Saturday, March 16, 2013

Saturday Challenge 3/16



Welcome to the "Saturday Challenge", the purpose is to get you to do something for someone else, for yourself and for the bloggers you've come to know along your journey.

Every week the the challenge will begin with "Today I Challenge You To..." or "This Week I Challenge You To..."

Paste the Code below into your post to link back to the challenge.
Today I Challenge You To...
1. Say something nice about 2 different people that you've met through blogging, shop ownership, social media, etc.

2. Do something nice for a complete stranger.

3. Do something nice for someone you know.

4. Say something good about yourself.

5. What are you thankful for this week? (Doesn't have to be big or profound)


6. Treat yourself to something - a bubble bath, a coffee without distractions, something - just take time out for you.  What did you do for yourself?


7. What was the highlight of your week?  Share it with us!




Challenge Accepted...
1. Say something nice about 2 different people that you've met through blogging, shop ownership, etc..
I'd have to say Chelsea over at Sunny with a Chance of Sprinkles.  She's not only adorable, but she's in nursing school, runs a successful blog and still has time to be an amazing mamma to her little Alea! So major Kudos to Chelsea - if you haven't checked out her blog you should, she's got some fun posts, some awesome kid friendly ideas and all kinds of giveaways like all the time!

Alyson over at Vintage Sunshine is also quite the lady.  Her family recently relocated and she's handling so graciously, not always easy to move from family - nesting her adorable home, posting delicious looking recipes on the blog, playing in the snow with the kiddos. Not only that, but she's got some cute kiddos, a really adorable blog and the woman has some talent with a needle - you should check out her hoops (I have one in my studio) and her adorable coffee cozies!

2. Do something nice for a complete stranger.
All of the girls (there are a lot of them) that work at my local little drive through coffee shack all got a pair of earrings that I had as extra inventory from a craft show... because who doesn't love getting random free things?!

3. Do something nice for someone you know.

I donated a few shop items to a friend to help her raise money for a charity... her boss won, which is fun!

4. Say something good about yourself.I'm stubborn.  Most people think this is a negative quality, but really, all it means is I don't give up as easily -  because let's be honest if I did I would: have a blog, have a shop, have a master's degree (granted not using it)... it's because I refuse to quit.

5. 
What are you thankful for this week? (Doesn't have to be big or profound)
I feel like I said this last time, but I am so thankful that the shop is finally taking off, doing things and people are being so responsive!

6. Treat yourself to something - a bubble bath, a coffee without distractions, something - just take time out for you.

Last night I definitely just sat in my comfy chair with some Chang's take out (well, since I work there nothing special) and watched Pretty Woman in my jammies then went to bed - no shop stuff, no blog stuff... it was pretty nice.

7. What was the highlight of your week, share it with us!
I'd have to say finally getting going on this wholesale order for Gracie B.  Having the email was a lot different than actually starting the products, means that my shop is making waves folks. 







Thursday, March 14, 2013

All kinds of things are happening!

Wowza peeps, that's all I've got to say about that!  

So, things are happening - first, apparently Google & Blogger are going all wonky - which I don't get since they are such a useful platform... that being said - I do have a Bloglovin' account and you're welcome to follow me there.


Also I am currently working on an adorable wholesale order to send to the lovely ladies over at Gracie B.  You should check it out, follow them on twitter, do something!


Oh also. Want to go win things?

How about a "Hard to Handle" Clutch from Andrea over at Love Is?


Or perhaps this Yellow Chevron Whitney Bag designed for Chelsea over at 


How about a Scrappy Bag from Mandy at This Girl's Life?
*adding 12 new bag designs this weekend*

Good Luck!  





Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Questions for the Saturday Challenge 3/16

What you might ask is happening, it's not Saturday why are you posting this?!  Just keep reading - I will try to answer your questions.  This week I am trying something new, and giving y'all the prompt a few days early to allow you to finish it by Saturday so that I can hopefully get more of you involved.

Welcome to the "Saturday Challenge", the purpose is to get you to do something for someone else, for yourself and for the bloggers you've come to know along your journey.

Every week the the challenge will begin with "Today I Challenge You To..." or "This Week I Challenge You To..."

Paste the Code below into your post to link back to the challenge for the post you write Saturday.
Today I Challenge You To...

1. Say something nice about 2 different people that you've met through blogging, shop ownership, social media, etc.

2. Do something nice for a complete stranger.

3. Do something nice for someone you know.

4. Say something good about yourself.

5. What are you thankful for this week? (Doesn't have to be big or profound)


6. Treat yourself to something - a bubble bath, a coffee without distractions, something - just take time out for you.  What did you do for yourself?


7. What was the highlight of your week?  Share it with us!



Challenge Accepted...
Okay - so here's the deal.  If you've accepted the challenge.  You will come back on Saturday (goes live at 12am on Saturday) and you will submit your post through the inLinkz button at the bottom of the post on Saturday - which will aptly be titled:

Challenge Accepted, 3/16

Can't wait to see you all back then!




Monday, March 11, 2013

Old to new...

I love the concept of taking something old and making it not only functional, but amazingly beautiful!  There is so much creativity out there with so many fun ways to take things and re-furbish them without spending hundreds of dollars for similar products from fancy stores (I won't point fingers, but we all know)...

Who doesn't love this whole - old window to what every you want look?





So yes, windows are fun... then there are the doors!  I die. Just die.

  


Now all I want to do is go find old things and make them pretty!!!!




Saturday, March 9, 2013

Giveaway from This Girl's Life

Alright y'all so the next few weeks are going to be super full of fun free things!  That being said, I am turning over the blog to do a giveaway from Mandy, her shop: Love Squirrels (seriously, adorable!!!)

Good luck!


Hi! I'm Mandy and I blog over at This Girl's Life


I'm a 30-something working mom of twin boys and wife to my hunky stay-at-home dad/husband Dan. My blog is a fun mix of fashion, DIY and crafty projects, stories about marriage and motherhood, and an occasional dose of spiritual inspiration.  I guess you could say I'm a crafter at heart. I love creating things and will try just about any DIY project I can get my hands on. Lately I'm really enjoying jewelry making and am excited to send this adorable key necklace home with one of you! 









a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, March 1, 2013

Shop Talk: Handmade Pricing


Having a handmade shop, my favorite comment of all time is:  "You know your products are over priced" - this was some little old lady telling me I was overpricing (at the time $18.00 for a kindle case) my items... which it turns out, I was under-pricing them by at least $5.00 so no.

I also love hearing - "why would I spend so much on this bag, when I can get one kind of similar at Walmart?" - well, why don't you just stick it where the sun don't shine?!  Sorry, but seriously - our world is having this amazing return to handmade products and I think that's great, but people need to remember that behind every handmade shop is a shop owner often times struggling to get by because of this "big box store" mentality.

So to explain a few things, I have put together this little blog post to answer a few questions... and with any luck, I will continue to post similar topics about small business adventures including: packaging, social media and getting out there in the real world.



I love the "Pricing Worksheet" in Craft Inc. by Meg Mateo Ilasco.


Using the standard mark-ups provided by Craft, Inc - the Whitney Bag should retail for.... $300+ which is just a tad bit silly.  But have no fear, there's a way to work with that...

"...pricing is a balancing act between what an item actually costs and what your market would be willing to pay for it..." (Craft, Inc. pg. 84)



So here's how I calculate my prices so that they are "reasonable"... since I run a 1 person operation, there's no outsourcing I make every product 100% from start to finish from the raw materials.  This means I can cut out the labor costs that you would calculate for paid labor, charge myself a base "fee" and still make all the profit for myself (kinda backwards paying myself for the labor)... 

*Note that each material price is calculated by the sq. inch.

Okay yes, that's super... but what exactly do these numbers mean?  What goes into making a handmade product?



This is a disassembled (or rather, not yet assembled) Whitney Bag.
  • Outside of the bag:
    • Bottom: 3 separate leather pieces
    • 2 pieces of cotton
    • Top: 2 pieces of leather
  • 2 Straps: 2 leather pieces, 2 cord pieces, 8 rivets, 4 rivet attachment leather pieces
  • 1 cross body strap: 1 leather piece, 3 pieces of hardware, 1 canvas piece, 2 rivet attachment leather pieces, 5 rivets, 2 d-ring attachments, 2 d-rings
  • Inside of the bag:
    • 3 separate cotton pieces (sides and bottom)
    • 2 pieces of canvas for top, 2 invisible magnet snaps
    • 2 pockets
    • 3 pieces of bias tape
    • 1 clip
Each piece is measured (I use a set template that I trace right onto the leather for the odd shaped pieces and set measurements for the rest), traced and cut out.
I usually spend an entire day cutting out a mass amount of the raw materials so they are ready to go on assembly day.

The pieces are then sewn, finished and assembled to their respective needs: 
     Ie: all of the bag linings are assembled, the straps are sewn, the rivet holes are punched, the outsides are assembled...

So that come assembly day I can put the larger pieces together in significantly less time than if I made each bag from start to finish.




And that my friends, is how a handmade product is born and priced.



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