My Find of the Week 7/23/08

I see great things on Etsy all the time! I've decided to do a Etsy find of the week. My first find is this adorable Fat Monkey from Sweetestpeas' shop. Fat Monkey is 5.5" tall and carries a waist line of 14.5".
Fat Monkey swings from the trees right into your heart. He loves bananas, of course! But, since he's sneaky, he might try to get into everything in the kitchen.
Things to know:
♥Fat Monkey is made to order. Please allow Sweetestpea 7-10 days to complete this little guy for you.
♥You can choose the color of your monkey! How great is that? All you have to do is convo Sweetestpea.
♥Fat monkey is best for children over 3. If you would like a Fat Monkey for a child under 3 adjustments can be made just let Sweetestpea know and she will embroider the eyes, make an unbendable tail and not include a beanbag.
♥If you prefer another animal check out her shop!
I'm always looking for great Etsy items to feature! If you're interested let me know! As always happy crafting.

Etsy Feature ☼Manamoon☼

I meet this week's feature artist on Flickr. Manamoon is perhaps one of the most talented wire jewelry makers I've ever seen. Manamoon is a husband, Damein, and wife, Sharon, team that works 7 days a week to create their beautiful pieces. They started their Etsy shop on January 13 of this year and have already had 14 sales!! You can find their jewelry on their personal website. Damein does all of their Chain Maille pieces while Sharon concentrates on the other jewelry aspects of their fabulous shop. You only have to spend a few seconds in their shop to understand how talented they are. It's like a jewelry candy store!! One of my favorite things about Manamoon is that they use focal beads from other very talented Etsy Artist in their pieces. Every time I think I can pick a favorite piece they come up with a new one that is fabulous. Here are a few of my favorites:

This geourgous piece is called Royal Vineyard.

This bracelet is called Seeds of Life.

I'm always looking for great artist to feature. If you're interested please let me know! As always happy crafting!

Some new dandies

This weekend was a busy one for me. I managed to complete five bracelets. I just couldn't help it I got a huge order of beads in. I some how managed to get them all done, start a sixth and go see my dad's band play. It's been a long week but it was worth it. I've only listed one of my new babies looking for a home, so you'll have to wait until later in the week to see the other four. :)

This is Deep Blue Shimmer. I hand wove this bracelet in a Peyote Stitch using 11/0 Japanese Triangles. The shimmer in this bracelet is fabulous. I'm always looking for great Etsy Artists and pieces to feature. If this describes you let me know!! As always Happy Crafting!

Thinking Outside the Box Fridays

It's no secrete that Etsy is hard work and some times it can feel like you're working your tail off with no results. Sometimes you have to think outside the box to achieve what you want. Here are my top 10 ways to be more successful on Etsy. I can't say that if you do all these things you will be the top seller on Etsy.

1. If what you are doing isn't working try something else.
When ever I start feeling like things aren't working I try a new technique. I make jewelry but if you make soaps for instance try a new scent, make salts etc. If you aren't selling well a couple new items will freshen up your shop and also make you excited to do something new.

2. Treat your shop like a business.
I think a lot of people look at there shop as a hobby and it maybe a hobby but your buyer doesn't know that. You want to put your best face forward. That means don't complain in forums all the time.

3. Promote
You need to promote yourself because in reality no one is going to do that for you. I'll be giving promotion tips in my next Thinking Outside the Box.

4. Blog
I know that blogging can seem like one more thing that you have to do on your list. Make sure that if you blog it's because you want to and not just because it's on a list somewhere and everyone is doing it. Read other people's blogs! Surf around blogs are great place to network and learn.

5. Join a street team
I love my street teams, especially my Jets. Find a street team that you fit into well. Street teams will help you promote, offer great friendships and most of all give you tons of support.

6. Don't depend on Etsy as your main income
You're probably saying what is she talking about? Well I'm saying don't put all your eggs in one basket. Is Etsy the most popular handmade selling website? Yes it is but the more you're out there the more you're noticed. There are a lot of other websites like Lov.li, Craigslist, DaWanda etc.

7. Give Back
Help others along the way. If someone is in the forums and ask a question that may have been asked a thousand times DO NOT jump on them. Instead help them. Yeah they could have done a search but chances are they may not know how. Remember you were new once too. Also I know that I personally make a note of people who are nasty in forums and don't buy from them. I figure if that's how they treat their co-workers than how will they treat me. Give back also through promoting others!

8. Observe the Golden Rule
If you send someone a convo or leave them feedback you'd like the same in return right? Well don't forget that others do too. Try to return convos in 48 hours because if a person has to wait longer they will move on and buy from someone else. There goes your sale. Feedback is really important to a lot of Etsy sellers. We want to know did you like my product? Was my customer service good?

9. Photos and Tags
Use all your photo slots and tags if you can. When doing your photos make sure they are clear and the background doesn't take away from your item. Also make sure you do one macro photo so people can really see your stitching, colors etc. Tagging is so important on Etsy! When you have tags to fill don't forget colors, textures, materials and how would you search for your item if you were going to buy it?

10. ALWAYS HAVE FUN!!
I think the most important tip is to always have fun. Once you craft becomes a pain staking job that isn't fun your craft will reflect that. You should see this as a job but who wants to work at a job that is awful? No one! You are your boss so don't hate yourself.

Stay tuned for more Thinking Outside the Box. If you have any tips to add leave a comment! I'm always looking for great pieces and Etsy Artists to feature. If you think that's you let me know! As always happy crafting!

Etsy Feature ♥Bbesigns♥

I belong to one of the greatest street teams on Etsy, the Jets. As a group we are doing a cross promotion with Etsy Greeting Street Team. I'm very excited to feature my partner, Bbesigns.

Twenty five years ago she received her BFA in design from Kansas City Art Institute. Just two months later she was blessed with the birth of her first son. She made that tough decision to put her career on the back burner to raise her three sons. Now that her sons have grown into men she is ready to get back to her love of design. Through out the years she has dappled in jewelry, interior design and lots of boy scout crafts. She i
s now concentrating on her new love paper crafts. She creates one of a kind cards. Each card is hand made by her so each one is different from the next. On June 6th of 2007 she joined our great community of Etsy. Since that time she has enjoyed 11 sales. She enjoys doing large orders so if you have an upcoming event, birthday or just want a pick me up card visit her shop. An added bonus right now if you buy three single cards you will receive one card free!!
One of my favorite card sets in her Birthday Cards with Quotes Set of 4.
♥I'm always looking for great people to feature. If you think you're that person please contact me via a conversation on Etsy! As always Happy Crafting!

Outside My Comfort Zone

As an artist myself I always respect others work but I must say I always thought stringing beads was easy. In some cases I still find that stringing can be easy. My parent's friend wanted me to make her an anklet. I told my parents you know what that just isn't my thing. After a little nudging I decided to give it a whirl again. Below are my two creations.
Starry Love Nights

Amber Canyon

Let me know what you think! As always Happy Crafting!

My Baby Started Daycare and I Survied

Yesterday my baby, okay he's almost two, started daycare. This is something that I've struggled with myself and with my husband. My husband has been trying to get Anthony in daycare for some time now. I've always stayed home with him and it just plain hurt my heart to think that someone else would care for my baby. Naturally I was also paranoid that he'd be hit, learn to swear or hate it. I think that's the first time mom in me. Lately I've gotten to the point in my jewelry business that I just need more time to work without little bead loving fingers touching everything. So yesterday was the big day. I got up bathed Anthony, got him breakfast and took a shower. I was doing great and felt we had made a good decision. I toured the daycare center and met the staff; both were great. I was fine while we got in the car and for half of the 7 minute drive. At the last stop sign before I had to drop him off I just started to loose it. I managed to pull myself together to sign him in. I took him to his Snoopey room to drop him off. All the kids were having so much fun playing ring around the rosie. I thought to myself keep it together lady. Then Anthony started to bawl and scream Mama no Mama no!! Next thing you know we're clingy together both of us bawling like we'd never see each other again. It was so hard to hand him over and have to leave while he was screaming Mama. I left the room only to be greeted by the older kids getting ready to go to swimming lessons. They actually pointed at me and asked what was wrong with me. Which of course only made me cry worse because I was so embarrassed. Then I had to go to Hobby Lobby to get a clasp to finish up a bracelet. I managed to get a lot done yesterday after I got through my break down. I spent 10 minutes on the phone with my mom telling her how awful of a person I was for abandoning my son when he was scared. I'm lucky to have a great friend who recently had to take her daughter to daycare too and a great street team in the Jets to get me through. My husband called from work to check on him and he was just fine. When I went to pick him up he was napping and still alive. I guess we both made it through one of the toughest days.

This is one of the pieces I did yesterday. I started Honey while on vacation last week. I finished her up yesterday. When the sun hits this bracelet it shimmers so nice.
Sandy Waves is another bracelet I completed yesterday. Sandy Waves is a mixture of two of my most popular bracelets, Oil Spill and Copper Elegance, both of which have found new homes. This bracelet is really a great mix of Sand and Waves just like a day at the beach.

Though I was very productive in starting another project, completing two bracelets and almost finishing a third, yesterday was still rough. I know over time Anthony and I will both adjust.

Birthday Bash Entire Store Sale July 9th 2008

Come help me celebrate my birthday!!

Front Page

I'm very excited that I managed to get on the front page again. Thanks to my fellow Jet, JealousyDesign, and her fabulous treasury, Between the Moon and the Mind.

New this Week

This week was a good listing week for me. I hope you enjoy these new pieces! Let me know what you think.♥
Funky Wood is a mix of different vintage red, oranges, brown and tan wood beads. The different shapes and colors blend together to create this funky piece inspired by the 70's. Funky Wood was strung using two lengths of Fireline to ensure it's durability and finished off with a magnetic silver clasp. It measures 21" in length. You can purchase this bracelet in my Etsy Store.

Cobblestone reminds me of a small town in Nebraska. The up town area has this beautiful cobblestone brick sidewalks. I used 11/0 Delica Triangles in the colors of copper and a deep brick red in a Peyote Stitch. I used a hand woven beaded Peyote tube as a finishing clasp. Cobblestone is 6 1/2" x 1 3/4". The thickness of this beautiful bracelet makes a real statement. You can purchase this bracelet from my Etsy Shop.
When I was a child my grandma had this wicker furniture that was so beautiful. Follow the Wicker Road reminds me of that furniture if it had crossed the yellow brick road. This bracelet is made out of 11/0 Glass Triangles that look and feel like wood. I used my Stain Glass design to create Follow the Wicker Road Bracelet. The bracelet is very light weight and will drape your wrist delicately. Follow the Wicker Road Bracelet features a hand woven Peyote Stitch tube clasp. This bracelet measures 7 1/4" x 1 1/4". You can purchase this bracelet in my Etsy Shop.

This week I also completed my first custom piece.
Do you have new pieces this week? Let me know. I'm always looking for new people to feature in my blog. If your interested let me know ! Happy Crafting♥

Truley Blessed

I was starting to question if I was going to be able to really make a go of my Etsy business. I enjoy weaving a lot and find it so relaxing so I would keep doing it. I was becoming discouraged because I just wasn't making sales. Then all the sudden this last week I've made 4 sales. I feel truly blessed every time I get a heart, am featured in a treasury and make a sale. It's so gratifying. I'm really looking forward to my first show next month. I just really wanted to say thank you to everyone who has shown me love and appreciation for my craft. (((hugs)))

Front Page

I am so excited much like a school girl. Today I was on the front page of Etsy!!! For those of you who don't know what that means it's the ultimate honor. I would like to thank Sandfibers for not only telling me but for taking a screen shot, and posting a blog on the Etsy Beadweavers Street Team blog. Please visit her store to see all of her inspiring jewelry!!!My 70's Wacky Wood bracelet is the center photo in the second to last row.

Yart Sale

I'm participating in the First Annual Yart Sale on Etsy. A Yart Sale is a lot like a yard sale. If you purchase from my Etsy Shop between June 11-20 you will receive 20% off!! How fun! Check out Etsy for other Yart Sellers!

The things you take for granted.

Today I blog with a heavy heart. I live in Mason City, Iowa and we have had the worst flood hit us since 1993. The devastation and destruction here in heart breaking.
It all started Saturday afternoon. My husband, son, brother and I ran out to Target to get stuff for supper when the tornado warnings went off. The Target staff wanted everyone to go into their coolers but from working at Kum and Go I know that it's not as safe as they would want everyone to think. So we took off running for the car and headed to my parents' house 12 miles away in the next town over. We watched the storm roll in and before long the news was announcing that a tornado touched down at the airport which is less than 2 miles away from my parents' house. We were very lucky that it lost it's momentum. We made it back home safety before the down poor started. Sunday we woke up to a day of rain. We have a park here, East Park, that in down in the center of hills so you have to drive down in. This park has a normally beautiful river that runs through it called the Winnebago River. East Park flooding is really no surprise to us locals because it happens almost every summer. This year we broke a record from 1933 for the worst flood. At it's highest crest the river was 18.74 feet. The devastation the rivers, lakes and streams flooding has caused here really makes you want to sit down and just cry. All of our restaurants are on mandatory shut down until further notice, we haven't had water here since Sunday and the amount of homes damaged or destroyed is mind blowing. We don't have water because our water plant flooded. Ironic huh? Once we knew the water was going to be shut off I ran to Target to get water. There were hordes of people doing the same thing making the isle look like a tornado had hit it. I did manage to get some water but I didn't take in to consideration that we would need water to flush the toilet, cook and brush our teeth. So yesterday we had to go out of state to get water.
My parents' house had 2.5 feet of water in the basement after the sewer backed up. The worst part is that they are on vacation and have no idea what they will come home to. Their brand new washer, water heater, furnace, tons of clothes, keepsakes and dryer are probably a loss. My best friend's lower level apartment flooded ruining all of her living room items. Not to mention all the local people who have lost their homes. We are supposed to receive more rain today, tomorrow and Thursday.
It is in times like this that I realize just how much I take for granted. I encourage you all to really take a minute today to realized how truly blessed we all are. When you drink the water out of the faucet take the time to appreciate that it's there. Our town has lost a lot of it's historical homes and our ability to feel safe in our homes. The pictures below show some of the flooding damage. If you have the ability to help please contact The Red Cross. We have a lot of people in North Iowa that have no clothes, no home and every little bit really does help!! If you aren't able to donate please donate your prayers for all of us.

Carnival Flapper

Well the summer is upon us well kind of here. Some days it's 40 degrees other days it's 80 frickin fickle Iowa weather! Anyways I designed this bracelet as an omag to summer carnivals with a dash of flappers from the 20's. This fine little dandy is available in my Etsy Shop.

In other news it has been awhile since I've featured a fellow Etsian. Shame on me! I've been so busy lately that I just haven't had the time. I shall be featuring a great Etsian next week so be sure to check back!

Two New Pieces

I just listed two new pieces last night.












I'm really loving the combination of blue and brown right now. Blue and brown set the mood in this sky inspired chunky bracelet! The white swirls represent the clouds in the blue sky. Strong on elastic this bracelet will fit most wrists. You can find this bracelet in my Etsy shop.











My second freshly listed item is my Ring Tailed Lemur bracelet. I had some left over beads from another project so I thought what the hay.

My husband said that this bracelet reminded him of a Ring Tailed Lemur because of the beaded beads. Each beaded bead is hand woven using fireline and galvanized tangerine, galvanized hot pink and galvanized light teal delica beads. I used elastic to couple the beaded beads with silver spacers. You can find this bracelet in my Etsy Shop.

I've been neglecting my blog

Happy Memorial Day Weekend all! I've been neglecting my blog because I've been so busy! I've had a really great last two weeks! I was featured in a couple really well put together treasuries. I was also featured on Talent Database's Craft Portal. My biggest accomplishment this week was having Fire Mountain Gems add me to their Notable Artist page. I also completed two and half bracelets; one for my mom's birthday which was made out of size 15/0 emerald Toho beads. I also finally finish my Mardi Gras bracelet which has left me with a sad feeling. I made my Mardi Gras bracelet out of size 11/0 Galvanized Tangerine, Galvanized Hot Pink and Galvanized Light Teal Delicas. I was so excited about this bracelet from the planning to the first bead strung to the final bead.
I just finished Mardi Gras bracelet yesterday. This is the bracelet that I made my mom for her birthday.
Fire Mountain Gem featured me and my Stain Glass Cuff.

Talent Database's Craft Portal Featured my Coal Shimmer Bracelet
Treasury 5-11-08 featured my Roman Elegance Bracelet

Treasury 5-15-08 featured my Spring Love Cuff Treasury 5-22-08 featured my Oil Spill Cuff.
I'd love to hear what you think of my new piece!

Treasury Feature

I was very excited to wake up to a treasury feature today! Check out the treasury at http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=44039 to see all the other very talented Jet Team Members who were also featured!

Coming Soon

Monkey Announcement:
Coming soon I will be starting a couple of series on my blog. The first series will be my challenge series. In this challenge it's all about taking my fellow Etsians out of their element. The second series will be about Going Green. Stay tuned for more!

Etsy Child

As a mom to a toddler I think one of the best categories at Etsy is the items available for children. If you search children on Etsy you will find 134685 items! Those 134685 items include everything from hats, toys, clothes, books, plushies and many more. What a great place to find a perfect birthday present! Each item is hand made with love!
I have chose some of the find Etsy sellers who dedicate their shops to little people to feature this week.
Lookmamamadeit joined the Etsy community on February 29th of this year. Her shop features felt food items for children. She is inspired by her 5 year old. Silvia has been thinking about making children's toys since she was a child! She has her Masters in Art History.
While browsing Silvia's shop I saw this lovely Cake and Ice-Cream Summer Party. The set comes with a strawberry and chocolate cake (2.2"diameter x 1.8"tall), two cookies with pink liners, a strawberry ice-cream cone (3.9"long), a chocolate ice-cream cone (3.9"long), and a lemon lollipop. Each item is made out of rich wool blend felt except for the ice cream cones which are made out of thicker acrylic felt. You can find this
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=10862611
for $32.00. Silvia also offers fruit, vegetables, and other assorted goodies.

Crackersart is another great Etsy seller who joined the community on August 8th of 2007. Sarah used to be a graphic designer but found it didn't give her enough of a creative outlet. In 1998 Sarah started Crackersart to achieve the creative outlet she desired. Her two little boys are her inspiration for her great digital illustrations.
Quackers the Duck is a great example of her digital illustrations. He is printed on smooth acid free 100% cotton rag fine art paper using archival inks. This print is 8" x 10" with a white boarder making it easy to frame. Each print is signed and date on the back. You can find this print at
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11030504 for $18.00.

If you are looking for a great wall mural then look no further than Loribiebel's shop. She joined the Etsy community on November 11th of 2007. She started doing children's murals in 1991. She realized that making murals that could be move able and not permanent was the way to go. This would be a great way to decorate your little one's room without having to paint over it as they grow!
My favorite mural from her shop is Farm by Storytime Walls. It comes with a barn (21 1/2"x16 1/2"), cow (16"x15"), horse
(17"x14"), pigs(15 1/2"x9"), lambs(16"x11"), tree(9"x14 1/2"), and clouds (17"x11") You can find this great mural at
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=7974725
$138.00. Loribiebel's shop also offers a circus mural, bug mural and individual pieces.


Whimbrella joined the Etsy community on August 12th 2007. She learned
to sew from watching her mother as a little girl. She still enjoys sewing with her mother. One of my favorite items from her shop are her Ready to Go Coloring Totes. Each tote comes with 8 standard crayons and a coloring book! What a great way to help your children pass the time in a car or at a doctor's appointment. The tote measures 6"x6" and is machine washable. You can find this tote at
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=8664477 for $12.50.




Etsy is a great place to find the perfect gift for any little one in your life!

Check out all these great Etsy shops at
http://lookmamamadeit.etsy.com
http://crackersart.etsy.com
http://loribiebel.etsy.com
http://whimbrella.etsy.com