We did it and I’m so proud of us! I don’t know how since it’s always a blur, but Eliot and I mailed 26 packages last week and 33 packages this past week! That’s 59 orders completed in two weeks!!! I still can't believe it myself. Now, I wish that I'd tracked how many we've shipped the weeks prior to that. I know one thing... it's been a lot.
This year was a test of our faith and trust; it certainly required a bit of extra love and pixie dust. For the first time ever, Eliot and I didn’t close our Etsy shops early to allow ourselves time to complete holiday orders. It’s been a hard year and we wanted to keep our shops open for holiday orders as long as possible.
What people don’t always understand is that 3D printing takes a lot of time. The 3D printers will only go as fast as they can and there’s nothing we can do but be at their mercy. Sometimes they don’t want to work correctly; sometimes they need new parts and a little TLC. Sometimes we lose our electricity during a storm and whatever was printing is ruined and we have to start all over. (That happened a few weeks ago.) A lot could go wrong at any moment. Keeping both shops open was a giant leap of faith, and a decision that I’ve questioned every single day for the past month.
Somehow, someway, we did it. Perseverance got us through. Yesterday, Eliot took the last load of packages to the post office. Saturday December 19th was the last day of guaranteed Christmas delivery for USPS packages shipped priority. I'm extra proud of this stack because in it were mouse ears that weren't due to go out until the 23rd, 28th, January 1st and January 4th! This pile of packages also contains three of our more complicated mouse ear designs that take extra time to print, paint and assemble. We were so disciplined that we got them all out early! I'm not sure if they were Christmas presents, but they're in the mail regardless!
The most exciting part is that getting all of this done was truly a gift to ourselves. Eliot and I have temporarily closed Happily Ever Hatter and Snowblade Creations for our holiday break. For the first time in a long while, we'll be taking the full week off to enjoy the season and soak up some holiday magic!
Eliot and I are so grateful to everyone who purchased from our small shops this holiday season. It’s been a rough year but this definitely helped make up for it. We’ve felt like Santa’s elves working on orders late into the night, but it’s been so rewarding each day that we have a pile of boxes to drop off at the post office!
Hopefully all of our packages find the way to their new homes so their new owners can open something magical and handmade with love on Christmas morning!!! °o°
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