A Week in the Life of an Etsy Shop Owner

Life just doesn't ever slow down, does it? The past several days have been a whirlwind of activities for me and my family.  Here's a quick summery of what's been going on - 

* Last Thursday, Hannah, Holly and I traveled about 2 hours east to help Gabriel move from a temporary room rental to his first apartment that he will share with his soon to be bride.  It's a furnished apartment over a garage - a nice little one bedroom.  So we just had a few boxes of personal items to carry up the steep but beautiful dark hardwood steps.  The AC had just gotten turned on and it was literally 90 degrees in the little place.  Had to cool off by going to the grocery store.  We bought frozen pizzas and cooked them in the oven which didn't help with the heat.  And we found out that "fully furnished" doesn't include a pizza cutter.  So I cut the pizzas with a steak knife.

*John did not go with us because he had to travel to DC to pick up our Romanian friend, Marius, from the airport. He was supposed to arrive around 7 PM but the flight was delayed until after 11 PM.  It was 2 AM before they arrived home.

* On Friday morning we left for yet another trip. We had to take Hannah to New York City to meet her team at the airport there to go on a two week mission trip Romania. So we spent the night with my former college roommate in New Jersey and left her house on Saturday.  She lives about an hour away from the airport so that was incredibly convenient and we were blessed to spend some time with her.  I was amazed at the amount of money we spent on tolls, round trip from VA to NJ to NY and back to VA - about $70.

*We got back on Saturday night and Sunday evening was the beginning of our church's Vacation Bible School.  I'm teaching the 1st - 3rd graders. 

*Come Friday morning I can breathe a short sigh of relief before getting serious about all the last minute details for Gabriel's rehearsal dinner and wedding.  Soon I will post some pictures of some of the things that Sarah has asked me to make for the reception.  Meanwhile, here's on order I'm working on this week for a fall wedding - 

Oak Leaf Confetti

Tips for Buying on Etsy

Etsy is home to over a million shop owners who sell handmade crafts, craft supplies and vintage items.  Buying something can be as easy as clicking the "add to cart" button and checking out with Paypal or a credit card. But knowing a few handy tips may prevent unnecessary frustration for you and/or the shop owner. 

 Multi-colored heart confetti

#1 READ the description for the item that you want to buy.  Make sure that you understand  - 

* Exactly what is being sold - the size, the quantity, the color

* How long it will take the seller to make and ship the item

* Where the item is shipping from - If you live in New Zealand, you won't get your package from Iowa in 3 days.

#2 LOOK for special instructions.  Do you need to leave information for the seller?  This generally applies to personalized items.

#3 ASK the seller a question! Etsy sellers do not mind hearing from potential customers.  Perhaps they forgot to mention the size of an item or you want to know if they can make blue tags instead of white.  Look for the "Ask a Question" button to the right of the price.

#4 BE specific.  If you want blue tags, ask for the specific shade.  "Can you make these in royal (sky, turquoise, navy, etc.) blue?"

#5 ORDER EARLY. We live in a world of making last minute decisions.  Too many times I've had to turn a customer down because they ask me on Monday if I can make a stack of personalized tags and have them delivered in time for their baby shower on Friday.  No, most likely not.

Zebra stripe gift tags

I hope you've found these tips helpful!  I will be back to share some more.  Please feel free to leave any questions or comments. And I hope you'll stop by my shop - Ellie Marie Designs .