Fantastic Friday

Why is today fantastic you may ask?  For many reasons! For one - it's Black Friday and I no longer work in the customer service industry! *dances* Also, my fantastic Etsy Bloggers Team is doing a sale!!!

☆:*¨¨*:★:*¨¨*:☆:*¨¨*:★:*¨¨*:☆:*¨¨*:★:*¨¨*:☆:*¨¨*:★:*¨¨*:☆☆ ; ;:* ¨¨*:★:

H a p p y H o l i d a y s ! !
The EtsyBloggers HOLIDAY S*A*L*E* is going on from Black Friday thru Cyber Monday!!
That's Friday 11/28 thru Monday 12/1!!
See a list of the 50+ shops having a SALE below...
H a p p y S h o p p i n g ! !

☆:*¨¨*:★:*¨¨*:☆:*¨¨*:★:*¨¨*:☆:*¨¨*:★:*¨¨*:☆:*¨¨*:★:*¨¨*:☆☆ ; ;:* ¨¨*:★:

I've got 10% off my entire shop PLUS FREE shipping on orders of $20 or more.  If you mention this post I'll make it 15% off. Nice eh?


I also received this award a couple of days ago and have been so busy I haven't had a chance to blog about it. Yikes! So thanks to the fantastic Spirit Mama for considering me worthy :) Now the rules say I'm supposed to nominate 7 other blogs - but I'm not going to pass it on today - because I'm really tired! Sorry guys - i know - I'm a spoil sport :P

Why am I so tired if I'm not working in customer service you might ask? Good question, because I certainly didn't go shopping! I'm not that brave/crazy/whatever *wink* No, today was the last day of moving stuff out of the place we've been house-sitting for the last two months! We thought it would all be done by yesterday except for some cleaning, but that was not to be.  I ended up having a nasty allergic reaction to a new medicine the doc's tried putting me on and that kinda made everything take longer.

So now everything is in the new apartment and my hubby and I spent the first night in our new place last night! Even though everything is disorganized and in boxes, and we'd forgotten our pillows at the place we were house-sitting, it was still a nice feeling to be in a place that was "ours" again.  Since moving back to our home town we've been in limbo, and I'm really happy about how everything has worked out with a living place, job for hubby, and getting hubby into a new school!  Now if we can just get me healthy - I'd be on top of the world :) That's ok - I can wait!

As soon as we've got some more of the boxes cleared I'll post some pics of the new place - give me until next week sometime - I'm exhausted!

Thankful for Etsy :)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Now, I know, that only counts for those of us in the USA  - but it's still an excellent reminder to be thankful for all the good things in our lives.  I, for one, am extremely for having found www.etsy.com! To give a little back story:

I love jewelry, despite the fact that I grew up a tom-boy! I first learned how to do wire-wrapped jewelry around 10 years ago, and I remember spending hours and hours working making chains of links, and dreaming of someday selling in a craft fair or open market.  I never really thought it would happen though.  At the time I still wasn't very coordinated and it took me a LONG time to make a bracelet or necklace!

Fast forward - time goes on - and I learned some new jewelry techniques and began to seriously dream of selling jewelry.  This was about two years ago.  I wasn't really sure what to do though.  I had some friends and family really encouraging me, but I didn't have any idea how to start!  Plus life was really busy.

Then, about a year ago, I started getting really sick. That's a long story, but the result was that I had a lot of time on my hands where I ended up making jewelry, because it was something I could do sitting still.  After a few months of that, one of my friends introduced me to etsy, and the rest was history!

Ok, not quite, it's been a lot of hard work and I've learned a LOT since I opened up shop in May. It's hard to start making a dent in the jewelry world, because there are a lot of other artists out there, but I have had sales on etsy!

I'm really thankful for having this opportunity, especially since my health problems have continued! I'm also extremely excited, because I know I've learned a lot in the last year about my craft - here's a few of the pieces I'm the most proud of!

I know I have a lot more to learn - but see - that's something else to be thankful for! Because I have another year ahead of me with lots of opportunities to learn new things, expand my business, and make new friends!

Want to know what else I'm thankful for? Check out what I said on my other blogs!

Thankful for friends.
Thankful for family.

I'm so Excited!!!

There are many things I'm excited about today :) For one - I'm thankful to be alive - you can read about that story here. I'm also very excited to announce that the Etsy Bloggers are having a sale! My shop is participating with 10% of the entire shop PLUS FREE shipping on orders of $20 or more! Here's our team announcement :)

H a p p y H o l i d a y s ! !
The EtsyBloggers HOLIDAY S*A*L*E* is going on from Black Friday thru Cyber Monday!!
That's Friday 11/28 thru Monday 12/1!!
See a list of the 50+ shops having a SALE at http://etsybloggers.etsy.com
H a p p y S h o p p i n g ! !

I'm also very excited to share with you an exciting opportunity I have! Have you listened to Blockhead Radio? If not - check the widget on the side of my blog! And clicking on the logo below will take you to the blog!


Anyway, Rod, the founder of this radio program and a man we call the "King Plugger Lugger" (because he loves to plug other people's businesses!), is doing a lot to expand the program. The Monday night show is now being called Artisan for Artisan and will be covering a wide range of topics related to the artisan world! Come join is Monday's at 9pm EST for an awesome time of laughter and fun :)

Rod's also added on a Wednesday night show, also at 9pm EST, called the Indie Music Artist Spotlight. He'll be doing live interview's with a wide range of artists, the first week's show is already in the archives, so go listen!

Now for what I'm REALLY excited about! Starting Thursday, December 4th, and 12pm EST, will be the new show - Spotlight on Artisan! Rod will be there to introduce the show and run the chat room, but it will be co-hosted by none other than the fabulous Lily of Tulips Treasure Box and myself! That's right - each week we'll lining up fantastic indipendant artists to interview - and you'll get to hear my voice! Here's a hint - I sound 16, but I'm really not :P

The opening show will feature a live interview with a wonderful artist - Lauren of TheChainMailleLady :) I have a thread going in the forums to help promote this - so if your as excited about getting to know other artisans as I am - go chat in the thread with us!

Sad to Say....

Well, my jewelry party yesterday ended up being a bust.  Other than those participating, my friend Ruth was the only one who showed up!  And yes, for those of you who know my real name is Ruth (or Ruthie), yes, we have the same name :P It gets quite confusing when we hang out together too! Here's a picture of my Mom, me, and Ruth all sitting and talking (and crafting!).

My brother is a real sweetheart and he did a lot to help me with both the set up and the tear down.  He also took most of the pictures...  Here's a pic of me making him work :)

The sad part about the party being a bust was that it wasn't just me there showing my work, my dear friend who runs the shop The Kilted Hedgepig was also there with her jewelry.  Here's a pic of her and her sister setting up her jewelry!

So what went wrong? Well, our theory is that we simply didn't have enough time and energy to put into promoting the jewelry party.  My Mom got back a week ago from a trip to Nicaragua, La (the other artist) is doing NaNoWriMo this month and is very distracted by that, and between getting ready to move and my health problems...  Well, let's just say this could have been planned better.

We're not giving up! The way we figure it we had a ton of fun hanging out and chatting, and next time we'll do a better job promoting. :P We are thinking we'll try and do one late January as a Valentines day party.  Hopefully that one will go better!

Welcome to the Twitterverse!

A couple weeks ago I stumbled upon www.twitter.com - I was hearing this buzz about it on www.etsy.com and I decided that I had to check it out! Now, I have a loooong list of sites that I need/want to check out, but for some reason I was so intriqued that I jumped right on it and checked it out.  I'm so glad I did! I love Twitter!

So what is Twitter all about? Twitter allows you to post updates, have conversations, and promote yourself, all in little "sound bites" of 140 characters or less.  It's like blogging and instant messaging got together and had a baby - that's twitter!

The main benefits that I see from Twitter are:

1. Builds exposure for your business.
2. Easy venue to create and build relationships.
3. Instant feedback when you have a question about an item or which direction you should go in.

Let me take those one by one. Building exposure for your business - You can browse through twitter for friends.  I started with a few people I knew, looked through their friends, and it snowballed from there! You can also search based on interests such as etsy, art, jewelry, pets, Moms, etc.  This means you can connect to the people that fit in with your world, and your marketing goals. It builds fast too! I have 202 followers, and other than my initial blitz of people I recognized, I haven't been searching for connections! I probably will at some point, but I love that I have the ear of 200 poeple and I don't put much effort into it!

Easy venue to create and build relationships - Do you ever find yourself on a social networking site and not having any clue what to say? Even I, someone who loves to talk, run across that problem from time to time! The great thing about twitter is that people will be posting up what their doing, their newest listings, newest blog posts, questions, and more; which gives you ample opportunity to find things to respond to! I've had fun growing closer to people I already knew, and I've definitely made some new friends and learned a lot in the short time I've been on Twitter!

Instant feedback when you have a question about an item or which direction you should go in - I haven't really done this yet, but I've responded to things a lot of other people have put up! It's fun to have a chance to give instant feedback to others, and I'm looking forward to having that outlet when I need it :)

I have a lot more to say about Twitter - but you'll have to wait for another post! I think it's a great promotions tool and I hope that my ideas, and the ideas of others I'm going to pull in, will be helpful! Have a great day :)

Friday's Featured Artist - WHIMSYlove!

I've always loved this artists work - and her blog is priceless to! The name of her shop - WHIMSYlove is just perfect for her style! Now I'll let you get to know her for yourself - and see exactly what I mean :)

1. Tell us your story, what got you started selling on line and how would you define the work you sell?

I remember always liking to make things & loving to give handmade gifts. I’ve always been a crafty girl.

A
few years ago my mom & I actually sold vintage & handmade items
in a space in an antique mall. Well, that place closed down after a
year & a half or so. But, before it did, I had been searching
online & stumbled across Etsy. In March of 2007 I opened up my
shop. I sell a wide range of handmade items--from button rings to
watercolors to sewn items & most everything in-between! But I
mostly love working with vintage materials: buttons, fabric, trim, old
books, papers, etc. I love trying everything. I can’t stick to just one
medium or craft.

2. Where did you come up with your shop name?

I
originally called my shop “WhiMSy”, but that name was taken when I
signed up to sell things on Etsy. So, I added the word “love”--for no
reason at all. But I figure that some days I’m a goofball (that’s the
WhiMSy part) & other days I’m girly & romantic (that’s the
love), so it works out. And that reflects in the diversity of items I
make.

3. What's your favorite piece you have up on etsy right
now?

I’m fond of the vintage button rings. They’re so fun to make &
I have my own that I wear almost every day.

Vintage Button Rings of the Month Club

4. Where do you do
your work and what do you listen to while you work?

I have an art
studio in the basement of my home. There’s not a lot of space to work
in there, so I mostly craft on the couch, the floor, the dining table,
or all of the above.

5. I know this can be a hard question to answer, but where do you find your inspiration?

This
is not a hard question at all. My kids inspire me! They are always
saying silly things….that make complete sense. I often steal their
ideas too. (haha!) Sometimes I wonder what I’ll do when they grow up
& move out. Where will my inspiration come from then? Maybe I’ll
just borrow someone else’s kids.
Lots of times a random idea will
hit me at any hour of the day-- & I better find a sketchbook quick
or the thought will be gone in a flash!

6. Tell us one fun fact about yourself!

I once balanced a hockey stick on my nose for 8 seconds.

And now for a few of my favorite items from her shop!

Wee Pie Magnet



Fork Easel!



Cutie Cupcake Notecards



A Rainbow of Vintage Stamps

My Thanksgiving Story - Etsy Bloggers Carnival

The year was 1982 and Brian and Patty had been married for just over a year.  They were poor, but they were happy, and they were anxiously awaiting the birth of their first child! Patty was hoping for an early delivery because she knew that both her and her brother had been born early, but that wasn't to be.  The due date, October 23rd, came and went. They went in to the doctor over and over, only to be sent home, "sorry honey, it's not time yet."

Finally, November 25th, Thanksgiving Day, rolls around.  Patty was exhausted, she was a month over due and couldn't remember the last time she'd gotten a decent nights sleep! She went in to the hospital to see if she could get some sleeping medicine to take after the family dinner at Brian's Fathers house later on that day.  Since it was an American holiday all of the Doctors on shift were foreign.  Apparently it was much more common at the time to induce people in England than America - and as luck would have it - Patty got a British doctor!

The Doctor took one look at Patty's chart and said, "Would you like to have this baby today?" "Yes, please!"

Late that afternoon, a beautiful baby girl was born.  Despite the fact that the baby was over a month late - Patty took one look at her little girl and said, "Let's have another one!"

As you may have guessed - that baby girl was me! My birthday doesn't always fall on Thanksgiving Day, but I think celebrating my birthday at that time every year has taught me a lot about looking for the things in life that we can be thankful for.  One of my favorite family traditions has always been that we go in a circle around the table and take turns listing what we are thankful for in the last year - and I'm going to have so much to say this year!

Of course, I'll admit that there was times when I hated having my birthday around a holiday, it was soooo hard to plan a party!  I did have them though.  My cousin and I are only 4 months apart and the picture here at the bottom is from I think my 6th or 7th birthday? I don't know for sure.  It was the only appropriate pic I had on photobucket and I don't have time to go upload photos from home today :P