What’s new in my store? Snaps! Elastic! And more fabric!

The image shows a craft fair store with bags, bobs, bits, and T-shirts on display. The text says (at the top) "ChellyWood LLC" follwed by "sewing supplies," "handmade items," "and more." There's a sign hanging from a push pin that says "Open" as well. — Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

Over the weekend, you may have noticed that Evelyn’s teeny-tiny hats have disappeared from my store. I didn’t sell all 100 or so of the hats. So why aren’t they listed in the store anymore?

I ran out of tiny mailers!

I ordered 50 more tiny mailers on Amazon, but they won’t arrive until the end of the month. As I’ve said in previous blog posts, I’m learning a lot about retail sales by opening an online store!

This has been a lesson in supply-and-demand.

This photograph shows the Chelly Wood doll (a Spin Master Liv doll that has been repainted and had its hair dyed grey to look like the real doll clothing designer and school librarian, Chelly Wood) holding up a tiny handmade miniature book. she wears a checked librarian's apron with large pockets. She holds up a tiny book and stands before an audience of very small, child-like dolls. Behind her is a librarian's circulation with piles of books on it. Farther back in the photograph is a wall-sized (in 1:6 scale) bookshelf with dozens of colorful books on the shelf. The bookshelf appears to end at a little nook, and in the nook stands a bust of William Shakespeare (also in 1:6 scale). The watermark on the photo reminds us that this picture comes from ChellyWood.com, which offers free printable sewing patterns and tutorials for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes. — Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable sewing patterns and tutorial videos showing how to make doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

Unfortunately, I have to go back to work on the first of August. That means I’ll have to close the store for sales of Evelyn’s hats and other items which require me to make frequent trips to the post office.

I live in a rural town in Idaho, and our post office closes at 4:30. School gets out a 3:40, but the library usually stays open after school for both students and teachers to use it as a study area/meeting space until about 4:15 or 4:30, depending upon school-related after-school events and the amount of homework kids have.

Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

So trips to the post office won’t be possible after August 1st, except on weekends. (We have one post office in Twin Falls that’s open from 10 AM to 2 PM on Saturdays.)

I would like to continue to generate income through my website though, if possible. I’ve looked at my second quarter 2023 budget for running this website, and it looks like I could use more cash flow to keep on top of things.

The Chelly Wood doll (a Spin Master Liv doll that has been redesigned to look like the real doll clothing designer Chelly Wood) holds up her ledger book, showing a gross profit of $548.47, an itemized listing of expenses totaling $397.88, with a net profit of just a few pennies over $150. — Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

If you want to know what costs so much and why, take a look at my budget related blog post from earlier this year. I don’t want to spend the whole blog post talking about it, but it does cost money to keep this free pattern website afloat.

So I’ve added a few affiliate marketing links to my online store. I will add more later on.

When you click on an affiliate marketing link, like this one for Dritz snaps, it takes you to Amazon. If you then buy the snaps, using that link, I get a small commission as the person or business that sent you there. That’s what’s meant by the term, “affiliate marketing.”

It doesn’t cost you anything extra, so please keep that in mind.

When I build a link like this in my online store, I’m not allowed to test the links out myself, so if a link doesn’t work, please let me know. You can leave a comment under any blog post, submit a contact form, or (I think this is right) leave a comment in the store item listing.

Image of two female friends looking at a computer screen together — Image: iClipart

I want to send out a special thank-you to those of you who have bought physical products from my store since I opened it! You have taught me some valuable lessons about marketing, sales, shipping fees, product quality, customer service, and so much more!

So here’s a special shout-out of THANKS to BetteAnn, Linda D., Patricia R., Margaret H., and Jeretta!

On a purple background, the words "thank you" appear in a pretty cursive font with a large pink heart, followed by additional text. The whole text reads thus: "Thank you for your order. Thank you so much for your order. Your purchase helps everyone who uses this free doll clothes pattern website... small business owners, charity groups, retired folks who are making doll clothes for grandkids, etc..." — Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

As it says in that “thank you” note, your purchases of my physical products (Evelyn’s hats, my own fabric quarters, etc.) have helped not just me, but everyone who uses this free doll clothes pattern website!

At a later date, I do plan to add more physical products to my store, but for right now, with school about to start on August 1st (for librarians anyway), I’m going to take a break from the physical products and just offer affiliate links, with a few exceptions.

I’ve actually made some really neat vintage-style doll clothes that I’d like to sell, and when I think I’ll have time to make more trips to the post office, I’ll post those, along with more of Evelyn’s little hand-knitted hats, my dress form pincushions, and a few other things.

This is a close-up image of a Barbie-doll-sized green felt mannequin pincushion or pin cushion, which has a mint green pinafore apron on top of it. The mannequin's little green bead sticks out above the neck of the mannequin, which rises above the mint green apron's lace-trimmed neckline. The apron is tied in the back of the mannequin with a turquoise blue 1/8 inch ribbon that has been sewn to the front of the apron with tiny white or mint green stitches. the whole pinafore apron is trimmed in off-white or cream colored lace. There's a large cream colored pocket at the front of the mannequin pin cushion's pinafore apron, and this pocket is made of cream colored cotton fabric with vertical beige colored pin stripes. the pocket is open at the top and could easily hold items for sewing, like a seam ripper, a needle threader, buttons, etc... — Please visit ChellyWood.com for free printable PDF sewing patterns and tutorial videos for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

It may be next summer before I get another opportunity to offer physical products in my store, but for now, I will certainly have plenty of affiliate marketing links to keep you supplied with all your doll clothes sewing needs!

So please think about bookmarking my store today!

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Have you been browsing through my doll clothes patterns, but wishing a certain pattern was slightly different? If so, my Creative Spark class, “How to Alter Doll Clothes Patterns” may be just what you need to make these patterns into the pattern you see in your mind’s eye.

I also have a class called “Design Your Own Doll Pants Patterns from Scratch.” In this class, which costs only $19.99, you will learn how to create your own pants patterns, including leggings, fly-front jeans, elastic-waist pants, and overalls.

With any class on Creative Spark, you don’t have to follow a schedule. Just sign up when you’re ready.

It’s a one-time fee for the course, and there’s no specific time limit to finish your course. You can just take your time and learn at the pace that suits you. So go check out my paid courses on Creative Spark, using this link!

In this image, we see a smattering of tools that will be needed to take the Creative Spark course on doll clothes pattern alterations with Chelly Wood. The items include the following: a doll, a ruler with metric and imperial measurements, a pencil with an eraser, graph paper, patterns that don't quite fit your doll, fabric, craft felt, ribbons, elastic, and post-it notes or scratch paper. — Visit ChellyWood.com for free printable PDF sewing patterns for making doll clothes to fit dolls of many shapes and all different sizes.

As always, feel free to pin, like, or tweet about my free patterns and tutorials. You’re welcome to share any of the images from today’s blog post on social media.

To read more about my free sewing patterns and tutorials, please visit the “Helpful Tips” page.

Disclaimer/Credit/Affiliate Marketing Link:

*ChellyWood.com earns money by linking to Amazon, eBay, Michaels, Etsy, and other online affiliate programs. Links provided above may be affiliate links. For a full list of my affiliate programs, and to understand how cookies are used to help this website earn money, please see my “Privacy Policy” page.

To honor the trademark rights of the doll companies mentioned in this blog post, I am including links to their websites here. Please feel free to visit their website and consider purchasing one or more of the dolls mentioned.