Big problems, small problems, some problems that take time to figure out and some problems that feel like they take forever to solve.
Having problems can be stressful. I don’t think anyone will debate that.
If ever in the history of ever there could be such a thing as a good stressful problem, this is my week to have one.
Let me explain.
I have been working with a customer on a wholesale pillow cover order. She is a dream to work with. She knew what she wanted and never hesitated to ask questions.
Sidenote: I myself am a question asker and also love it when other people ask questions.
Anyway, the wholesale order came through the same weekend that Karianne of Thistlewood Farms fame gave me a shout out about the large metal signs I have available in my shop. Everything Karianne touches, turns to gold. The metal signs flew out of my shop! In fact last I checked I only have one left in inventory.
On top of the wholesale order and shout out, I was visiting my parents in Texas AND my Etsy shop had become extremely busy.
The point I am trying to make is that, THESE ARE THE BEST STRESSFUL PROBLEMS EVER!
Seriously, how can I possibly complain about being insanely busy making pillows and signs and home décor items for people who want to buy them for their homes.
Every sale I receive, I am so excited to think that this item will be enjoyed by someone, maybe comfort them and possibly start a conversation when the new owner shares the story about why they purchased something from my little store.
So Thank You to everyone that has purchased an item from either one of my shops or any small business owner.
Now let’s go back to the wholesale order.
Julie from Julie Kay Design Studio was the customer who contacted me thru Etsy concerning a wholesale pillow cover order. A week or so later she shipped me the fabric and zippers she wanted me to work with.
Two huge heavy rolls of fabric made with 10oz. certified organic cotton duck canvas was her fabric of choice.
From here I cut matching pairs of 18 and 20 inch squares.
800 cuts making 200 squares created a nice and neat pile of fabric to finish step one.
Each piece then had one edge stitched with a serger allowing a clean edge.
Two serged edge pieces are then sewn together adding a zipper for the bottom of the cover. From there it is a matter of sewing up the remaining three sides and again serging the inside edges for a finished look.
The covers will now be boxed and shipped to Julie.
She then does her magic and creates these beautiful watercolor covers.
Each one of her pillow covers is a hand painted unique item. No two cover are exactly alike.
Stunning, don’t you think?
Read all about her shop and other products she has available.
These pillows would make great conversation starters. 🙂
I hope everyone has a fun weekend. Stop by tomorrow for a Sidenote Saturday chat.
I haven’t really decided if this is a bad character flaw. I mean, no one gets hurt, I am not vindictive or mean and I can back down and let others take over, some times.
My point in sharing is that one of my original intentions when I started blogging was to gain a following of people who like the same things I like. Another reason for starting this blog was to one day open a shop and sell one of a kind things, things that I create or things that I enjoy and hope others enjoy too.
Etsy has offered a great platform for me to get my feet wet in owning my own shop. And, I will continue to sell on Etsy and encourage others to sell with Etsy also.
However, there are fees and rules out of my control that have to be followed with Etsy and I want to branch out from there.
Sooooooo………drum roll please………
I have opened a shop on my blog!!! And it is going to be life changing! And I get to control all of it! 🙂
Some items will be the same as what I have listed in my Etsy store BUT, in my shop, the prices will lower!
Right now, as of this moment, I only have 2 items listed. I am calling it a Soft Open. 🙂
This is how I see my shop working.
I am going to list something new and different everyday. Some things will be one of a kind and when they are gone, they are gone. 🙁 There will be listings of multiples and even customizing will be an option. You will find a variety of items but they will always center around home décor.
Let me show you how easy it will be to shop.
You are already here. Click on MENU
Click on SHOP
Click on ALL PRODUCTS
Fill your cart! You can use credit cards and even PayPal to complete your transactions.
I will be back to my regular scheduled blogging program on Wednesday.
Sometimes I have no idea what to blog about. Okay, that’s not entirely true. I have a list of things I could blog about but I mentally filter those ideas as to what makes it onto the blog and what doesn’t.
That filter has one question.
Would I be interested in reading about this? That’s it. One question.
For instance, today I was going to share about this little Christmas tree that I have set up. But, it’s 61 degrees outside and I’m not feeling it. By the way the average high in Minnesota in November is 41 degrees. Believe me, no one is complaining but it’s not normal. Last year on this date we had 3 inches of snow on the ground.
Wait, where was I going with all of this? Oh yeah, my filter.
Christmas décor didn’t make it thru today’s filter.
So I took advantage of the warm fall day and went on a walk with Nikki. Nikki as in Jimmy and Nikki.
When we returned I had a text from my Mom.
She saw on my Instagram account (OldLakeGeorge) that people have commented on the green glasses that are in this picture.
These were given to me by my Mom. And now that I really look at that picture, so was that duck, the lamp and the card catalog. 🙂 My Mom has great taste.
The day that she gave me the glasses and decanter, I was at my parents house and my Mom asked if there were any dish sets I wanted. She has so many beautiful sets of dishes. The set I wanted is a blue and white set that for me represents the many loud and festive family dinners we shared. BUT, she was not quite ready to give them away. That only makes it more special for me knowing those dishes hold great sentimental value for her.
So as we moved on to other things, I spotted these green and gold glasses and decanter in her glass front kitchen cupboard.
I thought they were pretty but I don’t remember seeing them around our house as we were growing up. Reason for that; my Mom had recently purchased them at a garage sale.
So, the text she sent read, “Hey, I just saw the comments about your gold and green glasses I gave you. Did you look up how much they are worth? I got them at a garage sale for probably $10.”
I read the Instagram comments, which I love getting and someone mentioned that they might be Culver green and gold glasses. So I googled Culver green and gold glasses and yep, that’s what I had.
This is a set of 3 double Old Fashioned and 6 Old Fashioned glasses along with a decanter. The pattern is called Valencia. The gold is 22k and I found prices from $10-$20 per glass up to $250 for the decanter and 6 glasses.
Told you my Mom had great taste!
In honor of Veterans Day and green and gold cocktail glasses, let’s raise our glass to all of the Veterans, men and women that have served and are currently serving our country! Thank you!
Does life imitate art or does art imitate life? I titled this post both ways and after too many back and forths, I decided that today, life imitates art.
For a little back story, my husband loves to feed birds. He had about seven or eight bird feeders placed in the back yard of our previous house. That made for a lot of bird seed on the ground, bird droppings and birds in general. Last summer he gave all of those bird feeders away when we moved because we didn’t want to have all of that business on our little sand beach. I think he was sad. 🙂
But the other day when he was outside doing whatever it is that he does outside, I noticed that this was placed by the window. I guess he didn’t giveaway ALL of the bird feeders. So today as I am typing from the living room couch, this catches my eye.
And it reminded me of this pillow cover that I made recently. Beautiful in real life and beautifully captured on a pillow.
Along our little beach, there is an enormous bush with these huge red flowers. I am going to call them hibiscus, because in all honesty I have no idea and I am hoping someone more versed in the world of flora will pipe in and correct me. Mom???? 🙂
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