Busy week!

Omigosh!

It's been a hectic week, mostly because of being featured in the Etsy Finds Blog, which got me a TON of attention.

In the past week, I've:

• Received about seventy five orders for cards on etsy (all of those cards had to be printed, cut, assembled, packaged, addressed and stamped, plus checked and double-checked several times)
• Sold a jungle-themed birthday party package: 40 invitations, 50 thank you notes, 40 rsvp cards, 90 gift card holders. Everything's complete but the gift card holders (note to self: charge more than $.50 each for these, they take a ton of work!)
• I've started a new website for a fellow parent at the school (purchased a temporary url, got the site set up, transferred the content, currently in the process of selecting the layout she wants)
• Finalized the pop-up wedding invitations that I designed for some friends of mine. All the pieces have been printed and most of the cutting has been completed (I'm pleased with this design, which is a simplified variant of the Alice in Wonderland popup -- I'll share later)
• Finished implementing a card exchange that I thought up for my fellow etsygreetings group
• Finalized and got approval for the comps for a set of circus invitations that I donated as a package to a local school auction. All the pieces have been printed and cut and are awaiting assembly

In between, I've had my full-time job, helped raise the kids, had some social life, convinced the boys that they really wanted to go to summer camp and, at least occasionally, slept.

Being featured on the Etsy Finds blog was incredibly exciting. I sure got a TON of exposure. I'm starting to get feedback about the cards I sold (which were mostly the Mother's Day cards) and it's been extremely gratifying. This is a relatively new style of card for me and people are really saying some very nice things about them -- I have really been LOVING the feedback that people have given me (one lady bought five of them for her little store. She says that all five were sold within the hour!).

It's nice because it's unique. I haven't seen anything quite like it anywhere, even commercially (I'm hoping that people won't rip off the design). 

The best thing about it, for me, is that I actually don't mind making these. There are some cards that I really don't like making (my friend Wendy's comment: "why don't you stop selling them then?"). If that card had been featured on the blog, I would NOT have been able to survive all the sales.

Father's Day cards are next on my agenda! After that, I really want to do more  versions of that same kind of card to be used for other holidays (Anniversary: "Three reasons why I would marry you all over again." Graduation: "Three reasons why I know you'll succeed." -- you get the idea...).