Step Into My Office....

Happy Tuesday evening! I'm feeling rather pleased with myself right now as I just finished organizing all of my yarn and other various supplies, along with all of my finished product in my little coat closet! We recently moved and half of my stuff has been trapped in boxes for the past couple of months. I'm extremely happy because our new home has a pretty good sized coat closet off of our living room and my wonderful husband has allowed me to take it over as a makeshift supply closet/office. After getting all of my goodies unpacked, I've come to the conclusion that I just may have too much yarn! As if that were really possible. I've taken a few photographs of my organization project just to better share my yarn madness with the world...

I know, it's a little out of control. But at least now I can see everything easily which makes finding just the right color a breeze!!!! I doubt I'm the only person with limited storage space and an excess in supplies.

I've also finally completed the last of the few custom orders I had lately. This one was another in the theme of the skull but in solid black with a grey skull applique...



And finally, I had a moment to add a new item to my Etsy shop today as well. It's a little mustard yellow plush owl that is just the right size to be used for a stocking stuffer...

 http://www.etsy.com/listing/88047082/small-stuffed-plush-crochet-owl-stocking

Cute right???? You can pick him up for that special someone @ http://www.luvbuzz.etsy.com/ or by clicking on the direct product link http://www.etsy.com/listing/88047082/small-stuffed-plush-crochet-owl-stocking.
I plan on making more of these little guys in various colors over the next few days. I think they are just so adorable. And they make great desk buddies. I have a little brown one sitting here with me at my computer everyday. I will be posing more links and pictures as the week progresses. I hope to get several more completed before the Christmas shipping deadline of December 20th. And, don't forget, you can pick this guy up for 15% off if you order him before Dec. 20th with coupon code "XMAS2011".

Alright, I've got owls to make along with a pair of slippers for my nephew so I must be moving on for today!
Until next time, Happy Happy Crafting :)

Happy Holidays

Alright, so we all survived Thanksgiving and the Black Friday-Small Business Saturday-Cyber Monday rush.
Or should I say lack there of for my shop at least. Well, I can't say it was a total bust but I didn't do half as well as one would think. It seems that since the holiday season has officially begun, my views have plummeted to near nothing! During the four day discount shopping extravaganza I offered free shipping on all domestic orders in my Etsy shop. I made two sales and one was an international customer so they didn't even use free shipping. On a quick side note, this was my very first international order so I was pretty excited about that. They bought a sweet little purse all the way from Australia. I had my husband run it off to the Post Office for me, which turned out to be not such a great idea. He shipped it First Class with no insurance (the opposite of what I asked him to do) simply because he was not paying attention when I explained to him that the customer had paid $15 in shipping so cost was not an issue in this case. Anyhow, I ended up refunding most of the shipping to the buyer as a result. I'm hoping they get their package in time for Christmas. Lesson learned: never let someone other than myself ship my mail for me!
Needless to say, those two orders were the last my shop has seen every since! I just completed a custom order for a toddler hat that has been two weeks in the making! My supplier was out of the yarn I needed which meant I had to order it online, which caused a huge delay in the whole creative process. Luckily this customer has been a really good sport about it. I normally like to get custom items completed and shipped within 3-5 days of payment. I also aim to ship out all of my "ready to ship" items the day of or next day from the time payment is received.
I've also recently completed a custom order for three hats that I received through my facebook profile. I'll upload those photos later in this post. It's for a mother, father and baby matching color scheme set with skull appliques. I was REALLY excited about this order because I have been wanting to create my own crochet skull applique for quite some time and just hadn't had a moment to get to it. They came out even better than I envisioned. I will definitely be doing more hats like these...

 Mother's Hat

 Father's Hat

Infant's Hat

Okay now for my current promotional situation. I am offering 15% off on all orders placed in my shop www.luvbuzz.etsy.com by December 20th! The coupon code for this promotion is "XMAS15" or "XMAS2011". Just enter either code in the little box at checkout.

I'm hoping that all of my fellow small business owners and Etsy sellers are having much more luck with the holiday sales rush than I seem to be so far. And I'm still feeling optimistic that my traffic will pick up within the next couple of weeks.

Right now, I'm off to make some special items for a few family members and perhaps a little thank you gift for the kind and very patient customer who's been waiting two weeks for her toddler hat!

Until next time...Happy, Happy Crafting!!!