Winter Warm Up Bead Sale!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday season. Mine was definately exciting, with my little dude actually understanding the festivities this year. He is now a present unwrapping pro! I can't wait to see what the next year brings.

♥We are having a sale in our beading supplies shop! Nothing makes me feel all warm and fuzzy on a cold winter's day than NEW BEADS...the only thing better....BEADS ON SALE! Warm up with 10% off EVERYTHING in shop now until January 31st. Stop by our Etsy, Artfire or Zibbet studios to take advantage of this Winter Warm Up Sale♥

Merry Christmas!

Some Christmas Gifts

This past week has been spent getting my own home/gifts ready for the holiday season. I've been attempting to get caught up on cleaning and laundry, wrapping presents, finishing up some last minute shopping, taking my little dude to a couple of fun Christmas events and finally taking some time to make some gifts for my own family!

On my husbands side we do "secret Santa" although it should be not-so-secret Santa since his siblings always tell us who they have. This year his sister and I have each other which means super girly fun shopping! Being pregnant I got to live vicariously through her presents as I shopped for some beautiful new outfits. Of course I couldn't resist making her some beautiful jewellery to match and I fell IN LOVE with them (they almost didn't wind up in her gift boxes). I just love the teal and black combination and I think it's great for any season! Note to self: treat myself to a new creation in the New Year!

Last Minute Holiday Sales....

With only 10 more days until Christmas Eve the holiday season has flown by. Since I'm in Canada the shipping deadlines for arrival by Christmas have passed so does that mean no more sales for the season? No way!

There are plenty of opportunities to snag some last minute shoppers. I have loaded up my own "bucket" with product that I have left from my previous craft shows and have it ready to go EVERYWHERE with me whether it be to Xmas lunch with a friend, to work at the restaurant, or play group with other mommies. Everything is priced and I have an inventory sheet of what the bucket contains. There is always someone in need of a last minute gift for family, a friend, a hostess gift for a party and of course, the majority of the male population that I know has yet to even START any shopping. As an added bonus I've told the guys at work that I will even gift wrap any of their purchases if they would like me to.

 So grab yourself a pretty little "bucket" (I got mine from my local dollar store) because you never know who still needs some of your wonderful holiday goodies!

PS. Now is also a great time to snag Project Wonderful ad spaces. I have two free ones at the top right corner of Kawartha Beads blog and I have found oodles of other blogs with free or low cost ad options right now. It's a great time to gain some extra exposure and get your shop name out there.

I've Been Keeping a Secret.....

I'm expecting Baby #2!

This baby is due in April and we just found out last week that we are having another boy! We are so excited for our first little dude to have a little brother to play with and to share experiences with. You may have noticed way back in September that my blog posts went from daily to a little more spuradic. Needless to say this pregnancy began with a big old bout of morning sickness (although I don't know why it's called "morning" sickness because I felt like poop all day). Between feeling terrible and trying to keep up with my toddler I just couldn't find the energy to write very much. Here's what you can, however, look forward to in the New Year:

• More beautiful treasuries and collections from Etsy and Artfire
• More posts detailing how I am preparing (or attempting to) my business before baby #2
• Whatever else I have time for!

I hope that everyone is enjoying the holiday season so far. This has been my favourite one yet visiting Santa, decorating the tree, making gingerbread cookies and just seeing it through the wondering eyes of my little guy. I'd love to hear some of your fav. holiday moments too!

Shop in Vacation Mode Dec 6-7

December already! I can't believe how the time flies. In addition to the normal busy days we have been working at getting the Christmas lights up, house decorations out and of course decorating gingerbread men! Not exactly a masterpiece but I let my little guy have creative licence to do whatever he wanted and he had a blast...might I add mommy snuck one for a snack last night and they are delicious!

Just a quick note that my Etsy, Artfire and Zibbet shops will go into vacation mode around noon on Monday December 6th for a home party. I will reopen sometime on Tuesday December 7th with whatever inventory I have left! If you've had your eye on something now is the time to grab it. Also a reminder that next week is the shipping cutoff for Christmas delivery for packages going to the United States from Canada.

Hope everyone is having a safe and happy holiday season so far!

Calling All Bargain Hunters!

The Tradeaholics Team $5 SALE has begun! If you are still looking for that perfect holiday gift (or maybe a special treat for yourself) be sure to check out these amazing deals. You can find lots of great deals in my own Etsy shop by typing TRADE5 or check out a full selection of handmade delights here. If you prefer to shop on Artfire or Zibbet I have also added a special SALE section in each of my shops there. Happy shopping!

Featured on the Front Page of Artfire!!!

This amazing collection which includes Kawartha Beads was featured on the front page of Artfire this morning!

Sweet Turquoise C...

Curated By: squidglass

ArtFire.com

Holiday Shipping Deadlines for Kawartha Beads!

Thank you to everyone who stopped by and visited me at the Moose Lodge show over the weekend. For those of you shopping online please note the following shipping deadlines for Kawartha Beads:

♥Within Canada: December 11th, 2010
♥To the U.S.: December 8th, 2010
♥International: November 29th, 2010

If you are local to the Lindsay area I am willing to hand deliver your goodies up until the week of Christmas. Another note, my shops will be in vacation mode on Monday December 6th until sometime on Tuesday December 7th for a home party. If there is something you have your eye on be sure to snatch it up before then!

Shop will be in Vacation Mode Nov19-21

If you are in the Lindsay area on Saturday I hope you will join me at the Moose Lodge from 9-2 for the Christmas Crafts & Collectibles Show. As a result of the show my Etsy, Artfire and Zibbet shops will be in vacation mode from noon EST on Friday Nov.19th through Sunday Nov.21st. If you have had your eye on something from my online shops be sure to snatch it up before the weekend!

Kawartha Beads is featured in this awesome treasury by Risky Beads!

'Stuff that Stocking! They're not just for kids anymore!' by riskybeads

a little mauve, a little pink makes a perfect gift, don't you think? :)

sunbasilgarden $	MMMandMore $8.00	kawarthabeads $8.00
FreshLemonBlos... $4.00	valeriesgaller... $26.00	LennyMud $18.00
LuxeAdornments $11.00	jewelalchemy $4.88	BloomAndBarnac... $6.75
PurtyBird $13.00	SinnersSaintsS... $4.95	makenewandmend $12.00
ficklefaerie $8.00	nkpdesigns $12.00	FreshPickedCan... $6.00

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

Front Page Themes and Tags Nov. 7-12

Just a quick update today, busy helping my parents move (which includes our Rouge River Beads supplies shop). Hope everyone has a great weekend and enjoy some of this week's front page themes/tags from Artfire and Etsy:

Artfire:

• Leather and Lace
• Shabby Chic Gifts
• Australia
• New Treasures on Artfire
• Blueberries
• Crows and Clay
• Artfire Beauty
• Modern and Minimal
• Lets Face It
• Neckware Ala Rainbow
• Chocolate Gems
• Classic Christmas
• I've Got the Blues
• AJDJSS Jewelry Suppliers (Rouge River Beads is featured in this one!)

Etsy:

• Royalty INSPIRED (purple, yellow, art, sewing, fall colours, gold)
• Rustic Christmas Gift Guide (rustic, primitive)
• Cold November Rain (grey, blue, cold, rain, soft, clean)
• Cozy Winter (let it snow, hot chocolate, winter, snowflake, snowmen, snow, winter wonderland, cozy, warm, sheepskin)
• A Pinch of This and a Dash of That (autumn, fall, harvest, gifts, caramel, felted, eco-friendly, seeds, candle, wine, lotion, bar, soap, charm, message, paper)
• It's Only LOVE- Gift Guide (romance, love, gift guide, her, soft, colors, pastel, pink, green, wedding, romantic)
• A Little Lumberjack in Everyone (lumberjack, plaid, wood, winter, beard, bear, forest, pine, tree, pine tree)
• Take a Gander (red, goose, gander, Christmas, teal)
• A Winter Walk Through the Forest ( winter, woodland, forest, moss, green, Christmas, birch, white, snow, brown, acorn, holidays)
• Red Gifts Guide (Christmas, red, gift guide, holidays, woman, snowflake, place card holders, white, Christmas tree, ornaments)
• Shitake mushroom (taupe, brown, sepia, tan, beige, green, rabbit, snowman, donkey, november, gloves, Christmas, old fashioned)

Special Announcement from our Rouge River Beads Supply Shop

Rouge River Beads shipping headquarters will be moving this weekend! All orders placed by noon EST on 11/10/10 will be shipped that day. Our Etsy, Artfire, Zibbet and .com will remain OPEN FOR ORDERS during moving. Any orders placed after noon on Thursday through Monday will be shipped on 16/10/10. We hope to resume normal shipping on Tuesday. Thanks for your understanding!

Front Page Tags/Themes for the Week of Nov1-5

Welcome to November! Holiday season is now in full gear and we have already begun to see some amazing Gift Guide ideas and winter/holiday themes. Here are some of the themes/tags that appeared on the front pages of Artfire and Etsy over the past week:

Artfire:

• Metal Work Wonders
• Wrapsody
• Hosting the Perfect Thanksgiving Celebration
• Classic Colors to Ponder
• Gifts for Him
• Wild Zebra
• Artisan Soapcrafters Collection
• Metal Flowers
• Luscious Lampwork
• For those cold days...
• Warm, rich browns
• November Gift Ideas
• Bee-utiful!
• I'm in the Mood for Orange
• Pinks and Greens

Etsy:

• Autumn Fabulous (brown, autumn, fall, fashion, jewelry, home decor, art, leather, handmade)
• Dreamy Blue (blue, light blue, night, dream, dreamy, white, winter, cold, handmade)
• Celebration of Fall (autumn, fall, red, rust, green, apple, yellow, orange, gold, acorn, flower)
• Winter Mice, a Polar Bear, Snowflakes and a Cozy Sock Monkey (holidays, Christmas, gift ideas, winter, snow, gray, ornament, red, green, white, art, accessories, felt, jewelry, fashion, cozy)
• Gift Guide for the Geek (in all of us) (geek, nerd, hipster, argyle, techie, gadget, gift guide, hard to buy for, digital, dork)
• Gift Ideas Under $35USD
• Holiday Hostess Guide (holidays, Christmas, gift guide, hostess gift, wine marker, coffee, housewares, gold, white, gift tags, candle, red, green, pine, wine, winter)
• Buzzzz with a drop of honey (bee, honey, yellow, gift guide, sister, calender, gift wrap, gray, winter, december)
• Tealicious Plum and Mustard Sorbet (teal, mustard, plum, purple, gift guide, gift ideas, november, december, christmas gifts, holidays, christmas, berries, ornaments, home decor, accessories, ring flowers, citrine)

Getting your Business Ready for the Holiday Season

Wow....November already! How time flies when you are having fun! With the busy holiday season now upon us I have been working hard to get my business organized, have you? Here are a couple of tips that I have gathered that will hopefully help you survive the flurry!

• Make a list- I made a list day by day for the entire month of November of what I would like to accomplish including # of products in my inventory, updating tags in my shop, listings, shopping needs, blog updates and promotion and even the housework and some fun family events. Some people don't work well off of lists but I feel it will help me to stay focused and not spend time doing things that aren't as productive as I'd like.
• Stock up on supplies for products AND shipping NOW!- I have all of the supplies either here or on their way that I think I will need to get me through the end of the month. I also stocked up on envelopes, tissue paper, customs forms, etc so that I am ready to ship and don't have to spend time running out to get these items in order to send a parcel. With the postal system already at its peek I want to make sure every package gets out asap!
• Take some time every day to relax- Yep, that's right, relax! I know that it seems hard to do but whether it be a nice long shower, relaxing with a magazine or in my case having a power snooze when my toddler naps you will feel more energized and motivated than pushing through it and getting burned out.
• Ask for help- If you can't afford to hire someone to help out then suggest to a friend or family member that you will "pay" them in product if they can come and help you for a couple of hours. Have them put return addresses on envelopes, help you package your products, pick up some things from the grocery store or maybe just keep your little ones company so that you can get some extra things accomplished. 
• Remember to have fun!

Woo-hoo Time for a Trade Event!

For those handmade shop owners that have yet to take part in a Trade Event let me warn you....it can be addicting! The Etsy Trade-a-holics Team will be hosting a TNS Event this Halloween weekend beginning at 8am Friday October 29th and running through October 31st at midnight. I am thrilled that Kawartha Beads is on the start up list of shops for shops and am excited to get some trading done for Christmas. You can check out the TNS in the Etsy forums here.
For those of you who aren't familiar with a TNS here is a bit of information courtesy of muffintopdesigns:

"we originally started having Trade and Replace events, which ran very similarly to Buy and Replace (BnR) games. the wonderful FlamingoLady suggested that we switch to a Trade and Stay format, where shops didn't get replaced, but the new shop woukld just get added to the list. this results in way more selection - and way more exposure for shops!!! very cool!
so now, the basic rules are as follows:
- you do NOT have to be a member of the tradeaholics' team to play!

- trade and STAY events are usually 3 or 4 days long

- if someone trades with you, their shop gets added to the list and yours stays on! you CANNOT be added to the list unless you trade onto the list - meaning that you have to trade with someone who is currently on the list to get onto the list

- there are several "listmasters" who try to try to keep the list accurate - it just helps to keep things straight! we try to keep the lists as accurate as possible, as soon as possible - so be patient!

- make sure that you check the most CURRENT list and that you post your trades on the thread so everyone can see what you scored!

- refresh yourself with the rules on trading on the blog - http://etsytradeaholics.blogspot.com .

- any disputes can be convoed to muffintopdesigns or Raevyn77 and we'll try to help

- ** please ** don't forget your manners - if someone convos you for a trade, please respond - even if they don't have anything you need or want. it's better to get a "no" instead of no response at all!

- tradeable items can be tagged with the team tag "TEAM TRADE ON" and/or put all of the items into a section in your shop so browsing is easier! you can also indicate what you are looking for in your shop announcement. if your whole shop is up for trades, you can put that in your announcement as well."

Happy Trading and have a great Halloween weekend!!

Who Says Snowflakes Can't be Pink? Artfire Collection Feature!

I am thrilled to once again have Kawartha Beads featured, this time in a sensational Collection on Artfire. Thanks so much to Little Paper Boutique for the honour!

Who says snowflak...

Curated By: LittlePaperBo...

ArtFire.com

Etsy Treasury Feature!

Kawartha Beads has been included in this magnificent treasury by gardenofedendesigns! THANK YOU!

'stop dreaming and FLY.' by gardenofedendesigns

Aqua Blue Butterfly... yiayias $75.00	Earrings, Carnelian... JulieAnnsJewel... $15.00	A Dancer Photograph... UmaArt $20.00
Recycled Canvas Tot... thecraftpantry $20.00	Purple Metal Butter... merritthyde $16.00	DANCE PHOTOGRAPHY P... silasstubbs $7.00
Butterfly Beauty Ne... kawarthabeads $10.00	butterfly pillow pillowhappy $25.00	Woodland Faerie Ear... lizhutnick $14.00
Woodland Butterfly ... ElnaDesigns $12.00	3D Wall Butterflies... hipandclavicle $18.00	16x20 Beautiful Lif... neoximage $250.00
Zoja - Contemporary... klenophotograp... $29.00	Stop and Fly...An A... feedyoursoular... $12.00	Original Butterfly ... BlueTrike $98.00

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

Front Page Tags/Themes for October 15-22

The holiday shopping season is quickly approaching (and for some has already begun) and online shop owners are busy getting their shops in order for the impending rush (or so we hope). If you haven't checked out the November Merchandising Desk article on Etsy then you will want to do that now. Also don't forget to enter Kawartha Beads WIN AD SPACE FOR A MONTH giveaway to give your business an extra boost this season! Here are some of the tags and themes that appeared on the front pages of Artfire and Etsy over the past week:

Artfire:

• Fresh Pumpkin Pickins
• Foggy Morning
• Fur the Love of Felines
• Great Gift for $15 or less
• Knit one....Crochet too!
• On the Water...Sea Foam

Etsy:

• Dancing in the Rain (rain, weather, cold, ice blue, white, grey, gray, storm, dancing in the rain, dancing, clouds, sky)
• Teal and Red (teal, red, polka dots, blue, fall, bunting, art, print, jewelry, embroidery, vintage)
• Citrine Gifts Under 50 (citrine, gifts, under 50, handmade, golden tone, autumn, fall, yellow, mustard, scorpio, jewelry, natural, november, novembers birthstone, astrological, sagittarius, thanksgiving, unique gift guide)
• Pretty Whites and Ivories (white, milk, glass, vintage, necklace, snow, owl, winter, ivory, beige)
• A Novel Idea (book, reading, bookend, relax, cozy, art, home decor, housewares, rustic, soft, shabby chic)
• Purple Haze Wednesday (purple, violet, lavender, lilac)
• Aqua and Rust (aqua, rust, orange, turquoise, blue, pumpkin, autumn, fall, mid century, vintage, retro, cottage chic, harvest gold, housewares, burnt oranges, aquamarine)
• Dear Santa, Please bring me these or no cookies! (cranberry red, olive green, holiday, reindeer, owl, gumby, november, gift guide, ornament, stocking, bunting)
• Cozy: A Holiday Gift Guide (gift guide, cozy, warm, neutrals, natural, blue, green, sepia, winter, pinecones, knitted, hat, scarf, nature, trees, brown, cream)
• Hidden Meaning of Pomegranates (pomegranates, christmas, gift, gift guide, home decor, november, holiday, for her)

Ad Space Giveaway! Promote your business this holiday season!

It's time again for an ad space giveaway! If you are a frequent reader (or a new one) you may have noticed the button on the right hand side currently occupied by the totally awesome Azie Designs, winner of our last ad space giveaway.

Now the space is up for grabs and heading into the busy holiday season this is a great chance to WIN free ad space for your shop or your blog. The winner will receive a 125x125 ad space for the month of November AND a featured artisan interview post because we would love to learn more about you! Here's how you can win (please leave a seperate comment for each entry)

•MANDATORY ENTRY: Become a follower of this blog (or if you are already a follower please feel free to leave a comment reminding us!)

Additional Entries:
•Follow Kawartha Beads on twitter

•Tweet this giveaway and leave me the link

•Heart Kawartha Beads Etsy Shop

•Tell me your favourite Kawartha Beads product

Giveaway ends Sunday October 26th at 11:59pm EST. Please make sure your shop/blog is family friendly in order to be eligible to win and please make sure you leave me a way to contact you! Good luck!

Christmas Gift Ideas for the Little Dude!

I can't believe how quickly Christmas is approaching! Luckily I have begun some of my shopping, although there is still plenty left to do. Here are some cute items if you have a little guy in your life:

Dinosaur JUMBO Crayons by LilDoodlers

Rawr Means I Love You in Dinosaur Shirt by Rock River Tees

Train Crayon Wrap Cozie Holder Wallet by Our Kids Boutique