More Wallets

I made more wallets! Yay!

Pouches and Things

It's been a while since I have written here so I thought I would update. I haven't been doing much with my Etsy shop because I still need to get boxes to put sold jewelry in (so I can't list all of the jewelry that I have to sell). So my shop isn't getting a lot of hits right now. I decided to try and create wallets of some kind. This is what I came up with. I think they would be better with a zipper rather than buttons. That way you can put change in them as well! So I will buy some zippers and try to give that a try... or I may just try tightening the flap so that nothing can come flying out of them. I don't think they are tight enough as they are now.

I decided not to include my Christmas list here. I'm afraid a family member or friend will peak! Not so afraid of that that I won't put a call out to Etsy sellers to help me with some of those gifts. I'm looking for gifts for the two men in my life. My dad loves sailing, cultural things, gardening, and eating (especially trying new foods). My boyfriend loves hunting, camping, fishing, and motorcycles. If you or someone you know from Etsy sells stuff for men, please let me know!

There are so many cool items that I have found on Etsy lately! Check out Madelaine Adelaide's artwork! I love her work. It's so beautiful and sometimes a bit spooky at the same time. I love it.

Etsy for Girls Ages 8 - 11

I entered a poster sketch challenge on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5265469&page=1

Here are my choices for girls ages 8 - 11:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22795453@N00/1520659738/

I had fun picking the items out, but it definitely was challenging. It took me a little over an hour to find everything.

Kristie's Apron

A fellow crafter from my area makes beautiful aprons. I bought one for my sister for Christmas last year and she loves it! Check out Kristie's Aprons.

I remembered her aprons after reading a post on Lula's Boutique about her vintage apron purchase.

My Artsy Girl Mad Lib

I found this on Monica Magness' Blog. If you want to play, look at her September 29 post before reading my result :-)

Artsy Girl Mad Lib:
Edward Hopper shrieked and exclaimed, "shnizelsnert!" as he discovered the free day ahead of her/him to meet with Lisa. First we need a project... I said, "oh my goodness!" here's what we will do. On those especially orange days, I like to stumble through Bead Style Magazine while sipping Coke to get ideas. I grab hold of my Embroidery Needle and start cutting the sheets of water colors until patterns form. We will apply the peyote stitch while running till our heart is content. It will resemble the likes of the The Kiss but we'll paint our creation with guacamole. He smiles back at you and confirms that you are in fact a real Princess! Responding wickedly, you smirk and reply, "ya, I know."

Saturday Night Thoughts

I have had such a lovely day. Between visiting friends, driving in the gorgeous weather again in the convertible, and now, relaxing in a candle-lit room in front of the computer before bed, I put in a little bit of time promoting myself on the Etsy promotions forum. I also chatted for a bit in the Etsy chat rooms this morning. I can't get over how nice everyone on Etsy is. It is refreshing. I met a lovely lady who introduced me to Rufus Wainwright and specifically the song Poses. I am hooked!

Tonight happens to be the night of my ten year reunion for high school. I didn't go to the reunion, nor did either of my two best friends from high school. I am curious, how many of you went to your reunions? If you didn't go, why not? If you did, what was it like?

I thought tonight, before bed, I would come up with a theme to introduce some Etsy artists and crafters that I like. Sort of like creating a theme for an Etsy treasury. What moves me right now is romance. Must be the candles and the crisp Autumn air. So that is my theme. I will try to see what would fit a romantic shopping spree...

I must go back to Kaspar Gallery. I showed my friend the Kaspar Gallery tonight and she was just as impressed. And isn't the work romantic? Take a look at this Abstract Landscape Tree, this photograph, and this painting. The red and gold shades in the two paintings suggest romance and passion for me. If I were to create a "romance room" in my house, I would have to buy a couple of these. What would I wear in my romantic room? Well, pretty shirts and dresses with flowers on them of course. Check these out from CircularAccessories... Chopstick Dahlia, Blue Willow, Black Lotus, and Blue Locust on Swamp. I may also like this Victorian Style Choker from SanityCrafts around my neck. I also need pretty soaps to make me smell as good as I feel in my romantic room. I found this crafter in the chat room this morning. I like the sound of these Crannberry Seed soaps. I think I would like to lay down in a bed like Delia's Corral Bed. I would have satin sheets and a fluffy red or pink duvet.

I love to fantasize like that, but I think for my next entry I will work on items that I'm more likely to buy. I will start a holiday shopping list for my friends and family. Ooh fun, can't wait!

So I have no news for tonight regarding our shop. We have had many visits to our bags, which is nice. No sales yet, which is totally acceptable. I can't wait to make that first sale, but I know that it takes time and work. In the meantime we still have our craft fairs which fulfill that satisfaction you get from selling something you worked so hard to create.

Phew, it's already midnight! Time to snooze.

Feelin' Groovy

I'm in such a chipper mood tonight. My boyfriend and I just got home after a long evening drive in his convertible. So nice with this perfect Autumn evening weather!

I just thought I'd pop on to post some more of my favorite Etsy things. I just found this Etsy-ier Romanticgems... really cool stuff. If I had unlimited money to spend I would pick up this scarf, this GORGEOUS bracelet, this one too, in fact all of the ones of that style.

I found two cool items from MissKnit's page. This Fall Colors Pouch for holding your credit card, ID, business cards, etc... Mama Pea just bought me a similar pouch at the Octoberfest and I use it all the time! It's really handy for someone like me who doesn't carry cash and ocassionally goes out without a purse. I think this Felted Black and White Handbag is adorable!

And because I have baby fever here are a few cuties: from punkin and prettypleasequilts.

Whew. This blog is certainly becoming more about what I want from Etsy than what I have on Etsy. To close, here are a few of the jewelry pictures I took earlier. Really must work on my skills...

Photographs

Wow, that was hard. I wasn't able to get many quality pictures of our jewelry. Most of the pictures turned out washed out. :-/ Good thing I have some time to figure out how to take better photographs!

If anyone knows how to take better pictures, please let me know. Lighting tips? Time of day to do it in natural light? Anything?

Off to Take Some More Pictures...

...of jewelry. While the sun is out. I will post some later!

Newest Item Listed on Etsy

Here is our newest item...

Just look at the bead work, it's gorgeous!

It must have taken Mama Pea hours to do this one.

I am so in love with Etsy.com. I have found so many cool things on it, I thought I'd list some of my favorites. I love nearly everything from TheBlackApple, especially The Quiet Room and To Ride a Black Swan. They are so cool. I'm thinking of buying a bunch to decorate my bedroom once it's painted. I also like this pendant from sea2sea. I love everything from kaspargallery.

I list some more of my favorites later. I want to shop! But I must sell first.

This Weekend's Craft Fairs and Jewelry

This weekend Mama Pea and I had two craft fairs. Saturday's fair was a straight up craft fair at a small town's science center (I think that it used to be a tiny elementary school). The Lion's Club held the fair. All of the money the Lion's Club receives goes toward funding a machine which helps blind people. So that's nice.

We did really well at the fair. We sold four bags, a bunch of jewelry and lavendar sachets (fresh from my mom's garden!). It was pretty profitable.

Sunday's fair was actually an Octoberfest (should that be OKtoberfest?) so along with having over one hundred vendors, there was an umpa band to entertain us between customers coming by. It was also outside, which was really nice, especially since it was sunny and 75 degrees all day!

We did just as well in sales (minus $2). We sold three bags, including one that I did the bead work on! We also sold one of the weirder necklaces I've made. I had fun making it but I wasn't sure it would sell. I try to make things that I would wear, but sometimes things don't come out the way I mean for them to. I wish that I had taken a picture. We also sold two pairs of hoops, similar to the ones in the picture. They are probably my favorite to make. I just think they are the cutest!

I'm posting some other pictures of jewelry. Some of these items will be available Etsy soon. Mama Pea and I have run low on gift boxes, so I need to replace them first.

These pink hearts were picked up several times at the fairs... And here is one of Mama Pea's new designs. I'm not sure how she created it, but I like it! Mind the fuzz in the top right corner :-P it's cotton from one of the gift boxes.

Today was my first day creating and promoting our Etsy store. It was really fun! I spent a lot of time on the forums and everyone seems really nice. It's been a long day though.

Etsy

Sweet Peas has just joined Etsy.com. Check us out: http://osweetpeas.etsy.com/. Here is a sample of some of our work:



Please let us know what you think!