Can you help?

We are having serious trouble making ends meet right now, with the expense of traveling to frequent doctor’s appointments and everyday needs piling up. We both work hard, are disabled, and we receive no government assistance outside of SNAP benefits and Medicaid.

My sales have been less than $250 in December, and anyone who’s ever had their own small business knows that means about $125 or so net income for me. AJ’s paychecks barely cover rent and bills. If I don’t make sales, that means no sanitary products, cleaning products, no groceries for the 1/3-1/2 a month not covered by SNAP benefits, no CBD tincture for my chronic pain, none of the many OTC meds and supplements that help us function a little bit better.

I know that things are hard all-around right now, but if you could please take a moment to consider whether you may be able to help us out in any of the ways mentioned below, I would appreciate it so very much!

– Visit my shop and see if there is anything that calls to you. I am always happy to make payment arrangements and work on custom orders! ❤
– Visit the Baubles & Blessings FB page to catch up on recent posts, and interact to help boost the signal. If no one interacts with posts, FB stops showing them to additional page fans.
– Check out our GoFundMe page and consider making a contribution. I’m working on grab bags now!
– Take a peek at our Amazon wish list and consider whether you may be able to help by ordering a piece of clothing or health-related item. I would be thrilled to offer you a gift code for B&B in thanks!
– Help spread the word about my work.
– Consider whether you may have something to contribute for the upcoming Facebook event and auction.

Thank you so much for your time and consideration!

Much love and many blessings,
Bri

Giveaway & auction extended through Tuesday!

Heya, friends! My Friday the 13th auction is still running and has been extended by 24 hours. It will end tomorrow night at 7:00 Pacific time, a little over 25 hours from now. All of the pieces shown in the collage are up for bid, along with many others. As I type, there are a dozen pieces without bids and many more with just 1-2 bids. There is also a door prize giveaway!

Not only will the proceeds from this auction help support a hard-working disabled couple with limited income, but we are also donating 10% of this month’s proceeds (after PayPal fees) to Nar Nar’s Voyages to help a little girl battling leukemia and her family in their time of need.

30% off deal extended; auction next weekend!

We have not yet met the goal for our med fundraiser, so I am extending the offer through the 13th. Use the code “MEDS” to save 30% on any non-custom jewelry order in my shop. Spend $50 after the discount (not including S&H), and I will refund all US shipping charges.

I also have an auction coming up, from the 13th through the 16th. AJ’s birthday is coming up on Monday, mine is Friday, and the 15th is the one year anniversary of our arrival in Tacoma. We’re hoping that when all is said and done, we might be able to have our basic needs covered for the month and have something left over for some sort of birthday treat, like an inexpensive meal out or a visit to a movie theater. I’ll be keeping my fingers and toes crossed for that.

I expect I’ll have some bargain-hunting holiday shoppers at the event. It’s a great chance to snag a deal or five while helping a hardworking disabled couple stay afloat. I generally list everything with a starting price at or below half of retail, and many pieces end up going for insanely low prices. If you enjoy my work but you’ve never participated in one of my auctions, I highly recommend checking it out. Even if you don’t have funds for this one, you’ll see how it works… And I’ll also be doing other fun stuff, like door prizes, this time around. 😀

Thanks, as always, for being here, being you and being awesome. I really appreciate you taking the time to see what I’m up to!

Much love and many blessings,
Bri

Thanks so much for your support!

Thank you all so much for your support!

A few days ago, AJ (Bri’s hubby, for anyone new here) got his first testosterone prescription in 3.5 years. He officially restarted T today.

Because he had trouble with his body burning through the testosterone so quickly when he was doing injections, he decided to try the gel this time — and because of his prior experience, it was covered by insurance.

We are so grateful to be in Washington, where we qualify for Medicaid and trans healthcare is covered. We are also incredibly grateful to the Baubles & Blessings family, for all of your moral support, signal boosts and purchases. We could not have made this wild cross-country leap of faith happen if not for your help. We want to share our successes and baby steps toward greater health, happiness and stability as they happen.

Bless each and every one of you!

❤ Bri & AJ

More good news… Custom order update & auction wrap-up!

Hello, friends! I have more exciting news to share with you tonight. 🙂

First, I am completely caught up on making custom orders, aside from a few pieces needing supplies or requiring something from the customer. The few folks whose orders are affected have been notified, and I’ll have everything needed within a few days to complete those last few orders. I’ve been sharing lots of these new custom goodies on Facebook and will also post them here soon. My estimated turnaround time for custom orders moving forward is 2-6 weeks.

Moving on, it’s time for the post-auction wrap-up, now that all of the auction items have been purchased. There were 60 pieces in this auction; a few did not sell and were returned to the shop with clearance prices. The auction drummed up a total of $705, plus an additional $9 in optional donations to help offset PayPal fees and $10 in additional donations, which will go straight to helping us build our nest egg. After PayPal fees are taken into account, we ended up with a net total of $679.71. As promised, 10% of the funds raised have been donated to True Colors Fund; we rounded up and donated $68.

June’s auction is LIVE!

For those of you who haven’t seen my posts elsewhere, my June auction is now live and kicking! As I type, there are oodles of pieces with no bids, or just one or two bids… And each listing is started off at about half of the original/retail price, some even lower.

All of the pieces in the collage are available, along with many items not pictured here. Stop by the event to take a look at what’s up for grabs! I’d also appreciate it so very much if you could pop by my FB page and show my recent posts some love, to help boost the signal and make sure that my posts about the event reach as many of my 13,000 FB followers as possible… Right now, without much interaction, my recent posts are averaging a reach of about 100 people.

If this auction goes well, I am hoping to be able to afford to get a PO box and set up an email newsletter, to help lessen my reliance on Facebook, a now-broken tool for reaching fans of my work.

As always, thank you all so much for your support!

Blessings,
Bri

Updates, reminders & prizes, oh my!

Hiya, lovelies! I wanted to give y’all a quick update…

My deadline for Mother’s Day orders is still May 2nd, and my current special runs through the end of April. (Use the code “MOM” To save 20%! Spend $50 and I’ll also refund US S&H charges.) I am donating 10% of this month’s sales, split between True Colors Fund and The Autistic Self Advocacy Network.

I’d hoped to have questionnaires sent out today for fundraiser rewards, but I have some health-related anxiety to contend with at the moment, and I don’t think I’ll be able to focus on getting the questionnaires finished and sent out until this coming weekend. I’m so sorry for the delay!

On the other hand, I’ve been catching up on custom orders, announcing prize winners and a new giveaway with an awesome prize, so things are happening behind the scenes here… I just haven’t been able to get quite as much done as I’d hoped the past few days.

If you missed the Facebook announcement, here are some of my most recent winners! If you’re one of them, please send me a PM on Facebook to claim your prize. Each month’s first prize winner gets a $25 credit. Everyone else gets their choice of a coupon good for 25% off their next order, or $10 off a $20 purchase. Coupons expire after two months.

Thank you all so much for your support and understanding!

Much love and many blessings,
Bri

We did it! (And it’s not too late to help us do some good!)

Friends, we’ve made it to our fundraising goal! Thank you all so very much for your support!! The campaign will close in just about 9 hours.

Any additional funds raised will be split with another disabled artist we know who is currently struggling to keep a roof overhead for herself and her acutely ill husband. If you haven’t yet, please consider helping us turn our apartment into a home, while also helping us to help another family in need.

Today is also the last day to use the coupon code “GRANDOPENING” to take 30% off all ready to ship pieces and services in my shop. I’ll be continuing to tally 10% of this month’s sales, which will be donated at the end of the month. The donation will be split between True Colors Fund & The Autistic Self Advocacy Network.

I will be shipping all RTS items purchased by the 1st out by the 2nd, to ensure Mother’s Day delivery; I am also taking limited orders for custom orders for Mother’s Day.

I’ve been a busy gal behind the scenes this week, but I will be posting some new pieces soon! Until then, lots of love and bright blessings to each of you!

❤
Bri

Less than 3 hours left for our fundraiser!

Just three hours left, and $366 to go until we hit our goal! Can you help us get there? Please take a look at the campaign page and rewards… Even $5 would get us closer, and get you a reward!!

HUGE thanks to everyone who has helped us get this far!

Our elemental altar is making me smile. The tealight holders are Himalayan salt, chosen for both their warm glow and air purifying abilities. The dish contains water collected at the beach yesterday, which I plan to post more about soon. I feel so happy and peaceful right now! 🙂

Simple pleasures, big gratitude & a blessed Imbolc!

February begins with Imbolc — which, to me, is all about new life, new beginnings, and gratitude for the little things that bring us joy. So I decided to share something that I’m grateful for each day this month, and I invite you to share what you’re grateful for in the comments for each of these daily posts on my Facebook page, or right here on the blog. (If you’re on FB, your interaction with my posts goes a long way to help boost my signal to the feeds of other page fans!)

Today, I am incredibly grateful to have woken up with an empty sink. I was exhausted but still managed to empty the sink before bed. This can be tough thanks to chronic back pain and illness — especially when I’d much rather be working on jewelry! — but I’ve been working hard to stay on top of it. I’m incredibly grateful and a wee bit proud of the fact that I’ve done a pretty good job of it since we moved in. (AJ would help, but the poor guy’s dealing with a flare-up of an old hand injury and I won’t let him.)

A lot of my gratitude right now has to do with the amazing help we’ve received on our journey to finding and making a real home. Our dishes came from the dollar store, the storage containers from the grocery store, and everything else in this photo was purchased via our Amazon wish list. Since your support has led to every single purchase we’ve made in our new home, YOU all helped make this possible. Thank you so much, from the bottom of both of our hearts!

Much love and a blessed Imbolc to you!
Bri

(PS: There is a flash sale happening in my shop right now! Save 20% on everything through tomorrow night.)