RELAXING SUNDAY AFTERNOONS

I am always happy on Sunday afternoons. Sunday evenings are a different story, as you must get ready to go back to work. I have so much to do this afternoon. Sundays at home are so relaxing. The list of chores is growing even as we speak. But back to the relaxing part. I am in the library enjoying a cup of coffee. Really good plain coffee with cream. Nothing fancy. The internet connection is good and my laptop is doing well, so now I think I will discuss beads. Now this is very relaxing. I've noticed many e-tailers lately. They all look like they are e-tailers after they were actual brick and mortar stores. I don't know whether they were or not, it's just what I suspect. What I've noticed this year that I hadn't noticed previously, though is sales. They have sales! They didn't use to have sales. The prices were a tad bit higher too. I noticed that the more e-tailers that opened their shops online, the lower the prices became. And now they are having sales too! I think this what I've always known or read about related to supply and demand. It's become pretty interesting to see it actually played out in the market. When I finally do get an order submitted, I will be buying beads that are very inexpensive to make very beautiful jewelry. I think my mission right now, though, is to get my blog going. I think this is very important as I tell you about my adventures in "BEADLAND". I have intentions of having a collection soon. I think what I need to do is figure out what I actually want to work with. My necklaces and bracelets that are available now at www.adornablesbylyn.etsy.com demonstrate my excitement over discovering beautiful rocks. I love the opaque stones. I love Swarovski Crystals too. I really love freshwater pearls. I want to go to a mine and dig some rocks - like Emeralds. The very notion to me that our planet is full of all the colors and patterns is very overwhelming to me. Very awesome. You just go dig up a rock and make a bead or two from it. Then you sell it to someone like me who turns it into a piece of jewelry. Then I sell it to one of my great customers and they wear it. Quite astonishing. So I made a little list for this nice relaxing Sunday afternoon. After this blog entry, I plan to list a few pieces of jewelry on etsy. I have pictures and I have an inventory. Wow! I am ready! This is one of the reasons that I know I could do this full time for the correct dollar amount. Why? Because it is the first thing on my mind when I wake up and the last thing when I go to bed. I have a forty-hour a week job that has nothing to do with beads. I long to leave that job and play with my beads. That's alll I want to do,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I have to love it! So this is my rambling for the day, on this relaxing Sunday afternoon. When others are playing in the garden or watching a movie, I am in an air conditioned library, happily typing another entry on my blog and hoping with great anticipation that I can mail an order out this week to one of my customers. This is what I love. This is the stuff that makes me happiest. Let me know how happy your Sunday afternoon is! See ya next time!

THE ART GALLERY GIFT SHOP IDEA

Oh my goodness, this one is really gonna hurt my noggin. OMG! My friend, Colleen, came from Montana. She worked in an Art Gallery back home. She keeps telling me that I should start an art gallery. Well thanks a lot, Colleen. Gee. I think that seed is starting to germinate. Oh my aching head! See when I explore, I try to research an idea online, to the ends of the internet. It'll take some time and I'll add to my knoweldge and put it into my plan. My plan right now is to retire in three years. Well, in order to do that, I really need to have a few additional years of similar income at the appropriate pre-retirement rate. And then there are my beads that have to come along with me. I picture my husband and I touring the country in our solar powered recreational vehicle. Stopping off in small quaint towns where I can mail my works of art, when I get a sale. I can pick up supplies along the way, either by walking into a store and buying them or buy scheduling them to be delivered to a post office box in the next town. Well that's my dream and so far, I'm sticking to it! Now about that art gallery. I can start it and get it going. Then I'll leave town. Then I'll send great works of art that I find throughout the country to the gallery to my reliable employee. Probably my sister. Maybe the next door neighbor. Okay, so then I was thinking that there are lots and lots of art galleries. So I could make mine more like an art gallery gift shop. My fine beaded work would be available. My photographs would be available. And my type of art work would be available. My head hasn't even started hurting yet! It will though. I'll be so zoomed in that eventually it'll blend into whatever I eventually come up with. I know that's a dangler. I am sorry. I'm just so excited to be moving along,,,,somehow, some direction. Now we don't need to tell Colleen about this idea just yet, okay. She'll just get too excited and then she'll feel like I let her down if it doesn't materialize. I don't want that.

On Counting Chickens Part 2

I was ablaze with monetary gain. I had no idea just how much money I would make, but I was certain that I could make some money here. So Friday, I had about four or five hours to sell my entire collection, which was now, for the first time, inventoried. VOILA! It happened. A lady wanted to buy a necklace! Yay me!!! But, the catch, she wanted to put it on her VISA along with her other necklace purchase. So Michelle, the owner of the credit card account and owner of the other necklace, put both on her account. Intention was to pay me later, when the charge went through. Doesn't matter to me! Unwavered I move along, but begin gritting my teeth. The gritting increases and I try to make it go away. It doesn't. That's my gut talking to me. I am finally realizing that. However, it takes me so long to recognize it happening that it's late in the day when I finally figure it out. Gee. There isn't a name that describes it fully yet, but I think it's the "I told you so." speech. Saturday, as I was leaving my house, Jim and Danielle wanted a ride to the ComFest. Jim says he hasn't missed one in six years. Then I picked up Julie. Off we go to ComFest. Rather than boring you to tears, let me just cut to the quick. I had NO sales on Saturday. None!!! I didn''t go back on Sunday, my spirit deserved better than that and besides, I was exhausted. I learned a lot. I have my first inventory. I know that I have a good product that was in the wrong venue. I don't like craft shows. I learned a lot. More than anything I learned again that I should never count the chickens before they hatch. Don't do it. Just fricken don't do it, Lyn, no matter how positive the outcome may look, don't do it.

On Counting Chickens

ComFest 101. What a lesson! The AdornablesByLyn School of Hard Knocks has officially opened. I absolutly loved ComFest 2008. At the very least it was very interesting. At the greatest, it was so relaxing! So Mellow! Now about the business. I left work at 4:30. The usual time. I got to ComFest and sat in my air conditioned car while I drilled tiny holes and screwed in tiny eye screws and cup hooks. My turntable type jewelry rack came to life as imagined. The critical middle step is to sketch out the imagination before beginning construction. So I sketched it out. It came together! Awesome. So there I was parked on Summit Street. This was my first time on Summit Street. Wow! I am still sheltered. Oh well. I got to our booth after a little hike. Nothing out of the ordinary so far. I guess it'll be just fine. I found our booth and introduced myself. We know each other, but having only met once, I thought it'd be nice to re-introduce myself.

ComFest Preparation 101

I am back from lots of work as I continue to prepare for ComFest. I have conducted my inventory and have assigned catalog numbers. I think that will work a lot better than writing out the contents of each and every item. I bought string today to use to tie the price tags onto the jewelry. I think it is too large too use, however, I haven't tested it yet so I really don't know. The picture I have in my mind is a string with a much smaller diameter. I am really enjoying this. I am so excited! I can't stop working on this preparation. It is consuming every second of spare time. I can really see myself in that camper going from town to town and selling my jewelry at craft shows and on the internet. Meanwhile, back to reality. I have separated all my jewelry into what it is - all necklaces; all bracelets; all earrings; and a few sets that include a necklace and earrings or a bracelet and earrings. I should start tagging them tonight. Later this afternoon, my husband and I are going to go get a board and make a turn table display to put my jewelry on. I've got it figured out so all we have to do now is cut the wood, assemble it, paint it and then add hooks on which to hang the neckaces and bracelets. I am thinking of a thick plastic to use for the earrings although I'm not sure exactly how to assemble this. I have adhesive backs for my earring cards. The thick plastic idea will be used to hang the earring cards. Heck. It might not be plastic that ends up being used but I don't know what else it could be right now. I got out the suit case that I think I am going to use to put everything in and haul it into the ComFest. I am not sure how it is going to work out, but I am going to try. I am also excited to be able to bring a battery that will power our lights. They are going to disable the alarms so it doesn't cause any undue notice. Hmm, undue notice. Translation is that I don't want the alarms to annoy anyone and I know for sure that I am the one that will be annoyed first. Well, thanks for stopping by for an update and if you're in the area, stop by! I'll be at the ComFest in Columbus, OHIO next weekend and I look forward to meetiing you.

ComFest Preparation 101

Well we got into ComFest 2008! I am amazed and excited. Tonight is our organizationall meeting so I have to stay in Columbus until 9:00 p.m. Oh, well, this is interesting. I am at Panera having dinner and working on my blog and really trying to relax. So from here on, it's going to get a little rough. A lot of organization and planning are needed. I will have to plan out every minute. My son is graduating from high school and we are having a party. And there is Father's Day. All of this will get done. Somehow. Okay, so today I made oval shaped price tags for my jewelry. I have found that the best thing to do is settle on a design. Duh! I keep rearranging! Last time they were a soft lilac. This time they are royal blue ovals with my business name and email in white. Simple simple. That's all that is needed. Really not in my vocabulary.....I make everything so big. Oh, well. So for this post, let's consider that I am realizing that my plate is way too full and I need to downsize. I think I can have a blog, have an Etsy Shop, prepare for graduation party, get ready for craft show oh, and perhaps I should mention that full time day job! Yep I think I need to juggle and juggle often. I'll try. Organization and taking small steps. I can check off the price tag design. I can check off the earring card design. I can check off the business cards as well. Little steps.

BARACK OBAMA SHOOK MY HAND!

I went to Philadelphia this past week for my day job. I had looked forward to the trip since January because that is when I found out that Pennsylvania's primary was on April 22. Our rooms were in the Sheraton. I ate dinner in Phillip's Seafood on Monday night and I had it charged to my room. On Tuesday I went down with my debit card to pay. There were police and "suits" all over the place near the restaurant. I just figured that they were looking for someone and walked on into Phillip's.

The entrance is a narrow hallway and as I walked in, Barack Obama was walking out! It was like I was a teen ager! I couldn't speak. I couldn't think. I think he was pretty surprised too. He probably didn't count on running right into someone like me. We shook hands and went around each other. It was awesome!! I told one of the people who was with him that I voted for him and that I hoped for a landslide! He gave me a thumbs up as he kept walking with the Senator.

I finally regained enough of my consciousness to remember that I had my camera with me. Since Senator Obama had to go up to his room and freshen up before they left, I positioned myself to take some pictures of him when he came back down. This time, I got to shake his hand again and then I shook his wife's hand too. This was an absolute thrill!

He was absolutely cordial! His wife was so sweet!

LET'S VOTE FOR OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT!