Promo Boxes-Not so fast.

I have to say that I was so excited last year to do a promo box that is put out by a particular site that many etsy sellers have used in the past. I pumped out 150 hand made cards in two weeks so that I could get one card in as many boxes. I did four different styles (or five, I cannot remember) and mailed them off and got them to the promo box people in time to have my items in the October promo box. I was hoping to spark some interest for Christmas card sales for the year.

So, I get a convo from an etsy buyer who tells me she received one of my cards in the promo box she purchased and wanted to compliment me on my work, and since my card was in the December box and had already purchased her Christmas cards for the year, it was too late for her to order any for the holiday. I was shocked and pissed off all at the same time.

You see, my cards were supposed to be in the OCTOBER promo boxes, and somehow they didn't make it in until the DECEMBER box, which killed any chance for me to maybe garner a few sales for the holidays. I know, I know, it's a year since I've mentioned this happening, but I chalked it up as a learning experience NEVER to do promo boxes again. I counted on the people to use my cards in the month that I had submitted them, not two months later. Do what you say and say what you do, is my motto. Why email me and remind me constantly to get my promo items to you by the specified date then confirm receiving them in time only to HOLD THEM FOR TWO MONTHS AND PUT ME AT A DISADVANTAGE? I've gotten over it, I really have. I just will not ever put my items at the mercy of someone else who made money off me and not living up to their end of the bargain. Bad, bad, Karma.

Truth in Handcrafting

I love handcrafted items. There is something special about holding something that you know someone made in their back yard, their garage, or at their kitchen table. There's love in it. It's not just about an hourly wage. It's usually a passion that drives the artist to create.

I'm no longer calling anyone who makes something at home a crafter. They are an artist. And if anyone who has an art degree disagrees, I am sure you will get over yourself eventually. I've seen talent come out of people who are not "professionally trained" that far exceeds anyone with hours of class instruction. I never look at those kind of credentials anyway. I look at the passion in the work that is presented.

That said, so many people are becoming more and more interested in handmade art. The problem with handmade art, however, is sticker shock. We have become a society where the expectation of price is based off of mass production, where items are made in the THOUSANDS. Handmade art is not made in the thousands. Lovers of handmade art should keep this in mind when admiring a person's work and hesitating on making a purchase.

Now, I'm not whining, ok maybe I am, but just a little. It's disappointing when people want what you work for for next to nothing. I know that it's not always intentional. A lot of the time, it's ignorance, and going back to my saying we are a society that is used to buying things based on a mass production scale.

I'm sooo done with mass produced items. I do try to buy locally as often as I can. If I do buy retail, I try to buy something that I know is of good quality from places I know people are being hired for their skill and not for how cheaply they can be hired at. If it means my having to pay a little bit more, then so be it.

Another Day, Another Dollar

I'm so blessed to have my job, especially in a time when so many do not. My husband lost his job in November, and we've had to tighten the belt like so many. At the same time, we are ok. I get worried from time to time about things but I remember that when I was a single parent for 16 years, God never let my family down. I don't expect that will change now.

I still create my cards, still have my head filled with all these new card ideas, or find a technique that I MUST try that keeps me going every day, along with a house full of animals that I call "my babies". I 'll have to pull out the brag photos and showcase them in their finest.

For now, here's a Mother's Day card I really enjoy. It reminds me of a pretty spring dress in periwinkle scattered with flowers. Mother's Day could't have come at a better time of the year.

Beginnings

I'm past the stage of wanting to rear babies, but never tire of their innocence, their beauty, and their smell. I think the celebration of an upcoming birth is the best party to attend.

I came across some really pretty vellum paper a few years ago, screened with pearlized bibs baby shoes and bottles, and decided to create some baby shower invites. I found the perfect checkered paper and use it to back the vellum. Printing on the vellum came out better than I imagined it would. Instead of using ribbon to hold the vellum in place, I opted for brads, and they came out really cute. I listed these on Ebay and they sold like crazy! They were cute and whimsical while being elegant at the same time. I'm still hoping the remaining paper I have of this will be put to good use; I only have enough left to make 15 invites. I do have some smaller pieces of this paper, and may offer some matching thank you cards.