Hi, all

It isn’t often that  convictions move to move quickly, but yesterday the overwhelming urge come over me.

So Chocolatedogstudio is now located at www.winkelf.com/chocolatedogstudio

My reasons were personal but if you shop or sell online please check out  my store and the site and let me know what you think. NO, I am not angry at anyone at Etsy and will still run my Etsian features that I have already set up. I will be interviewing other people with shops in other venues now as well. 

If you decide to move to Winkelf, please use me as a referral! It helps us both out as you get a $5 credit and I get $2.50 credit!

Thanks so much!

Check out my pictures on Facebook  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chocolatedogstudio/263457357445?ref=nf

I am having difficulties getting the pictures to post! My techie helper (ie oldest son) is at work!

Thanks, Karen

Hi all,

I am so glad that it is Friday. Friday means a bunch of driving. Driving kids to this or that activity. Fridays used to mean a movie night, stay home, eat pizza, and relax. Now Friday means driving three kids in three different directions all about the same time. I am still glad that it is Friday! So at our house Thursday is the new Friday! We now eat pizza, watch movies and relax on Thursday night. This is a great thing. I  originally started this because we were done with out homeschool co-op classes across town and on Fridays we could relax and hang out. We would still of course get the school work done but any day that we actually get to stay home and just be is worthy of celebrating.

The busyness of life is just taking over, I keep reminding myself that it is simply  the stage of parenting that we are in. Teenagers require a lot of  activities. They go places and do things and it often means we are right in there with them.

I am excited for  summer to get here and at the same time a little worried as the busyness of life will also follow us into that season.

Do you have any thoughts on how to keep the busyness of life slowed down?

Write me a comment and let me know!

See you all later,

Karen

Today we are chatting with cksilver about who she is and her interests and passions in life! Pour yourself a cup of coffee and take the time to enjoy the beautiful silver jewelry created by Cindy!

Cindy is offering a 20% discount on all of her items to Chocolatedogstudio.com readers! Take advantage of this offer.

 Who are you and where do you live?
I am Cindy, and I live in central Washington near beautiful Lake Chelan

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=44019361

How long have you been crafting?
I have been using my creativity for many years through playing the piano and marketing. Jewelry making is a more recent hobby, but once I started I was hooked and couldn’t quit! It is so much fun!

What do you enjoy about crafting/creating?
I’ve always been interested in creating beautiful designs. I love creating something new and beautiful out of simple raw materials, and I love being creative and developing unique and artful things. I do this with my jewelry (http://cksilver.etsy.com), marketing (http://www.actionmarketers.com), and also with playing the piano. I love that each day is so different and never the same as the one before!

What would you do if you could do anything you wanted?
Just what I’m doing now. I love my work, and I love being a mom.

Where would be your ideal place to live?
Exactly where I am. I love being content.

What is your favorite season?
That’s a toss up between summer and spring. The weather is so gorgeous in the summer and the lake and waterslides are fun with the kids, but springtime here is amazing too and since the lake water is down in the spring it makes for amazing beaches!

How does your faith fit into your crafting?
My primary inspiration is the beauty of nature, and the amazing richness of God’s creation that we find all around us. I want to bless others with the gifts God has given me.

How do you find or keep balance in your life with etsy/creating and other pulls on your time?
Sometimes I balance it well, and sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I allow myself to be sucked into all the fun stuff online, and yet other times I ask God to help me prioritize and I find that my day is much more balanced and I am getting done what is important. It is a constant balancing act for sure!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=38138427

You can find me here:
Etsy: http://cksilver.etsy.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cksilver
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cksilver
CAST blog (Wednesday Featured Artist contributor): http://castteametsy.blogspot.com
Also, here’s my marketing website – Action Marketers: http://www.actionmarketers.com

Well, My mom told me that once when I was three-ish Oklahoma had a horrible snow storm on my birthday (March 11). Trucks were in the ditches all around I 44 between Henryetta and Shawnee OK. It is now March 20th, seems a little late in the season for this much snow.

Snow in our yard

Looking out at the snow reminds me of a fresh clean slate. Starting over, not worrying about imperfections, plowing ahead (pun intended!) and trying again.  Snow is beautiful, unless you have to work out in it. Then it is cold, wet and can cause misery. If you are not ready for the snow storm and you do not have warm winter clothing and shelter it can also be a miserable time.

Ok, let’s see this metaphor out to the end. Life is like the snow, you can always start over on life. Learn new skills, do not worry about imperfections, plowing ahead and forgetting what was behind you. You do need to be prepared for life. Do you know who causes all things to happen for good! Do you have shelter in the storm? If you don’t then you need to seek God. Ask Him to show himself to you even if you do not believe, cannnot believe, will not believe. I guarantee that if you ask Him to show himself to you, He will!

Then you will have a fresh new start and shelter in the storm.

Have a great day!

More snow!

Karen

 ANGELSNEVERLASTINGS

I am going to let Angelsneverlastings tell you her story in her own words. It is so interesting to hear how people get started crafting and how God uses them and their talents. I never get tired of hearing other people tell the story of how God has been faithful in their lives.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=38716919

I started in my craft around 1989 (could it really have been that long ago?)
At the time I was working part-time — hoping to make some money to help pay bills.
I prayed about what skills I might have and felt led to experiment with dried and silk flowers. God blessed the works of my hands and I was able to sell my wreaths and flower arrangements in consignment and gift shops in my local area. I also taught classes at one of the local Micheal’s stores and did seasonal craft fairs. In 1996 I felt the need to work full time and discontinued my business. I always thought I would get back to it but it wasn’t until this year that I felt the stirring to work creatively again.

 I was praying about how to get out of debt and picked up one of Pat Robertson’s recent books and read where he encouraged people to discover and use the gifts God has given to each one of us to prosper us. I now work part-time doing bookeeping for the local newspaper where I live, and sometimes think I’m crazy to try to add etsy to my schedule. I have two children, one who is 26 and the younger one is 17.

I had never consider doing any selling via the internet but my daughter Coralie introduced me to etsy. She also started a shop called concoctionsbycoralie.etsy.com.

I have to be careful with Etsy. I find myself spending way too much time on line. I haven’t yet established a workable schedule. Maybe I need to set a timer to limit my time on Etsy. I usually check my Etsy shop and forums first thing in the morning and usually right after supper till bed. I try not to log on at all on Saturday mornings because once I get on, I can sit all day. I intend to just check my mail but three hours later I find I’m still in front of the computer.

     
I live in Revere, Massachusetts, which is just north of Boston. It’s a urban area not far from the beach. I’m looking forward to the spring weather so I can collect shells and sea glass to incorporate into my floral creations.
Having a home based business has changed so since when I started. I did one craft show this December and it didn’t go well so I don’t know when I will be ready to do another. I had forgotten how boring craft fairs can be if you are not selling. I would like to organize some wreath classes. I’m trying to get up to date with the internet and learning the ins and outs of facebook and twitter promoting along with learning how to use my camera effectively.
I am a breast cancer survivor, having been diagnosed in 2006

Thank you so much for reading Interview Tuesdays with Angelsneverlastings!

See you soon!

Karen

Kids grow up! I know, what a revelation. When they were little I never thought that my children would ever reach the ages that they are now. It just seemed so incredibly far away. I am learning the hard way that the phrase “when they stop walking on your toes they start walking on your heart”! I mean what a thing to tell a mom of little kids. What a great thing to look forward to!? Really, is that going to really be an issue, surely not these sweet little  babies that I rock to sleep.

Well, it is true but there are so many things to love about “Teenagers”, gasp! No, really I love the teenage years. So much passion for their causes, so much pursuit of the truth, so much grocery shopping and food preparation that I have to do! I am joking, sort of, but this is another story.

Teenagers can be:

helpful (usually they are taller than me, which they find funny)

loving

sarcastic/funny

fun to talk to and listen to

fun to cook for because they will eat most anything! most of the time!

energetic except when sleeping! Which they will want to do a lot of the time!

independent and dependent at the same time

self-managing (brush their own teeth, shower themselves!!)

Love to run errands after they learn to drive!

Love to laugh with you and at you, keeps you from taking yourself too serious.

Like to do some of the same things you do, eat, sleep and shop!

Yes, they drive you crazy sometimes with their busy schedules, but they are just so cool to have around. Love my teenagers. We had three until recently the oldest turned 20 and we have two years until the youngest turns 13! So right now we just have two teenagers. 

 Talk to you later,

Karen