Monday, September 10, 2012

PLEASE. STOP. ASKING.

For the love of all things Disney, people, PLEASE STOP ASKING ME TO MAKE YOU A DAISY DUCK COSTUME through etsy conversations. Because it clearly states on my homepage: "I will not be making any duck costumes (Daisy or Donald) this Halloween season. I appreciate your enthusiastic requests, but my schedule is packed. Thank you for your interest and continued support." What is so hard to understand? Sheesh.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Who am I?

Clearly, I am not a blogger. I've tried, and it's just not my thing. I make no apologies.

I am a social media junkie, and you can find me on Twitter and Facebook. If you clicked on my Facebook link, you'll notice that I linked you to my personal page, not my business page.

Because I'm not there much. Yes, I still love sewing and creating, but I'm not doing a good job right now of marketing/selling my items. I have an etsy shop, but I'm horrible about adding things to it, and then no one buys anything because I'm not listing anything, and... it's a vicious cycle over there. I wish I had someone to photograph and list my items, because there sure are a ton of them piled up here, not making me any money!

So far, we have determined that I am not a blogger or a marketer, but I am a social media junkie and a crafter.

Last year I made a list of the things/jobs I do in my real life, and it was a diverse compilation.

I am a wife and mother
I am a homeschool teacher
I teach a homeschool class 1x/week for elementary school students at a co-op
I also do the accounting/treasury for that co-op
I work at a local University in the summertime, coordinating their challenge course program
I create items to sell online
I occasionally help draft/write up eBook patterns for the Tie Dye Diva
I help with costuming for local theater productions
I am a Cub Scout leader
I maintain a flock of chickens and (try to) help my husband with his garden in a desire to be more healthy and sustainable

And that's not even including the things that I want to do, like remodeling & decorating my house, traveling, reading, camping, building a self-sufficient homestead...

So this is who I am. I am Carol. And I do a lot of stuff. I do the things I enjoy, and when I no longer enjoy them, I try to eliminate them from my life.

I've been toying with the idea of closing down Monkey Doodle Designs for some time now, but I can't bring myself to do it. Somehow in my mind, if I don't have an official business, I can't justify my love of creating (and, let's face it, I need the tax break for the thousands of dollars I spend on supplies each year). I don't have a "niche" market because I love trying new patterns and designs. What I really need is a market where someone (preferably a lot of someones, and preferably someones with a lot of money) to come to me and say, "I want a [insert name of created item here]- will you make one for me?" That's the kind of work I thrive on.

(and for all of you Les Miserables fans out there, I am not Jean Valjean)