A general update

Hi guys, I know I haven't been posting here lately! I went on a lovely vacation, got back, and now I have tons of stuff to do. I haven't forgotten about this blog, I promise! I have been working with my boyfriend at his marketing company, and we just launched a website & lookbook for a client of his ( I even wrote their first blog post & made lots of graphics for them!) It was really exciting, but beyond that, my regular work hours, upcoming freelance work & recent family events, I haven't had much time for my print on demand hobby, or new patterns! :( I really am itching to make a new pattern, as this month's birth flower is the red rose, and I love making my monthly floral pattern.

Another reason I have not been posting much is that I am hesitant of promoting my Zazzle shop more, as my W-8 BEN form still has not been processed, 6 months after initially submitting one. Now there are new IRS updates and Zazzle is saying that international sellers require an ITIN number on their W-8 BEN form to prevent the IRS from withholding 30% of your earnings. Getting an ITIN number is pretty much impossible for me, as I don't have the required identification to get one. I don't even get taxed 30% in Canada, and I have no intention of giving another government 30% of my income, so if this is indeed a new rule I may be closing shop at Zazzle and finding a new POD to act as my main shop. I will be sad if I have to do that, I had so many plans for Zazzle! I do have hope though, as the actual w-8 ben form instructions state that the ITIN number is only used if you cannot provide a foreign tax number. I have one of those, so if I can provide that on my W-8 BEN and not get taxed I will do that! But in the end it all depends on whether Zazzle will accept foreign tax numbers on the forms, because they are the ones who are saying we need an ITIN number. I haven't had much time to think about this whole process, and since submitting forms on 3 separate occasions I think it is best for me to just wait it out and see what zazzle decides in the end, rather than starting the form process over all over again.

For anyone else who is an international seller like I am, I will keep an eye out for any updates and post when I find out what is really official.
The post about ITIN from Zazzle:
https://forum.zazzle.com/news/action_required_international_designer_payment
The W-8 BEN form instructions: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/iw8.pdf (see page 5 for information saying that you can provide your foreign tax number.)

Other than that, I did start an infographic about my Zazzle shop's sales over time, since it has been 6 months on zazzle for me. I think it is quite interesting to see my progress on Zazzle over time, and if I do stick to Zazzle it would be a neat way to see how it is growing, when my slow months are and what countries are buying from my shop. I will be posting it this month!

In the absence of my Zazzle shop, I will be promoting my Redbubble shop for now. ;) Did you know redbubble has new items? Check out drawstring backpacks and notebooks! They also have pencil skirts!

Drawstring backpack: $35. My old watercolour hearts design goes great on black!
I love how these bags look.

Spiral Notebook: $15. Same heart design. I will feature more designs later!
If you get a white gel pen, you can easily write your name in fancy lettering near the hearts.
Or get a black permanent marker and add your name inside a heart! :) 

I hope everyone is having a fantastic June, I will post soon!