Time for a New Knee

In 1992 my boyfriend and I were visiting my Mother in Texas. One evening they started discussing the various bones each had broken. I chimed in with my .02¢. 

"I'm 33 years old and I have never broken a bone in my body." I should know better than to tempt Fate. 

The next day was supposed to be our last day in Texas but I slipped and fell. I landed on the concrete, kneecap first. I shattered my kneecap and had to be hospitalized for my first knee surgery. I ended up with a scar across the knee. 

Since then I have had 3 arthroscopic surgeries, each time my knee was in worse shape. As of two years ago there was no cartilage left in the knee and I was getting sores on the bone from the friction. 

I will be getting a knee replacement on October 31. I'm looking forward to being able to walk pain-free. I'm not looking forward to the recuperation. 

One of the things I must do before the surgery is de-clutter my house. I have crafting supplies and completed crafts that need new homes. I am posting pictures of everything on my Facebook Page. The prices are extremely reasonable. 

Be sure to stop by and see what I have that you can't possibly live without at a price you can't pass up.

Click here to read more!

Czech Fire Polished Sale

Ruby Jonquil 2-Tone 4mm

Cheryls Extra Beads on ArtFire is having a sale on Czech Fire Polished Faceted Rounds.

Chakra Colors 4mm

The Chakra sets include either 10 or 25 each of the 7 Chakra colors: Amethyst, Cobalt, Sapphire, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red and are on sale for 30% off the regular price.





All the rest of the 3mm, 4mm and 6mm faceted rounds are 40% off. That's a great price!

Remember that you get a free gift with your purchase.

Blue Lined Lt Topaz 3mm

3mm 50 beads 1.90 sale price 1.15
3mm 50 beads 2.15 sale price 1.30
4mm 50 beads 2.50 sale price 1.50
4mm 50 beads 2.75 sale price 1.65
4mm 50 beads 2.95 sale price 1.75
6mm 25 beads 2.00 sale price 1.20
6mm 25 beads 2.25 sale price 1.35


I am still listing so if you are looking for a specific color that is not listed, contact me and I will let you know if I will be listing that color.
Click here to read more!

“Oregon or Bust” Sale

I am going to a wedding at the end of August.  It’s going to be in Oregon so Larry and I are planning to have a nice vacation. 

His oldest daughter will be getting married and to celebrate I will be having an “Oregon or Bust” sale in all my shops until August 15th.   I don’t want to have a boring sale where you get the same thing for several weeks.

I am going to change the sale every few days.  I will be having lots of short 2 or 3 day sales on specific items or categories of items.

I have added the Shop Now tab to my new fan page, CherylsPurpleCow-and-MyExtraBeads.  The sale there is going to be 20% off the sales price for fans of the new page.  You will receive the discount as a refund through PayPal unless you contact me for a reserved listing before you buy.

I am also having a contest in this shop.  I need a “user-friendly” url for my new fan page.  I want something short and easy.  I was thinking along the lines of “MyPage”.  The person who suggests the winning url will get a $20.00 gift certificate good for any of my shops.

At Cheryls Purple Cow on Etsy the sale is 25% off of metal free jewelry.  I have moved the stretch awareness bracelets to that section for the sale.

In My Extra Beads on Etsy I have added a clearance section with items at drastically reduced prices.

These particular discounts will only last a few days then I will change to new discounts so hurry over to take advantage of these great prices.
Click here to read more!

Un-Cluttering My House Sale

I am going to have a sale this weekend in my FaceBook Store Front. Before I talk about the sale I want to tell you what initiated the need for a sale.

In the book Zen and the Art of a Clean House the author talks about the relationship between the condition of your home and the condition of your life. "You put a house in order and you put your life in order. All the trash weighs you down. You might as well drag it around on your back, the dirt, the mess." In other words when your home is organized and clean then your life is organized and you things are basically good. But if your house is cluttered and really needs some work then your life is in pretty much the same condition.

I have found that to be very true. I have also found that when I am constantly feeling frustrated about everything, a good house-cleaning does wonders.  I have been very frustrated lately to put it politely.

Some of the clutter that weighs me down is all the crafting supplies I have. They fill all the closets and any free space in my small apartment. My husband has been gently suggesting that I downsize my storage needs.   I finally agree with him.  The box in the picture is the first of about 7 boxes of crafting supplies.



This is a very short list of items:
Foam Shapes
Wood Shapes
Wood Plaques
Wood Boxes
Beads
Basket Making Reed
Small Gifts for Gift Baskets
Baskets
Candle Holders and Votives

I am going to be listing the supplies (and anything else) in my Facebook store. To get to my store, you go to my Facebook Fan Page and click on the Shop Now tab. The pictures you will see when my store opens are the featured items. Click on the drop-down menu on the left-hand side that reads "Browse by Category", choose a category and you will see all the items in that category.

I will be uploading pictures to the photo albums on my Fan Page if you want a sneak peak. I have a lot to get done before Friday so I may not have time to answer questions especially because the info will probably be in the listing.

Did I mention that Facebook Fans get an additional 10% off the sale prices?


Click here to read more!

$5.00 Sale by the Trade-A-Holics

The Trade-A-Holics team has been very busy.  We had a great Trade Event this past weekend.  It gets kinda hectic in that thread but I traded for bunches of nice things from my teammates.

But its a new week and this busy team is keeping busy.  

The Trade-A-Holics January $5.00 and Under sale is already going strong.  I counted 85 shops listed in the first entry on the thread. There are many more shops listed in  the thread.  And here is the link to one of the best sales so far this year:

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6416106&page=1 

Come and shop at the Trade-A-Holics January $5 and Under Sale.  

Click here to read more!

Exciting Sales from the Trade-A-Holics Team on Etsy

The Trade-A-Holics are having 2 sales Back-to-Back.

The first is the Trade N' Stay event that starts tomorrow and ends on Monday.  As soon as it ends the $5.00 sale starts and runs for a  week. 

I participated in my first Trade N Stay (TnS) in December and it was a blast.  You do NOT need to be a team member to participate.  You need to have a shop on Etsy with inventory because that is how you will pay for things.  There is a forum thread on Etsy with the names of the shops that are on the list.  You arrange a trade with one of those shops and your shop gets put on the list.  And once you are on the list, you will stay there until the end of the event.  There are some guidelines for courtesy Trading 101 that you should read here:  http://tradeaholics.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network. 

The $5.00 sale is just what it says.  Shops participating in the sale will have items in their shops that are $5.00 or less.  I will post the link to the thread with the list of shops in my Shop Announcement as soon as I get it.

Click here to read more!

It IS Worth It!

It is difficult at times to keep your spirits up when you sell your creations.  There are so many little things that can bring you down.  

I don't know about everyone else but the actual creative process can get very frustrating.  There are many times where I just can't get the materials to do what I envision in my mind.  Or maybe I daydream while I am making something and have to go back and correct boo-boos.  Then there are the times when I get "writers block".   All the ideas just seem to leave my brain and I can't put 3 beads on the same string.

Once a piece is finished it can't be listed in the shop until I get good photographs.  Now there is a chore.  Jewelry is very difficult to photograph.  I have taken as many as 50 pictures of an item before I get a half-way presentable picture.

Now the item is listed and the wait is on.  Every day without a sale feels like a week.  You begin to question your creations, your photographs, your descriptions.  Sometimes it gets to the point that you question your ability.  I have even come close to closing my shop on two separate occasions..  

Both times, within a week of making the decision, I ended up having a great sales day.  The first time I sold a bracelet, realized I needed a bubble envelope and while I was at the store, I sold a pair of earrings.  Yeah!!! Happy Days!!

The second time I decided to close my shop was last Friday.  Today I sold a bracelet early in the day.  It is one of my favorite designs.  Then late this afternoon I sold 2 pair of earrings and a bracelet to one customer.  

You can't buy this feeling. But I sure wish I could bottle it and save it for those frustrating times.  Click here to read more!

Etsy Texas Crafters First Monday Sale

My how time flies!!  A little over a month ago (seems like a week) I was invited to attend my first "First Monday Sale".  The Etsy Texas Crafters welcome their new members on the first Monday of each month.   

This month there are over 100 shops participating, including me.

This link will take you to the thread that lists all the shops and what each shop is offering for the sale.  I didn't get my entry in on time, so I am on page 5.  I am offering 15% off on all Christmas earrings and 20% off all hemp jewelry.

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6370411&page=1 Click here to read more!

Pre Black Friday Sale

The Etsy Trade-a-Holics team is hosting a fantastic, pre-Black Friday $10 and under sale!

Starting this Friday, many shops will have items on sale for $10 and under!

Beat the holiday rush and snap up some great deals!

Use the tag "TRADE10" to search for sale items!

click on this link for a list of participating shops.

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6353840



Click here to read more!