Minding Our Business 3

Hi everybody, this is my frustrated face. It's been a while since I talked about any business progress we've been making on brick-and-mortar Paper Dolls; still opening July 2012! We've been working on writing our business plan in the hopes of luring investors and/or helping us get a business loan.
Today, we've been trying to make lists of all the scrapbook supplies we will carry and the wholesale prices for each. It's not very easy to find these prices if you don't already have a business license. It's a bit of a catch 22 actually. If anybody has any advice for us, we'd appreciate it. More to come soon- gotta get back to work.

I'm just mad about saffron...

Happy Monday, loyal blog readers and friends!

Paper Dolls has been working on the financials for our business plan and enlisting the help of a lawyer friend of ours who has been very kindly willing to flex his pro bono muscles for some crafty girls in need. Thanks Mike! All that staring at spreadsheets has gotten me feeling a little down and I needed a boost. So, I cleaned up my room and bathroom this weekend while listening to some booty-shaking music and dancing around in my pajamas! Both rooms in my house have a lot of yellow patterns, objects and accents. How can you not smile when you see the perfect pair of yellow shoes, a cheery yellow floral bedspread or soft lemon satin ribbons? So, off we go, a tour of 2 of my favorite rooms in my apartment.
A maize montage of photos, frames, a butter dish I picked up at Anthropologie on clearance, vases, an antique bird, my own painting and an earring organizer from Urban Outfitters. The shelves are from Ikea, of course!

A papaya photo board that hangs above my desk. I covered an old painting with upholstery fabric, wrapped satin ribbons around it and added photos of family, friends and loved ones.



A lemon lighting fixture I crafted with my Dad about 5 years ago. I picked up these plastic, geometric shades, added a light bulb on a wire and asked my super-handy father to fashion a structure out of conduit to screw into the ceiling. The orange doesn't exactly match my room anymore but I love it so much I can't seem to part with it!

My buttercup bedspread - I love, love, love it! I love my bed! Its over 100 degrees in Las Vegas right now and I still won't take my bedspread off. Its a cute yellow and grey floral quilt that goes so well with my grey ruffles waterfall curtains.

Golden Gerbera daisies sprinkled amongst lime and ivory flowers add the perfect amount of cheer and warmth to the area above the towel rack in my bathroom. I picked up the yellow flower hook at Pier 1 at the beginning of the summer for about $8!

More mustard Gerberas cover the push pins I used to hold these porcelain plaques on the wall of my bathroom. They invite you to clean, soak and splash in the sunshine glow of mellow yellow.

Thanks for coming on my tour - enjoy your week! Look for a blog from Ruth on Wednesday.

It's hard to find good models these days...

So what's a lady to do when she doesn't have access to kid models for a "photoshoot" so that she could add more items to the Paper Dolls Etsy shop? Model them herself?

EH! Wrong answer! Can you say fivehead? My forehead can give Tyra Banks's forehead a run for her money. It might honestly distract you from the cuteness of these fabric yo yo headbands and barrettes.

(My mom made these... can you believe how crafty she is?)

Another option would be to bribe her god daughter with obscene amounts of candy ask her god daughter who was staying over to model them for her... no pressure.

She said, "Yes!", people! Halleluyer. She was a very cute model, if I had to say so myself.

What's funny is that my nephews wanted to get in on this photo party... no bribery... nothing!

Thanks for your help you guys! I'll only be using the lil lady's shots, but I loved your enthusiasm, boys!

It's true that no children have come out of my womb... yet! But I consider these guys like my own. When I have kids one day, I hope that they turn out just like these little cupcakes.

B.I.Y. is the new D.I.Y.

Are you on the bandwagon? Come on, you know you want to. What does B.I.Y. mean, you might ask? It means: buy-it-yourself. Do you all remember that old Rice Krispies commercial where the housewife made a plate of Rice Krispy Treats for her adoring family? She bars herself in the kitchen for an hour, throws flour around everywhere, messes up her hair; the works. Then she calmly mixes up the super-easy recipe on the box and sits down and does her nails, or takes a bubble bath or something. I might not be remembering it exactly right but you get the point.

Well, my friends, that woman can be you. All you have to do is buy some lovely hand-made, one-of-a–kind piece of art or craft item (I know of a great Etsy shop I can recommend), pay for it and have it sent to you in the comfort of your home.

When it arrives, safe and sound with heartfelt thanks from the artist(s), sprinkle a couple buttons around, a few pieces of string or twine, and maybe some glue for good measure and then present it to your special someone. Everyone will be so impressed and all the work is done for you. Great idea, right? It’ll be our little secret.

Monday - Not just for The Real Housewives anymore!

I am, actually, watching the Real Housewives of New York - not the same since Bethany moved on, I must say. However, this Monday's blog is going to be about finding the comfort in moving slowly. I know, its a tuffy!

Hello, loyal supporters, friends, and "lurkers"! Paper Dolls just celebrated its third sale on Etsy this weekend...cue the confetti. Honestly, we are genuinely excited and truly appreciate the support. I can't imagine a time when every sale that comes in doesn't result in a squeal of excitement and a round of text messages chock-full of exclamation points. However, there are other women in our Etsy group that have sold 750, 1000 and even multiple thousands of their crafts. I'd be lying if I said we weren't even the slightest bit jealous.

What I have to keep reminding myself is that while we have been crafting our whole lives, we just posted our first item on Etsy a couple of months ago. Furthermore, we just purchased our first showcase a little over a week ago. It seems to be working and we are going to keep trying different things: adding new items regularly, reposting items so they show up in searches, and continuing to blog, Pinterest and Facebook the heck out of our work.

At any time of day, I am bound to have at least one of the following phrases running through my head:

1. Take your time and do it right.
2. Just because something works for one person doesn't mean its the right way for us.
3. No one said it was going to be easy. Or quick!
4. Stay focused and work towards your dreams.
5. The moment you commit to something, the universe conspires to assist you. (Believe me, Universe, we're committed! Bring on the assisting.)

I know one day soon we will look back on this time and wish we could go back to the days when times were simpler and we were able to catch our breaths and had lives outside of Paper Dolls. If that is one year from now, or two, or even three - it will be a great day. In the mean time, I am relishing this period of learning and growth and exploration. Its our time right now. Everything for a reason and everything for good.

Have a great week!