Resolutions -- to make, or not to make?

My original plan, as it seems to be ever year, was to make some new year's resolutions and see how long I could keep them for. This year, however, I am only going to set myself some goals. Resolutions are something that break easily -- goals are something that I can work towards for the entire year. In the grand scheme of things, I think that goals are more manageable (for me at least).

• Completely pay off all of my credit cards by May 9th (my college graduation)
• find a 'good' job after graduation
  
• List 5-7 new things in my Etsy shop each week
• reach 250 sales in my Etsy shop (currently at 77)
  
• blog at least once per week
• learn a new hobby
  
• keep a somewhat regular-basis 'diary' of my eating, sleeping, etc habits so I can learn which foods and habits make me sick, then cut them out of my diet or change certain habits to make myself healthier (and happier!)

I think that each of those goals is something manageable, and nothing is too 'lofty' of a goal for me to accomplish in the next 365 days.

what about you -- are you a goal maker, or a resolution maker?

Oh rice cooker, how I love you...

I managed to hold out on post-Christmas shopping for the entire weekend, but today I just had to give in. I had gift cards in my pocket, and a list of things that I wanted but hadn't gotten for Christmas.

I got a few little things, and some random necessities that I needed (contact solution, toilet paper... you know, that sorta stuff). But my ABSOLUTE favorite purchase -- my rice cooker :) I've always wanted a rice cooker, because I am a pretty big fan of rice. I also happen to have a fondness for kitchen appliances. Usually I just cook rice on the stove, but ever since I moved into the new apartment with the gas stove, cooking rice on the stovetop has been sort of a disaster.

After reading the instructions and seeing that it could also be used to 'steam vegetables and meats', I figured I would test it out. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I figured that, worst-case scenario, I could throw everything in the oven if it didn't work out. Well, I put the rice and water in the bottom, set the steamer basket on top, plopped in two thawed tilapia fillets and a handful of frozen veggies from the bag in the freezer, set the lid on, and wandered back to my room. I had NO clue how long it would take, but it was supposed to automatically switch from "cook" to "warm" when it was done. Out of pure anticipation I think I went out to the kitchen to check every 5 minutes or so, but after about 25 minutes, the light had switched to cook. I desperately wanted to take off the lid and look at my food, but I waited the extra 5 minutes the instructions said.

Well, 5 minutes was up, and off came the lid. As I said before, I wasn't sure what to expect, but boy was I surprised! My fish and veggies were perfectly steamed, and the rice was white and fluffy.



Only one dirty pan, 25 minutes, and I didn't have to sit there watching anything... Perfect! Now I am on a quest to try out all of the recipes that I have found for rice cookers. If you have any good ones, feel free to share!

Happy Holidays!

I hope that everyone enjoyed their respective holiday festivities. I had a last-minute change of plans and ended up going home to see my family. It was nice to see everyone, especially my cousin's baby that I haven't gotten a chance to see yet. It was also nice to get some food other than ramen, fishsticks, or ordering pizza....

2008 is almost over... I can't believe it! I will be posting my resolutions soon... we'll see how long I can actually keep at them this year!

Ooops...

I am pretty bad at the whole "keeping my blog updated" thing. Life gets in the way...

Anyway, aside from all of the cooking, cleaning, crafting, Christmas card writing, and present wrapping that I have been doing today, I also updated my Flickr account -- lots of photos, if you're interested!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tangerinesunshine/


Christmas went very well for me at my Etsy shop - lots of sales, which is awesome :) Now I need a little bit of a break...

Stress + Lack of Motivation = Disaster

Do you ever have those days/weeks/etc where it seems like your To-Do list grows at a rate at least triple that of your ability to actually accomplish those things? That is the stage I am at now - I feel like I have far too much on my plate to handle at this point, and I have so many lists floating around I can't keep them straight. Some days I look at my calendar and want to say "Screw this, I'm gonna lay on the couch and play video games" And then there's the occasional day when I DO lay on the couch and play video games instead of getting things done... Then I spend the next day stressed beyond belief and mad at myself for not getting anything done. And now I'm getting myself to the point where I am fairly certain that there is no possible way for me to ever get caught up with everything that needs to be done - even looking out to November/December, it seems like I just have too much to do and not enough hours in each day to be every play I need to be...

So, my question to you -- what are some good ways to deal with stress, get yourself motivated, and try to avoid procrastinating?

A little organization (finally!)

After the past few weeks of craft shows, school starting, and a hectic schedule in general, my craft area (and living room...) began to look pretty messy... It was getting to the point where I couldn't find much of anything when I needed it, and I was afraid to walk in my room in the dark for fear I would step on something sharp or breakable... SOOOO, I decided that it was due for a thorough cleaning. The cleaning itself took me about 3 days of on and off organizing, and a few trips to the store for some plastic containers, but I finally have it organized and acceptable.

Here's a few before and after pictures for you to enjoy...



< --- This is the disaster that I had before I started cleaning.











And here's my cupboards, nicely organized and clean:
It is SOOOO much easier to find things when they're organized!












And my clean desk!! I can't really guarantee that the whole area will stay clean like this for very long, but at least I know that it CAN be clean/organized :)

Making the most of the rain...

I was at SCMN Pridefest earlier today, with my little booth all set up and pretty, and customers searching through my baskets of buttons and pendants, when... rain comes. And wind. And some more rain. So after about 30-45 mins of sitting behind my booth watching customers walk by because everything of mine is covered in a sheet of plastic, I decided that Iwould probably be more productive if I came home. It seems I wasn't the only one that felt that way, as the lady next to me was packing up as well, and on my way out I saw several empty tables that had once been occupied.

Since I am home and have the remainder of the day completely off from anything else, I figured I would use the time to my advantage and get a few things accomplished. With that said, here is a little list of what I would like to do, both for you to look at, and for my benefit as well!

1) Clean out my craft show tote and dry off things that got wet.
2) Finish cleaning up my craft area (it's a disaster -- pictures to come later)
3) Make more buttons
4) Photograph 10-15 items
5) List 2-3 new things on Etsy.


I believe that is a sizeable enough task for one day. Perhaps I'll even find some time for a little nap and work on my current puzzle for a bit :)

Rock Bend, and some new items!

This past weekend was spent at the Rock Bend Folk Festival in nearby St. Peter Minnesota, sitting under my tent, braving a little bit of rain, and seeing the first reactions to some of my most recent creations.

For starters, I finally got the button maker I've been wanting for ages, and it has been a constant source of amusement for me! Since I got it, I think I've made over 100 buttons :)
I've also jumped on the bandwagon for scrabble tile pendants (cliche, but they're fun!). I'm also working on glass pendants as well, which I like the look of better. And coming next is some of those little glass marble magnets that seem to be common on etsy.


Here are some pictures of my little set up at Rock Bend. You can see some of the new pendants I've been working on, as well as my little basket of buttons. My table is a little empty and sad -- that is the result of my excellent procrastination skills....


I sold out of almost all of my buttons the first day, so I had to make more in preparation for the next day. I had to scramble to make more earrings as well, to fill in spaces on my table that had been emptied.It was a good show, and I made about $250 (which is really good for me, although it seems like a small amount to a lot of people who do craft shows) If I am in the country next year at this time, I will definitely be at this show again. The music was nice, and minus the booth next to me that was selling imported items from Thailand, I was happy with the atmosphere. People were extremely helpful when I needed assistance setting up my tent, and even more so when I was scrambling to take down my tent and load up my car when the rain started pouring... I also made a few good contacts, got info about some other good shows, and even got invited to a show the next weekend. If I wasn't already prepared for Pridefest this coming Saturday, I would have accepted the offer.

I will have to say that my craft area is in a sad state of affairs after all the intense/stressful/last minute crafting that I did in preparation for this weekend. That mess also spread out to the living room quite a bit... But more pictures and explanation of that will come later...

Until then, check out some of the new listings in my shop, and keep an eye out for more things to be listed all week (as I get the time and energy to photograph and list things...)

All moved in!

Well, Dave and I are all moved in to the new place! It was a long day last Friday when we moved, but thanks to some awesome friends and co-workers, we got everything moved in before Dave had to go to work, and on Saturday I even had help unpacking :) It's nice to be out of the college apartment scene -- the neighborhood is quiet, there's no loud parties, and a police officer lives across the street. There are three guys that live downstairs, but they don't seem like they'll be any trouble. We share a washer and dryer with them, in the basement, which is much nicer than the coin-operated ones I have been using for the past year.
We also have a lot more space -- I'm used to cramming all of my stuff in to a tiny bedroom, and now I have a full kitchen, living room, and bathroom to spread things out - not to mention a nice big closet in the living room that I've pretty much taken over (sorry Dave!). I have yet to fully unpack all of my craft stuff, but with 3 craft shows coming up in August and September, I need to build up my inventory again!

Oops...

Sorry, I haven't posted in a very long time again... I've been so busy with my class, internship, and job that I haven't had time to post much...

Anyway... I am moving on Friday (YES!), so my life is currently filled with packing, organizing, and trying to get rid of as much excess stuff as possible. Luckily I have freecycle for that! Freecycle is also helping me get some new things for my apartment that I will be needing. My crafting/Etsy stuff is currently on hiatus until I move, since my desk is covered in boxes right now. My big festival time is right around the corner, so I'm getting all of my applications turned in. I will be at Pridefest and Summerfest for sure this year, and hopefully Rock Bend Folk Festival as well. I will keep you all updated, so you can stop out and see me and all of my stuff in person!

Mankato Solstice

So, on a whim I decided last Friday that I would set up my booth at the Mankato Solstice festival on this past Sunday (which also happened to be father's day). I made a mad dash to add some more stock to my inventory so my table wouldn't be TOO empty, and I even threw some Bohemian Kitty stuff in there to see how that would go over. It ended up being a loooong day (the vendor portion of the event ran from 12-9, but I had to be set up by 11 or so). I had two tables, but once again no tent :( It wouldn't have been too much of a problem, but it was VERY sunny, and VERY warm on Sunday, and I ended up with quite a bit of a sunburn. The people were all rather friendly though, and I saw quite a few people that I knew. The booth next to mine ended up being someone I know from Anthropology, so it gave me someone to talk to, someone to watch my booth if I needed to go away, and of course, the much needed shade that I didn't get enough of... Overall sales were pretty good. Devil ducky earrings went well, of course, and I sold a few pieces that I've had sitting around for a while that I wasn't entirely sure would sell. I also sold a few matchbook notepads -- I brought them hoping they'd be a good low price point for people, and they seemed to work well for that.
All in all it was a successful event -- definitely a show I will consider doing next year. I'll admit that I didn't really know what to expect when I signed up, but between the vendors, the music, and the absolutely beautiful day, I had a great time :)

(sorry, I forgot my camera, so no pictures...)

Always starting, never finishing...

I've noticed more and more lately that I tend to START a lot of projects, I just end up getting distracted by one thing or another before I get a chance to finish it, then when I get free time again, I forget about the original thing and start something. I have so many half-finished craft projects, video games, articles.... I really need to start finishing all of those things. I bought a little cross-stitch kit at Hobby Lobby the other day, because I haven't cross-stitched in awhile. I started it a few days ago, and I've been working on it for a little bit every day. I'm almost, and I'm excited that I am actually going to COMPLETE something... I think maybe it is because the weather has been sort of rainy and gray here for the past few days. I find it easier to sit inside and work on projects if the weather isn't that great. When it's sunny and nice outside, I usually want to go to the park to play frisbee or go on a walk -- something to enjoy the fresh air, nice breeze, and warm summer weather.

All this talk of nice weather has me wishing I didn't have to go to work in an hour... Oh well, at least it's gray and gloomy again today.

Have a great day!

PayPerPost

I promised that I would blog more often after my little hiatus, so here it is!

With my recent $11,000 purchase of a car (a 2005 Toyota Corolla --so much money, but it's so beautiful!), I've been a little short on cash. After looking at different opportunities to make money and a desire to NOT spend every waking moment of my life slaving away at my "day job" (as much as I love scooping ice cream, there are only so many screaming children and cranky parents that I can handle in a week) I decided to go with something I saw mentioned a few times on the Etsy.com forums -- payperpost PPP is a site for bloggers that allows you to write reviews on websites, products, services, etc. In exchange for reviewing and advertising their product, the company pays you a certain price. Payments range from a few dollars to over $100. This is my first post, so I do not have much to say about how the whole thing works, but I'm sure that is something I will learn as I do more posts. I am hoping that this experience will give me the chance to earn some cash, learn about some new products, and get some more exposure for my little old blog!

My apologies...

I've been MIA for nearly a month... Wow. Lots has happened with my life, school, work, my etsy shop... I bought my first car, that was certainly an adventure... But regardless, I will be posting here more often again, now that I've gotten a lot of stuff "out of the way" if you will...

Busy as a bee

Sorry for the cliche, but I thought it sounded cool. And bees make me think of hot summer days. Anyway, I'm sorry I haven't been updating in over a week, I have been REALLY busy with school (next week is finals!), and I have been working quite a bit as well.
I'm currently working on a custom order for a friends mom for mothers day. Two projects, actually -- a pair of earrings and a necklace, one for a mother and one for her "pseudo-mom." I haven't done a custom order in awhile, so it's been fun. I love trying to create new stuff, although sometimes it's hard to be creative when my mind is stuffed with school-related stuff...

I also STILL haven't finished building my lightbox that I bought all the supplies for weeks and weeks ago, but I promise I will get it done soon and show the new pictures. Since next week is finals week, I'll finally be done with a lot of my stress, so I'll have quite a bit more free time. I'll be working more, but I won't have homework and studying hanging over my head all the time...

Have a great day!

Hedgehogs, Squirrels, and Mushrooms, oh my!

I'm so excited, I arrived home today to find a package for me in the mail! I've been anxiously awaiting the arrival of said package since the day it was shipped out, so I had to control myself to keep from ripping the packaging to shreds to get to the contents.

What is this awesome package, you ask?? What could have me tearing at a brown paper envelope like a madwoman (although I will admit this isn't the first time I've been excited to receive a package in the mail)?

My new wallet!!!!

Isn't she adorable?

I had the awesome Etsy seller TeePetals make her for me as a custom order. I'd been looking for a wallet to fit in my back pocket for awhile now, but I didn't want a plain one like you can find at every department store -- I wanted mine to be AWESOME and UNIQUE! So I found a pattern I liked, and picked out my own fabric, and viola, I have an awesome wallet!

Here's a picture of the inside:


Although it looks pink-ish, the inside fabric is actually a vibrant red that perfectly matches the mushrooms, cherries, and apples on the main fabric.

Of course as soon as I got her unwrapped I proceeded to empty my old wallet and transfer everything to my new one. Now my new wallet is full and ready to go -- I just need to go shopping so I can use her!

(These pictures were taken from the listing on Etsy -- sorry I can't post any pictures of my own, my camera is on the fritz right now)

Stress...

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days, it's been a looooong week. I only have a few more weeks left of school so I'm scrambling to get all of my final projects done. I'm trying to get my internship, classes, and work situation arranged for the summer (I'm doing an internship at a museum, woohoo!). I'm also having a few problems with my current roommate situation. Between eveything, I haven't had a lot of time for crafting lately :( I also bought a new game for my DS yesterday, Professor Layton and the Curious Village, but I haven't had time to play it yet... I only work one day this weekend, so I'm hoping to get time to play some games, and hopefully craft as well. I went out earlier this week and bought the supplies for making my own light box, but I haven't gotten a chance to put it together yet. I'm crossing my fingers that it will make my pictures turn out a lot better -- I will be sure to post some if they look a lot better!

Well, that's about it for now -- have a good rest of the week/weekend!

Winners!

I am happy to announce the winners of my "Critique me and win!" giveaway:

1st place, winner of the Devil Ducky earrings, is SpotlightDesigns
2nd place, winner of the Matchbook notepads, is BeaconBookmarks
3rd place, winner of the button bobbies, is anniepoo

I will be contacting the winners today and mailing out their prizes this week! Congratulations to everyone, and thank you to everyone who participated! I got a lot of really good advice, and now I have a list of all the critiques typed up, and plan on making LOTS changes in my shop over the next week or two.

I've enjoyed the whole giveaway thing (especially using random.org and seeing who the winners were!), so I'm thinking that I will have to have another one sometime soon -- perhaps the next one will be easier for everyone!

"Hump Day" featured seller - buffalonerdproject

It's Wednesday again folks, we've all survived to the middle of the week! So here we go again, another great Etsy seller, this one a nerd like me :)

Buffalo Nerd Project
"Science Geek By Day, Sewing Chick By Night"

Cooking up a bit of Genius geek apron part 2

When asked to tell a little about herself -- her life and history, how she chose her craft, what got her on to Etsy, and everything else exciting about life, this is what Lisa of buffalonerdproject said:

My name is Lisa. I grew up in Buffalo and moved downstate after I graduated with my Masters degree in molecular biology. I work in a biology lab as a technician during the day researching anything from autism to brain methylation patterns to congenital heart disease.... the list goes on and on! My two roommates are my cat, Angel Baby (I didn't name her) and my tarantula, Mr. Snuggles.

When I'm not at work or sewing like a fiend, I can most likely be found socializing, running, thrift shopping or scrapbooking. My scrapbook is like a huge book of collages (it's messier than a lot of the scrapbooks I've seen, no cute little cardboard cutouts or clean edges, lots of magazine tearings and clashing color motifs), and helps me to always remember the good times. :)

I signed up to Etsy when a coworker of mine told me about it. I've always been really into sewing but I never knew of a place where I could market my passion. The first time that I made a bag out of an old pair of pants that I had lying around my house, my coworker was like "you should sell those." Up until then I made things for myself or for Christmas presents (I had one winter where I made literally a dozen and a half patchwork scarves), but the idea of being able to make things without a specific recipient in mind was super appealing. I love to sew, but before Etsy, I wasn't exactly sure what I'd do with sixteen purses. Does one person need sixteen purses?

As far as choosing my craft, I usually start out making something I need, use it for awhile, and if I like how it came out and find it functional, I make more to sell. This has been the pattern with everything in my shop. I'm trying to integrate science into things because I love it so much, it's what I spend most of my day doing, and I think it puts a relatively unique spin on things. Plus, with the new Mad Scientists of Etsy team, I'm really getting fueled by other science-minded crafty nerds. GO NERDS! :)

If you stop to take a look at Lisa's shop, you can see how much her science nerd side has influenced her crafting. From aprons to ipod cozies, purses to scarves, buffalonerdproject has a variety of fun, creative, and geeky creations!

Check out this awesomely nerdy "Packing Heat in the Kitchen" apron:
In the item description Lisa claims that is apron mixes "mad kitchen skills with experimental flair!" I would say that this apron would make a great addition to any science nerd's kitchen!

Looking for a scarf? I know spring and warm weather are approaching here in the midwestern United States, but it's cold somewhere! If you're in one of those areas, or if you just like wearing scarves and looking cool, buffalonerdproject has some pretty nifty ones, like this fun black and white one:


Are you a science geek? Do you have science geek friends that love cooking? Take a look at all of the items in this wonderful seller's shop and show your support for nerds!

__________
*interested in being featured? email me or comment here with your shop name and email address and I will check you out!

Critique me and win!

Alright, so I REALLY need to work on revamping, organizing, cleaning up, and updating my shops. I've thought of lots of things myself that I would like to change, but I would like input from others as well. In an effort to get responses from people, I am making this in to a contest. Anyone who critiques either (or both) of my shops will be entered in a drawing to win one of three prizes. (*I will post pictures of the prizes by Tuesday afternoon, until then I will just have a description)

The Details:

• visit either or both of my Etsy shops (Tangerine Sunshine or Bohemian Kitty)
• critique the different aspects of my shop listed below
• email your critique to tangerinesunshine@gmail.com or post in the comments section
  
• critiques at least 5 of the points/aspects listed below to be eligible
• you will receive one entry for each shop that you critique
• be as critical as you want! I know that lots of things aren't as good as they could be, so you won't hurt my feelings!
• the contest ends on Monday, April 14th at midnight CST
• winners will be announced by Wednesday, April 16th, and will be notified by email

Points to Critique:

• shop banner
• avatar
  
• shop announcement
• featured items
• photographs (quality, quantity, etc)
• item descriptions
• item titles
• shop policies
• shipping (prices and policies)
• prices
  
• personal profile

Prizes:

• Devil Ducky earrings - your choice of pirate, red, blue, green, purple, yellow, or orange
• Matchbook Notepads - a set of 6 matchbook notepads in "far east" themed papers
• Button Bobbies - your choice of any set of button bobbies (many styles available)

Thank you in advance to everyone who participates!

Matchbook notebooks!

Ok, so I've seen those cute little matchbook notebooks all over Etsy, and they seemed like really fun, cute, easy-to-make things that I could use for promos, or to just keep in my pocket (I love making lists, writing random notes, etc, so it's convenient!). So I ventured to google to search for a tutorial, and found this one on greetingarts' blog.
I read through the tutorial, whipped out my supplies, and made one of my very own! I used brown cardstock, because I love brown/tan/other 'natural' colors, then stamped a red dragon on the front for decoration. Just stamping something on the front seems pretty boring, I know, but this was my first one! I have all sorts of ideas for decorating other ones :)


I only put twelve pages on the inside, because I'm not really sure how much my little mini stapler can handle. I recycled paper though! I have a huge stack of paper in my room, mostly from articles I have printed off for research papers or other random papers I have that are only printed on one side. I've been hoping for something to come up to use those for, and now I have something!


These little notebooks are so fun, I'm off to make a few more for myself before I have to go to class! Be sure to check out greetingarts' blog and take a look at the tutorial to make some for yourself!

"Hump Day" featured seller

I've decided to designate Wednesday ("Hump Day") as a day to feature my favorite Etsy sellers. So from today on, every Wednesday I will feature a different seller!

Today I'm going to start with a seller from my own town, JennaLou. Jenna Lou has some beautiful purses, wallets, wristlets, and pouches. Her products are very well made and durable, and she has some amazing fabric choices! Here's one of my favorites, one of her Pocket Pal wallets:

In addition to selling different sizes and styles of wallets, totes, purses, and more, she also has recently started selling the patterns for two of her most popular styles - the Fiona Handbag, and the Girls Best Friend Wallet. If you'd like to try your hand at making a wallet or purse yourself, these detailed, easy-to-understand, and well-illustrated instructions are a great way to go!


Be sure to check out Jenna Lou's shop at www.jennalou.com, as well all of the other great sellers on Etsy.com!

------------
* Interested in being featured? Leave me a comment with a link to your shop, and I will add you to my schedule.

Ugh...

Do you ever have those days where it seems like all the little things that could go wrong, do? And everything that DOES happen makes you feel 100 times worse than it should? That's the kind of day I'm having today, and I don't really foresee it getting better.
(I know, I should have a positive attitude, but I just can't help feeling pessimistic)
I felt sick when I woke up this morning, and really cranky. Then my lab class took way longer than I expected and I didn't get a chance to finish some things that I thought I would have time for. I did poorly in my bowling class, and when I came home I was going to punch some flower shapes out of paper (for scrapbooking and such... it sounds lame, but it tends to relax me), only to have my paper punch break on me. ARGH! And I'm trying to upload a listing to Etsy that I said I would post for someone, and either the site is having issues, or my computer just plain doesn't want me to go on Etsy. And to top it all off, plans are going awry for the Anthropology club field trip I'm supposed to be going on this weekend, and it's just... hectic. Crazy. Frustrating. Really all I feel like doing is crying, ya know? And I have to go to work in a few hours, which is just like the icing on the cake.

But I suppose I shouldn't be whining as much as I am, things could always be far far worse, right? I'm just having an over-dramatic day :(

One step closer!

I had a sale today! Woohoo, first one in at least a month, I think. So yeah, I'm one step closer to getting my button maker!

Also, I listed a few new things:

Some plaid hang tags in Bohemian Kitty

And a pair of earrings in Tangerine Sunshine.

I also relisted a snail necklace that expired not too long ago. I think this is the second time I've relisted it, so... third time's a charm, right? Maybe someone will come along and like her...

Well, that's about all I have tonight. It's been a hectic weekend with homework and such, and the rest of this week looks like it will be more of the same...

I love getting mail...

My new cello sleeves arrived today --- I got home from work, and there they were, sitting on my kitchen counter. I was pretty happy about that, although now it means I need to go through all the product that I currently have in my inventory and package everything. Besides pretty new packaging, I need to work on the color of my pictures -- they all seems a little too dark, and me and photoshop aren't on very good terms right now. I also need to keep listing things in both shops -- I added two sets of tags to Bohemian Kitty -- some pretty asian-themed ones, and some blue and brown paisley ones. I still have plenty of things waiting to be listed though, but I want to spread it out.
What else... I need to design a banner for Bohemian Kitty, and business cards as well. My craft area/desk is also a disaster, so I need to organize that. I haven't had a sale in a few weeks, but that's mostly my fault, because I haven't been promoting or keeping up with my shops very well. Oh well, craft show season is coming up -- I always seem to do a lot better when people see things in person, or can 'impulse buy', so that should bring some sales :)

Finally, pictures!

This afternoon I got my super awesome boyfriend to help me take TONS of pictures of a bunch of stuff I'd had sitting around, waiting to be photographed so I could list it... The pictures are all in my hot little hands right now, and I'm slowly working my way through them and editing them in photoshop. I work tomorrow, and I have tons of reading and writing to do for class, but I'm going to try to find some time to list a few things at some point this weekend, so look for new things in both Tangerine Sunshine and Bohemian Kitty. The Devil Ducky earrings are some of my favorites, like the little pirates at the start of this post!

To continue...

I found the button maker that I want on eBay. It's the Tecre 1.25" model -- $210, new, comes with 100 button parts. I'm still on the lookout for a used one, but if that fails, this is what I'm going with. I managed to spend nearly $50 at hobby lobby last night (oh so much beautiful paper and stamps and punches!!!!), so I really can't just go out and buy this button maker right now. I made myself promise to myself (trust me, it makes sense) that I wouldn't buy it until I had at least $50 in my paypal account to cover part of the cost. So that means I have to CRAFT CRAFT CRAFT and SELL SELL SELL. I'm taking tons of pictures today, hopefully, so I will be able to list some new stuff tonight and tomorrow :)

Well, that's about it for now. I'm in the midst of doing laundry, cleaning my room, and emailing my professors, and I have a meeting in 2 hours, so I should go get everything done.

Mommy, I want one!!!

So I've wanted a button maker for a rather long time, because I have all sorts of ideas in my head for cute, fun buttons to make and sell. Plus, I'm a button whore (you should see my purse/backpack/etc). But button makers are SO expensive... (for anyone who's never looking into getting a button maker, new ones start at $200 plus...) I want to make sure I get the right one the first time, so it's worth the investment. I've been poking around the Etsy forums, and it seems that nearly everyone prefers Tecre brand over the Badge-a-Minit ones, so it seems like that is the one I will be going with. I'm also pretty sure I want to go with the 1 1/4" sized buttons, although I'm still toying around with the 1" ones. I think those might almost be too small though -- I know for my "personal " use, I tend to prefer the slightly larger ones. However, I also need to know what will sell better... If I'm shelling out over $200 for one of these machines, I need to at least make that money back on it. I'm not sure how well buttons will sell on Etsy, I think it's kind of a hit or miss, but I am pretty sure they will go pretty well at some of the craft shows I will be going to during the summer. I live in a college area, and lots of college and high school aged people like spending a dollar or two on their own little 'pieces of flair.'
Ugh... there's just so much to think about. I'm going to keep poking around on Ebay and hoping that I can find a used one, because that will save me at least $50. It would be awesome if I knew someone personally that didn't want theirs anymore and would be willing to sell it to me for fairly cheap, but so far it looks like I don't know anyone that makes buttons, or used to make buttons and doesn't want to anymore...

Live from Minnesota... it's Monday morning!!!

This post comes straight to you from my Human Origins class... Today is one of those days where I feel like I'm wasting time by being in class, because I have a million and one things to do, most of which I can't do while sitting in a classroom. I can blog though, as well as surf around Etsy and compulsively check my email while simultaneously watching the minutes slowly tick by on the clock...
I have a paper to write tonight, and I can't really procrastinate on it any more. It's due Wednesday, and I have plans tomorrow night, so that pretty much leaves tonight to get it done. I am also hoping to get some pictures taken to post in my etsy shops. I have tons and tons of stuff I've made in drawers on my desk, I just haven't had the time/energy/motivation to get everything out and take some nice pictures. I also have lots of really grandiose ideas about how I am going to organize all my beading and scrapbooking supplies and organizing all my listed inventory based on what shop it comes from, what type of thing it is, etc... In an effort to help with that I did order some self-sealing cello bags yesterday, and I'm working on designing some nice labels for both of my shops. It would be nice to have all my inventory nicely packaged so when something sells it is easier to ship out. It'll also help when the craft shows come around, because they will look a lot nicer on my table...
Anyway, I'm hoping those bags show up by the end of this week, and I can spend the weekend getting everything looking all nice and snappy. I promise that I'll post some nice pictures as soon as all of that happens :)
In addition, I have a *pile* of emails that I need to send for various things... class, summer plans, internship, service-learning project... E-mail pretty much saves my life though, because if I had to find time to talk to all these people in person, I would NEVER have enough time...

I suppose this is it for now, I've already gotten through 20 minutes of class, and I can use the next 30 to get going on some of those emails.

Happy Easter...

I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter... I spent mine working at Cold Stone and serving ice cream to the 20 or so total people that came in during the 4 hours that I was there. Then I came home and ate leftover chinese food, played around on Etsy for awhile, and am finally starting to think about working on my paper for theory (anthropological theory -- my least favorite class this semester). I'm trying to come up with creative ways to procrastinate...

• blogging.

• crafting.

• cleaning my room.
• ----> (yes, I'd rather clean my room than write my theory paper...)
  

• playing Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass or Final Fantasy III on my DS

• tackling some of the other things on my mile-long To-Do list.

• explore the internets.

• make lists.

See, all of these things sound more fun than writing my paper. Yet the paper is inevitable. If I don't do it today, I'll have to do it tomorrow or Tuesday... And I'm not going to want to do it anymore then than I do right now. Maybe even less.

Anyone have good tips on how I can procrastinate? I thought about taking some pictures of a bunch of stuff that I have for my Tangerine Sunshine or Bohemian Kitty, but I'm really too lazy to get everything out, plus it's starting to get dark so the lighting would be off...

Ugh... if only I was as good at writing as I was at procrastinating... Well, I'm off to avoid the paper for another hour or two. Wish me luck...

Mmm... lemon-tastic...

Maybe I'm weird, maybe not, but I don't really like the taste of plain water, unless it's really cold. I also happen to really like lemons, and typically end up sucking on lemon wedges at restaurants.

Anyway, imagine my joy about two weeks ago when I get a sample in the mail of something called "True Lemon." The sample says that you can use it for a seasoning, in place of lemon juice in cooking, or in water. So of course I get myself a glass of water, rip open the packet, and pour it in.

Awesome.

That probably makes me pretty lame, but it also makes me pretty happy, so everything evens out in the end... I was a little sad when my samples ran out, but on the next trip to the grocery store I picked up a box of 40 packets. Yay :)

Want to try some of your own? You can get samples too! Click.... HERE

A New Start

Welcome to the new location! I've had a million and one blog up to this point (that may be a bit of an exaggeration,), but most of them have fallen apart for one reason or another. But that is beside the point... this is the new one, and this will encompass all of my life -- school, friends, family, work, crafting, and everything else I do. Think of it as your all-access pass to my whole life.

Who wouldn't want that?

Lots of updates will come as I introduce you to various aspects of my life:
School.
- sub-field: My Senior Project
My social life (as boring as it is)
My two Etsy shops -- Tangerine Sunshine and Bohemian Kitty
Work.
- sub-field: the not so awesome job
- sub-field: the much better job

Hate to cut it short, but I'm headed to the not-so-awesome job pretty soon...