3 Months and Counting

Good afternoon!

I just looked at the calendar on my computer and realized something big .... Christmas is 3 months from today!  Yikes!  Better get busy with Christmas gifts!  Be sure to read to the end about a wish list and layaway opportunity.

The painted pieces in my shop are all one of a kind pieces.  Sooooo, this means when they are gone, they are gone.  Even if I found the exact same piece to paint again, it won't look the same as the previous one.  It is very hard to duplicate a piece for a few reasons.  I don’t always remember what I’ve done to a piece to get the look.  I don’t usually keep records of it either.  I suppose I should keep records for those occasional pieces I could attempt to duplicate like mason jars and so on.

Now when it comes to the designs on my tumbled travertine coasters, I can duplicate those with no trouble.  Same goes for my cup holder (car) coasters.  If you see something you like and want to change a color or two, we can discuss that option.

Some of the popular options for gifting coasters are my monogram designs.  This design is great for the person who has everything.  I can change the color of the design but most people go with black.  It is hard to match someone’s décor without a swatch, which is what I’d need to get as close as possible to their color scheme.  A good second choice for color is Timber Brown, which is a dark brown similar to chocolate ice cream.

Other popular designs include sports-themed coasters for LSU and the Saints.  I also have fleur de lis coasters with no reference to football and no wording on them.  This keeps them neutral enough that almost anyone will enjoy them.  If you or your recipient favor inspirational or religious themes, I have coasters with inspirational phrases and scriptures on them as well.

Even at this date in September, we must remember to allow time for processing orders and shipping.  I ship via Priority Mail through the USPS for most items, including any of my coasters.  The USPS has three holidays between now and the end of November than can impact shipping.  They are observed as Federal Holidays follows:

Monday, October 9--Columbus Day

Friday, November 10--Veterans Day

Thursday, November 23--Thanksgiving

If you are local to my area and want to avoid shipping charges, please contact me prior to ordering and I’ll contact you about free local pick up.  I live in Houma, LA and have an arrangement for pick up at a local retail business during normal business hours.  This provides safety for you, the customer, and myself.

Christmas Wish List

I would love to help you with your Christmas gift purchases.  I will even work with you to make up a Christmas Wish List of items you’d like to receive for you to give your family members.  Remember spending time looking at the Wish Books as kids?  I know my brother and I could generate quite a list from those Sear’s Wish Books.  This list would be from items currently available in my online shop.  Remember, some pieces are one of a kind and cannot be duplicated so it’s important to list more than one item.  There is no charge for this service.

Check out my website by clicking here.

Layaway Service

I also offer layaway.  Here is how it works.  Choose the item you want to put on layaway and ….

Date of Layaway:  50% or more due to hold it

November 1-10:  ½ of Balance Due

December 1-10:  Balance Due and pick up layaway

Accepted Forms of Payment

·         All major credit or debit cards

Payments with credit/debit cards may be taken over the phone.

·         Cash

I hope you’ll consider shopping with me for your Christmas gifts.  Please share this post so others can shop smart:  shop small, shop local.

Cynthia Welch Designs

God bless!

Cindy

Happy Fall Y'all!

Happy Autumn!

The photo is beautiful but that is not reality down here along the gulf coast.  Instead of the beautiful colors shown here, we have green most of the year, then brown during the winter.  Even so, I cannot wait for the cooler temps to arrive sometime in December.  LOL

I am always ready for Autumn to arrive because it means cooler temps, a welcome relief to our hot and humid summers.  After several months of temperatures in the 90's+ and humidity trotting right long at or near 100%, we welcome temps that are even in the low 80's.  Our leaves don't have the opportunity to make the dramatic changes, full of that Autumn-colored rainbow, like we see in so many places.  However, once the weather begins to moderate, people begin to have a spring in their step and a smile on their face.

In the fall, I love walking out and experiencing the aroma of fireplaces or fire pits cranking up.  It’s such a wonderful aroma!  I love seeing leaves drop to the ground and crunching under my feet.  The brisk air sends a little chill up my spine and I breath in deeply.  It’s time to take that extra time for a 3^rd (or 4^th!) cup of coffee!

In reality, we have so little true Autumn or winter weather that our fall/winter wardrobe is not very extensive.  We don’t have too many long-sleeved shirts and I don’t own any boots.  I do have a pair of gloves, a scarf and a crocheted hat, only because we went on a business trip to Denver a few year ago in the dead of winter.  LOL  I am not sure I want that much cold for that long.  It was great to visit, but I am not sure I want to deal with the winters of a truly cold area.

Autumn also means it’s craft show time!  And I say bring on the craft shows!  We are working hard behind the scenes to get ready for the fall shows season.  Dh has been working mentally to figure out how to prepare and make some things, like an all new checkout stand.  He is working physically too, getting it done.  It is coming right along and is a welcome addition to our booth.

Dh has been getting our cargo trailer ready to handle all sorts of things … a new tent, display props including some decorative shelves for displaying our goodies, tables along with table cloths, box after box of our goodies and new this year, some furniture!  Dh has put lots of mental energy and sweat equity into this project!

This year we will work 4 shows.  Three of the shows will mean a bigger than usual booth.  Most booths are 10x10 and that is what we have gotten.  One of our shows offers a 10x16 as its standard size.  At one show, we chose to get a double booth which means its size is 10x20.  Our plan next year, God willing, is to move to larger booths at all shows that normally offer 10x10 booths.  The extral room will allow us to showcase our furniture and have room to breathe and move around more freely.  This is better for us and our customers!

We hope you’ll come check out the booth expansion and the new items we are adding to our booth.  You can find out where we’ll be, and when, here at my blog.  Our schedule is along the right side of the page.  If you have questions about any of the shows we are doing, please feel free to post them in the comments below or email me at cynthiawelchdesigsns@comcast.net.

God bless,

Cindy

Busy Junkin' & A Craft Show

It has been a little quiet here but a lot has been going on. Dh and I just got back from a trip for a couple of days. Of course a good bit of it was made up of junkin'. We came back with a load from south Mississippi, Gulfport and Biloxi to be specific. We loved it there and wondered why we had not been there before.

We spent time looking for places that have junk, collectibles, antiques, and so on. This is one of our favorite adventures in this craft business. We get to spend time in sometimes smelling, dirty, crowded stores that are piled high with crap. Well, crap or beauty, depending on how you look at it, and depending on what it is. This adventure is sort of like looking at a house that is a fixer upper. You have to imagine it in all fixed up, repaired, upcycled and in all it's glory, that is to come. It hasn't happened yet, but it can. As dh says, you have to have a vision of how it'll turn out. I say, it has to call my name. We are saying the same thing but in different ways. Oh, we saw a lot more than we brought home. There is a lot more we could have purchased. We could have rented a trailer if needed. However, we bought what called our names.

As you see from the photos one of our goodies is an old trunk. We are going to use that in our booth so you'll have to come see us at a craft show to see how it gets used. The rest of it will be altered, painted or have something creative done to it.

I am a sucker for candlesticks. Especially big, chunky, heavy ones. Not so pretty? That is okay. I'll love on this big fat momma and bring some life to her. She is downright hefty.

The rainbow colored table will no longer be rainbow colored. She will find new life with some beautiful new neutral colors to suit your decor.

The rest of our fabulous finds will be restored with paint and sealed to protect it. If you see something you'd like to claim and have me custom paint it just for you, then please PM me ASAP.

These ugly ducklings are in line to become beautiful swans, along with some things I got a few weeks back in Opelousas.

Tomorrow I'll be working on creating some beautiful swans. I'll be posting them here first and you can see for yourself how they turn out.

We are adding some new product lines to our booth, some that will add instant appeal to our friends and customers. We are working with a partner for a handcrafted line using reclaimed wood from St. Mary Parish. We will have some for the first time at at our first show of the season. I am also working on a line that will appeal to your sensibilities in a clean and aromatic way.

Our first craft show on Saturday, October 7, 2017. I hope you'll come join us. We will be at Shadows on the Teche in New Iberia, LA. You will find the Shadows at 317 East Main Street. Admission is $5 for those 12 and over.

More to come later!

God bless,

Cindy