Top 5 Sellers* for September, 2007

</p> 1 ) Project Book: Creative Canes 2 ) Project Book: Clever Clay Creations 3 ) DVD:Innovations Intricate Kaleidoscope Canes 4 ) Magazine:PolymerCAFE Winter 2006/07 5 ) Magazine:PolymerCAFE Summer 2005 Bestsellers for previous months (Bestsellers prior to May, 2007) Want to be notified instantly when this list changes? Click here to see how… *Sales figures for this calculation are based on items shipped.

Top 5 Sellers* for October, 2007

1 ) DVD: Millefiori Story 2 ) Project Book: Creative Canes 3 ) DVD:Innovations Intricate Kaleidoscope Canes 4 ) Magazine:Belle Armoire Jewelry Volume 3 5 ) DVD:ArtWay Studio Extruding Polymer Clay Canes Bestsellers for previous months (Bestsellers prior to May, 2007) Want to be notified instantly when this list changes? Click here to see how… *Sales figures for this calculation are based on items shipped.

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Top 5 Sellers* for August, 2007

</p> 1 ) Project Book: Creative Canes 2 ) DVD: Claying Around 3 ) Magazine:PolymerCAFE Summer 2007 4 ) Project Book:The CF Sculpture Series Cats Big and Small 5 ) Book:The Art of Polymer Clay Creative Surface Effects Bestsellers for previous months (Bestsellers prior to May, 2007) Want to be notified instantly when this list changes? Click here to see how… *Sales figures for this calculation are based on items shipped.

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</p> 1 ) Project Book:The CF Sculpture Series Cats Big and Small 2 ) Magazine:PolymerCAFE Summer 2007 3 ) Book:The Art of Polymer Clay Creative Surface Effects 4 ) Project Book: Creative Canes 5 ) Project Book: Tiny Babies Bestsellers for previous months (Bestsellers prior to May, 2007) Want to be notified instantly when this list changes? Click here to see how… *Sales figures for this calculation are based on items shipped.

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My UPS guy has been busy lately. Look what’s newly-arrived…

I wish I could spend all day tomorrow curled up on the couch popping bon-bons and losing myself in these new items, but I promised myself I would get another batch of orders out the door. Man, I wish everyone could come shopping in my basement and save me the trouble of shoving things in boxes.

I’m bleary-eyed and must drag myself into bed. But first… it has been brought to my attention that apparently I am favoring one child over another in terms of blog shots. (Yes, Neil, their father, went through all fifty of my entries and counted how many pictures of each son I have posted). So, in the interest of fairness (and because I kind of like the darn kid) I present son #1.

And now, despite the fact that I feel like chatting with you all about berries and fabric, I am off to bed!   I’ll save those things for tomorrow and try to  get my brain to rest as much as my body wants to

Lisa

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Packing and shipping is just one tedious task after another…

1. Picking the items, 2. Packing the orders, 3. Charging credit cards, 4. Weighing the packages, 5. Printing shipping labels, 6. Affixing the labels, 7. Packing the mailbag, 8. Requesting a pickup, 9. Ready to be picked up!

Today’s load (which was somewhat larger than usual) took me nearly 3 hours, not including the time it took to get all of the shipping paperwork together (which I did last night), do the “Yay! I’m done and I made it in time for the mail pickup!” dance (which I did as soon as I dragged that insanely-heavy mail bag outside), and do the post-shipping processes including sending out shipping notices (which I’ll do later tonight).

I really dislike the whole shipping process, and if I could I would offload it to someone else. The best I’ve been able to do is hire son #1 for package weighing / label affixing duties and son #2 for mail bag loading duty. Frankly, that’s got more to do with giving them a sense of accomplishment and an understanding of working for your money than it does being a help to me. I usually end up re-packing son #2’s mail bag when he’s not looking, and son #1’s jobs, while well done, are anything but speedy

I can’t help but think, as I stuff yet another copy of Cats Big & Small into yet another #3 rigid envelope how much more satisfying it would be to be doing something creative instead… For the time being I have found some compromise - crafty podcasts. This morning I listened to Alison Lee chat with Celie Fago on CraftCast, and SisterDiane talk to Jeffrey Yamaguchi of 52 Projects on CraftyPod while I worked. I downloaded a whole pile of conversations from CraftCast, CraftSanity, and CraftyPod recently so that I could have something interesting going on while I work, and I still have plenty to get through. By the time I’m done, I’m sure there will be a nice new crop to download, and there are probably a few other good podcasts I haven’t even looked at yet

And now I have to go somehow pull dinner out of my, er, I mean, go prepare something nice to feed my family

Hope everyone has a nice weekend - I am sure mine will be a lot nicer, now that I don’t have all of those shipments hanging over my head!! Maybe I’ll get a chance to do something artsy that I can post about…

Lisa

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So, I went and got myself a head cold. It’s not my favorite thing in the world, that’s for sure. I’ve pretty much wanted nothing more than to curl up under a rock all day. I’ve shirked all responsibility except that of the motherly kind today (I actually did alright in that department - we got crafty) and I was hoping to get a pre-supper nap. Unfortunately, the universe conspired against that by waking me twice as I was this close to being asleep, and now I’m wide awake. It’s not looking good in terms of packing up orders tonight. And I after I promised to have them out on Tuesday… I’m sorry guys, but Lisa’s got the sniffles. Sniffle, sneeze, yawn, sigh. That’s the cycle.

As long as I’m up, let me tell you what came in the mail today… First, was a big box from Singapore full of copies of Garie Sim’s delightful project book, Got Clay Can Play. My four-year-old and I immediately sat down and flipped through it. He was impressed by the flipping dog and the exploding volcano, in particular. Had I not held him back, he’d have been upstairs digging the clay and the pasta machine out of the cabinet right then and there. I imagine we’ll get some mileage out of this book this summer. If you’ve got little ones of your own, you might want to check this out.

The other box that showed up was full of fabric for an entirely-too-ambitious sewing project I intend to work on this summer. These are all fat quarters from Amy Butler’s Lotus collection, along with a few extra half-yards of some polka dots & stripes. I want to make small quilts for the boys’ beds, and an extra one I can use as a throw elsewhere. I’ve never quilted a thing in my life, but seeing the lap quilt project in Amy Karol’s Bend the Rules Sewing made me think I might actually be able to handle it without giving up halfway through. And if I need more motivation, I can just remind myself that those fat quarters weren’t cheap, and I’d darn well better make something out of them

Speaking of making something, I spent about 45 minutes sewing today, and now I have another new skirt. This one is from the same book I’ve used for all the rest, Sew What! Skirts, and it’s an elastic-waist a-line. It’s so simple to make, and even simpler to wear, which is great for someone who has a tendency to over-do it on the snacking sometimes If you recall, I bought that fabric last month and was going to turn it into a full-length wrap skirt. If you don’t recall, then you can read this. Anywhoo, I made that skirt and all I can say is ICK! It wasn’t the pattern, it was me. I am a little too curvy in all the wrong places to use a skirt that rectangular. All was not lost, though, as I was able to salvage it by cutting it up and turning it into this new one.

And now, I must go scrounge some supper and feel better. I will definitely process every order in my inbox tonight, but I’m not likely to be able to get them all packed up. I’m shooting for Wednesday, and if you’re one of the people who has had to wait, you have my sincerest apologies!

Lisa

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Top 5 Sellers* for June, 2007

</p> 1 ) Book:The Art of Polymer Clay Creative Surface Effects 2 ) Project Book:The CF Sculpture Series Cats Big and Small 3 ) DVD:ArtWay Studio Extruding Polymer Clay Canes 4 ) Magazine:Step-By-Step Clay Jewelry 2005 5 ) Magazine:Step-By-Step Clay Jewelry 2004 Bestsellers for previous months (Bestsellers prior to May, 2007) Want to be notified instantly when this list changes? Click here to see how… *Sales figures for this calculation are based on items shipped.

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Look what just hopped into my lap this afternoon… Cat lovers and Christi Friesen fans alike will be happy to hear that CF’s fourth Beyond Projects book is now available.

Like the three installments before it, this project book is a fun read - CF is just really funny!  I’m not a sculptor, but I really enjoy these books just the same.  About half of the book deals with little, cuddly cats (my favorite is the “lumpy” variety), and the other half explores cats of the jungle variety.  I am particularly fond of the  interesting twist she gives the lion’s mane (and if you want to know more about that, you have to buy the book )

Lisa

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For those of you who enjoy a little randomness in life, have you checked out the Close Your Eyes and Point link in the Polka Dot Creations book store? Every time you click it, you get a different, random, list of 50 polymer clay books, videos, magazines, tutorials, whatever. I amuse myself for minutes at a time just refreshing the screen to see what pops up. Yeah, I’m easily amused, but I thought maybe some of you might be, too, hence the post In addition to being kind of fun, it does give you a chance to unearth some older books you may not have known existed. The book to the left popped up when I Closed My Eyes and Pointed before. It’s one of those older titles that doesn’t see much action. It’s not exactly cutting edge, but I’ve always liked it because it has a different aesthetic than most other polymer clay books.

Here’s another link that I find interesting: I call it Everybody Else is Doing It… If you’ve ever wondered what most clayheads are shopping for these days, this is your link. It’s based on what has been purchased in the last 30 days, and it accurate up to the minute. (This is different than the bestseller list, which is based on items *shipped* and is only updated once a month).

Those ought to keep you busy for a few minutes. If I think of any other ways to help you pass the time on this holiday weekend, I’ll be sure to pass them along - I’m not going anywhere

And if you think of any other types of information that might be fun to see on the site, let me know - I program all of this stuff myself, and if I find your suggestion appealing, I’m just enough of a geek to drop everything and put it together on the spot. Ask clarkesworld - I’m not kidding

Happy Memorial Day!
Lisa

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Top 5 Sellers* for April, 2007

</p> 1 ) Book: Progress and Possibilities 2006 Exhibit Catalog 2 ) Project Book: Bead Techniques Clay Jewelry with Bead Rollers 3 ) Magazine:PolymerCAFE Spring 2007 4 ) DVD:Innovations Intricate Kaleidoscope Canes 5 ) Book: Adapting Quilt Patterns To Polymer Clay Bestsellers for previous months Want to be notified instantly when this list changes? Click here to see how… *Sales figures for this calculation are based on items shipped.

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Top 5 Sellers* for March, 2007

</p> 1 ) Project Book: Bead Techniques Clay Jewelry with Bead Rollers 2 ) Book: Adapting Quilt Patterns To Polymer Clay 3 ) Magazine:Step-By-Step Clay Jewelry 2007 4 ) Project Book:The CF Sculpture Series Under the Sea 5 ) Magazine:Belle Armoire Jewelry 2007 Bestsellers for previous months Want to be notified instantly when this list changes? Click here to see how… *Sales figures for this calculation are based on items shipped.

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Top 5 Sellers* for February, 2007
</p> 1 ) Project Book:The CF Sculpture Series Under the Sea 2 ) Magazine:Step-By-Step Clay Jewelry 2005 3 ) Project Book: Clay Techniques to Dye For 4 ) Magazine:Step-By-Step Clay Jewelry 2007 5 ) Project Book: PolyPens Bestsellers for previous months Want to be notified instantly when this list changes? Click here to see how… *Sales figures for this calculation are based on items shipped.

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Top 5 Sellers* for January, 2007
1 ) Book: Adapting Quilt Patterns To Polymer Clay 2 ) Project Book:The CF Sculpture Series Under the Sea 3 ) Project Book: Clay Techniques to Dye For 4 ) Book: Fairies Gnomes & Trolls 5 ) Magazine:PolymerCAFE Winter 2006/07

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