Out with the Old, in with the New, Big Changes

I am adding some new diamond painting kits for Ebay and also on Bonanza.  These will also be added to the shop, more on that in a bit.  This is a licensed product produced by Vervaco, Hello Kitty, a partial round 8.75x8.75in canvas kit. This is not a China derived item.

So.  There are a lot of changes afoot, please bare with me as things flip flop and I alter the shop and items quite a bit over the next few weeks and beyond, as fast as I can.  Generally speaking, this is driven by my health, and market trends, customer issues, etc.  For the last year, I have been struggling with minor but painful health issues that have made it extremely difficult to drive working so hard. I can only work from home, as it is, and I do all the work myself.  I feel like I have recovered, after a trip to the hospital and some very very quiet days in a no stamina state.  But, it's a new normal, and perhaps a few things, I cannot push, like I used to.

The diamond paintings from China have been my biggest hurdle in a problem area with a lack of quality control.  I love them, I like working on them, and wish I could still offer them all the time.  However, it's difficult with so many bad kits.  I will be discontinuing the entire category, as it currently is.  This will take a bit, and I think if you follow outside links, they may still work, and that is fine; I am trying to get new selections up before I wipe out everything old.  But I will take down the storefront category in about a week.  These items will not make it for Christmas, at that time, so it seems like a good time.

I will be bringing the category back. Almost immediately.  But it will only have the handful of kits from China I have personally bought to resell, that have been counted and are correct, that I will be shipping(with fees) from the US, to US customers.  It's a smattering, it's not meant to be a category option, it will be a small selection, and I do not have physical room to store very many kits, at this point.  Just a way to keep a small selection running that are complete and able to ship asap.  The other kits available will also be a small selection, but may ease the angst of not having a full range of kits.  These will be from needlework designers(see above) who have licensed and packaged their own kits and design conversions.  This will come as dropship direct to you items, that I don't see, but am assuming will be well put together, and will take a week to 10 days to arrive, again, shipping fees will be calculated in, it's not cheap in the US.

Other very important changes, that will be happening right away, Dec 1, is that I will stop shipping anything internationally.  The site can only be toggled for US shipping, or hand selected countries.  The items I am adding, cannot be shipped outside the US.  As a matter of fact, most will be only lower 48 and no PO Boxes or APO/FPO, mostly ground shipping.  To that end, I will unfortunately have to switch off international orders.  Nov 30 is the last day.  DPDISCONTINUED  is a coupon code that will expire at 11:59 CST to ease issues.  It's good for everyone, sitewide, you  must enter the code, for 20% off your order.

I am adding many more China direct items, to the site.  If no shipping directions are indicated, it's a China item.  If it indicates US shipping, this will be sourced from a warehouse in the US.  I will continue to browse for many more women's and general home items from China, so that will still grow.  But the additions of US items, I will be pushing to add right away.  I have been selling them already on the auction sites, for years.  Brand name items that you recognize, makeup, craft kits, candles, food and baking, jewelry, all kinds of things.  I'm really excited to be able to start offering them on the website storefront itself. 

In the meantime, I am adding more items from China, that I have sourced and shipped to myself, and will continue to.  I am adding diamond drills that you can buy direct from the auction pages, a little at a time.  I have a few more diamond painting kits coming.  I also have a large selection of big stone cabochons coming, and bead strands for diy jewelrymaking. I am adding those listings to the stones selections on the website so you can browse and order direct, but many I will be having on hand and ready to ship asap from ebay, including some handpicked odd colors that are not regular stock, and actual pictures of the coloring and patterns. I may post those from time to time, for the new arrivals.

I should be back to emails, soon, that will be back open.  Remember, only the one tagged to the website itself. I do not see the ones from the payment processors and random other addresses. I'm working as fast as I can, to fit more into a work style that will work for me.  I am still crafting, in rare hours here and there, a few new projects are almost done.  It's a little on the backseat until January, when I can settle in some.  I am taking commissions on the diamond painting kits, either the ones I am stocking, or anything else you have or would like done, including from China.  I also can do that for the other craft kits, etc that I am sourcing, including things like the Bucilla felt Christmas stockings and ornaments, cross stitch, pixel, etc. I am happy to take on commission orders, as I have dropped off some personal obligations and other work, in order to concentrate on website sales. It's been a long time coming.

So, some patience please, and ignore the poor picture quality of my own items(where is the sun, anyway?)  as I have been raring to go, on offering a lot of different things. And I am so sorry for not being able to do international sales, perhaps find a US buddy who can hold/ship to you?  It's a lot of my customers, maybe something like that would be helpful; only idea I have been able to come up with.  

Jolly Santa Pixel Mosaic finished

This is a cute one.  Jolly Santa, a 10x8in pixel mosaic. 4 baseplates attached to make the picture with the plastic pegs. It should have gone a whole lot faster, but I was surprised with some family arriving in town--for a long stay. I have it posted on Ebay, next week to Etsy if needed.

I will have to take a pause on the pixels, as my diamond painting of the Red Christmas Bells has arrived.  It's later than I expected, so I will have to rush to get it done.  This is the one that I bought 2 extra, so they are here now, if you haven't checked out the FB page for TurquoiseRoads for the details on how to purchase the ones that are available to ship in the US right now, $23.99.  And of course, you can purchase any of the sizes for yourself, on the website here. This is a 35x35cm full square drill, hopefully a smaller, quicker project.  I am always open to work on these kits on a commission basis, as well, these in stock, or any that are listed, just like any of my other crafted items.

I had to stop on the Merry Christmas crossstitch text, just not enough time to get it done and make it available. I'd like to give people plenty of time to frame, and it is an odd size, so professional framing might be the norm.  I haven't wanted to put it too far away, but, never know.

I did start a new re-do on the Four Seasons cross stitch birds I had up.  The Fall and Winter birds had sold.  I have made the Fall bird available again, on ebay and etsy, the Winter one will be a few weeks. (I will also be making the Spring and Summer ones again, but they hadn't sold yet.) I won't keep reposting links to previously seen items, though, it kind of clutters this. I also have the Yellow Rose cross stitch up, again, if I didn't mention that previously.

Excited to get some new projects going though, with a couple finishes soon! --It's too cold out already, to be out goofing off.

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.

Pink Goldfish in Bubble, merged sites

A little late, both on finishing and on posting.  Hard keeping up with social media when there is so much to do.  And social media is not the most fun place to hang out, of late.  Maybe after the next election?  But, so here is the Pink Goldfish in Bubble diamond painting.  40x40cm, full square.  I added some lavender bubble looking washi tape to the edges, as it was a bit sticky.  It's up on Ebay and Etsy, too, already.  Fun, I just got distracted near the end with some family issues, and that last mile.....lol.

But, my observations, I think I either like the small partials, or I would need the massively big diamond paintings as projects.  I like the small really 3D sparkly look, or it would need to be huge so it looks like a painting, for real.  This middle of the road pixel look, loses the effect, I think. And possibly, I just prefer the round drills, not square.  So I think I will start ordering some small partials, for me to do and list, quickly. And browse for some massive ones, for later in the year(maybe NSFW? I have my eye on one or two mild ones).

I do also already have some other kits here, and a Halloween one coming, cat and pumpkin diamond painting, but I will save all that for another post. The Goldfish I do still have 2 kits on hand, and the Halloween cat, I will also have extra kits, maybe next week. Please check the FB page in the meantime.  I will also post when I have ordered more drills, black 310 in round and square and one of the whites, when I have actually done the order.

Progress is just a little slow.  It's been an odd, rambling, hot, summer.  And it seems to be ready to ramp up for XMAS.  So when things are a little more liquid, stuff will move a little faster.  I am still ordering beads, however, you may notice that the name has now changed for sales.  Ebay is now TurquoiseRoadsUS, and a few links have been changed.  I am merging almost all of the sites and pages together. A few things that are craft related will likely stay separated, as it's not quite as contemporary and such, (eyeroll) as the new manufactured items. I have a page on most social media outlets.

The Yellow Rose cross stitch sold.  I do have more supplies, patience, I will list again.

And I do have another finish. A nice one. It's already done, but I will save that for another post.

WIP of Pink Goldfish diamond painting, plans

Excited.  I took on a big(certainly for me, anyway) project, and jumped in.  Sticking with it pretty well. This is my Pink Goldfish in Bubble diamond painting.  My first square one, I think I like round better, but I've adapted pretty well, not as scary as I thought.  And it's 40x40cm(16x16), the largest I have done, and it is full coverage.  I was pretty nervous to see the amazing sea of pink drills that were in the package.  I had thought there were some more variations in the colors, but not really. I am plugging away, a few hours here and there, this is pretty close to about half done.  I would like to have it finished really soon, like a week, and up for sale. I have other projects of diamond paintings waiting, as well as a couple needle projects in the works that are also calling, for a bit of a break. I;m pushing to try to do some items on commission, as well, a bit of interest for that.

If you would like to purchase one of these kits, they do come in different sizes, and you can buy it from the shop link, which will take 2-3 weeks to arrive, many countries and paypal accepted .  Pink Goldfish   or I also have 2 of these in the 40x40cm size ready to ship immediately in the US. I've counted the drills, and with paypal, they are ready to go.  Please find me on the Facebook link for TurquoiseRoads for details.

I am on most social media with those pages, if you just search.  I have a few to change or update. Life has still been crazy, and not in a good way.  So I have been pacing myself for increasing shop responsibilities.  When I have the Pink Goldfish done, and up here, I will announce some of my plans and start finalizing some links and cross over things.

So, more updates soon!

All that glitters Diamond Painting Swans with Roses

So here is a new obsession and addiction!  Since I thought I would start selling the diamond painting kits on the dropship site (see the TR links or FB) that I should try it and see what it was like.  I bought this one on ebay, still from a seller in China.  It took 2 weeks to arrive.  This is just a partial one, not full coverage.  I call Swans with Roses, as there are no real names.  This is like a very lightweight banner material, vinyl, with adhesive and markings for where to place the faceted rhinestones.  This one has round stones, stick them in place with a sticky pen.  It took me 2 days to do this one, a miracle for a slow poke like me. Added to Ebay for now, Etsy at the beginning of the month if it lasts this long.  I have to figure out shipping tubes, etc.  And I do think they are heat sensitive, to extreme temps, so I will not be shipping during the summer months.

But it's fun, quick, and pretty interesting, sparkly! so I will be making more, probably steadily.  Like most any of the other crafts, I can do commission work on these, if you find something you like(or they do convert your own photos.)  Always the option of purchasing one and holding for cooler weather to ship, as well.  The other idea that was brought to my attention, was to perhaps bulk order a few, and keep them in stock and sell.  Likely through ebay.  A few popular ones, no waiting for long shipping and weird tracking from overseas.  Noodling on that one.

WIPS on FB

I've been posting WIPS of various crafts and projects on the Facebook page each week for this year, but am not going to cross post them all here.  I thought I would post this one though, as I have a little spare time.  This is an update on QS Motherhood from HAED.  It's about 70% done, and I haven't picked it up in a while. (Besides being busy, this is one of my older pieces, from before I broke away for a new life.  I've committed to only trying to work on one of those from that time period at a time, and slowly, as it is emotionally difficult.)  This is a grayscale piece of art, and very small, so I hope I can break through the block and get it done.  1x1 full cross on 25ct antique white, including the sparkly threads, 4 x 3/34" size.


It looks like I have another physical move, in the works.  I will be clearing out a few bead items, trimming up the supplies and business end a little. It needs to be downsized slightly, to fit for the move, and for more effective items.  This move should be the 2nd to last(very last).  And once I arrive, over the summer, I will be putting some serious effort into expanding, both for the beads and the finished items.

Nepal Relief



 

Just wanted to put a quick note out, these US nail wraps are only available from May 6-8(now).  100% proceeds to UNICEF for the Nepal Earthquake relief efforts.   Send me a note on Facebook.

 

 

And I am stitching, even doing some little art painting, pics coming soon!

 

 

 

Ad copy

I thought I had posted this already.  Guess not!  This was the ad for restaurant tables.  I went by to see if the tables were in place yet, but not yet. Good thing, since I'm not quite as ready as I'd like.  The last stitching project I finished sold before I could put it as a steady piece available(hummingbird).

So now I am busy trying to get more things ready.  And as always, there isn't enough time in the day for all the things going on.  But busy is good. At least the beads that I have up are selling.  I'll get there, over time. Not as fast as people want, but well, such is life!

Hope everyone is getting back into a routine after the holidays and ready for spring.

A Real Business Start!!

So I signed an advertising contract today.  A little bit of awkward timing, but it fell into my lap and would have been silly to turn it down.  And the turnaround time is pretty quick, it may be running in about a month.  I still have to work on the ad copy and just how I want it to look, in only a few days, that's part of what is awkward, since I didn't quite have things in place like I wanted, I thought that would be at least two months from now to have the site(s) in nicer shape.

The other part that is awkward is that I don't seem to have enough of the right product ready.  I had started filling the back items, craft and bead items to sell to have some rounded stock and be sure to have lookers/customers while having a little more(a lot more) time for significant finished items to be listed.  And the craft items are doing well, I'm really pleased to see traffic and sales picking up.  But I'm still in that weird space of not having the finished items, and a collection of them, at the ready, to put in a nice section, to get that started.

So, I am definitely still looking for cross stitchers!!  Stitch For Me  website has most all the details.  This is for those that love to cross stitch already, and would like to make money as a work at home project.  If you are looking to stitch, please email me directly here, not on the business pages.

More details and links coming soon! The image is clickable above to the business Facebook page--the working product pages are coming.