my first giveaway

in order to promote my green rock creations store on etsy and my facebook page, i’ve decided to participate in my first rafflecopter giveaway.

i’m not really sure what i’m doing, but figured a little experimentation couldn’t hurt!

“Mother’s Day… a time for warm thoughts and fond memories, for expressing the feelings and words that often go unspoken, for letting those special people in our lives know that they are loved and appreciated – always.”

Great mothers deserve a treat on their special day! I Heart Giveaways, together with other awesome bloggers, is hosting a brand new giveaway especially made for moms. Seven lucky winners will be randomly chosen to win these exciting prizes:

• $320 Paypal Cash
• Avon Cosmetics *Imported*
• Red & Black Tiger Dichroic Glass Pendant
• Belleza Box Massage Kit
• Coupon Binders
• Pirate Party Games Pack
• Ravishing Rose 6 Pair Earring Set

Click here to see the images and value of the prizes listed above. Note: All items will be shipped to the winner within one to three weeks after the end date of this giveaway. Non-cash items are not convertible to any form of money.

What are you waiting for? Enter on the rafflecopter below for a chance to win! Mother’s Day Giveaway will accept entries until May 18, 2012. Open worldwide.

discovering the world of etsy

when i first joined etsy a few years ago to sell my handmade catnip toys, i figured it was kind of like ebay.  you post. someone searches for your item.  they buy it if they like it.  done.  of course i didn’t make any sales.  this time around with my baby items, i decided to dive into the forums at etsy and see exactly what i had to do in order to have a successful shop. 

i had NO idea that there were so many options to promote your shop!

i joined a few teams and started adding team members shops and items to my favorites.  i created treasuries.  i posted questions on team threads and posted my items in any thread that allowed it.  i think this has helped me gain exposure – i’ve had 3 sales to people i don’t know in the last month.  it doesn’t seem like much, but a lot of people will go a LONG time before they make a sale – and considering my shop has only been open for 1.5 months, i’m happy with those sales.   i just need to find the time to continually promote my shop and watch my business grow!

the latest thing i’ve discovered are bnr/bns treasuries.  i’m still not quite clear on all the details or the language, but i’m sure i’ll figure it out.  i’m featured in my first one here:
www.etsy.com/treasury/MTg5ODkxODB8MjcyMjcxNDE1NA/open-something-for…

if you check it out, be sure to leave a comment that says katie/greenrock sent you.  if i get enough referrals, i’ll be featured in the 2nd round for free.  also, if you want to buy something from my shop – please use the coupon code bns10 for 10% off! 

green rock creations

for those of you that know me, you know i am an entrepreneur at heart.  it’s pretty much impossible for me to have a hobby without brainstorming how i can turn it into a business.  ever since i got my mba, i’ve been dying to have my own small business, but doing what?

house flipping has been my dream, but i don’t have the funds to invest in it right now and it’s not an easy thing to get into.

i’ve always admired the etsy stores and try to buy from them when i’m looking for unique gifts and other items.  once i briefly tried selling some felt catnip mice that i made, but nothing came of it.

a few months ago i took a sewing class, courtesy of a living social deal.  my friend had given me a machine, but i was intimidated by it so it just sat in a closet.   i figured i might as well learn how to use it and see what kind of cute baby things i could make for charlotte.   the class was so much fun and gave me the confidence i needed to break out the sewing machine and get some supplies at a fabric store.

i cruised pinterest to see what kind of easy things i could make and found instructions on how to create cute burp cloths. i looked through my fabric stash, took one of c’s old cloth diapers and went to town.  it was so easy and turned out super cute!  i made a few more for myself and for gifts and the people i gave them too loved them so much that i thought i should try the whole etsy thing again.

 thus my etsy shop was born. 

this time around i realized that i can’t just list my items and hope someone buys them.  i need to actively promote and drive traffic to my shop.  this kind of marketing is both super exciting and a little difficult for me – exciting because i LOVE this kind of thing.. difficult because  i get a pang of dissapointment when i promote my shop somewhere and don’t immediately get a sale.  this is something i need to work through  because i totally understand and get that it takes time.  i’m not going to have a thriving business overnight – i need to be patient and work hard at promoting and creating items before i start getting sales and realize that there will be a definite lag time.

so far i’ve created a separate facebook page and joined some teams on etsy.  my plan is to comment on blogs and forum posts, sponsor a small blog giveaway of my item to get facebook fans, and keep researching on how to make my shop better.  once i have a few sales, i want to look into what i have to do in order to sell items in little boutique shops around town.  i know of a couple that would be perfect for my items.   but i imagine i need to get some sort of business license and do some heavy networking to make that happen.  i’ve joined a local mommy business association and plan to attend some of their events – hopefully i can meet some other mommies that can help show me the ropes.

 

i have no delusion that this will be my full time job anytime soon, but more of a way to allow me to fund my hobby and sew things without having the finished products take up a room of their own!

so if you know of anyone that is having a baby and need a cute baby gift, please cruise over to my shop and see if anything fits the bill!  i also take custom orders, so if you have a friend who is decorating a nursery with a specific theme let me know what you’re looking for – chances are I can find some cute fabric and make something they’ll love!

my new obsession

now if only i had the body and the bank account to pull off these creations.

http://ktrockco.polyvore.com/

alone

j and i had an interesting situation yesterday.

the past week or so, we noticed that there wasn’t any activity from our elderly neighbor’s house.  j shoveled his walk after the 2 snowstorms we had within the past week, but mike never came out to thank j like he usually does.  we also noticed that his car hadn’t been moved in a week or two, which was unusual, but we figured he just didn’t want to drive in the snow.

after a walk with the dogs yesterday, j decided to knock on mike’s door to make sure everything was ok.   there was no answer and the mail was piling up in his mailbox.  j came home and told me about this and i said we should probably call the cops and have them do a welfare check.   j wondered if mike was on vacation, but i figured that if he was, his car wouldn’t be there and he probably would have his mail put on hold.

so j called the police and about 10 minutes later they arrived.  they went into the house and came back out.  j asked them if mike was there and the policeman said “oh, he’s in there” and jared asked if he was ok and the policeman said “no… he’s passed”.

j told the policemen that mike had a kitty and asked if the cat was in there.  the policeman kind of grimaced and said “oh, he’s in there hiding somewhere”.

when the ambulance came, the paramedic came out of the house and asked the policeman “why didn’t you tell me?” and the policeman said “i thought you’d want to see if for yourself”.

j didn’t want to seem like a morbid busybody so he didn’t ask any more questions, but we assume that the poor kitty, having been unfed for who knows how long, must have been eating on our poor dead neighbor.

*shudder*

we didn’t know mike too well, but j had been over there a couple times to fix things and mike and i always chatted about gardening or neighborhood things when we were both out front at the same time.   i keep thinking of the situation and can’t believe how sad it is that no one else had been in to check on him and how lonely he must have been.   we don’t know if he just died of old age or if he fell and couldn’t get to the phone or if he had a heart attack.  i hope he didn’t lay there suffering, not being able to get help.  we don’t know if he had any family – if he did, he never talked about them.  and i also wonder what would have happened if we hadn’t called the police?  how long would it have been before he was found?

so much to think about.  RIP neighbor mike.

too much hype makes things suck

i know i’m a little bit snobby in a hipster way when it comes to things becoming too popular, but i am so annoyed when something i used to like becomes so hyped up by the mainstream that it’s no longer enjoyable.

some examples include:

• black friday shopping
• facebook*
• coldplay
• flashmobs
• superbowl commercials

let’s discuss the superbowl commercial phenomenon.   i remember back in the 90′s, joking about how i only watch the superbowl for the snacks and the commercials.  i also remember the commercials being very good, and the superbowl was actually the first time you saw them.  if you liked them, you would talk about them (bud–wise—er, wasssssabi!), but you didn’t hear about them endlessly on the local news.   maybe there would be a SNL parody or something.

it is just me or is too much attention paid to them now?  and although it’s brilliant marketing, it makes me uncomfortable that so many people can be sucked into the consumerism vortex and enjoy it.  how far it can this possibly go until people stop responding.  are we going to all be wearing nascar clothes a la “idiocracy” or have corporate sponsored schools like in max barry’s “jennifer government“?  i’d like to think that the human race won’t let this happen, but it’s a slippery slope.  people have already sold space on their bodies for companies to logo – and some dum-dums even do it for no compensation!   i have favorite brands like most people, but that doesn’t mean i’m going to permanently advertise for them on MY BODY.

i am probably looking at things way too seriously and should enjoy the good ads, since we’re subjected to them all and they are more entertaining than the bad ones.   i am just terrified of the day when corporations completely take over and humans are even more materialistic and shallow than they are now.

*still enjoyable, but way over-hyped

mommy guilt

i experienced  a bout with mommy guilt yesterday, my first since i had to abandon all plans of a natural childbirth and have an induction ending in a c-section.   it happened when i decided to…gasp…feed my 3 month old 4 oz of formula.

let me explain.

i have been exclusively breastfeeding since she was born, and plan to nurse for as long as i can*. for the first month i was even able to pump a little extra each day so that we would have a good stockpile in the freezer for when i went back to work.  i soon found out that even though pumping an extra 3 oz per day for a month seems like a good stockpile, it dwindles down quickly when you’re having to pull from it multiple times a day.   this happened when i went back to work and was  in meetings all day.  even though i would pump when i got home, the little monkey was usually hungry enough to eat what i pumped that day.

at the end of the month, i have to be in florida for a sales meeting and will be gone for 4 days.  we quickly realized that the 45 oz of milk left in the freezer were not going to be enough to feed her while i was gone.  i resigned myself to the fact that we would probably have to supplement with formula during that week.   after doing a little research, i realized that it might be a bad idea to suddenly start her on formula that week and we were probably better off easing her into it.  so i figured that we should probably start supplementing a bottle a day and then gradually increase it until i left.  a little breastmilk per day has to be better than none, right?

i pulled out the packages of sample formula that we received and i swore i would never have to use.   i was faced with my first decision – do i use the similac sensitive formula for fussiness and gas?  or the similac advance complete nutrition?  i reached for the sensitive one and started to read the ingredients.  i quickly threw it in the trash when i read that the FIRST TWO ingredients were CORN SYRUP SOLIDS and SUCROSE SUGAR!!!  i was absolutely in shock.  i read the next package ingredients and calmed down a bit when i saw that lactose was the sugar of choice.  phew.

then my next dilemma came.  what kind of water do i use to mix it?  can it be from the fridge filter?  does it need to be boiled?  what is the fluoride concentration of denver city water?** do i need to buy special “nursery water”?

more questions arose.  how do you sterilize bottles?  is running them through the dishwasher good enough?  do i put in the powder and then the water or the other way around?  do i mix it cold and then heat it or mix it with warm water?

am i going to kill my baby if i do this wrong???

i decided to use filtered fridge water, in a bottle from the dishwasher, mixed cold and heated in a warm water bath.

jared gave her the bottle and we held our breath.  will she accept this inferior alternative?  will it agree with her system or will she be allergic?  how is this going to change her poop?  is she going to like it better and refuse breastmilk?  is she going to need therapy (or cancer drugs)  in 30 years because her mommy failed to produce enough of natures perfect food?

she drank it down just fine.  so far no adverse reaction and she happily took breastmilk at the next feeding. and i got over the guilt because i’m doing the best i can and making the best decisions based on what works in our family.  i’m still going to nurse as often as i can and pump as much as i can, but i’m not going to beat myself up over having to give her 1-2 formula bottles per day.  i’m pretty sure it’s better than not giving her enough food.

i think she’s happy.

*although i draw the line when they can start asking for the boob.  even though i know this is acceptable in many cultures and can be good for the baby, it kind of creeps me out.

**0.7 mg/l if you’re interested

new site, new name, and why i heart amazon

yesterday i wanted to create a post about how much i love amazon.com, but when i went to blogger.com to create, the page was blank.  for 2 days.  i couldn’t access my blog at all.  so i decided to move the whole thing over to wordpress.  the name of my old blog (fluffy puffy puppy) was causing me to get too many unrelated google hits, so i decided i needed a new name.  of course my mind went blank.  i don’t know if this one will stick, so we’ll see.  i chose crunchy fluff for a few reasons.  1) i am a pretty crunchy person, as related to all things eco/green/sustainable  2) fluff is one of my favorite words – i like the way it sounds.  plus i am pretty fluffy, as are my doggies.  and the content of this site isn’t what one might call “academic”.  i kind of wanted to incorporate “rock” in there somehow, since it’s part of my name and i enjoy music, but i couldn’t make it work. ideas?  thoughts?

onto why i heart amazon.com.

• they carry practically everything under the sun and nearly all products have comprehensive reviews
• their prices are generally the cheapest
• amazon mom is free to join and you get discounts and one month of free prime shipping for every $25 you spend in the baby store
• free shipping on returns
• easy access to past orders
• “add to wish list” button

all of these things have made me a pretty loyal amazon customer, but the icing on the cake happened yesterday.  i was trying to return a $12 baby bottle that we didn’t need.  i went through the whole return process and when i hit submit, this little window popped up that said:

“Keep this item and receive a refund! It’s on us! As a valued customer, you don’t need to return this item to get a refund.”

WHAT?!?  have you ever, EVER, heard of another company doing something like this?  i sure haven’t.  it’s probably because of some business decision due to the cost of shipping, but how brilliant of them to word it as a valued customer benefit.

well played amazon.com – for $12, you have created a customer for life!

thrifty finds 1-15-12

my local savers was having 50% off for the holiday this weekend, so i ventured down there to look at baby clothes.  $57 later I left with:

6 pairs of jeans for charlotte (gap, old navy, childrens place) 3 pairs of jeans for mommy (old navy, levi)

2 sweatshirts and a sweater for charlotte

 

3 onesies

2 pairs PJs and one skirt

shoes for mommy

3 sweaters for mommy

And the outfit she’s wearing today!

adjusting

i am now a full time working mom with a house husband. except i work from home, so this is a more difficult task than i thought it would be. when i was working from home before the baby, i had a pretty good routine. i could work at my kitchen table to whatever background noise i wanted – tv (rarely, but sometimes), music, or silence. if i needed to take a little break, i would throw in a load of laundry or unload the dishwasher or vacuum the endless tufts of pet hair. then when i was on maternity leave, instead of taking care of my clients, i was taking care of charlotte. and i would basically do chores around the house in the same way.

since our house is so cramped cozy, i don’t have a place where i can shut the door and work. thus i am subjected to whatever background noise jared has, which is usually the tv or the baby crying. of course this lends itself to distraction.

another thing i’m adjusting to is losing control over the way the house looks. while i love that jared is making a good effort to keep it clean, the way he does things is not the way i would and it’s hard for me to accept. for example, i would rather the whole house look picked up, rather than the kitchen spotless and the bedroom a disaster. however, jared would rather have one area appear perfect and close the door to the other areas. another example, i’m ok with having a folded dishtowel, blender, or neat stack of bills on the kitchen counter, while jared wants absolutely nothing there. i keep telling myself to just let him do things his way because it’s his job now but that is SO hard.

if i was gone all day, i think i could handle it better. but since i’m home, i am watching how he’s doing things and notice all the differences. how much longer it takes him to do something. putting something away in the wrong place. ignoring the dryer when it buzzes. taking too many tv breaks. it is a herculean effort for me to bite my tongue and focus on work.

i do have an office space in a building that i use occasionally and i have been spending more time there. but i don’t like that as much either. it’s nice to take a 10 minute break and snuggle with charlotte, and it’s better for me to be home every 3-4 hours so i can feed her and we don’t go through my extra milk supply too quickly.

i know that it’s silly to complain about these things because i’m sure most people would LOVE to be able to work from home and have their husband do the housework. i just need to adjust my thinking and let myself let things go and i’m sure i will be much happier.