How I Spent Xmas Morning

Christmas morning is pretty much like any other morning in my house, being as the holiday is really not my own, yet there is something quite wonderful to this holiday that doesn't always need a religious commitment.

It is a time for sharing and caring about the people who have enriched your life throughout the past year.  It is a marking of the end of another year and the wonderment's of the coming year, a time to reflect on your past accomplishments and your future commitments,

Nothing is more heart tugging than the delightful Christmas movies that have enriched our lives from childhood.  I watch them all, religiously, one by one, each Christmas season, marking them off on my list, Miracle on 34th Street, It's A Wonderful Life, White Christmas, and the list goes on.

We have been proud to be a longstanding member of Teamepe on ETSY, making our monthly commitments to donate 5% of our sales to this amazing charity and yet....

It just doesn't seem like it's enough.  Thus was born a new idea... Teamangels.

Adopt A Soldier

Angels is a new ETSY team dedicated solely to the commitment of adopting a soldier.  The concept is not new, thousands upon thousands of ordinary Americans have already adopted a soldier at  Soldier's Angels.  There are presently 1202 lonely American soldiers out there looking for someone,  anyone to adopt them.

Who better than a single soldier out there is say "Merry Christmas" to and we appreciate your dedication and sacrifice.

My hopes are these, that everyone, anyone will help in one or all 3 ways,

1.  Make a commitment to adopt a soldier this year.

2.  Can't adopt, then make a donation, it's easy, just text "soldiers" to  20222 to donate $5.00 to help relieve the financial burden of others with more time to adopt a soldier.

3.  Volunteer a soldier at Request for Adoption .  Let a soldier you know who has little or no family support stateside realize that we care for them.

There is also a special branch of Soldier's Angels for our female military forces where you can donate, adopt or request help too.  It's called Ladies of Liberty.

And how about their beloved pets?  Many of these men and women had little before they joined the military except for a pet, who now suddenly found itself homeless, Guardian Angels for Pets is another offshoot.

I packaged many parcels last year and I am grateful to each and everyone who found value in the items at BeadFrenZ.  Sometimes, I made packages for our soldiers overseas.  I sent a little note along with each of these special posts, telling them how much I cared and admired their courage and how pretty I hoped their gifts would be from my meager offerings.  I have packaged Christmas gifts from soldiers in Afghanistan to  their sweethearts in the states, kissing the box before I carefully placed it in the mail, hoping that soldier would have the opportunity to see their loved one adorned with the jewelry from Glitz Glitter's shop.  Now it's time to do my part....

Our government can only do so much.  There is so much more that needs doing and this is what I have committed myself to  for the coming year.

Won't you join me?

I want to Skate.

I remember cold crisp mornings as a child and my only wish was to skate.  I learned to ice skate on a small patch of ice on our front sidewalk.  It would snow and freeze leaving patches of ice in odd spots.  Back then, Dad was still using his other means of transportation, a bicycle so the driveway was open territory for me.

My 1st pair of skates were from the Salvation Army store, a boy's pair of figure skates that dad found on his excursions to the second hand store.  Mom painted them with white shoe polish so the end result was a silvery gray color.  It didn't matter to me, all I wanted to do was skate.

That winter, it snowed so badly that school was canceled, a momentous event for us, as Michiganders are pretty prepared for almost any type of frosty weather.  The walkway to the house, the driveway and the sidewalks were a glisten with bright sparkling ice.

Carefully, I mapped out a complete circle to "race", being sure to mark in my mind the slim spots that might cross my path.

Naturally, my favorite book was Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates and when Walt Disney made the movie, I cried and cried all through it.

Now was my chance, I skated the circle over and over again, once I even got ahead of ol' Hans, Gretel was beside me, we glanced at each other and smiled and then I was off again.

I skated all afternoon and when the sun finally began to wane, I was still madly racing around and around.  It didn't matter that my toes were completely frozen or that my my mouth was dry and crackling.  I had to win the race.

And then it happened, my glasses slipped off my face and onto the ice and I skated over them.  Suddenly the spell was broken.  I was just some dumb little kid standing in front of our house, poised on some secondhand skates and my only means of seeing were completely shattered to pieces.  It was dark now, I was the only witness to this tragedy as I tucked them into a snowbank for retrieval later.

"Mommy", I cried, and she, who had been watching me from the window, suddenly appeared.   

She wiped my tears, covered me with her big strong body and guided me into the warm house.  "Tomorrow is another day!  You can win the race tomorrow."

Such memories!

Released Unarmed & Undangerous

BeadFrenZ was born Nov. 29th 2009 out of necessity as an outlet for destashing gems and  pearls that were overages from my daughter's ETSY shop, Glitz Glitter Creations.

16mm Glass Art Deco Fans

At first, the shop only carried items and in specific lots with little additional back stock.  One convo after another, requesting more of an item or a new item, led to a few new pieces being added.

Then, it became fun.  The search was on for newer and more exciting things.  As Glitz would find something that caught her eye, so would I and the delight in photographing the items was addictive.

There is nothing new about a supply shop, there are others and they abound on ETSY, but we wanted to be different.

Venus Rutile Pendant

All too soon, the small shoebox that contained my stock grew.  More shoeboxes were called into assistance until that became a bit cumbersome.  Finally, large racks were needed for the 1500 items I carry and the squeeze was on as to where to store them.

Needless to say, the house is overrun with racks now, each carrying one delicious item or another and new items are added daily as the search for something "special" never ends.

This blog was created, a twitter account and wonderful new friends from across the world were discovered.

BeadFrenZ beads have been shipped to all corners of the earth, to countries, I have never even heard of and to places I have only dreamed of visiting.  They are all carefully entrenched in some of the most amazing pieces of jewelry and I have been privileged to have seen a few pictures.

I made a big decision on December 9th of this year, one that took me a long time to contemplate.  So with fingers crossed, and a prayer from G-d, I have been released from my bread & butter job, (a wonderful place to work btw)  Nationwide Ins. Co. of Ame.  1-800-458-3220 and am dedicating all of my efforts into a new era of working from home full time.
Wish me luck,
MalinkaZ

Happy Holidays

BeadFrenZ

 

Happy Holidays From Our House

(and all of our critters)

to Yours!

Black Friday Sales & ETSY

 Are you whipped up?  Are you ready?  Will you be the one person to get that 36 inch TV for 50 bucks?  Do you wait in lines?  Or... are you the one working today?

Black Friday is finally here. Actually, it has been here for the last 2 weeks.  Unlike other years, stores and shops all over this country have been preparing for this day weeks in advance and internet shopping has geared up just as quickly.

There are internet sites that lead the lazy shopper to an abundance of great deals, all by just sitting at your computer with your credit cards in hand.  Take Black Friday Ads, a site dedicated to those retail shops that want to catch the audience both in their shops and online.

Have other plans?  Then don't miss the Black Friday iphone app. This application can be downloaded to your iphone and steer you while doing other things that would have kept you from the great deals out there. 

Don't have an iphone?, Android has an app for you as well, Their Black Friday App can keep you up to date on the best deals available this holiday season.

We all have access to the internet in one form or another, or at least those with a few dollars to spend this holiday season do. 

While on the go today, don't forget your laptop.  It is useful too.  Shopping for gifts isn't always about something from a store, boxed in a colorful, ad laden container, shrink wrapped  and finally gift wrapped.

It's about recognizing the love you have for someone special to you.  Not so very  long ago, holiday gift giving was more personal. and the gifts we gave came from our own hands.

If you don't know how to make something  for your loved ones, try ETSY.  Etsy is an online shopping mall dedicated to the art of handmade goods.  It's cornucopia of delights can warm the hearts of  just about anyone and it's convenient,  No lines, No crowds, just pleasant shopping from your own home.

Try handmade this year!

Happy Holidays everyone and happy shopping!