4PawCreations - The Natural Way to Help Your Pet be Healthy

Once again my life has taken an unexpected turn because of a chance occurrence - well it's probably part of my destiny, but it sure seems like chance at times.

My favorite jewelry customer, Heidi, called me one day in Spring 2009 "Carolyn, your gemstone necklaces have really helped me feel better. Now, what can you do for my sick dogs?" I did a little research into what gemstones might work for her dogs who were all quite old, arthritic and having some serious health issues - a very old mini Doxie (dachshund), an English Spaniel and a Retriever. I made my very first doggy necklaces, and sent them off!

I got an email from Heidi saying her dogs seemed more confident and energetic and the little Doxie with arthritis was able to scratch her earwith her back paw for the first time in years. She was thrilled with the results and suggested that I make collars and put them on my website. I still wasn't convinced this was my new career.

Then I got an emergency collar request…Yes, seriously, it was an emergency dog collar request. Dewy a sweet Schnauzer who belonged to a friend of a friend whose Schnauzer had been attacked by a large German Shepherd. The owner of the Shepherd continues to allow her aggressive dog to run loose and for whatever reason the authorities aren’t acting. Dewy was severely distressed, agitated and had gone from being a calm, sweet dog to a barking maniac.

Here’s the note I got a week after Dewy got his gemstone collar:

“Carolyn, The German Sheppard is still walking past the house, and Dewy is still barking but...his bark is less urgent and agitated! He has also calmed down some about joggers passing the car etc. so I think we're on the right track!! Blessings and many thanks

Kathy and the Dew-man”

David, my husband, and I got to thinking about how we could help more pets heal and balance emotionally and physically…and 4PawCreations was born. I use my intuitive abilities, sensitivity and 20 years studying and working with gemstones to create the gemstone groupings for the collars. David is working on production turning my designs into beautiful and durable creations. He’s also my web master. Having almost no web design experience, he’s doing a great job. Web design is quite different from his normal design work www.nau-designs.com. and his paintings www.nau-art.com.

We’ve having a blast working together on this project and getting to meet pets and their people. We’ve been showing at a couple of local Farmer’s Markets, WagFest, and will be showing at some Art shows and other venues in the future. If you’d like to know where we’ll be, please sign up on our mailing list at http://www.4pawcreations.com.

"Will add pictures later - for some reason nothing is happening when I click on the add images link. So will reboot and try again tomorrow - I have company coming tonight. Enjoy the evening - open a glass of wine.

Accident or Fate?

It's not every day that going to a trade show can totally change your life. It did mine. I must have been ready for a drastic change. I just didn't know it. I guess I’ve just always been a natural Quester. Quite by chance, I went to the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee. The show is an entire convention center filled with beads, baubles and semi-precious stones. I looked over my purchases at the end of the first day and realized I didn't have enough of some for earrings. So I went back with a friend who normally is the voice of reason. I thought if I got carried away she’d help me stop. Joke was on me.

I was unable to resist all those incredible goodies. My friend turned out to be a very bad influence, she’d find fabulous things and hold semi-precious and even precious stones in front of me saying "Have you seen this?" How can a woman resist all that beauty? I can’t! I couldn't. I walked out with a suitcase full of beads and stones. The only problem was, I didn’t even know how to make jewelry.

I spent the summer taking classes, reading books, practicing jewelry making. Immediately people were stopping me in the street asking about the jewelry I was wearing. It finally dawned on me that just maybe I was meant to design and share my creations. Thus Carolyn Creation was born. (It’s creation, not creations, because each piece is a one-of-a-kind hand-made creation). I still laugh about this whole process. Obviously the Universe or someone was guiding me. Looking back it should have been obvious that I was buying enough to start a business. But at the time, it just felt like the right thing to do. Not a conscious plan. Sometimes following your gut can change your life.

By the end of the summer I realized that my “day job” as an accountant just wasn’t working for me. I was tired and depressed and just lived to get out of the office and home to work with beads, write new articles for the BioElectric Shield website, or any number of activities. So I quit what was a non-supportive atmosphere and have been splitting my time between Bioelectric Shield and CarolynCreation ever since.

In the fall of 2008, I felt a pull to examine how various gemstones could enhance the protective and healing effects of the BioElectric Shield. I also wanted to wear great jewelry and my gold and diamond Shied at the same time, so I created something new so I could do that. After making a few “Shield energy necklaces”, I was convinced that not only was my jewelry beautiful and fun to wear, it had additional healing qualities as well. Since then I’ve been immersed in studying stones and their properties, paying particular attention to the magical transformation that happens when stones are combined. Much like the Shield, the combined properties of the stones in my jewelry are more powerful than the same combination of stones loose in your hand. To view gem properties and styles to complement your shield, please visit Shield Energy necklaces .

An empath and natural intuitive, I have personally found the Shield to be one of my most important and valued possessions, as it assists me in not taking on everyone else’s stuff. That ability has also been invaluable when I talk to and connect with clients in person, over the phone or even via email. I am frequently able to “tune in” and help advise on the best Shield choice for an individual.

Check out my website and creations www.carolyncreation.com

Heart2Soul Creations

Heart2Soul Creations
Mixing two passions – creating gem stone jewelry and helping people in need.

How can those two things be connected?

Heart2Soul Creations was born out of compassion and heart. I had just finished a bunch of beautiful gemstone necklaces for a favorite jewelry customer. She asked me if any of the necklaces I had made could help with grief. A neighbor girl had just died with cancer. Heidi had been following Ellie’s progress through www.CaringBridge.org and was devastated at her death. I wrote back with a few suggestions of gemstones that can help with grief and the process of letting go.

Heidi then told me about a niece who had also been battling cancer and the death of an uncle in the past year and the terrible toll it took both emotionally and financially on family and friends. During her uncle’s illness Heidi had purchased a number of bracelets as a reminder of his plight…one had his name spelled out in beads, another had a dangle with the cancer ribbon. While they were both beautiful, neither of them had gemstones or specific healing properties, just crystals and silver.

What if this idea were expanded tremendously? I was visualizing bracelets and necklaces all created with gemstones that help to support various aspects needed when dealing with life threatening illness: Strength, acceptance, grief, letting go, calm, balance, grounding, compassion, hope…. Plus, what if a percentage of each purchase went directly to a family in need? Wow…I was excited.

I could relate to the financial stress that many of these families must be under. There are the medical bills, obviously. But then there are all the extra costs that can be just as devastating. Travel, hotels, food, gas, books, money lost due to time off work….and the list goes on and on. When I was a kid I had a heart condition. Every four years I had to go to a hospital about 100 miles from home for tests that took about 4 days. During this time my parents who had four kids and not much money, would take time off work, and spend precious money staying in a nearby motel. They never complained, but I knew this was a huge financial burden for them. Five years ago my mother died from complication of Lupus after over a year on kidney dialysis. Less than two years later my father died from lung cancer. I knew first hand both the emotional and financial drains of critical illness.

Heidi and I kept talking and the ideas and excitement just kept growing.

Gemstone jewelry created with intention to provide support and healing for the patient, family and friends in whatever level they needed it. Each piece would include either a gemstone heart bead or a heart charm to signify the love, strength and compassion needed to get through this trying time.

That was just the first part.

What if we could partner with the family to create a fund that would help them with their financial burdens? A portion of the profits of each purchase would be paid directly to the designated family, no strings, no questions, no stipulations on how they had to spend it. Concerned friends and family would order beautiful gemstone jewelry, with healing properties AND make a contribution at the same time.

What am I waiting for? There are some details that need to be worked out and unfortunately they cost more money than I have at the moment. I’ve had a few complications in getting started. My husband, an exhibit designer, has been unemployed since November so money has been a bit tight as I’ve been working to get CarolynCreation up and going.

Here’s an irony for you. I was working on H2S, David created a great logo for me, and I was figuring out details, when the unexpected struck. He got a particularly bad case of the flu and ended up passing out cold on the floor. I called 911 in the middle of the night and he was instantly taken to the hospital where they discovered that his kidneys had shut down due to dehydration. That’s the good news. Huh, that’s good news? Well, sort of. In the process of doing tests to see what was going on they discovered a huge “suspicious” tumor on one kidney. I am so thankful for whatever god or angel was looking out for us. If he hadn’t gotten sick, would we have found this problem before it was too late? Nearly three stress filled weeks later, he had surgery to have his kidney removed. The doctor reported that it was indeed cancerous but that it had all been encapsulated and hadn’t spread. Fortunately there is no need for radiation or chemo and he can live with just one kidney as long as he takes care of it. He’s quit smoking and is heating healthier.

Is it ironic, or is it miraculous that in the process of setting up a company to support families dealing with illness, that we would end up being one of them? I can observe all this with gratitude and wonderment. I am more committed than ever to getting Heart2Soul Creations out there to share with the world.

So what’s stopping me?

1. Website - Time and money to set up a new website, and incorporate an affiliate program that will track purchases so that they are attributed to the right families. Cost looks like a minimum of $1,500, probably closer to $3,000. My current website thru ArtSpan doesn’t have the capabilities of tracking purchases.

2. Time - I’m working for BioElectric Shield as business manager, plus creating and selling jewelry through www.carolyncreation.com and creating Energy jewelry for www.bioelectricshield.com. I’m struggling to get everything done – there’s so much more than just creating the design – it needs to be priced, catalogued, descriptions written, more stock ordered, writing, networking, accounting. I’m feeling like I need a staff to help write, post, organize, create.

3. Photography – my husband is still recovering and isn’t able to do the photography at the moment. I can scan, but the results aren’t as professional as I’d hoped and my Photoshop skills are less than great. As Heidi tells me every time I send her an order “Your scans suck”, I send her photos of the designs, but when she gets the “real thing” it’s so much better in person than the photo.

4. Networking - It’s not enough to just create a website and expect people to find me. I have to find get the word out.

5. Money - I want to take a seminar that I Know will be a key to growing this business and really being able to make a difference. I found a seminar that I’d like to do with Brendon Bruchard where he trains companies on how to partner with Non-Profit organizations and Fortune 500 Companies to help market and grow the business. Cost $3,500 plus transportation and hotel in San Francisco for four days.

I know I can make this work, but in the short term I need help in making it a reality.

PURCHASING AND DONATING

If you want to make a purchase and donate to a specific family…at checkout just put in a note with the name and address of that family. 20% of the purchase price will be sent to them.
I will eventually get this set up as an automatic link for them…just need a little more time and money for that part to happen.

Thank you
Carolyn

“We can make changes one thought, one action, one person at a time.”

Contests, Challenges and why we do it.

I've been subscribing to a newsletter Art Bead Scene.

Each month they have a challenge, create a piece of jewelry inspired by a particular painting. It has to be original, and must include an original art bead.

"The inspiration for this month's challenge is Gustav Klimt's painting, The Kiss. Our theme this month was picked by Beverly Herman of No Easy Beads. It's the perfect painting for the month of romance! Your entry this month can be inspired by the colors, pattern or whatever you choose to focus on for your creation. Just remember to include at least one art bead in your design. A few places to start: wood beads, gold foil beads, frit lampwork glass in floral hues, brass filigree, and bronzite. We can't wait to see what you create!"

Immediately I thought of all the luscious chocolate and coffe au lait pearls I have. I had just created a necklace using these pearls, but alas, it didn't have an art bead, and I sure wasn't going to restring 5 strings of tiny stones to enter the contest. But I couldn't get this out of my mind. The contest isn't based on winning...entries are posted on the website and the winner of a prize is chosen at random, not necessarily because it's the judge's pick. And yet, I still couldn't resist.

Last weekend there as a bead show put on by Know Just Beads. I was wearing my new pearl necklace, when I discovered the beautiful work of Sher Berman...yep, lamp work beads that perfectly blended with my pearls. $35.00 later I had a bead to use in the challenge. Yesterday morning I finally sat down and put together a necklace that I'm really proud of. http://www.flickr.com/photos/35836077@N03/3313662893/

But why bother? Maybe it's just about stretching creativity. Maybe I just love a challenge of any kind, even if the only one I'm competing against is myself. Maybe because last month I became a contest junkie when I did win a judges choice for my winter necklace entry in www.making_jewelry.com
Inspired by the energy of New Year's Eve. I'd been pondering these sapphires for 6 months and suddenly they came together with a string of green quartz brios. I started off with a simple one strand necklace, but when my husband called it "cute", I got more creative and by adding a gold chain was able to stretch one string of sapphires into a 2 strand necklace that is stunning rather than cute. I wore the necklace to a drumming/meditation (great way to bring in the New Year) and the theme of the evening was all about intentionality and dreams. When I got home I looked up the properties of the yellow and rose sapphires and it's all about intentionality and prosperity. It felt like an incredible way to celebrate the New Year by making a necklace that has such wonderful properties. I think every woman in the group wore this necklace for a while on New Year's Eve...and everyone had a hard time taking it off. I sold it on New Year's Day to my favorite customer...but she was lovely enough to let me hang on to it for a few days...I wore it constantly, and it even looks great with my leopard-print bathrobe."

What did I win? A mention in a group within a group, and a bead kit. It's certainly not about fame, fortune and huge prizes. But it sure is fun. Maybe it's just the challenge of seeing if I can create something new and beautiful. That's never a bad thing.

How Does A Chance Event Change Your Life?

It's not every day that going to a trade show can totally change your life. It did mine. I must have been ready for a drastic change. I just didn't know it.

I went to the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee. The show is an entire convention center filled with beads, baubles and semi-precious stones. After the 1st day I looked over my purchases that night and realized I didn't have enough of some for earrings. So I went back with a friend who normally is the voice of reason, if I got carried away she’d help me stop. Joke was on me.

I was unable to resist all those incredible goodies. My friend turned out to be a very bad influence, she’d find fabulous things and hold semi-precious and even precious stones in front of me saying "Have you seen this?". How can a woman resist all that beauty? I can’t! I couldn't. I walked out with a suitcase full of beads and stones. The only problem was, I didn’t even know how to make jewelry.

I spent the summer taking classes, reading books, practicing jewelry making. Immediately people were stopping my in the street asking about the jewelry I was wearing. It finally dawned on me that just maybe I was meant to design and share my creations. Thus Carolyn Creation was born. (It’s creation, not creations, because each piece is a one-of-a-kind hand-made creation).

I still laugh about this whole process. Obviously the Universe or someone was guiding me. Looking back it should have been obvious I was buying enough to start a business. But at the time, it just felt like the right thing to do. Not a conscious plan. Sometimes following your gut can change your life.

In the fall of 2008, I felt a pull to examine how various gemstones could enhance the protective and healing effects of the BioElectric Shield. I also wanted to wear great jewelry and my gold and diamond Shied at the same time, so I created something new so I could do that. (A little more about the BioElectric Shield below) After making a few “Shield necklaces”, I was convinced that not only was my jewelry beautiful and fun to wear, it had additional healing qualities as well. Since then I’ve been immersed in studying stones and their properties, paying particular attention to the magical transformation that happens when stones are combined. Much like the Shield, the combined properties of the stones in my jewelry are more powerful than the same combination of stones loose in your hand.

I’ve had a varied career mostly using my accounting skills in a variety of industries. Keeps things interesting. I moved to Montana and joined the BioElectric Shield Company in January 1994 when the shipping and order department consisted of one computer and a card table. With my help, the company grew to what it is today. From 1994 to 2000 I traveled and did approximately 100 trade shows, talking to people, muscle testing and really finding out how much difference the Shield makes in people’s lives.

The Shield www.bioelectricshield.com is an all natural product that balances and strengthens the energy field and deflects the emf’s from all our technology and it deflects other people’s negativity and stress. An empath and natural intuitive, I have personally found the Shield to be one of my most important and valued possessions, as it assists me in not taking on everyone else’s stuff. That ability has also been invaluable when I talk to and connect with clients in person, over the phone or even via email. I am frequently able to “tune in” and help advise on the best Shield choice for an individual.

I felt a strong pull to move to California and left the company in 2000. While in California I met the love of my life, David on Match.com. Yep, one of those success stories. We got married and moved to Wisconsin in 2006. Through the magic of the internet I was able to return to working with the company in January 2008 and am fully involved and even more excited about the Shield’s benefits and the need for people to be strengthened and protected.


In addition to making jewelry and working for the BioElectric Shield Company, I had a full time job as an accountant in a CPA firm. The more I worked with the Shield Company and my jewelry, the more I realized that I needed to make a change. I was feeling exhausted and unfulfilled in the accounting job, and only came to life when I was at home working on my jewelry, or on details for the BioElectric Shield Company. In one week, my doctor, chiropractor, and massage therapist all told me it was time for a change. You may think it was just working too many hours, but that wasn’t really the issue. The real issue was just a generally draining atmosphere and a job that wasn’t fulfilling my creative needs or providing a way to connect with and help people. When I had that realization, I quit my day job and am now devoting myself full time to the Shield Company and Carolyn Creation. Although I’m actually working many more hours, I’m happy and energized and continually excited about what new projects are coming up, whether it’s making jewelry, or writing an article for the website. It’s all fun, and it’s great to be working and playing at the same time.

Creating the Unpredictable

I'm pondering the ins and outs of the creative process.
Yesterday I was at a bead show and bought some spectacular stones. One group was some turquoise points that makes a perfect collar.
I came home and although I attempted to come up with something creative, I just couldn't get the predictable idea out of my head. So I sat down and made a beautiful collar design. Stunning. But also expected.

I woke up this morning and started going thru one of my design books and saw a couple ideas using spiky stones that mixed them in with other shapes and styles. Instantly I had an idea, I'd add the points to some Kazuri (clay) beads that I have been wanting to use. So I rushed to my work table and pulled out stones. Did I make the Kazuri necklace design? Nope. Instead I started working with some other stones I purchased yesterday, irregular Aqua Terra Jasper and some turquoise rondels. Love the final design.

It funny though, sometimes I must do the first design that pops into my head...seems to release it somehow. Then I can do the more over the top, unexpected thought. But then even after that, I'll have an idea, but when I actually sit down and start working it morphs into something completely different. I had this same thing happen many years ago when I was designing clothing....I'd sit down to do one thing, and what actually came to be had little or no relation to my original thought.

Does any one else have this experience?
Turquoise Drama - Predictable





Turquoise Drama Intense - Unpredictable
And the second, less predictable one


This is the first, predictable design.