The Penguin Pages: August 2018

Friday, August 31, 2018

September, Back to School, Back to Basics

Ah, September!
School is starting (my youngest is a junior in college, so school starting doesn't change my schedule much!), the weather is cooling off, and I've got a new focus on getting stuff done! I made up a page in my bullet journal with six points I want to accomplish each day:

Bible reading in the morning
Read one chapter of an inspirational book
15 minute walk or other exercise
Stay on my Trim Healthy Mama eating plan
Take my vitamins
Finish one project (even if it's a little light bulb for a garland!)

I've aced each category for four days now. Getting in just a little bit of exercise each day is helping me feel better, sleep better, and feel more on top of things. They say it takes 3 weeks to firmly establish a habit, so hopefully by the end of September, I will be over my allergy to exercise! 😏

September Crafting Goals:
Croch-Eh CAL - Big Paws Monkey with Banana Big Paws Monkey- DONE

Taking shape!

And done!

Amigurumi.net CAL - Elliott the Elephant by Storyland Ami

Make 45 crocheted Christmas bulbs for fall craft shows (takes about 20 minutes each)

9/3/18 - 6 done

Got 7 done...

Knock 15 items off my Honey-do list (currently at 55 listings!) Done - 6 of 15

Alien Finger Puppet

Ballerina Pig

Bear Cutie

Bunny Cutie

Butter Lamb

Chubby Airplane

Cow (One & Two Pattern) - DONE

Crochet Owl Basket

Cuddly Turtle

Deer Cutie

Donut

Egg Bunny

Finger Puppet - DONE

Flower Turtle

Flying Pig - DONE

Fox Cutie

FRF Mermaid

FRF Mini Giraffe

FRF Unicorn

Go Ball - DONE

Gradient Water Bottle Sling

Groot

Gus the Tractor

Little Birds Finger Puppet

Little Hedgehog

Mini Bunny

Mini Mermaid

Modesty Shield

My pattern plane

Nativity Set

Overalls Hedgehog

Owl In Egg

Patches Bear

Patchwork Pup

Penguin Cupcake

Plane, no propellor

Pusheen

Sam

Scrappy Octopus

Shark Bag

Shopkins Cupcake

Striped Giraffe

Striped Owl

Striped Rabbit

Tea Bag Coaster

Three Strand Slippers

Tiny Corn

Tooth Fairy Pillow

Turtle In Egg

Two-Ply Gecko (soft green yarn)

Unicorn Girl

Unicorn Ice Pop Holder

Very Hungry Caterpillar Blanket

Yoga Troll

Zoey Doll

While making these projects, I want to focus on using up the yarn from the basket next to my chair:

Finish the beaver I'm making to test a pattern DONE

Finish the 2nd cow I started for an August CAL - done

Finish a flying pig I started months ago - done

Finished the flying pig and a pony for a custom order on the same day!

Make another Iggy the Iguana - Started 9/17 - DONE (and sold within an hour of going on Facebook!)

Golden Meatball custom order - done

Nowhere on my list does it say "snake" or "scrap yarn snake", but I pulled a ball of yarn from my basket and decided to make a snake...

Saw a cute pattern for a Candy Corn baby outfit... and I really want to make it... but it's not on my list, I don't have a little girl around to model it, and I haven't been very successful at selling baby apparel... but the pattern keeps calling to me!

I got an Etsy order for a ready-to-ship item, a Taco Blanket... so I made up a taco toy to send along:

Then I made up another one, just for fun!

Wednesday, August 1, 2018

August: Keeping it Simple

The Street Fest craft show that I did 7/28 was my best craft show EVER for sales. I sold out of a few things, and there were a few things that I wish I'd had more of... so, as I prepare for the Ladies' Advance at the end of September (which has now been bumped down to third place in the list of best sales), I'm trying to focus on the stuff that has been selling:

1) Focus on restocking items that sold at July’s street sale:
Go Balls - 2
Tinycorn (mini unicorn) - 1
Water bottle slings - 7
Mini Mermaid - 1
Striped Giraffe - 1
Flying Pig
Finger Puppets -1
Turtle / Dinosaur / Owl in Egg - 3

2) No yarn purchases unless specifically needed for an order! (Oops, found a basket with 10 skeins of yarn for $5.39 at Goodwill. Forgot about my resolution!)

3) Tidy the area around my chair, getting patterns sorted into notebooks, and using up scrap yarn that has accumulated - DONE!

4) List finished items on Etsy as they are finished (I've been averaging two Etsy sales per month, but had 3 in July... hoping that trend continues!)

5) Sort and re-box inventory, which was hastily tossed into boxes at the end of the show, in order to break down quickly!

6) Draw up display plan for next show in September. I will have two 8-foot tables. Thinking of taking my metal racks so I can run a clothesline between them and increase display space. But a 3.5 hour drive with those racks rattling??? Done! No metal racks involved this year!

I packed supplies for a quick weekend trip to visit family... I spent a lot of time watching my granddaughter, so my craft time was limited to nap time and evenings after she went to bed, but I finished five water bottle slings, a go-ball, and a finger puppet during the weekend!