Most days when I have an order to fill or flowers to make, I sit in the front room and browse through our Netflix (which I admit, I simply ADORE!) I have a tendancy to watch things that other people in my family (ok my husband) don't neccessarily like to watch. I have a broad range of movies I enjoy and even more that I don't.
Today I selected the movie "Julie & Julia". I thought this would be your typical girly movie, but found myself plesantly suprised and wrong. I find these characters calling to me like long lost sisters. Showing me to be myself with no regrets. Something I admit I am terrible at anymore. I also was inspired to allow my blog be about me, with no exceptions. I don't want to limit myself or say "Don't write about that" just because it isn't about Etsy, or my shop or even someone elses. Who cares? That is truly why my blog posts are few and far between. Too often I think of something to write, only to tell myself it's not good enough or that nobody wants to read that. Who cares?
So who cares if I talk about the movie I watched today, or my terrible attempts at taming my cluttered house? The world won't end, and while my blog may not be cohesive, I am hoping it's entertaining.
Dream big my friends. Life is too short to waste your time worrying about what others think about you. Find your niche, put your hooks into it and ride it as hard as you can.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
Keeping myself sane in an insane world
So sorry it's taken a while for this newest blog post. It seems as though life likes to get ahold of me an shake the sense out of me until I don't know which way is up anymore. It's always a bit of a hit and run. Imagine you are walking down the street, and you see a jogger coming your way. No biggie. Yet as the reach you they stop, grab you by the shirt and shake the heck out of you! Then as quickly as they came, they are off and looking for someone else to terrorize. This is what happens to me.
I got to thinking, it seems plenty of other people have been mentioning a hectic life recently around Etsy so I thought about what I am doing to combat the crazies in an effort to help you out. Granted, my situations may be a tad different than yours, but try to think of ways you can apply some of these philosophies. You don't have to be an Etsy seller to apply these to your life.
Keep everything in perspective. All too often, when something comes up it's larger than life and all consuming. What we really need to do, is think about it for a minute. Is it really worth all the worry and stress? Are we making the problem seem bigger than what it is? When we over analyze things it gives them the power to influence other things in our lives. For example, after my grandparents died and everything was divided up nobody was really happy with each other. All it took was for one person to take something that had anothers name on it and it turned into World War 3. Pretty soon I was accused of things I had never even considered in my life. I was totally upset that family could think these things of me! After a little introspection, I realized, "These people have never even bothered to get to really know me. Otherwise they could never truly think I would do something so low." That's when I brushed them under the rug. Took away the power of those words by simply dismissing them. Suddenly that big issue didn't look so big anymore.
Pace yourself. Start setting easily managed goals each day. Sit down and think about what you could easily do, even on a busy weekend. I like to keep an extremely flexible schedule, but I still need to get things done. I tend to look around the house that day and decide, "OK. I need to do 2 loads of laundry, finish that new set of flowers and do the dishes." I can easily do that during the day and still have plenty of time for me. I find that if I schedule myself full all day, or point out to myself every little thing I am doing I tend to feel more overwhelmed and less happy with myself. Keeping the list small and concise allows me to feel that accomplishment and I normally go on to do much more. However if I had made the list all inclusive and packed my day full, I would probably only get a third of it done. After that I would be so hard on myself I would sit around eating cheese balls and reruns of Veronica Mars all the next day.
Tune out negativity. How many of us truly want to have a bad day? None. But if you sit around thinking about how badly the day is going, it's not going to get any better. That is the way life goes. You will see only what you are focused on. It's a bit like the old saying, "You can't see the forest for all the trees." When you dwell on all the bad that is happening, you don't see all the good things happening around you. Look in the mirror, do you constantly scowl or do you smile? Not as many people are going to smile at you if you look like you are going to bite their head off! The more you look for the positive side, the more you will find.
I got to thinking, it seems plenty of other people have been mentioning a hectic life recently around Etsy so I thought about what I am doing to combat the crazies in an effort to help you out. Granted, my situations may be a tad different than yours, but try to think of ways you can apply some of these philosophies. You don't have to be an Etsy seller to apply these to your life.
Keep everything in perspective. All too often, when something comes up it's larger than life and all consuming. What we really need to do, is think about it for a minute. Is it really worth all the worry and stress? Are we making the problem seem bigger than what it is? When we over analyze things it gives them the power to influence other things in our lives. For example, after my grandparents died and everything was divided up nobody was really happy with each other. All it took was for one person to take something that had anothers name on it and it turned into World War 3. Pretty soon I was accused of things I had never even considered in my life. I was totally upset that family could think these things of me! After a little introspection, I realized, "These people have never even bothered to get to really know me. Otherwise they could never truly think I would do something so low." That's when I brushed them under the rug. Took away the power of those words by simply dismissing them. Suddenly that big issue didn't look so big anymore.
Pace yourself. Start setting easily managed goals each day. Sit down and think about what you could easily do, even on a busy weekend. I like to keep an extremely flexible schedule, but I still need to get things done. I tend to look around the house that day and decide, "OK. I need to do 2 loads of laundry, finish that new set of flowers and do the dishes." I can easily do that during the day and still have plenty of time for me. I find that if I schedule myself full all day, or point out to myself every little thing I am doing I tend to feel more overwhelmed and less happy with myself. Keeping the list small and concise allows me to feel that accomplishment and I normally go on to do much more. However if I had made the list all inclusive and packed my day full, I would probably only get a third of it done. After that I would be so hard on myself I would sit around eating cheese balls and reruns of Veronica Mars all the next day.
Tune out negativity. How many of us truly want to have a bad day? None. But if you sit around thinking about how badly the day is going, it's not going to get any better. That is the way life goes. You will see only what you are focused on. It's a bit like the old saying, "You can't see the forest for all the trees." When you dwell on all the bad that is happening, you don't see all the good things happening around you. Look in the mirror, do you constantly scowl or do you smile? Not as many people are going to smile at you if you look like you are going to bite their head off! The more you look for the positive side, the more you will find.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Lucky Nola provides a muse to redecorate
Recently I was able to get my hands on some great items from Lucky Nola, also known as noempire on Etsy. Once I saw her unique gifts and home decor I was instantly trying to decide, "Am I going to give this as a gift, or be greedy and keep it for myself?" In the end I decided on both. :)
The first thing I really enjoyed was this cute butterfly wall hanging.
The price on this inspiring butterfly was $14. It's heavy and solid, definitely well made. Each impression is unique yet complimentary to each other. This and another item I recieved from her have inspired me to redecorate the kitchen. Now to just get the hubby on board! Here are my pics of the two items that have become my muse of redecoration.
I really love the color and while they are different they still seem to match. Now I am hell bent on painting SOME room a chocolate brown, just because I adore these two so much! Maybe I will paint my craft room...
The other items from Lucky Nola are going to be the gift for a family member. I honestly considered keeping these to myself as well, but thought "Come on Krystal. You have been greedy enough!" So I am putting these darlings to the side in my gift stash. (Maybe minus one or two!)
The original listing was for these four:
These were called "Zen and the Art of Butterflies" a set of 4 gift tags/ornaments for a price of $19. Since she loves me, I recieved a few extra. Here is my pic.
I must say I am quite impressed! It's apparent that time and love are put into each item. Every knot, and hole is well placed and carefully tended. I have been bragging on these items since I unwrapped them. I definitely reccomend these to everyone I know. Swing by http://www.etsy.com/shop/noempire to get a glimpse of what she has available right now. I bet you can find a great gift for someone on your shopping list this holiday season.
The first thing I really enjoyed was this cute butterfly wall hanging.
The other items from Lucky Nola are going to be the gift for a family member. I honestly considered keeping these to myself as well, but thought "Come on Krystal. You have been greedy enough!" So I am putting these darlings to the side in my gift stash. (Maybe minus one or two!)
The original listing was for these four:
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
A few Etsy Selling tips
As things come to light, I feel I should fill others in on my new found knowledge. Today, I am talking about trading with fellow Etsy sellers. I have had a few times now, that I have been truly disappointed by either the item or the customer service from fellow sellers. Most of my experience with my fellow sellers stems from trading, but that shouldn't give them free reign to simply be thoughtless. After dealing with some sellers, I think "How do you continue to have customers?"
I will NOT ever call anyone out on this blog, but I will anonymously point out their screw ups. These are things are very important when it comes to the way your customers view you and your products. After all, don't we want repeat business?
The first no no I have learned is that some people intentionally misrepresent their product. I have seen jewelry that are marketed as if they are for adult women, and then when I get the item it's not even close to being like "real jewelry". Women don't want a bunch of plastic baubles. We want at least glass. It's true! Besides, crystals and glass beads don't really cost that much, but makes your item beautiful. What was even worse, was when I traded for a necklace I thought would be perfect for a family member. When the necklace showed up, I thought it looked awfully small... so I marched into the bathroom to try it on. This necklace which in the photos gave the impression it came down to rest on your chest was a choker on me! I am by no means a huge girl or anything either. It was disheartening to say the least. I now look for measurements or an object in the picture that gives me an idea of the size of the item. If I see neither, then I move on.
My next pet peeve is not answering convos. If you don't want what I have, then please take 5 seconds to say "I don't see anything at this time." and move on with your day. Simple. Because if you don't? I won't come back to your store and buy it. I will find someone else. Period.
Here is another biggie. Not shipping out in a reasonable amount of time. See, I am a very mellow person. If you say, "Hey, I don't quite have money to ship it right now. Can I do it in two weeks?" I will say "Sure!" No problem! (at least with trades, if I buy it, I wanted it yesterday ;) ) But if we trade, and I send my item out and you receive yours and you haven't even mailed yours then you have screwed up. It should NEVER take you that long to ship and you haven't at least said something. One little convo can be a big thing. I like to trade with a store before I buy just to make sure I am going to be getting my moneys worth. If you don't put in the time for me, you won't be seeing me again....
English. This is a little hard for me here because I can see both sides. BUT, Etsy is an English speaking site. Yes? So, to me, it seems if you want to sell on there it would probably be imperative that you have a decent grasp of the language so that you can communicate with buyers. Answer questions about your item and what not. So if I send you a convo and I have no idea what the heck you are saying when you reply, I move on. Sorry, but it's sadly true. Typos aren't a big deal if you aren't making them every sentence. It's when there is a lot of writing and you aren't making any sense I move to the next seller.
Above all, be honest, and upfront with your customers. Make sure everything is in order when they see your items, first impressions are big. So don't blow it! If you do screw up, don't let it get you down. Remember it and learn from it. Above all, don't make the same mistake twice.
I will NOT ever call anyone out on this blog, but I will anonymously point out their screw ups. These are things are very important when it comes to the way your customers view you and your products. After all, don't we want repeat business?
The first no no I have learned is that some people intentionally misrepresent their product. I have seen jewelry that are marketed as if they are for adult women, and then when I get the item it's not even close to being like "real jewelry". Women don't want a bunch of plastic baubles. We want at least glass. It's true! Besides, crystals and glass beads don't really cost that much, but makes your item beautiful. What was even worse, was when I traded for a necklace I thought would be perfect for a family member. When the necklace showed up, I thought it looked awfully small... so I marched into the bathroom to try it on. This necklace which in the photos gave the impression it came down to rest on your chest was a choker on me! I am by no means a huge girl or anything either. It was disheartening to say the least. I now look for measurements or an object in the picture that gives me an idea of the size of the item. If I see neither, then I move on.
My next pet peeve is not answering convos. If you don't want what I have, then please take 5 seconds to say "I don't see anything at this time." and move on with your day. Simple. Because if you don't? I won't come back to your store and buy it. I will find someone else. Period.
Here is another biggie. Not shipping out in a reasonable amount of time. See, I am a very mellow person. If you say, "Hey, I don't quite have money to ship it right now. Can I do it in two weeks?" I will say "Sure!" No problem! (at least with trades, if I buy it, I wanted it yesterday ;) ) But if we trade, and I send my item out and you receive yours and you haven't even mailed yours then you have screwed up. It should NEVER take you that long to ship and you haven't at least said something. One little convo can be a big thing. I like to trade with a store before I buy just to make sure I am going to be getting my moneys worth. If you don't put in the time for me, you won't be seeing me again....
English. This is a little hard for me here because I can see both sides. BUT, Etsy is an English speaking site. Yes? So, to me, it seems if you want to sell on there it would probably be imperative that you have a decent grasp of the language so that you can communicate with buyers. Answer questions about your item and what not. So if I send you a convo and I have no idea what the heck you are saying when you reply, I move on. Sorry, but it's sadly true. Typos aren't a big deal if you aren't making them every sentence. It's when there is a lot of writing and you aren't making any sense I move to the next seller.
Above all, be honest, and upfront with your customers. Make sure everything is in order when they see your items, first impressions are big. So don't blow it! If you do screw up, don't let it get you down. Remember it and learn from it. Above all, don't make the same mistake twice.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Life Lessons and Keeping Focused
So it seems that life has recently wanted to teach me a few things. One of which is that I am extremely scatter-brained and I hardly ever keep focused on one thing at a time. Sound like you? Here is what I have learned lately and what I am doing to improve myself.
Working too hard doesn't mean you get a lot done. It seems when I am working so hard that I feel like I am going to drop, I end up feeling as though I need a few days to recoup. Not good! it doesn't matter if you are talking about cleaning house, running a business, or whatever you are into. Hitting it hard doesn't make you more focused. You should work smarter, not harder. Remember that saying. It's especially true today! Keep a nice steady momentum and keep pace. If you can't maintain that pace, then slow down. Nobody ever said life is a race. Do you really want to be the first one at the end?
Take care of yourself. What do you like to do? It doesn't matter if you like to read, play computer games, or watch the birds. Make sure you take time to do those things often. You should at least allow yourself 45 minutes of me time. Daily would be awesome. Tell yourself, "I am doing this just for me." It really seems to boost the confidence and makes it easier to hold your head high.
What are some things you do for you? Let us know in the comments below!
Working too hard doesn't mean you get a lot done. It seems when I am working so hard that I feel like I am going to drop, I end up feeling as though I need a few days to recoup. Not good! it doesn't matter if you are talking about cleaning house, running a business, or whatever you are into. Hitting it hard doesn't make you more focused. You should work smarter, not harder. Remember that saying. It's especially true today! Keep a nice steady momentum and keep pace. If you can't maintain that pace, then slow down. Nobody ever said life is a race. Do you really want to be the first one at the end?
Take care of yourself. What do you like to do? It doesn't matter if you like to read, play computer games, or watch the birds. Make sure you take time to do those things often. You should at least allow yourself 45 minutes of me time. Daily would be awesome. Tell yourself, "I am doing this just for me." It really seems to boost the confidence and makes it easier to hold your head high.
What are some things you do for you? Let us know in the comments below!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Outstanding art from Hoyden Designs
I am very picky when it comes to art. I personally draw and paint on a regular basis, but don't sell my creations. Hoyden Designs was one shop that really drew my attention immediately. I love the simplicity of her pictures, they are so unique and beautiful. All of her images are simply stunning and I really had a hard time choosing! I finally settled on these two lovely items. First is an original acrylic painting that was on sale.
When I saw it I instantly fell in love with it. It is titled "Chloe" from the Dreaming of Darcy series. She represents a woman dreaming of Mr. Darcy from Pride & Prejudice. I also latched onto a bookmark, since I adore a good book and am tired of using recipts and scraps of paper to mark my page. I selected this.
It's titled "Small Treasures". I feel that is exactly what it is, a small treasure! The painting was originally $50 and I grabbed it while on sale for $25. The bookmark was full price at $5. Here is my photo of the two items.
Art lovers are sure to enjoy Hoyden Designs shop. You can visit her at either http://www.hoydendesigns.com/ or at http://www.hoydendesigns.etsy.com/
A beautiful necklace from Bead Voyager
I am definitely a dark person. I love dark colors, and anything that is black. I can't help it. Some say black isn't even a color, but to me it's the best. This is the main reason I fell in love with a necklace made by Bead Voyager. It was aptly named "Let the peals and crystals fall as they may". Here are a couple of her photos from the listing.
I loved how something so simple, could look so stunning. Better yet, it's an accessory that will match whatever color I am wearing. I eagerly awaited it's arrival and was not disappointed.
The necklace arrived in a pretty little organza bag, but the crystals were twinkling even before I opened the bag. Here is a picture I took of the necklace
While I admit, I am pretty easy to please...this necklace would make any woman feel like a movie star. Each little crystal is hand wrapped with utmost care. I grabbed it while on sale for $25. Even better! While a little classy for me to wear everyday (I am a mostly jeans and t-shirt kinda gal) I have to say it is one of my new favs in my jewelry box.
So please, check out Bead Voyagers shop. http://www.beadvoyager.etsy.com/ Currently she is away, but will be back October 10th. Just in time to start your holiday shopping.
The necklace arrived in a pretty little organza bag, but the crystals were twinkling even before I opened the bag. Here is a picture I took of the necklace
So please, check out Bead Voyagers shop. http://www.beadvoyager.etsy.com/ Currently she is away, but will be back October 10th. Just in time to start your holiday shopping.
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