Do You Support the Lyme Community?

The Lymenaide Holiday Bazaar is in full swing! I know, I know we are always posting about the bazaar and harping on everyone to check it out and to enter the weekly giveaways. That is what we do. We support the Lyme community and the individuals in it.

The Lymenaide Holiday Bazaar was started to promote Lyme artists and crafters who have started their home based businesses to make ends meet. For many of the artists their business is their only source of income. Authors and musicians from the community have also joined the Bazaar which now has a wide range of booths with everything from jewelry to soap to cookbooks.

You are sure to find items in the Bazaar booths to fill some of your Holiday gift giving needs. Not only will your friend or family member be getting a unique gift, your purchase will be a gift in itself to the very talented artist from the Lyme community.

I personally have ordered three of Kim Christensen’s cookbook calendars from her shop – My Little Ideas. They arrived today and I can’t wait to give them to my friends. I am keeping one for myself of course.

I totally love Molly Murphy’s jewelry! Check out her booth Seeking Serendipity and her amazing eco friendly jewelry.

Lisa Parr has a booth for her candle business, Smells Amazing and Jen Wilson is a Mary Kay Representative, Susanne Schlador hand makes her soaps for Lavande de Bois and Rebecca Michelle Lee has some very unique art on her booth Pigeons in the Attic.

There are currently over 25 booths on the Bazaar with a wide range of items. Please support these amazing Lymies this holiday season. Shop online at the Lymenaide Holiday Bazaar and share links to the Bazaar with your friends and family.

All sales go directly to the seller. Think of the Lymenaide Holiday Bazaar like a farmer’s market. The organizer, in this case Lymenaide, provides the venue. Vendors pay a fee to get a booth. The actual sales are between the buyer an the seller. The booth fee goes to the set up costs and future awareness projects organized by Lymenaide.

A wonderful angel in the Lyme community also made a very generous donation to fund booths for those who can’t afford the booth fee. We still have booth sponsorships available for Lymies in need if you are interested! Contact Ashley or Eric for more information- ashvantol@lymenaide.com / ericrutulante@lymebites.com

Sharon Rainey is the current featured artist on the Bazaar. Sharon is a writer, a fighter, and a Lyme survivor. Sharon first contracted Lyme when she was just 18 years old, and then embarked on 28 year old battle for her health.

Every Monday and Thursday an artist is featured on the bazaar and there is  giveaway. Sharon is giving away a copy of her recently published book, “Making a Pearl from the Grit of Life”. A story of endurance, patience and triumph, and a demonstration of faith and optimism.

Support Sharon by leaving a comment on her booth. Your comment will automatically enter you to win a copy of her book. Follow the link to Sharon’s booth- http://bit.ly/e0awID

If you consider yourself a member and supporter of the Lyme community prove it by following that links, browsing the booths and leaving comments on the Lymenaide Holiday Bazaar. Share the link on Facebook and Twitter, encourage your friends and family to check out the site, enter the giveaways and make a difference to these amazing artists and crafters from your community.

Link To the Lymenaide Holiday Bazaar Now

Any questions or concerns about the Bazaar can be sent to Ashley or Eric- ashvantol@lymenaide.com / ericrutulante@lymebites.com

 

Featured Artist: Shauna Prudhomme

Thursday, November 18th
Featured Artist: Shauna Prudhomme

Lymenaide is excited to present you Shauna, the upbeat, talented, creative crafter of Key Element Jewelry. Shauna also happens to be the true epitomy of a lyme survivor. Shauna battled late stage lyme disease for four whole years, after going eighteen months undiagnosed. Eight years ago, her dedication, strength and courage prevailed and she beat the disease, and has been in remission ever since. We are both proud and inspired to be able to announce this.

Shauna began experimenting with jewelry making a year or so ago, and thought it’d be a great way to put her natural craftiness to use, but to also share what she has learned on her journey to health. It is her hope that through her jewelry, she will be able to “create awareness, solidarity, and pay it forward”.

Shauna’s strength and insight are truly inspirational. When asked for just a piece of her wisdom, she shared some incredible words:

“Lyme is raw, relentless, and will back you in a corner and show you what you’re made of. If there are three things I can say to anyone whom still battles:

1) Forgive yourself, you did not cause this. Forgive those who don’t understand.

2) BELIEVE with ALL of your mind, your being, and your soul that you WILL beat it.

3) Remember, you are bigger than the tick. that bit you!”

Key Element Jewelry Giveaway

Shauna’s giveaway item couldn’t fit more perfectly with what Key Elements Jewelery, Lymenaide, and the Lymenaide Holiday Bazaar are all about. Shauna is giving away a lyme awareness necklace (strung on a black chord), that both demonstrates her journey with lyme, but also the endurance, motivation, and outlook that is needed to beat the disease.

To enter to win the Lyme Awareness Necklace, please do the following:

1. Comment on the “Key Element Jewelery” bazaar page, which can be found here. In your comment, write a few words about something you’ve learned from your own journey with lyme, or through watching a loved one or a friend battle the disease.

2. Either share the link to this featured artist write-up on your blog, twitter account or facebook page, or make a purchase from one of the booths at the bazaar. In your comment on the “Key Element Jewelry” bazaar booth, please either include the link to where you’ve shared, or a link to the booth that you have purchased from.

3. Include your email address at the end of your comment, so we can contact you if you so happen to win.

Please also be sure to “like” Key Elements Jewelry on Facebook!

Your comment will enter you in a drawing that will take place this upcoming Monday, November 22nd. The winner will be announced on Lymenaide’s facebook page and will receive an email notification.

“BELIEVE with ALL of your mind, your being, and your soul that you WILL beat it.” -Shauna Prudhomme

Enter on Shauna’s booth- http://tiny.cc/v72rk

 

Featured Artist – Andrew Peterson

If you haven’t checked out the online Lymenaide Holiday Bazaar yet you should really get over there to have a look. For the next two months we will be featuring and promoting artists, authors and crafters form within the Lyme community. There will also be weekly giveaways from featured artists like Andrew.

I actually have a copy of Andrew’s book “The Next Ten Minutes”. When I opened it up and started reading from the very first page I though, “this guy has got me figured out!”

Now you have a chance to win a copy of his book and spread some Holiday cheer by shopping on the Lymenaide Holiday Bazaar. All sales are directly through the vendors and the proceeds go to them.

Monday, November 15th
Featured Artist: Andrew Peterson

 

Lymenaide is proud to introduce this season’s first Holiday Bazaar
Featured Artist: Andrew Peterson.

Andrew is a relatively newly diagnosed Lyme patient, but is not stranger to physical pain and hardship. He suffered for two years, saw numerous doctors, and even acquired a tentative diagnosis of ALS before he was diagnosed with late stage Lyme disease.

“I was diagnosed with Lyme in July of this year, after spending two years going from doctor to doctor in search of a diagnosis for all my crazy symptoms. I even wound up at the Mayo Clinic because for awhile it seemed very possible that I had ALS. The specialists all kept telling me that there was nothing wrong with me, even as my symptoms worsened. Like so many other people, I came out negative on the ELISA test and this, in conjunction with the fact that I live in Montana (where Lyme supposedly doesn’t exist) kept any of my doctors from worrying about Lyme. I finally got the Lyme diagnosis when I insisted on getting a Western Blot, which came back positive for borellia. (I’ve written extensively about the search for a diagnosis on my blog, in a series called “Being Undiagnosable.” It’s an experience I know that many Lymies will relate to.) So as best I can figure, I’ve had Lyme for almost two and a half years.”

Yet even through the hardship and debilitation that Andrew has faced, he has remained incredibly positive and admirably motivated. Instead of letting the disease destroy everything that he is and was, he used it as fuel to continue on with his passion and shape who he is today.

“As so many people who face my life with Lyme come to realize, it’s a disease which robs you of the ability to work as hard or as well as you used to be able. I came to an important realization during the course of the past few years, which was that while I may not be able to get as much work done as I used to, I can still move my life forward. I can get a little bit done every day, and that will add up. Looking back on it, I can’t believe that I was able to write and publish a book during this difficult time. But the way I did it was by staying focused on what it was possible for me to do at any given moment. By resting when I needed to rest and working when I was able. The book itself has become a symbol to me that even though Lyme has dramatically altered my life, it does not have complete control.

The other thing that has been very exciting to me is that the realization, as The Next Ten Minutes neared its publication date, that I had the opportunity not just to promote my book, but to use that promotion to advocate for greater Lyme awareness. In interviews and discussions about the book, I have the chance to talk about my experience with Lyme and put a human face to the disease.”

“The Next Ten Minutes” Book Giveaway

What better way to kick off Lymenaide’s series of Holiday Bazaar Featured Artist Giveaways than with such an inspiring book, by an incredible author and fellow Lyme survivor.

“The Next Ten Minutes contains a set of simple yet powerful exercises which will transform your state of mind by directing your full awareness to the habits and routines of your everyday life. The seeds of change are embedded within the most ordinary routines of daily life. These exercises will help you see how, when you bring your full attention to these routines, daily life can become an act of meditation.”

To enter to win a signed copy of “The Next Ten Minutes”, please do the following:

1. Comment on “The Next Ten Minutes” bazaar booth, which can be found here. In your comment, please either write an encouraging, motivating, or inspiring message to late stage Lyme battlers, or state how you’ve used a talent or passion of your own to cope with your illness like Andrew Peterson has.

2. Either share the link to this featured artist write-up on your blog, twitter account or facebook page, or make a purchase from one of the booths at the bazaar. In your comment on “The Next Ten Minutes” bazaar booth, please either include the link to where you’ve shared, or a link to the booth that you have purchased from.

3. Include your email address at the end of your comment, so we can contact you if you so happen to win.

Your comment will enter you in a drawing that will take place this Friday, November 20th. The winner will be announced on Lymenaide’s facebook page and will receive an email notification. Andrew Peterson will personally mail the winner a signed copy of his book.

“I believe deeply that this disease does not have to stop us in our tracks. Each of the booths in the Lymenaide holiday bazaar represents a triumph over Lyme. Sometimes it seems like we’re only capable of taking the tiniest steps forward…but that is still progress. We can all find ways to move forward with hope and compassion, for ourselves and for everyone else who suffers from Lyme.” – Andrew Peterson

Enter on Andrew’s booth- http://bit.ly/9i2DSR

 

Amanda Morante -Featured Lyme Artist

The Jukebox Romantics

Amanda Morante

I reside in Long Island, New York after a short residence in Brooklyn, New York and London, England.

Currently, I make handmade Jewelry and Decoupaged items.

Shop Name: Design@AmandaMorante.com

LYME-
Lyme has affected me for approximately 15 years. Most of these years were undiagnosed.

I was diagnosed with Lyme in February of 2009. I did not start treatment until April of 2009.

Before I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease I greatly overcompensated in my life. I finished High School with honors and went on to study Graphic Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology for four whole years.

Towards the end of my college career I became sicker but still managed to graduate magna cum laude. During college I lived in England for about 7 months to further advance my skills in my program. For these four years I was living away from family which made the unknown even scarier. I just tried to ignore it all. I was told all of my problems were due to Fibromyalgia and Psychiatric issues, so that diagnosis stuck for way too long.

When I returned from England I decided that I would further investigate what was really wrong with me. I found out about IgeneX Lyme testing and forced my Fibromyalgia doctor to test me.

Since that day I have been fighting the Lyme fight and feel like I am winning every day. My advice to all people is to never give up on yourself and to always seek out the answers in which you so greatly deserve.

MY ART-
When my Great-grand Aunt passed away my Grandmother gave me a bunch of supplies that belonged to her — Most of them being vintage buttons. I held on to these for a long time.

When I was diagnosed I would sit home for hours on end with nothing to do. One day while talking with my Grandmother she gave me the idea to make stick pins out of the beautiful buttons.

Ever since that day I have created Jewelry not only from vintage material sources but from beads and recycled jewelry as well. My jewelry is a product of my recovery and it makes me proud to see people enjoying my work.

Making jewelry helps keep my hands nimble. Sometimes it feels as if my joints are just frozen. Making Jewelry helps limber up my hands and also helps me mentally. It is quite relaxing creating my pieces. Sometimes we get so caught up in life we forget what it means to slow down. Making Jewelry helps me do just this.

AMANDA’S ART

My art can be found in two places. Please feel free to visit-
http://amandamorante.etsy.com for my Jewelry shop.

My graphic design portfolio can also be found at
http://www.amandamorante.com.