Water Bottle Carriers for Missions

I am so happy to announce my new water bottle carrier collection available in my Etsy shop. All of the profit from these will go towards missions. So far I have 4 listed and already sold 1. When you look at each listing you can read about the mission group or missionary the profits will go to. Just look for the charity listing tab in my Etsy shop Seaside Siren

The first recipient I have chosen is Jeremy Dorrough. He recently returned from a missions trip to Nepal and is partnering with YWAM (youth with a mission) to reach the villages in remote areas of Nepal where the name Jesus has never been heard. You can learn more about his vision for this beautiful country on his website www.JEREMYMISSIONS.com.

When Times are Tough...

As a Christian instead of getting tougher I look up for guidance. Then I take a good look at myself and ask what am I doing right or what is it I am not doing. Lately, the latter seems to be the most appropriate question. Feeling lost in a world where money is necessary, I wonder why my job feels son un-fulfilling and there never seems to be enough to do the things I want. I ask "God, surely You have bigger, better plans for me than this?" He answered (He always seems to answer my questions with a question) "What are you doing with the gifts I have given you?" Me,"uummm, nothing at the moment?" Yep, a big fat nothing.

So, God put a desire in my heart to use my gifts to give. All I have are these beautiful things I make with the talent He endowed me with. So, the obvious answer is to change the way I do business. I recently created a line of water bottle carriers that I will sell and give all of the profit to missions. The organizations will vary and each listing will show where the money is directly going to. I will also post a blog about each specific missionary or non-profit group so my customer will know where their money is going. I hope to have the first charity listing up today!

I'm Stepping It Up...

this holiday season! I will be offering more designs and new items. My newest creations are wool hats. Perfect for the cold weather, stylish and chic! I am even taking Etsy's holiday boot camp pledge:

I, Seaside Siren, pledge to participate in the Etsy Success Holiday Boot Camp to the best of my abilities. I vow to check in every week, do my homework and support my fellow Holiday Boot Campers. I will read the weekly newsletters and blog posts, check in on the weekly forum thread, read the weekly blog post, check off the checklists and salute the mascot. I promise to share what I've learned with those who need it, support my fellow Etsy indiepreneurs and, most of all, have a positive and persistent attitude. I understand that together we can spread the word about our handmade and vintage goods, making this holiday season a more unique and meaningful one to gift givers and give-ees everywhere!

Christmas in July sale!

Check out the sale section of my Etsy shop. I plan on adding more items to the sale section next week too. The sale is running until the end of July.

The Tears of a Lady

I recently inherited a few boxes of linens and such that belonged to my husband's grandmother, lovingly called mee-maw. I never had the chance to meet her, but she was truly a special lady. She could do anything. She could sew anything. She crochet all of her own dish cloths and her knitting put me to shame. She even kept scrapbooks filled with magazine pictures and fabric samples of the things she planned to make. She kept everything and since she had no daughters of her own all of it was boxed up and sat in my father-in-laws warehouse. Now slowly many of her sewing and crafting things are finding a home with me. It has been an honor to put to use all the things she once used. In this box filled with old towels and dishcloths I found a pink box filled with neatly folded hankies. As I carefully unfolded each hanky I started to tear up as I saw the the stains from tears. Her tears, the tears of her children, tears of joy, and tears of sorrow. There were a few drops of blood on a few, undoubtedly from the boo-boos of her sons and grandchildren. Those hankies will forever be kept neatly folded in her little pink box, a reminder of the tears of a very fine lady.