Creationism

No, this isn't a post about creationism vs. evolution, because that would be dumb (one's stupid, the other is science. don't get me started). i am in the mood to make new products! i've been brainstorming some new ideas, working out some models (some of them are cuter than others, believe me. but you only get the see the successes. the failures all end up in a drawer in my living room where they periodically get dragged out by visiting children, drooled on and put away. some day i'll share them (like after i've made my first million, say), but today ain't that day). i've got a couple of things in the pipeline that i'd really like to sell patterns for. i've been really, really happy with how the gnome pattern is selling. even though i've only got it listed for $2, i still get all excited when i get a transaction notification for it. so i'd like to be able to capitalize on that. june has been absolutely fantastic for sales for me. i love my customers, i really, really do.

i'm back to applying for jobs in earnest (as opposed to casually applying with a resume that may or may not have been up-to-date). i'll be honest, i'm not really crazy about going back to work full-time. i love being at home during the day. and i love thinking that crocheting might be my full-time job. but right now, i'm just not bringing in enough to make that a reality. and we just found out that since we're down to one full-time salary, we no longer qualify for our adoption agency's threshold of income to adopt. so, basically, the last year and god-knows-how-much-money we've invested with this agency has been for naught. that really burns my biscuits. how can we be too poor to adopt? plenty of people raise families (with more than one child!) on one income. blurg. so, it looks like groanygirl is going to have to go back to work full time. i'm hoping i can find a job that's close to home and is in my field, fun to do and pays pretty well. keep your fingers crossed.

stupid online printers!

so i'm doing this brochure for friends of mine and i'm just about done with it. it's a trifold brochure, which i both love and hate doing. but right now, i'm mostly hating it. they've selected an online printer, so naturally i head over to their site to download some specs for where the folds go, how big the bleed is, blah blah blah. i hate it when these sites are all cryptic about their specs. seriously. it's an 8.5 x 11 sheet, folded into thirds. tell me the x-coordinates for the folds. that's all i need.

instead, i end up with a layered illustrator file (don't even get me started on how much i despise layers. yes,  they may make designing easier for some of you but i hate, hate, hate them) with some dotted lines and arrows and stupid bs that nobody needs. so, i have spent the last two hours measuring, remeasuring, uploading and previewing, interspersed with lots and lots of swearing. they have an online preview that lets you look at how your piece will look finished and folded. and every single time, the folds look a little off. so... is this just a function of the crappy online preview, or are their original specs off? which do i rely on? also, there's no way i can afford to have an unhappy client. i can't afford to eat the cost of this print job if they aren't happy with it. so it has to be right. and, of course, the above-mentioned online printer does NOT include a phone number to contact them- only email. so i've sent them an email, and am now waiting for them to get back to me and tell me that they're dumb.

some days, i'm really, really excited at the prospect of making freelance design my career. other days (like today, duh), i want to say 'screw it' and go get a job at the mall.