Rocket Science Labels

My friend Amy recently started her own business designing labels and I’m so happy to finally be able to share her website with you.  Amy’s company Rocket Science Labels makes really great foiled items. She can do any type of label you’d like and foil it for this really professional look to your items.  She’ll be opening her etsy store soon and is planning on offering ala cart services and full package deals. It’ll be a great place to pick up business cards, product labels, stickers etc.

And I get to be a test subject! My oh so cute teal panda labels will be foiled in teal on either white or black paper, we haven’t decided which one yet.  I can’t wait to show you a side by side of this awesome new packaging!

Edited: February 25th, 2009

Flagged Buttons take two

Okay, I have no intention of not selling mature/inappropriate buttons because someone else doesn’t like them. It’s a pia to have them flagged constantly, but I must say Artfire has great customer service. They responded quickly when the first button was flagged and it took less than 13 minutes for the second flagged button to be deflagged.

In this case, no, you haven’t done anything wrong. We are working on our system to automatically include a “MATURE CONTENT ITEM” image for the first image, so if someone “accidentally” runs across the item in a random search they won’t be able to see the item if they don’t want. However, I don’t think that is completely up and running yet, which is why your item could have possibly been flagged. Because of the “F” word, there wasn’t a “MATURE CONTENT” disclaimer image that shoppers are used to seeing, which is probably why it was flagged. Other than that, everything looked fine. You may want to consider adding the “MATURE CONTENT” disclaimer in the “Main Image spot” to your listings that have any potentially offensive text in there but we are working on doing that automatically too. It depends on if you want to battle with flags and appeal them each time you get them until that is working. Let me know if you need help.

I like that they’re explaining the process to me, letting me know what they’re working on for mature content listing, helping me figure out how not to be flagged, and treating me like a valued customer. They didn’t just send me a canned response and call it good. They read my email, answered the questions in my email, and responded quickly. It makes me happy!

I’m working on some more mature/inappropriate buttons right now and will be adding them to my store over the next week. I even added a mature/inappropriate section to my Artfire store. I curse, so do my buttons.

Edited: February 24th, 2009

Flagged Buttons

I get that some people never curse. *I* am not one of those people. I curse… I curse even more when I’m angry.

Right now I’m pissed.

When you upload a product to a ecommerce site and follow that site’s rules for mature content, it’s annoying to have someone that keeps flagging your products for mature content. You check the “mature content” box like you’re supposed to and they still flag you. Now it’s not an issue really on etsy because they need to review all flags before they pull items and they don’t quickly pull.

Artfire though? 4 flags and your product is automatically pulled. You have to go through a whole little process of getting it removed… oh. and apparently they do that quickly or I just managed to catch someone at the right time. Flag removed because I followed the rules. What a waste of time for them and me though. I’m following the rules, quit flagging my curse word products damn it.

I know it’s an imature reaction but it makes me want to put lots of fucking buttons up in my store … Hell, I may just do that anyway and then put in a section called “cursed” or something.

This is the button in question. It’s part of a custom order for Saint Patrick’s Day I’m doing for someone in my hometown. There won’t be a ton of this particular one, just a couple.

Edited: February 24th, 2009

Huzzah Laser printers!

My husband did some massive research for me and found (and bought) an affordable laser printer for my store. What does that mean? It means I can now offer my buttons in any color that a customer wants. I can also change fonts and my turn around time is practically no time at all. It prints quickly and accurately and the buttons will not bleed horrible should they accidentally get wet.

So ALL of the buttons in my etsy and artfire stores are now capable of being customized unlike before. I think this will help my store a bit plus I don’t have to stress about getting prints back in time from the printer I was using and I don’t have to keep a bunch of prints in stock. I can just print items as they sell which will help with studio space.

Here’s an example

The choices in fonts/colors is just so much fun to me. I’ve been slowly updating ALL my items to include the color options as well as the option to make it a magnet. Keychains are also available for $1 more and pocket mirrors will be available next week.

Edited: February 23rd, 2009

Minor Break

I’m getting sick again and the current braces treatment is giving me some killer headaches. I’m having a hard time concentrating on anything or getting things done. The husband has been working 12 hour shifts 5 days a week for the past several weeks which means getting up with the dogs and kids in the morning and that means less sleep than normal. I’m sleep deprived. I’m sick. I have headaches.

I’ll be taking a minor break. On the upside, I just ordered something new and fun for my store and hope to be rolling out new products in the beginning of March.

Edited: February 20th, 2009

Market Research

So the expansion for World of Warcraft came out I don’t even know how long ago. I essentially stopped playing WoW over a year ago (although I’d been on again off again with my main, I never really took her raiding or anything anymore). My husband quit playing as well, but that didn’t last long. Me? I hadn’t even logged in since August and hadn’t really played for longer than that.

I thought I was done.

Then the husband started playing with friends here and seemed to enjoy it the way he used to in Japan. He liked the laid back attitude of his guild, the playing with people he knows irl, etc etc. It looked like fun.

I was sucked in again /sigh.

I rolled a roque last night with the help of a friend. He’s been showing me how to play her etc and I must admit that it is way more fun to stab things in the back than to blow them to pieces with a pompyro. It’s been fun.

I call it market research though. I can’t very well continue to sell WoW related items on my store if I don’t play anymore right? Former player only gets you so much credit…

That and the stabbing things is really fun.

Edited: February 17th, 2009

Dingy Base housing

Photos to come later (still in process of painting) but DAMN! base housing “white” paint is dingy! Our teal wall was beat up and dirty. The paint I used didn’t clean well so I am repainting the entire teal wall. I thought that rather than find another color I like and paint and then repaint in about 6 months when we leave, I’d just paint the wall white right now. I also had some marker my youngest used on another wall to cover up. Okay, you can totally tell I painted where he markered because the white I bought is one that the paint people mix for you. I bought a bright pretty shade of white. Very clean looking, especially when next to normal base wall white.

It’s yucky looking. My white walls are pretty clean because I’m one of *those* people that cleans the walls periodically, but this paint just makes the entire house look like crap now. It’s all just… it’s dingy. It looks like a clorox commercial where they compare their bleach to other brand bleach and look how much whiter the clorox one is… that is so my walls right now. Dingy and not dingy. ewww
On the upside, I should be done painting tonight (taking more coats than I thought to cover it up) and then I can rehang my art tomorrow. I think the savages will move to around the table and the psycho will move to the couch area. I swear I rearrange the house so much I should just do a weekly photo of the living room so I can document just what my poor husband has to put up with on a daily basis.

Edited: February 13th, 2009

Finds on Etsy

I love finding fun items on etsy and although I can’t buy them all, I still browse on a daily basis. I thought I’d share some of the lastest ones here.

Okay, I don’t even want more babies (nor can I have them lol), but this hat (and photo) makes me want to be the next Octomom. I mean, LOOK at that little cherub. How can you not want one?

And naturally I’d want this panda bear too. I love pandas (thus the logo for my store now) and this is in a little red outfit. Could it be more perfect?

This hooded dress is also on my favorite list. I like the style, I love the red detail (red and teal are my favorite colors) and the seller has so many other awesome items as well. It looks really well made. I don’t think it would look right on my body style unless I added a belt, but I love it all the same

Going back to the panda theme, this artwork makes me giggle and I want to add it to our house somewhere when we move. Again with the red. This seller has several more items I would love to purchase in the future. Give me about 6 months and I’m going hog wild buying my favorites on etsy.

Edited: February 13th, 2009

What is Blik

I LOVE this site. Love it. We have a couple of their graphics in the house and I move them around frequently depending on my mood. I sent them a photo of my house awhile ago and a friend messaged me last night to tell me it was on their site. Is it silly that that made me have a smile on my face?

Edited: February 12th, 2009

Lovely Review of my stuff

This review had me literally laughing out loud at some points. This one for instance

To the WoW Widow like myself, it’s a anti-warcraft protest statement, much like a modern day techy version of Lysistrata. Put down your weapons or you’re not getting any lovin’!, the Greecian women proclaimed. In my house it sounds more like, “I’m going to bed right now. If you want to get laid, you’ll get your ass off the computer and follow me, NOW.And no…I’m not role-playing or dressing up like some slutty Night Elf tonight.”

I mean how can you not love someone that can put lysistrata in a review of a button about gaming? I went and read other parts of her blog and had to add her to my regular read list. Love it! Love that someone loves my stuff enough to review it so positively!

Edited: February 11th, 2009