Long overdue Zadyball update

I've spent the last several weeks working on giving Zadyball a bit of a face-lift. Most of the changes are pretty subtle, but I'm hoping that I'm making steps toward improving my business.

I've had an online business now for nearly two and a half years. One thing that I've learned in that time is that good pictures are CRUCIAL to online sales. In a "real" store, people can use all five senses to view a product. They can pick it up, shake it, feel it, throw it, even smell it if they really want to. But, the only sense that is available when buying online is SIGHT. So, what they are seeing had better look good!

When I first started selling online, I had a really hard time with my pictures. I was never happy with the background. Finally, I decided to take the background out completely using Gimp. This method works. Pretty well. But, it's very time consuming, and doesn't always give me the results I want.

I recently made a lot of new Zadyball styles (more on that in a minute). I wanted to post them, but the idea of spending SO much time editing the pictures really didn't make me happy. And I realized that I had several already made that I had never posted simply because I hadn't managed to get pictures I was happy with. So, I looked for a solution.

What I found was this: How to make a light tent. I followed the instructions, and in just about an hour, I had made a light box that I could use to take pictures. I still have to do a small amount of editing, but it is SO much faster than the old method. And I'm very happy with the results! (I'm still having trouble getting pictures of very light colors, but I'll keep working on it!)

Here's the light box I made: (I realize it's not super pretty, but it works, for now)


And here's some of the pictures:
Old Way:New Way:
Old Way:New Way:
Old Way:New Way:
Old Way:New Way:

I'm still working on the brightness issue -- I know it might be a little TOO much light for some of the pictures.

Here are some more new items that I took pictures of with the new light box.

More News

If you'd like a chance to WIN a Zadyball - head on over HERE to enter. They did a really sweet review of Zadyball a couple of weeks ago, and asked if I'd be willing to sponsor a giveaway. I hope you win!

One More Thing!

I'm working on expanding Zadyball's Organic/Eco-Friendly line, and just got several new colors!
I hope to have these put together and listed by the end of the month, but if you'd like to order before that, just let me know!

100% Organic Cotton French TerryReally Soft!

Bamboo/Cotton French Terry

Bamboo/Cotton Fleece

My new toy

I have recently purchased a new toy for myself. This is something that I've wanted to have for a VERY long time. I am feeling very blessed to be able to have this!

This is my brand new embroidery machine! This will make it possible for me to do things with my Zadyballs that I never would have been able to do without it! I've spent the last week or so figuring it all out and having lots of fun doing it!



One of the first projects that I did with it was for one of the shops that carry Zadyballs. They are having a special Christmas tree and asked each of the vendors to supply ornaments in their "style". So, here's what I did. The pictures aren't great, and I'm still learning the ins and outs of the machine, but I think they turned out pretty well.






Now, I'm converting most of my Zadyball designs over to the embroidery machine so that I can make them faster and better! I'm also offering free personalization on any Zadyball (except for clearance).

I would like to start getting some pictures of personalized Zadyballs so that I can have them to display. So, to get started, I'm going to give a FREE, personalized ZadyMini to a few winners. To enter, please post a comment here stating who you would like to give a ZadyMini too, and I will randomly select winners at 10PM on Saturday. (This would make a fantastic Christmas gift!)

Baby & her Zady

I thought the baby was so cute playing, so I went to take a picture. I didn't even realize the camera was in video mode. (I forgot the thing HAD a video mode)

Anywho, I thought this was cute so I'd share it.

Help me decide - GIVEAWAY!

VOTING HAS BEEN CLOSED! THANK YOU TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED!

Etsy is having a Handmade Kids Challenge. Basically, they are going to choose 3 winners from 7 different categories. Obviously, the only category I really fit into is Toys. But, I can only enter one item. I want to use one of my new "faces" designs, but I'm having hard time deciding which one.

SO, I thought it would be fun to have a little contest myself.

Here's the deal:
Leave a comment to vote for your favorite - OR suggest a different idea that you think would be really cool. (Please be practical though -- I can only do so much!)
Be sure to leave contact information (email address) so that I can get in touch with you if you win.
Easy Peasy!

The winner will receive their choice of ZadyMINI ($10 value). Yippee!

Here are the current choices:

Hoots the Owl	Marvin The Spider	Robbie the Robot Monster
BABY Hoots the Owl	Fetch the Dog	Oliver the Orange Cat

Voting will close August 9th at 12:00 noon (Arizona time).

Inspired by my children - again!

So, a month or so ago, I did a craft fair that offered to give $10 off the entry fee if I had a game for children in my shop. So, I took a couple of Zadyballs that didn't turn out exactly perfect and instead of filling them with my normal polyfil, I filled them with beans and turned them into bean bags. They got quite a bit of play at the craft fair, and I even used them as "cannons" for Zander's birthday party. But, I never thought that I would actually do anything else with them...

Until today...





















Zander started throwing them around with his dad. He is four, and has pretty much always been good at throwing a ball, but not so good at catching one. But, using the Zady bean bag, it was much easier for him to catch! The strings made something extra for him to grab on to, and since they are a bit heavier than a normal Zadyball, it is easier to throw and catch. Watching him play with it made me think.... hmm.... maybe ZadyBEAN for bigger kids? The idea needs a little fleshing out, I think, but it could work!

My Latest Creation

Here's the latest creation that I've been working on.
I've had the butterfly idea for a while, but I couldn't figure out how to implement it. I tried making a long, skinny ball for the body, but it looked a little too much like poo with wings. O_o

And, I tried putting wings on one of the larger sized balls, but that didn't look right either. It reminded me of Heimlich from Bugs Life - big body with tiny wings.

So, when jkalea asked me to make an ant for her, I thought - hey, this might work! And I think it does!!

It has some imperfections, so this one is not for sale (my daughter has already claimed it), but I'd like to show it off and get some opinions.

It is about 10 inches long with a "wing span" of about 11 inches. Most of the fabric is flannel, except for the back of the wings, which is velour.

Zadyball locations

I thought it would be fun to make a map of all the locations I have sent Zadyballs to. So I entered them all (over 100) into Google Maps and here's the result. I used city and zip code only.

I think it's interesting to see where everything falls. I need to get more "in the middle" states. I've got lots on the west coast, and lots on the east coast, but not many in the middle. I'd love to have more international sales too! :)

Turning into a real business

I think that my family and friends are getting tired of my talking about my business ALL THE TIME. But, it's really the major thing that's going on in my life right now - besides my kids of course.
I went and talked to a lawyer on Friday. With the way things are going, I think that I really need to protect myself, and my idea. The lawyer recommended that I get started on a trademark and a patent. Total cost for both will be around $3000! I of course do not have that kind of money to fork out right now. I'm hoping that things will go so well that I will soon. He also said that I should become an LLC. I looked into that, and it's pretty easy. I've got all the paperwork filled out and ready to go, it just needs mailed. I should do that tomorrow.
So, after the lawyer, I went to the bank and set up some business accounts. I have a checking, savings, and now a credit card with a surprisingly large limit! So, I guess that I can use that to cover some of my expenses.
Speaking of expenses - I decided that I need to have some kind of label attatched to my Zadyballs with care instructions printed on it. I have some really nice lables from jennifersjewels.etsy.com, but I've gone through two orders of them now, and I need something a little more versitle and a little less expensive per lable. I contacted a jamylabels to get a quote on that today. $62.50 for 500 labels - plus a one time engraving fee of $75 and $12 shipping. A little bit pricy to start, but it should be plenty to last a while.
Oh - by the way - it's just amazing how nice people are to you if they think you are going to give them money. I think even more so when you are a business so they think there is a real possiblitly that you might have money - at least someday.

I'm SO excited about the craft fair this weekend. I've been working almost constantly to get an inventory built up. It's not like I don't have plenty of fabric (I have TONS). It's just a process to get them all made. I've been going through a lot of thread and poly-fil. I've lost count of how many I have done. I'm hoping to have somewhere between 50 and 100 by Saturday. I hope they sell - cause I don't have anywhere to store them!

Craft Fair

I'm so excited about the craft fair I was invited to participate in this weekend! It is really the first one that I've ever done, so I'm not quite sure what to expect. I've been working hard to get lots of inventory ready, and I hope I have enough.

If you're in the Phoenix area, be sure to stop by!

The ORIGINAL – One of a kind – Zadyball

PREFACE: Please, please, PLEASE do not base my current work on my son’s Zadyball. This is the original, experimental, not for sale, made just for him. This was made over three years ago, and has been VERY loved. Zadyball has evolved and improved greatly since this one was created.

When the Storque article came out on Etsy about the “Etsy Love Challenge”, the first thing that came to mind was my son’s original Zadyball. I thought it might be fun to share how this creation came to be.
When my son was about 6 months old, he had a toy giraffe with a knotted string for a tail. He loved playing with the string, and would rub it to help him fall asleep. He had a few other toys that had one or two strings and he just LOVED to rub them.He loved it so much, that I thought it would be great to create something for him that had lots of strings for him to play with. So, that is how the Zadyball was born -- out of love for my son.
He is now three and a half and still sleeps with that original Zadyball – although he has several others that he has begged me for since I started making them to sell.

When he was younger, he carried that Zadyball with him EVERYWHERE we went. I’d have to sneak into his room while he was asleep and try to pry his fingers off of it, just so I could wash it. Now that he has a younger sister, he keeps it hidden in his room so that she can’t get a hold of it. I had to beg him just to let me get a picture of it.

So, I guess that this story is not just about my love for my son, but about his love for his very favorite, most prized toy that has been with him as long as he can remember. Even though – yes, I admit it – it’s falling apart, and no where near its original color, he still loves it.

What it used to look like:




















And what it looks like today :)

Welcome to my blog!

Hi!
I'm just starting this whole blogging thing. I have a much neglected blog on my myspace http://alaynacreations.myspace.com/ But, I thought something like this would get a little more exposure.
I am working on a tutorial of How to use The Gimp to edit your product listings for Etsy. I've been using it for mine, and I think they look pretty good! :)
I am a member of EtsyMom and EtsyBaby. Be sure to check them out! These ladies have some GREAT stuff!

I hope to be keeping this updated fairly regularly, so be sure to check back!