Three posts?!

Here I am...third post of the month! But...it's another post about work again. :P I have some exciting things coming up though! 

My sister is going to be working a vendor event with a friend of hers in May...and she's going to be taking some of my stickers to sell alongside the stuff that she and her friend are selling. Since it's kind of a combined thing, I went ahead and prepared some retail packaging that has my branding on it so that it's set apart from their stuff. I'd already started printing my text logo on the back of my stickers. But now I'll also have specific retail packaging. I am printing and cutting the backer cards myself (figured out how to use print and cut to make double-sided cards!) and then I have cellophane bags to put them in. I also have a t-slot hole punch so that the backers can be used as hang tags for display, too. Now we just need to figure out which designs to take! 

I decided to make SKU numbers for all my die-cut stickers. I don't necessarily *need* them right now...but I figure it will be easier to do it now before I add even more designs. I never thought about it until I was researching wholesale marketplaces. A lot of sticker makers in a FB group that I like are also selling wholesale so I was seriously considering it. Having unique SKU numbers that match products across multiple platforms is the basic idea. And...it would come in handy if I decide to start doing more vendor events and invested in a point-of-sale system and using barcodes to track inventory and purchases. I'm not at that point yet...but I figure it's easier to add numbers as I go rather than wait until I have even more designs that I would have to go back and add them to. Once I came up with a logical system for assigning unique numbers that I'd be able to easily keep up with as I add designs, it wasn't too difficult. Now I'm just going through all my Etsy listings and adding the numbers in. 

I ultimately decided against joining one of the wholesale marketplaces, though. The more I looked into the options available, the less I liked the details. Between higher commissions and some that didn't allow for the seller to control shipping providers...it just started to seem less appealing. So for now, I've created a wholesale listing in my Etsy shop. The 9.5%+.45 that Etsy takes and being able to make my own shipping decisions is better than 15-25% and/or little to no control over shipping. 

I'm also not as active on social media as I need to be...especially since I don't have my own website. Social media is one of the things I need to work on this year. I always think about it...then just don't get around to it. 

I'm also going to be listing some custom text stickers in the very near future. I'm going to start working on those next weekend, I think. I'm excited to design those...I think they'll be fun. And hopefully people will like them. :) 

Oh and I got another order for a sublimation transfer. Every time I think about converting my big printer back to a regular pigment printer and not selling transfers...I get another order. :P I'm still selling "He is Risen" sublimation digital downloads pretty regularly as well. They're generally just a seasonal item so after the week of Easter, those die down. I think I said it before...but I need to decide one way or another if I'm going to keep up with my sublimation shops and if so...start putting out some more designs. Decisions, decisions. 

ALSO...I actually have ANOTHER Etsy shop that I'm thinking about. It was always part of my plan in the beginning. I even created the email address and Etsy account for it. I started thinking that I would add it to my sticker shop...but I've got OCPD and I have too many sections in my sticker shop already to add more for a separate product. :P I know I'm being vague...but I am still very much in the planning phase. I'm excited to start, though, so hopefully I'll have more to share about it soon. :) 

Well...gonna get back to work! 

Twice in one month?!

Wow...I am actually making my second post of the month! Last month I only made one post toward the end of the month and January was just my annual "year in review" survey on the first of the month. :P There have been many times I've started to write a post but then never get around to finishing it. It also feels like a lot of times, I'm just saying the same things over and over again because...well...my life is mostly doing the same things over and over again. :P 

Most of my days are spent working on my Etsy shops. I say shops...but it's mostly just my sticker shop that I'm working on at this point. I haven't made new sublimation designs since I opened CandiMakerStickers in January. I've even considered shuttering CandiMakerTransfers and converting my sublimation printer back to a regular printer to use for CandiMakerStickers. Of course, the day I started seriously thinking about that...I got an order for a 10-pack of transfers. So I took it as a sign that I should wait. But...if I'm going to continue, I should really start putting out more designs and working on my SEO, etc. 

Honestly, I think a big part of the problem is that I refuse to create anything that violates trademark and copyright...but that's what a lot of people are looking for. So many people make/sell things that are based on what's already popular like TV shows, movies, songs, celebrities, sports teams, brands like Disney and LV, etc. I used to follow SO many sublimation groups on FB...but at least every other post was IP infringement. So that really limits my customer base...especially when it's already limited to people who make/sell their own items instead of the general public buying finished products. 

I think part of the reason why I enjoy working on CandiMakerStickers so much is because I belong to a great FB group that keeps me motivated. While there are some sticker makers who sell infringing items...most posts are helpful tips and tricks for making as well as selling stickers. We talk about all the different kinds of equipment, tools, supplies, etc. and everyone is always so helpful with answers to questions and willing to share what works best for them. It's just a nice little community and there's SO much variety with designs...I love seeing everyone's work. It's inspirational and makes me excited to work on new items. 

And on that note...back to work! :) 

My Home Office!

We have been busy cleaning and getting some stuff down around the house this weekend. I've been working on my office...did some more organizing and a bit of rearranging in my office so I thought I'd post an updated video. :) 

My office is actually the smallest bedroom in our house, but I am trying to make the most of my space. I'm really big on organization and using as much of the space as I can in a productive way. I'm also not big on spending money when I don't have to either...so basically all of the actual furniture in the room is what we already had. I would *love* to build a wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling desk/organization unit that wraps around the whole room...but that takes time and money. So...maybe one day. But for now...I like how my office is coming along. :) 

So the first thing in the video is my little metal cart that has my heat press and convection oven on it. I bought the cart from Walmart.com for less than $40 and it's really sturdy with good wheels. I needed to be able to move it around to a plug in as well as pull it away from any other heat-sensitive things when I'm actually using it. And then behind it is my vinyl storage. My mom got that for me from Michaels when we went shopping for my 40th birthday. :) It's purposely not connected on the third hook because that way I can still open the bifold closet door when I need to get in there (the closet is just for storage). 

Then on the other side of the closet I have my bookshelves. I know I got the tall one at a garage sale with my dad...I think I got the short one (which just has paperback books on it because it's actually a DVD shelf) from a garage sale as well. Most of the novels were my grandma's. After she died, grandpa let everyone take whatever books they wanted. I tried to find as many as I could where she had written her name in it rather than just the sticker with her name and address on it (she always used to loan her books out). She was a BIG reader so it meant a lot to have things that she enjoyed so much while she was alive. I miss her terribly. :( On top of the short bookcase I have my DSLR camera and charger. I was going to use it to take product photos...but honestly, the camera on my phone is much better than my DSLR that I bought back in 2009. :P 

Then in front of the window I have my Cricut Maker 3. It's sitting on top of a bunch of white plastic drawers that I bought in January 2012. They were in the laundry room at my old apartment to use as the girls' "dresser" when I decided it was much more convenient to keep all their clothes in there so I could take them straight from the dryer and put them away all in the same space. 

After we moved out of my apartment and into Johnny's house, the drawers went in the girls' closets. But then when they movd out...I decided they'd be perfect in my office. There is one large drawer, two tall drawers, and then 3 small drawers on each side. I have them back-to-back next to each other with a piece of heavy white cardboard on top (which I eventually want to replace with something a bit sturdier). In the drawers that open toward the closet, I have a bunch of sublimation blanks and other miscellaneous stuff that I don't use as often. Then in the drawers facing my desk, I have all my planner supplies, sticky notes, rulers, tape and glue, Cricut supplies, etc. The box in front is actually a box of 5mil thermal laminate that just happens to be about the same height as my Cricut so it gives me a flatter surface.

Then there's my desk which my mom bought for an early birthday present back in 2004. I remember because I was very pregnant with Ashlyn when I was putting it together by myself (because XH didn't want me to have it so he refused to help with it). I'm pretty sure we got it from Walmart...and it has survived 6 different moves since then. I love that it has so much storage space. The bottom left drawer has hanging file folders (some of them that are most recent...the rest are in the two filing cabinets in the closet), the second drawer has some miscellaneous stuff, and then the top drawer has my sticky tabs and decorative clips. 

In the left side of the "hutch" part of my desk... The cubby with the door has some of my art supplies that I use more regularly...drawing pencils, colored pencils, charcoal, and my oven-baked clay supplies. The rest of the massive amount of art supplies that we have are downstairs on the bookcases in the basement. The shelf just below that has my light board and my current planner, then the space below that on the desk has all my past planners (although some of my old Happy Planner unused pages and covers have been reused for HP sticker storage so those years are in the file cabinet drawer below). In front of my planners is my postage scale that I got from Amazon. 

Then the open space in the middle I have a lot of my Etsy stuff. The black and white binder on the left is where I store my sticker inventory. Then next to that, I have two sets of small plastic drawers that have all my pens and regular pencils...yes I have a lot! lol. There is some miscellaneous stuff on top of those drawers like scissors, stapler, index card box (which has a lot of my writing snippets and ideas for future stories/books I'd like to write, and a little box of decorative note paper. Then I have the box of envelopes that I ship my stickers in and the hanging folder organizers on either side of that open hutch area are the packaging stickers and inserts that I ship with my Etsy orders. They used to be in the armoire, but I needed the room and I like being able to sit at my desk to package orders instead of standing at the armoire. Oh and I have our Amazon Echo Show sitting in front of the envelopes. It used to be in the kitchen, but we rarely actually used it in there. But now I can listen to music and/or play TV shows/movies while I'm working in the office. There's not enough empty space to mount a TV in there...plus I don't really watch anything as much as I just listen to it since I'm mostly working while I'm in the office. Oh and the laptop and mouse are on the pull-out keyboard shelf just below the desktop.

Then on the right side of the hutch... On the top shelf, I have some of my writing books that I've collected over the years and a folder that has my old writing in it. Then the next shelf has my desktop tripod and the thermal laminator. Below that is my washi tape storage drawers that Johnny bought me for Christmas one year. I'm actually starting to store my magnetic bookmarks there too (they're in the bottom drawer of it for now). And then in the shelf just under the desktop, I have a drawer organizer that has little things like paperclips, a few rubber bands, and other small miscellaneous stuff. And in the cabinet below (where a tower PC would usually be), I have all my software and back-up discs, hard drives, computer parts and repair kits, etc. in there. Just in front of that is my ring light/tripod that I got on Amazon. 

Then next to my desk, I have Johnny's old desk which has my two Epson EcoTank printers on it. The printer I use for stickers and regular printing is facing my desk, then the printer I use for sublimation is facing the opposite direction toward the armoire. On the other side of that desk (up against the wall) you can see the black Epson Workforce printer that we've had for many years...which I mostly just use to print shipping labels right now. It's sitting on two sets of white plastic drawers (the small one on top has 3 regular paper-size drawers and then the tall one on bottom has more drawers that are a bit larger)...all the drawers face the armoire. Eventually I want to get a set of drawers that is taller and has more drawers that are all the same size...since I don't really need the taller drawers that are in the bottom set of drawers. They basically take up the size of 2 drawers and I have more types of paper than I do types that would need drawers that tall. :P So someday I'll replace those. There are drawers in the desk where I keep miscellaneous items: sublimation and pigment ink refills, corrugated cardboard sheets for making packages thicker and more rigid, bubble wrap and tissue paper, extra pieces of cardstock left when I've used the rest of the page, etc.  

Across from the printers is the armoire. This used to be where I would package all my orders...because the shelves in the cabinet down below store all my shipping boxes, envelopes, extra packaging supplies, etc. (and extras that don't fit below are sitting on top of the armoire). However...I find it much more useful to have my new cold roll manual laminator in the armoire, because it's easier to keep dust out of there with the doors shut all the time except when I'm using it. I also have my larger guillotine paper cutter in there (mostly for lack of a better place for it) and my sublimation paper stored on the shelf above (again, for lack of a better place for it). I bought a cheap LED strip light with an on/off switch (that's what the cord is for) on Amazon and it works great for more light in there! 

Next to the armoire is the removable hutch that goes with Johnny's desk. It's sort of a decorative/storage spot for my stuff. I have all the art books I've collected over the years, all the cookbooks that Johnny and I have, yearbooks, etc. And then on top, I have all the decorations from our wedding like the main centerpiece, bouquets, ornaments, etc. plus a couple photos of us and a few other mementos. Then the handmade wreath we had as wedding decor and the sign that was posted outside of our wedding venue (so everyone knew where to go) is hanging on the wall above. On the floor under the hutch I have some more storage drawers and plastic tubs that have miscellaneous stuff in them.

Then the last item seen in the video is a black mail holder with two slots...the top one is for outgoing envelopes and the bottom one is where I store my mystery grab bags that are already in the bag and ready to be put in an envelope and shipped when ordered. 

And that's it...that's my little home office. It's definitely one of my favorite rooms in the house. :)