etsy.

i am pretty sure that opening a shop on etsy is one of those things that i have always held in high 'esteem'.
i am also pretty sure that i have always thought, 'sure, i can open one of those', and 'one day i'm sure that i will'.


well, today is that day.
okay, not exactly today, but this week, i set out to embark on the wide, wide world of all things hand-made.


and let me tell you, it is no simple task.
a fun and experimental task, but definitely not simple.
i must have always assumed that when you open a shop on etsy, you do just that.
you open a shop on etsy and all is right with the world.


all may be right with the world, in fact, things are all-together lovely,
but i was not aware of the time that was put into doing something of this nature.
if, of course, i wanted to do it in a way that reflected who i wanted to be seen as a shop owner.
which, of course, i do.


and so my journey began.


unbelievably, and possibly a little ridiculously, it took me a good week [or so] to make my banner!
but i do love it.
so much so that i decided to use it atop the blog as well, which required an altogether new look, which i am L-O-V-I-N-G by the way!


then there was:
wording my item descriptions just so,
developing a personalized avatar,
cropping and resizing and retaking [and retaking and retaking, and maybe a little bribing my trio to retake AGAIN even] and exporting and uploading each image,
deciding whether to wait until i had built up more of a stock in the things i was going to offer,
deciding whether or not to wait until i had finished some of the items that i am REALLY excited about offering (i did not wait, therefore, and i have things in the works that i am REALLY excited about!),
deciding on prices,
and shipping costs,
and finally creating a bio that summed up all of what coffee and chocolate milk entails, and will entail, and why it is to be desired.


not too much, right?  (=


but i LOVE it,
and sincerely have not been able tone down the creative processes since i opened!
it is funny, because it was one of those moments where i was thinking, 'if i don't just do this, i won't ever do it',  and my creativity was put on hold for just that moment.
but once i clicked 'finish', and saw it, really out there,
a real, live, etsy shop [!],  http://www.etsy.com/shop/coffeechocolatemilk


i was hooked.


and i've decided to share a bit of the process and experience with you.
so stay tuned, and
enjoy!  (=