WW: Instagram Love

Linking up with Mama Kat again this week for writers workshop. If you want to learn more about it, click the link at the bottom of this post. The prompt I chose this week is: Instagram fun! Share a photo you took with Instagram this week and tell us what you love about it.

Honestly, I am still getting into Instagram. I forget it is there! Facebook has been my go-to for most of my picture sharing. This one is of my current Jam-icure. You see, I am a jamberry junkie. I freaking love this product. When my nails are naked I feel off! This particular design is Chrisma. This design is so fun. The sparkle of the gold gives it some pretty and the blues go great with my beautiful ring.

Rocking my chrisma on my finger nails #ChrismaJN #gettingpaidforthis #ilovejamberry

A photo posted by Betsy Smith (@betsy_s4) on May 2, 2016 at 9:01pm PDT

Have you ever tried Jamberry? If so, what did you think? If not, do you want to? Message me today if you are interested in a free sample!

This post inspired by:

Wordless Wednesday

And just a small reminder, I am hosting a fundraiser for the American Heart Association. ALL my commissions from the Heart For Mom party will go to them. If you click the link to take you to my website to shop.

Wordless Wednesday

To help prevent more losses like that of my mom.

Wordless Wednesday

You can get your own festive holiday jams. Let me know if you are interested.

Holiday Jamberry Style

I am so excited to be doing my first event of the season. Today I am at an elementary school craft sale. Hoping to help some ladies find out how to get pretty nails for less. Also hoping to find a few gentlemen needing a gift for their special someone. Here are a few special things that Jamberry has going just for the holiday season

I also have more then 300 other designs on my website. You are welcome to check them out here. Or if you need help, let me know! I would love to make your nails merry and bright for the holidays. 

My Jamberry Journey

One year ago this month I did something I never thought I would do, I joined a direct sales company. For an entire year now, I have been a Jamberry Independent consultant.

Not going to lie and say it's all been easy.  I'm also not going to lie and say I haven't spent a bunch of money on jamberries for myself (tax write off my friends, my hands are advertising for my business!) But I will tell you it's been worth it.

Jamberry has given me the confidence to be able to drive to a strangers house in the snow to throw a home party. (side note, that is, to date, the best home party I have ever done!)

Jamberry has given me a simple way to give back, I have hosted two fundraising parties. Plus I participated in a few Jamberry campaigns that raised money for The Salvation Army and relief efforts in Nepal. Gives me that warm fuzzy feeling knowing I'm a part of a company that gives back.

This company does so much to help you succeed. They even sent me a set of jams for my birthday and a postcard saying happy anniversary. How many companies do that?

I may be biased because I'm part of the the jam-ily, but I love this company. This year I have made more then $1400 in commissions and another $200 in personal sales bonuses.

I would be remiss if I didn't offer you the opportunity to join. You can join today for just $99 and you get all of this:

What's in the kit:

• Heater - $19 
• 4 sheets Jamberry wraps (3 of your choosing, one pre-selected) - $45 
• Nail Application Kit - $12
• Cuticle Oil - $10
• rubber cuticle pusher (not sold individually for retail) 
• 50 catalogs
• 25 host or join brochures 
• 100 order forms 
• 1 tear away pad application instructions
• 1 tear away pad contact us 
• 50 orange sticks
• 5 nail files 
• alcohol wipes
• consultant guide
• 3 buffers and scissors
• 50 sample cards

You also get three months of your personal website. What you get in this kit more then pays for itself. I made enough in my first month to cover what I paid.

Anyway, won't give you the hard sell, but if you are interested, let me know.


1000 Gifts: 3 gifts in salvation

• it is a gift to be confident in my salvation.
• it is a gift to be able to freely share my salvation with others. 
• it is a gift to see my girls learning about salvation. 

Bye-Bye

This time of year is bittersweet for me in my jamberry business. It is the month before a new catalog comes out. That is the sweet part! The bitter part is that to make room for new stuff, we have to say goodbye to a lot of currently available wraps. Here is the complete list is the complete list, but I thought I would share my favorites that are going bye bye on August 31.

1000 Gifts: 3 gifts eaten

• It is a gift to have fresh veggies from our potted garden
• It is a gift to have a healthier option at work to eat. They have a "Healthy You" option and it's a healthy balanced meal for less then $5 
• It is a gift to have an amazing husband who loves cooking. We have great meals that he seems to cook with magic. 

Things That Excite Me

I thought it would be a great opportunity to use a few of Mama Kat's June writing prompts before June is over! Today I am going to list ten things that make me feel excited. I love lists!

1. An upcoming vacation (I'm leaving TONIGHT!!!) 
2. Giving my kids (or anyone really) a gift I know they will love. The only hard part about that is me keeping it quiet. 
3. Seeing the ocean. I only remember seeing the pacific and most of the time we go to Newport, but every time, cresting over that last hill, when all you can see is the city with the vast ocean beyond. Just amazing! 
4. The new release of a book I've been waiting for (I will be VERY excited in November when Winter comes out!) 
5. Pretty flowers, or even just the opportunity to get a pretty picture
   
6. Getting letters or packages in the mail. Its nice just getting something you know isn't mail. Something special just for you.
7. Silly corny jokes that I can share with my friends/co workers. They are corny and often pun-ey. But I love them.
8. Being able to give back and see the impact. So often you give, never knowing what happens, but being in a few situations where I see it, just so exciting!
9. New babies. I love holding em, smelling em and giving em back when they start crying. I may not want any more of my own, but I still get excited when I can share someone elses
10. A new jami-cure. I just LOVE my jamberry nail wraps.
    

1000 gifts: three gifts in fabric

• It was a gift to get three beautiful dresses from my pastor for the girls. 
• It is a gift to have a beautiful wedding dress, made especially for me by my amazing sister. Something I will cherish forever. I also still have the dress from my first wedding, simply because it is so beautiful and made for me by my aunt. 
• It is a gift to have beautiful clothes passed down to me from a friend. It's awesome to have a whole bunch of new stuff to wear at no cost to me. 

A New Application Method!

This Jamberry application idea came from a friend of mine's customer. I tried it for my last jamicure and look how amazing they still looked after two full weeks! 

The application method is super easy! You need the same tools that you do for the Jamberry suggested application: heat source, nail file, scissors, a ziplock baggie and of course some jams. I also use a set of nail clippers and a cuticle pusher. Here is how you do it, step by step:

1. Clean your nails very well. I recommend using dawn dish soap, it cuts the oil off your nails and nail beds super easily. After this, I usually push back my cuticles. 
2. Find the wrap that best fits your nail, pick one slightly smaller then your nail, you don't want it touching the cuticles. 
3. Cut it in half and carefully pull half off, taking care not to touch it. The less you touch the adhesive, the better. I usually use the other end of my cuticle pusher to lift it off the plastic backing. 
4. Carefully position the jam over your nail, taking care not to place it on the cuticle or any of the skin around your nails. Push the jam, starting from the middle of the cuticle and working your way out and up. This keeps there from being bumps in the jam. The more pressure the better. 
5. File or clip the excess off the end of the nail. 
6. Put your finger inside the baggie and stretch it over the jam tightly. Heat it as much as you can handle. 

Ta da! You have a beautiful jamicure that will last as long as you can keep your nails from growing. 

I know you want a simple beautiful manicure too. I would LOVE to send you a sample to try out. Let me know your contact info using the form on the right and I will get one right out to you.

Or, if you just want to buy some for yourself, you can get them on my website - www.betsyjam.jamberrynails.net

1000 Gifts: That made you laugh

• My girls repeating jokes they hear. Usually they are completely off what they were supposed to be, but they make me laugh anyway. 
• My husband. He finds ways to make me laugh and smile every day. 
• My coworkers. I have so much fun at work and I am so glad that we can laugh together. 

Orthodontic Update

First off, going to share a shameless plug for my best friend's daughter, she is fundraising to try and get to Washington DC. The best way I can do that right now is with a Jamberry fundraiser. If you are willing to buy ONE sheet, fifteen dollars. Fill out this form. Once I have ten takers, I will draw one to get their sheet half price. Ten percent of all sales will go to Jasmine's trip fund.

On a completely different note, I thought today would be a good day for an update on something important. At the girls' last dental check up we were encouraged to get McKayla in to see an ortodontist as soon as possible for a consult. Her poor teeth are "jacked up." I promised not to post this on facebook, but she said it was okay to put it on my blog, so here are a few pics

The orthodontist recommended we get five of her teeth pulled. The first is the one in the bottom picture, it's actually an extra (thank her dad's genetics for that) The other four are the two baby molars in the top picture as well as the same ones up top. He believes this is our only real option. Fact of the matter is, she is a tiny girl with a big set of teeth. I feel horrible! We should hear from her dentist about the extractions early next week. Keep us in your prayers. She knows, not that it's gonna be five, but that she has to have some pulled. It will be under oral sedation (like Natalie had for her dental work) and she seems okay with that. We are to focus on really good brushing and flossing until that can be done.

1000 Gifts: a gift cloth, steel, wood

• It is a gift to have the beautiful knitted prayer shawl from the hospital. It was donated and had a special card. Means a lot to me to have it. 
• It is a gift to have the beautiful charms I had in my bouquet at the wedding. They have pictures of the people we miss most on them. 
• It is a gift to have a beautiful wedding painting, spread over a frame of wood. A reminder of all the love and support we have from family and friends. 

FMF: Good

I am participating again this week in five minute Friday. All you have to do is write for five minutes. No editing, no thinking, just writing. She gives you a prompt each week and this week's prompt word is :

I have so much good going on in my life right now. My girls are all healthy and growing. Pretty sure they all grew a couple inches while they were gone with their dad. I also think they added years in just eleven days. Somehow they seemed so grown up. It's a good thing that they are growing, but at the same time its scary. Things are moving too fast. I can't help but ponder my own mortality. My mom was only 54 when she died. If (God forbid!) something were to happen to me at the same age, I only have 19 years. I want to make everything of the time I have left on earth. I want to work on living each day like it could be my last. Mom's came way too soon and I want to make sure that if that happens to me, I go with no regrets. Life on earth is good, but life in heaven is going to be amazing. I just need to make it until then. This world is often confusing and just bad, but it isn't always going to be this way, things will get worse before the end, but then it will be better. The best it could be when Jesus returns. I am sorry this is such a deep blog. Pretty religious too, but it's what's rolling around in the ole noggin. God is good all the time, even when life isn't. It is also said that good things come to those who wait, but I disagree with that one, I say good things come to those who work for them. You aren't going to get what you want in life, the good things, the best things, if you don't work for them.

This post inspired by:

1000 Gifts: 3 gifts surprisingly found

• It was a gift to find a couple new jamberry orders on my workstation. Unexpected commissions are wonderful. 
• It was a gift to have an unexpected surprising sick day with my girls. I missed them so much, it was nice to have the sick snuggles with them. 
• It is a gift to have my ring back, better then before because I know it's in great condition so I can be assured it is safe from damage on my hand all the time. 

Wordless Wednesday

I have to share this here, even though it's another shameless plug for my jamberry business! This gift set is available for Mother's day. It's $45 and comes with three exclusive wraps, an exclusive laquer, pumice stone and some peppermint taffy. It comes beautifully packaged and ready for mom.

1000 Gifts: 3 gifts round

1. My wedding ring. A round endless circle of a reminder of the commitment Stephen and I made. 
2. The beautiful sunshine that we have enjoyed the last few days (maybe it's been a week, who can remember!) 
3. The pot of the Easter lily that Stephen brought home for us. A reminder of the new life we have in Christ because of his sacrifice. 

Randomness

First vendor event went well. Got a few ideas to make next time better but it's a great start!

We got our first bird-feeder this weekend. Also got a squirrel feeder. What can I say? We love our red squirrel!

1000 Gifts: three gifts of his promises

• He promises that He will never give me more then I can handle, with His help. 
• He promised and provided a guide for us here on earth. The Holy Spirit is an amazing gift. 
• He promises us grace. Undeserved, unmerited grace. 

MS Fundraiser!

This weekend is my first vendor fundraising event. On Saturday I will be at the MS Vendor Blender to support Team Wilde in their fundraising efforts. I am donating 20% of all sales to the cause. If you are local to Boise, feel free to come by (details are on the facebook Vendor Blender event page.)

Do you know anything about MS? I know I didn't. Although MS touched my life early on, I knew very little about it. For as long as I can remember, my grandmother lived from the seat of her wheelchair. I can't remember her ever walking. MS stole my grandmother from me way too soon. I chose to participate in this year's MS walk because I don't want another family to go through what mine did.

Here are a few details that jumped out at me, these are all from msfocus.org

• An estimated 2.5 MILLION around the world have MS
• More then 400,000 people in the United States have MS 
• Without disease-modifying therapy, about 50% of those diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS will become progressive at ten years. 
• Without disease-modifying therapy, about 1/3 of those diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS will be using a wheelchair at 20 years. 

At the fundraiser I will be selling Jamberry. If you aren't local you can shop online. Any purchases made in this party will be part of my donation. If you aren't a jamberry junkie like me, or just want to make a straight donation you can do it here on my fundraising webpage. My goal is 250, I would love to hit that before the walk on April 18. If you want to know more, let me know. I would be glad to share some more information with you. 

1000 Gifts: three gifts redeemed

• It is a gift that he redeemed me by no merit of my own.
• It is a gift that he redeemed me even though I continually make mistakes. 
• It is a gift to have grace, anytime I need it. I am saved by grace. 

Thankful Tuesday (photo edition!)

This week, I thought I would change it up a little and post five things I am thankful for in photo form. It's a little more challenging for me to figure out how to take a picture that expresses what I am thankful for.

Jamberry, the opportunities it's been giving me.

Soda. Some days the caffeine is all that gets me by.

My plants. One of them is the rose my friend Kendra got mom and the other is an angel wing plant that reminds me of the one mom had for my entire childhood.

My wonderful husband.

doTerra - essential oils have helped me to stop using over the counter medications so often. I love them already!



1000 Gifts: three gifts worn

• It is a gift to have a warm jacket for every member of my family. 
• It is a gift to have multiple pair of shoes for my kids to wear. They might be worn down but they work. 
• It is a gift to have beautiful reminders of those I love that I can wear. Like my ring from my mom. Not only does it remind me of her, but it reminds me of God's provision for our family. 

New Catalog!

I realize I posted yesterday about Jamberry, but I am going to post again. This time because I am beyond excited. For the first time in my Jamberry career we had the new catalog come out. That might bis my judgement a little, but I am beyond loving this new catalog. I went through and made my list of wants and that means that I need to make some money to be able to spend it. That means I need a fresh base of customers. Just a note, so you aren't worried about clicking them, all links in this post will take you to my jamberry website. The entire Spring/Summer 2015 catalog is available on there.

For my blog followers (in the US only - sorry!) I am offering a free half sheet from my inventory for anyone who books a party for the month of March. If your party reaches at least $150 in sales, I will buy you another free sheet of your choice! This is in addition to the great hostess benefits you already get from Jamberry. Who wants to party?! You don't even have to be local. I will host a facebook party too. Or a catalog party. Whatever suits you best. I would love to help you figure out what will work best for you.

I am also going to share with you a few of my favorites from the new catalog.

From the Animal Instincts section:

Lady in Red, Mermaid Tales and Butterfly Kisses

My three overall favorites:

Rosy Quarterfoil, Out of Focus and Once Upon a Time

Three favorites from Garden Party:

French Countryside, Vixen and Destiny

So, there are my top almost ten. =) What about you? Post a comment with your favorite, if you do, you might get a prize from me!


1000 Gifts: Three gifts at 3pm

• It is a gift to have the sunshine streaming through my window. 
• It is a gift to smell my dinner already cooking. 
• It is a gift to be nearly caught up with the housework! Big thanks to my Hunny for the help with that! 

Jamberry How To (with pictures!)

I  thought today would be a great time for me to share some jamberry stuff with my bloggy friends. I know I've talked about about jamberry before, but I'm not sure I have told you all how easy they are to apply and enjoy. So, first I am going to show you how simple it is to remove them without damaging your nails.

This is my jamicure that needs to go. It's been on for seven days and I usually change them up weekly, just because I like to have new ones and keep my jams looking perfect. You can see how good they still look though, probably could last a little longer, but I am impatient for new ones!

I have a trick that I learned from my up-line Tabi, she's wonderful! All it takes is some oil (anything from the pantry will work) and a dental flosser like this one:

All you do is put a dab of oil on the cuticle side of the nail. Then you simply work the floss part under the edge of your jam.

Slowly working it up your nail until the jam comes off. Ta da!

And now you are almost ready to put on new ones. First you want to wash your hands with dish soap. Yes, dish soap. It works really well to get the oil off. I also found that using a toothbrush (not the same one you use for your teeth!) works well to get them super clean.

After you dry them completely, use the alcohol prep pads (I got a giant box in the diabetic section of walmart for less then two dollars) and a buffer block/file to clean the rest of the stuff off your nails and get them smooth for application

Pick your jams, this took me the longest of any part of the process! I picked Jaded with the new Island Energy (it is a sample from the new catalog!) clear wrap over the top of my middle finger nail.

Size the wrap you will need for each finger. The smallest one fits my pinky perfectly. You want to select a size that is just smaller then your nail so that it doesn't touch the skin on either side 

Push your invisible cuticle back (I use this rubber cuticle pusher from a manicure kit I got at the dollar tree)

Heat each wrap until they are bendy (see the pic). 

Carefully place the wrap on the nail. Use care not to touch the sticky part and press onto your nail. I usually push starting at the cuticle and work my way up the nail.

Next, I usually I take nail clippers and clip my nail just at the edge. This works well for me because my nails are too short to file effectively. If yours are longer, you can file them. Simply file at a 90 degree angle and file downward.

The last thing I do is get a plastic baggie and wrap it around my finger tightly, then I heat it up as long as you can handle. This adds a bit extra of heat and pressure that helps keep your jam-icure looking amazing.

Then you are done! Ta da! See how beautiful mine look?

1000 Gifts: A gift at 1130 am 230 pm 630 pm

• It is a gift to have a warm lunch when I want it. 
• It is a gift to have a wonderful man to spend a lazy afternoon with. 
• It is a gift to be able to enjoy a dinner, just the man and I. 

Coffee Date

Its about time you and I had coffee don't you think? While we are sipping our cup of joe, I would use the opportunity to talk about Jamberry a little. Having this conversation lets me write both of our coffees on my taxes (wink!). I would tell you a little about how I am trying to branch out my business. It would probably involve me asking you for some tips on how I can branch out without looking too desperate.

Then I am sure conversation would move on to how things are going in my house. I would probably talk about how happy I am that Stephen is finally feeling better. Pretty sure he's returning to work next week. He's pretty happy about that. I am just praying that this healthy spell lasts.

The conversation would probably drift from there to essential oils. I would freely admit how skeptical I was that they actually would work. Might mention a class I went to, hosted by my friend's brother, and learned a bit more about what oils could help my family and how. We have already bought a few bottles. I found quickly that peppermint works well on my headaches and for the worse ones I have been able to use the doTerra Past Tense blend. Between the two I think I have taken over the counter medications maybe twice. BIG change considering I was taking it on a daily basis before. I would talk about the plans we have to use oils more in our lives to helps us maybe live healthier.

We would probably talk a little bit about Heart Health Awareness month. It's February and on my heart a lot this year. I am trying to raise $100 dollars for the American Heart Association to donate in my mom's name. I have pledged to donate $2 for every one of these wraps I sell. This is in addition to the $2 that Jamberry donates. I am up to $8 so far, so I have a ways to go but I am pretty determined.

If you and I were having coffee I would ask you how life has been. What is something big going on in your life? If you and I were having coffee, what would you tell me?

1000 Gifts: 3 surprise gifts – unexpected grace

• It is a gift to be surprised by strangers when they show you there is still good in the world. 
• It is a gift to see charity at work. We saw an adoption drive going on at Petco this weekend and it was nice to see people trying to help others. 
• It is a gift to be able to see people I work with go out of their way to help patients and even other staff. I love where I work. 

Jamberry Opportunity

It's been four whole months since I started my jamberry business. I love this company. There is one thing I am having trouble with and that is getting outside my circles. That is why this post is happening. I know that I have some followers who haven't yet tried Jamberry, I would like to give you that opportunity today.

If you haven't heard of Jamberry or have but haven't tried them, I think now is your time. I want to share this product with you. By simply commenting on this post or sending me a request via my contact box (in the right sidebar) I will send you a sample jamberry wrap to try out. I simply ask one thing, tell me what you think.

So, I know you want to try them, so just let me know which one you want:

I will contact you for your mailing address and tell you a bit about the seven day challenge. Don't worry, it's not required! But it is super easy and will show you how jamberry will change the way you do your manicure.

What are you waiting for?! Message me now!

Fellow bloggers: are you willing to give Jamberry the test and review them on their blog?
If you are interested, send me a message and I will be in contact to see what we can work out.


1000 Gifts: A gift broke, fixed, thrifted

• It is a gift to have had my heart broken, because if it didn't happen, I wouldn't have the life I have now that I love. 
• It is a gift to have a man who is able to fix things around the house. I had so many "honey do" projects that he helped me complete. Much faster with his help!
• It is a gift to have gotten a few things for our wedding thrift style. I added a few things and made them our own, made a perfect touch for our wedding without the cost associated with buying personalized stuff. 

Thankful Tuesday

We sang the song this Sunday, "Count Your Blessings" and it was another reminder. When I do this, it makes me feel better about my life. I want to look at the glass and always see it half full. Here are five things I am thankful for this week.

1. I am thankful for tax season. I was worried with my  new business but it turned out okay. =) 
2. I am thankful for my health. My poor husband now has pneumonia. He had the flu the first part of the month. I feel bad for him :( 
3. I am thankful for my best friend. It may be awhile between chats but it's always like we never spent a day apart. 
4. I am thankful for simple things that make my girls happy. Like getting a new $2 toy. It totally made their night. 
5. I am thankful that my fingers are a tapping advertisement for my business. Gave away four cards today. Fingers crossed that I get a customer! 

1000 gifts: 3 gifts found in writing

• It is a gift to have a multitude of books I can get lost in when I need time away from the real world. 
• It's a gift to be able to read my old writing and see how far I've come. 
• It is a gift to watch my girls learn to love writing and see them grow.