Sean Kibler performs Irish fiddling on 2nd St.

I knew him in middle and high school and he's an amazing musician. Glad to see he's still keeping it up, so go listen to this great music and pass it on! <3

Some Really Amazingl Kids Live In Snohomish, Washington

I just wanted to share this with all of you.

In Snohomish, Washington...a place me and the 10 people that live there probably know about lol...a high school student with Down Syndrome who was playing on the football team scored a touch down for the team. The players on his team lead him and cheered him on, and the players on the other team backed off and let this boy score a touch down. What a wonderful moment!

It makes me so glad to know that there are still people in the world who understand the important things in life. That it's not always about winning, but letting someone else win in a bigger way.

Absolutely beautiful. Thanks for making me proud, Washington! (For those of you who don't know I used to live there.)

God bless! <3

Cartfly Store Up and Running!

So I have a couple of updates.

One, is that I now have a cartfly account for my vintage inspired line. I love the look and feel of the vintage and cameo line I have called Phoebe's Attic, and so I may eventually narrow everything down to just that. At least it would be SIMPLE lol. 23 Etsy shops can get a little overwhelming let me tell you.

Uh oh....I think I just heard 10 Etsy sellers pass out at that number. Yeah TWENTY THREE. lol.

But for right now, my main website and Phoebe's Attic are all I am really promoting.

Anyway below is my cartfly shop, if you want to visit it. I will be adding nearly all of my items today. *sigh* lol.

Well...it appears that for now, that's all I got! Oh I saw Devil yesterday. VERY good!!!!
Very scary, too, particularly for us religious folks out there lol.

Alrighty then, talk to you all later! <3

YAY Business Cards!

I got my business cards today! I'm very excited. I had them done through VistaPrint. And while their shipping is outrageous at best, their services and products are unmatched. I love them, they are a world of help to business owners or soon to be business owners like us!

They link to my main website, http://www.fablesboutique.com/ . I've put a TON of work into that shop over the last week and I hope you all love it!

I found some jobs to apply for that actually have to do with craft blogging! Come on now, how great would that be!

I tihnk it's great that there are actually openings in our line of business! Nothing beats being your own boss, but why not write for someone, as well? I love it.

I have finally finalized a craft show. November 6th, please see my website for details! It's in Thousand Oaks, CA and it will be hosted by the Conejo Valley Moms. I won't be able to bring my jewelry there because there were already too many jewelers by the time I got around to applying, but I have ornaments, decorations, gifts, etc.

I'll also be customizing gifts for you right then and there! Yup! I have Christmas ornaments that will be available for purchase that are hand painted, and I will add your name to it or your family's name, your sister's name...whoever...to it right then and there and it will be dry and ready in about 2 minutes thanks to Sharpie's acrylic paint pens! I love them, they are really great. They make hand-painting names a snap because you don't have to worry about flyaway brush strokes and that sort of thing. Beautiful! :)

Well, do come down on November 6th, I can't wait to see you all there. Also, everything I sell at craft shows is sold at wholesale prices, so it's about half off the online prices! I also do sales online with the same discount for those wonderful customers of mine that can't come to the craft shows. One is going on this week, actually, at http://www.fablesboutique.com/  !!

Stop by!

Thanks everyone for coming by! Anyone have any stories to share about success in their business??? Send me an email at courtney@fablesboutique.com and I'll post it here, anonymously or not, it's up to you.

We are women inspiring women here!

Also, I have made a new policy in my shop. 15% of what I make goes directly to the church I attend. They have a great ministry at the City of Children in Mexico, saving thousands of children's lives and providing pajamas and Christmas gifts, education and, so importantly, the love of God, as well as water, food, and a place to live. It is truly a beautiful ministry and all support is appreciated! <3

I love you all and hope you all are doing great, making some great strides in your business and life and keeping a smile on your face!

Let's go make some crafty goodness! <3

God Bless

Why Do You Own A Scale?

Topic of the day today is scales. I'm curious, why do women own scales?
Now I say this because I, too, am totally guilty of having the scale. Bowing to the scale god, you know, whatever it is you want to call the ridiculous obsession with depressing myself every morning.

Weight is a number. I know you know this, and I know it, too, but seriously think about it.

You have this weight in your head of what would be perfect. Oh to be 120.

Let me ask you something. If you're 190 pounds right now (that's me lol) and you want to be 120....if you got up tomorrow and the scale said 120 but you still looked like 190 would you be happy? Probably not.

Now, if you woke up and the scale said 300 pounds but you were wearing size 2 jeans, would you care?
No.

Now obviously it won't work like that, but I'm just saying.....what we're REALLY striving for when we're losing weight isn't a number on a scale. It's an image in the mirror. And it's those jeans we want to slip on. Or that dress we want to wear.

So why the hell are you so obsessed with the scale when it doesn't do you any good? I mean yes it's important to keep your weight in a healthy level and all that. But really, the best indicator of weight loss and where you want to be is what you can wear and what you see when you look in the mirror.

So please take this challenge with me. If you're trying to lose weight, a little or a lot, like me, then take this challenge. Repeat after me:
"I will not weigh myself for 30 days. I will continue eating healthy and following my decided program, but I will not weigh. I will set aside a pair of jeans or a dress that I could reasonably fit into within a month. I will try those jeans on as much as I want, but I will NOT touch my scale"

Ok. Good. I think you'll see the paranoia and freaking out over weight is something that is really not going to help you any in the long run. All the time we spend weighing we could probably be doing something that might actually get us to that next jeans size. Or...here's a concept...LIVING.

You're all beautiful so put that scale away for a month. =)

The Irony Of Corporate America

Hello everyone!

Well, yesterday I sold some jewelry at Serenity Salon, a beautiful salon in Seal Beach, CA. They do everything: hair, nails, skin....I really highly suggest you visit there! They do amazing work! The owner graciously allows me to sell there at the salon a couple of times a week, and I can't thank her enough for it! For personalized attention and a salon where you feel like family, you should visit here. Click here to visit their website.

I sold $50 worth of jewelry, which isn't a terrible day. However, I'm going to move my high end line there! I think it will do better, so I'll be very excited to see how it goes!

I have a website up now! I have several lines of jewelry and handmade items, all with separate Etsy shops. So, I decided that I would create a "funnel website", if you will. Fables Boutique finally has a website! Click the link to view it.

I don't have everything on the website done yet. However, I plan on having it all completed (or at least having all the sections linked) by the end of the week. I'm photographing my lines this week, so there should at least be some items up and links back to my Etsy sites on Friday! =)

On to the subject I was pondering...corporate America is very ironic. Corporate America wants you to believe that it's offering you a better life. Work hard and you can have everything you want! Money, a big house, a nice car, etc. etc. etc.

You ever wonder why 50% of American couples end up in divorce? Probably because of some combination of adultry and corporate America.

Corporate America tells you to work long hours, put the time in, be "dedicated" and "committed". And what does that get you? Longass hours working at a job that doesn't pay you near what you deserve (though it's probably good money by society's standards), making you work your butt off for suits that won't think twice to get rid of you at any given moment. And who's left behind? Your family. Your wife, husband, kids, whoever it is that means a lot to you that you want more time with. But you can't have more time with them because you're a company's paid slave. So where does that leave you? With a nice house, a nice car, and no family.

I've had a taste of being self employed and having my own online business creating crafts, etc. since I've been unemployed. And you know, I've never worked harder. I do work long hours, but I work long hours on MY terms, in MY home. If I want to take a break and go to lunch with a friend, I can. If I want to take an evening with my boyfriend, I can! If I want to watch Criss Angel Mindfreak until 2 in the morning......ok, fine, I did that when I was employed too. =)

But anyway, that's the irony to me of Corporate America. You're supposed to work your ass off with euphomisms like "dedication" and "commitment" for all the wonderful monetary things you want in life. Only to end up with all those physical things and nothing that actually matters in life.

*sigh* Well, I'm glad to be out of that. My amazing boyfriend, Chris, is in the process of becoming an EMT and I could not be prouder of him. I have this vision in my head of a life where he works a few shifts a week as an EMT as their schedule permits, I'm at home doing my jewelry and crafts, selling at craft fairs where time permits, and online. And then we have time to be together and go live life. It's kind of nice.And I see that becoming a reality more and more since becoming unemployed. I wanted that when I was employed in Corporate America, but....I couldn't see it happening.

It's funny how when everything society tells you is stable is pulled from under you, you suddenly realize what you can do and what is possible. One of my coworkers told me this was the push I needed to do what I thought I couldn't do but knew I was meant to. I agree.

The universe found a way to do for me what I never would have done myself. I never would have quit my job, taken a leap of faith, and dove into this dream of mine. Never. But I was forced into it and I've never been happier and have never had more promise for the future of my business!

EVERYTHING happens for a reason. All you have to do is ride the ride and figure out what that reason is.

Off for now, ladies. Love you all, keep the strengh and faith and always remember you are beautiful and strong and you can accomplish ANYTHING! <3

Good Morning Wonderful Women of the World!

Goooood morning!
Day 1 of my journey to self sufficiency and I'm actually feeling pretty darn good. I received a FedEx today, my final paycheck.
Luckily, they decided to be ever so kind and pay me, also, for any float days and vacation time I had left. So generous. Oh well. I basically have a paycheck and a half to live on until I get a waitressing job so, that should be alright. As much as I know unemployment is available, I have a hard time leaching off the government if I don't absolutely have to. The way things are going, government will be telling me when to eat lunch and brush my teeth pretty soon, too. I'd like to remain in a democracy as long as I can and fend for myself if at all possible.

But that is neither here nor there because, after all, I will not be depending on paychecks for too much longer anyway.

I'm applying around to restaurants and I'm actually more excited about that than I have ever been about a corporate job. Shocking, I know.

I'm in the process of getting together all of my Etsy shops. I will have about 8 of them, and one website. The website will be a gateway to all of my shops. Why so many shops, you ask?

Well....I can't decide on just one. And why should I? I love creating items in various themes, so...I"ll have a shop for every one of them. At least there will be ONE website to send people to. This website will have pages, one for each Etsy shop I own, with a gallery for each one of what I have there. Then a link to that shop. It's a streamlined way for people to see what I have and find what they like without having to give them 8 business cards.

As for craft shows, I can't even think about them until January unfortunately. I love doing them, but...right now I just can't. Hey I never promised that I'd be able to do everything I wanted on day one. There are clearly things I must do to prepare, but overall I'm feeling really great about it.

Oh...as a side note...this blog is also for women who HAVE made their own way in life and are running their own business and/or being their own boss and supporting themselves. You women are what we aspire to be, and your wisdom and lessons learned from having completed the journey I and probably many of the followers of this blog are on is invaluable. So please, follow and comment and lend us any morsels of wisdom or advice you see fit! :) Or just read and follow, that's great too!

Speaking of which, 2 followers and 2 comments in one day! You guys rule! I'm so glad there are already women out there who connect to this.

Plans for the day:
Drink lots and lots of coffee.....because for one thing, it's better than that  office coffee anyway, and for another thing, I won't survive without it.

Sew and create like there is no tomorrow. With nothing to sell, I won't have much of a store, so I plan on creating and creating. A visit to my wonderful grandma is in order, who will show me how to line a coin purse! I'm pretty excited about that.

Listen to some good music, because what is life without a soundtrack.

Plan, draft, create, and plan some more for my shops. I already have a  banner and avatar for my one of my shops. I purchased it from skyfiregraphics.etsy.com who is an AMAZING graphic artist for anyone who is looking for one. Ajoyfulstudio.etsy.com is also phenomenal. I usually work with ajoyfulstudio. The woman can literally create anything you want. I mean anything. She's phenomenal. These 2 women are the best graphic designers I've seen yet and I use them both religiously. =)

Go Here for SkyFireGraphics
Go Here for AJoyfulStudio

From time to time I will be posting treasuries I'm in, new items I have, and other items I just love on Etsy.
I am currently working on a coin purse for my shabby chic seaside-themed shop called Seascapes and Shorelines. If you love shabby chic style, my dear friend and wonderful craftsperson has a shop you might like called The Shabby Chic Cottage.

For now, I'm off to create. I'll be back tomorrow!

Follow, post, and spread the movement of Happily Unemployed Women. Entrepreneurial women are, I believe, some of the happiest women in the world. We get to do what we love, be our own boss, get paid what WE dictate via our prices, have time to go live life, be with those we love, and when the time comes be with our children should we have them. Life is not a 3x3 cubicle working my booty off for someone else to make what I should be getting. Being paid a fraction of my labor is NOT my idea of a good time. And if you agree, well cheers to you. Keep reading!

I may post again later today, but for now, enjoy the photo below. =)

This is my autumn wreath. I hope you love it! I'll be posting it to my website soon!

:) More to come!

Have a beautiful day, ladies!