Steph
Where do I even begin?! It's been an absolutely crazy week at QQ/SMC. After Q's amazing Etsy front page appearance... Screamin Monkey Circus had a Hollow Book Safe included in The Storque (Etsy's Handmade Blog) in an article titled "Etsy Finds: Libra vs. Scorpio" that was e-mailed to about a million subscribers. We were both shocked to find the book included as the store is relatively new and although we do advertise on Facebook and Twitter, we certainly don't have a budget to pay for advertising to get noticed like that... and boy did it open the flood gate! Q has been absolutely inundated with orders! Shop visits were over 1,000 views yesterday and hearts are through the roof. Even Quintessential Quirks has tipped 70 + hearts now!

After rolling out the most recent Poptop Pincushion Rings, I've had several requests for custom orders that I have been happy to fulfill. I am most proud of the orange Crush design I created for a customer. I ended up making a second Crush Poptop because I loved how it turned out. I haven't snapped a photo yet, but I will. It's on the list with the Apple Pie on a Stick recipie I HAVEN'T forgotten about.

Speaking of food... I embarked on another food-related adventure recently and created bite sized pumpkin pies for the lovely people at my work. Here is a cell phone photo of the pies in progress and completed:



They were easy to make and I used a technique I read on Bakerella! I just used 2 boxes of Jiffy Pie Crust Mix and one regular can of pumpkin pie filling. Just make the pie filling according to the instructions on the can. I did the crust one box at a time. The beauty of Jiffy is that you only need to add water and it comes out really well every time. Seriously. Roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch thickness. Then I used a cookie cutter to make the bitty crusts. It was probably about 3 inches in diameter... work with whatever you got. Stick them in a mini cupcake pan and add a tablespoon of pie filling to each crust. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. Each box will make 24 mini crusts and the pie filling will fill all 48 perfectly. (There will be left over dough for Monkey Tails should you wish to make them! Just roll out the dough, sprinkle cinnamon and sugar and roll them up. Bake for about 10 minutes or til done.)

YUM!

In other interesting personal news, as many know I am in grad school right now working towards a Masters in Leadership Studies. Well, it turns out I might be closer to the finish line than I originally thought. The faculty in my program have revised the curriculum restructuring the requirements and according to my transcript, I have completed the necessary requirements after this quarter! Amazing news! I do still have a thesis to complete but knowing that I am almost finished with courses is a great relief.

Until next time!

SQ

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Steph
Hello!! Q reminded me yesterday that I had not blogged in quite some time... I didn't realize how long it's really been! Things around here on the craft front have been quiet for the most part... well until recently. Q had a rather large order of 7 hollow book safes come in from a couple in San Francisco getting married this weekend. They too are using them as groomsmen gifts like previous sales. Who knew Q would be making such an impact on the wedding scene with those books! Amazing! The bride also decided to order each of her 6 bridesmaids a Love Bird Lavender Trio sachet set too. This weekend was very busy for us here at SMC/QQ headquarters to say the least.

In other big news, I received a text from my friend Chris at 12:15 am this morning telling me that Q's most recent computer hard drive/turntable creation made it to the front page of Etsy last night at midnight. Talk about a wonderful surprise! Our first front page feature!



I also woke to a lovely surprise with a message in my inbox from Damjama on Etsy notifying me the she had featured my brown Poptop Pincushion with a red heart on her blog: Loddelina Designs. I highly recommend you check out her shop and blog as they are both full of beautiful things.

I have another sachet order that came in yesterday almost ready to ship... but I do have grad school tonight so unfortunately it will be another day before I can work on the finishing touches. All in all, things are going well at SMC/QQ. I've also been in touch with Bella Cosa out in Long Beach and their brick and mortar store is coming along well so QQ is still slated to be in store for their opening day! Come on supply order! I'm just waiting on you!

Until next time,

SQ


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