Adventures of 2012!

2012 was quite the year! Here is a highlight of my favorite adventures of the past year.

~ Chattanooga trips ~

We took two climbing trips to Chattanooga this year. We stayed at the Crash Pad and did our climbing at LRC (or Little Rock City). The LRC boulder field is actually located on a golf course property. You pay the clubhouse for entrance to LRC and right to climb on their property. It was our first experience climbing outside and we are truly hooked! Also, we ate some amazing food in Chattanooga, including a feast at the Meeting Place and mounds of inch-tall pancakes at Aretha Frankenstein's. 

~ Corey's high school reunion ~

Our age finally caught up to us! It was time for Corey's 10 year high school reunion. It was a great night catching up with over 100 River Ridge alums.

~ Starting my Etsy shop ~

Even though I technically started my Etsy shop adventure in 2011, this year was definitely the year it began to thrive. I'm ending this year with over 400 sales.

~ Six year wedding anniversary ~

We explored St. Pete this year for our wedding anniversary, the weekend before tropical storm Debbie hit. This made for a rainy, windy weekend getaway that we made the most of.

~ My first visit to Fenway ~

We were lucky enough to have been gifted tickets to a Red Sox game by some wonderful friends and I attended my first game at Fenway!

~ Sailing ~

An impulse purchase on Living Social became a wonderful evening adventure.

~ Welcoming Reagan! ~

Our biggest adventure came at the end of the year. Our family of two became a family of three in 2012!

Pleased Customers!

Since I've started my Etsy shop, Today is a Sunny Day, I've had the opportunity to work on some very creative custom orders. Here are some of my favorite customer photos!

Custom Thank You Flags for a bridal shower.

Custom Wedding Sparkler Tags. "Watch the Sparks Fly"

Custom Favor Tags for a bridal shower. The bags have shower products in them.

Another adorable shot of the Custom Thank You Favor Tags.

Etsy Shop Feedback

As the first quarter of the month comes to a close this month, I’m looking for a bit of feedback on my Etsy shop so I can assess goals for next quarter. 

So, I’ve put together this brief survey. I’m looking for different perspectives about my shop, your opinions and what your eyes notice. 

If you will, please copy and paste this survey and send it to andrea.wolloff@gmail.com. It’s only six questions (and three of them are multiple choice!). I would appreciate it ever so much!

If you are a friend, family member, or neighbor and you are reading this, thanks already for how you helped and supported me. 

(Pssst… There’s even a give-away involved. See below the survey.)

P.S. Even if you are not interested in the freebies ( i.e. you are a boy) I would still really like hearing the feedback. 

P.S.S. The feedback will allow me to shape my goals for the next quarter and I would really appreciate it.

COPY AND PASTE BELOW INTO AN EMAIL (SEND TO andrea.wolloff@gmail.com).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

o   Go to this link www.todayisasunnyday.etsy.com and click on the first thing that caught your eye. Paste the link below.

o  The first thing I noticed about Today is a Sunny Day was:

// The shop banner

// The favorites section

// The images

// The prices

// The personal photo

o   My favorite image from the shop was: (Paste the link below.)

o   I found this background more appealing and eye-catching:

// White background

// Wood grain

o   If I were given anything from Today is a Sunny Day as a gift, I would want:

// Gift tags

// I love you because dry erase board

// Page corner bookmarks

// Paper cutouts

// I’m too manly for this, sorry (Totally an appropriate option! I understand.)

  

 o   True or False, I think people will find it weird that there are bird feathers for sale.

o   Quick! Off the top of your head! – The first word that comes to mind to describe the products is: ___________.

The first 20 replies will get their choice of the following: 

o   2-pack of gift tags, choose from the photo below. 
o   2-packs of recycled, choose from anchors, bows, or bird cutouts. 
o   25% Off any “Because I Love You…” dry erase board 
o   20% Off any custom order of favor tags or sparkler tags

Best of all, everyone wins!

Every participant will get a 10% off Etsy coupon code.

Family Profile - Twitch

Since my parrot, Twitch, has been racking up the sales in my Etsy shop, Today is a Sunny Day, I thought it would be fun to highlight him on my blog.

Parrots molt every six months, resulting in his beautifully colored tail and wing feathers falling out. I have a variety of feathers up for sale in my shop. They are perfect for jewelry, hair extensions, and other crafts. I even had a co-worker design me some earrings with my favorite petite wing feathers.

So, here’s Twitch!

Name: Twitch

Nickname: Twitcher, Squeaker, Wittle Bird

Age: Almost 4 (hatched May 2008)

Height: 5 inches

Favorite food: Cheese, pasta, apples, yogurt bird treats, and seeds

Favorite movie: Rio

Close friends: Blackie, Maryanna and Andy (bird grandparents!), Trish, Dan, Bridget, Pat, Joe, and Jessica

Favorite activities: Cuddling with his piñata toy, taking baths, dancing, attacking feet

Scary things: Paper, large birds, things that are higher than him

Favorite words:  “Squeaker,” “Do poop,” and “Gimme kiss”

My Etsy Shop - Business Cards

I created a business card for Today is a Sunny Day.

So proud that I wanted to share!

DIY - Making a Light Box

Last year I opened my Etsy shop, Today is a Sunny Day. I experimented with photography and natural light to get photos to show off my products. The result was taking photos against my wooden coffee table on the back porch during sunset.

While they came out quite nice, I wanted that plain white backdrop that I was seeing so many sellers have. After Googling "how to make a lightbox" I created this. It's not actually a light box, but more like a light diffuser, creating soft shadows on a seamless white background.

The supplies I used:

• Cardboard box
• Scissors
• White tissue paper
• Duct tape
• White poster board
• Desk lamp

Step 1

Cut three sides out of the box, not including the open side and the original box bottom. Think about it like this: your new bottom will be one of the sides and the previous bottom will be your backdrop. Bonus: You will work on your forearm strength for sure!

Step 2

Tape the white tissue paper to the open box sides. Essentially, you are replacing the sides you just cut out with the tissue paper.

Step 3

Cut the white poster board to fit the width of the box. Slide it in to fit. Leaving extra poster board in hang out the opening can be beneficial for certain depth of field shots. Note: Since I didn't have poster board on hand, I used the back of a poster. It's not as study as a poster board and gives more of a shine in photos than I would like, but it works for now. Here's an very unglamorous shot of the inside of light diffuser box.

Step 4

Finally position a light on the outside of the box to create the brightness you desire. You'll want an exposed bulb pointing at the box. You can create different shadow effects by where you place the bulb and how strong it is. If you don't want any shadows, put lamps on either side of the box. It worked best for me in the closest corner to me.

Finally, I snapped some photos using my newly created box. I tried to take some of Twitch, my parrot, and I only got one good shot of him in the box. He kept running to the edge. Ha!

Here are some shots I took of my Etsy items. Before, I used to count of natural light for my photos, which limits when I can take them. I was able to add these items to my Etsy shop at 10 p.m.!

Learn more about Today is a Sunny Day or check out other photos I've taken at www.todayisasunnyday.etsy.com.

A Night to Dream

This week I was blessed with the opportunity to showcase my business, Today is a Sunny Day, at the Girl’s Night Out event “Resolve,” put on by For the Girls International. The night was full of encouragement and dreaming. I had a wonderful time meeting new people and catching up with old friends. 

Here are some photos of the event, along with my booth display. 

Tracey Metzger delivered a great message with practical steps to keep dreaming. My personal favorite was to be fearless... or do it afraid! (That last bit was compliments Joyce Meyer)

All the women who attended. (I'm in the way back, so don't bother looking for me. Ha!)

My set up featuring my favorite props! Lace fabric scraps I found in the AS IS section of Ikea for $2, my family's vintage, fully-functioning Westinghouse fan, and my family's green vintage sewing box in the background.

I love my new page corner bookmarks!

Recycled confetti. See the listing here.

Learn more about For the Girls International and their upcoming events by clicking here.

"I Love You Because..." Dry Erase Message Board

Excited to put this in the mail today!

 

See it on Etsy here!

'Tis the Season

Hoping you all had a Merry Christmas!

I am looking forward to the adventures that 2012 will bring!

Handmade Holiday

Check out my Etsy shop to see more of my holiday tags. Great for adding a handmade touch to your gift giving this season!

Operation Christmas Child

I had my Etsy shop and my family combine efforts and finances to support Operation Christmas Child. Through the the non-profit organization Samaritan's Purse, Operation Christmas Child collects shoe boxes full of holiday treats to distribute worldwide to children. I am so excited about this organization and plan on making it a holiday tradition for my household. I'll be donating these to my church this weekend. They are setting a goal of 4,000 boxes this year! I'm glad I was able to contribute.

The last image is the contributions from my Etsy sales that were donated.

SHOP www.todayisasunnyday.etsy.com
BLOG www.today-is-a-sunny-day.blogspot.com
TWEET NEW! www.twitter.com/2dayisasunnyday

Backroom Redesign

I'm breathing easy with my backroom redecorated! Most of the key pieces in the photos were given to us by family members (decorative screen, handmade coffee table, 'man' chair, and shag rug). You'll also see our Rhodes piano with a whiteboard backdrop ready for my husband's ministry ideas to be written all over it. And that sweet, quirky pillow was purchased on Etsy a few years back.

SHOP www.todayisasunnyday.etsy.com
BLOG www.today-is-a-sunny-day.blogspot.com
TWEET NEW! www.twitter.com/2dayisasunnyday