Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Can I get your advice, please?

Busy, busy, busy!  I don't know about the rest of you, but when the days start getting longer, the work load seems to get heavier.  A lot of it is self imposed work like gardening and sewing, and other things, like potty training, have nothing to do with the season, but it always gets busier for us every spring.


Yes, my little two year old is being potty trained.


 You'd think by now I'd have this potty training thing down to an art and we could shave a year or so off the diaper wearing phase, but I figure I'll just keep her outside in a dress without a diaper and let her figure things out and if she's trained by the time she's five or six I'm doing alright.


Speaking of lofty goals, I'm considering selling stuff on Etsy.  It turns out that even though I have a cool, blue 1950's oven, I still just can't get into cooking, so I figure I'll sell stuff on Etsy, become a multi dollaraire and hire a personal chef.  So far, I've made three pounds of soap from scratch and two pennant style banners.  That ought to be enough, right?


Seriously though, I am looking into Etsy and would love to hear what any of you have to share about it.  What works, what doesn't..."don't waste your time"...whatever you have to say, I want to know.  Here's why, every month, several of the women in my family get together for what we call "craft day" and everyone brings whatever craft they're working on and we craft.  Except me.  I bring my children and I talk a lot.  Anyway, we recently decided to put our craftiness to good use and try to raise money to help a particular person who could really use the money.  Without saying too much, she is someone very dear who, as we say around here, has a tough row to hoe and we'd like to help her as much as we can by giving her some cold, hard cash.  Money doesn't make life perfect, but it can help smooth it out sometimes.  The group is very talented (like my mom) and we all have a heart to help so we're investigating ways to sell our wares as a group for her.  Do any of you sell on Etsy with a friend?  How does that work out?  Is it practical? 

Now, speaking of hoeing tough rows, my garden is complete!  Have I ever even mentioned that I was working on that?  Our dirt is made up of mostly rocks, so we had some topsoil brought in and Jeff fenced it in.  At our last house, we had some river bottom dirt hauled in that was incredible.  Zero rocks and zero weeds.  It was extremely dark brown and very easy to work with and the plants seemed to grow well enough in it.  This years dirt has some organic matter and a lot of worms so I hope that's a sign of good dirt.  I only found one or two rocks but weeds are popping up here and there already. >:[  Thank goodness for the hula hoe!


I took on gardening like everything else I do and studied up for at least an hour before I declared myself an expert and then jumped in with both feet.  This is only my second year at gardening and I still know very little about it so we made this years garden even bigger than last years.  What I lack in know-how I make up for with determination and delegation and grand ideas.  "Kids!  Go water my garden.  NOW!"  See how that works?   "Jeff!  Those trees are blocking sunlight from my garden!"  "Now let's plant an orchard there."


So do you all have any gardening plans or tips?

Don't forget to let me know your thoughts on Etsy, pretty please.
Thanks!

14 comments:

  1. I think Etsy rocks. I've been planning on starting a shop now for months and I have a ton of stuff to sell. But I've been lagging.

    I say do it!

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  2. That's a lot of questions. First, I am the WORST at potty training. :) I've never quite mastered it and I am dreading doing it with my 2 year old.

    I have really enjoyed my Etsy shop. I haven't done it with anyone else. It takes a lot of work though and if you have a good relationship it would be nice to have help.

    The longer days does make for busy days. I am impressed you are doing a garden. I haven't had time for one for the past couple of years. The kids watering is genius. I may try that! LOL! Lisa~

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  3. I agree on kids helping out in the garden. I am container gardening this year, so I don't have great tips - you've definitely impressed me with your big fenced in beauty.

    Good luck with Etsy. Let us know what you decide to do...

    Cheers!
    Laura

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  4. Still in the throws of potty training the twins- I keep telling myself they will not go to their prom in diapers and soon it will be over. As for watering the garden, the girls love to help with that... my problem- they water the garden and then each other. Great some of the time but not so much on the nights you were hoping to skip the long bath routine and they turn into a terrible muddy mess!

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  5. First of all, thanks for the comment on my very new blog! :) You were my first commentor. It has been taking me so long to get posts up and going. I will get there!

    I say go for it with Etsy. I am planning on eventually starting a shop up myself?? We'll see how it goes. You don't have much to lose since it looks like you are only charged like 20 cents to list an item and then they charge you 3.5% on what you sell. Doesn't sound like a bad deal to me. But, I have just read about it and am NOT an expert on the area. I just know I love Etsy myself, so I'm sure there would be lots of people out there interested in what you have to sell. Good luck!!
    {And good luck w/potty training too! My second turns 2 this summer...I'm not looking forward to the process! I learned with my first though that they make up their minds when they are ready and it doesn't always pay to push it.}

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  6. I have no etsy input, but:
    a#1: Your daughter is adorable.
    b#2: You are so sweet to raise money for that woman.
    c#3: I love your sense of humor, and the way you garden. :)

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  7. I am afraid that I'm not much help with etsy, gardening, or potty training for that matter! My friend and I are thinking of renting out a booth at my favorite antique store though. I am nervous, but very excited!
    Good luck!

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  8. You're busy! I remember potty training. By Spring I was doing the same thing you are now.. they figure it out eventually;-)

    As for Etsy.. I have had fun with it. I don't have a lot of spare moments being that my hubby travels for a living, so it works out well for me. It is inexpensive to list, you can easily set up a Paypal account and you can set it in vacation mode if you need time to catch up. It has been wonderful!


    Have fun with your garden!!!! I can't wait to see your progress!!!

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  9. I'm not an Etsy seller, but definitely a buyer. I see people with empty etsy shops, or who do made to order. I think it's a great idea! I love bunting, and handmade soap.

    Your garden is looking great. I need to get mine going, but we just reseeded our grass so my Husband doesn't want me to walk on it. I think I'll buy a galvinized water trough and start my veggies there.

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  10. OH...and no kids either but I hear the Dr. Phil one day training program works well. I'm full of advice, but goodness if I could actually put my own to use ;)

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  11. I have never sold anything on Etsy. Sorry I cant help you there. But I buy a lot on there. I mostly buy really indie stuff that you cant get anywhere else, retro and vintage style.

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  12. Celeste,

    I think you should go for it. You have many talents that others (including myself) would be willing to pay for! Your garden looks great. It's always easiest to potty-train in the summer.
    Have a wonderful mother's day, my friend.

    Deborah

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  13. potty training seems to be a very individualistic thing. some kids train themselves while the next one comes along and *loves* the diaper until they're three! ugh.

    garden: just enjoy it. if you get ONE veggie and had fun, it was worth it. no pressure, just a fun learning experience. :)

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  14. Hey, where are you? I miss your posts and comments! I hope you are doing alright...

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