And Then There Were Two

My Second Shop

I'm SUPER excited to announce that I've taken the plunge and opened a second online shop!  I still love Etsy and always will but I wanted to branch out a little more.  I have been wanting to do this for some time but it got so time consuming and frustrating trying to find one that was cost effective and still worth it.  I found this completely new selling site at I Support American which is for American sellers.  I'm usually pretty weary of sites that are new since they don't yet have a big market and yadda yadda but everyone has to start somewhere and Etsy was new once upon a time too.  Plus they had an offer I couldn't refuse.  There are no commission fees, no listing fees and the membership fee is only $5/month.  Simple and easy.  I like that.  However it gets better.  I get FREE membership FOREVER as a promo which expires on Monday Feb 6th.  All I had to do was set up shop and list 10 items.  Easy enough!  Over the weekend they're supposed to be adding an Etsy/Artfire uploader which is sweet!  I figure I'll list things I have more than one of on the new site and things that I am tired of re-listing on Etsy can go there too as they expire thus saving me money on my Etsy bill.  I know it will take time to build up the new shop just like it did to build my Etsy shop but after over a year selling online I have valuable knowledge of SEO and all that stuff for getting yourself out there.  I'm just soooooo happy I can open another shop without it costing me a cent!  Yay!!  If you're also thinking of opening another shop, check it out!  I will be busy over the weekend working in my new shop but if you want to see it now,  you can see my new storefront here.

Ringing in 2012!

Another year has flown by already!  I'm not one of those "resolution" types since we all know how determined we are about that new diet or exercise plan until oh end of January or maybe even February if you're really good about it!  I'm not being cynical, really I'm not, I just don't believe in forcing myself to adhere to something I'm going to find to be preposterous a month later and end up gorging on chocolate anyway.  Does that make any sense or am I alone in my crazy maniacal mindset?

Instead I prefer to set goals that don't entail strictness and allow for some wiggle room (and maybe even some cheating now and again).  Now I haven't taken a look at my goals from last year so lets see how I did (gulp).

From Eskymo Craft Show

Shop Goals 2011:

• List more often and on a regular basis (eh I did "so so", I got lazy over the summer)
• Promote myself more (been doing decent on that and I'm more active on FB)
• Do a larger scale craft show (Check!)
• More jewelry parties (Did 2 and they bombed because attendance was poor, oh well)
• Sell more on Etsy (Yes!)
• Be more involved in my Etsy Teams (I've ditched some of the teams I'm not active in and joined some I love!  I also lead one and captain another)

Personal Goals 2011:

Someday....

• Don't stress so much over the little things (hmmm, no comment)
• Exercise more and eat better, not necessarily to lose weight but to just be healthier (Hit or miss)
• Get Kaylie potty trained (nope)
• Get Kaylie used to her big girl bed when she figures out how to escape her crib (she's still in her crib and she stays in it, why change?)
• Get out of debt (I've gotten 2 loans paid off, just have Tyler's student loan left)
• Fix our roof once and for all (the main leak is gone but the storage room needs re-roofing)
• Save $$$$ (Check)
• Convince the kitten that house plants are not for chewing (well she doesn't annihilate them anymore)
• Knock down the "hunny to do list" by half, at last (HAHAHAHAHA! no)

Ok I'm done laughing at that last goal, I think the list is even longer than it was last year when I wrote that blog post!  For this year I'll modify some of the goals that weren't reached and of course set a few new ones!

Shop Goals 2012:

Ok maybe not Lindstrom, lol!

• Reach 100 sales in my shop. I'm at 47 now, 53 to go!
• Grow my Etsy Hearts Beads Team into a larger and engaging team
• Try something new such as incorporating fiber, metal stamping or embossing
• Be more outgoing and charismatic at craft shows to help sell more
• Get a Square card reader now that I have a Droid (DONE, just ordered it!)
• Buy some really nice jewelry tools since mine basically suck
• Grow my Blog following

Personal Goals 2012:

• Continue to eat better, be more active yadda yadda
• Get Kaylie potty trained, seriously
• Read more and expand my horizons beyond Koontz, I paid good money for that Kindle Fire!
• Pay down hubby's student loan at least by half, totally do-able
• Save $$$ for a brand new shiny Subaru, I want it in 4 years and to pay most in CASH :D
• Start saving for a bigger house, even if just a little bit
• Cross off at least the major things on "Hunny to do" list, for real
• Stop racking up the Visa 
• Get out more this summer (without racking up the Visa)
• Preschool Kaylie at home (seriously preschool costs are outrageous!)

In a few years this pretty girl will be mine :)

So far I've been good.  I already ordered my new Square reader and I'm reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins on my Kindle.  I've only read a few chapters so far but I'm totally engrossed by it.  I will for sure be reading the entire series!  I've got some big goals ahead of me especially with my savings goals but with Tyler's new Job at Schwan's it should be much easier.  As far as doing Kaylie's preschooling, I need to learn to be more patient and I know my mom will help out.  She's been doing very well and knows all her letters, numbers, colors and so on.  I'm trying to get her to write so we can pave the way to reading!  Pretty good for her only being three!  The potty training is really up to her, she's not quite ready and there's no point in pushing the issue till she is.

As far as shop goals, I've got confidence in completing at least most of them since my shop has improved by leaps and bounds compared to last January.  heck I didn't even sell anything last year till February and this year I sold a kitty charm bracelet on New Year's Day!

Sold!!

Last of all here's a few recent and awesome treasuries!

New Work Schedule and Thoughts For The Future

I've noticed that my current working schedule is doing anything but working for me! Well I shouldn't say "schedule", haphazard work here and there and maybe squeeze in a meal and spend five minutes with my family is more like it! So I sat down last night and etched out something of a proper agenda that even allows for some time off! Can it really happen? I've grown tired of working seven days a week and feeling exhausted because I cannot put the jewelry down! Dishes are piling up, the cats are starving, and Kaylie has been watching waaay too much Dora.  I'm sure there are lots of other crafters out there that deal with this very situation! There has to be some kind of magical balance between working at home and family duties as well. Considering I do all my work in my home things tend to get very muddy vs. the simplicity of working 9-5 at some typical day job.

So here we go, a general possibly workable schedule for Mon-Fri:

8am-9:30am          breakfast/get ready/daily housework
9:30am-11:30am   Kaylie breakfast and get ready/Kaylie and Mommy time
11:30am-12:30pm Kaylie's snack/computer work or post office/quick errands
12:30pm-1pm        lunch (and not a working lunch)
1pm                       Kaylie's nap time or play in her room till she's tired
1pm-2:30pm          photograph new items/edit/computer work if not finished
2:30pm-5:30pm     jewelry making/designing (Kaylie wakes up sometime but plays in her room)

My work day ends at 5:30 so I'm not scrambling anymore to make dinner!  If I have new items to list and promote, I will continue to do so at around 7pm since that seems to be a good time to list.

Kaylie getting Zoe ready
for supper!

I think I can do it! Thankfully two days a week my mom takes Kaylie so I have the entire uninterrupted day to myself, these can be "catch up" days where my morning Kaylie time can be for finishing stuff from the days before. And for the weekends, NO WORK. Well ok, I'll be realistic, if I'm not otherwise doing something else and Kaylie is napping then I may allow myself a few hours of work for sake of not being bored, heehee. I'm so thankful that my daughter is such a trooper and plays well on her own without completely driving me mad or this would never work out!  The hardest part will be the 8am thing.  I'm so not a morning person, and Kaylie sleeps till 9:30 (I'm spoiled I know) usually so there was never any reason to convince myself to get up before 9.  For the sake of having clean dishes and a clean house though it must end!  I guess all in all we'll see how it goes!

Purple Orchid
Mixed Media
Copyright of Heather Everson

For future thoughts, there are a few things I'd like to start doing soon if possible.  I'd love to start doing some soldering, I have a few ideas that use it so it'd be wonderful if I could learn some basics to accomplish it!  I've hunted around on Amazon.com for a book or two to get me started and will order one once I've ruled the others in my wishlist out.  I know the start up for that isn't too hefty either, and I actually already have a butane torch since my husband has all sorts of things like that that he never uses but HAD to have!  I'd also like to get metal stamping on my list of jewelry skills.  There's so much you can do with it!  I think I may have to wait till after a jewelry party for that one since there's some start up costs to cover that I don't quite want to spend right now.  Lastly, I'd like to start selling mini original paintings and mixed media pieces on my Etsy store.  I miss painting and if I make minis which seem to be rather popular and are more affordable for my customers.  I was thinking sizes like 3"x3" or 4"x4" and little landscape sizes too.  Little paintings look so pretty on a shelf or hung together as a series with other larger pictures, art or decor.  I have a few around my own home and I love them so why not dust off the old paintbrush and sell some too?  Then I have an excuse to make a ton of mixed media flower portraits!