The Week in Review

Well, this past week has certainly been a busy one!! Monday I still had a migraine until late afternoon and so Tuesday felt like Monday....maybe that is why it's hard to believe tomorrow is Friday. On Tuesday I also had to get approval from work to be off Friday afternoon for the dryer repairman and a few other deliveries. Yesterday afternoon, my husband decided that we could use a new tv. He went and looked around, gave me a call on the one he found that he really liked, and then I called the place to see what type of deals they were offering. Then he wasn't sure whether we should spend the money on the tv when we also have furniture we just bought. I told him to let me know and once I was comfortable at home, he called me and asked me to run down to Musselman's to look at it. I said it was fine so we brought it home with us last night. We also had to stop at Walmart for a tv stand for the tv because nothing would fit our old tv stand. So last night we spent a couple hours putting together the tv stand and then setting the new tv on it. I also set up for a new receiver from Direct TV to be installed Friday afternoon as well....I thought Friday afternoon would be a nice relaxing one (me on the new couch before the hubby :P ) but not anymore! The dryer repairman is coming out, our furniture is being delivered and the Direct TV guy is coming out to do an installation!!

I've been working like crazy this week and as soon as I take a few pictures I'll post them. I cut out turtles, catepillars and ladybugs. The only thing I have left to do is to glue the turtles together.

Just remember, Saturday morning I will be using random.org to pick the winner of my first give-away!! Leave a comment in order to be picked!!

Frustrated!!!!

I am so frustrated right now. I had an ambulance ride to the emergency room back in March. I was only billed $100 for my copay for the ER visit and I thought the ambulance would be the same...it says $100 copay. WRONG!! I was informed that the only ambulance service that is offered for Highlands/Hardee county is not a provider for Blue Cross and Blue Shield. So now I have a $445 ambulance ride to pay for on top of the ER bill. This is absolutely ridiculous!!

When I hear about Obama's Healthcare plan, all I can think of is how big an increase in medical services are we going to see? I understand that everyone needs insurance, but aren't those of us that have insurance going to have higher premiums since we can afford it in order to pay for the insurance of those who can't pay for it?

Sorry for my ranting, but I'm now up to 6 medical bills to pay for that add up to over $1500. Sometimes I wonder if it's really worth it.......

Lucky and Annikan

Lucky and Annikan were really into something out in the yard. They were able to calm down and lay next to one another last night. Sorry it's a bad picture, but I took it with my phone.

International Sales

I had my third international sale today! I'm sending these simple yet beautiful scalloped tags to Hong Kong! They will be mailed tomorrow!!!

How many of you offer international shipping? Do you feel like you miss out on any sales because you don't offer international shipping or have you found it to be more of a nuisance to ship overseas?

There are only two people in the contest for the month of July. The drawing will be held Saturday morning on August 1. The winner will have their choice of free shipping or a gift certificate worth $5. The prizes can be used in either of my two shops cardsetcbyjerri.etsy.com or hiddentreasures09.etsy.com. Remember, all it takes is a comment or a link to your blog to be entered!!!

Giveway by M.M.E. Stutterings

Check out this giveaway on Studio M.M.E. Stutterings Blog! You could win this beautiful charm necklace!!!

http://studiomme.blogspot.com/2009/07/2nd-giveaway.html

Lucky Fred

This is my four year old son, Lucky Fred. He is so smart and well behaved (most of the time). He was even one of the ringbearers in our wedding last summer. He is a salt and pepper miniature schnauzer. The vet considers him overweight, so we are giving him less dog food and more veggies. We also play with him more and run outside more, but we have to be careful because of the Florida sun...he gets overheated very easily!

Discounts

Good morning Monday! I really don't like Mondays...it means it's time to quit playing and to go back to work :) Hope everyone's weekend went well.

Mention Discount720 when you order from either shop and receive a 10% discount! Only for today!!!

Maybe if these spiders attacked at work, I could stay home and blog some more!!

Fav for Tonight

I worked on several little projects today, my favorite being the popsicles. I think they are so cute and I can't wait to make a card using them! What do you think?

Who loves freebies?

In an attempt to grow my blogg, I am giving away a freebie each month to those who leave me comments. Everyone who comments during the month will be entered into the drawing. If you comment on each post, you will be entered that many times. However, there is only one entry per post. If you comment three times on one post, you will still only have one entry to the Comment Contest. International comments are welcome. Pass along the word!!! The contest starts now!

Wooden Quilt

This is a wooden quilt I made for my mother for Christmas 2007. I wish I had kept track of how many hours I worked on it. I just know starting 6 weeks before Christmas wasn't enough time. Christmas Eve I set an alarm clock that night so I could get up to put another coat of clear polyurethane on it. I used 1/2" poplar, cherry, and walnut wood. It measures 30" square.

Sundays

I really enjoy Sundays because that is the day everything actually seems to slow down. Saturday there is always something pressing to do like laundry, grocery shopping or house cleaning. But Sundays are the slow down and relax days. They are my favorite except for the fact that the next day is Monday and I have to go to work.



These ladybugs are my best sellers on Etsy. I've sold pink and brown, red and black, and shimmery red and black lady bugs. I think they are one of my favorites. What do you think?

The quote I found for today is "Don't see others as doing better than you. Beat your own records daily because success is a fight between you and yourself" by Mohammad Monis. I wholeheartedly agree with this quote. It is something that I myself have a lot of trouble following. I'm the person that sees every single flaw in what I do, especially my woodwork. But I've learned that sometimes those little flaws actually make it better. I'm always on Etsy looking at other cards, tags, and embellishments and asking myself how my work compares to theirs. Of course, I always feel like theirs is ten times better than mine, but I make myself look at my sales. If my work was that atrocious, I wouldn't have sold what I have. Now, as for my woodwork, I understand that it will take longer for it to get going because you have to find someone who is looking for that exact thing and is willing to spend the money.

I also need to make a few more pieces to add to the shop (http://www.hiddentreasures09.etsy.com/) but it's summer in Florida. I time myself on my work in order to figure out what to sell pieces for. I only count the time it took to cut it out, not to finish it. Time wise, it took me an hour to do a Michael Jackson silhouette. But in actuality it took me about three hours because I could only cut for so long in a shed with the stifling heat before needing water and some air.

What do you think of your work? How do you figure out prices?

My First Post!!

This is my first post to my blog and I'm so excited to finally be taking the plunge. I've sat here and glanced through other blogs to get ideas on what to do for my blog in the future. I'm sure there will be a lot of kinks to work out along the way, but it will be well worth it.



I guess I should tell you a little about myself. I live with my husband, Scott, our mischievous and way too smart miniature schnauzer, Lucky Fred, and my wonderful mother-in-law Beth. We live in Sebring, a small town in the middle of the Florida. Scott and I just celebrated our one year wedding anniversary a little over a month ago. It's hard to believe how fast time flies!!



I found this quote by Ernest Hemingway, "We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master." I believe that is true with any craft. You may be at the top of your game with whatever you are sewing, crocheting, scrapping, or designing but there are new ideas and inventions taking place that can add even more dimension to your craft. There are always new classes to take and new people to talk to in order to help you make your work even better than what it is. So if you feel like you are the best out there, take a look around. I'm sure you could find at least one new thing to learn.