I have a website!

Guess what, I finally did it! I have setup my own website! This is something that I have been thinking about doing, but never went through with it because I was doing OK with just using Etsy for the time being. But, as time goes on, the idea has persisted and grown bigger, and after seeing and purchasing some things from a friend who had setup her own site, I decided to go for it! 

I spent about a week getting everything setup and arranged the way I wanted it. All this self-quarantine time has given me plenty of time to work on it. I even have about 25 items listed on the site, so far (of course, many more to come as I take pictures and setup all the listings for them). I was originally planning to take my time getting more items listed before publishing, but then Wix had to go and have a sale. I only had a couple days to take advantage, but I did manage to get 50% off of my site for 3 years. Taking that into account, I had to jump for it. With this sale, I have a better plan than what I was originally going to get, and it is even cheaper!

I would like to invite everyone to visit my website and tell me what you think! I am still tweaking things here and there, too, so I would like to get some honest feedback.
I also have a subscribe option on the bottom of the page. I'm thinking of doing monthly newsletter-type updates, letting everyone know if upcoming events for the month, and what I have been working on the past month.

My new website is: www.craftysasha.com
(Yes, I got the domain, as well!)

I have been wanting to do so for a long time, and this new website will allow me to be able to break up my Etsy shop. I will keep the Etsy shop for my crochet patterns and for other miscellaneous items, and my new website will be mostly for the chainmail and the glass dome cabochon items that I make. I am very excited about this new development!

I will continue to post here, but since my website has a blog section in it, I will most likely duplicate chainmail stuff between the two blogs. My cross stitch and other crafty things will continue to be posted here.

99 Bottles - Beer #11

Another beer, already?!
Yep, we went out to dinner last night to celebrate some good news, and I decided to try another beer on my list. Their selection was pretty small, but there was one that I haven't tried for this project, just yet.

This time, I tried Tecate. Now, I have had Tecate before on multiple occasions, so this wasn't the first time that I have had it. That being said, I still wanted to try and review it just for this project so I can give my current thoughts on everything.
Obviously, if I have had it multiple times before, I liked it! I am happy to say that I do still like this beer! The restaurant we were at also gave a frosty, salted glass with lime, as well. Let me say that this just elevated everything, it was amazing!

Tecate, for me, is definitely one of my favorite Mexican beers. It has a light enough flavor that it isn't too heavy and doesn't linger much. Because of this, it is perfect to have with food, too, since it doesn't interfere with the flavor of what you are eating. You can have it with just about anything (last night I had it with a burger and mac & cheese).

I still enjoy this beer, and I will certainly continue to drink it from time to time!

Here is the stitched version:

Here is the whole project so far:

Con Review : Uncanny Comic Con

Convention Name: Uncanny Comic Con
Date: March 7, 2020
Cost: $70, 10x10
Location: Shawnee, OK
Grade:A

I was referred to this con last spring, not long after the first one had taken place. My friend had told me it was a good con, and they had done really well. Of course, I decided to give it a go! I signed up for a table really early on, and had been looking forward for quite a while to attend this one.
I was so eager to get a table, that I reached out to the coordinator before applications were available. Apparently I was really early, and they weren't out, yet, so I had to wait.

Finally they came out and I filled it out right away. I was happy to get accepted! (Come to think of it, I haven't been rejected from any cons that I have applied to. That's pretty awesome by itself).
When I got my acceptance, I was especially pleased to discover that once you pay for your space, you get to also pick which space you want, if it is available. I was able to pick a pretty central spot on a corner, which worked out, since I could put up my big display board.

Check in was pretty easy. They had people show me where my booth was. I had just under 2 hours to setup my booth. Since I hadn't had any cons in a while, I had a slow start and it actually took me a little longer than this to setup, especially since I didn't have anyone with me to help. I originally thought I had more time than I did. I woke up and got dressed and was relaxing, when I realized that setup had to be complete an hour earlier than I was planning for. I had to rush all the way to the venue! I wasn't too terribly late, though.

There was a good turnout at this event, especially considering the initial concerns with Coronavirus going around. I'm happy that this one didn't get cancelled or postponed, though. Unfortunately, my next 2 cons have been postponed. One set of dates works, but the other one I already have booked. Boo.

Considering this was a one day con, I did really well. There were also volunteers going around offering the vendors bottles of water and snacks. I thought this was a nice touch. I appreciated it when the coordinators do things like this for vendors, especially when not all of us have a chance to leave our booth.

I forgot to take a picture of my booth! I can't believe it! I am really out of con shape, apparently.
I definitely plan on attending this con in the future, as I did really well. Especially for a one-day con. I would recommend this con for any vendor!

And now the big letdown...

I have been so busy lately getting everything ready for these 2 huge shows that I had scheduled. These were bigger than any other shows I have ever done, so I was excited and a little nervous.

Well, turns out, there is no need to be, now. I just got word that the first con, next weekend, has been postponed until late summer/fall sometime. I hope that the new dates they pick work into my schedule. I'm really sad, but I do understand why they did it.
So far, there hasn't been any word on the second one, in two weeks, but I wouldn't be surprised if this one gets cancelled/postponed, as well.

They really need to find this cure, guys! It's just getting crazier out there!

Edit: The second one was postponed, as well. I don't have any more cons until mid-May. 

Cenvention Inventory cycle - crafting frenzy!

I'm stuck in this weird cycle right now. This month I have 3 conventions planned, 2 of which are larger than any others that I have ever done before. Every time I think about it, I start to panic because I feel like I don't have enough inventory. This leads me to start making new things, usually about 4 or 5 bracelets at a time. Then, I start to slow down a bit to relax.
Then something will remind me that I have these huge shows coming up, and I  need more inventory, so I start making another batch of bracelets or other items, and I end up in this cycle over and over. This has happened several times. There is a positive in this, because I have learned several new weaves that I didn't know before, so I am growing, as well.

Here are a few of the new things I have made that I haven't posted about, yet.

This is definitely not everything I have made the past few months, but I wanted to include a little bit of as much as I could.
My current item that I am in love with and making more of are the bookmarks. I LOVE how they came out, and have a few more planned. I also have more blanks ordered so I can make a bunch more.

I already have 10 conventions/events planned for this year, and there are at least 2 or 3 more that don't have a date scheduled just yet, but I am planning on going. I am having such a great time with these conventions, than I don't even miss the craft fairs at all! I am doing more conventions then I ever did fairs in a year, plus I have more fun AND I make more money (maybe the two are connected?)

This weekend is a one-day con pretty close to home, and I can't wait to get back to it. This is my first con of the year, after having taken a few months off. So excited to pick back up!