Arts and Crafts Show to Benefit Rwandan Orphans

Last Saturday I did my very first show. It was held in the parking lot of the college, organized and put on by the Intercultural Communication students. The vendor fees and t-shirt sales went toward building a house for Rwandan orphans, victims of genocide.

It was a really small show with only about 20 vendors, but it was for a great cause.




The whole thing was promoted by the Chair of the Communication Department, my friend Tina.


It was so windy I had to finally give up on my upright displays and lay almost everything flat on the table. Some of my business cards are now floating somewhere on campus. I shared a table with my friend Julie, who brought candy canes which made us very popular with the kiddies!


Because of the wind and because the Gem Faire was in town, I didn't do very well in sales. I did go to the Gem Faire after the show was over and undid any gains I made at the show and then some!


If I thought of the show only in terms of income generated, I'd have to write it off as a loss. (Some vendors didn't sell anything at all, though, so I did better than most!) The thing is, there was so much more to be gained from this event.

They had two drumming bands play, which was awesome! One was a small band called Panzumo who kept us bopping with Africanesque beats.


The other band was a bunch of kids and their instructor from a local drum shop. These kids were fantastic! They played drums, trash cans and trash can lids. They had choreographed movements to match their playing. I was so impressed with these guys! Their name is Boom Chaka. The kid pictured below is about to do a backwards somersault off of that trash can!



Needless to say, they drew quite an audience.

The most impressive thing about this event, though, has to do with the Intercultural Communication students. They worked like demons to put this thing together in a short period of time. Seeing college students come together like this to make a difference in the lives of others much less fortunate than they was a real privilege. They actually had three days of events to raise money to build a home for orphans in Rwanda. It was the students themselves who came up with the ideas for all of this.

The event on Saturday may not have been lucrative for me personally, but it was fun. Between the bands and the joy of watching the students work to help those who need it, it was a much more fulfilling experience for me than just making a profit. I was so moved by their hard work and dedication that I contributed 10% of my sales (not much, but every little bit helps) to their cause.

For more information about the efforts of the Intercultural Communication students' efforts and events, go here:
3 Days of Change

For information on the situation in Rwanda, go here:
Rwanda: How the Genocide Happened

The Fairies Got Me Again

More than two weeks ago, I lost the remote control for my television. Not a tragedy, I know, but damned inconvenient. If I wanted to go from channel 56 down to channel 2, I had to get up, go crouch in front of the t.v. and hold the channel button down until I got where I was going.

After doing that for several days, the button got less cooperative. I started having to push it over and over again, or push it from just the right angle or beg it to work. This resulted in my missing the first few minutes of some of my favorite shows. Forget about going all the way up to channel 78 just to see what was on! By the time I got to the right channel, it would have been too late.

Of course I looked for the remote. I took all the cushions off of the couch – the bottom cushions and the back rest cushions. I stuck my hands in all the cracks and crannies. I looked under the couch. I looked on the floor next to and behind the couch. I looked on the floor next to and behind the t.v. I looked on the bookshelves next to the t.v. I looked through the disarray that is my crafting table. I looked under my crafting table. I took all the cushions off the couch and felt around in cracks and crannies again.

I started to think that maybe I’d had it in my hand when I went to do something in another room. Maybe when I got there, I’d needed two hands and set it down and forgot about it. I looked in the bathroom. I looked in the refrigerator. I looked in the freezer. I looked in all the kitchen cabinets and drawers. I looked in the bedroom. I looked under the bed. I started accusing the cats of making off with it.

Every couple of days, I repeated the search, including the Great Couch Exploration. I looked over, under, behind and next to everything. I picked up every piece of paper, magazine and scrap of fabric. No remote. Finally, crouching in front of the t.v., trying to cajole the channel button into cooperating, I began to consider just buying a new one.

After two weeks of this, I started to think the fairies were messing with me. They’ve done it before. I tried to reason with them. I said, “Come on, guys, can you please give me back my remote? It’s not all that funny anymore.”

Then, the night before last, I sat down on the couch and felt something hard and lumpy beneath me. I knew immediately what it was. Yep, the remote. I searched that couch at least four times that I specifically remember. The only explanation I can come up with is that the fae were having a laugh at my expense.

Just in time for that crazy holiday shopping...

Eight stunning new items from earthcharms!

Etsy Buy Handmade earthcharms

Give them something amazing this year: buy handmade!

Summersea's Sunny Treasury

What's a Treasury? It's a collection of items chosen by an Etsyian to fit a theme and/or to display some of that Etsyians favorite items from shops on Etsy. I'm in one this morning! Here's a screen shot of it:

See? There's my little Yule magnet, right in the middle of the top row! Items chosen by SummerseaHerbs

Vampires R Us

Hey, everyone! Since my Elizabeth Bathory necklace sold, I was inspired to list another vampire necklace. This one has genuine agate fangs.

Got Vampire?

Astrology gift sets now on sale!

Hi Everyone, its Andee from http://celticgoddessjewelry.etsy.com.
I just wanted to let everyone in on my newest addition of my Astrology gift sets! I only have Pisces listed at the moment, but I can accommodate any astrological sign (price will vary).

Its a great deal, considering you get a sterling necklace, a custom glyph soap scented with a special fragrance blended for your SIGN (made by serenedreams), a beautiful card (by serpantmandalas) and an original piece of art AND a quartz sphere. Im even thinking about adding earrings to this set for no additional charge! (if you place a custom order I WILL include a pair of earrings for your sign for free!)

Thanks!
Andee

taking Etsy on the road...

before i left for a cross-country road trip i had a spurt of Etsy sales. I decided to try and take Etsy on the road with me, then, putting together a small studio and some designs i could easily do using only an AC inverter in my car cigarette lighter, an extension cord, a dremel, and a few simple tools.

To be quite honest, i was thankful the sales came to a stop for a bit - my work has kept me so busy i hadn't had time for jewelry until today, but today i'm making my first "on the road" order.

crazy to think that necklace is only going an hour and a half away to San Francisco - what timing! I'm borrowing my sweet man's place for the afternoon to get away from work and have some personal time to sink back into my creativity and create another personalized braille pendant.

These have been doing quite well, and i've sold a few offline as well. And they're STILL a pleasure to make despite the fact that they're pretty much ALL i make right now. Order yours today and it will arrive within two weeks from wherever i happen to be at the time (today's necklace is being created on beautiful Bodega Bay in Sonoma County, california).