We're a crafty bunch

I was trying to think of something to post tonight and ran across some old pictures of Chris and I. I forgot we had this kite. Yep that's a kite. It's called a double star. Chris built most of it and I helped with ALOT of the cutting. Each of those colors is "hot cut" and there's close to 200 panels on it. There was also quite a bit of sewing involved. The pictures aren't the best as they were taken almost 3 years ago on my dad's old digital camera. (Well before we had our beloved SLRs lol) My hair cracks me up. It's long again since I grew it out for the wedding. I'm always amused by my various Hair Era's when I find older pictures.



Unfortunately we don't fly it too often any more. The spars in the center hub tend to break easily when it lands and they're expensive to replace. But still, it's fun to set up for people to look at. It boggles the mind ^_^ The kite itself packs down into about a 16in tall bag, but the spars are almost 5ft long each so they get packed separate.



He hasn't been making too many kites these days. I think he's getting out of it, plus it can be an expensive hobby to keep up. But it's nice to have a crafty husband around. I can't tell you how many times he's helped me decipher a sewing pattern or figured out the math on a scaled down quilt block. He's priceless.

Laid Off

July 30th, 2010 will be my last official day at the "9-5". I secretly wish it was sooner than later because motivating myself to do any kind of work in the next 6 months is going to be terrible.

But freedom at last.

FOUND!

I can't believe that I really found the classes I was looking for at my local community college. AND, they're online to boot.

I'm incredibly excited about this new development because it's been a long time goal since I started selling, to find and take a few business/craft business classes. I just am in awe that they really DO exist.
I thought I would have to enroll back at school again and take a set path thru the BIS courses till I found the few classes I really had a desire to be in. That could've amounted to some serious cash spending. Since I've paid off all my student loans from my past adventures I'm not eager to take out any more.

(That was also a steady goal of mine, to pay off all my student loans by the time I'm 30 I did!)

In any case, I'm going to do two of them (and I am hoping that since they are 6 week courses, 2 times a week) that I will be able to complete them before June :)

And I'm totally doing a Yoga class at my local rec center too. It's something I've always wanted to try, hehe.

This new year is really shaping up to be rather interesting. Layoffs and the possibility of school? I hope I can afford at least ONE of those classes.

Well Ain't That a Blow?

The "9-5" just announced that they will be laying off 150 people tomorrow. What's really "great" about this piece of news is the fact that while most of us saw it coming the way it was announced was terrible. They sent us a generic email last week stating there would be some changes, but no one saw it as they would be laying off over half the company.

The place I work for has already suffered thru massive layoffs in the last 2 years they could have at least told us they were announcing it today, but nope they sent it to the press first. So the entire company found out about the layoffs at the same time from a source OTHER than my place of soon to be "non-employment".

Now I jest at quitting my job, but the relief that comes with actually loosing it is that I can still get unemployment which means food on my table and bills paid. If I quit, well I get nada.
But I don't think I'll be that "lucky". I think instead the rest of my teammates may get the axe while I stay put simply because I'm part of a super project that's only going to keep me around till the end of the year. And THEN I'll get cut.

So yeah.

All Creatures Great and Small

Almost 2 springs ago after we'd moved in to our house we were out back doing some yard work. The tiniest baby squirrel was sitting in our big maple tree just peering out at us. Then suddenly without fear, that little bugger hopped down and started following me around the yard! This went on for about 15 min till I stopped and squatted down and put my hands out. And without hesitation he hopped right on and I picked him up.



I know sometimes baby animals don't really know what to be afraid of in the beginning and if they've lost dear old mum there's no one to teach them the ins and out of staying safe and away from humans and other animals that might eat them. I kind of wonder if something happened to it's mom and here he was, a bit alone and curious.

He actually liked being held and petted and he sat still in my hand for a good 5 minutes. I don't think he was sickly or anything, he just seemed to not know who was good or bad. Maybe someone had been kind and fed him before? I hope he managed to grow up, even though the squirrels are pesky (as in one of them gnawed into our DSL line) around our neighborhood I still hope he found a way to survive and get on.

Decided

After some thoughtful insight and a bit of heartache Tumus will be going to an all Christmas ornament shop starting April 19, 2010. That is Tumus' 2 year Esty-versary.




With the responsibility of having two shops and only one shop pulling it's weight at the moment (Pinpinn) it is in my best interest to keep Tumus closed during the Off Season.

As of now I plan to close up April 19, 2010 and reopen July 2010 for a Christmas sale and then again October 2010 for the Holiday season. The dates are subject to change depending on how well Pinpinn does in the next few months.

"But Tumus!" you cry. "What will happen to all the Birdies, Bunnies and Kitties you have?!"

Well the Bunnies will be taking up residence (if they do not find good homes before April) in my home where they can sit peacefully among all the fabric and felt I have in my sewing room. The Birdies will fly home to other roosts and the Kitties will wait patiently until the Holidays once more.

It makes me a bit sad, but as a business I must look ahead to the coming year and keep my goals centered.

Look for a shop announcement in March on Tumus detailing all of the above :)

I'm very excited about this change and hope it does well for everyone involved.

In the Middle

This idea has been weighing heavily on my mind for a while now.
I've talked about it for a couple of months. The idea about taking Tumusto just a seasonal store. I can't seem to make consistent enough sales any other time of the year and lets face it, I run a business and sometimes you just have to cut the deadwood.

Taking Tumus to a seasonal shop namely a Christmas Dog Ornament shop would mean more time to focus on Pinpinn which has been very well received in it's first year.
I know all the "hearting" that goes on on Etsy is a way of just marking shops sometimes, but Tumus has been in business for almost 2 years exactly and has only 670 hearts to show for it. Pinpinn has been here for nearly a year and has 435. Pinpinn is seriously banking in the way of exposure right now. I'm almost convinced that Pinpinn can far surpass Tumus in the "off season". I've found that sought after niche and I stand out, I know I do and I don't toot my own horn very often. Though the sales have been about equal for both in their first year I think Pinpinn could hold it's own.

I'm not sure what's holding me back. I think it's because I'm very much attached to what I create and since Tumus was my first shop ever, I feel obligate to keep it around. Pinpinn has alot to show from my lessons learned and has benefited well from that. I went with a gut feeling, figured it out, researched better felt, put together spreadsheets, and generally got things more in line with Pinpinn.

Decisions, decisions.
Tumus won't be going away for good and that I'm sure of. I'd be heartbroken if the Bon Bons and Birdies never found homes, but that's the way things go sometimes.
Has anyone ever had to cut the ties on something they love?

A Shop Update!

You thought I was faking that shop update didn't you, tsk tsk. Have you no faith? I had numerous things to ready to photograph, but like most of us who sell online, taking pictures is really the last thing you want to do. It's personally not my favorite thing either. Despite really really liking photography for some reason having to set things up, reposition, figure out lighting, props even.....it's a bit of a hot mess sometimes. I prefer that instantaneous capture of pictures. Not the processed bits.

BUT even though I drug my feet for a full 3 weeks I finally managed to pull out the light box and snap.

A teaser for Tumus Yes, paisley is back! This would look adorable in a mod nursery, but it's not a toy! Just a decoration ^_^




A peek at Pinpinn This actually has two sayings embroidered on it. It says Sew seeds of love / Sew seeds of hope. I really love this one. I want to make 2 more pincushions with this same theme to kind of make it a "series".



And to make it even better I had so much to take pictures of that I didn't have time to get thru half of it last night. Oh and I was dead tired too. I've been reading alot more lately. I blame the cold snap that all of the Northern Hemisphere is under right now. Though we are scheduled for a warm up above freezing by Wednesday, I think we'll manage to get the Christmas lights down finally!