I like things nice and quiet and routine. I get grumpy if my routine is upset. Ok, that's a mild understatement. I get up in the morning and eat the same thing for breakfast Monday thru Friday. Same goes for lunch since I've been dieting: I have the same thing for lunch-day in, day out. I kind of like it that way.
However, over the next two months will be anything but routine and I'm trying to gear my mind to accepting that. I have 4 major events occuring in a 5 week timeframe in which I play the central part.
To start with, I'm getting old and I've elected to go to my 35th high school reunion in a little bitty place in NW Oklahoma. Cool, I got a 3 day weekend for it but it will entail a 5 hour drive each way. No big deal....ROAD TRIP! I love to travel and am looking forward to spending a couple of nights in a decent hotel (with an indoor pool!). I won't have to cook and we get a mini vacation while I get to see how well my classmates have aged compared to myself.
The next week isn't so happy. I have to have a dental implant done. This means I have to see a dentist. I believe I've stated this before, "I HATE dentists!" Nothing personal, guys, it's just the whole in your mouth with sharp objects profession thing.
Then with my standard rotten luck, 2 days later is the Aubrey Peanut Festival and the debut of Black Kat Kreations. I have no idea if I'm going to be greeting the public looking like I was smacked with a baseball bat or if I'll be oozing blood or just what. I've got to call the periodontist tomorrow and see if I can get more info.
And lastly! To add insult to injury, 2 weeks later I'm hosting our fall family reunion at our house. Great! Missing a tooth, trying to rebuild inventory for the next craft fair (or licking my wounded pride from the previous one) and having to get the house in immaculate condition since none of those folks have ever been to my house before. All you ladies know how that can be!
So I'm looking to keep a steady hand and head for these next 2 months then hopefully we'll move into an even faster pace to start getting ready for Christmas shows. Woo Hoo!
Happy crafting!!!!!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
My secrets
I've been asked by a few people, "What is your craft? What are you selling? Why aren't you on Etsy?"
I've decided that I probably won't post any pics of my wares until after my first show. A couple of the items are unique but I think can be easily copied. So I feel it's in my best interest to wait until after Oct. 2 which is my first craft fair/show to post pics for everyone to ooh and aahhh over. If I can motivate a little you might get to see some pics of the earrings I've put together or maybe some of the magnets I'll have available for sale but other than that, you'll just have to wait.
I'm not on Etsy yet because I'm using the Aubrey Peanut Festival as a test market. IF my products fly there, then I will consider going out on a bigger scale.
I've decided that I probably won't post any pics of my wares until after my first show. A couple of the items are unique but I think can be easily copied. So I feel it's in my best interest to wait until after Oct. 2 which is my first craft fair/show to post pics for everyone to ooh and aahhh over. If I can motivate a little you might get to see some pics of the earrings I've put together or maybe some of the magnets I'll have available for sale but other than that, you'll just have to wait.
I'm not on Etsy yet because I'm using the Aubrey Peanut Festival as a test market. IF my products fly there, then I will consider going out on a bigger scale.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Holy Smokes!
Well, my other half and I did another one of supply forays and my pocketbook is still coughing and crying. We are now the proud owners of two 6 ft. tables to be used for displaying our wares, and lots of craft supplies. We nearly walked our legs off but managed to find a copy of Photoshop 8 at a reasonable price. This means the photos will be ready for the show on Oct. 2 and I can get off his back some. However, just a word of caution to everyone: No one is safe now! Everyone is fair game when it comes to photos.
I have found that I love making refrigerator magnets. I love the fact that anything I can find in miniature, I can put under glass and put a magnet on the back and someone will like it as much as I and will give it a good home.
I have also thought in the past few days that I can use the kitchen rabbit concept for babies. Just a simple metamorphosis and we now have baby shower gifts. I plan on doing a little more research to find out if I can do other animals, also.
The sad thing about all this is the fact that I know that whatever I manufacture will not be enough if I am lucky enought that my items happen to catch on. The saving grace is that this is only a one day show.
I have found that I love making refrigerator magnets. I love the fact that anything I can find in miniature, I can put under glass and put a magnet on the back and someone will like it as much as I and will give it a good home.
I have also thought in the past few days that I can use the kitchen rabbit concept for babies. Just a simple metamorphosis and we now have baby shower gifts. I plan on doing a little more research to find out if I can do other animals, also.
The sad thing about all this is the fact that I know that whatever I manufacture will not be enough if I am lucky enought that my items happen to catch on. The saving grace is that this is only a one day show.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Wherever you leak
....someone hangs a bucket. It's been one of those weeks. A dental appointment Monday, a funeral on Tuesday, my car died Wednesday, Thursday's schedule all out of whack (because of said car), and finally it's Friday!
I hate dentists. Period. I hate dentists. I not only had to see a dentist, I had to see a PERIODONTIST! The years I spent straightening my teeth has come back to bite me in the butt. Seems repeated pressure (trauma according to the dentist) from the retainer has caused a tooth to die. Of course it's a front tooth. So I have the pleasure of getting an implant which will take approximately 6 months healing time before I have a permanent implant. We won't EVEN talk about the cost of this implant.
Then my aunt passed away on Friday the 13th and the funeral was Tuesday about 3 hours drive away. It was expected but even so funerals are tough because I'm such a sympathy crier. All I have to do is see someone tear up or hear them choke up and I'm crying too.
I am still driving my '96 Olds because A. it's paid for, and B. it is dependable. Well... usually. Seems I had a cracked radiator with coolant everywhere. Maybe this explains the coolant smell I've noticed for the past week. But good news! Now that it's fixed, the hesitation I've had in the engine for the past year is gone. Could I have had a cracked radiator for over a year?
Because of the @#$#^&% car crapping out on me, I had to get up at 4:30am and go into work with the spousal unit. In order for me to get to work, I had 2 hours to kill before I could clock in. There's not a whole lot open at that time of the day in my area so I ended up sitting on a bus for over an hour. When did they take the padding out of bus seats? Trust me, it's not as if I have a skinny butt. I definitely have my own padding but those seats were a horrible insult to my posterior.
So I survived the week to Friday. After work, I went in search of special looking candlesticks to use for my hatstands. I only found a few but they were just a little too pricey for what I want to do. In order to keep my cost of goods down, I need ones that are under $5. I found a couple in a small thrift shop but I felt they were too lightweight: a hatstand needs a heavy base so it doesn't easily tip. I did find some giant clear gems to turn into magnets so the candlestick safari wasn't a total loss. Now I have to start searching all the thrift stores in the area for candlesticks.
Guess I know what I'll be doing tomorrow since I don't have to mow. The grass is just crunchy now and I don't think there's much of anything green out there. Maybe triple digit weather will end this next week.
Until later.....
Happy Crafting.
I hate dentists. Period. I hate dentists. I not only had to see a dentist, I had to see a PERIODONTIST! The years I spent straightening my teeth has come back to bite me in the butt. Seems repeated pressure (trauma according to the dentist) from the retainer has caused a tooth to die. Of course it's a front tooth. So I have the pleasure of getting an implant which will take approximately 6 months healing time before I have a permanent implant. We won't EVEN talk about the cost of this implant.
Then my aunt passed away on Friday the 13th and the funeral was Tuesday about 3 hours drive away. It was expected but even so funerals are tough because I'm such a sympathy crier. All I have to do is see someone tear up or hear them choke up and I'm crying too.
I am still driving my '96 Olds because A. it's paid for, and B. it is dependable. Well... usually. Seems I had a cracked radiator with coolant everywhere. Maybe this explains the coolant smell I've noticed for the past week. But good news! Now that it's fixed, the hesitation I've had in the engine for the past year is gone. Could I have had a cracked radiator for over a year?
Because of the @#$#^&% car crapping out on me, I had to get up at 4:30am and go into work with the spousal unit. In order for me to get to work, I had 2 hours to kill before I could clock in. There's not a whole lot open at that time of the day in my area so I ended up sitting on a bus for over an hour. When did they take the padding out of bus seats? Trust me, it's not as if I have a skinny butt. I definitely have my own padding but those seats were a horrible insult to my posterior.
So I survived the week to Friday. After work, I went in search of special looking candlesticks to use for my hatstands. I only found a few but they were just a little too pricey for what I want to do. In order to keep my cost of goods down, I need ones that are under $5. I found a couple in a small thrift shop but I felt they were too lightweight: a hatstand needs a heavy base so it doesn't easily tip. I did find some giant clear gems to turn into magnets so the candlestick safari wasn't a total loss. Now I have to start searching all the thrift stores in the area for candlesticks.
Guess I know what I'll be doing tomorrow since I don't have to mow. The grass is just crunchy now and I don't think there's much of anything green out there. Maybe triple digit weather will end this next week.
Until later.....
Happy Crafting.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
An Exciting Week
I finally decided to do it! On Friday, I drove to the county courthouse and plopped down my $15.00 and I was rewarded by receiving my DBA. For those that are initially challenged, that stands for "Doing Busines As" or "an assumed name". This means I can finally kick off my home business and actually make some sales of my crafts to real people.
I'm going to get my feet wet at the Aubrey Peanut Festival which is October 2, this year. I know I may have to scramble to get everything ready in time probably won't have enough inventory. From all that I've read this is a pretty standard lament among crafters. I still want to try and I want to know if what I've decided to do will sell or if I need to go more generic to generate sales.
I think I also want to get to a point where Black Kat Kreations will sell jams and jellies, too. I have to do more research on that as I don't know the food product laws.
My husband and I went to a "trade days" today to check out how vendors are setting up their booths and to see what's on the market. We lasted about 2 hours because of the heat. We were inside a "mall" that had air conditioning for 1 of those hours. I don't know if I could do that on a routine basis. But on the plus side that is only 1 weekend a month.
I'm excited to be able to present my wares to the public but it's scary also. I know that people are pretty harsh critics and there is a learning curve. We'll just have to see what happens.
It's 5 weeks and counting till "D day"!
Happy Crafting!
BKK
I'm going to get my feet wet at the Aubrey Peanut Festival which is October 2, this year. I know I may have to scramble to get everything ready in time probably won't have enough inventory. From all that I've read this is a pretty standard lament among crafters. I still want to try and I want to know if what I've decided to do will sell or if I need to go more generic to generate sales.
I think I also want to get to a point where Black Kat Kreations will sell jams and jellies, too. I have to do more research on that as I don't know the food product laws.
My husband and I went to a "trade days" today to check out how vendors are setting up their booths and to see what's on the market. We lasted about 2 hours because of the heat. We were inside a "mall" that had air conditioning for 1 of those hours. I don't know if I could do that on a routine basis. But on the plus side that is only 1 weekend a month.
I'm excited to be able to present my wares to the public but it's scary also. I know that people are pretty harsh critics and there is a learning curve. We'll just have to see what happens.
It's 5 weeks and counting till "D day"!
Happy Crafting!
BKK
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)