That Slippery Slope - Part 2

I really have to say a big "Thank You" to all those who have encouraged me in my spending!!!!!

I know there are certain people who wouldn't agree with you! LOL

However, I have also been earning it!

Here is a photo of an order fresh off the hook. Yes, the background is kitchen roll as it is still on the blocking board after taking the pins out.

Now I am really curious as to what she is going to do with it all!

I am already on Etsy and Folksy so, before I go further with this and spend even more time on the puter, I would like to hear some people opinions.

Puppets and Zion

I was going to be ever so good and try to blog at least every other day. Look how long that lasted!!!!!

Still, I have been busy with other things.

First of all, I listed my Halloween Baskets pattern on Etsy. This isn't a new pattern, I wrote it some years ago but I still love it. I was debating about putting it on eBay as well but with the new rules about ebooks (and the new listing prices) I decided not to. Etsy is so much cheaper to sell from when you are dealing with handicrafts.

Here are some of the puppets I have been working on. Meet Petula Parrot,

Sidney Snake,

and Arnold Aligator. These are the "Jungle Puppets". As always, made from 100% machine washable acrylic so you don't have to worry about them getting dirty. I have listed them all for sale on Etsy. The pattern will be on there just as soon as it is finished.

During the crash a whole pile of my photos got corrupted. Fortunately, some of them were from my A-Z photo journal of Chatteris which means they are relatively easy to replace. I decided to go out to the bank and Co-op yesterday and replace some of the photos. I went to the bank first then started taking some pics.

Wouldn't you know it - it started to rain! So I went to the Co-op to get what I needed only to find I hadn't put my purse in!!!! At least by the time I got back to the town centre it wasn't raining any more and I managed to replace some of the pics from Jubilee Gardens. I actually think they are a little better than before. The dark sky wasn't such a contrast against the black clock. But yesterday wasn't a complete disaster! In the evening I left the boys playing on the Wii and went out - complete with purse!

And I managed a new letter - Z This is the Zion Hall. I haven't been able to find out much info about it apart from this little bit I found online. Another such church (non-conformist) in Park Street was founded in 1819. In 1851 the congregation numbered 485.

However, the sign says 1839. I think a trip to the local museum is in order. And I still need to finish sorting out those Harvest ones.

Dilemma!

As you may have read, I have to have a major sort out of my crochet stash as it is taking over the house!

I have more yarn here than I can ever hope to use, even if I live to be 150!!! Hence the "Funky Fibre Giveaway" below.

Today, I have started sorting out my thread. I have finally collected enough colours of the DMC Petra to convert all the Scrapping Items I sell on my site from the thread I have been using. The DMC looks and feels nicer, although it doesn't cost more and, in theory, is the same quality.

Now the dilemma. I haven't sold any of the actual items since last summer. Is it really worth the effort of making everything in the new thread to add to the site for sale? Or should I just delete the pages and create a "Sale" page for the stuff I already have here that I made when designing the patterns?

What do you think?

Of course, I could just add a load of pics on here of the stuff I need to clear out and do another stash exchange????????

Whatever I do, I still have a carrier bag of the Twilleys thread to dispose of!!!!!

My patterns have been doing quite well on Etsy. I have also added a few more to Craftjuice - including Christmas ones.

This may seem a bit early but it is nearly September and people who will want to be making these will want the patterns in plenty of time.

When it gets a bit closer to the time, I will add some actual items. I have loads of them in the wardrobe as well! However, as listing stay on Etsy for 4 months, I won't be leaving it for too long.

In the money!

Well, this combination of Etsy and CraftJuice seems to be working very well for me!

I have sold 12 patterns over the last 3 days. Just wish I could do it all the time then I wouldn't have to worry about jobs and CRB checks!!!!!

This is the latest one I have listed on Craftjuice. It is actually the first pattern I ever wrote for sale. It remains my best selling pattern.

I have also made loads of them for sale and they have gone all over the world. It looks great in blues for a baby boy.

I have started sorting out those cupboards! Honest!!!

I found I bag of thread left over from making the wall hangings. I didn't realise there was so much. I can make another 2 tops from it - at least!

I also found the bag with the new denim skirt in. I stopped making this when I started losing weight. Although the doc wants me to lose another 4 stone, I can't see this happening. So I might just get on and finish that. I could do with some new clothes!

Doesn't leave a lot of time for Scrapping though! And I have a pile of new stash to use that I got through the Crochet Embellishment Swap! I also bought some on the weekend. Not much, just some handmade papers so I can scrap the last 4 silk paintings I made.

So much to do and so little time!

First Day of Peace.

It doesn't really seem all that strange. I am used to Benjamin being in school while Mark is in work.

But the thought of 2 whole weeks of being on my own from 7.30am to 5.30pm is a little daunting.

I am, by nature, more of a loner. I enjoy my own company and generally find that I don't have enough of it when it is the school holidays.

But, somehow, I get the feeling that I am going to get too much of it over the next 2 weeks.

It isn't as if I don't have plenty to do. Mark has been nagging me to sort out my cupboards. I am a dreadful hoarder and people keep giving me stuff which I can't possibly throw away as I am sure I will use it at some point.

However, this rather large bag of oddments of chunky yarn and heavy weight upholstery fabric, what on earth am I going to use those for????? It just has to go!

Anybody want it?

Thanks to everybody who voted on Craft juice. I really need to explain how it works.

When you submit an item, it goes on the "Upcoming" page. When you have 5 votes it get promoted to the "Popular Crafts" page, which is the main Craftjuice page. You can still get votes when it is on there.

I submitted my Snakes and Ladders today. It has 4 votes already so hopefully will be promoted soon.

It is a great place to showcase your crafts, whether you are selling them or not. Unfortunately, the pictures need to be online already. I was hoping to link to them from my site but for some reason it didn't work.

That is why the one of the Scrapping Babies didn't have a picture. I ended up adding it to Etsy and using the pics from there. Unfortunately, this meant entering it twice and I have no idea how to delete the one that didn't work. The one that did work is now on the front page and has 9 votes!

Ooooh! I am all excited!

I had my first sale on Etsy!!!!! I sold a Tilly Tangfish puppet. And it is no coincidence that she looks like Dory! LOL I have another one of these so will have to relist her.

I learned some new html and can now link direct to a part of my page and not just the top of the page and have to tell you to "scroll down".

Now I need to learn to make the scrolling banner like the one on the left.

However, whether I get any of this done today is another matter. The sun is out, the sky is blue and I might just go out on the bike with the camera and find another letter for my A-Z photo journal of Chatteris.

Too Early to be thinking about Christmas?

I decided to take the plunge and list a couple more things on Etsy. One of which is Christmas stockings. I wasn't sure if it would be too early but, as the listing is for 4 months, I figured that by the end of it, we would be a whole lot closer.

I dont actually want to sell the listing as I make them personalised to order but I couldn't figure out any other way of showing them. I hope this works out!

While I was there, I decided to have a sort out of what is in the wardrobe and have listed some bridal bits as well! Next, I need to sort through the jewellery!!!! The majority of this stuff is what I have made while designing the actual patterns. If I could sell some there would be room in the wardrobe for more stash!!!!!!