Yatta!

I did it!

Yesterday I blogged about willing my camera to me. And yesterday it arrived in the mail! *beams*

I do expect there to be a huge learning curve. Our point-and-shoot, which shall be kept for the moment at least, for Bro2 to tinker with more in depth, doesn't begin to compare. So much fun! I'm lovin' it.

Post Picture: The light fixture in the hallway of our house.

Weekend Blurble- Almost here

Yarn from the Westie!
Originally uploaded by becca.elpy

Almost here, almost there...depends on where you're going, I guess.

I hope everyone's having a good holiday season. My Christmas was very nice. I'm getting a new camera! A Canon DSLR. It's on back-order because my dad had to get a black body. All the ones we've seen in stores had black bodies, he said. hehe. I'm willing it to me. C'mon camera!

Post Picture: Yarn from WickedWestie an old Etsy friend...Etsy friend of old. She'd been globe-trotting and I caught her between trips. The white-ish ones are bamboo!

Merry Christmas

I should have been wrapping presents last night. It has turned into something of a tradition, now that we're (the brothers and I) are older and helpful, to wrap presents on Christmas Eve. All of them, each sequestered in some part of the house, snatching bits of paper and ribbon.

Instead, I willed the presents to wrap themselves and played for you a little song. Sorry for the horrible lighting. New camera, present from the parents, is on back-order. (excitement!) Regular blogging shall resume later next week.

Enjoy!

*giggles*

aftermath
Originally uploaded by becca.elpy

It snowed a little much, yesterday. They banned semi-trucks from the road. My friend and I went to that party, more like a small gathering...not at all a party in the TV sense. It was fun, five of us playing cards eating lasagna and brownies, swapping Christmas tradition stories, and petting the 'lion' cat. Found out I'm broccoli. (long story) :)
I'm glad I went.

Post Picture: The snow, the next day...when the roads were somewhat clear.

By Its Cover- Stupid and Contagious pt.2

By Its Cover is my completely independent 2-part book review column. Selections are made based entirely on the book's cover. I'm testing the old saying in my quest to find new authors.

Title: Stupid and Contagious
Author: Caprice Crane

Part One

I finished this blindingly fast, as is often the case with chick lit books. They're heavy on conversation- short, quippy/quirky dialogue that's a breeze to read. At points it was laugh-out-loud funny.

There were two main characters, a guy and a girl. Yeah, you can see where this is going. It's told in a kinda past/present first-person narrative, usually in alternating chapters. I think this was a risk because first person is such an intimate way of telling a story. The cover says the girl, named Heaven, is the 'sexy heroine'. But I think the guy, a late-twenty-something aspiring inventor/record producer named Brady, completely upstages her. He's a more full-drawn character, for as deep as chick-lit gets. Or perhaps it was my budding entrepreneur-ness that connected, in the reader-ly way, with his trying, failing and flailing.

There is a good deal of language in this. Call me a prude, (and a frequent reader of old British classics) but I felt I should let you know. Some of the plot points felt contrived or forced page-eaters that could have been left out- the original firing of Heaven, the Kurt Cobain gun incident. And the ending could have been a little less fairy-tale if only one of the two things happening. Rarely in life do you get it all. But I guess we read books, fiction books, to escape life.

Hi says I

spt-12.18- happy merry chrismakwanzakah
Originally uploaded by becca.elpy

It's cold again. New England is suffering from hot flashes. It's confusing, but any time it's above 40 in December, you won't hear me complaining. (I know, my SW friends are screaming at me. hey, 40+ is nice.)

Tomorrow I have a christmas party to go to. This is odd. The mental shift from teenager to adult it taking a long time with me for some reason. I'm not sure why. The idea of being invited by myself to a christmas party...I mean, it's not a birthday party. I'm thinking about it too much. It's with some old friends, people I kinda fell out of touch with when our little group disbanded...you know how it is. Should be interesting.

My SPT. I'm wearing a faux garland scarf...faux because it's not really pine and it's not really a scarf. It's prickly, though...in it's faux-ness. Also an angel ornament I made a creative eon ago. After the 'shoot' her head fell off.

Surprises

along the way- packaged
Originally uploaded by becca.elpy

Woke up to a sale notification email. Checking my shop, I was down 3 items. Of course, that warranted a happy dance in the chair...more like a wiggle. Two of the Post Office guys stopped by my table at the October fair. One bought a set of magnets then, the other took a business card. I didn't think anymore about it.

He was the buyer today. Three pairs of earrings. Made my December! I wiffed this year in the promotions department, so focused I was on getting through the two shows. This was lovely.

Post Picture: Old and new packaging. The one of the right is more time-consuming, probably only by a few seconds, but when you're rushing...it makes a difference. I'll still use it on occasion. The other is an address label and one piece of ribbon. So much easier but still nice.

Seller Tips- Indie Smiles

I'm an indie-preneur, a micro-business owner constantly looking for ways to promote my work. I started this column, Seller Tips, to help me keep track of my findings and to pass them on to you.

[what's it called] Indie Smiles
[where'd you find it] Twitter
['splain it please] "Indiesmiles is a one stop shopping source of online Indie shops at a discount!"

Getting your shop sales and other promotions is now a little easier. Attracting notice to your shop specials can be a little tricky on crafty forums. Indie Smiles is a coupond directory. Started by El and Sue, friends and indiepreneurs themselves. For a small, bi-weekly fee, indies can post deals going on in their shops at the moment.

Several advertising options are available.

Along the way- maven.me

along the way- maven.me
Originally uploaded by becca.elpy

So, I'm a thisnext maven, meaning i get a little sticker on my avatar. They sent me a welcome pack, with these m&m's in it and some other stuff in it. The UPS people bashed them up pretty good...and may have stolen stuff out of the envelope, but they're still tasty.

Weekend Blurble 12.15- Jingling

This weekend was quick. It was over almost before it started. Woke up happy today. Guess 'cause I slept well after staying up for long parts of the night for several consecutive days last week, reading (finished the BIC book, but I'm holding the review for a few days) and talking to an Etsy friend online. My eyes were having hard time...seeing. Yeah, there's always a trade-off.

Oven's on the fritz so holiday baking isn't happening for the most part. We hope to get it fixed this week. I'm looking forward to the new year more so than Christmas. I have things I want to do, and projects to tackle. 2008 was good...I hope next year is even better.

By Its Cover- Stupid And Contagious pt. 1

By Its Cover is my completely independent 2-part book review column. Selections are made based entirely on the book's cover. I'm testing the old saying in my quest to find new authors.

title: Stupid and Contagious
author: Caprice Crane

This is probably a chick lit book. On opening the front cover I was greeted with the chick-lit library book smell: dozens of perfumes from previous readers blended together into an almost noxious fume. (that is not a knock on the book itself.)

I was hooked by the first paragraph- and the cover- and stayed up late zipping through the first 30 pages or so. It's proving an easy read so far. After the pseudo-philosophical historical conundrum that was the last book I slogged through for BIC, I needed something like this.

Hope to post a full review in a week or so.

Ornament Sale

tree.ornament
Originally uploaded by lpdesigns

All ornaments are currently 20% off. Yay!

It's cold and rainy here. I've gotten some shopping done. I've also hung some art and things on the walls in my bedroom/studio. (not as glamorous as it sounds.) It felt good and will hopefully help me get more organized. I have a decent amount of wallspace and after my room redecoration, I didn't have much anymore.

I'm becoming a new more grown-up me.

Post Picture: My personal favorite ornament design. On sale now!

Zephyr- Hey-oh!

I'm here.
Betwixt and between...faking being busy.

Hopefully, I'll get back into the swing of blogging soon.

Handmade for Kids and the US Government

A repost I wrote for the CT team blog.

I recently became aware of something that will be in effect as of February 10, 2009 barring something unforeseen and will affect the business of countless Etsy sellers and small businesses.

This summer, H.R 4040, put forth by the CPSC, was signed into law. It aims to get hazardous chemicals out of children's toys, clothes, furniture, etc. (There some exclusions, but it's not very clear to me.) This sounds good. It requires that ALL, products marketed to or intended for children 12 and under be tested. The cost of the tests, which would have to be done for each product type/model (every blue ball, red ball, green barrette, orange barrette) could easily reach into the thousands of dollars. The supplier's test will not suffice. The end manufacturer will be responsible for obtaining their own certification.

Etsy canNOT help here. They are a venue, with sellers from around the globe. We are individually responsible for following our country's guidelines as is stated in their terms of use. (see section 5- Restricted Activities then #5 in that list.)

Attention can and must be brought to this, to the effect it will have on sellers on Etsy, eBay and beyond or independently and therefore our already struggling economy. It is possible it will can even affect the sale of such items at thrift stores and garage sales.

There are several links that I have found helpful. You will find them below. Please, even if you are not a maker of items specifically for children, I hope you will take some time to look this over and pass it along. We need to work together on this.

Etsy Thread about the CPSC Deadline alot of my links are from there.
National Bankruptcy Day- this is sort of new with not a lot of info, but there are links for contacting your congressman. On the Etsy thread, they suggest handwriting the letter instead of email since snail mail will more likely get read for security reasons.
Petition against H.R. 4040 You can e-sign this even if you aren't a children's item seller. Be sure to pass it on.
Rick Woldenberg’s speech at the CPSC conference- Links to the 3-part Youtube videos where Woldenberg speaks about the impact this will have on his company. He is not a small business, but the quickness and all-encompassing nature of this act has even big business worried.
H.R. 4040- PDF The act in its entirety.
Ask a Question of the CPSC- The site says: "Everyone is encouraged to submit questions. They will be very helpful to CPSC staff in developing general guidance on the new Act and Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) pages on specific issues".
Updated:Etsyan Grecowoodcrafting's explanation in plain English, it's a worthwhile read.

So if anyone has any ideas on how to get the word out, about what this bill, as it stands now, will do to small businesses and craftspeople, feel free to post, comment. I'm not exactly sure how to proceed. Feel free to repost this info on your blog(s), Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, etc. Maybe get it out to the news media, with emphasis on small business. At its core, I think the bill means well. I'm completely for protecting kids. But I think this act will harm kids, with all the parents whose livelihoods will be at risk.

Thanks for reading this. It's long but important.

Remain

Once upon a time, I had a job, a regular job. It wasn't glamorous, but it was something to do between school and homework. Things got worse at the job. I stayed. They fired people I liked working with for unfair reasons. I stayed. They changed managers. I stayed. They changed policies. I stayed. I found proof that they wanted to get rid of me, but I was a good worker, came in on time, worked hard...firing me would look suspicious. Still, I stayed.

Eventually they made on change too many for the little band of workers that had gotten hired with me. One by one they left, most to the same company that opened a new branch in the area. I stayed there too long. But the time I finally left, I'd lost touch with everyone I'd really worked with, who could help me get a new job. It was weird, rough...and why I started selling on Etsy.

I'm able, today, unfortunately to see some parallels between that situation and my relationship with Etsy. They say those who don't learn from history repeat. I've learned my lesson.

Will I leave? Not all at once, at least. But things have changed, my ideas have changed. It's weird, rough. Like that job, I like the other sellers I've worked with and gotten to know. But do I want to be the last one there, the only who remembers how it used to be? There's wrong nothing with hope. But sometimes, you just have to let go.

Post Picture: A pic a took a year or so ago, of my neighbor's tree, the last leaf that autumn.

Feature- Beacon Bookmarks

When I did the Made for You Showcase, they gave me one of the swag bags that were given to shoppers. It was packed with goodies from local businesses and craft sellers. One such item was a small bookmark from Beacon Bookmarks. I looked them up on Etsy and absolutely loved what I saw.

Their bookmarks are wooden, stamped with a funky little image, initial or short phrase, and "Unlike using paper or receipts, they won't get lost in the pages!" (direct quote from their home page...how did they know I did that.)

I hope you'll check them out.

Post Picture: Flower bookmark listing photo.

Something New- Seller Tips

For a while, I've wanted to bring in outside info and products to my blog to add variety and value. The idea was further encourage in a tweet-chat I had yesterday with a follower/followee, Mark, who works in social media. So today, I'm going to start something new, tentatively and prosaically called Seller Tips. (sometimes, my creativity just hits a wall) I'm looking for ways to build my business. The good ones, I'll pass along to you. Here we go:



I'm an indie-preneur, a micro-business owner constantly looking for ways to promote my work. I started this column, Seller Tips, to help me keep track of my findings and to pass them on to you.

[what's it called] Buyer's Market Blog- 100 Small Actions
[where'd you find it] Twitter
['splain it please] The Buyer's Market is a twice-annual wholesale show for crafters/designers from around the country. Recently, on their blog, they began a list of seemingly little things a craft business owner can do to build his or her business.

The most recent tips were: #11- Joined LinkedIn and #12- Write a note (handwritten) to a past customer. They give a short blurb with each suggestion, explaining the benefits of it and how much time you could/should invest doing it. No one will be able to do all 100. The key is to pick the ones that will work (in more than one sense of the word) for you.

-----
Now, I'm a columnist! hehe
Hope you find it useful.

December and [nautico]

If I were more organized and " 'bout it, 'bout it" as someone I knew used to say, this monthly posts would actually appear monthly and would contain a list of goals I have for the month, how I fared on last month's, etc. Maybe that can be a goal for next year.

Oh, I held a Canon Rebel EOS x(?)i d-slr yesterday. Fell. In. Love. I will own one one day. I hope. I hope.

Post Picture: New necklace in the shop, Nautico, to match the earrings.

1000 Markets

There has been a spate of new sites to sell handmade items. At first they were Etsy look-alikes or had a sort of cheesy-feeling. Recently they've been pretty chic, picking up on backend issues that Etsy for some reason, has refused to address. I've registered on many of these sites, mainly to hold my name.

One such is site is 1000 Markets. While I don't really want to invest in setting up sites in a kabillion places I liked the feel of this one.

Right now, it's a water-down version of my Etsy shop, things that are easy to recreate. I don't think I'll leave Etsy. I've been there for almost 3 years and seen it through a lot. I'm just looking to diversify, make my products available to more people.

Zephyr- Announcing

For Black Friday and into Cyber Monday, I'm running a sale in the elpy shop. Free shipping domesticially. $1.50 shipping to all international destinations.

Ends 12/1/08 Midnight EST.

Enjoy!

Back in the Day

littlemonkey
Originally uploaded by thats Headley Jewelry Designs

For about a month or so I've been feeling pretty nostalgic about life and Etsy. Yesterday I found a thread started by scarfguy, who incidentally was one of the first shops I hearted, called Etsy oldtimers. It was really nice to read through, see names I remembered but hadn't seen in a while. I haven't been spending much time on forums lately so I'm glad I found that thread when I did.

Etsy's grown a lot, which is good. And a lot of the changes that have come were good too. But things had started to feel really spread out and each seller seemed like a smaller piece in the grand scheme of things. A nice break, a recollection, something to appeal to my nostalgic sentimental side. I know we all have to move on. It's nice to know the old days are memorable to others as well.

Post Picture: The little monkey image that popped in Etsy beta when an error had occurred.

TV Aside- 11.25

Watched Heroes yesterday. Yahoo had done a list of shows that appeared to have or were in the process of, 'jumping the shark. Then they suggested 86-ing Mohinder. At first I balked. Now, being as objective as I can, I have to say they were right.

Heroes has always required me to suspend reality. It's a show about people who can fly, or not die. It's like a comic book but with real people. (If it had been animated it would have been lame.) That the story doesn't entirely come together every week, that things go unexplained, doesn't bother me as much with this show as with, say, Lost.

But it's broaching ridiculous. The characters are getting annoying, redundant or laughable. The villians are just angry, the good guys are whiny, (Sylar is unfortunately both) and what in the world is Mohinder's problem? What was that body part he hacked out of his experiment corpse? How did he stick himself to wall? Why did he ooze out naked?

I can't remember why Claire is mad at her dad. What does she think she can do besides be immortal? She was a cheerleader; pom-poms are not nunchucks. Her plan to save Peter last week by jumping out the window she sent his mortal self out of, didn't make any sense.

I don't know why Parkman is even there. Seriously. His skills at mind-reading leave much to be desired. He loses reception more easily than my cell phone. Does the face-turning thing help?

I wonder if, though it had a strong following before the writer's strike of '07, it will become a post-strike casualty. I hope it doesn't. That somehow they can recover the glory it had in season one. (Admittedly, Claire, Parkman and Mohinder were somewhat annoying then, too.) Right now they seem to be Heroes without a cause. Perhaps a new tagline is in order.

Post Picture: Lifted from someone via a Google Images search.

Weekend Blurble- Home

So the show is over. Eee!

It was really nice, not so much in terms of sales as the vibe/time I had. I'd go again if they asked. I met LittlePies. She's the first Etsy seller I've talked with online almost since I joined Etsy, and then met in person. Very cool! She's really nice. Her husband's nice, too. :)

This show had a very different feel from the craft show I did in October. That one was more traditional, what usually comes to mind when one thinks 'craft fair'. Little ladies selling quilts and wreaths. This had a distinctively younger feel, I don't think any of the vendors were over 40, not as a discriminatory thing, I'm sure. It's what craft shows are becoming...cool.

The trip was reminiscent of the old trips we used to make every Thanksgiving and during the summer as all of our extended family lives out-of-state. Of course, the brothers and I have grown up since then. It was nice.

Post Picture: Two River Theater in Red Bank, NJ where the show was held.

Zephyr- Feature

I was in the paper today. My mom bought 9 copies.
:)

Crash Boom Bang pt. 2

My cold is largely gotten over. I'm thankful. I didn't want to be all drowsy and stuffed up for the show on Saturday. I still get pretty tired, though. So I'll probably sleep the whole way back home. hehe

News:
Burned 4 sets of magnets yesterday. Went to seal them, polyurethane had dried up. It was my fault. Bummer.

Dad got laid off. Super huge bummer.

So we're in a state of flux, again... as a family. I was a bit of an emotional wreck when I found out (about my dad not the polyurethane). I'm not sure I handled it the best way. I'll adjust I'm sure.

Post Picture: Convex Earrings with Jasper, new in the shop.

Weekend Blurble- Recover

The weekend blurble is a day late this week because I spent most of the weekend, slurping down lots of water, juice, ginger ale (thought of as a cure-all in my family) and tea while battling a cold. I'm winning!

The show this weekend has turned into a super-short family vaca. I hope it goes well. It's been an experience. I'm learning that most of the business owner stuff is a constant learning experience. I like that...most of the time. I still won't be able to take credit cards, I'm having a hard time proving that I'm me since I don't have much of a credit history. I know I'll wish that I could, but it's been all I can do to ensure that I get there so...any sales I get will be a blessing. Next year, baby! Next year.

I've thought up some intense ideas involving macrame. They'd probably be expensive and limited. But will have to see. They're in the super-baby stages of development.

Post Picture: Earrings made for Made For You this weekend.

Zephyr- Decorate

I'm not sure what to focus on as a post today. All the ornaments are listed now. I'm really happy with them.

Short and sweet today.

By Its Cover- Little Town Where Time Stood Still- pt.2

By Its Cover is my completely independent 2-part book review column. Selections are made based entirely on the book's cover. I'm testing the old saying in my quest to find new authors.


Part One
If you know me, you know it rarely takes me long to finish reading a book. Even Anna Karenina I finished in the 3-week library lending period.

It was a dual edition, it had The Little Town Where Time Stood Still and Cutting It Short. It takes place in a small Czech village. At times it was sheerly brilliant, the imagery and the language, at other graphically disturbing, a chapter about a pig-killing. I felt like I missed something. Maybe something was lost in translation, maybe I'm too straightforward to see the genius that was said to be Bohumril Hrabal.

I'll try the 'random book selection' thing again. Hopefully, it will be more of a success for me.

Weekend Blurble- Commence

I started this weekend to seriously take stock of what I have and what I need to make for Made For You. I tried to tell myself that I wouldn't wait until two weeks prior before I began working. That didn't exactly work.

So armed with my list of items to finish before I make new or more of existing things I create. And wonder why having a show coming always super-charges my creativity, ideas come out of nowhere.

Post Picture: After making Acutes yesterday. I thought the colors were somewhat majestically Christmas.

Break

Took another blogging break. If you ever want to know what I'm up to, you can check my Twitter. If I have internet access, I update there.

Had to sit down and do un-fun things, setting up tax account for the NJ show, editing pics from my portrait session...one is pretty rockin'! (My dad said so, he's my toughest critic.)

Over the next week I'm going to look over what I have and figure out what more to make, what new to make. I'm not sure if I'll start any really new projects this year. Again, two that I hoped to get to, will have to wait. But I looked over my Flickr and realized I've done a lot. I need to work on being so critical of myself.

Post Picture: Coasters that were a custom request. I put them in the shop to as specifically made to order.

November

New month! The year is almost over...there are two months left. I prefer to think that there are two months left (as a good thing). Optimism, in areas outside of the shop, is making a comeback in me. I'm happy about that.

Post Picture: Super-chunky, and completely adorable squirrel in the driveway. He had a pot-belly and happily munched on ever maple seed he could find.

ta-da!

I've been on Etsy for almost 3 years. (What?! I know, it surprises me, too.) For about that long I've been racking my brain for a little something I could include in orders.

I got it! Those are little 1" buttons that I designed and christinerenee pressed for me. They say thank you in various languages, Hebrew, German, Swahili. I tried to put a familiar one on each and have the color bar that has become part of my brand. I love them.

me.smile

me.smile
Originally uploaded by elpy aka notrachel

You may remember that the largest state paper, the Hartford Courant, wants to feature me. The writer request a picture of me and some of my wares.

I had one idea about posing behind the sign I made for my tent. But for some reason my conceptualization of size isn't that great. The sign is larger and I am smaller than I thought. It looked like I was in a bathtub, not what I had in mind.

After much finagling and tinkering, the sun came out and I got this. It shows me, a necklace of mine, (mine, not the one in the shop) and my shop name. It doesn't show how bad my hair looks or that I have on my fashion rebel slippers. Hehe.

First Video- What I've Been Doing

This was entirely unplanned, but I made a video. I think I was inspired by moop's video. You can only hear my voice and see my hand and I will admit that I reshot it several times, getting lost mid-sentence. But I like it.
:)

Weekend Blurble 10.26

So I had my portrait session yesterday. It was quite a learning experience. I think I tried too hard, and should have just done what I know. But it's okay. I'm glad I did it.

Must get pics to the Hartford Courant writer. Have two custom requests to do. And miles to go before I sleep.

[sports aside- World Series]
Tampa is totally picking the wrong time to turn into the Tampa they've been until this year. Completely.

Post Picture: The lock in the car. Taken while waiting for the portrait-ees. heh

Catchin' up

trade 2/3- scoops
Originally uploaded by elpy aka notrachel

I haven't been around for awhile. Took a wee break from blogging to catch up on other things.

Today I did a church market/bazaar thing. It was interesting, a little last minute, but the baked goods were delicious! My new photo display stood up pretty well to the wind, except when it got up to gale force. It carried the tent away. That was actually kinda funny. Note: No more outside shows from late Oct. to late March. I'm in New England, it's cold, like really cold.

Tomorrow, unless it rains, will be my portrait session. I'm a little nervous, but I think I can do it. I hope I can. If it rains, which it might, we'll have to reschedule.

I've also sent two things to be included in the monthly giveaway on Modish. I love that blog. I'll be sure to post when the giveaways are up.

Post Picture: Yarn I got in a trade with knittydirtygirl for potholders. I made out like a bandit. :)

Weekend Blurble- Necklace-ified

I finished one custom order. It was the newest request of the three I have, but I was most desperate to get it done. The buyer found me at the show I did earlier this month. She liked the earrings and wanted a necklace to match. I'd been wanting to try to make a necklace using an earring part as a pendant. Now, I have. It's simple visually, just the pendant, a chain and a closure, but it works. I hope she likes it.

Post Picture:The necklace on my paper twine bust. I want more of those.

Bits and Pieces and Coasters

New item at the shop. I have one more set to photograph and two to finish...ok, two to start. The mind is willing...

I'm back at my temp job. It's interesting to be out with people, to observe and listen. Around 2, though, I find myself wanting to go home, wishing for windows in the room where I work, wishing I could at least tweet the things I hear people say. So many interesting opinions from the mundane to the political.

I have 3 custom orders to work on. I also really want to buy a new camera for my portrait session on Sunday. I have a feeling that, like wearing new shoes before they're broken in, I shouldn't. Or if I do, I shouldn't use it. But I really want a new camera and my parents are willing to go in half with me and there's the perfect one on sale and...

Post Picture: The coasters with my mug from my trip to Montreal.

[toast]

I started photographing some of the things that I'd made for the show but hadn't made it to the shop yet. These are Toast Dots Earrings, the first of the third set...thereby earning them their own shop section.

Weekend Blurble- Post Show

The show is over. It was a one day show, from 9-4 on Saturday. It was a good experience. I had lofty goals and high hopes. In that department it was a little discouraging. But over-all it was good. I sold more items than at any single farmer's market, but not in terms of dollar amount. I made back my booth fee, but barely touched recouping the money I spent re-doing my display. (isn't it pretty?)

The sellers on either side of me were really nice. One was a jewelry seller, there were a lot of jewelry sellers as this was not a juried show. There were two resellers which were in violation of the application. But maybe they had some special stipulation. The other sold pottery. She reminded me of an older version of my friend in VA. They both said that this show was slow, that the May one is better.

There was a good turn-out and, as it was in my hometown, there were a lot of people I knew. I haven't decided if that was a good thing, yet. They were friends of my mom and would stand at the table talking. I think they may have scared some lookers away.

I did close the show with a small run of sales, so that was good. And a girl has emailed me requesting a pair of earrings and a matching necklace. Another woman is considering having me make something for her wedding...a woodburned favor thing.

So it wasn't bad. I may try for the May show. It's not for a while yet. I'll have to see. One the bright side, I have a lot of things to list in the shop.

Craft Show Eve

This is it! Okay, it's almost it. It's like the day before Christmas almost.

Tomorrow is my first big show. It's right in the center of my hometown, naught but a hop-skip-and-jump from my house. Literally, I could walk there, but I have too much stuff to bring. It's from 9-4.

I've been painting, and gluing, knottting and burning to get back these last few weeks. I've learned a lot, about pacing myself and that a simple project can easily get out-of-hand with an active imagination. It's made me thankful for my family, for their support. Really, it's been a long time getting to this point and I was pretty difficult. But I'm glad I'm here. I'm working harder than I have at any job, but I'm more content, satisfied.

Post Picture: Pre-show set-up. Realizing nothing in my display is the same as it was here. It's more junky than it will be tomorrow, I'm tinkering still at the time of this post. I've out-grown my table.

SPT and Yesteryear

Bought the last of the items needed for my new display. Things still need to be finished up but I'm glad everything been bought. Next time, I want to reinvent myself, I'll just dye my hair. hehe

Post Pictures:
Top pic: Me today with my totem...magnet display pole.
Bottom pic: Me and the brothers, mom and our neighbor playing in the neighbor's leaves circa 1996

Stuck On You

It's been all about magnets today, hopefully I'll get to burn some later.

I'm trying to put together a design folder for my show on Saturday. Have four pages done so far, five including the cover page. Eventually I want to get a lookbook printed by Blurb I have a few more projects I want to try/finish before that...I want those in the book. So for now I'm printing the pages off at home. The Post Picture for today is the magnets page.

Have also cut, drilled and painted the magnet display. This show prolly wouldn't have taken as much out of me, if I hadn't tried to redo my entire display along with making new pieces and duplicating things I have. I'll figure this out.

Beat

Prepping for the show= being generally exhausted. I'm still getting into the swing of all this, the whole idea of fairs/markets/shows. I think I have outgrown my 6' table, but don't have the money for a second at the moment. By this time next year, I'll prolly be rocking a three-table display at shows that will allow it. Heh.

Today I accomplished a whole lot but finished nothing. There are lots of steps, little things to be done...and almost everything that gets checked off actually spawns a million more things. *sigh* It never ends in a way that's both invigorating and frustrating. Mostly invigorating.

I'll do a dry run in the next day or two, experimenting with my mostly new set-up. That'll be exciting. Hoping for good weather on the 11th (show day), sunny and dry at least.

Curve Demi

The little Curvatures are listed. I want to make them in every color I have...almost. Sometimes, when I look at a color, it just doesn't jive with the shape of the design. Is that strange?

It's cold today. And cloudy. I'm thinking about tea and making potholders. Yes, it seems I may not be able to put that part of my life away just yet.

Ornamental

The show in town is in 9 days. I'm thinking about it a lot. Thinking doesn't always convert into action. Especially when I find interesting sites online. Too easily distracted.

I'm trying to get back into listing on Etsy. For as much as I want my own site, Etsy is it for now. I can't abandon it.

Started working on ornaments in August. I came up with four designs. I'd like to come up with another four. If you have ideas let me know. I totally appreciate help in the brainstorming process.

Post Picture: Newest listing, the first of four Christmas ornaments.

By Its Cover- Little Town Where Time Stood Still pt. 1

Firstly, Happy October!

September was a rather booming month for me. Very thrilling stuff. October has promise. I can't wait to delve in.

One hobby-ish thing I have is reading. I love to read. I started pre-school at 3 with the goal of learning to read. Hence, the first day was a little disappointing. Heh.

At any rate, lately, I haven't gotten to it nearly enough. But being busy with elpy work is wonderful. I just finished re-reading Pride and Prejudice. That is one of Jane Austen's finest. I didn't want to re-read any of other books I have, so I went to the library.

Deciding to pick something random by someone I'd never heard of, I got Little Town Where Time Stood Still by Buhomil Hrabal. I'll let you know how it is.

Shrunk!

A friend of my mom's asked me to make some earrings for her. She really liked the Curvatures (they get raves wherever they go), but doesn't wear big earrings. Curvatures are about 3" long. So I played with ratios and came up with tiny ones. They still might be too big for my mom's friend, but they're cute. It's a project I've been meaning to do for a while. So I'm glad she asked me.

Complete

I have ton of things to do in the preparation for my show next month on the 11th. I'm not sure how much to make or to bring. I tried to get a Propay account so I could take credit cards, so far no dice.

Today was also my interview with the Hartford Courant. Very exciting. I think it went well. Now I must hope that the article will be a go. It would be published in November, right before the Made For You show.

Writing of Made for You the post picture today is my ad for their playbill/lookbook. I'm pretty pleased with it. I think it will help in my effort to design a site for myself. I like the crisscrossing lines in particularly, being a fan of most things plaid.

Busy today, production on items to sell and items to use as displays. And warding off rain. No rain today, please. Please?

Breathe 9.27

They want to put me in an article!

Last night I got an email from a free-lance writer who's putting together an article for the largest newspaper in my state. I proceeded to giggle like mad. Had to take a pic to capture the moment. So the above is my PC (as in computer) attempt at Photobooth.

Also, a lady at the farmer's market on Thursday was commenting on my photography and asked if I'd ever done portraits. I said, 'no'. Thinking about it, I did take the pic for the invites my mom had to make, but that wasn't really a portrait. Anyway, she said I should try. She wants me to take some pictures of her daughters and two dogs. I'm super-pensive because my camera is on the down...slope/grade...it's dying slowly and because I've never done portraits.

So, I'm floored all around. It's amazing how things have turned around for me, in terms of my work, this year. I've been waiting for this, hoping, refusing to give up. Eek!

Post Picture: Me, freaking out. :D

Something new

I'm trying something. I've done to-do lists. Now, it's have-done lists. I read a lot about people with these super-busy lives. Recently things have cranked up for me, but not to the point of theirs. So I feel like I don't do much, like I waste my days.

I'm hoping this will work like a reverse to-do list but still give a sense of accomplishment. I probably won't do it forever. It's sort of training wheels for productivity.

Post Picture: Old list, but it fit for the post. Tinkered with in PSE.

Today in Pictures

Just pictures, today. Will catch up in the coming days. :)