Fangtastic Friday

I can't believe how much better I feel now that I am not sick anymore! I swear the stomach flu I had was the worst ever. I even lost a few pounds but not anymore because now I can't stop eating! I'm munching on some chips and salsa and a sugar cookie as we speak.

Today I noticed that I lost 2 shop hearts. My first reaction was "Wha wha what did I do wrong?! Did I offend someone?!" So then I went to the Etsy forums and did a search on "missing shop hearts" and sure as s**t there was an announcement that said Etsy was "cleaning up all closed and banned accounts". WHEW indeed.

I don't have much time to work on my shop this weekend because I have 2 parties to attend tomorrow and then I am taking my son trick or treating on Sunday. He wanted to be a magician this year and picked out his own magician "mad hatter" hat at the Halloween store, it was so cute! HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!!:D

Takin' It Easy

TGIF everyone! This week has been rough as all of us have been sick, my son throwing up 3 seperate times in massive amounts:( He is in good spirits but still no appetite yet but I make sure he is drinking plenty of liquids.

I'm also falling so behind at work which means I have to cut back on my social networking during work hours (hopefully my boss won't stumble upon reading this!). Wouldn't it be nice to be one of those "quit your dayjob" success stories on Etsy! My shop is doing pretty decent but it doesn't pay the bills and I can't afford to lose my day job because I have a family to support. Plus I need to get more sleep! I am usually on the computer late at night because that is the only time I have to myself. So basically I need to self discipline myself and create a strict schedule during the week or else I am going to have a major breakdown *SIGH*

This weekend I am going to try and learn how to make wood chip pendants:) I saw this feature on my husband's MAKE magazine on how to make wood chip buttons so I am going to use that as a guide. I wonder where I can legally chop down a branch? The ones I have on my tree at home are still a bit small.

A Peeq At Fashion

A couple of weeks ago I submitted a test blog and was chosen to be a blogger for a new blog on Wordpress called "A Peeq At Fashion". They are affiliated with the game Pennydrop on Facebook. Basically, I just blog about my opinions on anything related to fashion trends or brands. It is a really neat opportunity for me to blog for others and to experience a different kind of audience. As a blogger, I will periodically receive gift cards from their partnered affiliates. I just received a True Religion (my absolute favorite brand of jeans!) gift certificate as a welcome:D I think this will be really fun and we are free to blog about whatever just as long as it is fashion related. Here is the link to my first blog entry entitled "Why Are Jeans So Popular" It was also the blog entry I submitted as my test blog:) I probably won't write quite as much going forward, it seems most of the entries from other bloggers are only a paragraph long.

http://blog.sneakpeeq.com/2010/10/18/why-are-jeans-so-popular/

Hidden Treasures

Today I had some time to kill on my lunch break so I stopped by Shopko which is a discount store similar to Target or Walmart. They were actually having a huge sale on jewelry so I went over to check it out mostly to find pieces that I can break apart and re-create into my own design. I found a wooden stretch bracelet set that I could use to make wire wrap rings. I also found 2 earring 6 pack sets that have charms that I could use to make necklaces. This is a great alternative to buying parts at the craft store or online because it is inexpensive and it also gives you more creative options. Definitely one of my favorite ways to create stuff! So that is what I am going to be working on this weekend. I also ordered some more of the popular charms that I have used such as the fine silver lotus, brass imprinted charms, and fairy charms. Still waiting for my business cards to come, it has been weeks.

Tomorrow I attend my first virtual lab meeting with the Ifsteam, that should be fun:) It is scheduled for 1 hour and conducted in a chat room type of environment. I will post my experience after it is done.

I will stop here. I am so extremely out of it right now because I am sick and took a Benadryl an hour ago to control my extreme runny nose and sneezing. Good-Night:D

Great Book to Get You Inspired

I first read Handmade Nation by Faythe Levine & Cortney Heimerl when I was just starting out on my shop. The book reads like a documentary featuring artisans from around the United States. Each segment/chapter centers around an artist from each region such as the Northeast, Southeast, Northwest, etc. What I like most about this book besides the colorful crafty pics is the story behind each artist's journey to success. It is kind of like a compilation of Etsy's "Quit My Day Job" features. Handmade Nation has also been filmed as a documentary so if you don't have the patience to read the book then check it out on Amazon video on demand. I think I'm gonna watch it this weekend.

Thinking Local

This week I finally made myself apply for the local Etsy street team in my city. I guess the whole Twitter Bot fiasco made me rethink where I should be promoting my items. I'll still be using Twitter but will delete/block all spam accounts. The local street team (Idaho Indie Works) participates in local craft fairs/festivals and they have a boutique downtown. I was invited to participate in First Thursday which is a monthly event showcasing shops and galleries in downtown Boise. I had to decline because of a time conflict with work. Plus I wasn't quite ready yet. But I will be participating in the one next month. I am excited but kinda nervous because I don't know what I am doing but I have a month to prepare and ask lots of questions:) This is a big step for me because I feel more comfortable hiding behind my computer!

I have decided not to open up another Facebook account at this time. It is too much for me to handle all these social networking sites in addition to being a Mommy and having a full time job. My son always comes first!:D So instead I will "share" new items once a week on my regular FB account. I also made it to where anyone who views my profile will see the "My Etsy" tab and links to my blog & shop. This is a nice feature to have for people who happen to view my profile that are not on my friends list since my profile is set to private.

Everything is happening so fast. I am actually surprised that I am putting so much effort into all of this. It started out as a fun hobby and now it has turned into this mini side business. I have learned so much in the past 3 months but I know there is still so much more to learn!

Ro-Ro-Ro Robotics!

Today I found out on the Etsy forums that a lot of my Twitter views are actually from some automated program called a "Twitter Bot". I kind of figured something was weird when I first post an item and then I instantly get like 20 or so views! I guess deep down I thought maybe the views were real:/ This kind of makes me not want to use Twitter as much anymore. I mean how many of my followers are actually real people? I'm going to go ahead and open up a separate Facebook page account for my shop. I am very familiar with Facebook and I am on there most often so it seems like the best thing to do. I originally wanted to wait for awhile because I wanted to give it a fair amount of commitment. Another lesson learned! I will post a link to my new FB page as soon as I get it created, hopefully some of you will follow me over there:)

http://mashable.com/2009/08/06/twitter-bots/

Happy October, Lovely Fall, Theme Blogs

Happy October everyone!:D Fall is my favorite time of year, I love the colors and there is just this vibe of calm after the excitement of summer. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, here is their official website: http://www.nbcam.org/ It is also the month of Halloween which is my favorite holiday because it's so fun and imaginative:D I am excited to start making holiday themed items. I am going to try and make stuff that people can still wear after the holiday is over. The attached pic is my first attempt at a holiday themed item.

I made 2 sales on Friday:D I'm starting to see repeat items being purchased. My necklaces seem to be the most popular, especially my charm themed necklaces. I will definitely focus more on this type of item.

I am going to attempt to start writing theme blogs at least once a week. This will help motivate me to write more and put some consistency in my blog. Hopefully it will also be interesting enough for you guys to check it out each week:) I will be doing this every Friday. It will either be a product or website review or a topic that I am interested in that I want share. Have a great week everyone:D