Preparing for Christmas (a non-WoW post)

   Hey guys! I don't usually have to explain myself anywhere but my other blog, as I often go quiet without warning, but I've been quite quiet here too as of late, only really posting announcements. Atherya's diary has fallen to one side - but only because I've been too busy to get the screenshots. They're written and waiting to go up, though.

   But the reason I've been somewhat absent is because I've been putting a lot of work into my Etsy shops Peaches and Pebbles and Grumble Cave Monsters - it's not so easy to tell from first glance, especially on the latter, but I've been working on new products, tweaking older listing pages, stocking up and preparing for the holiday season, and attempting to get a few Halloween pieces in, too. I'm hoping I'll do as well this Christmas as I did last, but it's a very foggy and unclear outlook. Selling handmade, especially from the UK (most of my business comes from the US), is an uncertain business, and I won't know what to expect until I get there. I actually have an offer for my readers in regards to my shops but I'm going to wait until November to post that - not to build suspense, it's just because it's a Christmas promotion.

   I've had a few purchases recently, which has excited me a little, and, sadly, causes me to expect more to follow immediately, but they can very suddenly stop coming in. I sold three things over a week after a month of nothing, and they came rather out of nowhere. But I've stocked up my supplies and started making a few pieces to keep on hand for rush orders. I usually make everything on demand, but over the Christmas period, people have a tendancy to wait until the last minute, and any day I can save by having things already made is valuable. The last thing I want to do is have to cancel and refund orders. That hurts - it hurts a lot. I've been amazingly lucky so far. I had a few last-minute orders last year, and I warned them that they probably wouldn't arrive in time (I had the Christmas order deadlines posted in my shops' banners, info, policies, listings, and on my blog), and said they could cancel the order if they wanted, but each of them said it was fine, because it either wasn't a gift for anyone but themselves, or that they wanted the item for someone badly enough that they were happy to wait. They weren't disappointed, though: the postal service really got their stuff together and what usually takes 2 weeks to get the US, and about 3 or so weeks during Christmas, only took one and they had it in time for Christmas anyway. But I'm sure I'll be less lucky this year.

   On to another note, I have a new competition planned which I will be posting about tomorrow - no, it's not the same as the last one. It's easier, more visually entertaining, and hopefully fun. Well, I enjoyed doing my own, at least. There will be prizes - three winners, and perhaps honourable mentions - so there's more chance to win this time, and it's much easier to participate. Like I said, I'll tell you more tomorrow.