Sacramento's Very Own "Etsy Craft Party"

Etsy's birthday is coming up, and they want US to throw the party!!!

Please join us at 6pm on June 18, 2010 for Etsy's 5th birthday party! We'll be meeting at McKinley Park in Sacramento. We won't have a reservation because to do that means someone has to be at the park at 11am and remain there until the event starts at 6pm! One member of the team did offer to do this, but so far we have less than 50 RSVPs -- which is the magic number, after which a reservation is required.

We'll be having a potluck, so if you're attending our Craft Party, please bring some food to share -- enough to feed 6 to 8 people is probably adequate, since everyone won't want to have a serving of every food item (I hope!). The Sac Etsy team will furnish paper plates, forks, napkins and bottled water and/or soda. You can BYOB as long as it's not alcohol (no booze allowed in city parks, sorry!). If you have a folding chair (or two) or a blanket, you're welcome to bring that. Without a park reservation, we may or may not be able to score a picnic table! It would be nice to at least have a table or two from which to serve the food! I have an EZ-up canopy, so if I can get a couple of strong folks to help me put it up (and take it down), we can use that, if folks want to.

Please bring something for a crafty show & tell! This can be your current project or something you've already made (or ???). We're also going to try to work some "Make It & Take It" demos into the evening, so if you have a technique you can teach in 15 minutes or so, bring some supplies to share with your "students" and we'll try to give you some time! We have one lesson planned already -- a couple of our team members will bring yarn and knitting needles and/or crochet hooks and teach the basics of these crafts. The goal is to create enough "granny squares" to make a small afghan, which we will then either raffle off (probably to build up the Team treasury!) or we may decide to donate it to a worthy cause.
 
Because it's their birthday, Etsy is going to send presents to the 50 parties with the most RSVP's, so if you'd be so kind as to RSVP for the Sacramento "Craft Party" that will help us reach our goal of being one of the top 50 parties!

We hope you'll join us on June 18, 2010 ... see you then!

Cash for Appliances Rebate Program

There's a new rebate program funded by ARRA that starts today! As with the "Cash for Clunkers" program last Fall, if you want to get in on this, you should act quickly!

Here's the web site: http://www.cash4appliances.org

The Cash For Appliances rebate period starts April 22, 2010, and lasts until May 23, 2010. Rebates are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Only refrigerators, clothes washers and room air conditioners are eligible. The rebate amounts are:

• Eligible Refrigerators - $200
• Eligible Clothes Washers - $100
• Eligible Room Air Conditioners - up to $50

Other appliance rebates may be available from your utility company, appliance retailer, or other entity, so be sure to check on this and "stack" your rebates just like coupons!

Selling on Consignment

A CCCOE member had asked about consignment to an out-of-state shop. I posted the following thoughts in reply to her question, and thought I would share them here too.

I have had problems several times over the years when consigning to an out-of-state shop. Personally, I wouldn't do it. Period.

Consignment is a great deal for the shop owner because they don't have to put out any of their money in order to get your product. Unfortunately, this may also mean that they don't have any interest in promoting it in the shop. If they sell a mixture of consigned items and items which they have purchased outright (wholesale), their energy will most likely be focused on selling the items in which they have an investment.

However, if you're determined to consider consignment, here are some thoughts ... in no particular order.

The artist who posed the question indicated that the shop wanted the items for one year. I suggested that she ask why they only want your items for one year. If the same items are sitting in a shop after one year, chances are they will have been relegated to the back of the shop (storeroom) long before that time.

If the time comes that your items need to be returned to you (after the one year or whenever), who will pay the shipping cost? Will they be packed securely to withstand the shipping process?

Ask how long they have been in business. If they've been in business less than a year, think twice about consigning to them. If they only do consignment, and don't purchase any of their inventory outright, it would be preferable if they've been in business 2 or 3 years. Consignments shops are super-easy to start since there's little investment beyond the rent and utilities; unfortunately this also means they tend to come and go very quickly!

Ask if they have a web site and check it out -- does it look professional or amateurish? Would you trust a web site that looked like that? Would you trust a shop that has a web site that looks like that? If they don't have a web site, ask them why not. EVERY business should have a web site these days, even if it's purely informational and not set up for online sales. Since you can't visit the shop in person (or if it would be difficult to do so), you need to have a feel for the shop.

Make sure the shop or boutique is the type of place you would want to see your product in, i.e., is it also a hardware store or a baby boutique? If you create art which appeals to this clientele, then GREAT!! But if you don't why would you want to show your wares in this type of shop? Over the years, I've received inquiries from some very interesting places (including car washes) that have absolutely nothing to do with the type of work I create.

Do they get an adequate amount of traffic? This may be hard to judge long-distance. If they're in a mall or a busy pedestrian area (i.e., 4th Street in Berkeley, shown in the picture above), they'll get plenty of traffic. If they're in a rural area, maybe not so much!

Ask what percentage of commission they want. If it's 40% (which is fairly common these days), you'd do better off wholesaling, even if you had to give them 50% off to do so -- at least you'd have your money and wouldn't be worrying about whether or not you'd ever see your product again (or payment for it).

Ask if they have a contract stating their terms. If they don't have one, could you write one up and would they be willing to sign it? You need to have something in writing, signed and dated by both parties of course,
regardless of which one of you writes it up.

Be sure you know how often you will get paid, and be prepared to hold them to it. If they can't pay you for your sold items at least once a month, there's likely something wrong (i.e., if they only want to pay quarterly, they're probably hoping you'll forget about them before three months have passed).

Don't consign more than you can afford to lose, should it disappear forever w/o compensation; everyone has their own threshold here, whether that's a dozen pieces or $1,000 worth of product.

Hope these thoughts help ... good luck!

This is Getting Exciting!

Last week I perused the housewares at the mega store we all love to hate in Roseville. When I can afford to shop at better stores, I plan to do so ... but in the meantime it's often where I shop. I found several things I'll be going back to purchase as soon as I get into my new digs!

Yesterday I was at the same store in Orangevale and did make a few purchases, including a shower caddy in a brushed nickel finish and a seagrass basket for which I can already think of half a dozen uses!

I also happened to notice shelves similar to this one, and I plan to get them to make more efficient use of the hallway storage closet! I do think I will take a peek at the local restaurant supply stores (with a ton of restaurants in this city, there are more than a few restaurant suppliers!), just to see how their prices compare. The shelving unit in the store had 4 shelves; I believe they were 14" deep and 36" wide, and it's priced at just $40 which seemed pretty good!

This morning, I went to a couple of antiquey/shabby street fairs. Didn't find much, however one booth where I ALWAYS buy something came through for me yet again! They had 24 yards of a vintage meshy, most likely cotton, curtain fabric for just $5 -- for the whole bundle!!! The fabric is just 36" wide so I know it's vintage, and all I'm going to have to do is hem them and make a pocket for a rod at the top! I'm pretty sure this is the same fabric the curtains were made out of when I was growing up ... the same ones that my first kitten would climb up and then fall off of, scaring the heck out of me! Now to find some pretty curtain rods ... Pottery Barn? Restoration Hardware? Well, something along those lines but hopefully more in my budget!

Looking for a New Home!

After 4 years in my current apartment, I'm ready for a change. Heck, I've been ready for at least half the time I lived here! The main reason I want to move is because there is basically NO storage space! I have ONE closet -- a small walk-in in the bedroom. In my previous apartment, there was a pantry type closet in the hallway (5 or 6 very deep shelves), a built-in linen cupboard in the bathroom (equally as deep), and a "sliding door closet" in the bedroom with a ton of storage space on the shelf above the clothes rod. Then I move here ...

 My move to this complex wasn't entirely by choice, but that's another story ...

I have long thought these apartments would be great ...

... mainly because they have 4 closets! There's a coat closet near the front door, a huge pantry in the kitchen, a "sliding door closet" in the dining area, and a decent-sized walk-in closet in the bedroom. There's also a funky "linen closet" which is a couple of shelves with doors built into the wall. This complex isn't exactly an easy commute to where I'm working now, but I thought I could make it work. I was also delighted to learn that I could rent a 2 bedroom apartment for $40 less per month than I'm currently paying for my wee 1 bedroom apartment!

However, the more I thought about it, I've managed to talk myself out of moving here. Sometimes it's the "silly" little things that do that, such as the bathroom sink in the bedroom in the 2 bedroom apartments. WTF? The toilet and tub are in a room by themselves and there's a sink on each side of that space. This made the master bedroom feel like a motel room ... and a cheap one at that ... not to mention the bad feng shui! So as long as I'm in search of a 2 bedroom apartment, this isn't the place for me. By the way, the 1 bedroom apartments are just fine and completely "normal" in the bathroom department!

A week ago, a friend and I were driving around looking at some apartments I'd found online the day before. Being Easter, of course the apartment complex offices weren't open. I went back to this one ...

with another friend on Saturday. The office was open this time and I was able to view their "model" apartment. I'm really digging this place!! It's centrally located, convenient to where I'm working, as well as Midtown, downtown, shopping, a gazillion restaurants, etc. The model I was shown was the 2br/2 bath style, and I'm wanting to rent the 2br/1 bath; I just don't need that second bathroom! The leasing agent told me they will have one of these available for rent the first of May. I've paid a $200 "holding deposit" which will be applied to my first month's rent and yes, I passed the background check with flying colors! Pamela (who shares her last name with a well-known actress) has assured me that she/they will do "whatever it takes" to make me happy in my new home. Trusting strangers (and salespeople at that!) is a bit challenging, but I'm giving it my best shot this time! Pamela did show me another 2br/1bath apartment so I've seen the layout of the apartment style I'll be renting. The only difference I'm possibly envisioning is if it were a mirror image; most apartments around here are "back to back" meaning the bedrooms are next to each other (hope my new neighbors are the quiet type!). Pamela said that the only thing she thought might be different would be if I already had a white ceiling fan in the dining area, and she has offered to provide one if it turns out my apartment still has the brown wood-grain fan. The kitchen cabinets are white, so a white fan would coordinate better with them!

I went back yesterday to scope out the actual building/apartment that was mentioned on Saturday and it seems like a decent location. It's away from the pool, laundry room, playground, etc. so it should be relatively quiet. I almost knocked on the door to see if the current tenant would let me take a peek, but decided against that because even if they would let me in, I'm thinking I wouldn't feel too comfortable walking into a stranger's home ... nor would I be likely to let someone enter my home under the same circumstances! I'm rather disappointed that I haven't yet been able to view the actual apartment. They say that's because the current tenant is still living there, however I know (from experience) that management only needs to give 24 hours notice before entering an apartment for pretty much any reason.

Craftastic Sale - this Saturday 3/27/10 - Orangevale, CA

Please join us for the Craftastic Sale this Saturday, March 27, in Orangevale, CA. Orangevale is a suburb of Sacramento. Detailed driving directions are at the bottom of this post!

Date: Saturday March 27th
Sale Times: 9am til 2 pm
Address: 5912 Beech Ave. in Orangevale, CA (near Hazel and Greenback)
For more info, contact: OddArtist

There will be nearly a dozen Sacramento artists and crafters in attendance, from both the SacEtsy and SactoMetro teams! While some of us have sold at the same craft fair before, this will be the first time so many of us will be selling together at once.

Please help us promote this event by FB'ing it, blogging, and Tweeting. Please Tweet the following:

#SacEtsy Craftastic Sale in Orangevale, CA. 9am-2pm March 27th featuring some awesome products. http://sac-etsy.blogspot.com for more info

Please stop by and say hello to the following members of the Sac Etsy team:

prairieprimitives
BKD Signature
mchristo
Oh My Posh
Bailoutabarista
oddartist

and also the following members of the Sacto Metro team:

mrstalbott
maleaab
DazzlingDogz
rockknitmomme

Your support of our teams is much appreciated! We hope to see you there!

DIRECTIONS:

From Hwy 50, go north on Hazel past Madison and make a left at the light on Pershing. When you get to Beech, turn right.

From Folsom, go down Greenback to the first light past Hazel and turn left onto Beech.

From Hwy 80, take the Greenback exit going east until you have passed Illinois. Turn right at Beech (there's a stop light at that intersection).

The house has a tall cedar out front along the road near the top of the hill, a large deep concrete driveway and a black mailbox with grapes painted on it. There will be signs out early, probably at the corner of Greenback and Hazel, among other places!

A New Kind of Status Symbol ...

"Handcrafted products produced by individual artisans could be a new kind of status symbol, and that bodes well for retailers that sell handmade products. According to OPEN Book: Trends from American Express Open Small Business, luxury's new form consists of products and services based on "authenticity and exclusivity."

"In addition to the handmade nature of the product, the story behind the item is just as important. So if you're selling, say, handcrafted quilts, you emphasize not only the beauty of the quilt, but also the story of the person who made it, the materials used to produce it, the significance of its design and other elements.

"The new luxury consumer appreciates the time and effort that goes into the manufacture of such products," says the publication. Small businesses who sell handcrafted products are in a good position to provide their customers with their products' story and, the publication adds, such businesses "will find that promoting great craftsmanship can pay dividends."

(Published in Country Sampler's "Country Business," February 2010)

My dear artist friends, it looks like our time may have come!

PayPal's Micropayments

If you process a large number of small transactions, you may be interested to learn about PayPal's micropayment processing. This seems to be one of the biggest PayPal secrets unearthed to date! PayPal introduced micropayments in August, 2005, although this feature wasn't available worldwide until late in 2008. The rate for US to US micropayments is 5% + $.05 per transaction; fees for cross-border payments are available in a link on this page.

The regular US to US processing fee charged by PayPal is 2.9% + $.30 per transaction, which means that payments below $12.00 will be less expensive to process with the micropayment plan. The only "gotcha" is that you'll need to set up a separate PayPal account in order to receive micropayments. This is because each PayPal account is associated with one processing rate.

According to a recent article in Business Week, PayPal may be considering allowing merchants to accumulate micropayments until they reach a certain amount and then release the funds to the merchant, charging just a single processing fee!  

You can use this link to sign up for an account to accept PayPal micropayments.

New IRS Rules to Take Effect in 2011

Starting next year, the IRS will require payment processors (including PayPal) to report how much money each user has received through their service. Many of us will probably be exempt from this since it only applies to sellers who sell more than $20,000/year AND who have 200 or more transactions.

The time is also coming when we will have to provide our Social Security Number (or employer ID # in lieu of a SSN) to whatever payment processing companies we're registered with. If we fail to do this, the processors will have to do backup withholding (this is usually a rate of 20%) starting in 2012.

More info here:
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abu/y210/m03/abu0258/s03

The Doll on my Business Cards

After much delay, I am delighted to announce that I have made a few more of the clothespin doll which is featured on my logo & business cards, etc.!!!

The first of these dolls is currently listed on eBay! The original doll didn't have a face, however after much prodding from a friend (you know who you are!), I have given this girl a lightly penciled face. If you squint just right, you can see Hannah's face in the photo below ...

I am delighted to announce that Hannah received a bid soon after she was listed! As of now, she is at a very reasonable $34.50. This auction will end on Sunday, February 28th. I hope you'll consider adopting Hannah into your family!

I'm Still Here!

WOW! Has It really been two months since I've written here? I've been so busy, the time has just flown right by! Let me bring you up to date ...

I was laid off from my job with the County of Sacramento in late September, however they re-hired me in mid-November as an "on-call" (i.e., temp) to help with the County's H1N1 vaccination clinics. During the clinics, which ran from mid-November to mid-January, I helped coordinate more than 500 people who volunteered at the clinics; this involved phone calls, lots of emails, and even more data entry. Now that the clinics are over, I'm helping to prepare reports and will be assisting with a "thank you" party event in the near future. DHHS will probably be presenting the volunteers with a certificate and maybe a small token of our appreciation (debate continues about whether that gift should be a cloisonne pin or a leftover bottle of hand sanitizer ... lol!).

Since mid-November, I have had FOUR different offices and "cubes" ... crazy, eh? Actually, there was one day where I had four different offices and cubes ... it's a long story!  For most of the last couple of months, I've been housed in the Public Health suite, and today, I will be moving to a new cube in (or near?) the Office of the Director, so this will be my fifth location in just over two months! My manager will be just a few steps away, for which I'm sure she will be grateful! I will definitely miss my peeps in Public Health, but I'm sure they'll let me come and visit now and then! :-)

What else have I been up to? Well, since the beginning of the year, I've been listing handmade things on eBay again. Some sell (mostly stuffed hearts), lots of things don't (mostly the dolls and critters). Many of my items get a bunch of watchers, but very few, if any, bids ... what's up with that?

This doll is still looking for her forever home!

This is only the second Topsy Turvy doll I've ever made; they can be a bit challenging! I adapted it from a pattern designed by Emily Franz of Hootin Annies, and she (or should that be "they") is (are?) now up for adoption in my Etsy shop. If you don't have an Etsy account but would like to adopt this sweet doll, just let me know and I can list her in my Artfire shop (where you don't need an account to make a purchase!) or I could even sell her to you directly! PayPal is my preferred form of payment and, yes, you may use your credit card through PayPal! If you'd rather pay by money order, I also accept postal money orders (the kind you buy at the post office).

And this is Bridgette the Valentine bunny. She was also an eBay auction, which ended yesterday evening with several watchers (as usual), but nary a bid. This makes me sad. Why do people "watch" eBay auctions, yet choose not to bid (especially when the opening bid is more than reasonable)? I will be listing Bridgette in my Etsy shop soon ... probably when I get home from work this evening!

I see it's time to get ready for my day job! I'll try to get back into the habit of posting more often. :-)

Featured in MimisDressShop Blog!

Just learned that this stocking was featured in MimisDressShop blog! Tiffany, the author of this blog and proprietor of mimisdresshop on Etsy, makes delightful children's clothes and darling tutus for your little princesses!

Prairie Primitives - Featured on the Handmade Highway!

Ok, so I'm behind in my email ... again. It happens this time of year! I've just discovered that a set of my fabric-covered boxes was featured in Issue 2 of "News from the Handmade Highway!"

I just started making covered boxes in June, after thinking about it for too long because I wasn't quite sure how to make them. However, when I dove right into it, I discovered they were a lot of fun to make, and they've been very popular at the craft and antique fairs where I sell my primitive folk art!

This set of boxes, along with several others, is available in my Etsy shop! Each of my fabric covered boxes contains a wee treasure -- sometimes this is a few whole nutmegs or antique mother-of-pearl buttons; other times it's a bit of rosemary or thyme or another special find! Through "Cyber Monday" (November 30, 2009), everything in this shop is 20% off!

Black Friday - Cyber Monday Sale

I'm offering 20% off everything at Prairie Primitives Folk Art! Some items have free U.S. shipping (and discounted international shipping) too!

I'm offering 30% off everything in PrairiePrimitivesToo (my Etsy "destash" shop)!

Over at my Artfire shop, I'm offering 20% off everything, with free U.S. shipping (and discounted international shipping) on some items! Please note that the items in my Artfire shop are the same items that are in my Etsy shop -- there is only one of each! I will keep both sites updated as things sell, and remember, you can shop on Artfire without creating an account!

And last but not least, I'm offering a whopping 50% off everything in my online yard sale!

All of these sales run until 11:59pm PST (California time) on Cyber Monday (November 30, 2009) ... that's 8:59 EST (New York time). As always, I'm delighted to combine shipping between any or all of these sites! Go ahead and make your purchases and I'll send you a revised PayPal invoice! I much prefer PayPal, however I also accept Postal money orders!

Sign up for my mailing list!

If you'd like to hear about my new listings on Etsy and Artfire (and occasionally eBay), here's where you can sign up for my mailing list. All you need to do is enter your email address in the box below, and click the "Join Now!" button. I promise not to swamp you with emails, and notifying you of my new listings is the only thing for which your address will be used.

Subscribe to PrairiePrimitives Mailing List

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I plan to list lots of new things for the 2009 holiday season and will be having a Black Friday / Cyber Monday special ... for the entire weekend!

Oakmont High School - The Day After

This is not a show I would recommend to anyone, however I think that has more to do with the promoter and the lack of advertising, rather than the location or anything else. I took a few pictures of my booth to share with you! Pretty much everything you see in these pictures is still available for sale! I will be listing it on Etsy and Artfire as time allows. If you'd like to receive an email when I update these sites, just ask!

Shop on Facebook!

I've just discovered a Facebook app that let me set up a shop on Facebook. Now you don't even have to leave your favorite social networking site in order to buy my primitive folk art!

I've listed some primitive and "shabby & chic" Christmas stockings there so far, and I hope to list more things soon! Please remember that I only have ONE of each of these items ... so if you see the same thing on Etsy, Artfire, Facebook, etc., it's the exact same item! When an item sells on one site, I will get the other sites updated ASAP!

Thoughts of Thanksgiving

Suzanne has included my primitive orange pumpkin in her latest Treasury! You can visit Suzanne's Etsy shop at Peacefu1 ("Peaceful" but with a number 1 on the end, instead of an "ell").

If you would like to vote on the items in this Treasury, you can click on the Treasury image or on the text link in the first paragraph above; both links will take you to the Treasury page (only while the Treasury is active ... i.e., between now and Sunday, November 8th at 1:26 am). You will need to be registered on Etsy and logged into Etsy in order to vote. I am grateful for any and all votes you may cast for my primitive orange pumpkin! :-)

I have several pumpkins still available for adoption! Most are orange or black (black pumpkins have been quite popular the last couple of years!), but I think I still have one white one left too!

Thanks Suzanne!

Oakmont High School Craft Fair

The next event I will be participating in is the annual craft fair sponsored by the Citrus Heights (California) Lions Club on November 14th. This fair will be held at Oakmont High School, located at 1710 Cirby Way in Roseville, CA (near the intersection of Sunrise and Cirby, behind the Bel-Air supermarket). This fair has been happening for several years, however this will be my first year there!

This craft fair will feature 55 booths of handmade crafts ... and I've been assured that there will be only handmade crafts, none of that import or party plan stuff! You'll also be able to enjoy a bake sale, food and a huge raffle of items from the participating artists! If you bring a non-perishable food item for donation, you'll get a free raffle ticket!

In my booth you will find items for your Fall decorating (my new funky pumpkins!) as well as Christmas (2 snowfolk are finished, 2 Santas are almost done, and I hope to get at least 2 more snowfolk made before this show!). I will have pillows made from antique quilt, and smaller quilt hearts which can be used as "bowl fillers," stocking stuffers, or ornaments, as well as my always popular mica snowballs! I also hope to make more of my whimsical paper Christmas flags, and I will definitely bring some Americana items because they never go out of style!

Hope to see you on the 14th!!!

Pumpkins Aren't Just for Halloween Anymore!

I've just listed a couple of my grubby pumpkins on Etsy! They're made from a variety of cotton fabrics (osnaburg, muslin, etc.), and I've painted, stained, and grubbied them up just for you!

If you'd like just one pumpkin (or maybe you'd like more than two?), just let me know! The orange one is the "small" size, measuring about 7" by 8"; the black one is the "medium" size, which is about 8" by 9", and I also have a larger size, which is about 10" by 11".

Don't you just loooove those funky stems? I'm not sure what it is about the black pumpkins, but they're selling like hotcakes this year! Several of my customers have told me they leave their pumpkins out year-round, and I will be doing that too!