Vacation Experimentation

So I’m about as excited as your average 5 year old. I’m goin’ to Disney Land! My husband and I are joining another married couple who are good friends of ours as they celebrate their 1st year wedding anniversary at the “Happiest Place on Earth.” I’m stoked. We’ll be hitting Disneyland and Disney California for 4 days, and hitting up the Halloween Fright Night at Universal Studios to boot. It should all be deliciously fun and scary! The last thing I want to be thinking about while riding Space Mountain and screaming my head off in the Universal Haunted House is my Etsy shops. The easy answer is to simply switch them into vacation mode.

Rhinestone Necklace - $16.00

I’ve used the vacation mode option in my Etsy stores before. I used it when attending craft fairs, and also when I went on my Honeymoon a few months ago. But a few things have changed since the last time I’ve used it. First, the switch from recency to relevancy (which I L-O-V-E), and second, I am now Google syndicated in 2 of my Etsy shops(yay!). Prior to the change to relevancy, I was able to return from vacation mode, renew a few items (especially the one which expired during my absence) and be back to work. Now I’m not 100% sure how well I’ll be able to maintain my relevancy positions if my items are yanked from the search, and then put back… even if they are only gone for a week, who’s to say how much of an impact that time will have?

But more importantly, my listings can finally -FINALLY- be found on Google shopping in both my Glamour365 and my MegansBeadedDesigns stores. I’ve heard rumors that using vacation mode can cause those listings to disappear for much longer than the duration of your vacation once taken off. In fact, there are a lot of scary rumors about vacation mode that I used to be able to simply look the other way on.

Crystal Heart Earrings - $12.00

I still don’t have much of a problem putting my non-syndicated, and not-as-full, shops SteampunkDream and MegansCreativeDesigns on vacation mode, and have already done so with SteampunkDream a day early, for the duration of the week I’ll be gone. However with the syndicated shops, I’m going to take a big risk and try a vacation experiment.

I’ve heard of shops simply putting in their shop announcement “I’m on vacation, be back XYZ date!” and expecting buyers to read that when ordering from their shops. OF course, most buyers don’t ever see your store front or shop announcement, especially since most buyers will ind you through the search or click on your item in a treasury. Hence, my solution. Starting with my Glamour365 shop, I went to Edit Express on Craftopolis, which is a super easy way to edit your items without having to go through each one the hard way on Etsy. I edited all of my descriptions so that the first thing a looker will read is:

***I am currently on vacation until October 5th. All items ordered between now and then will be shipped on October 6th. Thank you!***

And then I also added the above statement to my shop announcement. I think, or at least I hope, that by adding my vacation message to every single one of my shop items, I will prevent any hassles form occurring. Always trying to be a speedy shipper (I ship same or next day on all non-custom orders), I would hate some a customer to get upset because I am not available to ship their item right away. I hope I made that clear. I even added “Your item will be shipped on October 6th” to my message to buyer when they make a purchase. I am counting on the combination of all of these messages and announcements to be enough to make the delay clear to any buyers during my week away.

Tomorrow I’ll do the same with my MegansBeadedDesigns shop, although I will probably deactivate my patterns (generally buyers want those a lot sooner as they are simply e-mailed files). Here’s to hoping it goes well!

At least I’ll get to wear my dorky Minnie Mouse ears and stuff my face with Bacon at Goofy’s kitchen!

Excited for Halloween?

‘The Good Witch’ by Lolailo

Well, maybe she wasn’t exactly good, but she was beautiful

EnlightenedPla… $488.00	megansbeadedde… $8.95	VintageRestyle… $1.00
TiffinyDesigns $43.50	Rockstarlette $89.00	mamaslittlebab… $24.00
heidisjewelryd… $36.00	MoonshineBaby $25.00	thecattsuglyba… $39.00
MissMegShop $12.50	Glamtastik $255.00	delicateLV $28.00
vintagehouse1 $2.95	rockfabricscis… $44.00	twistedsistera… $44.95

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Buying Happiness

Hot Pink Zebra Shopping Bag - $13.99

I have a confession to make. Like so many “stupid Americans” I buy myself shit I don’t need to make myself feel good. If my sister says something to me in the morning before I go to work that hurts my feelings, or a conflicting conversation I had with a friend the other day is on my mind, I will be more tempted to stop in at Macy’s on my lunch break just to “see” if they got something new and cute in…

Any emotional help that a purchase of a new item will make will either be miniscule and temporary, or completely ineffective at all. It is a shear case of trying to treat the symptoms of a disease, without attempting to treat the disease itself. I think I have personally gained greater control over my spending habits, but I will admit to slipping once in awhile. The important part is that I am slipping because those shoes are sooooooooo frikkin cute, and not because I feel like buying the shoes will lighten my mood.

Girl's Night Out Earrings - $4.95

I grew up poor as a kid. And by poor I mean poor. I lived with my family of two other sisters and a brother with my parents in a tent. That’s right, we were permanently camping, but without the fun of roasting marshmallows and telling ghost stories around a campfire. Eventually we were able to “upgrade” to a mobile trailer, but we were still a very large family to cram into the hallway of a house. We never had electricity or actual running water. One of my winter chores consisted of gathering snow into a bucket so we could melt it on the wood stove to take showers with. I tell you this because at the time, it seemed to be the repetitious argument that if only we had more money, we could be happier. Looking back as an adult, I see that the issues with my dysfunctional family were centered more around domestic violence and alcohol abuse rather than a lack of funds. However, the train of thought that I can be happier with more money still sticks to me psychologically at some level, I have no doubt.

The Greatest Movie Ever Sold - $21.99 (new)

At least I can identify this irrationality and attempt to work with it. To a certain extent, that of which basic needs can be met, money does buy happiness indirectly. It’s hard to experience “happiness” when worrying about shelter, transportation, and getting enough healthy food to eat. Even beyond the basic levels, it’s nice to have money, especially disposable money, that can be used to buy gifts for others, spend on traveling and vacations, dine out, see live performances, etc. However, one can be happy without these extras, and not even necessarily less happy, if his or her focus is on relationships.

Despite the advertiser’s goal of making you feel like crap because you don’t own x, y, and z, it’s actually your relationships with self, family, friends, spouse, etc. that determine your level of happiness. Good health and good relationships (a component of good health) are the answer to being uplifted and living a life of quality. It really isn’t as complicated as marketers of products would wish you to believe.

Beaded Barrette - $19.95

As a seller of handmade goods, I have to look critically at how I am trying to sell my wares. My hope is that you will buy, for example, my latest hair barrette because you think it’s pretty and it will go oh, so well with that dress suit of yours. I do NOT, however, want you to buy it because you somehow feel that getting something new for yourself will make up for the disappointment you feel at not losing that 5 pounds you had been trying for. Or because you got in a tiff with your boyfriend the other day. Or because you are simply feeling under the weather and can’t explain why.

A huge way to save money, or at spend your money on different things, is to evaluate WHY you are buying something. Are you treating what is actually wrong, or just the symptoms of that wrongness? For example, when I feel like I have been working hard and not getting any appreciation for it from my spouse, I may be tempted to purchase a new dress as a way to “award” myself for my hard work, and make up for the “lack of appreciation” I am getting at home. What I really need to do in this situation is treat what is really wrong (the relationship problem), and not the symptom (the feeling of remorse). Instead of buying that dress to try to make myself feel better, I will make myself feel a hell of a lot better if I simply speak to my husband about how I feel. By confronting the real issue head on, I can work on, and eliminate, it’s symptoms altogether. A happier result will arrive that could not have simply been achieved by making a purchase.

The Big 100

Black and Purple Headband - $34.95

Well, it happened. Took longer than I thought it would, but I am nothing short of positive about it. I made my first 100 sales in my Etsy Shop. The big 100! It’s supposed to get easier from here right? Haha, who am I kidding. But whether it’s gets harder, easier, or stay the same (which is pretty damn hard enough already) I am still going to allow myself some sense of accomplishment and a little pat on the back. I’ve worked very hard to for those 100 sales. I’ve invested time into making pretty pictures to go with my pretty products, spent hours fleshing out my descriptions and promoting them all over the web. I’ve built up a small, but growing Facebook fan base, gathered some Twitter followers, and have dedicated myself to this blog. I may not have the readership I would have hoped to achieve yet – but I think I’ll get there.

[I'm thinking I need to post more pictures of cute kitties and puppy dogs, people like that shit right?]

Once upon a time when someone reached 100 sales they would post on the Etsy forums a “My first 100 and this is how I did it” milestones post. Technically these aren’t allowed and are considered promotional. Because I know the rules and will abide like the good little girl I am I will refrain, but I know that you my dear readers are hungry for knowledge and advice on your own business, so I’ll drop a couple of tidbits as I pass by:

Evil Eye Ring - $8.95

(1) What you make >>>IS<<<< good enough. It just may not seem like it at first. Selling more intricate bead work pieces, I often felt a sense of despair at all of the charm on a chain pieces selling around me while my work sat there. The problem was, the charm on the chain stuff is popular with the general crowd, while my work has more of a niche. A niche can be good thing, but you have to figure out where it is and stick your stuff in front of it. I joined some forums and online community groups that I figured harbored members that would be more likely to be interested in my stuff. For example, the steampunk/gothic crowd tends to be interested in my evil eye rings, whereas the bridal groups tend to be more interested in my white rhinestone headbands. Think critically about what you make, and join some OFF-ETSY communities that share your tastes.

(2) Interact with the blogging community. Yes I blog. I write these delightful posts that you all just LOVE and don’t simply skim over to find the juicy parts. [sarcastic laughter] But I don’t spend but 15% of my blogging time actually blogging. The other 85% of that time is spent reading and commenting on other blogs. This is significant. For starters, you’ll learn a lot of useful information [and entertain yourself with a lot of useless information and pictures of puppy dogs], but you’ll also get your name out there. A lot of blogs allow you to link to your site via you name, or to your own blog. If you leave an interesting and relevant enough comment, most readers who see that comment will click on your name out of curiosity. Presto! Leaving comments is a great way to get exposure for your web site and your blog. [Feel free to leave a comment on this post to grant yourself some of that delightful exposure. ;-)]

Bridal Headband - $19.95

(3) Don’t get boring. I have some favorite shops on Etsy that I Just LOVE to check out again and again because they keep adding more awesome stuff to their shops! Always keep it updated and fresh. Add a new item at least once a week, preferably 2 or 3 times a week. New items grant a lot of exposure, and they show up in the right-hand side of all of your fans’ activity feeds. I know I click on those little thumbnails all of the time, and I am sure that your admirers will too.

(4) Share the love. Make some treasuries. Buy some awesome shit from other Etsy sellers you admire. These actions get reciprocated, and they make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

That’s all I got for now. You can check out my post on relevancy to find out how to get found in the searches, how to sell and market at crafts fairs, and one of my other posts on how to handle running your Etsy shop along with everything else you have going on.

Don’t look now, but we’re almost there!

Steampunk Barrette - $14.95

So I woke up to a very pleasant surprise this morning. My beaded barrette had made it to the Etsy front page, around midnight or so I believe. While the barrette itself didn’t sell, surprisingly, I did get loads of shop hearts and sold 2 of my rings. That brings me to a total of 98 sales in my MegansBeadedDesigns shop. granted, a handful of those “sales” were actually trades, but heck, I’m proud of those too. I’ve been selling my jewelry and graphics on Etsy for over a year now, and I really feel like I have made some real progress as far as figuring out how to sell and market. Especially compared to when I first started. My pictures have become loads more attractive, and my descriptions further fleshed out. I’ve gathered several more Facebook Fans and latched onto some twitter followers. I know I still have a lot more to do, but I finally feel like I am at a place where I can give others advice [that is actually helpful].

Button Bobby Pins - $7.95

But I still need those 2 more sales to make it to the magical milestone of 100. So close…

To try to push myself to my milestone goal, I’m offering a fabulous coupon code: GET2100 for 20% off your entire purchase from my MegansBeadedDesigns shop. This promotion code is only good until I reach my number, so be the first to grab it and save yourself a bundle!

A big thank you to all of the fellow beaders and Etsy sellers and customers out there that have helped me reach this far! I sincerely hope I will be able to return the favor as I keep selling!

Update: It’s official! I have made it to 100 sales over the weekend!!! A big thank you to all of my customers and fellow sellers who have been so supportive! This is a huge moment for me and I am so happy to be a part of the Etsy community!!!

Kitchen Remodel Project – Step 1

My blue kitchen

I don’t know what the previous owner’s of my house were thinking when they did some of their remodeling before selling the house. Blue? A blue kitchen? A lighter shade of icy or pastel blue, maybe. Something with hints of ash gray wouldn’t have been that bad. But straight up, in-you-face, blue? Ugh. No thank you.

Add to that the cupboards, while all newly installed, contain zero knobs or handles. This means that the ones underneath the counter scrap your fingers when you try to open or close them from the top, the natural and closes place to grab. It took quite a few scrapings before I finally trained myself to stop trying to do that.

I knew right away, even before purchasing the house, that the kitchen was going to have to be my first “aesthetic” project. The blue would have to go. Therefore, the nasty floor laminate would have to be changed as well, along with the blue counter-tops. All of these things I have yet to find the perfect fir for, but I continue to shop around. I definitely have some pretty good ideas, and I’m excited to see them implemented when they can finally be accomplished.

Love the wine glass racks!

After picked out the paint swatch, a deep maroon-red red, I figure I could start on the small changes first. I don’t really have the budget or time to complete the full-out remodle at the present, but I figure that starting gradually would help to ease me into it. Based on the glorious red color swatch, I purchases some simple bronze knobs and handles for all of the cupboards. Finally, they can be opened without injury. Hallelujah!

As part 2 of step 1, I purchased a couple of inexpensive stemware racks from amazon.com. These fit perfectly underneath my cupboards. They have them in rubbed bronze (perfectly matching my door knobs) and would eventually perfectly match my kitchen(after the remodeling takes place.) I had some small red wine glasses (great for port) that I received as a housewarming gift. They fit the rack perfectly, and will look absolutely stunning once the actual kitchen has been painted in the deep red shade as well.

A small step, but a step in the right direction!

Tell me a Story

I feel like it’s been too long since I have exercised any fiction writing, so just for the heck of it, I’m going to start a narration here. You tell me if this is a story you would be compelled to continue or not. Also, if you have any ideas as to what SHOULD happen next, I would love to hear them!

---

The air was silent. No planes could be heard overhead. No drips of remaining raindrops sputtering from the gutters of the cold city. Nothing. Just an eerie and unsettling silence that was so sharp, that Cindy had to concentrate fiercely on her breathing to keep it silent. No matter how hard she tried, the noise of the inhaling and exhaling sounded as though she might as well be screaming.

Moist steam swirled from between her lips as she blew out the oxygen. She sucked it back in through clenched teeth–never seeming to get enough. She ran faster, trying to keep her feet silent on the cold pavement beneath them. Only pausing a moment to look behind her, Cindy ducked into a thin alleyway, her bright red hair flying behind her.

She crouched down. Listening. Trying to catch her breath as quietly as she could.

Nothing but more eerie silence. A silence so stoney that it seemed to be warning her: don’t get too comfortable. Don’t let your guard down. The moment you do, they will find you.

A tremble began to climb up from Cindy’s fingertips and into her throat, She swallowed hard to keep it down. Now was not the time to lose focus. Now was not the time to give way to emotions. Keeping control meant everything. It meant survival.

Cindy pressed her fingertips against the solid brick wall behind her, urging the the shaking to cease. She had to get back to Jeremy and the others. She had to warn them. But she was trapped. Trapped. She could almost feel the thumb drive in her right jean pocket burning a hole through her skin. God, why had she been so stupid? Of course they would be watching the library computers! Of course they would catch her looking at the files on them. She just hadn’t known they would be so fast.

There was a noise. A pebble being kicked down the street? Most likely. Someone was close. Too close.

Cindy surveyed the small alleyway she had tucked herself into. Her emerald eyes darting back and forth in a frenzy. Besides the alleyway itself, there was nothing to hide behind.

She slowly side stepped her way deeper into the alley, her fingertips feeling the rough texture of the wall behind her. She hoped that the shadowy darkness would be enough to conceal her. She carefully tucked her mass of bright hair into her sweater, lifting the hood over her face. She crouched down and low as he could while still holding a watchful eye on the opening of the alleyway. She held this post for what felt like several minutes. Nothing happened. No more noises. Just the sharp cold and the still air.

And then… a familiar face appeared.

Focusing on Creativity

The life of a creative is not an organized one. Far, far from it, in fact. Admittedly, some are more organized than others. Personally? I am anything but. One only has to take a glance in my art studio to see the tables COVERED with jewelry supplies and the floor showered with packing materials and tubes of paint. My creative mind is not a focused one.

I want to make everything.

Steampunk Cuff Links - $10.00

My main category is jewelry, but as anyone who has ever done jewelry will tell you: there are a lot of different options! I try to stick with beading, but I have to try the simpler stuff that I also find alluring, along with the cutesy polymer clay jewelry that I have fallen in love with. There is just too much! My problem is I end up with a butt-load of supplies that I may or may not use before I have the urge to try something else and go out and fetch another butt-load of supplies. Hence, the tables covered with the crap.

Sparkling Bow Barrette - $14.95

There is only so much time in the day, and I can’t help but feel like I could manage to get more done if I could only stay focused. One example of my trailing off is my shop SteampunkDream. Loving the style of Steampunk jewelry, I opened it up on a whim of making tons of awesome Steampunk style jewelry and accessories, only to fill it with a handful of listings and let it sit. To this day I haven’t gotten around to really filling it up to the point where it’s a booming shop or anything to really focus on. This is why I haven’t opened up a shop for my paintings yet. Painting take a lot of direct attention, and therefore is something I don’t hardly do anymore. I feel as though if I opened up a shop with paintings I wouldn’t really be helping myself much by listing my current finished canvases only to let them sit in a shop unattended. (Maybe someday…)

Footnote: of course now I want to learn how to crochet. Can’t I just let it alone? Of course not! I am pretty jealous of all of the amazing crocheters and knitters out there, and I feel like my dexterous beading fingers could handle it if I tried. So we’ll see how that goes. I’ll keep you posted…

Crystal Wire Wrapped Necklace - $18.00

So anyway, I have been feeling pretty guilty of my lack of focus lately. Maybe I should just make ONE style of beadwork and stick to THAT? But I also like *this* and *this* and *this*… and then I read an article on The Chronical’s website about collaborative learning and how forcing the brain to multi-task can actually aid creativity. I thought, Wow! It’s like I knew this all along. Here I have been feeling guilty about trying to do too many things at once, when it may be just that which has helped me be as creative as I am, even in other aspects of my cognitive reasoning. According to the article (written by Cathy Davidson), “Multitasking is the ideal mode of the 21st century, not just because of information overload but also because our digital age was structured without anything like a central node broadcasting one stream of information that we pay attention to at a given moment.” The article argues that the one-task-at-a-time matra of 20th century learning and office work routines is lagging behind the modern way in which our brains are able to function. So maybe my all-over-the-place craftsphere isn’t such a bad thing after all?

Something to consider, anyway.

Beading Patterns for Autumn

If you are a fellow beader, I invite you to check out these autumn-themed beading patterns in the basic beading stitches of brick, peyote, square, loom, and netting. Perfect for the changing of the seasons. Most of these are patterns-only, no instructions included. However, if you have any questions in regard to any of my patterns, I always keep myself open to them via e-mail or Etsy convo. Tutorials include instructions.

Owl Amulet Pattern - $3.93

Falling Leaves - Autumn Necklace Tutorial - $5.93

Black Cat in a Pumpkin - $2.93

Heart of Leaves - $2.93

Autumn Birdie - $0.99

Autumn Trees - $2.93

Autumn Rose Earring - $0.99

Back to School Charms - $2.93

Moonlight Ride Halloween Tapestry - $4.93

Back to School Bracelet - $2.95

Looking for more? I have a whole bunch more patterns HERE!