06 April 2006
I thought I was immune to the pompon love going around, but I was wrong, so wrong:
They still need a little trimming up, but I wanted to get a photo before the sun disappeared. What a fun little project! Pompons. Who'd've thought, eh? Speaking of surprise desires, I was lucky enough to swoop up one of Alicia's amazing aprons yesterday. Although I enjoy seeing aprons on other people's blogs, I haven't really felt the need to have one of my own -- or, at least, I didn't. Now I can't wait for my own Alice Apron to arrive; it will make my monthly baking so much more glamorous!
Packages, packages, waiting to be sent:
I get into such a cycle with posting orders. It probably takes me an average of one week to get an order in the post, which I suppose is fair enough, but I wish I could have a slightly quicker turn around. So I always have a week of fretting about having not posted the previous weekend's orders, then there's a brief respite after everything goes in the post, but soon enough it's time to make and send more prints. I'm very impressed by people who take on so much more than I do and still manage to get it shipped ASAP!
Do you have any tips for making the packing/shipping process easier and quicker? I've found little cellophane bags, which I love, and which will make 'wrapping' the bird prints much quicker. Ideally, I'd have a little packing/wrapping station, but I just haven't got the room at the moment. What sorts of tricks do you guys have for keeping up with things?
p.s. -- I can't really complain about the posting stress cycle, because it means that people want my prints. And that makes it all more than worth it!
We used to make pompoms as a kid but instead of our fingers we would use a piece of cardboard cut to the right size. Same method, different tool. This way you can make MANY different sizes of pompoms.
posted by momma at April 6, 2006 08:32 PM
Meant to comment yesterday but didn't get a chance to... congrats on selling all of your charity prints! That's so exciting! Good luck with your run, also, it's really such a great cause.
posted by Andrea at April 6, 2006 08:49 PM
yay! so exciting to see my name on one of those packages!!!
anyway, you know i have been thinking that same thing lately- how to package orders more efficiently. and i too wish i could have a station for packaging orders- id keep all my envelopes, tape, string, ribbon, etc etc there! but i already have a big enough problem with my craft area not even being in whats supposed to be the craft room!!
those cellophane bags are so nice, but i ordered the wrong size so im going to be posting them on etsy. where do you get yours from? i ordered mine and had to pay a whopping $16 JUST to have it shipped! i was pretty mad, they didnt even tell me that they charged me that until after i paid. so i havent been using the bags, but instead ive been saving the cardboard from giant drawing pads (i go through all the paper quickly when i make my journals) and i cut it all to size, all at one time. i get about 6 rectangles of it per drawing pad then i cut a bunch of pieces of embroidery thread. then i cut the kraft paper i use to wrap it. doing it all at once like an assembly line saves so much time and its so great to have it ready to go when i need it. although it is still a hassle with the way i do it...those cello bags would save a lot of time.
posted by erin scissorhands at April 7, 2006 12:05 AM
am sure your packaging takes a time but i must send my thanks to you - when i received the little bird print i was SO SO happy, the packaging was so gorgeous that i didn't want to unwrap it!! it made it all the more special :)
have a beautiful day! x
posted by shinyruby at April 7, 2006 12:36 AM
Erin -- I looked all over (for about fifteen minutes) on the internet for cellophane bags to no avail. In the end, I just happened to find some in a little stationery shop in Leigh on Sea. I think I paid £5 for 100. It won't be the most convenient place to get to when I want more, but now I know the sort of place to look, at least. I also wonder about catering shops. We have a few in London, and they seem like they'd have little bags for sweets, etc.
posted by Anna at April 7, 2006 06:13 AM
Is one of those mine?! Oh the excitment.
On the bag front have you tried here www.fredaldous.co.uk
I think he sells them.
posted by Gemma at April 7, 2006 10:32 AM
Apron -- in the mail, though I have no idea how I did it. Assembly line, baby. Actually, I have no good ideas about packing. I really feel like it takes a lot of space and a lot of time -- rather antithetical to modern life, no? Perhaps that's why it always feels so challenging, though the results make people so happy.
Also, not sure how expensive it is for them to ship overseas, but http://clearbags.com/ is a good source. . . .
posted by Alicia P. at April 7, 2006 06:55 PM
For cellophane bags - it took me ages to track them down, but two good suppliers are www.janemeans.co.uk for card-sized (C6) bags (download the order form as they're not shown on the site) and www.soapbasics.co.uk (under 'Packaging').
Packing is a pain in the you-know-what. My only tips are to be organised, get all your equipment/materials into one place before you start, automate any part of the process you can (got to www.smartstamp.co.uk for printable postage for example) and watch mindless classic TV on DVD while doing it...
posted by Paola at 'mirror mirror' at April 10, 2006 12:26 AM