Goals Update!

This was the first month that I set up goals for the month and I kinda failed horribly at them.  haha, just look and see.

 1 - Make a complete list of all my unfinished projects and get them organized into a way that will make them easier to finish.  A COMPLETE LIST.  (not gonna lie, this one scares me a bit.) < - > I did make a list.  I have a page for each of them in one of my journals, and the list above that I updated once already.  It wasn't as much as I thought it was going to be.  The list of what has been started isn't long, the list of ideas goes on for pages in my journal haha

2 - Get my Rav page updated with my Sunflower Yarn collection.  I didn't realize how much I had accumulated right before Amanda closed the shop until the other day when I separated it out and it filled an entire milk crate....and that was just the stuff I picked up since like November. < - > I didn't get this updated but I also haven't gotten into my yarn, like, at all this month.  I didn't craft much that needed stored yarn. 

3 - Finish and list all new shop products.  This includes the one embroidery piece, the purse half done, new thread pieces, new clutches, and listing the ear warmers finally. < - > I didn't get anything new listed, but I did do a post about the infinity scarf that will be added as a custom item.

4 - Get all my display stuff stored upstairs until next year and make any plans to upgrade/change any of it. < - > I didn't get things store upstairs as I've been in and out of the bins frequently lately working and updating pieces.  I've gotten a list started of all the items I want to pick up or change for this coming year.  Mainly it is about branding and bringing a sense of cohesiveness to the spaces that I rent for shows.

5 - Finish reading The Summer Garden and Dingley Falls. < - > I read a few more chapters of The Summer Garden, but that is it for book reading.  I did read a few magazines out of my massive stack that has been building up though!  haha


See?  I told you that I didn't do great on them.  Oh well, I'm taking the month of March off from everything so that I can get caught up on things but I still made a goal list! 

1 - Figure out new packaging for Scarlett Key, this included all types of rebranding the shop.  I'm looking into some great ideas, and I can't wait to make a decision and take the steps to make it possible.  I need a cohesiveness when it comes to my shop, I need a brand even though it is a small business it is my business and I want to present the best side of it at all times. 

2 - Finish at least one of each new product in as many colors as possible. 

3 - Finish all duplicates of current products.  When it comes to my bows and such, my goal is to have at least two of them made at all times.  I also want to streamline the ordering process for these as well.  That means the final decision on keeping them as individual listings or make them a group listing with a color selection at checkout.  Any ideas or thoughts on this are greatly appreciated!  haha

4 - Make a list of shows that I want to be a part of and gather all applications for them. 

5 - Get out all display items, inventory, brainstorm ideas, create a visual, and update anything if needed. 

6 - Get and keep inventory sheets up-to-date. 

7 - Get my show bag ready. 

8 - Get all unused items out of my room and to Goodwill. 

9 - Present and decide with dad on the horseshoe items.   

10 - Put in at least three miles on the trail each day off.  The only exception to this will be days with rain and/or snow or below 40 degrees. 

If you made it this far, thanks for reading haha  I can't wait to just be creative this month without worrying about blogging this or that, tweeting, facebooking.  I'm slightly terrified that it will affect my shop in a negative way, but I need this time to come back better than ever so I hope that it will show :)  See y'all in March!! 

p.s.--if you need me or want to purchase something I will still have access to my emails, scarlettkeysales@gmail.com 

DON'T FORGET!!

I'm closing the shop for March!!  That means tomorrow-ish I will be setting the shop in vacation mode so there won't be the ability to purchase anything.  I will be coming back with new products, new packaging, new branding, new....everything! 

It also means that once I close the shop, the 25% off coupon code - 25OFF - will also end!! 

Hurry up and shop away! :)  <3

The one where I share some personal stuff.

I came home for lunch, like I do many days, bouncing into the house, as my mom came out from behind the fridge to scare the beeeeejeeeeesus out of me.  Typical mom.  :) 

My momma at 18

Me in my early 20's.  We are definitely related.

After we shared my lunch, like we do many days, I began to peruse my Google Reader. 

My dad and mom in the early days of their relationship, so 1975-ish?

I found this post on a blog that I just added recently.  There were instant tears.  Instant.  Not because I had lost my mom as well, obviously I hadn't, but because of everything I've gone through with her.  Many of my childhood memories are set in a hospital.  Either it was me (um, hello, I've had stitches multiple times and was in the ER enough that I was questioned by DFS haha) or my momma. 

I will never forget the day that I ran into mom and dad's room only to have my dad stop me and say that she was too sick, that she couldn't walk, that we were taking her to the hospital immediately.  She was so pale and could hardly open her eyes to even look at me.  The next few hours are a blur - I don't really remember driving to the hospital or waiting there for the doctors.  I remember seeing my dad get teary eyed for the first and only time ever.  I remember blurry faces running around.  I remember wondering why we went to Fayette Memorial instead of Clinton Memorial.  I remember my dad and the nurses telling us to say goodbye to my mom because she was going to another hospital via ambulance.  I remember my dad holding me up next to the gurney because I was too short to reach over and give her a kiss.  I remember she tasted like bubblegum (the kind nurse said it was from the morphine they gave her).  I remember looking up and watching my dad lean down and kiss her forehead.  I didn't know when I would see my mom again.  I didn't know if I ever would see my mom again.  I understood the idea of death and funerals, my great grandmother had passed away a few years before, so my young brain knew there was a chance I wouldn't see my momma anymore but I still didn't know what exactly was going on. 

My mom had a Fem-Fem that day, her femoral arteries were blocked and the only way to fix it was to build a bypass around the blockage.  It wasn't the only surgery she would have when I was a kid.  We would find out that my mom has a blood disease that causing totally random blood clots to form at random points in the body.  This can be something as simple as bumping a table, getting a bruise, and getting a blood clot.  That blood clot can move, it can go to the brain, it can go to the lungs, it can go to the heart.  It is completely unpredictable.  That is scary.  Any time my mom gets sick, it is scary because I don't know if it will suddenly get worse.  As a teenager, I would back talk and give attitude and then instantly feel guilty because that might have been the last time I spoke to my mom.  When I lived alone, I would not answer my mom's calls for a day but then feel guilty because that might have been the last time she could have called.  She asks me to do something around the house now and I get annoyed, and then feel guilty because I should be helping her.  But, I also come home for lunch a lot so I can talk to my mom at the table.  I ask for advice.  I try to make the most of every holiday and birthday now.  When my mom is sick, I try to help her as much as possible.  When she had her last bypass surgery and was in the ICU for like 4 times as long as most people, I would go to work at the Credit Union all day, drive the hour and a half to Chillicothe to see her in Adena until visiting hours were over, drive to the farm to make sure dad was ok and eating and taking care of the animals, then drive the hour and 15-ish minutes back to my apartment in Kettering only to do it all over again the next day until she went home. 

Having a sick parent doesn't make me a saint by any means.  I'm not trying to prove how great of a daughter I am.  I just wish people that are mean or give attitude to their parents think about what life would be like if they were not there.  I saw a random picture on Pinterest right before Valentine's Day that said: "So, you don't have a Valentine on Valentine's Day, some people don't have a Mom on Mother's Day or a Dad on Father's Day."  I wish more people would read this statement.  I wish more people would think about this statement. 

I know my mom is always going to be "sick".  I know there will always be the fear of the worst happening.  I also know that I will never be prepared for her to not be around.  I know that I will not be as eloquent as Mandy when that time comes.  I will be a sobbing, snotty, uncontrollable mess.  And I hope with all hopes in my heart that it doesn't happen any time soon.

 

Striped Infinity Scarf (aka, Camille's Birthday Scarf)

My ldb, Camille, just had a birthday last week and I of course had to make her something!!  This has actually been on my list to finish up (did you see that I added a new page up there?) and mail out...but of course, I missed her birthday by days.  That's just how I roll, always four days late to everything :) 

(

Seriously scrumptious yarn!  I love love love this yarn!!! 

Aw, isn't my bestie pretty?  She also drive the most bright yellow VW Bug I've ever seen.  She's a hoot! 

haha this is my ldb!  Go tell her that she's getting too skinny from running so much!!

Thankfully she sent me a couple of pictures so that I can share what it looked like when it was done, because, well, all I took were two closeups of the stitch I used haha, always the crafter!  If you would like one of these, please email me at the shop email  - scarlettkeysales@gmail.com -  and I will make a special listing in the shop for you since they aren't listed there right now.  The price they will be listed for is $35 and how about free shipping if you order before the first?  And don't forget, the 25% off coupon code is still active and will be on the special listing if you order before the first when I close the shop for the month of March.

Update! (and a coupon code!)

Just wanted to post a quick update about me.....  I'm taking the month of March off from social media.  This includes Facebook, Twitter, this blog....and Scarlett Key.  I need to refocus and rebrand a little bit.  I will be back in early April with new products that I can't wait to work on, but I feel like I need to withdraw for a bit to make these new products with the care and attention that I've put into everything else.  I want my shop to be full of QUALITY and not just QUANTITY. 

I hope y'all will support me when I come back but until then, I have a favor to ask.  I'm trying to clear out some items that I've had for a while so I've changed the discount code to TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT off your order when you use "25OFF" when you check out. 

I would appreciate all the shares, re-blogs, anything you can do to spread the word about this, I will have the shop open until March 1st and the coupon code will be good until then.  :) 

I will be back here with a more personal update and my goals update later this week/early next week.  <3

Discount Code

Hey, y'all!  Just wanted to pop in to let you know that I activated a 10% off coupon code for Scarlett Key.  Just type in 10OFF in the coupon field when checking out.  You can get to the shop by clicking on the Etsy Mini over on the right or by CLICKING HERE :)  Thanks for the love and support! 

I can't wait to make new stuff and get it added once I get some of these items cleared out.  I have new head bands, new rings, new necklaces, new clocks all in the works but give me some motivation to get them listed!!  haha

If you're looking for something specific please just ask, I love custom orders! 

#VDMUGSWAP !!!!!

I was so excited to branch out a little bit and join a swap full of ladies that I've admired but never talked to!!  The Valentine's Day Mug Swap sponsored by Rags to Stitches and Sew Caroline has been so incredibly fun!  I got partnered up with Sandy of Sandy a la Mode and it couldn't have been a better match....I mean, she loves shoes, scarves, and fun prints & colors.  We're basically made to be friends :)  Even though I got my package sent out a week late, we both got them on the same day, Monday the 4th.  I didn't get home until laaaaaate that night from the store, so I waited until the next day to open it so I could take some pics in the process.

yay for bubble wrap!

yay for the french language!!

how cute are her business cards?!?

i knew i was in for a treat when this was found!

TWO mugs!  i love them so so so much!

this may have been stolen by my momma already :)

not kidding when i say that i've been contemplating buying BOTH of these colors for a little while now!

such a gorg hair bow!  the colors are subtle and just perfect!

i loved every.single.thing.

I really did love every thing she sent!  I hope she liked everything I sent her!  I absolutely can't wait to keep being online buddies with her for ages to come! <3

(have you seen my last post? Check out Pay It Forward 2013!) 

Pay It Forward 2013

(feel free to use this icon, i created it, i can share it)

You can give me your addresses here, don't worry, it is secure!  :)

New Antique Mall!! Woohoo!

You would think that living next to Ohio's VERY FIRST state capital, we would be awash in antiques around these parts....well, you would be wrong.  Don't get me wrong, estate sales and auctions are a fantastic place to pick up one of a kind, truly phenominal pieces...but a standard antique mall full of booths of different vendors and different pieces from all kinds of eras?  We don't really have that.  Until last week.  This place opened up last week but today was the first day that I could get to town and take a look around.  I was not disappointed. 

This early 1920's china cabinet is right by the front door and totally caught my eye, so so so pretty!  And I've been dying for a cabinet since I started my milk glass and depression glass collections!

GAH!  That hand done woodwork!  I am definitely part of my family!  Going back generations, the men in my family have been woodworkers either as a profession or as a hobby. 

haha, I kept trying to take pictures that didn't have me in the reflection.

Vintage linens always catch my eye....look at that crochet work!!

Clean lines, classic finish?  I lust after pieces like this.  I might already own two desks though....haha

HOBNAIL MILK GLASS!!!!!!!!!!!!  I don't own these pieces!  I'm totally going back for them!!

These cookoo clocks are so tiny!  Seriously only about six or seven inches tall on the bigger one.  Can you imagine the work that went into these?!?! 

My heart always stops for a second when I see vintage quilts.  I love them.  And that striped border on the top one?  Yeah, that would be individual pieces!!  Too bad someone tried to "fix" it by taking a machine and zig zag stitching all over both of these. 

Such a cute little wagon and more hand pieced, vintage linens.  The horrible part of this picture?  That paper you see but can't see what is written on it?  That says sold :(

I'm so glad I got to go in and plan to go back frequently, especially since the hot guy working the cash register said that he is already prepping more booths for more pretties :) 

Goals.

Last year I set goals for the entire year....and I accomplished most of those goals (go me!).  This year?  This year I'm taking a page from my dear friend Charlie and doing a monthly list.  I'm also posting it here to make myself even more accountable.  So let's see here.  What do I want to do this month?

1 - Make a complete list of all my unfinished projects and get them organized into a way that will make them easier to finish.  A COMPLETE LIST.  (not gonna lie, this one scares me a bit.)

2 - Get my Rav page updated with my Sunflower Yarn collection.  I didn't realize how much I had accumulated right before Amanda closed the shop until the other day when I separated it out and it filled an entire milk crate....and that was just the stuff I picked up since like November.

3 - Finish and list all new shop products.  This includes the one embroidery piece, the purse half done, new thread pieces, new clutches, and listing the ear warmers finally.

4 - Get all my display stuff stored upstairs until next year and make any plans to upgrade/change any of it.

5 - Finish reading The Summer Garden and Dingley Falls.

Eeep.  February is a short month.  Maybe I shouldn't have been so confident in my goal meeting abilities ;)