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.”