Personal Stuff: On her way to Korea ... 안녕~

*Sigh, the more I think about it, the more I will miss my friend as she is leaving for her 6 month trip to Korea in about 18 hours (from the time I finish writing this). I'm super happy that she's going to get a chance to have such an exciting experience, but at the same time I wish that I could go with her. It was really nice seeing her today, and I was super happy to be able to make something really special for her to take along with her on her trip (I wonder if she will bring the little mushroom bear with her? since I completely forgot to say TAKE HIM WITH YOU! lol, but it would be cool if she did). Ah I've known her for so long, since middle school, and it's the first time that I've seen her cry (or come close to crying), and it hit me that it's really real, and that she's really leaving very soon, and that made me cry (well almost cry, I did try hard to hold back some tears to be honest). But ahh! I really wish that I could go with her! :( It's making me sad now, just thinking about it. I also wish that I could come to the airport and see her off and wish her a safe flight to Korea (but I know that if I am there I will definitely cry~ there's no doubt in my mind about that).

I really did want to write a lot more in the photo book that we all participated in making for her. It would have been really cool if I was able to do so :) But we ran out of so much time, so my message was super rushed :( And I think I wrote what most people wrote as well :( But I am happy that I wrote her a little letter that I packed up with her present, so at least she'll get to read that... maybe she can tape it inside her photo book as well~ lol.

I really hope that in December I'll have enough money to come and visit. I told my dad today that I wanted to go to Korea in December to visit my friend, and he told me to go get a job first so that I'll have enough money to go lol. (I have no idea if he'll actually let me go, but if I say that I wouldn't be going alone and that my other friend will be there too, him and my mom might say 'okay' lol.... we'll see). I really hope that I can go, as it is one of the places that I've wanted to travel to for so long.

I'm not really sure why I didn't apply for the educational program myself. I would have loved to try to be a 'teacher' and teach young students English. But I think my fear of leaving behind stuff got the better of me. I didn't think it was the right time for me to go (as there is a lot of stuff at home that I don't want to leave behind... my family...my boyfriend...my friends...especially my little hamster... and there are so many things that I need to work out before I would have the peace of mind to go for a full 6 months. I also feared rejection, and not getting into the program. But I think I have been using my 'fears' as an excuse for me to stay here in Toronto. As much as I want to go travel around to different parts of the world, I feel like leaving home for 6 months would be too long for me to be away from home, since home is all that I know. So maybe 2 weeks during the holiday season would suit me better? A mini vacation... a small break away from home, and away from the country that I grew up in. And once those two weeks are over I will be back in Toronto, and back to my regular life.

I'm not sure. I don't really know how I'd really feel if I was away for the full 6 months. Maybe when I am there it will not seem like 6 months, and those months will fly by super fast, just like how university flew by so fast. But then again, maybe those 6 months will feel super long to me, so maybe the 2 week thing wont be so bad. All I know is that I want to be there, but be here at the same time. Oh how I wish I was able to teleport! hahaha.

Ahhh, Janet you are leaving! And it makes me so sad :( I'm like happy and sad at the same time and full of a bunch of different emotions. I really hope that you will have a super fun, and safe trip. Take it all one day at a time. Absorb and embrace the entire experience... and when you have done that... go to your house in Korea, sign online, and tell me all about it! lol. I should go and download Skype so that I can send you a message if I see you online :) Don't forget to send me your address so that I can mail you letters! Sending letters are always fun... a lot more fun than sending an email message, as it's physical, something you can touch, and something you can keep somewhere safe~ If you read my blog before your flight, I hope you'll bring your little mushroom bear with you ^^ Then it'll kind of be like I went to Korea with you ^^ lol Or if you are scared that you'll loose him there, leave him at home so that when you get back he'll be there waiting for you, but it will be super cool if you brought him :) I do hope you really liked it though and I'm happy that I was able to finish it on time for you :) There were so so many times when I wanted to Twitter about it or write about it here on my blog, but then I remember that you read all of those things lol, so it was so very hard not to mention it :) Have a safe trip Janet~ I really wish I could see you at the airport, even if I'll be a crybaby haha :(

So to my friend...

내 친구, 안녕... :( 난 너를 정말 보고싶어*.
(Goodbye my friend... I will really miss you)

*I know I wrote it in the present tense (and I am not sure if it is even correct), but I forgot how to write it in the future tense lol since you have my book LOLOL~

Super cute and fun.

Today I got this really cute cute cute package in the mail from the very sweet and lovely Wynn of Zakkaart. I had stumbled upon her shop a while back, and had ordered a MiniDuo all-in-one Zip Pouch - Hoot Hoot Owl (Pink) to hold my tissues and other tiny items in. Since then, Wynn and I have become really great friends ^^ I love to read her blog and occasionally we have messaged each other to see how we are doing :) So I was super excited to order a onigiri box from her main shop Zakkaart.com.

One day, she had told me that when she was out shopping for fabric, she saw some really cute prints, one of which had panda bears (and she knows how much I like pandas), and so she told me that she was going to make something for me (she's so nice isn't she?). I had no idea what it was that she was going to make, but I was really excited to find out (knowing that she was going to ship it out with the onigiri box).

Well today it finally arrived and I have to say I'm in love with it! I love the draw string pouch she made for me. She made it with the idea that I would be storing my knitting and crocheting essentials within it, and that's exactly what I decided I'd use it for when I first saw it ^^. She even threw in one of my favourite "Hello Panda" cookies! I haven't eaten these in a few years but when I saw them packaged up it totally put a smile on my face~ I was definitely not expecting to see such cute little cookies! It definitely brought back some memories of when I hung out with one of my friends :) HAha. Anywhoo, enough of my rambling, time to post some photos! :D yayyyyy~






^ This is the 'inner' side of the draw string pouch, as it is reversible ^^



Wynn has been such a great person, and majorly supportive as well. In fact, she was one of the people who encouraged me to open up my shop in the first place ^^ I'm so happy to have 'met' such a wonderful person ^^ I wish her all the best with her future teaching career, and hope that she has a wonderful and healthy second child ^______^ how exciting!! Thanks so much Wynn for all your help and your support and of course, your cute cute pouches!

If you haven't checked out Zakkaart.etsy.com please do! It's filled with wonderful bags, cute little pouches, and much much more :)

Featured: Treasury

Yay! I'm happy to say that my shop has been featured again! Thanks to the lovely Steph from owlonthesill. She featured my adorable marching polar bear in her Crimson and Cream Treasury. Have a look here.




Speaking of polar bears, here is one that I have finished making the other day for my friend's friend :)





I also received a super lovely package from Wynn of ZakkaArt. I will post some photos a bit later :)

Featured: Treasury

Recently I've noticed that people have been featuring me in their treasuries! It's always super exciting when they let me know that they have featured one of my little characters in their treasury. I meant to take screen caps of each one that I was featured in as it happened, but I haven't always remembered to. But I plan on doing so from now on and providing a link to that person's shop here at my blog as a thank you (although I do normally send them a thank you message through etsy ^^). So here is the latest treasury that featured something from my shop (my adorable owls!)



^ click on the above image to see a bigger version :)


A big thank you goes out to HeartshapedCreations for featuring me in her treasury :) Click here to check out her super cute treasury!

My owls were also featured in LittleWhiteDresser's treasury on July 25, 2009. A big thank you goes out to her as well :)




Another treasury that I was featured in a while back was created by Owlonthesill. I hadn't taken a screen cap of it, but I'm so happy that she did! So here it is.


^ She featured my cute little lamb named Molly


Jennyndesign had also featured my pandas in her treasury, but unfortunately, I forgot to take a screen cap :( but definitely stop by her shop :) She makes amazing handbags :)

CarrotBunny in Singapore.

So, you may remember that a while ago I had a request for a custom order to make a carrotbun bunny brooch for Mui Ee, who lives all the way in sunny Singapore. Well, she was kind enough to take a photo of her new bunny brooch sitting on top of her lovely brown bag, and I have to say, I love how it looks, and I'm super super happy that she took a photo for me to see~~ Makes me feel happy knowing that she loves it so very much ^^ hEhe. And with her permission, I'm posting the photo on my blog for everyone to see :) Horray!


Oh I just love turning my little cartoony drawings into actual objects :) fun fun fun!

^ This is a photo of it before I had shipped it out :)

If you are interested in a carrotbun bunny brooch, please either comment on this post to let me know, or send me a convo on my etsy page, and I'll be happy to make one for you~

Other than that I've been up all night long (last night, and for part of today) working on a polar bear for my friend's friend. And it is finally complete! I will have to take a photo of it and post it in my blog as well, but I will do that some time tomorrow, as it is very late. I've also started working on another mushroom bear! But this one seems a tad smaller than my first. I could have sworn I used my D hook to create the first one, but after comparing the two (thus far, as the second one is not finished yet), I think I might have actually used my size G crochet hook. I really need to start recording down which hook I used to crochet my characters, as I seem to be getting confused (and I don't have or use many crochet hooks either!). Hmm.

Also some more exciting news! Some of my toys may be heading to AUSTRALIA! Horray! It's super exciting, although it's only a few, but I can't wait to get started! They're going to be SUPER ORGANIC! and by that, I mean that they will be made with 100% organic cotton yarns and filled with 100% organic wool stuffing. How fun! Once I get started on those, I will definitely be posting up photos :) So, look forward to that. And oh yes, my stationary! I haven't quite finished it yet, as I have been really busy with other things (that are due this week), but I really hope to have it up soon. I know I keep saying that I will post it up soon, but I really mean it this time (although, my intentions were to have them up last time too lol). But hopefully I really will have them up for everyone to see :)

Preview: stationary

Here's a quick little preview of something that I am working on for one of my DIY downloadable stationary letter note sets.
It involves my mushroom bear (little Jiyong), as well as balloons. Other things that it may involve (on other pages) include small mushrooms lol. We'll see what I can conjure up. Working on keeping it more ink-friendly ^^ but for now, enjoy this little tiny preview.



Doesn't it look just like him? I'm sure if I show little Jiyong the drawing I made of him he'd be super happy~ Maybe I should do one page where he is folding his paper cranes :) HAha.

I think I will go back to working on the polar bear for now, or I will continue that tomorrow since it is already getting late.

If you are interested in an amigurumi version of my little Jiyeong (the mushroom bear), please check out my shop listing~ He is currently made to order, but I soon hope to have more in stock, as well as available in other colours. You may view my listing at the following link: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27846921

The new look.

Hi everyone. I think I've finished 'remodeling' my blog. I tried to make the layout look more cleaner and more professional (although I do miss the old colours that I previously had used lol). I also added a links section on the side bar so that you can navigate through the different sections more easily. Thus I had went through all my blog entries and edited their tags so that they will show up in the appropriate category. I hope that will make things a lot easier when trying to find stuff on my blog :)

Going to start working on a polar bear for my friend (as a present for his friend). Hope to finish that by this weekend.

Also looking into more organic materials for a potential order that I may have :) Lot's of fun, but researching for all the materials is quite difficult. I will have to do that soon, and finalize details with that person :)

Hope all is well with everyone else~ It's been a crazy rainy day here in Toronto, but I liked this type of rainy weather. It's quite calming (when I don't get splashed by the bus on my way to the post office... haha).

Remodelling.

Thinking about changing the look of my blog and cleaning it up a bit (among the other billion things that I need to do). I will probably work on that some time timorrow afternoon as it is imperitive that I finish the pandas for Jenny first, since I want to get them out in the post office by tomorrow! And once that is all done I will need to make that polar bear for Jason's friend who is leaving for Alaska! So many things to do and yet so little time. Sometimes I think that I am a workaholic. I really should find some time to rest and start sleeping a whole lot earlier. Had a good time meeting up with my bestest friend. We watched an old dinsey movie at his house after he gave me my present from Korea (which was one year over due LOL). It is a little Japanese plate thing that enable a person to make steamed eggs into heart shapes! haha, he bought it last year on his trip because I was in a phase of making cute onigiri box meals :) So once I try that out I will post a photo here for every one to see :)

Introducing: Aika

Hello everyone. This is Aika. She is an earthy brown kitty and is 17" tall. Say hello Aika -- *hello*

I'm so happy to have finally finished crocheting her :)
She was mostly crocheted using chunky earthy brown acrylic-wool blend yarns featuring flecks of green, red, and yellow. Her face, hands, and feet, were all crocheted with a chunky acrylic cream coloured yarn. Her nose was embroidered with a soft violet cotton yarn. Aika's mouth and whiskers were embroidered using cotton embroidery thread. Her tail was crocheted using another chunky earthy brown acrylic-wool blend yarn (minus the flecks). She has plastic 7 mm safety eyes (black), is stuffed with high quality polyester toy stuffing, is able to sit on her own (but sometimes with a little help), and is oh so huggable, you'll just want to snuggle up to her while you fall asleep in bed :) Aika is a super special kitty, being 17" tall, she is the first kitty that I have crocheted (after drawing her up in my sketchbook). I'm super happy with how she turned out :)

She will be made available as made to order in my etsy shop.
She will also be customizable:
- choose a nose colour
- whiskers or no whiskers (if you choose whiskers, one side or both sides)
- tail (same as body colour or the regular earthy brown colour)
- hands and feet (cream or the same as the body colour)

^ All of the above should be answered in the message to seller box upon checkout. If left blank, I may ask you these questions in a follow up conversation message. If I still receive no answer, she will be made the way she is shown in the photos.

Listing is now posted. Please view it for more photos. Click Me!

Updates.

Some new updates (since I know I have fallen behind on things that I wanted to complete).
I'm currently working on a new bunny. It's quite big, and again will be one of my more expensive pieces. It's a soft teal and brown in colour, and is going to look super cute once it's finished. As for my kitty, I've named her Aika. She's still missing a tail, so I will hopefully be able to work on that tonight (although I'm still contemplating if she really needs a tail). She's about 18" tall and will be my most expensive piece in my shop thus far. So I am excited for her. She will be made to order, as I will make any adjustments/improvements from my original, onto my newer pattern :)

Stationary! I will (try to) start working on that this afternoon (I still have some panda's to finish for Jenny, as she was so kind as to trade me something for them. I don't always do trades, but I simply could not pass this one up :)

Other things in the works: More whutsits. My sister and I have been drawing out sketches for the kinds that I should make. HAha. So far, we've agreed that I definitely need to do a dragon version. I would also like to do a panda version :) Since pandas are just super cool! These whutsits, will be more complicated than my original version, as they should be able to change out of one costume and dress into another. For example, one day your whutsit can look like a dragon, and the next, he can look like a panda. HAhaha. I've just gotta figure out how I'll accomplish this, but I love the idea. Some other ideas she threw around were to make one look like a bat? Not sure how that will turn out but we'll see. They'll all be knitted of course, and will probably use some felt. I would also like to make a version out of felt :) Since I've got a lot of felt stocked up ^^

So many things to do, I need to manage my time better.
Watched Harry Potter yesterday (since on Tuesdays, movies are half price in certain theatres). It was pretty good, but I think I expected more to happen in the movie~ (But then again, I didn't read the book for this one). That's another thing I'd like to do. Read the books... all of them... not just the first two lol.

My friend is leaving for Korea soon! (Oh how I wish I was going with her!!--I'll miss you Janet! We MUST hang out if possible before you leave next weekend, assuming you are not totally swamped with all the other gazillion things you need to do before you leave lol).

I also want to go camping again (maybe later in August) and have at least one trip to Canada's Wonderland this year~ I also need to make a polar bear for my friend before his friend leaves for Alaska! (Since that is his present to her).

AH so many things. I must start to make a schedule now for all the things that I need to make, all while balancing time for sleeping, and eating... must take care of my health~~ It's so easy to forget about ones health, and get caught up in the hustle and bustle that life brings us.

A carrotbun bunny brooch.

Ta-da! here is the carrotbun bunny brooch that I have been working on :) It is crocheted with 100% cotton yarn (off-white colour), and features 4.5mm plastic safety eyes, a pin back, embroidered cheeks and mouth, and glasses made out of 100% cotton crochet thread (black), which was made from tying a series of knots together. No wires or glue was used, yet it is able to hold it's shape pretty well. The glasses were then sewn onto mister carrotbun so that he'll never loose them :) He is approximately 2.5" tall, by 1.5" wide. Hope you like him~





This particular one was made for Mui Ee, but feel free to message me if you would like me to make you one too~ I'd be happy to do so~

Check out its listing here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27893517

Introducing: Mushroom Bears

Yeah, I still haven't thought up a better name for them, SO they will (for now) be known as my cute little mushroom bears. I don't know why I write "they" when I currently have made just "one" -- but soon they will really be a "they", if that makes any sense? Anyways, without further adieu, have your sneak preview of my very cute Mushroom Bear!






I bet you were thinking it would look like a real mushroom! (haha). Well, to me it has the shape of a mushroom, and that is why I refer to my little bear as a mushroom bear.

This particular mushroom bear loves (and I mean LOVES) to fold paper cranes. Ever since discovering out how to make them, he's been folding them nonstop! His goal is to fold 1000 colourful paper cranes, and have them flying all around him. So far, he has completed 17 paper cranes, and one turtle (because he thinks that turtles are cute). What a little cutie ^^ He is able to sit on his own without falling over (unless you tip him over, but he doesn't like that very much). He can even hold paper cranes in his hands :)

This particular mushroom bear was crocheted out of a combination of 3 different yarns:
- a bulky natural bamboo yarn (super eco-friendly; wicker colour; 86% bamboo, 12% acrylic, 2% polyester)
- a bulky acrylic wool blend yarn (earthy brown colour; 75% acrylic, 25% wool)
- a bulky acrylic yarn (cream/ivory colour; 100% acrylic)

He's got 4.5mm safety eyes, an embroidered nose (brown cotton embroidery thread), and he is stuffed with high quality 100% polyester fiberfill toy stuffing which is non-allergenic :D:D:D

I love this little mushroom bear to bits. I think I will name him ... Jiyong! YES I have given my bear a korean name :) yay~

SO now for important stuff.

As I have only made one bear (currently), it will only be available in my Etsy shop as made to order (for now). But soon I hope to have more quantity in stock so that they will ship out right away, rather than 4 days later. So as a made to order item, it will take approximately 4 to 7 days (after payment has been processed) for the bear to be made and ship out to your address. Due to the handmade nature of these bears, slight variations may occur from the original, BUT I will try my hardest to make them look as similar as possible. Feel free to give your bear a different name if you wish. I also plan on having different colours made available soon, so I will blog about it when that happens :)

My mushroom bear should be listed in my shop pretty soon. I will go add it after I am finished writing this vary blog post :) and will add the link on here afterwards^^ He costs $20 USD and will be one of my collectable items :) Did I mention how super super soft he is? He will come lovingly gift wrapped, and packaged either in a mini box or a bubble envelope~ More info will be posted on my etsy page :)
View his listing here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27846921

Coming soon: mushroom bears and kitty cats.

Yes Mushroom Bears! They are mini teddy bears that are shaped like mushrooms. I'm still trying to figure out what to call them since "Mushroom Bears" is really long. How about Musbea? or Beamu? (That's what I get when I try to combine Mushrooms and Bears lol... I will try to think of something better). They will be listed in my shop very soon (initially as made to order, and eventually as an in stock item). I will try to post a photo tomorrow~ I would have a photo up today, but I haven't finished making the first one yet as I had a lot of difficulty trying to figure out how I would crochet it. It is made out of a combination of bamboo, wool, and acrylic yarn, and features an embroidered nose, safety eyes, and filled with high quality toy stuffing poly-fill! And because of the bamboo yarn, it's so unbelievably soft! I really want to make a giant stuffed animal with this bamboo yarn, but the yarn is pretty expensive, so maybe I will attempt that when I have a bit more money in the bank :)

Another animal that will be in my shop very very soon, is my kitty cat (which I've been calling an earth kitty due to the yarn colour). I will have a photo of that up soon too. I still need to make a tail for it, and have been having some difficulty with that too, but I almost have something figured out :) This one is 18" tall and will be one of my more expensive items (due to the types of yarn used, the amount of stuffing it consumed, and the amount of hours put in). But I'm sure it's well worth it. This kitty will be listed in my shop as made to order or pre-order... I have not decided yet. I will choose made to order if I don't have any more of the yarn left to make it, and I will label it as pre-order if I'm currently making a second one (similar to the original). I will also be making one that has a 'soft teal' colour. It's a really lovely colour, and I will blog about it when that one is finished.

As this mushroom bear, and this kitty cat, are the very first ones that I have made, I won't be selling my originals, but will be selling extremely similar versions (as far as handmade items go). This is because when I record down the steps I used when creating these amigurumi, I sometimes make changes to my pattern in my head and forget to write them down, so my originals are there for my reference so that I may make many for anyone who is interested in giving them a good home :)

Photos to be posted soon.

Hope you all have a lovely week!

Oh yeah, I will be posting up stationary soon too. I almost forgot. I'm currently working on some new stationary designs (mostly still sketches in my sketchbook). Those will go up after I am finished making a custom carrotbun bunny brooch for Mui Ee ^^

For now enjoy a couple photos from my trip last weekend of the lovely landscape, as well as the sunset as we drove home :)

On sale & price changes for polar bears and owl

Really quick update. I've decided to make the standard size of my marching polar bears and my owl a bit bigger, and thus, the price has increased from $10 USD to $14 (however if you would still like a smaller version, please don't hesitate to send me a convo requesting so, and I will make the price adjustment for you). ^^ Also, the size of my Mister Polar Bear (named Edward) is a bit larger, and he now comes with a felt fishy friend to go along with the needle-felted flowers. So as such, the price has increased from $15 USD to $19. All other prices remain unchanged.






Don't forget, I do have some items on sale! They include my my cute couple momo bears, small momo bear, and carrot bunny no. 1 :)

Important update on shipping costs (within Canada).

So as you may know, Canada Post isn't the greatest when it comes to its shipping costs. Since I am a resident of Ontario, the parcels that I ship out, are shipped from Ontario. When shipping within Ontario, parcels usually cost around $6 CAD ($5 USD). However I've noticed that when I ship packages outside of Ontario, to British Columbia (for example), packages usually cost around $11 CAD. That is a HUGE difference! And I've had to make up for the cost with my own money :( SO I have currently updated my shipping prices in my Etsy Shop to reflect this change.

Orders to Canada are now (unfortunately) $8 USD (this ends up being around $9 CAD, and as such I am absorbing the extra $2 CAD, because $11 CAD is just too much to pay for shipping -- especially if ordering one of my smaller items!). So if you are a resident of Ontario and are ordering an item from me, please, please, PLEASE convo me first so that I can adjust the shipping price for you (so that you will be paying less). I cannot stress this enough~

I am not sure how much shipping will cost to other provinces, as I have not yet had an order from any of the other provinces (although I have had orders from Quebec, but those were for my downloadable stationary which have no shipping cost (since those stationary files are emailed to the buyer).

These new shipping prices only reflect the cost of shipping a parcel within Canada.

The shipping cost for International and US orders will remain the same (it's uncanny how it costs more to ship within Canada, than outside! Something MUST be fixed! lol)

I hope this will not deter any future customers from my shop! I'm usually pretty nice about trying to lower the shipping costs (and have for the most part, been using some of my own money if my shipping prices turned out to be too low! but I am unable to keep doing that for every single order right now).

In the future, as I start to list newer items, I will try to absorb some of the shipping costs by putting some of that cost into the price of the items itself, that way it doesn't seem like you are paying a lot for shipping!

I would adjust the prices of my current stock, but I think it would look strange to see a $10 USD polar bear one day, and then the next day see it costing like $13 USD -____________- (if you know what I mean). But I will definitely take that into consideration as I go through this big learning process of having my own online store!

Oh how I wish Canada Post's shipping costs would lower! Just want you all to know that I am working my butt off to lower these shipping costs for you~ I am not trying to make money off of the shipping costs, as I will always refund you the difference if it turns out that my listed shipping cost is MORE than the actual cost of shipping out your packages! (This hasn't happened yet as my costs have actually been less, and I have been absorbing part of the costs).

NY to Toronto, and updated stock.

Jennifer of Sweet Charity (a shop based in New York) was kind enough to send me a photo of 3 of my toys (out of the 13) that are in her shop ^^ Thanks so much Jennifer for giving me my first experience at doing a wholesale order~ I had a lot of fun and was super excited to see this photo :)


^ From left to right: Small Momo Bear, Kai, Molly


Updated Stock
I have just stocked up on more off-white and tavern green cotton yarn (used to make my polar bears, and part of molly).
I also have A LOT of ivory chunky acrylic yarn (that could be used as a substitute for the polar bears, or for any other custom made item.

Lots and lots of yarn, I need to store them all together :) I have many different earthy colours (greens, browns, taupes, grays, multi-coloured earth tones - mostly acrylic), as well as some pastel coloured cotton yarns left.

:)

Troubled shipping costs.

So I have a problem with shipping costs, mainly shipping costs for a small parcel to places in Canada (which makes no sense as I live in Canada). Anyways here is what I have noticed. Within Ontario (for now it seems) shipping costs have been fairly normal at around $6. Yet my problem occurs when faced with the shipping costs outside of Ontario (but still within Canada). Why must shipping costs to BC be $11 for regular parcel post? It's a really small package too (one that would cost around $6 CAD within Ontario, $5 USD to the United States, and $7 USD to send it internationally).

Why is it cheaper to ship a parcel outside of Canada than within? It really makes no sense to me. So now I feel stuck. I need to change the shipping costs for Canada in my etsy store so that I don't lose money, but I still want to keep shipping costs low because let's face it, no one likes to pay extra for the cost of shipping!

So what should I do?
Should I set the price at $10 USD (~$11 CAD) for all of Canada? or should I find some sort of middle ground and charge $8 USD?

Both have their pros and cons. If I choose the first option, then I could always refund the extra shipping costs to the buyer, but the initial high cost that would be listed may turn away potential buyers and decrease sales (and I am striving to increase my sales).

If I choose the second option, then I might be losing money still because I would have to cover any extra costs.

So now I feel stuck! It doesn't help that I am half awake typing this at almost 4:30 AM. I guess I will decide after some sleep. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Back home.

I'm back from my road trip~
Someone ordered a polar bear from me while I was gone ^^~! I will try to mail it out on tuesday :) (Must recover from trip).
We got lost a lot while trying to reach various destinations~
Wish we stayed in Wasaga a lot longer to have fun~
Also wish we could have gone to that 'scenic cave' place thing. I think it would have been a lot of fun, and was the only place where we didn't get lost trying to find!
Camping was fun, minus me getting sick/feeling woozy every now and then~
So much happened in the last two days, and my head is SPINNING~

Weekend getaway~

I will be out of the city this weekend (July 4 and 5, 2009).
I'm going to be going on a mini road trip with some friends of mine.
We are going to be at Wasaga Beach and at a nearby campsite, thus I will have no access to the internet.
My shop will stay open, but any questions you may have, I will not be able to reply back to until I get back to Toronto~

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Sherry~

They LOVE it!

I just got an email back about the bears today (you know, the ones that I was getting stressed over because I thought they would get lost in the mail). Well, they were able to pick it up today, and when he showed them to the girlfriend, she totally loved them! So horray! I'm so happy that they love how the bears turned out and happy that I was able to bring her drawings to life in the form of two amigurumi bears ^________^ That makes me smile to know that I was able to brighten up someone's day, and to know that all that hard work paid off!

For a photo of the bears (before they moved to Beverly Hills), please check out my previous blog post here.

Fun Giveaways!

Every now and then I love to participate in giveaways! There are currently 3 that I am participating in:
1) Kokopinto's adopt a critter - where you can win her downloadable stationary set featuring her playdoh animals -- super cute!
2) Life Craftiness and Everything Else - where you can win TheHouseofMouse's mouse of your choice! -- I'm totally obsessed~
3) Natalie Norton's giveaway from Tea Photography - where you can win the 3 photo prints posted on Natalie's blog -- I wish I was as talented a photographer as both Natalie, and 'Tea' ^^

Please check out these giveaways if you are interested in them like I am. Not just because you have a chance at winning, but also because giveaways are fun, and you can get exposed to a lot of great talent that is out there!

On a side note, my postal office crises is now over...my package is in the location where it should be! AND the person may pick it up from the post office tomorrow, since he was not at home when they went to deliver it today~~ (IT ARRIVED A DAY EARLY!!!!!) ^__________^ I'm happy that it wasn't lost~

Earth kitty.

I'm currently working on an 'Earth Kitty'. Not sure if I am sticking with that name for the "breed" that it is, but I'm calling it that for now since the colour of the yarn I am using is called "Earthy Brown". Having a little trouble with the second ear and face, but as it nears completion, I will start to post photos of it. It is currently 9" tall without legs, so I'm expecting this to be my tallest amigurumi that I have made to date ^^ It's pretty cute (well I think so) as the neck is kinda flexible. Right now it looks more like a bowling pin though :P. I will try to post photos later to show you the progress I am making but we'll see if I have time :)

A little frustrated this morning with the postal offices. Mainly my issue is with tracking numbers, and updated tracking information. I will worry about it some more later one (rather than frustrate myself with it right now) since I don't know yet if the package made it to its destination, or if the person is still waiting to receive it. The last tracking info available, stated that it cleared Customs in the US (specifically in NY). But it needs to be in California by TOMORROW! Never had a problem thus far with orders/mail to the US~ So I am hoping that it will reach there on time. I am picturing it on the airplane right now on its way to Beverly Hills, CA~ YES! And that it will arrive safe and sound, as I worked really hard on that custom order and packed it really nicely (the post office lady who helped me mailed it thought I had bought it, and was surprised that I had mailed it myself lolol).

Here's hoping it will get there on time!

(There has been one case last year when I was mailing a tripod back, and it got lost in the mail, and the process of claiming that lost item was such a gigantic headache! I hope it doesn't happen with these bears, since I really love how they had turned out).