RagsReborn's first at home shopping party

My pillow display...I love my antique trunk!

       Today is the last day of February and March is upon us. Oh how time flies!! I didn't participate in any craft shows this month. Instead, I tried to dabble in something new...two something news, actually. I co-hosted an Arbonne party and joined an auction to benefit the Mustang Animal Shelter (will blog about the auction next week). Both were very different experiences from the craft shows that I am used to. I enjoy trying new things and had a good time at both but I am excited to get back into the familiarity of craft shows. Bring on March and April...two shows each month and I am pumped!

I just noticed how blurry the top picture is... sorry!

I co-hosted my very first at home shopping party a few weeks ago. Before I start, I wanted to extend a sincere thanks to Mrs. Sue Ellis for opening up her home to myself, my products and my friends. She let her daughter and I use her beautiful home as the venue for our party. And, photo credit for this blog goes to Kristin Ellis. It turned out well over all but I will never do it again. It was SO.MUCH.WORK and I honestly don't think it was worth it.

       Wait, wait, wait... what is an introvert like myself doing hosting an at home shopping party??!? I seriously pondered this myself before I agreed to co-host and I concluded that, well, sometimes it's good to step outside of your comfort zone. You can't accomplish your goals if you don't take risks. And guess what...I sold 6 pillows that night!

       I met Kristin at a young professionals event many years ago. Although I stopped going to the mixers, we kept in touch through Facebook. Last year, she contacted me to do a joint party. She is an independent consultant for Arbonne and suggested that we do a fun girls shopping night. I was hesitant at first but then thought, "How hard can it be? Display some pillows, invite some friends and that's that." Ummm...lesson learned... it can be hard... very, very hard >.>

       After we planned the party and set a date, I promoted like crazy. I knew beforehand that people are wary of shopping parties due to the pressure to buy (I honestly never attended them myself for that very reason). I told everyone that there will be no pressure or obligation to buy from me. I couldn't speak for Arbonne but I wasn't going to pester my guests to purchase a pillow. I also told everyone that I'd be baking (that's always a good selling point!) I passed out all ten of my invitations and marketed all over social media. For about two weeks, I told literally everyone I knew about this party. I went as far as to get in trouble at my book club because I was trying to invite some of the ladies (they misinterpreted my sincere invitation as solicitation, which is against the rules.) At the week of the party, I had secured seven attendees!

       I spent the entire morning baking cupcakes and cookies in preparation for the night. I was uber excited for this party! But then that all suddenly stopped and stress crept in... when the night of the party finally came, four of the ladies couldn't make it after all. Oh no! That's over half of my guest list!! I was completely understanding of things coming up but I was also worried. So, I texted my co-host. Surely, she would have invited some of her friends & family, right? Sadly, no, she had not. She had zero guests coming. I was too overly optimistic about this little event and now I was completely let down. I did everything I could to make this party happen but she had only invited a scant number of acquaintances and barely even promoted the event. I felt cheated! How could I have worked so hard just to find out that my co-host did nothing? Weren't we supposed to be in this together?

         As it turns out, I was overreacting a little. Kristin and I had very different mindsets about the guest list: I wanted everyone to come & join us for a fun time but she only wanted the "proper clientele" to be there. This is definitely something we should have discussed as we were planning the party but I guess we just assumed we were on the same page. After I realized that, I finally let go of my anger & frustration at the guest list debacle and enjoyed myself. The evening turned out fine. I had a lovely time with my guests (thanks again Garrett, Lacey & Patti for coming) and Kristin's mother is a wonderful woman who kept our conversation going. We talked about travel, men and our jobs, sold some Arbonne & pillows and everyone loved my cupcakes & cookies. 

Lemon cupcakes with vanilla frosting and white chocolate water lilies. Pecan cookies with chocolate caramel center.

This is what I ordered at the party: lotion and deodorant.

It's Spring Craft Show Season!!! \(^_^)/ YES!!

      

       I love to read literature. 

I love the art of story telling and character development and all the little details. 

       I love using my imagination. 

Unfortunately, I think that has made me rather long winded. I find myself getting too immersed in my stories when I converse with coworkers about my weekend. I elaborate too much and take too long to get to the point. But tonight will be different... I'll be snappy; three months, five craft shows and a short description of each. Let's get this going!

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 26TH:

       WEST OKC QUARTER MANIA "FUN"DRAISER IN MUSTANG, OKLAHOMA

       This will be my first charity auction. All of the vendor booth fees will go directly to the Mustang Animal Shelter. (Yay! Puppies! Adopt, don't shop!) If you buy a paddle to participate in the auction or get dinner at the event, those proceeds will go to the shelter as well. The Facebook page for the event is here.

       I had no idea what "Quarter Mania" is until I signed up for this event. (I still don't quite know all of the rules.) From what I gather, all you need to do is to show up, buy a paddle for $3 and then bid on items for a quarter each. For each quarter you bid on an item, you get your paddle's number thrown into the hopper. When the auction starts, they draw numbers out of the hopper and if your number is called, you get the item regardless of how many quarters you bid. Of course, the more quarters you bid, the higher your chances are of getting the item. Here are my three items I've donated to the auction.

 Animal themed gift basket

 TV & movie themed gift basket

OU themed gift basket

SATURDAY MARCH 5TH:

       D.U.C.K WEEK JUNK SHOW IN PIEDMONT, OKLAHOMA

       This will be my first official craft show of 2016 and I'm pretty excited about it. The event organizers are doing one heck of a job on advertising and promotion! There will be some direct sales consultants (boo) but there will also be a lot of craft/junk vendors, too (hooray). Here's the Facebook page for this event. Two words- food.trucks.
       I didn't know what D.U.C.K week was before I signed onto this event. It's a charity acronym that stands for Doing Unselfish Charity for Kids & and an event that the Piedmont High School does each year. The residents of Piedmont petition the school to support their child, then all the proceeds from the week's events go to the children that were selected. I think it's pretty great of the community to be a part of this. There is a $3 admission to this event but it will be worth it. There are both indoor and outdoor events and promises fun for the entire family.

SATURDAY MARCH 12TH:

       CREATIVE CRAFT FESTIVAL IN NORMAN, OKLAHOMA

       There's nothing too out of the ordinary about this show; it won't be a charity event and there won't be live music but there will be unique handmade items, craft vendors and artists. Just like how a good old fashioned craft fair should be!
       I have two vendor friends (Glass Soldier Gifts and Pens & Things by Paul) who do this show annually and they love it. I have only heard good things about this show and I really wanted to do it last holiday season but I did not have time. So, I'm pretty pumped that I am a part of it this spring. There are a handful of shows throughout the year at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds and this will be the first one to kick off 2016!

SATURDAY APRIL 16TH:

       WESTERN OAKS CHRISTIAN CHURCH 7TH ANNUAL CRAFT SHOW IN OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA

       This will be my first time participating in this show but the show has been around almost a decade! 7th annual craft show!! From what I've been told, spaces for vendors fill up quickly. When I applied, RagsReborn was put on a waiting list and the show committee had to decide to open up more rooms within the church for additional indoor booths. (Thank goodness that they did!) That is just one indicator of how big this show will be. Here is the Facebook page. The photos section shows previous years' indoor and outdoor craft booths with lots of variety in items for sale.

       As you can tell from the picture above, I have just barely started to prepare for this show. I have almost all of my product for the February and March shows complete but I haven't done much for April shows. I have a lot of fun shirts and ideas swirling around in my head so keep posted for new pillows. I post on Instagram pretty regularly. (P.S. I can't get this to type black. For some reason, Blogger really wants it to be green.)

SATURDAY APRIL 30TH:

       THE CROWN CENTER'S HANDMADE SHOW IN MOORE, OKLAHOMA

       This is the ONLY all handmade show that I have ever been to as a shopper and as a vendor. There are absolutely zero direct sales and no boutique items. It's all crafters, artisans, upcyclers, etc. There are booths with quilts, jewelry, wood workers, religious items, peanut brittle, baby bows... Craft show perfection!!

       I participated in their holiday show last year and absolutely loved it. The show organizer was amazing, the other vendors were friendly and the shoppers and church community were very supportive. It ranks in my top three of shows that I have ever done. At the end of the holiday show last November, the show organizer invited me back to be a part of the spring show and I could not have been happier. I have been looking forward to this show for months and cannot wait to see all of you guys there!

It's President's Day & RagsReborn is (sorta) celebrating!

Happy Presidents' Day! My place of employment observes this government holiday so I am at home on my laptop doing my homework. I probably should be out enjoying the day like the rest of my coworkers but spring craft show season is about to start and I have things to get done. I'm not exactly sure how you're supposed to celebrate Presidents' Day but, today, I've been researching Oklahoma small business and tax laws. (Fun, right?)
       Here are some helpful websites and advice that I found in my research. None of these websites are mine-obviously-and they are to be used as reference materials only. I am not giving any legal advice nor claiming to be an expert in the topic. I am not promoting these websites. They were helpful to me and my situation. I wanted to pass them along so if the subject matter interests you, please feel free to click and read. And, once I get my business name registered and tax ID assigned, we can all celebrate together!

I did a little research before I started RagsReborn last year. I reviewed the Oklahoma Tax Commission website and talked to a vendor friend of mine. I concluded that I would only be participating in occasional sales and the functionality of RagsReborn would be more as a hobby than a business. I would collect taxes and turn them into craft shows as requested but I didn't need my own tax ID. Almost all of the craft shows I attended provided a tax form at the end of the show for me to complete and remit money. I also came across this little article: How To Sell Things You Make Without A License.

Earlier this year, I spoke again with my vendor friend (so much thanks goes out to Marie of Glass Soldier Gifts... she talked me through my first year of craft shows. Her knowledge and friendliness has been much appreciated!!) and she strongly advised that I just get my tax ID. If I don't make any sales in the month, I don't have to report. If I do make sales, then it's a super easy process to report online. Many craft shows ask for your business FEIN anyway so why not have one? It's convenient to remit everything to the craft show, but it's also good to take on that responsibility yourself. 

I also called the Oklahoma Tax Commission. I spoke with Monique who informed me that anything more than three craft shows a year does not qualify for "occasional sales." She suggested that I apply for my tax ID online immediately. She echoed Marie's advice in that I only had to report when necessary and the entire process is simple & can be done online. She also stated that if I wanted to register my business name with the Secretary of State (something she highly advised that I do), I would need to get that done before I registered for my FEIN.

Then today, I delved in further. Full on research mode! I want to grow RagsReborn and participate in more craft shows. I want to have a heavier presence on Etsy. I want to really promote my sewing of custom orders and gain an actual customer base. I legitimately want to be a small business! Here's what I found:

Answers courtesy of the Oklahoma Tax Commission website.

Since I started out as a seller on Etsy, I went to their discussion forum first. Etsy has a really good community when it comes to providing knowledge and advice. Etsy advised that I consult the government so that was my next stop. 

       https://www.etsy.com/teams/7722/discussions/discuss/9799713/page/1 

       https://www.irs.gov/uac/Business-or-Hobby%3F-Answer-Has-Implications-for-Deductions

       http://www.gotogreatpanes.com/blog/sales-tax-business-registration/

So it's done... I completed the Trade Name Report and mailed it off to the Secretary of State. I will be waiting patiently as it is processed and once I am notified of its completion, I will go online to register for my FEIN. Then I will report my earnings monthly and fill out this form here next year when I do my 2016 taxes.
       Oh what fun it is to wade through legal research! At least it's done and I feel better about RagsReborn. I am crossing my fingers that this all goes live before my first craft show on Friday February 26th. That's still weeks away so I should be fine. The registration for a tax ID supposedly only takes 15 minutes online. And, I already made sure that RagsReborn Gifts wasn't taken as a business name in Oklahoma so the registration with the Secretary of State shouldn't be too much of a hassle to approve either. This is me thinking positively.

One more thing I have come across- using licensed fabric (and t-shirts, in my case).
       I was worried about this at first but quickly dismissed it since there are "junkers" and "upcyclers" all over Etsy and who participate in craft shows. I have seen numerous quilts, Christmas ornaments, coasters, jewelry & hair bows boasting college logos, movie and TV characters, etc. If you can get your hands on a yard of Oklahoma Sooners fabric, you can craft anything out of it. Very few of these crafters have licenses, myself included.
       This spring, I will be participating in a show that strictly does not allow original collegiate merchandise. I called the show organizer and explained my product to her. I wanted to be sure that I could still participate. She said that as long as I am using licensed t-shirts and fabric, my products will be fine. They are not originals and I am not reproducing the collegiate logos. But, she warned, if I sew a pillow that is orange and black with my own interpretation of the OSU logo on it, I will be asked to leave.

Fortunately, I have not had any bad experiences with copyrights and trademarks. (knock on wood) I have a sign stating RagsReborn Gifts is not associated with any of the brands or images on this item and does not own the rights to the image posted on my booth at all my craft shows and the disclaimer is listed on my Etsy shop profile and on each item description profile. 
       I have been contacted once through Etsy by a member of Fall Out Boy's merchandising team who asked me to remove a pillow I had made using one of the band's t-shirts. No problem. I immediately removed it and wrote a polite and apologetic reply. It was all handled very professionally.
       Then a few months ago, I received a message from a fellow crafter who asked if I have ever gotten in any legal trouble over my products. No, I have not lest the Fall Out Boy incident. I wouldn't even call that a bad experience since no harm was really done. She was surprised and expected that I had received numerous cease and desist letters. Since the possibility of product confiscation and forced closure of my Etsy shop is becoming a reality, I better do some research.

From whatthecraft.com

For now, I think I will be okay. I believe I am doing everything I can to stay out of trouble. But the legal landscape is always changing so I will need to keep abreast of this. If any of you have any experiences and advice to share, I welcome it.
       My apologies if this blog was a little dry but I did say in the first paragraph that I would be doing my homework today. And homework is never titillating. But it's done now and it's back to sewing for me! The spring craft show line up will be revealed next week!!

Sadie & Athena are getting treats!

Athena loves to cuddle with Sadie. She hasn't realized that she's gotten a lot bigger than Sadie so the dog stacking doesn't quite work out sometimes. Sadie usually just gets frustrated and retreats to the pet bed after a while.

This will be another feel-good blog with plenty of dog pictures. Because life is too stressful without puppies. Am I right? Speaking of stressful, I still haven't registered RagsReborn with the Secretary of State nor gotten a tax ID, yet.  Ugh. I have at least started my research on the topics. Someday soon I will blog about my legal journey and offer any advice I may have learned. Anyway...
       I have two very spoiled pups- Sadie and Athena...you know them as the stars of my Instagram and they have been featured on my blog several times over. They're adorable and precious so they deserve all the attention. I have decided that I needed to bake them some dog treats on this Sunday afternoon. I bake plenty of cookies for myself and Wes so it's time that I whip up something for the dogs.

       Many years ago, I threw my first dog, Kensington, a birthday party. I lived Downtown and I invited a few of my friends and their dogs to all go to the dog park at the Myriad Gardens. For party snacks, I made homemade dog treats. (from a recipe I found online, most likely from a blog... I get everything from blogs nowadays.)
       A few summers ago, we had a BBQ at my mom's for Kensington and Sadie's joint birthdays. I made the same treats. The dogs love them and they're easy to make. I think it's just chicken broth, oats and peanut butter. They're also gluten free, grain free and all natural with no filler and all that other good stuff that you're supposed to check for when buying dog food. (I swear my dogs eat better than Wes & I do sometimes.)

Homemade dog treats!

#tbt to Kensington's party at the dog park with Cindye, Ninja & Wiggles. They are all waiting on treats. A friend of mine made Kensington a party hat but it must have fallen off. 

Kensington & Sadie's birthday. We are playing catch with the Frisbee and then someone thought it would be hilarious to have Kensington wear the Frisbee as a tutu. He didn't mind.

My vet sends out quarterly pet heath magazines to all of his clients. I think it's call Vet Street or something like that.  There's a pet photo contest in each magazine and I keep meaning to submit pictures...I'll get on that next quarter! The magazine is a pretty interesting read and this last quarter's included a recipe for dog treats. Perfect timing since I was looking for a new recipe! I had already made the other one twice and wanted something different. The recipe that was in the magazine was a bit plain (it was literally two steps... mash together a banana & a cooked sweet potato, then bake). I thought it might be fun to combine recipes. The first one that I have been making is a savory dog treat and the new one in the magazine is a sweet dog treat. Sweet and savory combinations work with human food so why not in dog food?

Homemade Dog Treat Recipe;

      Ingredients- 1 large banana, 1 large sweet potato, 1 cup of oats & 1/2 cup of chicken broth (I don't have any at the apartment so I'll be mixing chicken bouillon into a boiling water to make chicken broth)

1. Cut the sweet potato into chunks and boil until soft. (like really soft... nice and mushy!) 

Remove from heat, drain and peel. If you're like me and find yourself without chicken broth, now would be a good time to make some using the leftover water used to boil the sweet potato. Because sweet potato flavored chicken broth sounds so yummy if you're a dog! 

       To make chicken broth, add 1/2 teaspoon of chicken bouillon powder to 1/2 cup of boiling water. Mix until dissolved. Set aside. 

2. Cut the banana into slices and mash into the sweet potato.

3. Add the oats and chicken broth to the fruit mixture. Mix well. Warning: this will smell disgusting. 

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Shape the dough into cookies, bones, squares or whatever treat shape you want. I went with round cookies because I'm not feeling too creative today. I made mine a little big so Athena would have to chew them. They're also chewy because of the sweet potato & banana. So no just swallowing it whole!!

       Athena doesn't like chewing... if something is small enough for her to swallow, she will. She almost swallowed a Greenie treat whole (and those things are long and shaped like toothbrushes!). She's swallowed entire dog treats and she inhales her kibble. The only thing we can get her to actually chew up is rawhide treats.

       The dogs were waiting patiently for their treats .They're not allowed in the kitchen so they had to sit longingly in the living room. Sadie was still resting but Athena perked up when she started to smell the treats baking.

5. Place on a non-stick baking sheet or parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for roughly 45 minutes. Let cool, then serve. These only last a few days so have your pups gobble them up before they perish! 

Sometimes, Erica just wants to chat.

Can you believe it's February??  My coworker states every day that she can't believe it's already *insert date of the month.* I always laugh and sarcastically reply, "Yeah, it's already the 20th because yesterday was the 19th." But, really...February 2016 already. I can barely believe it!
       I've been mega-super-busy preparing RagsReborn for its spring craft show season. (Show details will be posted on another week's blog. I still have to confirm dates and try to get into one more show.) I haven't had much time for crafting or cooking, so tonight, we will just chat. There are tons of bloggers who just reminisce about their day & what they had for lunch and get great responses so let's just try it out. (Although, I'm pretty sure what I had for lunch isn't as exciting as what the celebrity bloggers had for lunch. Woe is me!)
       Disclaimer: I'm also exhausted from a very busy Open Enrollment season at work. Please forgive me if this blog just goes all over the place with no proper beginning or ending.

I have the address of the party purposely blocked out. If you're interested in attending this amazing event, please email me at ragsreborngifts@gmail.com 

Before we start, I wanted to invite you to my first at home party (although it's not at my home so you should probably RSVP to the Facebook page or email me before showing up). I'm teaming up with my friend, Kristin, to host an Arbonne/RagsReborn party! Hooray (\^_^/) Kristin is an Arbonne Independent Consultant and I will be her assistant. Along with all the wonderful Arbonne products, I will have a small display of pillows for sale. I'm excited for this new way of promoting and selling my pillows.

Enough of the craft show stuff, you'll get plenty of that in the upcoming weeks when I promote each of my upcoming spring shows. It's been over a year (much closer to two years, actually!) of Monday Craft Night blogging... I guess tonight we can get personal.
       It's a little blurry but that is a picture of my greatest craft endeavor before RagsReborn. I started cross stitching in middle school (yes, while the rest of my class was busy hooking up and partying, little Erica was learning a craft & planting the seeds for her sewing business to come many years later). This cross stitch took me literally two decades to complete. In a way, it was my therapy. When I was stressed out from school, work, boys or family or simply needed some quiet time to think, I would pull this baby out and work on it. This thing stayed by my side throughout college and even went with me to study abroad in Spain. And when I got my first "real job," I stuck it in my purse and brought it with me to work.
       I finished it a few months before my thirtieth birthday. I didn't plan it that way but about a month or so after I finished this little project, I finally worked up the nerve to open my shop on Etsy and then a few more months after that, I participated in my first craft show. I feel like finishing the cross stitch meant I could let go of all my childish worries and use all my energy to focus on something bigger and better.

This is what the inside of my closet wall looks like. When Wes moved in, we -as in mostly me- decided to decorate the apartment with our stuff. Nothing of mine and nothing of his but, rather, we wanted to display memories and artifacts from adventures that we will experience together. 

       I did a huge "cleaning" (more like, getting rid of junk) day and pretty much threw away or donated everything that I no longer felt like I needed. Everything in the decor department that survived ended up on this wall. I have my old passport & student visa (framed, of course, because I'm proud of my independent travels), a vinyl recording of John Denver and The Muppet's Christmas album, my very first crucifix from my baptism, an old family picture and an infertility support bracelet (it's like a Livestrong bracelet but it's for infertility). And some other framed items that I couldn't part with. 

       

Okay, okay, we might be getting too sentimental. Let's lighten up the mood. 

       My coworker convinced me to go on my very first diet. (A diet that allowed for Fudgsicles!) Tashara introduced me to Super Shred and to be a supportive friend, I decided I would do the four week regimen with her. I'm pretty much fine with my body image but who can't stand to lose a few pounds, right? Plus, I definitely need to start eating healthier. That was my main reason for wanting to participate.

       We started the diet on January 4th and we survived!! We followed the rules really well at work but I have to admit that I slipped on evenings and weekends (a big part of the diet was eating certain things at certain times and that was too difficult to do on weekends and it was especially hard when I went out to eat). I went into this wanting to train myself to want to eat healthier options. I wasn't necessarily wanting to lose 20lb in 4 weeks (because, frankly, that sounds a little scary...if you lost 20lb every 4 weeks, how sickly would you look after a year??!!?). After going through the diet, I did indeed change my eating habits at work-- success! : ) I used to always snack on junk food and candy. But now, I'm eating fruit, nuts and granola. 

       As I mentioned before, the diet outlined a list of allowed snacks and meals that you were to eat at certain times throughout the day. Since I couldn't eat whenever I wanted, I started to really appreciate food. We have the luxury of having food available 24/7. Many times, we eat when we aren't even hungry. We eat because we're bored or stressed out or emotional. But during the Super Shred, many of our meals were spaced out 5 or 6 hours apart and when it was time to eat, the meal was just either cup of soup or small salad...nothing exciting, but when you're hungry--like really hungry-- you really taste that soup and the greens in your salad are the freshest you've ever had. I don't think I've ever truly ate food that way before. (Half of the time, I just ate because I was bored and I didn't even know what I was eating... yes, first world problems.) I appreciate the accessibility to food so much more now. 

Lastly, I wanted to show you this. This is a picture of my mom and her boyfriend, Mike. I took this picture the very first Easter Triduum we spent together. They have been together for probably three to five years now and they are finally getting married this summer! I cannot be more excited for them!! They are getting married in June in the church where they met. It also happens to be the church that I grew up in. Wes and I are going to be their witnesses when they get the marriage certificate. What an honor! 

       Since I never planned my own wedding or did any wedding themed DIYs, I will definitely be doing some crafting for their wedding. (I think my mom actually put me in charge of decorating!) So that is what you get to look forward to, dear readers. Be prepared for RagsReborn craft show updates and Erica's mom is getting re-married wedding DIYs!

     

I saw this on Facebook and laughed pretty hard. Art history memes are the best!