Month: March 2024

Word Switch = Mind Shift

by CZeitler

As I wrote in my last post, I’ve been hustling to make earrings, necklaces, and other items, to stock up my Etsy shop, thinking of ways to improve my jewelry game to generate more (any) sales, etc. Then as I was looking at what tools I need to start getting serious about jewelry, soldering, etc., and pushing off whittling again, I came to a realization. In my mind I had switched around a few words of what I had created my etsy store for. I was working toward: “Crafting to sell”. My Original intention was: “Selling my Crafts”. I know, some of you are looking at that like, what’s the difference? The difference is intention.

For the first, “Crafting to sell”, changed the motivation of my work. I was not focusing on creating what I wanted or learning new skills to be able to teach my patrons at work, I was thinking about: “Will this appeal, does this go with the brand I am trying to build up, how can I market this?.”

For my original intention: “Selling my Crafts”, I was using up materials I already owned, learning new skills without worrying about putting something new out each day, and having the crafts I lovingly created going to new homes instead of just sitting around my house or being given as gifts to friends and family that didn’t really want them. I think that it is time for me to get back to my original intention, and allow the universe to generate sales from my lovingly crafted goods.

That is not to say that I am not going to post updates and new items onto my Etsy store. As one maker said, “Don’t wait until your crafts are perfect, put them out there and see if they appeal, then work on getting better.”

I have some loom beaded pieces that I am going to learn how to back, some cabochons that I am going to learn how to create beaded bezels around, and a secret project that I am working on perfecting before I, potentially, launch a kickstarter. Along with all of that I am trying to learn how to cut a straight line on my wood, or plane down to a straight line, without a power saw (Since I don’t own one). This is with the intention of making my own jewelry display, and possibly some of the projects I’ve seen on YouTube. There is one more thing, the next time I have some extra funds, I’m buying the whittling kit.

Remember to slow down, make sure you are working toward your actual goal, and Live Life A Little More Abstract!

Back to Etsy for Now

by CZeitler

Okay, so I did make one direct sale on Facebook and it really did come in handy since I am also trying to start building my own displays for the jewelry I am making. Right now I have re-opened my etsy store with plenty of earrings and some necklaces. ALittleMoreAbstract.etsy.com

Below are a small selection of the earrings I have been making, they are all on sale right now in my etsy shop with free shipping.

I’ve also made a couple of necklaces, and I will be putting some Embroidered Pendants on sale later this week, likely Tuesday morning.

As you can tell I have been very busy crafting. I also have been destashing all of my ‘good yarn’ to afford a ladder to repair my downspout. This just became a bit more urgent since I found out that the water is seeping into my foundation. If you are interested in bargain priced yarn then you can check out my destash link here: https://www.ravelry.com/people/czeitler/stash/trade/

As you can see I have been trying to ‘hustle’ a bit to get some more income. I’ve also found some Skillshare workshops that have been helping me to price my works in a reasonable way. So that has been my last couple of weeks, hustling to create, trying to build up my website, and working on getting rid of a few items that I no longer use. I hope that your week goes well and you remember to Live Life a Little More Abstract!

Not What I Hoped For

by CZeitler

So, I took my rocks out of the tumbler after the final polish. I was excited but let them dry for 3 days before looking at them…and I was so disappointed. I think I know what I did wrong, so I will be taking all of my stones back to the second step and letting it run for a week to see if that will get the scrapes out of these rocks.

I believe that the problem is that I included the small/tiny rocks into the tumbling batch. I think that the tiny rocks banged up and scratched on the rocks that were ready to be polished. At least I hope so.

I plan on taking the rest of the rocks out of the second tumbler on Saturday morning to see if any of them are ready to go onto the second step, and then put those that are not ready back into the tumbler for the first step.

Thanks for reading my update, I’m still working hard on making jewelry and trying to sell on Facebook and Instagram under A Little More Abstract. I hope to have another post on Sunday, but if not then I will see you next week (hopefully with some pretty stones to show off).

Remember to Live Life a Little More Abstract!

A Totally Different Direction

by CZeitler

So, I have not made any progress on my banner or learning how to create bobbin lace. In the other hand I have been trying to figure out a good platform for selling my handmade crafts as well as creating stock.
I am hoping to participate in two craft shows this fall, however, they require a picture of your booth setup during the application. This means that I need to have significant inventory to display in the booth. Also, as it happens many selling website platforms cost on a monthly basis. In order to afford the platform as well as create more inventory, I have been attempting to direct sale my jewelry offerings on Instagram and Facebook. I’ll post my creations at the end of this post, however this has left little time for anything else except working on getting my yard ready for urban homesteading this spring and summer. That is a post for another day however. I am also planning on taking out my first batch of polished rocks this week so I hope to put up a brief update then.