Valentine's Day ***GIVEAWAY*** on my Facebook Page!:D

Hi everyone, just wanted to let you all know that I currently have a giveaway going on over at my Facebook page. Come check it out if interested:) Here is a picture of the goodies. If I have enough people participating in this one then I will start doing monthly giveaways. Hope to see you guys there!:)

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/

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!

Harder than I thought but still having fun

It has been awhile since I posted. I have been busy learning the ropes at Etsy and making more jewelry. I am still having a blast. John (husband) says he is really proud of me for sticking with this and that he really thinks I am doing a great job. I am pleasantly surprised that he has been so supportive. I think in some way he is living his own creativity through me. He used to create and sell furniture back in the day. I try to encourage him to get back in touch with his creativity but he seems more interested in helping me for some reason.

I have to start thinking of promoting my stuff if I want to sell anything. But to be honest that is not a main priority. I really am just enjoying the whole process. I have been at my day job for over 10 years working with boring numbers so I get very excited when I get to do something more fun. So far commenting on the forums and posting new items has gotten me the most recognition. I have gotten a lot of positive feedback and also some constructive critism. The whole Etsy environment is awesome! Everyone is so supportive of each other and very honest. I find myself hanging out over there more often now than Facebook! But Facebook is a necessary evil, most of my family and friends are on there and I don't want to lose touch of that reality.

I have also been posting pics to my Flickr account which hasn't really done anything but I am able to track which pics get the most views and which items people include in their favorites. I want to next join an Etsy team. I contacted the leader from one of the teams I was interested in and she likes my stuff and will take me in but I need to have at least 2 pages of stuff on my shop (group requirement). I am pretty close so I will contact her again in a week or two. Until next time!