It's *almost* the most wonderful time of the year...

Sniff, sniff....do you smell the holidays coming?  Or maybe your nose is just running from the allergies you get during the changing of the seasons?  Or maybe that is just me.

Here in southeastern Texas, it is still rather warm (as in mid-70s) even though we are approaching Thanksgiving.  Today I think the low is actually in the 40s. Woo!  I am ready for colder weather, mostly because I'm ready to wear my many pairs of boots...

I have been really slacking on the updating front lately.  It has been a busy couple of months, first the half marathon and Disney trip, then the craft show, then the stray dog issue...Since then I have had a terrible bout of food poisoning and some really busy weeks at work.  I have almost hit the 6 month mark at my new job so I've had some new responsibilities transition to me.

In the meantime, I have focused all my Lazy Owl energy on listing new items in my shop, hoping to capitalize on that upcoming holiday shopping rush.  Take a peek at some of my new items, these beauties are the perfect accessory for upcoming holiday parties:


Emerald and gold earrings



Black and gold wire-wrapped ring



Rose old hollywood earrings

And my new personal favorite, these lovelies:

Rainbow vitrail gold earrings



I also have been working hard on a custom order for a bridal party, which I just shipped off this morning, so that was pretty exciting.  It was my first wedding order, and the bride was wonderful to work with.  Plus, the earrings she chose for her bridesmaids are one of my favorite pairs:



What have yall been doing to get ready for the holidays?  I need to shfit focus from my Etsy shop back to getting ready for my next craft fair.  I also plan to write a post featuring a few of my stocking stuffer items, along with some promotions for Black Friday/Cyber Monday.  Next week we are taking some time off for Thanksgiving, so I'm happy for the excuse to relax :)

Happy Holidays!

Holiday Bootcamp Kick Off

Waaaaaahhhhhhh!  I'm sort of trying to swallow down a nervous breakdown right now.  A week from yesterday, I leave for my happy place, Walt Disney World resort in Florida.  A week from tomorrow, I am going to attempt the impossible -- running (jogging? walking? limping? crawling?) 13.1 miles as part of Disney's Food & Wine Half-Marathon.

I know I had made some promises a while back to keep you all posted on my training progress, and maybe you are wondering where all those promised updates are...well, I have barely been training! Ahhhhhhhh.  The longest I've gone in preparation for this is 9 miles.  And I've done that twice.  And the last time was like 3 weeks ago.  I have only run once this week (4 measly miles).  I'm promising myself that I will do 9 miles again this weekend since it's my last chance to squeeze in another long run...but....we'll see.

Anyway, running-related freakage aside, I've been slowly building up some anxiety related to my Etsy shop and this holiday season.  Two issues -- I want my shop to be in tip-top shape for the upcoming holiday rush (assuming there is a rush for me), and I've signed up for two craft shows in Houston where I will attempt to sell my wares in person for the first time EVAR.

There are many, MANY things I need to do to prep for a for-reals craft fair.  Hopefully preparing for the craft shows will help get my Etsy shop into gear as well.  Yesterday, I received week 1's issue of Etsy Success' Holiday Bootcamp, and I really need to follow some of the advice the blog article suggests.  So, in an attempt to get my butt in gear, I'm going to start listing some goals for myself.  Maybe you can follow along too!

Etsy's Holiday Bootcamp

Lazy Owl Boutique Holiday Goal Outline (very official name)

• Increase inventory, with a goal to at least double inventory by October 29 (date of first craft show)
• Begin by focusing on inventory that will sell well at craft shows:
• Make more wire-wrapped rings in variety of sizes
• Make more bunting necklaces, particularly ones with school colors (focus on Texas schools and SEC schools for now)
• Make more vintage glass jewel earrings

• Order supplies as needed
• Inventory supplies -- earwires, craft wire, crystals
• Craft show supplies? -- another table, table coverings, risers, receipts, vendor apron, earring cards, merchandise bags, stickers, etc. etc..

• Prepare/create displays for craft shows-- ring boxes, earring frames, doorknob necklace holders, earring/necklace trees, price signs, shop name banner, etc. etc.

• Update inventory catalog and pricing -- I've gotten really lazy about entering my supplies and costs into my inventory spreadsheet, how will I know where to price my items if my supply costs are not accurate?

• Photograph and list, list, list on Etsy all these new items I'm making!!

*Sigh*...I basically just need to set aside more time...more time to create items, but also to update my inventory/pricing spreadsheets, take photos, and list items.  I feel like all that admin stuff takes more time than actually creating, but I guess that's the way it is!

Do you have a plan to get ready for the upcoming holiday season?  Feel free to share!  Or give me advice, I love advice...

 

Are you ready for the holidays?

I know it's only barely September...but if you're an Etsy seller it might be time to start gearing up for the holiday sales rush!  I say that like I know what I'm talking about, but since I've never experienced a holiday sales rush (or any sort of sales rush, sadly), I don't.  However, Etsy just sent an email announcing this year's Holiday Boot Camp, so I hope you participate!  Goals are good!

What are you doing to prepare for the holiday sales rush?

God Bless America

Happy Independence Day!

I have many fond memories of the Fourth of July over the years.  In 2006, I was working as a custodian at Walt Disney World on July 4th.  In 2007, I walked from my brownstone apartment down to the Charles River in Boston to watch the famous Bostonian fireworks.  In 2008, I went on a road trip with my best girl friends to San Antonio and spent July 4th at Six Flags and Schlitterbahn waterpark.  This year, my family came into town and we hit up the premiere outlets here in Houston!

Let's celebrate with some red, white, and blue earrings from Lazy Owl!

 

Red dice earrings

 

Sapphire blue earrings

 

Iridescent Swarovski rivoli earrings