#although I might also make an etsy I have no idea | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

notcaycepollard · 7 months

Note

I just saw your Barbie jacket and fell in love, such beautiful work!

I want to get into sewing but have no idea where to start, do you have any tips?

Yes! FYI, I had the privilege of learning to sew at a really young age, around 10-12, thanks to 1) learning the basics from my mum 2) having a second-hand sewing machine I could futz around on as I pleased. But I truly think anyone can learn to sew, it does not have to be a childhood skill.

If you want to try it out before committing to buying anything except fabric, there are almost always community or adult education classes or courses that can teach you basics on their machines. Depends where you live but you might find them through your local community college or high school night class, library, YMCA/community centre, or even by asking at a fabric/craft store.

I highly recommend taking a couple of classes if you're a complete beginner - they can teach things like laying out and cutting patterns, threading a machine, the basic stitch and finishing options, etc. Often they can also teach you how to use your own machine, if you've bought one but you're a beginner.

If you want to try at home, at minimum you will need:

A basic sewing machine - you can very often find good second-hand machines online (ebay, craigslist, local buy/sell Facebook pages). Mine is a Janome and I've had it for almost 20 years, but the old 70s steel Singer machines are fantastic in terms of longevity.

A pair of reasonably sharp fabric scissors. You do not need to pay a million dollars for the best scissors, but going up a level from basic craft scissors, and keeping them only for cutting fabric (no paper) will make your cutting-out experience a lot easier.

A packet of sewing pins. For pinning down patterns and seams. I like the glass-head pins since they don't melt if you iron over them.

A tape measure for measuring yourself and checking your seam width, hems, etc.

An iron and ironing board (or table with a thick towel laid down, if space is a real problem).

A flat surface to lay out and cut your fabric - dining table or floor both work fine.

A needle for hand-sewing - to sew on things like buttons.

A box of empty bobbins to wind your bobbin thread onto.

In terms of patterns - there are a huge range of indie pattern companies online now (meaning they're not the big commercial patternmakers like Butterick). Most often, you can buy their patterns as a PDF and print it out on your home computer. In all honesty I much prefer indie patterns to commercial - they're often a lot more up to date with style, and usually not as expensive - but they can also be limited in terms of sizing, the range of style options, and some people really like a printed paper pattern instead of having to print your own. I recommend Papercut Patterns as an indie option that's great for beginners.

Indie instructions can also sometimes be a bit confusing (I find Etsy patterns the worst for this) although often you can email them and ask - or Google "[name of pattern] sew along" for a video tutorial. You can also find step by step video or blog post tutorials for pretty much every sewing technique, including things like putting in a zip, sewing buttonholes, etc.

Once you've picked your pattern, you'll obviously need fabric. There are a million people online who espouse the virtue of sewing with old bedsheets from thrift stores; in all honesty I don't love doing this because 1) I get a huge amount of joy from beautiful fabrics 2) if you want to make things that look 'professional'/store-bought, bedsheet cotton is not always your best friend. BUT it is probably the cheapest option for fabric, and a very good way to start or to test that a pattern fits and you know how to make it before you cut it out in the nice linen that cost $30 a yard. Using thrifted fabric is also obviously really eco-conscious, although a lot of fabric stores (especially independent ones vs chain stores like Spotlight or Joann) make a point of selling 'deadstock' fabric - fabric leftover from a clothing designer's run.

That's probably enough to start, honestly just fuck around and have fun with it, screw up a few times, lean into the imperfection. I still regularly scrap projects that aren't working for me, no shame in doing so as long as you're enjoying yourself!

#sewing

30 notes · View notes

seafoamreadings · 4 months

Note

What are the differences between sidereal and draconic charts compared to tradition or tropical? What can you use them for and what do they mean?

this is actually a pretty huge topic and something i might write more extensively on later but let's do a rundown here.

what is traditional is going to depend a lot on where you are from and who you learn from. vedic and western tropical are the two most traditonal ones i think, and it seems like you are referring to tropical here, but i want to be clear that's not always the case.

so, tropical: this doesn't take into account the precession of the equinoxes over thousands of years, which is why it no longer lines up with the visible stars. i discuss this in more detail in this book and it's also something you can do your own research on if you wish. in this system each sign is just a thirty-degree chunk of the sky, and the 0 degree of aries is determined by the day of the vernal equinox in the northern hemisphere (autumnal in south) NOT by the actual beginning of the constellation of stars that looks like aries the ram. i do not have any good scientific reason why this method should work better than any other, but my experience is that it is the best, and it is very old and widely used around the world so others must agree! i use this for pretty much everything although i know a thing or two about some other chart systems.

sidereal: DOES account for the precession of the equinoxes and DOES more or less line up with the actual stars as a result. but make no mistake, there's more than one way to do a sidereal chart. for instance, vedic astrology popular in india is one sidereal system. it uses the same 12 zodiac signs as the tropical system i use, but additional information and if i understand right also each sign is 30 degrees so it doesn't line up perfectly with the stars (someone correct me on this if i'm wrong in the replies please~). but there are other sidereal systems that don't have evenly sized signs, or they do but they incorporate eg the 13th sign, ophiuchus. i have written some before about how i feel like these sorts of systems SHOULD be more accurate but in my personal experience never are. the physicist/astronomer in me doesn't like that but whatever, i don't make the rules.

one thing i have heard is that while tropical is best for knowing thyself, sidereal or at least vedic is better for making predictions. i'm digging into that a little bit on my own time but i think tropical does predictions fairly well itself if you know what you're doing! since i am not as well-versed in vedic i still use tropical for my predictions and while i may not know the minute details it never really gets the vibe wrong.

draconic: a bit of a different thing. i offer these readings in my etsy. like everything i do, it varies a little bit from the most traditional/conventional manner. but it seems to work nicely. i think this style of chart has its origin in vedic astrology where the lunar nodes are the head and tail of the dragon, but it seems a lot of people do this chart in a tropical system anyway. it's defined by making the north node the 0 degree of aries and building the rest of the chart around that. so the planets and spacing of everything are the same as in the tropical natal chart, but the signs change. the idea is that this shows you something about your karma, your soul, your overarching personality in a way that is bigger than your personal egoic small self life as you know it. it's very esoteric and cool.

draconic charts are always really similar to natal charts. they are for a *person*. but you can do vedic or tropical charts about an individual, a meeting, a synastry, an event, a horary chart, etc. so that is another difference.

another thing i want to mention which you didn't ask explicitly but might interest you is all of the above are geocentric approaches. you can also do heliocentric astrology! i'm delving into that too because that's one of those things my science brain wants to work so much, lol. it is not widely practiced in the mainstream but astro dienst will generate heliocentric charts if you check off the right boxes. it's fun to play with. the big change is you no longer have a sun sign, you have an earth sign, and it is opposite whatever your natal sun sign is in tropical (eg i'm a taurus sun, but in heliocentric i have my earth in scorpio.)

that seems like a long post but seriously it just scratches the surface. i hope it helps anyway, and maybe spurs some further investigation! thank you for the excellent question <3 will definitely be reblogging this one for posterity~

#astrology #sidereal #tropical #vedic #draconic #heliocentric #geocentric #astrology charts

9 notes · View notes

thelightofthingshopedfor · 1 year

Text

probably a sign that you’re not doing super great when a TikTok about the positive sides of ADHD nearly makes you cry because you never recognize yourself in any of those posts, you apparently only got the shitty parts (and meds don’t work, that’s very important) making you constantly overwhelmed and every goddamn mention of ADHD superpowers just makes you feel like even more of a fuckup

tbf there are some other stressful things, like that stupid shit with the MRI is temporarily solved but I’m wondering if I should look into getting the staples removed in case I need an emergency MRI in the future and I’m not sure who to ask although I have some ideas, and my room is still a worse disaster than usual from moving my bed to fix the leaking pipe in the wall and I don’t want to put half of it back before going through things and getting rid of stuff but some of that (swords) will take research and the rest will just take time I don’t have yet, and I might have fucked up a customer’s Etsy order in a totally unexpected way (fixable, but also something I didn’t need), and I owed a lot in taxes, and I need oral surgery on my receding gums which is also going to cost quite a bit and that’s even with splitting it across fiscal years so insurance will pay more (which will also suck more because it means two surgeries! but it’ll save like $900, so…), and I should take time off work but I also sort of feel like I shouldn’t because I always feel like I’m behind with everything, and I’d like to visit my grandparents in early June because it sounds like my grandma’s health is getting worse but I haven’t even had time to look at tickets, and I’m probably moving ahead with a bilateral salpingectomy which is something I want but it’s still kinda freaky and it absolutely needs to be done before the end of the fiscal year (June 30) as well which means the timing of everything is a little tight (and I haven’t told my mom yet), and somehow I’m still hamstringing myself with long-overdue and almost-overdue fanfic

and that’s only the really urgent and/or recent stuff

…which, okay, does legitimately sound like kind of a lot when I write it all out, so maybe it’s not so surprising that I’ve been in a constant state of burnout and overwhelm for…a very, very long time

#bad adult #brains behaving badly #adhd #among other things #surgery tw #sterilization cw

12 notes · View notes

shadria-anarchy · 8 months

Text

Finally my patches have all arrived! The Guns N Roses patch came from a Etsy shop named MetalFestival Store, but sadly it seems they closed their account as checking it in my emails leads to a Etsy error page and typing their shop name in Etsy also led to 0 results. They had some really nice stuff, too..

'My Social Battery' pin came from FTRSArt on Etsy, however it seems that they no longer offer the design- the shop has lots of jewelry though! https://www.etsy.com/shop/FTRSArt

My 5 Monster Hunter pins came from ChinookCrafts on Etsy, they're really nice and huge! The shop also has lots of other videogame/fandom pins/charms Here is a link to the MH pins

Pink Rathian patch came from PatchPerfectService, which has lots of videogame/dnd based patches. Here is a link to the Pink Rathian patch

The rose patch came from Hobby Lobby years ago. Do I support Hobby Lobby now that I'm aware of stuff regarding the CEOs? Hell no. Honestly if I ever end up in Hobby Lobby again I might try getting a few 'free samples' ;) ;) ;) BUT you shouldn't toss out what you got from a shitty place before being aware of how things are. Make use of what you have!

The 'Hello I'm DOING MY BEST' was from Hot Topic years ago too. Same thoughts as Hobby Lobby, I don't support fast fashion and art theft, although it'd be more risky to get 'free samples' so I just avoid the shop or just window shop to get ideas for my own creations (jewelry or clothing styles).

The spikey ball and little pop-it rectangle are freebies from a fair I went to a few days ago. Our local Community Counseling Center had a Suicide Awareness stand with free fidget toys and stickers! I ended up grabbing these two and I like the idea of sewing them up to the breast pockets or the collar so I have a easy reach on them at all times.

#my art <3 #sewing #diy punk #punk #patches

5 notes · View notes

wormthing · 8 months

Text

Someone recomended a way to sell art for some extra money, in the form of digital downloads. Stuff like patterns, posters, stock art, etc. Anyone out there with any experience with this? I'd love to hear ::-)

I know people sell Pdfs on Gumroad... Are there dedicated sites for images? I think Etsy and DeviantArt let you sell digital downloads, and BigCartel is a storefront option where the first 5 listings are free. I already have an eBay but I'm not sure it's the place for this. Oh yeah, Ko-fi has a store option too.

I'm gonna muse on some stuff below so you guys may peak at my thoughts on selling stuff... Any suggestions are appreciated ^__^

One thing I really would love to sell is stickers... I love stickers and I think when I ran a poll about what people would like to buy from me, stickers was the winning option ::-]

I'm not sure what to make stickers of, I kind of have in mind my reasons for why I made DA stamps- it was stuff i personally wanted to see. One idea I had is sticker sheets (?) of Eastern Mind characters, which I know isnt very popular but I love it a lot and I know there are quite a few earnest fans ::-]

Going back to digital downloads...

Web graphics might be a fun thing to sell digital downloads of. I also used to make repeating patterns for fun as blog backgrounds, that might be cool too. Since I'm interested in web design ::-)

Greeting cards and/or postcards might be cool? And posters for sure although I'd need to come up with some large-scale art.

I love looking at stock art websites so that might be a fun thing to make. I would seriously need to make peace with my art being publicly usable...

#not my art #making money from art is hard.........#thabk you everyone who has ever commissioned me or bought adoptables or otherwise ever given me money #for art MWAH its very encouraging to remember the support i have gotten ::-]

6 notes · View notes

cindylouwho-2 · 10 months

Text

RECENT ECOMMERCE NEWS, RESOURCES AND STUDIES, EARLY JULY 2023

As expected when I posted the recent Etsy and SEO news update in June, I didn't get much time during my road trip to work on the other portion. So here it is, covering ecommerce sites, social media, content marketing and lots of other things small and microbusinesses might need to know.

I've also updated my Tumblr theme to make it easier to read and more accessible overall. Please let me know what you think!

Finally, the next update will be out in a few weeks, and will contain everything together in one post again. If you don't want to wait for it, follow me on Twitter or on LinkedIn for more timely news.

SOCIAL MEDIA - All Aspects, By Site

Facebook (includes relevant general news from Meta)

You can now pay for a verified Meta account, and unlike Twitter, they actually verify your ID.

Speaking of Twitter, Meta’s copycat app Threads took off rapidly, hitting over 100 million signups in the first week.

If you have a Facebook or Instagram Shop, note that many countries will need to use Meta’s checkout as of April 24 2023. While the US is one of those countries, the following places will not have to change anything at this moment: “Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, U.K. and Ukraine”.

Wonder how Facebook ranks posts these days? Search Engine Land covered the topic for you.

Meta is pulling all news content in Canada after a new law passed that makes platforms pay media sources for their content. Google followed.

LinkedIn recently changed its algorithm, and is giving more weight to people you follow, and to “knowledge and advice”.

Make sure you are using LinkedIn content analytics to see how your posts are performing. The company released some tips on how to get more views and interaction on your ads and posts.

Pinterest is introducing Amazon ads that lead directly to Amazon so browsers can buy there. This is expected to take a few years to fully roll out.

The Shuffles feature is particularly popular with Generation Z women.

Yes, you can use Reddit to promote your business, but it is tricky. “It’s perfectly fine to be a Redditor with a website; it’s not okay to be a website with a Reddit account.”

TikTok

TikTok is selling its own products through the app, called “Trendy Beat", although this is only happening in the UK so far. The items seemed to be based on trending videos.

TIkTok is the latest to test searching by image, in its Shop feature.

Twitter

The Twitter algorithm now promotes Elon Musk’s tweets above all others. Yes, really.

YouTube

YouTube ended Stories on June 26, but plans on doing more with Shorts in the future.

ECOMMERCE NEWS, IDEAS, TRENDS (minus social media)

General

Handmade alternative marketplace Artisans Cooperative has settled on its organisational structure now that they are moving forward with incorporating the co-op, and enrolling new members. Check their blog for all announcements on their plans.

A new California initiative involves both ecommerce and brick and mortar businesses to help track down stolen items. Each site agrees to “assign staff and tools—dedicate webpage, online portal, or point of contact—to address concerns of theft that come in from retails or law enforcement, and to monitor listings “to affirmatively prevent and detect” organized crime.”

50% of online shopping trips start at Amazon, amazingly enough. Google comes in second. After peaking last year, TikTok’s share of product searches has dropped.

Many merchants are reconsidering their return policies, and even free shipping.

Amazon

Some Amazon sellers had huge issues with verifying their information to comply with the INFORM Act. The deadline for completing verification was July 7, after which Amazon will place a hold on all payments.

Amazon will now charge US buyers for returns to UPS stores.

Many backpacks made for adults were removed from Amazon automatically, and sellers were told they needed to show proof the packs had met children’s safety standards.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce has followed Shopify in raising fees for the same amount, although existing users didn’t see the increase until June 1. As with Shopify, site owners can keep their current rate by opting for the annual package.

eBay

If you are worried about eBay showing your home address to prospective buyers (due to the INFORM Act), you can apply for an exception.

Ebay international shipping is available to US-based stores now, but there are a lot of complaints. Other recent eBay announcements and plans are discussed here in coverage of the summer Seller Update.

Sales on eBay continue to drop, as do buyers. Here’s coverage of the 4th quarter report written for sellers, and the 1st quarter 2023.

eBay is now offering Canadian collectible sellers a new “Expedited Lite” Canada Post rate that costs as little as $5.85 to send 200 grams from Toronto to Yellowknife. Tracking and $100 insurance are included. [Attention other platforms - Canadians need these cheap rates!]

Poshmark

Poshmark now operates in the United Kingdom.

Poshmark joined the vast majority of large ecommerce sites in the past year by laying off employees, although the reported numbers were just 2% of the workforce.

Shopify

After making big moves to enter the fulfillment market, Shopify sold off the logistics network to Flexport, which it will continue to work with, as well as owning 13% of Flexport’s stock.

Shopify is resisting a Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) request for 6 years of tax records for 121,000 stores. Note that the CRA must get a judge to approve such a request, which they filed for in April 2023.

Shopify managed to beat the market estimates for the 4th quarter 2022, but predicts growth will continue to slow

There are ways to make your Shopify site more accessible for various disabilities; for some larger merchants, this is a legal requirement.

All Other Marketplaces

Bonanza is trying to improve its shipping label options, with the first step being decreasing the cost of USPS labels. It also now has a synced eBay importer, and is expanding its loan program to more sellers.

Michael's has finally opened its maker supply online marketplace to third-party sellers. While this initial group of merchants was invited, the company is now accepting applications from experienced ecommerce merchants. Fees are a flat 15% commission, so no monthly subscriptions, listing fees or even payment processing fees (apparently). There is also a Shipstation integration. This could be a good channel for high-volume supply sellers who make/design their own products, especially if they work in a niche Michael’s doesn’t already service. Note that their makers website that would compete directly with Etsy is now taking a waitlist.

Kohl’s opened a third-party marketplace, which includes their loyalty program benefits for buyers.

All Other Website Builders

Squarespace bought Google Domains, but Google is still a domain registrar, and this should not affect your Google rankings.

Payment Processing

Apple is very late to the buy-now-pay-later game, introducing Apple Pay Later for some users.

Shipping

There is a UPS strike looming; the union contract expires August 1. This could not only affect businesses who ship products via UPS, but also those of us who order supplies etc.

Also note that the port workers in British Columbia are on strike as of July 1. “Analysts have said a strike could have a significant impact on worldwide shipping and the Canadian economy. According to the Maritime Employers Association's website, its members contribute $2.7 billion to the national GDP and handled roughly 16 per cent of Canada's total traded goods worth $180 billion in 2020.”

Chinese ecommerce businesses could lose their US tariff exemption, which allows companies in China to ship to the US cheaply. The bill is not yet law.

USPS raised stamp prices and combined several services into the new USPS Ground Advantage plan, as of July 9.

(CONTENT) MARKETING (includes blogging, emails, and strategies)

Is your small business making some common content marketing mistakes? 5 frequent errors and their solutions.

Email welcome pages are a good way to increase sales from your list. “Imagine a shopper subscribes and is sent immediately to a page that, first, shares the discount code and, second, includes a short (30-second) welcome video that explains how to apply the code — without having to check email.”

ONLINE ADVERTISING (NOT SOCIAL MEDIA OR ECOMMERCE SITES)

Advertising through “retail media” (such as Amazon) will probably be greater than television ad revenue by 2028. “Retailers from Amazon, Walmart and Target to grocers such as Carrefour, Ahold Delhaize, Tesco and Sainsbury's are working aggressively to attract big advertisers to their websites” which could constitute more than 15% of all advertising spend by 2028.

Google’s Merchant Center will be getting easier to use next year, with the introduction of Merchant Center Next. Looks like complicated product feeds will be a thing of the past.

Google Ads users are encouraged to import the conversion info from Google Analytics 4, to potentially improve ad performance.

STATS, DATA, TRACKING

Many sites are incorrectly reporting visits as direct when they actually come from sources such as social media; here’s a study showing how that can break down.

Google’s latest instructions for migrating from Google’s Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4 even includes videos. If you don’t like Google’s explanation, here is another good tutorial [video and transcript] And here is a detailed outline of how to track organic search traffic in GA4, and how to set up site search. Don’t worry if you haven’t migrated your account yet - although it will not collect new data starting some time after July 1, 2023, Google will transition the account to GA4 for you, and will also let you download your old Universal Analytics data for the next year. If you didn’t update to GA4 yourself, you are in the majority of website owners.

Once you do start with GA4, make sure to connect with the Search Console and activate reports. There are also some reports you cannot get with GA4, but this article explains what you can come close to replicating from the old version.

You can now move all of your Google Search Console data into Google’s BigQuery, which is great for really large sites. If you struggle to digest the info provided by Google Search Console, then you might be interested in a few integrations to make things easier. Some are even free!

BUSINESS & CONSUMER TRENDS, STATS & REPORTS; SOCIOLOGY & PSYCHOLOGY, CUSTOMER SERVICE

How to answer common buyer questions to make purchasing easier (and more likely!)

Generation Z (born from 1997 to 2012) uses social media differently than other age groups, and that affects how you can market to them. Check out the different values and behaviours they have as a group.

Many sole proprietorships struggle with how to deal with demanding customers. Maybe you should fire them instead? [Twitter thread] Example: “Bad Clients are “un-leveragable”. You cannot

Learn from them

Use them as references

Earn a good margin to fuel your biz

Factor the intangibles when calculating your ROI. Not everything that counts can be counted.”

Consumers are always changing how they shop and buy; here’s some data from the end of last year, explaining that buying through social media is slowly growing, among other points. Also, “42% of consumers have chosen a product based on it being made by a small business in the last three months, up 8% from May 2022.” Hubspot also released more data on the social media angle of the research, giving reasons why some buyers are still hesitant.

US ecommerce sales were up 3% in the first 3 months of 2023. The total was $272.6 billion.

IMAGES, VIDEO, GRAPHIC DESIGN, & FREE ONLINE TOOLS

Need new icons for your website? Here are 20 free sets.

And here are some free web design tools, although you should note many use AI.

#ecommerce #microbusiness #cindylouwho2 #marketplace #social media #content marketing

4 notes · View notes

scsunshine22 · 1 year

Text

The elements blessed my wand?!

Two blogs in one day! I am not sure if that is a lot as I am still new to this website. But here goes!

I would like to share with you the making of my wand. I finished it yesterday evening, and it turned out to be a very special evening, perfect for the occasion.

First I started out with a pine branch, a nice one, that I got from outside my dorm. It was a good size, no nodes, and as soon as I started to whittle it it broke in half as it was too dry. So I went on another adventure to find another stick. This time, I found a stick, gave it a nice tug, thanked the tree and took it back. Although I don't have an image of the stick itself, here is one of a similar kind. Just imagine that it had three nodes at the top (we'll get to that in a minute)

I started to whittle this beast, and I was quickly finding that my multitool knife was not the most efficient option. However, it was practically my only option. I wish I had a ceremonial knife for this part. As I approached the dreaded nodes, I found that my knife was not working to tame them. I recently acquired a dremel and decided to pull that out instead. Now, when crafting your own wand, it is essential that you stay away from machines as much as possible, as you want to make sure that you are infusing hard work and good intentions into your wand. But let me tell you, I was still certainly working hard with this nail dremel.

It took me two hours to shape the wand, and by the end of it, I noticed that it had a slight downwards curve. Curves in wands can be tricky, as you want them to be a straight extension of your hand, or else the energy can be sporadic in direction, hence why I needed to completely remove the nodes. So, I decided to use the dremel to carve a spiral in the wand and I filled it with steel wire as to ensure that any energy I send through it would have a clear and direct path towards the tip. It also might cause some capacitation, which would be quite handy.

Next, I wanted to attach a stone to help aid me in energy, so I chose unakite. For those of you who aren't as familiar with crystals (don't worry, I'm not either, I'm just familiar with this stone) unakite is a stone that brings grounding, balance, and energy, its planet being Venus, its chakra being heart, and its element being fire. I might not have ever said this before, but I am very much so a fire sign who is greatly intune with Venus. So I found this stone to be very suitable for the job. I attached it using Sculpey® clay. Once again, I would recommend natural ingredients, but I don't necessarily have an abundance of clay in the soil where I live. I also created a base with the modeling clay and attached a sun pendent for a cute touch.

Next, I became entirely overwhelmed with the plans that my imagination had created for me. I had done some research on google of custom wands, and I came across an Esty page where they used clay to beautifully sculpt flowers and ivy onto the wands, and I know that this is what I wanted to do with my wand too. Below is the Esty page, because I certainly need to give them credibility as I used their ideas as a reference towards my own.

I gave it a week or so, and I finally mustered up the strength to continue my wand crafting journey. First I laid the Sculpey® down for my vines and baked it. Then I worked on the leaves and flowers. Once it was all baked and set, I began to paint it. But out of the blue, a storm decided to join me. Not just a light thunderstorm in the distance, but a vicious storm. Lightning was jutting past the clouds, and thrashing across the sky down to the earth, wind was pounding the sign on my door, water was drenching the earth below, and the earth was receiving it. Around me, I was experiencing all four elements making their presence known without me invoking them. I knew then that this wand was special, and that the universe was trying to tell me that it would be of great use and power. I knew I wouldn't be able to consecrate it for some time due to my lack of an alter, but the universe had different plants for it. At the advice of my aunt, I ran outside and threw a pan on the ground as to collect some rainwater for this special occasion. As I realized these things, I took my wand unfinished, wet paint and all outside and I let the rain wash away all of its impurities.

I finished my paint job with a top coat of high gloss Mod Podge® to seal it, and let it rest over night. Although I know have a blessed and fully functioning wand, I first must become more acquainted with my own energy and learn to conduct it down my arm, through my hand, and out my index finger. Although it comes naturally if I concentrate on it hard enough, I want to be very careful with this wand as I sense it is very powerful. So that is my goal going forward, use my finger first!

Wish me luck on my journey! With love,

~The Sunshine Witch

#sunshine #magic #witch #wandmaking #wand #magic wand #storm #elements

2 notes · View notes

sticks-ar · 1 year

Text

UPDATE

Hello everyone! I hope you all are doing well~

Just making this post to just get my thoughts out and in the open. I have plans for the new year and I hope to make it work this year!

So the main issue I've always have is trying to use a planner to organize my ideas, thoughts and just life in general. As an adult I never really used a planner, especially since finishing high school in 2013. I've gone through many where I start off strong in using it daily, then I miss a few days and just end up not using it... which sucks. But! But, but, but~! I recently bought a customizable planner off a site called Plum Planner that I tried to gear towards my needs along with a few tips from my therapist on how to get into the habit of using it and sticking to it. Wish my luck on that~

On top of trying to use a planner, I'm going to also try to upload consistently to dA, Twitter and other socials. I also wanna try to "refresh" my Youtube and Etsy. It's going to take some time for me to sort this stuff out and get content up for those two, but I'm going to keep everyone update as I go. For now this is what I'm thinking:

DeviantART, Twitter and Tumblr/Pillowfort (maybe?): upload on a specific day of the week to keep things consistent, varying between full pieces and CSP timelapses. Maybe some WIPS? I think I can post those to "scraps", but I don't know if people get notifications for those?

Youtube/Tik Tok: I tend to record all my works via CSP timelapse mechanic so I can also upload those if anyone is interested. My question with Youtube is what to post cause I'm so used to the format of a recording the full screen with OBS and uploading that on its own... or adding a storytime over it. Anyone interested in storytimes still or is it a dying content?

I can also add status to anything I upload on my different platforms! If you'd like to follow me elsewhere, please check this link that links to all my other socials (although I might do some tidying up there too!).

Thanks to anyone who read this in full!

#my art #art tumblr #update

2 notes · View notes

noahfandomstudies · 20 days

Text

Autoethnography

As a huge fan of the popular television series "The Sopranos" I try to interact with the fandom as much as I can. One of the ways that I participate in Sopranos fan culture is by buying various merchandise such as apparel from Etsy, funko pops, prop replicas, and signed posters. A majority of the merchandise that I purchase comes from sites where the products are mostly focused on being created by fans of particular media. The Sopranos is a show where it has lots of hidden symbolism, themes, foreshadowing, and ideas that I could not personally catch on the first viewing of the series. With that being said, I proceeded to watch The Sopranos 13 more times (Yes I kept track) to try and find something different each times in which I ultimately did. The show deals a lot with dark themes integrated with foreshadowing which I fully understood after I knew what going to happen based on watching the series prior. Currently, I am involved with a few Sopranos fan groups online such as being an active member in TheChaseLounge (A sopranos Forums page), a member of the r/TheSopranosmemes subreddit, a discord server with fans who like to analyze The Sopranos, and a follower of many Sopranos memes Instagram pages. In my spare time I do enjoy creating memes for The Sopranos ' Instagram and Reddit pages. I also actively participate in making Sopranos fan edit videos for TikTok. I have also been following various cast members on Instagram including Michael Imperioli, Steve Schrippa, Robert Iler, and Jamie Lynn Sigler. I currently engage with numerous Sopranos fan works such as Pod Yourself a Gun, the memes of r/Thesopranosmemes, multiple theories on The Chase Lounge, and Poda Bing.

Since The Sopranos tries to portray the culture of Italian Americans in northern New Jersey to the best of the showrunner's ability and part of that includes to try include the kind of language and slang that they use. Whenever I hear commonly used words in the Italian American culture I immediately think back to The Sopranos because the slang and the language are such an integral part of the identity of the characters in the show. Although (to my knowledge) some of the words are not the same as they are in native Italian, they are still iconic and heavily adapted to the Italian American culture. I have personally heard words such as “Marone”, “Piacere”, and “Bafangool” used in sentences in my lifetime although I’m not sure if they were referring to the show or not, still, it is an example of how the language “bleeds” into the real world. Anonymity impacts the way that fans of The Sopranos because they are most likely all different kinds of ages. While many may not really care about instances such as 17-year-olds bonding over a fandom with a 57-year-old, others would find it a little weird due to how untraditional it is. As far as knowing people's actual names when communicating goes, I don’t feel that it has much relevance to the interactions and discussions that fans have. The reason that anonymity is not a huge relevant factor in Sopranos is because anyone can enjoy the content of the show and bond over their understanding of what the show entails. The only reason that anonymity could affect the fandom would be if a fan's cultural viewpoints do not intertwine with that of the show’s content, this could create arguments among fans. With that being said, I feel the anonymity might be better for the fandom because it eliminates some of the possible controversies that could arise in engagement. Regarding the “us vs. them” construct, I feel that within the Sopranos fandom and my own personal experience members of the fandom do not really feel alienated because of their fandom. I feel that fandom nowadays and mainstream society blend together due to the media and the hype that it has the ability to generate amongst a particular fandom. I also think that peoples involvement in social media has allowed fans to become more vocal about their fandom and having it encouraged.

#com255 #officeofdocmalone #fandomstudies

0 notes

perpetual-fool · 2 months

Text

I've been doing better. Also worse, which might be a side-effect.

In beating my head against the brick wall of the unknown, I've finally started to make some progress. Particularly, I started practicing singing. A couple days of climbing up and down scales makes a meaningful difference. And it's not something which could be corrupted by human design. Making new connections, developing new skills, feels good. I think. The change in mood is subtle but I have been more productive. I've also been horribly drained, particularly after practicing. It's not so much that I feel distraught, more so hopeless and exhausted. I've heard if you suddenly feel better after being chronically depressed, you can crash due to the brain not being able to produce enough of the feel-good chemicals, simply running out. That seems like a plausible explanation.

I'm feeling what would probably be described as 'more confident'. Although the way others describe feelings and behaviors seem to have no correlation to my own experience. I think what's happening is that I simply have a 'need' to understand, else depression. And since I'm fulfilling that need in one place, I'm not desperate for it in others. So I'm less susceptible to assuming I must be wrong somehow.

And I'm feeling that I ought to change how I think about people. I'm definitely biased towards wanting to connect with them. But I have enough experience at this point to know that the blame lies entirely on them. Everything I genuinely regret was a reaction to their treatment of me. I have gotten so explicit in my communication that others have to be distorting what I'm saying on purpose. I've had many exchanges where people will tell me lies that are completely invalid, could not be true even in principle. And I've had multiple conversations where someone completely flipped their position from sentence to sentence.

I don't have a miscommunication problem, I have a liar problem.

I wish I could just leave it at that. I know others tend to assume something like "they're just a bad person who wants bad things" and move on. I envy them somewhat. But that's not actually an explanation. And I'm not going to have a genuine explanation until someone genuinely explains it to me.

In the meantime, how do I make life in liar-world worth living? Keep brute-forcing learning, I guess. what I can. Lots of things aren't feasible alone, and a lot of things depend on the behavior of others. Politics for instance, is something I can't know. Some things will be very difficult due to corruption. Programming for instance, the senselessness is built into it. Things that I can do from scratch will be the most accessible. Drawing, for instance. Building new kinds of muscle memory is a tremendous pain in the ass, but it's not like I have to use pencils and paper that are explicitly designed to make the process painful. And I already kind of have one foot in carpentry and luthiery. I have an idea for a style of chordophone that uses a diaphragm instead of a sound box. And I have an idea for a straightforward magnetic pickup for bowed string instruments, which doesn't depend on the strings being magnetic. Which reminds me:

And looming over whatever life I can manage to take from this world, I have no real way to make a living. Everything I could do is unwanted. I'm going to be dependent on my parents' money until the day I die. But hey, if I actually manage to make shit, maybe someone would buy it off Etsy?

1 note · View note

moneyontheweb222 · 5 months

Text

Fundamentals

Emphasize Ideas and Skills That Can Be Sold: List any talents that have the ability to earn money. Making a logo is more likely to earn you money than creating a meme. You might start an online Etsy store if you sell handcrafted goods or customized items.

Having a website will serve as your sales channel for goods and services.

Evaluate Your Skills and hobbies: Begin by evaluating your own hobbies, giving special attention to those that have the potential to be profitable online. Since you most likely won't get paid to watch movies, take into account the interests, pastimes, and pursuits that make you happy while also adding a professional edge.

Know Your Customers and Competitors: Recognize the market, your competitors, and your target audience.

Make a sales and marketing action plan: Create a plan on how you're going to market your good or service.

Try to do as much of this yourself as you can to cut expenses and boost revenue.

Recall that earning money online takes persistence, patience, and time. Selecting a monetization method that works best for your audience and niche is crucial. Online income generation opportunities abound and include affiliate marketing, advertising, product and service sales, and subscription-based businesses. The internet has made it easier to earn extra money, but there are a lot of possibilities available, which can be confusing. It is therefore advised to first conduct some self-discovery in order to determine your preferences. Then, get in with an open mind and a positive outlook.

Within the more modern times we live in even the unexpected can be useful, all these utilities we once found helpful aren't necessary anymore. Times have changed people have made thousands without a degree or high level education. We have entered a time and age where weather the factor of "I'm to young" or "its to late I'm to old" don't mean a damn thing. Its never to late or never to early to educate yourself on this.

When trying to make money online, age can only comes in effect depending on what kind of activity you do. Age limitations apply to many internet platforms and services for both legal and policy reasons. For instance, you usually need to be at least 13 years old to start a blog or a YouTube channel. In a similar vein, members of affiliate marketing and freelance sites frequently need to be at least 18 years old. Younger people can, however, also make money online by selling digital products or handmade crafts, though these frequently need parental approval or supervision. It's crucial to remember that although the internet presents a wealth of benefits, there are risks involved. Therefore, it's imperative to understand internet safety, privacy, and the legitimacy of the money-making opportunity, regardless of age. Always be sure the platform you're using is a reliable source by reading its terms and conditions.

Now that we got the fundamentals noted down on my next blog I will talk and share about the success people have have had doing online work.

#entrepreneur #make money online

0 notes

theeclecticwitchblog240 · 1 year

Text

Witchcraft side hustle ideas:

⚡Read tarot - This one is by far the one I see the most often, and that’s not a bad thing. I have my go-to favorite tarot readers for different things because I feel like tarot readers are not all built the same. Some styles of reading work better for life paths and some for career choices. Nothing is better than an abundance of tarot readers. Plus you can create a large audience by using Instagram or TikTok and this one requires almost no start-up money.

⚡Spell services - I’m not always a fan of selling witchy services because some people seem kind of shady or are in it just to make money and not really having any background in witchcraft or occultism BUT I put it on here. If you genuinely care about your clientele and want to spread the magic by offering great spell casting services, then this might be the side hustle for you.

Etsy shop - I am not remarkable at selling on Etsy and have never really had a tremendous amount of luck with that site, but that’s not to say you won’t. I’m also an avid Etsy shopper and have found loads of witchy shops selling everything from blended oils to fixed candles on the platform.

Blog - Then there's the blog. This is the space where I find the most success, but what I often don’t find are a lot of other witchy blogs. Sure, there’s a bunch out there, but it doesn’t seem as over-saturated as say a cooking or your basic mom blog. Although I don’t, you can make money off of advertising and other ad revenues.

Write books - If you have a knack for writing, try penning your own book. You can go the traditional route of seeking out a publishing agent, but honestly, self-publishing is so huge right now. So many books with so much great content, definitely worth taking a look at. Who knows you could be the next big thing in witch books.

Teach classes - Is there a local witch shop nearby? Have you thought about hosting classes or teaching workshops on various witchy subjects? In my experience I have found so many people interested in learning more about the craft, it could be a noteworthy start to a rewarding career.

Create lifestyle goods - Lifestyle goods to me are things like shirts, stuff for your house, coffee mugs. Printify and Printful are two websites to get things rolling in the merchandise world.

Cottage food - Cottage food to me are things like jellies, jams and preserves. Think kitchen witch vibes. If you’re already a gourmet cook with a penchant for magic, this could be the space for you.

BB!

0 notes

covenstead-tattoo · 2 years

Text

Something I started doing for my etsy shop early on was making personal thank you cards. I wanted to show my customers, my gratitude. Now these aren't like typical thank you cards, but personal ones from me to my customers. At first my cards were very simple, a personal message of thanks and a space where I could write the customers name, I wanted to get personal and adding the persons name seemed like a direct thank you to that individual. I wanted to make sure that every customer who bought from my shop knew that I took the time to know their name. Now in wiccan belief, Words have meaning, intention, can even manifest. Some wiccans will meditate, some do sigils and others use written words....I believe in the written word. I am a huge journal writer, If I'm anxious, sad, bored, happy....I write. There is something about writing it on paper that just brings new meaning to it. Now this might sound strange to some but the act of writing my customers names on those thank you cards felt like a connection to me. I would write their name with intention, I put my feelings of appreciation, gratitude and happiness into that writing of the name, hoping that once they open that package they feel those emotions, they feel the impact that they had on me by supporting me. I really hope that they feel that.

As the years go by, the thank you cards felt like they needed something more, I also had a growing need to be more creative. I started to notice a lot of other Etsy shop owner who were youtubers, would also be on patreon, and would send prints every month on subscription. Now I was honest, I do not have enough following to have a patreon, maybe some day. But I did like the idea of sending prints and that's when I was struck by the idea! A limited print but with my thank you card on the back. It would allow me to be more creative and give my customers something special. So I came up with the plan to not do it monthly but make it limited to only 100 prints. The image above is my newest thank you print and my second run. I do hope that my customers love them, it brings me joy to draw these prints. And I hope to eventually do more, like a patreon and even a youtube channel (although I am shy about opening up myself, it took a big step to do a tumblr lul).

Blessed be, Danni

#thank you cards #etsysmallbusiness #artists on tumblr #wiccan #illustration #artwork #artist

1 note · View note

wingfuel84 · 2 years

Text

Mechanical Pencil Leads Office Products 12pcs × 3packs Muji Japan Mechanical Pencil Refill Leads 0 3mm

Other factors - like placing an order on a weekend or a bank holiday - may end up pushing the arrival of your item beyond the estimated delivery date. It's our hope that your item gets where it's going as soon as possible, but given the factors involved, this is only an estimate. A need of users partorisca be very careful when it is storages in the chance of pencil, and it preventing partorisca fall. Finding 0.3 mm the goodnesses of the transmission of the pencil maquinal is extremely difficult. Ossia For far one of a pencil maquinal better in a phase, more economic also, this surpasses my expectations and still returns my levels of both creation/of aesthetics and functionalities. But I will always have some lying around the house and in my purse as well. I’ve actually been going through lip products almost on a monthly basis so it’s really exciting to try new things and be able to finish them. The density of the lead on your pencil will typically be categorized based on the graphite grading scale.

MUJI also works to ensure customers don’t have to worry about their favourite pens running out of ink or not being able to find the right size of paper for their binders.

Although master muji pencil, has ordered and paid for the .3mm, But has received the .5 Which apparently can not return or transmission.

Neither I have known a eraser is coming with him so only taken an upper was, but in general a pencil was súper well and there is enjoyed spent of mine.

Simple note taking won’t usually require anything higher than an HB pencil.

You might also be looking for some one-of-a-kind products for your home or office. Pencil is a fine product, my only criticism is there doesn't appear to be a way to store extra lead in the pencil. That can be a significant negative for someone who doesn't want to have to carry spare leads around in a separate container. Send me exclusive offers, unique gift ideas, and personalised tips for shopping and selling on Etsy.

Decoding The Cult Of Muji, The Japanese Minimalist Retailer

MUJI MAIL members will receive 10 per cent off all regular priced merchandise during opening weekend, and the first 200 customers will receive a custom MUJI at Metrotown tote bag. Pencils are extremely versatile; they can be used for simple scribbling on post it notes, taking lecture notes, or drawing an incredibly realistic sketch. The use of pencils goes back centuries, and they’ve proven to work for simple uses, and have also been used by world renowned artists to cover entire canvases. This year, with Christmas looking different all around the world, my friends and I have decided to place mystery gifts on each other’s doorsteps; unfortunately we won't be going through anyone’s chimneys. But all the same, we won't be sharing our favourite glass of wine or huddling under blankets after eating enough cupcakes to make us sick. Garments and housewares come in mild colours and utilitarian packaging – sheets are beige, charcoal, blue or greige, and flannel PJs in the same neutral array are folded bundles tied with cotton ribbon. Staples Canada believes that you should have peace of mind when choosing your writing instrument, which is why they've partnered to create a new life for pens, markers, and pencils. To learn more about Staples Canada,click here. The sets of colouring pencils and felt-tip pens notwithstanding, the fiery red stanchion snaking inside the mall on press preview night is the most colourful thing about the new Muji store. The retailer has 385 locations in Japan and 255 elsewhere, now including its first Canadian store, in Toronto, a stone's throw from the Eaton Centre. A pencil is like this smooth and has the control adds, 5 pieces of goodnesses was inside a pencil and eraser is long. I add to draw and writing, to good sure the value that takes and is coming really quickly. As one of the world’s leading textile producers, we are committed to meeting the ever-changing needs of our customers through a powerful blend of unrivaled expertise and manufacturing flexibility. Gilchrist & Soames stands as one of the most renowned and respected bath and body brands in the world. With a name that has echoed throughout the finest hotels, spas, resorts, and private residences worldwide for over forty years, it is our passion for pure and innovative products that sets us apart. Toronto Pearson online gift cards Get the perfect gift for a friend or family member who is a frequent traveller—or treat yourself! https://bestreviewsca.com/muji-pencils_136399/

Muji Stationery

Together we have developed solutions to help you optimize your operations, protect your reputation and delight your guests. MUJI opened a fourth Canadian location in Markham, Ont. on July 22, 2017. The grand opening of the store, located on the ground level of the Hudson’s Bay wing, got underway at 10 a.m. Having distribution centers located throughout the US and worldwide, streamlined logistics and relevant products means being prepared, close by, with all the supplies you need to aid in your preparation & recovery efforts. Today’s world has changed, which has introduced new standards and expectations for safety and comfort. At Manchester Mills, we believe in the power of life’s little comforts – delivering uniquely exceptional experiences through uncompromising quality and a relentless passion for innovation. They can be used to take notes, to draw, or to stay organized, as MUJI has seen with the recent “bullet journal” trend. Hello, I am selling three new packs of line paper with 150 sheets and three Muji notebooks. We can meet up in Markham/Scarborough/Richmond Hill if you are interested. MUJI Japan Clear Plastic File Folder Storage Box A4 or 8.5 x 11 Size Paper Documents NEW / SEALED. Great for Photos, Paper, Documents or Small items.

#muji pencils

0 notes

witchesbe-like · 2 years

Photo

It’s crazy to me to think that we are in such survival mode with finances that ‘side hustles’ are a regular thing now. Don’t get me wrong, I hate hustle culture. I believe we all should be pursuing our passions but not to the level of toxic self-destruction.

So why the side hustle? Because we all need money, and witchy side hustles can oftentimes manifest into lucrative careers. Nothing makes me happier than a witch living their best life making a career out of doing what they were born to do.

If you have another idea you want to add to the list, or drop a comment below!

Read tarot - This one is by far the one I see the most often, and that’s not a bad thing. I have my go-to favorite tarot readers for different things because I feel like tarot readers are not all built the same. Some styles of reading work better for life paths and some for career choices. Nothing is better than an abundance of tarot readers. Plus you can create a large audience by using Instagram or TikTok and this one requires almost no start-up money.

Spell services - I’m not always a fan of selling witchy services because some people seem kind of shady or are in it just to make money and not really having any background in witchcraft or occultism BUT I put it on here. If you genuinely care about your clientele and want to spread the magic by offering great spell casting services, then this might be the side hustle for you.

Create lifestyle goods - Lifestyle goods to me are things like shirts, stuff for your house, coffee mugs. Printify and Printful are two websites to get things rolling in the merchandise world.

103 notes · View notes