Happy Halloween Eve

Or would it be “Happy Eve of Halloween”? I’m not sure. All I know is that I have two more boxes to spray paint green for my son’s costume. And I’m not feeling well. And it is not the best spray painting weather. Oh well. I think his costume will be pretty straightforward…a bunch of green boxes so he can look like the green monster thing in this picture (creeper):

Just in case you don’t know about Minecraft, it is a PC game that consumes the minds of young children and teens. I think of it as a virtual Lego world, except there are monsters. They get to build and buy things for a heavily pixelated game. Don’t let the graphics fool you though, it is a pretty well designed game. My son tells me it is educational, he is learning how money works. I’m not sure about that one but he likes the game and as long as he is doing well in school I let him play it.

If it is a failure we still have a homemade Max (from Where the Wild Things Are) costume or a homemade Waldo costume. However, my child has already been both of these in previous years and wore both of these to Halloween parties this year. That means it is crunch time. I just hope our boxes work out and that it doesn’t rain on Halloween.
Anyone else doing a last minute costume crafting project?
~lauraj

Yay for Friday!

This week was crazy busy. I finished my big push and was able to get everything done. I made some new things for my shop, (soon to be listed) my good twitter buddy, @nycvictory told me I should stock up my store a little more. I am taking her advice. She has tons of pretty things in her shop, check her out at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/customcreative

The best news this week was my first sale since reopening my shop! It is amazing the boost in self-esteem a sale will give you. I shipped these pretties to a customer along with a little surprise.

First Sale

I am also participating in a large consignment sale this weekend. There was quite a bit of bagging and tagging going on. Plus making sure everything was clean and free of stains. For an extra challenge the power went out on me while I was doing all of this. Good thing I have plenty of candles! I am pretty tired though. Working by candlelight is not the best working environment. I am hoping to make some good pocket change for my items. I am planning a Disneyland trip and am saving up so I can afford everything we want to do while visiting.
This weekend will consist of soccer and crafting. I am hoping to get some miscellaneous painting done this weekend. And I have some linens I want to dye or fade, I haven’t decided yet. I also have a new muumuu and am tossing around ideas for an upcycle project.

have a wonderful weekend! ~laura j

Commitments & The Square

I have decided to take my craftiness to the next level. I am going to sell some of my handmade and thirfted items at Holiday Bazaars this year. I have gone online and ordered the Square reader. It says it should be here in 7-10 days. I set up my tax and banking information and then became super giddy thinking about taking my first credit card sale. Then I woke up this morning…

The realization of how huge a commitment this is hit me. I need to make patterns, choose fabric, cut fabric, sew, label, sand, paint, and order business cards. Whew. Now I feel a little overwhelmed!

I just need to remind myself that everything doesn’t have to be perfect. I am hoping that the Square reader works well. It was super easy to set up. I put my county tax rate in and it automatically adds it to the cost of my items. I put my checking account in and that is where the money will get deposited, (in 1-2 days). Even the fees are easy. You can pay monthly or pay 2.75% of every transaction, not bad!

I am pretty excited and nervous to find out how this adventure will go. I keep telling myself not to be afraid, to make the jump. Reminding myself that I have nothing to lose. And so here goes the commitment. Phew. Scary!

Thanks for listening.

~laura j