Jessika Babb makes, sells jewelry

Jessika Babb wants a laptop computer; an $1,800 Apple MacBook to be exact. “The really skinny one,” she said. Those things don’t grow on trees and her mother suggested she start saving for it. So, Babb began thinking of a commodity to sell.

Babb, 11, is creative. She draws and enjoys writing stories. “They’re stories about things that have happened to me. I change the names and elaborate a little.” It didn’t take long for her to decide on a creative venture, one that her 12-year-old neighbor Camyn Clifton taught her to do – making jewelry.

Babb makes dangling earrings, necklaces with unique pendants, and bracelets. “Bending the wire is hard,” she said, “sometimes it breaks.” She has sold quite a few at garage sales and has posted her designs for sale online. Part of her earnings is put into a savings account while another part is used for more supplies.

Though she has only saved about $90, she is learning how to save, how to sensibly shop for supplies, and how important persistence is, and she advises kids her age to “never give up, if you want and believe in something bad enough, you can never give up.”

Babb wants to be a fashion designer and she plans on fine-tuning her drawing and sewing skills through practice and persistence. Her other endeavors include playing the saxophone and gymnastics. She also enjoys playing basketball.

A fifth-grader at Meadow Ridge Elementary School, Babb maintains good marks and aims to continue to do so in order to reach her goals.

When asked what she’ll do with the laptop once she gets it, she said, “Go to webkinz.com.”