Blog Away

I've been so busy with school that Etsy has fallen by the wayside. Which is kind of terrible since I've actually had more ideas, more sketches/drawings, and more orders.

I have finished several more designs. I will need to post some items tonight.

Right now I'll give a teaser: squid, octipi, starfish.... think ocean!

Etsy Interview

Cookalas House Of Cards is filled with beautiful jewelry, and collage artwork. I wanted to get an idea of how she gets her inspiration and how she works.

What inspires you?
Color. Nature. A field of flowers, the salt scented air of the ocean, icicles glinting in the sunlight. Anything beautiful or colorful speaks to me, and makes me want to capture its essence.

Where do you work?
In a small, 6x6 alcove in my bedroom. It’s difficult, and always an awful mess! But I make do. I have 2 walls and a window wall – one wall is stacked floor to ceiling with my art supplies, my worktable is against the opposite wall, more stuff is piled under the window wall. It’s hard for me to just create when the whim strikes. If I’m making jewelry, the table and floor is piled with supplies I need, which I keep in gallon zip baggies and content labeled boxes. If I want to switch to art, I have to put all the jewelry stuff away and then take out all the art supplies I need. The setup is definitely conducive to creating when the whim strikes, but it is what it is and I work around it as best I can.

How do you find time for your crafting?
Well, honestly, I haven’t been making art for some time because I can’t find the time. I do make jewelry often, though, to keep my shop filled so my customers have lots to choose from. Jewelry gets made faster than art – it’s just a question of putting together the different beads and findings, and then stinging them together.

Metalsmithing is a different ball of wax – I do that outside on a large wooden table on the patio when the weather is warm enough because of the noise it makes and because it involved fire and chemicals. (I’m upstairs, so it’s really annoying to the downstairs people.)

The artwork is harder to sit down and make because promoting my Etsy shop chews up a large part of my free time, though that is going to change. I am an artist before all else, and that part of my nature must out if I’m to have any peace. I have a deep need to always be creating something of beauty. Jewelry fulfills that need to an extent, but my heart really lies with my mixed media and assemblage creations. So I’ve just recently come to the decision that I am going to put the jewelry away, limit my time on-line promoting my shop, and make time to make art because I have neglected that part of my nature for far too long now – almost 6 months. It’s time to get back to it!

What’s your day job?
I retired in 2009 after 38 years as a public servant. When I retired I was a Network Administrator but did so much more than just that. I kept the servers running, supervised the help desk, did the major software and hardware troubleshooting and also created data base applications for my agency. You could say I was a Jill of all trades.

Best marketing tip?
Create a shop blog, and use the social media such as Twitter and Facebook to promote, promote, promote. Also, make it your business to have excellent quality photographs of what you’re selling.

Would you like to be interviewed?

I'm curious how others get their artwork bought, sold, and marketed. I am really, REALLY curious how other people get noticed. So, to that end, I want to start doing a weekly interview with fellow crafters/artists/etsyians and anyone else who sells their own work.

I have a list of questions I'll be asking, and sending them via email. Maybe even a phone conversation or two. It really depends how things go.

This is new for me so I am sure it will be a learning experience also.

Blog-o-ramma

I heart paper posted a very interesting question in the forums of etsy the other day.

Is giving free products to bloggers a worth it?

I have never asked for a product because I feel like it's asking for a bribe. If I were a larger blog with lots of readers I would possibly buy some products to judge the quality of items, but right now I am just showing people who I find to be incredible talents, cute, interesting, or vastly under appreciated.

On that venue, here is something from "I love paper" that I have had on my hearts list for a long time, since I absolutely found it WONDERFUL, and if I had a kids birthday party, I would so get it!

School Vs Etsy

I've been quite busy with school lately. Three classes, several papers already, lots of reading, and lots of time in front of a computer.

The biggest problem I've had with my etsy shop, however, has nothing to do with school, and everything to do with technology, the evil thing that it is. My scanner, the most important of all of my tools, decided that it no longer wanted to scan my images. How EVIL!

So I have a back log of ideas that are on paper, and no way of getting them into the computer to edit, and use in my different creations. Frustrating.

However, I am using some of my work from the last few months to put up new listings, thus the set of mini magnets in a wide variety of different designs. So check them out!

Party!

Since my artwork is so apealing to little ones I thought it was time to do something bigger with them...

Thus the party pack came into motion. Little items to put in gift bags at birthday parties. Come to think of it, a teacher or anyone else working with children could use them as incentives, rewards and other things.

So, along the lines of children here is something I turned up in Etsy today that I'd really like to share.

One of the more interesting aspects of etsy are all the self publishers out there. Some indy, some how-to, patterns, and here... children's lit.

Here is The Boy Who Had Moldy Cheese Pizza Under His Bed by Rynski. Cute book, interesting title, sure to make kids giggle at the thought of it.

Etsy really makes it possible to do things you couldn't normally do, like showing your hand made books and selling them. Even with Lulu and amazon marketplace... Etsy lets you have real books made by hand be real people, and for children that is showing them something important even at a young age.

Another interesting aspect is that a lot of sellers will sell digital versions of their books for you to print yourself. No shipping, you don't have to print it so you can save trees. It really is the pioneer of e-book trading.

Marketing 101

I got this today:
"I wanted to invite you to stop by my Pixiekids facebook page.

You can keep tabs on new products that I design and make, as well as sale announcements and giveaways. I just did a hedgehog giveaway, and there is a link on my page to an eco-felt owl giveaway on a blog that I'm sponsoring :)"

So I thought I'd share it here. A good idea, actually, inviting people to your facebook page. Here is mine.

Of course the trouble with facebook, and all the other social media and advertising venues out there is that you really have to work at it, and I don't always follow through on that part. Working on it though.

By the way, Pixiekids makes the cutest felt food items great for little kids.

Mini Magnets

It's been a while since I've posted, but I've been putting together some new products, as you can see in the picture.

Several paintings and drawings later I decided that miniature magnets were a great way to go, not only the magnets but a great packaging to go with them. They are posted on my etsy, at least one set so far.

I've also been looking at all the promotional reading lately.

Honestly, it is giving me an idea that I will probably talk about later, but for now here is some great reading from the Etsy team that might just help you with your shop.

Etsy Success Reading List which has some articles about promotions through social media, and new years resolutions.

Better late then Never

I haven't posted on my blog for a little while but I have been trying to post as much as possible on my Etsy, in some cases just re-listing things I have sold.

And YES! I have had some sales, which makes this so worth it this time around.

The picture at left is the newest design I've added to my etsy, bookmarks with a cute flower motif. I also have stickers and magnets for this design, and they are all hand colored instead of printed.

As for etsy!

Today I got a new toy in my email. My Taste Test actually came out pretty acurate to my tastes... eclectic, artsy, interesting, and full of textures and color. That is my taste all over.

Take your own taste test and see how close it is to you!

Finished the fairy. It took all of two hours to complete, all while I sat watching a sci-fi show on netflix.

I really love the way this fairy turned out. The background is pretty good to, but her face and that corset really worked out.



Today's cuteness is "Hello Wars".

What do you get when you cross Star Wars and Hello Kitty? You just have to go look at the shop! It is so worth it! Darth V Kitty is just so cutely evil!

Fairies and Robots

I have added a Robot Charm today.

I also painted a fairy (which will be added to the shop eventually).

This is the first watercolor I've done in years, and I am not quite finished with it. However, it is far more finished then anything else I've done in quite some time, with a background and everything. Hopefully I'll be doing a few more watercolors like this as it actually worked out well.

Touring through etsy I found this charming little shop. French Market Stitch.

Ever since coming to Washington, and Seattle, I've been fascinated by the burlesque scene, and corsets. Of course I love the ones in this shop.

The Wonderful Thing About Etsy

Two great things about Etsy, of the thuosand or so that there are.

1. All natural products, be they beauty products that are completely new, never seen before, or organic food which is just a healthier version of something you've already seen.

2. People who use their shop to raise money for non profits even if it is for a month or two.

Etsy is a community, not just a business, and that's the true fun of it.


As for my own post of the day, I added a ladybug charm.

I believe I have some fairies to draw now.

Yuna

I liked Final Fantasy X better then X2, but I did find the mascot outfits quite cute, so I had to draw them. I finally found a way of using the pictures and created some magnets.

This was a new experiment as I haven't used this laminate before, but it seems to have worked wonderfully.



When setting up my own magnet I looked around for some others and discovered Artagglomeration shop with alphabet magnets.

Remember playing with those little plastic numbers and letters when you were little? I think a lot of them have been removed from the market because the magnets are a "choking hazard", which is silly. However, these are just an adorable take on the older concept, and soft to the touch. Much nicer for little fingers to hold and play with.

Halloween is Near

Today's post is another charm, meant for Halloween. A chibi mummy. It is my favorite of the Halloween drawings so far, and actually what started it.

Also, I finally got my first sales. It just thrilled me! I can't wait to send it off in the morning.




Today's Etsy item is a pair of robot stitch markers which I'd probably use as a charm from my cell, or clothes or something since I don't knit or crochet.

They come from Crafty Gamer Girl. I absolutely love her name, and she has a night elf on her banner. (My first WoW char is a night elf hunter.)

Check out her notebooks and other charm/stitch markers.

Start of something new

A while ago I watched Julie and Julia, based off the interesting blog of a woman making all the dished from the Julia Child's cookbook.

I've been thinking of a way to do something similar, to challenge myself to do something I have wanted to do, and keep doing it. So often I've given up, thinking the goal too far out of reach, or hopeless.

So, the question became "what should I do?" Write a novel? Paint a picture? What?

I decided to join this project with my Etsy, Fantastic Creations, as that is also something that I have been wanting to work on. Etsy, my little artistic shop, creative outlet, and Starbucks money. Also a way of teaching my daughter, who wants to be an artist as well, what it takes as I learn it as well.

An Etsy a day. One listing every single day for the next... year? Can I go that far? I suppose if I am really determined I will.

I do know, however, that I will have to learn some new tricks, and tips in order to actually sell on Etsy, not just post stuff needlessly. Perhaps that will be a good thing as well.