Craft show season

Craft show season is starting. It's hard to believe there is a "season" for it, but it's true. Where I live, the craft shows start popping up in late spring/early summer and go right until Christmas time. I love all pieces of a craft show - from crafting & selling, seeing what others are making, purchasing from crafters, to talking with like-minded crafters and people shopping.

When I made the dive into selling at craft shows, I also decided I would sell online. Online selling is nowhere near as easy as in person. It's absolutely hard to get people to see your items (and it doesn't seem to matter what online platform you use). I currently utilize two platforms: my blog site and Etsy. There are benefits to each and downsides to each.

On my website, I keep all my profits; no percentage of my sales is going to another company for using their platform. It's slightly easier to list on my site, and if I were more organized, I could use my site inventory to check people out at craft shows and keep better track of my inventory. On Etsy, it's a little more involved to list items; they take a percentage, and I have to meet criteria for it to even be eligible to sell on Etsy. No big deal, but it's time-consuming, and there's no way for me to list simultaneously on both sites. I have to do them individually, and it can take a good 10 minutes to do (getting the pictures uploaded, writing descriptions, etc.).

The super cheap side of me refuses to pay for marketing/ads. So any traffic that gets to my website is from me telling people about it, handing out business cards, and the rare instance someone tells someone they know about my site. Same deal for Etsy. Only Etsy is widely known; people are always on Etsy looking for stuff. I have no idea how the algorithms work on Etsy to know what is driving people to my shop.

To my surprise, I got a notification earlier this week that I had sold something on Etsy. Shocked. Completely and utterly shocked. Off I go to pack it up and send it out! A sale on Etsy where I only paid a small fee to have an item listed, without spending all day sitting at a craft show waiting for sales. Then, a few days later, I get a second notification of a second sale on Etsy! Shock again, a brief moment of wondering what is driving people to my site. Am I being scammed? Nope - no scam. So far, it appears these are both valid, real purchases. I have shipped both items out, and payment will be hitting my account soon.

It feels good to make a sale on Etsy; hell, it feels good to make any sale at any time! Now I need to get my act together and get more things listed on Etsy and my site. Things won't sell if I don't have them out there for people to see. This also means I need to keep crafting away. It can be hard to dedicate time every day or every week to just craft, as it's not what is paying the bills; it's more of a hobby with a slight chance of making money.

Since I work Saturdays, I try to find craft shows that are on Sundays, which is difficult. If I know a show is going to be a hit, I'll take off for it, but then I feel like I need to make double or triple on my sales to make up for a day of guaranteed pay. I go to a three-day show in October, which is worth me taking off for the income over the course of the three days.

Do you go to craft shows as a shopper or do you prefer to shop online? What things are you looking for that fall into the handmade category? I'm always looking for new things to make & sell.

If you want to come visit me at a craft show I have signed up for a few so far:

August 29 - Peace Love and Poms 3rd Annual Show Case

1259 E. Main St. Annville PA

11 AM - 4 PM

October 9 - 11 - Stars Hollow Fall Festival

Historic Alexander Schaeffer Farm

10 AM - 6 PM each day.

Otherwise - check out:

Etsy shop: https://lovecatsandeverything.etsy.com

My website: www.lovecatsandeverything.com

Til our tails cross again,

Mel

#lovecatseverything #cats #crafting #craftshow

Shout out to dedication!

What is dedication? It is: self-sacrificing, wholehearted devotion or commitment to a specific cause, person, or task. In this instance, I'm talking about loyalty to a thing or person. I knew after my last post I needed to do a little shout-out to a few people. Clearly, their dedication to me - and more specifically my blog posts, hit me hard in a good way.

We are all busy - life, work, friends, home, etc. So when someone takes the few minutes it takes to actually read my blog AND write a reply, comment, or rate me (even with 1 star...), I feel incredibly special. I expect most people in my circle won't or don't take the time to read whatever I've written. Which, honestly, is something that hurts, but I don't make a big deal about it. It hurts that my closest friends or family don't read it - why? Because I like to think that I support them in every way possible. However...not the point for this post.

Dedication - to reading my little blog, which is mostly about the 21 cats. I get it - reading or hearing the same stupid stories... no one wants to do that. But the small handful that checks it out, comments, and truly is waiting for the next post to come means the world to me.

I haven't even been super dedicated to my own blog and website. Life happens, and I fall into a slump of having nothing to write about or feeling that I shouldn't write about whatever little thought I had. But here I sit—writing about dedication. I encourage everyone to find something small to dedicate a piece of yourself to. Really—it's easy and doesn't take a ton of time. (Secretly, I'm hoping you'll choose to read my blog more regularly.)

So here goes - first shout out goes to: My father-in-law - Charlie. Did he ask to get the weekly email with my latest blog post link? Nope. Does he read it regularly? Yep. Does he leave a comment on the actual blog page? Not at all. But what he does do is a step above that. He replies to the email (which comes directly to ME). It's never just a simple "nice work" or "read your blog" kind of thing. It's a few sentences. This last email he sent - I see your blogs are not woke talk - your words make sense to me. Yep - my blogs are written just like I talk, mostly. I do actually use a spell/grammar check on them. My weakness is spelling and grammar - even though I read a lot. Of all people to read/follow/comment, he might not have been at the top of the list I had. BUT I absolutely love it. Because I do love him, we've always had good conversations - even if we don't agree on everything. (Hello religion and politics!) I hope he keeps on reading and emailing, and one day - maybe commenting on the blogs for everyone to see!

Second up - my friend Babs. I know she reads them; it's hit or miss if she reads each one. But in some way, she will let me know she's read one of them, usually by text. This last time, she tried to leave a comment, and it didn't work - it came through as a contact submission to my email. But she ended up texting me to ask where the selfie of me and the constable was. So, for all those wondering... YES, there was a selfie with the (don't read this, Gene) hottie constable. Will it ever be on the internet? ABSOLUTELY NOT. One - technically, it's not legal to be getting selfies with any sort of law enforcement on duty in uniform. Second - there's a LOT of personal information that can be seen or gotten from that photo. So, if you want to see it - you have to actually know me and have my current phone number! So please, Babs - keep on reading and maybe get the comment thing figured out!

Third up - my husband Gene - who is supportive in everything I do, even if he doesn't quite show it. My blog is one of those things that he supports (he's put in lots of time helping me get the backend working when I get stuck) but actually doesn't read the majority of the posts I write. Which is okay - generally speaking, he's lived through whatever I'm writing about. But every so often, he does read them when I least expect it. He read the one about AI (which we STRONGLY disagree on) and then - he read the constable one. For the first time, he actually left a comment AND had the nerve to leave me a one-star review. I'm certain he did that in fun and joking, which will take forever for me to get to a better 5-star rating (nudge nudge, rate all the blogs you read at 5 stars, please!)

Fourth up - Anne - she's a local Annville friend who I met through the Celebrate Annville Committee and the Friends of the Annville Free Library committee. We are both pet sitters - nice to have someone to refer people to when I'm booked! Again - she's got her own life & kid, so choosing to read about my life and cats warms my heart.

Fifth up - Sharon H. She's a longtime friend whom I met many years ago in a class we both took for our jobs. She's hit or miss also with reading, but she does read them when she remembers or has the time.

I'm sure there are other readers—I just don't hear from them that they have read.

For each person that does read, comment, or share my blog, I really and truly appreciate it. I enjoy writing these blogs—knowing there are some people out there reading them warms my heart a little bit each time I hear someone has taken the time to read it.

Til our tails cross again,

Melanie

#blogger #lovecatsandeverything #purrfectdozen #dedication #followers

Pets & TV

My inquiring mind wants to know... do your pets watch TV? Like actually look at the TV, not just sleep while the TV is on. It may sound crazy—pets watching TV—but truly it's not as crazy as it sounds. Many people leave a radio or TV on for their pets if they aren't home. Why? We all have different reasons for doing it.

As I pet sit for lots of different people, most of the pets I sit for are used to having people home for the majority of the day. I will leave the TV on when I'm out. Why? For background noise - I mostly do this for the dogs. I figure they are used to hearing noises throughout the day, so why not let them have some constant background noise. 99% of the time, I would say they don't actually pay attention to what's on. The 1% that does pay attention reacts to things they see on the TV. One of the dogs I sit for, any time dogs come on the TV, barks non-stop until I change the channel. She lives with another dog, so it's not that she doesn't like dogs.

Another little dog I sit for goes crazy when the Emu from Liberty Mutual comes on the TV.

She stands up, barks, and walks to the TV. She also actively watches Law and Order, Sheriff Country, and Fire Country. Her head moves as things happen on the TV, and her ears perk up, meanwhile, her brother couldn't care less and just sleeps. I truly wonder what she is getting from the TV - is she entertained like we are?

Now, if you were to ask my cats—especially Roughy—they LOVE TV. Roughy enjoys it the most, with his favorite shows being Naked & Afraid, Elf, and YouTube Cat TV. The only YouTube Cat TV he's not allowed to watch is the animated fish ones. It brings out the most aggression, and he attacks the TV hardcore. With the wildlife, he pats the TV nicely. Elf and Naked & Afraid are his pre-nap/bedtime faves.

The kittens also love to watch TV, trying to figure out how to catch all the moving things. They peek behind the TV when things go off-screen and tap the screen to catch things. They are mostly more gentle than Roughy. They have yet to show interest in any specific shows. Bear, on the other hand, loves to sit with Gene on the couch and keep an eye on whatever he's watching. There's a chance he just likes having some time to hang with his favorite human. No matter what his reason, he's adorable when he hunkers down to watch some TV.

It is believed that pets do watch TV, especially now with the new technology. What is most likely to catch their attention? Fast-moving images, colors, and sounds. Most pets show a preference for shows with other animals in them. If your pet watches TV, you'll notice that they watch in short bursts rather than for longer periods.

While dogs have better sight, especially with colors, cats don't see red or green as well as other colors, so they won't see the images like humans and dogs do. Letting your pets watch TV can be a good source of enrichment, but it is best to limit screen time. Cats can become overly aggressive, and dogs can become overstimulated without a way to release the aggression and stimulation.

If you do let your pet watch TV, you'll want to make sure your TV is secure so any reactive pets can't damage it. For pets that tend to be overreactive, consider taking them for a walk or a bit of outside playtime first to burn off some energy. Leaving your TV on can have a comforting effect, but it should never be a replacement for physical activity or enrichment with your pet.

Drop in the comments if your pet watches TV & what they prefer.

Til our Tails Cross Again

Mel