floral blossom blog

changes to my etsy and craftsy shops: EU VAT 2015

2015-01-02T12:37:00.000+07:00

hi all, how did you start your first day of the new year?

for me, i started my 2015 by deactivating the instant downloads from my etsy shop and removing the patterns from my craftsy shop.

you might have heard that starting from 1 January 2015, the EU has applied a new regulation for VAT on sale of digital products, which stated that an online business will need to account for VAT in the EU member country where its customer lives, at the VAT rate applicable to the buyer's country, rather than charging the seller’s country VAT rate as it was before.

who will be affected by the new law? anyone selling digital content or e-services, including telecommunication providers and broadcasters, are all impacted. the legislation applies to businesses based inside and outside the EU, all now accountable for paying the VAT owed to the buyer's EU state.

you see, i don't live in the EU, but still subject to pay the VAT if i sell my digital patterns to buyers from the EU countries. if i don't comply with the new regulation, i could be charged with unlimited fine

i read somewhere that it's quite a fine line between what is, and isn't affected by the new EU VAT. for example, emailed content which was manually attached to the message by the seller before sending to the buyer is not considered as electronically supplied and is therefore not affected. however, manually sending the buyer a link to downloadable content in an email instead of attaching it is considered as electronically supplied.

some of you will ask 'why don't i just comply with the new law and agree to pay the VAT?'. i would not mind really to pay the tax, but i could imagine that it would be quite troublesome to deal with the paperwork

anyways, since both etsy and craftsy did not (have not?) come up with any solution to this issue, i have decided that starting from 1 january 2015, i will limit my transactions only for buyers from non-EU countries.

since i could not control who will buy my patterns, thus, i have to remove all the instant downloads from my pattern shop and go back to manually e-mail my patterns to the (non-EU countries) buyers.

it is sad indeed. what will happen to the idea of a free global market? and not to mention to give up the convenience of having the instant downloads.

meanwhile, i'm still selling digital patterns in my etsy shop. i also offer free patterns in my craftsy,

good news is: i have found another online platform to sell my patterns, especially to buyers from the EU countries: payhip. it says that it handles the EU VAT by automatically including it in the price when the buyer comes from the EU countries. visit my payhip here.

i do hope that etsy and craftsy will come up with solution that will ease the burden of the small business in dealing with this VAT regulations. fingers crossed.

happy new year 2015!

2015-01-02T10:14:00.001+07:00

happy new year 2015!

i hope you all have a memorable 2014 and ready to move forward with great determination of a great year ahead!

who lives in a barn?

2014-11-10T15:40:00.000+07:00

hi! i have a new listing in my etsy shop: barn finger puppets storage pattern.

a customer came to me with an idea of a storage for finger puppets. she requested me to design a barn storage for the farm friends finger puppets.

even though it took me weeks before i could finally managed to come up with the template, now the barn pattern is now ready to be purchased in etsy.

the barn storage can be folded and carried like a little bag. or you can also leave it open and hang it on the wall for display with the finger puppets inside.

aren't they adorable?

i might come up with more storage ideas for the princess, zoo, and many more! :)

hurry visit my etsy shop! the barn storage will be a great christmas gift for your little ones.

and don't forget, you can still have the 30% discount in my etsy shop until 25 november.

my etsy shop turns 5 today!

2014-10-25T06:37:00.001+07:00

my etsy shop turns 5 today! yeeay!

on 25 october 2009 i opened this shop in etsy with full anticipation.

the first year sales were not too promising, because i only have few listings up. but as time flies, i learned that as i put up more listings, people visited my shop more often, and my shop received more admirers and made more sales!

as of today, my shop has 4,322 sales and has 2,137 admirers. i think the statistic looks amazing!

i have to thank my customers for giving me encouraging feedbacks. thank you all, you are the best!

and of course i have to thank etsy for providing me with a place to channel my creativity in a profitable way. i personally feel that etsy is still the best online market place available today. good job etsy!

oh well, enough for the speech.

now we move on to the fun part: DISCOUNT!

to celebrate the great five years of our togetherness with etsy, my shop will give 30% discount for all items in my shop!

just insert the coupon code GREAT5YEARS when you make the purchase.

the coupon code will be expired on 25 november 2014.

happy shopping :)

new year discount celebration for my etsy shop

2014-01-01T09:19:00.002+07:00

happy new year 2014!!

to celebrate the new year, i'm offering a 20% discount in my etsy shop (for a minimum purchase of USD 10) after your first purchase.

a coupon code will be e-mailed to you after your first purchase in my shop, and you can use it for your next purchase.

make sure that you have set your e-mail to be able to receive the coupon code notification from etsy.

go to your etsy account and choose: your account > settings> emails and choose

Coupons, promotions, and recommendations

the promotion valid through january 2014.

disney princess

2013-07-27T10:18:00.001+07:00

the disney princess is available in my etsy shop. we have cinderella, belle, aurora, ariel and snow white.

it's perfect as a birthday gift for a lovely little girl :)

hurry, get your pdf pattern today! :)

buy one dogs finger puppets pattern from my etsy and get one more pattern for free!

2013-04-13T16:28:00.000+07:00

buy one dogs finger puppets pattern and get one more pattern for free!

since my dogs finger puppets pattern is featured in mollie makes magazine, i'm now in the mood to celebrate it with all my lovely customers out there.

i'm hosting a promotion in my etsy shop: if you buy one dogs finger puppets pattern (worth US$5), you can choose one other pattern from my shop for free! Just mention the pattern of your choice in the note to the seller when you check out. this promotion is not apply for the nativity finger puppets pattern.

this promotion will be closed on 27 april 2013, 00.00 hrs jakarta's time (GMT+7 hrs).

hurry! :)

being featured in mollie makes magazine

2013-04-13T08:07:00.001+07:00

my dogs finger puppets are being featured in mollie makes magazine!! i'm soo happy!!

it feels like the recognition for my status as a crafter has finally gone global. woohoo!

the lovely people in the mag have managed to make the dogs look cuter than ever. just look at how adorable they are!!

hey look, that's me! :)

thank you the mollie makes team, especially lara watson, for giving me this opportunity to be exist in you awesome magazine! :)

happy valentine's day

2013-02-14T11:06:00.000+07:00

happy valentine's day everyone! may your day filled
with love and happiness :)

i'm enjoying a cup of peach tea (with a little heart on the string)
on my working desk.

i'm such a sucker for everything romantic and lovey dovey... hehe

free valentine pattern

2013-02-12T17:59:00.001+07:00

valentine's day is coming soon. and i would like to share with you a very easy pattern to make a cute hugging heart plushie. you can download the free pattern here. enjoy! :)

new pattern in etsy: avengers!!

2013-02-11T17:31:00.000+07:00

for those of you avengers fans out there. the avengers finger puppets is now available in floral blossom's etsy shop! click here to purchase your patterns now.

a productive day

2012-12-19T17:54:00.001+07:00

i feel very productive today...

finally i used my wacom bamboo and draw some cute animals. i have some difficulties in coloring in the pictures, but overall, i think sketching using the wacom bamboo is quite easy, and the result is satisfactory. i am no longer have to manually sketch on paper and scan it and upload it to the computer.

i used corel for sketching and photoshop for coloring. i don't know whether i'm doing it correctly. but i like the result. what do you think of the cat and bunny?

free felt santa christmas ornaments patterns on craftgawker!

2012-12-01T06:42:00.002+07:00

have you ever heard of craftgawker?

if you have not, rush to the website immediately! it is full with pictures that will give you ideas for your next diy projects.

remember my free patterns of felt santa and rudolph christmas ornaments from last december?

today i have submitted it to the craftgawker. i'm so happy!

now more people can enjoy the free patterns.

for my dear readers, who have not tried the patterns yet, follow this link to the free pattern.

delivery from asos

2012-08-30T05:07:00.002+07:00

my parcel from asos is here! yay! it's the boots that i've been eyeing for some time.

i was so happy that it had finally reached me, because there was a delay from its estimated time of arrival and was considered as lost -- before i found out that it got stuck at the post office due to some custom fees that i had to settle.

it was my first purchase from asos. and i will definitely purchase more!

halloween finger puppets are on the way

2012-08-04T19:37:00.004+07:00

i know that october is still far away. but there is no harm in preparing for it early, right?

i'm talking about halloween, october 31st. that cool day where people have a good excuse to wear fancy/ spooky costumes. i know halloween is not really about costumes, but the costumes are what i had in mind when designing the halloween themed finger puppets above.

i have to say that my saturday has been a very productive one. i have finished one set of finger puppets and will be finishing another set maybe by tomorrow. yes, i will release two sets (5 pcs/set) halloween finger puppets pdf patterns for my etsy shop and craftsy :)

i will update you with more pictures once it's ready.

more patterns giveaway from floral blossom

2012-04-26T08:23:00.001+07:00

hi, i have good news for those who wants to receive patterns giveaway from floral blossom.

few days ago dona from sewing smiles of smiles contacted me and asked if i would be interested in sponsoring a giveaway on her blog. of course i said yes. she has this very amazing blog and she has the biggest heart in helping to seek charities for the children at the children's hospital where she lives.

dona is one of my best customer, and she told me once this story about one little boy that has been very sick and how the people at the hospital couldn't get him to smile no matter what they did until they showed him the little monster finger puppets that dona made for him. now he has the biggest smile every time he plays with the puppets. i was so touched and happy to know that my patterns (through dona's able hands) could bring back the smiles of the children at the hospital.

~~the giveaway runs from april 24th through may 3rd. the winner will be announced on may 4th. just go to this link and follow the requirements. hurry! :)~~

the giveaway is closed now. and we have a winner! congratulations to gina from catwhiskers!
stay tuned for more information on patterns giveaway :)

free pattern to celebrate the 1000th sales on my etsy shop!

2012-04-11T15:18:00.009+07:00

hi, today my etsy shop has reached its 1000th sales!! yaay!!

for those of you who follows my twitter, you must remember that i have promised you all a pattern give away to celebrate the 1000th sales...

as promised, i will be giving away the free pattern of my pooh n friends finger puppets. this give away will be open for one full week, from today to april 18th. ~~just follow this link to download the free pattern. so hurry get your free pattern today!~~ the giveaway is closed now. i hope you have managed to download the free pattern, if not, you can still get it from my etsy shop :)

feel free to share the news with your friends.

please note the terms of use for my patterns:
all patterns are copyright protected by floral blossom and may be used for your personal use only. the patterns are not to be distributed, transferred, or sold in any form. you may not make items from the patterns for sales or profit.

pooh and friends pdf pattern is now available for sale

2012-02-07T10:57:00.003+07:00

i have been receiving so many queries to sell the pattern of pooh and friends finger puppets that i posted here. after several weeks delays, i am proudly announce that pooh and friends pdf pattern is now available on craftsy and etsy.

craftsy patterns are alive!

2012-02-03T16:35:00.002+07:00

craftsy patterns are alive!

visit floral blossom's craftsy pattern store today to buy patterns of cute finger puppets for your little ones!

floral blossom's patterns on craftsy soon!

2012-02-02T11:09:00.004+07:00

craftsy patterns shop will be launched soon!

for those of you who is new to craftsy, craftsy is a community of crafty people who love to make things. here, you can find tons of courses in quilting, knitting, sewing and more.

soon, craftsy will launch 'craftsy patterns', a vast and growing marketplace full of talented indie designers. you can decide to support the independent designers who sell their patterns on craftsy.

why shop indie? when you buy a pattern from an independent designer, you not only get exceptional creativity and quality, you're also choosing to support a real person and their small business.

floral blossom patterns will also be available! follow this link to go to floral blossom's patterns shop on craftsy.

make sure you stay tuned for the craftsy patterns launch announcement!

valentine pals

2012-01-26T17:23:00.004+07:00

happy 2012 everybody!!

time flies by, and suddenly it's almost february again. one of my most favorite days in the year is coming - valentine's day! it's time to start thinking what would be the best gift for this year's valentine. how about the gifts made lovingly with your own hands?

if your hands are itching to start sewing, head to floral blossom's shop at etsy and grab your very own patterns of two valentine cuties: panda and bear holding love pillows.

the doll's measurement is approximately 3" x 4" tall (sitting) and 3" x 7" tall (standing). they would be perfect gift to be given to your lucky valentines. or you can have them for yourself, and let them brighten your working desk just like what i do :)

free felt santa and rudolph christmas ornaments patterns

2011-12-22T15:04:00.011+07:00

christmas is coming, and i have a little present for those of you who celebrates it! :)

remember the picture of little santas and rudolphs tree ornaments above from my post last year?
i have decided to share the patterns with all of you. actually i have been wanting to post this freebies since weeks ago, but could not find time to do it.
my apologies. so here it is. i hope it's not too late for you to make them. after all, they are very very easy to make. you can make a dozen of them in one day only :)
you can download the pattern and instructions here. i hope the link works.

please don’t use this pattern, or the finished products following this pattern for commercial/retail purposes :)

merry christmas!!

zoo friends set 02 and some special offers

2011-12-02T16:40:00.005+07:00

zeezee zebra, popo penguin, flint panda, harold hippo and kimba koala

harold is my favorite! after several trials (and errors), i've managed to come up with a cute hippo! lol

hi everybody... i have neglected this blog for too long. now i'm back with a good news! i have added one new set to my finger puppets collection - zoo friends 02!!

you can purchase the pattern at my etsy shop. hurry! the finished puppets will be great christmas gift for your little ones.

speaking of christmas, don't forget to check my etsy shop for the christmas offer, buy 3 christmas pdf patterns for only USD 12! you can save USD 3 from the original price of USD 15!

another special offer is still on, buy any 6 pdf patterns, get the 7th pattern for free! go here for the offer! hurry! :)

the ABE giveaway is open!

2011-08-18T14:07:00.005+07:00

hey, the ABE giveaway i mentioned in my previous post is open now.
to enter, just go to the kerrific online blog and follow the instructions.
there are some giveaway packages offered. the floral blossom patterns is part of package c. the winner will get to choose 2 pdf patterns from the floral blossom's shop at etsy.
it's open for US residence and will continue until august 21st. hurry up!

lego pencil toppers

2011-08-17T13:37:00.007+07:00

last week i received a custom order for some lego themed pencil toppers from a customer. she wanted the pencil toppers to consist of the colorful lego bricks plus the lego (mini figure) head.

i usually make animal head’s pencil toppers, so this lego thing is new to me. i like challenge, so i accepted the order. the only problem was, i didn't know what a lego head is. so i googled the images to find out what a lego head looks like. this was what i found.

and this was how my lego head pencil topper turned out.

not bad, right? i'm so proud of my self.

here's the clearer view of the lego pencil toppers set before i packed them up for delivery.

the pencil toppers were quite simple to make. maybe the rather tricky one was the lego head. but just see how cute they turned out to be. they will make perfect fillings for birthday goody bags or christmas socks.

i'm planning to post a tutorial and patterns for the lego pencil toppers soon, if time permits. just keep checking this blog!