Remember when . . .

Do any of you remember this post? Were any of you even reading back then?

When I read that, I remember how nervous I was to even post it. I felt a little silly for opening an etsy shop and thinking that anyone outside of my friends and family would purchase designs from me. I wondered if people were laughing at me. I knew plenty about graphic design, but knew relatively little about the custom stationery business. I've learned so much.

If it weren't for the encouragement of friends and family, I might never have even opened it. If it weren't for Crystal (she was my very first etsy customer), I might have closed up before I even hit Christmas that year.

So you can see why it's such an honor to me that, almost 4 years later, I was in Babble's top 50 etsy moms of 2011 at #22, and #3 in the "for Mom" category. I'm humbled.

Who would have ever thought?!

Q & A

OK, first, let me tell you how awesome it is to see the new blogs/new posts that have popped up! They may not all be because of my PSA, but I'm going to pretend they are because it makes me feel so good about myself. If you have recently started a blog (or have revitalized your existing blog) and I haven't commented, send me the link so that I can visit. I've had some questions and feedback regarding my PSA and I'll probably get to that stuff tomorrow when I've had more time to think about it.

Second, I've been getting a lot of the same questions from people regarding a few topics:

1. What kind of camera I use
2. Etsy
3. Breastfeeding
4. How I maintain my ravishing good looks

I'm going to respond to those here, so don't be offended if I don't sent you an individual response. I've become bad at answering e-mails that aren't work or business related.

1. What kind of camera do I use? I've already answered that in a post here. I've added a lens (Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L) since then. And depending on how my tax return ends up, I might have a new camera before summer. Fingers crossed. Oh! And I've also added this awesome new camera strap cover, which is almost as cool as the lens.



2. Two things have happened since my etsy business has grown. First, I get several messages a week asking for advice on starting their own etsy stationery business. My single most important piece of advice: WORK HARD. This is not easy. Just ask my husband and kids. You get out of it what you put into it. Other than that, you kind of have to figure it out on your own. I could give you step by step instructions based on what worked for me, but the truth is that it might not work for you. And even if it did, you'd miss A TON of learning opportunities on the way. I still answer the individual questions I get on this, and I dole out information on a case by case basis so don't be afraid to contact me. But don't be offended if it takes a while to get a reply.

Second, it feels like there's a big ol' target on my back. There are a few individuals who just seem to want to make my life difficult in an attempt to . . . what? Break my spirit? Insult me? I don't know. I'm a competitive person by nature, but when it comes to business stuff, I really wish nothing but success for other sellers. I don't see increased competition as a bad thing because there are certainly enough buyers to go around. But I won't feel bad about my success either. It hasn't been at anyone's expense (other than maybe my family's at times). It's been because of A LOT of hard work and I'd like to think a little bit of talent on my part. I don't ever respond to this kind of message because, well, I don't really know how to respond. I'm aggressive (AGGRESSIVE) about running my business with integrity and because of that there's really not much I can say other than, "I'm so sorry you feel that way." This has been frustrating, but this is the first and last I'll talk about it here.

3. Breastfeeding improved quite a bit. I used up my supply of frozen milk and had to supplement with formula for three or four days. I saw my doctor and she gave me lots of advice that really seemed to work. I think the best thing she did, though, is gave me permission to stop breastfeeding. It's not that I needed her permission, but I think I needed someone to look at me and say, "It's ok if you don't do this. It's ok to stop trying." I think her relieving that pressure actually helped me work through it.

My estimation is that I was down to 6 - 10 ounces a day, which wasn't great for a kid who needs 30 - 40 ounces a day. So, I pumped and nursed and pumped and nursed and took loads of fenugreek and pumped and nursed some more. My milk supply finally rebounded. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done but I'm glad to be nursing again.

I have seen a drop in supply again over the last few days and I've already decided that if it doesn't rebound, I'm not going through all of that again. My hope is to make it to the summer. But right now, I'm just looking to make it to 6 months. I'm just thankful to live in a day an age in which there are healthy substitutes.

4. I was kidding about the ravishing good looks thing. But I'm sure you already knew that.

Any other questions?

Catching up.

I had this plan back in September that I was going to have some posts written up and ready to post so that I could have something to share even when I had no time to write anything. But then Bennett was born, and before I knew it, the-most-wonderful-time-of-the-year was upon me.

And upon me, it was. The last few weeks have been crazy . . . sometimes good crazy, sometimes bad crazy. I've had some difficult situations in which I was able to refine my customer service skills and some frustrating moments in which I learned to be more concerned about doing what is right than about what people think of me. I have so much I could write about that I wouldn't even know where to begin with all of that. So I'll just let it go.

Our Christmas decorations are up, but quite a few of the decorations that came down to make room for the holiday decorations are still sitting on the floor and against our walls. Needless to say, our house is a mess.

Jack has saying so many funny things that I can't keep up and throwing so many temper tantrums that I sometimes feel like my head might explode. Potty training has its ups and downs, but we did get #2 in the potty twice last week, which was a huge accomplishment. I think it'll go a lot better after the holidays when we have more time to focus on it. Then again, after the holidays we head right into winter retreats and when those are done, we'll be winding up for summer. Ahhh . . . summer. Warmth. I can't wait.

With the exception of a few nights here and there, Ben is a great sleeper! About half of the time, we can put him down awake and he puts himself to sleep. And about 1/4 of the time, he falls asleep with a few minutes of rocking and soothing. He switches between these high pitched squeals and this raspy "ga-ga" gurgle that makes him sound like a smoker. He rolls himself over every so often, but honestly, I don't give him enough tummy time right now to know if he'd do it regularly. He's pretty good at lifting his head up and will push himself up on his hands so that he can look around. He'll bat at his toys like crazy and we've even caught him smiling proudly when he hits them hard. He brings me so much joy. Both of my boys do.

OK, back to work!

Tomorrow

I will likely hit 3000 sales sometime between now and the morning. Which is fitting, because tomorrow is the 2-year anniversary of my shop opening.

As I was searching for the post that I linked to above, I read through all of my posts from November of 2007 and was reduced to tears as I thought back to life back then.

From outrageous gas prices to my sweet little 5-month-old, reading made me nostalgic. I am shocked that I thought I took good pictures back then. They make me cringe a little now. I'm not a professional or anything now, but I've definitely come a long way. And gas prices . . . I had forgotten how high they were at that point.

Not only is tomorrow my shop's anniversary, it's also official "No More Diapers" day. Well, for Jack anyway. Bennett's got a while.

We're quitting, cold turkey. And I think everyone knows that "we" is Kyle and I more than it is Jack. I might be wrong, but I don't think he'll have as much trouble adjusting as we will. It's gotten to the point that he'll walk up and tell us he has to pee and then tells us he's going to go in his diaper. And I just smile and nod because what can I say? I don't want to encourage that, but it's sometimes hard to put down everything (especially a newborn baby) to take him to the bathroom. But starting tomorrow, we have to make it work. I feel like Kyle and I will need to be "potty trained" more than Jack will.

Our plan? We don't have one. I know . . . rookie mistake. But it's our mistake to make. We're both taking the day off, and we'll . . . . well, we're just going to make it happen. I've got lots of prizes and fun things to make the day holiday-like. We started building it up last week . . . letting Jack know that starting Wednesday, there were no more diapers. We're going to make it a fun day that hopefully will make the potty a positive thing. Then on Friday, we're taking him out to dinner and to the Christmas parade as a "graduation celebration" of sorts. My fingers are crossed that it goes as well as I have it planned out in my mind.

The one kink in our plan is that the underwear we have for him are 2T/3T and he no longer fits into those. So it looks like one of us will be making an early morning trip into town . . .

Wish us luck.

Because I felt like my schedule was missing something . . .

Since last June, when business really picked up, I've been approached by a dozen or so stationery companies about designing for them. A wide range of companies . . . some of them you've probably heard of, while others you probably haven't.

While I've been honored that they've been interested, none of them were really a good fit. Most of them want you to sell them your templates . . . and while you earn a hefty commission, you have little creative say in how the final product comes out when a consumer buys your card. Selling my templates scares me a little. Others allowed me creative freedom, but the style of their cards was different than what I consider to be my style. And a couple were my style and allowed me a voice in final product, but the companies were a little too big for my taste.

A little over a month ago, I received an e-mail from Heather of Peapod Announcements. I e-mailed her back (like I always do) and asked for more information, but figured it probably wouldn't be anything I was interested in.

But it was different this time.

This is a smaller (comparatively speaking), newer, mom-owned business. I definitely like the style of cards and of the site. Heather communicated that it was a friendly "work environment" and she even indicated from the start that she saw from my blog that I'm pregnant and knew I might need some time when the baby comes. There was a great combination of friendliness and professionalism in all of our communication. I felt comfortable with it right from the beginning.

So, while my etsy shop will stay open, I'll also be designing for Peapod. Along with my main job working full time at camp. And my other main job of taking care of Jack. And baby #2. And the whole photography thing on the side. I know it sounds like a lot . . . and it is. But if you know me at all, you know that I wouldn't have it any other way.

P.S. Just to be clear: If you see one of my designs on peapod and want it, you'll have to go through the peapod site. My designs there are exclusive to that site and I won't sell them anywhere else . . . including on etsy or individually.

Grateful.

Friends . . . I've just earned myself a new ipod.

And breathe . . .

Let's catch up.

The Monday before thanksgiving (or was it Wednesday) Jack and I built a snowman in the front yard. The kid LOVES to play in the snow. He hugged the snowman (there will be photos on my photo blog if I ever get it updated), patted the snowman and built a deep attachment to him. As I set him up for a final photo before naptime, he put his hand on the snowman and inadvertently tipped him over. He looked up at me as if to say, "WHAT DID I JUST DO?!" His lip started to quiver and he struggled to hold it together. And he did. I think it's the worst to see your child wanting to cry, but holding it in. It's almost less painful for you as a parent if they just let it all out!

Thanksgiving was great! It was so nice to be away from a computer screen for a while . . . though if you ask my family, they'll probably tell you I spent a lot of time in front of the computer. We went to my parents house on Wednesday and stayed through Friday. Family came to their house and we ate . . . a lot. On Friday morning, my mom, sister and I went shopping with all of the black Friday crazies. And, I will say that we got some tremendous deals. My parents flew to Puerto Rico for their cruise on Saturday, so when we left on Friday they sent us home with ALL of the leftovers. Jack refused the turkey on Sunday because he was so sick of it. The highlight of the weekend had to be Jack saying "gobble, gobble" every time someone said "turkey." It came out more like "Lollal, lollal."

Jack is pretty much a different kid since I last wrote about him. He communicates so well and I feel like we're in a virtual explosion of language growth right now. He says "tadaaa" whenever he does something . . . whether it be good or bad. I walked into his room and he had pulled everything out of his closet. I said, "What did you do?!" And he looked up at me and said "tadaaa." He constantly wants to see football, basketball, baseball or hockey on tv and identifies the sports pretty well. I seriously feel like he's changing so fast right now, and I'm so busy, that there's no way of recording all of the fun stuff he says. He's also become more ornery and will just collapse to the floor in a fit of drama that I've never seen before when we ask him to do something he'd rather not do.

His 18 month check up was on Tuesday. He's grown 2 inches in the last 3 months and gained a little under a pound. He's still off the charts for height, but he's in the 95th percentile for weight. Yay for being on the charts! I didn't get to talk to the doctor as much as I would have liked about vaccines because I wasn't as prepared as I would have liked and I was going on about 4 hours of sleep. But I did find out that the flu shots at the office are thimerosol-free and that's the only one that he needed.

After his appointment, we took him down the street to the Treehouse which was a first for us. It was fantastic. It's this huge indoor playground, but it was way better than a playground. We were there right when it opened and stayed for 1 1/2 hours, so Jack was one of five kids there the whole time. It might not have been as great if there were more kids. There was a two year old who shoved Jack down 6 or 7 times. Yikes. When telling my mother-in-law about it, she told me that Jack actually pushes Emma down sometimes. Yikes, again.

Last night, we did our annual live nativity at camp. It's a ride through on a horse drawn wagon . . . and it is COLD outside. Did anyone hear my radio interview on Friday about it? We taped it on Wednesday and I totally forgot to listen yesterday! It's usually the thing that kicks off the Christmas season for me. This year, it's the thing that is helping restore the Christmas spirit that had already begun to wane.

The past week has been insane, but I am seriously so thankful for the business. But I'm not going to lie . . . I need sleep. So, so badly. I have two photo sessions to process, one youth camp brochure to finish up and many card orders that I'm waiting to hear back on. I have been confronted with a few stinkers this season, but overall, I have worked for some lovely people and have found some great new blogs!

Speaking of blogs . . . I'm going to try and catch up with the 1772 blog posts in my reader. Seriously, you people write a lot.

One whole year

As of today, my etsy shop has been open for an entire year. A year ago on this day, I spent the evening writing descriptions, posting photos, designing a banner . . . all while nursing a 5 1/2 month old.

Time flies.

Swamped

I literally feel like I'm drowning in a sea of cards to design and pictures to edit. An e-mail made me cry about an hour ago. However, I'm learning a lot and will be making several changes in my listings when things slow down after Christmas. I'll just leave it at that for now. I really am SO thankful for the business and I have the coolest customers ever (with some of the most beautiful children I've ever seen).

I have a new sympathy for our web designer that I worked with on the new look to the camp website in the fall. I wonder if I ever made her cry.

So, that's why I've been slow to update. While blogging (and blog-reading) used to be a nice break, now I try to take breaks away from the computer. At camp, I'm working on the youth camp brochure for summer 2009 . . . which is coming along quite nicely. And then at home, I'm designing more, so I have to get away from the computer before I start talking to her it like she's it's a friend.

I'll update soon! Cross my heart.

The sincerest form of flattery?

SERIOUSLY?!

I just had an entire post written with links to a new seller's cards that are IDENTICAL to mine. She didn't even bother changing the names. On one of them she changed the fonts . . . but that's about it. Plus, even the descriptions are word for word mine on all of her listings. I deleted the links to her shop from this post because I'm not sure linking to her shop is the right thing to do. In fact, I know that it's not the right thing to do.

Hopefully, she'll do the right thing and remove the listings. Here's the abridged version of what I sent:

Dear (insert seller's name here),

Another seller brought to my attention that you've copied three of my designs and I need to ask you to take them down immediately. It is unlawful to reproduce the designs or artwork of another without expressed written consent.

It is not only illegal, but is also immoral to copy someone else's work.

Thanks for your prompt attention to this matter!

sara

I feel violated.

Yet another . . .

There's another less ordinary designs give away here. Yay! The winner will be drawn on Monday.

Crystal is hosting this give away which is kind of cool, because she was my first etsy customer EVER. I just wrote to her the other day and was telling her that I had my cards up for about a week and NO ONE had purchased a single one. I was telling Kyle about how dumb it was for me to spend so much time on those and how crazy it was to think that someone might pay money for the designs. Lo and behold . . . Crystal send me a message and I had my first sale! I might have quit if it weren't for her.

A few days later, more people followed and 335 sales later, here I am! Did you know that in May, I set a goal of 200 sales by Christmas? Maybe I need a new goal . . .

Anyway, I don't take any of this for granted and I'm grateful for every customer who comes my way, and also for the repeat customers who send people my way. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

OH! And be sure you visit Little Bit Funky (Crystal's etsy shop) for all kinds of homemade goodness! I try to re-invest a portion of what I make on etsy back into other etsy sellers (a.k.a. a great excuse to shop) and hers is one of my favorites!

Blog-world.

Five reasons I like my blog-world (as opposed to real-world) friend, Nicole:
(Did that just make me sound like one of those people who plays virtual, second-life video games in her spare time? I hope not. Because I don't.)

1. She recently posted about a particular episode of a certain tv show . . . one that my sister and I mock lovingly & religiously.

2. She has three boys . . . if I have more children, I'll be praying for more boys. Now that I think of it, I'm pretty sure this is why I originally subscribed to her blog.

3. We both have one-year-old's named Jack.

4. We both have fears about being pegged as Chicco's customers.

5. She's sent me several etsy customers and is now giving away one of my cards for her one-year bloggiversary.

Yay!

OH! And I was just reminded of #6 . . . we have a mutual real world friend. Which is how I found her blog in the first place.

Sew what?

I just finished the DVD that came with the sewing machine that I got for Christmas. I probably learned more in that 20 minutes than I did in my 8 weeks of 8th grade home economics class . . . I feel as if the Southgate public school system has failed me yet again.

Anyway, I know how to use it and now I want to make something! I received my Amy Butler fabric that I bought on ebay today, but I don't know what to make! I have a book by Amy called In Stitches but the patterns all seem to hard to start out with. I need to work my way up to that.

Any suggests for simple projects for beginners?

Love this.

I went shopping at Briarwood today and was sucked into the Pottery Barn. I've kept my distance from PB for a few months because it's all so expensive and makes me feel like I need things that I really, really don't.

BUT, I had a gift card to spend and I knew I could get more for my money with all of the great sales going right now.

I did get some fantastic deals . . . $3 picture frame, $5.99 paper lanterns, a fake olive tree, etc. I even found a frame that is still selling at full price ($39.00) for $11.99 on the "as-is" table and I can't find anything wrong with it! I only spent $5 beyond my gift card and came home with some great finds. It felt good.

I think my favorite part of the trip to Pottery Barn was the festive bag that they gave me. It was such a great design!



I feel like I need to do something with it. I used to make cool envelopes out of patterned paper. I've tossed around the idea of making envelopes and selling them on etsy. Do you think people would buy envelopes on etsy? Who knows?

Anyway, maybe I'll make some practice envelopes with this bag. And if you're lucky, you might just get one in the mail.

Starting to see the curve

Jack had his 6 month check-up today and his growth curve is actually starting to be a curve (instead of the straight line that it's been since the day he was born). He's actually started to slow down a little. My fears of having the only 4000 lb 9-year-old in the fourth grade are beginning to lessen.

We discovered that our bathroom scale is wrong, because it weighed him at 23.5 pounds the last couple of weeks, but he weighed in today at 22 lbs, 10 oz. This is great because it also means that I weigh a little less than I thought I did . . . every little bit helps me feel better! He's also 29 inches long.

They said he was doing great and meeting all of his benchmarks and milestones, but that he needs more tummy time because his neck isn't developing symmetrically (I think that's what he called it). Will I ever be giving this kid enough tummy time? When he's on the floor, he can roll himself to his belly or his back as he chooses . . . I don't have a lot of control over it anymore. And he's pretty much done with the exersaucer now . . . now that he can get around I think it's become a little prison-esque. The doctor didn't act like it was a big deal, but when he told us to make sure he was getting more tummy time, I just laughed a little in side because the only way to fit more of that in is to feed him while he's on his tummy and change his diaper while he's on his tummy. He's sitting on his own, he's crawling and at times, pushing from his belly to a sitting position . . . but whoops, I forgot to make sure his neck is developing symmetrically. Silly me.

The most exciting part of my day happened when I was standing at the window making his future appointments and I looked at the board of Christmas cards they had behind the desk. I was studying them and then all of a sudden I thought, "SOMEONE STOLE MY CHRISTMAS CARD DESIGN!" I couldn't believe it! I looked a little closer and realized that it was Maria's Christmas card and I was the one who designed it for her. Whew. Her girls go to the same pediatrician (who we absolutely love, by the way . . . you can read here about our first trip to our original pediatrician and why we're relieved to have one that we love).

Speaking of Christmas Cards . . . they've been selling like crazy. I've sold a few on etsy and a TON on ebay. Thanks to those of you who purchased them and/or told your friends.

Alright, I hear Jack laughing like a madman at Kyle so I want to go join in the fun!

P.S. One morning this week, we left Jack on our bed while we were getting dressed and he crawled right off the edge. I've never been so panicked in all of my life as a parent. He had a good cry and was fine, but it opened our eyes to how things need to change now that he's mobile. I felt like putting this in a "P.S." would make it seem a little less traumatic than it actually was for us. There. I've confessed to my negligence as a parent . . . for the whole Internet to see.

Playing store

I've filled a few Christmas Card orders this weekend and that's been encouraging! A few of you have asked where you can see more about the cards . . . here you go.

I feel a little bit like a kid playing, "store."