Been A While
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| Some metal foil with polymer clay beads |
Hi everyone! Sorry it has been a while since connecting or listing any new jewellery pieces. Due to "life," I haven't been as productive as I like to be. When energy comes forth, I have been devoting it to creating in other ways making video tutorials
(take a look here if you are curious) and content for my other blogs and
YouTube channel. A new project has been trying to document my husband as he begins a new landscape painting. (
Click here to see part one).
Here's my Etsy S
hop ABERGIECREATION
The goal besides having fun sharing what I love, is to try to earn even a wee bit of money creating! Google Adsense added to blogs is a way to earn money when people visit your sites. For sure there are those who are able to quit their day jobs and make a great living. The same goes for successful You Tube channels. Those who have hundreds of thousands, some even millions and millions of subscribers earn a substantial living thanks to the monetization of their channel and Adsense. In my case, of course, I never had a day job to quit and know I will never be able to actually earn a living blogging and vlogging. But for the first time in my fifty-three years of life on this planet, there is a way I can try as hard as I can, to literally earn pennies a week! Working at my own pace (depending on my health issues), it's wheelchair accessible (in our home!) and I get to work at what I enjoy doing.
Earning A Penny
For those who are curious to make money as a "You Tuber," you need to permit advertising on your channel. I don't know how many views or subscribers you need to make a living on ad revenue. What I do know is that in order to monetize your YouTube channel, you need at least one thousand
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| My husband begins a new masterpiece |
Mysubscribers. I on the other hand am blessed with 497 subscribers., so making pennies there isn't possible so far. Pretty neat that almost five hundred people are interested in the content I upload. They must be really bored! When I say I earn pennies a week, it's pretty literal. On my four blog sites. It's taken me over a year to make eighty dollars on Google Adsense! The harder I work, and share the pages, the pennies slowly rise. Can't explain it, but it's very rewarding seeing the numbers creep up.
Google won't actually pay out until you make one hundred dollars at a time. Can't tell you how excited I was to finally achieve that goal. And now yay, today, after about 18 months with spurts of shameless self promotion and bursts of extra work, I checked the numbers expecting it to still be stuck at $76 and some change. Honestly, I had been discouraged lately seeing no pennies at all in weeks. Well, woo hoo! As of right now, it says $80.88! It's the biggest increase ever. That means All
the hard work is worth it. That's why having folks share my pages, blogs and Facebook pages really help to achieve my next goal, another hundred bucks in under 2 years instead of 4 or 5 like the first time!
Pumped
Needless to say, I am pumped to not give up blogging and vlogging, between making new pieces of art! What about creating new jewellery pieces? There are so many jewellery designs and other art making projects I would love to create, but this past year my energy levels and hand strength seem to dictate how productive I will be and what I will be creating. Spinal Muscular Atrophy type 3 is like that, coupled with much of the symptoms involved when that "change" in life that happens to many women half a century old, that energy is a much coveted thing. That's a big reason why I am happy for opportunities like Adsense. When I don't get to be as productive as I wish making art, I could be typing and editing videos. At least a way to keep working and to try to earn a bit, to help out with my art supply expenses and such.
Acceptance
Discovering how much I adore working with polymer clay only a few years ago, definitely inspired
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| A texture making device i made |
me in a whole new direction. Unfortunately, I have to accept and adapt to another stage in this life that I have been blessed with, which means not being able to always create when I want with what I want. This winter in particular, we've had extra frigid temperatures. School buses were cancelled two days in a row. Minus thirty Celsius is dangerous to human skin. Well polymer clay in winter, even indoors, is too stiff and difficult for me to condition. So, thankfully, I can focus on doing this, blogging and creating with easier to handle art making materials. Yes, jacking up the heat to our home to create enough warmth to soften clay can work, but it means, my husband would melt! Don't want that!
What To Expect
What to expect this year at A Bergie Creation? Well, the unexpected? Seriously, I'm learning to trust that God is in charge and not me. If God wills it, I will be creating more. You see, as long as I could always use my hands, losing my walking abilities and even the raising/moving of my arms was acceptable and to me, something I anticipated, as no big deal. As long as my hands would work, I could still create.
Creeps
It definitely is a blessing being born with a diagnosis where you can be prepared for what direction your body may take, compared to folks I know (my husband included), who had no warning and
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| resin and wire wrapping |
suddenly either faced a life altering injury or prognosis. I can't imagine what that would be like. As my left hand weakens, my hope is to make the most of what I can, adapting to create in whatever way shape or form I can. There are so many ideas it can be overwhelming, difficult to pick one direction! In spite of that, I must admit, for the first time in my life, I am tempted more than ever, to let not being able to create what I want, when I want, to discourage me and allow the unwanted enemy called Depression and self pity, to creep in. That battle does result in some wasted hours.
Sure Hope
Thankfully, because of the Sure Hope I have In
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| I have been trying out alcohol inks |
Jesus Christ, nothing is ever hopeless. Only by His Grace do I exist and am able to see how blessed my life is. It's not what I can do that matters, but what's inside. Guaranteed my fleshly, sinful nature definitely can give into self pity What
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| My husband and our winters |
matters most is learning lessons from these times. He is our Sure Hope to all who open as He knocks on the door to our heart.
[Rev 3:20 NLT] 2
0 "Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.
[Mat 7:7-8 NLT] 7 "Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
Why?
Why am I sharing these thoughts? I think because when I started creating tutorials and my online Etsy shop, joining polymer clay groups and such, I feel bad that I am not producing work like I
originally intended. Why do I feel bad about that? Not sure, I just do and want too help explain where I am at, incase anyone is interested. In no way am I giving up those goals. If my body continues to be uncooperative, I will keep focusing on what I can do. As well I always hope that just maybe some of what I am experiencing, may relate to one person out there, as I have been encouraged by others sharing their lives.
I've included an assortment of pictures throughout to share what I've been working on!
Thanks for taking the time to read this. Please feel free to share and if you want to connect more here are some other links!
To connect more, check out:
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| polymer clay and alcohol ink - lots of fun |
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polymer clay and alcohol ink - lots of fun
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glow in the dark powder
polymer clay and alcohol ink - lots of fun
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polymer clay and alcohol ink - lots of fun
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polymer clay and alcohol ink - lots of fun
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