Lost mail or what happens when something goes wrong

It doesn't happen often but when it does it can be a doozy.  Has the US Postal Service ever misplaced your package?  That really awesome goodie you ordered that you can't wait to get in the mail?  Maybe you even had a deadline but you definitely ordered well enough in advance so you knew you shouldn't have any problems.  That one.  Right?  Then the tracking showed the item was sent but it's clear that something has gone wrong.  Maybe the tracking shows that your package is in Alaska but the item was sent from California and you live in New Jersey.  Or things looked fine for a few days but then nothing happens.  What happens next can make or break whether you get your purchase on time (though there are no guarantees).

As an online seller, I want the entire buying process to be as smooth as possible for my customers.   I take pride in doing what I can to provide solid customer service.  I work with a lot of brides. Having planned my own wedding, I remember well not needing one more problem to fix (hello caterer who changed things around at the last minute and said I was going to have to change my perfect table set up.  No, no, no).   

Here's what I do as an online seller

1. If a customer informs me there's a problem with their tracking, I check into it.  

2. I try to check tracking on packages I've mailed about once a week.  

3. If I see something that looks wrong, my first step is to send a message to my customer to see if they had received their package yet (it's rare but sometimes a few steps are missed by the postal service).  If I hear that they haven't received their purchase, I call the post office.  Sometimes I ask that the post office start a case.  Once the postal service has started a case, I find that they generally contact me within a day or two.  While it's not an immediate process and can take several more days for the package to be delivered to my customer if not lost, so far it's resulted in all but one of my packages getting rerouted to the customer.  

In the end, it's so worth it when I get such kind feedback from a customer like this when I know it must have been pretty annoying on the customer's end:

Tell me if you've ever had a problem with a package you ordered and what happened.

My list of happy

1. The 2nd week back to school after a month off of for my daughter.  The first week back is always the biggest adjustment.  I almost always look to the first week thinking "I've got this" but by midweek I'm just done.

2.  Creative Live and April Bowles Olin (of Blacksburg Belle).  April's 3-day class "Build a Successful Creative Blog" on Creative Live was (is) such a good class.  I still can't believe that since I watched it live it was FREE.  There is no question in my mind that it was worth the time. I'm slowly but surely going to be implementing many ideas from this class right here!  Yay!

3. It's been about 2 weeks but we've finally gotten everything over to a newer computer.  I wasn't able to download pictures until the weekend.  It felt so good.  There were well over 500 pictures on my phone alone from our vacation.  The download from my camera comes next.

4. Cinnamon sugar bacon waffles.  My daughter comes up with these crazy (good) food combos.  So darn good!  I love the sweet and salty flavor combo.  That was probably the first time in more than 9 years that I used the waffle maker.  Way messier and much more fun than I remembered.

Ultimate Blog Challenge

Today is day 30 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge.  I didn't make it to 30 posts.  This is my 15th post this month.  What I've learned:
1. I actually like blogging.  Even if nobody else reads what I have to say, it's cool looking back to reflect over the past month.  This blog has been a digital journal of a portion of my life.  
2. April isn't the best month for me to make month long commitments since my daughter is off school for most of the month and we often take a vacation, well, we did.
3. 15 posts is progress since I had only posted 6 times between February and March.
4. I didn't stop going when I could have said, "screw it" when I knew there was no way I could accomplish the goal of 30 posts.  I'm not disappointed.
5. I'm glad I participated.  It's been a great jump start to blogging.

Now that the month is over, I'm really looking forward to doing more blogging and continuing to create my own structure in which to do it.

My list of happy

Now that I've been back almost a week (where did the time go?  No, seriously, where did the past week go?).
1. Road trip in California with my honeys. Time to chat and time to be.
2. Tour of Hearst Castle.  Such a fascinating place.
3. Monterey:  Grilled artichokes (where have you been all my life?) in Monterey.  Monterey Bay Aquarium. Watching my daughter fall in love with sea otters.
4. More driving.  Text updates with my sister.
5.  Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park.  Such amazing towering trees.
6. Santa Cruz.  Sea lions, surfers, dolphins!
7. Lots of fun and laughs with my family.
8. Business in my Etsy shop when I reopened my shop after my vacation.  Yay!
9. Home Sweet Home, once again :)

Welcome to my sketchbook!

I started keeping a sketchbook of whimsical girls  around August of last year.  I'd bring my sketchbook, pencils and other supplies to have something to do while my daughter was at her dance class.  When she was switched into a higher level class on a different day and time, I stopped doing it for a while.  This was my first time since February.  I'm not aiming for perfection but improvement.

Do you have something you do a little at a time with the aim of improving your skill? 

Super easy canvas!

Here is a super easy way to add something special to your home decor.
canvas (I used a 6"x6")
envelope seal or sticker (I used an envelope seal from my shop, The Whimsical Muse on Etsy)
1. Grab a canvas and envelope seal
2. Apply the seal where you want it on the canvas. You could even add more than one seal. 
3. You're now ready to hang or place the canvas where ever you'd like.
It's that easy!

I have some other ways I will be sharing on using these envelope seals in the coming weeks.

 Have you ever thought about what else you might do with the glitter heart envelope seals from The Whimsical Muse on Etsy (or other fun stickers or seals?), aside from using them as envelope seals or stickers on a card or scrapbook page? 

Did you see the lunar eclipse?

Did you have a chance to see the lunar eclipse on Monday night/Tuesday morning? Normally, I would have  skipped it, especially since my family members were each asleep in their respective beds, but I was intrigued.  I wondered what I'd actually be able to see of this "blood moon."  When I saw it, I was really struck by the intensity of color and how well I could see it without using binoculars or a telescope. I imagine it would have been really great to be able to see it better. 

Did you see the lunar eclipse on April 14th -15th?  What did you think?