Wow, it has been quite a while since I last updated... which is basically an honest indication that I have not spent any significant time doing things creative.
One of the FEW pieces I have recently finished
I am going to give myself somewhat of a "hall pass" simply on account of the fact that I have been working a lot on bookkeeping for taxes... as well as on different income producing ventures... pushing the importance of Alchemy Stones somewhat to the back burner, at least for a few weeks.
As the bookkeeping progresses, it's clear that 2024 was not a particularly impressive year. As has been true for the previous 3-4 years, online sales were virtually nothing, while in-person sales at events pretty much saved the day, although overall results were not much to write home about.
Sometimes it's a bit of a challenge to find much creative motivation.
So far, my plans to "restructure" my online stores have been moving at a pretty glacial pace... and I don't see that changing much until after "tax season" is over and done with, on April 15th.
I also have some business licence related things that are up for renewal this year, and that stuff all costs money. But it has to be done.
Not much happening on the "events" front. Didn't really come up with anything viable for the first half of the year, and the out-of-town conference we normally go to at the beginning of May is a no-go this year because it overlaps with the due date of our daughter's first baby arriving!
Which means that there will be no events until mid-summer, sometime... July, maybe. In turn, that means it's likely I will have no sales until July, since online marketing remains a total bust.
Did finish this larger stone, last week
But I'm not going to allow myself to lose sleep over that... although it likely will mean that I'll be doing less creative work than I typically have been.
With the economy being the way it is — and I mean both "the" economy, as well as our personal economy — I can't really justify spending much time while I am awake not engaged in "income producing activities."
It's sad that life in 2025 basically is turning out that way...
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Thank You!
If you enjoy painted rocks, do check out The Hive Rocks Project and help spread the word about Hive, while also being creative!
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2025.03.08 AS-TXT-326/296