Raige Creations

It's been a while. I keep wanting to get a Music Monday done. I keep picking songs, even have a Two for Tuesday picked. But when it came to writing, I was at a loss. Nothing to give. Yes, I have written about having nothing to write about. A f ew times , and then some more . It is every writers problem, at one time or another. So I will save those songs when I feel the reason I picked them in the first place. But this song I heard, and I just felt like writing. I was avoiding the Debate last Wednesday, actually. Hubby wanted to 'witness history' or something like that. Me? Nope. I honestly have such a strong dislike for Trump, that listening to him at all gets me in such an annoyed and angry state it takes me a long time to recover from. I haven't uttered much about the election or the candidates for this reason. It is best for me to just put headphones on and listen to some good music and stay in my happy place. Anyway, to drown out the blathering on TV, I put ...

I have today off. Well, I don't have to go into the shop today, so I am 'off work' today, even tho I have already checked work email, have a stack of expenses I am determined to enter into the system, and have to do much paperwork and emails. I do not have to go into the shop today! So I just put on a tee I would never wear to work, some jeans that no doubt need washing. No shower, no primping. Strangely, I am very excited to be going to the grocery store with my youngest dirty, possible smelly, and just think about normal, not work stuff! I mentioned to hubby, "Not showering, just putting on this black tee, dirty jeans, and going to the store this way! How you like me now??" Boom this song is firmly in my head. I like me now. I like me roughin' it. We gonna do some chores too. And get even dirtier.  Why, you ask, am I so excited about this? Because this is the first of 3 days in a row I don't have to go into the shop, and I am more than happy to...

As I mentioned on Monday , my last few months have been filled with feelings of going back and forth with ideas, running 'Hot N Cold' so to speak. One of the few constants I have tried to maintain is running, or at least mixing runs with walking. I even found motivation and groups online to help me through the mornings where it was so hard to get out there and do anything. I tried to share, for me and others, because if it helped me I knew it may help someone else. That's me in the middle there in the green shirt - asking "Why is there always a hill at the finish?" I ran the Shamrock Run back in March, which actually was a very hard race. I felt much more prepared for this race, and was determined to run the entire thing with no walking. Well, I did it, no walking, ran the whole thing, but my time was worse than the Jingle Bell Run, plus I felt worse after the race! My lungs ached, my head ached, and I felt it took me longer to recover from this race.  J...

It's been one of those days..... Actually, 'one-of-those-days' has dragged out for months for me now..... But it all hit me yesterday, when I stood in the closet looking at my clothes and could not decide what to wear! I pulled out dresses, then couldn't find a slip, pulled out dresses that didn't need a slip, but they needed ironing, pulled out dress pants, but was SO not in the mood for pin stripes, and then, I had a meltdown. All the while, my husband having his coffee, frustrating me even more trying to get me into things that just were not comfortable, that I just was not in the mood to wear. All the while he is perplexed as to why I just can't put on one thing and wear it! "See?" ,  he says putting on a tee shirt with holes in it and jeans with bigger holes. "It's easy!" Of course he didn't have to go and open a shop and try to sell things...so of course he didn't have to look nice, professional, and put together. I DI...

A great blog prompt for NaBloWriMo .  The prompt was for yesterday , and as usual, I am a day late and a dollar short. So I decided to do this today.  And then I realize today is my anniversary too! Not that we forget usually, but for the last several years hubby and I have decided to just enjoy each other, not worry about extravagant gifts and grand gestures. (we have been broke for several years now too, so we truly embrace this) And fittingly, the reason I blog has much to do with my hubby. Though to go back to why I blog stems from why I started Raige Creations, and thus we could be talking about this all day because it is really a long story, if you want the full story.  But I won't bore you with that. The short story is I started Raige Creations when I decided to drop out of the corporate world and put my business background to use in MY OWN business. I have never regretted that decision, even if it does mean we live much more frugally because of ...

I was just sitting here minding my own business, wasting time on the computer. An all to normal things these days..... Hubby was yapping about all the sales this weekend, being Labor Day Weekend.  Going on about how chainsaws were on sale. And dirt.  Well, we need dirt for all these little guys we are growing to sell to people who like hummingbirds.  Trumpet Creepers... hummingbirds love them Trumpet Creepers got lots who wants one? But a chainsaw? Great, what does he want to chop now? Men. So my mind keeps going on sales, and I say, " Should Raige have a Labor Day Weekend Sale? " He said " SURE! 20% off! "  I say, well, sounds good. So begin typing up the FB notice and he says, " make that good for custom orders too and maybe you will get some! "  Has he gone nuts? Probably.   Me? I guess I did too because... To celebrate anyone who works HARD, you deserve a great LABOR DAY SALE!  Hopefully, 20% off EVERYTHING at Rai...

Do you need ideas for how to celebrate your businesses accomplishments? House Mouse Confetti Birthday Handmade Card by Mama Dini's Stamperia on Etsy Do you want to know how different marketing strategies work? Do you want to hear how others are successful in their online ventures? Answered yes to any of these? Too many questions? Ok, enough. Go to IndieSmiles.com and see Part 2 of Celebrating One Year . Five online sellers continue to talk about reaching this milestone and offer some creative ideas and advice to others. What have you learned so far in your business? Any advice to share? Thanks and Congrats again to The Pine Cone Tea Cup , Aedan Seppe , The Scrapoholic , POP Embroidery , and Grandmother's House .

In preparing for my article, Celebrating One Year  on IndieSmiles.com , I had the opportunity to interview 5 hardworking online shop owners. One of these is Evi, from AedenSeppe  on Etsy. She is originally from Belgium, now living in the US,happily a WAHM (work at home mom). Robo Wall Art Her shop is filled with an ecletic mix of whimsical items made with a lovingly tender heart. You can see her inspiration must be her son, while she watches him grow up, and the craziness that goes with it. Her journey through her first year and plans for the next are here, mixed in with great tips and humor. What would you say is the most important thing you have done to get you to your first anniversary as an online seller? " First of all, DON'T STOP . It may sound simple, but often times you can get discouraged. Feeling like a tiny insignificant fish in a humonguous pond. Often times you start a shop, because you love to craft and somebody in your life said 'hey, you should try ...

I was lucky enough to interview 5 great online sellers for my article, Celebrating ONE Year! , that were also proud, like me, to make it through their first year of business.  Heather, from The Pine Cone Tea Cup , is one of the hardworking sellers that was kind enough to share a some of her secrets to success. Here is what she said. "I'm still shocked that a year has come up on me this fast. Seems like yesterday, and really, my shop has changed COMPLETELY since I opened it. It started out as a childrens clothing shop. Embroidered LOVE Pillow I think the biggest thing that has gotten me through this year, is that I haven't given up! It's hard when sales are slow, like they are now, but I just try to keep creating and trying different things to see what works! I really just make what I like, that way if I don't sell it, it will always have a home. I'm celebrating this year by giving away a free gift with every purchase!! As far as marketing, I'm sti...

Sometimes, good things come out of amazing frustrations.  Such was the case for me and my recent computer frustrations. I wrote my first IndieSmiles article for the new year, and made one resolution that we all should keep. I also made a great collection on Artfire.com , and yes, did get my computer up and running again. Please visit IndieSmiles.com and read the One Resolution to Keep , see some wonderful items, and vow to keep this resoltion yourselves. Or else you may end up making some wonderful items out of your computer pieces yourself.  You won't be sorry. Also, take advantage of the knowledgable columnists at IndieSmiles.com and Ask the Indie Experts . This group can answer your questions, help you with what you feel hasn't worked in you shop, help you with your packaging questions, shop set up, banner, or maybe help with that difficult customer issue.  If you are new to online selling, or even if you have been doing it a long time ...