I'm Back....I Think

Haven't posted here in eons....kept meaning too, but life got in the way.

Had a super busy holiday season.  Man oh man, it was scary.  Mostly because I got the majority of my porders the LAST day I was taking them for Christmas delivery.  Up until then, I was comfortably 2 weeks behind.  Then, on December 1st I recieved 23 new orders....that is a new record for me and my website.

I think I am finally getting caught up again.....it's been a long few weeks.  I feel like I am working ALL the time.  And I am getting tired of it.  Hopefully I am getting to where I am caught up and can take my weekends off again.  I miss the down time.....

This week has been one of those weeks.  I ordered some new piggy bank molds...they came on monday.  The boxes are huge and heavy.  This time, the boxes looked like they had been broken open and smashed.  So I took some pictures.  Then we opened them.

It looked like the boxes had been broken open, the contents droped in the mud, rolled in the dirt and then just tossed back in the box.  I took more pictures.

I emailed the guy I get the molds from and told him it looked like ups had a problem with the shipment.  For as dirty and disgusting as the molds were, they actually survived the ordeal intact.  But would require a good bit of cleaning up.

He wrote back and apologized, but HE had packed them that way.  He was out of styrofoam peanuts, and that was all he had.  The peanuts looked like they had been dug up out of the ground.  Really.  *sigh*

So I haven't written back yet.  I don't know what to say.  I am flabbergasted that he would send anything like that.  Yes, the molds are fine, but it took me over an hour to clean them up and get them ready for use.

My hands are tied....he has my master molds and I cannot get new molds anywhere else : (   I'm not really mad.....disappointed I guess.  We've done business together for years now and I can't believe he sent my stuff like that.  He could have at least let me know what was coming.  Or asked if I minded waiting for packing materials to come in.  I was in NO HURRY.

I don't know.....I am tired.  Tired of dealing with my business for now.  I think I need a vacation.  Or at least SOMETHING to look forward to......

Lynn's Crackle Piggy Bank

I was checking on my Etsy listings this morning and saw this new piggy bank by our very own Lynn:OMG! It's so cute! I just had to share!

Yay!

I made my first Etsy sale this weekend. It's exciting because it's a new area for me. I know, I know, I already have a website, but my Etsy store puts me in direct competition with other piggy bank painters. My piggy banks are different and cost more, so I have kind of been holding my breath.

I have been hard at work redoing my images there. They are getting better, but I still have to get more familiar with photoshop. At least I think they look better.

Also this weekend my Zebra Piggy Bank was featured in an Etsy Treasury.  Thanks to judysnow for picking my piggy bank.

And check out ArtWhims blog where she picked my piggy banks as May Must Haves #1.

So, I have to say it was an exciting weekend for me. Plus I got to see my oldest DD play in 3 different concerts at college. Life is good : )

Slow and Slower

*sigh* Business is slow. Not entirely odd for this time of year, but a little odd for me. If I work really hard this week, I could get all my orders painted and shipped. And I would see the bottom of my to-paint pile.

And that is a little unnerving to me. And scary. I haven't been without orders for years. Really. Busy has been steadily steady and I have come to rely on that income. Which I suppose I really should not have done.

Now I have bills to pay and a budget I don't know if I will meet this month. I do have some money left from the holidays, but I am now thinking the new car I bought 2 months ago really should have waited. But that's water under the bridge...

While I have some free time, I am starting an Etsy store. Not sure if it will benefit me or not, but it certainly can't hurt. I am thinking I am going to make it my "in stock" shop. Anything posted on Etsy will be available for immediate shipping. What's listed now is NOT ready to ship. But as I paint orders, I am going to paint what I have listed. And get that stock in stock and ready to go : )

I am also going to try and get some stock on hand for the fall. Just having blank piggy banks and plates on hand is a HUGE time saver for me. All I have to do then is paint the design and fire away. It won't pay my bills right now, but it will be a huge stress reliever when I get slammed with holiday orders.

So those are my plans for this slow period.....although I am hoping to still get some orders coming in so I can pay my bills. If not, I guess I'll just have to ask Hubby to take over a few of the household bills that I pay. He can step up for a while : ) How do you spend your time when business is slow? Oh, and have any tips for promoting Etsy shops?  Or taking really great photographs of piggy banks?

Guilt

I run my own business. And it is labor intensive and requires a lot of my time. I not only make and paint my piggy banks, I maintain my website, process my orders, print my business cards and do the packing and shipping.

Some of it is hands on product creation, and some of it is the office/paper work. I am falling behind on the office work. Especially the website maintenance. Why? I know how to do it. It just takes some time.

I am falling behind because I feel guilty sitting here at the computer working. If I am at the computer, I am not painting. Or physically completing something. My priorities are to get the piggy banks painted and shipped. However, if I don't get the website updated, I won't get the new products selling.

But I feel guilty working at the computer in the evening, so either I keep painting, or I don't work in the evening. And during the day I paint, because I feel guilty sitting at the computer. Like I am neglecting the piggy banks. Argh.

What I am trying to say is, it is tough being a wahm. You have to make time for everything. All parts of your business....whether it seems like you are physically accomplishing something or not. And don't forget your family. They're the reason you are working at home in the first place.

Woo Hoo!

See this picture? That's me! My website has been on the first page of Google (searching for piggy banks) for a couple weeks now. I've been on page 2 for years.

And last night, and this morning, when I checked, I was at number 3. Woo hoo! Now we'll see how, or if, it effects sales....in the meantime, I am just happy dancing away. Oh yeah! : )

Yikes, It's Monday Again!

I really don't know where time is going. These weeks are flying by, and soon I will be smack dab in the middle of the Christmas Rush. I have no idea what to expect this year.

Generally, summer is a slow time of year for me. But not this year. It's been quite busy. Only once did I think I would catch up. And then that quickly passed. It's good to be busy, but it makes me worry about the fall. If I am this busy now, what will fall bring?

September is usually a very slow month for me. Kids are going back to school and Christmas shopping hasn't quite begun. I am secretly hoping it does slow down. I am. That would give me some time to collect myself and prepare for the Christmas Rush.

I number all my piggy banks and Cookies for Santa Plates. I used to do it just for my own enjoyment. You know, I could say I sold over 500 piggy banks and 150 Santa Plates last year. I start over at the first of the new year.

Now those numbers help me plan for the rush. And I can work ahead, getting some stock on the shelf that just needs personalized and fired. I can predict pretty close to what I am going to sell.

But being busy this summer hasn't let me get that stock as far long as I would like. And that means the fall has the potential to be really stressful. But I do have a 12yo who can paint and a 19yo who may come home from school on weekends, and maybe I can get her to paint too. We'll see.

Anyone out there have any good ways to prepare for the Christmas Rush and make it less stressful? Besides chocolate and caffeine? I wanna know!

It's a Contest!

Hey everyone! I'm giving away a couple piggy banks over at After the Dust Settles. You can read the "rules" and post an entry by clicking this little link here : )
Good Luck!

Monday Motivation

Another week, another monday. It was a busy weekend and today I am still tired. I actually took the whole weekend off and did some fun stuff. Saturday was a family picnic and sunday we went to a medieval faire. Can't wait to post some pictures of that over at my personal blog : ) But today it is back to work, hoping I didn't fall too far behind after taking a couple days off....

Today I need to :

1. schedule a carrier pick up for tomorrow
2. personalize a couple piggy banks
3. process some orders
4. upload some pictures : )
5. add the new piggy bank to the website
6. mail my receipts to my bookkeeper
7. email some bills to her too
8. remind people that the Christmas In July Sale is almost over (have you started shopping yet???)
9. clean my purse out
10. paint some piggy banks

Argh....

Last week I posted about stress. And how I (sorta) deal with it. Apparently my way of dealing with things isn't working too well. *sigh* This past week I made 2 mistakes on orders.

One order the lady asked to cancel. So I deleted the email order, voided the credit card transaction, and then the next week proceeded to send her the piggy bank anyway. All I can think of is that I didn't pull the hard copy and that is what I work from....so now she has a piggy bank she doesn't want (and didn't pay for) and I am going to have to pay her to ship it back.

The other order, well, I guess it isn't clear on my website, but when you order a white monogram piggy bank, the ears nose and tail are painted a coral color. No matter the color of the letter. I have to check, but I don't think it says anything about that on the website. My bad. So the customer gets their piggy bank with a hunter green letter and coral colored ears, nose and tail. And it isn't what they expected and they don't like it.

I apologized, found out what they did want and painted a new one. I told them to keep the first one. I just don't feel like paying to have it sent back. Maybe they can find someone else whose name starts with "L".

I know these past couple weeks have been stressful for me. There is so much going on and places to go and things to do and then the garage sale on top of all that. Thank goodness that is over. I know it's summer and I would love to have a break, but it doesn't look like one is coming and how do I tell people "No, I can't do that." When they expect me to be able to drop everything and do whatever.

Falling behind stresses me out and when I am stressed I make mistakes and I can't afford them. So I need to figure something out....how to better organize my time and myself, learn to make a schedule and stick to it....or maybe just tell people to leave me alone during the week and let.me.work. I don't know....I just know I feel terribly stressed and I don't want to feel that way.

Talk About It Tuesday

I have a new piggy bank design to talk about today. It's been on the site for a couple weeks, but I haven't officially announced it. Drum roll, pleeeease.................okay, maybe it's not THAT big of a deal.... Introducing the Red Hat Piggy Bank.

My mom asked for it and me being the good daughter I am, I made it for her : )

This would be a great gift for any red hatter you may know. They are always looking for something unique and different. AND this cute piggy bank can also be personalized, say, for the Queen Mother.

For prices and personalization options, visit my website, Korff Ceramic Originals.

* I am in no way affiliated with the Red Hat Society. *

Monday Motivation

Another monday is here already. Time sure flies in the summer. I keep waiting for the summer slow down, but since summer is half over and I am still busy, I guess it isn't coming. That's good. And it's tiring. I was so hoping for a small break in painting. But enough about that....I'm a busy wahm, that's good and I have lots of stuff to do today and this week. We are having a garage sale this coming weekend, so I am hoping to work during the day and get ready for the sale after dinner, into the evening. We'll just see how that plan works now, won't we?

1. do paperwork for personalized piggy banks shipping today
2. pack and ship those piggy banks
3. capture $
4. email customers orders shipped
5. finish painting piggy banks that I started this weekend. (yes, I work weekends, do you?)
6. fire those piggy banks
7. make signs for garage sale
8. hose off some really dirty items so we can sell them and not be embarrassed
9. put ad on craigslist
10. send in email ad to local county email list
11. get all the stuff to sell downstairs.

Thank goodness for my MIL. She came out yesterday and helped me price everything that was ready to price. We have tons of stuff to sell. So all I'll have left to price is whatever we come up with this week. If I get everything done on my list today, I am going to relax tonight and READ MY BOOK. If I don't get it done, I'll cook a fancy dinner tomorrow night (I hate to cook. Bleh.)

As for the rest of the week....

1. piggy bank molds will need poured
2. I need to get to the store and get some food and stuff
3. greenware piggy banks will need cleaned
4. above piggy banks will need fired.
5. lest we forget, poop will need scooped
6. garage sale signs will need put up.
7. I'll need to get change
8. get tables set up

I'm thinking that's it for now. I'm sure there will be more, but I really have to get my paperwork started : ) Adios, muchachas!

Hi, My Name is Lynn and

I am a control freak. I like to do it all myself. Sometimes it is just easier to do it yourself and get it done right the first time. Sometimes it just makes more work. Regardless, I like having total control of my business. I wonder, are most wahm's like that?

When it comes to my business, I do everything....let's start with the website. Yes, I had Kathy of the dezignspot design it for me. But then I tweaked the design a teeny bit here and there and off I went....adding products and pages and links myself. I have a pretty fair knowledge of html now and I maintain the website myself. If I manage to mess things up beyond my very limited expertise, I contact Jo, my webhost. She's bailed helped me out numerous times, but I still muddle along maintaining my website myself. It is mine, after all.

And then there are the products....piggy banks, personalized plates and other stuff. I have molds for most everything I make in my basement. I hand pour these myself. Timing is critical and I am a perfectionist and I want my products to be of the highest quality. So I manufacture them myself. When it gets to be fall and I have too many orders to handle myself, I sub out the easy work.....base coating, cleaning piggy banks....things that I don't have to do, really. But I do paint all of the designs. Painting is my stress relief.

And then orders need packed and shipped. I do that too. Unless I am too busy, then I have a friend come over and do the packing. But I actually enjoy that. It gives me a break from painting and I can make sure piggy banks are packed securely.

Oh and don't forget the paperwork. I print my orders up and run all the credit cards myself. As well as the shipping paperwork. I do have a friend who does my bookkeeping. I am terrible with numbers. I'll gladly admit that.

And I also print my own business cards, gift cards and fliers. Yep, I designed them too. I like being able to tweak things how I want them. And I like being able to change layouts for different times of year. I did have a fellow wahm design a brochure for me....but I had to tweak it and edit it just a little until I was perfectly happy with it.

Maybe I take things too far. I know I am a bit obsessive about my business. In fact, reading all that I wrote makes me think I am micromanaging myself. Can you do that? My business is a reflection of me, and I want things to be just-so and I won't be happy until they are. Even if I have to do it all myself. Call me crazy, but I like it this way. And I wonder why I am stressed out once in a while....I better get going, I'm sure there is something I should be doing : )

*** It's Christmas in July at Korff Ceramic Originals! ***
Only 176 days until Christmas!

Monday Motivation

It's time for Monday Motivation. I do do well with daily lists, but those weekly lists I forget to check back on *sigh* It was a nice long weekend, but now I am behind on laundry and painting : (

1. laundry
2. finish piggy banks that are started
3. fire those piggy banks
4. call family and tell them of Leia's game change

I'm sure there's more....I'll add them as I think of them. At least this is a start.

Shipping Tips - 101

With the way gas prices are heading, I am so glad I work at home. I can go days at a time without leaving my house. When I first started out as a wahm, almost 10 years ago, gas was probably not much more than $1.50, if even that. Now that gas prices are reaching $4.00, everyone is trying to find ways to save money. It's not easy.

One way I have been able to save a few dollars is by using the US Postal Service for shipping. Some people swear by UPS or FedEx, but I, personally, like the Post Office. If you use Priority Mail for shipping, the Post Office will give you free boxes. Yes, completely free boxes. They are marked with the Post Office logo and must be used for Priority Mail shipping. You have to sign up for an account and they may call you to verify your information. They called me when I first signed up. But free boxes....it is SO worth it. Well, at least for me. I like shipping Priority Mail, pricewise, I find it comparable to UPS' 2nd day shipping.

At first, in 1999, I used to take all my packages to the Cabot, PA post office. It was small, and the people were friendly and my neighbors. It was nice to get out and see people. But it is not just next door. It is more than 3 miles away. That may not sound like much, but driving both ways, 2 and 3 times a week adds up. Plus, when I had 12 or more boxes to ship, it would just take too much time to go in the Post Office, wait in line, and get everything weighed and added up. Then I found the online shipping labels, aka Click'n'Ship. I bought a small scale and started printing my labels at home. If you print your labels online, they include free delivery confirmation. Yes, something else free. Not sure what it costs if you go to the Post Office and ask for it, but it is NOT free.

And then I discovered carrier pick up. Oh, this is just wonderful! You can go online and schedule a pick up, and your mail carrier will come the next day and pick up your packages, for free. No more carting everything to the Post Office. No more driving out in bad weather. A free service as long as you are shipping at least one package Priority or Express Mail. You do have to remember to schedule your pick up the night before. I believe my postmaster told me to schedule it before 2 am and it will be picked up that day.

So, over the years, as a wahm, I have learned how to pack my piggy banks and ship them in the most cost effective way for me. I know not everyone will agree with this, but it works for me. I am lucky that Hubby can bring me packing material from work. Styrofoam sheets they would otherwise throw away. So that saves me a bunch of money too.

The last item you may need for packing and shipping would be packing tape. This can get pricey if you order in any kind of quantity, because it is heavy and shipping adds up. Recently I found a great site that has oodles of tape with FREE shipping on orders over $35. That is so awesome....I used to pay $10 - $20 to have a case of tape shipped to me. A case of tape is over $35.00. As a wahm, free shipping is a dream come true on a heavy item. Oh, the link might be nice, huh? Check out The Tape Depot, I've been happy with them.

The best part of all of this cost cutting is that it lets me keep my prices down. As gas goes up, and everything else follows suit, I have been able to keep my shipping costs the same for the past year. At this point I don't see them going up anytime soon, but that could change. I do try to keep shipping costs reasonable....I know what I look for in shipping when I am shoppping online, and I use that experience to guide my pricing. I don't want to charge more than I would be willing to pay.

Now, all this is just how I do things. There are many other ways to ship out there. I just thought I would share my links and hopefully help some fellow wahm's save a little bit of money : )

*** It's Christmas in July at Korff Ceramic Originals! ***
Only 176 days until Christmas!

It's Monday Motivation!

Woohoo! Time for another week of Monday Motivation! How'd you do last week? I think I did okay. Well, there's a couple things that didn't get done last week, and they will be on this weeks list.

I always have high hopes for getting things done, but when you make and sell your own product, and you are busy, some things get put off. I am still waiting for business to slow down a little so I can play catch-up (no, not ketchup) and try to get a head start on Christmas. Yes, I am still waiting....not complaining about being busy, just waiting for a little teeny slow down....

So for today, well, if the weather stays dry, I told Leia we would go to the Big Butler Fair. If that happens, this list is out the window *sigh* It will always be here tomorrow. Funny, how if I don't do the work, it doesn't get done. Anyway....

1. get website ready for Christmas in July Sale. Holy cow, it's almost JULY!
   
2. type up a newsletter announcing above sale
   
3. finish piggy banks that are started
   
4. fire those piggy banks
5. write a post for superWAHMz
6. write a post for After the Dust Settles
   

As for the entire week....we are planning on having a picnic here on Friday. We'll see how much that effects my work week, won't we?

1. piggy bank molds need poured
2. greenware piggy banks will need fired
3. orders will need packed
4. have to go to the store to get food
5. need to get food for friday too
6. write some emergency info on note cards (left over from last week)
7. scoop poop
8. tie up maple trees in front yard
9. read blogs
10. write some posts
11. keep the house semi clean

Snapshot Saturday

Yesterday, my Aunt, 12yo dd and I went to Pittsburgh's Strip District. There, at Wholey's Fish Market we saw the biggest piggy bank ever. I guess it could be a life-sized hog. Huge, I'm tellin you.

I don't think my poor piggy banks could hold a candle to this one....

If you want to see a few more pictures of our visit to the Strip, click on over to my personal blog, After The Dust Settles....we had a GREAT time!

Talk About It Tuesday

Aaaah, time to talk about something. I think I'll talk about the baseball/softball piggy bank. Mostly because it's that time of year : ) I can't call this piggy bank an original idea....wish I could, but I did see it in a catalog a long, long time ago. So when I began painting piggy banks, I started a whole sports ball line.
I love painting the Baseball Piggy Bank. He is relatively easy and the design just suits the round piggy bank body. Plus, both my girls play softball, so he holds a special place in my heart. In fact, for a few years, I donated (I'm going to call them softball piggy banks now : ) Softball Piggy Banks as prizes at the annual banquets. I would paint one in white and one in neon green.

Each player that came to the banquet would get a ticket for the drawings when they arrived. There were gift certificates and small gift baskets and just a lot of stuff for prizes. I didn't know it, but they saved my piggy banks for last. I also didn't know this either.....ALL the girls were waiting to see who won them. They were THE most desired prizes there. It made me chuckle....I paint them all the time and they just aren't special to me anymore. But they were special to them. I told my 12yo(then 10yo) that she better not win one! I was NOT bringing one back home. She didn't.
At that time, I also had come across some wee little round piggy banks. These were about the size of a baseball....so we painted one for each of her team mates that year. They were neon green, because that was her team's color, with red stitches, and we wrote their name and number on them. They were tiny and cute and the girls loved them. We still see some of the girls at games and it's fun to hear that they still have them.

The Softball/Baseball Piggy Bank is an ideal gift for any ballplayer, boy or girl. It starts at $35.50, with personalization and shipping being extra. Hit a home run with someone you know when you give them this as a gift! Hope you enjoyed my rambling, and we'll talk about something else next week : ) Stop by my website if you are looking for a unique and personalized gift!

Christmas IS Coming!

Aaah, this is normally a slow time of year for me. This year, though, it has been relatively steady. For every 10 orders I ship out, I get 10 new ones in. That's good, and I'm not really complaining, I would just like to see the bottom of the pile for a day or so.

In my slow time I like to prepare for the fall. And the holiday rush. Personalized Cookies for Santa Plates are a huge seller after Halloween and I like to get a stock going in the summer. When I am slow. But I haven't been slow. So I haven't been able to get any of those painted yet. That frustrates me and scares me a wee bit. If I don't get some kind of stock on hand in the next few months, I will be in big trouble come November.

Plus, I am planning a Christmas in July Sale, and that's next week already. Sheesh. Where did time go? Anyway, I have talked to my 12 yo daughter about helping out with these plates, and she has agreed. It's just a matter of getting her to sit down and do it. Yes, I pay her. The same amount I would pay anyone else. My plates are shipped to me white, and I need them basecoated in a beige color. 3 coats. That's her job. I am hoping....really, truly, hoping, that we can get 100 plates basecoated this summer.

And then we can start painting Santa faces. I offer other designs, but I *know* Santa Plates will sell in the fall. At least 100. And then there are the matching mugs that need basecoated too....see, I do need some down time. I'd still have plenty to do. And it might be a pleasant break from the never ending piggy banks (not complaining....I just count pigs instead of sheep when I go to bed : ) Plus I have to get the website ready for the sale, add a new piggy bank....yikes, I need more time! Peggy, did you ever find your 8th day???? Pass it over here, pleease!

and with the publishing of this post, I have finished my Monday Motivation To-Do List. Yay!

Monday Motivation

It's Monday Motivation over at Sparkplug CEO. You post your goals for the day and the week and then also your consequences....if you complete your tasks or not. I call them my To-Do Lists over at After The Dust Settles and I post them daily there. No consequences though...they just help keep me organized. Anyway, it's monday and I thought I would post my Monday To-Do List over here at SuperWAHMz and link along with Sparkplug CEO. Except that apparently I am up and at the computer earlier than they are. As soon as they get their post up, I will link to it.

1. do paperwork for piggy banks to ship out today
2. pack up those piggy banks
3. capture the $
4. email customers their piggy banks shipped
5. check and see how kiln fired (fingers are crossed) I figured out what the problem was and now I can get it to fire correctly! Wahoo! Will post about that later : )
6. write a post for SuperWAHMz
7. write a post for After the Dust Settles
8. finish laundry
9. sweep kitchen/basement steps
10. make pasta for hubby's lunch for the week
11. print up new orders

That's it for today....and that's quite a long list. If I get it all done, I will have a Mudslide before I go to bed. If I don't get it done, I will give up my diet dr. pepper for a day. I don't think I could last longer than a day : )

Now, for the rest of the week....

1. I'll need to pour my molds a couple times
2. paint some plates
3. scoop the poop
4. read some blogs
5. write some posts
6. prepare myself for Eowyn coming home for a few days (that ought to be interesting)
7. process orders
8. paint some piggy banks
9. go through stuff for garage sale next month
10. print some how to fliers
11. print some biz cards
12. write more bills on index cards

And now I better get my paperwork started or my mailman will be here before I have anything packed. Later I will post something inspiring interesting real about working at home : ) TTFN!