Adventures in T-shirt land:New Packaging

First off, here are some pictures of autumn in her Halloween costume.

If you ask her what she was for Halloween she says "pumpkin face"

And every morning since halloween she wakes up and the first thing she says is "Halloween?"

So, this would usually be my workshop post, but I don't have many good "in progress"pictures. I am working on some new things, that aren't ready to be photographed, and then there are the same projects I have been working on, but the details are not very interesting, and there are a few graphic design things I am working on... which has been a little daunting. Sometimes I wish GIMP were a little more like photoshop, I am trained in photoshop- but alas, gimp is free.

One thing I am working on that I can show you is my packaging. I am trying to come up with a new way to package my items because I have discovered that what I am doing becomes very time consuming when I am mailing several packages a day.

Right now I am wrapping most of my orders in tissue, tying a ribbon around them

and putting a label on the back. My pillows don't fit in tissue, and I do something extra special for bearing necklaces. I use solid tissue most of the time, but I have not restocked since I am trying to come up with something new.

Since I usually feel like I am fighting time in the morning when I am getting my packages ready to ship, I am trying to come up with a professional looking way to package my items that takes much less time. I am pretty sure I have settled on shipping in brown paper bags with either my logo or any of my other designs screen printed on them, and then sealing with a thank you label.

how do you package your items to ship?

I got an email from the owner of stilo lifestyle today and I will be getting my first consignment check this week! WOOO. I also need to replenish some items, so that is awesome !

I hope everyone is having a lovely week!

xoxo!

♥Erica

Brown Paper Packages tied up with String

So, I have not quite made it to the end of my first year selling on etsy. It has been an incredible, wonderful learning experience and I have met some really great people, and purchased some AWESOME items.

One thing that I have found to be an invaluable lesson, that has also managed to save me quite a bit of money over time, is HOW TO SHIP USPS, and that you can ship FROM HOME through paypal. That is pretty awesome.

I know I am sure there are other things I should know about shipping that I have not learned yet, but I really think USPS offers a truly superior service. It is VERY inexpensive, and packages seem to arrive at their destination much faster than with other shipping services, which surprised me the most! I also didn't figure out until a few months ago that we could ship things directly through Paypal! How wonderful! Next to each payment you will receive that has cleared there will be a Little button you can click that says "Print shipping label". All you need to do is weigh your items on a very accurate scale (make sure that you include the label (or an extra sheet of paper) and all of the packaging materials in the measurement. I use a kitchen scale that I bought specifically for this purpose because it was less expensive and could handle a heavier item than the postal scales. You also need to make sure both your address and the recipients addresses are correct. Make sure you read the definitions of things like "large" package before you choose it, it will save you money.

It is also easier, and MUCH less expensive-obviously- if you buy envelopes in groups of 10 or so from stores instead of buying them one at a time at the post office. I don't have a Costco or Sam's club membership but I bet they have great shipping supplies there. Also, if you want to ship directly through USPS from home you can bypass paypal by going to usps.com. I use paypal because I don't keep any credit (or even atm cards) in my possession, so the only money I usually have access to if my husband isn't around is our paypal account. (and of course cash, but the computer doesn't recognize that).

One tip for usps ONLY use flat rate boxes to ship very heavy items, and find out your shipping rate through USPS first class mail before going with the flat rate box. I have not had a situation arise yet where I didn't save a few dollars by packaging and shipping first class mail or parcel post. I received a package recently from an etsian that weighed less than 2 oz and was in a $5.95 flat rate box. I was kinda sad because I knew she would have saved a few dollars if she had shipped first class. The items, by the way, were remarkable. I will share them with you all later.
I also got another AMAZING product that was shipped UPS. It seemed like it took forever to get to me, and I am sure it cost more to ship it too.

If you are worried about tracking and such, if you ship through USPS, or paypal you can track your packages online, AND you can even buy signature confirmation on your packages!

I always thought USPS was cheap, but not a very good service. My experiences through etsy has taught me that while USPS is very inexpensive, they also offer an exemplary service.

I can't believe it is Christmas eve already! December came and went so fast! Our first Christmas on etsy has really been a blast! Happy Holidays, Everyone.

Have you seen these?

I have not gone to see a movie in quite a while, but there are two I am very interested in... so interested in that I can't really believe I have not seen them yet.

No great surprise, I really want to see Whip It.

No surprise, because Whip It is a roller derby movie. AWESOME. It was released when I was in Denver for Regionals. I also like Drew Barrymore so I am interested in checking out her directing debut.

...also no surprise, I want to see Coco Before Chanel.

I am pretty excited about this one. Admittedly, I have always preferred Dior (when it was Christian Dior) to Chanel (when it was Coco Chanel) but they were both amazing designers and I like them both, no matter HOW fundamentally different they were. Chanel did so much for women, from being a Fashion designer in what-amazingly-is STILL a men's industry to liberating women's bodies with her designs.

Have you seen either of these movies ?? What did you think?

Also, I wanted to talk etsy for just one second.

Have you ever ALMOST purchased something and then decided not to because you thought the shipping was ridiculous? That has happened to me while shopping for Christmas presents lately. I am still tweaking my shipping here and there, and as a new seller my charges were a bit too high. I still find listings sometimes that have high shipping, and I hope I didn't lose customers over the shipping charges. The funny thing is, if the item cost a dollar fifty more, and the shipping cost a dollar fifty less I would have purchased it. I don't know if that makes sense, but that is how it is. How do you feel about this? Also, this seller has a TON of sales... so I may be wrong. Maybe most people would rather pay the extra in shipping. What do you think? Just things I have started to think about when I list items.