Closing Sale!

Good afternoon,

With a heavy heart, I've decided to close my Etsy shop, Reprieve's Corner. I've marked down all of my handmade crafts and crafting supplies to liquidation prices (50% off). I'll continue to renew this discount rate until all of my current listings either sell or expire (Etsy charges us to renew listings).

www.etsy.com/shop/ReprievesCorner

I'll continue to do the occasional craft fair (especially around the holidays) until I run out of inventory and supplies.

I've also discounted signed copies of my books 30% off. Once my Etsy shop closes, books will be available for purchase through my blog, https://hscontino.com/.

Thank you all for supporting my creative endeavors for the past 11 years. I really appreciate it!

 

 

4th of July Blow Out Sale!

Sorry about the short notice, but I'm having a 4th of July Blow Out sale in my Etsy shop, Reprieve's Corner. Today and tomorrow (July 4th and 5th), save up to 70% off of handmade crafts, crafting supplies, and my autographed books.

www.etsy.com/shop/ReprievesCorner

 

 

Happy Independence Day!

Huge Sale!

Good afternoon,

Just a quick post to let everyone know that I'm having a big sale in my online Etsy shop, Reprieve's Corner. I love making stuff, and I usually sell both online and at craft fairs and farmers markets through out the year. But with all of the pandemic cancellations over the past few years, I've had a lot of time on my hands to make stuff and not a lot of market opportunities. This has led to a surplus of inventory. I'd rather sell it at a discounted price then continue to store it. Besides, selling my work gives me an excuse to make new stuff!

 

Handmade Craft Liquidation Sale!

I've marked down almost all of my handmade crafts and crafting supplies to 50% off! 

 

Autographed Book Sale!

Autographed copies of all of my published books are 30% off!

Free Shipping on Orders of $35 or more (US only)!

 

The sale prices are currently set to expire at the end of March, but I may extend the date. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Have a great weekend!

 ~ H. S. Contino 

Introducing "Penny-less January"

 Good morning!

As the new year approaches, I've decided to challenge myself to what I'm calling "Penny-less January." I'm writing about it on my blog and sharing my plans on the internet in order to keep myself accountable. ;)

 

The "rules" are pretty simple: I want to see if I can make through an entire month without spending a penny on anything other than my regular household bills (housing, utilities, and phone/internet). I'm also going to avoid spend money on groceries or take out. In preparation, I've stocked up on frozen, canned, and shelf stable foods (as well as pet food and treats-- of course!).

I have several reasons for pursuing this challenge, but one of the main ones is that I'm tired of starting each new year poor and in debt. For years, I felt societal pressure to spend a lot of money on gifts for my family and friends every holiday season. Since I've never had a large salary, more often than not I ended up falling back on my credit cards-- which mean that come January I had to start paying them back with interest.

I want to break that cycle.

 

This year, I sent holiday greeting cards to my family and friends, but I only gave gifts to my closest family members. And, instead of racking up debt, I purchased a few small, inexpensive gifts. Instead of traditional gifts, I made individualized Memory Books for family members using photographs of past family adventures and special moments. As I told my nieces and nephew, I was giving them each the gift of memory-- and the Memory Books were meant to symbolize this intangible gift.

I chose the name "Penny-less January" because my goal is the exact opposite. I'm trying to break the cycle of beginning every new year penniless, and I'm so tired of modern society's focus on consumerism. Instead, I'm going back to the basics. I want to start the year while focusing on my basic expenses, which will free up money in my budget that I can put towards my debt.

So, wish me luck!

What about everyone else? What are your goals for the new year? Any new year's resolutions? Please, feel free to share in the comments.

Thank you for reading. I hope that your holidays were merry, and I'd like to wish everyone a wonderful (and happy) new year!

~ H. S. Contino

Fan Mail Friday!

Good morning!

Can you believe that we're approaching the end of 2021? Time sure does fly by!

For this month's Fan Mail Friday, I'm sharing another older review. This one is for a collection of pet and animal stories that I published back in 2013. I self-published the book so I could easily donate a portion of the sales to a local animal shelter. I initially chose Pacific Cove Humane Society because they were fund raising to build a new local shelter. Eventually, the organization re-reviewed their priorities after realizing that there was no longer a need to build a second shelter. Since then, I've been making donations to the Coos County Animal Shelter.

"Paw Prints" was a lot of fun to write! It's a bit of a memoir since it includes numerous stories about myself, my childhood, and the pets that I've had over the years. I also invited a few friends to contribute stories to the collection-- including my mother and sister-in-law.

 

The best part? The photo on the cover is Loki, my black Labrador Retriever. She's a puppy in the photograph, but she'll be 10 in February 2022. Like I said earlier, time flies by!

 

 

I hope you all have a great weekend! 

~ H. S. Contino

December Specials & Upcoming Markets

 Good morning!

Can you believe that it's December already? This year has flown by!

I've just got a few updates today. First, I'll be continuing to discount everything in my online Etsy shop, Reprieve's Corner, through the end of the year.

 

 

December Specials:

Autographed Books 25% Off (all titles-- including my new novel, Alternatives)!

Handmade Jewelry 50% Off! 

All Handmade Crafts, Vintage, & Supplies 40% Off!

 

 

 

Upcoming Markets:

 

Coquille Eagle's Holiday Craft Bazaar

Friday, December 3rd-- open 9 am until 5 pm

Saturday, December 4th-- open 9 am until 4 pm

Location: Coquille Community Building, 115 N Birch Street, Coquille, OR 97423

This annual event always draws a large variety of local merchants. There are usually a few non-profit groups as well (including the local human society). Additionally, the Coquille Eagles usually have a booth where they sell fresh baked donuts-- yum!

Pony Village Mall Holiday Craft Faire

Saturday, December 11th from 10 am until 4 pm

Location: Pony Village Mall, 1611 Virginia Avenue, North Bend, OR 97459

This will only be my 2nd time participating in this particular market. Last time there were a variety of vendors-- some selling handmade items and some resale. Please, feel free to check it out!

 

(Shore Acres Light Display)

As you can see, it's a scaled down list for me this year. Unfortunately, the combination of the global pandemic and my personal health issues have taken their toll on be over the past two years. As much as I enjoy participating in local markets (and visiting with members of our community), I've had to reduce the number of markets that I participate in.

As my regular readers know, I'm not the most consistent blogger. So, in case I don't post again before then, I'd like to wish everyone a very happy holiday season and a wonderful new year!

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog post and for supporting my little crafting and writing business. I really appreciate it!

Happy reading!

~ H. S. Contino

It's Fan Mail Friday!

 Good morning!

It's nearly Halloween. Have you chosen your costume(s)? Feel free to share in the comments section!

For this month's Fan Mail Friday, I'm sharing an older review of one of my books. "Shorts" is a collection of short fiction (short stories and poetry) that I published back in 2013. It's a diverse mix of stories and genres. Appropriately, the review mentions one of my Halloween themed stories.

 

Have a sugar filled weekend!

 

~ H. S. Contino

Welcome Fall!

 Good morning,

Here on the Oregon coast we've transitioned into the time of year where it's necessary to wear layers. It tends to be chilly in the mornings, warm up to t-shirt weather during the afternoons, then get overcast and chilly again overnight. The result is a bunch of people constantly adding and removing layers of clothing as needed. (LOL)

Nature's Fall Color Show...

 

It's also the time of year that I start planning my holiday shopping. I've always been an introvert and large crowds give me anxiety, so I like to shop early. It's also always a relief to have the shopping done ahead of time.

Since I'm sure I'm not the only one that takes this approach to gift shopping, I like to start running early sales and other promotional offers in my online Etsy shop, Reprieve's Corner. Beginning October 1st, I've marked everything in my shop 30% off. This includes everything-- my hand painted signs, hand made jewelry, hand sewn plush toys, autographed copies of my books, and even my new clay art!

 

 Save 30% Shop Wide!

I've also been lining up fall and winter in-person markets. As everyone knows, we're still in the middle of a pandemic, so it won't be a normal holiday shopping season. Some events have already been cancelled. Others are still being planned with plenty of restrictions in place to try to keep everyone healthy.

I'll be posting more in the next few weeks as I line up in-person markets. If you're local (southern Oregon coast) and here about an upcoming market, please feel free to send me a message. I'm always open to suggestions!

Meanwhile, I hope everyone is enjoying watching the leaves change colors and having an excuse to sip more warm beverages while snuggling in our warmest sweaters!

Happy reading!

~ H. S. Contino

It's Fan Mail Friday!

TGIF, everyone!

I just wanted to share the following:

 

 

I love that they posed the lizard so she's holding a pencil! Tanks so much for your positive feedback! :)

 

Have a great weekend, everyone!

 

~ H. S. Contino

www.Etsy.com/shop/ReprievesCorner