But Of Course!

What a busy day today was! Remember the list I made yesterday about all the things I needed/wanted to do today? Guess how many I got to?




None.



Surprise!

We ended up going to the in-laws' for the day and BBQing. My daughter got worn out, so she's asleep. I am so tired that my vision is cloudy, so I don't think that creating at this point in time is a good idea, and it's too late to start shuffling things around for my desk.

On another non-business related note, I SO hope that my school gets my student loan $$$ tomorrow. If not, then I am so screwed!!!!!!!!! So, hopefully, things turn out alright. I may have to go up there in the afternoon to sort some things out. I am praying that things go okay.

I am really not a religious person, but I find myself praying inside a lot lately. It's interesting.

I am craving a Coke so bad. And Red Vines. WTH?! We have Coke, but no licorice. Not that I need any more junk this weekend.

We just started buying stuff for my daughter's birthday party in a couple months. I know it seems kinda far out, but we aren't the type to just drop a bunch of cash on something all at once. We got some party lanterns and a couple of favors. We also got stuff for her "Potty Treat Bag" because we are trying really hard to get that girl potty-trained. I am ready to tear my hair out. I know she's not even 2, but she is so ready. I just feel like I'm the only one on board, along with my mom. Nobody else is like... willing to help out. And my mom is willing to lecture me about DD's readiness, but not willing to put the kid on the pot if I am in the middle of making dinner. Hubby rolls his eyes like I have no idea what I'm talking about and my dad and sister ignore it unless DD is pissing on the floor. Hubby's parents are... lazy about it. Even though I have asked them time and again to put her on the potty every 45 min or so, they don't. I know they don't. FRUSTRATING.

Anyway, this is supposed to be mainly business, so I'll get back to that in my next post. Good night.

Production Assistance

I have finally got so many ideas for creating (well, a few, anyway) but... I can't escape my toddler! So tomorrow, I am hoping I will have a chance to kick my daughter and hubby out for a bit so I can get *something* Etsy-related created, and maybe set up my office space I blogged about. We'll see how lucky I actually end up being.

How is everyone's Memorial Weekend going? Mine's going alright, it's a pretty typical weekend for me, nothing terribly exciting. I am going out to my grandfather's grave tomorrow. I feel bad, I haven't been out to it for a while.

My free shipping sale ended. Guess how many sales that resulted in?!

That's right. 0

Hopefully I will be able to start establishing myself and build a following or some kind of customer base. BAH! It's so frustrating sometimes.

I am really hoping all of my Twilight bracelets will sell. I know I blog about them all the time, but I put a lot of love and time and work into them. It would be a tragedy if nothing ever came of them. And it would also burn a huge hole in my pocket. I guess in the end, the lesson learned would be that I was never meant to be a gambler,seeing the risk I took in making them.

Tomorrow, I am hoping to do:
Evil Eye Necklace
Twilight Earrings
Office Space
Pass out some business cards
...And as always, get a sale. The above 4 are probably a lot easier to do, even combined, than it is to get a sale at the moment.

OH the other thing I want to do within the next week or so is get a planter ready for a tomato plant to keep at my parents' house since we get no sun at our apartment. Yay!

I am getting tired of our apartment. In the last month or 2, it seems like the quality of people, at least in our stairwell, has really gone to crap... that's all I'm gonna say. But seriously, it makes me wonder if I need to like... load a gun at night. Ok, maybe not quite that bad, but it's not such a stretch, either. Ahh... the joys of communal living. <3

I'm being featured in a giveaway!

Attn: All TWILIGHT Fans!!! I am being featured in a giveaway! Here is the link:

www.joyfulreviewsandgiveaways.com

So enter to win! My item is being featured June 1-7 for a giveaway, so hurry!

My item is a pair of "So the Lion fell in love with the Lamb" earrings, a perfect compliment to my Twilight-themed charm bracelets for sale in my shop: http://kissvamps.etsy.com

I picked to have my giveaway at the beginning of June so recipients could get the earrings in time to wear to the Twilight: Eclipse premier June 30! So, make sure if you want a charm bracelet, you have it before then, too!

Have a great day!!!

Sell the Old, in With the New

Trying to come up with something new...

I think my next project is going to be an Evil Eye necklace. It's gonna be cool.

The best news this week: I am getting my own office space. We sold a computer to my sister, so now I get both sides of our desk to keep my Etsy and school stuff at. Now, I just need to start organizing it all. I am super stoked. I will have to put photos up after I get everything set up.

And... as soon as I figure out how to attach plastic to ribbon for the necklace, that will be up, too :)

Free Shipping!

To those of you who just may happen upon my blog, I am doing...


FREE SHIPPING

until Friday, May 28, 2010.

Sooooo... now you just need to happen upon my shop: http://kissvamps.etsy.com and buy something! Thank you, thank you.


:)

Sales

So, naturally, sales for me are slow, since I am still fairly new at this whole Etsy thing, but I keep feeling like a sale is near. I should really just stop thinking about it because it's really sad to log on to Etsy and... I *still* have 13 items for sale in my shop. I am especially surprised none of my Twilight bracelets have sold, especially because one of them got so many views so much faster than virtually any of my other listings. Bummer.

I got an idea from another Etsian on the Forums yesterday: Make matching earrings for people who have more than one whole in each ear. How cool is that?! I'm so used to making dangling earrings, so making matching posts will be interesting and fun.

It was really neat going through my mother-in-law's jewelry the other day- she had a door knocker pendant with an amethyst stone in it. She gave it to me. It's so neat! I'm deciding if I want to try my luck with it on Etsy or keep it for myself. She also had some gold rose screw earrings (the way old fashioned kind that you don't need pierced ears for and they screw to tighten to your ears). I am holding on to those for my daughter because my grandma gave me my great grandma's yellow rose earrings that had the screw backs for our wedding. It would be a fun tradition.

Well, that's all for tonight. Thanks for reading! Have a great week!

What a week!

This has been such a crazy week! School just started again Monday. I am really hoping to get stuff moving out of my shop. I am very excited to announce that I am going to be featured in a couple of blogs soon! One of them is http://orangeblossom.blogspot.com
The other, I will get back to you on, because I don't know the name off the top of my head.

If you're interested in buying something from the shop, mention my blog (and follow it) for a 10% discount!!!

Coming up, I'm going to be creating and, ideally, improving my photos. I think I've already come leaps and bounds from my first photos, but you'll never see them! I change my photos out often as I improve.

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to check out my shop! http://kissvamps.etsy.com, and don't forget to check out orangeblossom's shop: http://orangeblossom.etsy.com

Twilight Inspired Charm Bracelets are IN!!!

After many hours of hard work and lots of love, the Twilight charm bracelets have *finally* been listed in my shop, http://kissvamps.etsy.com ! I have hand picked and hand assembled every charm, every detail!


Bracelets have the following charms!
*I <3 Edward, with an added red crystal for the heart
*A king chess piece
*A queen chess piece (chess pieces are from the cover of Breaking Dawn)
*Forks (for Forks, Washington)
*An opalite moonstone heart (resembling vampire skin) adorned with a black crystal
*A lamb
*A lion
*An apple (from the cover of Twilight)
*A bow (in place of the ribbon on the cover of Eclipse)
*A red flower with a pearl center (cover of New Moon)
*A "Vampire Groupie" tag.

A wire-wrapped pearl is incorporated into the chain for added beauty and detail.

Thank you to my sister for modeling! Check out her shop at http://kisszombies.etsy.com

Here are some photos of these awesome bracelets! And, sorry if there are any repeats!!!

Again, these bracelets are available in my shop: http://kissvamps.etsy.com

Third Sale

I got my third sale tonight!!! Woo hoo! I feel like jumping for joy!

Also, one of my students told me I was the best teacher ever. I feel so fortunate today. :)

http://kissvamps.etsy.com
http://twitter.com/kissvamps

Find me on Facebook!

Sometimes, there just aren't enough hours in a day...

Today has been so busy, I feel like I've had hardly any time for Etsy. I started my day taking my daughter to a reading circle at a library. She had fun, and I trampled a little kid. His mommy was... mean. Then, my friend and I took our girls to their swimming lesson, and then we went to lunch. When we got home, I got on Etsy to catch up on the latest, and I was so tired that I couldn't see straight. It was so strange. So, I napped, then got ready for work and went to work. Work was crazy- so many kids were disappearing today! Luckily we were able to get all of them out the door safely. Then, I photographed my newest listing in the shop: http://www.etsy.com/listing/46795237/summer-blooms-charm-bracelet

I'm going to have to photograph the bracelet again because the lighting isn't quite the way I Like it, but it will work for now. Then, (obviously) I listed it. It got several views pretty fast! I just hope it sells soon! My stuff has got to get moving!!!

Hopefully the rest of the week won't be as crazy as today has been. I can't wait for things to settle back down again.

Thanks for dropping by!

Blog Day One

Hello all! Welcome to my blog! I can promise you several things:

1. I will try to blog at least once a week;

2. I will try to blog about *interesting* things, like what my current inspiration is, what I'm working on, how I choose what to buy and how I put things together;

3. I will answer your questions;

4. I will try to get you guys involved!

I think that the most important thing a business could do is involve its patrons/potential patrons. It's how you get to know me, and how I get to know you.

Factoid: Kissvamps is my identity for a few reasons: my sister has a shop on Etsy, too, called Kisszombies, so I played off her name. I picked Vampires because I love them- I think they are fascinating and wonderful and horrible-- not that I like horrible things, but I'm sure some of you get what I am saying.

Have a great day!