milestones – Bubblegum Sass

Sixth Blogoversary!

September 12, 2016September 10, 2016 Sarah Leave a comment

Bubblegum Sass Blogoversary ~ Craft & lifestyle blog celebrating 6 years

SIX YEARS!! Six years of sharing my story, my life and my inspiration on this here blog. When I started out writing all those years ago, I had lots of grand plans. Little by little, those changed, along with my expectations. I tried some things, liked some things, let other things go. I quickly learned how much work a blog can be. But, over time, and a few hundred posts, I found my voice. My true interests. My authenticity.

Thank you for reading along, being gentle, and coming back.

To date, I have written 592 posts, received 363 comments, and shared more heartbreak than I ever imagined I would.

And I’ll keep at it. Because, like my crafting, blogging has become a part of who I am. I don’t post every day, certainly. But I’m not giving up on this space to share my thoughts & experiences.

Everyone’s journey through this life is different. And the same. And it makes for a beautiful mess sometimes. I hope I touch one of you, perhaps inspire another, and let some of you know that you’re not alone in any of this.

Cheers, to six years and so many more posts to come!

Love,
Sarah

Bubblegum Sass Blogoversary ~ Craft & lifestyle blog celebrating 6 years

Fifth Blogoversary!

September 1, 2015August 30, 2015 Sarah Leave a comment

I’ve been plugging away on this blog for five years now! Hard to believe, and yet I’ve managed to pack in a lot of “life” in that time. From starting my handmade craft business, to becoming a mama, to losing both my brother & my mother and all the gardening & crafting adventures in between. (more…)

Celebrating 500!

February 13, 2015 Sarah 2 Comments

Hello there! Welcome to the NEW blog. My sweet hubby breathed some fresh air into my logo and the site design. Whaddaya think? I was feeling like things not only needed a little sprucing up, but that they deserved some sprucing up.

Ummm… not sure how it happened, but suddenly realized this month that I was edging close to 500 posts on this here little blog of mine. This post officially makes 500!! Wowzaa! That feels like a lot of writing. Of course, it’s been spread over the past 4 1/2 years, but still this is a milestone to take note of.

The last time we did a bit of celebrating on the blog, was when I wrote the 200th post. At the time, I shared my top ten fave posts. This time around, I thought I would do something similar, but also include the most popular blog posts. Thanks for walking down memory lane with me. Here we go:

Most Popular Post:

Purses Grow On Trees, April 2011

Second Most Popular Post:

Button-spiration, December 2012

My favorite posts (in no particular order):

And Then There Was You, March 2012

Sad Goodbyes and Anxious Hellos, January 2012

Little Hands Making Rainbows, December 2012

Sweetheart Treats, February 2014

A Shirt Story, November 2013

Busiest Little Helper, August 2014

Into The Ground, June 2014

DIY Candy Cane Ornaments, December 2013

Another little happy dance

June 3, 2013May 31, 2013 Sarah 1 Comment

It has been FOREVER since I last did a post about some of the milestones and achievements Bubblegum Sass has reached! In fact, I think it’s been almost two years since I last stopped to take stock. Waaaay over due! I know how important it is to take a moment and reflect on the things I’ve done with the business. When you don’t have a boss or supervisor to give you praise for a job well done, it’s up to you to provide that little pat on the back every once and a while! Plus, these posts act as a great way to see how things are going with your own business. Definitely give it a try, even if it’s just to reflect on what you have achieved with your personal life. Here are some of the highlights for Bubblegum Sass:

In the Etsy Shop

Reached 61 sales
Reached over 100 items for sale
228 shop admirers (people who have favored the shop)
873 listing favorites (people who “heart” an individual item)
282 followers (folks who keep track of the shop in their news feed)
Had my first order from the UK
Had my first order from Australia
Still participating (when I can) in the Alberta Etsy team
Been featured in well over 100 treasuries
Spread the love, and created close to 200 treasuries
Offered my first big sale in the shop (Spring Cleaning)
Paid for Etsy Search Ads for one month (I’ll report on that a bit more another time)
Started photographing all the product on a white background
Started modeling some of the product, for a bit more variety

On Facebook

126 people “like” my page
Trying to share more of the creative process and my personality with followers
Posting regular updates, blog links, new product listings, and photos

Out and About

Traveled to Edmonton to see fellow teamies at the spring Make It!
Participated in this year’s spring meet-up with Alberta Team members
Become the official handmade sponsor of the Make It Happen! documentary
Interviewed by Neil Mangan for the Make It Happen! documentary
Submitted my application for the Make It! show in November (will find out in June, if I’ve been accepted)
Received my nifty mobile credit card reader from Square (all set for future craft shows… no more “cash only”)
Have an exciting new collaboration coming up with Red Bloom Photography
Will have a line of product available for sale at Treehouse Boutique in Ontario

In the Sewing Room

Developed a new line of upcycled accessories for women
Took a hard look at my product line and decided to stop production on certain items
Trying to determine which items I will focus on making going forward
Brainstorming craft show display ideas for new product

On Pinterest

Created 51 boards
Over 3,000 pins of inspiration and ideas
267 folks are following me

Sometimes I don’t feel so great about what I’ve done or haven’t done with my business. After all, this is already the third year of Bubblegum Sass and I thought things would be progressing further (aka more steady online sales, more regular craft shows). But then I remind myself of what else I packed into those three years. Not things that fit into easy stats or numbers. Life changing events that will forever impact where I go from here: a brother laid to rest, our first child born, my mother’s battle with cancer. Somewhere in there, we bought farmland and started planning for an even BIGGER change. Many times, Bubblegum Sass sat to the side, while I fought through these things. The challenge that remains and which I am feeling more ready to face, is ensuring that from now, Bubblegum Sass keeps pace with the rest of our life.

So now looking back over all these random numbers and accomplishments, I can honestly say that I feel quite satisfied. I can’t change the past or hold onto regrets, but I’m excited about tackling the future. Ready, steady, go!

Celebrating 200!

March 26, 2012 Sarah Leave a comment

Another milestone on this here little blog of mine. This is the 200th post! Yeppers! 200! I figured it was the perfect time to read back through past posts and pick out some of my favorites. So here, in chronological order are my top ten favs (click on the text link in the list below to read the original post):

Now, these are my favs for many different reasons. When it came to Bubblegum Sass business-type post, some of them were just enjoyable to write or research, while others were satisfying to share new sewing creations. When it came to personal life-type posts, many marked fairly monumental changes, some positives and others just sad, from being laid off to losing a brother. This has been my life for the past year & a half in 200 posts.

I took a peek at my Google Analytics to see what the most viewed blog posts were, knowing that my favorites were probably not among these. Surprisingly, the most viewed was Purses grow on trees, a post about the purse display stand that my father and I made. Go figure. Following close in second place are a series of posts I wrote in preparation for the Edmonton Make It show in November. These posts were “tweeted” about by the show organizers, and so they reached a larger audience than my blog normally does.

When I started the blog, I made a long list of ideas for possible types of posts and in all honesty, I’ve only tapped into a small portion of these. One of the big things I wanted to post more often on the blog were tutorials with step by step photo documentation of projects I completed. I also really wanted to post more about past projects, crafty and arty. I’ve been making things for years and I feel like showcasing some of my past projects would give readers better insight into where I’ve been in my creative process and the possibilities of where I might go. Plus, it’s just fun to share. Oh how I miss the days of critiques in art school.

My goals going forward with this blog is that I hope to do more tutorials and be more of a resource for your own crafty endeavors, to post regularly about past projects (including my artwork) and start another weekly Keyword Story series (to make sure I keep my keywording muscles toned). I think it would also be awesome to start featuring some of the incredibly creative people in my life.

And so we’ll see where this blog goes for the next 200 posts. Thank you so much for reading along! Not even sure how many of “you” there are out there. But no matter the number, it’s always a pleasure to write and share about my small corner of this very big world.

Happy dance

July 27, 2011July 29, 2011 Sarah 2 Comments

It’s been several months now since I took the time to look back at achievements and milestones reached with Bubblegum Sass. I fully intended to do this more frequently (just for myself) and post it in the sewing room, but then somehow that plan was forgotten. Given how low I’ve been feeling with the business lately, it seems high time to raise my chin a bit and give myself a small pat on the back. So here’s what has been achieved with Bubblegum Sass since January (and you really don’t need to read through the list… it’s definitely more for me to reflect on than the rest of the world):

With the Etsy shop

Reached 60 items listed for sale
98 people have favorited the shop
78 “hearts” for product listings
Been featured in roughly 55 or more treasuries
Spread the love, and created 48 or so treasuries
Had 11 total sales in the shop
Had my first order from someone who wasn’t a friend or family member
Shipped that same order down to sunny California, my first US order
Had one of my small doily purselettes featured on a blog, by the lovely Claudia also down in California
Had my sewing room featured on the Etsy Alberta Street Team blog
Added gift certificates to the shop

On Facebook

56 people “like” my page
43 monthly active users
Posting a new wall announcement at least once a week (usually more)

Out and About

Participated in 7 craft shows or venues
4 of those venues were multi-day events
1 of those shows was in another city
Done craft tables by myself and collaborated with others
Had the chance to meet many Etsy team members in person
Participated in the 2nd Annual Etsy Craft Around the World party
Have applications to more craft shows waiting on acceptance
Started a plan for the coming fall/Christmas season

In the Sewing Room

Completed a line of product for Spring/Summer 2011
That product line consisted of 8 different items
Completed a few specialty products for roller derby
Sewed up custom orders
Organized and inventoried an insane amount yarn (37+ garbage bags)
Started making inventory for fall/winter

There’s probably some other small things that I’m missing, but I can’t think of them right now. Oh and I guess I’ve regularly posted to this blog too. No small task, but thoroughly enjoyed it! So that’s been six months of Bubblegum Sass. Of course, I’m not reflecting on life challenges here, which really eat up more than the crafty business, especially these days.

Thanks for coming along this journey with me over the past six months! Still have several more months to go. Not sure what will happen when baby arrives. It’s hard to paint a picture of that, yet.