Inspiration. I'm Going To Walk The Walk.

                                                  Andrea's Personal WalktheWalk Page
Several weeks ago, I ran into a friend of mine who I used to see at the local park with my son. Our children attend school together and play together at times. Her name is Mrs. Joyce, she comes from the beautiful island of jamiaca..one of the sweetest, wise and most positive women I have ever met.
One Spring day We ran into each other, delighted to see her, I sense a difference in her demeanor immediately. Her eyes filled with their usual light were focus and far away, After hearing she had just returned from the hospital, she told me she had cancer of the breast.


My inside shook but I would not show her that. Assuming she may have already seen and heard the emotional shock this takes to see and hear. Gently I looked her in the eye and nodded and said "Ok, so what is the next step?" I refused to say, "Sorry to hear that" or "Oh, I'm so sorry" These are normal and justified responses of course ...but I went straight to the thought of progress, encouragement and focus on what were the next steps to fight back and recover.
Without, a crack in her voice or missing a step her unshattered faith spoke loud and clear through her soft voice. Leaning in she said to me " God is in charge, I have no fear nor will I falter. I rest on my faith ..it has never let me down and this will not be any different child"
"My Dear, she continued. "I will go through whatever treatments are available and do what I must but I will not fear, nor will I doubt God plan for me"
 

We...hugged and the warmth of her heart spread through by body... a warm and swift surge of pure positive energy. It is women like Mrs. Joyce who inspire me everyday. I said to her, I will have a conversation with God tonight about you, she said thank you.
Later that night I did just that..in deep meditation I asked what could I do to help her ..to be used as an instrument of good will on her behalf and others just like her.

 

 

I'm in Training T-Shirt -WalkWear.Org

http://www.walkwear.org

And here I am...it came to me to learn about MoonWalk NYC..I have found what I have been looking for. The one thing that will challenge me..take me out of my comfort zone and do SOMETHING! positive, encouraging, bold, brave and inspiring. This is it.
June 14th, I ran into Mrs. Joyce today. I told about the event and she was thrilled! "Guess, who I am going to walk for?"
"Who?"
"For you, dear heart, I'm walking for you Mrs. Joyce..."?
If I could describe the warmest hug, the highest euphoria, you could feel from the hug this woman reached out and gave me generously..it would be amazing. This is best I could do to describe it.
36days to go....and with every step I will think of her.

Those of you who know me from my selling days on Etsy under my SwanRiverStone and Nyblaque shops know I am no stranger to working and supporting a good cause. I have participated in fundraisers such as Aids Walk, March of Dimes etc. my first team effort was with HeartsforHaiti, and Etsy Project Embrace Team. It is has been six years since I have publicly participated in such a large scale fundraising event. I am very excited. Visit my personal page to follow my progress and journey through all this:
http://walk.convio.net/site/TR/PowerWalk/WTWFY13?px=1003631&pg=personal&fr_id=1040

Spread the word! Tweet, Facebook or Blog about  WalkTheWalkAmerica http://walkthewalkamerica.com/

Live Strong;-)

When Life Hands You Lemons You Make Lemonade - And Not Be Afraid To Use Real Sugar!

Hello Friends! Wow, this place is dusty !! hack hack COUGH!!

Hi there!! How have you all been. Spring is here though it feel like Winter today. 45 degrees?? Seriously?? LOL!
So, what can I tell you today? Well I can say I missed blogging. I can't do that FaceBook thing and post every single thing on the net lol! So I think I will stick with what works..for me. So as you guys already know I have been up and down and all round the net between Arfire and Etsy..and this website and that selling my wares. are trying to keep up with the Jones-es of the ever growing artisan world.

But it was time for some humble pie. I got burnt out..It is as simple as that . I couldn't handle the demands after the Winter of 2011 and be a single parent work at home mom. Pride and be a P.i.T.A as you look at other artisan single moms that seemed to have it under control..that whole "I will feel like a failure or a wuss, I can do this" And I could ...but orders were late ..sometimes very late. Customers got angry..Some spoke back about me very harshly....some spoke bad about me privately and publicly.


ImageSource:http://thesestones.wordpress.com/2011/06/30/lemon-face/


Etsy cut me out of their world. Yep, after 5yrs and all that hard earned money I paid in fees, years of promoting they gave me the boot. Why?? For being human, flawed..burnt out unable to keep up and being willing to admit it... But the online shopping world can be so demanding..and forgetful there is a human behind the monitor..who can't control the federal government, run post office if an order is lost or slowly processed. That honestly asking for 24hours to provide customer service because that is really the time I needed to reply. That is human and may have forgotten something but never intentionally.

But no badmouthing of Etsy here. No love lost. I still adore them and all the artwork I find and shop for. They gave me my wings to fly and grow. They gave me the exposure for the world to know who Nyblaque and SwanRiverStone was I have NO REGRETS! Etsy still rocks!! Like most relationships, sometimes things come to an end. Time to grow and move forward with all the hopes for the best.


ImageSource: http://homeschoolpool.info/home_school_curriculum/economics/lemonade-day-2012/
The one thing I wish the online shopper to keep in mind is what I have I learned as an online buyer and seller of handmade: True handmade things take TIME. I have been off Etsy since June 2012..I have noticed more & more how sellers from the range of near begging to flat out demanding are making extra efforts in their shops asking for patience from the buyer...regarding shipping time, creation time, customer service..etc. You MUST have patience if you want the real deal and for it to be done right. That most of us actually LOVE our work. Care about what we create.. truly sweat, cry and for some of us bleed making our skills come to touchable life to sell to the world...but I suppose I digress. Now there is never any excuse for poor service..I just know I was not perfect. Lessons learned

So here I am in 2013. I have learned alot and have no regrets.. Not one. I have been busy crafting and working at home. Teaching my cousin how to make her own jewelry and gifts and teaching at our local library bead stringing and wire wrap classes for the elderly. Raising my beautiful son and keeping a close eye on my daughter! Life has always been good. Up, down left or right everyday IS a blessing.


ImageSource:http://blog.jordanmatter.com/2011/09/racing-clock-sunrise-and-spontaneity-on.html





I am coming back to the net to sell again new and improved. I miss it soo much but I miss the community more. Finding new talent, sharing what other are doing, learning new things...and of course chatting it up!! I miss BLOGGING. Twitter is ok but I'm an avid reader I like to sit back and read a good blog post. 140 characters is not enough for me;-)

In closing. I'm here. Baby steps but glad to be back. Look forward to reconnecting soon. To those who care, I'm sorry I have been out of touch. I have missed you guys & gals and look forward to reading what you have been up to. And to those who have long gone or whatever...always love and best wishes to you. We all grow and move on some take it personal I look at it as just another stage of life, we are here only for a time. The time shared is the time that counts.

Happy Weekend!

Gypsy Magic-Earring Project

I am excited to be working on two new Tribal fusion peacock earring project for my belly dance classmates Alicia and Denya. Alicia loves wheat brown feathers so she wanted an earthy version of the Sula earrings. The only problem we both stumbled upon was which metal link should I use for the outer support hoop.

Copper?

Sterling silver ?

or antiqued brass? Once the metal hoops are choosen I will wrap them in brown leather an then add a few filigree charms. Alicia has given them the name Amazon- I like it;-)

These beautiful handforged and soldered metal hoops in Rustic Copper by Missficklemedia and Sterling silver by Aunali are great hoops to work with. sturdy, strong but not heavy at all.

Alicia and Denya loved the mixed metal components and czech glass beads I had chosen for the designs and hand picked their favorite color combinations

Denya picked this eclectic color combo of verdigris, silver and brass with yellow czech moon beads and bright green dyed peacock feathers for the Athena Earring Project.

I need to finish the earrings by Saturday. I would love your input to help us decide! If you scroll up to the upper right hand side of the blog you can find my blog poll just above my shop links. You and also leave a comment here or at my Facebook Fan page. Tweet a link too, the more votes the better!

Check out my Gypsy Moon Collection on Facebook

Thanks for visiting!

Shop Updates;-)

HEy Family whats shakin???

So as you know Nyblaque is no more and yes I mean it this time;-) I have a new shop called Beadhappy @ Artfire.com this is where my feathers and destash bead and craft supplies have been relocated. My jewelry and eco crafts are also at Artfire and Zibbet.com . I won't be making jewelry with gemstones anymore. So what pieces you do see listed that have gemstomes where already made before the transfer.


So what to do with this blog?? I am going to go back to featuring indie artists, hosting giveaway local events here in the city and some random fun stuff. I will start posting sometime in April.

My second blog, SwanRiverStone has been deleted and all post imported here. So feel free to follow both blogs or pick one of your favorite. Either way I appreciate your support.

So, what have you guys been up to. got any links you would like to share? Post them here. Keep it clean of course;-)


Thanks for visiting!

Balance: Wisdom for Wednesday

You are always achieving something, one thing or another. You are always getting results of some kind.

Getting the results you most passionately and authentically desire is not a matter of making more effort. It is, rather, a matter of making different efforts and consistently keeping those efforts focused.

Focus is a choice you make in every waking moment. You are always focused on one thing or another.

The way to maintain your focus long enough to get the results you seek, is by reminding yourself why. Be clear about why you want those results, and find a way to keep those reasons close at hand.

The success you seek is not particularly difficult. It's just a little bit different than what you're doing now.

Be clear about why, keep your thoughts and efforts focused, and your life will proceed in the direction of your dreams.

Strength: One Small Effort

ONE MORE SMALL EFFORT

You're only a moment away from making real progress. One small effort can get you started. It's nice and comfortable to stay where you are, without taking action, without making progress. Yet after a while that comfort turns into stagnation, and you'll feel painful regret for not moving forward.

Revelation: It's been a very rough 5months and some tough decisions had to be made. Ones I really didn't want to make, a few I should have made years ago. It is taxing my emotions right now but it has to be done. After three years I have come to bring my Nyblaque shop to a close for good as I said I would do so last year. Once the taxes are done and Etsy fees paid Ny is no more.. It saddens me to bring the birthplace of my Etsy beginning as a crafter to an end but I have out grown it and am now going in another direction. Plus as I keep learning time and time again, Multiple shops on Etsy that have slow sales become a very FAST expense!

As for SwanRiverStone- again cost are outweighting my profits. I need a budget thats tight and consistant. So I am moving my Swan to Artfire in March. I know I will have to work harder to promote but a steady $10.00 per month shop bill is something I can afford right now. So my supplies and my creations will be at relocated there. I'll keep you posted.

I will also have to...sigh, look for a job-outside the home. This was the hardest decision. Transitioning from home back to work. It is really hard!! After staying at home for almost 5yrs I am so out of touch with the job market..I feel really lost and out of place...but..

Now, however, you have the opportunity to avoid that regret. Now, you have the chance to make valuable use of this very moment. It really doesn't take much to get started, and the payoff can be enormous. Once you make that first small effort, the next one comes more easily, and the one after that even more easily.

After three days of deep meditation, prayers and solitude. I made up my mind. Being a single mom is difficult when you have only yourself to depend on. You have to thred carefully, planning each step you take as best you can. Crafting is my LOVE, my Passion and my therapy but my children are my LIFE...

I found the second step and made an appointment with a career counselor to help me with not only transition but time management, and how to still run a shop from home and avoid the stress, burnout and mistakes I have experienced and come back better than ever.

Soon, you'll have real, solid momentum. And before long, you'll have a real, valuable achievement.

Life is yours right now to live. Start with one small effort, and fulfill your greatest possibilities.


The Strength: Change starts with a small effort.

Thanks for visiting

Color Love

I just had to post these;-) I love color so much. it's almost therapeutic for me. I never seem to stick with a design I started drawing. These earrings were supposed to be beige peacock feathers with black and brass...but nooooo. I just had to add some green and blue..yellow was in the picture for a very brief second lol!




Then black became burgundy..a little purple, some turquoise and ........


I think they are gorgeous statement earrings....what do you think?

Thanks for visiting.