I just stopped in to tell you there is a new love in my life, I've never met him but he wrote a tutorial on the US Federal Tax code geared at Etsy sellers. He wrote it in plain english, with example formulas, and common sense. Anyone who has come to grips with these forms without help can understand the frustration of it.

If you haven't, go wrestle a grizzly bear with an arm tied behind your back, that's what it's like for someone trying to understand the US tax code for the self employeed crafty small business owner.

So to all my fellow etsians who are so clever to do everything they do but desperately want a cheat sheet. Run over to http://www.etsy.com/shop/JJMFinance

I bought the whole tamale package of all of his tutorials and I feel more relaxed and in command than l have since I tackled the forms!

I need to develop cheap and easy earrings to go with my rose pendants, l can't stand making the rose earrings and they're too expensive for casual earrings, and they never match enough to be earrings in my standards.

Would a simple fish hook earring with a large bead of the same clay as the rose interest people? I'd probably let it go for 10-15 bucks a pair, with quality hardware (maybe sterling silver?)

Any other ideas? I hate not offering matching earrings to my customers, and I fear that will hinder my attempts at craft shows.

In other news I've developed more Iris pieces for a fabulous jewelry designer in Alexandria Virginia, I would link her website but she doesn't have one. Take a look at the one of a kind pieces she ordered!

Still stockpiling for my future harrassing of local businesses to carry my roses!

My mother and younger sister geeked out at me when I asked how to tell a spreadsheet program to make a graph for me. They are borderline experts at running the software and the next hour was dedicated to pouring over a giant textbook on the program, and them showing me every isngle trick I would never need to know.

Thanks to that I have several glorious spreadsheets and histograms staring back at me filled with data on the number of roses I have ready to go right now. I have 128 roses ready to ship that are not dedicated to the shop (that number is 30) so just imagine my workspace! I have 128 rose pendants that are not even in my etsy store right now!

I'm tackling a craft show this November 6th, if not sooner. And it feels good to get a deadline set up for me. I'm ordering myself to get in at least one local shop by the end of this month as the holiday season will pick up soon. I always hated how early stores got ready for the holidays until I became a seller. Now I can see why all the fuss, it's almost as if stores are kept open year round just to maintain their name in the public eye, because every ounce of profit comes out of those few months at the end of the year.

Just thinking about it makes me want to run back and keep sculpting more and more roses! Oh question, other sellers have suggested that my wide variety of necklaces will help me in a craft fair when I hadn't even considered bringing the non rose necklaces along. Do you think the nonrose pendants would be a success? SHould I bring them along?