It's all coming together. So it seems. The new girl has finished one full day of training, so this next week will solidify her place in our shop and then I can have my extra day off to focus on what I really care about... my CRAFT! I am SO eager to be able to really spend a chunk of time on research, marketing, creating, and all aspects of getting my stuff out into the public. I think my etsy shop looks pretty good, but I want my photos to really pop! I want to get out into that wide world of blogs and see what's going on. Really spend some time checking out what others are doing, what kinds of fun things I'm missing by being at work all day.
Of course it will take time for me to fall into a workable routine, but I know there are things that have to get done, and my networking has fallen too far down the list of things to accomplish. Now's the time. Anyone have any great sites I am missing out on? I'm ready to experience all that this world has to offer.
Stay tuned for more exciting blogs to come. At least, I hope they are more exciting. I'm planning on adding more photos, links...you know, INTEREST...in the posts to come.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Sunday, February 15
It has been over a week since my last post. And what have I done? Well, I have managed to get SOME dialogue out of my boss regarding the possibility of getting an extra day off during the week. It is promising, in that he may have found a girl to work Wednesdays (and possibly Saturdays, which would hopefully take away the need for me to stress about the complaints I get about the girl working now, and also my nagging desire to go in on weekends to check the work she has done while I was off...ugh!). I am eager to have a full day to produce paper, cards, shirts, bags, and whatever else my little heart desires.
But today, Sunday, is a 'work' day for hubby and me. After a busy week (work, interviews, school, poker...for him/ work, work, dress altering, work...for me), we actually had social engagements as well. Our friend turned 40 this week and threw a 70's themed disco party at the local VFW hall on Friday. OH, what fun! I had ordered a dress from a seller on etsy, but was pretty sure I was going to have to starve myself all week to fit into it. I got the dress Thursday and discovered that the only way it would fit properly, would be to have my shoulders narrowed. And to my knowledge, there isn't really any cure for broad shoulders. (Don't get me wrong, I'm not built like a football player, but I'm also not built like a 70's dancing queen!) Trying to squeeze myself into this dress resulted in a broken zipper. Which resulted in about 45 minutes of fixing the zipper. Which then led to removal of sleeves and altering of the back of the dress to avoid the need of zipping it all the way up the back. PERFECT! Feathered the hair (strangely, the cut i have dries in a cute little 70's Farrah flip), tall boots, sparkly necklace, and drapey scarf...bing,bang,boom! it's 1970!
I danced til my ankles could not support me in 4 inch heels, took off the boots and continued to dance til the party was over. (It wasn't until Saturday morning, that i remembered i had only eaten one piece of pizza before enjoying several 'jack & coke's' at the party...oops!)
And my mom is in town for the weekend getting my grandparents set to go back to Michigan. We were able to make a coffee date yesterday. Hubby and I just didn't feel like doing anything else but watching movies and hanging out.
So today, he has homework to do for Wednesday, and I have to decide...do I clean the house, as it so desperately needs it? Or, do I try to get some work done, too, since my shop still needs more stuff, I have shirts to print, and I want to sell some stuff? Maybe I can do both?
I can't wait to have Wednesdays off and I'd really like to be 'set up' when the first one comes around.
Decisions, decisions!
But today, Sunday, is a 'work' day for hubby and me. After a busy week (work, interviews, school, poker...for him/ work, work, dress altering, work...for me), we actually had social engagements as well. Our friend turned 40 this week and threw a 70's themed disco party at the local VFW hall on Friday. OH, what fun! I had ordered a dress from a seller on etsy, but was pretty sure I was going to have to starve myself all week to fit into it. I got the dress Thursday and discovered that the only way it would fit properly, would be to have my shoulders narrowed. And to my knowledge, there isn't really any cure for broad shoulders. (Don't get me wrong, I'm not built like a football player, but I'm also not built like a 70's dancing queen!) Trying to squeeze myself into this dress resulted in a broken zipper. Which resulted in about 45 minutes of fixing the zipper. Which then led to removal of sleeves and altering of the back of the dress to avoid the need of zipping it all the way up the back. PERFECT! Feathered the hair (strangely, the cut i have dries in a cute little 70's Farrah flip), tall boots, sparkly necklace, and drapey scarf...bing,bang,boom! it's 1970!
I danced til my ankles could not support me in 4 inch heels, took off the boots and continued to dance til the party was over. (It wasn't until Saturday morning, that i remembered i had only eaten one piece of pizza before enjoying several 'jack & coke's' at the party...oops!)
And my mom is in town for the weekend getting my grandparents set to go back to Michigan. We were able to make a coffee date yesterday. Hubby and I just didn't feel like doing anything else but watching movies and hanging out.
So today, he has homework to do for Wednesday, and I have to decide...do I clean the house, as it so desperately needs it? Or, do I try to get some work done, too, since my shop still needs more stuff, I have shirts to print, and I want to sell some stuff? Maybe I can do both?
I can't wait to have Wednesdays off and I'd really like to be 'set up' when the first one comes around.
Decisions, decisions!
Friday, February 6, 2009
T.G.I.F.
Ever since talking to my boss about working a four-day week, I have been back and forth between feelings of happiness and fear. I would really like the extra time (one FULL day with Jason out of the house and not distracting me!) to allow me to really get some stuff together for the site, but also to possibly get into a couple little boutiques, eventually. My ultimate goal is for this to bring in 'part-time income', and then maybe more full-time...obviously, this won't happen overnight.
But then it dawns on me...I've just given up income! An entire day of income. Have I just made a huge mistake?
Well, I've got to take this step to see if this will work, so I am trying not to stress. I'm excited. I am also thinking of taking a class to help me understand the steps to take to transform my hobby into a business...I have always needed someone to hold my hand and tell me what to do. I just want to do it right...and make it work.
So we're at another weekend and I'm back to arting and crafting. It's supposed to be nice. Hope I can focus!
But then it dawns on me...I've just given up income! An entire day of income. Have I just made a huge mistake?
Well, I've got to take this step to see if this will work, so I am trying not to stress. I'm excited. I am also thinking of taking a class to help me understand the steps to take to transform my hobby into a business...I have always needed someone to hold my hand and tell me what to do. I just want to do it right...and make it work.
So we're at another weekend and I'm back to arting and crafting. It's supposed to be nice. Hope I can focus!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Step One, Complete
Today, despite my usual stress and fear from having to deal with work issues, I called my boss to discuss my schedule and pay. He didn't answer his phone so I left a message: 'hi...need to try to discuss my schedule with you...need to take Wednesdays off...need extra time off...' and such. He calls back, 'so what's up?'
'well, I'm getting into my own stuff now and need more time to spend on it'
'what stuff?'
'my screen printing and cards I am selling online. I really need to get into marketing myself and I also need more time to actually MAKE more stuff.' (now, I've only sold a couple of my paper mini-books, but I really feel if I had a little extra time to concentrate on getting myself out there more, then I could sell more.)
So he ends by saying, 'let's talk about it tomorrow. I will come up with a couple things that might work and you come up with what you want to do about pay.' (since now I am salaried, working an average of 45hours a week...if I went down to four days, I could still feasibly work 40hours, but I'm not sure I want to...)
And that is how we left it. I feel hopeful that I will get my life back by not having to get up at 4:30 every morning, simply by having more energy throughout the day and longer into the evenings. This, in turn, will allow me to focus more on my craft business and less on how tired I am and how nice it would be to just be asleep!
'well, I'm getting into my own stuff now and need more time to spend on it'
'what stuff?'
'my screen printing and cards I am selling online. I really need to get into marketing myself and I also need more time to actually MAKE more stuff.' (now, I've only sold a couple of my paper mini-books, but I really feel if I had a little extra time to concentrate on getting myself out there more, then I could sell more.)
So he ends by saying, 'let's talk about it tomorrow. I will come up with a couple things that might work and you come up with what you want to do about pay.' (since now I am salaried, working an average of 45hours a week...if I went down to four days, I could still feasibly work 40hours, but I'm not sure I want to...)
And that is how we left it. I feel hopeful that I will get my life back by not having to get up at 4:30 every morning, simply by having more energy throughout the day and longer into the evenings. This, in turn, will allow me to focus more on my craft business and less on how tired I am and how nice it would be to just be asleep!
Sunday, February 1, 2009
the end of a productive weekend
I have finished my 'to do' list! This is a first for me, and I feel GREAT!
Today started off slow; pulling out of the Saturday morning walk, I decided to let myself have that joy today, just be sure I worked extra hard to get stuff done. In the meantime, I had forgotten that, in addition to the arting I wanted to do, I also had to go grocery shopping and do laundry. And while that doesn't sound like that much, keep in mind that grocery shopping doesn't end with the mere purchase of goods. Once home, the food needs to be put away, and then there is lunch to be eaten (delicious burritos...I had to get take out! I couldn't even think about adding 'make lunch' to my list! you understand...).
After lunch, I went straight to printing...one cute bat shirt, two fun stars and stripes shirts, and an adorable flowery tote. Now, they sit and dry so that I can heat set them tomorrow after work. Here are a couple pics:
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