Sunday, February 28, 2010

Policies & Procedures

In preparation for our SALE that starts Monday, March 1st, I have updated the Shop Policies in my Etsy Shop, and I'm going to go into a bit more detail in this post.


Here's what happens after you place your order:


  • At the end of each day I will be printing up all orders that have gone through. 
  • Orders will be processed in the order in which they were received. 
  • Please allow 5-7 BUSINESS DAYS for processing before shipping. *** Business Days means Monday - Friday.
  • All packages will be shipped First Class via USPS with delivery confirmation included.

Here's what will DELAY the shipping of your package:

  • If I have not received payment for your purchase by the time I print your order (which is at the end of each day) it will go in a separate pile that will be sorted through after the Sale is over.
  • If you pay with an E-Check and DO NOT CONVO ME to tell me, your order will end up in the 'not paid' pile. Keep in mind that E-Checks take 5 Business Days to clear. I do not ship packages until payments have been received. 
  • If you do not leave your color selection (when purchasing 'You Choose the Shade' items) in the NOTES TO SELLER in ETSY, your order will be put in a separate pile that will be sorted through after the sale is over. *** I DO NOT use Paypal for shipping or for convo's, so if you send me a message in Paypal, chances are I won't see it until after the Sale is over.
  • If you have a different name on your Paypal account than what's on your Etsy account and do not convo me on Etsy to tell me, your order will go in the 'not paid' pile and will be sorted through after the Sale is over. *** Discrepancies in account names will cause your order to appear as if it hasn't been paid for. 
  • PLEASE make sure your Etsy account information is accurate. This includes your mailing address.

Other things to keep in mind:

  • If you would like multiples of a particular item, please convo me BEFORE making a purchase so I can set up a 'Reserved Listing' for you. Once you make a purchase, I cannot just 'add on' an item. A separate listing has to be made. So it saves time in general if I can do it all in one step. *** it also lessens the chance of your items being shipped separately (saving you $$$) or thinking that your items were 'forgotten' or 'lost'. 
  • During Sales I will not be taking custom orders, or color substitutions. If there is an item you do not see listed that you have purchased before (or have seen in the 'Sold' category) please convo me and I can do a 'Reserved Listing'. *** Custom Orders are requests for color specific items that are considered 'One Of A Kind'  or a color combination that is not currently for sale. Asking for multiples of items is NOT considered a Custom Order.
  • I will be 're-listing' items as quickly as I can. Please keep in mind that I am in CA, so I am in PST, which is 3 hours behind EST, so items might not show up early in the morning if you're in the Mid-West and East Coast. 
  • I will be available by Convo on Etsy during the entire Sale. I will answer all Convo's within a couple of hours of receiving them.
  • When sending me a Convo regarding your order, please tell me the date of purchase. *** On 'my end' of viewing orders, they are listed by date, and by your Etsy Account name. I can only retrieve your order by scrolling through the list. So having a 'date' will allow me to scroll through faster - thus me being able to help you faster.

I know this seems like SO MUCH LAME INFORMATION, but after my last Sale I really felt that there were some issues that could have been avoided if I had just conveyed all this information before hand. 

Something else I wanted to share with you all, is that I make all these items myself. I cut & heat seal the ribbon to line the clips. I cut the fabric from the bolt and into the individual squares. I sew the petals by hand and I cover the buttons by hand - I don't have a 'button making machine'. I DO NOT sell pre-made items (except for the artificial/felt flowers, and the beanies) which means I even wrap the ribbon around my interchangeable headbands. I do have a friend that sews my elastic headbands for me and makes my beanies 'interchangeable' (as I do not know how to use a sewing machine) but everything else I do myself. I even box up your orders by my self. So that messy handwriting on the outside of the box? Yeah... that's me. I tell you this because I want you to know why the 'processing time' seems so long. My last Sale FAR EXCEEDED my expectations (I had over 150 orders come through during the first 2 days!) and I completely ran out of any pre-made work I had stocked up (ribbon lined clips, headbands, cut fabric) and that put me greatly behind. Thankfully my sister stepped up and helped me make a ton of the petals (other wise many of you would STILL be waiting for your orders... ) So I try to quote enough time to allow for large orders, but know that I will ship your order as QUICKLY as I can. 

So THANK YOU for making it this far, and I hope you like the new items we've added for this Sale. Keep in mind that more 'New Stuff' will be added throughout the week... Happy Shopping!

Saturday, December 26, 2009

THEY'RE HERE... THEY'RE REALLY HERE!!!



Remember how not too long ago I wrote about a SUPER CUTE etsy shop that made adorable dresses?! Well my 2 dresses already arrived in the mail!!!




My husband & I decided to brave the crowds and hit up some 'after Christmas sales' - which actually didn't last too long, but we're headed out again in just a bit.




On the way home we picked up the mail and I was SOOOOO excited to see a fat yellow envelope stuffed into our mail box. Even my husband commented on how 'cute' the dresses were!



So of course I had to get pictures right away of this darling green dress. Since it's after Christmas (and I knew it would arrive after so I'm not disappointed about this) I was thinking of all the colors  I could accessorize with. I LOVE bright pink with this color green (I actually just bought a new diaper bag in that color) and sitting here, I'm thinking that brown would look just as delicious. Care to share any other cool color combos?




And while I LOVE that green color, I will ALWAYS be a sucker for grey & black.




So 'Miss C' was pretty much 'over'  the photo shoot at this point, but I just had to get a shot of this dress in it's full glory. The possibilities with this dress is endless, and I LOVE that I can spend time accessorizing it. Too much fun if I do say so myself.

So another HUGE THANK YOU to Faith of 'Faithworks4U'as I am so completely STOKED to be the proud owner of these darling dresses! You are fabulous, and your work is fabulous, and I'm SO glad that I 'found' you.

Friday, December 25, 2009

It's time to CLEAR IT ALL OUT!!!!

Okay, so now that Christmas has come, it means that the new year is JUST AROUND THE CORNER! My how times flies. And since I've mentioned that I'm going to be re-vamping the shop and blog a bit, I figured the best thing to do would be to get rid of everything and basically start all over. I have a bunch of fun stuff that will be rolled out in 2010, and the idea of a 'fresh start' sounds SO appealing.

So here's the deal-lio on how this SALE is going to work:

1) All purchases from the shop will receive 20% of the total cost (BEFORE shipping) refunded to their PayPal account AFTER payment has been received.

2) ALL PAYMENTS FOR PURCHASES MUST BE MADE IMMEDIATELY. Due to the nature of this sale (and the fact that I'm not re-listing items), items MUST be paid for immediately. If payment has not been received within an hour of your 'purchase', then I will 'release' the sale and the items will go back into the shop. *** Be aware that if you pay with an Echeck, it takes 3-5 days to 'clear', so you MUST notify me in the 'Notes to Seller' in etsy (NOT PayPal) at the time of purchase. Your items will not be mailed until payment has cleared ***

3) Custom Requests/Previous Purchases/Color Substitutions will not be eligible during this sale. So that means I will not be able to fulfill those requests.

4) THE ONE EXCEPTION TO #3 will be if you want MULTIPLES of an item you are purchasing at that time. (not something you saw in the 'sold' category). So make your purchase, and then convo me the quantity you would like to add and I'll set up a reserved listing for you. (for example: If you are buying the Bloom Trio in Pink, and would like 2 of them, purchase the one that is available in the shop, and then convo me saying you'd like another set. I'll then set up your listing and send you a direct link where you can purchase)

5)PLEASE LIST ALL COLOR PREFERENCES IN THE 'NOTES TO SELLER' IN ETSY & NOT IN PAYPAL! Because I do all my shipping through my local Post Office (and not PayPal), I only go into my PayPal account to track down payments. So the fastest way to be sure your order is going to be sent, is by listing your preferences in the 'Notes to Seller' in ETSY. I read those as I print up your order and make notations. Failing to do so will result in your order being delayed.

If you have any other questions, feel free to convo me any time! Hopefully by following these 5 'rules' things will run smooth, and I can get your order out just as soon as I can. Due to the nature of this sale, please expect 3-5 BUSINESS DAYS for processing (BEFORE shipping), but I will do my absolutely best to get them out quicker.

So let the SHOPPING BEGIN!!! (as long as you start on Saturday, 12/26/09)

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Matching Monday - (it's back again!)

Well...  I was going to wait until January to start my 're-dedication' to my blog, but I figure if I'm going to do it, I should just start that now. I've heard that with weight loss, when people set a date, rather than just start immediately they tend to not follow through... hmm... maybe that's my problem...

Anyway, I am SOOOO stinking excited to show the dresses I just found recently.


This is the:

Made by:

Personally  - I would match anything Hot Pink with this little number, to highlight the Hot Pink details of the buttons (did I happen to mention HOW CUTE everything is?!?!)

I also saw this dress:


This is the:

Maybe it's my love for American Girl Dolls that makes me want this dress so much. I can't help but picture it with white, knee-high socks and some super cute black shoes - probably a mary-jane type, but it needs some type of subtle detail to make them 'pop'. Guess I'll have to go search the web again...
And I'd pair it with something simple... like a black interchangeable headband with maybe just a simple black bow... yeah... I think I'm feelin' that one.



But my ALL TIME FAVORITE DRESS IS:




In fact, I've actually ordered 2 of these... and added a little 'twist' of my own.
Too bad you won't know what it is until they arrive...
But I promise to post pictures when they come in.

So go check out Faith's Shop and see what other goodies she has to offer.

Man, I LOVE IT when I find great stuff!!!

Friday, December 18, 2009

FINALLY.... I know...

And the winner of our Headband Give-A-Way

is

LACY B

Big congrats and I hope you enjoy! Please contact me at:
rachel@littlelesiw.com
so I can get your mailing information

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

And now on to other stuff...

I'm sure you're all wondering what took me SO LONG to finally post the winner, right? Well, here's a hint:



Yeah... it's been pretty crazy in my house
(not that I'm complaining!!!)

I really do appreciate all of you who supported me through this past sale. Believe me when I say that it TOTALLY SURPASSED ANY EXPECTATIONS I COULD HAVE HAD. Honestly. From 12/8 - 12/9 I had 438 items to make. And that was just on those two days. The sale actually ran for 2 weeks. Fortunately, my sister was ever so kind to help me out. Without her... you'd all still be waiting for your orders...

Which I know some of you are, but everything has been mailed (unless you're one of the people I've emailed regarding their order). And now that I'm not drowning in utter chaos, I've been able to start 'thinking ahead' to the New Year, and how I want 'change things up'. Here are some of my ideas:

COLOR OF THE MONTH: Each month I'll have a featured color that will be on sale for the entire month - in all styles (Blooms, Bitty and Daisy).

LIMITED EDITION: Usually I buy my fabric by the bolt. It's a better price in the long run, but a ton of money up front - which is also scary since just because I like it,  doesn't mean the rest of you will. So to liven things up, I'll be bringing in new fabrics, but only in small amounts. So once they're gone, they're gone... and if you didn't know, fabrics become discontinued all the time, so getting them again, could be tough.

'STEAL OF THE DAY' IS MAKING A COME BACK: Ahh yes, the wonderful Steal of the Day. For those of you not familiar, each day I'll create some mid-priced item that is a screamin' deal. There's only one, so once it's gone, it's gone. But if it's something that people really want, then maybe I'll just sell it multiple times for that day only... just depends on what you guys want.

GIVE-A-WAYS. AND I'M TALKING A TON OF THEM: I love giving stuff away. I think it's super fun. And I never win anything, so I think there might be some weird psychological meaning behind why I keep doing them, but like that really matters. The important thing is that YOU all will have lots of chances to win stuff.  And all of my 'winners' are picked through random.org so there is no way I could possibly cheat (and if you know me, you know I HATE cheating - especially during games)

So that's kind of it for now. I'll probably take the sale prices down right before Christmas, or maybe after. Just depends on how my days are going. :)

Anyway, if you've read this far, I'd give you a metal. This post was kind of long... and if we're being honest, kind of boring.


Friday, December 11, 2009

New Give-A-Way... Why Not!

So I had EVERY intention of doing a Give-A-Way a few days ago... but thanks to you all, I'm CRAZY BUSY trying to make Blooms just a fast as I can. So before this week officially comes to an end, I'm putting up another Give-A-Way. Super easy to play - and here's what you can win:





 
(I apologize for the last photo... kind of lame, I know)

And yes, it's for all 5 Bloom Headbands
Colors include:
Hot Pink, Lavender, Red, Black & Brown

Each headband will come in 15 inches and are perfect for babies - youth

So what do you have to do to get them? Visit my SHOP, and then come back and leave a comment here saying what your 'favorite' item is that I currently carry (and don't worry, I'll have no idea if you lie). If you become (or already are) a Facebook Fan, you'll get another entry.

And to all my family and friends out there - YOU CAN ENTER THIS GIVE-A-WAY. I use random.org to pick the winner so it's not like I have any control over who wins. Seriously.

So spread the word - and enter to win.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

AND THE WINNER IS........

Thanks to our wonderful friends at random.org
the winner of our Give-A-Way is: 


KIM!!!

Thank you again, SO MUCH to everyone who participated. In case you didn't know, I LOVE giving stuff away... and I LOVE participation...

So keep stopping by my Blog because I'm already feeling the itch to do another Give-A-Way soon...

... like NEXT WEEK!!!

So,  KIM
send me an email at rachel@littlelesiw.com 
and let me know what your choices are. 
Remember your prize is:

Holiday Trio Set
1 Cotton Beanie of your choice
1 Large Sequin Flower/Headband Set of your choice