Strange Days

Well, my mourning must come to an end at some point.  It is a new season, after all.  The summer came to a sad end without moving into our house as we had planned.  The deal fell through at the end and my dreams of living in a farm house are floating out there, not sure where and when they will come to life.  I was ready to be in the remodeling mode by now, but I'm trying to look at the bright side and think that something better will come along.  Sooner than later please, universe.
I've been busy making jewelry and putting inspiration back into my other project, ReLive Organics.  I have both my Morning Sparrow jewelry and ReLive products going into 2 new retail places in town.  There's some positivity!  The timing on those worked out just right as I was seeing a lot of free time needing to be filled now that I wasn't going to be working on an old house.  Interestingly enough, my marketing job is going seasonal and starting next Monday I am will be taking a break from that.  Our company is just kind of complicated right now.  I may be able to pick up a few side projects with it until Spring, but I honestly don't really know the direction everything is going and I'm a little exhausted over thinking it.  Strange days these are.  This year is just taking turns I didn't expect however, I will just take the curveballs as they come.  Not much else I can do.  In the meantime, I'm just looking for a place for my feet to land.

Reaching Goals

I'm excited to share this fundraising project in Malawi.  I was contacted a few weeks ago through my Etsy shop about a sale of some of my necklaces.  The necklaces are to be given as thank you gifts for donations made to a school construction project called The Beehive School in Malawi in Africa.  I was commissioned to make a quantity to send on its way and was so excited to do so.  I love stuff like this!  The cause, the giving....the making of jewelry for something bigger.  The exact reason I started Morning Sparrow jewelry.  The best part...the sale of these has allowed me to make my first Kiva loan through Morning Sparrow!  I was getting antsy that I hadn't been able to make a loan yet, so this is very exciting stuff to me and is inspiring me to get busy in these next few days and weeks and get some more pieces made for my Etsy shop.  Right now, all my jewelry is at Fashionista Exchange & Boutique in Overland Park, KS for holiday shoppers.  So, I have my work cut out for me to get busy and get some pieces back up on my Etsy shop to keep raising funds.
   
Check out the Beehive School project:  https://www.facebook.com/notes/beehive-school-project-mzuzu-malawi/beehive-school-malawi-holiday-newsletter-2011/10150472858886202

Morning Sparrow's first Kiva loan went to a group of women in Uganda that own a shoe store business.  These funds (combined with other lender's funds to reach the target loan amount) will assist this group in growing their business and paying for school fees for their children.  Here is info about their business and loan needs: http://www.kiva.org/lend/362924.  If you are interested in contributing to this loan, it just takes $25 to get started in lending.

It's refreshing to see my original goals of my jewelry designs come to life.  It's been almost a year since I started this and at times I was overwhelmed with all the other responsibilities & projects in my life , but now I see how much balancing it all means.

Morning Sparrow has an Etsy shop

I have made jewelry since I was a little girl. Friendship bracelets were my first designs and then as a teenager I moved onto the ever-so-popular 90's hemp necklace fad. Since then, I made pieces here and there for my own wearing. A few years ago, I accompanied a friend to a bead show in Tucson, AZ and stocked up on a ton of beautiful, quality stone and glass beads, not sure when and how I was ever going to use that many beads I purchased.

Well, the time has come. I launched a new Etsy store with some earring designs I have been working on the past few months. I'm calling my store Morning Sparrow as well.

Right now, I have sterling silver earrings and I will be adding some necklaces to the shop very soon. I'd love to be able to generate a few extra bucks so that I can donate money on a regular basis to Ethiopia, my son's birth country. I've been looking into financing micro loans for women to start their own businesses and also considering child sponsorship or orphanage donations. However, before I get ahead of myself, I need to start selling some pieces. With Mother's Day and graduation time fast approaching, I'm hoping I'll see some sales.

You can visit my Etsy shop here: www.morningsparrow.etsy.com

I'm also looking into advertising on some blogs. If you have any blog suggestions or promotional ideas, please do share!

Have a wonderful day to you all!