Popularity Contest

When I first started making these clay keychains... I invested a lot of time in making these little bears that would each hold a unique item. For those of you who have been on my Etsy's site, you would know that I have more items that feature bears than anything else.

However, sometimes I randomly made other things, such as a duck... robots... aliens... or turtles.

Like... this one.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/104335486/turtle-charm?ref=af_shop_favitem

This one I made on a total whim. I felt like I needed a break from making all these teddy bears, so I thought I would make something random. Green happened to be the first color I picked up so... turtle it was. After making it, I didn't even really think I did a good job on it. It wasn't made very well, and I messed up on the bottom. The stomach was so big that the legs didn't even really stick out enough to be considered legs.

Fatty legs that don't even touch the ground. XD

But... I thought, since I made it, I might as well go through with it and put it on the web.

The results surprised me. 

I definitely did not expect so many people to like this little turtle. Personally, I find the teddy bears more endearing and cute... but I obviously don't know my own customer audience. I guess that's what makes business interesting, huh? Over the past few weeks, the item that has gotten the most "likes" and "favorites" has definitely been this little turtle. And, I must say, I am pleasantly surprised by this.

I wonder what it is about this turtle that people like. If you guys have any idea... let me know. :P I need to do mor markt research, I feel like. Haha. XD

Sometimes this makes me wonder if I should hold off on making bears and start making some other items. But then... I don't really know what other animals to make. More turtles? Haha. XD

Perhaps.

Robots

When I first started making clay keychains, I made a little robot with a heart on it. I was going to give it away... but I liked it so much, I kept it for myself. Haha. It's hanging on my wallet now, so I can see it all the time. :P I don't have a picture of that one though. But, its okay, I have other pictures to show today. :) What's kind of funny about my robot keychain is that the arm fell off once, so I remade an arm and attached it back to the body. However, because the parts were made at different times, the color that I mixed were slightly different. So... now my robot has a gray body.... but its arm is a different color in the sunlight. Haha.

Anyways. Back to my story about robot-making.

From then on, people would comment on the robot, saying that they thought it was super cute and whatnot. So... I decided to make more! Throughout the days, I've slowly made more and more robots.

This couple robot keychain I made for one of my conversation students before she moved back home to China. She never asked for me to make her anything, but I thought it would be nice for her to take something back home that was unique. I don't know if she actually liked it... but I had fun making it! Haha.

Couple robot keychain. I wonder if she ever gave the other half to her boyfriend...

These next two I kind of made because I wanted to use my random clay colors. Because I generally make bears, I use a lot of brown and tan and stuff... but not really any of the other interesting colors. So, I wanted to use up some of the more random colors... and bam! Blue and purple robots. Haha.

I've actually made another robot similar to this one. Except it was gray, and the tie was orange. I made it for a friend at church.

Purple robot with tie
https://www.etsy.com/listing/104890170/working-robot

For some strange reason, I really like making robots with hearts. I think its the juxtaposition that robots are cold and emotionless, and a heart is... well... the opposite. Haha. XD So I like putting the two together so that it warms up the robot. Hahaha. I dunno. XD

I haven't posted this one up on Etsy yet... I probably should soon. XD
EDIT: Now posted on Etsy!
https://www.etsy.com/listing/105361960/hopeful-robot-with-heart?ref=v1_other_1

Following this robot... my friend asked me to make him something as well. Apparently, he saw the robot I had on my wallet and wanted a keychain. I, of course, said yes. Sometimes... I think I really need to stop making these for free for people, and just have them buy it. Haha. XD But then, I feel really mean about it. I mean, I started making these items for fun and to give away to people, so I like giving them away. But, after I started Etsy... I'm starting to wonder when I should give them out and when I should make people pay me. Hahaha. XD Anyways. This friend told me to surprise him... and so I did. He had this whole backstory about him and robots... so I made him a heartless robot, with a matching robot girlfriend (holding the heart for the heartless robot). Haha. In the future, he can give one of them to his girlfriend. Hahaha. 

I though it was pretty clever of me. :P

I gave the boy sad eyebrows because he's a robot that is sad he doesn't have a heart.
But now... I realize that it kinda looks like the robot is sad because the girl has taken over control. Haha.
Ah... well... I guess it can be taken both ways.

Finally... I made another heartless robot, without a robot girlfriend, because I liked the idea of the robot having "a hole where it's heart should be." Haha. That seems kinda contradictory to what I said at the beginning of the post. Well, this still kinda combines the whole robot and heart/emotion theme. Just... in this case, this robot is looking for a heart because it's missing. Eh, whatever. I give up trying to explain my train of thought.

Sad, heartless robot
https://www.etsy.com/listing/104890012/heartless-robot

Anyways. That's all for my robot collection as of now.

Maybe there will be more in the future. Well, I know there will be more in the future... I just don't know when I'll finish making them. Haha. XD

First Sale...!

Kind of.

Haha. I made a sale to one of the members of my church. :) To me, it wasn't an "official" sale because it didn't occur on Etsy and therefore there will be no review/feedback that will show up on my Etsy store. BUT. I still appreciated the sale so, so much. :) Thank you!! She bought the honeybear keychain because that's what she calls her husband (I hope its okay that I'm sharing! :3 ), which, in my opinion... is super adorable!! Haha. Super super cute.

Honeybear: First "unofficial" sale!! :D

Anyways, I kept the link of the honeybear on Etsy though, so if people order it, I can still try to re-make it. We shall see how that goes.

Its actually very encouraging to see the stats on Etsy. Even though the numbers are few, whenever I see that people have been checking out my site and liking certain items, I still get very happy. Haha. It's definitely a confidence booster!

When I first made the honeybear, I actually made two other bears as well. That day, I took all of my craft supplies out of the house for the very first time... and made them outdoors! Haha. Usually I'm sitting in front of my computer, looking at pictures, watching dramas, or listening to music. But, this time, because my friend invited me out to hang out, we decided that we wanted to go to the park and chill while doing other stuff. So, while my friend read, I decided to make keychains! It was kind of a hassel, just because I had to take a lot of random stuff in a big bag (which was rather heavy), but I think I quite enjoyed being out in the sun/shade/nature rather than being cooped up in a room.

The results were: honeybear, ice cream bear, and watermelon bear.

I was actually super grateful and blessed because I hung out with my friend that day, because she gave me the ideas for each of the bears! Without her, I would have ran out of ideas of what to make the bears hold. Haha. XD Recently I've been losing steam with ideas of what to make them hold, but I've come to realize that it helps a lot when I talk to friends. Not only do they give me ideas of what to make, they help the time pass faster. 

Plus, I always find it much more worthwhile to have good fellowship (hanging out time) rather than just sitting at home vegging out to a drama (although that kind of alone time is nice too. ;) Haha). Anyways, in this case... yay for friends with wonderful creativity and ideas!

The resulting three amazing bears. Super summer themed. :)
Hopefully people like it!

Teehee, lots of pictures today. Haha. Makes the blog posts look like they are super long. :P

The Shop Has Been Opened! :D

Hello All!

So, after much pushing and pulling from my father, I finally set up shop on Etsy! I've talked about setting up an account for so long... but I never had the guts to do it. My dad has been bugging me about it for a while now, but I still didn't want to put in the effort of posting pictures, figuring out prices, etc, etc. Another part of me was also scared of going into it. Despite the fact that this was just going to be a side hobby, it's still a scary thought to start something new. It's like being your own mini entrepreneur, which, I am not that confident in. Haha.

But!

Here is it! I have finally opened up my shop. Please go and take a look around and spread the word! :D

http://www.etsy.com/shop/SubtleSmiles?ref=si_shop

I think after a while, I might take some time and make a cooler looking banner. Haha. This one I threw together in approximately 5 min. using photoshop. Soo glad I took that photoshop class a few quarters before I graduated! Granted, it was for photography, but it still encouraged me to experiment in photoshop. Yay! 

Annnyways, here is a photo of my storefront! So exciting! Haha.

I think the hardest thing about starting this Etsy storefront is that, now I have more pressure on me. Haha. But, its a good pressure that will keep me occupied when I'm not looking for a job or feel stressed about job hunting. So yay!

Okay, that's all I have for today.

:)

Fruit Picking

Teehee. Strawberry! Yum. :)

In my memory, summer was always a time for fruit picking. In particular, I remember picking cherries, apricots and peaches. Usually my parents would take my brother and I and a group of friends out fruit picking for the day. We'd always come home with buckets/boxes of fruit, and our stomachs filled with fruit as well. It wasn't until I grew older that I came to the realization that we weren't actually supposed to be eating all the fruit. Haha. XD

A few months ago some friends and I went fruit picking--strawberry picking, to be exact. It was my first time strawberry picking. The sun was out, it was bright and sunny, with just a hint of a breeze. We went early(ish) in the morning, but it wasn't long before families started showing up. There were a lot of parents holding his or her son or daughter's hand while maneuvering through the strawberry patch. So cute. Suddenly I felt really old. Well, at least a little bit too old to be picking strawberries. We had about 10-15 college students running around picking strawberries. Haha. Oh well, at least it was fun.

What's even more fun about picking fruit is going home and eating. (Although, in my honest opinion, eating fruit while you are picking it is quite fun as well. Fun when you're a kid cuz... there's unlimited fruit. Fun when you're older cuz... you feel empowered? Hahaha. I did feel quite sneaky.) We went back to one of our apartments and ate and ate and ate. Haha. XD

Maybe I should go fruit picking again. This time... cherries? :P

Sunny California

Little bear holding a little orange.
Hopefully people can tell what it looks like. Haha. XD

After calming down from my depressing post this morning... I thought that it might be nice to post something a little happier. Haha. XD

The weather in SD has been pretty cloudy and cool these past few days. Its strange, considering how its summer right now. But a few days ago, I even wore long sleeves and I felt fine. I think its finally starting to get a little bit warmer though. Yesterday I went catfishing with a few friends, and it was pretty warm out. Caught nothing, but it was still a lot of fun to hang out and chill on a boat. :)

Today its pretty sunny and warm as well. I think its a good reminder that, even though life doesn't always progress like you might expect it to, the sun will eventually come back out and warm everything up again. Haha. Sounds so cliche. But, sometimes I like cliche sayings. :)

I hope the weather continues to stay nice an sunny. It makes everything happier when the sun is out.

Decisions, Decisions...

Its Monday morning, 9:30. I've been sitting in front of my computer waiting for a phone call from the company back home. I know the recruiter has other things to do during the day, and I know that I'm not going to get a phone call immediately... but I'm so anxious. I haven't been able to focus at all... (granted... its only been about an hour an a half since I woke up).

This keychain reminds me of my church because of the colors.
For some strange reason... I think these colors reflect the church. Haha. XD

This is the kind of person I am. Someone that worries and someone that overanalyzes and has a one track mind. I know that, once I pick up that phone call, I will have to honestly consider what I want to do with my life. Where the church stands in my heart and where I want to go. The reason why this is such a struggle for me is because I love my church in SD. Its taken me four years in college to finally find a church that I love, and that loves me back. I'm not saying that there are no other churches out there that are solid and loving and caring... but God brought me to this church... and I love this church. But now, with this job offer hanging above me... I don't know what to do. From a spiritual standpoint, there is no competition.

And yet, I waver.

Haha. I feel like my last few posts have been super serious. I think its because, like I said at the beginning of this post, I have a one track mind. I honestly reflect whatever is going on in my brain into whatever I'm doing. So... you guys all get to see what's going on in my head.

Phone Call

Today I received a phone call from a Japanese company back in where I'm from (I'm currently living in SD). I don't know how I feel about that. In all honesty, when I went to this interview, I tried hard not to think about this opportunity. Why? Because I had already set in my mind that I wanted to stay here, in SD. Like I mentioned in my previous post. I don't think finding a job is about luck. I think God is guiding my way and leading me.

So, I trusted.

Or maybe I didn't. I think, through my mouth, I said that I trusted Him and that I would follow whatever path He had laid out for me. And now, now that I have the job offer in front of me... I'm starting to regret my words. I think, in my heart... I somehow believed that He would find me a job here in SD and that I wouldn't have to move back home. Not that I don't love home. I love home. I love spending time with my parents. But... I had already decided I wanted to stay in SD for my church and for the people here. So... what is God trying to say to me? Is there something back home that He wants me to go back to? Or does He want me to turn down the job offer and learn to trust Him here, in SD?

I made this for my friend a while back. The body took me forever, but I think it was worth it. ;P

Sometimes, I wish I had courage. Like how a lion is associated with courage, I wish I had that kind of courage and drive in life. I wish I had the courage to trust God fully, and I also wish I had the courage to walk along a path where I was uncertain of the future. But, much like the lion in "Wizard of Oz," I have no courage. I'm timid and afraid of everything in the world. I put up a front like I know what I'm doing and I know God has got my back... but inside I'm afraid.

I'm particularly proud of the mane and how I made it. I didn't want to have to put each hair on one by one, so I took pliers and pinched the clay until I felt that it resembled the mane of a lion.

Well, that's my post for the day. Perhaps in the next few posts you guys will be able to see whether or not I stayed in SD or moved back home. If any of you guys who are reading this are Christian... I would appreciate any prayers. :P Haha. I've only started this blog for a few weeks... and I act as if I have a bunch of followers. Well, I know at least one or two people are reading this, and I appreciate that. :)

It's Not About Luck

Like I mentioned in my first post, I'm a recent graduate. Which means, I'm looking for a job right now... Which means, I'm currently unemployed... Which means, I have no income right now... HAHA. Sad life. I've only been looking for jobs for about two weeks, and I don't really know what I'm supposed to be expecting. Even though I've interviewed for jobs before, I don't think I was trying very hard. Well, that doesn't mean that I'm trying super hard now... but I'm looking for jobs with a different attitude now, I think. XD

By far, one of my favorite little bears that I've made. Not that I'm a believer of luck...  ;p

Quite a number of people I know have already found jobs and are beginning to start work, or have already started work. Some people might call finding a job "luck," but I don't think its about that. Rather, I think that God is the one that will guide me in finding a job. Some people might think that sounds ridiculous, but that's what I truly believe. Now, this doesn't mean that a job is just going to fall out of the sky, but I think my outlook on finding a job has a lot less pressure because I have God behind me. As I do my best in sending out resumes and applying for jobs, I have a lot less stress because God calms me and gives me peace about the whole process.

The bear that I uploaded this time I made quite a while ago. I've been making bears for a while now, and I've been giving them away. This one, I just couldn't bear (HAHA. I'm puny, I know) to give away, so it's now hanging on my Japanese electronic dictionary. So, whenever I use it, I can see it. ;P 

Siiiggghhhh... But now, whenever I look at the bear, I see my Japanese dictionary, and I think about how I'm supposed to be finding a job in the Japanese/Chinese industry... and then I come full circle and think about how I have no job. Haha. What a bleak outlook on life.

Maybe if I look at this bear more,  I can gain more strength from its cuteness?? Haha. XD