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Saturday, March 14, 2015

Cats and dogs

"Plötsligt händer det!" = Sudden, it happens!
If you say that to a Swede, they will think you have won the lottery. Can't be any Swedes out there that hasn't heard or seen the commercial that has been going for several years, always saying: Plötsligt händer det. And it's a commercial for winning the lottery =)
But no, I didn't win the lottery, but the block I had, that made me throw all wool away as soon as I tried to make a needle felted dog or a cat, it's gone (for now). You know I did make a dog recently, the white unknown breed Birgit named "White cuties". =) And then I just started two cats and yet another dog, and then one more. Maybe it's the sun, I have been sitting outside in the sun everyday, needle felting a bit.
My cold is getting better, I have been feeling low for a long time, coughing. But now I hope it will go away completely! (And never come back :) )

Below is a loooong text about Etsy problems, if you are not interested, just scroll down to the pictures =)

I had a set back, I don't handle set backs well.. I sold a thing on Etsy, sent it. And then I got complains that the mail didn't arrive, I told her to wait a bit, but still no mail. I have no idea what happen to that poor tiny sheep, but it's lost. And since she didn't pay for traceable mail, the mail office told me it's impossible to trace it. So, I sent her a new one, after a few days she told me she didn't get it (but mails take at least 10 days to USA so that was not strange..) But now the 10 business days has gone by, and I really hope it will arrive this time, I couldn't afford traceable mail myself, I have already lost money on this deal. So I just hope it will arrive. I have never experienced lost mails before.. She hasn't contacted me again, but I just saw on paypal that they refund her all the money. So I didn't only lost 2 tiny toy sheep on this, I also paid for shipping (twice) and Etsy and Paypal fee and then she got all her money back, so I lost a lot of money on this deal.. =( I had no idea that Paypal automatic refund all money just if a buyer ask for it. I had nothing to say in this.. because I didn't send by traceable mail. (Which I offer all buyers, but it cost a lot more than regular mail so I see why noone wants to pay for that.. and even more if you just take back all your money after awhile..)
I have written in my Etsy policy that I don't refund money for lost packages if the buyer doesn't pay for traceable mail, but that apparently doesn't matter..
Am I angry? oh yes. am I sad? Very much. Feels like I'm accused of something bad, but all I did was send not only one, but two mails. I have been feeling very bad for all this for several weeks now, but now I just have to let it go.
I wish I could block the buyer from buy from me again, but Etsy doesn't allow me to, they don't block anyone. So I am taking a break from Etsy. This took to much energy from me, it should be fun selling a few extra things now and then, but instead it got stressful and made me sad. We'll see if I want to try again later. But for now I lost the fun in it.
Sorry for all the negativity in this post, but I wanted to tell others how Paypal can take back money just like that, so it doesn't come as a surprise, like it did for me..

Now to funnier things. When I decided to needle felt just for fun, no selling intentions, I got a lot done, I might collect stuff for a new fair some day, but for now everything stays,  and when I get really crowded again, I can always look through everything and maybe send a few to friends or collect a bunch for the fair =) It feels great not having to stress anything.

A cat relaxing while washing himself out in the sun

This kitten needs eyes, I don't like eyes.. They are too hard. So I saved that annoying thing for later.. =) Sometimes I manage to do eyes in polymer clay, that looks OK. Then next time it looks very strange, then I have to go back to wool again. But wool looks, like wool, not like shiny eyes =) I'll see what I can make for this little one.

I often end up making cats like this, in this colours, maybe because my Dad has a cat in this colour, a Persian, with a cute flat nose (but that is hard to make..) =) I have to try more colours, but it's nice to do something I'm used to, then challenge myself more and more, if I try something too hard at once I just give up..

Then I missed my dog again, and I took out the little mini I made of him, that actually has hair from him. And that inspired me to do another try. In the beginning I needle felted quite loose, now I felt harder, and I have learn to cut off the extras, to give them a cleaner look. It's nice to see progress in my work =)
I gave this first mini-Ossian a little "haircut", to give him a cleaner look, but didn't want to change too much. Here is a blogpost when I just made him: http://hannahsminiatyrer.blogspot.se/2012/10/miniossian.html
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia0s-Y99c598QpcHyf5Nqa7G4wmOPmMxL7tXnD3Cql3vu3-bxobRjhSFO2ZkQYAQGMDhJt7v9iEttxxUi8YO49DUq4s1QQHN5C14LiGCE6N45AhpXic2WIH1YuVbK7qJ3nx0iHAbSfbdg/s320/DSCF0001+(2).JPG And the real thing, with the mini on top.

Sometimes it just feels good to do something you are used to. Like when I did a lot of teddy bears in a row =) Other days I get bored when I try to do something I already tried. But right now I love doing Chinese Crested dogs, and I plan to do at least one more =) I'm in a loop...

Chinese crested number 2

A whole family of Chinese crested dogs. They got smaller and smaller =) Old to new ones from the right to left.


The two new ones. 



My box of both finished and ongoing projects. This is a good inspiration for me, I just sit with the box awhile, and then I feel like doing something new =)

Take care
Hannah

39 comments:

  1. Hi Hannah! It's so good to see that you're back again in miniature needle felting, all of these cuties (like Birgit says ;O) are really cute to see :D! I think it's a good thing to work without deadlines and time pressure. Deadlines always block my creative inspiration, than I can't work in miniature :S! So I do understand what you mean with this issue. Well, keep up the good things now :D!!
    Warm hugs, Ilona

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    1. Thank you Ilona! Sometimes I do need some pressure, to finish something, otherwise I just leave everything half done and start something new, but it's so easy to lose the fun it it, when there is a deadline or pressure. I'll try working with out pressure for awhile and hope to finish things anyway, just for the fun of it =)

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  2. The dogs are fantastic, I absolutely love them! They each have a little personality. I like your project box idea too.

    I'm so sorry to hear about your etsy problem, I can understand exactly why it has put you off. There's only one thing for it, recorded mail! Please don't give up selling on Etsy, because of one chancer! Take a break and come back to it, don't worry about the customer having to pay for the postage, if somebody wants something, they'll not think twice about the cost of postage, and also, it means they will care about your creations more too. I think your little sheep knew they weren't going to the right home and made a great escape :P x P.s Get well soon too :D

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    1. Thank you Sarah!! I needed some encouraging words like these!
      I have to look up the traceable shipping better and maybe demand all buyers to pay for that. And you are right, if someone wants something particular, they might just think it's OK with the higher cost! And I don't have to walk around worrying about the package to get lost.

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  3. Que simpáticos te han quedado!!!
    Besos.

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  4. sorry you had to go through all that drama, your animals look really cute

    Hugs
    Marisa

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    1. Thank you Marisa! I don't like drama, I even dislike it on TV =)

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  5. Good to see your creativity is back... and it was real fun to have a look inside your box... so many funny guys looking out of there (but I kind of envy you... so neat and tidy and everything in order...*sigh*). A propos looking... did you ever try onyx beads for the eyes or even the good ol' glass eyes bearmakers use? I'm really sorry to hear about this Etsy desaster... and it was really a surprise that she was able to get back her money right away from Paypal without any further issues - I mean you pointed out that you're not responsible for any losses in the mail and you offered a substitute. I must say I'm always thankful and relieved whenever my mailings arrived at their destination... but don't give up just because you had one bad customer. And I suspect her to be a bad customer - 10 days is nothing for mail from Europe to the US... and whenever customs is involved... oh my... I wouldn't be surprised if she'd have two lovely Hannah-sheep at home now - may she have nightmares! *grin*

    Hugs
    Birgit

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    1. Haha, This box might be the only nice and tidy thing in my home.. ;) My desk is so full of things that I can't even sit there... But I do like order, but it doesn't tell, by looking at my home, but that box, just like I like it =)
      I don't really know what onyx beads are, so I'm looking that up!! Thank you! And I would love to get hold on tiny glass eyes, but have a hard time finding them..

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  6. Jag känner igen Lucy 😀

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    1. Tack pappa! Det skulle inte ens bli en Lucy, men jag dras ditåt hela tiden =) Hon är så fin.

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  7. I'm glad your bad experience with etsy hasn't stopped your creativity, your dogs are so cute, I love to see!

    I think Birgit might be right about this bad customer. I fear selling on etsy and I can't meet deadlines either. I hope you keep creating for your own pleasure.

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    1. Thanks Susan! I'll keep creating for myself, and maybe sell a few things every now and then, but I'll take a break from that now. It feels nice just to create for the fun of it =)

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  8. These pets are so cute. I love cats.

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    1. Thank you Fabiola! Nice to hear that a cat lover likes the cats =)

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  9. Que simpáticos son esos perritos.

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  10. Los prerritos te han quedado fenomenal!!!!

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  11. Hi Hannah, Great to hear from you and see your darling cats and dogs (and other projects). It sounds like your creative muse is back and you are feeling better. I am so glad! :-)

    So sorry about your bad Etsy/ PayPal experience. It sounds like the customer MAY have been a scammer. There are bad people out there, in blogging too, but most are good. I won't send anything internationally (except to people I know), because it is too expensive to pay for trackable postage. I only send where I can track it and see that it was delivered, because it's too easy for someone to say they haven't received it. You can't block someone from purchasing, but you can immediately refund their money in PayPal and tell them sorry, you can't send to them. Grrr! So sorry you had to go through that experience. I hope things are all better from here. xo Jennifer

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    1. Thank you Jennifer!
      I don't want to accuse anyone, she might not have gotten the first package, even do she wrote about not getting it quite fast. But when she didn't waited for the second one to get there, and just draw back the money, I got a bit concerned. And then I saw that she used different last names on Etsy and Paypal, that looked a bit suspicious too.. I just had a bad feeling through the whole thing, I'm glad it's over now, she can't complain more now that she have her money and maybe even two items from me.
      At least I have learn to be more careful now.

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  12. Hej Hannah!
    Så underbara dina små katter o hundar är! Jag är så glad för min fina katt!
    Så tråkigt att höra om ditt elände på Etsy! Det finns tyvärr människor som bara är ute efter att dumma sig. Hoppas att allt löser sig och låt dig inte slås ner för dina saker är så fina.
    Kram Titti

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    1. Tack Titti! Jag kommer nog över det om ett tag, men det är aldrig roligt när saker inte blir som man tänkt och att känna sig anklagad. Men jag försöker tänka på alla nöjda och glada kunder istället. Det är alltid lika kul att höra att någon gillar det jag gjort =)

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  13. Your pets are so cute. I love the little dogs and the cat washing itself :)
    Hugs Maria

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  14. Dear Hannah, thank you for your sweet comment on my Blog, and your right I do hope we stay healthy for the rest of the year !!:)
    Your felted animals are sooo amazing, I love your relaxing cat, it reminds me off my own cats :)
    I´m very sorry to here about your bad experience with Etsy, but fortunatly not all people are like that and I hope things get better.
    have a sunny week !

    Hugs Mieke xxx

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    1. Thank you Mieke! Always nice to hear a nice comment about my animals from people that has animals them-self =) I miss having an animal around, but I still have time for that in the future, I hope =)
      Wishing you a sunny week too, I'm just about to go out on the balcony in the sun here =)

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  15. Dear Hannah, I am so sorry to read about your problems on Etsy. I had one bad customer once and it ruined the selling experience completely for me. Not on Etsy but on Ebay. I stopped selling after that because it made me so angry that the website would not offer any seller protection, especially when they make so much commission on sales.

    I hope you'll find joy in creating your felted animals again. They are really lovely and I think people would love to buy them. There are other selling platforms out there but it's such a hassle to learn new about new tools, rules, etc.

    I hope you can find a way to sell your beautiful creations again. If not internationally, then at least in Europe where you could meet less shipping problems.

    Good luck darling!

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    1. Thank you sweet Jane!! I did sell a few things on Swedish Ebay (tradera) before, I'll see if I go back there or maybe go back to Etsy too, but only ship with traceable shipping. But for now I like doing things without selling them =)

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  16. Hi Hannah! Your cats and dogs are really CUTE! ♥
    Spring greetings! :)

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  17. Very cute critters. The cat is very cute.

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Thanks for reading, I love to read your comments =)
Hannah