my credit card is so hot it may melt

There it is, the shameful story - the story of my stash. (All right, not all of it. Most of it. Half of it. As much as I could grab when I took the photo okay?). I hadn't realised how much I'd bought over time, not at all. I was only inspired to find out and take this picture when I was adding up the figures for my upcoming first ever tax return. Month by month, page by page, I took away the provisional figures for my expenses away from the provisional figures for my turnover. And the result kept coming up red...

If I hadn't bought, oh, two thirds of this little lot, then the figure might have at least scraped into the black. And the thing is, I could still have made most of my inventory, while cutting my expenses that far.

Well, I think that's more than one lesson learned!

• Lesson 1: KEEP A ROUGH RUNNING BALANCE FOR YOUR INCOME AND EXPENSES and PROFIT. Don't just start plugging all the figures in at the end of the year!

I don't have to tell you, right? You've never been as dumb as that? Unfortunately, it appears I do have to tell ME! And not only that, but to act on it as well. From now on: I must know where my business finances stand. All the time, every time.

• Lesson 2: I CAN'T AFFORD TO BUY MORE STUFF: not till I'm back in the black, anyhow. Therefore: until that point, all craftiness must result from my EXISTING stash. Now there's a little jabbing demon, sticking a pitchfork into my calves to prod me into prodigious creativity. Yes! I am inspired!

Now: to not only learn these lessons, but to hold fast to them. I challenge myself, here and now.

It's a PROMO FRENZY all over the land!

So I've committed to contributing to two Etsy.com promo bag extravaganzas... what was I thinking of!!!

I want to make at least 25, preferably 50 items for each bag... but where do all the hours in the day go? So far I've made pitiful progress, and time is slipping away...

I think I just need to set myself a deadline. Whatever I've come up with by that date is what I'm sending off. That should light a fire under me... hopefully.

Today, instead of crafting, I:

i) made headway with my accounts
ii) attended an interview (arrrgggh)
iii) ate fast food (naughty)
iv) drank coffee (v. naughty)
v) drank wine, ate sweeties and had an online social networking blitz (hello Facebookywooky and Flickr)

what I'm up to

Ooooh... so anyway, this is what I've got up to so far to bring in the spondoolicks...

Ebay - selling the books, the bric-a-brac, any old whatsit to bring in da moolah.

Ebid.net - finally! I have signed up, after meaning to just forever and ever! And now I must actually list.

Cafepress - well, I've been signed up for weeks and done nothing. Must download Gimp and hone my graphic design skillz so I can throw some T-shirts down.

Slicethepie - again, signed up for weeks and done bugger all. Must check it out.

Etsy - crafted a lot of items, sold a few. I have a lot of items in a half-finished state, need to get 'em finished and listed. I think partly the trouble is I've lost interest in making jewellery, at least to my present standard. I need to learn proper wire-wrapping and get myself a blowtorch. But all of that is very time-consuming, and I need ready money. Also what I'm really feeling is drawing and painting - but again that takes a lot of time before you see any money. Although once I've finished a few pics to a standard acceptable to me I can get prints made, an income stream beyond the initial investment of time.