Office Update!

I thought about just updating my last post with the new stuff like my desk...but I decided to keep that one the way it is for posterity and just make a new post with everything updated...and a little more detailed about the materials I use in case anyone is interested. :) I posted a video on my Instagram, so I'll just add everything in order of the video. 

Here's what my office looks like now: 

Right next to my office door is Johnny's old desk. I used to have just the top hutch sitting on the floor as a bookcase, but when I got my new desk, I moved it back on top of Johnny's desk. Everything on the hutch is personal stuff...our cookbooks, my art and writing books, decorations from our wedding, etc. I have my paper cutter on the desk. I didn't have it when I took this photo, but I also have one of these LED light strips attached to the bottom of the first shelf on the hutch so I have more light when I'm using the paper cutter. Then I have some random stuff in the drawers on the left...tissue paper, corrugated cardboard sheets that I use to make sure rigid packages are more than .25" thick, etc. I've also been keeping the sticker sheets I've made in the right drawer for lack of a better place to put them right now. And under that drawer, I have two white plastic drawers...one to store legal-size paper and another that just holds mail and documents that I need to file or scan and shred. Next to the drawers are some plastic boxes that have cords and stuff in them...but eventually I'll move those somewhere else. And next to the desk is the top to my old art desk...which I haven't figured out what to do with yet, either. 

 

Next to that desk is an armoire entertainment center that we got from Johnny's sister-in-law. On top are a whole lot of shipping boxes in different sizes (which I don't go through very fast). In the main cabinet, I have my cold roll laminator. I have it attached with command strips so it doesn't move around while I'm using it. You can see the LED light strip in this photo...it's definitely too dark in there without it. On the little shelf at the top of the cabinet holds the Oraguard 215 Matte and Glossy laminate that I use for my stickers and magnets. Then I use the cabinet below for storage...mostly shipping supplies like rigid mailers, Priority Mail envelopes, shipping boxes, etc. 

Next to the armoire I have I have this hanging file organizer with some miscellaneous laminating sheets...mostly different styles of holographic laminate that I pretty much never use anymore. And in front of the armoire, I have a bunch of white plastic storage drawers. The ones I bought back in 2011 have been discontinued, but they're similar to these. I have a lot of miscellaneous stuff stored in them...tape, post-it notes, all the Happy Planner stickers I'd collected over the years, and stuff like that. I also store my 11x17 papers and magnets in the top large drawer. There are two drawers that I'm actually able to turn and face toward my desk which is really convenient. In the middle-size drawer, I have rigid mailers, small Priority Mail envelopes, and my little label maker. A small drawer on the top holds some measuring tapes, my digital caliper, and some other miscellaneous things. Oh and on top of those drawers, I have this dehumidifier that we previously had in the basement (it wasn't big enough for downstairs). Sticker paper has a habit of curling when it's humid and our house tends to have high humidity after we got our new HVAC system. 

 

My printer stand is next to the plastic drawers and faces toward my desk. I needed one that is sturdy enough to hold my heavy Epson ET-16650 printer but is compact enough not to take up much space...and this one works perfectly. It has two shelves that I use to hold extra reams of paper and extra envelopes when I need to replenish the ones on my desk (I prefer to have them on the printer stand instead of the armoire cabinet because I go through them pretty quick and it's easier to see when I need to reorder when I can see them easily). I have a small paper shredder kind of like this one on the roll-out shelf and this small trashcan for the tiny strips I cut off of the laminate to attach it to the sticker sheet before running it through my laminator. There's a little cubby on the end of the printer stand that I don't really know what to do with...so I have extra bottles of printer ink in it for now. On top of my printer, I have my sticker storage binder. For my die-cut stickers, I use these 9x9 pages. I have 2", 3", and 4" size options for reach design, so the 3 columns of 4"x4" pockets works great. I have another one with sheets that have (6) 4x6 pockets that I'd planned to keep my sticker sheets in, but the pockets are just a bit too tight to be useful.  

Then there's my desk...which I've had since my mom got it for me for my birthday in 2004. The drawers on the left have small post-it notes and tabs in the top, miscellaneous stuff (like command strips, spare parts to furniture, index cards, etc) in the middle drawer, and then hanging file folders are in the bottom drawer. The cabinet on the bottom right of the desk has computer stuff in there...replacement screws and stuff for repairs, dvds and software, old hard drives, etc. On the shelve just above that I have a drawer organizer like this one that has paperclips, binder clips, rubber bands, etc. The cabinet on the top left has miscellaneous art supplies. There's a shelf just below it...I usually just toss my packing slips there after I've printed on both sides. Previously I would use my phone, but I've found I make less mistakes when I'm working from paper. And it's easy to toss them up there when I'm in the middle of packaging. On the upper right shelf I have a washi tape organizer with my clipboard and miscellaneous things I've printed on top of it. Below that is my container that I put my oopsie stickers and magnets in. I like taking it to family gatherings and letting everyone go through it to see if there's anything they want. On both sides at the bottom of the hutch I have these clear acrylic drawers. On the left side I have all my door sign sticker and magnets. The right side has some magnets (I don't keep many of them in stock) and some of my oopsie stickers that I was using for mystery grab bags (although I haven't been selling those for awhile). On top of the drawers, I keep my postage meter for calculating postage. 

There's also a set of the acrylic drawers in the middle section of my desk where I keep some extra postage stamps and different labels for my label maker. I have this monitor stand which I use for a little more vertical organization. I actually removed the drawers and they fit perfectly underneath. I use it to store my order packaging supplies...the glassine envelopes, the cardstock cards I print and include with my orders, etc. I have two sets of plastic drawers on top of the monitor stand kind of like this 5-drawer one and this 3-drawer one. I keep pens and pencils in them...I have lots of different kinds. My favorite pens include Inkjoy gel pens and ballpoint pens (including the mini ones), RSVP, iBayam, Tombow, FriXion Markers and Pens, and several different kinds of Sakura Gelly Roll pens. And I prefer to use Bic pencils. I also have the envelopes that I package most of my Etsy orders in. I use these A9 envelopes for half-letter size and these A6 envelopes for quarter-letter size (or similar depending on what's available and the price). Oh and I have an Amazon Echo Dot that I listen to music on while I'm packaging orders. We actually have the old 3rd generation model that they don't sell anymore...we got it for free several years ago as a bundle with something else we bought. 

I have these hanging organizers attached to each side of the open middle space to hold my packaging stickers, sheets of stamps, and other little miscellaneous things that I use while packaging orders. I also have a Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite with this case hanging on the wall with this wall mount. I also have another LED light strip because it can get dark at my desk at night...which is usually when I package orders. Oh and on the very top shelf of my desk, I have white plastic storage drawers. It's where I keep a lot of different papers. I have my three different packaging stickers: round, 2.5x1.563, and 2.625x1 as well as my shipping labels.  I have my regular cardstock, thick cardstock, and glossy cardstock. And then the rest of the papers are different kinds and brands of vinyl sticker paper. 

Next to my desk, I have my light grip and strong grip cutting mats hanging on the wall. I use white curtains on the window so it still lets natural light in when I'm taking photographs. And I have this awesome set of folding shelf brackets that I put a piece of plywood on and then it's covered with a piece of 12x18 cardstock that I printed, laminated, and attached to the shelf. Then I have my ring light to provide a little extra light when I'm taking product photos on the shelf. I love that I can store the shelf down against the wall so it doesn't take up any room, and then just lift it up when I'm taking photos. Plus it makes use of that short wall under the window that I wouldn't be using for anything else...plus having the natural light from the window is great for photos. 

  

And now to my new desk which is making a HUGE difference in my office. I bought this one because it checked off all the boxes. I wanted one that was just the right size to fit my large Siser Romeo 24" cutter and my new Epson Workforce Pro WF-4833 printer without much extra space. The size couldn't be more perfect. And I also wanted one that had an upper shelf that went all the way across the desk but didn't have a support bar in the middle (so it wouldn't get in the way of the cutting mat on the Romeo). It also had to be high enough so that I could put my Cricut Maker 4 on the shelf without the Romeo being in the way of the cutting mat for the Cricut. And as a bonus, the height is perfect enough that the cutting mat for the Cricut actually rests on the Romeo to help prevent the mat from bending...so I don't have to use my mat extender anymore. The desk also has a very large fabric drawer with a shelf above it. I keep my bubble mailers in the drawer and store my old lightbox and thermal laminator on the shelf. I also have room underneath the desk to store my old laptop desk that I can pull out to stabilize my 12x24" cutting mats for the Romeo so they don't bend (curved mats tend to cause random cuts as it moves across the sheet because the page hits the blade when it isn't flat). Next to it I have two 10 gallon trash cans (one for trash and one for recycle). This desk also has a fabric cubby on the end that I don't really know what to do with...right now it just has an extra maintenance box for my ET-16650 printer. 

Next to the desk I have a tall set of plastic storage drawers that Johnny has had for, like, 20 years. They're kind of like this set (with 4 short drawers and 3 taller drawers) but it doesn't have the organizer on top. I store my thin paper that I use for packing slips and regular printing, thicker paper that I use when I'm printing planner paper because it doesn't bleed, my adhesive magnetic sheets, two drawers that have scrap paper, laminate, and magnetic sheets that I use for smaller stickers and magnets, and then a drawer for random papers. On top of the drawers, I have these four storage bins. I bought them to store the sticker vinyl that I use most often because I was hoping they would help with curling. They're okay, but I was hoping they'd be airtight. 

And...I think that's about it! :) I've posted the video I took blow. 

View this post on Instagram

 *post contains Amazon affiliate links

A month later...

It's been a whole month since I posted an actual update. I've actually had a post open in a tab of my browser with a home office update...but I haven't finished that, either. :P But I really love the layout of my office right now...it's working out so well. The new desk has made a huge difference.  

April has started out pretty slow...but about the same as last year. Last April I had 59 orders after the end of the first three weeks (through the 19th), and this year I have 65 orders through the 19th. I keep track of my sales and revenue from all my shops and compare them to the previous year...and so far I've done the same or better each month. I also watch a few of my competitors through eRank and my sales are pretty much on par with them (and they've been selling years longer than I have). When my competitors are also having a slower week as well...it tends to be more of an economy/market thing than an individual shop thing. 

As always, when sales are a bit slower I try to get some administrative stuff done or work on new designs and products. I finished my website last month (although I do have some more products that I need to add). I got my CandiMakerDesigns Etsy shop back up and added a graduation cap sticker sheet...which I've already had a sale for. I'm also adding some more custom name designs this weekend and last week I had a request for some specific political stickers, so I added those to my CandiMakerStickers shop. I also added a couple new sticker sheets in my CandiMakerPlanners shop. I keep telling myself that I'm going to take a break from work...but then I find other work stuff to do. :P

I'm also thinking about getting a TikTok shop up and going again. I haven't decided for sure yet, though. The last time I set up a TikTok shop and it was "suspended" the next day because they wanted a lot of paperwork that wasn't relevant. So far I haven't had that problem this time. I got everything set up this weekend, I just haven't added any products yet. I might wait and do that next weekend. 

I did take a short break last weekend to make some lemon cookies. I was craving some soft lemon cookies but the ones we got from the store were more chewy than soft...they just didn't satisfy my craving at all. So I did what I do and looked up a whole bunch of recipes online and put together my own recipe using lemon pudding mix...and they were SO yummy and soft. I'm going to make a similar recipe with vanilla pudding and chocolate bar pieces (which melt better than chocolate chips so the whole cookie will still be soft). I'll probably make them sometime this week. I need to come up with some more dinner recipes, too. But this week I'm making crackpot chicken and chicken fajitas. 

But...for now I think I'm going to package orders so I can get them mailed out for tomorrow and I might go to bed early. I have a horrible headache tonight. :-/  

*post contains affiliate links

RECIPE: Lemon Pudding Cookies

These are super soft, super yummy lemon cookies. The lemon pudding mix gives it a very nice, sweet lemon flavor. 

Ingredients:

2 large eggs, room temperature

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 tsp lemon juice concentrate

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

3.4 oz lemon pudding mix

1/2 tsp salt

2 1/2 to 3 cups of flour

 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease the cookie sheet(s). 

2. Mix together eggs, butter, shortening, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and both sugars. 

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together pudding mix, flour, baking power, baking soda, and salt. 

4. Carefully add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients 1 cup at a time. 

5. I use a 1tbs measuring spoon to scoop the dough and place it on the greased baking sheet then repeat with the rest of the dough.

6. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes. Let the cookies sit on the cookie sheet for 3 minutes before moving to a cooling rack. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Candace Pride (@tinycandi)

A Productive Weekend!

I got a LOT of stuff done this weekend! And...Johnny and I got some new desks! :)

Friday morning I decided to start working on my office right after I woke up. I needed to empty everything off of the hutch bookcase so I could move Johnny's old desk (the one that my Romeo was on) to that spot and then put the hutch bookcase on top of the desk where it belongs. That bookcase holds all my cookbooks, art books, some writing books, and then I have all of our wedding decorations on top (which I'm very glad still fit up there when we moved the hutch onto the desk).  

Friday afternoon my mom and grandma stopped by so I could fix Grandma's phone. She had inadvertently turned off the full-screen notification of when she's getting a call...so the phone was ringing with just a black screen and she couldn't tell who was calling. We had some Taco Tico for lunch and chatted for a bit. The dogs definitely liked having company. :) 

After mom and grandma left, Johnny's new desk arrived (an hour later than FedEx originally estimated). I got the top and the bottom of the desk put together and then I took a break so we could have some Casey's pizza for dinner. After we ate, Johnny helped me move both pieces of his desk into the bedroom and I attached them together. Then all I had to do was put the LED light strip up (which was not designed well because it lays flat so it can't go around the corner and still be flat against the board). But other than that, it really looks great. It'll definitely be better than the old, slanted art desk of his mom's that he was using before. 

I went to bed around 12:45am. Unfortunately...I woke up to Milo puking on the bed at my feet about two hours later. :P  I didn't want to wake Johnny, so I decided to just go ahead and get up. I didn't do a whole lot during the night...just kinda played around on my phone and the computer. But after Johnny woke up, I started washing the bedding and then got to work in my office. Apparently only two hours of sleep leads to productivity! :P 

Last month I started scanning some of the documents in the file cabinets that we have in the closet in my office...and I decided that I wanted to get those shredded before I put my new desk in the office. My desk ended up getting here around 9:30am (5 hours earlier than FedEx originally estimated) but I wanted to finish scanning first so I could get the box of paper out of the office. It seemed to take FOREVER...but I got the entire box done (which filled almost five 13gal trash bags). Then I vacuumed and moved some things around...and finally put my new desk together. It went pretty quick and it fits perfectly. I really like how my office is coming together. It's a pretty small room, but I'm trying to make the most of the space that I have. Later I'll update my office collection post with all my new stuff. :) 

I made creamy chicken enchiladas for dinner on Sunday night. They're SO yummy...but it makes my back hurt from standing so long. Usually I get my orders that I got over the weekend done on Sunday, but I needed a break after putting the desks together and reorganizing my office. I didn't have any orders due until the 17th, so I took a break on Sunday and then got back at it on Monday. I had a LOT of magnets to print and cut. I'm so glad that I started selling magnets as well as stickers, because it has really helped my business grow. The new layout of my office also helped a lot with my workflow. 

Ooh and I figured out how to create a playlist on Amazon Prime to play music while I'm packing orders. I had been playing shows on Netflix or Hulu on my tablet while working in the office, but I feel like I'm more productive and efficient when listing to music instead. I don't really want to pay for Amazon Music Unlimited every month, but I wanted to play music on the Echo dot that we got forever ago. So I figured out that I could add songs to "My Likes" playlist and then just have Alexa play that list to shuffle all the songs I actually like. I liked having my shows playing in the background, but playing music is more motivating and productive. ;) 

I also made some adjustments to the settings for my cardstock cards. Since my ET-16650 prints so fast, I'd completely forgotten how much slower other printers are...including my new WF-4833. But instead of printing high quality, I went ahead and bumped it down to standard, turned on bidirectional printing, and increased the contrast, saturation, and density. So now it looks pretty much the same, but it prints a lot faster. I like it when things are efficient. 

Oh and I finished the new season of Virgin River on Friday. The last few seasons feel pretty slow a lot of the time, but it wasn't too bad. And every season ends on a cliffhanger...which I never like. It's just a tool to make sure people come back and watch the next season to see what happens...which feels manipulative. But I still come back to see what happens. :P Well...most of the time. There are some shows that I completely lost interest in and don't even care to see what else happens. 

Well...I'm going to get back to work. 

What a mess!

So...my Epson ET-16650 has been having some issues. It still prints my stickers and sticker sheets beautifully, but the rollers seem to be having some issues with auto duplexing and recognizing that there is paper in the lower two cassettes unless they're full. I've opened it up multiple times and tried cleaning the rollers and everything...but it's still having issues. But the only things I've been having issues with are when I'm printing my packaging inserts and packing slips...so I don't want to replace the entire printer when it's still printing my actual products without any problems. 

I decided I would go ahead and get a cheaper printer for regular office printing. Since I don't need it to be pigment, I was looking at the regular Epson Ecotank printers. They had a "certified renew" Epson ET-3853 which was the cheapest ($179)...so I went ahead and got that one. It arrived yesterday and it was HORRIBLE. The very first print...there were black smudges all over the page. These weren't smears like the ink I printed hadn't dried or the paper was curled and it hit the printhead or anything. It honestly looked like someone took the paper and stepped on it with their dirty shoe. Just random smudges. I did paper guide cleaning, printhead cleaning, print quality adjustment, printhead alignment...all of it. I even cleaned the rollers off with a cotton swab as explained in the user manual which helped a bit until I had to do another printhead cleaning because there were missing spots in the nozzle check pattern...then it all came right back. I spent HOURS trying to get this damn printer to not make shitty prints to no avail. And I tried to print auto duplex (since that was one of the main reasons for getting a new printer) and the back of the page shifted while printing every time. I was so excited...just to waste the day on a defective printer. 

I've had THREE Epson Ecotank printers...an ET-16650 that I'd converted to sublimation (my sister has that now since I'm not doing sublimation anymore), an ET-5800 that I'd purchased from Epson's refurbished eBay store (that my mom is now using), and another Epson ET-16650 that I have been using for almost three years to print my stickers and sticker sheets. All three of them worked perfectly right out of the box including the refurbished ET-5800. I'd get another ET-5800-series printer if they weren't so dang expensive ($600-800) especially considering it's just for office printing and not products. 

The Epson store customer service line you have to call for returns (because, unfortunately, you can't just do it online) is only open from 7am-4pm PST...which means they close at 2pm my time. The first time I called was at 12:14pm. I explain the issue...and they say that I have to go through tech support to be approved for a return label and refund. So they transfer me and I explain every single thing I've already done. She wanted me to go through it all again...uh, no. I've already followed EVERY troubleshooting step and packaged the damn thing back up last night. So she just goes with it and says that she'll send me an email with the reference number...never got an email. So at 12:39pm I call the return number back. They said that they see no record of tech authorizing the return and they don't know why she would send an email anyway...so I'm transferred and have to explain ALL the things I already did AGAIN. This time I get a ticket/reference number saying it's a hardware failure and told that I have to call the return line back again. So now I call the return number again at 12:58pm. I give the guy the reference number I was given...and he says that there is no mention of a hardware failure, only troubleshooting. So I am transferred AGAIN and have to explain ALL the things I did AGAIN. She assured me that the hardware failure was now attached to the reference number and tried to transfer me back to the return number, but it wouldn't work so I had to call the return number again. FINALLY when I call back at 1:13pm I end up with an email for a return label. Now I just have to get it dropped off for FedEx. UGH. SO frustrating. 

So...I decided to go a different route. We had an Epson Workforce printer before I started my business. It worked fine for awhile, but we didn't print very often and it just went downhill after a few years. It was also a cartridge printer and went through cartridges pretty quick. That's why I originally wasn't going to get another Workforce printer...but I don't want to spend a lot of money on a printer just for my office stuff. So I decided to reexamine the Workforce printers. And after the headache dealing with Epson, I decided I didn't want to go through them directly. I actually found a pretty nice option at our local Walmart that could be delivered same day. Ideally I wanted a printer that could handle auto duplexing cardstock and even better if it had two dedicated paper trays so I could have one for plain paper and another for cardstock like I've had in my ET-16650. The Workforce Pro WF-4833 is actually a lot like my old ET-5800. The only thing it doesn't have that I would've liked is a rear feed paper tray...but that's a pretty minor thing. And, of course, I wish it was a tank printer instead of cartridges. But since the printer is only $129, getting cartridges aren't that bad at this point. 

I got the WF-4833 all set up...and it worked beautifully right out of the box. I printed my double-sided cards that are printed on cardstock...and it had no problem auto duplexing the cardstock from the paper cassette. It does print quite a bit lighter than my ET-16650...but I don't know how much changing I'll do because I don't want to use more of the ink than I really have to on things that a lot of my customers probably throw away anyway. And we'll see how long the cartridges last. But so far I'm pleased with my purchase. :) 

And...I'm really running out of desk space for all my stuff...especially with the new printer. So I found a cheap desk on Amazon that I think will work well for my small office. I'm going to move Johnny's old desk (the one my Romeo has been on) over next to the armoire where the hutch (more like a bookcase) that goes on top of that desk already is. On the hutch I just have my cookbooks, art and writing books, and then all the stuff from our wedding displayed on it. I used to have all my planners and everyone's yearbooks and stuff on it too, but I took all those downstairs when preparing for one of the storms that they were saying would basically take out our town (it barely stormed at all, of course). I decided to go ahead and just leave them in the basement instead of bringing them downstairs every time there might be a tornado warning. 

Anyway...the new desk I got should fit where Johnny's old desk had been. If it all works out, it should fit my new printer, the Romeo, and my Cricut on the new desk. Then I can move a few random things (like my paper cutter) onto Johnny's old desk. Right now it's just sitting on the end of my desk and I have to keep moving it to use it or when I need more space on my desk. I'm really excited to be making a little better use of the space in my small office. :) I'm all caught up on orders and my desk is supposed to be delivered on Saturday...so I'm going to use the next few days to clean up and rearrange in my office. That way I'll be all ready to put the desk together and move it to its new home. :)

We also got a new desk for Johnny to use for work. He's been using his mom's art desk that's set up in a corner of our bedroom. It has a slightly slanted top which really isn't suitable to use as a computer desk. So it's definitely time we got him an upgrade to something that has much more of an "office" feel to it. I found a perfect corner desk that I think he will love. It's supposed to be delivered on Friday, so I'll put it together when it arrives and then he can get it all set up the way he wants over the weekend so he can have a fresh start to his work week on Monday. :) 

Right now I'm waiting for the new season of Virgin River to start. The new episodes are supposed to drop on Netflix at 2am...so I'm going to wait up for it. I'm only going to watch the first episode tonight...I'll finish the rest tomorrow. Season 6 ended on a cliffhanger...the very last scene is Jack walking into the twins' bedroom at Charmaine's (after Charmaine was a no-show at the wedding and no one could get a hold of her) and he has a shocked look on his face after he opens the door...and that's it. That's where they ended it. I just want to know what the hell he saw! :P lol. 

And that's about all that's going on around here. I lead a super exciting life. ;)