The good, the bad, the ugly

I need to grow a thick skin.  My husband has skin like an elephant, my skin is like tissue paper.  I made a sign last week and shipped it in record time.  It came out so cute.  The customer then leaves a 1 star review without ever contacting me,  She stated it was cheap and poor quality and the wording was blurry.

My signs are created from good quality pine, the listing states it is meant to be rustic and that wood has grain and flaws, so imperfections are all part of the appeal.  I would gladly refund her money, but she never responded back.  I know that people can be difficult, but as a online buyer, if I have a problem, I ALWAYS contact the seller before leaving a negative review.  As a new online seller, I depend on those reviews.  What is frustrating is that the folks who love my products do not leave reviews.

So here is the poor quality sign....the font has a "fuzzy" look, it is part of the font, but I love the sign.

Then I did a custom order for someone who absolutely loved her order, left no review, but at least made me feel better...."My husband was just arriving home from international work travels the day after it arrived, so it was perfect timing! He loves both the signs and I have referred you to several others that I know and are looking for somethings like this!

                                                               We love it, thank you!"

Well, as my husband says, you cannot make everyone happy, but I really do want everyone to love whatever item they order.

So moving forward, I decided to send a picture and a quick message to each buyer before shipping their item if it is not a ready made item.  I guess you just need to learn a lesson, grow thicker skin, and move on!

Keep cool as the heatwave continues!!

Graphics and sign making

I love designing graphics, and that is how we started making our signs.  I was contacted yesterday by a customer who absolutely loved her camper sign ( good job hubby).  I then spent 2 days designing a new sign for her.

I should have charged more, but what the heck, we are still a new little business, and at this point am just happy having a repeat customer.  I am so thrilled with this design, that I may make it as a regular item in the shop.

Here is the design:

Now we will take this design and transfer it into the pine wood.  I cannot wait to see how this turns out.  I will take pics once it is done.

I also listed this little guy on Facebook, this is hand painted, so a different technique, but I love the black and white, this one sold the day I put it in our group. 

I am really proud of not just the sign, but the pure white background that I managed to capture. Normally I think it is a boring look, but I think it looks great with the black.

Well, record heat is heading this way, everyone keep cool!

When it sells, just make more!

I love making reclaimed wood signs.  My friend loves it because it saves her from dragging out the wood to the trash. Hubby is on the fence.  On one had the wood is free, on the other, I now have quite the collection of driftwood and found wood in our other room.

I also discovered how to get my fonts onto the wood in a new way, which is good, and I think I have finally mastered the paint pen, which looks easier than it is.

So my collection of wood and fonts is paying off.  This sign sold in 3 hours the first time it was listed, and my other sign sold fairly quickly, so I figured I would make it yet again.

Next is black signs with white lettering, I really love that look.

Keep cool!  Record heat is on the way.

Trying new things is always fun

I started my other Etsy shop a few years ago called Groovy Graphics.  I took my knowledge of graphics and applied them to my wood sign shop.  My husband wanted to know if I could then take some of those designs from the wood shop and create printable graphics from them. I really did not want to, but then I found people selling digital art prints.

Yes!  I could add some fun new things to my graphics shop, and hopefully generate a little more income from that shop.  I am having a blast creating these, and will probably print some for myself.

Mistakes happen, and then....

So I have been having issues doing my image transfers, it always seems easy, but the slightest little movement, and your hard work is ruined.  Don't let the do it yourself sites fool you, it is not easy, and I have ruined a few pieces of beautiful pine wood in the process.

I actually have more fun doing the hand painting, and may leave the transfers to the spouse.  Yes, he actually has a better hand at it than I do, plus it keeps him out of trouble (lol).

I was completely annoyed yesterday when I messed up again.  There is no way I am trashing a nice piece of wood, it is just not happening, and sanding it does not really work well.  Not to be deterred, I found some nice Behr black paint just sitting around, and behold, I now have beautiful black wood to work with.

I am still working on my painting technique, and some fonts are a real challenge, but I am in love with the black and white. So lesson learned, you can always find some positive out of a mistake, and it may even work to your benefit. Excuse the work table, you can tell it has been well used.

Christmas in July

Ok, well, all the hype and no Christmas in July sales, but I did get a lot of views, and I figure at least I can let the SEO simmer in time for the holiday season.

I admit I have been having a blast making signs when it is 95 outside, and since it is my first holiday season I figured it would be a good time to stock up.  I think my favorite signs are made from reclaimed wood,

I love getting a piece of scrap wood and imagining what it could turn into.  I have a a few with a base coat of paint on them, and now I just have to study each piece to see what it will turn into.

Here are some of my reclaimed pieces, and there are many more in my Etsy store. I am especially excited about this first sign, not for the design, but that I was able to capture a good product photo with a little point and shoot Kodak camera.  I tried a piece of white board, and with just the right amount of positioning and some Photoshop tweaking, I think I did ok.

Finally back to blogger

Well, so much has happened since the last I wrote, I really need to get back into the swing of things!
We have sold 2 signs at The Gifted Crab in Maryland, several on Ebay, and now our shop is starting to take hold.

I wanted to expand a little and add some painted signs to our collection, so we collected a bunch of driftwood and I have been working on those.  I tried the paint pens, and although it seems easy in theory, there is definitely a steep learning curve to using them.  I am glad I have plenty of spare wood, because I have ruined a good amount of wood.

So summer is in full swing and we are busy crabbing ( not so good) and fishing in Maryland.  I have taken some cool pictures down along the rocks, and am continuing to work on our product photography.  All in all, we are a busy couple, and I must admit I love it.

Here are some pics I have been working on.  

Oh, and we have a Facebook Group page to promote special events and to allow our customers to purchase signs before they are listed on Etsy at a discounted rate.  Our page is https://www.facebook.com/groups/191559681240034/.