Danita’s Blog

I have neglected this blog quite a bit.  Most of it is because I haven’t been crafting so much, but I have to admit that I’ve let the blogs for the kids go too.  Oh well, I’m here now!

I’ve been trying to get back into crafting some, because I feel like I need to find some things that are for me.  I spend my time taking care of the kids but I have to remember to save something myself too.  I bought some knitting looms and I like loom knitting so much more than regular knitting – yay for a fun new hobby! 

As an incentive to make some crafts, I was considering opening a shop on Etsy so I can sell them.  As usual, I wanted to be very thorough with it and did a lot of research beforehand.  It all seemed a bit overwhelming.  Then I came to a part that talked about sales tax, so I started reading up on the New York state laws for sales tax.  It turns out if I want to do all this legally, I would have collect sales tax on any items I sold to New York state residents.  That means filling out forms to allow me to collect the tax, then periodically filing sales tax forms whether I made any sales or not.  Plus it’s extra complicated because New York has dozens of different tax zones (by county/city) so you would need a buyer’s address before you could calculate the tax owed.  It all started to seem very complicated and I was afraid I’d end up spending more time doing paperwork than crafts!  So, for now that idea has taken a back seat.

Recently a friend of mine posted on her facebook page that she would be making scarves for the 2012 Special Olympics and wanted to know if anyone wanted to join her.  I said I was in.  This is perfect!  It’s the incentive to make things that I was looking for, without all the red tape that’s involved in trying to sell things.  Plus it goes to a great cause.  Sure, you’re restricted on the yarn/colors, but it’s fun to play with patterns.  I already have my first scarf well underway and I’m hoping to be able to complete a few before the deadline. 

Pre-op: 2/17/2011

Post-op: 2/18/2011

Yesterday I bought myself a Nikon 3100, my first digital SLR camera.  I’m excited to get back into photography, and so far I’m pretty happy with camera.  Here’s a few pictures that I took with it last night while trying it out:

Keep in mind that my lighting wasn’t great and sometimes I didn’t even use a flash.  I’m pretty impressed!