Great Tips, Great Interview

Q. Being a SAHM, what are the financial goals for your etsy store? (To help support your family? To just support your craft? Etc.)
A. My financial goals for my Etsy shop are to help support our family. My husband is a home builder and I also help him out when needed.

Q. Do your children help at all in your crafting or etsy store? If they aren't old enough, do you plan on having them help when they are older?
A. Sometimes, my 3 year old, likes to help me with packaging. He loves to put the packing peanuts in the bubble mailers for me. So, I have appointed him my shipping manager. My 5 year old, is not really into helping me, because he has an engineering brain(like his daddy) so he tries to engineer some sort of contraption to speed up the process. I get really scared when I hear him needing a pneumatic nail gun and blow torch. lol!

Q. Do you have any tips for balancing children with an at-home job?
A. That is tough for me to answer. Some days, I can accomplish everything I need to do. Some days, not so much. When I worked in the corporate world I had a legal size notepad on my desk at all times with my to-do list. I was very organized. Now, I am the complete opposite. I am working really hard to get this house organized & get my studio organized. Just the amount of organization I have done in the last month has helped tremendously. So, I guess my tip would be getting organized, if you are not. A few months ago, I found a really great blog. http://simplemom.net. She has some really cool to-do lists, grocery lists and home management tips. They are available here: http://simplemom.net/downloads I have fallen in love with her blog. Check it out if you haven't.


Check out her awesome shop!
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=66511

Color Spectrum Test

MyScore, originally uploaded by Chimera Creation.

I really enjoyed taking this test. Many people don't, but I have always been extra sensitive in anything regarding the senses. I easily see subtle differences in hues of colors, hear things that are not in tune, smell when something is 'off', etc. Part of it is because I am female, I'm sure, but the rest is just extra sensitivity.

You can take this test at http://www.xrite.com/custom_page.aspx?PageID=77

New To Me - The photography of Eric Paul Ownes

New To Me, originally uploaded by Chimera Creation.

I love discovering a new photographer on flickr! There are quite a few photos in his stream that I really like, check them out if you'd like. Be aware- not all are work safe.

Need to ReSteam!

What to talk about...what to talk about? I've just felt in a slump. I try to do something business related everyday. I will get in to this total groove where I'm renewing like I'm supposed to, blogging, flickring, all those things that get me 'out there'. Then I just stop. Doing just some basic things does not take that long, but I just seem to get a mental block about it. The steam goes out of my engine and my train slowly grinds to a stop. I hate that! I haven't even crocheted anything in like 4 days! It's frustrating, because with a slow craft like crocheting, I need to crochet allll the time to make enough 'product'. I think that kind of bothers me, because I don't want to feel like I'm just producing a product, I want to feel like I'm being creative and making art! That's why most of my creations are one of a kind. I really loathe making the same thing over and over again.

Photos on the Prairie

Up, originally uploaded by Chimera Creation.

I am used to taking self portraits, or trying to snap some quality candids of the cats or my kid, but this last weekened I thought I'd try something new. I tried to take photos of a man. What do you have a dude do while your taking pictures of him? Girls- sexy, kids- cute, cats- fat, but a man? It was challenging but I think I got some really great photos. The one i've featured in this post is unedited, except for cropping. The colors of the sky, flowers, hair, tattoos, skin, all came out beautifully. I've several more in my flickr stream, if you're interested.

Kids and Crafting, Another Great SAHM Interview!

Q. Being a SAHM, what are the financial goals for your etsy store? (To help support your family? To just support your craft? Etc.)
A. For now my sales cover all my crafting costs and sometimes a little something extra for me as well:)

Q. Do your children help at all in your crafting or etsy store? If they aren't old enough, do you plan on having them help when they are older?
A. My goal is to make enough that it contributes to our household income.
My kids help me by being my size models. I use them when I make childrens jewelry. my 6 yr is often my model for clip on earrings -only fitting since she was my inspiration. My 8 yr old son is very interested in internet sales. He is amazed that you can take pictures and post your item for sale. He likes to look at how many views I have on an item.

I was home alone with my 6 yr old when I started my etsy shop. I needed a profile picture and handed her the camera (then 5 yrs old). I think she did pretty good!

When my daughter is older I'm sure I'll have her making jewelry too. She already loves it, but her taste is questionable (being 6 yrs old and all).

Q. Do you have any tips for balancing children with an at-home job?
A. This summer has been tricky, working with the kids being home is no easy task. I respect every mother out there who works from home. Plus I think crafters have it extra hard. we run the house, take care of kids, run earrands, create ideas and make our items to sale, take pictures of our stuff, post items, and market our stores.
we are the ultimate CEO's.
I check email in the morning and after lunch, ship in the afternoon, and craft at night.

Not Moving, But That's Okay

It turns out it's just going to be too much drama to move. Th expenses and the hassle were overwhelming. So, we need to make a better go of it at the current abode. Step one was reorganizing my office/studio. That's pretty much done and I feel SO SO much better. I will be taking photos soon to share my space with everyone. Step one-b is to get the rest of the house organized/super cleaned. We have not adjusted to having a tornado toddler yet. It seems like no matter how much we clean, she is always right behind us, tossing everything back out again. This too shall pass, right? I have to admit, I'm totally messy too. I'm trying to be better, though, because it is such a stress reliever to have a clean house and to have everything in its place.

Outstanding in Look

I've come across a great artist who illustrates in a way we really don't see much anymore. Please take a look below and click on through to her links if you'd like to check out more!
On that note, I will let her work speak for itself, other than to say I found it stunning and wonderful and I will definitely be ordering from her.

Nexus Festival

I just wanted to make a quick post while I was thinking of it to promote the upcoming Nexus Festival. They have made a myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/nexusfestival

There will be members of the etsy team Lincoln Handmade there, so be sure to check it out if you're local.

Kitty Kitty Meow Meow!

I'm just in a fuzzy furball mood this morning! I realized I had several kitties favorited in my flickr (I love you flickr) and thought I would share them!



1. Untitled, 2. 100_2954, 3. Muffi, 4. Cosmo & Jessie - We are da management!, 5. loki, 6. thinker #3


And of course, I can't leave off a photo of my charmers!

Moving?

I have moved a lot in my life, mainly as an adult. I don't mind moving, it kind of gives me a 'fresh start' on things. I'm a packrat by nature and moving forces me to clear out a bit of the junk every once in awhile. I've moved three times in the last three years. Actually, I've been averaging a move nearly every year for the past 7 or 8 years.
After having Elsa, we moved into a three bedroom home. We thought we would be here for at least 3 or 4 years, but when the prospect of a larger three bedroom home came up, we are seriously considering taking it. We underestimated just how much room we would need. For one thing, my etsy business takes up a lot of room, and when we moved in here, a bit over a year ago, the business wasn't even started. So that has created a lot of space issues. The office/studio where all my stuff is was supposed to be a den area where we could watch tv or Josh could set up his drums. But now that this room is full of craft supplies- the drums sit neglected (and in the way) in the bedroom.
Elsa takes up more room than we thought too! We really don't WANT to move, and we really don't WANT to pay more rent, but we just feel like we'd be happier if we did. Also, this new place is closer to the places we frequent, like the zoo and the organic food market. In fact, we could WALK to the zoo from this new place, which is rad. Hopefully we'll have made a desiscion this week on weather we're going to do it or not. Not knowing makes me feel so unsettled!

SAHM Interview with SnugBugClothing

Today is a great interview with SAHM SnugBugClothing!

Q. Being a SAHM, what are the financial goals for your etsy store? (To help support your family? To just support your craft? Etc.)
A. My ultimate financial goal for my Etsy business is to contribute finacially to my family. My intention is to run my business as a real business, not just a hobby, and as with any business I expect financial gain eventually. I belive that Etsy will make a fantastic addition to my existing website and wholesale business, and allow me to reach a broader market.

Q. Do your children help at all in your crafting or etsy store? If they aren't old enough, do you plan on having them help when they are older?
A. My son is only two so he doesn't help much at this point. Mind you, he is really great at cleaning up fabric scraps. That is, of course, if picking them up, running away with them, and scattering them all over the house counts as "cleaning". I don't plan to have him help when he's older - with the nature of my products I don't feel that there's much he can really help with. But he'll always be welcome to help with dinner!

Q. Do you have any tips for balancing children with an at-home job?
A. The best advice I can give in trying to balance children and an at-home job is to schedule your time. It can sometimes be too easy to become distracted by work and before you know it, the entire day is gone and you realize you haven't played with your kids. Play with your kids! It is great for clearing your mind to allow those new ideas to come through. I designate nap time every day as my work time, along with an hour or two after my son goes to bed. I don't like to work too much in the evenings as that is my "alone" time with my fiance. Designate time for each person and each task (including yourself!), and no one will feel neglected.

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