Craftybase walk-through part 2

Craftybase walk-through of selling an item

Hopefully you have had some time to use Craftybase and are comfortable entering all your expenses and inventory items! I had to get into a bit of a rhythm when entering my manufactures and my orders and actually had to make myself little notes that I put right next to the computer at first. I had to think of it this way: I am not just taking the fabric and balling it up then sending to my customers, I am actually making a tangible item with it. This is what your manufactures are, that tangible item (my cheat sheet said "I made this!" to help me remember why I am entering my item there).

screen shot of an item in my projects tab- the manufactures tab is circled in blue and this is what you want to update anytime you make an item!

 

I am going to use the example of pants I make for little ones. I buy my fabric and get it all entered as an expense. Then I am going to go in and create a project to let my system know "hey, I will be making these grey pants with a really cute pink airplane on the tush and these are the fabrics I use when making it" that way anytime I make those pants in the future I don't have to remember how much fabric I use for my applique or the pants. If there is a consistent material I use every single time I make these pants then I will add that to the recipe (the tab for this can be seen in the middle-right of your screen once you save the project). However, if the amount of fabric you use changes because you make different sizes/ colors etc. you can leave it out of the recipe OR you can remember to adjust the amount you use when you create a manufacture. Once I actually make those adorable airplane pants I need to let my system know I used a couple squares of fabric, some elastic and some grey interlock knit fabric as well. This is where you can add that great tracking number as well if you are selling children's items! I use it for my batch code under the manufactures tab as well as my order code under my order screen so I can see that tracking number easily on the main orders screen, which is where we will go once our manufacture is created. Add your item to the order and you are set! If you ever forget to enter the manufacture for an item, the system will have a red negative number in the "in stock" column under the main project screen. It's easy to see when you glace at the screen and you can go back and enter it then so your inventory stays up-to-date! I feel like my business information in much more organized now and after the bulk of my items were entered it felt much less daunting to keep up with. If you haven't had a chance to check out Craftybase head over there and take advantage of their 14 day FREE trial. Play around with it and see what you think. it works great for all types of businesses that create items to sell out of different materials (bakers, jewelry makers, wood-workers . . .)

DISCLAMIER: I am in no way affiliated with Craftybase, I am just a happy customer and work-at-home-mama that wants to help others out by making managing this part of your business easier. When you use my referral link, it does give both you and me 10% off our monthly fees so make sure to use it or someone else's that you know and get the discount!

 

As tax-time has quickly crept up on me I found myself buried in a sea of invoices, receipts and bank statements, without a good system to input them. I knew from last year this isn't something to get behind on yet somehow I did. I was using excel when I started my business and it worked well in the beginning. As sales increased I quickly outgrew it and desperately needed something that would not only handle the revenue and expenses but that would also invoice, keep track of inventory without me manually having to deduct it after each order was completed AND something that would allow me to track my items so I could remain complaint with the CPSC. I had been using an app that was great for compliance but I had to duplicate too much of my information. Entering each snap, bodysuit, shirt and piece of fabric I buy TWICE is just too time consuming when you are trying to be a wife, mom to 3 and business owner with no employees.

I found Craftybase and it has been amazing! I was overwhelmed at first because I had to go back and enter everything from the entire year. It took me a couple times of getting on the program to figure out the best way to do it. I sent numerous emails to one of the creators of Craftybase, Nicole, and she was always very helpful and friendly. Don't hesitate to use the support form within the program to ask any question you have, she is great!

I wanted to walk you through the process that I use to maybe help make the learning curve for others a little easier. They offer a free 14-day trial so I strongly recommend signing up for it so you can walk through it while reading this. I started by clicking on the contact tab and entering the stores/ suppliers I use most often as vendors. To do this you just select "add contact", select vendor from the drop-down category menu and enter as much or as little information as you want about each one. Next, I went to the expenses tab and selected "add expense". Here you will enter the vendor and date and then click "add expense item" and a new window pops up. When you go to fill in the "material" field you will click "add new material" and another window will pop up. Now stay with me here!! I promise once you do this a couple times it goes really fast and it will make organizing all your necessary information fabulous! In this new window you will enter the code (I use the UPC from my receipt), category (which you can create; mine are fabric, KAMsnaps, kids blanks, adult blanks and office supplies), quantity, and then make sure the "consumable" box is checked. Now you can click "save material" and it will allow you to enter your inventory information (amount paid etc) so Craftybase can keep inventory for you as the items are used. You will continue entering all of your fabric etc as "expense items" and then you can enter discounts from coupons, tax paid and shipping if any of those apply. I had to go back and do this with all my receipts for my fabric as well as the blanks I use. You will want to enter all your expenses this way but if they are office supplies/ items that you don't take inventory on, make sure to uncheck the "consumable" box. Next you want to go to your projects tab and enter the item you are making or have already made. Click "add project" and fill out all the information about your item. Save it and then click "create recipe". From here you can add whatever materials are part of the item (snaps, elastic, fabric etc) by clicking "add material". Keep in mind all of this is building the bones of your information so you won't have to do this all the time. You can add variations of the item so say you are making a shirt that comes in 5 sizes and 2 colors you can add that variation to it and you are done, no need to recreate it again!! It will calculate what you should be charging as well which is a bonus. Now when someone buys an item from you, go into your order tab and add the item, taxes, shipping and any other information you want to include. Since I make children's items I use my DOM/ batch# as the order code. I was using a wonderful app for tracking my items for compliance and it worked really well. However, I found I had to duplicate information in order to track expenses, inventory and my items for compliance. It was taking up too much time for me with the number of items I use in production so I have switched to using Craftybase. If I need to go back and find an item they are all under my orders and when I need to get information to fill out my taxes they are all listed without even having to do any sorting of a spread sheet!

an example of expenses sorted out in categories

 

DISCLAMIER: I am in no way affiliated with Craftybase, I am just a happy customer and work-at-home-mama that wants to help others out by making managing this part of your business easier. When you use my referral code (f4940363) or referral link, it does give both you and me 10% off our monthly fees so make sure to use it or someone else's that you know and get the discount!

Tips and Tricks Tuesday
How to remove serged seams

Today I'm going to show you how to remove stitching done with a serger. In the past year I've had to do this a few times and have finally figured out the easiest way to go about it. Your serger will give you a professional looking seam which is wonderful as long as you don't need to redo or remove it. I was making some pants the other day and my teenager came in my sewing room to chat with me when he got home from school. He asked me if there was a "reciprocating saw" on the machine that was  cutting the fabric (oh how I love my son!!) and then told me "wow mom those look like professionally made pants!" as he grabs them and tugs at the seams. Yep, the serger gives you a beautifully finished seam that is sturdy and equally difficult to remove. That is unless you rip the seams in the right order.



the top of the picture shows where the loops have been cut

First you want to remove the stitches that the upper
and lower looper have made (as you probably guessed, these are the ones that look like loops). I have found if I hold the fabric like I'm holding a sandwich, with the loops facing up, I can run my seam ripper right along it fairly easily.





After those loops are cut I can then move to the other 2 seams made by my left and right needle.

These are tricky to find if your using thread that is the same color as the fabric (which will almost always be the case- that's part of what makes it look so clean and professional). Be careful not to grab any of the fabric in your seam ripper or you will have a hole where you didn't want one!

carefully pull apart your fabric to expose the stitching

Once you get 1-2 of those stitches from both the left and right seam you should be able to gently pull the 2 layers of fabric apart. With these layers pulled away from each other a few of the stitches will be exposed. Now you can carefully start removing those 2 seams.

You will have a million little threads all over you as well as the fabric but they are really easy to just pull out. I hope this has saved you some headache and maybe even some tears!! What have you learned the hard way with your serger or sewing machine?
Happy sewing!

TIPS AND TRICKS TUESDAY

After a year of sewing, embroidery and applique I think I have learned a few tricks that I can share! It's been an incredible year of growth and discovery for me and I'm do things I never thought I would be able to. It has been so fun (and really amusing at times) to look back and see all that I have learned.
Many of the applique designs I use are small and some can get pretty detailed. That creates some really tricky areas of fabric that need to be removed. The last thing you want to do is get half-way through your project only to cut a hole in the shirt (yep, I have done it and I might have cried a tear or 2). There are a couple kinds of scissors you can buy that are meant for trimming the excess fabric on applique designs. I bought a different kind first but found these curved ones are more versatile and can reach places the other ones can't. The pointed tips on these help you get in little corners and small spaces. When you have areas that are surrounded by stitching you don't want to use your scissors! You risk cutting your shirt that way. Get out your seam ripper and carefully lift the applique fabric away from the shirt just enough to slip the seam ripper in there. Cut a slit up the middle of the area you need to remove and then you can take your handy little curved scissors and cut away that fabric. Make sure you go slow and check to see that your shirt isn't caught it the scissors. I always take the frame off of the machine and sit down to do this part so that I am paying complete attention and being careful. I tend to be a multi-tasker and that isn't always a good idea! Now I am off to go make another adorable outfit. Happy sewing!

**this blog post contains affiliate links**

I'm BAAAAACK! And THRIVING!!!

I love my new machine!

It's been quite a while since I have posted! Life can get crazy from time to time and it sure did for me. I have been working hard to continue to grow my business and create new and fun outfits. In April I was able to upgrade my machine and now I have a 6-pin professional embroidery machine. Wow, what a difference it makes to have this! It was super intimidating at first and I let it sit for a week before I even touched it but once I figured it out I was in heaven. Even with the new found productivity of my machine I was still dragging.

In July I was introduced to an amazing product that allowed me to think clearly and have the energy I needed to accomplish things throughout my day. Since then I have been able to do in one day what I was doing in an entire week. My husband came home and said to me, "WOW! I used to come home from work and all your sentences started with "I meant to  . . . .  but I just wasn't able to". Now you are getting everything done and then some!" I can't thank Le-vel and the product Thrive for giving me my life back. 

I am off to go do some sewing but check back in next Tuesday for another "Tips and Tricks" post!

Tips and Tricks Tuesday

When I dove head first into this journey of owning my own business I had no experience with an embroidery machine. In fact I didn't even think of the machine as an option until it was suggested to me (several times lol). I realized it was the only way I would be able to really make the adorable designs on the clothes I wanted to make. When I purchased the machine I read the manual front to back and was still very confused. It told me how to operate the machine but there was no information about how to actually applique designs on clothes. The websites I purchased my designs from were also lacking in dummy-proof videos that told me what to do. There was a lot, and I really mean A LOT of trial and error going on over here. I thought I would put together a weekly post of ways you can avoid all the mistakes that I made and hopefully you won't waste as many materials and as much time as I did!
I will also get into ways to keep track of inventory and other things that are part of the no-so-fun book keeping aspect of owning your own business. Thankfully I started my business in September and really got things going in October of 2013. When tax time came around I only had a couple months worth of information to gather and sort through rather than an entire year. I kept every receipt and tracked every sale I made but that didn't even touch what I needed to be doing. Thank goodness for the Excel class I took in college! It saved me from having to purchase expensive accounting software and made the little bit of OCD in me happy. Now I just have to remember to continue to fill in my spread sheets as I make sales and use materials. This is something I personally need a set day each week to do otherwise it will get forgotten and I will be scrambling to figure it all out again.
So come back next week and I will share with you some tricks and tips I have learned that will make things run smoother and produce high-quality work your customers will love!

My Sleep Consultant ROCKS!!

My first 2 babies were great sleepers, or at least that's how I remember it anyways! My third son has been a little bit different starting from the moment he decided it was time to meet us. He came 3 weeks early and was a tiny little guy weighing in at only 5 lbs 8 oz. We decided to have a home birth and in order for that to happen you have to be 37 weeks along and the baby has to be 5 lbs 8 oz to stay home after the birth. Well he met those qualifications right on the dot, no more than the bare minimum. The first couple months were a huge blur. He had a very severe tongue tie and we spent a lot of time trying to get him to breast feed correctly. By the time I knew it 4 months had passed and his sleep was still terrible. He would wake up after only 20 minutes of being asleep. I decided to try the swing and for a few days it was like a miracle. He slept about 7 hours over night and was taking actual naps. But after a few days he started waking more frequently again. For the next 4 months he slept in the swing, batwing swaddled and I would sit on the floor and feed him a bottle every time he woke up. I have no idea how many times I was doing this each night. Between exclusively pumping and feeding him I don't remember much. I had heard about sleep consultants and wasn't sure it was something that was truly worth the money you had to spend. After all, I was a pediatric nurse, I "knew" about babies and knew all the "do's and don'ts" of getting your baby to sleep well. I had it settled in my mind he was one of those babies people talk about- the ones that just aren't good sleepers. I had joined the club of exhausted mamas, with a baby who just didn't like sleep. I had a phone conversation with Deb from South Sound Sleep Solutions and thought maybe she could help but I still wasn't convinced. A few days after I spoke to her my little guy decided, out of the blue, that he now hated the swing so I started putting him in his crib. He did much better than I thought and didn't seem to wake up any more often than before so I figured maybe he would just figure this sleep stuff out and we wouldn't need to hire anyone!! A couple weeks later he decided to wake up 8, 9, maybe even 10 times in one night and I was D-O-N-E!! I could not take any more nights of broken sleep and days of dragging myself around trying to stay awake. I felt my own mental health was barely still intact. Deb came for our initial appointment and had some things I could change right away. Within a day or 2 Xavian was already taking very well to the changes and the best part was there were NO TEARS!! He was getting a bottle around 11pm and 4 am and was doing really well with that. Then about 2 weeks into it he seemed to figure out what time I'd be coming in to feed him and he was waking about 10 minutes before my reminder would go off. This little boy is too smart!!!  I called Deb and we discussed options. I knew it was time to implement an actual sleep method but I was dreading it. It literally made me sick when we were talking but I decided I needed to push forward. I was just so worried he would be screaming since the method that would work best for him did involve leaving him for short periods. That night I went in and fed him around 11 pm without any issues. I went to bed and when I woke up and checked the clock it was 430am. He hadn't woke up crying for his bottle yet and I was surprised. I'd like to say I went back to sleep until I got him up at 730 am but I had to pump and he did fuss a little off and on so there was not a lot of sleeping going on for me.


Baby X happy in his crib

But he did AMAZING! Babies are so much smarter than we give them credit for, probably because they can't communicate with us. If anyone isn’t sure that hiring a sleep consultant is worth the money, I say ABSOLUTLEY! I can put it like this: weighted blanket to help baby sleep: $40, extra pacifiers for the crib so he can find one: $10, night light: $3.99, sound machine to drown out anything that might wake him: $29.99, sleep consultant: priceless!!! He has continued to do so well with sleep and he even takes 2-3 hour naps on top of sleeping 12-13 hours each night. I am still in awe because I truly believed he was just one of those babies that don't need much sleep. There is no such thing, trust me! I am so thankful we had the opportunity to work with Deb. Being able to actually sleep through the night has given me my sanity back. I cannot thank her enough!