Day 2 Sale Panda Bear Original Painting with Frame

My item for day two, is this signed and dated original Panda Bear acrylic painting with the frame. Click the link to visit my Etsy store and purchase. If you don't prefer Etsy it is available for the same price at Ecrater. The sale price is only valid until 9 PM Eastern time on 11/30/2013 so don't dilly dally.

25 Days of Christmas Sale: Day One Amethyst Ring

There will be two links for the same ring, one for my Ecrater store, and one for my Etsy store.  Some people choose not to get an account on Etsy, so I offer Ecrater as well.  I am new to Ecrater selling.  The price is the same, and I only have one available.  This beautiful Amethyst ring will be at the 10 dollar sale price until 9 PM Eastern time on Nov 29th, 2013.  Get it while you can.  A piece of jewelry gift for only 10 dollars.  Click the links to see and purchase.  Don't miss this great opportunity!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/39844965/royal-purple-amethyst-ring-february?

http://melissasstuff.ecrater.com/p/19040086/royal-purple-amethyst-petite-gemstone

18 Inch Doll Caitlin's Party Dress with Shoes and Christmas With Mother Nature

I finished my first doll dress, and shoes, today. This is Caitlin's party dress. All my crochet doll clothes will have her name, as I make them for her doll, then offer them as made to order in my Etsy store. I am pattern stupid, so I have to make my own.  Made to order items will only be available from now on, in my Etsy store, not Ecrater store. This one is done in pink and white, with matching shoes. I can do this style in any color combo you would like. The second picture is my fourth painted gift bag, for Christmas. After Christmas I will be starting other holidays, weddings and birthdays, so be sure to watch for that. This one is titled Christmas with Mother Nature and is my favorite so far. I love it. To purchase any of my items, either click my Etsy banner at the top, or one of my Ecrater store widgets. Prices are the same, it just depends on where you prefer to buy. Ask me any questions if you need to.

My New Love!

I just ordered myself, for Christmas, some supplies to make resin jewelry. My ultimate goal is to be able to add some of my painted images to the resin pieces. I especially want to make resin cuff bracelets and Christmas ornaments. Because this will all be new, I have a lot of learning to do. Resin Obsession, has a free ebook, which I have already read twice, and she is a wonderful teacher. Check out her website if you are interested. There are some lovely resin rings, with gemstones, that I would love to eventually learn to make as well. I will have a lot of videos on this topic, so I can watch them as I go along. I also now have all my handmade items listed on both Etsy and Ecrater. My blogs currently only have the Ecrater widgets. The prices are the same, and all sales and discounts will be the same. My Etsy store does have some items that my Ecrater store does not have. I will be starting my daily sales, for 25 Days of Christmas, on Black Friday. Be sure to bookmark this blog, so you don't miss the one piece you really want. Each sale will only run for a short amount of time, each day.

Salvation Bracelets for Bible School

This week, I was asked to come up with a craft, that has to do with being thankful, for my daughter's bible class. Since I love to make jewelry, naturally I wanted some kind of bracelet. I came up with Salvation bracelets, and why you should be thankful for your salvation. The girls had such a ball making their bracelets. I bought the charms, beads, wire, and clasps all separate, but you could buy the whole kit by buying from the link below. Please remember to go to my Facebook page, like it, and share it if you would. I am planning a contest as soon as I hit 300 likes.

Like My Facebook Fan Page and I Will Give Something Away For Free

When my Facebook fan page hits 300 likes, I will start a give away.  One lucky winner will get to choose an item from my new Ecrater store.  It is so easy, just click the highlighted link, like my page, promote it to get to 300 faster, and I will start the give away.  Come on now, you know you like to win free stuff.  Also don't forget, that starting on Black Friday I will be having a new mark down and deal in my Ecrater store.  Be sure and watch for it, you won't want to miss a great gift opportunity.

Waiting For Christmas

I got to paint today, and tomorrow I can't wait to share the Salvation bracelet's my daughter's church class will be making with me. This new bag is called, Waiting for Christmas. It was not exactly what I visioned, lol. I practiced my trees ahead of time, as you can see on the paper underneath the bag. I used three different brushes, and picked the one I liked best. Unfortunately my tree came out bigger than I wanted and I have to practice ribbons and lights, but it is a nice tree. It didn't leave me much room, so I added a fireplace and fire to the picture. It will be available to purchase in my Ecrater store, by tomorrow. Then I practiced some Poinsettias. I love them, but they never look quite right. I am getting closer though, and was quite pleased with the ones I practiced today. My next bag might be Poinsettias. Finally, I got one of my older paintings framed. This frame was much more affordable than the heavier wooden ones, so the price will be considerably lower for the art work in these frames. It too will be available in my Ecrater store, tomorrow. You can visit my Ecrater store, by clicking on one of the banners shown on this blog. I offer a nice layaway service so be sure to ask about that.

My Artsy Fartsy Pinterest Board

Today, I am doing a quick post, because my time is somewhat limited.  I am not going to paint tonight, but I am working on a doll crochet outfit that will hopefully be done tomorrow.  I have finished my squares for Warm Up America and just need to ship them out. Check out my Artsy Fartsy Pinterest board.  This is where I keep art and drawing tutorials and ideas too.  Follow my board if you like.  If you don't have Pinterest and would like to, let me  know and I can send you an invite.  I will need your email address to invite you.

No More Painting

Well not really, lol.  The kids will be taking a break from Art class, and I will continue to paint my gift bags.  I want to get all my paintings framed, so no new large pieces will be done for a while.  Along with the gift bags, I will be practicing my strokes, flowers, and other items I need to practice and making some new jewelry pieces.  Those are my goals for the next few weeks.  I will share all that I do.  Be sure to check out my fancy new widgets that showcase some of my items in my nice shiny new Ecrater store.  Most are the same that were in my Etsy store, but some never before seen items as well.  Check me out and buy some ultra special hand made gifts this year.

NOEL Handpainted Christmas Gift Bag, and Repeat Cedar Key Painting

Back in July, I painted a picture, the third painting down, of Cedar Key from when my Father in Law was here visiting in March. I liked that painting, but DJ and Craig were not satisfied, saying DJ looked like he was standing on his head. Apparently my eyes do not comprehend that, because looks like he is lying down to me, on a blanket. Because, I intend to give it as a gift, I painted it again today. The second painting down, below the bag, is the one done today. Everyone is pleased, so I guess that will be the one I give. Instead of trying to have DJ lying on the white Steelers blanket, I put him sitting in a chair in a white Steelers chair. I could not get the skin tone right for Grandpa Ed's arm and leg, but I guess I will have to live with it. He was pretty pale when here in March, lol, and as you can probably tell it was quite chilly for us since Craig had on boots, long pants, a jacket and a hat. Grandpa Ed was the only one with shorts on. That is what happens when you visit from NY. The first image is of my newest hand painted gift bag, Noel. Noel means Christmas in German. Did you know that? I really did not. It will be available in my new Ecrater store. I am working on a new banner, and hopefully a picture widget for the top of this blog, and others. You can visit my new store, by clicking here. I will be doing 25 Days of Christmas sales, starting on Black Friday, so be sure to check often. Each sale will only be about 12-15 hours long.

Veteran's Day Sale in My New Ecrater Store

I have only gotten nine things listed, but today, until 9 PM Eastern time all items are 25% off.  Since I don't know how their checkout cart looks, I will give several options for getting the amount off.  First you can checkout, using Paypal, enter code Vets13 and I will reimburse you the 25% off.  Second you can contact me here on this blog, email me at melissaruede@yahoo.com, or contact me on Facebook, tell me the item you want and I can deduct the 25% and then you can cash out.  Since this store is brand new to me, I am learning as I go, but rest assured that with a Paypal merchant account you are buying from a safe seller.  Just new to Ecrater.  Here is the link to my Ecrater store, just click it.  I have jewelry and crochet items right now.  More to get up soon.

A Different Way To Sell My Handmade Items

I have been selling jewelry that I make, for well over ten years.  I have used Ebay, and most recently Etsy for the past five years or so.  While I have nothing against Etsy, I think it is time for a change.  With a market full of only sellers, and not many buyers, you can see why most sellers on Etsy are not successful.. Though I feel successful in the sales I made, one sale a month really is not what I was hoping for, and sometimes I go three to four months without a sale.  So, I am switching to Ecrater, which is a completely free market place.  It is powered by Google, so you can assume it is safe and your items will show up in the Google marketplace.  Using this blog, my FB page and various other social media sites, I hope to increase my sales immensely.  It will take me a while to get everything listed there, and occasionally I will be auctioning stuff off, using Ebay.  For the Christmas season, I will be offering super sale prices that will run for one day at a time.  The 25 Days of Sales, I think I will call it, and I will be starting it on Black Friday.  So, if you like jewelry, crochet baby items, or Art work, bookmark this blog so you don't miss any of the awesome sales I will be offering.  I am also expanding my shipping, by adding more countries besides US.  If your country is not listed in my Ecrater listing, just contact me and I will let you know how much it costs to ship.  As I am sure you are aware, I do not want to lose money on International Shipping, but do want to open up my marketplace options.  Click the link to see the few items I have been able to list so far.  Be sure and bookmark the store too. 
http://melissasstuff.ecrater.com/

All About Citrine

I have gotten a bit off track with this blog, mostly because of being busy, and some because I have been promoting my Etsy store so much, and others stores too. Now, I am going to be selling my items directly from this blog, and my Facebook page. So, if you are someone who is interested in beautiful, affordable gemstone jewelry, one of a kind Art work, or crocheted gifts, then check back when I begin selling on here. I will have a Paypal cart for easy buying. I have actually been selling my handmade gifts for like ten years. This is a sort of new way of doing it. I will be going back to some of my roots of this blog, as well. My love of beautiful gemstones and jewelry, and the info I love to share. Citrine is the birthstone for November. The original birthstone was Imperial Topaz, a very rare and expensive gemstone in its natural form. So, Citrine was adopted as the birthstone for November. This is the first time I have used a video from the company below. One thing I don't necessarily agree with is that their supplier does not always know if the stone is heated or not. I think they have to disclose that to you, but I could be wrong when it comes to beads. Natural, unheated Citrine, is a very very pale yellow and is not popular among jewelers to use.