The holidays are fast approaching. How are you doing?

Each year that BIG DAY seems to arrive faster and faster. These days with all the on-line shopping we do… thanks to both Covid and the convenience of the world’s largest department store, Amazon, all we have to do is click that Paypal button and whoooosh….it ‘s done!

But I will tell you that my very favorite place to shop is Etsy. First, I really do try to shop local and/or small. Secondly, because I am an Etsy vendor I know how important each and every sale is.  And last, I think both the variety of goods and the customer service is unequalled .

For instance. There are two little girls I need to buy for. I won’t be seeing them at Christmas but they are the sweetest, cutest girls. Anyway, the older one was easy and done quickly at a makers market here in Chapel Hill. The younger one: hmmmm? Her mother said “Oh, some kind of bag or satchel or purse. She loves to carry cherished items around the house.”  Okay.  So off to Etsy to shop.

I mean, how cute is this? It’s 6 “x 4 ” and oh so perfect for those treasures!

It’s been a busy few weeks here. My shop, OneNumberEight, had three Makers Markets in as many days… it’s the packing and unpacking and keeping the inventory straight that is so tedious. The actual shows I really enjoy: meeting people, always something new and seeing which items sell well and which ones I just might not show again. It’s always a challenge and one I like!

But when it’s done, it’s DONE.

Here is a new item that sold very well: I call them “Color Rounds.”

They are acrylic rounds with dried flowers (mostly poinsettia petals and leaves), ribbons, and bits of faded papers pressed between the two rounds. They can be hung with either a ribbon, twine or an ornament hook.  They are held together with very unique clips found, as far as I can discover, in a market and country you would never, ever imagine !Mine to know and yours to guess…..

But they work well and have sold dozens in three days.

Take care of yourself in this often stressful time. I have meditation group on Fridays which is fairly new to me. Funny thing is after our very first meetup our guide/leader asked why we were there. I, and then several others, said because we are a variation on a Type A personality and realise the need to de-stress and shed some of the busy-ness of life. And now, I look forward to this hour each week.