I've Been Away...

So graduate school, a full-time job, and a puppy have all kept me away not only from this blog, but from (gasp) my crafting. Fortunately, that's all about to change. I've got some things cooking down in my room of crafts that I'm hoping to debut on my etsy shop in the next few weeks. I'll be posting more about that soon and of course when I finally get those items listed.

In the meantime, however, I hope this little post will remind you I'm here and I'll be getting some pictures up of some of the stuff I've been working on. Happy crafting!

An Adventure in Soap Making

The store A.C.Moore has recently started a rewards program.  This is a big problem for a person like me who will use any excuse to go into a craft store and buy things, spending money that really isn't there.  I try really hard to hold back and only go to craft stores when I have a coupon or there is some sort of sale going on.  Unfortunately I am on the coupon mailing lists (both online and regular mail) for Michael's, A.C.Moore, and JoAnn's and I have coupons all the time.  Anyway, I didn't have a coupon today but when I heard I could join a rewards program I got really excited and went out only to join.  I brought my sister along hoping that she would restrain me.  Erin is not a craft addict.  She messes around with clay on occasion but nothing else and she's supposed to reign me in if I get out of hand.  She didn't.  I bought a soap making kit.

I'm not quite sure what made me buy the soap making kit.  I'm not a fan of fancy soaps.  In fact, I use body wash, not soap, so it was an odd decision.  I bought that (and a few jewelry making supplies that were on sale) and went on my merry way.  Intrigued, I began my soap making adventure as soon as I got home.  To clarify, I know absolutely nothing about making soap.  This was a beginner's kit with very few instructions and so I'm unsure how the technique I used differs from the technique people who make soap all the time use.  I had to microwave it, add the scent and any coloring I wanted, stir it all up and pour it into the mold to cool.  Sounds pretty simple.

Well, it got all wrinkly as it cooled and the bottom was not very pretty to look at.  Melted soap is an absolute mess!  It got everywhere, burned my hands, and even though it was only soap, cleaning it up was surprisingly annoying.  It is also very difficult to get out of those molds.  So difficult in fact that they're still in the molds!  Now, they're only cheap molds that came with a kit and the kit came with very few instructions, so soap making may be very fun and enjoyable if you're doing it as a hobby and you actually know what to do, but for me, this was a craft flop.  I very rarely have those, so I felt a mixture of sadness and joy.  I was sad that I couldn't add a new craft to my list (the list can never be too long), but oh so happy that I wouldn't be spending even more of my non-existent money on this new craft.

Look for some picture updates in the near future!

My Addiction

My name is Emily and I am a craft addict. There I said it. It's gotten so bad that I have actually had dreams about shopping for crafts! It's true. I have drawers full of stickers, cabinets full of beads, and so many paper stacks I have been known to buy a stack I already have because I've forgotten what I have in stock. I'm in love with embellishments, go crazy for glass beads, and when I go to the fabric section I can't help but leave with at least a yard of something. I sew, make jewelry, and create paper crafts on a regular basis, but I tend to dabble in just about every craft imaginable.

I've had to create an online shop in order to help feed my habit. I've only made 3 sales so far. This is most likely because I have spent no time on advertising/marketing and I can't take a decent picture of my work to save my life. I remain optimistic, though. I once set up a table at a craft fair and did pretty well for myself. In the future I'm hoping to try and do this again. If I don't sell my stuff I'll go broke buying crafts that inevitably sit in my craft room forever.

Even though I've created this blog to help generate some traffic to my etsy site, I'd also like to share with the world some of my addictions, my own tips and tricks, and maybe get some feedback from the crafting community about how to be a better crafter and maybe a better businesswoman. I'll try to post regularly about what I'm currently working on and other interesting tidbits. I'll also let any readers know about promotions I have going on in my shop, sometimes special ones just for my blog readers! So stay tuned, make comments, and watch me make absolutely no attempt to get help for my crafting problem.