Love it

As I am probably breaking some of the "do not" newbie rules of selling on Etsy by logging in to see if I have made a sale and to see how many views each item has received since last time I checked about 10 times a day; I cannot stop. And when I do I also spend some time looking at what other people put up there. And there is truly a world of amazing artists out there!

I found this Navy Jane Toddler dress one that I think is absolutely adorable!! The dress is great and the picture makes it look like a million $.

The shop is: Noah and Lilah and the dress you can find by clicking here

Honestly WHO can say no to this dress at only $34??? I wish I knew a little girl that could were it I would get it asap.

Does it come in my size???

Sherri - I love it!

Denim Baby Romper

Just realize I haven't added any pictures of the romper I made.

I originally made it thinking it was going to be a unisex romper, even though my hubby strongly pointed out that it was a girls romper ONLY. I didn't see it until I actually got to see the romper live on a baby - it is for a girl. How on earth was he able to see that and I wasn't???

Anyway here it is:

Click on link to get to the shop to order one: www.etsy.com/shop/CandieInk

I have been getting so many great comments from my friends from Sweden about how much they adore this piece, but the American friends are not feeling as strong about it as the Swedes. Is that a difference in taste? Maybe most girls clothes here have to be all pink and cute?? I don't know - any comments?? Well it doesn't really matter if someone in Europe buy it - as long as someone buy it. They don't do any good to anyone here...

Dermalogica Cleansing Facial

Had my facial this morning - it is so relaxing, I was enjoying it even more this time than the first time I went about 2 months ago. Maybe I was more tuned in today.

But it sounds like I have to go with my dry skin and "adult acne" for a little bit longer. That is by far the worst combination ever!!! You can't use products that would dry you out and you can't use products that put too much nutrients into the bad pores... I guess I will try to let my skin just relax at least over the weekend and then we will see.

On my way home I stopped to pick up some business card paper. Not the perforated ones - that is just not professional looking. Will let you know how it worked out.

Biz Cards

I am sure there are millions tutorials out there on how to make great biz cards in a creative and personal way. But I am just looking for the basics - I just want to know what paper to use!

I just need to be able to hand whomever I am speaking to about my business a business cards. How else are they going to remember www.etsy.com/shop/CandieInk with capital letters and all that... tooooo long and complicated. And to write it down on a piece of paper just seems like it will end up in the bottom of the bag and that is it. A business card might also just end up at the bottom of your purse, but by the time you clean up your bag (yes I have to do that sometimes) you will find it and you will probably remember what it is for.

So tomorrow I am going to look for some business cards paper. Have Staples around down the road from where I live so they will receive my business yet again. They are so lucky I am a 'ready-fire-aim' person, I don't really plan for things like that, off course making it more expensive in the long run, but who has time to plan everything in life!!

You would just end up being disappointed about failing to stay on schedule.

I don't know anymore

Have been trying AHAVA now since Saturday and I must say that it is WORKING - it is working too good probably. MY FACE IS LIKE A DRY SHELL now.

Yesterday I even dipped my own face in oil - I punctured a capsule with Vitamin E and one with Evening Primerose oil and put it all over my face to try to smooth out the dry spots. When I woke up I was just as dry... Tried some Aloe Gel but that stuff just make me blush so much.

Tomorrow I have a new facial appointment - hopefully she can help me!

But sometimes I wonder that maybe I have done too much to my face lately. Just before getting the ahava I was so frustrated and itchy that I basically scrubbed my skin down on my chin - so it might have been too sensitive for the new products. I haven't been able to use the Dermalogica products since Wednesday 'cause that is just too much or my face right now.

So I really can't say if this stuff is working yet or not. I am just confused and have never been this dry before, not even if sunburned!

I think he loves me...

Yup, I am still going strong with my 5 am wake-up time. I have to say that I was tempted to stay in bed today tough but I didn't. And I got things done - had to finish up some dance moves for my classes tonight (I know I am a last minute kind of person) I cut out some new pieces for some baby dresses, will start sewing them tomorrow morning probably.

My husband is really loving my little change. He get's to go to bed with me, and when he wakes up I am awake and even happy, haha! And today I even served him some eggs and bacon. ~ Hope he doesn't expect me to do that every morning now.

Uploaded a denim romper today - I have been getting a lot of comments from friends about it, but no sale so far. We will see, it is bit expensive but I honestly can't price it lower because of all detail work it has with visible jean stitches. And I can't underestimate my own work - that would just be wrong!

Can you guys believe it is Friday tomorrow.. 

It's working

So far I have been able to wake up early in the mornings to do some work... but I truly means SOME work - I can do the little stuff, like sew on a button, attach a tag, iron, and all that - but today I was first going to finish the one order I received with getting the print on it, attaching the tags, and then all shipping... I managed! After that I was planning to start my next project, but I ended up on my yoga mat and took a looong stretching session instead. It did me good - but now I might have to break my new tradition and do some stuff tonight, at least cut out some pieces.

The Phillies are on, so while we watch it I can do some cutting too!

I Love Shoes

Seriously, who doesn't love shoes?!?!?!

I don't buy that many shoes these days as I am trying not to do too much spending on things I don't really need... but off course someone could ALWAYS argue a need for a pair of new shoes... and to tell you the truth I do NEED probably 2 or 3 pairs by now. :D

Anyway... In honoring the constant need for shoes I made this little toddler tee... I really love it, but it might just be me..

I did it!

I almost cannot believe it, but I sold my first onesie after only 24 hours on Etsy.com!!! I had to go back and check about 10 times before I really believed it. I was so confused, hahaa...

I know that I love my items, or I wouldn't have made them... but it is so very personal to me. Every little design I do means something to me. It is so overwhelmingly wonderful to actually have someone else appreciate them too!

So today I am walking in the clouds! :D

Early Mornings

I am not a morning person - at all!
I love staying up late and wake up well after 9.00 in the morning. That is when I work the best.

But with my new venture, a job, teaching dance, and have a husband I am starting to think that I need to do things a little bit differently from now on. I need to grasp energy from every living cell I can get a hold of and I can't waste precious time on anything - everything needs to be given the attention it deserves, including time to just relax.

I love my husband so deeply and I know I have been putting him as second the last few weeks with me trying to get everything ready - it is not fair to him or our relationship. So I am going to make some changes. We need our evenings to US. 

Normally I don't need as much sleep as he does so when he is ready for bed at 10pm I am wide awake and ready to keep going... but instead of doing things then I am going to start doing things in the morning, before he wakes up. This way I will still have my time to do what I need and I will be able to spend my evenings with my husband and even getting to bed at the same time...

I know it is the right choice for us. And I should try to find a place where I can do some morning yoga too. The program I would do is only 20 minutes so it is not a bad idea to start the day with 20 minutes yoga and stretch and then enjoy my time crafting. How much better can a day start really? I will keep you updated on how it works out.

How do you guys do it with several tasks/responsibilities/projects in the making?

Hormones running wild; trying AHAVA

Since I started doing this all natural birth control method my skin has been horrible. I look worse now than I did when I was 16! I suspect it is all hormone related as my body is still trying to regulate from the change in hormone production. I mean other than my acne I feel great and most days I don't care that much about it... but I am a girly girl that loves to look good - with or without makeup.

Since I stopped the dreaded Yasmin pills I have been trying different product to control my acne and so far NOTHING!

I started out using tea tree oil from the Body Shop. I used the oil every day and used the tea tree oil mask almost every day on my chin, nose and forehead... It seems like it worked for a little bit, but not in the long run - and who has time to put on a mask every day? 

The I tried to take Evening Primrose oil supplement but my stomach didn't agree at all to that. So I ended up putting the oil directly on my face by squeezing out the oil from the capsule. It made my skin baby smooth but did nothing for my acne, nothing at all. (Today I wonder if it was real oil or maybe just a synthetic kind it is hard to tell these days)

Then I went to a dermatologist and had a real facial, not the kind you do at home. It was great! My face felt so smooth and beautiful, my pores were 10 times smaller it felt like, especially on my nose. But I can't afford to have a facial every month.. so my awesome face is now back to were it started and might even be worse than ever. Off course not due to the facial but probably because of hormones and maybe some late stress I have had in my life lately (good stress, fun stress)  ;)

So on Friday I was recommended AHAVA and I actually had time to go shopping for it on my busy Saturday and am now dedicated to religiously use it every morning and night for 30 days. I can for sure tell you that something is going on - My face feels tighter but I am not sure I like the feeling. We will see in 30 days what I say about it. 

So all in all I am now using:
AHAVA Mud Soap Bar
AHAVA Toner for oily skin
Dermalogica - Special Clearing Booster (on my acne areas)
Dermalogica - Clearing Mattifier (It is really making my skin look like soft velvet - NO SHINE at all)
Some days I feel dried out and on those days, and nights I will also use Dior's HydraAction

Anyone ever tried AHAVA products? What did you think about them?

I will give you an update on my experience in 30 days.

Frank the Frog

Frank the frog will be the introduction to my collection. I don't know why I picked this item over anyone of the others, but it just happened and I am happy with my decision - it is great being your own boss!!

I think you can already see the playful side of me. I am not a FASIONISTA just a happy fool that loves colors and to create with them.

You can buy and read more about the 'Frank the Frog Blue Onesie' by clicking here: Candie Ink on Etsy

Comming Soon

I don't want to show you the whole piece yet... but this is what I am working on right NOW. Just sitting down while my (only) two silk screens are drying so I can use them again for step 2.

Ready Set...

... I really don't have time to sit here and blog, but I need a break from all the crafting. I was working until 4.30 am Saturday morning from the time I came home from my day time work on Friday afternoon. I woke up at 8.30am today and kept going..

During the Phillies game I just couldn't keep my eyes open anymore and took a well needed nap. Now I am ready to GO again!

My overnight task is to start my screen printing. Have been setting it up all day today even had to go and get some supplies and off course I found a fabric that I could not resist buying. I have no idea of what to do with it yet, but at least I have it! :D

Tomorrow I plan to upload my first item on my Etsy shop! 

Here are my 'new' labels after having two misspelled words on the old ones: 

New fabric, any suggestions of what would look good with it? 

No Time

Last night after work I was once again working on small little things. Sewing on some buttons on a few items that I didn't know what to do with when I for a few days thought we weren't allowed to use buttons on children's clothing... I think I hate sewing on buttons - it is so slow! ;p

I also received all my items I ordered for my screen printing - So I will be busy all night Friday I just know it. I washed them all yesterday so they are ready for when I need it. I also fixed my washing labels so they are spelled right - and also found that Photoshop DOES have spell check! Ahhhh :D

This morning I was TIRED and realized that I didn't take a shower before I went to bed the night before, which is usually my night habits so I had to get into the shower in the morning because I WILL NOT go without washing my hair for more than 30 hours - but that left me NO time to get it all ready. Luckily it was already warm outside by the time I went to work so I was doing an all natural hair blowing thing in the car with the windows down - and it WORKED! My hair was dry (and a little messy) by the time I got there... but that is why there are ponytails :D For girls like me!!

Bikini Season?

Being almost 90 degrees F out today (about 30C) made me think about summer time. But it freaks me out a bit too; I am so not ready for Bikini season. I have to loose some pounds in order for me to even get into my bikini after gaining weight because of some horrible birth control pills (I am now doing it all natural but that is another story) and then I am as white as snow... almost blue! Time to make some visits to the Caribbean Tanz here in Newtown soon.

But speaking of bikinis; I never thought I would ever make one, but I made this bikini for a photo shoot I did in 2006 and I actually ended up wearing it outside too and I received many compliments for it! What do you think? (yeah I was a brunette for a while there)

Student'02 - High School Graduation

Another addition to my portfolio - My younger sister in her High School Graduation outfit. Basically all girls wear white for graduation in Sweden and this is what my sister wanted to wear so I made it for her...

NYC Wedding

The summer of 2008 about one month after my own wedding - my best friend comes to NYC to get married in the Swedish church on 48th st between 5th and Madison. My husband and I get to act as maid of honor/best man and witnesses since they left home without telling anyone they were going to get married. I off course knew since I had to make her dress before I left for my new life in the states. Unfortunately the top I made for her became too big as she lost weight on the LCHF method I told her to use for fast results.

So for this one, I am only to blame for the skirt ;) (and flowers)

You will not believe this!

Ok.. for you to really believe it I should take a picture.. but here is a sample instead:

Great huh?!?!!! I spelled both WASH and CHLORINE wrong!!!
It only tells me that I should not work with stuff like this until early morning after a long day at my daytime job.

I blame a little on it on Photoshop and it not having spell check. I live for spell check, that is why I changed from Explorer to Firefox even!

But I still can't believe I made this kind of mistake, I really can't! Time to proof read everything about 10 times!! But I always say that... I wonder when I am actually going to learn, or see my own mistakes - anyone have any idea? Is my issue incurable?

So it may not have been that bad, but I have actually made two sets of this kind of labels that is supposed to go on the side seam in all my items... and 4 of them are already attached to some dresses. Crazy!!

A well, what to do - at least I noticed it before sending the dresses out to customers. THAT would have been embarrassing! So now I will make new ones... I actually finished up some other labels today as I needed some with 6mts, 12mts, 18mts, and 24mts on them. The work will go on...

From My Wedding

As I am waiting and putting together some odds and ends here and there I figured I could update my portfolio a little bit too. Here are some pictures from my wedding - a truly home made wedding. Without sounding like a version of Martha Stuart, I was trying to keep costs down as I had just moved to the US and immigration and visa application was expensive to us at the time, I ended up making a lot of it myself. Wedding favors, dessert, wedding cake, flowers, decoration, wedding dress, and brides maids dresses... it was a perfect day and looking back I wouldn't have changed anything, besides for that I was missing many of my family and friends.

Enjoy:

Ohhh...

.... it's coming, it's coming!!! I just placed my order for some of the supplies I need to start my screen printing. I was going to do it yesterday but they had to verify my Sales Tax ID number first. And as soon as I saw the email I placed my order. It actually came out costing me $30 less that I had calculated on - so that is always nice!

So finally I can get moving for real. The stuff should be here on Thursday... until then I need to make some more labels and print some shipping labels. But for the first time, I can actually say that I think it will all come together this weekend! Ahhhh!!!! :D

My first screen printing projects will be Creeper (two different prints), Toddler t-shirt (one print), Toddler dress (one print).  

Playing

Trying to connect my Etsy shop with this blog. But so far it looks kind of empty since I haven't uploaded any items on the shop yet. I have two different items done, but I was going to start with some screen printed item first... but maybe I should just throw what I have out there... I can't decide. I thought I had this great plan, but I am still waiting for the items I am going to print on to arrive...

Here is a little preview of one of the items, I just fell in love with this fabric when I saw it and HAD to make something out of it!

So far I have 4 baby dresses (New Born to 24 months) already made in this fabric... I love it, but it is not cotton so it may not sell as good because of it. But I couldn't resist...

And beside for connecting the blog with the shop I also connected the shop with my facebook account. I don't know if it will attract more people or not, but since it will all update it automatically it is worth it!

Tonight I am home with a sick dog. I don't want to go to bed in case he needs to throw up again... But in my mind there cannot be anything left for him to throw up! 

EIN & Sales Tax ID - DONE!

Oh.. I am getting closer!!!

On Monday night I went to my accountant so my SS-4 and PA-100 was filled out correctly and on Tuesday I filed the two applications online. I received my EIN right away and today I received my Sales Tax ID.

This means that I can now:
Open a bank account
Connect a PayPal account to it
Set up my PayPal to Etsy.com
Buy at wholesale
Start my shop

Ahhh... do you guys know how excited I am???

First Batch of Labels

As I am making sure I am following all CPSC, FTC and CPSIA regulations I made my first labels for all my items yesterday, including:

• Name of Business/Brand (Candie Ink)
• Country of Origin (Made in USA of imported fabric)
• Size
• Designer Name (Helena Mathis)
• Fiber Content

• Wash and Care Instruction
• Batch Number
• RN Number
• Date of Production
• Place of Production
• Web address

They came out looking great and the whole process was really pain free! But I think I am going to make them just a little bit larger so I can fold in the edges easier to be able to attache them to the clothes as I do not want to use fray check.

CPSC Webinar

For those of you that are targeting your items to products intended for children this is a great opportunity to get the latest info on rules and regulations: 

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
cordially invites you to participate in a special

- Webinar -
Join CPSC Officials for a Chat Addressing
CPSIA and Small Businesses

Friday, March 26, 2010

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act is a child safety law that affects people and small businesses that make handmade toys and other products intended for children. Our contacts at the Consumer Product Safety Commission will be joining us in a Webinar to talk about what the CPSIA means for our community. 

Here are the details:

On Friday, March 26 at 11 a.m. EDT, (8 a.m. PDT) Senior CPSC Officials Jay Howell and Gib Mullan will be live on a Webinar for our members to talk about how the CPSIA has impacted small businesses.

Jay and Gib will share their insights and experiences about how the CPSIA is being implemented and enforced, how compliance with the law is possible, what has been stayed and what is in effect, what needs to be tested and what does not, and what the future holds.

Presentations by both officials will be followed by a question and answer session. Jay and Gib are doing this webinar as part of an effort by CPSC to connect with organizations like ours and to demystify the CPSIA for small business owners.

CPSC will record the session for those who can't make it.

You can help move the presentation into your areas of concern by sending in advance questions to the web address below. That will help us decide which topics will be most useful for you!

To participate in the webinar go to: www.cpsc.gov/webcast/index.html

Send in your questions before, during and after the webinar to:
HTAquestions@cpsc.gov. (This email address will be active until a month after the webinar to follow up on all questions.)

Proud Owner!

I just wanted to say that I am now a proud owner of an LLC. I received my letter of filed organization yesterday and now I will continue the quest with getting my EIN number and also to set up a business account so I can get the PayPal and Etsy.com site all connected to it.

I have been reading pages after pages of tax rules - and I am happy that I have an accountant so I don't have to be too tuned in to what is going on as far as taxes, but I feel more confident knowing at least the basics of it. That way I at least have a chance of asking the right questions when and where I need to. Some of you might think I am overdoing it - but I rather be too careful now as a start than go back and say Oops!

Hopefully once everything formal is taken care of I can just get going and hope that it will pay off.
Soon, soon I will be posting my items! Can't wait!  

LLC or S corp?!

Well.. I guess my choice is LLC and S corp after doing some research. But I guess that will have to wait until next year since I already passed the date of when it has to be sent in, March 15th.

Until then I will be a LLC and taxed as a sole proprietorship. I think that will be just fine, this way I will have some time to figure out what type of salary I can expect, and how my husband and I should divide the responsibility...

But there really is no easy way to figure this out. IRS provides the rules and forms to be filled out, but no recommendations or help. Help that is found online may or may not be objective. And help from an accountant or lawyer can get costly...

I am expecting my LLC application from the State to return this weekend and I was doing some reading on how to fill out my SS-4 for my EIN number... I thought it would be a walk in the park - just fill in the blanks type of deal... but there is more to it than that!

I am not too worried about it though - I feel confident that I am making the right decisions... now I just have to keep CPSC at bay and hope that they don't ban everything I need to make children clothing besides for cotton or wool... it would be a shame if all of a sudden we couldn't use zippers or buttons... 

Set-back number one

But I am planning on making it my onlyONE!

On Friday night I came across some information while researching hanging tags for my clothes. "Should I have a hanging tag on the clothes I sell or do people not care about them" was my thinking. My husband didn't think I should, since they get cut off and thrown in the trash right away. I agreed, but still feel that a tag was the right way to go just to get the new and special touch on it. I was even thinking of making the hanging tab into a business card... What is your thought on it? Would people realize it, would it be a "ah that is so smart" or "that is so cheap"??? Right now, after a few days of thinking, I am leaning towards hanging tags but maybe not in the style of a business card... but love some comments on it!

So where is my set back?

It has nothing to do with hanging tags - cause I believe you can pretty much put whatever you want on those, but my head started to spin when I learned about FTC and CPSC rules and what I HAVE to put on the sew in labels for each item... it was crazy. But thanks to DuhBe and her fabulous description on the issue I manage to figure it all out. Not without getting a little bit sweaty but at least there is a way...

So if you are planning to make anything that is intended for kids - read it! It is well worth it times a thousand.

So this probably set me back a week or two, but it is ok... I am still waiting for some paperwork to be finished.

Going Crazy

I am so ready to get going. I am so curious to see what this whole new venture of mine will bring to my life... But I am still in waiting mode - I am waiting for the Department of State to send me back my papers...

I feel like I am sitting in a car, my foot is on the gas pedal; full throttle yet ~ I am going nowhere because someone is lifting my car off the ground!!

Do you have any idea of how frustrating that is?

Off course I still have ton of things I can work on in the meantime but I just want to roll out the carpet and do it all ~ all the way. The way I am doing it now is just bits and pieces here and there... but I guess ones the carpet is to be rolled out I will be happy that I did them all before.

So even though in waiting mode I am still working and thinking of this 24-7!

What's up?

I have been working on setting everything up with my new business. I sent my papers in to PA Department of State yesterday and hope that I can have an answer back before next week. Next step is the tax document: SS-4 and I hope I won't screw it up. I never contacted a lawyer. I felt, when I had red through everything of what was required, that I could do it myself.

I already have an accountant and I plan for him to take care of my yearly tax issues, just like he already is. But maybe I will contact him along the way. Just to make sure...

Have to look up if there are any extra sales taxes in the township I live in... which would suck but I wouldn't be surprised.

A well. In the meantime I am working day and night to try to figure out what to sell and how much of it I should get out at first... It is a constant battle in my head and it never ends: One day I feel one approach is right and the next day I have another approach... I am driving myself crazy... hahah!!!

So all to all of you; you will have to wait a little bit longer to see what I am creating.

Until then.