Yarn, Stamps, and Earrings Oh My!

        Still working out some kinks before the Grand Re-Opening! Finding a balance of price that is fair to me and the value of my handmade items but is also fair to the buyer is not always an easy task. But enough of the boring number crunching. I'm so excited to be re-opening soon! I've been encouraged so much at my workplace lately. Over the past month I have had many, many compliments on some of my earring designs from friends and random passers through alike. Along with encouragement from another friend that my cards and stationary are quite sellable.

       All of this has encouraged me to re-open soon, and to put more emphasis on some of the smaller, charming items in my shop. Although I love knitting, it does take a great deal of time. So the lovely scarves and dish cloths will be put on hold as I undertake stocking up on the items those around me have complimented and commented on. Expect to see larger quantities of my fun and funky Swizzle Swirl Earrings and some other cute and simple earrings as well. I will be designing more cards and stationary to stamp because I just love the idea of rekindling the lost art of letter writing. Or at least sending fun hand made notes, birthday, and seasonal cards to close friends!

        As soon as I stock up on those items I will be designing some aprons to sew and sell! Some will be based on antique patterns, my own designs, designs from my great (great?) grandmother, and maybe even some movie inspirations. You will have to wait and see!


        I'm trying to brainstorm ideas of how to display my earrings that would be cute and different. I do not wish to use a live model or myself to photograph them because I feel there are some sanitary issues there that I do not want to deal with. I want you to be able to pick out and purchase the perfect compliment to your outfit and not worry about them having been previously worn. So...any cute ideas?! I currently photograph them on the edge of a teacup to just give an idea of size and because they hang there nicely, but other fun suggestions would be welcome!

Coming Soon!

First things first.
Seeing as I use sterling silver posts for all of my handmade earrings, they are now tarnished. This means I will be purchasing a polishing cloth and sprucing up those already created very shortly.
Already completed is a new journal of ideas, inspirations, necessities and lists specifically for Creative Medley. Purchased for protective storage are some great new containers that now only lack labels and handcrafted items to place in stock.









And finally, coming soon are place cards for entertaining and other fun get togethers, stationary and cards, and cute post it note holders!

And again...

I will reiterate my last blog post, not done yet, still crazily trying to balance life with a new job and having friends move nearby (yay!). I am planning on re-opening soon, and as yet have still not worked out the pricing for providing a donation to a good cause yet. Pricing that out will be tricky as I don't want to overcharge but still need to meet my goals as well. You know, all the less fun and exciting parts of having a shop.

However, here is your sneak peek at what will be coming soon!!!
Plan for:
*handmade cards
*place cards for formal (or just fun!) entertaining
*more earrings and jewelry
*and possibly more scarves and knitted items

So that is your sneak peek on what will be coming soon! Give me another week or so to make some of these new items available for you, and the CreativeMedley will be up and running again!

Not Done Yet

So, although it may appear that my Etsy shop has closed down it has NOT! This has just been such a busy time in my life right now that it is on hold and in the 'vacation' mode for a little while longer. Mostly life has just gotten crazier and I've been in and out of town and would not have been able to efficiently place orders. And I would hate for anyone to feel neglected or not get their handmade items! So it has been in a holding pattern for awhile and as things are finally settling down I have a new job. So, in the midst of life and living and new chaos, I am going to try and reopen soon. The plan is to first do some revamping, which I think will be exciting!

I will still be producing, making, and creating my own products but I am hoping to offer more options and have more items in stock and to also make more clear other colors available for products. I am also intending on changing some of the pricing so that I can send some of my earnings on to a better cause! This is where things get fun and more personal. I want to provide a product that is cute and handmade and either a great personal purchase or that perfect gift for someone else. Along with that product I want to make ends meet with cost of supplies to make my cute handmade crafts, but to also have a small profit AND send some money to those who need it more. This involves more calculations and planning on my end and thus the delay in re-opening my shop.

The end goal will be to make my customers happy with their purchase, provide a little extra income for my small family, and make both myself and customers excited that some of the cold hard cash will be going to a great cause! A lot of thought will be going into where the extra funds end up. I'm hoping to have different themes that make sense. For example, if you buy a scarf a donation will be made to clothe children who don't have means for buying clothing or coats. Or if stationary, cards, or bookmarks are purchased a donation to funding education in illiterate countries would be made. And so on.

If you want to check out where I am planning to make these donations, a link can be found here: https://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/Giving/gift_catalog/
To avoid scams I wanted to send the donations to a place I trusted and knew where the money was going and that it would actually be used for what it claimed. Samaritans Purse is a longstanding and trustworthy organization, and since my husband actually worked for the company and I know others who do as well, I know for a fact that the money will go where it says it will. They also offer options for smaller donations that would be feasible for my little shop to meet.

So to those following the Creative Medley shop, please know that things are still happening Behind the Scenes! Amidst being in and out of the state for multiple weddings and family things I have still been thinking and putting effort into the shop even as it sits dormant and 'on vacation'. Some very cute cards, scarves, and jewelry will be seen again soon! I just have to plan and coordinate some other details before it opens back up. So be thinking of what you'd like to see, leave comments on things you'd like to have available for Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, or things you yourself want!!

Oh, and here is a pic of the little aprons I made for the bride's bachelorette party:

Eight aprons were made, and they were so much fun! I am currently trying to find a pattern that I could sell that would not infringe on any copyright issues. Or come up with my own pattern that would still look cute! So that is your sneak peek and information on what is to come!!!!

Please stop by the shop to see if it's reopened...likely mid or end of October!

Wondering Where I've Been

Those of you who follow me I'm sure have been wondering where in the world I have been! Well...all over the place actually. From the last post when I asked you to vote for my brother-in-law, I have moved to NJ, visited Italy, visited friends and family back home in NC, come back to NJ, had mine and my hubby's second anniversary, and been preparing and planning for my very dear friend's wedding of which I am the Matron of Honor...as well as the usual long task of job searching. So, whew, life has been topsy turvy and upside down and there has been little time for my poor Etsy shop!

So here we are months later. And I've decided to post photos of what I've been up to lately:

 Here are some things I'm working on making for the bachelorette party and games :) I loved the way my lingerie shower invites came together:

 Here is a pinterest project I am working on for our little apartment:

 Cute quotes to add character and charm to our bookshelves:

 And since I still have not found a job, I have been working on some decorations for our future home that will live in the game room. This combines my love of crafts and my husband's enjoyment of gaming all in one:

 And another pinterest project I attempted.....too bad I found out that our cat likes to chew on my completed project:

 And of course updating our wall of photographs with pictures of our family vacation to ITALY!!!! Here we have photos from Rome, Florence, and Tuscany. *Sigh* I want to go and sit outside a shop sipping a cappuccino with my family again! :) What an awesome graduation gift for my sister-in-law; a family getaway to the destination of her choice!

 And my favorite little project that I put together is my new prayer reminder. I'm always struggling with wanting to pray for EVERYONE in my life and always feeling like I've left someone out or don't have time. Well...here is my solution. The little clothespin prayer requests are immediate needs and concerns, plus my little 'This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it" reminder. The little pails have one for each day of the week and popsicle sticks with names on them! Sunday has popsicle sticks for churches and pastors. Monday is for missions and missionaries. Tuesday is for close family. Wednesday is for my Bible study ladies and children. Thursday is for my husband-focusing on him, his health, his job, his character, his growth and wisdom, fruits of the spirit etc. Friday is for FRIENDS! And Saturday includes all the extended family that I didn't get on Tuesday. I am really enjoying having this as a template and a reminder-just having it up on the wall reminds me of special requests and to pray consistently! (More than happy to offer this on my Etsy as special requests!)

 And of course all this time I have been decorating, rearranging, and attempting to make this little apartment feel more like home. (NJ cost of living is MUCH higher than anywhere else we have ever lived...so a little downsizing was in order. However frustrating it may be now to be in a tinier place, it will make us appreciate what we have later in life all the more!)

 ...And I've been nurturing this little orchid back to health. Found REALLY cheap in Lowe's because it was not doing well and looked iffy. It's grown 2 new leaves and is looking great now! And affordable for me :D

 More decorating that has been done over the months :)

 plants and decorations :)

 And this is my lovely friend who is getting married in just a few weeks!!! I got to visit her when I visited NC right after Italy!

 And the more important reason I went to NC immediately after our family trip abroad was my childhood friend getting married and being a bridesmaid in her wedding!!!! Known her since preschool...and we've been in school together ever since :) All the way through college.

 And no trip back home is complete without some wildlife spotting! Mrs. Momma Bear decided to stroll around our driveway to say hello. 

 And then being home again I have had my second anniversary with my wonderful husband. Fancy restaurant in NYC for our anniversary and movies at home. Job searching since then and then have been catching cute poses that my cat has made:

His favorite new place seems to be atop our dresser. :) But he is cute. And his antics are always amusing.

So there you have it....catching up on my crazy life since the move that has been going and going at breakneck speeds in all directions. This is why I have been missing in action for a few months and why my little Etsy shop has been in vacation mode. More photos to come soon of creative things for my dear friend's wedding. And after that my shop shall open once again! Glad you found the blog and hope you will return to see all the new happenings soon!

Please vote!!!

Please vote for my creative and very talented brother-in-law, Alex!! He made this commercial for BMW and the only way to win is through voting. They were given a time constraint for the commercial, and from what I've seen his truly is the most professional looking, however winning is completely reliant on votes. So please let everyone know and get the word out!
 Voting is daily from now until April 9th (And please make sure to click on the blue 'Vote' button not the youtube 'like' button!) Thank you!!!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/BMWUSA?x=us_showcase2_4985_30

Sneak Peek

Here is a sneak peek of what I've been working on the past couple of weeks!!! There will be some fun things added to my Etsy shop soon!

Stamping is in progress for some fun Christmas cards!

more stamping items!

Most recent creative idea is to take on making a medley of bookmarks to choose from! These could be great little gifts or stocking stuffers, especially if you are already getting someone a book!

 And then the most recent addition to Creative Medley has been fingerless gloves. Custom orders are currently available, but here is a look at gloves in progress:

 So far only one done, but working on it's matching pair!

Also creating cards to use as wall art or for some sort of decoration for your room, desk, or table!

And there you have it! A sneak preview on what's been going on the past few weeks at Creative Medley and all the various designs and little gifts I've been making for you!