Busy, Busy, Busy!

Whew! I finally got a few minutes to update my blog.

Between craft shows, Farmer's Market, 2 online shops and family functions, I've barely had time to relax. It's all worth it, but July is the busiest of the summer months. Last weekend was Sidewalk Days in Greencastle, PA. This year there were a handful of new vendors and we had a new spot on South Carlisle Street. I have to say I had a lot of fun this year and it was good to see so many familiar faces.

Next up is the farmer's Market in Mercersburg (1 date in July, 1 on August) and then the Cornfest in Shippensburg, PA!

Oh, and about a month ago we brought a new addition to the family home:


Our new little guy is about 3 months old now. We're still working on house training him, but so far he's doing great!

Featured on Etsy!

I'm old school! Well, an old school Etsian!

I was recently contact by Etsy for an interview for their Old School Estians series. These articles focus on sellers who have been with Etsy since the beginning, their memories of the early days, things they have learned, etc. And I have to say, it was certainly a nice way to celebrate my 4 years on Etsy!


You can check out the article here.

I wish I could have found a better picture! LOL

Celebrating 4 years of selling on Etsy today!

Today is my Etsy shop's 4th anniversary!!!

4 years ago today I checked out Etsy and signed up for a shop as soon as I saw it. The site and my shop has changed and grown a lot of the years. I had no idea back then how big it would become, nor did I have any idea how much my business would grow!

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade zencreations04.etsy.com

Mercersburg Farmer's Market this weekend!

This Saturday will be the very 1st Farmer's Market in Mercersburg, PA. Located on in the parking lot of the Mercersburg Health Center (next to Modnur Pharmacy), the Farmer's Market will run every Saturday from May 30th until the end of October from 8am to 1pm. The Market will be featuring locally grown fruits and vegetables, prepared foods, flowers, musicians and artists.

We will be vending 6 Saturdays over the course of the Farmer's Market this season. All dates will be listed in the Events section of my blog. If you are in the area, please stop by!

Home & Garden Festival - tomorrow!

Tomorrow we will be vending at the Home & Garden Festival in Mercersburg, PA. If you are in the area, stop by and say hi!

Home & Garden Festival
10am to 3pm
Located on the sqaure and Seminary Street
Mercersburg, PA

Sneak peek! New Jewelry!!!

I've been working pretty hard lately on 2 things: 1. trying to get photos taken of new pieces as they are finished instead of waiting to photograph several at once, and 2. getting things listed in my shops more often. Here is a sneak peek at 2 new pieces that I just finished. Neither have been added to my shops yet.



This first bracelet was made with gorgeous beads by Libelula Designs. She creates some of the most beautiful beads I have ever seen! As soon as she listed these beads -- I had to have them!!! The bracelet was made with her gorgeous beads, sterling silver spacers and a combination of large round links and small oval link chain.


The second piece is a pair of earrings made with sterling silver, antiqued brass and a combination of garnet rounds and teardrops, finished off with 2 gold vermeil spacer beads.

Ouch!!

Yesterday morning I slipped on some ice on my porch and fell on my butt. HARD. So hard that I laid on the porch for 10 minutes before I could even drag myself inside the house. A trip to the ER, couple of x-rays and 5 hours later, I was on my way home with good news (nothing broken or out of place) and an rx for pain meds. Now if only I could make the pain in my lower back go away completely!

So now I'll be spending the next few days taking it easy, trying to get my lower back back to normal. I had plans to work on some new pieces, but now I will make better use of my time listing new items in my shops. Keep and eye on both shops over the next few days for more rings, earrings and necklaces!

Happy Easter!

Whew! What a day! Easter candy, Easter brunch, Easter egg hunts, Easter lunch, etc, etc. A fun day with family, and Zoe has more sugar today than she's had in a year. What to do with all this candy now? LOL

Time to get back on track with new listings and new pieces. I added several new rings earlier last week to each of my shops and this lovely new necklace to my artfire shop:


Up this week:
matching earrings (for the necklace above)
more rings
2 new necklaces
1 new bracelet

Keep an eye on the Etsy and Artfire shops this week!

Easter Craft Show - York, PA

Tomorrow I will be travelling to York, PA to vend at the Easter Craft show. The show will be held from 10am to 4pm at the York Expo Center, in York, PA. I've spent this past week trying to get of a nasty head cold and make new pieces for the show. I'm finally starting to feel better, just in time to wipe everything down, price, pack and get the Jeep ready to go for tomorrow. This is the first time vending at this show, so I don't really know what to expect, but we're excitied to try it out.

We will also be trying out our new set-up tomorrow. I found that I was running out of space to display necklaces and I had so many ideas for new pieces. So, we added another table and another shelf, plus some new necklace displays. I can't wait to try it out tomorrow!

Rings!

Getting ready for my next craft show in York, PA. Made 22 rings over the weekend, all pearl or Swarovski crystals with sterling silver. Simple wrapped rings, but pretty and always a hit at craft shows!

Cabin Fever show

Well, I had hoped to post sooner about this past Saturday's craft show. Good intentions but just not possible until now. A trip to Lehighton right after the show, a baptisim on Sunday and the drive back from Lehighton, not to mention a long day at work on Monday and needed to take inventory, well, you can see where this is going. lol

Anyway, I think the show went very well and I was pleased with the turnout. The venue was beautiful and everything was well organized. My new color scheme worked out well (pictures will be posted as soon as I can find my camera), just need to add a little more green and pink and we'll be set. Also made plans to expand my set-up so I can highlight more jewelry sets at the next show.

Cabin Fever Craft show - this Saturday in Greencastle, PA

This weekend I will be vending at the Cabin Fever Craft show @ Green Grove Gardens in Greencastle, PA. This is the first year for this event, and from what I've been told, they will have the place packed with craft vendors! I'm excited for my 1st craft show of 2009 and because this will be the 1st time that I debut my new booth color scheme. I still have a few kinks to work out with my displays, but I'm sure it will be all worked out by Saturday.

Cabin Fever Craft Show
Green Grove Gardens
1032 Buchanan Trl E
Greencastle, PA 17225
Time: 9am t0 5pm

If you get a chance to attend this show, please stop by and say hi! Just look for the booth with brown, pink and lime green!

More Events!

I am very pleased to announce that I have added a second craft show for March! I will be vending at the Easter Craft Show, March 29th, from 10am to 4pm at the York Expo Center, York, PA. This will be my first time doing this show, and I'm very excited about this event.

In the meantime, I have been working very hard on new designs and should be posting a preview on here very soon!

Valentine's Day Sale!

Treat yourself or a loved one this Valentine's Day with jewelry from Zen Creations during our Valentine's Day Sale!

From 10pm EST on February 2nd to 10pm EST on February 3rd all items will be on sale in both of our stores: http://www.zencreations04.etsy.com and our new store: http://www.zencreationsjewelry.artfire.com
Get 10% to 25 % off all items! Discounts will already be applied to each item, so no need to wait for a revised invoice.

Also, 2 people will be chosen at random to receive a FREE GIFT!

Snow Day!

It''s snowing here today, so Zoe and I have a day off of work and school. Just a few minutes ago we went for a walk around the neighborhood to check out the snow. We don't have enough just yet to go sledding, but Zoe seems to be enjoying the snow that we have so far:

The farm and mountains behind our house makes for a beautiful wintry scene:

The another nice thing about an unexpected day off is getting to list and work on new pieces. I just listed this icy necklace in my Etsy shop:

For now, Zoe and I are warming up by the fireplace with some hot chocolate. The snow is falling heavier outside and we're hoping to go sledding after lunch. I love snowy days!

A slow start

Well, I have to say, 2009 is off to a slow start. I have recently stocked up on some gorgeous beads, but I have yet to complete a single piece of jewelry with them. I finished a new set of Valentine's Day jewelry - a necklace and matching pair of earrings. These new pieces will be added to the artfire shop this week. As for the rest, I believe I'm having a little bit of a creative block, so I've been trying to sit down a little bit every day until inspiration hits.

Back in the swing of things

Well, the holidays are over, Christmas decorations are packed away and I think I finally got my house back to normal. Time to get back into the swing of things! I've ordered quite a few new beads, both glass and gemstone -- and I've very excited for them to come in. I also have a couple of new pieces to photograph and list in both the Etsy and Artfire shops. Keep your eye out for those new pieces soon!

Happy Holidays!!

Happy Holidays from Zen Creations!!!

Artfire!!

Today I joined Artfire and started setting up shop! I only have a few items listed so far, but watch for more new pieces to be added over the next few days!!

Store not available

Disney World 2008