01:00.003-07:00

I was featured in this amazingly lovely treasury of local artists, and the treasury was featured on a Phoenix news website. :D I have been featured in a lot of treasuries - or rather, my jewelry has - but I've never made into a local newspaper that I know of until now.

'Blushing in Arizona' by flippedbird

Featuring Arizona artists/designers/sellersFlippin' Be Happy.

Flipped Bird reversible... flippedbird $56.00	Pink Cat Bicycle Origin... bonjourfrenchi... $24.00	Vintage 1950s Dress Swe... tialeyvintage $87.00	Pick Your State Bracele... Funkychunkies $17.00
Heart of Glass Designs-... HeartOfGlassDe... $	Pink Lemonade Shaving S... PinkBowBathBou... $6.00	Sweetness and Sass I AM... tinyshinyones $24.00	Tulip Chair Screenprint JasonHillDesig... $35.00
Hand Puppet, Porfirio t... staceyrebecca $50.00	Vintage Sun Valley Melm... AngiesIris $12.00	WOODEN Teething and Nur... stonesofhealin... $	Strawberry Toaster Neck... Artwonders $16.00
Girl in Heels. 8x10 Pho... blueorder $14.00	Listen to Your Heart fromhim $2.50	SM/MED Rose Mauve Brida... hellodesigncre... $7.00	RETRO BUTTERCREAM ITSY ... ButterToastBou... $30.00

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com A/B image testing.

And here's a treasury I created - TGIF!! :D

'For the Love of Friday' by stonesofhealing2

TGIF * Go from a day at the office to a Friday night on the town with this collection of perfect-for-Friday finds.

It's Friday I'm... CantonBoxCompa... $23.00	Office Soap - TGIF (Cle... thepinksink $2.50	Moss Aquamarine Necklac... moonovermaize $48.00	Recyclewear Bottle Cap ... Cherimorandesi... $20.00
Asymmetric Wrap Dress -... tasifashion $109.00	Vintage Peas, Peas in a... SzetoBaby $22.00	Matching Blue Mugs - se... BigSkyArtworks $25.00	Green Amethyst Sterling... laralewis $54.00
Blow Out SALE - Galaxie... ToxieDesigns $15.00	Firefly - Shimmer (High... TheCopperBee $6.50	SALE Sterling Silver Ch... christieg $31.00	Skinny Jeans Green Stit... duende74 $85.00
Upcycled Urban Hand Pai... Empwr $45.00	Back Space Typewriter K... qacreate $24.99	Crochet Vest Brown, Ta... crochetbutterf... $48.00	Charcoal Pocket Clutch dishhandbags $32.00

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com A/B image testing.

Being "Green"

2011-02-07T13:25:00.004-07:00

Not a green thumb, not green with envy - but green in business! As a small business owner I like to try to stay conscious of my impact in the environment. Here are some the of ways I incorporate this idea into running my business!

~ For my invoices that are sent to customers with their order, I print on paper that is made of at least 30%+ recycled paper. I also print double sided and only use black ink.

~ I package my jewelry in either an unbleached, cotton muslin bag made here in the US, or in a Kraft gift box made from recycled materials. When I have to use a box rather than an envelope, I also usually use a box made from recycled cardboard - unless I am reusing a box, discussed next!

~ I reuse packing materials when I can: small boxes, packaging butcher paper, tissue paper, etc - anything that I might get in the mail and can use again, I do!

~ I only ship my international orders once per week. This is because the post office is far enough away that I have no choice but to drive (especially with my toddler in tow) and the international packages have to be taken up to the counter with a customs form that they stamp. So instead of using gas to get to the PO every single time I get an international order, I wait and ship them all once per week.

~ For most of my other packages, I print the shipping labels including the postage at home and my husband drops them in the box on his way to work in the morning, since he has to drive right by the PO to get to work.

Some of these things are not only environmentally conscious, but they save me money on overhead as well. Some end up being a bit more expensive, like the recycled printing paper, but it's not much more and I think it's worth it! If you have more ideas about how to incorporate being environmentally conscious with a small business, I'd love to hear them! :)

P.S. One more of the Valentine's Day sale in my Etsy shop: 15% off through Feb 8th with coupon code VDAY2011. I have listed tons of new things in the past couple weeks, go check it all out!!

Tucson Gem and Mineral Show

2011-01-31T12:15:00.005-07:00

First I should mention that I'm having a Valentine's Day sale in my Etsy shop. Use coupon code VDAY2011 for 15% off your order through February 8th!

I spent the weekend at the first two locations of the main wholesale show of the Tucson Gem Show. The third location opens later this week. I found so many wonderful new beads and pendants! I also bought beads that will enable me to keep making some of my most popular designs, like the Amethyst Solo necklace.

Here's a small sample of some of the new jewelry!

This one isn't even listed yet! It's a new Stone in Wood necklace, with red jasper.

This necklace is called Trust and is made with amber and wood beads.

And a gorgeous red jasper pendant. Red jasper is so pretty and is wonderful as a "worry stone."

I have spent most of my budgeted money already but I still plan on going to the third location later this week. If I see something too fabulous to pass up, I will be creative with the financial part! ;)

On the Horizon...

2011-01-25T11:39:00.004-07:00

I am happy to say that I've moved past my beginning of the year funk. Our Congresswoman is in rehabilitation and hopefully will make an amazing recovery. I've processed a lot of thoughts and emotions and have come out the other side feeling more hopeful!

This is a photo of the small portion of the public memorial our community has set up outside of University Medical Center.

So what's new with this mama? I've been eating much healthier (I refuse to call it dieting!) and getting more exercise and so far I've lost 7.5 pounds! I already feel *better*. I'm working on losing another 15lbs or so and have some fun work out plans coming up: 1. some yoga classes at Arizona Power Yoga, and 2. four Saturdays of boot camp style work outs with Jessica Delf from season 10 of The Biggest Loser and her personal trainer. Should be fun and hopefully I will lose the rest of the weight by summer time!

Part of eating healthier has involved some serious menu planning. I am not the most domestic wife and mother and in the past didn't really put forth such efforts. But I am finding that we eat better and save a lot of money when I plan a menu for the upcoming two weeks and stick to it! So far I've done this all of January and plan to do it at least through February and then reevaluate. This is also inspiring me to try some new recipes which is always fun. Allrecipes.com is one of my favorite sites now, I love the rating and review system!

Finally, I am gearing up for the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show which starts on January 29th and runs through February 11th. The TGMS is the BIGGEST gem show in the whole country! How fortunate am I as a jewelry maker to have it hosted in my back yard?? I will be purchasing the majority of my inventory for the next year, all in about a week and a half! It's fun and stressful all at once. I look forward to the chaos every year! It is a HUGE show and there are so many amazing products from all over the world. I can't wait to see (and buy!) so many pretty shiny things! ;-)

2011

2011-01-12T22:28:00.004-07:00

I have been trying to formulate my thoughts to share about the New Year ever since, well, it started. I am always excited for a fresh start and I love making lists of goals for the coming months.

But a recent event in my city stopped this thought process in its tracks. Right at this moment, it's not so important to me that I make time to exercise, or to write, or to be more organized. On Saturday, January 8th, a gunmen shot and killed six people in my town and injured more than a dozen others. It appears that his main target was our Congresswoman Gabriel Giffords, who amazingly was shot in the head and has survived. She was meeting with her constituents at a local grocery store. While our congresswoman has survived, as I mentioned, six others did not: a federal judge, a congressional staffer, three other adults, and a nine year old girl.

This, needless to say, was a devastating tragedy for our community. And for me, it was literally too close to home. The shooting happened about 15 miles from my home and about a mile from where I was taking a yoga class - that very morning that the shooter was destroying lives.

This evening a memorial service was held at the University of Arizona campus; our local leaders spoke and the president also attended and spoke. I cannot adequately summarize the entire hour and a half of shared words and thoughts, but I can say this: I was reminded that one can find light in darkness, and hope in grief.

So I am starting out this new year wondering: what can I do? What can I do to help make my community a better place? What can I do to serve others? I already volunteer a bit of my time and donate a bit of my belongings and money, but I know I could do SO much more. Along with my grief and tears, I am dwelling on how to move forward in a positive way, to take lessons from this tragedy and apply them to make myself a better person, to help this world be a better place for my son.

This Holiday Season...

2010-12-02T11:12:00.003-07:00

We enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving with family this year. My almost 17 month old loved the food and even got to taste pumpkin pie. :)

We have a lot to be thankful for. In counting my blessings, I am reminded that many are not so fortunate. I was raised to understand the value of giving back to my community and am usually involved in volunteering for one organization or another. For example, for the past couple of years I have served as a board member for a local non-profit organization called Desert Dove Farm. (I mention this not to brag, but because I am always looking for an opportunity to share information about these wonderful organizations!)

Another cause that has recently touched my heart is P.U.C.K. (Pioneering Unique Cures for Kids). I read about P.U.C.K. at Bella's Blog. P.U.C.K. is dedicated to finding cures for rare children's diseases, including EB (which is what Bella had). So, in honor of Bella and to help find a cure for EB, I have decided to donate 5% of my December sales to P.U.C.K. Depending on our financial situation, I may be able to do this every month for the next six months or so, but as I'm not sure yet, I will at least commit to December. :)

Do you have a pet cause, something that really touches your heart and motivates you to make a difference? If so, please share in the comments so that everyone reading has an opportunity to find out about it!

Grand reOpening

2010-11-27T13:43:00.006-07:00

I hired a web designer a while back to redesign my website (http://stonesofhealing.com). We ended up deciding to switch domain hosts and basically start from scratch. However it was worth the extra work and time, because the new site is fantastic!

I love the look and feel of this site, which is set up as an actual ecommerce shop. I love all of the features: newsletter/mailing list, built in coupon system, and more! I love love love it all! :D I am not finished uploading inventory but I have a good number of my nursing necklaces listed.

To celebrate, I'm having a Grand Opening sale this Monday (aka Cyber Monday!). You can use the coupon code GRANDOPEN during check out to get 20% off of your jewelry! (This sale is only for stonesofhealing.com and does not apply to my Etsy shop.)

Go check out the new site, sign up for the newsletter so you can find out about future sales and new inventory, and let me know what you think!

And the winner is....

2010-11-16T08:03:00.001-07:00

Congrats to the giveaway contest winner: Jaimee Morris!

Thanks to everyone for participating, and please stay tuned for my next giveaway contest! :-)

Giveaway #1

2010-11-09T20:27:00.004-07:00

Yep, it's giveaway time! My Facebook fan list is 200 fans strong, thank you all for your support!

Before I explain how to enter the giveaway contest, let me tell you about the giveaway prize. I am giving away one of my Ultimate New Mother Nursing Necklace Gift sets, as pictured below. This gift set includes one stone pendant nursing necklace of your choice (green aventurine is pictured), one wooden teething ring necklace, and one extra wooden teething ring. This is a fabulous gift for a baby shower or for a new mama or for any mama during the holidays, or you can split the pieces and keep one for yourself and give one away, or keep them all!

Nursing Necklace Gift Set

I am going to give you opportunity to enter through November 15th. You can earn as many as five entries in the contest, by doing one, some, or all of the following (each method is worth one entry):

1. "Follow" this blog. Leave me a comment to let me know you are following.
2. Comment on this blog with your favorite listing from my Etsy shop (aside from the gift set!).
3. Blog about this giveaway and link to this blog entry on YOUR blog (leave a comment to tell me you did this).
4. Post about this giveaway with a link to this blog on your Facebook and/or Twitter (leave a comment to tell me you did this).
5. Email me a photo of you and/or your baby wearing or using your Stones of Healing nursing necklace (leave me a comment to let me know you sent a photo to info@stonesofhealing.com). NOTE: I may later contact you regarding permission to use your photo on my website - but I will not use it without your permission!

VERY IMPORTANT: I NEED TO KNOW A NAME IN ORDER TO CHOOSE AND ANNOUNCE A WINNER. PLEASE INCLUDE THIS IN YOUR COMMENT. YOU CAN CHOOSE FIRST AND LAST NAME, OR FIRST NAME AND LOCATION, OR WHATEVER YOU ARE COMFORTABLE WITH. I will assign each entry a number for the purpose of using random.org (so if Wendy does the first four entries, she will be assigned #s 1,2,3, and 4), but I still need to be able to go back and match the number with the entrant. :)

On November 16th I will choose a winner using random.org. I will announce the winner on this blog, Facebook, and Twitter, and give the winner 72 hours to respond (if I do not receive a response I will then choose another winner).

Good luck! :)

New and Improved

2010-11-03T11:39:00.004-07:00

My wooden teething rings are very popular. Up until recently, I had been hand sanding them using fine and super fine sand paper. I actually enjoyed the process, it was relaxing! But unfortunately, it started to become stressful, only because I was selling so many that it was difficult to find the time to keep up with the sanding. Each ring took me about 10-15 minutes - so if I sold ten in one day, that was 2.5 hours of sanding!

Keeping in mind that I also stay at home with my toddler and have other orders to fill (plus the house to keep up with, errands to run, the usual mom stuff!)... it was just getting to be too much. So after much research and help from others with more expertise working with wood, I developed a process using uncooked rice to sand these babies smooth. We use a rock tumbler with uncooked rice as the sanding medium, and we can put 10 rings at a time into the tumbler! Then I can "set it and forget it" as the infomercials say. ;) This makes my life much easier, plus makes the turn around time for customers purchasing the wooden rings much faster. :) The rice does a great job, and I like using an all natural product that is also pretty much the least allergenic food there is! Plus, I feel it is less wasteful than sand paper: I can use the same 5lbs of rice over and over to sand dozens of rings, whereas each few square inches of sand paper only sanded a couple of rings.

Halloween!

2010-11-03T11:30:00.003-07:00

I haven't had time to blog for awhile! October was so, so busy: a huge wholesale order, a family vacation, a trip to the pumpkin patch, Halloween, and more. :) I did want to share my little man's costume with you, since he was an adorable little punk pirate plus I pieced together his costume with Etsy finds. :)

His skull leggings are made by Socktopus Creations. His adorable onesie was a custom design just for us, made by ZLilly.

Unfortunately he was also sick over Halloween, so we didn't take him trick or treating. But we had fun putting up decorations, carving our pumpkin, and handing out candy. :) I hope everyone else had a great Halloween!

Almost October!

2010-09-20T10:38:00.005-07:00

It has been a little while since I've had time for this blog! I started taking care of my friend's newborn girl a couple of weeks ago so between baby girl, my toddler, and my jewelry... plus house chores, social plans, etc.... I have been very busy!

It is finally starting to cool off here in the Old Pueblo. Well, it has still been over 100 degrees during the day, but the humidity is down and the nights are getting a little cooler. I can't wait for October: it is my favorite month as far as the weather, plus I love Halloween and all of the fall festivities!!

So many events happen here in October. We are planning to visit the local "pumpkin patch" at Buckelew Farm with friends and family the weekend before Halloween.

October is also the month for Tucson Meet Yourself... otherwise known as Tucson Eat Yourself! It's an annual festival celebrating all of the different cultures we have here - with ethnic food booths galore and live performances. There is also Oktoberfest... which as far as I can tell is all about the beer. ;) There is also a Blues Festival, a Bluegrass Festival, and more! These are almost all outside events: we desert rats like to get out and enjoy the lovely October weather. Speaking of nice weather, we are also planning our trip to San Diego with my husband's family in October: the beach, Sea World, it will be a blast!

I already have my son's Halloween costume figured out, so now I just need to convince my husband to get in costume with us. My son's costume is being pieced together almost entirely by fabulous Etsy finds, so I will share those with you as we get closer to Halloween. I can't wait to carve pumpkins with him and take him trick or treating for the first time!

I love any kind of cupcake!

2010-08-20T20:10:00.002-07:00

I am going to an old co-worker's baby shower tomorrow. She is due with a boy in October. I already gave her a whole bunch of clothes that my son has outgrown plus his baby bath tub, so I didn't feel like I needed to go to BRU and shop from her registry. But I didn't want to show up to a shower empty handed either. So I found a package of Gerber onesies that we never opened, plus some newborn socks (Ari was born in July, he didn't need them) and I made some onesie "cupcakes." I didn't find big cupcake papers at Target today so rather than going from store to store to look for them, I just used some plastic cups we had left over from our wedding (over two years ago...) and napkins I had left over from Ari's birthday party to hold the cupcakes. I also didn't know where to find a windowed bakery box that doesn't have "Fry's" or "Safeway" or whatever logos on it, so I used one of the tupperware containers that I cleaned out of the cupboard earlier today that was headed to the recycle bin. Then I used ribbon and shredded paper for the finishing touches.

Shoes!

2010-08-19T20:43:00.004-07:00

My little man has decided shoes are for the birds. He started walking about ten days ago and is already toddling all over the house like crazy. He wants to walk when we are out and about, but he won't keep anything on his feet! And it is still hot here, 105 today, so this isn't really an option.

I have two pairs of shoes for him right now that he hates. One pair is kind of a Robeez-style slippers, but made with cloth instead of leather, that I found on Etsy. I think they are too tight across of the top of his foot, as he has chunky, thick baby feet still! The other pair is more tennis shoe like but still soft soles - these are actually a little big on him yet, for whatever reason he doesn't like them either. He won't even stand in either pair and fusses until I take them off.

So I went internet window shopping to see what I could find that might work for him. I'm hoping his feet slim down some more in the next few months so hopefully we don't need to go the route of Stride Rite just to find some wide little shoes... In the mean time, I found ScooterBees shoes. I like that they are made out of all recyclable material, but what I really like is that they wrap around the foot and then velcro for a perfect, always adjustable fit. (See their website linked above for a video.) I also like that I managed to find them for almost 60% off online! ;)

I hope he likes them! I love that he is walking now, it is so adorable. It also seems to be completely wearing him out, because he has been sleeping better at night the last few nights!

I haven't had a lot of time lately to come up with new designs (chasing a toddler is time consuming apparently!). But I did order and have some new beads and I have a few ideas for them, so hopefully I will get to work on that soon!

Mini Update

2010-08-12T19:59:00.005-07:00

Life has been busy lately! I have been trying to keep up with orders and my toddler, who now actually toddles - he started walking a few days ago. :) It's tough to get any work done during the day when he is awake, but I do get a lot done during his naps. In a couple more weeks I will start babysitting for my friend's new baby when my friend goes back to work, so I probably won't be able to get much done during the day at all unless they decide to nap at the same time!

I am also planning a mini-vacation to San Diego with my mother- and sisters-in-law, who go every year in October. I am excited to see my son's reaction to the beach, I think he will love it.

I'm going to keep this short tonight, since between the walking and the teething, bubs is not sleeping well, therefore neither am I! I think I will head to bed early. But before I do, every single night I read a blog that I would like to share with you. It is written by a colleague of my sister-in-law, who is a music therapist. He is the father to a little girl named Bella, who has a skin condition called Epidermolysis Bullosa and is currently undergoing medical treatment for this genetic disorder. Please go take a look at Care for Anabella - this blog is inspiring (and addicting, you are warned!), and this family can use all the thoughts and prayers they can get.

World Breastfeeding Week

2010-08-03T20:46:00.003-07:00

Happy World Breastfeeding Week! :-) I have been nursing my son for almost 13 months now; it was difficult in the beginning, but has been an overall wonderful experience and I'm so glad we made it this far! I'd like to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week by first telling you a little about our nursing story, and then by sharing with you some fabulous Etsy breastfeeding related items.

Ari was born July 9, 2009 via c-section after a failed induction due to pre-eclampsia. I could say a lot about that experience in general, but I will stay on topic! ;) He was born at 36 weeks gestation and was taken to the NICU, so I did not get to nurse him right away as is ideal. I was able to hold him and try to nurse him about five hours after birth when he was very sleepy. He continued to be sleepy due to levels of a drug in his system that they had given me for the high blood pressure... it was very difficult to get him to wake and nurse for days. On the second day, while he had an IV with sugar water to clear his system of the drug, the neonatologist gave us the option of trying to bottle feed him or putting in a nose tube. I had read extensively about breastfeeding and was scared to let him have a bottle, so as hard as it was to see, we chose the nose tube. All in all, he was in the NICU nine days, which was when they were satisfied he was nursing well and not losing any more weight. During those nine days, I saw lactation consultants almost daily, but unfortunately they were little help (I think they were CLCs but not IBCLCs). My milk did not come in until day five, although I was pumping every 2-3hours round the clock and of course trying to nurse as well. Even after he started to wake up more and my milk was in, he had trouble latching correctly and would fuss a lot at the breast. But we started to get the hang of it. On day nine, a different neonatologist came in to say we could go home, but he also noticed at that point that my son had a slight tongue tie. He asked if I wanted to have it clipped, but since he said it wasn't bad, I opted not to, mostly because I was terrified at that point that it would affect him too much and they would want to have him stay another day! We were desperate to get home, especially me since I had been in the hospital a month at that point between hospital bed rest and the NICU.

We went home and my nipples continued to be very sore, although they never cracked nor bled. For a couple weeks he would clamp down hard when he first latched and I had no idea why - thankfully that phase only lasted a couple weeks because it hurt! I had a case of the "baby blues" and was having difficulty recovering from the bed rest and c-section. My body felt like I had been hit by a truck every day - I had lost so much muscle mass during six weeks of pregnancy bed rest that just taking care of the baby and myself was physically challenging. To top it all off, my son was a fairly high needs, fussy baby and needed to be held and/or nursed seemingly constantly!

Many woman feel that the first six weeks are the hardest with breastfeeding a newborn and it gets easier after that. I suppose because of my extenuating circumstances, this wasn't the case for me. It took at least two months before I stopped hating nursing, and it wasn't until around three months that I started to really enjoy it. Since then though, we have never looked back! I am so, so glad I stuck with it and would do it all again in a heart beat, since the reward is having this wonderful relationship with my healthy, happy little man. I love how excited he gets to nurse, I love when he looks up at me and giggles mid-suck, I love how a nursing session can help him feel better when he is unhappy about something or not feeling good. It has been a wonderful journey so far!

Woo, sorry for the novel - I'm impressed if you've made it this far! ;-) Enough about me and more about these wonderful Etsy items below...

WoollyMomma Pure Lanolin by Milk Made Momma

Connection by KmBerggren

Morning Glory Reusable Nursing Pads by Love Struck Baby

Nursing Reminder Bracelet by A Nursing Reminder

Cloth Diapers

2010-07-27T09:45:00.005-07:00

We have been cloth diapering our son since he was about six months old. For us, it was one way to save money to ensure that we can afford for me to work at home and be with him - not necessarily an easy thing in this economy. I also like not putting too many disposable diapers into the landfills. So we bought the basic prefolds+covers set up (the cheapest of cheap cloth diapering system). (*Disclaimer: I know there are lots of reasons why people can't or won't cloth diaper, and it's totally cool with me! No soapbox here, do whatever works for your family.)

Let me tell you, some folks go NUTS with their cloth. They spend way more than they would on disposables buying the cutest, hippest, trendiest fitteds, AIOs (all-in-ones), or whatever for their babies' little bums. I didn't understand for the longest time - they are just there to catch the poo and pee! Why spend $30 on one diaper when you can spend $80 on your whole prefold+cover system? But... I have to admit, more than six months into cloth diapering, I am starting to catch cloth diaper fever.

I think it's because, frankly, buying boy stuff just isn't quite as fun as buying girly stuff. The boy dipes just aren't as adorable. But now that I am preparing to provide childcare for a baby girl (who I will be cloth diapering too).... UH OH! My Paypal account is feeling the pain. :-P I am going to use prefolds for her too, but I am dying to buy way too many adorable covers, fleece soakers, and the like. I am trying to restrain myself... mostly successfully, but I am currently waiting for a leopard print cover and a Strawberry Shortcake print cover to come in the mail! Hey, those ones are used though, so still cheap. ;)

I also found this Etsy shop, Cotton Tail Babies, and couldn't resist a couple of cute soakers... including this one:

I haven't gotten it yet, but it looks so cute and her shop has great feedback, so I am sure we will love it. :) Fortunately I've also been able to trade some jewelry for some extra prefolds and whatnot, so I am well on my way to having baby girl's mini-stash ready to go.

Anna Virginia Fashioneering

2010-07-23T12:05:00.002-07:00

While my bubs is napping (all by himself! see previous post:), I thought I'd give you a little review of one of my favorite Etsy shops, Anna Virginia Fashioneering. Anna is the sweetest lady and makes lovely things for both mamas and babies.

One of my favorite items in her shop is her Crochet Piggy Peeps - I so hope I have a little girl someday so I can buy these!

Piggy Peeps Listing

I also love her hobo bags, and I have this one, it is so cute and super well made and functional:

Medium Hobo Bag Listing

That's all for now - time to get some chores done without a toddler under my feet! ;)

Naps!

2010-07-22T09:51:00.003-07:00

How I miss the freedom of being able to nap on a regular basis! If only my son was as fond of a little siesta as I am. Since he was a couple months old, he would only nap longer than 15-30min if he was being held. Fast forward to now, a little over one year old - and as of a couple days ago that was still the case! We are now transitioning to naps on the bed because, a) he is getting very big and heavy to hold/wear for 1.5hrs at a time and b) in another month or so I will be taking care of a friend's baby when she goes back to work, and there is no way I can hold bubs for all of his daytime naps and take care of a newborn!

Yesterday was a little tough but not as bad as I thought it might be. Nap #1 of the day, I nursed him then we laid down and turned on his lullaby CD. (We have been using the lullaby CD at night for awhile - that is a nice change too, because for the first 8-9 months he wanted nothing but ME singing to him!) I patted him and talked to him but he still fussed for a good 30min before going to sleep. But then he slept for 1.5 hours all by himself, which is awesome! Nap #2 yesterday went even better, he fell asleep with minimal fuss in less than 10 minutes and took another 1.5 hour nap. Now he is taking nap #1 of the day and he fell asleep in under ten minutes again with only about 30-60 seconds of fuss.

I'm glad we're making this transition, but I'm also glad we waited until now, because I don't think he was ready before. I am looking forward to having some hours in the day with him sleeping (NOT on me) so I can get some things done and have some mama time. :) Well, at least until I have a two month old to take care of in a few more weeks! Then I will get baby snuggling done. :)

Stories & Silver

2010-07-21T12:23:00.004-07:00

Just a quick little update... I recently was contacted by a woman who had difficulties post partum and had to leave her baby to go in the hospital for a period of time. She wanted to buy gifts from me for the six women who nursed her baby for her around the clock while she had to be away from him. I am so touched by stories like this, I just had to share. :)

On a different work-related note, I was doing some research about different types of silver. I use Thai and sterling silver in my jewelry. For those of you who aren't sure of the difference, Thai silver is 99.9% pure silver and is made by Hill Tribes in Thailand. Sterling silver is about 92.5% pure silver. I love working with both but really enjoy the handmade aspects of the Thai silver. I am running a little low on my silver beads and can't wait for the next gem show to find new ones! :)

"Somebody has a case of the Mondays..."

2010-07-19T21:43:00.006-07:00

If you've never seen the movie Office Space, you should rent it! ;)

I kind of had a case of the Mondays today. My bubs didn't sleep well last night and was fussy today - yay teething! We were both a little tired and cranky. I did manage to get a bit of work done while he was napping though! I am working with a web designer (who also happens to be a good family friend) as she is starting to design my new site for www.stonesofhealing.com. It really needs an update and I am very excited about the ideas we have for the new site. So today's work was computer-y stuff, mainly sorting through photos to try to decide which ones to use for what on the new site. This is no small task as I have THOUSANDS of photos of my jewelry!

Speaking of photos, I have slowly but surely been working on my photography skills and trying to improve the photos for my listings. I have read too many articles to count, but I think it is making a difference and I can see some improvement. Photographing jewelry isn't very easy though! I like to search Etsy for jewelry photos - so many shops have such high quality photos that it inspires me to keep working at it! :-) Here are a few of my recently found favorites:

Vintage Golden Anniversary Rose Necklace by ChickadeeLane

Pearl and Topaz Cluster Bridal Earrings by Ellie Rose Designs

Leafy Brass Bracelet by Bellaza Mia

Tah dah!

2010-07-18T22:17:00.004-07:00

I have joined the blogging world! :) I hope to use this blog to talk about a little bit of everything - life in general, being a mom, gemstones and jewelry design, fun things I find on Etsy, and whatever else strikes my fancy! This is where customers, friends... and customers who are friends!... can get to know me a little bit better - the gal behind the nursing necklaces and wellness jewelry. If you need more of an incentive to "follow" this blog, I also propose that I should do an occasional contest and giveaway for my loyal readers. :) Keep an eye out in future posts for this image, which will signal the start of a giveaway contest:

Right now it is about 10:25pm and I have just finished packaging up orders for the night. My dear sweet husband will drop them off at the post office bright and early (and I mean early!) on his way to work in the morning. This lovely arrangement means that I only have to wrangle my toddler standing in line at the PO on the occasions when I need to mail international orders. ;)

I will leave you with July birthstone information. Of course ruby is the modern assigned birthstone for July. I however love the ancient birthstone of July, carnelian (maybe because it is a stone I can afford to work with!:).

Carnelian can help with memory, including recall of past lives. It brings creativity, individuality and courage. It can assist in finding the right mate. It is also protects from anger, jealousy and fear. Carnelian can help ease or remove sorrow and grief; it can also bring good luck and help to turn desires into reality. It can stabilize energies in the home. Carnelian is associated with the root and sacral chakras. Physically, carnelian has been used to heal open sores, rejuvenate tissues and cells, rheumatism, kidney stones and other kidney problems, gall stones, colds, pollen allergies, and neuralgia.