The fall craft fair season started with a gust and a sprinkle.
My husband helped me last night (his first full event) as we set up my tables at an outdoor fair in some serious wind. It was a mess and I was afraid to put half of my product out because they would be blown away like Dorothy's house. So we decided to move next to a building where the wind was blocked. As we moved and started setting up again, it rained.
Ugh and my gosh.
But eventually the rain stopped and we set up with no problems. I still kept my paper fortunes for handing out in the car because any gusts and they would have surely been a thing of the past and not of the future.
We had a great time chatting with people. We saw someone we knew, saw a few people who looked extremely familiar and met people we hope to see again.
These craft fairs aren't always profitable for me but they open doors to future sales and overall, it's just nice chatting with people and hanging out with my husband -- or my mom who usually does fairs with me.
So, if you were one of the folks who stopped by and picked up a business card, it was nice seeing you and I hope to see you again.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
My Last Six Years
About six years ago I left corporate America to be a stay-at-home mom. I knew the choice was going to be challenging financially and emotionally and professionally. But I knew it was the right choice for me. And it was a choice I am so glad I made.
In an attempt to avoid any implication, suggestion or temptation to wrongly interpret my words as being a controversial shot fired in the Mommy Wars, let me just say that my life has been MY life. It hasn't been comparable to any other moms.
But what I can say is that I am now facing a challenge that only stay-at-home moms face -- returning to the workforce after YEARS of being gone. I didn't take maternity leave. I dropped off the face of the earth -- from any potential employer's perspective. This isn't to say my challenge is better or worse than a mom who took months or weeks off after having a kiddo. It's just simply a challenge that you can't conceive the shock of until you are facing it head-on.
This new challenge consists of the things most job searchers feel: anxiety, self-doubt, obsessive thinking, constant practicing how to answer interview questions, an "applied to" list that keeps growing and an addiction to job search apps -- checking even at 1:30 in the morning.
But the challenge I face now also includes the fact that my resume has a hole the size of a Texas pothole. I know many people have been looking for a job for a miserable amount of time. And, in some ways, we have a certain dread in common. But I made this choice. I chose to leave and take the chance years later of not being seen as viable again.
So, my challenge, and I choose to accept it, is how to reframe my last six years and create messaging that shows I can step from playing Angry Birds with a five-and-3/4-year-old into managing a multi-million dollar project.
In some ways, having my small business helps me present the currency of my skills. I spent the last year writing copy for products and email campaigns. I built my own website (that I since put to rest to transition to this stage in my life). I market my products at craft fairs and wholesale. I balance budgets, source packaging and production costs. I evaluate shipping costs -- even learned the ins and outs of shipping internationally when I started getting sales from Canada, Australia and England.
I've worked with brides, new parents and customers needing custom designs for gifts. I have analyzed product mix and SEO stats.
And all the while, I have been a mom. I have raised a kiddo who talks more than me (shocking, I tell ya), can walk into a room like he knows he belongs, cuddles, runs like Flash and can teach me the strategy behind complex games on the iPad.
So, this is honestly a time in my life that scares the hell out of me. But, it's also a time where I must decide how to message the last six years. Do I passively apologize for not being a career-woman? Or do I say, look what *I* have done. Look what *I* have made happen. Look at what a mom can do!
In an attempt to avoid any implication, suggestion or temptation to wrongly interpret my words as being a controversial shot fired in the Mommy Wars, let me just say that my life has been MY life. It hasn't been comparable to any other moms.
But what I can say is that I am now facing a challenge that only stay-at-home moms face -- returning to the workforce after YEARS of being gone. I didn't take maternity leave. I dropped off the face of the earth -- from any potential employer's perspective. This isn't to say my challenge is better or worse than a mom who took months or weeks off after having a kiddo. It's just simply a challenge that you can't conceive the shock of until you are facing it head-on.
This new challenge consists of the things most job searchers feel: anxiety, self-doubt, obsessive thinking, constant practicing how to answer interview questions, an "applied to" list that keeps growing and an addiction to job search apps -- checking even at 1:30 in the morning.
But the challenge I face now also includes the fact that my resume has a hole the size of a Texas pothole. I know many people have been looking for a job for a miserable amount of time. And, in some ways, we have a certain dread in common. But I made this choice. I chose to leave and take the chance years later of not being seen as viable again.
So, my challenge, and I choose to accept it, is how to reframe my last six years and create messaging that shows I can step from playing Angry Birds with a five-and-3/4-year-old into managing a multi-million dollar project.
In some ways, having my small business helps me present the currency of my skills. I spent the last year writing copy for products and email campaigns. I built my own website (that I since put to rest to transition to this stage in my life). I market my products at craft fairs and wholesale. I balance budgets, source packaging and production costs. I evaluate shipping costs -- even learned the ins and outs of shipping internationally when I started getting sales from Canada, Australia and England.
I've worked with brides, new parents and customers needing custom designs for gifts. I have analyzed product mix and SEO stats.
And all the while, I have been a mom. I have raised a kiddo who talks more than me (shocking, I tell ya), can walk into a room like he knows he belongs, cuddles, runs like Flash and can teach me the strategy behind complex games on the iPad.
So, this is honestly a time in my life that scares the hell out of me. But, it's also a time where I must decide how to message the last six years. Do I passively apologize for not being a career-woman? Or do I say, look what *I* have done. Look what *I* have made happen. Look at what a mom can do!
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Christmas in July
With the fall craft fair season fast approaching -- in like four months -- I knew I needed to get planning. I knew that calendars would take the bulk of my time because they require a lot of tedious details like making sure the days are right and silly stuff like that. The process of calendar layout is more laborious than creative so the sooner I start, the better.
But for 2013 I decided to change my calendars a bit -- I made the fonts larger and the paper smaller. So that took more than just getting the dates right -- it took some formatting changes. I knew that starting now would be my best bet for avoiding staying up until 3 am the week before my first craft fair. Calendars are a big seller in the fall and I still have to print and cut them. So I knew I was ahead of the game doing them now. I figure if I print and cut over the next few months, the craft fairs will be turn-key-ish.
And then came the announcement from Etsy of a Christmas in July promotion. Crap. I didn't think about that. So I booked it and produced my calendars in record-time. By staying up late every night for a week. Ha!
But they are darling. I am really happy with the new size and even finished a new artwork collection I was planning. The new collection of artwork excites me because it's the first time I used the same image but changed the color. It's representative of the change of seasons ({even though we don't have much of that down here in Texas}.
So, as of today, my 2013 Calendars are ready for the masses. If you swing by my shop between now and July 26, you can enter coupon code CHRISTMASINJULY and save 10% on all the items in my shop. You can shop for gifts or for yourself.
And I even threw in my Christmas cards so there's no excuse for not sending your cards out on time -- this year, anyway.
So come on by, y'all. Check out what I've been up to deep in the "heat" of Texas...
Monday, April 16, 2012
What a Great Start to the Week
I just launched a new item in my Etsy shop -- upcycled sugar molds with pretty and fun tags. I'm telling y'all, these are some of my favorite things on the planet. The wood of an old sugar mold is beautiful and full of sweet history. The molds are from Mexico, South America and the southwest of the United States, as molding for storage of sugars and molasses. They are deep and slightly angled, to form a subtle cone.
Today we can re-purpose them in all kinds of ways: as paintbrush, pen or utensil holders. Or you can put small ramekins of succulents or votive candle holders in them. If you place small cups inside, you can store even small things like paper clips and keys.
Sugar molds are the type of find you discover at an antique mall and say, "I must have this in my life". And from there, you can find a way to make it useful, as well as pretty. Some people paint them with contemporary stripes and circles -- I've even seen silhouettes of utensils painted on them. I like to go a different route -- I make tags that say something funny in a pretty font and attach them with a ribbon. I like the contrast of elegance and rustic, utilitarian and historical, classy and sassy.
These are some of the best things I make and sell. In part, because until I ship them, they make my house look pretty.
Today we can re-purpose them in all kinds of ways: as paintbrush, pen or utensil holders. Or you can put small ramekins of succulents or votive candle holders in them. If you place small cups inside, you can store even small things like paper clips and keys.
Sugar molds are the type of find you discover at an antique mall and say, "I must have this in my life". And from there, you can find a way to make it useful, as well as pretty. Some people paint them with contemporary stripes and circles -- I've even seen silhouettes of utensils painted on them. I like to go a different route -- I make tags that say something funny in a pretty font and attach them with a ribbon. I like the contrast of elegance and rustic, utilitarian and historical, classy and sassy.
These are some of the best things I make and sell. In part, because until I ship them, they make my house look pretty.
Friday, April 13, 2012
I've Taken You for Granted -- **Updated**
**Updated** Stop the presses! Or whatever we call internet presses in a moment like this.
My dear friend, Trista, came to my rescue. Who the heck knew that these tags are sold at office supply stores as key tags? That's right, Trista knew!!
You know how it goes, "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone"? You have something in your life so long that you assume it will always be there. You don't give something the attention it deserves until you realize the end is near and you're going to have to say a final farewell. It's sad, there's a sense of panic and negotiation like any other form of grief. You toss and turn at night, unable to sleep because the realization you can't do a thing to stop the inevitable end of a relationship. It's either ending or you weren't paying attention enough to realize it's actually gone already.
We all have the experiences. It's a part of life.
So, it's with great sadness and regret that I publicly apologize for taking for granted, for not seeing clearly that you were leaving. For not rushing out to stock up on every last moment of you. Instead, I now sit adoring the nine of you I have left. And I am grateful for the chance to spend enough time with you on three last projects.
If only I'd paid attention better at Michael's. I would have known you were on your way out. And it's surprising really since you seemed so popular. I see you all over blogs and Etsy. People like you. So I'm baffled why Michael's cast you away from us. I'm sorry I didn't see it coming.
Oh, tag. I'll cherish our time together. You will be missed.
My dear friend, Trista, came to my rescue. Who the heck knew that these tags are sold at office supply stores as key tags? That's right, Trista knew!!
You know how it goes, "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone"? You have something in your life so long that you assume it will always be there. You don't give something the attention it deserves until you realize the end is near and you're going to have to say a final farewell. It's sad, there's a sense of panic and negotiation like any other form of grief. You toss and turn at night, unable to sleep because the realization you can't do a thing to stop the inevitable end of a relationship. It's either ending or you weren't paying attention enough to realize it's actually gone already.
We all have the experiences. It's a part of life.
So, it's with great sadness and regret that I publicly apologize for taking for granted, for not seeing clearly that you were leaving. For not rushing out to stock up on every last moment of you. Instead, I now sit adoring the nine of you I have left. And I am grateful for the chance to spend enough time with you on three last projects.
If only I'd paid attention better at Michael's. I would have known you were on your way out. And it's surprising really since you seemed so popular. I see you all over blogs and Etsy. People like you. So I'm baffled why Michael's cast you away from us. I'm sorry I didn't see it coming.
Oh, tag. I'll cherish our time together. You will be missed.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Oops
I just discovered that a bunch of my images on the blog were blocked. So if you came here the last couple of days and saw a big black blob where my logo should have been, that was me being an idiot when it comes to technology.
All fixed. All better.
All fixed. All better.
Tuesday Treasury -- "Feeling Giddy"
Treasuries are collections of artisans I find on Etsy. None of the work is mine, but it's all enjoyed by me. Today's Treasury is about giddy. I can't really say why, but I just feel giddy today.
 Skip Print
$25.00
|  Happy Moment Art print ...
$20.00
|  Golden Retriever Dog Ar...
$13.00
|  Happy positive art prin...
$15.00
|
 Social Media / Text Acr...
$20.00
|  Aqua & Yellow "Pan...
$15.00
|  Always LAUGH, it is the...
$18.00
|  Laughing Pig with glass...
$9.50
|
 Silly Goose
$25.00
|  Hotei the Laughing Budd...
$12.00
|  Got Laugh
$7.00
|  SALE 30% OFF Animal pho...
$4.20
|
 Wall Art - You Are The ...
$10.00
|  redhead HAPPY print- - ...
$13.00
|  PRINT Of my original fo...
$10.00
|  Consider it Joy Print
$15.00
|
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