Happy Holidays

It's been a while since we've been together and nearing the end of the year, I feel it's time to share some thoughts with you.

I've spent the last month picking items from ETSY adding them to my blog's favorites as gift suggestions, I've even purchased a few myself. I hoped you dropped by and enjoyed the suggestions and found something from my list to purchase for your friends and family.

During the month like most I've been busy preparing for the holidays and the upcoming year, looking forward to both, joy for the new and sentimentality for the past. There is always so much we wish we could have accomplished this past year and so much more we want to accomplish this coming year. Rest easy my friends, there is always time. Remember there is a time to work, a time to play, a time to pray.

For the upcoming year I would like for us all to be happy even during trying times. Be healthy, take care of yourselves, if you're no good to you then you're no good for anyone else. Be giving, at all times, if only a smile to a stranger, it all comes back. Play and laugh often, it's good for the soul but above all pray. Pray for healing and love for yourselves, friends, family, your enemies, the world. Like it or not, we are all in this together. On this note I want to say....until 2011

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!!!!

Be safe, be kind, be joyous!

PS - Please, hang up the phones, no texting or drinking while driving, the life you save might just be your own.

Happy Thanksgiving

I won't be writing much, seeing that it is so close to Holiday's and I know everyone is busy, either doing their list and checking it twice or trying to find that perfect gift for the love ones on your list.

I'd like to take this time and wish everyone a 'Happy Thanksgiving', and may blessings abound.

I will however, post in between the holiday festivities, all fantastic giftables every other day, starting today. My gift ideas and finds will be to your immediate right of this post.

Hope this helps to make your shopping a little easier, there are many many items that are wonderful found on Etsy.

Visit often, for the selections will change regularly.

Happy Shopping!!!!

144 Days to Christmas

For those of us that make and ship items for sale, we have less time to prepare. I would give us about 134 days to Christmas.

Considering the time it takes to ship and the time it takes to make we need to get busy and start thinking ahead for this year and next. Some of the big box stores in other countries have already started their holiday season, toys, gifts and decorations are already at hand.

I realize that some of us are dealing with triple digit heat, but the holidays are right around the corner. Years ago, my mom and I use to start shopping in January, that’s right, January. Of course that was when lay-a-ways were in abundance and stores knew how to turn a buck.

I appreciate a good lay-a-way. Sure it ties up inventory but that inventory will and can sell with a reasonable lay-a-way policy.
What is a reasonable lay-a-way policy, don’t expect a $300 item to be purchased within a 30 day period, if that was the case it wouldn’t have been laid away in the first place.

So far in the first three blogs of ‘Ready for the Holidays’, we covered:

1. Update your product catalog and inventory.

I’ve gone through my products and I see a need for additions and improvements,so
I'm working on it.

2. Make it easy for your customers to shop for gifts.

I’ve made a list of items I feel would be great for gifts and also added categories to the list.

3. Give your site that ‘Holiday’ flair.

I’ve had the same banner for the past three years and I feel a real need for a change, so I’ve been working on a new.

So, what have you been up to? Have you started readying your shop for the holiday? How’s it going?

Next week we’ll talk about some more issues we can pursue in order to ready ourselves for the upcoming holiday season.

Ready For the Holidays - Pt. 3

Now is the time to start thinking about your holiday enhancements as the holidays draw near. You can update your home page or completely revamp the site to announce the upcoming holiday.

You want to supply your customer with what they’re looking for and make the process easy and fun. You want your customer to remember a positive, fun holiday experience. You want to keep the coming back season after season.

Refreshing your site from time to time keeps it fresh. Celebrate holiday themes, be familiar to your customers but also be surprising, keep them coming back to see what you’re up to next.

If your e-commerce software does not allow for multiple site designs, change your banners to meet your holiday needs. Make your changes for the beginning and the end of each season.

This can be a daunting task, but it keeps your customer’s coming back for a look see and a sale. My neighbors celebrate every festive occasion in a calendar year and month. I love it, so let’s work this into our e-commerce sites.

Ready For the Holidays? Pt.2

Ready For the Holidays?

With the gift-giver in mind, is your website ready? Is it easy to maneuver? If I came to your site would I find a jumble of merchandise or find your merchandise broken into down categories? If your site shows a mixture of items on a page, categories are a good idea. Navigation is important, so walk through your website to find any potential changes you can make.

Visitors that are looking for gifts will be shopping by categories, etc. gifts for mother, father, and brother and so on. So you would want your navigation to suggest pages like “Gifts for her” or “Gifts for Dad”. Keeping the budget shopper in mind, it wouldn’t hurt to have a gift price range if your sight set-up allows (e.g., “less than $50”, “$50 - $100).

Even though it’s July, almost August it’s time to get cracking on your Holiday ideas, merchandise and website setups. Grab that note pad and start brainstorming.

Ready For the Holidays?

Are You Ready For the Holiday?



It’s the middle of July and it’s time to start thinking about the holidays. I’ve personally noticed that the decorations for the fall celebrations are beginning to come out with school supplies. What’s the rush? Its simple some of us like to shop early, get a head start, not feel the rush so we can enjoy more. With the state of our economy starting early allows us to stagger our purchases and see a silver lining before the dreaded rush that some people enjoy sets in.

Now is the time to start looking at inventory on hand and thinking of future inventory for the month of August starting and running as close to the holiday as possible. What do you have available for the holidays. What do you have on hand that would make great gifts or what do you need to add. What do you have to fulfill a need or what do you need to add to it. School starts in August in most places and so does the holiday shopping season for a lot of people.

If you have any inventoried items you were waiting for the right time to place in your shop either online or not, now are the time to get them out and stocked, ready for the holiday. Beef up that inventory; give your shoppers a selection of the best you have to choose from. Determine which items you have that are your most popular, best-selling items. Make them available. Add new products to your store.

Good product information is important; update your descriptions if you haven’t done so in a while. Use past customer feedback for items already sold, this is a useful tool. People love to read reviews. Highlight these compliments to help enhance your sells.

The Art Of.....

The art of doing something and doing nothing. The art of doing everything and accomplishing nothing. That has been me for the past few months. I moved into a new home this past November, the 15th to be exact and all I've managed to do is basically nothing.

I know I shouldn't be hard on myself, moving is such a large chore, but I don't have any help. Sure there are the kids, they get in the way. Then there's the man and he's in the way too.

Everybody wants to help but no one understands, I don't have a clue. I did do the most important things, I got the bedroom together the first night and slept like a baby, that's when I knew I was home.

I got the kitchen pretty much together, Thanksgiving coming, I had to cook but I'm still trying to figure out where everything goes or should be. The plates, china and seasonings were easy, but what's up with the pots. Some would say I need to downsize, that is until dinner time.

Here's a pic of my new home...

We love the peace and the quiet and the neighbors are nice and the schools are great. The kids actually get up to go without alarms. Now if I could only get some order and back into my creative routine that would be great.

I decided to take a break today from arranging a house, which is all in my mind and join my friends and collegues on Etsy, I needed to catch up and reach out. Get back in the swing of things.

Here are a few of the great things I found and want to share. These are great cards from a very talented person, ones I'd buy and keep, couldn't give away, take a look and please visit her shop for more great items. These are just a few of my favorites by Kitty Kat Kards and just in time for Valentine's Day. Shop early.

If you're in the mood for some delicious soaps Bubbles Up By Bethie B is the place to go. Her soaps will make you hungry for more and I find the humor is teasing the kids and some adults too.

My late husband would have been a sucker for these....and ooohhhhhh to wash out the kids mouths : ), yes we had fun. We had a sense of humor, he believed in laughter and play.

I'll try not to stay away so long, now that I've moved and pretty much settled in, I'll be sharing a little more.

This, I found time to do while sitting in a chair in my bedroom, watching tv...how nice!

You know you can find me at New Day Crochet.

Love You Guys, be good and please have a Joyous New Year everyday. Remember what ever it is, ' This too, shall past.'

Fond Regards,

Sherryl

http://www.newdaycrochet.etsy.com/