A New Account and Sales Tax (fun stuff here)

Thursday was productive. I knocked out some crafting, some household chores, and even had a 'business meeting' with my accountant (sister-in-law.)

After my meeting, I'm feeling a little bit better about all the mumbo jumbo tax and legal stuff I've been reading and trying to comprehend. To start things off, on Friday morning I opened a checking account just for the business (Pat graciously provided me with the initial investment money.) Next, will be linking my Etsy PayPal account to the new account.

I still need to figure out sales tax on purchases. I know that PayPal has a setting for that, but I'm having a hard time figuring out exactly what amount of sales tax to charge. The state's is 4%, the county's is 3%, and my location (outside city limits) is 1%. I know all this adds up to 8%, but I don't have to charge the 3% to anyone outside this county . . . etc, etc, etc. That may be a task for another day. I'm boring you, I know. It bores me too, but this is the kind of stuff I'm struggling with before I can really start selling my creations.

I'm not even sure where to look to find the answers to these questions. Anybody else know?

What's on My Table

After the brain explosion yesterday, today's efforts were centered on e-mail, blogs, and actual crafting!! It was a pretty good day.

I'm not sure if I like what I produced, but I'm happy that I got the creative juices flowing. It made me realize just how fast time passes when you're doing something you enjoy. There just wasn't enough time to get a whole project accomplished. The fault probably lies in the fact that I took about an hour to sort wood pieces (taking out all the warped, broken, and just plain ugly pieces.) Then I got to collaging.

At the end of the day, here's what my craft table looks like.
And what I produced. Please take into account that they're NOT done!
I might actually get back in there after a bit. We'll see how the evening goes.

The First Steps and a Giveaway

So begins the first full week without a job.

Today has been spent going through some information on Etsy and how to set up my shop. I've been saving the links for over a year, so there's a lot of information to absorb. I think I got through a lot of the main points. Now it comes down to actually writing up my policies and profile, taking pictures, pricing items, and listing them. Yeah, THAT's all. Of course, I still need to figure out a few things regarding prices for shipping, tax information, and some of the finer points. I had to stop thinking about it before my head exploded with all the other tidbits. But, it's definitely coming along. I can see (in my head) some actual listing on the horizon.

For now, though, I want to share with you a giveaway from Denise Yezbak Moore. It's one heck of a haul if you win The Best Bead Give-A-Way Ever. Head over to her blog and check it out.

That's one BEAUTIFUL stash!!

A Word of Gratutude and A Roll-up Recipe

I felt a lot better about the new direction of my life after the last post.
There were so many of you who gave me support either here, on Twitter, or on Facebook. For that I thank you!! Stick with me and soon you might be able to buy some of the jewelry you saw yesterday!!!!

Yesterday was spent getting organized AND making one of the dishes I plan on taking to the marriage of Sara and Paul (the most talked about wedding on Twitter) this afternoon.

Since I'm fairly sure my organization is nothing to boast about (YET), I thought I'd share the recipe for the dish I made (that's kinda in the realm of crafty.)
It's one of those EASY things you probably already know how to make or have another recipe for it. An online search yielded a TON on different recipes. They go by many different names: pinwheels, rollups, spirals, meat-with-cheese-in-a-tortilla-thingies,and so on.
All they really are is a tortilla with cream cheese, layers of lunchmeat and cheese, rolled up.
Here's what you need (Ingredients)
Tortillas (any flavor and size are fine - I used garlic & herb ones for most of these)
Cream Cheese (softened)
Lunchmeat (I used both ham and turkey)
Cheese - thinly sliced (I used American and Swiss)
Aluminum Foil

Process:
Place a tortilla on a square on aluminum foil and spread the cream cheese.

Layer the meat(s) and cheese(s) (can just do meat, or just cheese if preferred)

Roll the tortilla with the stuffing as tight as possible

Roll the foil around the rolled tortilla and seal the ends

Chill in the fridge for several hours
Then; remove, unwrap, and slice so they look like this. (You can see I didn't get a tight enough roll on the ends, but the one in the center looks GREAT. In any case, they are TASTY!!)
So, that's as crafty as I got yesterday before I headed out for the "rehearsal dinner."
It should be an interesting and fun time today!!

The Beginning of a New Crafty Lifestyle

I'm at a loss for what to say or where to begin.
Let me announce: I was laid off from work this week.
 While I wasn't too upset, I was surprised and a little sick to my stomach. The thought of "what next" gives me a mini panic attack each time I think too hard about it. Yet, it also opens up the door to all the experiences and chances I've been wanting to take, all the things I've been wanting to try. Without a silly old job, now's my chance. . . right? But, where do I start on this new adventure? What's the path I should take or should I just blaze my own trail?


Pat and I are fortunate enough that he makes a good living for us and has a stable position at the company.  As such, I don't have to be in too big of a rush to jump back into full-time employment. Yet, he would prefer that I don't spend my time sitting around the house and 'playing in the craft room.' He wants to see some effort on my part and a real attempt to bring in at least a little income. [And, no. . .he's not bossing me around or acting like my father or anything like that. As my soul mate, he really does know me. That means helping me find a direction. Otherwise, I'll just flounder around without ever making a decision. His encouragement is really a blessing!]

I don't have a full-blown plan yet but rather a running mental list of what I want to do with this OPPORTUNITY.
 Obviously, I'd like to (1st and foremost) CRAFT more. Thus, I'll need to (2) start selling my wares to meet Pat's "monetarily-productive" request. Of course, being the neurotic I am, I have to (3) start with some 'training.' As well, having the opportunity to (4) blog more often and share this process is definitely in the cards.
And that's where I stand right now.
What do you think? Any suggestions, tips, ideas, etc. . .

I'm excited, I'm nervous, I've got to be out of my mind [I.have.a.degree.in.psychology.what.the.heck.do.I.know. about.making.selling.and.marketing.ANYTHING]
Just had to get that out of my system. . . okay, here we go!!

The 100 Day Project 2024

Yesterday, the 100 Day Project for 2024 started (it's not too late to join in!!) I mentioned last week that I would give you a heads-up ...