The Bandwagon.

The polymer clay bandwagon, that is. That's right. I have been wanting to try my hand at polymer clay for quite some time, and after some consideration and spending a bit more money that I probably ought to have, I am having a grand old time learning and playing and sculpting away!

My new creations are starting to appear in my shops. Right now they are pretty basic things, but I am planning on doing some much more detailed work, once life settles down.

Speaking of life settling down -

Due to some unexpected turns of events and life changes, my husband and I will be moving within the next two weeks. Because we are completely caught off guard, nothing in my house is packed. Literally. Nothing. So we will be rushing around like headless chickens for the next few weeks, trying to get everything we need done before we leave our apartment and move.

WHAT THIS MEANS: While it's not the best news for us, there has never been a better time to buy items from my shop - all my wooden charms are massively discounted and shipping prices have been reduced - Everything that can go should go - I want to clear out inventory so I'm not stuck moving it. Now would be the time to order order order!

Of course, this also means that my shop will be taking a very brief vacation sometime in the next few weeks, because of the whole moving situation. Don't worry - I will let you know beforehand when I plan to leave, so you have plenty of time to order before my shop goes into vacation mode.

But what we should take from this is that I am still commited to providing unique and charming gifts, and no life changes, no matter how big or disappointing, will keep me from that goal. This may just end up being the opportunity I need to turn my hobby into the business I want it to become.

You can check out the new items in my shops here:

http://www.happilyeveralways.etsy.com

http://www.zibbet.com/happilyeveralways

Check back often! There are new items every day!

Polymer Clay and MASSIVE DEALS!

Lately I have been thinking of expanding my charm-making horizons. I have been fascinated by all of these polymer clay charms and jewelry floating around out there on the web, and the more I consider it, the more I want to hop on the bandwagon. Of course, doing so will require quite a bit more money than I have at present (I am on a spending break until I have money for June bills).

I have also been taking a look at other successful shops, and noticing the abundance of "buy one get ones" "Three for the price of two" "buy x many and get a free bag" etc. etc. I have also been considering hopping on this bandwagon - especially since I have so much product left over from the consignment deal that fell through, and I need to sell it before I move.

So. I am thinking of doing the following:

An American Authors package
- Mark Twain and Edgar Allen Poe for $20 - a $6.00 savings.

And English Authors package
- Oscar Wilde, Charles Dickens and Jane Austen for $25 - an $11 savings

A 4 pc. buyers pick of authors
- Choose from Mark Twain, Edgar Allen Poe, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, and Shakespeare for $36 - a $12 savings (roughly a buy three get one free deal)

The Abridged works of Shakespeare package

- Choose any 3 of the available plays of Shakespeare for $25 - an $11 savings

The Collected works of William Shakespeare

- Get one of each of the available plays for $75 - a roughly $20 savings.

The Queens package

- Recieve Marie Antoinette and the Six Wives of Henry VIII for $20 - a $6.00 savings.


Those are my ideas. Since I am posting them here, I will consider them an exclusive offer for the moment, so any of you wonderful readers who would like to take advantage of it - GO FOR IT! This is just for you until I get around to making it public on my shops!

MOTHER'S DAY SALE

PERSONALIZED PHOTO CHARMS ARE ON SALE UNTIL MOTHER'S DAY. NOW $15.95 (Reg. $19.95)

CHOOSE ANY SIX OF YOUR FAVORITE FAMILY PHOTOS, OR A FEW PHOTOS AND A MESSAGE TO MOM - INCLUDE THEM IN YOUR ORDER AND I WILL DO THE REST!

ORDER YOURS TODAY TO ENSURE IT ARRIVES ON TIME! CHECK THEM OUT HERE

New Products and Other Stuff!

First, new products:

For all those who have been waiting, Charles Dickens is now available in my shops! You can find him here-

www.happilyeveralways.etsy.com

www.zibbet.com/happilyeveralways

And now the other stuff:

My sale on Mark Twain Charms didn't go over well. I guess that's not entirely surprising. I will continue to work hard to get myself out there and put my charms in the public eye. I just wish it wasn't quite so frustrating to do so - it feels like I am always working and seeing no return. But here's hoping that hard work will yield a good return, even if it's not right away.


A note about shipping price.

It has been remarked to me that my shipping costs are quite high, as I charge six dollars for domestic shipping on single items ($3 if it's with another item). I understand this apprehension, but let me defend the decision:

My shipping prices are on the same scale as those of professional websites.
$6 per item just covers the cost of the shipping. I assure you I am not pocketing any of it.

Where is this money going?

1. Shipping USPS priority mail to ensure your package arrives quickly
2. Including a tracking number with your package so you can monitor its progress through the mail.

My theory is this:

I work incredibly hard for my money, and I rarely buy things online. Buying online takes a tremendous amount of trust - not only are you trusting that the product advertised is what you really want, but trusting the unseen seller and trusting the mail-service to deliver the product to you in the proper condition. So much can go wrong with an online transaction, and I want to be certain that what I buy is something I will truly be able to enjoy. Since this is my line of thinking, I cannot fault anyone for feeling the same way. I do everything in my power to accomodate that line of thinking.
I could just pop the charm in a bubble mailer, slap an address on it and hope it gets to where its headed safely and promptly. But I would never order something shipped that way, so how could I expect someone else to?

You work hard for your money - you deserve to have the security and peace of mind of knowing that the product you've invested in is not going to be lost or damaged in transit.

So yes, I could save a few dollars on shipping, but the consumer would not recieve the quality and peace of mind that comes from shipping with a slightly more expensive alternative.


I would love to hear thoughts on this. If you agree or disagree with my philosophy, or if you have ideas on how to save money on shipping and still retain quality, let me know! I'd love to hear from you! Feedback is appreciated (and may possibly be rewarded ;) )

Updates and Shop SALES!

First of all:

This week marks the centennial anniversary of Mark Twain's death. In honor of this anniversary, Mark Twain charms will be half-price in my shop until Saturday! You can check them out here:

www.happilyeveralways.etsy.com

www.zibbet.com/happilyeveralways

This is a FANTASTIC deal! And it comes just in time for graduation gifts, mother's day, and all those important spring events!

Second of all:

I have this saying that everyone and their grandmother has an etsy shop. To prove my point, I have located MY grandmother's etsy shop. You can all check her out and satisfy your vintage needs by going here:

www.yesterdaysmemories09.etsy.com

She's made quite a business for herself. I wish I had half her success. I keep working for it.


And finally:

I am currently working to fill an order on a photo charm, as well as putting together some new charms for the shop. What's in store for Happily Ever Always, you ask? Well, let me tell you.

Coming soon:

Jane Austen - featuring a hand-tinted portrait of the author and quotes from five of her novels, all on a lovely spring green background.

Charles Dickens - featuring a portrait of the author and quotes from five of his works, all on a tan background.

The six wives of Henry VIII - Portraits of all the Annes, Catherines, and the Jane, all produced to look slightly antique. The name of each wife is printed on the corresponding portrait. This is perfect for the English history buff in your life (and even for people who just enjoy watching The Tudors on TV)

A breast cancer awareness charm - This charm features a breast cancer ribbon, a pink rose, and four words that I feel describe the millions of women battling breast cancer: Strength, Hope, Life, and Courage. The images are pink on a white background. This charm will be available as-is, or can be customized to feature the photo of a special someone and a message "in honor of (name here) breast cancer survivor (date)" or "In memory of (name here) (dates)"
A portion of the proceeds from this charm will go toward breast cancer research. I am hoping to have it posted sometime in May.


In other news, I am still waiting to hear from the bookstore on the consignment deal I have been trying to make with them. After reading through their contract, I actually ended up writing my own, which I think is a little more detailed than the original, but still staying within the basic parameters which the bookstore wanted to maintain in the original contract. I dropped the new one off on Tuesday, and while I wish I could say I'm a patient person and will wait calmly for a week before contacting them, I would only be kidding myself. I am (figuratively) crawling out of my skin in anticipation, and really hope they accept my re-write. I have worked hard on my display and would be upset if it was all for naught.

I am also looking for a way to post my consignment contract online so it would be available for other people and places to review, in case they like my work. So far I haven't had much luck, but I am considering just creating another blog for the sole purpose of the contract. I will let everyone know when I have figured out what I want to do.

Until then, I need to get ready for work. I am looking forward to the day when I no longer wait tables, but that day is not today.

Consignment!

A few weeks ago, I walked into a local bookshop with one of my charms and asked if they had ever thought about consigning with local artists. After waiting to hear back from them, and calling several times a week to see what progress was being made, I am now sitting here holding a consignment contract in my hand.

And I have mixed feelings.

Since the bookshop has only ever consigned books and never gifts, the contract is geared only toward books. The wording is a little vague, and it makes me a bit leery to go ahead and sign it without further clarification. I am tempted to either call or stop in and ask to sit down and go over some details with the bookstore owner or the gift buyer, just to be sure we are on the same page. I would hate to get a raw deal here. But at least I would have a deal.

But this also means that my charms will be getting real life exposure as soon as I work out the details and get a display together. Right now I have 18 pieces ready to be sold, and will have more as soon as I get tiles printed off.

This could mean very good things.

..Huh...

So a while back I set up a website on www.soopsee.com
On the site, I was able to import my blogspot blog. So I have been updating it from there.

However, I didn't realize that even though I imported the old posts, the sites aren't linked. Meaning that I've udpated a bunch of times on my soopsee blog and not on here. That's frustrating.

So for now, visit www.soopsee.com/profile/happilyeveralways

And from now on, I will update on blogspot as well as soopsee.