Sara*s Pixel Studio Blog

Welcome fellow bloggers!!! I was so excited to find out about this blog promo and I had immediately had tons of fun ideas for my party post, so lets get started!

First, a little about me. I am a stay-at-home Mom for my 2 year old son, Bo. DH is a firefighter/EMT and we have been married for a little over five years. We make our home in GA. We are also expecting our second child (we find out boy/girl Tuesday and he/she is due in August.

Now a little about my blog. I shamefully use this blog for business and personal announcements and fun. There is one simple reason for this - I’m too lazy to separate them. I’ve considered it many times, but the thought of loosing my readers can’t be tolerated and I barely have time to blog here!

Next, my businesses. I own two e-stores: Sara*s Jewels Boutique and Sara*s Pixel Studio. @ Sara*s Jewels you will find custom name jewelry, sibling sets, and much more! The Pixel Studio is devoted to custom created graphics, auction templates, logos, me pages, WAHMshoppes/webdesign, and my new line of printed business products (business cards, hang tags, bow cards and more!). Both businesses pretty much get equal attention here at the blog just as they do in real life because I can’t seem to give up either one. Just when I consider closing the jewelry store I get a great idea for a new design or an influx of customers and the same happens with the graphics. So I guess for now I’m “stuck” but in the best since. I love what I do and that’s what keeps me going.

Now for the FUN!! Since I’m a little late in posting for the blog party I’ve decided to have a special give-a-way. I really want to get to know some of my readers and make some new friends online so I’m going to have a special drawing. Everyone who posts a comment on this post will be entered to win a special one-of-a-kind bracelet (mom size of course) AND a matching pair of earrings that YOU design! Now there are conditions to this of course - you must put these things in your comment:
-Your name
-Your email address
-How you found my blog

So for everyone who comments and leaves that info for me will be entered to win the custom designed bracelet! I will hold the drawing on March 15th after the blog party is over. For anyone who might be interested I am also holding a drawing on March 17th for a $10 gift certificate to one of my websites (winner’s choice). To be entered in that drawing just sign up for my mailing list before March 16th (left side bar).

Please visit again as I will post something new everyday through the end of the blog party (more prizes and fun!). See you again soon!

I have these five auctions ending tomorrow. The bracelets are OOAK so please bid to win! My other listing is for my PixelStudio™ Custom Designed Bow/Hairbow Cards! I will design a bow card just for you - any way you like it and then the card will be professionally printed and shipped directly to you! Includes 100 5.4″ x 4.2″ cards. Click the pictures to bid now

We’ve finally announced that we are expecting our 2nd child in August (big grin). I had my first appointment yesterday and the doctor confirmed what we already knew. I’m currently 13 weeks and the baby is due August 18th. I’ve added a cute little ticker to the top of my blog so you can all stay current

Now comes the fun stuff - maternity clothes shopping (Bo was born in January so what I already have is for winter), picking out names (this is always fun because DH and I rarely agree on names. It’s a miracle Bo had a name before his first birthday!), and explaining to a 2 year-old that he has a baby brother or sister on the way. I’m sure our child won’t be nameless, any kind of shopping is fun, and we plan to just keep telling Bo in way he understands until the baby comes then I’m sure he’ll figure it out real quick so this should be a snap, right?

Awesome hilarious genius auction. Be sure to read down past the description.

Great video and game if you like cartoons.

This petition has over 2080 signatures - perhaps eBay will actually listen?

There has been much in the news (online anyway) about eBay’s new fee hikes and policy changes that literally *bolt* sellers to the wall. It’s kind of like at a wedding.

Officiant: Do you seller take eBay till death do you part?
Dumb Seller: I do.
Officiant: Do you eBay take this seller till death do you part?
EBay: Does killing them myself count? I mean yes.
Officiant: If anyone knows just cause why this seller and this auction site should not be joined speak now or forever hold your piece.
Entire audience: WE OBJECT!

Why are we all just sitting here taking their crap!? eBay is committing seller-genocide and we’re letting them kill us little guys one by one! So they only want power-sellers, sellers who bring in $100,000 worth of fees every year?! Does that mean we should let them cut us off with such a smooth move that many don’t even know what’s happening? I think not! If my stand against this doesn’t work then so be it but at least I didn’t sit in front of my computer grumbling about the injustice of it all while still planning my listings for next week.

There’s an online protest, a *gas out* on eBay that will be going on February 18th - 25th and I’ve signed a petition to be a part of that protest. I know many out there can’t go a week without listing for financial reasons, but we can all refrain from buying anything! If you can stop listing for the week I hope you will do so. Let’s show eBay that we won’t take this because #1 it’s WRONG and #2 we are their livelihood and if they *bolt* with us then that’s another auction site’s gain!

For those of us who sell our wares to make some extra cash quitting eBay won’t be an easy decision, but we need to have a game plan just in case eBay refuses to retract these horrible new policies. So what are our “non-eBay” options? I’ve found several and some that are even keyed just for boutique SAHMs and WAHMs.
-Want the WAHM/SAHM feel? Then Winkelf.com might be perfect! Formerly Boutique Village this site is growing fast!
-For everything handmade Etsy.com is the place!
-Wagglepop.com may be less of a shock since it has a very “eBay” feel to it.
-Have a desire to sell your wares at $.99 no reserve? This site isn’t for the faint of heart, but for those that like selling on the edge try Bidtopia.com
-No upfront cost is a plus in the world of online retail so you might try Amazon.com if you like set prices.
-Several other sites include: HiBidder.com, eCrater, Craigslist, Bidville, iOffer, OnlineAuction.com, and uBid.com.
I’m sure there are a whole lot more out there!

So am I a traitor or a trader? I prefer to think of myself as a mom, creating boutique jewelry and custom graphics to help my family by making a little extra money. I’ll stand tall against this even though my foresight tells me the battle is lost in the eBay fight, but the war of online sales rages on. Will you stand with me or be taken hostage by the evil Lord IPeeOnSellers FeeBay?

If you want to make a stand you need to be well informed. The first place to start is by reading eBay’s policies. Do not count on what anyone else says for truth. Rumors don’t help our cause. Second know the hearts of your sister/brother sellers. Check out this article on CNNMoney.com. And talk with your fellow eBayers and get their insight too. Finally here’s the petition that I signed. Join me as we tell eBay we won’t be ignored!

I keep editing this post because I think of more things to say or more things about this make me so angry!! For anyone who may have noticed the PayPal money hijacking thing - here’s the solution STOP TAKING PAYPAL! Accept credit cards over the phone and process them like you would at your website - through a non-eBay-owned company like ProPay.com which you need anyway if you have a website. Or only accept money orders. I’m sure that opens a whole new can of worms, but we must think of ways to protect ourselves! Of course if we all stop using PayPal and they’ll make it mandatory.

Ending Wednesday with only one bid at present! This necklace is OOAK and will be re-made in your child’s custom size. Click here to bid now!

Hot off the presses! Well, they will be as soon as you order them! I’ve teamed up with an awesome printer to bring you top quality products with custom designs on them!! My new services include business cards, hair bow cards (in 3 sizes), letterhead & envelopes, address labels, clothing hang tags, and note pads! All these items are available at the Pixel Studio for purchase so come and get those custom designed paper products for all your boutique needs!

Over the next few days I will be adding some exciting new products and services to the Pixel Studio! I’ve teamed up with a great printing service that works wonderfully with my graphic designs to provide A+ paper products to my customers! Custom designed products will include: business cards, clothing hang tags, bow cards (two sizes to choose from), letterhead (perfect for invoices), envelopes, return address labels, note cards, post cards (great advertisers), 3-fold brochures, T-shirts, hats, pens and much MORE! Be sure to check back often over the next week to check out these great new items that I’m soooo excited to offer to all my customers (new and previous)!