Stacking the deck

It's been a busier-than-expected week, but quite productive. I managed to get a whole bunch of pieces finally finished - mostly cutting hanging threads, putting buttons on, that kind of thing; also updated nisseworks' Facebook page with photos and some links to my work so it's not quite so blank; and ventured full steam ahead into the world of custom work.

Taking on four custom orders in the last week has opened a new venue for revenue (ooh, rhyming), one that I had considered, but decided against because I thought it would just lead to headaches. Well, after almost 6 months of my Etsy shop being open and only selling 3 pieces, it's probably time to start looking at other ways to use my creative skills to help pay the bills.

Hence, my Cargoh shop. Let me just say that Cargoh is awesome. Just awesome. Sure there were a few hiccups earlier this month with the jurying and eliminating sellers and all that, but they've come out ahead. I like being part of Cargoh and hope that it succeeds, and I'd think that even if I wasn't a seller there. It's got a very close-knit feeling to it, unlike some other online venues that make the seller feel like they're just a cash cow for the owners.

Then there's the request for a quote to do up some wedding invitations which came right out of the blue. Back in January, I had given Keith a stack of flyers to post up around town and pass on to people he thought might be interested. He dropped by a small wedding boutique here and they were quite happy to take 200 smaller flyers to put in the goody bags they gave to prospective brides. Fast forward 8 months, and I get an email from a bride-to-be... so I sent her a quote and a basic outline of what she can expect/what I need from her and I'm hoping to hear from her within the next week or so. I had assumed that the boutique just stopped handing them out or no one was interested, but lo and behold, someone is. Hopefully.

August has been the month I didn't expect, but hoped for. I've been really busy coming up with new designs, trying new promotional ideas, doing research, as well as selling and taking orders. Keith is leaving for a week on Saturday and I'm planning on taking some time while he's gone to figure out where I should take this little business of mine next. I've got a couple of ideas - like the paper/digital design line that I'm 99% sure I'm going to launch in the next month - simmering away, but need to figure out how to get them out of my head and into action. I know that I'm farther ahead today than I was a month ago, which is all anyone can really hope for... I just need to keep the momentum going for the rest of the year.

Aim high, hit low

I had hoped that by this point in August, I'd be working just on pieces for my shop (or shops, more on that later), but no. As a procrastinator - as well as someone who isn't quite in the best of health - I should have known better. I've needed more sleep this month than any other in the last year, which usually means I'm dead asleep by 9pm most nights. My energy levels are pretty flat right now, so I've been sticking to doing less intensive work, like embroidery. And to top it all off, I get easily distracted.

So this weekend, I'm hoping to get a lot of work done, in amongst visiting with friends and family and taking care of Maddy. My to-do list is already done and ready to be ignored used to help me keep on track and get ready for what promises to be a busy fall.

Awkwardly attempting augustness

I consider my desk to be 'clean' when I don't have to take anything off the keyboard or hunt for the mouse. 
And yes, that's a red Swingline stapler in the top right.

August.

What a depressing month.

No, no terrible personal events or tragedies (that I can remember...), I've always just found August to be the least pleasant month of the year. It might have something to do with still associating August with the beginning of school, but I think it has more to do with knowing that the year is way more than half over and winter is closer to starting than it is to being over.

If that makes sense... it does to me.

August also means that my birthday is a month away. At this point in life, birthdays don't mean that much. And now that my driver's license doesn't get renewed until January, I don't even have that to look forward to.

But enough slagging on August.

This month is looking pretty busy already. I did up a to-do list for the month so I had something to torture myself with midway through the month when I have nothing done. 

No, I really did a to-do list so I could get organized now rather than later. I've applied to be in my very first craft sale next month (Sept 11, to be exact) and need product to sell. Right now, I have none, and I don't want to sell what I've got listed in my shop, so I've got to come up with new - and different - product to sell.

My plan at this point is to make:

• pincushions, in a couple of different styles and sizes;
• needlebooks, mainly because I need one and if I need one, other people do too;
• sewing pouches, like the pouches I sell already, but with a few pockets on the inside for scissors or something;
• large sewing totes, which would be like this tote, but, again, with pockets on the inside.

So that's my plan for the craft sale.

I'm also starting to look at doing some graphic design stuff to try to catch some Christmas/holiday-specific sales this fall. I tried doing some things last fall, but didn't get them ready in time and wasn't really happy with the work I had been doing. I had a few different styles of gift tags and cards, and I may keep some of the elements but probably redesign the majority of them.

This is almost the perfect month to get a lot of work done, too... Keith has quite a few days off leading up to the 8 days he's away at a golf tournament, and my mom's already said she'll take Maddy for a night while he's gone.  Maddy's able to play by herself a lot more and doesn't need to be right with me all the time, so I can do a lot of embroidery while she's playing. I'm still going to make time to get outside and relax in the yard before the snow flies, and we're probably going to head out to my parent's next weekend and maybe to Winnipeg this month.

 It's all about using the time we have available appropriately. And I can't work all the time. As much as I try (re: want) to.