bye bye fukkits!

so my crafty-craftyness has been on this downward spiral for months....maybe even more than a year. so many times, i'd draw up a new pattern or have this great crafty idea. i'd run screaming with it and one of two outcomes always followed. 1. it would be perfect and i'd make 2o of them and then burn out OR 2. it would be harder than i thought and i'd give up after one if i even completed it. i've wasted so much money on each fruitless endeavor.

i used to sell on eBay, but we all know it sucks for small-time sellers. so i created this little Etsy shop and planned to stock it full and actually make some $$. i've struggled for so long to find my groove and although i did manage to sell a few things, i never had more than 5 items in my shop at one time and rarely added anything.

things began to look up when a friend referred me to this fabric coop in December and i've been stocking up on tons of designer fabric, notions and hardware ever since. hell, i've got enough stuff laying around to open a craft supply store.

the true light at the end of the tunnel came in the form of a diagnosis. apparently i'm ADD. and it's funny, i was the only one surprised by this information. it does make sense though and explains a LOT.

then i finally "figured out" Etsy. its pretty simple. keep your store well stocked and add new items daily. of course listing quality products helps too.

so, with my determination and motivation renewed, i've stocked the shop to about 50 items. i have a little bit of everything, my Fab Fobs, my O.W.N. wallets, pocket mirrors, some zippered pouches and even a little DIY button bracelet tutorial.

things have been great so far! in the 17 days of June, i'm proud to tell the two people reading this that i've sold 14 items. no, i'm not a millionaire yet, but my self-confidence is through the roof. people like my stuff. enough to pay for it even. each time something sells it just revs up my energy to make something else. and the positive feedback causes quite a buzz too!

yay for me. i can honestly say: MY CRAFTY LIFE IS GOOD, like the rest of my life!!!

It's Almost Been a Year....

....and I have only posted 4 blogs!!!!! :o(

Christmas Sucks!

Okay, its not supposed to suck, but usually it does. Especially if you have 4 kids and a stepchild and have a limited personal income. I always shop early, seek sales and do my best to grant each child wishes, within reason of course. I just always run out of money and my dear wonderful kids always pick the hardest to find in stores, highest priced on Ebay items. Season of giving, my pasty white butt! Its the season of breaking the bank! In the end, I am always happy to see them ripping and tearing on Christmas Day and somehow it's always worth it, but damn. So here I sit, 4 kids Christmas dreams come true and $30 overdraft in the bank whenever that last check clears....maybe I should make and sell something? HAHA! That's a whole new blog.....

OMG, I have a blog!?

i created this thing in february and i just now remembered it. wow, that's pretty bad. i bookmarked it this time so, maybe if i dont lose the computer or forget to breathe, i might post again.

How Do I Sell Without Being a Sellout?

So I make purses. I taught myself how to do it and I enjoy it. My problem is that I get so caught up in making "what sells" and don't leave any time or room for my own creativity. Yeah, I make this stuff for fun, but I make it for $$ too, so if given the choice between some killer original creation that only I may love or some commercial print done up all fru-fru, I am likely to make the fru-fru and collect my dough than to risk wasting the money to post the other. If I make a Pink John Deere purse I get buried in orders, but my original stuff sells much slower. How do I get my own gimmick without stealing the genius of another? I am creative, but lazy at times, so yeah its easier to make the in demand stuff than taking the time to let my creative juices flow. This is my dilemma...oh yeah and I still haven't touched the serger ;)

so I got a serger yesterday....

I am scared to death of this thing! I have made a few simple tops and skirts and one dress using my sewing machine, but everyone says a serger is the way to go, especially with knit or t-shirt-like fabrics that I want to use. So I have spent a fortune on fabric and a few patterns that I didnt think I could figure out for myself and here I sit. I have read the manual like 3 times and still haven't taken it out of the box. How can something with so cool be so damned intimidating? Maybe I will open it tomorrow...