Twas 2 Weeks Before Christmas & What to Get Mom?

Twas 2 weeks before Christmas
And what to get Mother?
She's so busy beading
Making gifts for another.

And that's when it hit me,
It came like a flash -
A gift Card from 1 Stop Bead Shop
is better than cash.

Right now it will get me
into a contest.
Winning another $50
Would be would make me the "bestest."

But as I entered 1 Stop Bead Shop
and looked all around
There were gifts ideas everywhere
Even on the ground.

There were bead organizers
of all shapes & sizes.

Mom's craft would be easier
With these maximizers.

There were eye glasses that light up
and Tool Kits galore.

There were lap boards and tote bags
And binders and more!

I found earring kits that were perfect
to stuff in the stockings

And wire and Books.
The excitement set my knees knocking.

There were sterling core beads with big holes
to fit her Pandora
And at just $10 a bead
I could afford to get more ah...

What's that over there?
I wish I could see...
That magnifier would help mom
even more than it helped me.

But what to my wonderous ears
did I hear?
You'll ship beads to my Mom
Every month of the year?

I understood what Mom had been saying
When I was all done
Shopping at 1 Stop Bead Shop
was 2 tons of fun!

I had presents for mom,
and some for the teachers
I even found a necklace
for the wife of our preacher!

So if gifts for the holidays
is what you're after.
1 Stop Bead Shop's the place
For all happy crafters!

Okay ladies & gents! Now you can print or email this poem and just highlight the items for your wish list. We've made it easy for the shoppers in your life to get you just what you want this Christmas & Hanukkah!

Merry Christmas & Happy Hanukkah!

Lisa

Where’s 1 Stop Bead Shop on the Web Contest

How many places on the web can you find 1 Stop Bead Shop listed? Find them and get entered into a contest to win 1 of several 1 Stop Bead Shop Gift Cards! Add a testimonial to the sites and get another entry. We want to hear from you our Raving Fans! Go 1 Stop!

Details:

Contest Entry Dates: Dec 7, 2011 - Jan 3, 2012
Winners will be notified by Jan 6, 2012

How to Enter: Send email to lisa@1stopbeadshop.com
Include Name of site, link to site, and NOTE if you made a testimonial. (Minimum of 5 sites, not including the 1 Stop Bead Shop main website, must be listed.)

Prizes:
- 1 Entry into drawing for a $25 1 Stop Bead Shop Gift Card for sending email with the list of sites with links.
- 1 Entry into drawing for a $25 1 Stop Bead Shop Gift Card for each "original" (not copy/paste) testimonial added.
- Person who finds the most sites that list 1 Stop Bead Shop wins a $10 1 Stop Bead Shop Gift Card. (In the case of a tie, winners will be drawn from a tie-breaker. Site entries will be verified, and must include links.)

Christmas 2011 -- Birth of a New Tradition

As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods. This year will be different. This year Americans will give the gift of genuine concern for other Americans. There is no longer an excuse that, at gift giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by American hands.

Yes there is! It's time to think outside the box, people. Who says a gift needs to fit in a shirt box, wrapped in Chinese produced wrapping paper?

Everyone -- yes EVERYONE gets their hair cut. How about gift certificates from your local American hair salon or barber?

Gym membership? It's appropriate for all ages who are thinking about some health improvement.

Who wouldn't appreciate getting their car detailed? Small, American owned detail shops and car washes would love to sell you a gift certificate or a book of gift certificates.

Are you one of those extravagant givers who think nothing of plunking down the Benjamins on a Chinese made flat-screen?

Perhaps that grateful gift receiver would like his driveway sealed or lawn mowed for the summer, or driveway plowed all winter, or games at the local golf course.

There are a bazillion owner-run restaurants -- all offering gift certificates. And, if your intended isn't the fancy eatery sort, what about a half dozen breakfasts at the local breakfast joint. Remember, folks this isn't about big National chains -- this is about supporting your home town Americans with their financial lives on the line to keep their doors open.
How many people couldn't use an oil change for their car, truck, or motorcycle, done at a shop run by the American working guy?

Thinking about a heartfelt gift for mom? Mom would LOVE the services of a local cleaning lady for a day.

My computer could use a tune-up, and I KNOW I can find some young guy who is struggling to get his repair business up and running.

OK, you were looking for something more personal. You have the ability to create a stunning piece of jewelry for everyone on your list with the skills you learned at 1 Stop Bead Shop.

Local crafts people spin their own wool and knit them into scarves. They make pottery and beautiful wooden boxes.
Even better, YOU can become one of the local crafts people and make a little money back, selling the jewelry you have created from beads found at 1 Stop Bead Shop. It's easy - just call or email everyone you know and ask them for 1 person they would like a piece of custom-made jewelry for - Voila! You're in business!

Plan your holiday outings at local, owner operated restaurants and leave your server a nice tip. And, how about going out to see a play or ballet at your hometown theatre. Musicians need love too, so find a venue showcasing local bands.

Honestly, people, do you REALLY need to buy another ten thousand Chinese lights for the house? When you buy a five dollar string of lights, about fifty cents stays in the community. If you have those kinds of bucks to burn, leave the mailman, trash guy, or babysitter a nice BIG tip.

You see, Christmas is no longer about draining American pockets so that

China can build another glittering city. Christmas is now about caring about US, encouraging American small businesses to keep plugging away to follow their dreams. And when we care about other Americans, we care about our communities, and the benefits come back to us in ways we couldn't imagine.

THIS IS THE NEW AMERICAN TRADITION!

Gratitude – What is it good for?

Over the past year, I have given a lot of thought to Gratitude. That word seemed to be popping up all around me, and I have learned to pay attention when an idea or thought frequently emerges. I was hearing it in my business training seminars & coaching books. I heard it from Pastor when he challenged us to write down 100 things we were grateful for and to review the list daily. I heard it from a motivational CD series I listen to frequently. Repeated in what I was hearing was some version of, “Be grateful for what you have, if… you want more, you want peace, you want happiness, you want love….” I made a conscious decision, like so many of my mentors had, to embrace gratitude and thought maybe if I shared it with you, my results might encourage someone else.

I have so many examples that it’s hard to know where to begin, so I’ll just share one of the most significant. 1 year ago just before Thanksgiving, my husband lost his job (I know that so many people can relate to that.) 1 Stop Bead Shop had never been positioned to support my family, but now I was in the position as primary provider. There were so many reasons that we could have become depressed or negative about the situation – after all, we had to cut back on spending, make lifestyle changes, etc. It was a bit intimidating. But, I made a conscious decision to be grateful for what we had rather than focus on what we might have to give up. I am grateful that we have a home, a healthy family, the support of family & friends, a good business with great customers and employees that, as it turns out, can support us, and through it all the promise that, “All things work together for good for those that love the Lord & are calling according to His purpose.” We had no way of knowing that 1 year later, we would actually be grateful that he lost his job. Our entire family is closer and happier than ever. And, my husband, who had been living under a cloud of stress for years, is free of that cloud and has found a new career path that he’s really excited and motivated about for the first time in his life.

So why do you care? You may not. The nice thing about a blog, is that the writer gets to be a bit self-indulgent. But, I’m hopeful, not necessarily that you’ll celebrate with me, but that from my story you might take inspiration.

The more I “DO” gratitude the more things I find I have to be grateful for. And yes, I said, “DO” gratitude. I have found that being grateful takes a conscious decision and conscious thought – at least at first. I had to train my brain to think about what I was grateful for first thing in the morning when I got out of bed. I really like my bed, and would often rather chose to stay in it rather than get out. That has, over the years, set the stage for me to allow myself to get up grumpy, “I hate mornings,” rather than get up grateful. So, it was a conscious decision to say “Thank” when my first foot hits the floor, and “You” when my other foot hits the floor. “Thank you for this day, and the opportunities the day holds.” After that I have set aside time to say my thanksgivings for the day and really think about the things that I am thankful for. Some mornings that alone can take 20 minutes. There are big things to be thankful for like the sunshine to warm us and make us cheery, or the rain that waters my plants so I don’t have to pay for the water to water them – yep, I can be thankful for the weather either way. There are personal things to be thankful for, like that I was born with all my parts working correctly, that I can see, hear, smell, taste, touch, sense, or that I still have all my teeth. There are family things to be grateful for, like that my kids came home safely from school today. There are business things to be thankful for, like a staff that I truly enjoy spending time with every day and loyal customers who make it possible for me and my staff to do something for a living that we truly enjoy. There are mundane things to be grateful for, like air conditioning and hot running water – 2 amenities that make be grateful I was born in this century and not earlier. There are life things to be grateful for like being born in this country where I’m free and relatively safe, and where we’ve all got it pretty good compared to some places in the world. You can see where the gratitude process each day could take a very long time as I really start to list all the things I have to be grateful for each day.

Did you know you can even be grateful for your big toe because it allows you to balance and makes it possible for you to walk?

So what happens when you spend all this time being grateful? Many of the things that seemed worth complaining about seem insignificant or get forgotten altogether. Many of the things you thought were worth complaining about can actually be seen from a positive point of view, which in the long run makes you a more positive person. When you’re more positive, more people like you and want to be around you. And, when you start looking through eyes of gratitude you start seeing all the people around you differently too. Something happens – it’s almost like gratitude turns into love – which of course it does.

Okay, so enough guishiness (not a word – I made it up). I wouldn’t have bothered to share all this with you if I didn’t have a purpose. My hope for you, is that you’ll try it too. Imagine a world where more of us were grateful for ALL the blessings we have. What would that world look like? I imagine that it would be a world where everyone is nicer to each other, because we are all so grateful for our blessings that we can focus our positive energies on being kind and helpful to one another. I like that world. I hope you’ll come live in it with me. There’s an infinite amount of room in the world of gratitude.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Small Business Saturday

It seems the media machine is always creating some marketing craze or other. 1st they picked up a derogatory term used by employees of major retailers to describe their loathing of having to work the day after Thanksgiving, what with the crazy hours, jostling bodies, and hasseled & harried often grumpy customers, and turned it into a term that we shoppers readily embrace as "ok." During the Dot.com boom, they started referring to the day after Black Friday as Dot.com Saturday, where websites lured everyone to spend boocoupe bucks on sites we'd never even heard of before. Apparently there was some backlash, because this year, the Saturday after Thanksgiving is being referred to as Small Business Saturday.

Now here's a media driven incentive I can really get on board with. Well, obviously - I have a small business. More than that though, I really believe it benefits everybody in our community if we keep as many of our dollars as we can in the local economy. While our government is throwing out money faster than they can print it to anyone - be it business, citizen, non-citizen, or country - that puts their hand out, we do still have some control and say about where we choose to spend the little we have left after taxes. And I, for one, think it's high time we look out for each other, and our friends and neighbors who own the local businesses, who are supporting their families, putting their kids through school, volunteering at the PTO and Band Boosters, and paying wages that support other local families. For years the media has taught us to think globally, and meanwhile our local stores have come and gone and in many small towns have all but disappeared and been replaced with Antique Malls, which really puts a cap on it, doesn't it?

Being raised by a father who was in retail, I was always taught that you did business with your friends & family first. He had a friend that owned a hair dressing studio 45 minutes away. Guess how far we traveled to get our hair done? Good thing gas was only $.60 a gallon. Over the years I continued to practice the friends and family thing whenever it was possible, but I never really thought about local community owned businesses until I was shopping for a Halloween costume for my daughter 3 years ago.

We had been in and out of several of those pop-up (non-locally owned) Halloween stores looking for something (can't recall exactly - had to be something that suited the little girl) and comparing prices. We needed to go to Costume Holiday House (LOCALLY OWNED) anyway because they had rentals for the costume party we were attending. I was really pleased to see that they had just as good of a selection and competitive prices. As I chatted w/ the owner that evening, I had an eye opening experience. She shared w/ me that those pop-up stores were costing her business in excess of $200K a year and were really challenging her ability to support her family and stay in business. Costume Holiday House is one of, if not the only, costume store that rents to local school theaters and churches for their VBS. If they go out of business, where do we get those costumes and stage make-up? That's when I realized that "Buy from friends & family" should be expanded to "Buy from locally owned businesses first!"

This year, 1 Stop Bead Shop is pleased to participate in Small Business Saturday. Visit our website, our Facebook page, and read our newsletter next week for updates and specials.

Then after you visit our store, stop by some of our other local favorites for great gift ideas:
Generation Green
Cup Cakery in Dublin
Ha'Penny Bridge in Old Dublin - your local source for all things Irish
Then grab a bite to eat at Biddies Coach House in Dublin for some of the best home cooked food in Dublin - owned & operated by Diane Hammons - my son's former grade school principal (the friends/family/community connections never end!)

Got any great local Columbus area businesses that you love? Please share them with everyone in the comments box below! The more we share, the more we all benefit! Happy Shopping!