Etsy Uproar

Etsy Uproar

Another internet storm is on the way. Just like any storm, it will blow over. Before we dive into the topic at hand there are a few things I want to talk about. First, and foremost I react to contrasty differently than most people. Instead of getting rallied up about it and angry I watch. I listen to both sides to make my own choice. Second, I believe that everything on the internet is in a constant state of change. That being said my main mantra for times like these is this to shall pass. But even after saying that I still have my own bias. Let's talk about the Etsy Uproar.

He Said She Said

I first learned about the advertising thingy from an article on the subject. I had just woken up one fine morning. I looked at my Google News feed and saw an article about Etsy. Since Etsy is my life I click on it. The article was called Etsy sellers are furious over new mandatory ad fees. My tired mind at four AM thought that it would be a great read.

The article is mostly angry tweets from Etsy Sellers. Talking about how they were going to be put out of business. I shared the article on my Facebook page and my personal Facebook page. Later that afternoon my cousin, who also has an Etsy shop, announced that she was going to be opening her own website. With this announcement, I started to look into other online stores. Places that were like Etsy but not, like Shopify. I decided that Etsy was still the cheapest option for me.

I then checked my email a few days later to find an email from Etsy. I do check my business email every day, but I don't always see my "newest" emails. The email was a link to Etsy's seller handbook. It was going to be talking about the new service. The article was titled Introducing Etsy’s Risk-Free Advertising Service. At a glance, I thought that it was a good service and decided to read it later.

But as of today (March 1, 2020), I have found a statement from an Etsy spokesperson. Here is what the spokesperson had to say on the matter.

"At Etsy, we’re always listening to our sellers and adapting our platform to best meet their needs. Many sellers asked us for marketing products that give them more control with less risk, and we’re excited to evolve our advertising services to directly address this feedback. Offsite Ads will help sellers reach tens of millions of potential buyers off of Etsy, without having to pay any fees unless they make a successful sale. While we understand that changes like these can be an initial cause of concern, we’re confident that once Offsite Ads launches sellers will see the benefits of this powerful new marketing tool."

You might be wondering about the other concerns. The main thing that people are having trouble with is the fee. Mostly the percentage of the fees. In Etsy's seller's handbook, they added a little chart to show what the fees will look like.  I would like to look at that table with you.

The handbook also says that these fees are added to all the other fees. From what my cousin said that is 25% of the new fees being added to the 8% that they already take. I know that that sounds bad. But things change. People and companies change their minds. Let's take a moment to try to understand what Etsy is thinking. They don't think they are hurting anyone. They believe that they are going to be helping the most people on their site. Because they know that they are only successful if the people using their platform are successful.

That might be why they offered a free masterclass to their sellers after the announcement. More on that much later. Since I am writing this blog post while waiting for the class. I timer ticking down is about to give me a heart attack.

Something that caught my eye in the handbook was this.

If you’ve made more than $10,000 USD in sales on Etsy in a 12-month period you’ll benefit most from offsite advertising. So, you’ll be required to participate for the lifetime of your shop and you’ll get a discounted advertising fee.

This is the reason why my cousin and so many others are leaving the site. But I believe that if this doesn't go over the way that they want this will be revoked. Rules like this are never set in stone. In time they will change. Here's hoping that the change will do more good.

How this will Affect Me

As some of you may know I run a small Etsy shop. I started it back in January, so it was only been open for a few months. Therefore I am still green and wet behind the ears about Etsy. So since I have an Etsy how will this affect me?

The short answer is I do now know. But I do have some theories. I think that the change will be good for my shop. Since it is free for the most part there is very little risk. It is something that I am hopeful about. But I am also nervous about it. I will be opting out of it for now. I'll watch to see how it is affecting other shops around me. If the change really is for the better I will opt-in.

So that is all I have to say on the matter. I might have more to say about it later down the line. But until then I have spoken my peace. For now, I'm hopeful that Etsy is not shooting itself in the foot.

But I think you might be wondering how to help me through this troubled time. The first and easiest way that you can help is by subscribing to my newsletter. My newsletter is free and comes with a 50% off coupon. The coupon is good for any items in my shop. In my newsletter, I talk about new items that are going to be added to the shop. I send special offers to my subscribers. You will also be the first to know if I am going to events to sell in person. I also add a little bit of news as to what is going on in my life.

The second way you can support me is by shopping at my store. I have trinkets and plushies. That is about it. I update the shop almost monthly. Other ways to support me is by following me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Thank you for stopping by, and I'll see you next week.

eDating Story Feb. 2020

Rob the Lovelorn

I'm sure that we all have that one story. You know that one where you did something stupid under the influence of some kind of drug or substance. Do not worry, my terrible online dating story's drug is chocolate. In the middle of the night. I will also not be saying the names of the guys. I will be calling them the number that we scored in compatibility. Where all the bad choices are made!  This is a long story. Let's get right into the story.

3 AM Chocolate

This all started after February 15. You see that is when my family gets out Valentine's Day candy. Because it is super cheap and we love saving money. Inside this beautiful brown paper bag were M&M's.

Now I tend to wake up in the middle of the night. Gripped with a pang of almost extreme hunger. What I normally do is go upstairs and get a snack from the kitchen. That is a story for later. But since I had chocolate in my room I decided to ear that.

I got one packet of M&M's and ate it. I stashed the wrapper in the top drawer of my side table/cabinet thing. I then struggled back down into my bed and closed my eyes. In this moment of peace, I had a daydream because I wasn't really asleep at the moment. Although looking back more it was a memory. It was a collection of memories about one of my cousins. I'll keep her name a secret.

In this memory, my cousin was talking about how she met her husband on eHarmony. These memories made me want a relationship. I wanted a soulmate, a family of my own, and children. So I got my phone and downloaded eHarmony's app.

I did read some of the reviews before downloading the app. One was a five-star review of how it worked. The other review for one star. It told a different story. I read the first and last sentence of each of the reviews. I then decided what could be the harm. I mean it worked for my cousin. Why wouldn't it work for me?

After the app was done downloading I opened. I made my account and was told that I would have to take a quiz. I was half asleep, so I decided that it would be best to put the app down and go back to sleep. I put my phone down and snuggled under my covers. I closed my eyes and nothing. I couldn't get back to sleep. So I grabbed my phone and opened eHarmony's app. Half asleep I took the quiz. 

Matchmaker Make Me a Match

My eHarmony Profile Picture

After I had finished the quiz I was asked to take a profile picture. That this point it was almost four AM. My camera would not be able to take a good picture, and I was too lazy to get up and turn on a light. I picked a picture that I had on my phone.

Once I was able to see my matches I noticed that the pictures were all blurry. I then remembered that one of the reviews said that to see pictures you had to subscribe to eHarmony. I shrugged and thought that it was no big deal.

The first match that I saw had scored 107 on compatibly. So I looked through the profile. I decided that this one was not right and kept looking. I found another profile that had a score of 103. I looked through it and decided that this one wasn't right either. I then found one that scored 97. I looked through the profile and thought that there might be something there. So I sent him a smile.

I was then able to go back to sleep. It was five AM. Two hours later my mom woke me up and told me that it was Sunday. I got up and went upstairs to breakfast. During breakfast, I checked eHarmony to see if I had gotten any messages. 97 had liked a few things on my profile and sent an icebreaker. 107 sent a personal message that said, "Good morning. I would like to get to know you better."

I started with 97. I answered the icebreaker questions. We picked three of the same pictures. I then went back to 107. I tapped the message button and was sent to select which subscription plan I wanted. I decided that I didn't want to subscribe, so I sent 107 an icebreaker. Which he answered almost six hours later.

I then thought nothing about the app until the afternoon. 97 and I did a lot of icebreakers. According to the icebreakers we had a lot in common. 107 finally answered my icebreaker and sent one of his own. I answered it and sent another one to him. He responded by saying something. The message was blurred out so I couldn't read it. Under the message has a button to pick a payment plan to subscribe. I rolled my eyes. I was getting annoyed by this request. It seemed as if eHarmony was trying to rob me.

I double-checked 107's profile. I confirmed my decision that 107 was not right for me. So I ignored the message. I haven't heard or seen anything new from him since.

But I also had a new match. We had a score of 72 because he had not taken the updated quiz. I read his profile and thought that maybe there was something there. It didn't hurt that we went to the same college and lived in the same city. The personal message that he sent me was basically asking me what kind of video games I liked playing.

I sent him a smile and liked a few things on his profile. So he would know that I was interested. Later that afternoon he sent me another message. Of course, I couldn't read it, because I was using the free trial. While using a free profile on eHarmony you can not see any pictures, read the second message that is sent to you, or reply to a message.

I did get three more messages from three other guys. One was just a smile. I looked through his profile and decided that he was not the one. The other one was a guy from Texas. His message was simple and, to me disturbing, his message was his number. He said that he wanted to get to know me. I looked through his profile and decided that he was not the one. So I removed him as a contact. I did this because I didn't want to give someone I didn't know my number. The third and final one asked me if I was wearing a Deathly Hollow's necklace. Yes, I am.

Three AM Subscription

I was getting so curious about what 107 and 72 had said. I honestly could care less about what 107 had to say. He just didn't feel right for me. I still couldn't read the second message that they sent me. I thought that as soon as my second day started that I would be able to read their messages. I put my phone down and went to sleep.

Bunny Plush Face

I had a dream about 72 that night. Which is strange, because I have no idea what he looks like. Even more so the dream also had his daughter in it. In my dream, I was giving the daughter a square plush bunny that I had made. The same plush that I have been working on with my Mom off and on all month.  When I woke up I was confused. I knew that I had to meet 72 and his daughter. I'm not sure if he is the one. I don't get prophetic dreams, but it does feel like it sometimes.
I decided that I wanted to know what 72 said. So I sat up in bed and grabbed my phone. I opened the eHarmony app and tapped the button to go see the offer. The offer was 20% off your first three months. I think all I know was that the light plan (which was six months) was $25 and was being offered to me for $14.99.

I rubbed my eyes and hit the next button. I had the option to make one, two, or three payments. I selected to make a one-time payment. I entered my card info and hit confirm. I blinked and saw on the top of the screen a light red banner with dark red type. My card had been denied. I shrugged yawned and went back to sleep.

Love Thief

Charlie the Financial Penguin

When I woke up in the morning I opened up a financial tracking app that I have. A charming little thing called Charlie. If you want to learn more about Charlie click here to see a detailed review. Charlie is a little app that work's with Facebook's messager app. He helps you track your spending. I have made it a habit to check with him every day in the morning. So I can keep in mind what I have. That way I don't buy anything that I don't need. Like a dating subscription.

Now there is something that you do need to know about me. I do not have a lot of money. I am one of those people who sees a shiny thing and just needs to buy it. I know that I shouldn't. But when I see a cool sewing pattern I can't help it. That is a story for another day though.

Charlie told me that a nice sum of money was pending a transaction. That sum was a good portion of what I had. Charlie was telling that eHarmony was trying to take this sum to cover the subscription. I went to the computer and checked my bank balance. What Charlie said was right. My mom came over to me and asked me if anything was wrong. My mom has a way of just knowing that something is wrong. I signed and told her that I wasn't okay. But that I was sure of how to fix it.

I went over to my laptop and fired it up. I got off of the tower capture so someone else could use it. If they had too. I opened up eHarmony's website and started looking. No one else had messaged me, and I didn't have any new messages from anyone that I was "talking" with.

I looked everywhere on my profile and in my setting. I couldn't find a way to unsubscribe. But what was odd was the fact that the website and the app were both still offering the discount. In a slight panic, I went to Google and asked it how to cancel my eHarmony subscription.

I found a site called How Do I Cancel My fill in the blank. I had used this site before and I will use it again. But I always forget what it is called. Maybe now I won't forget.

I read through the site and learned that the best way to fix this problem was by emailing eHarmony. With a deep breath, I opened my personal email. I then wrote a strongly worded email to eHarmony. But it was also kind of polite. I wasn't answered until later into the evening, but I didn't see the reply until the next day.

My dad was working late that night. So he wasn't at dinner. I told my mom and two sisters about what happened. My mom was upset. She told me that I needed to think. That I couldn't subscribe to something like this without a job. After dinner, my mom sat with me and helped me call the bank. The bank told me that the amount had been refunded already. Everything was good. Nothing had happened.

Conclusion

So what have I learned through this? Do not eat chocolate at night. I also learned that even dating sites want your money. If you find your true love, great. But you would still have to pay up in the end. I was planning on deleting my eHarmony account, but I decided in the end that I would keep it. That way when I'm ready and when I have a steady flow of income; I can try again.

My twin sister has been helping me figure out how to sleep better. That way I don't wake up in the middle of the night and end up buying something. That will be a story and tips for later.

I'll see you next week.

Shop Updates for March

Shop Updates for March

First, I need to get better at naming these blog posts. These generic names will start to blend into each other at some point. Second, February is almost over! For some reason, February has left just as long as January. It's almost as if the year 2020 is drugging its feet because it didn't want to get up in the morning.

With March just around the corner, I decided that it was time to update the shop again. I have also been learning more about how to sell on Etsy. For some reason that makes me very excited. That might be because I really want to make my living through my shop. I will start my updates with the shop and then move on to my personal life. As well as what I have been learning about selling on Etsy.

Bottled Luck

I am adding two new items to my shop for St. Patrick's Day. Both are potion bottles. I was going to also have a new plush or two. But I didn't have the money to buy new patterns and the one that I tried to make myself... It just didn't turn out the way I wanted.

The plush that I was going to make was a shamrock. But like I said it didn't turn out good. It looked like it was withered and trying to die. Weird for being a plush. Maybe next year I will be skilled enough to make the pattern myself, or rich enough to buy a pattern.

Luck Potion

Out of the two potions that I made the first one that we are going to talk about was the easiest to do. A simple luck potion that would put Harry Potter's liquid luck to shame. After all, we all know that true magically luck can only be found in the Irish.

Like all of my potions, this Luck Potion is not for drinking. It will not give you any real luck. But it does look pretty. The gel that is in the jar is dyed green with food coloring. To make sure that the potion has a golden glow about it I used a lot of glitter. I mainly used green, yellow, and gold glitter. To add some variation to the look of the bottle I also added a few clear and red glass beads.

I also added shamrock beads to the potion. It won't be the luck of the Irish without the shamrock. The beads that I used are a golden color and give a nice contrast to the different greens. Since I was making this bottle in early February not all of the craft stores had St. Patrick's Day items. So I ordered the beads from Amazon. I order a lot of my more special beads from Amazon. If you would like your own gold shamrock bead, click here. I promise that I am not sponsored by the seller or Amazon. I just really like these beads.

Catastrophic Luck Potion

The other potion that I made is the Catastrophic Luck Potion. This potion was a lot of fun to make because it has two different colors. It also looks like a coin flip. Or a water and oil mixture, because of the nature of the bottle. The design of the potion is meant to look like that.

The potion was inspired off of a show called Miraculous Ladybug. The show is about a young girl and a young boy who become superheroes. The girl becomes the heroine known as Ladybug while the boy takes the name Cat Noir. Now without spoiling the show too much the boy and the girl are in love with each other. But they do not know that. You see Ladybug is in love with Cat's real identity and Cat is in love with Ladybug. They do not know that they are the ones that they are in love with. This makes up most of the drama with all of the will they won't they.

That is why this potion bottle is half green (the color of the black cat) and half red (the color of the ladybug). I wanted the potion to have that oil and water look and feel. The green part of the potion is trying to overtake the red part because of its love for the ladybug. But they can't touch, because they are not meant to at this time.

A Closer look at the Black Cat

The green part of the potion has a lot of glitter in it. The reason for this is the nature of Cat Noir's Cataclysm. Cat Noir has the power to destroy anything that he touches when he uses his Cataclysm. The power is very beautiful but dangerous. Since Cat Noir has the power of the black cat I also used black cat beads. I got these beads from Amazon as well.

A closer look at Ladybugs

The red part of the potion was a little hard to do. I had to make sure that the red didn't mix too much with the green. I also ran the risk of putting in too much gel and glitter. I used red glitter to hide any place that the food coloring didn't cover.  Then put in the ladybug "beads." The ladybug beads that I got are wooden. They also do not have holes to be threaded. But that is alright since I was going to put them in a bottle.

After putting the ladybug beads in the potion the bottle was overflowing with gel. I wiped off the gel and put some Elmer's clear glue around the top of the bottle. I then sprinkled some chunky purple glitter onto the bottle. I will be getting a glitter brush to make frosting easier in the future.

Why did I call this potion Catastrophic Luck Potion? Ladybug's power in the show is called Lucky Charm. It gives her an item to use that will help her and Cat defeat the baddie of the week. By combining their powers you get Catastrophic Luck, so that is how I came up with the name.

Conclusion

I personally feel like I have talked enough for the time being. I'll tell you next week about how I am doing and what I have been learning about Etsy. I have a few things that I would like you to do for me. I'll break them down for you.

First, you need to watch Miraculous Ladybug. It is one of the best shows that I have seen in a long time. It is on Netflix and only has three seasons out. Go forth to binge! Then when you are done with Miraculous go watch The Hollow and The Dragon Prince. They are so good.

Second, if you have seen Miraculous Ladybug who is your favorite character? My favorite character changes sometimes. But I do have to say that Marinette Dupain-Cheng is my favorite character. Marinette is also Ladybug for those of you who are not in the loop.

Third, I have just a few announcements. Both of the potions that I have talked about are available now in my Etsy shop, Trinket Shoppee. I also have a landing site! With this site, you can subscribe to my newsletter. You will be informed about new items in the show before anyone else. I am planning on sending a newsletter out near the start of each month. You can look at this page here. I am planning on updating the site as I get more things going.

See you next week.

February 2020 Update

February 2020 Update

As February starts to draw to a close I would like to give an update on how I am doing and how my shop is doing. It will not be a very long update. I will be going over how my shop is doing and future plans. I also want to go over what I have learned about selling on Etsy, and how I am doing. I think it is best to get all of the personal stuff out of the way first.

How I Am

Here Fishy

Here is what I have learned about selling on Etsy. It's like fishing. You cast out your line and wait for a bite. I was never good at fishing, and it is still one of my least favorite things to do. Because I don't like fishing selling on Etsy has been hard. Although it has been hard I am not going to give up. I have been working way too hard to just give up.

I have been learning a lot about selling on Etsy. And will continue to do so.

As for me, I am doing well. I have been having a few down days. But I do believe that I am doing better.

The Shop

As of Now

I have gotten two sales in the course of two the two months that I have been on Etsy. But only one of those sales was real. The other one was just me testing my new Square card reader. I am happy to report that the card reader does work.

My Valentine's Day sale is still going on and will end this Sunday. If you are reading this in the future then the sale is over. Sorry about that. It wasn't going ever well anyways.

Future Plans

Since I have a Square card reader I can now do sales in person. I will be going to events soon. I am planning on going to a flea market near the end of March. As long as the weather is nice. I will be posting when and where on Facebook and here on my blog. So stay tuned for that.

Since March is coming up and with it Saint Patrick's Day let's talk about it. I will not be adding any new plushies for Saint Patrick's Day. But I will be adding two new limited potions. They will only be available in March. As soon as March is over the potions will be removed. I'll talk more about them in March.

I will be adding more plushies in the future. I will be adding more fish plushies and little buddies. I am also working on a bigger doll. I have plans on releasing this doll in late March.

Now let's talk Easter. Easter is one of my favorite holidays. I am planning on making bunny dolls for the holiday. I will also be making egg plushies from patterns that I got from MimiBoom. I use a lot of MimiBoom's patterns because they are cute and easy to do. Plus I just like them a lot.

Product Spotlight: Moon Elf Doll

Product Spotlight: Moon Elf Doll

One of the more tricky dolls that I can make. This pattern is from MimiBoom. But you won't find it by searching for it as a moon elf. I want to tell you more about how I make this doll and about the pattern. If you would like to see the pattern you can search for MimiBoom on Etsy. Or you can click my shop's click and then link the link to her shop. 

The Pattern

As I said before the pattern is from MimiBoom. In her shop, there is a Yoda pattern. I use this pattern to make my dolls. I'll break it down. But I can't show you the pattern. Since it is against the community guidelines.

The first thing that I do is get a silver-gray felt sheet. I then make out all of the skin pieces. I only use a small part of the ears for the pattern. The hair is cut from white felt and styled. The patterns for the hair are original. I am kind of proud of myself about how they turned out.

I use different colored felt for the clothes. Normally glitter felt, but I always try to make sure the clothes match. I do have it as an option for more colors. I also use normal felt as well. If it is blank I will default to the colors that the original doll is wearing. Basically, the hairstyle will be the default color for the clothes as well.

Colors

The main reason why I chose to go with silver-gray skin for the doll and not white is a story. Lucky it is short. My twin sister and I are working on a story of fiction. This story has a lot of different moving parts, one of them being elves.

Gold Elf by aditya777

When we searched for different types of elves that are not normally used in stories we found two. We found the sun elves and the moon elves. The silver-gray skinned elves that we found were inspiring, so we choose to make that the skin tone of our moon elves. Although this type of elf does come in a white skin tone. We just liked the silver-gray better.

The first doll, that I made, is wearing blue and black glitter felt. I picked these colors because I thought that they fit best with the moon elves and the culture that my sister and I made for them. Also, I just liked how the colors looked together.

My First Moon Elf Doll

Being my first try at making a doll like this I'm proud of it. There are quite a few things wrong with it though. Since I don't follow directions very well. I decided to give this doll a braid for a hairstyle. I was trying to get it to look like Legolas' hair. But I don't think that is what happened.

Since it was around Christmas I also made one with glitter felt that was red and green. I thought that it would look cute. And I think I was right. I am happy with how it turned out. I made the hairstyle look like it was pinned up with a feather-like hairstyle. I'm very proud of how it turned out. I was mainly goofing around and was surprised about how well it turned out. I am still very happy with it.

My Second Moon Elf Doll

The third doll that I made has glitter black. It also has a light blue color. For fun, I made the hairstyle more like a flower crown. I made the back of the head by reusing the leftover felt from the front of the doll. I then shaped it to look like it was tied up. I picked the flower colors to go with the doll's clothes.

Special Requests

There are two types of special requests that I can do. I am willing to replace the plastic eyes for threaded ones. The eyes will be French knotted to make them look like the OG doll's eyes. That way if you want to give the doll to your cat it won't choke. Funny story about that. My first order was a Moon Elf Doll that someone wanted to give to their cat. They told me this so I could make the doll safe for the kitty.

My Third Moon Elf Doll

The other another type of request that I am willing to take is colors. Just say too different colors for the doll's clothes. Just please let me know what color will in the robe and cloak. That way I can make it the way you think it should look. I will be in touch with you the whole time though. That way we can make it as perfect as possible.

Conclusion

These dolls were my first attempts at making human-like dolls. I'm glad about how they turned out. It's not all of the time I look at something that I made and feel a form of pride every time I see it. These dolls are very special to me, and I can't help but be proud of them. Of course, if you would like to see them for yourself you can look at them by clicking here. Of course, you can also browse the rest of my shop as well. I run sells as often as much as I can.

If you would like to hear more from me you can subscribe to my blog. I am always somewhat active on my Facebook page and Instagram. Thank you so much for your time.

Will You Be My Valentine?

Will You be My Valentine?

As a kid, I remember loving and hating and Valentine's Day. I lived it because we got candy and teddy bears. I hated it for an odd reason. I hated Valentine's Day cards. I loved making them though. In fact, Valentine's Day and the days around it were the days that my sisters and I played mail carrier the most. But I had two reasons why I didn't like the cards. Church and co-op.

Church

First, I want to make this very clear. Not everyone in my church was like this. I just had a very hard time making friends. I didn't fit into a click. My sisters and I were outliners. We didn't fit in, because of our geekiness and love of all things creative. But a few bad experiences that I had doesn't mean that everyone was horrible. Alright now that we have that out of the let's get into the stories.

As Kids

My sisters and I would only ake Valentine's for people that we knew and liked. We normally didn't keep generic ones for people who just gave them too us. So we didn't have cards for anyone that we weren't close too. But it was always dishearting to watch the other kids give Valentine's to each other. It was hard making friends with anyone, so no one really gave us anything.

Looking back on it it doesn't hurt anymore. I like to think that most of them have forgotten me and my sisters. That is how I get over it. Of course, at the time my sisters and I had mixed feelings about the holiday. Thinking that it was part pointless, and part popularly contest.

As Teens

As teens, we were in the same church with the same people. Except nothing changed. My sisters and I were still the outliners and outsiders. The odd man out. The ones who were picked last to join a team. We would sit by ourselves at the start of Youth Group and would only talk to people who came to talk to us. Because everyone had made it clear that they didn't want us in their friend circles. This was also the time in my life that I started to get depressed. Never told anyone, because no one cared. Sadly that point can't be argued, because to this day I still believe that they didn't care about me. Or my sisters. 

Valentine's Day was still a popularity contest, but it only lasted on Sunday. During Wednesday night it would be as if nothing had happened. Unless Valentine's Day was on Wednesday. Then our youth group would do something "special." We would make Valentine's for the elders of our church and clean the church.

My sisters were normally assigned to do the arts and crafts because they were more artistic than me. I would be assigned to help vacuum and do other cleaning chores. But there was one Valentine's Day that I got done with these chores and was able to go do the artsy stuff. Also known as the fun stuff!

There was a girl in the room who was older than me and my sisters. She had just finished a giant paper heart card for her friend. She and one other girl were in the room, and they were talking and laughing. So I started to talk with them. I got to where I thought that maybe I had made a new friend and grew closer to an old friend.

Near the end of the night, the girl who had made the big Valentine's Day card handed everyone else a smaller and simpler card. The card read Happy Singleness Awareness Day. I asked her what was meant by it and she joyfully explained to me. Simply, not everyone has a date for Valentine's Day. I was so happy to get a card that matched my relationship status and a new friends. I remember going home so happy.

The next Wednesday night she was gone. She stopped coming to our church's youth group after that. That was not the first time that happened either. Every time I felt like I had made friends with a new person they left.

Homeschool Co-Op

For those who do not know what homeschooling or homeschool co-op I will explain. Homeschooling is when all of your schoolwork is done at home, and your parent is the teacher. There are many reasons to homeschool your kids, most notably for religious reasons. But that was not the only reason for my schooling. The other reason is personal to my parents, so I don't want to talk about it right now. But I was homeschooled until I was able to get into the local Community College.

Co-Op, in my day, was only on Tuesday and was run by a handful of homeschool moms (moms who taught their kids). There was a director who served as a kind of school director. There were four one hour periods with a fifteen-minute snack between the first two hours and the last two hours. All of the classes were taught by different moms who were specialized in a skill that my mom was not. Everything that I learned about drawing, painting, and writing came from these classes.

What did my mom teach? For the first few years, she was the main nursery worker. The teacher of a class of children who were too young for the other classes. For the last few years, she worked as the co-op's librarian. Although her roles were small, I believe that they were the most important. Now onto the story.

Always Bring Extra

My twin sister and I normally did the same class. I do not remember was this class was called or what it was about. But I do remember that it was Valentine's Day. Now my sisters and I were not that old, so we didn't think to bring that many cards. We only wanted to give Valentine's to people we were friends with and out teachers.

In this class was a group of friends. They were all girls and there were at least three of them. One of them being the teacher's daughter. Now my twin and I thought that they were okay people, but they didn't talk to us unless they had too. They also didn't seem to like it whenever my twin sister and I tried to talk to them.

This Valentine's Day my twin and I were sitting across from these girls. The lesson had not started yet. One of the girls was handing out Valentine's to her friends. My twin and I didn't have anything for them, but we were whispering among ourselves. My twin and I were talking about how rude it was to openly give Valentine's. You see we didn't believe that you should make your gesture so big that other people would see it and be hurt by the action. We had already given the teacher our Valentine's Day card because we ran into her earlier. The gesture was sweet, quick, and unnoticeable.

I guess they heard us whispering. Because the girl who was handing out Valentine' tossed one to me and then to my twin. We were both happy and shocked. The girl went back to her place and looked at her friends. She smiled and said, "I always bring extra."

At the time I didn't think much of it. But every time Valentine's Day comes I can't help but think about this memory. Every year it hurts more. I'll break it down for you.

First, this girl didn't walk over to give us the "extra" cards. She tossed the little cardboard cards at us. The cards made a noise that caused my twin and me to jump. One of the cards hit us. It didn't hurt that bad, but it stung.

Second, she didn't just call the cards "extra." By saying that she had to give us an "extra" card that was just laying around... Do you know how much that hurts? Being told that you are extra? An unwanted extra who is only getting a card because you just so happen to be sitting there. She might as well say that we were unpersons and not even real.

Third, she asked another friend who just came into the room if he wanted another Valentine. He said yes. After that, this girl began to boast more about her resourcefulness of having extras. It hurt. Even today it still hurts.

Conclusion

Do you know those people who keep every letter and card that they are given? I am that person. If someone takes the time to give me a card I will keep it forever. I still have the last birthday card that my late grandma gave me. It is one of my most treasured positions. Overall of the years, there is only one Valentine's Day card I have kept. This card was given to me by my best friend as a child. That is the only reason why I still have it. Every other Valentine's Day card I have only kept for one to two years. Before looking at it and saying I don't remember this person, nor do I remember getting this.

So this Valentine's Day please think about the Outsider. They want to be your friend and be included. But they don't want you to boast about it. Give your loved ones their cards in secret so others are not hurt. Or better yet, do what I do. I celebrate Valentine's Day as a candy festival, and nothing more. Let's get half off chocolate together!

My First Order

I have the Sell on the Etsy app. I also have it set to notify me if anything happens. Ever since I got my first order last Saturday I have been checking the app off and on. Just to make sure that it is real. Even now, with the order completed, I still have I hard time believing it. So I'm going to talk about it.

E is for Etsy

I was watching a movie with my parents while playing Beast Fiends. My phone buzzed in my hand to inform me about my newest notification. I rolled my eyes and checked it thinking that was another one of my apps. The notification's icon was a boxed-in capital E.

I thought to myself, "Great, an Etsy notification."

I then went back to my game. Not three seconds later did the E hit me. I got done with my level and closed out of the app. I opened the Sell on Etsy to look at my notifications. I was surprised. Because even though I know that is Etsy's logo it takes me a while to notice that it's for me. That someone favorited something or even ordered.

Sale on Etsy App Home Screen

This is what I saw. I almost went into shock. I so used to just seeing zeros under orders and revenue... I was beginning to wonder if those numbers could change. I had lost some hope about the store.

For privacy, I will not be able to tell you who ordered the item. But I can tell you what it was and how I made it.

Flower Crown

The order was for a flower crown Moon Elf Doll. I still couldn't believe that I got an order so I showed my phone to my mom. Looking back on it I don't think I should have. But I wanted someone else to see it. That way I would know that I was not crazy. The movie was paused at the moment. I think my dad got up to let our puppy out. My mom's excitement and joy made it feel more real to me. I think she was more excited than I was.

She asked me if I was going to make a new one or send the one that I had. I told my mom that I was thinking about making another one, but that I would know for sure tomorrow.  My mom then asked me if I was going to work on it tomorrow. I really didn't want to work on anything "tomorrow" since that was Sunday.

I couldn't sleep at all that night. When morning came I was full of energy. My family and I went to church, where I almost fell asleep in Sunday School, which has been normal for the past few weeks. I did stay awake during the service though. But on the way to church, my client messaged me. She informed that the order was for her cat because my doll didn't have plastic on it. I made a note to make sure that I didn't use my plastic safety eyes.

When we got home my sisters and I watched an episode of Merlin. I then started to gather up the supplies for the doll. But as I started to gather everything that I needed I began to panic.

Felt Panic

As I was getting the felt for the doll I noticed something strange. I didn't have a lot of silver-gray felt. I use the silver-gray felt for the doll's skin. The fact that I had so few of the material was stressful. I thought that was odd since I had made only four other ones before. And I remembered buying two sheets. I was beginning to worry that I don't have enough.

Turned out that I had enough for that project. I was glad that I did have enough. But I wish that had more if the dark purple. Since I use that for some of the flowers on the crown.

Moon Elf Doll Face WIP

I marked out where the face was going to be. I worked for a few hours and got the face done. I wasn't feeling very good which was making it hard to focus. As my focus began to wane I noticed that my hands were shaking and that I was cold all of a sudden. That is my body's signal that something is very wrong and I need to rest and drink a lot of water.

Over the next two days, I worked on and finished the doll. On the second day when it was done, I pulled out the Nintendo Switch, that I share with my sisters, and started to play. For the past three weeks or so I have done nothing but work on my shop. It felt good to take a break and do something fun.

My Workspace

I messaged my client when the doll was done. I sent her two pictures of the doll. I wanted her feedback to see if there was anything else that she wanted. I thought that it would be a good idea. After all the doll is made to order and I wanted to make sure that the little changes that I did were okay.

My client said that it was cute. So I went shopping and took my mom with me. We went to Walmart to get the envelope and JoAnn to get more silver and purple felt. Since I ran out of both.

Finished Doll Front

And today I just shipped the package. It should be at my client's house on Friday. I have never felt this happy with anything I have done or made before. If anything this order has given the drive to make sure that my shop is successful. The amount of happiness that I feel over this is so weird. But I'm so glad that this went smoothly. I hope I get another order soon.

If you would like to browse my shop click here. If you would like so see the Moon Elf Doll for yourself, please click right here. Thank you for stopping by and sharing this experience with me.