Giveaway Winner of One of a Kind Baby Design

I apologize for being late in annoucing the winner of One of a Kind Baby Design's giveaway: the cute fleece monster friend.

Now, without further a due, I'm pleased to announce that #39, Armada Volya is the winner! Congratulations!!

Thank you Heather for sponsoring the giveaway and to everyone who entered and commented.

Enter and win these giveaways:
Copper Knot Earrings
2 Rose Bobbi Pins

Now, I must run! Hope to see you before the long weekend :-)

Giveway: 2 rose bobby pins

Win 2 pretty rose bobby pins of your choice from Soozie's Cutie Patooties . Get to know Susan, she is our Saturday Artisan this week. There are many ways to enter. Please make sure you leave a separate comment for every entry.

How to enter to win:

Mandatory entry:

• Go to Soozie's Cutie Patooties shop. Return to my Adore By Nat blog and simply leave a comment here about your favorite item from the store.

Extra entries (only qualify once mandatory entry is fulfilled):

• Earn 2 entries - Go to yesterday's post to know her more. Leave a comment there (yesterday's post) on at least one the following: what you learn from the interview, what you want to see more on her shop and why, or any constructive feedback are always appreciated. Come back here and leave 2 comments that you did, to ensure your entries are counted.
• Heart Soozie's Cutie Patooties (1 entry). Simply let us know your Etsy username.
• Follow Soozie's Cutie Patooties blog (1 entry).
• Follow my adorebynat blog (1 entry). If you're already a follower, you still get an entry, just says you're following already.
• Like Soozie's Cutie Patooties Facebook page and tell Susan, Nat of adorebynat send you there.
• Like my Adorebynat Facebook Page. Don't forget to say hi to me there and come back here to leave comment (1 entry). If you liked my FB page already, I would still love to have you drop by and say hi to earn 1 entry. I'd love to hear from you!
• Follow Soozie's Cutie Patooties on twitter (1 entry).
• Follow adorebynat on twitter (1 entry).
• Tweet about this giveaway, add "@adorebynat" in your tweet. (1 entry).
• Blog about this giveaway to earn 2 entries. Leave two separate comments here please providing me with the link to your post.
• Be creative and share the love! Refer your friends and family to enter this giveaway. Use your social media (other than twitter and blog) to shout out this giveaway. As long as you provide me a link or a way to confirm it, you'll earn 2 entries (two separate comments).
• Purchase an item from Soozie's Cutie Patootie and earn 10 entries for each purchase. Don't forget letting us know by leaving comments.

Contest starts now and ends on July 9, 2011. Contest opens worldwide. Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you. Entries without contact information will be disqualified. Entries that do not follow the rules will be disqualified. Contest winner will be drawn on Sunday, July 10 by a random number generator, by the artist herself. Winner must respond within 48 hours after being contacted otherwise another winner will be randomly selected. Get 25% off by using ADOREBYNAT coupon when you shop at Soozie's Cutie Patooties.

Saturday Artisan: Soozie's Cutie Patooties

Our Saturday Artisan this week is Susan of Soozie's Cutie Patooties (how cute her shop name is!!). I LOVE everything in her shop and amazed by her crochet works. Simply beautiful!. I love the colors that she uses too, vibrant and soft perfectly chosen. Learn a bit more about here through the interview below and stay-tuned for tomorrow's giveaway. 

Tell us a bit about yourself and what arts/ crafts that you make? 

My name is Susan and I'm a nursing student. I recently moved to Chattanooga, TN and am completely baffled by the weather. As a native Floridian I'm used to hot and humid with afternoon rains, not hot today and cold tomorrow. Most of the items that I make are done with crochet, which I've been doing for about 15 years. I'm still teaching myself how to knit and expanding on my jewelry making skills (I want a soldering iron for my birthday!). Every item that I make gives me ideas that I want to try for something new, so there's always a mix of items in my shop.

For us who love to travel, could you share a bit about your beautiful town/ city?

I've only been in Chattanooga for a year and I haven't even begun to explore all of the amazing things to see and do here. When my Dad was visiting we went to Point Park on Lookout Mountain and caught this beautiful view of the Tennessee River and downtown Chattanooga. There are so many outdoor and nature activities in and around the city. The caverns at Raccoon Mountain are spectacular and panning for gold and gems is a great treasure hunt. The new parks and trails just outside the Volkswagen facility provide something for every level of hiker and biker (although we only did the easy one). Plus there are so many great places to eat!

How do you promote your shop? I have a Facebook Fan Page, where you get the first look at everything that I make. I also use to Twitter, where you can keep up with new listings, promotions, and what I'm working on. I also have a blog, where I share different things I find or places that I go, feature other artists and shops, and post tutorials. 

Could you share on how your organize your products, we all can use a little tips here and there in this department? 

I'm still working on a system that really works for me. Right now I have all of my yarns in baskets and bins. There's a self for fabric, another for blankets and afghans that still need to be completed, and a basket of the four or five projects I'm working on right now. I have one bin for everything that's been finished but still needs to be photographed and several plastic containers of everything that has been listed in my shop. It's not the perfect form of organization that I have in mind but it's much better than what I had going on before (a complete mess!).

What is your favourite tool that you cannot live without? I think if you took my size G hook away from me I wouldn't know what to do. It seems that just about everything I make uses that one!

Psst! Get 25% off by using ADOREBYNAT coupon when you shop at Soozie's Cutie Patooties.

Nautical Theme Favor Tags

Earlier this week, I introduced the new tags, Nautical Sailor Favor Tags. I decided to take pictures using white background, hoping for a cleaner look and cross fingers that I'll have a better chance being in treasuries and ending up in the front page.

I'm looking forward to the weekend. There are orders that I need to complete while waiting the mails to run again on Monday. The labour dispute that Canada Post currently exprience has been causing inconvinience for small business owners including myself and I'm crossing my fingers that they will be back to work as of Monday.

Don't forget to enter the two giveaways that are on going now:

Super cute fleece monster friend
Copper chaotic knot earrings

Have a great weekend everyone. I'll see you tomorrow as I have a Saturday Artisan to introduce to you.

Giveaway Winner of Chelsea Rainbow

Happy Tuesday! Congratulations Ariel #10 for winning ChelseaRainbow's giveaway. Such a beautiful filigree locket pendant to win. Thank you so much to everyone who entered and a special thank you to Jacqueline for sponsoring the giveaway. Two giveaways that are on going now: Super cute fleece monster friend Copper chaotic knot earrings Enter them and support handmade! Thanks for dropping by.

Copper Knot Earrings Giveaway

Win beautiful Copper Chaotic Knot Earrings from Jewelry By J. Get to know Janelle, she is our Saturday Artisan this week.

There are many ways to enter. Please make sure you leave a separate comment for every entry.

How to enter to win:

Mandatory entry:

• Go to Jewelry By J shop. Return to my Adore By Nat blog and simply leave a comment here about your favorite item from the store.

Extra entries (only qualify once mandatory entry is fulfilled):

• Earn 2 entries - Go to yesterday's post to know her more. Leave a comment there (yesterday's post) on at least one the following: what you learn from the interview, what you want to see more on her shop and why, or any constructive feedback are always appreciated. Come back here and leave 2 comments that you did, to ensure your entries are counted.
• Heart Jewelry By J (1 entry). Simply let us know your Etsy username.
• Follow Jewelry By J blog (1 entry).
• Follow my adorebynat blog (1 entry). If you're already a follower, you still get an entry, just says you're following already.
• Like Jewelry by J Facebook page and tell Janelle, adorebynat send you there.
• Like my Adorebynat Facebook Page. Don't forget to say hi to me there and come back here to leave comment (1 entry). If you liked my FB page already, I would still love to have you drop by and say hi to earn 1 entry. I'd love to hear from you!
  
• Follow adorebynat on twitter (1 entry).
  
• Tweet about this giveaway, add "@adorebynat" in your tweet. (1 entry).
  
• Blog about this giveaway to earn 2 entries. Leave two separate comments here please providing me with the link to your post.
  
• Be creative and share the love! Refer your friends and family to enter this giveaway. Use your social media (other than twitter and blog) to shout out this giveaway. As long as you provide me a link or a way to confirm it, you'll earn 2 entries (two separate comments).
  
• Purchase an item from Jewelry By J and earn 10 entries for each purchase. Don't forget letting us know by leaving comments :-)

Contest starts now and ends on July 2, 2011. Contest opens to US and Canada.
Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you. Entries without contact information will be disqualified. Entries that do not follow the rules will be disqualified. Contest winner will be drawn on Sunday, July 3 by a random number generator, by the artist herself. Winner must respond within 48 hours after being contacted otherwise another winner will be randomly selected.

Saturday Artisan: Jewelry By J

Meet Janelle of Jewelry By J, our Saturday Artisan. Oh how I dream to live where she lives, where the weather is gorgeous most of the times. But the fact that we still can go there for a vacation and enjoy it as tourists is a blessing. I love where I am now but I just with it doesn't rain much, like today. Read on and find out more about Janelle. 

Tell us a bit about yourself and what arts/ crafts that you make?

I love arts and craft! I of course make my jewelry! It started off seeing a necklace in a store that was ridiculously expensive for silver metal and fake pearls. I thought to myself, "I can make that!". A friend of mine was making jewelry and I asked for her guidance. A month later, I made my fancy pearl necklace out of sterling silver and real pearls for about the same price! I was hooked! Going into boutique stores, you see a lot of over priced jewelry, and that's not what I am about. I wore the above necklace to work and everybody loved it and wanted their own. So I started branching out. I only want to wear real stuff but don't want to pay boutique prices, so that's what I stick to - sterling silver, gold filled, occasionally copper since the latter two are getting so expensive, semi-precious stones - at affordable prices.

 

But besides that, I make all the earring and necklace cards my jewelry comes on and hand stamp every gift box. I also make greeting cards for personal use =) I had to stop myself from starting to scrapbook, since that was getting to be an expensive hobby! 

Which part of the creation process that you like to do the most? 

I love coming up with new designs and trying things out. It gets my creative juices flowing. The designs don't always work themselves out, but sometimes it leads to unexpected things. 

For us who love to travel, could you share a bit about your beautiful town/ city? 

We live in Southern California - its very nice! The weather is beautiful most of the time and there's so much to do within driving distance! Of course, there's Disneyland, Santa Monica pier (picture attached), Universal Studios, Knott's Berry Farm; but there's also a lot of great hiking (to the Hollywood sign) and beautiful beaches to hang out at.

Could you share on how your organize your products, we all can use a little tips here and there in this department? 

I store everything in separate baggies. All the wires go in one box and are stored in order of their thickness. All my findings are stored in separate baggies and then stored together in a larger bag by sterling or gold filled. And last but not least, all my stones are sorted by color so I can easily find colors together. 

What is your best seller? My best sellers usually rotate. Right now it's between the circle trio necklace and the silver hoop with quartz earrings. My best seller this past christmas time was the custom name necklaces.

How does your day go in general? It's pretty boring. i wake up early, check my email, try to get myself to work out and then get ready for work. 

How do you balance your personal and work life? That's tough. I try to rotate. I'm a little obsessive when it comes to doing what I love, so I have to make sure to make time for everything. If I'm making jewelry, I tend not to work out because making jewelry is the first thing I think of when I work out. So I usually have to not even start with the jewelry making until after I've worked out. Same goes for reading (my other favorite passion!). 

Do you have a favourite Etsy seller? There are just too many! I love everyone's creativity and the stuff all the shops carry are quite amazing! 

What inspires you? i love classic things with a twist. I think everybody loves being different and a little off trend. I think that my jewelry reflects that. While they are pretty and classic there's always a slight twist to them so that they aren't 100% classic. Also, the stones and the material themselves inspire me. Sometimes just looking at a stone tells me what to do with it and which metal to pair it with. Of course, I'm always open to suggestions. 

What is your goal for 2011? And are you on the right track? I am hoping to make 50 sales in my etsy shop. I think I'm on the right track, considering I just opened about a month or so ago. =) I think the most thrilling thing was to sell something to someone I didn't know at all. 

What is your favourite tool that you cannot live without? 

My husband! does he count? He's so supportive, I cannot even begin to tell you! He takes all my photo's and he provides feedback from the male perspective. I think sometimes women tend to go a little out there in design for our own accessories and he sort of reigns me back in. 

How do you promote your shop? I have a Blog and Facebook. I joined a lot of teams on etsy and promote on each of them I wear all my own jewelry - that's how I initially got all my sales. 

Any advice for others running their on-line shop? 

It's a lot more work than i thought - especially the promoting! But don't give up and push through. If you have a good product, it will happen, it just takes time! 

Saving money is important; tell us one thing that you do to save money?

I try to buy everything on sale or in bulk. I just bought 250 shipping envelopes because they were cheaper the more I bought. Little did I know how much that really was! The box was 9 lbs!!! I'm running out of room to store all my shipping supplies!

Welcome Baby Banner

I was working on this adorable Welcome Baby Banner, a request from a grandma-to-be as she is prepping for her daughter-in-law baby shower. Psst!

 

The theme is owl. Who doesn't love owls??And since they find out it's going to be a boy, this banner has somewhat 'blue' theme. I had helped her with baby shower invitations a couple months ago prior finding out the baby's gender, and we started with green.

Want something like this? I'd love to help you.

Here is the Birthday Banner I created in May.

Giveaway: Super Cute Fleece "Monster" Stuffed Friend

Win Super Cute Fleece "Monster" Stuffed Friend from One of a Kind Baby Design. Get to know Heather, she is our Saturday Artisan this week.

There are many ways to enter. Please make sure you leave a separate comment for every entry.

How to enter to win:

Mandatory entry:

• Go to One of a Kind Baby Design shop. Return to my Adore By Nat blog and simply leave a comment here about your favorite item from the store.

Extra entries (only qualify once mandatory entry is fulfilled):

• Earn 2 entries - Go to yesterday's post to know her more. Leave a comment there (yesterday's post) on at least one the following: what you learn from the interview, what you want to see more on her shop and why, or any constructive feedbacks are always appreciated.
  Come back here and leave 2 comments that you did, to ensure your entries are counted.
• Heart One of a Kind Baby Design (1 entry). Simply let us know your Etsy username.
• Follow my adorebynat blog (1 entry). If you're already a follower, you still get an entry, just says you're following already.
• Like One of a Kind Baby Design Facebook page and tell Heather, adorebynat send you there.
• Like my Adorebynat Facebook Page. Don't forget to say hi to me there and come back here to leave comment (1 entry). If you liked my FB page already, I would still love to have you drop by and say hi to earn 1 entry. I'd love to hear from you!
  
• Follow adorebynat on twitter (1 entry).
  
• Tweet about this giveaway, add "@adorebynat" in your tweet. (1 entry).
  
• Blog about this giveaway to earn 2 entries. Leave two separate comments here please providing me with the link to your post.
  
• Be creative and share the love! Refer your friends and family to enter this giveaway. Use your social media (other than twitter and blog) to shout out this giveaway. As long as you provide me a link or a way to confirm it, you'll earn 2 entries (two separate comments).
  
• Purchase an item from One of a Kind Baby Design and earn 10 entries for each purchase. Don't forget letting us know by leaving comments :-)

Contest starts now and ends on June 25, 2011. Contest opens worldwide.
Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you. Entries without contact information will be disqualified. Entries that do not follow the rules will be disqualified. Contest winner will be drawn on Sunday, June 29 by a random number generator, by the artist herself. Winner must respond within 48 hours after being contacted otherwise another winner will be randomly selected.

Saturday Artisan: One of a Kind Baby Design

Meet Heather, the creative mind behind One of a Kind Baby Design in Etsy. Don't be fool by the shop's name as not only she specializes in hand painted growth charts, baby cross stitch patterns and bibs, baby gifts, baby shower gifts, she now offers home decor gifts, wedding and engagement gifts.

Tell us a bit about yourself and what arts/ crafts that you make?
I am a SAHM mom of three wonderful children ages 6,4, & 2. I have always enjoyed creating and crafting and have made many items for my children. I started by creating a growth chart for my children and had so many requests from others for one that it blossomed from there. I was recently introduced to Etsy and decided to offer my growth charts on Etsy. Since then I have also offered other items that I enjoy crafting as well. I find that creating different pieces helps me relax and stay centered.

Which part of creation process that you like to do the most?
The finished product is the best feeling in the world. I love to see how my ideas came together and how I was able to create them with my hands. There is such a sense of pride and satisfaction when you see the project come to life from the concept in your mind.

How does your day go in general?
My mornings are crazy with kid stuff and school, but I have a few hours in the afternoon that I reserve for painting/crafting and then my evenings are spent with my husband talking and watching TV while I create and craft.

What inspires you?
My children are truly my inspiration, I enjoy making items for them, and I also enjoy creating things that they find beautiful. Hearing my girls ooh and aah over something I have created just really makes it more special. Also, a lot of what I create is inspired by my home. I enjoy displaying my creations in my home so I try and make things that fit in with my home and décor.


Saving money is important; tell us one thing that you do to save money?
All of my kids and myself are avid readers we could spend a fortune on books if money actually did grow on trees. Since it doesn't, we utilize our local trade-in bookstore and trade in our old books and use the resulting credit to get new books. I love that we are fostering a love of reading so early in their life and that it really doesn't cost me anything (or much depending on how overboard I go).


Stay-tuned for tomorrow's giveaway!

Getting By

This has been another busy week. I'm hoping for sales and one day I could do this as a living. I'm getting there slowly even though it's tough. I have a few orders lining up, most of them are custom orders, which I LOVE!! Now that the orders are flowing in, I am struggling to manage my time. I'm sure you understand how hard it is to manage our 24 hrs in a day when we have to wear many different hats (mom, wife, an employee of a day job, and a shop owner and artist of my little shop). 24 hrs a day is certainly not enough and I say this many times. Silly me, cuz this will not change. Anyone out there feels the same?

 Anywhoooo... it's time to say bye for now as DH is about to pick me up from work. I can't wait to go home and wear my mom's hat. PS: those pink chic tags is available at my shop. I'll be making these tonight.

Giveaway Winner of Designs by Harriet

Quickly poppin' in during my lunch break to tell you all that one lucky winner has been randomly picked....... #73 - Cynthia a.k.a Hofken! 

Congratulations!! You've won Designs by Harriet's beautiful pendant giveaway!! *Jealous* 

Thank you so much Harriet for sponsoring the giveaway. Those who haven't checked her shop, you should!! Enjoy the rest of your week!

Giveaway: Filigree Locket

Win this beautiful Filigree Locket pendant sponsored by ChelseaRainbow.

Traditional elements and motif-driven jewelry are the core focus in 2011. Cameos, lockets and filigree showcase nostalgic elements. Delicate, refined chains make a sweet statement. The key mood is progressive, spontaneous, open minded, cheeky, strong, risk taking, experimental, sporty, rebellious, visionary. Mementos of trustworthy times, turning to the past to prepare for the future in a truly progressive move. Worth $35.00

Get to know Jacqueline, she is our Saturday Artisan this week. There are many ways to enter. Please make sure you leave a separate comment for every entry.

How to enter to win:

Mandatory entry:

• Go to ChelseaRainbow shop. Return to my Adore By Nat blog and simply leave a comment here about your favorite item from the store.

Extra entries (only qualify once mandatory entry is fulfilled):

• Earn 2 entries - Go to yesterday's post to know them more. Leave a comment there (yesterday's post) on at least one the following: what you learn from the interview, what you want to see more on her shop and why, or any constructive feedbacks are always appreciated. Come back here and leave 2 comments that you did, to ensure your entries are counted.

• Heart ChelseaRainbow (1 entry). Simply let us know your Etsy username.
• Follow my adorebynat blog (1 entry). If you're already a follower, you still get an entry, just says you're following already.
• Like my Adorebynat Facebook Page. Don't forget to say hi to me there and come back here to leave comment (1 entry). If you liked my FB page already, you still can say hi and earn 1 entry. I'd love to hear from you!
• Follow adorebynat on twitter (1 entry).
• Tweet about this giveaway, add "@adorebynat" in your tweet. (1 entry).
• Blog about this giveaway to earn 2 entries. Leave two separate comments here please providing me with the link to your post.
• Be creative and share the love! Refer your friends and family to enter this giveaway. Use your social media (other than twitter and blog) to shout out this giveaway. As long as you provide me a link or a way to confirm it, you'll earn 2 entries (two separate comments).
• Purchase an item from ChelseaRainbow and earn 10 entries for each purchase. Don't forget letting us know by leaving comments :-)

Contest starts now and ends on June 18, 2011. Contest opens worldwide.

Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you. Entries without contact information will be disqualified. Entries that do not follow the rules will be disqualified. Contest winner will be drawn on Sunday, June 19 by a random number generator, by the artist herself. Winner must respond within 48 hours after being contacted otherwise another winner will be randomly selected.

Saturday Artisan: Chelsea Rainbow

This week Saturday Artisan is Jacqueline of ChelseaRainbow. She makes jewelries and home decor accessories, fashionable and affordable. 

Tell us a bit about yourself and what arts/ crafts that you make? 

My name is Jacqueline and I’m the owner of ChelseaRainbow. I live in New York City, one of the most vibrant urban cities of the world and also the capital of fashion. You may not be able to afford a designer dress, but you can always find my fashion forward jewelry to update your own looks and my elegant home decor accessories to enhance your home. I started my business in June of 2010. At ChelseaRainbow, you will find a wonderful world of handcrafted semi-precious stone jewelry, precious metal jewelry, and beaded necklaces, beaded earrings, beaded bracelets created for day into evening wear. My home decor accessories are designed for elegant home occasions. Also check out my knitting and crochet items for you crafty types. 

Which part of creation process that you like to do the most? I love the designing phase the most. Sorting through my beads and sketching out ideas are two of the best parts of my creative process. 

For us who love to travel, could you share a bit about your beautiful town/ city?

I live in Manhattan in New York City in a downtown neighborhood that is easily accessible to other neighborhoods both by walking and taking the subway or bus.

My neighborhood is near a couple of beautiful small parks and the Mayor has dedicated Broadway to pedestrian malls.I am neer the Hudson River on the west side of town and if I look carefully I can see the river from the window of my sunny apartment.

Could you share on how your organize your products, we all can use a little tips here and there in this department?

I live and work in a very small studio apartment and have discovered a number of ways of organizing my work, storage and work area. I work on a TV table, which is just large enough for a bead organizer. I tend to sit on my couch with the table in front of me. When I’m done the table folds up leaving me with room to walk around. I have a second TV table that I use when I am taking pictures of my work. I use a 12” light box and two Ott Lites for my work area. Again, I can fold everything up when I am not working on photography. I discovered a great storage unit for my finished work. I have three of them. They are hange units that hold about 80 piece each and are 14” x 34” x 2”. I hang them in my closet when not in use and they are totally out of the way. Each unit has clear pockets on it and you can see what each piece is that is tored on the hanging storage unit. Finally, I have a wonderful storage piece that is on wheels and fits easily between my bed and the floor heater. It’s 11” wide, 24” deep and 36” high. I store my supplies, materials, and tools in this unit and it rolls out when I want to use it. It has 10 two-inch drawers to hold all my things. 

What is your best seller?

I haven’t had a lot of sales as of yet, but so far the home décor is outselling my jewelry. One of the reasons for the name of my shop, ChelseaRainbow, was to be able to broaden my target market to include more than just jewelry and that seems to have been a good decision.

 

How does your day go in general?

I have a part-time day job which doesn’t take too much time from my day so I spend a lot of time working on my jewelry and home décor as well as promoting myself. I usually get up in the early morning and do my day job, which entails writing restaurant and store reviews and posting them on the internet in a number of venues. Then I will have breakfast. I go back to the computer to check my emails for information and sales. Then I have a standing date for coffee with a friend in my building. After that I work on some creative piece or sketch or do research for products on the internet. If I have finished work around, I may take pictures. It’s then time for lunch. After lunch I usually go to the gym and workout, then take a shower. At that point I’m back on the computer. I may write a blog post, check my email, see what’s interesting on a program I use called “Helping a Reporter Out” (HARO) to see if there is anything that will help me promote myself. Dinner is next and I might do a late night email check. 

How do you balance your personal and work life?

I have a number of friends with whom I have lunch on occasion and I also have some email friend with whom I keep in touch as well. I have a boyfriend and we usually spend part of the weekend together. Because he works a couple of days a week, we are limited in how much we can get together, but we do varied activities from touring little-known neighborhoods of NY to going to the movies to eating out. Because my day job is so flexible I have a lot of time to indulge myself in my friendships, shopping and exploring the city. 

What inspires you? I started ChelseaRainbow to have an outlet for my creativity and my aim is to provide hand-crafted products that are well-made, lasting, and distinctive for the casual craft lover as well as serious collectors. I have always loved jewelry and I love the relationship that women have with their jewelry. It makes us feel beautiful, feminine, and powerful. It affects us in many ways, and even if a piece does not cost thousands of dollars, it is still precious to us .

What is your goal for 2011? And are you on the right track?

My goal for 2011 is to increase my sales. I actually have two goals. I am also starting to do craft shows to have a larger venue to sell to. The craft show circuit supplements my goal of increasing my sales. I would say that I am on the right track at this point. I started Chelsea Rainbow in December of 2010 and I am starting to sell on line after five months. I also expect the craft fairs to be successful. 

What is your favorite tool that you cannot live without? 

Actually it’s my tool set for jewelry that is my necessity. I have a couple of chain nose pliers, a clipper, a set of round nose pliers and a reamer that are all important to creating my work. 

How do you promote your shop? I promote my show through my blog for one. I write regularly and seem to get a lot of comments so I feel that the blog is a worthwhile means of promotion. I also work with a lot of reporters on HAEO (see above) and have been published a number of times. One activity I’m always on the look out for is blog reviews and profiles and I also get put into treasuries on a regular basis.

I belong to a couple of fashion websites where I can promote my blog posts, write other blog posts and talk to other member of the websites. One is called the Fashion Industry Network and the other is called the Jewelry Industry Network. I have gotten a lot of publicity from these two websites. 

Any advice for others running their on-line shop?

I recommend having enough stock in your shop to give buyers the opportunity to make decisions. Divide your work up into shop sections so that people can find the item they are looking for. Also, for newbies, patience is a big part of selling on Etsy. There are a lot of people buying and selling and it takes a while to build up your visibility and develop your target market. Finally, make sure you are promoting your work a lot. Promote, promote, promote. This is a business (at least it is to me) and I want to make sure that people know I am around. Constantly evaluate your product line to make sure you are in the right target market and that it is clear to the buyer what you are selling.

Saving money is important; tell us one thing that you do to save money? I comparison shop for supplies, making sure that I am getting the best deal for the items I am buying. I check prices, quantity pricing and shipping costs to make sure my costs are kept under control. I supplement my business from my monthly income so that I don’t have to buy anything on credit and thereby run up a bill of interest rates. If I do have to use a credit card, I make sure to pay off the balance at the end of each month.

  Stay-tuned for tomorrow's giveaway!

Winner of Sporkfuldesigns' giveaway

One giveaway has ended and we have a lucky winner this time, randomly selected: 65. Congratulations, Caitlin! You've won Sporkful Designs' giveaway! Thanks so much Meg of Sporkfuldesigns for sponsoring the giveaway. And as usual, you guys...who visited and commented Meg's shop, thank you very much!! 

There is still another giveaway going on now. Get your chance in winning $38 worth of beautiful handmade pendant from Designs by Harriet.

I'm Still Here

Geez...it feels like forever I've not been blogging. In fact, that's actually true. The last post was on Monday, Mar 23rd. Eek! Time flies and there are always things that we need to do, and it seems that we're always on the go. A couple of weeks ago, we went to Deer Lake, Burnaby BC. Not really for sightseeing as we were in a mission.But we did try to take a break here and there. After all, it was a beautiful day (before it rained).

 

My not-so-little-one-anymore was enjoying his handmade cupcake, bought at a Farmer's Market that day.

And we stopped at the playground a little while.

  Weekends are the only days I get to spend the time with him, and it's such a blessing seeing him so happy and as I adore him, he adores me. I just wish that time can just stop for a minute....and my baby doesn't grow up so fast.