Austin's Gallery on Coronado & store update

Fantastic to see contest entries! I will accept entries until midnight Pacific Standard time tonight.

Today the kid & I went to Coronado Island to get away from the 95 degree heat in our neighborhood. It's always a beautiful ride, albeit a little scary going over the bridge to Coronado. It was a rather nice, though still hot. Many people were out enjoying the sun. I was thrilled to come across Austin's Gallery. I had heard about it before seeing it but really didn't know what to expect. It's this fantastic little gallery/artist co-op. Fantastic needle felted items, beautiful photography (one picture was of a hummingbird mid-flight & you could actually see the wings!), jewelry, purses...focus on handmade craft items. It was smaller but much cuter than I thought it would be & the person working there was very welcoming. I recommend a trip to Austin's Gallery if you're local or visiting the area. It's just off of the main drag by about 1/2 a block & really close to the famous Hotel Del Coronado. Check it out: http://www.austinsgallery.com/

I have a few new items over at The Whimsical Muse. Today I listed some gorgeous ivory braided gimp trim & some sweet white eyelet pattern heart favor tins! I have a number of items that I'm working on getting listed, so I should have a lot of new items in the shop this week. I'm expecting to receive some baker's twine in a few new colors by the end of the week & will list them as soon as possible. http://thewhimsicalmuse.etsy.com

new computer and contest update

We have a new computer! Yayyyy! The last computer was just sooo slow that it took forever to do much of anything. I feel like I've been set free from the slow motion that was my computer! Even doing listings on Etsy is a breeze.

Due to popular demand *winkwink* I'm going to extend the bakery twine contest for a week. The new deadline will be Tuesday, July 14th. What artsy craftsy, gifty, organizing, design, whatever cool things can YOU do with bakery twine? No pictures needed. Post 3-5 ideas here.

Little update & contest details!

First things first...The Whimsical Muse. I've been finding fun craft supply items here & there & thought it would be fun to share on Etsy. I decided to start up a little supply shop with quirky bits of this & fun bits of that like bakery twine, ric rac & whatnot (well, sorry, no listing for "whatnot" as yet). I do sell a few handmade items but they do tend toward the "handmade supply" end of things. I do have more items in stock that I will be listing soon.

I've been putting together a list of things that can be done with bakery twine in addition to wrapping it around a cake box. Here is where the contest comes in...1) you share 3 or more ideas of what can be done with bakery twine, 2) a winner will be picked randomly & 3) the prize is...you guessed it, 20 yards of bakery twine, in the color(s) of your choice from http://thewhimsicalmuse.etsy.com/ The deadline for entry is Tuesday, July 14, 2009.

Dusting off the ol' blog

Time to dust off my blog! Boy, it's sure been a while! There are all kinds of things going on in the world of My Random Creative Moments, including the addition of a new Etsy shop (The Whimsical Muse). Over the course of the next few days (well, probably week or so), I will be updating on the new shop, recent projects, fun random things, and a contest. Yes, I did say contest :) Stay tuned & check back soon! :)

Carlsbad Flower Fields

The kid & I got in the car & drove up to the Carlsbad Flower Fields today. We had fun. It was educational for her since she was 'I wonder what this smells like mode.' She stopped to smell the roses, carnations, sweet peas (what a beautiful scent!) and other flowers.

Ranunculus

Sweet Peas

They had some striking poinsettias in the green house. I'd never seen any like this before. They're called Flaming Spheres. Fitting, yes. Interesting name, yes.

Random end note about the Fields: The kid & I had a great time. The weather was nice. This close to the coast, it's good to have at least a light sweater. It's right next to the Carlsbad Outlet whatever place. We went there to grab some lunch at Ruby's Diner. There were numerous options for eating in the area. There were even picnic tables at the Flower Fields. The Fields gives entrance discounts for seniors, auto club members & military families. Kids under 3 are free. They have a nice outdoor play area. It wasn't super for the 3 year old set only because there were so many much bigger kids everywhere, even playing on the equipment meant for the 5 & under age group. They are open through May 10th. Their website is: http://www.theflowerfields.com/

Happy Birthday to me!!!

It's my birthday!!! In honor of my day (March 15), everything is on sale in my Etsy shop! http://HandmadebyPam.etsy.com
Come on by & take a look.

International shipping

I just had my first international sale via Etsy last week. I had been hoping that at some point this would happen & was thrilled when I saw that someone from across the globe had made a purchase from my shop. I'm not usually a worrier but I was a little concerned. Should I have packaged the item differently? Would the item make it in it's current condition? Would it end up stuck in customs? Would it arrive at all? I sent a note to my customer informing them when the item shipped & asking that they let me know when it arrives. I received a message from my customer today that the item had indeed arrived & was in perfect condition. Sigh of relief! Ahhh! Interestingly, I put the item in the mail on Thursday the 3rd of March & it arrived Wednesday the 11th. I've seen mail take several days to get to different parts of the county I live in, so for mail to move so quickly is quite surprising. The postal services of each country apparently worked mighty quickly & it must have sped through customs. It's so nice to have someone receive something I've sent & in this case, it was extra special since it was so far.

I have another parcel enroute to another country from a sale this week. The postal worker sorta smirked & smiled at the same time when I smoothed down the metered stamp/postage thing on the package. I laughed & explained that I hadn't sent much out of the country & was still just a little detail oriented about it. I have my fingers crossed that this new customer receives their item in it's original condition in a timely fashion. Will have to report back :-)

International shipping is not all that different from mailing an item in the U.S. There are a few things that helped me in the process of figuring things out. My advice: 1) make sure that you weigh the item, everything you will be packaging it in & the box/bubble mailer/envelope (each ounce when you ship to Canada is only .24 cents but to, say Australia goes up to .80 cents, not a huge amount of money but it sure can add up if one is less than careful), 2) like in the U.S., make sure you are clear in what category your item fits (envelope, small package, etc.), 3) check out the United Postal Services website on international shipping for pricing & information (see below), 4) package your item well, 5) fill out the customs form & afix it to the front of the package. Rumor has it that some postal workers will say that you don't need a customs form. The one who helped me last week seemed to think that it was a good idea & said that it would be less likely to be opened at customs since it said what it was on the form.

FYI, the USPS has information on each country & the types of items that are not accepted in each specific country.

USPS first class international mail: http://www.usps.com/prices/first-class-mail-international-prices.htm

If you have anything to add about international shipping & your experiences, I would love to hear them!