While it may seem daunting to create your own wedding invitations from scratch, the process was actually pretty fun. The ordering process as mentioned in a previous post was the most stressful thing because not many places allow you to upload invitations to be printed. My recommendation would be to use a local shop and save yourself the headache or use Shutterfly. Prior to ordering anything create a template mock up of all the elements of the invitation. For ours, the elements included the base invite, a recipe card, rsvp card, a belly band, glitter ribbon and a sticker. When using multiple pieces it is sometimes hard to envision the full look so make sure not to skip this step. I ended up changing dimensions after creating a mock up since the ones online ended up looking funky when put together.
When I first purchased my machine I always hoped to one day fulfill orders, never did I think of doing bulk orders though. While I am still a new seller I have done a few bulk orders and learned a lot along the way on tips and tricks to ease the process. Creating an assembly line or doing one step for all items is usually the first tip that comes to mind when working in bulk. I do not do this with embroidery that is customized with the exception of when I create name designs with the computer software and when Tender Touching, I will do those all at the same time. Working while the machine is also working is a good hack as it is like two people working at once: you can trim jump stitches on one sweater while the next sweater is being stitched out for instance.
Alpacas are one of the softest and cutest animals out there. Their fur makes exquisite high quality products too so when I learned that there was a brand that made socks from alpaca fur I knew I wanted to try them. Not only is their fluff soft but it also has insulating superpowers to keep cool in the summer and warm in the winter. While I did read reviews and some people were unamused that the socks are not 100% alpaca made, it is still the main ingredient. I believe in transparency though and believe that the company should in fact make the percentages public on the website so people are not misled. It is smart marketing though as they are not technically promising all alpaca either so I get the reasoning.
Currently we are in the era where more and more people are becoming sustainable conscious. From paper straws to plant based alternatives it can be hard to trust in alternatives to the traditional plastic products. Trash bags and sandwich bags are perhaps the most used plastic products in the average household.
The fall weather has finally hit California which means its sweater weather. On dreary days we still take out the pups to walk as long as it is not a major down pour. After getting ready for our first sprinkling walk, my little nephew literally shook off his coat. In other words, he went without as it would have been more of a hinderance than anything else. Once the walk was over I wanted to fix his little jacket since hopefully there will be more dreary walks in this desert this season.
Although I have not officially classified launches for Custom Little Beasties when the shop first opened this is the first revamp of the shop which sort of classifies it as the second launch. The shop has come along way and I have learned a lot along the way. How to make things more efficient as well as experimenting with new ideas.
While I do not have a “successful” Etsy shop yet I have been learning as I go. At this stage I am learning a lot so rather than be ashamed of having the few orders I do I decided it was the perfect time to share my knowledge to help other new Esty shop owners or those curious as to if Etsy is a good place for them to sell their crafts. In the video today it showcases how I package an order which in itself is always fun to see how people do it and what they include in their packages. Also discussed today is the actual stats for this listing meaning what the profit margin is as well as where the rest of the money actually goes when selling on Etsy. Shop owners usually say that they are “successful” and that Esty takes a portion of the money but I’ve yet to see someone share the raw data. I know I was curious before opening up my shop and yes Etsy gives a full description and calculator on its site, however, I did not find it helpful or accurate. It is very misleading which is why I am breaking it all down for you so you can do the math to figure out how to properly list your items.
Stats Cheat Sheet
Listing Fee: $0.20
Relisting Fee: $0.20 * They will charge a $0.20 relisting fee to change the stock number to the next digit and keep the item listing for sale.
Shipping Label: Depends on the weight and size of the product and will not effect your profit unless you are offering free shipping. The label is added into the order total which is added in through the processing fee.
Processing Fee: 3.0% of the order total plus $0.25
Transaction fee for Shipping: 6.5% of shipping total
Transaction Fee for Product: 6.5% of item total
Sales Tax: is collected from the buyer and does not effect your stats but is calculated towards the processing fee since it is down with the order total.
*The simplest way to calculate your portion is to calculate 78% off your listing price. Yes that means the other 22% goes stickily to lovely Etsy fees. Keep in mind this is a rough estimate to simply help guide you to create your proper pricing. From the 78% you will also need to dive in a little further by subtracting all material costs. Next subtract your personal labor cost and then you will have your profit total.
Example: A handmade blanket listed for $50 without free shipping. The item cost $7.95 for the customer to ship to their residence and the tax rate is 7.5%. The customer paid $61.75 total.
Fee
Fee Amount
Running Total
Processing Fee: 3.0% of the order total plus $0.25
$1.85 + $0.25 = $2.10
$59.65
Shipping Cost
$7.95
$51.70
Transaction Fee for Shipping: 6.5% of shipping total
How to: Create a Larger than Hoop Embroidery Project
When I first started exploring machine embroidery it wasn’t until my first couple projects that I realized that the hoop size really mattered. With a 4X4 hoop machine it can seem like a creative jail so today I am going to show you how to escape. In the video below I will be demonstrating the tips I am discussing here which is the method I used for today. For those that are not aware I currently have the Brother PE550d embroidery machine which is a 4 X 4 hoop machine.
Stains can be annoying and somehow thrilling whenever you find the perfect cure all. Either you walk around cautiously or only wear dark clothes to lower the percentage of ever coming into contact with a spot that ruins your favorite outfit. Although I have reviewed stain removers in the past I wanted to see which one was the absolute best. I’m constantly trying new spot removers for items I’m selling on Poshmark as well as for items I love such as the sweater in the video below with several mystery spots. In the tutorial below I will be testing: Zout, homemade paste, Grandma’s Spot Remover, and Clorox Bleach for Colors.
Hopefully you all are off to a grand start for the NEW YEAR! For my first post in 2022, I am highlighting a project I did in 2021 because it seemed odd to post in the middle of the holiday season. Normally I would cascade over the fact that it was an earlier project however, it does have the year encompassed in it so there is no escaping it. This was one of those oh… it’ll be easy projects that turned into a bit of a headache.
MaddieAutumn 