Tag Archives: etsy

creative flow

I’ve been giving a lot of energy to my Etsy shop lately, and creativity is going in multiple directions. One day I’m spending hours in front of the sewing machine, the next I have a paintbrush in hand. I’ve also been creating videos to add to many of my listings (adding optional videos to Etsy listings is a fairly new feature on Etsy, but I’ve never used it until now). I feel like my shop looks really good right now, and is successfully reflecting my current creativity.

The hardest part for me when it comes to listing new items in my shop is still setting the prices for them. Does it ever get easier!?

My first reaction is to always think that I’m pricing things too high, because you can pick up things much cheaper from Target, T.J.Maxx, and Walmart (although those are all mass-produced items, unlike everything found in my shop).

But when I deduct the shipping cost (I offer free shipping on everything, so I pay $4 – $12 shipping on each order, depending on the items sold), and the Etsy fees (6.5% of each sale), and the taxes…don’t ask how much I’m left with for the time I put into my work.

Finance can get tight when you run your own business (as they are for me right now!), but this is really all I want to do, so I make it work, and I’m excited to keep branching out!

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halloween

I didn’t have the idea to make any Halloween items for my shop until super recently, so yes, it’s too late to actually have any of them for this year’s holiday. But I figured that the real Halloween stans wouldn’t care.

I keep my Christmas lights up ’til March, so I’m not here to judge other people’s favorite holidays, or how long you choose to celebrate them for ✌🏼

I haven’t made any pillows in a few months, ever since I listed the first ones in my shop, but I’m back in the zone and I have a million ideas (winter/Christmas ones are next, but I also want to do some more non-seasonal ones: dogs, cats, seashells, mushrooms, etc.).


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ugly christmas sweaters?

The newest additions to my shop are extra festive — two Santa Claus sweaters have been added, and they’re super warm, heavy, and cozy for all the cold days heading our way!

Both of them are sewn from thrifted cotton blankets and they have a true classic Christmas™ vibe to them.


The first one is super vintage-y with this doll-like Santa, holly down the front, and gold/black/white fringe.

Click here to view the listing!


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etsy shop expansion

I’ve expanded my Etsy shop! Now alongside my classic custom pet portraits, I also have some cardigans/sweaters, and spring coats for sale! I’ve been enjoying making these so much, and I have many more on the way.

The hardest part of this entire new endeavor has been setting prices. I’ve always tried to keep my prices as low as possible (to my detriment — I’ve never hit the minimum wage mark with my custom work!), but with this project I needed to actually start charging for my time and the material (the prices are still low for the amount of hours put into them).


this long, boho cardigan is currently my most expensive piece; from the material cost to the hours I put into washing and combing the vintage cotton trim, and putting it all together. The design, material, and color combo is just gorgeous!! I imagined it being used for something special, like an elopement wedding 🤍


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learning FPP

Aside from watching the flowers grow, I have also been succeeding in catching every illness that Taylor brings home from the office (she hasn’t caught a single one, she just gives them to me). Which has meant that I’ve been making my health my #1 priority, since my immune system is obviously struggling at the moment (I allowed too much stress into my life, and it’s left me compromised). I’ve just survived a not-as-horrible-as-it-could-have-been-but-still-very-not-good case of what I suspect was strep, and thank God for essential oils and Epson salt baths.

But despite my body testing my patience, my mental health has been doing pretty well.

I’ve had to take a little break from work over the past few weeks (what’s new), since sitting hunched over my desk all day has exacerbated all my symptoms, so although I’m still taking orders (and have some patiently waiting in the queue), there will be a slight delay before I get to starting on them.

And if you find yourself starting to wonder: don’t her parents care that she’s not working?? Just know that I was originally very uncomfortable with taking more time off work (and also living with a much smaller income), and it was my dear mother who suggested it and encouraged it, because health and happiness are of paramount importance in our house.

it’s hard to pick a favorite, but the goldfinch is definitely one of them


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8 guinea pigs

I just finished my most recent rewatching of Grease (possibly my favorite movie of all time), which may sound like a pleasant thing, but alas, it typically means that I’m up late at night with something ailing me.

More often than not, Grease gets put on at 2am when I’m sitting up alone, drinking tea, and praying that the magic of Sandy, Danny, and the rest of the musical gang will lull me to sleep. It’s one of my top comfort movies, and it usually works pretty well — this time I dozed off and completely missed Danny singing alone at the drive-in. A tragedy, I know.

I’ve hardly gotten any good-quality sleep in the past week due to a persistent (and very tickly) post-nasal drip that has me continually clearing my throat and excessively swallowing. It’s stopped me from being able to comfortably lay down (pretty much torture for someone who greatly enjoys the pastime of laying down), which has made the nights feel endless. At first I thought I was getting ill again (just after I had recovered from my previous illness last month), but now I’m wondering if it might just be more allergy goodness (yay).


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pet portraits

Ahhh, pet portrait work. A real love/hate relationship for me, as some of you know.

Let me just say: as much as I love being able to share my artwork, there is a constant underlying stress when it comes to custom work like this. Especially when it’s dealing with peoples’ pets. Sometimes I think people may love their pets more than they love their own children (I mean, I can’t blame them…for 7 years my best friend was a guinea pig).

click on the photos to enlarge them

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work

About a month ago I attended a birthday party while wearing a new maxi skirt that I had just sewn. I got multiple compliments on it (it did come out very nicely, if I do say so myself), and each time someone expressed interest in it, I offered them an exuberant: keep an eye on my blog, because I plan to get the sewing tutorial posted later this week!!!

At the time I had full intentions of doing just that, but here we are, almost a month later, and the maxi skirt has still not graced the page of my blog. A disappointment, I know.

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