Facebook Giveaway!

Hi Friends! How are you? How was your Christmas and New Years? We had a nice holiday although busy with travel. It was great to see family and friends.

We have reached over 500 followers on our Facebook Page. So in celebration of this and the new year, we have teamed up with 9 other makers to bless our followers with a giveaway.  As a mom, I sometimes forget to take care of myself as I get wrapped up in taking care of my family. But it can be so important to make sure that I am in good health, and cared for in order to keep taking care of them. So this giveaway has some fun stuff along those theme lines. Runs January 8-13. #takingcareofyouinthenewyear 

You can enter at the bottom of this post.

You could win all of the following items:

Infinity Scarf from Sew Crafts A Lot. 

Macrame necklace with a rose quartz stone from Dreamy Dutchy Designs.

A pencil wrap from Crafty Lia Shop. 

Crochet flower hat. Made of sparkle yarn for 5 y.o. and crochet seed bead bracelet with lampwork glass bead. from Irene LTC and Bluette Jewelry.

Hand Painted sign from Rachel Israel Art.

Hand wrapped silver earrings with tiger eye stones from Moore Creation 33.

 Blue Mosaic Turquoise Gemstone Swarovski Crystal and Quartz Charm Antiqued Brass Necklace designed by Melinda Jernigan of MP Designs Jewelry.
Finished length is 30” with the charms measuring 1.5”.

 Gently exfoliating face scrubbies, made of 100% cotton. Easily remove makeup and cleanse skin. Washable and reusable! From The Lost Hook.

Lava Stone Necklace great for use as an essential oil diffuser in gold or silver. From our shop Mt Nittany Creations. 

You must be 18 years or older and live in the US.

The giveaway runs Jan 8-13.

A winner will be chosen on Jan 14 and announced as per Facebook rules.

This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. You understand that you are providing your information to the owner of this Facebook page and not to Facebook.

 Enter Here: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Meet the Maker: Marissa and Cody from Bless the Herbs

Hi Friends. How are you? How was the rest of your week? Doing anything fun for the weekend? We have a pretty quiet weekend which is nice after having visitors every weekend in November. We took the kids over to Penn State University to visit their Model Train clubs open house display. It was really neat. They even gave the kids a chance to drive the trains. I would love to hear from you what you have been up to.
It's time for another Meet the Maker. Today's interview is with Marissa and Cody from Bless the Herbs. Without further ado, let's meet this duo.

My name is Marissa Miller, and my life and business partner is Cody Cook.
We live and are natives of Arvada, Colorado.
Our company is nearly a year old now, but we have been crafting our entire lives. I love to draw, sculpt, and collage! Cody enjoys ceramics and metalsmithing.
After pursuing art our whole lives we were moved to start this company.

The name of our shop is often misleading when people first hear it. No, we do not sell marijuana; Cody's concept behind the name "Bless the Herbs" was derived from his Pagan practices where many herbs are used for sacred purposes.
I myself am agnostic, while Cody identifies primarily with Wiccan and Pagan beliefs. He likes to incorporate aspects of his beliefs into his wire wraps, giving particular stones and coils a purposeful and specific meaning.

We opened up our online Etsy shop at the beginning of this year and it received quite the response, so we branched out to other forms of social media and eventually even vending at festivals! We were drawn to selling online because the internet seemed like the best way to reach a wide range of people who would be interested in buying our hand-crafted products! We sell primarily on Etsy, Instagram, and Facebook. We sell at the local gem and jewelry shows here in Colorado. Our favorite venue for selling so far would have to be the annual gem and jewelry show hosted here in Cripple Creek, Colorado. However, I do enjoy the awesome group of ladies who host weekly Instagram auctions with us.

There's a lot of awesome things happening on our Instagram right now, including a bidder's-only giveaway where every bid made on one of our auction items gets you one entry into the giveaway! (Prize revealed this Tuesday).

This is our full-time occupation at the moment, besides rockhounding and mining our own crystals! It's good having our own direct source of crystals as we cut our own designer cabochons.  Our hope for this company in the future is to grow and make a full-time living doing what we love!

My favorite piece I ever made would have to be my Captain Spaulding Polymer clay pendant which featured two faceted aquamarines in his bowtie! (Captain Spaulding is a fictional clown/murderer from The Devil's Rejects; a film by Rob Zombie). Cody's favorite piece he ever made was a 10+ stone Pendant wire wrapped in solid sterling silver which he sold a few months back.

We don't give to charity at this time, but if I were to donate to a charity it would most likely be St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital or the Dumb Friends League here in Denver. I believe children are the future and no family should have to pay for cancer treatment for their child. Also, we are huge into animal rights.

If you plan on starting a handmade business one piece of information we would like to share is to be 100% confident in your work and believe in your worth!

You can find us on the following social media platforms:
1. Instagram: @blesstheherbs
2. Facebook: @blesstheherbs or facebook.com/blesstheherbs
3. Etsy: www.blesstheherbs.etsy.com
4. You can email us with inquiries/custom orders at blesstheherbs@gmail.com

Thanks for sharing Marissa and Cody it is so great to meet you both. All the best for your business.

Please note that my blog contains affiliate links. If you click on one you may be helping us keep our blog running! Thanks in advance. 

Upcoming Events:

• Winter Salon Shopping Event: December 6, 5-8 pm J. Rose and Co. State College, PA
  
• Wacky Wednesday Sales: currently until December 20. 
  

How to Take Perfect Product Photos on a White Background

All about me! Blog-tember Challenge Day 1.

Hi, all! My name is Amber and I am joining in on a challenge, Blog-tember (link at the bottom), where I will try and blog each day, answering the challenges that Bailey Jean posts. 

Day # 1 we are to introduce ourselves. So here we go:

I am a stay at home mom of four sweet kids. They range in age from 11 down to 3. I have been homeschooling since my oldest was a wee one. I love homeschooling. It is so fun to watch the kids grow and learn. Our youngest has some special needs so starting next week he will be going to a special preschool four days a week. I am a little nervous about putting our youngest on a small bus and that he is the first of our kids to go to school.

Over four years ago, I was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease called Mixed Connective Tissue Disease, MCTD. This really limits what I can do in a day or in a week. Most days are spent with me being in pain and tired. For over a year, I have been on a special diet, autoimmune protocol (AIP), in hopes to reduce my symptoms and delay the progress of my disease.

I love to travel, but I also love Pennsylvania. I grew up in the Philly area and now live in central PA. I have had the chance to travel the US, going cross country several times. I have also been in other countries. One of my favorites was Mexico.

My husband and I are missionaries with DiscipleMakers, a ministry that seeks to make disciples on college campuses. Come check out our web page: www.dm.org

Our sweet family!

I love crafting. Recently I have taken on a love for jewelry making and have been working on stocking an ETSY shop which I hope to open this month. We hope to also sell crafts that will raise money for a nonprofit that is raising money to study my disease, Hope4MCTD.

Come check us out on:

Instagram:@mtnittanycreations

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mtnittanycreations/

Twitter: @scottaenator 

Pinterest: scottaenator

I am looking forward to getting the opportunity to meet other bloggers and share more of myself. Blessings!

Our new logo created by Becky MacDonald.

One of our bracelets in our shop!

Christmas in July Crafting Challenge Day 15

'Tis the 15th day of creating.

What fun we are having! 

With 10 more to go!!

Today, we will take a small break

Click on the link,

And learn how to make wire wrapped jewelry.

Happy Christmas Crafting!

Hello everyone and welcome to our 15th day of our challenge. 

How is it going? Have you been able to create some fun things? Thank you for joining us in these challenges.

Day 15 challenge is: Wire Wrapping Basics on a Budget Lets Make something video #3

Take a shot of your finished product and share them with us in our facebook group! Make sure you also use #christmasinjulycraftchallenge2016 when posting to social media.

Don't forget to enter in the rafflecopter for your entry each day to win a custom piece of jewelry.

Please see our blog page for all of the rules.

Looking forward to seeing your creations.

Happy Crafting.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Christmas in July Crafting Challenge Day 10

'Tis the tenth day of creating.

What fun we are having! 

With 15 more to go!!

Today, we will take a small break

Click on the link,

And learn how to make wire wrapped jewelry.

Happy Christmas Crafting!

Hello everyone and welcome to our tenth day of our challenge. What has been the most enjoyable part so far for you? I have had so much fun putting this all together for you. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have so far.

Day 10 challenge, watch How to Begin Basic wire wrapping and Jewelry Making by Gregory Steele. Practice wire wrapping or making jump rings. Take a picture of your work and share them with us in our facebook group! 

Make sure you also use #christmasinjulycraftchallenge2016 when posting to social media.

Don't forget to enter in the rafflecopter for your entry each day to win a custom piece of jewelry.

Please see our blog page for all of the rules.

Looking forward to seeing your creations.

Happy Crafting.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Christmas in July Crafting Challenge Day 5

'Tis the fifth day of creating.

And we are all done celebrating 

the great US of A.

Today will be simple 

As I'm sure up late we all arose!

Enjoy this first video in a series...

Happy Christmas Crafting!

Hello everyone and welcome to our fifth day of our challenge. I hope you are enjoying this as much as we are.

Today's challenge is to watch Gregory Steele's first video, How to Make Cool Jewelry on a Budget, take a shot of your found objects and share with us in our facebook group! 

Make sure you also use #christmasinjulycraftchallenge2016 when posting to social media.

Don't forget to enter in the rafflecopter for your entry each day to win a custom piece of jewelry.

Please see our blog page for all of the rules.

Looking forward to seeing your creations.

Happy Crafting.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Family jewelry making!

Over Mother's Day weekend my parents came to visit. We had a great time. One of the fun things we did was teach my mom how to make some wire wrapped jewelry. Our nine year old daughter was the one who started to teach her. It was so sweet and fun to watch as she taught her grandmother how to make jewelry.

My Mom's first creations! Great job Mom.

Working hard!

Our nine year old's creations. 

The earrings I created for a friend as a farewell gift.

The earrings my dear husband made for me for Mother's day.
This picture does not do them justice.

What have you been creating lately? Have you had the chance to teach others how to create something? What did you teach them? Would love to see some of your creations, please share them with me. Have a great week.

Bible journaling, modge podge and snitch necklace.

      How has your week been? What fun things have you been creating? This past week I started a Bible journaling challenge. This is a whole new world for me. There are so many avenues out there in how people do this and so many art mediums that they use. It is fun to look it all up on-line and revel in the beauty people have created with using scripture.

     Here are some of my creations. I haven't braved creating on the pages of my Bible but I found a journal that a friend gave me years ago, that has just been waiting for me to be creative in, and here was my chance.

Bible Journaling challenge Day 1

Bible Journaling Challenge Day 2

Bible Journaling Challenge Day 3

       Also my dear oldest daughter is hoping to sell some handmade penny pendant necklaces at Kids Fest this summer... So we were working on some in order to send in an entry form, and to make one for a friends party this past weekend. Thanks to my dear husband, who worked so hard to figure out how to make it all come together.  And thanks to this blog on giving us an idea on how to get this project moving forward.

The creative process!

      My other daughter and I also created a pendant for her friends birthday party this past weekend. It was a Harry Potter theme and so we found a tutorial on how to make a wire golden snitch. We took this design and modified it.

She did such a great job!

      What fun things have you created this week? Have you tried using Modge Podge Magic? How did that go for you? Have you ever heard of Bible journaling? Do you want to join me in the challenge? Check out Good old Days Farm God Loves You 30 days Bible Journaling Challenge.

Have a great week!

Fun finds and creations!

What have you been up to this week?

Have you made any fun new creations?

In between homeschooling and taking care of my brood of four...I get some chances to create.

The other week I had the opportunity to teach my 9 year old dd how to make a wire pendant. She did great, her creation is on the left. While showing her how I started the first part of an earring set for a gift.

My dd creation is on the left and the first part of an earring set I am making for a friend is on the right.

Over the last few weeks I have been working on another gift for a friends birthday using one of her favorite verses. What kinds of other media do you like to work in? 

Pen, ink and colored pencil drawing of Isaiah 26:3.

I also dug through the libraries website for some fun reading material about making jewelry and selling your crafts. Do you sell your crafts on line? What would be one piece of advice you would share with a newbie?

I also had the opportunity to finish up the earrings I had started with my dd.

The finished earrings for my friend.

Recently while visiting Austin, Tx we came upon some crafters during the sxsw festival and bought these fun necklaces. Check our their webpage Wicked Whatnots. http://www.wickedwhatnots.com

One necklace has a Harry Potter Quote and the other from Princess Bride.

What have you been working on this week?  What fun finds have you found?