Chicken Pox

My daughter has the chicken pox.

Two weeks ago, other children in her grade 1 class were coming down with the chicken pox. I was really hoping she would come in contact with them and come down with a case of them herself. Well today she finally has some spots. It took a while to know for sure if that is what they are, but they keep coming and I can't think of what else they could be.

On Saturday she had a sore throat, but her dad had a throat infection and I thought she had caught it (they were sharing drinks). Then yesterday she said she wasn't feeling well and stayed home from school in the morning. She did get sick once, but was bouncing off the walls and ready to go back to school when her sisters came home for lunch. So she went.

Then this morning... "Mom, what is this back here" she points right above her butt. "It really hurts." I took a look. Sure enough, her first pox.

She was excited. But by the afternoon, she finally was tired and crashed.

I am not so sure how I feel about all of this. I was excited at first. But now, with a show coming up and with me being booked for work but need to stay home with her (good thing I have a great job in that respect) and having to let everyone she has recently come in contact with know about it incase they haven't had them yet, I am getting exhausted just thinking about it. And to top it off, once she finally went to sleep and I got a minute to relax myself, I am feeling a sore throat coming on. Just my luck!

Oh, well, we will get through this. Just like everything else.

Take care everyone.

The Buds of May

Next weekend I am participating in a jewelry show called The Buds of May. It will be held in Regina, Saskatchewan at the West Harvest Inn in the Solarium Room. I am looking forward to going, however I am a little nervous as I have never attended this show before.

It is always nerve wracking when participating in a new show. You never know what to expect. How will the room be set up? How much space do I get? What do I need to bring? What don't I need to bring? How do I look like I know what I am doing and not just flying by the seat of my pants?

I try to plan for any senario I can think of. I know this time I get one table. I haven't set up a one table display in a long time and I have a LONG list of items in stock. I will bring everything, but I will likely only put out a couple of certain items or none of some things.

It is also nice to know what sort of clientel to expect. Are they looking for quality items or a bargain. I have been to shows of each. And a bargain to one person is an outragous price to another. There is no pleasing everyone anywhere.

You have to walk into the situation expecting anything, but remember for next year what it was like so you can plan accordingly.

I have never been to an all jewelry show. This is also something totally new. The biggest problem with that is not to undercut or overprice your work as compared to the other sellers. I hope mine is inline. It will be impossible to tell until I get there and see what everyone else charges.

Price has always been a problem with me. I want people to be able to afford my work, so I don't tend to use sterling silver in a lot of my pieces. I do have some pieces with sterling silver, just not very many. I am happy to make anything for someone in whatever materials they want (provided I have access to said materials), but for now I am trying to make affordable quality pieces. (I once had a woman ask for sterling silver because it wouldn't tarnish as my plated pieces do. I had to let her know that all sterling silver does tarnish, the only difference is that silver plated can wear off over time. She didn't care. She still wanted the sterling silver. I have found that putting my jewelry into plastic zip locking baggies helps to prevent tarnishing.)

Everyone uses different pieces and styles for their jewelry. I guess if I am happy with what I am charging for a piece and am making something on it, I shouldn't feel as if I am over or undercharging for my work. It really shouldn't be "comparable" to other artists. It is what it is.

There are 10 artists in total that will be attending this show. I think I have met only two of them. Here is a list of the artists:

Chase and Ollie

Prairie Sky Creations

EllJay Design

Shauna Mitru

The Finishing Touch by Roxanne Brown

Charming Betties

Stonewench Handcrafted Jewellery

DD Jewellery Designs

Susan Betker

and me - Carelebeads

If you know any of these talented artists and want to see their work in person, come on down on May 1, 2010 to the West Havest Inn, 4025 Albert Street, Regina, Saskatchewan from 10am to 5pm and see all of us.

Hope to see you there!

Cathedral Village Arts Festival

As I am waiting for confirmation from several of the craft sales I have applied to, I am beginning to get nervous that I may not have enough stuff, or the right stuff. I need to get ready for my next sale on May 1 in Regina at the West Harvest Inn. I just received confirmation on that one today. Although I am looking forward to that sale, the one I am really waiting for is the Cathedral Village Arts Festival.

This is my favorite sale every year. I love the atmosphere and that it is outdoors. You see some of the craziest outfits, hairstyles, and people walking up and down the seven blocks. The sale is held in Regina, Saskatchewan in the Cathedral Village area. They block off the street and some side streets. There is a stage at each end of the main street where musicians showcase their talents throughout the day. Vendors set up booths along both sides of the street. Most are crafts of some sort - paintings, jewelry, sewing, woodwork, etc. Then there are food booths with carnival type foods, one booth sells fresh lemonade (a soft spot for me), and don't forget the mini donuts. Yum!

I am always located in virtually the same spot so people who are looking for me can find me easier. I am on the last block on one end, which means a lot less congestion. I have gone for a walk down the street previous years and you can barely move once you get to to the centre blocks.

There are entertainers every year too. The buskers, belly dancers, and magicians make it worth the trip.

I must admit, I think my favorite part of this sale is that it is the only one my husband goes to with me. I definitely would not be able to go if he wasn't able to help me. And I am very thankful he can.

Check out their website for pictures of previous years. http://www.cathedralartsfestival.ca/ the festival lasts all week but the craft sale part is only one day (the Saturday).

Hopefully this year I can snap a few pictures to post!

Skyping with Australia

This evening I took my daughter to her classroom where they were able to talk to some children in Australia. Their teacher and the other children's teacher set up a time where they were able to talk via skype.

My husband and I went with our daughter. We seemed to be more excited to hear the differences and similarities between our countries and cultures than the kids were (although they did all seem fairly excited). They talked for almost an hour and discussed things like school days, activities, food, weather and so much more. They could literally see the ocean from their classroom. I was quite envious. I looked outside my daughter's classroom and could see a ball diamond and some trees. Not bad, but not even close to as cool as having an ocean there!

The other class was surprised that it is 3 degrees Celsius here (it was 27 degrees there). They were also surprised that our children went home for lunch. They were not allowed to go home even if they lived right across from the school. They also asked how everyone knew what school the kids went to if they didn't wear uniforms. We thought it different that they did wear uniforms. (It wouldn't be a bad idea if they did have them here though.)

I find it very interesting to learn about other places. Some things are so often taken for granted.
Learning new things is always fun.