My oldest daughter Marla just got a Vera Bradley diaper bag and wanted a necklace to match it, so here is what I came up with. I hope you like it Marla.

My daughter Caitlin turned 21 on January 8th and I wanted to make a special necklace for her. Caitlin is very interested in Asian art and designs, so I wanted to add an Asian touch. I found a very cute little bead from Green Girl Studios, a Kokeshi doll with cat. So here is Catlin’s necklace and a bracelet too.Caitlin loves her necklace and bracelet. Happy Birthday, Caitlin!

As some of you know I,m a USPS letter carrier and of course Nov. and Dec. are very busy months for the US postal service. I had to take a little break from my business. Now that the holidays are passing, I can get to work designing again. I plan on using the “Winged hand in heart” charm that was donated by KABELA DESIGN, I think this is appropriate for Kristen because she is soaring in her recovery and showing us so much strength and heart. Please check out Kabela Design’s website to view all of their beautiful filigree.
THANK YOU again to KABELA DESIGN for their gracious donation to Kristen’s cause!

From my website….

Knit And Gab Christmas Party

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On the 22nd I went to the Knit and Gab Christmas Party! Knit and Gab is the group of women that gets together every Tuesday from my previous neighborhood and spends the night eating and gossiping (there’s actually no knitting). I still like to go when I have the time. It’s kind of a long drive me now, but it’s so nice having a night out, and Hunter is old enough now that I can leave him home with Daddy.

I have been looking forward to this Christmas party for months now. I brought little baggies of all those truffles I made for everyone who was there and Trent and I made a butter rum cake with a rum glaze. Everyone really seemed to enjoy  the presents I brought. We do secret Santa gift exchange and I had no idea of what to bring for my person. I ended up making a scarf for her and buying some lavender scented bath stuff. Since I can’t make hats I had Britten crochet a hat to match the scarf. Her daughter-in-law told me she really liked it. So, everything I brought to the party was a big hit.

I got a bracelet from my secret Santa. I don’t usually like bracelets, but this one is SO pretty. It’s just a simple silver band with “Live, Love, Laugh” written on it. Unless I lose it (which I hope I don’t) I think I’m going to be wearing it all the time. I love jewelry that is small and dainty, and this definitely fits the bill! Thanks Kay! (She was me secret Santa this year!)

I also tried promoting my Mom’s website while I was there. I wore my Kristen necklace and brought my other necklaces that Mom made for me. One of the Knit and Gab ladies pointed out to me that my Mom should start making eye glass’s chains. She told me that she’s been looking for a well made light-weight, but pretty, chain for her glass’s for a while. She said that she wants ten percent of all sales for the idea, or my Mom can just make one for her. I thought it was a grand idea! I think my Mom is going to start designing one soon!

I am trying to figure out how to restructure Alainn Beaded Jewelry to make it more user friendly for our customers. My Mom is worried that the site is too confusing for people to navigate through. I was planning on changing up the layout anyway. We don’t want the site to ‘feel’ like a blog, so I’m doing research on how to make it so that the site is more what my Mom envisions. Problem is, it’s slow going for me to do this stuff because this is my part-time job. My main job has two very demanding boss’s. There’s Trent, he’s pretty easy going but can make a lot of work for me, and there’s Hunter and he can be very demanding but if you are sure to do things the way he wants them done he can be very sweet. They are two and half and eight months old, respectively. Anyway, with two little ones running around, it’s hard to find time to actually work on this site. Changes are coming, though! So watch for them!

Kristen went back into the hospital today. She has blood clots in her lungs and will be there until the doctors have resolved the problem and give the ok. Please continue to keep her in your prayers because she is still not in the clear. We were so hopeful once she went to the rehabilitation facility, but now know that things can change very quickly.

I would like to thank everyone who has purchased a Kristen necklace. I hope you liked the little surprise I put in for you, just my way of saying Thank You.
Because of your support to Kristen I will be making a deposit of $100 into “The Kristen Grindley Medical Fund” later on today.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

God Bless!
Donna

My three nieces, Kelly, Shannon and Kristen Grindley

(tee hee hee)

We finally have Paypal integrated with our site! Which means that we are officially open for business!! Woohoo! I have been listing our jewelry on the products page for purchase. If you see something that you like on this site, but it hasn’t been listed on the products page, be sure to send me an email: marla@alainnbeadedjewelry.com I am still working on figuring out the plugin that I got to make Paypal work on our site, so there may be some more changes on the site in the future. There are other options besides the cart that were available with the plugin, so there may be some really cool things on the way!

In other news, I am still working on finding an easy way to make this site work with facebook. I believe this new plugin has an option to make wordpress sites work with facebook, which will be good. I hope it is easy to use.

Please be sure to check out our new purchase page to buy our necklaces and other jewelry.

(Kudos to anyone who gets the joke.)

I want to help Kristen in her healing, so I designed prayer beads for her. I used agate, which are healing stones, because they are smooth, large, and comfortable so they will be easy for Kristen to hold. The shapes and pretty colors are to keep her attention. The Lotus blossom (round white bead) is for purity and movement of the soul toward enlightenment and represents Kristen.

Look for Paypal to be coming soon to Alainn Beaded Jewelry on Etsy. If I could set it up for my Mom, I would, but I don’t have the information to do so. As a result tomorrow I will be calling my mother to bully and harass her into setting it up. In the mean time, if a necklace catches your eye or you would like to order the Kristen necklace, please send us an email. This way we will know how many orders to expect once we have Paypal and Etsy all set up!

Also, watch for us on Etsy. We will soon be posting stuff in our store front there. As always thanks for stopping by Alainn Beaded Jewelry.

There are really some very wonderful people out in the world. A week ago Donna received an email from Kelly at Kabela Design. Kelly had seen the blog post about Kristen and her injuries and that Donna was planning on designing some jewelry to help with medical funds. In addition to sending her thoughts and prayers, Kelly and the folks at Kabela Design have very generously donated some of their products to help Donna build designs.

Donna received the package yesterday and is starting to design more pieces inspired by Kristen. To Beth, Tom, Kelly and everyone at Kabela Design, everyone at Alainn Beaded Jewelry thanks you from the bottom of our hearts for your thoughtfulness and kindness during this difficult time.

Please be sure to check out the Kabela Design website to view their beautiful products. A lot of it is absolutely stunning!

After taking a hiatus from the site to buy and move into my new house, I am back to work on this site. I will be doing little updates and adjustments all over the place. I will try and make sure that the slideshow’s are up to date with all of my Mom’s latest designs. I will also try and get the pictures of the jewelry being modeled onto a slideshow as well. Look for more to come!

I plan on designing several pieces of jewelry to help fund Kristen’s recovery. The Forget me not necklace is ready. Done in two lengths, between 17- 18″ and 19- 20″, it is a choker. I can make a custom length at an additional cost but it looks best as a choker. The forget me not fairy bead is from Green Girl Studios, pink zebra jasper gemstone, mat cocoa Japanese seed bead 8/0 and Czech 4mm in rose are from Lotus Beads in Castleton NY and the clasp is from artbeads.com. The cost of the necklace is $30.00

$30.00

Kristen is making progress in leaps and bounds. She is smiling, responding to commands and knows her family. We couldn’t be happier. I am designing a necklace for Kristen and all of the profits will be going to the” Kristen fund “that has been set up to help in her recovery. Please keep checking back for more information about this necklace.

Please pray for my niece Kristen, a terrible thing has been done to her by an evil person. She is at this time at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane Washington. She is in the ICU in critical condition. Kristen and my family are in need of all the prayers and good wishes and hopes for a complete recovery that you can give them. Thank You!
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