New Dates and Worries

I have been forced to shorten my trip in order to save money on hotel and food. The new dates are March 25 - April 5. If I play my cards right I will be able to save enough money to make that deadline, but it will be close. Really close, like hair-splitting close.

If I can get steady work soon, I will be able to make it. But that means working full time, with at least $600 a pay check, and $700 going into savings every month, plus at least $250 in sales from my jewelry before March 25. I'm a little worried...

Status Report

I have decided to shorten my trip by a few days, now instead of 14 nights I will be staying only 10. I decided to do this to cut costs (my total decreased by over $500) and to make it easier to get time off when I finally find a decent job. Other than that my plans remain the same.

Jewelry Blog Is Up!!!

Well, I have officially decided to start up my own jewelry blog and since more people have viewed this one lately I decided to ship it. If you wish to check it out go my profile page and click on "Hana Creations". Or here's a link... Hana Creations.

It's my little space to talk about the jewelry I make, also I will post small tutorials here and there that I'll call Project Thursday. And yes, they will actually be posted on Thursdays. The projects will be simple beginner stuff, with the occasional harder lesson. There is already one up for Simple Beaded Earrings, but if you'd clicked on the link you already know that. Soon there will be a link to my ArtFire shop, whenever I finally get that up and running...

As for news about my trip, I afraid the only thing new is that I finally got off my butt to open a savings account. Still no real job, still no offers for a real job, and so far only one craft fair that I can enter for the holiday season. And it's in December... great help that is now. Why are these craft fairs so elusive. There's nothing posted online for my area.

Sorry, I felt like whining. Feel free to ignore it.

Updates

Well, so far still no real job, but I have managed to save up a little toward my trip. Enough that I plan on applying for my passport in early December even if I fall short and don't get to go after all. I guess I could always go to Mexico, or all else failing, Canada. There is a pretty good chance of me making quite a bit at craft fairs this winter, but that'll end pretty much at Christmas.

I hope to have an ArtFire Shop soon too, and that should bring in some sales. With luck they may even be steady and bring me lots of customers. Maybe I should make a blog too...

What I've Been Up To

Well, still no job. I have been working on my jewelry making skills and hope to get a booth at a couple of bazaars this winter. I've taken up chainmaille weaving as well. It's really fun, and challenging, to learn a bunch of the weaves. There are dozens to learn. Here's a picture:

That one is called European 6 in 1 - for every center ring there are 6 outside rings that go through it. I've made about eight different weaves so far, and there are about 50 more that I want to try. Here's a Queen's Mail bracelet (also called Box Chain):