Pixel Cactus, and another hop, change in work habits and platform

 

Another little quick finish.  Cactus from Pixel Hobby.  A one plate design, 4x5", with black frame.  So it's all finished and ready to go. This was not a daylight pic, hard to get, right now, so I may redo that. 13 colors, nice little cute add in a Southwest style. It's currently up on ebay .

And, about ebay.  I may be not selling on there in dunno, another month or so, have to see how it goes.  If so, nearly everything I have is already loaded to two sites on Bonanza, plus a lot of other things on my website, which will be continually getting a revamp.  I may reactivate etsy, as well, once ebay is perhaps mostly gone.  

The main problem is stress.  The last couple years have now been incredibly difficult to keep up with, both on a personal level, and a reseller level; some of the worst of my life.  And I seem to be paying for it, now, physically.  I need to do a nosedive out of the extreme stress levels, or I'm going to have some severe phsyical symptoms, beyond what already seems to be appearing.  Ebay does not cycle for renewal until February, but I don't think I can wait that long; they are my biggest stressor.  My website is not in shape that I want, so many China sellers and items have not survived the pandemic, and a lot of the listings are now somewhat obsolete, or taking forever, again, to get. I've been adding some US derived items, or steadier suppliers, working on a new email and site offerings, for some time, and I expect it to take a bit longer, but a lot of the remote China offerings, (including diamond painting kits), will be taken down, and I am not sure which items I may keep, as yet. My new back office app for that is also quite challenging, nothing working there how I would like--and I have tolerated an extreme amount of lack of info, miscommunication, delays, service failures, disrespect etc. that I'm just done with. So I have to manage nearly everything, in a different way. It is what it is. And, about time, that I can start doing more craft projects. I have some small items that are nearly ready to go, before I dive back into some bigger items.  I've also bought some inexpensive jewelrymaking supplies, beads, again, to get back into some easy jewelry making; it will be a little bit before I buy more of the quality items.

In the meantime, I've moved....again.  Starting to lose track of how many times I've bounced around, this year.  And this place is temporary, as well. Not very quiet, and not exactly on my own schedule, which is not ideal.  Estimating I will be here a few months though, so I'm trying to make the best of it.

Anyway, I will have another update quite soon, as I'm almost done with a little purple butterfly cross stitch, and I do want to showcase all the finished work, so I'll check in again in a few days. Be well!

Flower Unicorn, a move, new things

 

Flower Unicorn diamond painting. First finish of 2022, for me, good and bad, and a struggle to even get it done by now. Anyway, this is from Diamond Dotz, about 13.5in square, a partial round.  Added 2 layers of carnation pink washi tape. It's a little pinker hue than the pic shows, but still little put off by it truly not being more white, to set off the pink more nicely.  It's up on ebay now.  I will not be adding it or the last/new things to Etsy. Not a fan of that site or it's workings, and for now, not using it.

Mmm.  Life has been hard this last year.  And, really, rather traumatic, for that reason, I am not inclined to share any of that. It's not anyone's business except mine, as far as explanations, although a lot started to snowball with the loss of my friend last year.  The only reason to even mention it, is that I know it affected more of my business service issues than normal. Sorry about that, I think I have a lot of it straightened out, really couldn't be helped. I will still be working on that, while I do have some kinks not straightened out smoothly yet, with life, at the moment.

And I have moved. Several people may notice various addresses, some of that is intentional from some old stalking issues.  I've also had a bit of a property dispute, that has been finally been resolved.  In the meantime, in the middle of the life upheaval above, I moved out of state.  I'm not sure this is just a temporary address for now, so again, a few hiccups, until I am for sure sitting still in a place for a while. This probably isn't it. I don't expect many more interruptions, just in a limbo holding pattern, a couple weeks, and again, working on a bigger move perhaps in another year.

Not much except rambling. The main point, is that I'm back and trying to be on board with both business and personal responsibilities. And these days, a lot of that is to simply work.  Feeling rather alone in some things, and I know so many other people are stressing, the way of the world right now.  Hard to celebrate good things, at the same time. They exist, one of my best was watching someone I care most for, get sober.  Huge shoutout to those doing it, or trying, wanting to.  It's an amazing change, so worth it. 

So, I'm working.  I have several projects in the works, a few cross stitch things, more diamond painting (a black horse from DAC I'm really excited for), a pixel art mosaic for XMAS, it's that time.  Most will be small and simple right now, just trying to get finished work up. Remember, I do commissions, on most all kinds of fiber craft arts.  I'll expand back to some of the larger pieces soon.  I'm also working a bit on revamping my website for new items, including US craft kits and diamond paintings(not much of a price deal, but almost everything out there is available.)  I have most of the diamond drills listed on ebay, and also Bonanza, and some perfume and cool stuff there that doesn't work for me for ebay. 

That's it for now.  I do have several strong changes to implement for the websites over the next few months, but more on that later. I will say, I'm phasing out most of the glass beads completely.  Delicas, fire polish, crystals will not be restocked, and I'd like to see them gone quickly. I will have cabs, and other misc women's products, tech, food, taking the forefront, along with the crafts.  

Elsa Diamond Painting Finish, More Things Coming

 I've been a little discouraged with spotty internet, a little sick, and some family appearing out of nowhere for some assistance.  So I jotted off to Hobby Lobby, hoping to use the weekly coupon, which is discontinued! Ended up picking this up anyway, Elsa partial diamond painting, from Diamond Dotz. 17.5x14in fabric, with the design size a bit smaller.  The white with gray patterned background, is not worked.  Round drills in 28 colors, one is a lovely AB finish. A small video added to IG, as well.  I added the blue glitter washi tape. Cute, quick, nice quality, I'll do this one again.  You can check ebay  and etsy  for this. (Side note that on etsy the Pink Goldfish and Red Christmas Bells diamond painting links seemed to be disabled, so here they are again.)

So yes, continually bogged down with changes and things not quite working.  I will be focusing more on getting a few things resolved, and a lot more work up, as it's demanded.  Not sure how I might be balancing another move in the near future, etc.  But whatever.  Ebay also reversed gear a bit, unusual, to allow more listings in the craft categories, so I am adding the diamond drills a bit at a time.  I do have them all, in both square and round, and plan to keep them stocked, just slow going on getting them added. (Also up on Bonanza, along with many items I do not put on ebay.)  I probably can't recover my website email address, and will need to be adding a new one.

In the meantime, as another side note, that there will be some additions, rebranding.  I'm doing a good bit of graphics work, and that is an area I'm already familiar with.  Given some recent changes in circumstances, I will be opening up the graphics professionally, and making artwork and items available online, and to order. That should be started in the next few weeks. I will have another post when that is running, as well as more finished items.

The main plan of attack is vamping things up a bit.  It's about time to get ready for Fall and Christmas---including for you, if you wish to order China items in time. I have a small slew of bead and craft things, diamond painting supplies and accessories that are and will be coming from China, to add.  I have more items to go to ebay, some older bead and craft supplies to clear out, etc.  Bonanza is where I feel more comfortable with some designer perfume, food, etc, so it's slightly different. The website will reflect more varied women's items, both from China and from the US. And, in the middle of all that, a lot more craft finishes.  Much more than of late. I've been steadily working on all this, quietly, already, and some things will change rather significantly, while other items will be steadily available.

Santa Hearts Diamond Painting Finish, less ebay, more local shipping

 

A finish.  A diamond painting that I call Santa Hearts.  It's a partial, 16+in with the clear and special shape rhinestones. Sparkly, fun, a pretty design that I will make more of.  I added the green washi tape on the edges.  It's on ebay and also etsy .  I bought 3 of these at one time, and I expect to make the other 2, myself.  I will keep ordering these, from China, so I can stock more to make and sell, and I'd like to add them to Bonanza, and likely the regular website, when I can get to it.  Soon. Unfortunately, it will not be cheap, with the increasing shipping prices.  Larger sizes, bigger than this, have to ship priority mail, which is ranging close to $9.

Ltns.  I know. It's been an incredibly hectic year. Some good, some not so good. While I will try to be nonpolitical, etc, there is some serious rant here, and it may be offensive.  The lack of ability for empathy is astounding.  I'll try to keep it brief.  Email.  Until I saw the protests online, I could not figure out the near death threats, especially on a first hello email, on order statuses.  Surely, not just me? China? Assume I'm stupid?  No. Not just me, across the board on a lot of small sellers.  Threatening my near life and business, over a craft kit.  That's nothing close to normal customer service--and it won't be tolerated. And not passing that on to someone else, I could not be responsible for the mental health of that kind of influx.  Find manners.  Not sure when I will open the emails again, soon, as I am adding more expensive and quality items, so I apologize for those that had real issues.  The tracking.  Everyone gets an auto email of tracking(check your spam).  17track.net is pretty good for the out of country tracking.  Please use it.  Tracking is unreliable and slow, even though most orders are correct and arrive.  At one point, China orders were at 100 days for delivery, and US orders were about 45.  It may go back to that.  Have patience. And it is on YOU to follow up with USPS etc, if an order is showing shipped and near or already delivered--that is what they are there for.  In the meantime, if you cannot handle waiting, on your own, for long delivery times, and possibly incorrect tracking, that may run into 2 months or more, perhaps you should not order.

And I mean that in all seriousness.  Life is not going back to how it was.  A lot of this is out of the seller's control.  Last year was some of the most harrowing time as a seller, in decades of selling.  I've had years to build a few sites, and they all went crazy at the same time.  But so did my suppliers.  Cancelled, out of stock, late shipping, borders closed, warehouses shut down, or just disappeared.  Days that I could barely get through a few orders of the dozens and dozens. Complete exhaustion for months.

It's nice to know that it all works.  And zero time for crafting, most all year.  But I will need to make some changes, as that pace was beyond any normal capability---while the regular day to day pace is a little too slow.  And like most, juggling many things.  Small business. This is not corporations, often not even family operations.  Most sellers are here because they need this, this is their income and life, as something else was lacking.  They've turned a skill or knack into a job to make ends meet, with some business savvy and trying to be fluid.  They aren't going away.  But life was already hard, maybe balancing illness, special needs family, living out in BFE nowhere with nothing convenient.  Usually no hiccups, but small glitches here and there. This pandemic has exacerbated these problems and more. It's great if it seems like there are sellers with no issues, kudos.  But many are struggling, trying to keep a smile.  Please think outside your own box of priviledge, if this last year has taught you anything.  We don't all have the same options, plan B, assistance, to fix some things.  Just because you may live within 15 min of a post office, Walmart, can drive, are healthy, have helpers, etc.......doesn't mean many of these sellers do, at all.  In the meantime, this has also created extreme strain on whatever WAS normal life.  Kids, work, spouses, being at home, less income, food, etc, and perhaps their own illness, immune problems, death, grief, trauma...This has been a time like no other.  AND, they don't necessarily owe you all those explanations and transparencies, while you rattle off a nasty email.  If anything, especially for women, the bullying, harrassment, cancel culture, outing, stalking, drives them even more protective and underground.  I know, without a doubt, this falls on deaf ears, for so many, horrifyingly so, but I would really beg that you think, and sit back and be patient.  Almost everything arrives and is fine, most of the time, we are constantly working and trying to make it all work right. We have to, this is what we do....this other stuff is real PTSD type stress and unneccessary strain, clogging the efforts of getting real work done.

Anyway. So.  I've been mildly "lucky" that my personal strains have been on the more minimal side, and I have been able to keep that separated rather well, most of the time.  So far. However, I do have to re evaluate, again, what is and isn't working, as so many things in the business landscape have changed, and I expect at least half of it to be permanently not returning. That's a lot. My business model, my personal life, my individual needs and goals, have washed away and have to morph a bit more into something different, also protecting from such mayhem panic in some repeat future.  First off, my health.  Many know I already struggle with some physical issues, and those were not quiet this past year.  Excessively at the forefront.  I'm struggling to find the right mix of meds, food, de stress balance, etc and it's a battle; some days now I'm starting to win, but many days are lacking. I have to do things that are making this easier.  A harder/smarter approach.  And if anything, I need it even more than I did before.  So I will be concentrating on more streamlined, more effective things.  I have changed my ebay store to be smaller.  Limits me on how much I can list, so items will be parked on Bonanza and the website if possible, in much greater quantities. I've had enough of some of their treatment, so most everything will at least be on Bonanza, if I can.  I will also not be sourcing as many bead items, and what I do, I will be getting from China, direct.  The Swarovski crystals are mostly a dead item. I did order some as the sales started, not listed yet, but I won't be buying more. I am not thinking about adding Czech, but probably China, the better ones, at least, to sell as immediately available, along with many of the stone strands and cabochons that I've already started to collect.  I do have all of the diamond drills in both sizes, slowly adding and trying to keep that in stock. I also have a few supplies for the diamond painting, and will be adding those as I can get to it.  My picture editor was using Flash, so I am needing to relearn some editing, etc, pics will be a bit delayed.  In the meantime, my computer died last summer, and I bought a cheap one, only thing I could get.  I simply haven't logged in to many apps, etc that I had going, and at this rate, I may need a different computer, as I'm already beating this one to death. 

So the main gist is that I will not be selling most of the glass and US beads that are still up now.  Those will be replaced with China beads and stones, and some diamond painting and other craft kits from China.  My main US craft kit supplier went belly up.  The local kits I wanted to add, are not possible. I will be sourcing a few in the needlework category, etc, as I sift past some other items, pretty soon. I'd like to carry a few of the diamond painting kits, but unfortunately, they will have to be small.  I do still have a few larger ones, not listed, and I don't the the box shipping is viable. I need to be able to send small ones as 1st class mail, or it doesn't make sense. So that is probably not more than a 30x40cm size. China prices have increased significantly as well, and I don't expect that to stop, along with shipping fees now, and some tariffs. I hope this will ease some things on my health and wallet, and fees, and make this more manageable for me.

In the meantime, this absolutely does not mean I will be selling less.  If anything, I need to be selling much more.  The outside world is placing more demands on me.  For now, I have created and bulked up the China Corner, and sorry, all China things will be going there, it will be unwieldy.  But I will be cutting down a bit on the diamond painting kits, and make more room for some other crafts and makeup, shoes, home decor, etc.  I've also had access to US dropship for a few years, and I am going to expand that significantly. That gives me more options to add perfume, US brand name designer items, assured genuine jewelry, and food. With delivery times that are about 10 days, most are US lower 48 street addresses for ground shipping, only.  Again, look to Bonanza first, for those.

The other thing, is the crafting.  I miss it significantly, and it was a solid piece of my business plan. It's the only other thing that comes so directly from my own labor. I was pretty appalled that I could not get a single project finished, out of the stacks of things here. That changes this year, I must have that as part of my business offerings, and for going forward in a few things personally. So expect to see perhaps a few quiet days here and there, and several new projects being added.  Don't forget I am open to doing commission work on nearly anything offered. Needlepoint, latch hook, felt kits, diamond painting, cross stitch, beadwork, etc, are all easily doable. I will be adding some options on that, but likely not until next year, as a plug and play request, but it's always available now, if you see or have a kit you would like done up, in nearly any size, from where ever.

That's plenty for now.  I should have another diamond painting finished very soon, it's almost ready, so I will have more to add with that update.  Stay safe, be well.

Red Christmas Bells, been forever

The Red Christmas Bells Drawing diamond painting.  Finally finished.  Sorry, it was not a sunny day, and we aren't going to have a nice day for about a week.  This is a full square, 35x35cm from one of the 3 kits set I got last year.  I do still have the other two for now, details were in my FB and they are up online(ships from the US).  Now that I have finished this one, if the others aren't purchased, I will dig in and make those, as well, to be offered as finished art like this one.  I added the forest green washi tape, looks very light once on the canvas. Sprayed with some gloss sealant. I have put it on ebay and etsy  already. This does come in different sizes, you can still go to my shop and order it yourself in bigger or smaller sizes.  Remember that it will take about a month to get, from the shop orders. (I have noted that most all XMAS gift type things should be ordered by Nov 25, to ensure delivery in time, not much later will work.)

So, uh, blah.  I did get really sick over the entire summer.  I was fighting a nagging infection, ended up that I got a secondary infection--from the medicine.  I eventually went to the hospital and spent a little time there.  It's been a long road to recover, and I'm still feeling a little fragile, not sure if that will go away.  I've been taking it a bit at a time, all the important stuff for shipping and packing orders, as a priority.  I think I otherwise slept the entire summer, no joke.  I am tentatively getting back into my routine, including from having turned most communication off beforehand.  I am not sure what it is, younger crafters etc, but emails were outright bullying.  Writing an intro email to someone you are looking to help you, that sounds nearly like a death threat, isn't the way to go about it, sorry, and my stress levels cannot deal with that, and a lot of the toxicity of social media. 

I hope to have things back on an even keel, including contact for people that have actual problems with the orders.  There is tracking assistance all over the web, I cannot respond to everyone asking again for the status, when it's all been sent, or I'd never get anything done. If I get through the emails, it will only be on the TurquoiseRoads one, most all the rest, I never even see, as it is, those filter to junk email accounts from the payment processors and hosting, etc.

Next?  Good question.  I've now had a couple years to assess what is working and what's not.  Dealt with a few family issues that have seemed to resolved finally.  My health seems good, except for energy level, and I have to take that into account for what I can get done.  And for the first time in a long time, a relationship that may be blossoming into something worth setting aside some time and effort for. Still in a wait and see mode, at my age, I am not keen on rushing anything, and it's been buzzing around for a few years already, only recently becoming more apparent.

All of which means I need to be working smarter.  I will be trimming things that seem to be wasteful. I plan to downsize the ebay store when it is due, Feb 1? Most of the beads are not a productive item at this point.  If you want beads, this is the time to get them.  I will start lumping them into clearance bulk sets as the winter goes along, and moving them into auctions. I do have them on Bonanza as well, but I will try to push as many through on ebay as I can, before going into a smaller storefront.  A lot of the US dropship on ebay will also have to come down. Craft kits, threads, etc, will have to come off, probably not even enough space to auction.  Those are all on the TR Bonanza, again, you can still find it, but not if ebay is your preferred go-to, at that time.

I will be adding more China produced items in the bead space, ordering direct to have on hand. It's all stuff that populates US marketplaces already. However, I start to hit some issues on where to host items, conflicts on which platforms to use, and I cannot be spending hours every day in doing this.  The TR website is set to international shipping, which I cannot flip back and forth on items. I do not want to shut off international customers, that is about half my base.  But ALL of the items I have on hand, I will only ship in the US, it's much easier.  

So whether that is regular beads, China beads on hand, US sourced dropship, or the crafted items, I don't have a nice place to put all the overflow.  I am working on ideas to open another shop, for that.  It will only be available to US addresses---and quite possibly, no APO, PO Boxes, or even AK/HI, as many of the dropship will not accept those address formats.  Many are shipped by ground methods only.  Some of this is exciting for me, as I can add food items, perfume, etc, which I have not been able to offer before.  I do not have a firm date to start this, but possibly not until Jan 1.

In the meantime, it's time for a lot of site cleanup, and quiet nights of more crafting, as I hopefully recover a little more strength. (This includes the diamond paintings, as the super hot interest in those has waned a little; I will be cutting several of those slow movers out completely.)  I am quite disappointed in not being able to finish projects this year, especially since some are leftovers from last year. I am still working on the birds and maple pixel, ready to pick another type of diamond painting, and a few small cross stitch in the works. Not feeling like I have a lot of time to rest, needing to push so many things forward. 

My next update shouldn't be nearly so far, only a few weeks, if that.

Halloween Pumpkin Finish, China Holiday

Another older finish, to some extent.  Halloween Pumpkin, from Artiste. 5x7" on 16ct white aida, full coverage 2x1 cross stitch. Some partial stitches, and I left off the backstitch, kinda looked cheesy. And wow, did this take a long time. Not just how long I've had it, but the actual stitching, as it's 16ct not 14. And it's all full coverage, and very few of these tiny charts ever are.  But I love it, rather stunning for only 3 colors. It's up on eBay  and I will give it a little bit before posting to Etsy.

Nothing much on the other pumpkin, the diamond painting. I am still waiting for missing drills to arrive, and have set it aside for now.  I may not pick it up again until the spring, to be worked on in advance of next holiday season.  I'm going to pick out a Christmas one this week, which will be one with extra kits, to also sell direct once they arrive.  This is just on the FB page, as I am not ready to add to the Ebay site until after the main holiday season for me is done.

I also have square diamond drills #310 and #318 already shipping to me.  Those will be available in a week, or so. Also, preferably through FB, although I have added to a stationary Bonanza site for those, as it is much slower, and some other perks that eBay doesn't have.

I'd suggest if you've been waiting to place some orders, that you do that soon, for diamond paintings or other items on my shop site.  The October Festival in China is Oct 1-7 and they are closed all that time.  And from what I remember last year, seriously closed. Nothing happens.  Which means you need to order a few days before then, so the order can be processed, sent to the shipping containers, and out to sea, before Oct 1.  Some of my suppliers are MUCH faster than others, but of course, you don't know which ones, beforehand..... So, considering that also falls into a weekend, before that, I'd suggest you place orders by Sept 24 or before. If not, it could be 6 weeks before you get your items, as they will be backlogged as well.

In the meantime, the weather has been giving me some fits, but it is storm season and the change into cooler weather. I do hope to have some other finishes posted soon, but with a few of those issues, and it being well into my selling season, there are only so many hours in a day!  Be safe out there.

Hot Corvette Diamond Painting Kit, plug links

Diamond Painting Hot Corvette Car in Desert   from my TurquoiseRoads  shop.  Just one of the many random craft kits and women's items being added. I wish I had more to show for my own progress on the diamond paintings, but I am not able to spread out and get that going right now.

Since I don't have much of any updates, I thought I would put a few plugs out there, as I am quietly still working on my storefronts, etc.  A few hiccups with some slower shipping times, which may continue for a short while longer, but otherwise, MOST business as usual.

One of the things not as usual, is my crafting.  Not only do I not exactly have the time, but my mental and emotional health is a little frazzled.  The past few months have been extremely stressful, and trying to sit and craft, when I feel like there are so many other things to be doing, and frankly, not able to relax, at all.......just not really working.  So if anyone has been watching my FB on The Blushin Rose, etc. that's why there have been no updates, and unfortunately, pretty ignored.  My interpersonal brightness just isn't around again yet, sorry.

For those watching the ebay things for dropship, the upheaval of the summer, and the storms, put me in a precarious spot, and the ebay storefront is closed, for now, on that. I have slowly been moving them, on relevant items, to The Blushin Rose space on ebay.  I have opened an additional Bonanza site, to list all of that inventory, and more, as it moves slower, and there are very little restrictions.

Busy.  It's plenty for me to plug away at, moving and sorting items, it's a tedious process to list items from scratch.  Real bead, kits, crafts, growth etc, is in a holding pattern until next year sometime, spring at least.

On that note, my personal situation has not resolved, at all.  Not sure what I am doing in a new town, so far from where I was. Not getting much assistance anywhere, and can't get settled.  So if anyone feels like being nice and letting me have some relief,  please feel free to go shop and make some purchases.  If you'd simply like to donate a few dollars to the cause, I've used some old links and brand new, to set up a little funding.  Paypal  and ko-fi  have been set up.  I will be in some real need until at least mid January minimum.

Blessings, hopefully I have some better news soon.