All About Bella Button

Economic Stimulus Sale

2008-10-09T14:04:00.006-05:00

Frustrated and worried about the state of the financial world? Alleviate your worries and treat yourself to some jewelry from my shop. :) Get some of your holiday shopping out of the way with some beautiful, but affordable jewelry, keychains, ornaments, and bookmarks - something for everyone on your list! Beginning tonight at midnight through midnight Saturday, take 15% off of your total order. Mention code 'STRONG' in Notes To Seller at checkout.

Also, for everyone who makes a purchase during the Economic Stimulus sale, you will be entered in a drawing for a FREE sterling Petite Initials necklace (1, 2, 3 or 4 initials)

or a soldered photo ornament, one entry for each item purchased!

Your name will also be added to my monthly drawing for a FREE piece of jewelry from my shop, or your own design, valued up to $75. Who can pass on FREE?

Family Heirloom

2008-10-07T12:38:00.004-05:00

Just listed this new necklace in my shop, perfect for representing all parts of your family:

Shop now before the Christmas rush!

Waiting to Exhale...

2008-10-05T16:05:00.002-05:00

Last December, my DH was RIF'd from his job at a company that he had worked hard and loyally for for the past 7 years. This was a BIG gulp moment for us, as we had very little savings, relying mostly on his income since the fall of 2004 when our daughter was born. As a result of having very nearly a zero income, our home mortgage lender began foreclosure proceedings on our home, as we could not afford to make our monthly mortgage payment. So many people around the country are going through this for a variety of reasons, and it STINKS! Unlike so many others that were led to believe they could buy more of a house than they could actually afford, we could actually afford our house - when we had an income, that is. :)

We finally got it worked out with our lender to where we had a moratorium on our mortgage, to allow DH to secure other employement, and hopefully at least equal salary. Praise God - in June the call came from a huge competitor of DH's old company! They wanted DH and for more money than his old employer. Great news, but we also knew that we had a lot of catching up to do on all of the bills that had to fall by the wayside.

Well, as of September 18, our moratorium ended. Our lender let us know that we would be under review for a loan modification, meaning that we would only have to pay a portion of our past due mortgage payments and the remainder would be rolled back into our principal loan figure. Under review, but not a done deal, in their words....

Fast forward to today, we still hadn't heard anything from our lender. We had called and left messages to try to find out what was going on and to avoid another, extremely embarassing visit from the sheriff to serve foreclosure papers. Well, once again praise God, the call came this afternoon, Sunday afternoon of all days. It was our lender and they were pleased to inform us that we were approved for the loan modification, and that as long as we make two mortgage payments by October 20th, the foreclosure is cancelled. Y I P E E!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is the most magnificent news we've received in quite a while - WE GET TO KEEP OUR HOUSE, OUR HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We can finally exhale....... aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

So, to celebrate, please take 15% off your total purchase + free shipping on anything, and everything, in my shop from now through Tuesday at midnight. Please send me a Convo, mention code 'EXHALE' and I will send you an adjusted invoice through Paypal.

My tumbler's coming, my tumbler's coming!

2008-09-27T10:19:00.005-05:00

I am SOOOOO excited! My tumbler is on its way! For those of you who make jewelry, you know what I mean. No more spending hours polishing charms and other jewelry items. My poor fingers are worn to the bone from sanding and polishing, well not literally, but almost. It looks like I've bitten my fingernails down to the quick on a couple of fingers (sorry TMI), but it's just from sanding and polishing all of that jewelry that people have been ordering. Thank you so much, my dear customers! Yay - relief!

Also, just listed a couple of jeweled barrettes that I did a couple of years ago in my Etsy shop, per the request of some of my wonderful customers.

One for Halloween:

and one for the holidays/Christmas:

Also, only 4 more days in this month left to place an order and be entered to win a FREE custom jewel from my shop, your design or mine, up to $75.

Happy Saturday!

Can it be......

2008-09-04T18:21:00.002-05:00

that time already? To start thinking about the holidays? Where did the time go??????????????

I just put my ad up on Boutique Cafe's 2008 Holiday Gift Guide! It points to my Etsy shop and if you mention the code that is below my ad when checking out, you'll receive 10% off of your entire order. I will also have giveaways and free shipping days through the next four months. Please check it out! Personalized jewelry, ornaments, and key chains make wonderful holiday gifts and stocking stuffers!

Crying my heart out...

2008-08-11T21:23:00.002-05:00

Well, I have some sad news to report - I had a miscarriage at 10 1/2 weeks. My heart is broken, but I know that this baby is in heaven and that we'll get to meet him/her someday. This was a very painful experience both physically and emotionally, one I hope never to repeat. We will try again, probably next year. Your prayers would be appreciated....

2008-07-12T13:49:00.002-05:00

Wow - it's only 166 days until Christmas! Shop in the cool comfort of your home and avoid the stress of last-minute shopping with my Christmas In July sale. Save 15% off of your total order on everything in my Etsy Shoppe. Also receive free shipping! For every item you purchase, your name will be entered in a drawing for 4 deluxe soldered glass ornaments, to be drawn on August 1!

Now, onto more important news!
We just found out that the stork will be making a delivery to our happy home sometime in late Feb./early Mar. of 2009. This will be baby #2 for us, so to celebrate, I'm going to give away any custom jewel of your choice from my Etsy shoppe. Please leave a comment with your best parenting advice, especially how to transition from one to two children, or favorite memories from your childhood. I will draw the winner on Friday, July 18.

New Jewels for Mother's Day

2008-03-20T20:37:00.005-05:00

It is hard to believe that it is nearly April already, which means Mother's Day is just around the corner. Get your shopping done early! I just listed some new personalized stamped and soldered jewels in our Etsy shop:

Blessed bracelet:

Signify necklace:

And, a bracelet perfect for a bride-to-be, or for an anniversary gift, Wedding Day:

Keep a lookout for more new jewels next week!

2008-03-07T15:47:00.002-06:00

Yowza! Has it ever been a long time since I last posted! The Christmas season brought almost too many orders to handle = lots of sleepless nights. Thanks to all of our faithful customers for their orders and support! You're all the best!

One sad note - my husband was laid off from his job the week before Christmas. He had been with the company for nearly 7 years and they all of sudden decided that his position, along with several others, was not needed. We were blessed to receive 4 months worth of severance = 3 months after all of the taxes came out. My only question - why can't these people that make those decisions wait until after the holidays? That part I cannot fathom. At any rate, he is still searching for a wonderful new job. Please pray for us, that his new job will come along soon, as we will be out of money at the end of this month.

On a brighter note, I just ordered my very own stamping supplies to create some new jewelry.

I'm planning on a combo of stamped sterling tags and soldered photo charms for some very meaningful Mother's Day gifts. Keep checking back to see what I'm up to!

We were also featured in the February edition of Australian Beading Magazine. I wrote a tutorial on how to create soldered glass charms, and they also printed the interview I gave to the editor. I will post pictures soon of what the layout looks like. I feel so blessed to have been noticed and asked to participate in this amazing opportunity.

Thanks for reading!

Christina

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-22T14:05:00.001-06:00

Be Thankful

By Author Unknown

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire. If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don't know something, for it gives you the opportunity to learn.
Be thankful for the difficult times. During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations, because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge, because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes. They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you're tired and weary, because it means you've made a difference.

It's easy to be thankful for the good things. A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for the setbacks. Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive. Find a way to be thankful for your troubles, and they can become your blessings.

Many Blessings,

Christina

2007-11-12T16:31:00.001-06:00

Just listed this new ornament! I am so pleased with how it turned out. It would make a wonderful gift for grandparents, aunts/uncles, godparents, co-workers, you name it. Customize it any way you'd like, with favorite pics, verses, poems, etc. Remove the ribbon afterthe holidays and hang it from a decorative hook. Receive 10% off your total purchase if you mention this post! Happy Holidays!

Find it here!

2007-10-26T14:20:00.000-05:00

Just listed! Some new hand-stamped sterling jewelry in both our eBay and etsy stores. Can be personalized/customized just for you!

These make beautiful holiday gifts and stocking stuffers!

2007-10-26T12:39:00.000-05:00

Wow - time goes by so fast! What I wouldn't give for 3 or 4 extra hours in every day just to get everything done.

Let's see - what have we been up to? We made a trip out to a local pumpkin farm for some autumn fun. They have a petting zoo, lots of fun games and play equipment for the kiddos, a huge corn maze, and hay rack rides. The weather was perfectly crisp and cool, and we just had the best time!

Happy Autumn!

2007-10-06T18:34:00.000-05:00

Some other great news on the selling front - Dawn of AnnaKate's Closet has been gracious enough to pick up some of our clothing and jewels to sell in her brick-and-mortar store in Virginia. One of the items they will be selling exclusively through their store is our 'Princess' soldered necklace. If you'd like one, please email her and tell her. I believe they'll be offering them online sometime soon, as well!

2007-10-06T18:06:00.000-05:00

Today I received an email from Kelly, who just happens to be the editor of Australian Beading Magazine. She asked if they could feature our personalized soldered pearl bracelet in their magazine. Wow - what an honor! She also asked if I would mind writing a tutorial on soldering. This makes me a little nervous, as it has to be nothing less than perfect. Also, it has to be my own, as I know there are other ebooks out there on soldering. I'll post more about this as it comes together. To celebrate, anyone who mentions this post when making a purchase, either from eBay or Etsy gets 10% off of their total purchase!

Blessings,

Christina

2007-10-04T22:25:00.001-05:00

Here's a sneak peek of our new Halloween set, to be listed tomorrow:
It's a OOAK and ready to ship, best fit for sizes 3 (Bella's size), 4, or 5. Tons of color and fun, Halloween without being scary.

Giving in....

2007-10-04T09:26:00.000-05:00

Since blogging is all the rage, and I have bucked the trend until now, I have finally given in. I think I can probably manage a post a day. Mostly, I see it as a tremendous advertising opportunity for our Bella Button business. It's easy to get lost in the flood that is eBay, and now Etsy! It seems that those who have blogs typically have more sales, so here we come!

We just listed a soldered glass ornament on eBay and Etsy. Find it here ...

Also, watch for a OOAK Halloween set that is ready to ship, to be listed later this evening. I know, I know - it's late in the game for Halloween! But it's so cute - we just had to. Someone might like it, too!

Have a blessed day and thanks for reading!

Christina