#okay I got a little off track with the etsy sellers

[encryptedlunacy]

Prime example of every rant I've had about moss collection ever. TW: I'm about to have another, there's a TLDR at the bottom if you don't wanna emerse yourself in it or you're welcome to skip unless you plan on doing this yourself in which case please read on

Despite the praise moss receives for it's "fast spreading" qualities, moss takes an EXTREMELY long time to grow and cutting out a section like this is a huge loss on that patch that will take probably over a year to regenerate.

Moss is so important!!! It not only provides habitats for an abundance of insects and other micro-organisms which sustain the ecosystem and soil health, but are also a vital food source for larger animals due to nutrient rich qualities as well as it's inhabitants!! Birds use moss as a source of nesting material, and some amphibians spawn their young in moss due to it's common growth habits and moisture retention qualities. All of these species need to have enough moss to sustain their populations and that's really difficult to do in it's own right with growing habitat loss without the consumer market taking it a step further. Carving out this much in one sitting - from one area - not only completely destroys any hope another species' may have had for using it but will stress the moss out and this clump likely will not even survive the transition, and the two pieces left by the road may even decay as well.

If that doesn't suffice, moss has so many benefits for the environment, it lays the groundwork for other plants to grow by stabilizing environments and trapping organic matter as it grows to basically make it's own soil for other plants to establish themselves in, filters air far more efficiently than trees and grasses, and can store CO2 for longer and trap nutrients for other organisms to process.

Another important role it plays is that scientists use moss to detect changes in our environment, purify waters and other substances, and restore habitats for other life forms - and all of these different areas are not only vastly more important than aesthetic preferences for a living room, but also require a healthy and thriving population!! Sphagnum(/peat) moss particularly is praised for a lot of different reasons, but if you ever get the chance just research the effects the loss of peat bogs has had on places like Canada and Chile because it's so crazy it's actually ridiculous - and sphagnum is probably the easiest thing in the world to propagate yourself as well!!

When people do this in mass quantities, it can be so harmful to the environment I cannot even begin to tell you. With the rising popularity of moss for the plant/herp community for terrariums, etc, and usefulness in crafting projects, the demand for it is increasing, which means that people are capitalising on an easy source of income by making businesses out of harvesting "fresh moss" as it's a readily available item for them to go out and grab. Etsy is rife with sellers using "fresh wild moss" as a marketing strategy to gather more interest, because hey if it's grown in the wild it's good quality right? And then the moss being distributed by these sellers is likely "foraged" unsustainably and having videos like this where they make this collection process seem so simplistically enjoyable and easy to do encourages other people to do the same. We (and yes I mean we, I'm not gonna stand on a soap box and pretend I'm Florence Nightingale, I've done stupid shit too, we're all learning) are so quick to trust that it's okay to do something because we assume somebody else knows better because they're doing it, and it breeds a whole community of bad practices.

I'm not saying buying moss or collecting moss is bad but PLEASE if you are going to harvest moss, there are so many videos on how to do it so that it doesn't destroy habitats (or at least lessens the damage done) by taking small portions from the middle of a patch where you can pat the other moss down around it to fill the gap and decreases the stress you're putting on it - or better yet! Take small clumps that have already dropped or been picked off by birds (our magpies love chucking moss off the roof, there's nothing we can do to stop them from tearing it up, but we can certainly make sure that it doesn't go to waste.)

There are more videos than I could swing a seal at showing you how to propagate moss as well, simply by cutting it into small pieces, spreading it out across a wider surface area, and you have even more moss to utilise in the future. P l e a s e, I am on my hands and knees begging you to challenge people who are doing this and politely inform them of the destruction it causes.

TLDR: Moss is really important for the environment and we need to make sure we're purchasing CULTIVATED MATERIAL ONLY or harvesting sustainably. Let's stop destroying habitats and harming the environment further!

If you would like yt links to video tutorials or simply channel recommendations I am happy to provide my favourite people I seriously do not mind just stop harming my moss please

DIY Terrarium

[cozylittleartblog]

hey, so I'm trying to figure out what places would be good to sell my own art at, and I'm wondering- what has been your experience with selling on etsy? I've heard mixed reviews from people, and I want to know your perspective as an etsy seller.

etsy is not perfect but i think it gets a little more shit than it deserves, i've thought about opening my own website but generally i'm actually pretty okay with the services i get on etsy compared to what it costs so i'm just gonna make a subjective pros/cons list for you under the cut (because its loooong)

oh and if anyone else has experience selling on etsy and would like to add their two cents in the replies/reblogs please do!

Pros

⭐ The search function - this is etsy's biggest selling point. it already has a dedicated userbase of millions of people and a search feature to help them find your shop, which takes a lot of the load of marketing off your shoulders, and marketing is a huge factor for pushing sales. i am not good at marketing and a lot of my sales just come from people searching my stuff up lol

⭐ Purchase protection program - if USPS loses or damages your package, you file a missing package report and they confirm they don't know where it is, Etsy will refund your buyers order out of their own pocket (under $250). this is my favorite etsy feature because USPS likes to eat packages every now and again. delicious keychains. if you had your own storefront, you'd just have to replace the order yourself.

⭐ Share & Save program - every time someone makes an order on your shop through a special Share & Save link, etsy will refund you 4% of the fees. it's a nice perk to doing some of your own marketing and it helps combat the moderately high etsy fees!

Trackable letter mail - selling stickers but think it's insane to charge $4 shipping? you can buy letter mail labels for about the rate of regular postage, which is like .65c. this tracking is done through etsy though so you can't track with usps, but it does give customers a little peace of mind. this only works in the 50 US states though.

Customs forms built into your shipping label - shipping internationally is a nightmare. etsy makes it easy though, generating everything you need to ship internationally on one label that you just have to sign and date and slap on your package like normal. for some countries they will actually just have your package sent to a domestic facility where they literally do all that for you. this is miles easier than having to do all that paperwork yourself.

buy shipping labels directly from etsy - related point, and just what it says on the tin. when you fulfill an order, you can buy your labels right there on Etsy so you don't have to mess around with a third party website. it comes out of your sale funds so you don't need to charge a card or a bank account or anything.

star seller program - some people say this is completely useless but i actually disagree! it's incredibly easy to earn this badge, and it lets buyers know you've got some of the best products, shipping, and customer service around. it helps you stand out from some of the more... questionable shops on the website.

sales tax - they remit sales tax for you. i don't think any of the other online platforms similar to etsy do this but i could be wrong. doing any kind of taxes sucks so i consider it a perk if they do it for you.

website promotions - every now and again etsy likes to host sales out of their own pocket. you get all the perks of having a sale without eating into ur profit margin. HUGE sale booster

generally the site is just very easy to learn and use and it's very beginner and dumbass friendly. i say this as a former beginner and current dumbass 👍

Cons

❌ the fees. oogh the fees. they claim it's just a 6.5% fee per sale, but on top of that you have to pay .20c automatically for every individual item you sell, plus there are processing fees (3% + .25c) that apply both to the item you sold AND the cost of shipping. i think it comes out to like 10% total in fees on average @ > @

❌ but wait, there's more fees! if you make more than $10k in sales a year (very easy number to hit actually) you are forced to participate in offsite ads, which i believe takes 15% of your total sale on top of the fees in the previous point. these kinds of sales are not as common as you'd think, but it's still annoying having a couple bucks shaved off your profits a few times a month because of them.

corporate bullshit - etsy is like renting a space in a mall. you don't own your lot, nor the mall itself, so if upper management decides to make any stupid ass decisions, you just have to deal with it or pick up and move. if they decide to raise fees again, you just gotta Deal. you are a little bit helpless on this website unfortunately

the push for discounts - etsy is constantly shoving it in your face that they want you to do discounts. they want you to have free shipping on orders over $35, they want you to do 25% off or more on sales, they want you to have returning customer discounts and abandoned cart discounts and 'you recently favorited this item' discounts - but you already have to compete with the steep fees, and when a customer gets free shipping, you still owe USPS that $4-ish bucks to send the package. you don't have to do any of this, but they do reward participating shops by favoring them in the algorithm and search results, so you can feel like you're missing out.

there aren't as many cons imo but they Are steeper cons. generally etsy is very beginner friendly and easy to get into and set up, and in spite of everything i do actually recommend everyone looking to get into online retail start on etsy and perhaps move to other platforms in the future. plus, you can combat all the fees by just... making your prices a dollar or two higher than you initially wanted to, and using your 'save and share' link as frequently as possible. the fees are a little bit much, but you have to think about what you get in exchange:

the search is invaluable, you could argue the fees are partially a marketing budget lmao. if you have a private website you alone have to push traffic to your website, and not as many people know about things like shopify and bigcartel so they might not be as trusting putting their card details into it. i miss out on a lot of REALLY COOL STUFF because artists only advertise on instagram and i don't hear about them, meanwhile if i want some cool owl house stuff i can literally just search that in etsy and find a lot of TOH stuff super easily. i cannot highlight enough how GOOD the search function is, especially in this day and age where social media like instagram and twitter will blacklist your posts if you say words like 'shop' or 'sale' and now nobody can find your stuff in that website's search either. its very hard to do your own marketing now a days :(

being able to refund customer's lost orders out of the company's pocket is such a nice thing to fall back on if you have to and worth its weight in fees. USPS lost like... four or five packages of mine in december. that's like $100 or more worth of stuff that Etsy Covered Completely, and a lot of the times the customer will take that refund to make their order again. don't abuse this system, make sure you check with usps that the package is actually Gone, but it's a godsend when you don't make billions of dollars and eating the cost of lost orders would otherwise sting a bit.

if etsy did not make international shipping easy i simply would not ship anywhere but the US to be honest. shipping to europe is still a headache though but that's because europe is stupid

that's everything i can think of, but tl;dr yes please open an etsy 👍 i recommend it completely in spite of everything

⭐ if anyone wants to open their own etsy shop, use my referral link to make your first 40 listings for free! :)c ⭐

[sovonight]

hi sovo ;u; I hope it's okay if I ask you a shop question! So um, I'm lower on money than I've ever been and I'm too burnt out to do commissions for ppl due to personal stuff, but I feel like... if I made one charm or one sticker for a particularly huge fandom/movie that's out right now, and if I put it up as preorder and sold at least 20 keychains then I'd be able to pay my bills this month. but I've never sold physical merch before and I'm a little nervous to try it haha :'D

Would you recommend I try making an Etsy since it seems to have a large enough audience, or do you think I should try making my own website/shop? I'm definitely not ready to consistently sell things as a steady job yet, I thought I'd try literally just one single keychain or one sticker sheet (I already learned how to make those, thankfully) in order to pay my rent this month bc I've only got about a hundred dollars to my name sdflkfssdf;; and if it goes well then maybe I can try it again.

I'm also not quite sure how to price things? if I made a 3.5 inch acrylic charm with the little star shaped keychains like from Vograce, do people normally price those at $15 when they sell them? should I also account for shipping? I've also umm never shipped merch before and I'm so worried about somehow messing it up sldfjsf like I don't know what kind of envelopes I have to get or if I should even use my own address bc I'm so nervous about my personal info being out there, but I don't know if it's worth paying for a PO box if I'm so low on money already. if you have any tips on anything whatsoever, I would appreciate any feedback if you're not busy. But if you don't want to answer please don't worry about it ;u; anyway thank you so much for reading this I really appreciate you! ❤

no prob! here are my thoughts:

pros/cons of etsy:

apparently if you're new to selling on etsy, there's a probationary period where etsy withholds your profits for 3 months. i don't know anything about it personally since it started in 2020, but it seems that funds are only released when your shipped orders are scanned at the post office. i think i also remember hearing about other cases where payments aren't released at all for 3 months--and etsy customer service has a reputation of being difficult to get a hold of if you have a problem as a seller, so if etsy made a mistake with your shop, it may take even more months to resolve. since you have preorders in mind, i would hold off on etsy unless you can pay out of pocket.

etsy can drive traffic towards your listing for you (if you choose the right keywords--it's more difficult to be discovered just randomly if you don't).

they have high fees (for a $15 charm they'd take $1.88 in fees, which is 12.5%).

people may be cautious to buy from a shop that has no reviews yet, but many customers are protected by etsy's purchase protection and can be refunded at no cost to you if their order gets lost in the mail (provided that you ship with a tracking number and meet other criteria).

etsy will strongly recommend that you offer free shipping; ignore them. i don't think i've ever bought fanmerch with free shipping in my life, and their advice isn't geared towards sellers like us.

preorders don't work very well with etsy's system--iirc you're not supposed to do them (even though people still do, of course) but the main reason i remember is that the max processing time etsy lets you set per product (as in, the time between the customer purchasing the listing and you shipping it out) is 6 weeks. that means that the time you allow for customers to place their preorders, the time it takes for you to order and receive the merch, and the time it takes for you to ship out orders, all need to add up a max of 6 weeks, which was personally a difficult timeline for me to meet when making keychains. ofc, it's possible to extend the processing time, but going over the processing time may make it possible for customers to leave reviews/open cases early before you're even ready to ship out their orders, which could affect the reputation of your shop.

pros/cons of not etsy:

if you're not going with etsy, i've heard people recommend bigcartel, since it doesn't require a subscription like shopify or other places do. bigcartel's free plan is limited, but it should work for what you're looking for. another alternative might be ko-fi--i've heard that ko-fi shops aren't ideal for shipping out a large amount of orders, but since you're targeting just 20 i think it should be manageable.

ofc, you'll have to drive all your traffic yourself, so consider if you have enough of a following in your target fandom, or how you should go about getting your post noticed by your target fandom.

unlike etsy, shipping isn't auto-calculated, so i'd probably set a flat rate (in the US i'd expect $5). flat rates might make calculating your taxes just a little bit more complicated; in california at least, you have to pay taxes on the difference between the shipping you charge your customers and the shipping you actually pay to the post office, so iirc you either refund the extra shipping to the customer or hand it all over in taxes.

pricing:

yes, the standard price for ~3" acrylic keychains is $15, though i've also seen people go up to $16 or $17, especially on etsy where the fees are high.

shipping should be a separate cost, either auto-calculated for you (if you're on etsy/shopify) or a flat rate that you set based on shipping rates for your country, so in the end a customer might pay $15 + $5 = $20 in total.

unless most of your prospective customers are international, i'd recommend against shipping internationally to avoid dealing with customs forms, especially since you already have a lot of info to take in.

you can ship everything in a regular bubble mailer, though if you're just shipping stickers not keychains, a flat envelope should work fine. when shipping packages, you'll need to know the weight of each package, but you can just go by an estimate. a 3" acrylic keychain weighs about 1 oz (it weighs less than that, but they don't accept decimals) so i just multiply based on how many keychains are in an order. for usps at least, shipping is the same rate up until 10 oz iirc, so you don't need to weigh it super accurately. you could also always just go into the post office and have them weigh and label everything for you.

po box:

if regular PO box rates in your area are too high, you can also consider using a virtual po box; they go for about $10 per month at their most basic plans. if you're not expecting to get any mail redirected back to you, you should be able to just buy a month's subscription when you're ready to ship things out.

words of caution:

you probably already know this, but large fandoms can often be oversaturated by merch, so just choosing a large fandom might not be enough to guarantee a sale--you might have to stand out by, say, choosing a character who's in demand but doesn't have much fanmerch, having a funny meme concept, or having such a unique/attractive style that people can't help but want your fanmerch in particular. if you haven't already, i'd recommend looking around the market and seeing what's out there and decide why a buyer should choose your merch over anyone else's. though honestly, depending on your fandom, it could also not be this serious and not warrant much research--it all depends!

even if the preorder process works out and you get the funds to place the order, the manufacturer could always mess up on your order, which could lead to delays in your fulfillment and at worst, more expenses if you need to pay to get them remade. if it's easier to get sticker sheets made (like if you make them yourself/locally instead of ordering from overseas) they might be a safer choice of merch to make. ofc, i don't generally see sticker sheets up for preorder so you'd probably have to order them out of pocket and hope they sell, and you'll probably have to sell more of them than you would of keychains to get the same amount of profit. i don't know the whole situation, so i can't say anything definite about the risks/rewards between choosing to sell keychains and choosing to sell stickers.

[paisley-print]

10:00pm / Happy Birthday

About: It’s Jack’s Birthday and you planned something special. 

Warnings: Marriage problems, infidelity, alcohol.

Rating: 18+

Characters: Agent Whiskey x Reader

Note: You wanna see some real speed boy? (Months of not posting and two chapters in less then 24 hours. Whack.)

Series Master List

@scorpionerd  @just-here-for-the-moment@sherala007 @jediknight122 @pintsizemama​ @kenbechillin @elegantduckturtle @hearttbreak @tintinn16 @showbuckysomelove​ @somenerdyuser @kesskirata @ohyeasam @athalien @spideysimpossiblegirl @littlemisspascal @sheresh0y​  @voteforpedro09 @greeneyedblondie44 @feel-it-on-the-way-home13

“Hi Jack, it’s....” you glance over at the clock on the stove, checking the time. “It’s ten. I’m calling to see when you’ll be home. Okay, love you, bye.” You played the message back, cringing a little at the way your words slurred together, but sent it, anyway. 

You reached over to pour yourself another glass of wine. It was your third one, but you were already feeling the effects. He said he would be home at seven. If you knew he was going to work overtime tonight, you wouldn’t have spent all day rushing around. 

Your stomach hurt just thinking about the tray of lasagna and birthday cake you spent hours working on. Still though, you wanted to wait to eat until he got home. 

This year had to be better than the last. You doubted whether you could make it through another twelve months of silence. Plus, with the whole Ezra thing, you needed a grand gesture to show that you were willing to work on this. He cared for you; he had said it. He loved you. He would always love you, and although he looked through you as if peering at a specter, you believed him. You hadn’t been the best wife these last few months, so you felt as though you owed him this. 

Tonight was just for him, and everything had been prepared perfectly. His favorite movie on the TV, beers in the fridge, birthday gift all wrapped on the nightstand upstairs. Months ago, he mentioned a pair of cuff links his father used to wear while the two of you were combing through old photo albums you had found in the attic. They were square, with yellow gold trim and two crossed six-shooter pistols set into a background of black onyx. 

Jack’s father left when Jack was nine, and one of the few happy memories he had was the day his father brought home his first suit for Sunday mass. His father taught him how to make sure his shirt wasn’t creased, how to wear a necktie, comb his hair back with gel, and finally the importance of cuff links. 

While looking over the photograph, Jack had mentioned liking the style of the cuff links in passing, but you could see they held quite a bit of emotional value. After that, you had spent weeks tracking down the exact set. With the help of a Reddit board, a few antique shop owners and one generous seller on Etsy, you secured a pair identical to those in the photograph. 

Keeping the secret had been tough. You almost let it slip a few times, but you will yourself to go on a little longer. The surprise would be that much more meaningful if you gave it to him on his birthday…. if he ever planned to show up, that is. 

As you finished another glass, you stood from the table and walked into the guest bathroom to reapply your lipstick. A few hours ago, your makeup was perfect, but it was now looking smudged. You tried to fix it as best you could while the room around you spun.

You had one of his dress shirts, with thigh-high stockings and a new lilac set of lingerie you bought specifically for this occasion, and heels you took off about three hours ago. You felt so incredibly ugly looking at your reflection, and you weren’t sure why. A few hours ago you were on top of the world, now you were willing yourself not to cry. 

Once you were done touching up your lipstick, you grabbed another glass of wine and took a seat on the couch. It was then your phone buzzed, and a number you recognized popped up on the screen.

You picked it up, becoming aware of how fast your heart was beating in your chest. “Hello?”

“Little bird?” Ezra’s voice came floating over the receiver. “Forgive me for calling at this hour, but I was becoming worried about your lack of response to my messages. Noticed your car in town today on my way to work and I wanted to make sure you were alright.”

You felt guilt grip tightly at your chest. He had sent you a few texts since the night of the shooting. You couldn’t bring yourself to respond. This man was bad for you. It didn’t matter how much you liked him; you were a married woman trying to work on your relationship. Ezra knew that, he should respect you and understand why you weren’t jumping to text him back.

“I’m fine” your aid.

He paused, hearing the way you were slurring your words. “Little bird-”

“Stop fucking calling me that,” you snapped, anger rising out of you from nowhere. “I’m not your little bird, okay? I have a fucking name.”

Ezra seemed incredibly taken off guard “my apologies-”

“And I need you to stop texting me and calling me. Whatever the fuck you think we had, we didn’t. You were convenient, that’s all. I think it’s seriously creepy how you keep trying to hit on me when you know I’m married. Seriously, go find yourself a real fucking girlfriend and stop trying to ruin my marriage.”

The silence that followed was deafening, so you continued, “okay? Please get out of my life.”

“Understood,” he said simply. “Have a nice night.”

You hung up the phone and threw it onto the other side of the couch.

-

It was nearly 5:00am when Jack finally came through the door. The first thing he noticed was the half empty bottle of wine left open on the table, then you, asleep on the couch. He set down his satchel and locked the door behind him. Then he went around, shutting out the lights, then the tv. Once he was done, he sat next to you and rubbed your arm to wake you up. 

His patience was running thin. He had wished you up in bed by the time he got home, asleep, so he didn’t have to deal with any of this. “‘Y/n’ come on. Time to go to bed.”

You drew in a slow breath and blinked at him as you woke. You could still feel the effects of the alcohol burning bright. “What time is it?” you mumbled, sitting up. 

“Come on, I’m gonna pick you up. Ready?”

 You nodded and allowed him to stand you up and put you over his shoulder. You noticed how his shirt was untucked in the back.

Once in the bedroom, he laid you down on the bed. He moved towards the closet but took his hand and stood. He sighed in annoyance and moved his face away as you wrapped your arms around him. 

“Happy birthday,” you smiled, the heat from the alcohol making your face feel warm. 

“Not my birthday anymore,” he said, trying to gently pull away from you.

Some part of you knew you were making a fool out of yourself. “I got a gift for you-”

He shook his head. “You’re disgusting.”

The words stung. You let go, your eyes widening, like you were about to cry. Then you realized what he thought you meant by gift. He knew you were too drunk to sleep with, so implying that he would have offended him.

 You laughed, trying to smooth over the awkwardness. “No, not like that. I’m sorry about - I. I drank when I was cooking because I thought you would be home earlier.” You noticed a smudge of pink on the inside of his collar. Then you noticed he wasn’t wearing a tie either. You lifted your hand, intending to touch it “What’s-”

 He jerked back, then turned, going into the bathroom and slamming the door shut behind him. You jumped at the sound and the way it made the photos hung on the wall rattle. You weren’t exactly sure what you did or saw to deserve a response like that. 

When you heard the shower turn on, you figured you would get ready for bed yourself, but before you did, you withdrew the gift from the nightstand and placed it on his side of the bed. After that, you made your way to the guest bathroom to take off your makeup, then back downstairs to heat up some food. Nausea was already beginning to set in. You needed something in your stomach. While you were down there, you made a point to pack some leftovers in Tupperware containers that he could grab on his way out the door in the morning.

-

You slept in the guest room that night, figuring it was best to allow him space. He left before you woke, but you could have sworn you felt the mattress dip sometime in the morning and a soft touch come up to smooth down your hair. It could have very well been a dream though. The hangover was a bad one, and it was times like this you realize your age was catching up with you more quickly then you would like to acknowledge. Your plan for the rest of the day was to clean, mostly because you didn’t know what else to do and if you sat mulling over the events of last night it would just make you sad. 

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 4/12/22

limping, hobbling, stumbling blearily into spring. two screencaps from killing eve in the watching section, so if you want to go into that show completely blind don’t read this post.

listening Macross 82-99′s Grandlife, Highlife (w-Rollergirl) off the album A Million Miles Away. this album on loop and this song in particular got me through a particularly bleak workday on uhhhh thursday

i do love a nice chunky background bass. this is video game music adjacent, future funk maybe? very jet set radio, very space channel 5. it’s a groovy little instrumental track that’s not technically dance music but you can bop along to.

how did i find this: i think if you’re just Around on the internet you’ve probably heard [ 82.99 F.M ] , which i could have sworn was a previous tuesdaysong, maybe from that weird unarchived period in 2019 when i was still figuring out what these posts were and didn’t have a running spotify playlist. much to consider

reading fallow week, so here are three articles i’m thinking about

interview? article about? a franciscan monk who is the ethical advisor to the pope about artificial intelligence

can you bury your gay darlings?

solidarity to all striking etsy sellers

watching not to be an old lady but i am fucking Despondent about how my two bbc shows of choice (killing eve and peaky blinders) have ended.

for peaky blinders,

jnf nysvr shpxvat gurer ng nyy be jnf vg n unyyhpvangvba??? v pnaabg shpxvat ORYVRIR gung NYSVR jnf gur crefba gbzzl tbg pybfrfg gb gryyvat nobhg gur oenva ghzbe gung jnfa'g n oenva ghzbe??? NYFB URL! FUBJ! LBH ARRQRQ GB QEBC GUNG VASB GUNG ZNLOR GUR QBP JNF N SNFPVFG FYVTUGYL ORSBER *GUR YNFG SVIR ZVAHGRF BS GUR YNFG RCVFBQR*!!!! guvf qvq abg srry rnearq naq znqr zr srry natel naq orjvyqrerq zbfgyl. jung n jnl gb shpxvat fghzoyr naq gevc bire lbhe raqvat ng gur ynfg cbffvoyr frpbaq.

for killing eve, i’m just. well. that was a television show. this bit was darling tho

playing okay so you know how some people (not me) meal prep? i have realized that knowing ahead of time what i want to eat for lunch is helpful, bc most of my job right now is deciding where different bits of information go. and the decision fatigue is at like eleven by the time lunch rolls around.

just as i have to literally write “walkies” on my to-do list, i have realized i literally need to prep funtimes to decompress from work. this week, this has looked like finally installing itch.io on the work pc and going through the six gigantic bundles i bought for various charitable reasons, filing things into various folders to play later.

“but kay, isn’t that exactly your day job?”

no. it’s different here. shut up.

anyway that’s how i rediscovered depanneur nocturne (which i also apparently bought on steam at some point?), which i pitched to @andmaybegayer​ as: a tiny cozy game about exploring a magic shop/convenience store to find a gift for your partner who is a deer.

the vibes in this one are Just Nice! a very nice little game that made me quite happy and content for the rest of the evening. the poster work on the walls was absolutely fucking baller, and your partner who is a deer and the shopkeep who is a salamander witch are delightful. not saccharine sweet like some cozy games are, where they’re quite smug about ~*being wholesome*~ and ~*self care*~. this was like a slice of life episode from an anime you half remember and will never find again.

i took screenshots but don’t want to get up and get them off my work computer so here’s one lifted from the itch.io page. not a hundred percent on the game discovery here but i know it wasn’t through work, may have just been me fucking around on steam on my own time

making wrote a double drabble about *checks notes* the two ladies from 1952′s High Noon, bc i think they should have hit da bricks and they Literally get on the same train, this shit writes itself. i have been wailing about this for several days but Why is this is first actual fic for this movie it is SUCH low hanging fruit

also people really liked this post about how i acquired a cool new lamp

also also people yelled at me a lot for this modern noir snippet. you know how sunset boulevard was the rot hidden under the sundrenched decadence of los angeles? what if a modern noir was the rot under influencer culture

[tierannical]

~Chemo Supplies List~

Hey friends! So for anyone who doesn’t know, I’ve been on chemo for my HLH for the past few months. My specific chemo is called Etoposide. With starting it, I suddenly realized I knew like, nothing about chemo - and I needed supplies. I don’t know everything, and you may have different needs - and this is mostly through American Amazon, so sorry - but hopefully you have comparable things! I hope this eases minds of any other people who are going into this experience completely unprepared like I did. Google was my best friend, but I think Tumblr should have more of this good stuff too!

~~~The list is fairly long, so click below to enjoy! Feel free to send me additions if you’d like to see them neatly added.~~~

Medical/General Supplies

These are only the ones I feel are necessary. Everyone has different daily needs. However, this is my list and product suggestions or just links for the general ones to the most important things to have around. I always keep the sunscreens, wipes, and a hand sanitizer in my bag - the others are great to have around!

Alcohol free toothpaste & mouth wash. Chemo mouths are prone to problems like thrush and infections. Make sure it has flouride still!

Soft-bristle toothbrushes, large pack. Obsessed with the linked ones. Your mouth is sensitive, and also, it’s smart to throw your current one away after each chemo session to keep bacteria down.

Sunscreen for face/head, lips, and body. Chemo increases light sensitivity - I normally don’t burn, but I’ve gotten red tinged. Plus, it’s healthy!

Clorox wipes. You’ll want to just wipe things?? Plus, I wipe toilet seats other people will use for my two days following chemo because urine, blood, and stool can contain amounts of the chemo in this period.

Hand sanitizer. I like the linked one for portable!

Hand wipes. For when things are actually dirty. I also use portable. Can also use flushable cleansing wipes if easier - see GI Issues for links.

Moisturizing skin products. Skin dries out. Also, Aquaphor is great after cleaning cuts and scrapes as a protectant.

Medical face masks. When your white blood cell count goes down, it’s good to have your own supply. I have a bunch of paper ones and one suuuper kitschy cloth one - though I highly doubt the cloth one is medically approved. I wear it when I’ll be around children mostly. Wear masks indoors in crowded places. I avoid too crowded altogether like movie theaters and family restaurants unless I’m very secure in the place.

GI Issues

Not everyone has GI issues of course, but I did. I have ulcerative colitis so I’m used to everything coming out, but I got really bad constipation. It’s settled down in the past 2 1/2 weeks, but I think that’s just my UC acting up. Damn.

Flushable wipes. I did the full thing - containers, refills, and travel packs (which are great and can replace hand wipes. I’ll always carry them from now on). You can choose whatever brand, my sister just picked these. My dad got these for me at his house, which is cute.

Miralax. I’d actually suggest you talk to your doctor and just have some on hand. It isn’t bad for daily use, and it’s better than letting it keep getting bad and then needing to take a stronger laxative. Track your constipated days, mine were only days 2-4 of my chemo cycle, so I only took Miralax on days 1-3, and now I just take half doses sometimes.

Benefiber. I personally have not taken it because I suck - but I should. 

Soft toilet paper. Whatever brand you like. Spend a bit extra. 

Prep H cream and wipes. If you’re constipated, use the cream at the first signs of pushing.

Hair Loss

Okay not everyone loses hair. But most people seem to. I cut mine short personally because it definitely hurts when long, and just watching the loooong strands fall out and having to pull them out - making hair balls in my hands, always needing a trashcan nearby to throw out all the strands - was putting my anxiety through the roof. I also though started chemo while unconscious, so I had no time to process it. I woke up and by the time I could move my arms around freely, the hair was falling out. That doesn’t make it any harder or easier, but being prepared and having a game-plan does! Mine was to pixie it when the hairline got bad to hide the hairline and buzz or shave it when i get spots that people who don’t know would notice. Which is coming up soon. I’ll cry, but I’ll get through it. As will you. Hair grows back, you grow back, the chemo is doing the best it can.

Dandruff shampoo or body wash. My scalp got dry pretty fast, and it gets more dry now that the hair is short and thin.

Gentle shampoo and conditioner. Your hair will be fragile, so try to use soft products on it. I try to stick to naturals(ish) with nothing like keratin treatments, argan oil, or other things meant to change the state of your hair. Also, really limit conditioner, especially near the scalp.

A super soft hat or beanie. My head and ears get so cold some nights! Plus, it saves my pillow from shedding. I just have a nice beanie because I wear it a lot, but you can get chemo-specific hats, bonnets, or even these things. You do you.

Hat liner. I don’t use one, but some people do so hats, wraps, and wigs don’t hurt their scalp.

Head wraps. If you can go to stores, go to stores and get some long scarves. Find Youtube tutorials on how to tie them - or buy those bitches pre-tied off of Etsy. Etsy by far has the best selection. Head wraps is the best search phrase for all styles, but head scarves or chemo caps or turbans etc all also work. Remember the cultural aspects revolving around head wraps - but also wear yours with pride, and don’t let anyone make you feel shitty for trying to look and feel good about yourself.

One nice wig. This is all your choice, but I got one. I want on and off days, but other people are fine with it. Or want a bunch. Either way. If you can get one covered by insurance, go ahead. If not, wigs can be pricey - but many good ones are about the price of a good cut and color. I have a bunch of wigs on my Pinterest. Mine are all super similar, but the sellers are the important place to look! Click through the links and check the other ones out there. Mine is from Haute Hair 123 - they were phenomenal to me and gave me expedited shipping as well as a cap better for a bald head.

Picc Line

I have a chest port now which I think is much better (though kinda freaky at first), but I did have a Picc line at home for a few weeks. First of all, arrange your home care asap. You’re going to learn how to flush it with saline and heparin on your own. It never worked out for me, but I fortunately stayed clean with only 2-3 flushes a week. A medical professional normally changes the dressing once a week. Keep it dry and safe.

Shower protector. I bought the reusable one because it evens out financially if you have it for awhile, but there are many quantities and types of disposable ones. Remember to NOT check under to see if it’s working. Also, check sizing.

Picc line covers. I bought a really nice one online - and it didn’t fit, so I returned it. I mostly used these thigh high old socks I had - I cut two little tubes from the very top where it was super thick. Socks might take wearing down to not fold up during the day. Just wash them regularly. Try turning them inside out if they keep curling. You can also make your own if you’re crafty. Check Etsy again if you’re looking for cuter designs.

Extras

These items aren’t necessary per say, but I’m glad I bought them. It’s mostly the comfort category I guess. 

Eye mask. For when you’re taking day naps or having long infusions. I also sometimes just pull my beanie down over my eyes.

Fuzzy socks. You’ll want them during chemo, around the house, etc. Shoes are kinda redundant when you’re sitting so much of the time.

Solid slippers. I suggest having a pair that’s hard-soled so you can wear them out. I also have house slippers, but having both is good.

New lounge wear. Sweats, matching sets, and cami bras have become such a staple in my wardrobe - stock up on comfy things for infusions and lounge days. No point in getting super dressy to sit.

Good blanket. I didn’t have my own personal blanket, and my body temperature is all over the place all the time - so now I just have mine that no one else uses so it’s just my grossness and my cuddle toy.

Angled pillows. If you end up bedridden for awhile, it’s best to be above 30 degrees when laying down so you don’t get too much mucus and grossness going.

Electric razor. My skin is sensitive, chemo makes it more-so. Electric razors work just fine. I currently just use this cheap one, and it keeps me clean.

Filtered water bottle. I don’t trust water from like, anywhere when my WBC is low. Britas or whatever you like best can bring some peace of mind.

Protein drinks. I do dark chocolate Ensure Plus, but people like different things. Some days are tiring. Have something you don’t need to cook just in case.

OKAY that’s it for now! Once again, feel free to message with additions, which I will add on if I believe they are relevant to the chemo experience! I just want to be able to help people going in blind. I know it’s rough and the symptoms are random, but having good supplies makes it way easier.

[splitshotpod]

Learning to create.

Before I became a coffee professional, I was a writer. I worked with two or three local publications in Indiana after college, and eventually got asked to do editing work. 

RIP Cultureweek, my first writing and editing gig out of college.

Editing was a place where I really found my slipstream, helping writers develop their initial ideas for stories, strategizing with them pre-subject interview and reviewing their submitted drafts, to make sure their stories "breathed." I'll admit, my favorite part came at the end, copyediting, in which I figuratively knelt in front of the story, which was all ready to leave for the big wide world of publication, making sure it was bundled up properly and had everything it needed, before sending it off.

I unexpectedly got really into podcasts during a hard bout of anxiety a few years ago. Suddenly, I just didn't want to process the world around me, or anything within me. Downloading and listening to podcasts like Stuff You Should Know, I could suddenly muster getting in bed, getting into a shower, or driving to work, without panic and malaise. 

You should know: these guys I never met really helped me stay sane.

Months passed, and so did the anxiety, but suddenly I felt invested in these people, or these voices, really, and wanted to keep listening, and seeking out more great storytellers at NPR, Gimlet, WNYC, Radiotopia, Headgum and Panoply.

 I'm still listening and learning and laughing with the voices that walked with me through a really hard time, and I can enjoy them all the more now.

When I decided to start a podcast of my own, I came into it knowing what I liked to listen to, but I was unsure of why I liked a certain type of sound so much. In brainstorming a side project with Cait Lowry for 2 Caffeinated Chicks, we came up with concepts and recorded our first episode, and after that, a clear comparison jumped into my mind. If we just published the discussion, back and forth, it would be like a news or talk show segment, maybe with an interview of another coffee person. 

I think that can be done really well, and is done well by many of my peers in coffee,  but that wasn't how I'd describe my favorite audio. My favorite audio had a narrator, and then audio of the person or thing they were talking about. My favorite audio...

Was just like the articles I had written and edited, way back in my life before coffee.

Suddenly, I felt so much more motivated to create a podcast. The format I most gravitated toward was what I later found out is called Narrative Podcasting, and just my luck, is one of the hardest types of podcasts to edit so it sounds great. 

Maybe the Grand Masters of narrative podcasting; incredibly inspiring and intimidating.

I approached raw audio for Splitshot episode 1 just like I would for an article: sketched out the skeleton of the story I wanted to tell, marking down key quotes from the interview I wanted to include, leaving out the rest. Revising the skeleton, which now had some muscle through soundbites from the interview. Contextualizing quotes from the source with my writing, which would become narration. In effect, one part of editing this episode looked a LOT like an article that I could publish!

I had an episode that looked good on paper. Now I just had to put my money where my mouth was, and translate the words into sound.

Help. Help. 

Maybe it's because of the term sound ENGINEERING, but staring down a blank Audacity project was one of the most daunting things I've done in recent memory. There was definitely a point where I sort of cringed, and admitted to myself, I'll never get it sounding as good as I want to, there's a reason why people make full-time jobs out of this, and spend years in the industry making these stories; what makes me think...

At this  point, a little referee in my head blew the whistle  (thanks 5+ years of therapy!) and shut that negging down. Then, that imaginary ref pointed to the subject of the podcast I was trying to mix. Cait Lowry. My partner in 2CC, who, you know, started a coffee shop by herself. As you'll hear in episode 1 of splitshot, Cait is amazingly hands-on and handy, and took on a lot of building her own shops herself.In the face of that kind of grit, was I was going to give up?

Nope. It was time to grab a stack of scrap paper, a pencil and settle in for about 40 youtube videos explaining the ins and outs of Audacity. God bless the makers with generous spirits. This became all of my spare time.

The totally photogenic, ladylike sisters.

Speaking of makers: I really admire makers in my life like Cait, and Jeri, my little sister. Jeri lives in Richmond and isn't in the coffee industry, but is amazing at crafts...I'm not talking homespun/gluegun-looking crafts, but the stuff you drool over on Etsy's front page. One time I went with her to a crafting expo in Richmond, and watched her pace through booths, networking with sellers and asking them technical questions that went way over my head, like, about different models of embroidery machines. She could pick up almost anything in that huge warehouse room and explain how the crafter had put it together, and how she could recreate it. I'm continually stunned by her.

I was laying in bed one recent morning, scrolling through the newly uploaded podcasts in my feed (a daily ritual). I started listening to one- I don't remember which one, but probably something like Freakanomics or Planet Money or one of the excellent Gimlet podcasts. And suddenly, I wasn't just listening to the story.

 I was seeing it. 

In tracks, like it was all laid out on the Audacity software I had been using my first episode. I remembered my sister at the craft expo and thought to myself, okay. I must be on my way to becoming a maker.

[thesecretowl]

How I Made Over $30,000 Selling Printables on Etsy

I have a story for you and it is not about how I suddenly woke up, decided I wanted to make a bunch of money on Etsy selling printables and became an overnight success. This is a story of how I sloowwwwlllllyyyyyy came to the realization that success on Etsy as a "Printables girl" was POSSIBLE for me. Once I got to THAT point, then yes, things took off from there. But, let's start at the beginning...

In December of 2013, I opened my Etsy store and listed my first printable - a simple weekly planner that I still use and sell to this day. I had been patching together my own printables and sharing them with friends and on this blog for some time, and I had finally mustered up the gumption to try to start selling them.

That first month, I made $3. My friend Carrie bought the printable. I remember being so excited by the sale.

However, because I did not have any clear goals for my store and definitely didn't treat it like a business, it did not make a lot of money. I was okay with that at the time because I had a lot of other things going on. I had just closed down a coffee shop business and was launching a cleaning and babysitting business. That kept me busy during the day and then at night, I'd work on my graphic design business serving clients and tinkering with this blog.

Every once in a while I'd add a new printable to my store - just single page downloads that I actually hobbled together with Picmonkey. Creating printables in Picmonkey was painstakingly slow work since it's really supposed to be used for graphic editing and creation, but at the time, Picmonkey was the only program I knew. *Fun fact, I'm a self-taught graphic designer and all I use is Picmonkey! 

(Picture: A printable a put together in Picmonkey. Now, I would use Google Docs or Apple Pages to create the same type of layout much more quickly.)

The printables I was adding to my store at that time were very inexpensive - I charged $3 at most. Throughout the month, I'd make a sale here and there. My phone had the Etsy Seller app downloaded onto it and the app would notify me of a sale by making an AMAZING "cha-ching!!" sound. I loved it even though I only made enough to pay for my fancy lattes here and there.

A year passed. 2014 was drawing to a close and I had made a whopping total of...$186.00 Then, in December of 2014, I decided to put together something that was a little more exciting than a single page printable. I created what I called the "Plan, Do, Review" kit. It was super simple but useful, and yes - assembled painstakingly with Picmonkey. (Pssst! I no longer sell that kit in my Etsy store, but you can get it here for free with this secret link ;) >> Click HERE for the Plan, Do, Review kit.)

(Pic: A snapshot of some of the pages in my Plan, Do, Review kit that helped me start earning somewhat bigger bucks. :)

I priced the Plan, Do, Review kit at $10 - much more than any printable price I had listed before. This was a significant baby step because I was learning that a comprehensive collection of printables was something that I could not only charge MORE for, but it was also something that would SELL BETTER. As that kit started to sell more than any of my other "cheap" printables, I realized that people were a lot more excited to buy my $10 product than they were to buy my $2 or $3 products. Somehow I thought that my cheaper stuff would sell faster. I was wrong and in December 2014, because of that $10 kit, I made $254.50 in sales in that one month, which was so exciting for me since I had only made $186.00 the previous 12 months combined!

Haha. Trust me. I was no overnight success.

So my eyes were a little bit more open from this experience as I entered into 2015. At this point, I was transitioning out of my cleaning and babysitting business and starting to work full time as a graphic designer. My Picmonkey skills were becoming legit! LOL 

My Plan, Do, Review kit continued to sell, but I had another collection of useful templates bubbling in my mind. Before I had even ever started this blog, I had been using a system called the Ultimate Life Binder as a way to keep track of my life. It was my central hub for setting goals, measuring my progress, and generally just being aware of where I was, where I was going, and what I was working on a day to day basis. It was comprised of life-management printables that I had printed out from my findings on the web and some that I had created myself to suit me even more personally. 

(Pic: My Life Binder back in the day before I turned the system into a printable kit that people could buy.)

Here and there I shared my Life Binder process on this blog. It truly was the cornerstone of how I was taking 100% responsibility for my life - a life philosophy that this blog is all about. My audience showed a lot of interest in it and I had friends constantly asking me to help them put together their own Life Binders. However, as with anything that we're really good at, I didn't consider turning it into something that other people could buy and use because, well, "it's so easy, anybody can make their own." Hahaha. *Business tip: If you ever find yourself saying that about something that you're good at, please turn it into a product. It could make you a millionaire and make a lot of people's lives better.

The real kick in the backside came as I approached the middle of the year. I was getting closer and closer to the Fall season - a time when I knew that I had two big trips coming up - one to Europe and one to the States. I'm a traveling girl. I get on the plane at least once a year. However, this time, I was ready to write a slightly different story for myself. I was ready to feel differently about myself. I had a picture in my mind and in it, I was sitting in a cafe in Paris drinking a latte and feeling successful, feeling at peace because I had a business that was making money even while I was on vacation.

I wanted to be that girl. Even though I had achieved my first dream at that point where I was able to make all my money online as a virtual assistant basically, I was still trading hours for dollars. I knew that my finances would take a hit as a result of taking a vacation. I did NOT want to feel like my money was running out while I was traveling. I did NOT want to come home broke.

I wanted to experience what it felt like to be skipping around Europe with a business that had money coming IN on its own. I wanted to come home financially BETTER than I was when I left!

I knew the answer was passive income. Fortunately, I also knew I had in my hands the power to create it. Up to that point, May 2015, my Etsy store had been open for 18 months and I had almost reached $1000 in sales. It was time to take the next step.

I started working on turning my Life Binder system into a digital product that other people could buy. I graduated from creating printables in Picmonkey to creating them in Google Docs and that is the program I used to create the whole thing. Google Docs! Not fancy Adobe InDesign or Illustrator. Google Docs.

(Pic: A snapshot of designing the Ultimate Life Binder in Google Docs)

And so, in June 2015, I released my Life Binder product to the world - meaning I listed it on Etsy and told my email list about it. Then...my phone started "cha-chinging" more than it ever had before! By the end of the month, I had reached $1000 in sales! That blew my mind. I had made more in one month with one product than I had in the last 18 months! 

At the end of that month, I was at a turning point again. I had made $1000 in passive income, yes, but I knew it was mostly due to marketing to my list. How was I going to continue to make that amount in sales? I knew I couldn't keep marketing the same product to my same list month after month. At that moment, I was at a fork in the road where I almost went down the path of "Oh, maybe I'll create something new and sell that next." Luckily, I remembered a piece of advice that prevented me from doing that. I remembered Denise Duffield-Thomas (the Get Rich Lucky Bit#h lady) talking about how women have a tendency to keep creating something new over and over instead of sticking to one core, amazing product and finding endless ways of selling the SAME thing.

In that moment, I realized that if I really believed that I had created something amazing, something that I knew would help people, then I had to stick to it. I knew that there was probably a million more people out there who would LOVE my Life Binder as much as the 50+ people who had bought it in the last 30 days, but it was MY job to make sure they knew about it.

(Pic: The original Ultimate Life Binder. I've since created a new edition every year, but I still sell the original in my Etsy store. :)

This is where Pinterest came in. I decided that I was going to use Pinterest as my marketing platform. I wasn't going to spread myself thin across multiple social media arenas. I was going to focus on one, and I knew that Pinterest was the right one for me because it was where I went when I was hungry for printables, so I was familiar with how I could leverage it for my own. Also, Pinterest has this magic fairy dust that is great for businesses - it puts its users in a take-action/shopping frame of mind. When people are on Pinterest, they are typically there because they want to improve some aspect of their life. They are looking for solutions, which often results in a purchase. 

I took off my "printable-creator" hat and put on my "printable-marketing" hat. :) What I found was that marketing demanded as much creativity as actually creating a product, especially when you're marketing on Pinterest. My whole strategy was VERY simple and EXTREMELY effective - I set a goal to create at least one tall graphic every day presenting my Life Binder product. You might be wondering how I was able to keep coming up with ideas. Well, one cool idea I had was to take each page of the Life Binder and create a whole pinnable graphic around that one page. That alone gave me 27 pins to create. 

Some days, when I felt too lazy to create a new graphic, I would just re-pin old ones, which is actually a solid strategy too as doing so will boost exposer.

I stayed consistent at this and eventually I created a pin that went viral. You can see it HERE, if you'd like.

(Pic: a screenshot of my Etsy shop as it is now.)

What were my results from all this pinning? My sales stayed consistent. I continued to make $1000 a month. Then after a couple of months as my pins started to get re-pinned more and more, taking on a life and momentum of their own, I stopped creating new pins for the product and the number of sales kept growing. 

November came along (5 months after I had launched the Life Binder) and I was packing my bags for Europe. The "cha-ching" sound from the Etsy app on my phone was a part of my daily life now...and life was good. As a single lady with not a lot of expenses, making even $1000 a month in passive income was a game changer. I was able to make better decisions in my business because I was not longer stressed out by money. In fact, I was working less and less, but making more and more.

Whilst traveling for two whole months, my store went from $1000 a month to $2000 a month. Then in January of 2016, it passed $4000 in sales in a single month! This was all 99% due to a single product - my Ultimate Life Binder. 

Since then, my Etsy store continues to generate $2000 a month on average for me and I continue to foucs on my Ultimate Life Binder. My misssion is still to help a million woman with this system I've crafted to help people take 100% responsibility for their life.

And guess what? My dream totally came true. I found myself in Paris, sipping a latte, with a business that kept making money even though I wasn't working and I totally returned home wealthier than I was when I had left. 

So the moral of the story is that success takes time and it's all in your head. In my first 18 months on Etsy, I made less than $1000. In my second 18 months on Etsy, I made $30,000. What changed? I did. Now, looking back over this whole experience, I've taken inventory of the mindset shifts, the skills, the resources, and the knowledge that has helped me get to this point and I've created an online, self-paced course called Passive Income with Printables. It contains everything I would have LOVED to know when I started.

So if you have any interest in creating printables, whether you want to use them to enrich your own life, share with your audience, or make passive income, check out my course. I think you'll like it. :)

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