I got the notification that my new card reader is coming *happy dance* I’m so excited! I really look forward to getting familiar with it (okay, okay – playing with and delighting in, like a true gadget nerd). I want everything to be down pat before the citywide garage sales start. For any city people that find this an odd reason, out here citywides are hugely popular and brings in a lot of the rural citizens. Some towns have a great reputation and people from other towns and even cities come to them. I’m planning on having a booth at one of the most popular citywides, right beside the highway, beside a parking lot. Perfect! Now I just need to feel well enough that I can make some more stock to have on hand, fill an incoming order, and play, er, familiarize myself with my new processor 😉 So much to enjoy planning and looking forward to!
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Alas, more research
I hope that you don’t fully “hear” the impudent smile in my writing. *teasing wink* I fear that I cannot suppress it though. I have found a way to save myself at least $400 a year in overhead! *limited happy dance* While remaining in my sick bed I found that Intuit is offering credit card processing with a free card reader, no monthly or annual fees, no minimum, and no cancelation fees. In addition, the keyed rates are comparable and I would certainly make up the difference at events with being able to swipe in the customer’s presence. I’ve been researching some processing alternatives for awhile, because I pay a monthly fee even when I go months without a credit card transaction. I have had credit card customers express reluctance to continue using credit if I used a company that they weren’t as familiar with as Paypal. However, Intuit is a great option I think. They are a well trusted name in financial/business software and it is beyond awesome that I could sync payments from my phone right into Quickbooks. Wow! I think that as a customer I would like the ability to swipe and sign on a vendor’s phone without having to go through the filling out of a keyed transaction worksheet if I’m at an event (couldn’t care less otherwise, I suspect lol). I like the idea that I can stop at any point if I dislike it and not be out a penny. It’s quite an exciting possibility for me. It is a lot like another processor that another crafter recommended that I liked, but wasn’t as well known, and has some fun options like texting or emailing receipts.
Think of how many new FOs, EOs, and additives that the saved money would allow. *grin* Or even how much less guilt I will have when my bottom line is printed on my business report. It would be nice to see it print in black at some point. Lol. I have developed quite a disliking of the color red 😉
Anyway, I look forward to when I feel up to sitting at my computer and signing up to give Intuit processing a whirl. Okay, okay. Those that know me know that I’m really more excited at getting a new electronic gadget. Lol. It’s exciting, regardless. *grin*
I wish you a healthy and happy day!
One inspiration
I had to share – what a fun idea! Roll thin layers of soap, cut upon, and put into soaps, much like my chunk embeds. So cute!
Odd ramblings
When I start to lose that glow over my products I turn to apps like craft gawker and crafty crafty. Seeing such amazing, endless talent revitalizes me. Not enough to get me over whatever I caught and do more than write notes or save inspirations (not even FB is getting attention from me). I kind of look at this research like an inspiration wall that fashion designers use. Today’s research also helped me finally find out how to do paint accents on my soaps, which I’ve been wanting to do for so long. It is absolutely scary what some suggest, like using acrylic paints and what have you. Thankfully I have lots of immobile time for doing extensive research and quadruple checking everything. I also read a crafter’s review of how she does an ice cream cone soap, which I’ve been puzzling over since I spontaneously bought the mold. (Pour the whole mold in the cone color, let set, and then cut off the top. Prep the set soap to accept more soap, let new pour cool down to the point that it won’t melt the other, and let set. It takes some finesse and experience, but what an easier way than trying to block portions with sculpted playdough!) Now I can paint accents on my princess carriages and have a successful pour of my ice cream cones. Yay!
Anyone that knows me knows how my mind works, so it won’t be surprising that I was simultaneously looking up display ideas for my next event. There is a fantastic idea to stack milk crates with a board across their top to make three tiers on your table. It dawned on me that since I’m fun sized, customers would probably not see me behind the double high stack. Lol. After further scoping of images from farmer markets and craft sales, then some brainstorming of cost-effective alternatives, a shoe cubby cabinet is now on the grocery list. *smile* I can set that at an end of a table with my cash box behind – no more stooping! I’ll still be visible since it will only be a section blocked. I will use the cubbies to lie down and group bottles of matching lotions. No more overwhelming sea of bottles to lift to find the scent you want. I can also stick the bath salts cello cones in a cubby (yeah, on that very long to do list).
In the meantime I’m still debating my kid combo contents. I easily made two $20 combos, but I think that’s probably way too much for a bath gift for a kid. So I’m trying to decide what I think they will be most happy with.
Anyway, that’s probably more cold medicine ramblings about research than was appropriate. *grin* You might want to worry…I have lots more that I hope to look up, get inspired by, and rattle on about. *teasing smile*
Eggcellent
My young assistant is paid with little products and I decided to do a little combo for her. I couldn’t resist trying this fillable egg and making things really girly, how I know she will love it. I also figure that I should pop it up on my website to show that I actually can think outside the box for custom orders (I figure it’s time to earn my branding of being nuts). I think it should kind of throw off a casual viewer and get them to look at my slideshows a little closer. *grin*
Bottoms Up Finally
I finally got the cocktail combos done! It took like two months of watching the stores to finally find some plastic margarita glasses. Even better, they’re the freezer type, so that sweetens the deal as a practical component. *happy dance* I decided to use sparkly, iridescent, crinkles in the bottom of both types (you wouldn’t believe how much cursing went on because those things took on a life on their own, going all over the place!!). I decided that the margarita glass would have four alcohol lotions while the martini would have three. Honestly the martini glass was crowded with four, at least to me. I think that they’re a cute little hostess gift or fun for a party. I think that they will look very bright, fun, and eye-catching at an event. Cross your fingers please! 🙂
I Dream of Banana Cream
My helper said that it looks like I put little bits of banana in there (the vanilla embeds) and she declared them as smelling so good that she wanted to eat them. *grin* I wish that the yellows showed better in pics though. These have a pretty vanilla pudding color and the lemon ones have a much brighter yellow. These embed soaps are more work, but they’re so much fun to make.
Chocolate covered cherries
I couldn’t resist a close up of these. I love the pop of the jewel tone cherries! It almost looks like real pieces. *happy dance* I am so happy with these!
Embeds
I changed things up and used my fillable cake molds for some of the embeds, instead of the guest rounds. I think they turned out so amazing! Chocolate covered cherries in the back (I got real close to a milk chocolate color too IMO *happy dance*), I Dream of Banana Cream there in the front, and Lemon Bar are to the left. I totally love them! I made up some fudge brownie and strawberry jam cubes to dice for embedding, so bring on the neapolitan. *grin* And I must mention that the kitchen smells amazing!!
Surprise
Here are the adorable embedded soaps that I had written about. Bubblegum on the outside while the jewel-tone squares are watermelon. I’ve been pondering a name, but all I’ve decided so far is that it needs “surprise” in it for the watermelon. I’ve packaged them up and figured up the prices. Usually I procrastinate on those parts, so it’s a sign of just how excited I am about these simple soaps. *grin* I haven’t been brave enough to sniff the lotions…I might let them cure another day lol (does best cowardly lion impersonation)
Georgia's Pampering 