11.27.06

How’d you like to spend Christmas…

Posted in Main, business-a-go-go at 2:11 pm by carrie

on Cardboard Island?

Seriously… guys… I’m lost in a sea of cardboard and just recently found my way out!



This was only about 1/8 of what we got. The rest came about a week later on a freight truck. There was a mix-up and they thought we had a loading dock so they delivered 4 large palettes directly into the street. Since the truck had to park in front, and there is a slight slant, the driver had a hard time pushing a 1000 lb palette of GUN AMMO out of the way of my palettes of christmas goodies. So, I spent 30 minutes in his truck helping him push and pull the lead around, literally. I broke my shoe and hurt my back. Not a good day. I still gave him a tip though :)

**note to self and others wanting to open a store**
Make sure your goods are sent UPS or Fedex and be very very specific that you do not want a freight truck. IF you do get a freight truck, call weeks ahead and make darn sure that you request inside delivery and that it is paid for. I ended up having to unwrap the palettes myself… to the dismay of my neighbors and customers because 3 parking spaces were blocked. The company that sent me this stuff said they paid for inside delivery but it was not written on my shipping invoice. I was a bad bad store owner and didn’t triple check that, please learn from my mistake :)

Lesson #2 during this fiasco… if you request to have your Christmas order split in 2, make sure it is split in 2. The above picture shows the first split and the second order that came… it was 100% of the order… so I got 150% of what I ordered. Meaning this… we had to go through all the boxes and pull out what was duplicated. It took days… I had to close for 2 days due to the precarious box situation and my frustration. Christmas was late… we were surrounded by cardboard. I was unhappy… grumpy if you will :)

So… I took 600 lbs of cardboard to the recycling plant. I have pictures of this odd place in my camera at home and will share those later :) It was quite the adventure. So, that’s what I’ve been doing… swimming through cardboard and packing peanuts.

The store is finally decorated… here are a few pictures:


This is all the Tracy Porter goodies from Midwest. Birds, butterflies, snowflakes and lots of gorgeous colors. I love this section of the store. It’s so happy and not very traditional. I’ve already sold a bunch of this and plan a re-order. You have to see it in person to appreciate it :) She did a lot of mercury glass, too. Cool stuff!
The other not-so-traditional color combination is red, light olive green, white, black and silver. Sparkley sprigs of tinsel, lots of birds and flocked ornaments!
Velvety mistletoe, a hollowed-out glass ornament with a mini diorama and a clip-on brown glass bird.
A red glass glitter “noel” ornament by Wendy Addison and more clip-on birdies :)
Invasion of the snow people!
And a pink vespa! I certainly have cool customers ;)
We got a visit from Jordan and her new puppy Apple…
and her cousin with his mini poodle…

And here is the postcard we sent out:


It’s hard to read the postcard, here’s what it says:

After Thanksgiving Storewide Sale
*Friday, November 24th - 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
*Saturday, November 25th - 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
*Sunday, November 26th - 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Our 4th Annual Holiday Open House
*Saturday December 2nd - 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
Merriment, goodies and a great sale to get you in the holiday spirit!

Glass Bead Making Demonstration
*Sunday December 10th - 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Come see Lampork artist Cathi Milligan work magic with glass and fire!

Special Holiday Hours
*Monday - Thursday : 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
*Friday: 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
*Saturday: 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
*Sunday: 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm

We will be open Christmas Eve, December 24th: 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
We will be closed December 25, December 31 and January 1st.

So, I still have a lot to share… once I catch my breath, I’ll be sharing more holiday adventures!!!! :)

11.07.06

Another first…

Posted in Fun Stuff, Main, sidenotes at 5:05 pm by carrie

The forces of nature were at work the other day. Meg, the wonder dog, got into a bit of trouble… we’ll let her tell you the story in her own words…

4 hours of scrubbing later (until 6am thank you very much!), we’ve learned a few things… You can never have enough hydrogen peroxide in the house, the dog should not go into the yard after midnight and feminine wash gets the skunk out!

1. mix 1 quart of hydrogen peroxide with 1/2 cup baking soda and a few teaspoons of dawn liquid detergent. Stir well and get some gloves! We were told not to do this inside as it would make the house stink like skunk. Too late. Don’t get this stuff close to their eyes! Mix it into the fur, let it sit then rinse. It did well but she was sprayed directly in the face, I wasn’t about to risk blindness with the peroxide. Oh! and it bleached her fur a bit.

2. Skunks are nocturnal… they come out when it’s nice and quiet. Make sure your dog does his or her “thing” before everyone settles in for the night.

3. We read that summer’s eve feminine wash works on skunk, too! It did work! I could use it on her face without worrying so much and I have to say, it really knocked the odor out! There are soooo many jokes in here, but I’m going to leave that alone.

4. Strategically placed paper plates with heated coffee grounds absorbs the odor. Our house smells like a skunk latte, but still, less like skunk.

5. Finally, febreeze and oust… buy stock in that product family!

Meg still runs out in the yard and investigates the spot where she was sprayed and happily looks around hoping to find her new friend. This is a reminder that… well, she’s a dog. ugh.