Small Business Saturday

Well, hello there! I decided this was just as good a day as any to dust off this old blog and put her to good use.

Being a small business owner myself, I can appreciate the idea behind Small Business Saturday. For those of us who run our businesses with fervor and joy, the support of our community (online and neighborhood!) is what allows us to be successful.

Naturally, I'm offering some GREAT deals on my handcrafted jewelry in my own Etsy shop! Here's what's going on right now at bel monili:

• 25% off of your entire purchase of $35 or more using code BF2013 through midnight EST 11/30/13
• 20% off of your entire purchase of $10 or more using codeSBS2013 through midnight EST 11/30/13

And...keep your eyes peeled (hint: follow us on Facebook and sign up for our email list) for an awesome Cyber Monday deal to follow!

On this Small Business Saturday, here are some of my most favorite small businesses (and some of them even have some great sales to check out!). Here are just a few of MY favorite things:

Welcome to my friend Amy's shop, where you can find Alphabet Photography Prints, custom orders and already pre-designed prints are available. They make unique gifts for weddings, housewarmings, birthdays, anniversaries, showers, parties and any occasion. Using her original photography of architectural and natural objects, Amy has created alphabet photography art with a heavy focus on Pittsburgh, PA.

Amy also offers custom alphabet photography name prints! 

Charis (pronounced: khar'-ece) is the English translation for the Greek word (χάρις, ιτος, ἡ) for grace. Meanings: a gift or blessing; favor; gratitude, thanks; joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness. Share "charis" with someone you care about via the thoughtfulness of a handmade, handpicked, specially designed card or gift. 

 Use coupon code SBS13 starting today, Saturday the 30th, to celebrate Small Business Saturday and will be good through Dec 6th for 15% off any Etsy shop purchase of $10 or more

 

Small batch natural and organic ingredient bath and body products! My dear friend Krystal of Green Bubble Gorgeous makes AMAZING bath and body products, and as an added bonus she recently began to offer FREE domestic shipping on every order!

Green Bubble Gorgeous will be offering a Cyber Monday code in her Etsy shop: Use code cyber2013 all day Monday 12/2/13 to get 15% off your order of $25 or more!

You all know my bestie Jeanne of juNxtaposition, and if you don't...well, then you simply MUST stop over for a visit to her website! 

Typewriter key jewelry, stamped silverware handles, and overall awesome upcycled stuff!

 

I am proud to say that Adriana of Little Miss Snazzy started out her great venture by learning a couple of beading tricks from me...now she makes GORGEOUS jewelry using a variety of materials including semi-precious stones, leather, and metals.

Enjoy 25% off of your purchase of $25 or more in her Etsy shop using coupon code SMALLBUSINESS now through Sunday 12/1/13.

Happy Shopping!

31 Days, 31 Reasons to be Thankful: January 31: Friends

Really...where do I even start with this.

I am, without a doubt, the friend-wealthiest person I know.

What I am about to share with you is a mere slice, a small sampling of some of the people I love. It is in no way a full representation; for those who are not pictured here, please know that I am honoring you in my heart (...ok, or we have a picture and it was bad. There, that was brutally honest.).

As I try to write this, I can't really even come close to being able to name all of the people I love so dearly, so completely...the people who make my life good.

I have friends that have been in my heart since childhood...

Friends from college...

and graduate school.

Friends from jobs I've had...

and places I've lived.

I mean, really, how lucky can a girl be?

If ever there was a reason to drop to my knees and thank the Lord for something, 

friends are it. 

My friends feed my heart and soul. As long as I have them, I know I will never go astray. 

There will never, ever be enough words to express my thankfulness for the friendships I have. New friends, old friends, friends near and far, business friends, work friends...I've got it all.

THANK YOU for seeing me all the way through to the end of my 31 Days blog series! Through this journey I have had a chance to reflect on myself and all of the wonderful things I have to give thanks for. Today, on my last day, it is with a joyful heart that I give thanks for all of you, my newest friends, and look forward to the exciting things that are still yet to come!

Today, how will you honor your friends?

"Think where man's glory most begins and ends, and say my glory was I had such friends."  

-William Butler Yeats

31 Days, 31 Reasons to be Thankful: January 29: Beauty

There is just so much beauty in this world. 

Sometimes it's in plain sight, and sometimes it's hiding where you can't quite see it. 

Beauty is young,

 and old

large

and small

Each and every day, I step out into the world and am faced with infinite beauty and wonder. I am blessed with an amazing assortment of beautiful people, places, and things. 

Today, I am thankful for all of the beauty in my world.

What beautiful things did you see today?

"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it."  -Confucius

31 Days, 31 Reasons to be Thankful: January 28: Organization

Everybody who knows me knows this:

I LOVE LITTLE DRAWERS.

I have a wonderful collection, but it's never quite enough. I suppose this goes along well with my business; beads, bits, and bobs fit quite well into these little beauties.

I love that feeling of pure satisfaction that comes with  finishing up a really great organizational project. For me, those projects always involve little drawers.

My gift-giver had painted this for me...I thanked him and promptly painted it white

Last year, a friend gave me a GORGEOUS set of the perfect little drawers: 20 letter-sized metal drawers (2 rows of 10) that house my beads, vintage flowers, antique earrings, lace, ribbon...you get the picture. This same friend gave me a gorgeous library card catalog for Christmas, effectively beginning my hunt for more of these gorgeous little drawers.

 

My $35 shining star

This past summer I found a magnificent 15-drawer card catalog for sale, complete with stand, for a mere $35. It was one of those breathtaking moments at the flea market where you look around to make sure there is no one closing in on your find...I handed that cash over like it was on fire.  

I love having things in order. I think that, if my physical surroundings are organized, then so too must be my life. Well...that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Do YOU love little drawers? Share your crafty organizational love stories with us!

31 Days, 31 Reasons to be Thankful: January 26: Memories

As I am writing this, I am looking at the sweetest picture of my grandparents at their 60th anniversary party. For those of you who might not know, I call my grandmother Bubbie and my grandfather Jeddie.

Bubbie and Jeddie, celebrating 60 years of marriage

Bubbie passed away in the summer of 2011 about 6 months after she was diagnosed with Ovarian cancer. Jeddie is still with us, though in the year since Bubbie has been gone he seems to have begun to reveal his true age.

Looking at this beloved picture, I do not feel sadness. Yes, I miss Bubbie: she was my best friend. She used to tell me what we were best friends from Day 1, which is true. I am the oldest of their grandchildren, and was first born (albeit by a month and a half), so that pretty much put me at the top of the pecking order. What I do feel is a yearning for days gone by. I laughed out loud thinking of some of the funny things Bubbie and I used to do, and the stories Jeddie told us as children.

Memory is a funny thing. Physiologically speaking, it is commonly believed that the memory "lives" in the Hippocampus, deep inside the brain. Some new theories say that memories are coded here and then move out to the frontal lobes for the long term, but that's a topic for a different post (again...thank you grad school for my knowledge of the brain!). I think it's remarkable that this little section, deep down inside where it can be most protected, is where our memory "lives". Seems to be nature's way of telling us that our memories are among some of our most precious commodities.

Today, I invite you to take a moment and rejoice in precious memories you hold...they are the intangible treasures that make our lives uniquely savory and special.

What memories have you created today?

"So long as the memory of certain beloved friends lives in my heart, I shall say that life is good."  -Helen Keller

 

31 Days, 31 Reasons to be Thankful: January 25: Warmth

You are reading that correctly. 4 degrees.

This image, courtesy of my bestie juNxtaposition, is a legit representation of what the weather has been like lately here in Pittsburgh.

It was this number that prompted the 2 weather delays (I gave thanks for these in a post earlier this week) that many schools in the area had this week.

Despite the frigid temperatures, I remain snuggled safely and warmly in my cozy bungalow (largely thanks to my purchase of a brandy-new furnace last year!). I definitely take this luxury for granted: I know that there are many people (in my city, sadly) that are without the warmth and comfort of a good furnace in a safe home.

I have the joy of being blessed with warmth in my home as well as in my heart. Each day I awake in my cloud-like bed and head off to my amazing job where my students warm my spirit all day. That is a LOT to be thankful for.

What warms your heart on a cold day?

"The glow of one warm thought is to me worth more than money."-   Thomas Jefferson

31 Days, 31 Reasons to be Thankful: January 22: Snow Delays

Yesterday was a teacher in-service day. It's one of those miracle days where we as educators have the chance to sit down and get some work done. Really, it's the one day of the quarter that we don't have to bring a ton of work home to do.

At the end of the day, our principal made the regular announcements...but with a special added twist.

After working hard all day, getting over 100 progress reports and 3 IEPs written, this was nothing short of music to my ears:

"...and, staff, we have a 2 hour delay tomorrow."

The heavens parted. Angels sang. Beams of bright white light shone down upon my school. 

The reality is, it's only 2 hours. Actually, for me, it's one hour because the faculty and staff report an hour earlier than the students. That really doesn't matter, though, because it's the novelty of the time that counts.

That extra hour of sleep is the sweetest hour I will ever have, and on top of that I have ANOTHER hour at work where I can get work done! Just imagine...I can organize my files, finally make those copies I've been needing, clean out my bottom drawer...

On a grander scale, what I am really honoring here is the concept of "found time". The snow delay is really a reminder of how precious time is. The day doesn't get any longer, yet it is "found time". It shows us what a precious gift time is.

Even if you didn't have a snow delay today, I invite you to take a moment and relish in time. Steal a moment and enjoy it's gifts...there are only so many afforded to us so we need to make the most of what we've got!

What would YOU do with an extra 2 hours?

"Getting an inch of snow is like winning 10 cents in the lottery."  -Bill Watterson

31 Days, 31 Reasons to be Thankful: January 21: Creativity

Oh, I am so so so so SO thankful for creativity!

My brain is constantly on, spinning with schedules, plans, ideas...it can actually get quite exhausting. 

Everything I see runs through the "I Can Do Something With This" folder in my head.

I have been creating for (literally) as long as I can remember. I'm not talking about the traditional preschool crafts: we've all made those handprint turkeys, popsicle stick boxes, and (back in the '80s when it was still OK to be a smoker) mosaic ashtrays. For the record, though, the angel tree topper I made in kindergarten when I was 5 years old made it's 28th proud appearance at the top of my mother's Christmas tree this past season.

Today, as you likely know, I put my creativity to good use by channeling my inner artist to create my unique, one of a kind upcycled jewelry pieces. The business has been amazingly successful with the help of many, many, many people and resources...including creativity. For that, I am thankful!

How does creativity play a role in your life?

"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."   -Albert Einstein