Doing the Numbers on Credit Card Processing

My contract with the oh-so-crappy credit card processor, TransFirst is expired! All I can say is "YAY!"  I had originally thought I would return to Costco Merchant Processing. They were exactly what they promised: fees clearly stated up front and never came up with "charges-charges" like TransFirst did! There were months where half my earnings went to that shyster company!

But in doing the math, I realize my business is not what it was when I started. And, I have more and more in-person sales at shows and classes than I did in the beginning. Yet, I cannot afford to have two "gateways" or merchant accounts.

I signed up for square and then realized that Paypal HERE is just a few pennies cheaper (and in my world, pennies MATTER!). Plus, I'm familiar with Paypal. The money is there immediately. But still, that 3.5% for my mail orders seems high!

I can pay a cheaper amount by diverting my web customers to paypal directly... 2.9% + .30 transaction fee... which on a $30 sale saves me 3 cents! Hardly worth paying a web-developer for!

But the fact that Costco "seemed" so much cheaper kept bugging me. When that happens there's nothing to do but sit down and do the math!

For comparison:

Costco  1.99% on keyed in transactions + 25 cents per transaction. Costco also has a monthly fee of $20.
Paypal Here 3.5% / keyed transaction + 15 cents per. No monthly fee.

I started with what I wish I made: 4K a month. I guestimated 80 transactions.  Using those numbers, Costco would cost 119.60 vs. Paypal Here's 152.00. But... I don't make anywhere near that!

So I put in 1750 and 70 transactions. Here the prices were close: Costco came out to 72.33  vs. Paypal's 71.25

I upped it a bit to 2000 a month and 70 transactions... and Paypal edges ahead to 80.50 vs. Costco's 77.30.

Now I know that somewhere between 1750 and 2K a month, I need to get a cheaper processor. While it's nice to have goals, I haven't seen that kind of dough in five years.  Anyone wanna buy a swiper??? ;-)

Last Day of the Fans Only Sale

The secret Fan Sale - celebrating my page FINALLY reaching 250 fans - got under way over the weekend. I'm offering 25% off beads and jewelry from either my Glass beads site or my Etsy to fan page members with a special coupon code. The code is available on the fan page.... heh heh... see how that works??

You'll find some real gems: Beautiful glass beads on sale, including my fave from the past year, Catfish:

 Catfish Focal

 Jewelry is on sale too!

 Rio Party Necklace

...and big hole European Charm Beads for Pandora, Troll, Links of London, etc. 

Dark Waters BHB

But, don't forget to check Etsy too... I will happily combine shipping! All of my holiday beads are there, including beads for Halloween and Christmas.

Santa Panda

...and I'll even part with my current favorite!

Galene

But you better shop fast! The fan sale ends at midnight PST TONIGHT!

Fun for Fans

July was a REALLY prolific month for me artistically. I made a TON of beads! And... I posted them to my fan page first... where, they often sold! So... I created a new policy to benefit the fans! Buy any item on my fan page within 24 hours (or before I get it up on the glass bead site) and save 10%! How cool is that?

Just convo me on the fan page and save!

Now, on to the pretties. I fell in love with an old favorite glass that changes color depending on the light. This set is called Moody Melon (shown in fluorescent, natural and incandescent light) :

I played around with more Bent Bead styles... this one is Galene. She's my fave!

I made a few more Glass Pacis... this one sold to a member of my bestie's family and lives in Hungary now! (remakes available).

I made a striking but simple bead. I love LOVE stuff like this! Two colors just reacted! This was to be a color test for a Memorial Bead. I knew right away it would not work for the intended project but it was so pretty, I annealed it!

I made a few keys... The vessel is here... still need to list the other one.

And a made a stunning focal that sold to a friend from high school. I had to make her matching earrings...just 'cause! I'm so happy with the finished piece:

And that was just the tip of the iceberg! If you haven't visited my glass bead shop in a while... there's TONS of goodies! And be warned... my fan page finally hit 250... the number of fans I walked away from because of SEO... so there's a fan only sale coming. It will be generous and last minute!

Hope your July was prolific!

Beads of Courage May Bead Drive

Back in May, Beads of Courage sent out a call for bead donations, asking artists to donate at least 50 handmade beads by the end of month of May. The charity is an arts in medicine program that allows children with serious illnesses to tell their story through beads.

 I cleaned out my donation drawer and bead bowl and came up with more than 60!

What was cool about this year's bead drive is that Beads of Courage mailed all the bead makers who donated a Beads of Courage t-shirt!

I'm so happy to have the shirt to wear to our upcoming Beads of Courage fund raising event in September!

Tool Fix: Stripped Key Mandrel

I've been making a lot of keys lately...

...and have found it harder and harder to get them off the mandrel. With my last key, I had to use vise-grip pliers to get the mandrel apart!

I went to my local hardware store for a new socket nut and quickly realized the nut that is welded to the key mandrel is stripped... what to do??? In this economy, this poor artist cannot afford to zip out and buy a new tool!  Plus, I always wondered why they welded that nut on... I would always want free moving parts. Sure, it's one more piece to lose but it's also one more piece that can be replaced for pennies!

With the nut stripped, I bought a #6 3/4" Phillips head screw and a wing nut.  The screw fits right through the stripped nut and only attaches to the wing nut. I like this better because I can hold a Phillips screwdriver on one side and a vise-grip on the other should it ever get stuck... and will be far less likely to bend the shaft of my key mandrel!

Update: Thanks to my dear glass friend Janel Dudley, I want to let you know that many of the cheap nuts and bolts out there are made of zinc which has a melting point just above 700 degrees Fahrenheit! Zinc can splatter in the flame too and it is TOXIC! So... make sure you use steel nuts and bolts!!

I'm a Winner!

The Promotional Frenzy Team had a giveaway on their blog back in June and I won!!! I won a pair of earrings from Pagan Cellar Jewelry. To my surprise, Bill, the mastermind behind Pagan Cellar Jewelryon Etsy sent me two pair! Score!

The talented folks on the Promotional Frenzy Team ALWAYS have something going on... You ARE playing along in their Pin to Win DAILY Christmas In July giveaway on Pinterest, right????

Today's Giveaway is sponsored by Oh Honey Hush

Source: etsy.com via KatersAcres on Pinterest

I HATE You Vetrofond!

I got a custom order from an Avon Walker...making custom boobie bracelets for the group of ladies she's walking with. She wanted half pink and half ivory. OK... easy peasy... but I quickly discovered I was out of my beloved Vetrofond dark ivory.

I know many bead makers think "Ivory is Ivory." Oh, but it is NOT!  Case in point... These two beads were made with two colors... the only difference being one is Effetre and one is Vetrofond. And, you know it... my favorite is the green which is vetrofond!

But my tale of woe gets worse! I found out Vetrofond is "no longer making rod for beadmakers".... GRRRR! So instead of making nice little perfectly pale tan boobies like these:

 ...they came out like this:

I think they are too pale and kinda anemic looking ( so yes, these are ON SALE! on the Fan Page at the moment)

But at least my customer liked the pink ones...

At least I got the chance to make my customer happy but... I feel so betrayed by a favorite glass maker...

True Confession: I'm a Glass Hoarder!

Sometimes I make a beads and list them right away. Sometimes I just... can't! Sometimes a bead is so pretty, I simply can't part with it...no matter what. Sometimes, I need to stare and appreciate them for a while.

One I made recently using a tut from Kim Neely with an added flourish from Kimberly Affleck falls into the sit and stare category.

 Dark Waters side one

Dark Waters Side 2

I finally shared it on the fan page... but I'm not sure when I'll have the heart to actually list it. Yes, I am she who needs ALL the shiny beads!

Here's a video so maybe you can see what's so mesmerizing to me:

Fresh Glass 7/11/12

These are still hot!

Memorial Bead: Lucy, Olivia & Kramer

I was honored when a dear friend asked me to make a memorial bead as a gift for her dog trainer. The bead was to contain the ashes of three of her beloved Dalmatians: Lucy, Olivia & Kramer.

She requested the bead be heart shaped, about an inch wide with a hole big enough for a ribbon. Blue and green were the color choices but she wanted a little gold heart to decorate the beads to symbolize the color of Olivia's eyes:

Olivia

I just love when a client sends me photos and details about the animal or person who is being memorialized! I knew when I saw Olivia's eyes that Double Helix' Aurae was the color to use!

I have a little photo holder by my torch that will hold 5 pictures and after reading all about these sweet Dals, I placed them on my desk to supervise the work!

Their mom was kind enough to include lots of details about their personalities too! Lucy was a mother to 12 and very talkative!

Lucy

Kramer was a father of 64, a clown and a food thief.

Kramer

But, I have to admit, that Olivia with the gold eyes really touched my heart. Aside from being a drama queen (you Creekhiker readers know I have my own drama queen!),  her mom writes:

Loved being the only dog, going on errands & peanut butter. We understood each other  & loved each other when others didn't.

If you've ever had a dog like that, you, like me are probably shedding a few tears right now! 

The process of making these beads is not always an easy path for a sensitive soul like myself. And, it's never just make a bead and mail it off! I have made as many as four beads in preparation, showing each to the client along the way. I made three this time.

The first attempt, I realized the aurae was too transparent for the background colors:

 So, I made a second small color test using white under the aurae. I left the mandrel in place to show the client so she could understand where the hole was. We decided the colors were right and to make it with a bigger hole.

 So this is the 3rd version with the cremains of the 3 pups. I LOVE how the creamains reacted with the reduction of the aurae and turned gold... Olivia's eyes showing off!!

It was an honor getting to know these pups and their mom!