I should probably update this.

I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately. I've been working on Hands On Handmade. I'll eventually move all of these posts over to the Wordpress blog on my website, but for right now my concentration is on Hands On. You probably won't be seeing me update this blog very often at all.

YAY!

I'm terribly excited. I just opened the mailbox and I'm so happy that my package from Barefoot Bath and Body just came! I had usually only bought lip balms from Barefoot Bath, but I went for soap this time, too, and I can't wait! I had used one of her sample sized soaps that she sent me the last time I ordered, and I have never felt cleaner. I'm now off to search for some Aloo yard to make myself a soap-saver.

I'm terribly excited about my lip balms and soap!

What makes a successful blog?

What makes a good blog?

-Know your subject, know it well.
-Write cohesively.
-Stay focused!
-Be original
-Be helpful
-Be a friend

These are all things I need to work on.

I seriously need to update this blog. I'll get to that eventually. When I'm not so frazzled.

Yay I made the front page!

That's right, my Infatuation treasury made the front page!

I'm so excited!

I have a lot of ideas in store for my Etsy shops, so keep checking back for new items.

Infatuation.

Yep, that's right. I've finally snagged myself another treasury. I'm so excited! Take a look:


Clicking the picture will open the treasury in a new tab or window.

I'm hoping for it to get a bit of notice so that it has a chance of reaching the front page. I would definitely love that kind of publicity.

Update: I got another treasury on Treasury West! Take a look:


Clicking the picture will open the treasury in a new tab or window.

Yay tumbler! And a fancy dog toy.

Yay, my long awaited package from Progress Machine finally came yesterday! The delay was due to an error with my order and the fact that it was made over the weekend and UPS decided to reschedule my delivery. Nothing bad on their part, just want to mention that. Anyways, I got my pound of stainless steel tumbling shot and my rawhide hammer (which Cleo thinks is her new chew toy...) and I can't be happier.

I immediately went downstairs to try and locate my tumbler barrel, which I somehow lost. Hubby found it for me and I grabbed all the silver I had that needed tumbling and popped it in with a bit of shot. Added some Dawn and water and was good to go! ....Or so I thought. An hour later I opened up the barrel and all of my jewelry was black and greasy and the color of the steel shot. My tumbler barrel was also really dirty on the inside. So I had to rinse everything off, tumble for a half hour with a degreaser, then rinse again, tumble for another half hour with a degreaser, and then finally I could tumble it again with the Dawn. Too much work, but at least everything is nice and shiny now!

My office/studio space is almost complete. I just need to move the rest of my supplies down here, hang up a corkboard or two and it will be complete! Oh, and I need a chair. Preferably a comfortable one, spinny, with wheels. The rest of that will have to wait until I recover from making my last tuition payment (finally!).

I'm trying to think of more tutorials or other Etsy-related how-tos, but I'm out of ideas! Is there anything you'd like to see? Comment on this post with your ideas on what you would like me to show you next!

Only you can save us now.

Forgive me if I start to ramble, I really had no intent behind this post when I started it. It's just what's on my mind right now, with no real cohesiveness to it.

I'm still waiting for this "holiday rush" I keep hearing about on Etsy. Everyone else seems to be pretty busy, especially the soap sellers. Everyone wants soap for the holidays. I wish I had the money to buy all my presents on Etsy, or to make them all myself. Mostly what I need is money to pay my bills, that's the most important thing right now. Not to get any more into debt than I already am. But, that's a side-effect of investing in your own handmade capitalist venture. You need to spend money in order to make money. And I have made money selling on Etsy. A lot, in fact. In the last 8 months that I've been selling I've had 52 sales, one of those being a wholesale order for 28 pieces. All those profits though, went to buying more supplies to improve my business or tools or paying off credit cards that I used to start up my business in the first place. And there's still so much more that I need to make to "get out of the red".

Etsy just seems so slow for me lately. I was hoping that will the sudden drop in gas prices, people would start spending a little bit more. Especially now that it's the holiday season, people are doing a lot of shopping online for their Christmas and other holiday gifts. Trickle-down theory, I suppose. But I guess it's working the other way and people are tightening their belts even more, because of the recession we're in, because of the Bailout Plan. It makes it so much harder for all of us on Etsy, and anyone else who sells handmade.

Now that I've broached the subject of economics, I might as well touch on politics as well. Usually I stay clear of political topics when I'm talking about my business. I don't like to mix the two. But I will say this. To all those people out there who are bashing either candidate - use that energy to CHANGE it. Your vote CAN and WILL make a difference. But not if you don't use that right to vote. Don't just sit there and whinge about it when you can DO SOMETHING. I want to encourage everyone to get out there and make a difference. Please, for the sake of this country, help us.