Wow am I tired!

We got the lumber for the deck delivered today, all two pallets of it. The guy showed up late and Mr. Lily had to leave for work so the girls and I put on our game faces and moved one of the pallets ourselves, a couple of boards at a time. It took us awhile and got tougher than expected as the wood was wet but we did it. A few bruises, couple of splinters, and a mosquito bite or two, not bad really. I can't wait until this is done and we have a new deck. I might actually learn to enjoy the backyard.

It was a busy work day too. Started out off with a great sale. Let me give other sellers some advice, don't be afraid to ship to an alternate address. Shipping to the confirmed PayPal address doesn't offer you as much protection as you think but making things easier for your customers (ie. shipping directly to the recipient rather than shipping to them so they have to ship to the recipient themselves) increases sales. I doubt I would have had the sale in the first place without working with the customer, much less a multiple item purchase without the offer of free upgraded shipping. Risk is an inherent part of business, all you can do in manage it. Just don't manage it so tightly you alienate potential regular customers.

I've been reworking my pictures in Bits & Bobs & Things Inbetween. It's unreal how far my jewelry photography has come. It was a real struggle for me. I mean, I can take pictures of people without an issue! But jewelry? Forget it! Ugh, talk about an Achilles heel. But perseverance pays off. They're still not exactly where I want them to be but see for yourself how they've improved -

Big difference, huh? I also took the time to go through the descriptions and tags and really tighten things up. It's like having new merchandise!

Speaking of new merchandise, I've got the coolest earrings to list in A Lily In The Garden. They're clear quartz and labradorite on sterling silver. The flash on the labradorite beads is just gorgeous! They're not listed yet but will be very soon. (Part of me is not ready to let them go.) Here -

I'm expanding my repertoire and starting to work with sterling silver and gold filled with gemstones. It really opens up new possibilities. It's more work but I'm glad I opened the second shop. I love steampunk, but I want to be able to dabble in anything.