What's Up for April

There is proof that someday there will be green outside again.

Following up on my bullet points from last month: I did put in a last minute crunch for my first 2014 craft fair and worked on a lot of projects that I will benefit from all year, like reorganizing my entire inventory. You can read more about that over here if you didn't already. I've done all of the initial research that I need to for writing an ebook. Now I need to make some progress past my outline. I didn't make ANY progress on catching up with photo printing and frame hanging. Fail. Maybe I'll get somewhere with that this month. I have been reading. I'm pretty excited about that. And I had a good birthday. Thanks to all of you who left me kind birthday messages here and/or elsewhere last week.

• Easter. I'm playing in church the next three weeks and then for four masses the week of Easter (and then at least one mass the week after Easter). I don't think of Sunday morning church commitments as major time commitments because it's something that I've had almost my entire life, but they really are sometimes. They can also be really stressful sometimes. It will be something of a relief to finish up with the bulk of that commitment for the 13-14 school year after this month.
• Social plans. The good news is that I already have a lot of social plans on the calendar including a couple very brief (i.e. day or half day trips) opportunities to get out of Milwaukee. It's also a little scary because I know that there are going to be days that are really crunched for work, but that's a good problem. It's still really nice to have things to look forward to in the next few weeks.
• Not losing sight on my passive income goal. Remember how my biggest goal for 2014 is to build my passive income? It's amazing how quickly I lose sight of that on a day to day basis. I get caught up on meeting certain word counts and income goals, and I forget about the bigger picture. It's really bad. If I'm going to make any progress on the goal this year, let alone significant progress, I have to maintain focus.
• Making the best of the weather. In January and February and even March, it's easier to get excited about the occasional 50 degree day. As we get into April, it's harder. I'm not as motivated to get out and take pictures when the weather is halfway decent because everything is still pretty brown and gray and because I'm ready for really nice weather. But sitting instead all of the time isn't healthy for a lot of reasons. I still need to make the best of the nice days that we do have this month.

What are you up to this month?

What's Up For March

It looks like spring is on the way, doesn't it? I actually took this picture in late February, but March often looks exactly the same in this area.

• Getting back into craft fair mode. I made this one of my bullet points last month, too, which was...optimistic. I make jewelry all year round, but I have a hard time getting motivated to work on show inventory (i.e. my small items that I don't list online) and other show prep like making new price signs and restocking earring cards until I'm up against the deadline. Here we are so now it's crunch time.
• Researching ebook publishing. You may or may not remember that one of my long-term 2014 goals is to increase my passive income. It's actually my biggest goal for this year. I would still like to bring up my HubPages and PDF jewelry pattern earnings, but at this point, there needs to be something else in the mix to reach the numbers that I want. I've been floating a number of ebook ideas in my mind the past year, and I think I've finally settled on one. Now I need to start working on actually making it happen.
• Catching up on photo printing and hanging. I'm sure that you've noticed in some of my recent photos that I have a number of frames sitting around the house. I got most of them for Christmas. I need to print out a bunch of fall and early winter photos, which includes making final decisions about which professional photos to print from my brother's wedding. I finished my photo albums, but I want a few prints for new frames and the fridge, too.
• Keep reading. One of my unofficial goals for 2014 is to get back into reading. This means reading books, not just pulling up photography articles on my phone. Once upon a time, I read for fun all the time. Then I started undergrad. I read so much for school that I didn't feel much like reading during my down time. It's been eight years since I finished undergrad, and I've never really recovered. Last week during my trip to Las Vegas (more on that soon), I brought along a few books and did some real reading for the first time since late 2012 / early 2013 (don't judge). It was amazing. Now I need to stick with it.
• My birthday. My birthday probably definitely does not need its own bullet point in this kind of post, but I love birthdays so it gets one. This year is not a milestone birthday like last year so it will be considerably less eventful. I will still enjoy it. Having a birthday at the end of the month means that I look forward to it all month. I'll post an Etsy birthday wish list next week.

What are you up to this month?

What's Up For February

January was a tough month. While there is nothing that automatically changes when the calendar rolls over to a new month, it's nice to get that little fresh start. I'm glad to be moving on and looking forward to bigger and better things for February.

• Getting back into craft fair mode. I've been making jewelry the past couple months, but I haven't been working on much else for craft fairs since my last show wrapped up in early December. My next show is in early March, and I will most likely have at least one more show in the spring. I want to revamp my price tags and price signs, make new small inventory, and roll out some new packaging for my smaller items.
• Embracing Bubblews. The cool place for writers to be these days is Bubblews. It's something of a cross between a social media site (i.e. Facebook) and a dedicated writing site (i.e. HubPages, Squidoo) where you get paid for views, likes, and comments on your content. I've had an account for over a year but literally didn't do anything with it until the fall. There are a lot of things about the site that I don't love. However, I think that it could be a worthwhile time investment. I am enjoying the writing format and am hoping that with more practice, writing and networking there will become a more natural part of my routine that won't compromise blogging, HubPages, or client writing.
• Planning for a vacation. As I've mentioned before, the furthest that Jake and I traveled in 2013 was Chicago. Last month I eluded to the fact that we did have a winter vacation in the works. It's taking us a ridiculously long time to get the logistics together, but we will be heading to a warmer-than-winter-in-Milwaukee destination later this month. I can't wait.
• Taking more pictures. Lately there have been a number of things that have prevented me from getting out and taking pictures as much as I normally have been the past couple years. I miss it so much. Lousy weather or not, I'm determined to get out of the house and take more pictures again this month.

What are you up to this month?

What's Up for December

It doesn't even seem real to be writing that subject. Moving on...

Hello, December! What's going on this month?

• Finishing up my 2013 holiday shows. Many of you already know that I've been up to quite a lot of things this fall, including the most holiday craft fairs that I've ever vended in a month and a half period. For the most part, it's been great. I'm excited to have a solid list of shows that I would vend again next year, a few ideas for new shows, and a wealth of ideas for revamping my booth and product lines. I'm also really excited to finish up the 2013 stint and have time to regroup and prepare for the new year.
• Getting ready for Christmas. Most years I have the Christmas letter written, the Christmas cards and stamps ordered, and the majority of my Christmas shopping done by the first week of December. I'm sure that it's not much of a surprise that all I've done thus far this year is buy a couple small Christmas presents. I'm glad that I'll still be able to give these tasks as well as other fun Christmas happenings (like decorating the house) the time and attention that they deserve these next few weeks.
• Regrouping and setting new goals. To say that I'm at a loss about my overall goals for 2014 is harsh, but for a handful of reasons, I'm struggling to put together a plan for 2014 as easily as I did for 2012 and 2013. The short of it is that I don't want to wake up in five years and realize that I've neglected personal projects and the chance to grow my passive income the way I would really like to in lieu of short-term pursuits that may be lucrative but are ultimately unsustainable long-term and are generally not as fulfilling. I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to find time for the projects that I want to pursue without giving up so much of what I've built these past two and a half years, but I'm getting there.

Blog sponsorship

I'm restructuring my blog sponsorship for 2014. It is now $12 to have a blog ad for the entire duration of 2014. That price remains the same no matter when you decide to join. The great news is that if you join up now, you get the ad and the social media and blog promos that it includes for the entire year. In other good news, if you decide to join up later, this price is still very reasonable, and you'll be sure to get your money's worth out of it. Whether you currently have an ad and would like to renew for 2014 or you're interested in joining up, contact me at randomcreative28 at gmail dot com.

Thanks for sticking with me during a truly crazy October and November! Here's to a great December.

What are you up to this month?

What's Up For November

Somehow another month is here already. This has been one of the fastest falls in my entire life.

Happy November! What's going on this month?

• I'm still doing a lot of writing. My first bullet for October was "I'm doing a lot of writing." That was the understatement of 2013. October was by far my most writing intensive month and also highest earning month since I quit teaching more than 2 years ago. I'm not planning to break either goal this month or any time soon really, but it was extremely empowering. With that being said, I am still doing a lot of writing this month, primarily for clients. I'm hoping to find a better balance between client writing, passive income writing, and blog writing again in late 2013 / early 2014.
• I'm keeping holiday inventory and Etsy inventory stocked for the holidays. I didn't get as much small show inventory (magnets, etc.) done in October as I'd hoped, but I did surprisingly well during the summer and fall months with everything else. I've been in good shape thus far and am finding little bits of time to keep ahead. If you've been thinking about ordering something for the holidays, especially something custom, it isn't too early!
• I'm trying to squeeze in a little time for fun photography. This is a complete change of pace from the spring and summer when the highlight of each week was a fun photography outing or two. It's been really hard to fit that in with everything else that's been going on lately. I know that this crazy schedule isn't going to last forever, and I'm still going through a huge backlog of photos from late summer and fall, so I'm okay with it. I still haven't put together a cold weather photography "to do" list either, but that is going to happen at some point.
• I'm standing up in my brother's wedding. I finished the wedding jewelry and co-hosted the Chicago shower so until the big wedding week, my wedding duties are pretty minimal. I know that it will be here and over before we know it, and I'm going to do my best to enjoy every minute.

Think about joining my blog sponsors!

I have a great round up of blog sponsors! These lovely ladies all have Etsy shops and/or blogs. Check them out on the left hand side of my blog under "Private Sponsors." Would you like to join them? It's only $3 per month or $10 for 4 months to advertise with me. Check out all of the details about it right here.

Finally, THANK YOU to everyone who stops by here regularly, reads what I have to say week after week, and leaves me comments either on the blog or elsewhere! For the first time since I started this blog, I've been struggling to make the blog rounds and comment regularly, but I'm hoping to get back into this routine soon. Until then, bear with me.

What are you up to this November?

What's Up for October

 

That title should really be where is fall going? It's so hard to believe that another month is here already.

Happy October! What's going on this month?

• I'm doing a lot of writing. At least that seems to be the plan based on how the last few months have been going. I've been scrambling just to find time to keep writing blog posts and new HubPages articles in between all of my client work, which is a good problem. We had a bit of an expensive September with a large unexpected car repair for my car, and extra income is more welcome than ever right now.
• I'm working on creating inventory for my holiday shows and stocking my Etsy shops. I have a hard time working this far ahead, but I don't want every single day in November to be completely crazy. I'm trying to stay ahead on making multiple quantities of best selling items and keep adding new stock to the Etsy shops. If you haven't already visited my new photography shop, get over there, like the shop on Etsy and share it around to a few of your favorite people who love photography.
• I'm making the jewelry for the girls in my brother's wedding party. Remember how I shared some of the beads that I bought for my wedding piece? That's exactly as far as I've gotten with this not so little project (again, struggling to work so far ahead). My goal is to have these pieces done by the last weekend in October (again, trying to keep November from being a melt down month).
• I'm planning my future sister-in-law's Chicago bridal shower. You all know how much I love to host parties, and I'm so excited to be co-hosting THE Chicago shower for my future sister-in-law with my mom. I got my handmade invitations into the mail at the end of September and have already received some RSVPs. I'll be sharing some more shower planning fun during the month.
• I'm purchasing some new photography equipment and making a fall photography "to do" list. The new photography equipment thing was supposed to be a September "yay, it's fall, and I'm still going to be excited about taking pictures even when it's cold outside" thing. But we were blessed with amazingly beautiful September weather, and I still got outside a lot. I also didn't feel justified buying those sort of things after the big car repair. It will happen before I'm spending time in Chicago this month, though. As far as the "to do" list goes, the summer places to photograph list was a big success so I want to keep that kind of thing going. It may end up being more of a "cold weather" list for fall and winter that I won't use quite yet, which is fine.

Think about joining my blog sponsors!

I have a great round up of blog sponsors! These lovely ladies all have Etsy shops and/or blogs. Check them out on the left hand side of my blog under "Private Sponsors." Would you like to join them? It's only $3 per month or $10 for 4 months to advertise with me. Check out all of the details about it right here.

Finally, THANK YOU to everyone who stops by here regularly, reads what I have to say week after week, and leaves me comments either on the blog or elsewhere! Here's to another great month!

What are you up to this October?

What's Up For August

Yep, we're several days into August, and I'm still a little bit in denial about that. Moving forward...

What's going on this month?

• I hit a huge milestone on HubPages the first week of August: 1 million views. It took me 2 years and 4 months to achieve this stat. To date I have 286 articles published there. I am really proud of many of the things I've been able to accomplish these last couple years with my freelance career, but this is definitely way up there on that list.
• I've been staying ahead of my ambitious task list for opening a new Etsy shop for photography on Labor Day weekend 2013. This month is going to be the final push. I'm planning a huge giveaway to kick things off for the grand opening so get excited about that.
• I've been part of a product descriptions writing group off and on since December and I got to write for a handful of huge orders for that this past month, which played a large role in July being my highest earning freelance month to date. I've had a steady stream of work from additional clients, too, which didn't hurt either. I'm looking forward to using some of those funds for new photography equipment and some of the supplies I need (i.e. new business cards, packing materials) for the new Etsy shop.
• I am still fully enjoying everything that summer has to offer and am determined to use this month to soak up as much of it as I can. I've ticked off quite a few of the "to do" destinations / random pursuits on my summer photography list and am determined to fit in a few more while the weather is still great. Jake and I have some fun social activities planned as well as a mini long weekend trip.

Think about joining my blog sponsors!

I have a great round up of blog sponsors! These lovely ladies all have Etsy shops and/or blogs. Check them out on the left hand side of my blog under "Private Sponsors." Would you like to join them? It's only $3 per month or $10 for 4 months to advertise with me. Check out all of the details about it right here. 

It means so much to me that so many people take the time to read my blog and leave such thoughtful feedback on a regular basis. Here's to another great month!

What's going on with you for August?