Missed Out

I can't believe that I went all day yesterday and didn't realize that I didn't write my daily blog post for Monday. I guess with the time change, my body is simply telling me that it doesn't like that extra hour earlier, and the days just seem shorter than they used to be. Just another sign that summer is coming and no matter how much I try to hide from the inevitable it is still going to arrive, whether I want it to or not.

Sure, there are those people who LIVE for summer, but when you live in the desert, summers are NOT fun, even though there are those who still LOVE it even when they live in the desert. Call me crazy I guess, but I hate summer. Hate the temperatures, the crowds, and there is only so much you can do to stay cool, but plenty of ways to stay warm. Bring on those icy cold temperatures! Unfortunately if you live in California, you already know that we didn't get a winter. No rain to speak of, and now we face what we know will be a bad summer filled with fires all over the place. Those poor mountain communities that thrive in cooler temperatures will now face even more destruction in those dog days of summer.

Just being a long time resident of California, we already know how it will be. I had hoped that we would have a great winter filled with lots of rain, that would move us passed all those drought filled years, but nope, now it will just be really bad drought and hot fire filled summer.

But onwards and upwards, right? This weekend was filled with lots of busy work, with two Facebook LIVES in my main Kat's Creations page, one in which I showed the group how to make a Rainy Day Wreath (shown above)  and then on Sunday, we took the entire tutorial back to basics because I asked my page, what frustrated them with making a wreath. It was a very long post, but it showed me I could teach making a wreath every Friday and Sunday night, and unless you explain the basics of getting there, you are leaving so many behind. While it may not be my most popular video in light of number of views, it is being well received by those that watch it and have gotten lots of feedback!

In my private paid group, we made a beautiful Easter Wreath, which has sold. I'm seeing a trend in the Easter wreaths, at least for me, that the Vintage look is back. Things like vintage looking rabbits reminiscent of Beautrix Potter and The Velveteen Rabbit. It is also getting down to the wire for those that want their Easter wreaths! Right now, some are taking as long as 7 days to keep the shipping costs down and I want to ensure that those that order them have them in time for Easter! If you want to see what I have, head on over to my Etsy store at Etsy.com/shop/KatsCreations777.

So how is your week going?

I Survived!

I did it!!!

Well not without struggles, but I managed my first Facebook LIVE without any assistance from my hubby or my kids. Yet, this girl soloed and came out the other side. Remember when I told you how I was facing my own challenges to see if I could do this in yesterday's post, well I did it. I got through it. I didn't lose my cool despite how badly I may have wanted to pull my hair out when things began to pose a challenge.

Despite all my husbands best attempts to educate me on setting up my lights and how to manage both filming the LIVE and responding to viewer comments, I struggled. I didn't realize that if you wanted to go LIVE in landscape mode, you have to keep your camera in landscape mode before you click the LIVE button. So I managed. I hate to delete my first few minutes and begin again. But isn't that how we really learn, from the mistakes we make?

Next up once I got that figured out, my lap top which I was using to view LIVE comments from my viewers crashed. I could still see the LIVE happening but the comments were no longer showing up. Gotta love technology. So I explained what was happening to my viewers and told them I would be responding to their comments once I finished my tutorial. They were super understanding. They know things are going to be bumpy until you figure things out.

Despite all those issues and spending two hours prior to that LIVE session getting everything set up and prepped, I did it!!! I still need to look into back up options for when things don't run smoothly and until I get some money under my belt and buy an external camera I can control remotely, things like this will happen. Yet I didn't let it stop me. I didn't stay stuck. I didn't give up. I kept on going. Even more amazing is that I won't let it defeat me and I will be making more LIVES alone.

That is the wonderful thing about grace, I got lots of it plus understanding from the 9 people who were watching me. I only hope that I can continue to improve but also be there for them, when theyre ready to take that leap forward. So tomorrow, I go LIVE before a bigger audience, my main Facebook business page, Kat's Creations, which is a public and FREE place to get those great DYI tutorials. Whether things go smoothly or they have their own challenges, I will rise above and perhaps in those struggles I will be helping someone else not give up either.

This is what we made last night in my Paid Private Group and it is for sale in both my Etsy store and also through Facebook or blogging. If you're interested in purchasing this, I accept all payment types and can ship within the US via USPS ground options for an additional fee.

My Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/KatsCreations777
My Facebook Business Page: https://www.facebook.com/katscreations777/ 

Lots to do!

I am super excited for the first LIVE video in my private wreath making group. It will be just me and the wonderful ladies who have joined our group. It gives me the opportunity to work with them more intimately, they get to ask more questions while we go through the process to make an adorable spring or Easter Wreath.

This will also be my first time, setting up my video lights and setting the stage without help from my husband who is still traveling. It will be fun to figure things out on a smaller scale before I open thing up on a bigger scale for my public LIVE on Friday at 5pm PST. If you haven't seen my videos, I have included a sample below for you to see what I have been doing in my small business.

I usually have Steve's help setting everything up to ensure it goes smoothly from light set up to working the camera, answering the questions we get and reading everyone's comments so I can simply work on showing people how to make a beautiful wreath.

Until that time tonight, I will be working on how I want tonight's wreath to come together, and get all my supplies cut and ready so when I click on the "Go Live" button, I'm ready to go. It should be interesting. Have any of you, used the "Go Live" option on your Facebook page? If you are operating a small business you are missing out on some FREE marketing through the largest social media outlet there is.

Facebook knows that almost everyone has a smart phone and spends time streaming videos. I mean think about it, if you at the doctor's office waiting, what are you doing? Where do you go? Think of all the people that can be attracted to what you are doing, simply by 'showing' them how to do it. I have grown my business by 200% simply by doing just that. I hope you will join me and my Facebook page at Kat's Creations! I would LOVE to have you come watch what we make each week, that my viewers vote on, so even I won't know until tomorrow night at 5pm when the poll closes. Hope to see you on Friday!