Etsy Holiday Bootcamp

In preparation for the holiday season the members of Etsy are going through bootcamp. I am taking the challenge & the pledge.

I, Jenean of Designs by Jenean, 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!


God bless,
Designs by Jenean

Cherry Blossoms are Blooming

The Cherry Bloom trees were a gift from Japan in 1912. They signal Washington D. C.’s rite of spring with an explosion of life and color that surrounds the Tidal Basin in a sea of pale pink and white blossoms.

The Peak Bloom Date is defined as the day in which 70 percent of the blossoms of the Yoshino Cherry trees that surround the Tidal Basin are open. The date when the Yoshino Cherry Blossoms reach peak bloom varies from year to year, depending on weather conditions. Cherry Blossom Festival dates are set based on the average date of blooming (April 4), but nature is not always cooperative. Unseasonably warm and/or cool temperatures have resulted in the Yoshino cherries reaching peak bloom as early as March 15 (1990) and as late as April 18 (1958). http://www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/

Most varieties produce light pink to pure white blossoms, but there are also cherry trees with dark pink or slightly yellowish blossoms. The blossom color of some varieties may change while they are in bloom. For example, a blossom may open as a white flower and change color to pink over the course of a few days.

In case of early blooming trees, the fresh leaves usually do not appear until after full bloom, which gives the trees an attractive, homogenous look while they are in full bloom. In case of later blooming trees, the leaves usually appear before the blossoms, giving the trees a more heterogeneous look. Furthermore, the color of the fresh leaves differs between the varieties. In most cases, the fresh leaves are green, coppery brown, or something in between. http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2011_species.html

I was inspired by the season , the beautiful colors and a pendant I purchased on Etsy some time ago. I created the necklace below as tribute to Cherry Blossom Festival.








God bless,
Designs by Jenean

The Dollar Store Challenge

The Dollar Store Challenge was certainly a challenge. But I was committed to make something and posting it. I chose an Easter theme and made a cross. I used a glass from a picture frame $1, flat glass marbles $1, a napkin holder to hold up the glass $1 and a miniture plaque $1. I didn't have any hot glue sticks so I used doube sided tape I had on hand.I taped the vertcal part of the cross with three 3 in a column and 12 rows. There are 9 in the row for the horizontal part of the cross with 3 in each column. I taped a few accent pieces on each side of the cross and I taped the plaque at the top which reads "Prayer is how I'll make it through Lord, these prayers I give to you."

Accepting this challenge took me out of my comfort zone which is designing jewelry. I will certainly try another challenge again so I can continue to stretch myself. I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else came up with.






God bless,
Designs by Jenean

March is Craft Month

Being someone who loves crafts, I'm excited to take the craft challenge offered by www.livingwithlindsey.com. The challenge is to spend no more than $5 at a dollar store and make a product for the home. This will be my first time entering a challenge. I went to the Dollar Tree today and picked up some items. Next step is putting it all together. Click on the button to the right to learn more about the challenge. You can also enter if you're up for the challenge.


God bless,
Designs by Jenean

An Example of Determination and Inspiration

Madam C.J. Walker (December 23, 1867 – May 25, 1919) was an African-American businesswoman, hair care entrepreneur and philanthropist. She made her fortune by developing and marketing a hugely successful line of beauty and hair products for black women, under the company she founded, Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company

She was born Sarah Breedlove in Delta, Louisiana, the first member of her family to be born free, to parents who had been slaves. At age 14, she married a man named Moses McWilliams and was widowed at age 20. She then moved to St. Louis, Missouri to join her brothers. Sarah worked as a laundress for as little as a dollar and a half a day, but she was able to save enough to educate her daughter. While living in St. Louis, she joined St. Paul's African Methodist Episcopal Church, which helped develop her speaking, interpersonal and organizational skills.

In 1905, she worked as a sales agent for Annie Malone, another black woman entrepreneur who manufactured hair care products. Sarah also consulted with a Denver pharmacist, who analyzed Malone's formula and helped Walker formulate her own products. In addition, she often told reporters that the ingredients for her "Wonderful Hair Grower" had come to her in a dream.

In 1906 she married Charles Joseph Walker, a St. Louis newspaperman[1], and changed her name to "Madam C.J. Walker". She founded the Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company to sell hair care products and cosmetics. Madam Walker divorced Walker in 1910 and moved her growing manufacturing operations from St. Louis to a new industrial complex in Indianapolis. By 1917 she had the largest business in the United States owned by an African-American.

Walker saw her personal wealth not as an end in itself, but as a means to promote economic opportunities for others, especially black people. She took great pride in the profitable employment — and alternative to domestic labor — that her company afforded many thousands of black women who worked as commissioned agents. Her agents could earn from $5 to $15 per day in an era when unskilled white laborers were making about $11 per week.[3] Marjorie Joyner, who started work as one of her employees, went on to lead the next generation of African-American beauty entrepreneurs.

Walker was known for her philanthropy, leaving two-thirds of her estate to educational institutions and charities, including the NAACP, the Tuskegee Institute and Bethune-Cookman College. In 1919, her $5,000 pledge to the NAACP's anti-lynching campaign was the largest gift the organization had ever received.

Walker had a mansion called "Villa Lewaro" built in the wealthy New York suburb of Irvington on Hudson, New York, near the estates of John D. Rockefeller and Jay Gould. She spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on furnishings.[4] The Italianate villa was designed by architect Vertner Tandy, the first registered black architect in the state of New York, in 1915. Walker also owned townhouses in Indianapolis and New York.

Madam Walker died on May 25, 1919, at age 51, at her estate Villa Lewaro. She was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.

References
^ http://www.madamcjwalker.com/bio_madam_cj_walker.aspx
^ "Twelve Famous Dreams". brilliantdreams.com. Retrieved 2006-10-03.
^ Henry Louis Gates Jr., "Madam's Crusade", Time magazine, December 7, 1998, Canadian edition.
^ "Madam C.J. Walker–Beauty Culturist Dies". Chicago Defender (Robert Abbott). 1919-05-31.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madam_C._J._Walker?wasRedirected=true




Jet Black Engine Earring
God bless,
Designs by Jenean

Failure then Success

I am really inspired by this video listed below. Everyone should have a dream but others may not believe in you and your dream and they may try to discourage you. Have faith even if no one else does.

Hebrews 11:1 NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, [a]the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]. (amplified version)
Famous Failures Video



Be inspired, Be believing

God bless

Designs by Jenean

There's strength in number

It is so wonderful to see so many people and organizations supporting breast cancer research. All those living with the diagnosis, know that you are not alone.

Throughout the month of October do not be surprised to see a lot of pink on the football fields. In an effort to raise awareness about breast cancer the NFL has teamed up with the American Cancer Society and celebrities and have added pink splashes to uniforms, towels and equipment.
NFL Raising Awareness

What could be better than supporting a great cause like breast cancer awareness, than to do so by purchasing products to beautify yourself or loved ones. With Avon having its fantastic annual "Walk for a Cure" that was here and gone at the end of September there are still other ways to support companies that support breast cancer awareness and research through the rest of October.
Avon's Support

Yoplait®'s save lids to save lives. During their annual drive, for every pink lid you send in by December 31, 2009 Yoplait® will donate 10 cents to Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, up to $1.5 million. And they guarantee a donation of at least $500,000. So grab your friends, coworkers, yoga class or neighbors and start getting involved today.
Yoplait's Support

Search the Internet to find more ways you can support breast cancer research.

Designs by Jenean will be donating a portion of sales from all pink items sold in the shop in the month of October.
Breast Cancer Awareness

A wise man once said:
"If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves." - Thomas A. Edison

Let's astound ourselves.


God bless,
Designs by Jenean