10 Years

Long time no write!  Today I just want to document the 10 year anniversary of when I opened up my Etsy shop.  I wasn’t going to say anything because I’ve been inactive but then I saw a post on Instagram earlier today from a poet that posted a pic of herself and informed all of us that none of her family and friends know that she has that account and that she started writing again.  I totally understand where she is coming from.  Whether we want to admit it or not, other people ruin beautiful things.  Sometimes when we get a lot of exposure there is a lot of noise and we lose the core essence of why we started.  I’ve undergone a lot of changes since I last wrote.  Things in my life have definitely gotten better.  I’m in a good place but still struggling with some things.  Mostly with unlearning thoughts and behaviors I’ve developed while I was going through tough times.  But it seems the more I distance myself from toxic environments, the better my life becomes.  I can actually feel myself become physically ill when I’m around it now or when something triggers me.  The healing process is very lonely because only you know what is truly right for you but if you have something to believe in whether it is God or any guiding force to help you through, it will give you a sense of comfort.  I feel like I lost a lot of friends or people I thought were friends.  But there are a handful of friends that I truly cherish with all my heart.  This has been a very strange year.  The pandemic has forced us all to slow down and appreciate the simple things.  It has brought out sides in people that has never been shown before.  I don’t think anything will ever be the same again but that could eventually be a good thing.  There has to be balance for anything to work.  I’ve been doing a lot of purging, just getting rid of a lot of old junk and clothes.  It feels really good, the more I get rid of stuff the more energy I have.  I got rid of all the craft and jewelry supplies I know I will never use and keep only the ones I will use.  It makes things less overwhelming and more organized so that I have the motivation to create again.  I’ve also been keeping physically active since I last wrote.  Mostly walking and riding my bike.  And trying to eat healthy.  I have lost over 20 pounds but now it seems like I’ve hit a plateau.  Should I blame it on the pandemic?  Probably because that was when things started to slow down.  Oh well, I’ll keep doing what I’m doing and I am okay with where I’m at.  Overall things have been great for me and my family.  I get to work from home most days of the week and only go in to the office twice a week.  This has saved money on gas and the stress of getting up to get ready in the mornings and especially all the bad traffic!  I hope this becomes a permanent option for us, I don’t see very many people wanting to head back to office life anytime soon.  

That’s all I have for now.  I will definitely add more things to my shop soon.  I am going to make some bracelets today even if I don’t post any yet.  The nice thing about this business is that I can come and go as I please and things still pick up when I’m active again.  Here is a bracelet I made yesterday for the 4th.  The bracelet stones are made of labradorite which is a stone of transformation, strength, and perseverance and butterflies to me represent transformation and freedom.  Butterflies aren’t usually my favorite but they have been significant in my life such as when I got a butterfly tattoo a year after my divorce and how I chose to build my house in the Monarch subdivision.  

Until next time, whenever that is😅  

Stranger Things

Happy Friday 13th☠️ everyone, a great way to end such a strange week.  I’ve been spending a lot of time over on Instagram which is crazy because I used to hate it.  I think because I’m such a private person, I don’t like to share much of my personal life with most people.  But I do actually like engaging with others through shared interests and also learning new things so it has been kind of fun meeting all these new people.  It is also nice that I am able to connect with people that I know as well as reconnecting with old friends that I haven’t talked to in ages.  Mostly I have been setting up my account and putting myself out there.  I’ve been going on following sprees but I’m done for now.  I don’t want to overextend myself and I also want to be able to get to know more about these new people and build some solid relations.  But also because I got locked out 3 times!  So now I am not able to follow anyone new but occasionally it will let me follow a few people then lock me out again.  That’s okay, I think I’ve spent enough time on it and don’t need to focus on set up anymore.  Everything does feel different this week. I honestly never planned to open up a new Instagram account.  I was just bored and went along with whatever I was feeling at the moment and it just took off from there.  It’s nice to be able to shift my energy towards something more positive.  I’m aware that this change will take some time to get used to and I’ll probably fall back into some old habits but if I surround myself with the right people and situations then it will help make the transition a lot better.☠️

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Hello it’s me again.  Lately I’ve been taking a step back from everything to reflect internally.  Sometimes I get too far ahead of myself and end up losing focus of what I’m really doing.  Or does that even matter??  From now on I am not going to talk about my plans but instead just do it and talk about it afterwards.  That way I won’t feel pressured into meeting a deadline or goal.  Also, if I want to continue writing on here, I will try my hardest not to talk about my personal life.  The day to day casual stuff is fine, just not my personal issues.  

Another thing I want to talk about briefly is misunderstandings.  I know I shouldn’t have to say this but I just want to put it out there that 99% of the time when I’m posting, liking, retweeting, or writing something it is for my own entertainment or to share with those who may have similar interests or see the world in the same way as I do.  Most of the time when I’m posting something I have no idea that I’ve offended someone.  I do have a tendency to say the wrong thing at the wrong time and I actually find that timing very funny sometimes.  Maybe our energies are aligned and that is what is causing the coincidences.  Maybe we need certain people in our lives to help us get to the next level.  This could be positive or negative.  Once you align your energy with someone, you start to sync up with each other.  I wouldn’t believe it if it didn’t happen to me but it has and still does!  But enough crazy talk...on most days I’m just doing my own thing and minding my own business.

Last week I got an order for 26 autism awareness bracelets from one of my ongoing customers, the Autism Community Store out in Denver.  I started working on them this weekend and will finish up and mail out this week. 

I’m so excited that it is almost spring!  Have a great week everyone!!💚

Dog Years🐶

Chuc mung nam moi everyone!  Today is the new year for many Asian countries.  We Vietnamese call it “Tet”.  It is the biggest holiday over there kind of like Christmas over here.  My family is celebrating tomorrow, we usually gather over at my parents.  There are also festivities at the Buddhist temple and some around town.  It’s funny because the only time I see so many Asians around here is during New Years.  There is not a lot of cultural diversity where I live but it is a lot better than it used to be. 

I made a sale on Etsy today so the year is off to a good start.👍  It is for this turquoise copper bird charm bracelet.  A good sign I hope.

I have more items to list maybe next week.  I’ve been really busy at work and also with stuff around the house.  Actually things have been really hectic in general this month.  Being caught in the middle of this tug of war with the family is emotionally draining and I just wish everyone could get along.  I try to distance myself by knitting and watching the Olympics.  The latest project I’m working on is this hat for my sister in law.  Her birthday was on the 1st but we usually celebrate it on New Years because it’s so close.  Her favorite color is purple, hope she likes...

That’s it for now.  Need to get this hat done by tomorrow.  I don’t have to work on Monday because of Presidents Day, yay for that🐶

Long Time, No Write

What’s up everyone!👋  I feel like it has been forever since I last wrote even though it has only been a week. Things have been really hectic lately.  We’ve been doing some hardcore cleaning and in the next few weeks some major renovations.  One of the hardest lessons we are learning is to stop pushing people away and to accept help from others to get us back on our feet.  Maybe I can talk more about this in the future but for now it’s just too overwhelming.

This week I listed 10 new items and now have exactly 50 items listed which means I met my goal, yay.  I feel now like I’m at a good point to reduce my listings to just 2 or 3 new items per week.  It can be very time consuming to list new items especially if you are a perfectionist like me.  But I had fun going through the process.  It felt like old times just thinking of new ideas to make, taking pics, and coming up with cheesy descriptions.  Also, it looks like I am in dire need of a manicure, haha.  Maybe I should get a mannequin hand and neckline display instead of modeling them myself.  That would make things easier to angle for the camera.  But I don’t mind modeling.  Fun little fact..I actually did model for short time back in my early 20’s.  

This next week I’m going to get back into knitting.  I like to switch up my hobbies every once in awhile to satisfy my need for variety.  I really miss knitting, I think that is one of the reasons why I’ve been so on edge lately.  I also miss writing my posts of random topics.  Time to get back on it!

I keep falling asleep so I’ll end this here.  Have a wonderful weekend everyone.💅

I’m on a Roll

I’ve been working super hard this week and really proud of myself for accomplishing more than I set out to do.  I was able to add a total of 11 new items to my shop this week!  It’s like once you get into a habit of doing things, it starts to become routine.  I work on the majority of my kreations and listing write ups at night.  Then I usually bring the finished items to work with me and take pics during my breaks and do a quick listing if I have time.  My goal is to keep at least 50 items listed at all times, right now I have 40.  After I hit that mark I can go back an inactivate any items that show the least amount of activity and replace it with new ones.  I probably won’t list any new items this weekend but will keep making new stuff to add for next week.

  Things have been changing a lot for me and my family the past few months.  It’s almost like a collective transformation is occurring.  I do believe it’s true that the people you surround yourself with have a huge influence in your life whether you realize it or not.  There’s been a lot of clearing out of the old to make room for the new, some wake up calls, and unexpected blessings in disguise.  It’s just been so strange lately but I do believe that we’re heading into a much more positive direction.  Just got to make it through these next few weeks!  Happy weekend to you all.🌎

Recap Monday 01/29/18

Hello Everyone!🙋🏻‍♀️.  Well I got my laptop today and I love it😍 It is super fast and in excellent condition.  I am currently downloading programs on it.  My cat loves it as well.  She just plopped on top of it.  Probably for the warmth😸.

I’m going to take a break from knitting this week to focus solely on stuff for my shop.  I have these conversation heart charms that I have no idea where I got from but they are perfect for Valentine’s Day.

Here are the items I’m using for the current zodiac sign Aquarius.  Blue glitter vile as water for the water bearer, get it?  The purple birthstone here is amethyst.  I love the iridescent mermaid scale charms, they’re so pretty!

I will have these listed by the end of the week. 

Last week I thought I would give crocheting another try.  I think I finally got the hang of it but it is too soon to tell if I will like it or not.  So far I don’t like it as much as knitting.  Here is a sample of what I did.

That’s it for now, have a great week!👩🏻‍🏫

Some New Stuff, Finally📿

Hello Everyone!  I hope you all had a great weekend.  I enjoyed my long Thanksgiving holiday weekend.  It was really nice to have the time off work to sleep in.  It gave me the energy to do A LOT of cleaning.  You know how sometimes when you are on roll and you can’t stop cleaning?  That was me all weekend!  I was able to (sorta) finish my scarf from the other day.  The problem was that I ran out of yarn so I had to extend it with a different color and it was still too short!  I was actually using scrap yarn so I wasn’t able to extend it with the exact match.  At least now I know approximately how much yarn to use. 

I FINALLY made some new stuff to add to my shop.  I have found that focusing on a theme or center point keeps me going.  This week I worked with one of my favorite stones & color turquoise.  It is also my birthstone.  Here are some of the bracelets I made.  The black beads are lava stone and can be used as an essential oil diffuser, the scent can last up to a whole day.  The red rose/yellow jade bracelet is inspired by Beauty & The Beast.  

I also made this Sagittarius necklace which is my astrological sign.♐️  I will be making one for each sign as it hits their season.  The metallic silver leather cord is adjustable.  I used a turquoise colored Swarovski crystal to represent its birthstone.

So there you have it, these will be available in my shop this week.  Hope to see you there!📿

Back in Business

Hello everyone!  Happy Thanksgiving week🦃.  I have good news to share for my project recap...I made another sale today.  My Romeo and Juliet charm necklace.  I am pretty confident now that coming back on here is driving traffic to my shop.  So far I have only been relisting some of my sold or expired items.  I think I am ready to start posting new stuff which I can start by making at least one new item a day.  

I haven’t done much knitting this past week because of the recent loss in my family.  Last night I found out that we lost another member, my aunt who was only 51😔.  I am getting better at the purl stitch.  I joined a knitting group on FB last week for some motivation and inspiration.  Until next time!💍

Project Recap Monday

Hello everyone!👋.  Hope everyone had a great weekend.  Mondays will be my project recap day and/or stuff related to my business.  Today I mailed out the bracelet I sold last Friday.  I always like to throw in a few extra goodies for my customers as a thank you.  Usually some loose charms, stickers, or pretty notecards.  For wholesale orders I like to include an extra item that is not part of the sale.  This gives them an idea of what else I offer and it keeps up good customer relations.

Last week I mentioned starting on the PURL stitch in knitting.  Well I pretty much suck at this!  It is the opposite image of the KNIT stitch so I found myself in utter confusion because I have a bad sense of direction.  I mean I can do it but it is going to take a lot of practice to get the hang of it.  My sense of direction sucks because I was born left handed but my parents didn’t think that was normal so I ended up being ambidextrous and use my right hand to write and my left hand for physical things like brushing my teeth/hair and using a knife.  I will continue to work on the purl stitch this week.

I have come up with a weekly theme to keep me focused:  Tuesdays I can review products, websites, or anything I’d like to share of interest.  I just got a couple of my monthly subscription boxes in the mail today that I can review.  Wednesdays I can talk about magical metaphysical supernatural psychic astrological stuff.  Thursdays I can post a quote or saying and share my thoughts or feelings about it.  Fridays I will leave open for whatever.  I probably won’t always blog every single one of those days but it is a guide I can follow.  Until next time!🧡

A Nice Surprise

I sold a bracelet on Etsy today.  Yay, what a nice surprise because I haven’t listed anything new recently and the last sale I made was back in June.  I take that as a sign that I’m on the right track.  Maybe activating my blog is generating more traffic or maybe it is just pure coincidence but whatever it is I am grateful.  

I think I am going to stick with Blogger instead of starting a new blog elsewhere.  It is better to stay consistent and if I blog enough my tags will eventually show up closer towards the top of the search results on Google and plus Blogger is powered by Google.  I forgot to add that Pinterest could also be another potential source of promotion.  I will be back on Monday or Tuesday.  Have a wonderful weekend!

So What’s Next?

Yesterday I went to the thrift store so that I can buy some extra yarn to practice on & got a bagful of these for only $1.99.  What a nice selection!  I have been practicing on the KNIT stitch all week and feel like I’ve got the hang of it.  One of the hardest things about knitting at least for me is hand coordination.  I still feel a bit clumsy.  This weekend I will be practicing on the PURL stitch.  After I get the hang of that then I will be able to create many things.  According to the experts there are 4 basic techniques that are essential in knitting: 

1.) Cast on: The first initial stitch to get you started 

2.) Knit stitch: One of the 2 major stitch patterns

3.) Purl stitch:  The other major stitch pattern

4.) Bind off: The last stitch to close up your knitting.

I am going to try & blog at least 3 times a week, no weekends.  I want to talk about more than just my projects though.  Maybe one of the days I’ll update on projects, then another day I can write up product reviews, then another day I can share my opinions on a topic.  I can talk about anything and everything!  I wish Blogger was more user friendly.  This platform is so outdated!  Links are not working and missing pics, it’s disturbing.  I’ve been writing mostly from my phone so maybe I’m limited to what I can do.  I wonder if the blog hops still exist?  When I get my Etsy shop running again I will probably open up an Instagram account for my business.  Not anytime soon though.  That is the only major platform I have not tried yet as a marketing tool.  I don’t think it was around back when I started. 

Thank you to everyone who reads my blog.  Have a great weekend!

Reflecting Thoughts

Yesterday I touched up on my business journey through the years.  As with anything in life there will always be highs and lows.  I think when things got busy especially during the bracelet years, it started to feel more like a job and I started to lose interest.  I didn’t feel like I was doing it for me anymore, like the creativity part of it was gone.  But I wouldn’t change a thing about my journey.  I’ve always had it in the back of my mind that I would come back when the time is right.  It was and will continue to be a great experience as I continue to grow & learn.  I am very proud of what I have accomplished and how I used my gut instincts to make most decisions.  It has definitely made me more confident in myself as I discovered many skills/talents I didn’t know I had.  And to this day it still makes me very happy when I make a sale.  It just amazes me that someone would want to wear something I made.  I’m not talking down on myself, it is more like a “thank you so much for liking something that I made!” type of feeling.  I mean there are literally thousands of people out there wearing or have worn something that I’ve made.  It’s like a part of me is with all these people and that’s cool as shit if you think about it.  

So next entry I would like to come up with some ideas I would like to focus on.  I’m still enjoying my knitting projects but not quite ready to dig back into jewelry yet but I definitely will eventually.  Until next time!

Years Gone By

Last post I mentioned that I would touch briefly on the 6 years I’ve been away. My 2nd year in business was definitely my most successful year.  By that time I was averaging 2 sales a week on Etsy in addition to participating in local craft fairs with both the local Etsy team & on my own.  I really enjoyed being part of the team and once a year a group of us would participate in a big festival held over here the Hyde Park Street Fair which I have participated in 3 times & always had such a blast.  Unfortunately the team disbanded in 2013 because our group leader opened up her own business and nobody was willing to take her place. We went our separate ways but some of us still keep in touch on FB.  I stopped blogging shortly after I opened up my FB business page because I was getting a lot more exposure over there and didn’t have much time to blog anymore. I had so much fun with my FB page but all the social interaction was a bit overwhelming at times.  I was doing giveaways and contests and meeting other crafters and we were all “liking” each other’s pages. It was a great way to make sales outside of Etsy and connect with potential customers and the added benefit of having the support of your family/friends there as well.  In addition to all of this I was doing wholesale bracelet orders for 3 yoga businesses out east. Chakra bracelets that they give to their students as incentives for joining their class.  By the end of the 2nd year my business practically became like a part time job.  I didn’t have as much motivation to post new items on Etsy anymore.  Instead I was mostly relisting items I’ve sold.  That same year I attended a Christmas party event with the local autism moms group and we had a white elephant gift exchange.  The girl that ended up with my bracelet loved it so much that she shared it with the autism moms FB group page and after that I was flooded with moms requesting to purchase one of my bracelets.  It helps that I was offering it to them for half of what I was selling it for on Etsy.  I never felt so popular in all my life!  The orders were steady for the next few months and I went on to donate some for autism charity events.  By the spring of 2013 I stopped creating new items on Etsy and basically became the bracelet lady because that was all I was ever selling anymore.  I also landed another business deal with an online autism store to sell some of my bracelets.  Nowadays I rarely get any orders on Etsy anymore and still get wholesale orders but also very rarely.  So that is where I am now.  Some closing thoughts in next post then time to move forward!  I didn’t know this published already!  It was supposed to still be in draft!  

I’m Back

Hello everyone!  I’m back on here after a 6 year absence.  I’ve been gone for so long that I don’t think anyone remembers me.  That is okay because I am pretty much starting over.  And honestly I don’t really know what I’m doing but I will figure it out as I head into this next chapter.  So much has happened in 6 years which I will touch on briefly in a future post.  But today I just want to announce that I am back for the time being.  This is a low key platform that I can document my progress at my own pace.  I want to add that my absence from my business has nothing to do with any bad experiences or lack of sales.  Almost everyone I’ve done business with as well as my family & friends have been great & extremely supportive.  It was just a combination of taking on more than I could handle and dealing with personal life challenges.  So the first thing I’ve decided to do is to focus on a project that will hold my interest long enough to get me back into the swing of things.  I chose knitting because I consider myself a beginner since there are still a lot of patterns I have yet to learn.  It also requires a lot of patience which is something that I struggle with a lot when I get frustrated.  Attached is a pic of what I started this past weekend.  It’s funny because none of this was planned, I just decided to buy some knitting stuff at the store last Friday and went along with it.  I am not much of a planner and tend to go with the flow with most things in life.  So that’s it for now.  I am going to finish off these 3 projects & then learn some new stitches.  I also need to clean up this page a bit & update any changes.  I don’t know why a lot of the pictures on my past posts are missing??  Until next time...

My new Facebook page

Hello everyone, I'm back! I had a very busy month at my job with closing out the year and then also setting up new files for the new year. Things are starting to die down again so I am able to work on my Etsy shop.

I would like to thank everyone that purchased from my shop Karmic Kreations on Etsy, your business is very much appreciated:) I would also like to invite everyone to check out my new page on Facebook and if you like my jewelry then I hope you will "Like" my Facebook page. I will post updates on new items as well as sales and special promotions. And if I get enough people to "Like" my page I will conduct periodic contests and giveaways:) Hope you see you all there!

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/pages/Karmic-Kreations/149814725071628

PS, If you know anyone else that would be interested, can you please pass this information along to them? Thanks!:D Kim

Preparing for Show

Wow I can't believe it's the middle of November already! These last few months always seem to go by fast. Last blog entry I talked about attending the house party event. It was a nice experience and I learned a few things. I ended up selling 5 items within 2 hours and so did my sister but she made a lot more money than I did because she sold her items in sets. I admit I wasn't prepared and didn't bring my best stuff. I sold mostly my wire wrapped rings and got the most compliments on my bottle cap pendants. There were 4 other sellers there besides us and about 20 to 25 guests showed up. The host got her free coffeemaker but didn't give a presentation on it like I thought she was gonna do. Overall it was a good learning experience and we got to munch on desserts and drink coffee! I would definitely do something like this again in the future. I also highly recommend houseparty.com and think it is an excellent opportunity to get free gifts while throwing a themed party:)

The house party experience has given me the courage to sign up and participate in our local Etsy team Christmas craft show. There will be 2 events but I only signed up for the first one to see how it goes, there are about a dozen of us signed up so far. It will be on Saturday Nov. 27th so I only have 2 weeks to prepare, what was I thinking?! So I probably won't have much time to post new items in my shop and I'm sure it will suffer a little because of it. I'm nervous and excited about participating in the show. I'll be observing other sellers and taking a lot of mental notes because that is how I learn best. And then using what I learn to figure out a way I can incorporate that into what works best for me. Gotta go crank out those items, have a great weekend everyone!:)

Takin' It Easy

TGIF everyone! This week has been rough as all of us have been sick, my son throwing up 3 seperate times in massive amounts:( He is in good spirits but still no appetite yet but I make sure he is drinking plenty of liquids.

I'm also falling so behind at work which means I have to cut back on my social networking during work hours (hopefully my boss won't stumble upon reading this!). Wouldn't it be nice to be one of those "quit your dayjob" success stories on Etsy! My shop is doing pretty decent but it doesn't pay the bills and I can't afford to lose my day job because I have a family to support. Plus I need to get more sleep! I am usually on the computer late at night because that is the only time I have to myself. So basically I need to self discipline myself and create a strict schedule during the week or else I am going to have a major breakdown *SIGH*

This weekend I am going to try and learn how to make wood chip pendants:) I saw this feature on my husband's MAKE magazine on how to make wood chip buttons so I am going to use that as a guide. I wonder where I can legally chop down a branch? The ones I have on my tree at home are still a bit small.

Hidden Treasures

Today I had some time to kill on my lunch break so I stopped by Shopko which is a discount store similar to Target or Walmart. They were actually having a huge sale on jewelry so I went over to check it out mostly to find pieces that I can break apart and re-create into my own design. I found a wooden stretch bracelet set that I could use to make wire wrap rings. I also found 2 earring 6 pack sets that have charms that I could use to make necklaces. This is a great alternative to buying parts at the craft store or online because it is inexpensive and it also gives you more creative options. Definitely one of my favorite ways to create stuff! So that is what I am going to be working on this weekend. I also ordered some more of the popular charms that I have used such as the fine silver lotus, brass imprinted charms, and fairy charms. Still waiting for my business cards to come, it has been weeks.

Tomorrow I attend my first virtual lab meeting with the Ifsteam, that should be fun:) It is scheduled for 1 hour and conducted in a chat room type of environment. I will post my experience after it is done.

I will stop here. I am so extremely out of it right now because I am sick and took a Benadryl an hour ago to control my extreme runny nose and sneezing. Good-Night:D

Happy October, Lovely Fall, Theme Blogs

Happy October everyone!:D Fall is my favorite time of year, I love the colors and there is just this vibe of calm after the excitement of summer. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, here is their official website: http://www.nbcam.org/ It is also the month of Halloween which is my favorite holiday because it's so fun and imaginative:D I am excited to start making holiday themed items. I am going to try and make stuff that people can still wear after the holiday is over. The attached pic is my first attempt at a holiday themed item.

I made 2 sales on Friday:D I'm starting to see repeat items being purchased. My necklaces seem to be the most popular, especially my charm themed necklaces. I will definitely focus more on this type of item.

I am going to attempt to start writing theme blogs at least once a week. This will help motivate me to write more and put some consistency in my blog. Hopefully it will also be interesting enough for you guys to check it out each week:) I will be doing this every Friday. It will either be a product or website review or a topic that I am interested in that I want share. Have a great week everyone:D