Auction and New items

So as many of the current fans know, my main gig is photography props, I enjoy making things for tiny babies and have thus expanded to making other items for them. Now I offer raggy taggy blankets, they are essentially small rag quilts with tags sewn into them. They are fantastic for small babies who are learning what their senses can do. Sensory development is so important for babies. Each blanket is one of a kind. I am currently working on a mossy oak pink blanket with a fleece back. I have also expanded to making bows, my two girls love to wear bows.

 This is what caused me to learn to make them. I quickly realized that bows were a popular item at shows and locally so decided to also offer them on a larger scale in the shop. Currently I have over 50 bows available for purchase and those include the new hair clip sculptures.

I was called out for the ice bucket challenge for ALS awareness a couple days ago, the video was posted on my page. I called out a few of my wonderful photog customers and a few of my closest and oldest friends to take the challenge as well, but I decided that I would donate a portion of all orders made this weekend to ALS and Alzheimer's, in addition to that, I have started an auction, the auction started today at noon and will continue until noon Monday, there are items from every aspect of my business including jewelry, rag quilts, headbands, hair bows and photo props. Bidding starts as low as $2 on some of those items. 65% of all proceeds will go to ALS and Alzheimer's (the total will be split evenly between the two). So if you need anything for your prop stash or maybe your little girl likes camo or frozen and you could use a bow or two, maybe you have a friend expecting a baby? There are so many great gift items up for bid. Please help use contribute to the cause.

On another note, I have in some new mohair colors including a dark orange, purple, moss green, and slate blue, so excited to be making some new items with these! WOO!


Oh, and football season is COMING! GO DAWGS!


-Ape

Awareness.... it is what is going on.

So I have said this before but I am hoping this is the LAST time I will. I am AWFUL at keeping up a blog! I was terrible keeping a diary as a kid too lol. Well A  LOT has happened in the world since I last graced you all with the presence of my words. We lost a most magnificent actor and mentor, Robin Williams. Robin was in the early stages of Parkinson's Disease at the time of his death. We all need to remember the value of health. Right now all over the world wide web are posts of the ALS Ice bucket challenge. While I will be the first to admit that in the beginning I was rolling my eyes and wondering what the hell it was all about, I will also admit that I am all for it. I see people posting negative comments saying things like, "stop wasting water and donate", "stop putting California further into a drought" "just donate who cares about the ice bucket". The fact is that if NO ONE had dumped that bucket of ice on their heads and they just donated in the first place then ALS wouldnt have raised MILLIONS of dollars. The buckets of ice are meant to show you what it is like living with ALS, losing control of your nervous system even if only for a split second. ALS is only affecting 30,000 people in the US, that that means is that big pharma doesn't give a crap about finding a cure for them, or even finding a prolonging life extending medical intervention. The more attention that ALS gets the more they are in the spot light then the more likely it is these people will no longer be living with a death sentence but with a maintainable if not curable disease. The cause of ALS is unknown. It has been known to run in families but also shows up in some from out of nowhere. It can be diagnosed in an 80 year old man or a 26 year old woman. What it does to the body is scary, it makes Parkinsons look like child play, first go your hands, they are harder to move and control, then your arms, then your neck and head become jello. You cant eat, speak or breath on your own. These are the things that torment the people who suffer with this terrible disease, even the people around them. With no known cause you dont know who could be next. While I do not personally know anyone with ALS I do have a cause nearer and dearer to my heart. Alzheimers. A disease that afflicts the older loved ones in our families. Here are some statistics for you:

Number of people living in assisted homes suffering from Alzheimers or another form of dementia: 41%

 What this means: Once Alzheimers has reached a certain level somewhere between moderate and severe it is almost impossible for family to care for them. Why? Watching a family member forget who they are, who your are and where they are, how old they are, can be devastating and absolutely depressing. 

Number of hospice care discharges with Alzheimer's as primary diagnosis: 39,400 (2007)

 Because Hospice doesnt have time to take care of otherwise healthy people who just dont know who they are. 

How many people living in nursing homes have Alzheimers? 231,900 

and then the devastating numbers:

Mortality

• Number of deaths: 84,974
• Deaths per 100,000 population: 27.3
• Cause of death rank: 6

(all numbers information on Alzheimers was collected from the CDC website)

I have lost several family members to Alzheimers, the loss wasn't death the loss was the memory. Once they forget who you are you struggle with even visiting them. Because you can't explain to a person with Alzheimers who you are really. You have to pretend to be someone else. To try to explain who you are only confuses them further. Which in turn can cause more pain to them and yourself. 

Raising awareness of the terrible diseases that ravage the world with no cure is an important aspect of what we as people need to do. Because you could be next, your grandparent, parent, children. Remember, be tolerant of the never ending posts on Facebook, they are helping some people get through what is the toughest thing in their lives.  While ALS and Alzheimers are not the number 1 and number 2 diseases in the world that really need a cure they are up there, they are important too. they need the attention that breast cancer, testicular cancer, childhood cancer, and all the other cancers get, awareness is important no matter the disease. PTSD, Depression, Anxiety, and other diseases of the mind that people like to call a cop out excuse are all things that need more awareness. The world would be a better place if people would learn to be more tolerant and accept the things that they dont understand. 

Now, I will add this, I myself was called out for the ice bucket challenge last night and will be posting the video later today. I will be donating what I can in addition to the ice bucket to both ALS and Alzheimers. In addition to that, I am not offering support of these diseases on my page as well. 

For every order I receive I will be donating a portion to ALS or Alzheimers research. The amount of the order ups the amount I will donate. For now the donations will go on for the next 72 hours, I may decide to extend that. While ALS has celebrities and politicians supporting their cause at the moment, Alzheimers is still in the dark for many people. So I will do my best to help both causes. For more information on donations to the cause through orders please check out my page on Facebook www.facebook.com/apescustomjewelryandstuff

 I am also thinking about doing an auction style sale in which proceeds will be donated to either charity as well. Thank you all who have participated in the Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS and thank you for your support.

Have a blessed day 

Ape 

Happy Thanksgiving!

So we all know what time it is....

time for gorging on hormone filled turkey and cranberries and pies, spending time with our loved ones, unbuttoning our pants and napping, but we also know that isn't all we do, we also break out the newspapers and plan our Black Friday shopping sprees and it is much like planning a military strike. But some of us avoid the stores and shop online, especially since the sales have gotten much more internet friendly and there are many more online sales that make it just as convenient to stay at home as to spend hours in line in the cold outside to wait for several more hours in line inside to get one item. So before you plan your attack on Black Friday sales, be sure to compare the Cyber Monday sales and small business Saturday sales. Show the big box stores that we still want to spend time with our families on Thanksgiving and Black Friday :)

I will be having two sales this weekend, I am not participating in Black Friday sales as I will be spending time with my family but I will have Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday Sales on the Facebook page!

Here are the early announcement flyers:

25% off all regular prices on Saturday, this will include custom orders as well. 

FREE Shipping on all orders!

25% off all regular prices on Ready to Ship items, photographers will get 30% off all regular prices on all items in exchange for photos

15% off all custom orders!

FREE shipping on all orders!

I do hope you will stop by and enjoy the sales, as always if you dream it, I can probably do it, so just ask!!!!

Happy Holidays to all of you and yours!

Stay Crafty!

Ape

Guest Blogging Announcement and Men's X-mas Gifts

I mentioned at the end of my last post that I would be guest blogging on an awesome blog very soon, I will reveal that blog now!

rukristin papercrafts

There is going to be a HUGE blog party going on here: rukristin.com/blog/holidayextravaganza/ 
tons of guest bloggers, crafts, giveaways, prizes etc. be sure to check it out! Starting at midnight November 29th!!!!



Now onward to the actual blog post of the day:

Men are ALWAYS the hardest to shop for, why? Because they never, NEVER tell you what they want! They come up with crazy suggestions but never something real! So I decided to do an Etsy search: Christmas Gifts for Men

Here are some of the ones I picked as my favorites:

The Rifle Lover's Bottle Opener from Bottle Breacher

For that Filthy Beast from New Leaf Soap

For the Steam Punk in him from Peregrin Vintage

for the hairy guy from Designs2Express

for the metrosexual guy from SoapRevoltNaturals

For the Watch lover from EmilysBox

for the camera lover from petekdesign

for the hard rocker from clockstockandbarrel

for the manly man from HollyJollyGifts

For the No Shame Guy from warmpresents

For the Beer Lover from LittleThingsFavors

For the Comic Book Geek in him from ZoeHandPaintedShoes

For the Hunter in him from artskrap

Is it just me or are there a lot of watches and clocks in this assortment? I find that HILARIOUS since most men are always running late because they aren't worried about being on time! haha. It's okay we love them anyway! So I hope you got some ideas for Dad, Hubby, Son, Grandpa, Brother etc for Christmas now. Head over and check out these awesome sellers other items!

Remember to support small business especially during the Holidays!

Here is a little something available in my shop for a Christmas Gift:

Stay Crafty!

I'm Back!

Hey there blog junkies, so I have been MIA for a while, I know, I need to tighten up on my blogging lol.

So I have some awesome stuff to share with you tonight, but I am gonna change it up, normally I promote a bunch of vendors selling similar items. Tonight I am going to show you what I do. I have been super busy with getting my business off the ground so to speak.

For those of you who don't know what I do or what my business is about here is a little bit of information on how I got started doing what I love!

About 5 years ago I was introduced into the world of jewelry making, I dove in making necklaces and bracelets and hoarded swarvoski crystals of all colors of the rainbow. However, I quickly learned that jewelry was not something I would sell a lot of so I was pouring money in but getting nothing back, it was too expensive for a single mom working at a crap job, a year after I began making jewelry I knew some folks who made soaps, I also read up on it and decided that it would be an awesome thing to do, at least if ti didn't sell I could always use it myself. Then began the great adventure of soap making, it is truly and awesome thing, taking a bunch of ingredients and turning them into a beautiful, good smelling, practically edible soap! After about a year and a half of that, my sales had picked up and I was still selling some jewelry but I was making more on my delicious soaps and I had discovered the ease of making even more delicious and wholesome bath and body products. Long before Pinterest started teaching people how to make their own salt scrubs and sugar scrubs, during a visit to the local nail salon for a pedi I saw one of the girls "making up" the salt scrub. She just had a big bag of salt, poured it into a container, added some oil out of another bottle and a blue dye was activated in the soap to make it pretty. I asked her if she knew what was in the oil and the best answer I could get was "lots of good stuff for you skin" well... that narrowed it down. That was when I figured out how to make it myself. It didn't take very long to go from salt scrubs to sugar scrubs, and the transition from regular sugar into brown sugar was even shorter. Brown sugar became my go to. I still swear by my brown sugar scrubs though that is a product I can really only sell locally or at craft shows due to fragile glass jars and weight. I don't sell the tiny little scrap jars of scrub either, I sell my scrubs by the pint or the quart, in glass mason jars, I also came up with a sample size in a half pint jar. About a year and a half ago, after I had to quit working because I was pregnant with my second daughter, I decided to learn how to crochet, it was something my grandmother did when I was a child but I couldn't learn from her. I ran into a man in Wal-Mart, yes, a man, about 50 years old, who also crocheted, as he over heard my conversation with my then fiance about learning he stepped in and let me know just how easy it would be to take the leap.

"All you need is one hook, 1 skein of yarn and youtube" He was right, about $5 worth of material and internet and I was on a roll. I haven't turned back since. I finally found my calling, I can make almost anything I want with a little perseverance and I love that! I also love that people are happy with what I make, they see a little cute hat and want to put their baby in it, then they get compliments on it all the time and that makes them even more happy. I love what I do. I love that I can make people smile. My products have been involved in important parts of people's lives, first birthdays, first christmas', first photos, absolutely mind blowing that I can be a part of that.

So now you know why I call my business Ape's Custom Jewelry (and stuff), jewelry was the catalyst of my business and I don't want to throw it out even though it is such a small part of what I offer now.


In the last 6 months I have had the privilege of teaming up with some AMAZING photographers. I am so stoked every time I get photos of my products from shoots. Please, if you like the photos click on the links below them and show those photographers some love, let them know I sent you, they are all amazing, some are more established than others but they are all brilliant at what they do, newborn photography is so challenging and real!

Captured by Chantelle Photography

This is my Christmas Long Tailed Elf Hat

Make Our Mark Photography

Long Tailed Hat 

(Custom ordered to match her Horton Hears a Who Forest)

Kawada Photography

Avacado and Cream Santa Hat

Kirgiz Photography

Chunky Beanie and Chunky Mini Layer Blanket

3pc fisherman set

I Just Love My Photos

Merino Beanie and Love Knot Wrap

Anna Daniels Photography

Shell Leg warmers and Headband Set

(I have this available in MANY colors!)

another from Kirgiz Photography of the mini chunky layer and Chunky Beanie

another adorable photo from Leonard Row of I just Love My Photos

Merino Pom Pom Beanie and Love Knot Wrap

Another beanutifu shot of the chunky mini layer, this one is from Anna Daniels

Gorgeous shot of an XXL tailed elf hat

(tail on these hats is approx 2 ft long!)

Forever Captured by:Becky LaBelle

fluffy mini blanket from Kirgiz Photography! Love these super plush blankets!

Gorgeous shot of the Autumn Teal Chunky Beanie from

Laticia Lee Photography

Little Sock Monkey Set

Mountain Sunshine Photography

I have permission from these photographers to use all photos in this blog post for my business purposes. 

That is it for tonight folks, thank you so much for being a fan, for reading the blog and for (hopefully) checking out some if not all of these AMAZING photographers!

PS..... I will have a guest blog post happening in an awesome blog very soon!!!! Stay tuned!

 

Fairies! Faeries! and more Fairies!

So I was inspired for today's post by another of my favorite Facebook pages, Freckles Fairy Chest.
Freckles runs her own business making awesome OOAK wearable art. She has Unicorn horns, head pieces, fae shoes, wings, well, I will quit boring you with descriptions and just show you a few photos.

Without further adieu, Freckles Fairy Chest:

I am so inspired by the colorful and absolutely stunning photos that she posts. She has so much talent and I totally urge you to go check out her page, she does some amazing giveaways as well.

Check out Freckles Fairy Chest HERE

So, as always, here are a few more super crafty and amazing designers of OOAK fairy inspired stuff!

Mummers Dream

 to check out MummersDream go HERE

SquashDesign

I am a huge fan of upcycled sweater cloaks

Guys can play too!

To check out SquashDesigns click HERE

Jenniveves

How awesome are these wings?!

If you want to check out Jenniveves click HERE

As always my dears, all photos belong to their respective owners who created what is shown in the photos, I do not own these photos I am just promoting small businesses of creative people just trying to get by doing what they love. As a side note: Remember, small businesses thrive on their customers. If you know a small business owner and you love their stuff click share on Facebook or even just like. Being a small business owner is hard because yes, you could buy similar products from china on Ebay or at Walmart for cheaper prices, but remember those hats in china, were probably made in sweat shops by small children being paid pennies a week if even not to mention the horror stories of where Walmart's products come from. We are the proverbial small fish in a BIG ocean. I encourage you to google/bing something you like and see if you can find 5 small business pages that sell that item(s). If you do just throw them a like to show some support. Remember, bigger isn't always better. 

Here is a quick peek into my shop:

In honor of the 2013 football season!

Have a blessed night and

Keep on Crafting