·:[ Baker’s Blog ]:·
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Like an impatient child I’ve been tracking my orders from the manufacturers all week! Finally today, my 2 anticipated sets will be arriving. Kitchen Littles & Re-Ment !

I had a hard time adding the Re-Ment inventory to my store. Mainly because it’s meant to be blind boxed. But I know that some collectors like to know what they are getting. So, I first added everything thinking I’d check all the boxes and let people know. But then I started to think about those who like it blind boxed. I think the idea of the blind boxes is awesome.

So, after much thought I decided to do both methods. And charging a little extra for the non-blind method since it’s going to take me a lot of time sorting through half the inventory to see what’s in what.

I am also adding surprise grab bags. I always love surprise grab bags and swaps. I’m sure there’s lots of folks who enjoy that too!

I’ve been spending a lot of time on Flickr and I love the communities within the photography. There’s even a Re-Ment community and Re-Ment swaps and all kinds of stuff. I highly recommend checking it all out. Some very talented photographers out there. It’s hard to tell what’s miniature and what’s life size!

Anyhow, I got lots of work to do! I’m very excited!

~Baker April

Tags: re-ment, surprise

I’m in the process of adding a TON of new stuff over the next week or two. From Doll House miniatures, new play foods, hand made items and more, there should be something for everyone!

So, if you are queasy or easily disturbed. Don’t read this blog.

About 5 years ago, I woke up one morning with some weird growth on my gums. Right in the front! I remember it perfectly because I went out that night to a party (which I don’t normally do) and I remember thinking “Great! this is worse than a blemish for a night out!” I thought at the time it may have been a piece of food or a fingernail. I had just quit smoking and my new habit to stop that one was biting my nails.

Fast forward to about a month ago. Yeah, I let it go. For 5 years. Was just this ugly growth that never changed shape or size. I guess I just blocked it out. It was on the side of my face on my gum where you couldn’t really see it, but it cut my smile down from where the gum came over my tooth.

Anyhow, FINALLY. About a month ago it started to bug me. I mean really bug me. Maybe the holiday season, thinking about how family visits and pictures for family and all that. And it’s days were numbered. I made an appointment to get a referral. I don’t understand what the point of referrals are. But that’s neither here or there.

They refer me to a specialist and my appointment was today. For the past week since the appointment was made, I have absolutely tortured myself over this stupid lump that I paid no mind to for 5 years. I had a bad headache all week and was just really scared. I hate… No, I don’t hate. I am petrified of doctors and dentists. I guess I can attribute it to growing up in a family with no health insurance and we always just “walked it off”.

So, today was the big day. My wonderful husband took the day off to accompany me. Probably because he knew if he wasn’t present, I would’ve chickened out. My parents watched Abby for me and of course, Kaity was in school. I had to get it done today. There was no backing out!

The waiting room was 70 degrees and that’s freezing to a Floridian! I chattered the entire time I filled out the new patient record. Was a really nice waiting room. I guess it was a place for cosmetic surgery. There were ALL older ladies in there with their husbands. The men were reading golf magazines and the ladies were all decked in furs and jewels, waiving their “cosmo” magazines across their faces like it was hot in there. *rolls eyes*

The nurse called me in. I go in to the room and she could tell I was cold. Gave me a blanket and everything. She hooks me up to the blood pressure machine and I warned her off the bat that it was going to be outrageous. My pulse tapped out at 124 and my blood pressure was 138/110. I guess that’s bad, so she offered to gas me.

I put the gas on and the nice smelling vanilla was good for a few minutes. Then she said it was time for the gas. I breathe in a few times and instantly I feel the tingle all over my body that she had warned me about but for some reason, totally took me by surprise. I felt like I was going to pass out and scared the crap out of her when I lunged forward asking her to take it off. She turned off the gas and the sweet vanilla smell came back for a few then I took off the mask. I told her “I guess I’d make a lousy drug addict”.

So, no gas for me. But oddly, just that brief period of having it did bring down my stress levels. The dentist comes in sporting the whitest, brightest smile and I was like “Ugh! I want my smile back! Just let them torture you.”

They numb me up with the ointment stuff. (Side note: ointment is a funny word) Sensing my paranoia, he recommended that I keep my eyes closed the entire procedure. And I did! It’s not pain that bothers me, it’s not really the thought of the dentist either. It’s those shiny, weird alien utensils they swing around my head while they hover over me that bothers me.

I could feel the needle going in for like 3 seconds and then I was totally numb. To make a short story even shorter. They cut off the stupid thing, lasered my gums back into place to seal them, sucked my mouth with some funky water thingie, stuck on a band aid and told me I was done.

I thought for SURE at the time that once that numbness wore off, I was going to be in the worst pain of my life. They prescribed me some prescription strength Aleve and I was thinking, “Yeah right lady! I’ll be calling you guys for some serious stuff later!” But here I am, several hours later. The numbness is about gone and I feel fine. I don’t doubt I’ll have some soreness over the next few days. And the band aid thingie is supposed to last at least 3-4 days (he said possibly as long as a week) and it’s annoying as it keeps rubbing inside my gum-line and behind my lips. But I am quite surprised at how easy this really was.

The scariest part is still ahead. They are having the growth tested for cancer and all that scary stuff. I’m feeling pretty good that it is nothing serious. So, we’ll know soon.

Aside from all that. I must say, I feel like an idiot. Dentistry has made leaps and bounds since I last went. Luckily, I haven’t really had a reason to go. The dentist said “you have great teeth and good genes”. That made me feel pretty good.

But it’s time to start taking care of myself. I’ll be 30 in April. I no longer feel I have youth on my side. It’s time for science!

So to all the scardey cats out there. Dentists rule! Just get yourself fixed. You’ll be glad you did.

SMILE!
~Baker April

Tags: dentist visit, life

Over this week I have placed some new orders, restocked some old, started some new and I’m just plain going crazy for the holiday season.

This will be the make or break for the store. I’m taking a huge chance with all the inventory we are getting. I’m very excited and scared all at once!

Will update this with the new stuff when it starts to arrive!

Tags: new ideas, New Products, restock, Store News

Hi everyone. Is anyone else feeling festive with the Fall season? It’s absolutely my favorite season.

I’ve finally decided exactly what I am doing with the store. I will continue to carry Learning Resources and Melissa & Doug play foods. As hard as it is, everything else I currently carry will be discontinued. Not for any other reason than I want a smaller selection and inventory. Less inventory is less stress. With a set amount of things I can keep an idea on what size boxes to have on hand and all that jazz.

I will be adding Re-Ment miniatures and other doll house related items and furnitures. And also hand made Blythe related clothing.

I will also be adding things from my good friend Katie @ Smile-Recipe who also makes wonderful hand made goodies.

Most of the things will be new, but I will also add in some great vintage finds and 2nd hand items.

My goal for the store is to be a place where ladies can come and pick up something for their children and themselves. The items in my store will please any age for someone who is a child at heart.

Right now Katie is working on a new blog design. I plan on updating this one as often as possible with all things related to my store. I can’t wait, very excited for the changes ahead!

Cheers,
Baker April

Tags: Store News

After my recent post about the Unazukin dolls, I started to really think about my business and what I sell. Currently, I deal with around 7-10 different vendors for my products. Although I operate on a small scale, it’s very time consuming to have this many vendors. It’s equally frustrating being a small business and trying to decide which products to restock and which ones to add as new. I am investing a lot of time in this. I love this work, don’t get me wrong. But I feel like I am dedicating too much of myself. The vice of the small business owner appears to be that you just can’t shut it off. 9-5 doesn’t apply to us.

Aside from the obvious; that I want more time for my family and home. I don’t even have time for myself. I’ll take a recent example. I’ve been dying to learn how to sew. I bought a sewing machine, fabric and all the accessories. And guess what? It’s been sitting in a box since I brought it home. I honestly have no time for this. I’d say I have it all backwards. All my time is invested into my business and I use “free” time for my family and absolutely no time for myself. This is obviously, not acceptable.

I know there is enough time in the day to manage everything. But I need to find motivation and inspiration and I think I need to downsize a little. So, I spent a few days praying and thinking about it and I’ve decided to start working on the next “generation” of my store.

I will be closing out and giving clearance sales to most of my stock, only focusing on carrying a few things. These things will be things that I also enjoy and collect. I learned over the weekend that I am now obsessed with miniature doll house furniture and Blythe dolls. (That’ll be another story for another day)

I will continue to carry:

Play Food. Of course I love our play food selection but I will only be carrying Mother Garden and Learning Resources. Focusing on expanding my selection of Mother Garden products. (I may end up carrying this under my brand name “The Toy Bakery” instead of Mother Garden, still working that out with the factory that creates these.)

Possibly I will continue to carry KidKraft. That is still undecided. Other than those 3 lines, everything else will cease. I am having trouble letting go of the Baby Stella line. But at least I know I can continue to purchase it from another retailer for my daughter.

Then I will be bringing in Re-Ment products. This is a great company that has a beautiful selection of doll house and miniature items. Perfect for me! Because I want to collect this stuff and sell it. I can’t go wrong here.

I am also going to start sewing and selling my home made goods under a brand name of “Sew Kawaii”. I plan to sell some handpicked fabrics and sewing accessories to include under this category. I also am going to invite some talented home made creators to sell their goods in my store.

And possibly one more section dedicated to great vintage and estate finds in my area. There’s so many great items out there just waiting to be found a home!

My business is doing great and should I continue the path I am on, I could probably make quite a bit of money… but at the expense of my time being monopolized every minute of the day. And I’m just not wanting to make that kind of commitment.

I am hoping that this new setup will enable me to provide a better shopping experience for my customers. I feel that with a smaller selection with new items being added at a smaller pace, they will know what to expect when they visit me.

Aside from the business aspect. I am hoping this will give me more time with my family, my home and myself. And to also allow me to do something inspiring. I can’t wait to start sewing.

I’m in the process of re-doing my office into a sewing room/office. I’ll be sure to post pictures of the changes!

I think change is hard, but I also think this is a positive change.

I will not be changing the name of my store. “The Toy Bakery” still fits me.

Baker April

Tags: business change, family, me, new idea, New Products

I am totally obsessed with these dolls. I ran across them awhile back when I was looking at my designers blog. After spending some time on Etsy, I started to see more and more of them in pictures and I decided I had to find my own.

After some quick research, I found that they are called “Unazukin” Dolls and they are made by Bandai.

Aside from being totally adorable, they are also great listeners. You can talk to them and they will nod to you in agreement or disagreement.

Do you think I’m silly for talking to you?

I came across many items this week that I plan to blog about soon. But I had to start with these absolutely adorable little dolls.

I went out and found a set on (where else?) eBay and I can’t wait to see them in person! I’ll be sure to post lots of pictures of them.

Who knows, maybe things like this will swing my store in a new direction than I originally had planned on. You have to sell what you love, what inspires you. Play foods will always be my main inspiration, but now I am opening a whole new door. I wonder what’s inside?

Should I carry these in my store someday?

Tags: japanese, kawaii, russian, unazukin dolls, yes/no

I don’t know why it took me so long to sign up with Melissa & Doug. Their toys are awesome, popular and fit right in with my store. But I finally took the plunge and signed up with them last week. Placed my first order too! Which I am suspecting will be here today.

I was completely shocked when I called their number and heard a real person on the other end! I didn’t even have to press “0″ to get one! They seem like a very genuine and professional company. I am looking forward to doing continuous business with them.

My favorite set from them has to be these cookies:

Tags: melissa and doug, new store products, play food

Have you heard of Smilebox yet? It’s a really easy to install program that allows you to create scrapbooks, albums, postcards, ecards, etc. right on your computer to print, share, blog, etc. They look quite professional and have tons of things to keep you busy for hours.

You can have a free account or they have very reasonable rates for membership. I am not the scrapbooking type. But I am totally into this program. It’s great for rainy day fun. (and with Hurricane Fay out there, I’m thankful for the distraction.)

Here is the one I made in under 2 minutes for my youngest, Abby. I didn’t use any of the hundreds of embellishments or other wigits it has. I plan on getting a membership here! This was such a great find!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Tags: scrapbooking, smile-box, widgit

Okay, so it’s not really store related but as any mother will tell you, they love to talk about their children. And I just had to mention my daughters 1st day of 2nd grade!

I do not have your normal 7 year old. My daughter absolutely *loves* school. She is a social butterfly! (unlike her mother and I dread the years ahead! I’ll save that for another day, on with the story..) The little darling had probably woken up at around 5am, because by the time I opened her door at 6am her eyes were as bright eyed as a spring time daisy.

I say “Good Morning! Are you excited?” and before that sentence is out of my mouth, she already has her bed made and was heading to her bathroom to get ready with a quick “uh huh!”.

We do our morning thing, have breakfast, I fix her hair and every year on the 1st day of school we take a picture of her outside our house.

After she had left for school, I took a look at her previous years of Kindergarten and 1st Grade and I am amazed as how she’s changed. You don’t realize it until you really look at the photographs. She’s turning into such a beautiful young lady.

Her 1st day of 2nd grade was a smashing success! She came home and I could barely understand her as she rambled on from story to story about her teacher, her new friends, all the books she read and all the exciting things she did and learned.

Tags: family, first day of school