Thanks and Noel Hand Painted Word Candle Upcycled Jelly Jars

I am just a little late with this post, LOL. Sorry about that. My mother, for some reason, had a whole bunch of jelly jars cleaned and saved. Maybe she was going to put homemade jelly in them. I don't know, but she offered them to me. Since they were all the same size, I took them. Then using letter stencils I created a set of THANKS and NOEL painted candle jars. The Noel is not pictured, but they are the same coloring and design. You can add a tealight or a votive candle, but I like the tealights because they come right out to be replaced. You could also put in those battery operated candles, but I don't find they last very long for what they cost. They look lovely on a dining room table, or mantel like I did. If I had more of these jars, I would do a set for my store. Maybe I will start looking for the jars now, then I can have them in time for next year. We don't eat a lot of jelly, lol. These do take a while to make. You need several layers of paint, and then sealing. That is after you have cleaned and removed all labels.

Melissa's Jewelry in Candles Store

I had looked at opening a Jewelry in Candles ecommerce store, a few months ago. I decided it wasn't something I wanted to do at that time. I decided to order one of their candles, for a friend for Christmas. It came yesterday, and the candle is lovely. You can smell it through the box, and packaging. It was packaged nice, the box was nice, and I hope the jewelry she finds inside it, is nice too. So, I decided to sign up for an ecommerce store. I will share a candle every now and then, but there will be a widget on the side bar where anyone can click through and buy from my store. If you love candles, and jewelry, I would love to have you as a customer. I ordered the Cinnamon Rolls, for my friend and like I said it smells superb. They are soy candles. Check out the one below for a man. I think men are hard to buy for, especially if they like candles. My husband likes candles, so candles are not just for women. The jewelry in the candle, can be a mans or woman's piece of jewelry. You pick and decide. A leather scented candle. How awesome would that be for your beau for Valentines Day. Check it out, and all the other candles and wax tarts. I prefer tarts, myself, and yes they have jewelry too. Check out Melissas Jewelry in Candles Store, that's me, lol, and I will be using the hashtag #melissasjicstore

What Is Your Birthstone?

Every now and then, I like to share videos about birthstones. I am always amazed how many people don't know what their birthstone is. For the month of December, the traditional birthstone is Blue Zircon, a rather expensive stone. Turquoise was added to the list, but Blue Topaz is often used in place of the Blue Zircon, due to its affordability. Blue is the most popular color gemstone in the USA, according to a report I read. When you watch the video below, not only does it show you the traditional color of your birthstone, but other colors the stone comes in. For example Zircon comes in all shades from white to black, and in between. So does Sapphire, for September, Diamond for April, and even Amethyst comes in both purple and green. The only one I kind of don't like, is the March birthstone, depicted in the video. The birthstone for March is Aquamarine, which is of course a beautiful blue color gemstone. In the video he shows other members of the Beryl family, such as Morganite and Goshenite, which are pink and white gemstones. They are not Aquamarine. Aquamarine only comes in shades of blue green, and blue. Other than that, I loved the video. I forgot to say, that a few years ago Tanzanite was also added as a December birthstone. Good luck getting a good quality, as well as good price on one of those. Don't forget to check out my Ebay store, select items on sale right now, and my Etsy store.  My Etsy store will mainly be for made to order items, but I am still going to have a small inventory of on hand items as well.  If you know of something you want, and think maybe I could make it, contact me. 

Painted Christmas Ornaments Fun With Friends

A while ago I had bought this pink fluff stuff. Caitlin was supposed to use it for a 4H project, but she changed her mind. So, it set in my craft cabinet. On Tues, we went to have some Christmas fun with good friends. I decided we would make some cute ornaments, using the pink fluff. This was so easy to do. I printed off some cute faces for each of us to choose from. Using paint pens each of us painted on our faces, then signed and dated the back. DJ painted black hair on his, as pink fluff wasn't really appropriate. This works best on the larger ornaments, and the non shiny ones. The pink fluff was put on first using super glue. You can see the results below. These did not take long, and are a super cute way to keep the kids busy for a few minutes. The kids then had lunch, and played while the other mom and I got to visit. Merry Christmas.

I Love Nativity Ornaments

Are you ready for Christmas? I have just a couple more gifts to wrap, and one has not been delivered yet. That is kind of annoying three days before Christmas, but I should have ordered earlier. I have had some stressful life changes, over the past month. It was both relieving and stressful. But, now it looks like it was a good thing. All things happen for a reason, I truly believe that. If you follow this blog, then you know I am quite sentimental about Christmas ornaments. I am always looking for new ones to create. I have several ideas already working for next year. I have already begun thinking of Easter and Valentines Day too, lol.

Collecting sea shells, when we go to the beach, is one of my favorite activities. Sometimes I can only find really small ones, though, and I have to buy some at my local craft store. They are already cleaned and bleached if you buy them. Anyway when I saw this ornament idea in my head, it was amazing. The nativity on a three shell scene. So, this morning I got out my shells, and painted them. I can see where they need just a bit more touch up, but that is OK, they are not completed yet. I have to figure out how to attach them. I tried my glue gun, which normally holds anything, but apparently either it is old and not heating enough, or my glue sticks are bad. At any rate it didn't work. Then I tried Super Glue. That didn't work either. Someone on FB said I should drill a hole in them, but I am afraid they will break. I might have to do that though. I am going to see if I can wire wrap them first, and then attach to each other with jump rings. I think that will work. I have completed several other items as well, that I just have to share. Then, I have a few that need completing, lol. I have had 5 Ebay sales this month, so far, no Etsy sales though. I am in the process of making my Etsy store for new products, and made to order. I may also list my paintings there, that have not been listed more than 4 times. Two of the Ebay sales were handmade items, and three were not. What do you think of my Nativity ornaments?

 If I don't get back before Christmas, and I might not, Merry Christmas to you in whatever language you may speak it in. May your day be merry and bright.

Hand Painted Wooden Family Name Plaque Signs or Wall Art

The sign shown is actually meant to be hung on the wall or set on a shelf. It is a special Christmas gift for my in laws. It is listed in my Etsy store as a custom made to order item. Check it out if you are interested in having one made.

4 Ebay Sales This Month So Far, 0 Etsy sales

This is just and update, as I am working feverishly on new items for my Ebay store.  I am continuing my Etsy store to finish up current listings, then my Etsy store will be made to order handmade items.  As for Ebay, two of the sales were handmade items, and two were items we were cleaning out.  All to different buyers.  So, if you think handmade can not sell on Ebay, that is simply not true.  Ebay, is different than Etsy, and you do have to adjust to them.  If you have any questions about this topic, please share them in the comments. 

New In My Etsy Shop Hand Painted Snowman Mandala Ornament

Yesterday, for Art class, the kids and I sat down to paint some faces. I let them decide what face they wanted to paint. I was going to do just a Santa, Snowman or Gingerbread face on a glitter ornament. But, I changed my mind and painted the snowman mandala shown below. I am really pleased with how this came out. It is available as a made to order item, in my Etsy store. 



 So far, I have had two sales in my Ebay store. 

How To Make A Ladder Weave Beaded Bracelet Tutorial

This looks so pretty. Give it a try, and let me know how it works for you. If I get a little extra time, I will try it.

Why I Love Christmas Ornaments as Gifts

I love Christmas ornaments, making them, giving them, and receiving them. Why? Because, our Christmas tree is the story of our lives. I have in my personal collection of ornaments, ornaments my sisters and I made as kids, ornaments my Mom made and hung on our family tree when we were kids, ornaments I bought as an adult, ornaments I made, ornaments my kids have made, plus a few special ornaments that my husband has collected over the years. One of which is a special ornament that was his mother's, who is now deceased. For the longest time, every year I bought a new ornament for all four of us. So that one day, when my kids had their own trees, they could take their ornaments with them to their new trees. After a while I had too many ornaments, and not enough tree. So, we bought another tree, lol. Then a bigger tree. Now, I have lots more room for ornaments. The one tree, it is small, is our angel tree. It has all angels that I have collected through the years, plus our deceased dog's name tag, and some nurse ornaments given to me years ago. Our big tree, is the story of us. No theme, just a montage of our lives, the things we love, admire, and make us feel special. That is why I love ornaments as a gift. They are generally affordable, and you can find one that surely everyone will love. Between my Ebay and Etsy stores, I have tons of hand made ornaments to choose from. Below you will find links to them all. I only shared two pictures, because it would just be a huge blog post otherwise. Check them out, and see if someone in your life could use a special ornament. I can add dates too, or names to most of them. Just ask me. I offer free USA shipping, too. If any of the Ebay links don't work, check to see if the item was relisted.   Some are ending soon, and not sure if they get the same number or a new one.


 http://www.ebay.com/itm/231408669129?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231409244025?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231378634450?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231378638262?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231378640307?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

 http://www.ebay.com/itm/231378793100?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

https://www.etsy.com/listing/194551775/blue-and-white-girl-holding-flowers? 

 https://www.etsy.com/listing/179033114/huge-resin-heart-with-peacock-feathers?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/161959601/angel-white-turquoise-wire-wrapped-angel?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/202721413/hot-neon-pink-resin-3d-spider-pendant?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/202709228/large-neon-blue-3d-resin-spider-pendant?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/202355080/pink-and-white-cherub-angel-green?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/202365935/faux-amber-light-orange-resin-with-real?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/202107614/one-of-a-kind-soaring-bald-eagle-resin?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/201663842/lovely-teddy-bear-baby-blue-angel?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/187629148/pear-shaped-resin-angel-christmas?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/201284892/heart-blue-glitter-resin-paperweight?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/201191166/babys-first-christmas-baby-foot-prints?