tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59003197487154974862024-02-20T22:29:18.726-08:00Owl Say DesignsPractical Products with Stylish FlairMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847681761659088659noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5900319748715497486.post-3516072247146983012013-08-05T16:03:00.000-07:002013-08-05T16:04:13.204-07:00Digital Versus Real EmbroideryI have dozens and dozens of embroidery designs available and dozens of colors to embroider each design. Having all of that choice is great, but for a small shop like me, it's hard to convey to my customers how much choice they have and be able to show all the designs available on a bag. To help me accomplish this, I use a special embroidery software that allows me to change the colors of the thread, change the size of the embroidery and even digitize a custom logo or picture into an embroidery.<br />
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This same software also allows me to take a stock photo of a bag and place the embroidery design over the bag so the customer can see what the image would look like on the bag. Because I am a small shop, I can't really afford to actually embroider 100+ bags and have them sitting around as inventory waiting for a customer to love them and buy them. Especially considering a customer can choose from 16 different thread colors on so many of my embroidery design choices. So I have used this method to list a few dozen bags - essentially with the 'picture' of the embroidery over a specified bag. The only problem with this, is the picture of the embroidery in my digitizing software does not look as good as the actual embroidery. In fact, the actual embroidery is SO much more beautiful and vibrant. The colors are richer and bolder.<br />
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I thought it would be a good idea to list some examples of embroidery software vs actual embroidery so my customers can see how AMAZING the actual product is that they will be receiving.<br />
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Here's one of the best examples:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/owlsay?section_id=6577328" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoxTdMic9Xe_HKwLTl8SkBZE07Zb4ldognq1YA8U3KI8IkwDFndyB3w5HKg-K9nnkifHy5xH47cKsqig6XVp_FJM9j98rYdRluhK1GswPzBumIdaqG7rr4ujn1P5C2DCp4wJZUDIyQWKxT/s640/P8050424-tile.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/owlsay?section_id=6577328" target="_blank">Actual embroidery (left) VS Digital Software Embroidery (right)</a></td></tr>
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The digital software version is on the right and the actual embroidery is on the left. Not only does the design look slightly smaller on the right, but the colors of the birds look dull and dark. The black of the cages doesn't really pop like it does on the actual embroidery. It's a big difference! </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/owlsay?section_id=6577328" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbdRdNMv4NW-94FSEsioFKoa0d8JYasX8R2qJnAobx67LI3XgIxAxJlEKGfrWHNNw726RpIB_YLaHDxxLA-OJED7aRWcGS8yKOQX__C3qKFdd6TgfhkI5rdpYvnel39wmr-h8qC08_YyvK/s640/Digital+vs+real+embroidery.jpg" width="568" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/owlsay?section_id=6577328" target="_blank">Embroidery Software (left) VS Actual Embroidery (right)</a></td></tr>
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Here are 3 more examples. The biggest eye-catching difference to me is the Police Box - the royal blue of the box on the actual embroidery is SO amazing. Take a look at the Zombie Kitty - the placement is different on the actual embroidery because the bag was different from the stock photo bag, but the green of the kitty is so much brighter! Also take a look at the Bookworm - you can hardly see the word 'Bookworm' on the left, but the in actual embroidery it is very visible! </div>
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Here's a good example of why I can't embroider every bag before I list it. This Wordy Bird design is very popular and you can choose from 16 thread color options. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/152394222/back-to-school-sale-canvas-field-bag?ref=shop_home_active&ga_search_query=wordy%2Bbird" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAFf_yvf5inrjGDkYehzWfW7kYgi5l6TQaT6VYxtkOoNMRIDlltQUolu0YaY5izhgOtHrKfuAVYTYtvc6GAvJ9K0fQIne2IDjGfPMqVgz5KEJCHtBGdaW_7StjaY8U4r9jSV3h1yZQAkom/s640/Wordy+Bird+copy-tile.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/152394222/back-to-school-sale-canvas-field-bag?ref=shop_home_active&ga_search_query=wordy%2Bbird" target="_blank">Embroidery Software (left) VS Actual Embroidery (middle and right)</a></td></tr>
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The left version is showing black thread with the embroidery software. The next two are actual embroideries with Hunter Green and Rouge thread. See how much more weight the actual embroidery carries? And these colors didn't translate well visually in the embroidery software (which is why I always stick with black) but they look beautiful here. </div>
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It has always been important to me for my customers to have lots of choices and options when buying from me. I think that's pretty evident in almost all the products I offer at Owl Say Designs. I'm hoping this post helps explain that the embroider designs you see on my bag listing are not at all bland! They are beautiful and vibrant and so very unique! </div>
Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847681761659088659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5900319748715497486.post-41423167827092101482013-06-18T16:17:00.003-07:002013-06-18T16:21:52.387-07:00New Embroidered BagsI love, love, love upcycling the Military bags I've been using for embroidery. For me, they are the perfect mix of function, durability and style. Unfortunately, they are sometimes hard to obtain. Once I have a bag both I and my customers love, I scour the internet looking for them and buy in big quantities. Even so, it's bound to happen that I will run out, and this has been my problem lately. I currently have about 20 or so of these bags left at the time of posting. This is because I JUST found more! The constant issue of having to source them has had me rethinking if I shouldn't go to a more easily accessible bag.<br />
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/owlsay?section_id=6577328" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4WR0NK7C-C1OKJS7LDZI_OyY6q6MiOb0Ze0XIoDza3aHXu4EuJWLVO21kAuKjoKAJxPZvFcbB-pvY55Yg4lwMj1jl4F7RHLXX7Z-k-_vSG2P-NYNk7tIkh1a1ijT_xmdqzU1DB9T8agdp/s400/Russian+bread+bag+-+tile.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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These are the new Canvas Rucksacks now available at Owl Say Designs. I love them! Maybe I'm just tired of looking at Olive Drab, but I am LOVING the new gray color. I love the matching strap. I love the easy turn closures on the flap. The colors really pop on the more neutral smoke gray which means I'm able to offer more color options for single color embroideries. </div>
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/owlsay?section_id=6577328" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOtCSP0o8-WRkFnpDQOdHXSBiu6fxk6t4lusfTZOzBFzGSebhkia5yjf3YsG1G2WCiTSNfWQaXGtPj-aGPUwxWnYciLk12hFfDqYNcV5ZtgKhjABr0vGEtdcojWQUbUP4e9qmQuO17dKrb/s400/Smoke+Bag-tile.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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For instance, here is a customer favorite design, the Deep Sea Helmet. It was previously only available in brown on the military rucksacks, but it's shown here in Navy Blue. You also have the choice of 16 other embroidery colors, all of which pop nicely on the gray canvas field bag. </div>
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/152393470/canvas-field-bag-deep-sea-helmet-custom?ref=shop_home_active" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="377" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGuIekMZqaMv4g48GY8kNOdA-CKOpDpJLgfwKI2GS_kNa2PTuQtSKXT0-RshcIDwE-eIIwdXfCHi7ITsDsNIgJhDhskNhPZSxJVtlvI2cuxbtOJL_b3RlATM_33qVRPcJg0wB_Bjqhf6rW/s400/Deep+Sea+Helmet.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The new gray bags are also one main open pocket, which has been frequently requested. It has one long adjustable strap that can be shortened to carry on your shoulder, or lengthened to carry the bag across your body (like a hip bag). It's large enough to fit an iPad or any eReader. Smaller laptops and books will also fit. Perfect for a necessities only diaper bag too. I love its durability and that it can span functionality across a lot of different customers. </div>
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Here's an example of the customer who chose the Wordy Bird design embroidered in Hunter Green (as opposed how it's listed in Black embroidery). I wouldn't have thought to use Hunter Green for this design, but the color pops quite nicely on the gray bag. This is also a good time to mention that I use my embroidery software to digitally put the embroidery on the bag - meaning, the pics I have listed show a bag with 'virtual' embroidery. The downside of this, is the color and design are so much more vibrant and intricate once it's actually embroidered. But another post on this later...</div>
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/152394222/canvas-field-bag-wordy-bird-custom?ref=shop_home_active" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4h7PBLtUJXNkFs7BuzSXK8EcyX5hqjAE1LiGpbVAp_RxW-eIxuzMblcYsUVUUYPxm_4r-gGUEQZyQcZ5XJC4jE3uKS_s3xQyMEAJPaYylOx9Ru1ar740n5HRUso0ZA5CejT3ilbkIQ7r5/s400/Wordy+Bird+copy-tile.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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My next most requested item is a dedicated laptop and/or messenger bag and I love these! I'm not gonna lie, I wish these were offered in gray! But I DO love the light khaki color of these bags. Same options go for these as for the gray field bags, all of the one color embroidery designs are available in 16 different embroidery options. These do fit up to a 17" laptop. They are medium-weight cotton canvas, so you'll probably need a neoprene sleeve on your laptop if you use this as your dedicated laptop bag. I'd like to point out that if you purchase a padded laptop bag from a big box store, it would never look this cute! </div>
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/owlsay?section_id=6577328" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj78-ajusfdYTPiUkrbOcP6njT5qZmgJPcHubYHFbrFV1m0gtvfVb56GqzEwkq94oTDRO__JozHgG2TrhOtnFSLWeafu2VRlO86BbxydrmRanyj0AiByE9oV6M2u_jtsTiJq4YBsLh4FHDO/s400/messenger+bag+-+tile.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Like the Smoke Canvas Field Bags, these have an adjustable strap allowing you to carry it on your shoulder or across your body. They also work great as book bags for school age or college kids and as diaper bags. In fact, I'm trying to narrow down the design I want to put on the bag for my 14 month old!</div>
Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847681761659088659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5900319748715497486.post-71313879305463171882013-01-26T19:08:00.003-08:002013-01-26T19:09:44.980-08:002012 Wrap up2012 was an incredibly busy year for me. It brought some of my highest highs and some of my lowest lows...but mainly highs. I think the best way to share what 2012 had in store for me is through pictures.<br />
Let's start here:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnGvEnvW7Vss96ex8YRctN-XnyHrPTf0lYxfgazCn2g6QBW-JtHwdGWsNr7yl2uh8ec3a0X7cQjhxq7KTrQMQD5ywOfz_fsg63Ls9naihMI4w68AtEFzkWR18lvZqLPwvJiayw39vsvz-O/s1600/Terrill+Family+2011+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="451" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnGvEnvW7Vss96ex8YRctN-XnyHrPTf0lYxfgazCn2g6QBW-JtHwdGWsNr7yl2uh8ec3a0X7cQjhxq7KTrQMQD5ywOfz_fsg63Ls9naihMI4w68AtEFzkWR18lvZqLPwvJiayw39vsvz-O/s640/Terrill+Family+2011+copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Images taken by <a href="http://www.chellecates.com/" target="_blank">Chelle Cates Photography </a></td></tr>
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Ok, technically these were taken in Oct 2011. But we were so busy in 2012 we didn't have family pics taken and these are the latest family pics. I'm about 4 months pregnant with Luke in these pics. Interesting facts about these pics:<br />
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<li>I saw the pics of Joel Dewberry's family on his <a href="http://www.joeldewberry.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">blog </a>taken in cherry blossoms and was inspired to do something similar with matching ties/outfits. So I made the ties from Joel Dewberry fabric and made a matching skirt for me. Which I just realized you can't see from the pics I chose to upload. Well, believe me, it's awesome. </li>
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Which leads me to the real first pics of 2012.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzomP9owR1O9LBO8cH0Xxcmtde6RRy1gJPmHBy0zFr6BEJduiM43JknqR2TZBijhiOMXeWrfgoj3iJWD8J8GMaAJFFApQtBF35ksn1AqHmFBqE0SRyUTt1IfRemuadfXFtarQnWGwQT0ka/s1600/Boys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzomP9owR1O9LBO8cH0Xxcmtde6RRy1gJPmHBy0zFr6BEJduiM43JknqR2TZBijhiOMXeWrfgoj3iJWD8J8GMaAJFFApQtBF35ksn1AqHmFBqE0SRyUTt1IfRemuadfXFtarQnWGwQT0ka/s640/Boys.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Images taken by <a href="http://www.chellecates.com/" target="_blank">Chelle Cates Photography</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQLffQ71MzRaN-pKzxCY1-dci76RIppM58a8W2CdAtjxSS4pmq3EIBy_FoOGVSd7wjK4hO_bzOQDHZtSEn0yUl556x9bSbwFCZ2d3Egfw5k0YYyaQ2KCKPySCzHhPmkhuwXyPGPd8J3ewT/s1600/luke+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQLffQ71MzRaN-pKzxCY1-dci76RIppM58a8W2CdAtjxSS4pmq3EIBy_FoOGVSd7wjK4hO_bzOQDHZtSEn0yUl556x9bSbwFCZ2d3Egfw5k0YYyaQ2KCKPySCzHhPmkhuwXyPGPd8J3ewT/s640/luke+1.jpg" width="314" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Images taken by <a href="http://www.chellecates.com/" target="_blank">Chelle Cates Photography </a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWQDZp8PgLEmKvJFRByugyw44FO-Tmyd5lGfvddppOnS5h3rfg9yytwrYXmSwTI7-ZiUVAAYTHe8AH_NoWuxMGQOhnjIlaFesPz_NijwLfO0GzpFaqX8MrjrPCCDlk56_r882OrqTkm9vl/s1600/Luke+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWQDZp8PgLEmKvJFRByugyw44FO-Tmyd5lGfvddppOnS5h3rfg9yytwrYXmSwTI7-ZiUVAAYTHe8AH_NoWuxMGQOhnjIlaFesPz_NijwLfO0GzpFaqX8MrjrPCCDlk56_r882OrqTkm9vl/s640/Luke+2.jpg" width="434" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Images taken by <a href="http://www.chellecates.com/" target="_blank">Chelle Cates Photography </a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrpilAt0znjxmCFQ_kISH1B4Ia7krbtuJqshKZTUuj1SY1pAyCI-Y0Tb6qcpniAqh1_fKXk8e8OOY64roePtSi2U1fVJwNfz23cUy32_-VwnrXLcncxSTkMXEBLSnfvjlVkGPvTprw95pl/s1600/Luke+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrpilAt0znjxmCFQ_kISH1B4Ia7krbtuJqshKZTUuj1SY1pAyCI-Y0Tb6qcpniAqh1_fKXk8e8OOY64roePtSi2U1fVJwNfz23cUy32_-VwnrXLcncxSTkMXEBLSnfvjlVkGPvTprw95pl/s640/Luke+3.jpg" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Images taken by <a href="http://www.chellecates.com/" target="_blank">Chelle Cates Photography </a></td></tr>
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Here are some interesting facts about Luke's Newborn pics:<br />
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<li>Bible Pic - That Bible is actually Jon's grandmother's Bible. The pages are worn and marked up and it's absolutely beautiful. I lived with her for a year before Jon and I were married and I have such wonderful memories of her sitting on the couch reading that Bible. It's opened up to Psalm 139:14 which reads <i>"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made, I know that full well<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">."</span></i></li>
<li> It was Chelle's idea to use Aiden's tie from our family pics and a mustache...I'm so glad she said something because it made the cutest pictures!</li>
<li>I had this whole Fox Theme going for Luke (obviously). If you love his little fox suit, I got it from<a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/LionandLambPhotos?ref=pr_shop_more" target="_blank"> Lion and Lamb Photos' Etsy Shop.</a></li>
<li>The fox background in the brothers shot is designed by Kelly from <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/PETUNIAS" target="_blank">Petunias</a>. She has various fabric designs uploaded to <a href="http://www.spoonflower.com/" target="_blank">Spoonflower</a>. You can search Spoonflower for Petunias and see this design and others.</li>
<li>I made Aiden's tie shirt. Cause I'm cool like that.</li>
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These pics bring us through March 2012. Then Aiden played T-ball during the summer and Soccer in the Fall. And we started homeschooling, so we needed school pics...again from Chelle!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEvInuurXqntBHmA3K87vRaHpbKJBzEDWEFyGuyZvY7XJb6SGotTYkUSteuIXGMoEhuMTZBZjrp9KCIPXQjgtI1QnzjZS2fwkvVMqybM78ZJeRqDcbigWmRWlIARViVGQo5hOxt80jiYM0/s1600/A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEvInuurXqntBHmA3K87vRaHpbKJBzEDWEFyGuyZvY7XJb6SGotTYkUSteuIXGMoEhuMTZBZjrp9KCIPXQjgtI1QnzjZS2fwkvVMqybM78ZJeRqDcbigWmRWlIARViVGQo5hOxt80jiYM0/s640/A.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Images taken by <a href="http://www.chellecates.com/" target="_blank">Chelle Cates Photography </a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Interesting facts about our School Pics:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Aiden was in a super snarky mood and DID NOT want to be taking pictures. He kept squinting his eyes and being a general stink weasel. But somehow, Chelle still managed to capture the cuteness of this little boy.</li>
</ul>
<br />
In case it isn't already obvious, Chelle Cates is our awesome family photographer. Please take a minute to check out her <a href="http://www.chellecates.com/" target="_blank">webpage</a>. She has a wonderful story and is so gifted!<br />
<br />
So then our life got really topsy turvy. At the end of August, we found a new house to move in to. This is our old house. I'll write a whole post about this house and how much I love it, but at 1000sq ft, we just didn't have enough room. Like I said, it's a post all its own, but we have moved from this house....<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiotczyJhq5bDTZv6vuTHskeXCrLVYS6D3LHJbzkt_Tmo7SzPd2sReJ8kR2_6UDoOKEBkv8AeTzdu1WKo5iaOJmB0vSd6tliPW-lg1OEP75D3OQApPhDbjKAZAy6xEs4w0rrL-c6hnVBlCL/s1600/PC160496-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiotczyJhq5bDTZv6vuTHskeXCrLVYS6D3LHJbzkt_Tmo7SzPd2sReJ8kR2_6UDoOKEBkv8AeTzdu1WKo5iaOJmB0vSd6tliPW-lg1OEP75D3OQApPhDbjKAZAy6xEs4w0rrL-c6hnVBlCL/s400/PC160496-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
To this one. A 1950's ranch style house. It's a 'Grandma House' and needs lots of updating, but I love Ranch Style houses and this one is just perfect for us. And at 2600 sq feet, it's almost 3 times the size of our last one. I'll definitely be posting more about how we update this one!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNDns8pwxYyU41rje4LGVYSBsz66FOsa1VC-_1nKZP2gXsE_9tvD2mQdleSFxN2hb30e9nEpEVtkAD2iGj0dzVgpydulc7r-2g-N-dw8TmXM3egWsD_pUWyTjrj4R9DnvkZrtD2R72FI7S/s1600/316-Elm-Drive-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNDns8pwxYyU41rje4LGVYSBsz66FOsa1VC-_1nKZP2gXsE_9tvD2mQdleSFxN2hb30e9nEpEVtkAD2iGj0dzVgpydulc7r-2g-N-dw8TmXM3egWsD_pUWyTjrj4R9DnvkZrtD2R72FI7S/s400/316-Elm-Drive-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I couldn't begin to recap everything we went through in 2012. It's just a blur. We still have our other house and are in the process of finishing up the last honey-do's and trying to decide if we should sell it or rent it. The market will kind of be the deciding factor on that point. We had some weird things happen just after moving in to our new house, but the only thing I'd really classify as bad is the OSD sales for 2012. And those weren't just bad, they were horrid. The final sales numbers were about 1/6 of what I made the year before. I'll discuss it more in a future post. But's ok. I am exactly where God wants me to be and that is so incredibly comforting. I don't know what's in store for us or for OSD in 2013. Family-wise, I hope it's calm and quiet. I hope we can finish getting settled in. Business-wise, I am praying for direction. And I don't really know what my plans are yet. But God has brought our family and OSD this far, so I know I can trust in Him for 2013 too.Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847681761659088659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5900319748715497486.post-47158697376537021012012-09-24T10:30:00.001-07:002012-09-24T10:36:33.944-07:00Sonlight Review<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
I guess I should make a note here...this is a Mommy Review. I'm not a teacher. I haven't viewed a bunch of school or homeschool curriculum. This is my opinion of how <a href="http://www.sonlight.com/" target="_blank">Sonlight</a> Core A is working for us thus far!<br />
<br />
As I explained in my last <a href="http://owlsaydesigns.blogspot.com/2012/09/deciding-on-homeschool-curriculum.html" target="_blank">post</a>, Sonlight has different Cores for different grades. This would be a good time to mention that if you are homeschooling more than 1 child at a time, their advisers will help you combine the Cores and order less material so you can homeschool them all together (and save money). Honestly, I don't work for them. You'd think maybe I was getting some sort of kickback, but I'm not! I'm just really impressed with Sonlight which is why I'm taking the time to write about it!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sonlight.com/homeschool-curriculum.html?grade=k&tab=m" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0sklu2t-BVrBx6xjX3WsDk8hh85c1NRLEmcLeV2snL3FhwbmgxxM_lyCWmuyo2E6KpLI1cd8gYKHayHhkzFKrqarkhjjomQaYk2xuD-PNyQmjNj6gQMO_ZY4MLKQ97I4daObNrBSIBigX/s320/sonlight.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sonlight.com/homeschool-curriculum.html?grade=k&tab=m" target="_blank">Image Credit: Sonlight.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<b>1. Core A</b>-<b>Intro to World Cultures</b>---I love it. Want more specifics? You can choose from a 4 day or 5 day curriculum. We chose 5 day. Monday's are Spanish Mondays. My MIL is/was a Spanish teacher so Aiden spends Sunday nights with her and they do Spanish Mondays. They also read the daily Bible passage, start the weeks memory verse, read from <u>I Heard Good News Today</u> by Cornelia Lehn (missionary stories) and whatever other reading is on the list for Day 5. I sometimes send generic writing practice sheets reviewing letters/numbers previously learned. And/or I add math sheets. All of these sheets are from various pre-k and K worksheet books I purchased previously, not from Sonlight. I want him to have the extra practice and I'm trying to use up what I've already spent money on! It's kind of confusing, but Day 5 activities are really his Day 1 with Gigi. <br />
<br />
Tuesday's start our Day 1. We start every day
reading the Bible while we are still eating breakfast. (We're pretty informal
around here.) And we practice our Bible memory verse for the week (maybe 5
min). If you're not really into it, I guess you could skip it but I can think of
worse things than your child memorizing Bible verses. We then read a selection
either from <u>The Llama Who Had No Pajamas</u>, or <u>Mother Goose</u>. I
would never have guessed that Aiden would love these books, but he does. He
loves the rhyming in the poetry, he loves the illustrations and he loves the
messages. <br />
<br />
We then read the selected pages from either <u>Living Long Ago</u> and/or <u>The
Children's Encyclopedia</u>. He loves these too. So far, we've done unit
studies on dinosaurs, Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt. Ancient
Egypt was a HUGE hit. These two books are awesome because they have a lot of
visual descriptions of the subject you are studying. It has really clicked with
him how people lived during those times.<br />
<br />
We were then taking time to read the chapter from the chapter book for the week. This was
the area of biggest frustration. He wanted to move on and do something more
kinetic so he couldn't focus on the story. We've since moved it to our bedtime
reading and this has been amazing! He's now really getting into the story and
sometimes he doesn't want to stop at that chapter. I'm hoping this is
instilling in him a LOVE for books!<br />
<br />
Sonlight is very literature based. That's the trade-off from leaving textbooks behind. You have a lot of books...The Bible, various chapter books, poem books, and non-fiction books. Sarita, the owner of Sonlight, says she spends hours and hours reading and selecting books. I believe her! The chapter books we've read so far are <u>The Boxcar Children</u> by Gertrude Chandler Warner and <u>Dolphin Adventure</u> by Wayne Grover. Like I said above on the poem books, I would NEVER go into a library and pick up these two books and expect Aiden to like them. He didn't just like them, he LOVED them! He was fascinated that the children (<u>The Boxcar Children</u>) as orphans were able to fend for themselves and how they went about it. The book was written in 1924 and is still, lesson wise, very relevant! He learned all about scuba diving reading <u>Dolphin Adventure</u>. The point I'm trying to make is you may have to think outside the box a little...textbooks don't ensure you child will learn more. I would never have been able to make scuba diving interesting and teach on it for a whole week from a textbook. We would have just touched on it and moved on. This way allowed him to really get a full understanding of scuba diving and all the wonders of the ocean!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg85c1VTH0UHhXdtUdM_OMXqVkKhD8R1FlrQtbfmwTIehoPqDSqQ8PKZEjWgDkudpkgMGUw_1dxLv1pxrsBXyEwyV1aB38DX112O3vh7DV0XHpQh6zhX_ny5NvYyTKwC-AHGxcLjsWP8WdN/s1600/AA10-l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg85c1VTH0UHhXdtUdM_OMXqVkKhD8R1FlrQtbfmwTIehoPqDSqQ8PKZEjWgDkudpkgMGUw_1dxLv1pxrsBXyEwyV1aB38DX112O3vh7DV0XHpQh6zhX_ny5NvYyTKwC-AHGxcLjsWP8WdN/s320/AA10-l.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image Credit: Sonlight.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>2. Language Arts</b>--This set comes with an instructors guide and worksheets. Sonlight says they keep additional worksheets for a couple of years so you can reuse the instructors guide with other children. I ended up copying the worksheets (making duplicates) to save for Luke since he's 4-1/2 yrs younger. I didn't want to chance them not having the replacement worksheets and I want to use this program again with Luke!<br />
<br />
We focus on the letter of the week. While I love the
instructor guides, I'm not fully loving the worksheets that come in the LA
section. I did not think it was enough practice, which is why I added <u>A Reason
For Handwriting</u> and the <u>Go For the Code</u> series. Some weeks have just one
worksheet with 3 sections, so you don't even do the whole sheet, you just do
this tiny section. I can see how this would benefit a child who had absolutely
no writing practice, but Aiden had some, so we usually pick a day and do the
whole sheet. Then we move on to our <u>ARFH</u> sheet and <u>GFC</u> sheets. I also don't do all the extra activities in the LA guide, but I like that they are there if I want to add them. If I could make the LA section different, I would make it so you
had the option to buy the worksheets separately so you could opt out of them. I want the Instructor's Guide, but not
the worksheets.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRnpexCE6qS7tOdPBYkO5_scekG6azPQQrWXxpXA9X0Gpe33cbmRMwSWJlRcsYcqJKBIvuHEgRAO1hubWbA06O5W7gfwrjkpI5prZqkyl7x-8Xc_CJQPp8BWLuUj6Gx8BkIaICGQuAdXMI/s1600/2L08-l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRnpexCE6qS7tOdPBYkO5_scekG6azPQQrWXxpXA9X0Gpe33cbmRMwSWJlRcsYcqJKBIvuHEgRAO1hubWbA06O5W7gfwrjkpI5prZqkyl7x-8Xc_CJQPp8BWLuUj6Gx8BkIaICGQuAdXMI/s320/2L08-l.jpg" width="241" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image Credit: Sonlight.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
3.<b> <u>A Reason For Handwriting</u></b>--this is what I added first when I realized
there wasn't enough practice in the LA book. Generally speaking, this is a good
book. It has nice illustrations. What it has that Aiden loves is small green
dots that show you where to start your letter. In fact, I've incorporated this
into all his writing practice. It's been a big help. Otherwise, I don't see it
as special. You can probably skip it and download free practice sheets
online!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT8NSFvo1v2Z8cCWQG7L5SHA0VOanNKeGOM4-7kll_RI0X7ZKPXo2R8djXJqDGxkm-Y1kKa9m38yZk3sn_qyxnnGJmH-sO3-4D6DEwKCU5OVlW66D_DijIM2ylqDnik4Bh258c8DUBjBpQ/s1600/KL03-l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT8NSFvo1v2Z8cCWQG7L5SHA0VOanNKeGOM4-7kll_RI0X7ZKPXo2R8djXJqDGxkm-Y1kKa9m38yZk3sn_qyxnnGJmH-sO3-4D6DEwKCU5OVlW66D_DijIM2ylqDnik4Bh258c8DUBjBpQ/s320/KL03-l.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image credit: Sonlight.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b>4. <u>Go For the Code</u></b>--If you're looking to invest in a handwriting program, go
with this one! It has traditional practice, but it also has less stressful game
sheets (which pictures start with the letter /f/, write 'f' below them). It's
more fun that a traditional worksheet. The set comes with 3 workbooks and a teachers manual. I'd definitely buy it again! Hindsight being 20/20, I should have skipped <u>ARFH</u>, downloaded free letter practice and used worksheets from <u>GFC</u>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sonlight.com/HKM.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuyO7R8QeEvt-TiTrGr-WPnEPy6aAFxdynoaD_C9kSFxM2P6EByiFuDF6d3ZRy4bLU5jMUnLl2w5B7FQR2StYHo6Gu3fNfSdyR0pVa6rQlFyt4AtWP2Pasldwvi_JNPUfUF1QP5WJzyldi/s320/HKM-l.jpg" width="283" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sonlight.com/HKM.html" target="_blank">Image credit: Sonlight.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<b>5. <u>Horizons Math</u></b>--So far, I love this system. It introduces a concept,
reviews the concept and builds on the concept. It teaches basic numbers, time,
days of the week, ordinal numbers, money and basic math (toward the end). Aiden
is really breezing through this book. I have some generic books I bought from
Target that I've added to this. He's going through the math book so fast, he'll
be through with it way before the end of the school year. My biggest gripe
about this book is how they write the number '4'. Almost nobody writes it
like this >4<. They write it open at the top. This has been VERY
confusing for Aiden. He's not having trouble with any other number or letter
thus far except for this one. Any suggestions on how to get him to understand
would be appreciated!<br />
<br />
It comes with a few of Math Manipulatives. We've made up our own games using the dice and/or dominoes and the flash cards. Other than that, we haven't used a lot of what's included. There is a bag of pony beads and I have no idea what I'm supposed to do with them. I'm not complaining so far, but if we make it to the end of the year with no description of what I need to do with the extra stuff, I'm going to be aggravated that I paid for it. Right now, I feel like it's nice to have, but I would've been ok w/o it. Included in the kit was the Mathtacular video. This is supposed to be great, but we haven't watched it yet, so can't attest one way or the other!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sonlight.com/RR120.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMCpXMxGGwx4EmclStPNOUzqBh7exkeVwI-Xe0HFpFWJXaqPJCANRjZZf2zJU00wuWmSZq2aR0Xgd1Uanv4_vqy0TGD1_Ul6pQ1gN9KxCtsQBuRcSXer6bJ_Lfi0r9i_75jlZYpIYlnXp_/s320/RR120-l.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sonlight.com/RR120.html" target="_blank">Image credit: Sonlight.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b>6. Extras</b>--<b>Book of Time</b>--This is awesome. It's a preprinted book with a an BC and AD timeline. You utilize it through several cores, not just the first one. It comes with several sheets of timeline figurines (stickers). So when you're reading about missionaries or figures in the Bible or certain notable people in history, you cut out the appropriate sticker. The IG tells you who to cut and when to place him/her. A family member discouraged me from using it because 5 yr olds don't really have a good concept of time. I can't argue with that. But don't look at it from that perspective. Aiden likes the action of cutting out the person and studying them while we're reading. He likes putting the sticker in the appropriate time. It becomes more apparent as you place more figures. A few days ago, Aiden said to me, "So Phillip and Peter came WAAAY after Noah?" YES!! Exactly! I LOVE that this will be a wonderful tool for him later in life that he's building now!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sonlight.com/AE01.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPYdw0jvBq-ZCUPXCjIWDsIoqVMC836JqB5jjr1SGuNa6jy-2ZeMjCCFc22cGNEigKU_m-4KUolhkky6_Wt4DPx9bsxbNQGVE7EPKpehuvCat9jzmCAzKioFmASY0m2NmirvvYjFNyZEbU/s320/AE01-l.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sonlight.com/AE01.html" target="_blank">Image Credit: Sonlight.com</a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sonlight.com/AE01.html" target="_blank"><br /></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b>Calandar </b>- This comes with the Core A package. I think it cost $10. The pages are blank like coloring book pages. Aiden doesn't like to color so that's kinda lost on him. But we do refer to it every single day. We say the days of the week every day. This is something I'm doing on my own, it's not a special Sonlight directive. I just remember doing that as a kid and it takes a while to learn the days and day order. We used the stickers to mark all the Holidays and things like soccer practice, dentist visit, etc. We could do w/o them, but they were there so we're going to use them. I let him mark off the day before and we count down to certain things we know we are doing on a certain day (like Nana coming to visit, etc). This is one of those things you can either buy theirs or buy your own.<br />
<br />
<b>Maps </b>- Core A comes with a smaller map that is hole-punched to go inside a binder. I also purchased the larger 24"x36" map. It also fold up in a 12" square. We've used the smaller map more because of space issues here. I think all kids love maps! He can tell you where Egypt and Italy are. We've discussed how you would travel from where we live to Egypt. We use the map to see where the missionaries are and how they travel from place to place. I remember having to memorize continents in the 4th grade. We'll get there too, but he already knows so much more about various countries than I did in K because I've incorporated it into our learning. The Sonlight IGs direct you to do this to a large extent. I've added more when appropriate. <br />
<br />
<b> Time Spent</b><br />
I know this sounds like a lot and you're probably thinking we spend the whole day in 'school'. Trust me, we don't! We spend from 2-4 hours a day. Usually more like 3 hrs and this is counting the bedtime reading. It really is amazing how fast a child can learn when it's all one-on-one interaction. I've added some fun activities on certain days that I'll blog about later. Those are the days we run closer to 4 hours. Also days we spend playing the made up games with the flash cards/dominoes and the made-up games for ordinal numbers are days we hit closer to 4 hours. Aiden's been big on story writing as in dictating a story to me while I type it. This was a Sonlight LA idea that has really stuck! I've decided to make a book for the year of all the stories he tells me. I think it will be great to go back in 10 years and read all his stories. In some cases, I'm adding the picture he was supposed to be telling the story about or having him draw his own picture to go with the store. So it will be his first book! I can blog about the specifics of it later, but those kinds of activities end up taking up a little more time. <br />
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Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847681761659088659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5900319748715497486.post-69695732119583197672012-09-23T20:06:00.001-07:002012-09-23T20:12:55.910-07:00Deciding on Homeschool CurriculumDeciding on a Homeschool Curriculum initially seemed very overwhelming. The same friend who had first recommended homeschooling sent me an email about Sonlight. I'd been checking out their website while we were in the midst of deciding what to do. It looked awesome, but it is also pretty expensive, at least as far as homeschooling curriculum goes.<br />
<br />
I knew we did not want something traditional, so anything based solely on traditional textbooks was out. The more I looked, the fewer places I saw that offered complete packages like <a href="http://www.sonlight.com/" target="_blank">Sonlight</a> does. The beauty of it is, everything is laid out for you so the time you spend preparing is almost nothing. I needed this! Not only for my first year in homeschooling, but because I'm running a business too. They also allow you to pay out your total cost over the course of several months so that helps with the expense. The number of months allowed probably depends on when you order in the year, but it may be helpful to some!<br />
<br />
Once we decided to homeschool, I pretty much just went with Sonlight. I wanted to start school with the traditional school year and I was running out of time. There was definitely a feeling of that I was led to Sonlight too. So, I just went with it deciding that if it was absolutely horrible I could return it (that's their guarantee) and/or I would have time to figure out something different for first grade.<br />
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I ordered <a href="http://www.sonlight.com/homeschool-curriculum.html?grade=k&tab=m" target="_blank">Core A</a>. It's for ages 5,6.7 and considered the Kindergarten program. Sonlight has developed their own lesson plans and corresponding books for each core. THIS IS AWESOME. You can download a sample of free lesson plans for any core from their website. DO IT! You will see how simply everything is laid out for you. There are empty boxes at the bottom of the lesson plan page so you can add the lessons for Math and/or Science. They also have their own Language Arts section that includes a lesson plan, a letter for the week and creative writing/reading/listening and games. Some of that latter stuff is optional, but it's great that it's laid out for you. The Language Arts section also has corresponding pages for other writing practice books. If you decide to purchase those, the lesson plan already had the pages you need to work on for the letter of the week. Their Language Arts also includes beginning reader books. It really is all laid out for you.<br />
<br />
I should also mention the lesson plans are really more like instructor guides. Everything is laid out for you on a daily basis, but there is further explanation for every activity for every day as to what the child is supposed to get out of the lesson. So even if you're reading a Curious George story, the guide tells you what vocabulary words to point out. How to discuss what happened in the story for reading comprehension, etc. <br />
<br />
Basically you buy the core package which includes the language arts section and you add on Math, Science and additional handwriting practice. They offer different Math and Handwriting programs, so you'll need to read the reviews and descriptions to find out what you think would work best. Here's what we ended up choosing:<br />
1. Core A-this includes the instructor guide, a massive number of books including chapter books, Egermeier's Study Bible...really it's too much to list. If you are first shocked by the price, take a look at what you are getting. It's A LOT for the money. And don't bother trying to piece meal it off ebay...it's not any cheaper. I tried that. I also thought maybe I'd go to the library, but my library didn't have all the books on the list, so I bit the bullet and got it all!<br />
2. Language Arts-Sonlight includes this in Core A<br />
3. A Reason For Handwriting - I wanted Aiden to have more handwriting practice, so I added this book.<br />
4. Go For the Code Series-More handwriting practice. This one is more than just copywork. It helps better with letter sounds and recognition. Aiden LOVES this series. I could probably have left out A Reason For Handwriting.<br />
5. Horizons Math - This is a more traditional math, but I liked how it constantly reviews previously taught lessons and/or incorporates them into new lessons showing how you build on concepts.<br />
6. 3" Sonlight binder...I'm adding this on purpose. It's worth more than the $20 they have it listed for! EVERYTHING fits in here! I take out each weeks lesson and keep it in a file folder for that week, but it's worth it to have their binder to keep it all organized!<br />
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That's it. I didn't order the science kit. It was like $80. I really wish I'd added it. We bought an $8 science experiment book at Costco and said this would be our science, but it's not really working out like I thought it would. Mainly because I never have the stuff I need for the experiments. The Sonlight kit has all the stuff you need included in the kit, so it would have been much easier. I will either add their kit or the Magic School Bus kits for next year.<br />
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Here's the little student opening up the huge boxes when they arrived. Honestly, it was like Christmas. We were both super excited to go through the all the books. He kept saying, over and over, 'Oh, we're gonna read this? I can't wait to read this!'<br />
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Like the bottom left pic where he's put a piece of corn over his tooth so he can have a 'gold tooth'? That's my boy!<br />
<br />Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847681761659088659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5900319748715497486.post-50192016861627909742012-08-27T22:31:00.000-07:002012-08-27T22:46:26.978-07:00Deciding to Homeschool, Part 2As I mentioned in <a href="http://owlsaydesigns.blogspot.com/2012/08/deciding-to-homeschool-part-1.html" target="_blank">Deciding to Homeschool, Part 1</a>, I have amassed a list of why I cannot homeschool. I am embarrassed by how selfish some of these are, but my goal in writing these posts is to hopefully encourage someone like me who may be in a position like I was in.<br />
<ul>
<li><strong>I'm not a teacher.</strong> No really, I have a B.A. in English, and I had some education classes but when I did my formal observation I realized I did not really want to be a teacher. I felt like I needed to have a passion for it that I didn't have. I felt like I couldn't do it because I don't have any formal teacher training. </li>
<li><strong>I don't know how to teach a kid to read.</strong></li>
<li><strong>How will I do this with an infant?</strong> How can I adequately devote time to both kids?</li>
<li><strong>I don't like schedules.</strong> </li>
<li><strong>I'm a night owl.</strong> (So is Aiden)</li>
<li><strong>I don't like having every day planned out for me</strong>. </li>
<li><strong>I like to do my own thing.</strong></li>
<li><strong>I'm not crazy about a lot of 'rules'.</strong></li>
<li><strong>I like to be able to 'wing-it'.</strong> Ok, honestly, reading these last few I know you must be wondering how I ever held a real job, much less a corporate job. Well, I did. And I was damn good at it too. I had a very non-conventional approach to things that worked. I was probably sometimes very irritating to work with. But I got the job done. I was late almost every day of my work life. Sincerely. BTW, I was completely public schooled, so having to be at school every day did nothing for my work life as far as punctuality is concerned.</li>
<li><strong>I don't know what curriculum to pick.</strong></li>
<li><strong>I don't even fully know my philosophy on learning/teaching in general.</strong></li>
<li><strong>I don't have space. </strong>This was a big one. My home is 1044 square feet. I have a 200 sq feet storage unit and an attic packed to the brim. We have to frequently switch things out between home and the storage unit (like seasonal clothes). My office is the dining room (no, we can't eat in there) so the four of us live in about 850 square feet. We do not have a garage. We basically have rabbit trails going from room to room. Not because we are hoarders (no, really, we're not), but because we need the stuff here for daily life. Especially now that we have had to bring baby stuff back from storage (high chair, bouncy seat, swing, crib). It's actually very, very stressful.</li>
<li><strong>I don't have a designated classroom.</strong> Ties into the one above, but I have friends who homeschool who have designated closets, rooms, bookshelves, classrooms, or all of the above. I know I can't provide this for Aiden. Honestly, it grieves me that I can't provide this for him right now. But, I have spent my life making do and if I made excuses for lack of space for every time it was an issue my life I'd never do anything. We've lived here for 14 years. It's been an issue for a long time. </li>
<li><strong>How will I roll out all my new OSD ideas?</strong> This is another big one. My most selfish one. If only I could show you all my ideas!</li>
<li><strong>What role with my business take?</strong> Obviously ties in to the one above. I'd been planning on rolling out lots of new products when Aiden was gone at school.</li>
<li><strong>What will my family think?</strong> I had some family who were not and a few who are still not on board with this idea. They think I am making a big mistake. That's hard to swallow. I don't care who you are, you want your family to support your decisions. I was shocked and hurt when they didn't. I got comments like, 'What if you don't do it right?" "What if when you put him in 'real school' he's behind?" "What if he ends up being weird and doesn't know how to talk to other kids?" That's hard to take from people who you look to for guidance and support.</li>
<li><strong>I'm not goody-goody enough.</strong> Uh, I'm pretty sure my fellow church going homeschool moms do not make time for new episodes of Dexter, Breaking Bad, or Game of Thrones. Pretty sure...I'm pretty sure they do not subscribe to Stephen King's newsletter and buy every new King book in hardback because waiting for paperback would be considered torture. I am also pretty sure they do not look longingly at the newest comic issues of <u>The Gunslinger</u>. Also relatively certain they do not know the difference between a band saw and a reciprocating saw nor do they know standard stud spacings in new and old construction. They have probably not been on the roof of their homes, much actually roofed it. I could go on with the construction talk, but you get my drift.</li>
</ul>
Despite all the concerns above, I knew God was directing us to homeschool Aiden. In fact, I'm convinced that we are NOT sending him to public school. It would be a waste of every one's time. But I don't know what to do next. So I ordered the two books I mentioned in my previous post. I first read Lisa Whelchel's book. I needed it. It doesn't really explain all the different methods in depth, but it does speak to the heart. Each chapter is a family explaining how they homeschool and why it works for them. It doesn't do any public or private school bashing which I appreciated. It is very much a 'what works for you' kind of book. In her chapter (page 21) she writes, "<em>I eventually realized that God was no longer blessing my acting career because He wanted me to be the one to raise the children He had so graciously, and quickly, given us. I was to find His blessing at home."</em> <br />
<br />
I cried when I read that. I mean, cried and cried. I called Jon at work, crying. You gotta understand, I run a business out of my home. This business is my third child. I love it. I've lived for it. It's mine. It was an idea God had given me and helped me support my family. I have nurtured it for years. I have grieved over the number of copycat businesses that have stolen profits from me. So I had spent hours and hours while pregnant designing my own new passport and checkbook covers. I had spent hours learning how to use Adobe Photoshop. In order to 'save' the business that so many freakin' copycats had plundered and taken as their own, I had come up with loads of new custom OSD designs. I had plans to roll out these new designs as well as a whole new baby line and home decor line when Aiden went to school. If I homeschool, how will I ever accomplish this. I don't know that I will. But I did know I was no longer at peace with those plans. And I had gone from not ever wanting to homeschool ever, to kinda getting excited about it. After reading Lisa Whelchel's book, I now knew that God was calling me to homeschool. But I didn't know how or what to curriculum to pick.<br />
<br />
<br />
Enter Cathy Duffy and her <u>100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum</u>. This is a wonderful book. It helped pair down all my concerns into bite-sized pieces and attack them. Up to this point, a lot of my concerns were really just mine. Once I told Jon I was pretty sure God wanted us to homeschool, he was already on board. He had been letting God work on me to get to the same point. So we went through Cathy Duffy's book together. We discovered a lot of the philosophies we had about schooling in general were remarkably pro-homeschool. We dislike state testing of students because teachers end up teaching to the test. We wanted Aiden to be able to focus on subjects that interest him in depth, not just touch the surface of subjects. We are not big fan of textbooks--we had already noticed that most of our learning had come from reading biographies and other non-fiction works, not from boring textbooks. It was important to us that time be given each day to Bible ready and Scripture memorization (obviously not going to get this in public school). It was important to us that Aiden be able to have time to be a kid and explore extracurricular activities w/o pressure (like soccer, swim lessons, basketball and t-ball). Once we finished going through her activities, we discovered were not at all in line with the Traditional way of teaching - which is what public school was based on. We scored highest on Charlotte Mason and Unit Studies with an Eclectic approach coming in third. <br />
<br />
I didn't even know who Charlotte Mason was. I still don't really. I'm planning on reading up on her more! Anyway, next up was determining my teaching and Aiden's learning style. We focused on me since I'll be primarily the one teaching. Aiden is so wired like me, so our styles are pretty much the same. I already knew this, but it helped me understand a bit more about us and then Cathy directs you on how to find curriculum to match your student and you as a teacher. This was so invaluable. She reviews lots of different curriculum in her book and on her website. A lot of the big names I had heard before and considered buying were SO WRONG for us. I'm so glad I read her book before I bought anything. <br />
<br />
I guess you're probably wondering now what I chose. We went with Sonlight curriculum. This is whole other blog post, so I'll address why at that time. Right now, it's late and I have a 5 yr old to teach tomorrow! I'll also addressed how some of the 'fears' were resolved.<br />
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POSTSCRIPT:<br />
Let me interject a few things here. I never planned on being a stay-at-home mom. One look at Aiden just after having him and I knew I could not let anyone else care for him but us. No one would do as good of a job as we would. While I do believe it is in a child's best interest for one parent to stay at home, I know not everyone can swing it. And I don't mean <em>I-like-to-drive-Mercedes</em> swing it, I mean, <em>We-don't-eat-if-both-parents-don't-work</em> swing it. I grew up in one of those households. I do think some people think they need things they really don't, but that wasn't the case when I was growing up. You also need to know that I have always said I would NEVER homeschool. It's not so much that I had a negative preconceived notion about it, I really didn't. (Well, not much of one.) I think I just found it unnecessary. I had also known a few homeschooled kids and thought they were a little, uh, socially misaligned. They basically had a hard time fitting in with the rest of us (I'm referring to my middle/high school years). I guess it was lending credence to the 'socialization' aspect of homeschooling. I just really was never interested in it or saw myself doing it. It seemed like a lot of unnecessary work. And I had just always assumed that my kids would go to a 'normal' public school. My posts about homeschooling are not an attempt talk negatively about public or private schools. I think the point I'm trying to make is I'm not being judgemental about those who don't/can't stay at home and homeschool. It wasn't until a few weeks ago that we decided it was right for us. I am also a VERY black and white person. I don't see a lot of shades of gray. I'm all or nothing. It was truly God's doing that took me from never wanting to homeschool, to being completely, totally and utterly excited about it!Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847681761659088659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5900319748715497486.post-74415957033675202472012-08-27T21:37:00.000-07:002012-08-27T22:35:01.514-07:00Deciding to Homeschool Part 1It's almost September, and I don't even know where to begin to start with how much has been going on thus far. I'm planning on going back and recapping a few things, but let's start with one of the biggest decision we've made as a family thus far...homeschooling our oldest.<br />
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Starting in January, before Luke was born, both Jon and I started to go into mild panic about sending Aiden to Kindergarten. It was a feeling we were both having and hard to pin down. What exactly was bugging us about sending him to school (public school)? Millions of kids go every year, why would ours be any different. We talked about holding him back for another year. His birthday is early July, so he'd be a young 5 in his class. I didn't like this idea. I felt like we'd be holding Aiden back educationally...in other words, I knew he was very ready to learn past the preschool stuff I had done with him. With the birth of Luke, our decision and really any talking about it was put on the back burner. <br />
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Around early June we starting revisiting the issue. The news had been packed with weird things happening in elementary schools and I just kept having this feeling that school isn't as safe as it used to be. I know, the great things never get reported, but this wasn't helping our decision. So we started looking into private schools. My first choice was a Montessori School not far from our house. It was only 1/2 day Kindergarten and I'd already been using some Montessori activities at home for Pre-K. It was also almost $500 a month. Gulp! For a 5 year old? Other local private schools ranged from $200 to $700. Double Gulp!! Even if we had the money, I just didn't think I could justify that!! <br />
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A friend of the family casually mentioned homeschooling. I was immediately opposed to it. We were just going to have to get over our public school issues. But I didn't have peace with this. And over the next few days, I felt like God was making a change in my thinking. <br />
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I was starting to think maybe homeschooling K for Aiden would be the absolute best thing for him. I still wasn't 100% certain, and I didn't know HOW to teach him. So I posted a Facebook post - here's what it said, "<span class="userContent"><em>We are considering homeschooling or at least part time homeschooling. All the information out there is overwhelming. Does anyone have favorite websites and/or curriculum? Do all school districts let you part time home school (like use them for certain subjects) or would we have to find a private school for that. Outside of Church, what do you do for social interaction? I'd like to hear any cons too - like I said, we haven't decided for sure what's best Aiden since he will be a very young 5 when Kindergarten starts in August, but we may not really know unless we let him try traditional school. Just trying to gather info..."</em></span><br />
<span class="userContent"><em></em></span> <br />
<span class="userContent">The post alone just goes to show how little I knew about homeschooling at that time. You would not believe the comments and private messages I got. Oh dear, I had basically started a public school versus home school debate. I had no idea it was such a hot button topic. I have lots of teachersfamily and friends, and of course, almost all were pro public school. Their biggest argument against home school was the socialization issue. All pro-homeschoolers said that wasn't an issue at all. I also got a lot of very, very sweet private messages from dear friends and some friends I hadn't spoken much to since high school. And they brought a few things to light about homeschooling that I hadn't previously considered. </span><br />
<span class="userContent"></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span class="userContent"></span><strong>We can go at our own pace.</strong> If he's advanced or needs help in any particular area, I can tailor the curriculum however I see fit. Not going to get that level of attention in public or even private school.</li>
<li><strong>Takes half the time</strong>. What takes a classroom 8 hrs to accomplish, can be accomplished in 3-4 hrs. That leaves the afternoon to do fun stuff together. Sciene projects that wouldn't be done in a normal K. It also ensures we are not going from school, eating a quick snack in the car, to soccer or swim practice, to home to eat dinner, bath, bed and starting all over again the next day. We would have room in our day to breathe...and enjoy one another.</li>
<li><strong>The school wouldn't get the best part of his day.</strong> Let's face it, 8am - 3pm? It's the best part of your child's day. Why on earth would I be ok giving that up to someone else?</li>
<li><strong>Two great books were recommended</strong>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/100-Top-Picks-Homeschool-Curriculum/dp/0805431381/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339874712&sr=8-1&keywords=top+100+homeschool+curriculums" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><strong>100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum: Choosing the Right Curriculum and Approach for Your Child's</strong></a> by Cathy Duffy and <u>So You're Thinking About Homeschooling</u> by Lisa Whelchel</li>
</ul>
<span class="userContent"></span><br />
As a result of the post, I start leaning toward homeschooling (despite all the 'cons' listed). And telling myself the whole time that this is crazy, I can't do this. I didn't know where to begin. If you've never homeschooled and have never really paid much attention to it, it's incredibly overwhelming to get started looking into it. About this time, I'm at the end of July. Registration for public school was August 15th. I basically had 3 weeks to learn all I could about homeschooling and decide if it was right for us. I started by calling the elementary Aiden would be going to to find out what they specifically teach. Class started at 7:45am. Ended at 3pm. Most of the morning was the 'learning' part. Then lunch, then a 2 hr nap (not joking). Recess, then indoor guided play. Curriculum focused on learning basic letters and numbers and writing them. I was floored. Not only does Aiden already know all this, he hasn't napped in at least 2 years. So I would basically be sending him to a glorified free daycare. I cannot even begin to catalog all we have sacrificed for me to stay at home with our babies. Why am I now going to be ok with sending him to a glorified daycare and call it school?<br />
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So while I'm not ok with sending him to public school, I'm still amassing a list of reasons why I cannot homeschool. <a href="http://owlsaydesigns.blogspot.com/2012/08/deciding-to-homeschool-part-2.html" target="_blank">Part 2</a> of this post starts there.<br />
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<span class="userContent"></span><br />Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847681761659088659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5900319748715497486.post-54654448209076389962012-04-13T10:58:00.001-07:002012-04-13T11:08:00.473-07:00New Fabric<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Finally, I've updated the OSD 'Build Your Own' fabric choices. I've had several requests for new fabric over the past few months, so I spent quite a bit of OSD profits from November/December buying new fabric! Really, it's ridiculous how much I bought. You can see all the new choices<b> <u><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/41029744@N04/sets/72157623607922068/" target="_blank">here</a>.</u></b> A few of them are really aimed more at the Appliques I'll be rolling out for Owl Say Home, but I definitely bought dozens of new designs intended for Travel and Portfolio Clutches. I also added solid colors which is requested pretty frequently, especially for someone looking for a travel wallet for a guy. Remember, I can always switch out the more feminine pearl snap for a metal snap which looks pretty 'manly' on an all black travel wallet. I replaced all the fabric that was marked as 'Discontinued' or 'Out of Stock' and even added about 2 dozen additional prints! Below is just a sampling of some of the fabric. You can see the whole sha-bang by clicking <b><u><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/41029744@N04/sets/72157623607922068/" target="_blank">here</a>:</u></b> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">If you'd like to order a new Travel/Portfolio Clutch visit my <u><b><a href="http://owlsay.etsy.com/" target="_blank">shop</a>!</b></u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwdHiMugkTbHL3rGOvzFtmAP5uU9Eeo61YJ95bDYU5SWJOH7qRRSHuli6wocvAUX0gi5TCe3_xYCcdwsahE_fxCtmfo-OWmDhYElA0B9NqjYLUL42_hMd6geqJ5guTqZtaFfLJskPloCVa/s640/Apples+and+pears-tile.jpg" width="433" /></div>Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847681761659088659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5900319748715497486.post-16923673492652316702012-04-07T20:12:00.000-07:002012-04-07T20:12:27.272-07:00BABY!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp6vvOPVES4ZebqV36eQJH5mZ3RqiDZPdTIAX2zItKlEDzlKJmH_STxApi6cy-Bi6YsII6O57FdWNFaPOBmj3vuizXl36jutF_-6yeuNG4G9QLe3JwIiU_tOjS2hWK47d6x8jDDh3uFQSX/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp6vvOPVES4ZebqV36eQJH5mZ3RqiDZPdTIAX2zItKlEDzlKJmH_STxApi6cy-Bi6YsII6O57FdWNFaPOBmj3vuizXl36jutF_-6yeuNG4G9QLe3JwIiU_tOjS2hWK47d6x8jDDh3uFQSX/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Introducing</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ17k5EmV-vLX4pssiKa7AhTPPD5KDF51pRbkj7guVpNboQ95cSrTjAd0tS_-ggTK9C7D4LLOoK76pj98ieA5L0QDP3HCVXlhjfaWvQdURQAyoO-l9uXMOxGfIaJw7o-Eoopt1q-2fkW-0/s1600/baby+announcement-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ17k5EmV-vLX4pssiKa7AhTPPD5KDF51pRbkj7guVpNboQ95cSrTjAd0tS_-ggTK9C7D4LLOoK76pj98ieA5L0QDP3HCVXlhjfaWvQdURQAyoO-l9uXMOxGfIaJw7o-Eoopt1q-2fkW-0/s320/baby+announcement-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Here's what went down! Luke was originally due on March 19th. I had about a dozen sonograms throughout this pregnancy. I had polyhydramnios (excess amniotic fluid) with my firstborn which created lots of problems - high blood pressure, about 30 lbs of water weight gain in 5 days which was an obvious sign of pending kidney failure. So Aiden was born 4 weeks early. He weighed 10lbs 7oz and was the biggest baby in NICU. Anyway, polyhydramnios can occur again, so I was being closely monitored. <br />
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We knew via the sonograms Luke was going to be a bigger baby too. I stuck to a very strict low carb/ high protein diet. I also exercised (via swimming and water aerobics) regularly. I'm not diabetic, but I am hypoglycemic so my goal was keep my blood sugar stable and my weight down. I was hoping for a smaller baby than Aiden, but I think we just produce Amazon children. <br />
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I put my shop on vacation around pregnancy week 35.5. My workaholic self wouldn't let me do it any sooner and I totally regret that. I needed more rest! The end of week 36, I started feeling...bad. I couldn't sleep in bed anymore, no matter how much I propped myself up. I couldn't lay on either side for more than 30-45min without my hips aching dreadfully. So I slept in a recliner. 'Slept' is overstating it. I went through episodes of dozing. By now, I'm on biweekly DR appts and I had an appt on Monday, Feb 27th. I knew from my experience with Aiden, I was starting to fill up with amniotic fluid. It was super visible and most importantly I could FEEL it. Despite Luke's size, his movements didn't feel as strong or powerful. So I knew I had more fluid than my sono the Thursday before. Unfortunately, there was a different sono technician and her measurements didn't show an increase in fluid - in fact, it showed a decrease! My DR knew that wasn't right, but by state law, couldn't admit me to the hospital. So I went home, reluctantly. I was scheduled for a c-section on March 5th and I knew I wasn't going to make it till then. <br />
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I made it through Tuesday, but by Tuesday night, I was miserable. I had an appt on Thurs, but on Wed morning, I told my husband there's no way you're going to work! You're taking me to the DR. I cried on the phone with the nurse, so of course, my DR told me to come in right away and admitted me that day. The excess amniotic fluid was clearly obvious - my preggo belly was huge and you could feel the fluid by pressing on my stomach. Thankfully, this is the only symptom I had this time around. I didn't have excessive water weight gain, my blood pressure remained normal and everything else was functioning properly. <br />
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So, aside from the anesthesiologist trying for 20 min and 5 sticks to get my epidural started and then ME discovering he put the epidural too low, everything went fine. I basically felt the entire surgery from the belly button up - I liken this to field surgery. No joke, it is the most pain I've ever felt in my life. At this point, there's not much they can do. But my DR is absolutely amazing, and worked as fast as he could. Luke was more transverse than head down, so it felt like an eternity, but I survived it. And have a beautiful baby boy to show for it.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Here's my dad holding up Aiden to kiss his mommy before going back for my c-section. My wonderful husband on the left holding my hand:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg87LlqDwyPUngQ-9No0hGjOl1P96PlrbQn8jum8bHgcFK5UeIP0doWLm4C8nJVdQEHMgkZbC4rqYzoMOsLlk87kjWE3lqxvEDEph7_3di06t-fM430lIQ3jAcQqq9VFOlzQ4bkhyhSzhi/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg87LlqDwyPUngQ-9No0hGjOl1P96PlrbQn8jum8bHgcFK5UeIP0doWLm4C8nJVdQEHMgkZbC4rqYzoMOsLlk87kjWE3lqxvEDEph7_3di06t-fM430lIQ3jAcQqq9VFOlzQ4bkhyhSzhi/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Our mothers (mine has Aiden), my husband's is next to mine and aunt (far left) waiting...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkqHMY-4ngZjpXqRMm_75-LDyunRXwp1v2qcQO4vvH6dGJtd9I4CzN3ofZHGNc4Vx9OaPqW9MOPLg2YvIcF2whoGMkPYKjDt__oUEdXsxl-xVd4gtjL0MK-OI-ux-9SgrNLz4vMGbYekls/s1600/DSCN0218.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkqHMY-4ngZjpXqRMm_75-LDyunRXwp1v2qcQO4vvH6dGJtd9I4CzN3ofZHGNc4Vx9OaPqW9MOPLg2YvIcF2whoGMkPYKjDt__oUEdXsxl-xVd4gtjL0MK-OI-ux-9SgrNLz4vMGbYekls/s320/DSCN0218.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Luke first went to the regular nursery. It's normal protocol for them to test the blood sugar of bigger babies, and they noticed he was having a hard time maintaining his blood sugar. So by the end of Wed, they moved him to NICU to start an IV of glucose. Essentially, they start him on a certain dose and then gradually wean him off of it and make sure he can maintain his blood sugar on his own. He responded beautifully and got to go home with me on Sat (and yes, I should have stayed until Sun...I would have rested better!)<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Here's Aiden checking up on his little brother in NICU:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY_wHlfH8t-f7qmldHPQzUFMMqxPVF_p7LJNFj84arelpPpvyX_hqvE6rOUSVyMG5ZgOKOTwp725zXQcMWW2ZLbfg-Jsu2x_faTUrbVbOEYp0x1pvcYnm59AWfILY5khmmye-MIWTPy-nV/s1600/b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY_wHlfH8t-f7qmldHPQzUFMMqxPVF_p7LJNFj84arelpPpvyX_hqvE6rOUSVyMG5ZgOKOTwp725zXQcMWW2ZLbfg-Jsu2x_faTUrbVbOEYp0x1pvcYnm59AWfILY5khmmye-MIWTPy-nV/s320/b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Proud Big Brother!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV9exwwqTJIY8rh9dpPg08TyXibQThjmjh7IK00UEk1STniq1dkGquddbm5laz7Pk_adC7BnghlBSLK5AnUfVopZ84zQUeC7dv5KTm0lJmFX74Oqo6PymbMztaOceAjmjYpcIM07cUuc15/s1600/DSCN0235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV9exwwqTJIY8rh9dpPg08TyXibQThjmjh7IK00UEk1STniq1dkGquddbm5laz7Pk_adC7BnghlBSLK5AnUfVopZ84zQUeC7dv5KTm0lJmFX74Oqo6PymbMztaOceAjmjYpcIM07cUuc15/s320/DSCN0235.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Bath time - about 3 weeks old</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKha2X4OkiQ5E1-Fy5d1Vn_-fH2WC2IR_QuQuKi31WhjNLJUNQK4A9PjRVi0ZddHcK0K12yWXBmEUhz3GN5CQ6W5Hb4po0AQcu2-NKiGoB0o7TU8J6BZ9MwrgyBRz_rvdfHdy8_AyeN8a2/s1600/P3198437.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKha2X4OkiQ5E1-Fy5d1Vn_-fH2WC2IR_QuQuKi31WhjNLJUNQK4A9PjRVi0ZddHcK0K12yWXBmEUhz3GN5CQ6W5Hb4po0AQcu2-NKiGoB0o7TU8J6BZ9MwrgyBRz_rvdfHdy8_AyeN8a2/s320/P3198437.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">One month old! (3/28/12)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWHG7Ju2nA-Li22IGTiCnBFUYZKnARCcg1nA1lbphVF1M7h6xlmZu74HirbqaDC0m2XuxpyCGcwta_sc2sG_IXZkEKdBukrvmBdDbbjWBQWVaTUVfTYs0GFIE5VROxe3dcdyopJlZkCC1Z/s1600/P3288474.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWHG7Ju2nA-Li22IGTiCnBFUYZKnARCcg1nA1lbphVF1M7h6xlmZu74HirbqaDC0m2XuxpyCGcwta_sc2sG_IXZkEKdBukrvmBdDbbjWBQWVaTUVfTYs0GFIE5VROxe3dcdyopJlZkCC1Z/s320/P3288474.JPG" width="270" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I am so in love with this little boy! He's 5-1/2 weeks now and it is already so obvious how different he is from his older brother. Aiden is wired like his mommy and Luke is wired like his daddy. So glad we now have balance! Where Aiden is intense and on fire, Luke is cool and calm. He is so laid back, I feel like I have to keep checking on him to make sure he's ok. He pretty much only cries if he's hungry. And he coos! I've heard of baby cooing, but I have never actually heard it. With almost every exhaling breath that he's awake, he makes some sort of soft little cooing noise. Talk about endearing! </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I've opened the shop back up for shopping. You should see the list of 'stuff' I'd planned to make before opening up the shop...yeah, not even close to starting it, much less getting it done. I've had to come to terms with the fact that I'm human. Luke eats every 3 hrs and there is only so much you can reasonably get done with that time restriction. Especially when you throw in an almost 5 yr old and your innate desire to do nothing but sit and cuddle a baby all day. Plus, Aiden is starting school in August and I'm already dreading him being gone during the day. I feel like I'm trying to pack in as much time with him as possible. So, I was not able to make anything for stock to sell. And I've had to extend the lead time on all 'Build Your Own' stuff to 3 weeks. It kills me to do that, but I have to be reasonable. I'm not a machine. And I always go back to the reason I started my own business in the first place - to stay home with my babies. If my life were just me--no husband, no babies--I'd be a workaholic hermit. I'd be a freakin' machine, churning out each new idea as it occurred to me in record time. But I'd be alone. Who would be there to bask in my brilliance? (come on, that was sarcasm.) Instead, God has intrusted to me a husband who treasures me and two beautiful, beautiful boys. A family to take care of (and who takes care of me), a family to love and cherish and not ignore so I can carry out my brilliant ideas. And apparently, a bathroom that will require me to forever check the seat before I sit down - I do live with all boys after all. It's all about balance. Which is hard for this all or nothing personality. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I have a whole new division of Owl Say that will be rolling out this year, Owl Say Home. Realistically speaking, it will take me all year, maybe more, to roll out it out. It will include a new baby line - embroidered bibs, nursery art, burp clothes, embroidered pillows, and appliques. I'm also going to offer several patterns for sale this year. But right now, I'm going to go feed a baby. All 4 of us will pile into my bed while I feed him, change him and snuggle him til he sleeps. Hopefully during this time, Boy 1 will fall asleep and my husband will move him. Then we will tell each other that we'll watch 30 minutes of our favorite show but we'll actually fall asleep about 5 minutes in. And I'll sleep well knowing I am surrounded by so much love.</div>Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847681761659088659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5900319748715497486.post-39210259866632774642011-06-30T21:10:00.000-07:002011-06-30T21:29:53.140-07:00May & June 2011Whew! May & June turned out to be busy months! I had several wholesale orders and custom requests for which I'd like to say thank you lovely customers! I also had a couple of very large orders! It started with an order for 42 oversized zip pouches to hold headphones for an LA County School District.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwgAvb8xYBhsoQDVN4AoVwuRgAhZuNuAL4UfhwLXTGpRZj9PeWKmU3NsKU5GXdB611ZYVmYdYbwQv51MIVl1-PIvV1Kb2-njOtdAvaYxSB2iNLqEv-zagLtM_RFwL_mBPuJMhveC9lQD8E/s1600/P6077058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwgAvb8xYBhsoQDVN4AoVwuRgAhZuNuAL4UfhwLXTGpRZj9PeWKmU3NsKU5GXdB611ZYVmYdYbwQv51MIVl1-PIvV1Kb2-njOtdAvaYxSB2iNLqEv-zagLtM_RFwL_mBPuJMhveC9lQD8E/s320/P6077058.JPG" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Zip pouches are relatively easy to make, but anything in the quantity of 42 tends to become monotonous after a while. Just FYI, I do offer discounts on large orders. Discounts can be as good as wholesale pricing (50% off) depending on how many you need.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I also had a couple of custom request embroidered travel clutches - which are one of my favorite things to do. Especially since I'm so recently obsessed with the embroidery function of my sewing machine. I haven't totaled my bill on how much I've spent on embroidery designs and materials thus far, but I have a feeling I'm going to be shocked at that total. That's ok. I'm going to chalk that overage up to how much fun it's been this year to do all this embroidery! Anyway, here's one of the designs:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-plWYL5aNwQTsAh1HQ2pdRgheEVn4UQ1ovaz-1JT6OPz6BS_6J4NKI38udG1GeHlz2SekFa4Vo2jGuONhvVEjUcpavhcAwA8Z6omnZ3EwhrOX0p3WaL5S9_OsWXesr1Jo8SC75TbM0rlZ/s1600/P6227214.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-plWYL5aNwQTsAh1HQ2pdRgheEVn4UQ1ovaz-1JT6OPz6BS_6J4NKI38udG1GeHlz2SekFa4Vo2jGuONhvVEjUcpavhcAwA8Z6omnZ3EwhrOX0p3WaL5S9_OsWXesr1Jo8SC75TbM0rlZ/s320/P6227214.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The customer wanted to change the color scheme of the Peacock Plume to focus more on purples and blues. I thought it was such a great idea, I actually made two of them. The other one is half way finished, so I'll be listing it pretty soon.<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">Perhaps my most favorite request of the year so far is a bride requesting matching travel clutches, purses and luggage tags. I LOVE making purses, but so do a lot of other people in the Etsy market so I tend to focus on more of my travel niche. Anyway, I was lucky enough to make 12 purses, one for each of the 11 bridesmaids and one matching smaller scale purse for the flower girl (to match her bridesmaid mom’s purse), 11 travel clutches and 11 luggage tags. Believe me, I fully planned to take advantage of that photo shoot. I may never get an opportunity like that again. My Love* was NOT happy that I agreed to a 2.5 week time line. In order for me to agree to that kind of time line, it means nothing else gets done around here. No laundry, no cleaning, no meals – I’m doing good to take daily showers. Seriously. The only thing I WILL take time for is Busy*. I refuse to ignore or become lazy in being Busy’s mom because he is why I do this business. If I ever lose sight of that, then I’m sunk. Luckily, Busy’s Gigi (my mother –in-law) was able to watch him a couple days a week. So, that helped. My Love was, however, happy that the price tag of the order paid for half of Busy’s recent surgery bill. Of course, My Love is my love for a reason, and he was really awesome during those 2 weeks and definitely picked up where I left off. Oh, and don’t get me started on how much Obamacare is such a ridiculous farce, or I will absolutely lose my mind. I could fill several blog posts on the obscene cost of health care and how if we lived anywhere else but these great United States, my beautiful boy would not even be eligible for the surgery's he's received and will be receiving in the future. More on Busy’s health later….Anyway, take a look at this great order.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixSpBnw5CjWK74FAEZqZwjDxiKmB_xmlWRPEHNevSPEQl8jhEPIJJqnj1Ob1GNy_XUTRfyNVzjzZFRXvhX6rhXtaeXwAKyxXq9kZH5kO7pXF3T5zZ9dqSu_G-28jxcw_FqoYB-y96Xiqr1/s1600/P6187148-1-tile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixSpBnw5CjWK74FAEZqZwjDxiKmB_xmlWRPEHNevSPEQl8jhEPIJJqnj1Ob1GNy_XUTRfyNVzjzZFRXvhX6rhXtaeXwAKyxXq9kZH5kO7pXF3T5zZ9dqSu_G-28jxcw_FqoYB-y96Xiqr1/s400/P6187148-1-tile.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
My Love helped me set up a laundry line between two trees outside so I could try and get them all in one picture. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimCRyN82hQjmnZuhJ7HECFhov7XD16DyttWTrvgHbkjX7KExV7caO4SMLo-rozbJaIX2R1dW_JF0iqYc8RmOE0FKv0ebvsTcatWpbti0H3is3A6UqzBBbMYpLKRnhTrIhzlooc2jBouftd/s1600/P6187142-1-tile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimCRyN82hQjmnZuhJ7HECFhov7XD16DyttWTrvgHbkjX7KExV7caO4SMLo-rozbJaIX2R1dW_JF0iqYc8RmOE0FKv0ebvsTcatWpbti0H3is3A6UqzBBbMYpLKRnhTrIhzlooc2jBouftd/s400/P6187142-1-tile.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizc_Pz5IUFb4Pw6jm_GkIl706l3oKKRdixBRJX3wsGyGRmZJMY0MEGkBkqSc334LKxyqIgfqpRx0cMxRInZAD36HrlomBWO91nAcY-fGrXzruRaMlUMSu2CupWOVL2O5-Ofq1M_eseKXWH/s1600/P6187162-1-tile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizc_Pz5IUFb4Pw6jm_GkIl706l3oKKRdixBRJX3wsGyGRmZJMY0MEGkBkqSc334LKxyqIgfqpRx0cMxRInZAD36HrlomBWO91nAcY-fGrXzruRaMlUMSu2CupWOVL2O5-Ofq1M_eseKXWH/s400/P6187162-1-tile.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Ok, obviously I'm a picture short in the collage above...which is why you should never do anything worth while when you're tired. Below are some close-ups. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiciscp8qJxGp4mL3D0NGuLumcTd61HNhIkMN6F-Fmx8QsiVCjuCv_v5gry1ANi674UxckDFTCyxur6i5_FeLHgGlCRrmPy1TgeTdkWqC6stLN5m9Cg31KcPcVF_pP4rJ35NaPtoq1TsN7b/s1600/P6187177-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiciscp8qJxGp4mL3D0NGuLumcTd61HNhIkMN6F-Fmx8QsiVCjuCv_v5gry1ANi674UxckDFTCyxur6i5_FeLHgGlCRrmPy1TgeTdkWqC6stLN5m9Cg31KcPcVF_pP4rJ35NaPtoq1TsN7b/s400/P6187177-1.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOG7sbIPvl49avmI-a_J5eVFw_Ed0AT_9_EWroN7aRv0xyT_ECI891fmNiX6W8k2vWQx9jwXqriEiYO5VzEoyFZWLxnmVn_iYHzZXXTKq2GmbQQdcAYCjrsRGvk_pCKNo_-kZ2_80ZoxHn/s1600/P6187089-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOG7sbIPvl49avmI-a_J5eVFw_Ed0AT_9_EWroN7aRv0xyT_ECI891fmNiX6W8k2vWQx9jwXqriEiYO5VzEoyFZWLxnmVn_iYHzZXXTKq2GmbQQdcAYCjrsRGvk_pCKNo_-kZ2_80ZoxHn/s400/P6187089-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It was windy on picture day which was nice considering the hot weather, but not so nice when you're trying to take pictures! I have lots of blogging to catch up on, but first a Newsletter for my loyal followers. If you're not signed up for it, hurry! Click on the 'Newsletter' tab at the top to get signed up!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">*I recently read a blog where the blogger referred to her husband and child by nicknames, to protect their identity of course. I loved that idea. She referred to her child as 'Busy' so I'm adopting that for my own. And my husband is 'My Love'. Really how perfect?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDtYKlyWJV49fUcG-zOFVTdI3p_oF_rldZUGRtTx6XYfYDWLQ2ncxbBBa2mUA0X_-Rzo1j3W1tM9zBw6JfD0uH1gYe-SzxW-ZDm-iKmVpVf95J8SGRNjpFzJ3mnlLk9_Z1WSu6Ud6a8WFk/s1600/P6187143-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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</div>Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847681761659088659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5900319748715497486.post-72947468728650791742011-04-07T15:25:00.000-07:002011-04-07T15:25:08.506-07:00Larger Passport Covers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkB8CSI0aJDDQqBYzRsHznE5PYE6Sh061VUrgMRoFVfLSnUKCpQJGgd5QLXBDa7Dv4rBeQSi6iRvdmiWZW4CxUkMzHTGNInS0xLk0A65NNSfEGG02d5hIiOh4VceFQuXMGeqI7eGSBJz7o/s1600/P1245910.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkB8CSI0aJDDQqBYzRsHznE5PYE6Sh061VUrgMRoFVfLSnUKCpQJGgd5QLXBDa7Dv4rBeQSi6iRvdmiWZW4CxUkMzHTGNInS0xLk0A65NNSfEGG02d5hIiOh4VceFQuXMGeqI7eGSBJz7o/s320/P1245910.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Since I've opened my shop in 2009, one of the questions I was asked the most is 'Will your passport covers fit Canadian Passports?" And every time I had to send a regretful response that, 'No, unfortunately, my vinyl passport covers will not fit Canadian Passports'. As OSD's store popularity grew and I started shipping to more countries, I discovered that there are several other countries that have passports larger than US standard sized passports. <br />
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This was becoming a pretty big problem. Due to me not being able to provide larger vinyl passport covers at the same $5 price as my standard passport covers, Canada was replaced by Australia as the #1 country I ship to outside of the US. I was losing a whole country of customers! <br />
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So I researched my options. I briefly offered laminated paper passport covers that were sewn together. These were mildly popular, but because of the cost of lamination and my time to sew them, I couldn't offer them at the same $5 price and eventually their popularity waned. <br />
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Finally, I am happy to announce a solution. OSD is proud to announce that we offer a new larger passport cover design. Please see the picture below (drum roll please)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh146kmxs9-f8AEXPJB49dPZJtwDFilT5T-84GtzbdSPsigKCtsrunGi38N3VAGizRRPPcrK34M9L4KPr-0VSe_klWiwp79CxJNMY4nq2PJnrq-t39WdF9kId6M1km7F4T2IFR5Z3c66CbV/s1600/Canadian+Passport+Comparison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh146kmxs9-f8AEXPJB49dPZJtwDFilT5T-84GtzbdSPsigKCtsrunGi38N3VAGizRRPPcrK34M9L4KPr-0VSe_klWiwp79CxJNMY4nq2PJnrq-t39WdF9kId6M1km7F4T2IFR5Z3c66CbV/s320/Canadian+Passport+Comparison.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
They are identical in quality to my standard sized passport covers. The only difference is their larger size and the interior pockets are larger than the standard passport cover size. They are ideally suited for Canadian Passports as well as any country that has a slightly larger passport. These larger sized covers are priced the same as my standard covers, just $5. And perhaps the best part is, you can ONLY get this larger size at Owl Say Designs. Can I call myself a pioneer, cause that's how I'm feeling right now! You can check out the measurements below:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdY5R3rqac5sK0fe1vrCTrjHC5Al8tnu8fljqDI0pt4H8B63aGboPoYB5eJb5mgQvF0CTK7A9ikevwDrnYVW-yMEkrvFX3A9_OINCPuntbvZxDjbzgGAsKETR4Ge7dLqJ-AQOv1AlbOMOU/s1600/Canadian+Passport+Measurements.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdY5R3rqac5sK0fe1vrCTrjHC5Al8tnu8fljqDI0pt4H8B63aGboPoYB5eJb5mgQvF0CTK7A9ikevwDrnYVW-yMEkrvFX3A9_OINCPuntbvZxDjbzgGAsKETR4Ge7dLqJ-AQOv1AlbOMOU/s320/Canadian+Passport+Measurements.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>These larger passport covers have been available in my shop for several weeks, but I wanted to test them out before I made any announcements. Thank you to those of you who helped quality test this new product!Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847681761659088659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5900319748715497486.post-65203381645464120772011-03-14T20:13:00.000-07:002011-03-14T20:18:46.969-07:00HeartsyI know a few of you have been waiting for this post. I apologize for its delay. My munchkin was sick and then being the kind, sharing family we are, I got the same upper respiratory crud too. Today I'm finally feeling like a part of the living world again! That whole line about moms never getting sick is bunk! <br />
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If you haven't heard about <a href="http://heartsy.me/">Heartsy</a> yet, it's time to crawl out from under your rock and check it out. It's a Groupon-like deal for Etsy shop owners. And until Groupon starts offering me $14 for $35 worth of groceries at my local grocery store, Heartsy is much, much more addictive. If you don't have an Etsy shop, but appreciate awesome deals from handmade artists, Heartsy is your dream come true! If you have an Etsy shop, arranging for a Heartsy deal may get you more money in one day than you can make in a couple weeks. At least it did for me.<br />
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While I was waiting to set the date for my Heartsy deal, I purchased two deals from other Etsy artists. Not only did I fall in love with the shops featured and just couldn't help myself, I also wanted to see how Heartsy would look to my potential customers. My deals codes were emailed to me right away and I was free to shop immediately. I made my purchases the same day I bought the deals and both times I spent over the allotted store credit. Not by much in either case, but enough to potentially cover the shipping. I haven't received my purchases yet. Considering the amount of traffic I received in one day, I'm very willing to be patient for my order!<br />
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When you apply to Heartsy, make sure you submit your best product photography. You have to have at least 30 'Yes, Definitely' votes to be considered. I know it's tempting to get all your friends to vote for you, but try getting votes without lobbying. Don't you want to know if people outside of your circle thinks your stuff is as amazing as you do? Once you get 30+ votes, someone from Heartsy will shoot you an email with a proposed deal. You do have some room to negotiate the deal, but trust me, you really don't need to. Some deals are limited and some deals are unlimited within a certain time frame. I was concerned that I'd end up losing money on individual orders and that absolutely did not happen.<br />
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I'm not sure how Heartsy decides what deal is right for you or what day of the week will work best. It probably has something to do with how many votes you get, how established your store is and maybe even just a 'gut' feel about what you sell. My deal was $14 for $32 worth of store credit. It ran on Tuesday March 8th for 10 hours (maybe 12, not sure, it was kind of a blur!). I sold 59 deals that day. Just let me do that math for you, 59 deals times $14 is $826. Let that sink in. How many handmade artists, especially ones that completely run their business by themselves, make $826 in one day. BTW, Heartsy paid me promptly that same day via Paypal. Cha-ching! <br />
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So far, only 41 people have claimed their deals, so my next stats are really based on 41 deals not 59. Out of the 41 claimed so far, 8 of them purchased either the exact amount of the store credit or slightly less - so 16%. Meaning that 84% of the rest of the deals were over the $32 store credit. Of the 33 remaining deals claimed, 5 of them were significantly over the store credit. I considered an additional purchase of $10 or more as significant. So 12%. The balance were over the $32 store credit and ranged from cents up to $10. I considered this amount to cover the shipping/packaging costs.<br />
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On the surface, $14 for $32 (57% savings) is not a great profit margin, for me anyway. I don't have my products marked up much more than 57%. But this is definitely a case where the volume made up the difference. No other time would I sell over $1K in product much less $2K which is the approximate retail value of what I sold. Plus, I've lost count of how many of the customers told me they found my store via Heartsy and they'd be back for presents, Christmas, etc. It's essentially like I was paid to advertise my shop. when you look at that way, it's so worth whatever deal Heartsy proposes for your store.<br />
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And to be honest, I think I could have sold more. Halfway through the day, I had to take A for a Dr's appointment. I left the house just as the deal was started. By the time I got out of the appointment, I checked my emails on my phone and I was FLOORED. I couldn't believe how much had sold. While I was waiting for prescriptions to be filled, I was renewing items like crazy. Which is hard to do on a phone with a sick and cranky little boy in tow. I certainly hadn't anticipated being gone on the day the deal was offered, and I think this didn't help me. It prevented me from utilizing any social media to help further market myself. By the time I got home and settled, I set my first task as finishing to renew items and address customers who wanted custom listings and had questions. By the time I finished this, it was late into the deal and I felt like I was scrambling to try and promote the deal any further. This isn't anyone's fault, of course. Who can predict having a sick child? But if possible, I recommend staying glued to the computer for the day.<br />
<br />
Overall, when you include all the extras that customers bought, I made over $1000 in one day. The week my shop was featured in Hong Kong's U Magazine, I made a little over $1000 in that one week. I can also clear close to this in one week during October-December, but I've never come close to making anything like this in one day. This is absolutely unreal to me!<br />
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Right now Heartsy is free. Eventually, they will start charging a fee for every deal sold. But if I make anything close to that, I'd pay a reasonable fee in a heartbeat. Overall, everyone I dealt with was more than kind. They were easy to deal with and they were excited for me when my deals started selling. All questions/concerns were answered promptly. It was an absolutely awesome experience. The only thing I would change is the lead time for knowing the deal. We discussed the deal back and forth for a few days. I knew on Sunday that the deal would happen for sure on Tuesday. It would have been nice to have closer to a weeks notice. We happened to be in San Antonio for the weekend, so we came home a day early so I could have Monday to list as much stuff as I could that I had finished. Believe me, I'm not complaining. But it would have been nice to have more lead time. I think Heartsy will be able to better schedule as it gets more underway and more people applying to host deals.<br />
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I don't know if Heartsy has a list of 'Potential Repeat Sellers' list, but if they do, I hope I'm on it. It's such a genius idea<a href="http://heartsy.me"></a>!!Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847681761659088659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5900319748715497486.post-38986999104348328402011-01-01T12:45:00.000-08:002013-02-12T19:28:36.680-08:00Happy New Year!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8apDW0YfVbWOSdYP-VF5x7U4QxwR9_LWhNOJP35j9cuP5Uh6T0I0BMbLJrb89TTCm_eIfJKOGShVA8Upn2DpdVcMR23j78KQexWXVtsS7uB9OLrBzXfaDruMfMl7BaFT6UULJxEEbdFOz/s1600/Owl_plane.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="83" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8apDW0YfVbWOSdYP-VF5x7U4QxwR9_LWhNOJP35j9cuP5Uh6T0I0BMbLJrb89TTCm_eIfJKOGShVA8Upn2DpdVcMR23j78KQexWXVtsS7uB9OLrBzXfaDruMfMl7BaFT6UULJxEEbdFOz/s640/Owl_plane.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Ok, as a rule, I do not really make New Year's resolutions. I think if you want to make a change, you should plan for it and do it. You know, Just Do It. But, sometimes you need a start date to start rolling out changes, so I figured Jan 1st, 2011 is as good a start date as any!<br />
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My first change to OSD is a new Etsy banner. I have a lot of wonderful and kind repeat customers and I think changing up my banner and blog layout once a year is the least I can do to keep it fresh and keep them interested. My husband and I brainstormed for a long while on what my new Etsy Banner should be. I envisioned Sir Olaf McOwl (didn't know he had a name did you) dressed up as the Red Baron in a sweet biplane with goggles, a pilots hat and a scarf waving in the wind. He'd be my little advertising Owl, pulling a banner with "Owl Say Designs".<br />
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So my sister-in-law is my amazing graphics artist. She initially designed Sir Olaf McOwl, so I asked her if she could make me a new banner. Sometimes your initial vision is hard to capture in great detail when you are limited to a 100x760 pixel size. The rough draft was awesome, but about this time my husband and I had been brainstorming on introducing new friends to OSD. So, when my husband saw the initial layout, he suggested my SIL elongate the plane and add a Bluejay, as the pilot. We laughed hysterically. I loved the idea of Sir Olaf being piloted around and sort of as a stationary, unchanging symbol (like the Traveling Gnome). Plus, goggles, a hat and scarf were hard to pull off on a weeble-wobble Owl and at least 2 out of three just needed to be somewhere in any plane graphic. I think it's a rule.<br />
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So OSD would like to officially welcome Captain 'Bullseye' Bluejay. Captain Bullseye is a diabolical military strategist and tactician and has been known to commit daring air raids divebombing unsuspecting humans while mowing their lawn. Although now retired, his military career is impressive having climbed up the ranks to Captain in half the time of his fellow enlisted Bluejays. He now works as the head of Security Detail for Sir Olaf McOwl.Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847681761659088659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5900319748715497486.post-46134525773634661442010-12-27T14:43:00.000-08:002010-12-27T14:43:38.654-08:00Travel Clutch Dilemma<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3_82xCVnqqORVJt6nWlTKZJgpzDWhwdYgEkEKlktMUDGa3A49Je0x_7qoKHgBiVXfmk3PTMis0_2WTR3zXx-HS6nl5KVl4OlaRBDXBvGAS4UHuZltIRlOaQJav7TdNoWncvdAE7uJSkaR/s1600/PB184896.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3_82xCVnqqORVJt6nWlTKZJgpzDWhwdYgEkEKlktMUDGa3A49Je0x_7qoKHgBiVXfmk3PTMis0_2WTR3zXx-HS6nl5KVl4OlaRBDXBvGAS4UHuZltIRlOaQJav7TdNoWncvdAE7uJSkaR/s320/PB184896.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Since Hong Kong's <u>U Magazine</u> featured my Travel Clutch Wallet as the Editor's Pick on one of their October issues, I have had a Travel Clutch Dilemma. I was not prepared for them to be so popular and sell so quickly!! It's an awesome problem to have, but, as I said, not one for which I was prepared! <br />
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<b><span style="color: #4c1130;">BACKGROUND </span></b><br />
When someone purchased a Travel Clutch, they were essentially buying a time slot. Each clutch requires 7-10 days for me to make it. Ok, that's not exactly accurate. If I started in the morning, I could cut, iron, sew, iron again, topstitch, iron again and package one clutch all in one day. Even with munchkin distractions, it's possible. If I do that, I'd make 5 in one week. So, not really ideal. Because I have a background in manufacturing, I have a tendency to set things up in assembly line fashion. If I do this with travel clutches, I can cut the fabric (linen and cotton) as well as the interfacing for 6-12 clutches in one day. If I'm having an awesome day, I can iron on the interfacing too. I finish sewing the clutches over the next two days. By doing it that way, I can theoretically turn out 6-12 clutches in one week (4-5 days). This generally works out pretty well. Twelve clutches a week is the most I have been comfortable with.<br />
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My system was pretty good. I have a dry erase board calendar. So when a person ordered a Travel Clutch, I counted out seven business days and put their order on the board. Inevitably, the week fills up so those I have 6-12 to make that week. I make them all at once. Yes, it may mean that someone's order ships in 9 days and someone else will have a ship date at 5 days. It wasn't a perfect system, but it is how actual manufacturing companies schedule business. It allows the people to be the most efficient. And in this case, I am the people. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJDiM0uC3pOinf5NDYyo1Iw_dO98f9sLYzWbFGbpCtRw1jMCoPG8L5lVf4rd3ZTqFNO1PGTILzJNRZrUrC1um-xXyJoZvaRVASKF4n3hUwZPSi5H2sBaYmyPvgJnSuyDTUKwlbdC_3OJn8/s1600/PA204703.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJDiM0uC3pOinf5NDYyo1Iw_dO98f9sLYzWbFGbpCtRw1jMCoPG8L5lVf4rd3ZTqFNO1PGTILzJNRZrUrC1um-xXyJoZvaRVASKF4n3hUwZPSi5H2sBaYmyPvgJnSuyDTUKwlbdC_3OJn8/s320/PA204703.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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As is true with any type of manufacturing, you will get to a point where an excessive quantity takes away from the efficiency. My 'sweet spot' for Travel Clutches is 12. The week my store was featured in U Magazine, I had to make 20 in one week. The week just before Christmas, I had to make 24. The week before that, was 20. I could keep going back, but basically from the time my Travel Clutches were featured, my life was CRAZY TOWN!! <br />
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<div style="color: #4c1130;"><b>THE BREAKDOWN</b></div>Each travel clutch has 13 pieces that have to be cut. That's 13 pieces from fabric and 12 pieces of interfacing plus 1 Heatbond strip. The week before Christmas, I had to make 24. Here's how that breaks down:<br />
<br />
7 Pieces of cotton * 24 Clutches = 168 pieces of cotton to cut<br />
5 Pieces of linen * 24 Clutches = 120 pieces of linen to cut<br />
1 Piece of twill * 24 clutches = 24 twill strips to cut<br />
1 piece of heatbond * 24 clutches = 24 heatbond strips<br />
12 Pieces of interfacing * 24 Clutches = 288 pieces of interfacing<br />
<div style="color: red;">Total pieces that have to be cut to make 24 travel clutches = <b>624</b></div><br />
Then, I have to iron on the interfacing and heatbond strips. So that's 312 pieces that have to be ironed individually. Let's not forget the labels, so add 24 labels for a total of <b style="color: red;">336 pieces</b> that need <span style="color: red;">ironing</span>.<br />
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Once the ironing is finished, I sew the labels in place. One sewn strip on each side of the label for 48 short lines.<br />
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Then I piece together the Clutch's pockets and compartments. It has 4 main compartments, plus the closure tab and pen pocket for a total of 6 items that have to be pieced together. Grand total for 24 wallets is <span style="color: red;">144 pieces. </span><br />
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Then I have to turn 48 pieces inside out (the tabs and pen pockets). After turning those, I <span style="color: red;">iron all 144 pieces</span> again so I can top stitch them. And then I <span style="color: red;">top stitch 144 pieces</span>.<br />
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So far, this is all prep work. Once I've top stitched the pieces, I can finally start putting pieces together to make the wallets. Once they are all pieced, I sew fronts and backs together, turn them inside out, iron all 24 and top stitch the outside. It takes me an average of 10 minutes just to turn them inside out. It's a delicate procedure and if you rush it you'll rip a stitch or poke a hole through the corner. So for 24 clutches, that's 240 minutes or <span style="color: red;">4 hours just to turn them inside out!!</span> Then I install the pearl snaps, iron again, package and ship.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLAYpL3YINKk0DBK-yfXGC85fxsYrCueGXd2dTGt5YT2jB_0QT5Fc0JtPV91BUguAO5B5XGaABKLGsKm8WUr7V5B2MaBbAbyca_qGssMDhSEq0DKyrqTqVqzkoqxAWtExRpbY4J7k_ohV0/s1600/PA264711.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLAYpL3YINKk0DBK-yfXGC85fxsYrCueGXd2dTGt5YT2jB_0QT5Fc0JtPV91BUguAO5B5XGaABKLGsKm8WUr7V5B2MaBbAbyca_qGssMDhSEq0DKyrqTqVqzkoqxAWtExRpbY4J7k_ohV0/s320/PA264711.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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So what that basically means is, I slept a total of 10-12 hours the week before Christmas. My mother-in-law watched my munchkin for me a couple days and my husband was home for the other days or I would not have been able to physically do it. I'd sew, and sew, and sew and go take a nap for 30 min to an hour and come back and sew some more. It was out of control.<br />
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<b style="color: #4c1130;">LESSONS LEARNED </b><br />
It was also very unintentional. I was selling them faster than I could take down the listings. Which is eventually what I had to do, take down the listings. I would walk away from the computer for a few hours and come back to see that I had sold 10 of them. I felt panicked because I knew that people were buying them for Christmas presents and I knew it would be bad business to have to contact them to tell them I just didn't have time to make their clutch. As the time got closer to Christmas, I was afraid people weren't reading the listings to see the time frame and were hoping I was going to ship in time for them to be Christmas presents. So I took down all of the listings. And while I sewed the orders I already committed to, I formulated a new plan.<br />
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The two questions I am most emailed about are "Do you have any Travel Clutches that are 'Ready to Ship?" and "When will my Travel Clutch order ship?" It takes a lot of time to filter through and respond to emails, so these questions were taking up a lot of my time. Since I had not anticipated their popularity, I had not really considered that I could sell more than I could physically produce within my published lead times. Now I know that's possible. I also received some feedback that publishing the lead time as 7-10 business days is confusing. People were glossing over the 'Business' part of the phrase and wondering why I hadn't shipped their order within 7 days. It's more accurate to say that the lead time is 10-14 days.<br />
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<div style="color: #38761d;"><b>OSD 2011 CHANGES CONCERNING TRAVEL CLUTCHES AND PORTFOLIO CLUTCHES</b></div><br />
<ol><li>Beginning in January 2011, everything in the shop will be ready to ship. I will make 6-12 clutches a week and list them every week to build up inventory. I will make them from my most popular fabric choices as well as new fabrics. </li>
<li>A customer will still be able to 'Build Their Own Clutch' and choose their own fabric. This has been wildly popular and I'd be foolish to take it away. Having everything else in stock will allow me to better manage the 'BYO Clutch' aspect. Lead time will be 10-14 business days. If my inventory is very low, or if my week fills up to 12 clutches, the lead time will be extended to 14-28 days. This change will be CLEARLY listed in my shop announcement as well as the individual listing. For good measure, I will also email the customer to make sure they are aware of the extended lead time and they will have the option to choose from a clutch in stock or cancel their order.</li>
</ol><b><span style="color: #4c1130;">A NOTE OF THANKS</span></b><br />
<br />
I am beyond humbled by this experience. It's hard for me to put into words how rewarding it is to develop a concept, take the concept to market and have that concept be wildly popular. You have no idea how much this success has blessed my family. I am blown away by how excited my customers are to find my shop and love my products. I have several repeat customers and repeat customers are always the best compliment. I am so thankful to have a website like Etsy that allows me to inexpensively take my products and ideas to market. This has been an amazing and exciting year in my family's life. While I am nowhere near perfect, I am a better person having experienced all the highs and lows of running my own business. God inspired the idea to open Owl Say Designs. He provided the means. He has put me in touch with people who have given me wonderful product and business advice. It is through His Grace, that my business succeeds and excels and I would be remiss if I did not place the Glory where it belonged.Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847681761659088659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5900319748715497486.post-20406866422971510852010-10-07T22:52:00.000-07:002010-10-07T22:52:42.773-07:00Business Tip #4 - Copyright Infringement, Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgfLqvSRrwRVhsj2bt3-0U59kEMYxQ_bZx2pLmqmSbkyagDqmVGsTx0XqjrPdAvLpAvn4LQZQKwxdkNZ3JDcXAoNOV1UJJxf3vAZhz9D5Lq1Xti5KOOcvdqzcECzYkp_OOKm-BG4lI023z/s1600/PA064544.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgfLqvSRrwRVhsj2bt3-0U59kEMYxQ_bZx2pLmqmSbkyagDqmVGsTx0XqjrPdAvLpAvn4LQZQKwxdkNZ3JDcXAoNOV1UJJxf3vAZhz9D5Lq1Xti5KOOcvdqzcECzYkp_OOKm-BG4lI023z/s320/PA064544.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Copyright Infringement runs rampant ESPECIALLY in a world where having an online-only business is fast becoming the norm. It's not only difficult to protect yourself from violators, but it's hard to even catch them in the first place! One distinction that needs to be made is the difference between Copyright Infringement and Copycats. Both are morally and ethically abhorrent, but only one is punishable by law.<br />
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Per the<a href="http://www.copyright.gov/"> http://copyright.gov</a> website, the definition of Copyright is:<br />
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<div style="color: red;"><i><span class="main_txt">a form of protection grounded in the U.S. Constitution and granted by law for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression. Copyright covers both published and unpublished works. </span></i></div><div style="color: red;"><br />
</div><div style="color: red;"><span class="main_txt"><span style="color: black;">Kind of vague, isn't it? To a certain extent, that's on purpose because there needs to be room for interpretation on a case by case basis. But I felt as though I really didn't understand it so I actually called a lawyer to ask for clarification. Here's what it boils down to, anything that you authored is protected under copyright law. But the term <i>authored</i> makes you think this applies only to written works. Not the case! Here's the definition of authored:</span></span></div><div style="color: red;"><br />
</div><div class="dndata" style="color: red; text-align: left;"><i><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">1. a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">person</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">who</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">writes</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">novel,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">poem,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">essay,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">etc.;</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">the</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">composer</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">literary</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">work,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">as</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">distinguished</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">from</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">compiler,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">translator,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">editor,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">copyist.</span> </span></i></div><div style="color: red;"> </div><div class="luna-Ent" style="color: red; text-align: left;"><i><span class="dnindex"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">2</span></span></span><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">. the</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">literary</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">production</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">productions</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">writer:</span> </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword">to</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">find</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">passage</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">in</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">an</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">author.</span></i><div class="dndata"><i><span class="ital-inline"><span id="hotword"> </span></span></i></div></div><div style="color: red;"> </div><div class="luna-Ent" style="color: red; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span class="dnindex"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">3.</span></span></span><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;"> the</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">maker</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">anything;</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">creator;</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">originator:</span> </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword">the</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">author</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">new</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">tax</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">plan.</span></i></div><div class="dndata"><i><span class="ital-inline"><span id="hotword"> </span></span></i></div></div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="luna-Ent" style="color: red; text-align: left;"><i><span class="dnindex"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">4.</span></span></span><span class="labset"><span class="ital-inline"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword"> Computers</span> </span></span><span id="hotword">. </span></span><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">the</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">writer</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">software</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">program,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">esp.</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">hypertext</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">multimedia</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">application.</span></i><div class="dndata"><i><span id="hotword"> </span></i></div></div><div style="color: red;"> </div><div class="pbk"><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><i><span class="pg"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">–verb</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">(used</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">with</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">object)</span></span></span></i><i><span class="pg"><span id="hotword"> </span></span></i></div><div class="luna-Ent" style="color: red; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span class="dnindex"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">5.</span></span></span><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword"> to</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">write;</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">be</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">the</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">author</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of:</span> </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword">He</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">authored</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">history</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">the</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">Civil</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">War.</span></i></div><div class="dndata"><i><span class="ital-inline"><span id="hotword"> </span></span></i></div></div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="luna-Ent"><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><i><span class="dnindex"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">6.</span></span></span><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword"> to</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">originate;</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">create</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">design</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">for:</span> </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword">She</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">authored</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">new</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">system</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">for</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">teaching</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">chemistry.</span></i></div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><i><span id="hotword" name="hotword"> </span></i></div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span id="hotword" name="hotword"><span style="color: black;">So actually, it's not as vague as you might think, is it? Definition numbers 3 and 6 make it pretty clear that original forms of art are protected under copyright law.<i> </i>The part that gets me the most, is 'the originator' i.e. author of a new tax plan.' What is a tax plan if not an idea? So shouldn't copyright protect original ideas?</span></span></div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span id="hotword" name="hotword"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span id="hotword" name="hotword"><span style="color: black;">Well, no, unfortunately, copyright laws do not protect ideas. What is meant by 'the author of a new tax plan' is that a person thought up a brilliant idea, wrote it down and most likely, presented it. So the idea was protected by copyright because it was written down in a <i>tangible medium of expression</i>. It can easily be documented that so and so had this idea on this date. So the idea is protected. The only other way to protect an idea is a Patent. Patents are in place to protect ideas more notably thought of as inventions and usually apply to new inventions or drastic improvements to old ideas. (Like a Dyson Vacuum cleaner versus your run of the mill Hoover.)</span></span></div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span id="hotword" name="hotword"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span id="hotword" name="hotword"><span style="color: black;">Bringing it down to a more personal level, is the fact that I had the brilliant idea to insert pretty paper into vinyl passport covers or coat the paper in a laminating machine and sew the pieces together protectable by Copyright Law? Um, no. I sincerely wish it was, but that doesn't make it so. Not unless I could prove that every single passport cover I sell is a mini work of art or altered art. That would be very hard to prove. It was a business idea I had. I have often wondered if I'd written down my idea and mailed it to myself (the poor man's Copyright protection) could I make a case that all others who copied me were in violation of that copyright? That's a good question that I didn't ask my lawyer. Since I didn't do that, I didn't bother to ask. </span></span></div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span id="hotword" name="hotword"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span id="hotword" name="hotword"><span style="color: black;">I'd also like to point out, that if (and when, because it's coming loyal fans) I create my very own artwork and make it available as a passport cover, that WILL be protected under Copyright Law. Not because I had an idea to make the passport cover, but because the cover is made from my original work of art. It's a really fine line, but I hope I'm making the difference obvious (as possible, anyway). It also probably goes without saying that my logos, pictures, and written descriptions are all protected under Copyright Law (because those are all tangible mediums of expression).</span></span></div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span id="hotword" name="hotword"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span id="hotword" name="hotword"><span style="color: black;">Copyright DOES however, protect your ideas if you have it documented as a pattern. So taking 2 already existing items (paper and vinyl) and putting them together was an idea (not protectable). But taking fabric, linen, a concept (idea) of a travel document holder and designing my <b>own</b> <b>new</b> pattern to make said Travel Wallet, is most definitely protected by Copyright Law. The pattern is my own original design and before I listed anything, I did make sure to protect myself by documenting my pattern. So, no one had permission to make my Travel Wallet unless I decide to offer the pattern for sale. And if I offer the pattern for sale, I have the right to dictate the means of use for that pattern. Meaning I can require, by law, that the pattern be used for personal use only and products cannot be sold using my pattern. </span></span></div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span id="hotword" name="hotword"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span id="hotword" name="hotword"><span style="color: black;">Guess who one of the biggest makers of new, cool patterns is that has expressly written on her patterns they are for personal use only and items made from the pattern are not to be resold? <a href="http://amybutlerdesign.com/main.php?fl=0">Amy Butler</a>. </span></span><span id="hotword" name="hotword"><span style="color: black;">For those of you who didn't already know that, would you have guessed that interesting tidbit? I wouldn't have. In fact, a few of the first diaper bags I sold in my first shop Tattered Tapestry were from an Amy Butler design. One day while cutting out a pattern while working at my Church's Mother's Day Out (babies were sleeping, don't worry) I just happen to read that fine print. When I got home I noticed it was on all the patterns of hers that I owned. Once I realized that, I stopped making her bags to sell. Which was frustrating considering how much I'd spent on those patterns for that express purpose - to resell!! Most fabric/paper designers have Angel Policies. Angel Polices basically mean, they allow you to use their fabric/paper to make a product and sell it. But you are not allowed to associate your product with their name. So all those Etsy listings you see that say 'Diaper Bag in Amy Butler Fabric' are technically in violation of the Angel Policy. They are using her name without permission to market their products. Like I said, fine line!!</span></span></div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span id="hotword" name="hotword"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span id="hotword" name="hotword"><span style="color: black;">Ok, so in regards to the very obvious shops on Etsy who are attempting to copy not only my ideas but also my business model, are they in Copyright Violation? No. It would be hard to make a case of it. And believe me, I have certainly contacted my lawyer about it on more than occasion. Iit's heartbreaking and aggravating to say the least. It's also unethical. </span></span></div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span id="hotword" name="hotword"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span id="hotword" name="hotword"><span style="color: black;">A fellow Etsian told me to think of it in terms of jeans - you know, blue jeans. One of the first manufacturers I think of in regards to jeans is Levis (ok, so the first is Seven, but only because they are my favorite). Levis may have been one of the first on the scene to take tough, durable denim, 5 buttons and make those super sexy button fly jeans. It didn't take long before they were copied. And copied, and copied again. Maybe the pattern was slightly different from each copycat, but the concept, the IDEA, was/is copied repeatedly. There are jeans manufacturers that try their hardest to undercut the prices of a good pair of Levis (the Walmart brand, Rustler for example). Do they take sales away from Levis? Of course, or the copycat wouldn't be in business.</span></span></div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span id="hotword" name="hotword"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span id="hotword" name="hotword"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span id="hotword" name="hotword"><span style="color: black;">This is the difference between Copyright Infringement and nasty ol' Copycats. One person can have a brilliant idea and then someone else comes along and thinks, "Wow, I want a little piece of that action" and goes to the trouble of finding out how you do what you do so they can do it too. The only course of action you really have is to be better than them. (Levis are better than Rustlers, in my opinion anyway). But it doesn't make it any less devastating for someone to ride the coattails of your brilliance. And it makes it so much worse when they make a point to say they have been selling them for years at craft shows, etc. Maybe it's true, but it's not really likely is it? And what is their other course of action? To say, 'Man, OSD has such cool stuff and I'm devoid of any original thought of my own, so I think I'll do what she's doing so I can have a little piece of that pie." Also not likely.</span></span></div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span id="hotword" name="hotword"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div><div style="color: red; text-align: left;"><span id="hotword" name="hotword"><span style="color: black;">It's obvious that I have a small handful of people who admire my business model so much they have decided to copy it (as best they can). The truth is, I've also been accused of being a Copycat. Unjustly so, but accused just the same. So my opinion on Copycats might surprise you. But since this post is already so long, I'll save my personal stories and opinions for part 2! </span></span></div><div class="dndata"><span class="ital-inline"><span id="hotword"> </span></span></div></div></div>Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847681761659088659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5900319748715497486.post-67802501918647936052010-09-30T09:36:00.000-07:002010-09-30T09:36:41.698-07:00Fabric Travel Clutch Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigcfKdrFU_nAYGbOOUtr5qiN6yySz0sFNuUpdZtv7qng9qGj8gtIBuH1eBcc42SAmdMRzZxN3_zPCMK6IeEGyZOG7EfXG5kEkPb7igKCSJI1MhzMXQkLYQXkjsop1x1-p9-Cgigq__niKI/s1600/P6173114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigcfKdrFU_nAYGbOOUtr5qiN6yySz0sFNuUpdZtv7qng9qGj8gtIBuH1eBcc42SAmdMRzZxN3_zPCMK6IeEGyZOG7EfXG5kEkPb7igKCSJI1MhzMXQkLYQXkjsop1x1-p9-Cgigq__niKI/s320/P6173114.JPG" width="229" /></a></div>I'm so excited to share an independent review of an OSD Fabric Travel Clutch! I contacted <a href="http://lostgirlsworld.com/">The Lost Girls World</a> several months ago about advertising on their website. The website is addicting, by the way. Tons of awesome travel articles that had me adding <i>Places to Go</i> and<i> Must Sees</i> to my Long Term 'To Do' List! <br />
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So the ladies I've worked with, The Lost Girls, could not have been any kinder or more professional. And you can't help but wonder if you'll even be given the time of day when you contact someone with such a successful website while they were in the midst of promoting their book as was the case when I first contacted them. But all were very down to earth and nice which put me at ease enough to ask if they did product reviews.<br />
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As a rule, I do not send any of my products out for review. Namely because if I receive something for free, I sort of feel obligated to give it a good review even if I'm not that crazy about it. The second reason I never send anything out for review, is because it's not reviewed at all! I'd like to say this hasn't happened to me, but it has. Earlier this year, I sent out a travel clutch for review on a popular blog and not only was it not reviewed, but I never heard from her again. As in, she continues to post on her website (popular blog, lots of followers) but does not answer my emails. If your dog eats my travel clutch, just tell me. Really, I'm pretty nice. I'll understand. JUST ANSWER MY EMAILS because I put a lot of time and effort into that little bit of chew toy and I'd like for you to acknowledge that I haven't fallen off the face of the earth! Alright, so now that that's off my chest...<br />
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So Jen from LGW, let me know that Cailin O'Neil would be reviewing my Travel Clutch. What was so exciting about Cailin reviewing my clutch is that she travels and this is, well, a Travel Clutch. What I've been searching for is an independent, field-tested review of my travel clutch. I mean, I think it's great and functional. My friends and family think it's great and functional. But what does someone who doesn't have me on their Christmas List think about it?<br />
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See for yourself by going <a href="http://www.lostgirlsworld.com/2010/09/review-owl-say-fabric-travel-clutch/">here </a>to read her review.<br />
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<b>Fun fact concerning this review</b>: Cailin's background is in Film & TV Industry. Apparently, my Travel Clutch (and Cailin of course) visited the set of Sarah Polley's new film <u>Take This Waltz</u>. I'm not saying that Ms. Polley or any other famous person coveted my Travel Clutch. I'm just saying it's possible. Right?Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847681761659088659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5900319748715497486.post-88002711743825487562010-09-21T20:30:00.000-07:002010-09-21T20:30:13.404-07:00Ponytail Holders - Limited Time Only<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifbQev1fX5X1FyGzxbR-wRzeGFXam9u0IMXQnHPwbMpNfGN5A9o6_LcpTPJ4n7YsrieOhq1jYOWUqib_4TqBKb8NofnIIAcaqxlQUIaauQ2jnZk2o0DgSOfceAG3fHDFuxL_5q23cGt9ZC/s1600/P9124076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifbQev1fX5X1FyGzxbR-wRzeGFXam9u0IMXQnHPwbMpNfGN5A9o6_LcpTPJ4n7YsrieOhq1jYOWUqib_4TqBKb8NofnIIAcaqxlQUIaauQ2jnZk2o0DgSOfceAG3fHDFuxL_5q23cGt9ZC/s320/P9124076.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Sometimes I can't help myself. When I was buying magnet parts for my Button Machine a few weeks ago to make samples for <a href="http://thelittleblackboxes.com/">The Little Black Box</a>, I came across a new way to use my Button Machine - to make <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/owlsay?section_id=6594126">Ponytail Holders</a>. <br />
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So, right or wrong, most of my day is spent with my hair in a ponytail. This goes for pre-momhood too, by the way. It's just my thing. If you'd like to sign me up for What Not to Wear so I can get a free $5000 new wardrobe because I'm addicted to the ponytail, please feel free. $5K can buy some really snazzy ponytail holders and hair clips!!<br />
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I'm thinking these will just be a limited edition in my shop. They are a really cute idea, but I only purchased about 25 or so to make. I can, of course, purchase more if they start flying off the shelf. For now, I have a few listed and as usual in my shop, you can have one made from any fabric or paper you see listed. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhwKYBoxAbW824GgjGN5YVBLVAL0RbCsm-WsLK8U9eG1uWBaqfrW6gg4y3Sz3tDZTJdc7n-7XDzFkPbbfUyC221zUjNfR8ZCrJWwg61xOyYc9aqMzFZ_Ie8HGgtcUAgD0N8MMFuoOHXJ6x/s1600/P9124083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhwKYBoxAbW824GgjGN5YVBLVAL0RbCsm-WsLK8U9eG1uWBaqfrW6gg4y3Sz3tDZTJdc7n-7XDzFkPbbfUyC221zUjNfR8ZCrJWwg61xOyYc9aqMzFZ_Ie8HGgtcUAgD0N8MMFuoOHXJ6x/s320/P9124083.JPG" /></a></div>Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847681761659088659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5900319748715497486.post-21360032132278211922010-09-21T17:19:00.000-07:002010-09-21T17:19:18.669-07:00Business Tip # 3 - Track Your Progress<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSkf0K7qOs7k8T8dLMBm00hA7HNj8lp57DaMvLc5uGjkCDIIHfcHZyt8roxCKzkWhsnFsOaUBN0cgDnSd5cSItDdr3DaqYb5ygeRTR0Nhvil4WyxFThjszZ33As4WiFrQ41AIgDiI_4IBv/s1600/1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSkf0K7qOs7k8T8dLMBm00hA7HNj8lp57DaMvLc5uGjkCDIIHfcHZyt8roxCKzkWhsnFsOaUBN0cgDnSd5cSItDdr3DaqYb5ygeRTR0Nhvil4WyxFThjszZ33As4WiFrQ41AIgDiI_4IBv/s320/1.JPG" /></a></div>Ok, so Etsy and Metricly has made the post I had been agonizing over how to adequately explain, so much easier. When I originally intended to post this, Etsy first introduced Metricly and I wanted to check them out - crossing my fingers that they would be user friendly and provide all the info I wanted to discuss.<br />
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When you have a variety of products you sell with a range of prices, it's important to not only track your sales/purchase dollars, but also which items sell the best. Also helpful to know is your average sales dollar, your average sales per week, and what percentage of which product do you sell the most. For instance, passport covers remain about 40% of my business while Travel Clutches are about 15% (and rising). Adding the Travel and Portfolio clutches have raised my average sale dollar about 35% - this of course, depends on the month.<br />
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Tracking your sales also helps you to visually see which products aren't working. For instance, I invested in a 2-1/4" Button Maker Machine last year. I purchased a snazzy one because, as is I'm sure is the case with every entrepreneur, I just knew this was the next big thing. This idea was a perfect way to use up scrap paper and fabric and would be great 'add-ons' to my orders (<i>would you like fries with that?</i>) It was a great idea, but I didn't market it properly so it was not the next big 'Money Maker' I thought it would be. I was able to realize this by tracking my daily sales as well as views for my Pocket Mirrors/Bottle Openers. So I scaled back this section of my shop to alleviate what I had determined was a bit of clutter. Magnets, on the other hand, are pretty popular so I'm planning on expanding this section of my shop.<br />
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I did the same thing with my Vinyl Book Covers. I sold them very rarely and because I sold them rarely, I could never really gain enough buying power to buy a lot of supplies to make the profit I wanted. They were a great idea and when people bought them, they loved them. Want to know something else? I really did not enjoy making them. They were a pain to make, a pain to package and a pain to ship. When I eliminated them completely, I did not at all notice a dip in sales. If anything, my sales rose.<br />
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So my point in all that, is you have to pay attention to what sells. Not every idea you have will be a good one-and this is a topic all to itself! Paying attention helps streamline what you offer to your customers and keep your online business looking cohesive. <br />
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So, if you have an Etsy Shop, Metricly is an awesome new function that helps you do all that. To explain it better than I could, check out this <a href="http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/handmade-code-tracking-your-business-with-metricly-10524/?utm_source=bronto&utm_medium=email&utm_term=In+this+Etsy+Blog+post&utm_content=etsy_success_092110&utm_campaign=etsy_success_092110">link</a> and set up your Metricly account!<br />
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What I love about Metricly, is it is SO user friendly. So much more so than Google Analytics and it provides information more directly related to your shop. PLUS, you can incorporate GA into your account as well as Mail Chip to see if your newsletters have an impact on sales.<br />
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Which reminds me, I set up a Mail Chimp account weeks ago and have not yet sent out a newsletter!! I have to move this up on my 'To Do' list since Holiday Season is approaching.Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847681761659088659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5900319748715497486.post-6671224392053674782010-09-08T12:22:00.000-07:002010-09-08T12:23:11.477-07:00Fabric Travel Clutch Improvements<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHRoD_kHNf1ZvHKkY8C84NN7JDmvvem6B5NgMjl38gYox1E5mnoaHfUXP2dWUiKxSDdILX3o1YiOv6QLa4wflPjH-cASXCWup3_0bRXnXAfqA1zNoHBi8njeoy0YyL-bVz67_dVyhvUDS7/s1600/P8133815.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHRoD_kHNf1ZvHKkY8C84NN7JDmvvem6B5NgMjl38gYox1E5mnoaHfUXP2dWUiKxSDdILX3o1YiOv6QLa4wflPjH-cASXCWup3_0bRXnXAfqA1zNoHBi8njeoy0YyL-bVz67_dVyhvUDS7/s320/P8133815.JPG" /></a></div>Ok, I've been so hesitant to write this post. When you design a product, you never want to have to admit it could use<i> improvements</i>. Who doesn't want to believe their product is perfect without need of change from its inception? But, the truth of the matter is as you use a product, you do come to realize such and such might be better if.... And that's the case with my otherwise perfect Fabric Travel Clutch.<br />
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When I designed the clutch, I went through several prototypes. I laid out different designs, used different fabrics, and most importantly tried different interfacings to apply behind the fabric. Interfacing is basically a sewn-in or ironed-on web like material that makes fabric have more body or makes it more stiff. It's what makes the collars of dress shirts stiff. A lightweight interfacing can give a skirt more body. It's most definitely required on almost all craft projects involving fabric. Otherwise you'd have a flimsy, droopy purse that could not stand up under its own weight. So, you might say it's the most important aspect of a fabric craft project.<br />
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When making my Fabric Travel Clutches, I determined I'd have to use one of the most stiff interfacing available. It's Pellon 809 fusible interfacing. And each piece, front and back, of my FTCs is mated with a piece of Pellon 809. Even though I use one of the strongest interfacing available, I still had an issue with the spine of my FTCs. With repeated opening and closing, the linen would start to bunch in the spine and the spine would weaken.<br />
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Ok, so I knew this was an issue, but I wasn't sure how to fix it. When I received a couple of emails from customers saying they loved the design, but wished the spine was a bit more stiff, I knew I had to find a way to resolve the issue. I'd go over this time and again with my husband (the engineer) and he kept telling me I needed to add something behind the linen. But how? When my brother and sister-in-law were here for A's 3rd birthday, I showed them my concern. My bro (also an engineer), said what my dear hubby said, add a strip of fabric behind the linen. But he added that he thought I needed to sew a line down the middle to bind the linen to the strip to the outside fabric. And this is where he explained a bit of physics to me. (This is my<i> little</i> brother, mind you)<br />
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When I sew the front of the clutch to the back, the pieces are equal in length. I leave an opening at the top to turn the clutch inside out. When I fold the clutch in half, the outside fabric is stretched and the inside linen is bunched a bit. A little bit of this is actually good because this helps give you the room you need to fill up your wallet. Too much makes the linen bunch unattractively down the center. This spine area is also the weakest part of the wallet. So, now, fix it already.<br />
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And I did. The new design has a 4" strip of heavy duty twill backing heat bonded to the back of the linen and interfacing. I use heavy duty heat bond (just try peeling it off - it withstands non-sewn appliques on the world's greatest product tester t-shirts - my little munchkin). I also sew down the middle to bind all those pieces together. You can see the difference in how clean and non-bunched-up it looks here:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUP3PZBO6KeOL7bt4MeP_XEwrlkenwozcG2lhJgktVfyeTAuYixcVLK0mpnJbELzHTN8biTYUXnwjEAV-0PaJDG6JhPYK7gIsDXhEjuskxlJP40rMEHCJ-C4IylDNHaCgNKSiGEr0EFqBm/s1600/P8113809.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUP3PZBO6KeOL7bt4MeP_XEwrlkenwozcG2lhJgktVfyeTAuYixcVLK0mpnJbELzHTN8biTYUXnwjEAV-0PaJDG6JhPYK7gIsDXhEjuskxlJP40rMEHCJ-C4IylDNHaCgNKSiGEr0EFqBm/s400/P8113809.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Here's more of a close up picture:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHBQQUH-E4ACS_f01hyVGWBzdC3fhI87EyVbx36OIQ85sn-U17XhuYgm-sSvJa4XZ9RZGk4fhvu-Z5VZfG2oCCPeFMkIzNoK1gC4fCNzuHSIHbUS1xsBSr3TAjIAUyRJLTfNQQNWThr4jP/s1600/P8113810.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHBQQUH-E4ACS_f01hyVGWBzdC3fhI87EyVbx36OIQ85sn-U17XhuYgm-sSvJa4XZ9RZGk4fhvu-Z5VZfG2oCCPeFMkIzNoK1gC4fCNzuHSIHbUS1xsBSr3TAjIAUyRJLTfNQQNWThr4jP/s400/P8113810.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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So far, the response to the change has been awesome. I made the change on all outgoing FTC's in late July/early August. I've been carrying one around in my purse since the first of August and I can tell it is certainly an improvement over my previous design.<br />
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So, while I was reluctant to admit my design needed any changes, I am honest enough to believe you shouldn't keep selling something when you know it needs a fix. I want my customers to love their purchase. I don't want anybody to get something from me and think, "It's nice, but I wish it were more sturdy". Most importantly, I want my customers to feel like they can come to me if they have an issue with their purchase or if they have an idea for improvement on any of my products.Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847681761659088659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5900319748715497486.post-37576984902351150542010-08-13T10:01:00.000-07:002010-08-13T10:01:51.523-07:00Giveaway - Mom. Undecided<div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5TJY7o_7dwVsxH7T1XYLJ6Y-L7v-vBcvIllvEqWCjLEPIEJFMOgyFT0iT3YMejCMwfO6Mhfl0WewLVRfZpwxfXYDHwVEKdSqNo0KDddlNqMePevlRo_befp5HuhTf3Awjx6ryjUTkZUs6/s200/inkmodbannercopyBUTTON.jpg" width="200" /></div><br />
Samantha at Mom. Undecided is hosting a giveaway to my Etsy shop!! I'm giving away a $15 Gift Certificate to my shop. The Gift Certificate will be good for an entire year! You can find out how to win by clicking this link:<br />
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http://momundecided.blogspot.com/2010/08/giveaway-owlsay-etsy-shop-15-gc-ends.html<br />
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The winner will be announced on August 19th!! <a href="http://momundecided.blogspot.com/2010/08/giveaway-owlsay-etsy-shop-15-gc-ends.html">http://momundecided.blogspot.com/2010/08/giveaway-owlsay-etsy-shop-15-gc-ends.html</a><br />
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Psst: Following my blog gets you an entry!Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847681761659088659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5900319748715497486.post-13311038720359646082010-08-11T15:24:00.000-07:002010-09-21T16:29:21.630-07:00Business Tip #2 - Make Your Business Legitimate<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJkescSBtuCZLP7uEJukF3A8XE2mHViDpbhP0DRWEPa-1JHLiKi34B0HfqVuC9W8I4f6GoVoDQwfbmYdRbtjGLf8kPh-rSstsaQne1WMWqwiEJQfx4UFp1L4v8lhT5xPDGv9tIpA_GAhr_/s1600/P7283638.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJkescSBtuCZLP7uEJukF3A8XE2mHViDpbhP0DRWEPa-1JHLiKi34B0HfqVuC9W8I4f6GoVoDQwfbmYdRbtjGLf8kPh-rSstsaQne1WMWqwiEJQfx4UFp1L4v8lhT5xPDGv9tIpA_GAhr_/s320/P7283638.JPG" /></a></div>If you missed my first Business Tip post, you can catch up on it <a href="http://owlsaydesigns.blogspot.com/2010/07/business-tip-1-start-out-debt-free.html">here.</a><br />
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I've talked to so many people who say they didn't really intend to start a business, they just wanted to make a little extra spending cash from their hobbies. As you become popular, and the income starts flowing, you have to be prepared for not only what to do with the money, but where to put it, how to invest it etc. Sticking with some basic business guidelines will help simplify the process.<br />
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<div style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: large;">1.Get a Tax ID #</span></div>I know States will have different policies, but in Texas you can run a business without having an official Tax ID Number. (You are, of course, still required to pay State Sales Tax as well as report the income Federally.) Personally, I think if you open an online shop of any kind, you should go ahead and apply for your Tax ID#. If your business doesn't sell a dime, all you have to do is report that. In other words, it doesn't cost you anything to go through the motions.<br />
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The upside of having a Tax ID # is not only can you buy office products and shipping products tax free, you can also be approved with manufacturers to purchase their goods (like fabric, paper, beads, etc) at up to half off the retail value. Most companies have a minimum dollar amount you have to purchase and even minimum quantities, so you'll have to be prepared to pay more for the products up front. BUT, every dollar you save on your material costs goes directly to your bottom line and increases your profit dollar for dollar.<br />
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<div style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: large;">2. Set up a Business Bank Account</span></div>It's very important to make sure you keep your personal money separate from your business money. The main reason for this is in the event you are ever *gasp* audited.<br />
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Considering my first post was all about starting out <a href="http://owlsaydesigns.blogspot.com/2010/07/business-tip-1-start-out-debt-free.html">debt free</a>, chances are you started your business with personal money. But when you start making money, you need to start using that money to run your business. Which means you'll need a debit card and checks. You also need a place to start saving money in case your computer crashes or your sewing machine dies - both of which happened to me!!<br />
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Honestly, there is something empowering about opening a business account. To be able to see your name directly below your business name gives you both a sense of confidence and accountability. If you've gone to all this trouble, then surely you'll work your butt off to make this business succeed, right?<br />
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Setting up a bank account is super simple. Look for a bank that has a simple free business checking account. Your transactions will be limited to 500-700 a month, but let's be realistic. If you start needing over 700 transactions a month, you've probably had to hire help, the money is rolling in and you can afford the next level.<br />
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What most banks require:<br />
<ul><li>A DBA (Doing Business As) document. You'll have to file for this at your local court house. It just says that I, Kelley Terrill, am doing business as Owl Say Designs in Rockwall County. It prevents anyone else getting a bank account or any other credit info in my personal and business name.</li>
<li>Driver's License</li>
<li>Social Security Card</li>
<li>Tax ID # - this probably depends on the State/Bank. I had mine when I opened up my account, but they did not require it.</li>
</ul><div style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: large;">3. Set Up Dedicated Contact Info</span></div>I'm not saying you need to set up your own 1-800 number, but if your home email address is eggs4breakfast@whoever.com - that's not a very professional email address. Cute, but not appropriate. Try to set up your email account as close to your business name as possible. If you have already set up a personal website, then info@myamazingwebsite.com is great. In any case, think about you as a consumer. Wouldn't you pause for a bit if you noticed the email address for the $70 high end diaper bag you're about to purchase is myarmpitsstink@whatsit.com? Just think about it.<br />
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<div style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: large;">4. Get Organized</span></div>I'll have more in depth posts on this as I go on, but I can't stress how important it is to save every business transaction receipt. If you get a great deal on ink cartridges for your printer from a seller on Ebay, print the receipt and SAVE IT! Save ALL your business related receipts for EVERY SINGLE THING you purchase. Whether it's webhosting fees, domain name fees, paper for your printer, fabric, thread, shelving, a new desk, the cool organizer thingy you got from the craft store - whatever it is, if you purchased it to aid you somehow in your business, SAVE IT!<br />
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Keep a running log in Excel (or equivalent) of how much money you are spending and where it is going. You'll need this for so many reasons not the least of which is during Tax Time. When you file your Federal Taxes, you'll be asked to provide your gross income (aka - yearly sales dollars). That part can be a bit scary. What's more important is you'll also be asked to provide your expenses - which is directly subtracted from your sales showing your true net income. Again, if you are ever audited, you'll need to be able to prove all those expenses you claimed. Not only that your purchased them, but also that they were truly business related. I could ramble off a slew of reasons being honest in your business is important and reporting to the IRS is definitely one of them.<br />
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Next week I'll talk about how to organize all your sales and expenses in a spreadsheet to visually capture what's working and what isn't. You can do this yourself with basic spreadsheets WITHOUT having to purchase any expensive software for fancy spreadsheets off Etsy or Ebay. DIY and save the difference!!!Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847681761659088659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5900319748715497486.post-31944750059559608202010-08-02T14:32:00.000-07:002010-08-06T22:23:58.226-07:00Birthday BusinessLast Friday was my birthday and it definitely ranks as one of my favorites! We had a dinner party with our family and friends at La Madeline, my favorite restaurant. They have a party room we reserved which was awesome! It was quiet and away from the other customers so we could all hear each other, take our time and pretty much do our own thing. I have some very sweet friends and family and I'm so glad I was able to spend some down time with them. Even A behaved :) Of course, I think he thought the birthday business was all about him for a bit there, but what three year old wouldn't?<br />
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I have to share my favorite gifts if for no other reason than to highlight how much my family loves me! My husband knew I'd been wanting a new bike for a long time. Actually, a very long time. But with A, bike riding during the day wouldn't really be feasible w/o some sort of toddler transport. Enter, a new bike trailer too! Yay! He actually let me pick out my bike, so we finally settled on this Schwinn from Target:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUULJQN5nYFCzsOAgl57oCgd1BvivFsmpmq-PfwB1JP8540kwQFZ7mp30nNRHFi2ngfyH_ZFxYm8GAqW3nsR_3e5Wmr9gbHj7nqXLuZk5_a0fa7CsOPrliZHs1z1UH7DgA6aQyNXMJJQ1m/s1600/51cqFREVUAL._AA400_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUULJQN5nYFCzsOAgl57oCgd1BvivFsmpmq-PfwB1JP8540kwQFZ7mp30nNRHFi2ngfyH_ZFxYm8GAqW3nsR_3e5Wmr9gbHj7nqXLuZk5_a0fa7CsOPrliZHs1z1UH7DgA6aQyNXMJJQ1m/s320/51cqFREVUAL._AA400_.jpg" /></a></div> Mine is more of a light purple rather than blue. I actually wouldn't have been too picky about the color either way. And here is our new bike trailer.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaauZV9Z3i6aG0348xFKkW3s086BP4kFyaeTNjcxzmhw0j0CmQrVy1CObMT7ABRQU8s-cIVisljVc7litw7GC9Op8mRGYxwlzpe-DlqQFbEZM0K9UUiaf-hU_imri-dJqw49Mmu81WZx5V/s1600/51sW-yCJe6L._AA400_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaauZV9Z3i6aG0348xFKkW3s086BP4kFyaeTNjcxzmhw0j0CmQrVy1CObMT7ABRQU8s-cIVisljVc7litw7GC9Op8mRGYxwlzpe-DlqQFbEZM0K9UUiaf-hU_imri-dJqw49Mmu81WZx5V/s320/51sW-yCJe6L._AA400_.jpg" /></a></div>Ok, so A isn't a lightweight. He started out at 10lbs 7oz (and that at 3-1/2wks early!) so, you know, they only go up from there. He's not overweight, he's just a big kid. He's up to about 50lbs right now and he rides very comfortably back there! I love that is has the mesh screen so he doesn't get eaten up by mosquitoes while we ride!<br />
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Last night we all went for a ride around our neighborhood. We stopped back at our house about halfway through so we make adjustments to the seat and height. I know it's still new, but I was amazed that he actually stayed back there w/o trying to get out or whining to get out. Anyway, this is so exciting for me!! A and I use to walk to the post office every day but A, in his opinion, got 'too old' for the jogging stroller and he'd fight me to get out the whole way there. So then we'd both just walk, but on the way home he'd get tired, so I'd end up carrying him piggy-back style the rest of the way home. Let's just say pulling a 50lb child in a bike trailer in a lower gear is SO much easier than carrying him! So, once it cools off a bit, we'll be able to ride to the post office in style. The packages can either sit in the trailer with him or I may get a pannier of some sort if I'm not convinced he'll leave them alone on our trek there!<br />
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My in-laws gave me a Flip Mino HD camera as my birthday present. I swear, if it hadn't been over 100 degrees, it would have felt like Christmas. I've wanted a Flip camera since A was born so I could email video quips of all his funniness to my family. I've just charged it and I'm still learning how to use it, but it seems pretty easy. I'm trying to video A singing 'My Ho, My Ho' (Hi-ho, hi-ho) so I can send that to my family!<br />
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I'm so blessed to have such a thoughtful, amazing husband and sweet friends and family!!Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847681761659088659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5900319748715497486.post-48701637559139813792010-07-29T21:35:00.000-07:002010-08-06T22:27:49.937-07:00Business Tip #1 - Start out Debt FreeHave you ever seen an episode of <a href="http://abc.go.com/shows/shark-tank">Shark Tank</a>? It's a show where budding entrepreneurs go before 4 established entrepreneurs, present their unique idea or invention and agree to give up part of the profits from said invention for monetary backing and help with marketing. One thing every contestant has in common is their confidence in their product. What gets me every time is how many of them have mortgaged their home (sometimes twice!) or racked up thousands of credit card debit or signature loans to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars on their idea. <br />
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Only to find out, it's not unique enough to market and/or they haven't thoroughly thought through their product idea or invention. It makes me sick to my stomach to know those people banked all that debt on striking it rich only to learn they won't be striking anything. <br />
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So my advice to you today, is learn from their mistakes. DO NOT rack up ANY debt to start your business. Success RARELY happens overnight. True entrepeneurs build on an idea. Over time, they refine it, learn from others, adapt to their environment or cliental and learn from their small mistakes. Most importantly, they start small. And so should you.<br />
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<div style="color: #cc0000; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>A man in debt is so far a slave.</b></i><br />
<b>Ralph Waldo Emerson</b></span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i></i></b></div><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Debt is the new slavery.</b></span><br />
The effects of having business debt are no different from having personal debt. In fact, I think I could argue the side effects of business debt are more serious. Because you owe money to Discover, Capital One, Citi, Chase, or whomever, your time at work belongs to them. Your paycheck, at least partially, is theirs. Which means what? It means you don't have complete freedom.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The rich rule over the poor and the </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="color: #cc0000;"><i>borrower is slave to the lender. Proverbs 22:7 (NIV)</i></b></span> </div><br />
Have you ever looked up the definition of slave? I mean, sure, we all know what it means. But sometimes looking up the textbook definition of a word, helps give us some clarity.<br />
<div class="dndata"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword" onclick="this.style.backgroundColor='#b5d5ff';return hotWord(this);" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='transparent'" onmouseover="this.style.cursor='default'" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;"></span></span></div><div class="dndata" style="text-align: center;"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword" onclick="this.style.backgroundColor='#b5d5ff';return hotWord(this);" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='transparent'" onmouseover="this.style.cursor='default'" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;"></span></span><br />
<h2 class="me"><i><span style="font-size: small;">slave - <span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword" onclick="this.style.backgroundColor='#b5d5ff';return hotWord(this);" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='transparent'" onmouseover="this.style.cursor='default'" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" onclick="this.style.backgroundColor='#b5d5ff';return hotWord(this);" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='transparent'" onmouseover="this.style.cursor='default'" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">person</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" onclick="this.style.backgroundColor='#b5d5ff';return hotWord(this);" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='transparent'" onmouseover="this.style.cursor='default'" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">who</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" onclick="this.style.backgroundColor='#b5d5ff';return hotWord(this);" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='transparent'" onmouseover="this.style.cursor='default'">is</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" onclick="this.style.backgroundColor='#b5d5ff';return hotWord(this);" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='transparent'" onmouseover="this.style.cursor='default'" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">the</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" onclick="this.style.backgroundColor='#b5d5ff';return hotWord(this);" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='transparent'" onmouseover="this.style.cursor='default'" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">property</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" onclick="this.style.backgroundColor='#b5d5ff';return hotWord(this);" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='transparent'" onmouseover="this.style.cursor='default'">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" onclick="this.style.backgroundColor='#b5d5ff';return hotWord(this);" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='transparent'" onmouseover="this.style.cursor='default'">and</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" onclick="this.style.backgroundColor='#b5d5ff';return hotWord(this);" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='transparent'" onmouseover="this.style.cursor='default'">wholly</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" onclick="this.style.backgroundColor='#b5d5ff';return hotWord(this);" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='transparent'" onmouseover="this.style.cursor='default'">subject</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" onclick="this.style.backgroundColor='#b5d5ff';return hotWord(this);" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='transparent'" onmouseover="this.style.cursor='default'">to</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" onclick="this.style.backgroundColor='#b5d5ff';return hotWord(this);" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='transparent'" onmouseover="this.style.cursor='default'">another;</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" onclick="this.style.backgroundColor='#b5d5ff';return hotWord(this);" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='transparent'" onmouseover="this.style.cursor='default'" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" onclick="this.style.backgroundColor='#b5d5ff';return hotWord(this);" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='transparent'" onmouseover="this.style.cursor='default'" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">bond</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" onclick="this.style.backgroundColor='#b5d5ff';return hotWord(this);" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='transparent'" onmouseover="this.style.cursor='default'" style="background-color: transparent; cursor: default;">servant.</span></span></span></i><br />
<span id="hotword"> </span></h2></div>A bond servant is someone bound to work without wages. So if you owe somebody money, all the work you do until the debt is paid is theirs. Your money is not your own. You are a slave.<br />
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<div style="color: #cc0000; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Debt, n. An ingenious substitute for the </i></b></span></div><div style="color: #cc0000; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>chain and whip of the slavedriver.</i></b><br />
<b>Ambrose Bierce</b></span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">The good news is, if you're willing to abandon the "I want it now" philosophy, you can launch your business debt free. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>How do I start?</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b></b></span></div><div style="color: #134f5c; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: #0b5394;">1. Use what you have</b>. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you're starting a business based on your hobby or interest,chances are you already have lots of supplies waiting to be put to good use. I certainly did. The amount of fabric and paper I had was ridiculous. So when I opened my first Etsy shop, <a href="http://tatteredtapestry.etsy.com/">Tattered Tapestry</a>, I started it with material I already owned. It wasn't necessarily the most popular, but it was enough to get me started.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">2. Sell your junk. </span></span></b><b></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>a)</b>This one is my personal favorite. It would have been more aptly titled, 'Sell your husband's junk' because that's exactly what I did. My husband says I'm a purger while I contend he's a hoarder. So we try to meet in the middle. Years ago, my husband told me if I could sell it on Ebay, I could get rid of it. That's all I needed to hear. I've been selling off and on Ebay since 1997. And if it wasn't nailed down, I listed it. I sold clothes, books, cookie jars, cake pans, car parts, movies, cds...if we hadn't used it in a year, I listed it. The more I sold, the more able I was to recognize what would be a good item to list, so I occasionally rummaged yard sales and thrift stores. Ebay's fees have gotten way out of control so it's not as profitable there as it use to be. But you have lot's of sites you can sell on for very low or reasonable fees. Here are just a few: Craigslist (great for large items like furniture): for handmade or vintage items - <a href="http://www.etsy.com/">Etsy</a>, <a href="http://www.artfire.com/">Artfire</a>, <a href="http://www.1000markets.com/">1000Markets</a>; for all else - <a href="http://onlineauction.com/">OnlineAuction.com</a>, <a href="http://bluejay.com/">Bluejay.com</a>, and <a href="http://overstock.com/">Overstock.com</a>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>b)</b> What do you sell? Anything you're not using or don't think you will use in the next year. Movies, CDs, Books, Old College Textbooks, Electronics (even older ones), Shoes, Clothes (especially jeans or other designer clothes), Kitchenware, Knick Knacks, Records (especially if you happen to have any old 78 RPMs), etc. A good way to see if your item will sell is to search both current and completed listings. And don't get too big for your britches. You're not going to make thousands doing this. But just as you can nickel and dime your way into debt, you can nickel and dime your way into wealth too. Just be diligent. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #0b5394; text-align: left;"><b>3. Do without.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">One of my favorite quotes is from <a href="http://www.daveramsey.com/">Dave Ramsey</a>, whom I consider a living debt free guru and excellent financial advisor. He says, "Live like no one else today, so you can live like no one else tomorrow." Do you still want to be living in debt into your golden years? Who does? So sacrifice now. Here are a few of the things we do or have done to save money:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul><li>Take your lunch to work. If you spend $10 a day, that's $50 a week or $200 a month!! </li>
<li>Don't shop w/o a list or a purpose. Do you need black slacks for work? Look at thrift stores, or designer discount stores first before moving to big department stores - and even then, peruse the sale rack. If you do pay full price for them, only buy the pants!! Don't add on with a shirt, shoes and belt and leave the store with an outfit. </li>
<li> Cut the TV or satellite bill. Ouch, this one hurts. I put this one off for months! I kept telling my husband I needed to DVR my favorite shows!! Then he introduced me to websites where I could watch all those shows the very next day for free. Then he purchased a high powered antenna for $60 (less than half price) off Craigslist. And when I bought a laptop (all with business earned money) a few months ago, he set up our old PC next to the TV so we could easily watch anything online in our family room. Now I had no logical argument for keeping our satellite. There are lots of places to watch TV online, but I watch my favorite shows for FREE on <a href="http://www.hulu.com/">Hulu</a>, <a href="http://www.casttv.com/">CastTV</a>, <a href="http://www.netflix.com/">Netflix</a> (yep, we do pay the low fee for this), or on a specific station's website (like <a href="http://www.tnt.tv.com/">TNT</a>). Take that $70+ bucks a month and pocket it. You'll be glad you did. </li>
<li>Use coupons. It's not my favorite thing to do, but when I ring up at the grocery store and see that I saved $10 on $100 groceries, it's so worth it. That's 10%. If you saw a $10 bill stuck in a shrub, you'd nab it right?</li>
<li>Use cash. I know it's not always feasible. But if you give yourself a weekly budget for gas, groceries, etc and make yourself pay with cash, you'll be surprised at how frugal you'll become when you see the bills leave your wallet. </li>
</ul><div style="color: #0b5394;"><b>4. Get a second job. </b></div>It's pretty easy to find a second part-time job. Deliver pizzas, work in retail, work in food service (really, are you too proud to flip burgers so you can realize your dream?), work in childcare, find a temp job...If you want it, you can find it. Because we live primarily only on one income, I absolutely had no extra money. Sometimes I was cutting money from the grocery budget to pay for an oil change or somebody's birthday present. So when the opportunity came to work at the Mother's Day Out program at our <a href="http://www.firstdallas.org/">church</a>, I took it. It was 2 days a week, but most weeks, I only worked 1 day. It was only about $50 a week, but it was enough to buy fabric, paper and other supplies to get me started and keep me rolling. And the best part was, I could take Aiden for free.<br />
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<div style="color: #0b5394;"><b>5. Change your thinking.</b></div>This is, perhaps, the most import tidbit I could give you. Get out of your day to day rut. If you want to be somebody, if you want to have something that's all yours, it's all up to you. You have to be willing to make some changes.<br />
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I can't stress enough how important it is to start your business out debt free. It may take a few months longer to get it going. It will be harder and require more work from you. But in the end, it will be all yours. You will owe no one. All the profit will be just that - profit. Now get busy.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #990000;">His brow is wet with honest sweat,</span><br style="color: #990000;" /><span style="color: #990000;"> He earns whate'er he can,</span><br style="color: #990000;" /><span style="color: #990000;"> And looks the whole world in the face,</span><br style="color: #990000;" /><span style="color: #990000;"> For he owes not any man.</span><br style="color: #990000;" /><b style="color: #990000;">Henry Wadsworth Longfellow</b><br style="color: #990000;" /><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="bodysi" style="color: #990000;">The Village Blacksmith.</span></span></span> </div><br />
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Next topic: Make your Business Legitimate <br />
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</div>Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847681761659088659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5900319748715497486.post-75683957117632498042010-07-23T22:44:00.000-07:002011-06-30T21:28:43.235-07:00Super BusyI'm working on my first business tip post, but in the meantime, I thought I'd post the final pics of Busy's 3rd birthday. As promised, here's the vintage Superman Cake:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjek6A_MhiOHTK8wNWs0JcBR1XzT3v7oc-BcOQSKdC6uvoizJqDLRMNrebCana-um8IH8-SHO4ZFkNmIAzemDwxqLFQ0wX6hnGNA-zqFK0_YM2qwJ5Ozt5o3UVwMms5_efmgDTCb6IejwNd/s1600/P7103270-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjek6A_MhiOHTK8wNWs0JcBR1XzT3v7oc-BcOQSKdC6uvoizJqDLRMNrebCana-um8IH8-SHO4ZFkNmIAzemDwxqLFQ0wX6hnGNA-zqFK0_YM2qwJ5Ozt5o3UVwMms5_efmgDTCb6IejwNd/s400/P7103270-1.jpg" width="388" /></a></div>The hardest part was coloring the flesh. And it didn't help that the face plate had faded a bit over the years. But I don't think it effected the overall appearance too much. I know I won't be winning any cake awards anytime soon, but not too bad considering this is only the 3rd cake I've made like this and it started out like this:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcKvJgDZwTnuuksw8WPjFwg5TVsqgiHAmAcnWmJIlgwsJ6nxxCttS2pjJx9EhHMgFDqoVfWYMqdFUIoc5Y6iF2haw361_Lesu8Qz3MwX21ZaohwLKUEDa6wyYkN8-PliEC9YO4qDbrH9Ce/s1600/P7103268-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcKvJgDZwTnuuksw8WPjFwg5TVsqgiHAmAcnWmJIlgwsJ6nxxCttS2pjJx9EhHMgFDqoVfWYMqdFUIoc5Y6iF2haw361_Lesu8Qz3MwX21ZaohwLKUEDa6wyYkN8-PliEC9YO4qDbrH9Ce/s320/P7103268-1.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Official kitchen helper and taste tester...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMVWIGEWCE3GFk6zzD-WhVu94lesIVFR4ns4snHqRzngZXnUEyWsJWqefrzrEFP_cgGnZ8dhXP_1Ak1UQQbk2gWRilh3XkshoIL6tB6KtynWOp17OwwyOiOme_BX4iMoFFDojojtUEWUyO/s1600/P7093266-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMVWIGEWCE3GFk6zzD-WhVu94lesIVFR4ns4snHqRzngZXnUEyWsJWqefrzrEFP_cgGnZ8dhXP_1Ak1UQQbk2gWRilh3XkshoIL6tB6KtynWOp17OwwyOiOme_BX4iMoFFDojojtUEWUyO/s320/P7093266-1.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Uncle John entertaining Busy with a Dublin Dr. Pepper. They're made in Dublin, TX and it's the only Dr. Pepper plant left (in the US at least) that still makes DPs with Imperial Sugar instead of corn syrup. So, it's ok for him to have it right? No corn syrup???<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE4BK3qL6gRfYW4aKuO_QLDlJpUvzscD8QBCxUqVKROXy4wxoGzyVvHBHMGN81jfoPEVP8p8Ysnaz3NQnfkfMmrW1cAU7Cu0IIHz7kH_bPyGV4-9ANe-8ExmiGqAs1JiLOlM0Fa-i2V95p/s1600/DSC06175-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE4BK3qL6gRfYW4aKuO_QLDlJpUvzscD8QBCxUqVKROXy4wxoGzyVvHBHMGN81jfoPEVP8p8Ysnaz3NQnfkfMmrW1cAU7Cu0IIHz7kH_bPyGV4-9ANe-8ExmiGqAs1JiLOlM0Fa-i2V95p/s320/DSC06175-1.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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Here's the Superman cape I made Busy. It was super easy and is STILL a big hit!!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjatvcoH-Mq8NjgIMKe8gV25gXfAjnxNDAVByBUqRoY_vm-sIvO3enMRlRxM7FqhVKcv6wsaH0ZYD5nW1Tug6LLgLyvtem_UrTxPUySKGXJWpJQEdG3q3CdR6qMXI7u7qOrmy2Ldfdbl5dJ/s1600/P7103278-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjatvcoH-Mq8NjgIMKe8gV25gXfAjnxNDAVByBUqRoY_vm-sIvO3enMRlRxM7FqhVKcv6wsaH0ZYD5nW1Tug6LLgLyvtem_UrTxPUySKGXJWpJQEdG3q3CdR6qMXI7u7qOrmy2Ldfdbl5dJ/s400/P7103278-1.jpg" width="312" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I found a birthday card that played the Superman theme song. As soon as he opened the card, he immediately flipped down his mask. It was hilarious to see him so serious about getting into character!! We got it on video tape too so we can be sure to torture him with it when it turns 13 :)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Xw7lQgVXuGJiT0STbZbO-IoZb62G7uAqa_NhAV5_wl8gMueINiXDDkHMb4G0Fu98MNZA-SmpBdDlwmeYUFmTpGgJyT00Jh7SpXIvbtfn44r47vtHNoBbVj91To339bAdC1tu9W3pj-ho/s1600/P7103292-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Xw7lQgVXuGJiT0STbZbO-IoZb62G7uAqa_NhAV5_wl8gMueINiXDDkHMb4G0Fu98MNZA-SmpBdDlwmeYUFmTpGgJyT00Jh7SpXIvbtfn44r47vtHNoBbVj91To339bAdC1tu9W3pj-ho/s320/P7103292-1.jpg" /></a></div><br />
And a 3rd birthday party wouldn't be complete w/o a family pic. Too bad that Superman mask gives me such a double chin and fluffed up my hair. Ah well, still pretty cute.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHn7A4uZIR9D-mLPHbRkwb9JGUu3SQzkQoTQ3jaom3siocUG4k4d18jZQXPowCbNvKnx6tT2CqITVmgqr8x7-UhhGN8oug_Kq1eH4OVMshFaGGfoijP5M2M3ydx_mbEhFng8rVdLo-oru3/s1600/134-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHn7A4uZIR9D-mLPHbRkwb9JGUu3SQzkQoTQ3jaom3siocUG4k4d18jZQXPowCbNvKnx6tT2CqITVmgqr8x7-UhhGN8oug_Kq1eH4OVMshFaGGfoijP5M2M3ydx_mbEhFng8rVdLo-oru3/s320/134-1.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Being a Super Busy is hard work...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9TtqktEWJvpGUITW1uq08OTBaJNkH_MJ-fpQ4W78FoHVbPH4T8eGbgiv3fYPCydb09UATI5xdF83FmWqbkDJIhHJ34g_wWbFl6nCHLRUZvz6Ls5P_McFvKMyJzruPXUXIdRpid1QK51L8/s1600/P7123305.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9TtqktEWJvpGUITW1uq08OTBaJNkH_MJ-fpQ4W78FoHVbPH4T8eGbgiv3fYPCydb09UATI5xdF83FmWqbkDJIhHJ34g_wWbFl6nCHLRUZvz6Ls5P_McFvKMyJzruPXUXIdRpid1QK51L8/s320/P7123305.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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Just for fun, Busy's first Superman costume. He's about 15mths in this picture.<br />
It cracks me up every time I see it. Wouldn't this be cute album cover?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1W2ve2kIuvCiRjy2GEbUeBvWFTPZ0l-RQ5gsu791YymN63YWuwKE7EMUWq2s8hWCccW7zggp6nuBTiAdxRgnTc10VbcYpuqLfYO7Xvc0jQPz9AB6qQHYDfcHH4KaE6fod0RyEt3Lm0NrW/s1600/232323232%257Ffp8+2%29nu%3D3339%29589%29+6+%29WSNRCG%3D32394545+8576nu0mrj.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1W2ve2kIuvCiRjy2GEbUeBvWFTPZ0l-RQ5gsu791YymN63YWuwKE7EMUWq2s8hWCccW7zggp6nuBTiAdxRgnTc10VbcYpuqLfYO7Xvc0jQPz9AB6qQHYDfcHH4KaE6fod0RyEt3Lm0NrW/s320/232323232%257Ffp8+2%29nu%3D3339%29589%29+6+%29WSNRCG%3D32394545+8576nu0mrj.jpg" /></a></div><br />
</div>Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847681761659088659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5900319748715497486.post-15341377137210854592010-07-20T18:19:00.000-07:002010-07-20T18:29:00.501-07:00Business Tips - Introduction<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz6-eauvbi2feNWwtI9ISoO-e_q5kgiEXecVzXOsJj9XgJvJr4v1EZN2pdfyWwK8mrq1-ft4QsIiBavkNMvnMOKg5pV8ckF8sjHBMW34hebp3ydSd0bu3DnBLshneZgWOf55390qHQiPJa/s1600/P7193367-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz6-eauvbi2feNWwtI9ISoO-e_q5kgiEXecVzXOsJj9XgJvJr4v1EZN2pdfyWwK8mrq1-ft4QsIiBavkNMvnMOKg5pV8ckF8sjHBMW34hebp3ydSd0bu3DnBLshneZgWOf55390qHQiPJa/s320/P7193367-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I've had an idea swimming in my head for a few weeks that I'm thinking about turning into blog posts. I initially was going to post an "What I learned in my First Year on Etsy" type post. I'd planned on doing this back in May to celebrate my 1 year anniversary of my Etsy Shop. But once I finished my rough draft, I realized it would be much more helpful to expound on the topics individually. And doing so may actually help someone else. At the very least, it will release the thoughts that are trapped in my brain and give my readers something else to read aside from Aiden stories (which are still my favorite).<br />
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So, what qualifies me for said tips? Well, I have a B.A. in English and a minor in Interdisciplinary Studies. My major means I wanted to be a famous novelist with million dollar book deals or fall back onto being an editor if the 'novelist' thing didn't work out. This may help explain why my blog posts are so long (and yes, I know they're long). My minor means I went to one private college and 4 community colleges before finally finishing up at TX A&M-Commerce and I had a lot of <i><strike>useless</strike></i> elective classes that TX A&M thankfully allows you to lump together into a minor. I think it's supposed to mean I'm well rounded. Which I am, my pants size says so. <br />
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I landed my first 'real' job in Jan of 2000 at AFC/Unifab Division. They have since consolidated to ACS/Unifab in MA. That was during the 2004 election (Bush/Kerry) and a strict conservative has no business moving into liberal territory any time of the year, much less election time. So I chose to be temporarily jobless. (And for my many liberal friends out there, don't freak out because I'm <i>conservative</i>-like it's a dirty word. No one would defend your right to be all-out-liberal like I would. So calm down.)<br />
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I started out as a Receptionist and ended up as the Production Scheduler. It was a small business, so your title didn't necessarily reflect all your job duties. Yes, I scheduled production, but I also had to keep track of time studies, know how every product was engineered & built, it's cost to make-both material and labor, margins, purchasing of materials, marketing, etc. Basically, I had a front row seat to all the behind the scenes workings of a manufacturing company.<br />
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At the time I hated that job, but I do believe God always puts you somewhere for a purpose. I have since realized my almost 5 years there taught me invaluable lessons on how to run a business. The president of that company started it as an entrepreneur. He saw my potential and gave me responsibilities that have proved beneficial throughout my life. Most especially in starting/running my own business. <br />
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So, no, I'm not an expert. My plan is to share what works for me and what I've noticed works for others as well. I'm sure the topics will expand as I go along, but here's a preview of the first few topics:<br />
<ul><li>Starting out Debt Free (and why that's important)</li>
<li>Knowing your costs - down to the penny</li>
<li>Cohesiveness of Your Products</li>
<li>Advertising</li>
<li>Knowing when to say no</li>
<li>Wholesale accounts - Is it worth it?</li>
<li>Do Social Networks (Facebook, Twitter, etc) work for everyone?</li>
<li>Copyright Info - Don't worry, someone will copy your idea</li>
<li>Time Management</li>
<li>Not every idea you have will be a good one</li>
<li>Not everyone will think you're amazing</li>
<li>Why you should still have faith in yourself</li>
<li>Don't forget where you came from</li>
</ul>Business tips will start posting later this week :)Mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14847681761659088659noreply@blogger.com2