Not sad at all. The thought of my tax refund got me through the first year of setting up shop (so to speak) as it was almost £1k. You would only have used up 7 months of your tax allowance (april - oct) so you should be able to get back a reasonable amount (and the first £30k of redundancy money is tax free so nothing to pay there). The online tax return is straight forward so long as you have kept good records.
To further cheer yourself up remember that since you are working from home (I presume) you are allowed to claim as a reasonable business expense a proportion of phone line rental/ broadband (you do have an online shop to run after all) and some money towards gas/ electric/ council tax. (I have a dedicated workshop at home so mine is done as a percentage based on the space occupied not sure how you would work it out if you don’t have a dedicated workspace). You can also claim toward mortgage interest but double check the implications of that with the HMRC website (indeed check all of this with the HMRC website). These things have to be claimed in the tax year they were paid (ie the one that ends in a few days) which might make your loss even bigger but that means you can claim even more tax back. The tax year that I got made redundant I didn’t earn enough from that job to reach the tax threshold so I’ve carried over my losses from self employment to use against future profits when I am earning enough to cross the lower threshold.
The sales will happen and you will be able to pay yourself but it will take time. Stay positive.
Sasha
Hi Gem, your thread caught my eye and after looking at your shop - I too feel you have some lovely items - I love the personalised letter paper cuts and the horse papercuts too. I definitely feel that as discussed above your titles could work better for the search tool and I’m sure you are busy with that as I write! One thing I always try to do is make sure that my photos sell the item in its best light possible. Maybe with artwork - it would be good for you to consider photographing the pieces in natural light? Or maybe choosing slightly different angles as some of your shots emphasise the crinkles in the paper and fabrics, which perhaps takes away from the overall look of the product. I wish you loads of luck for the future I’m sure you have what it takes to get there!
Hi Gem
Yes please keep at it.
It all seems a bit random to me. Whenever I go through a quiet period and wonder whether its worth it, I suddenly get a flurry of sales. Then at other times, I spend ages promoting on social media, gets good feedback but no sales. I haven’t sussed it out at all but just keep plodding on. I just keep telling myself that if I had given up then I wouldn’t have had any sales. They will come - just be patient!
Best of luck,
Sara 
All that promoting that seems to come to nothing might be that your products have been noted by the people that saw them on social media and commented that they liked them, and when they had just the right occasion, or felt they had the money to treat themselves they came back to buy because they remembered you
The more you promote, the more people remember you, the more sales you get when they come back to buy. It does take time to get that as an almost seamless stream, in the first year or so you’ll find it a bit stop start.
Jo
It’s great to get other perspectives on this from those who have been selling for longer. Thank you for your reply _ you are right. It’s just a matter of keep focused and Don`t give up.
Sara