Evidently it is. Happy Friday.
Showing posts with label etsy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label etsy. Show all posts
1/8/16
2/12/10
'Night Shades
So the term Night Shades came to me, as they are kinda shades you wear at night, right? And adding the apostrophe, makes it actually Good-Night Shades. Awwe, how cute.
These are one of the things I'm working on for potential sale. There, I said (wrote) it out loud. I have had a goal for too long now, to get an Etsy store started, and maybe saying it out loud more will help my get my butt in gear. Besides the four that have been pictured here so far, that are for personal use or gifts, I have half a dozen started, with the felt layer, all embroidered and felty (the most time-consuming part) finished.
I'm kinda working through the trial run of the ones I wear, to see if/how I need to tweek the measurements a bit. The fleece inner side and the felt outer side don't seem to wear at the same rate on the ones I wear every night, so I'm thinking I need to cut the fleece a bit less. And the headbands that I have used so far have been ok, but I need to figure out a good supply, not just hope to pick some up at the Dollar Tree.
These two are:
top: (red with flowers) Holiday gift for The BFF's mom, just finished at time of photo.
bottom: (fuchsia with flowers) my own pair, worn every night since creation, worn at least two months before this photo.
Can you tell my pair has been worn?
7/7/08
Make Me!
I love when something demands to be created. That happened to me this past weekend. I’d been using my duct-tape wallet for a few months, liking it, not loving it, and the past couple weeks, I’d been thinking about what to replace it with. Thursday morning at work, the idea overtook me, and I had to stop working for a few minutes to draw out the plan: a small felt wallet, embroidered with beads, with a zipper and two other pockets. This morning before work, I transferred my important things into the completed new wallet.
Granted, it was a long weekend, and I was able to work on this project more because of the holiday, but I have a feeling that whenever this project had demanded itself to me, I wouldn’t have been able to do much else until it was finished.
Don’cha just love when that happens? When a project refuses to go on the back burner, jumps into your head shouting "MAKE ME", and just about puts itself in motion without you.
I’ve mentioned that I have been feeling a little noncreative lately, so it was even more exciting for me to have this priority project hit me. Through my noncreative-feeling period, I did keep working, mostly crocheting, and kept watching blogs and flickr for ideas, and researching on Etsy. A week ago or so, a quote inspired me, and I dug my Art Journaller supplies out from the bottom of the stack of crap on my desk, and moved it to my bed stand. Most nights since then, I've doodled, nothing spectacular, but just kept working.
I guess that's the key, do the projects that inspire you, and even when you're not feeling so inspired, keep working until you're inspired again.
Granted, it was a long weekend, and I was able to work on this project more because of the holiday, but I have a feeling that whenever this project had demanded itself to me, I wouldn’t have been able to do much else until it was finished.
Don’cha just love when that happens? When a project refuses to go on the back burner, jumps into your head shouting "MAKE ME", and just about puts itself in motion without you.
I’ve mentioned that I have been feeling a little noncreative lately, so it was even more exciting for me to have this priority project hit me. Through my noncreative-feeling period, I did keep working, mostly crocheting, and kept watching blogs and flickr for ideas, and researching on Etsy. A week ago or so, a quote inspired me, and I dug my Art Journaller supplies out from the bottom of the stack of crap on my desk, and moved it to my bed stand. Most nights since then, I've doodled, nothing spectacular, but just kept working.
I guess that's the key, do the projects that inspire you, and even when you're not feeling so inspired, keep working until you're inspired again.
7/6/08
Heart Dish with Etsy Purchases
Heart Dish with Etsy Purchases
Originally uploaded by seeshells
Since I was taking the photos of my heart dish from my childhood at the same time as I was taking photos of my recent Etsy purchases, I decided to put them together, and what perfection! I think that's the perfect thing for my little heart dish to hold, and it sits by my computer to inspire me!
6/25/08
My Etsy Purchases
Here they are in person!
Lucky Pants pin was purchased from Lupin, and the Glow-In-The-Dark Fishbones earrings were purchased from Rainbow Mermaid.
I love them!
Lucky Pants pin was purchased from Lupin, and the Glow-In-The-Dark Fishbones earrings were purchased from Rainbow Mermaid.
I love them!
6/23/08
Etsy Treats Arrived Today!
I was surprised to find that both of my Etsy packages, both coming 'across the pond' arrived in my mailbox on the same day! Today!
They are cuter than even the pictures could show! And the little fishie earrings do glow in the dark. So cute!
(I'll try to get pictures up later this week)
They are cuter than even the pictures could show! And the little fishie earrings do glow in the dark. So cute!
(I'll try to get pictures up later this week)
6/14/08
I {heart} PayPal!
When PayPal says they guarantee unauthorized transactions 100%, they mean it!I had over $300 stolen from me late Monday, and by Friday morning it was back in my bank account! Turns out, my password into PayPal had been hacked, it wasn't very secure, and it was the same password I had used other places, stupid me. But after changing my password (and making it more secure and singular), updating a few things on the PayPal account to prove it was me, one phone call, a little patience, and viola! I am no longer ripped off. WHEW!
Now, I don't want to embarrass myself, but I haven't always been that good with my budget, but recently, after a Rude Awakening, I have gotten all organized with my budget, made a spreadsheet, check my balance daily, all that. So let me just say that this could have been a whole heck-of-a-lot worse!
As a little reward to myself for having my budget straight enough that this little adventure didn't have to turn my world upside down completely, I decided to buy two things from Etsy that I have had my eye on. From two of my Etsy and crafty heroes to boot! (Rainbow Mermaid and Bugs & Fishes) They are both in England, so it will probably take a little while to get here, but I'm so excited!
Thankfully, except for the patience part being kinda hard, it wasn't a terrible experience. And the guy in customer service that helped me at PayPal was awesome!
PLEASE REMEMBER TO KEEP YOUR PAYPAL PASSWORD SECURE AND DON'T USE IT OTHER PLACES AND CHANGE IT EVERY SIX MONTHS OR SO!
1/6/08
Dream Pin
The morning of the 24th, so Christmas Eve morning, I woke up remembering one specific dream. I was going through some things I had made, I think I was just moving them from one container into another (probably because I had been working on re-organizing all my beads). Or maybe I was just looking through all these things, maybe showing them to someone? (Hmm, the subconscious, sleeping me, was showing them to the part of me that would remember them?)
Anyway, there were a bunch of flat pieces, mostly pins, or maybe pendants. I've made so many pins lately, I have pins on the brain! I know there were at least a dozen pieces, but I only remember three clearly.
One was completely done in beads, a round part in the center, with an extra beaded piece on one side, the other side wasn't finished. In the center of the round part was an American flag, it reminded me of a necklace I made my mom many years ago. The fact that it wasn't finished didn't surprise me, and I had the idea that it had been partially finished for quite some time. (that, unfortunately, doesn't surprise me, either!)
The second piece was a felt pin, in these same colors, tan and black, but in a kind of representation of an American flag. Like three-five black stars on a tan background on one side, with roughly the same number of tan stripes on black on the other side. Not a perfect copy, but kind of op-art. I wondered in my dream if this was just artsy or if I was trying to make some political statement.
The third piece was this felt pin pictured here. That's right, I somehow dug my hand into my brain, and pulled this pin right out of my dream! More like, I drew it out that morning before I forgot, and when I had to go back to work later that week, I cut it out and embroidered it together. I thought, both in the dream, and while making it, that this geometric, simple, 'modern' looking idea would work well in multitudes of color schemes and shape variations.
After all of the trial pins I've made lately (and sorry I haven't shown you but a slight percentage of them yet), this pin idea I dreamed could be the one I make tons of and put up on Etsy.
Anyway, there were a bunch of flat pieces, mostly pins, or maybe pendants. I've made so many pins lately, I have pins on the brain! I know there were at least a dozen pieces, but I only remember three clearly.
One was completely done in beads, a round part in the center, with an extra beaded piece on one side, the other side wasn't finished. In the center of the round part was an American flag, it reminded me of a necklace I made my mom many years ago. The fact that it wasn't finished didn't surprise me, and I had the idea that it had been partially finished for quite some time. (that, unfortunately, doesn't surprise me, either!)
The second piece was a felt pin, in these same colors, tan and black, but in a kind of representation of an American flag. Like three-five black stars on a tan background on one side, with roughly the same number of tan stripes on black on the other side. Not a perfect copy, but kind of op-art. I wondered in my dream if this was just artsy or if I was trying to make some political statement.
The third piece was this felt pin pictured here. That's right, I somehow dug my hand into my brain, and pulled this pin right out of my dream! More like, I drew it out that morning before I forgot, and when I had to go back to work later that week, I cut it out and embroidered it together. I thought, both in the dream, and while making it, that this geometric, simple, 'modern' looking idea would work well in multitudes of color schemes and shape variations.
After all of the trial pins I've made lately (and sorry I haven't shown you but a slight percentage of them yet), this pin idea I dreamed could be the one I make tons of and put up on Etsy.
12/31/07
The End of 2007
Do you make New Year's Resolutions? I usually don't, the first day of a new year is pretty arbitrary, we can start good habits (or work on squelching bad ones) on any day. And there seems sometimes to be a pressure about making a resolution at the beginning of the year, pressure to make it last, make it work, too much pressure. I really prefer goals. And I can set a goal any time.
Last year I made a short list of crafty resolutions, with the best of intentions, but my creativity took me in different directions than where I thought I was headed on January 1, 2007. Two from that list have been in my mind all year, working towards one, trying to eek out time for the other.
One, Etsy, I've mentioned before that I am working on things to get started. I am still nervous about getting a shop set up, and am looking for more how-to help on the business part, I am so bad with the business part! On the making things part, I have several things ready, and have been working on lots of ideas, trying out lots of different ways to make a few things. Trying to decide which ones will be the most fun for me to make. Etsy is definitely one of my 2008 goals!
The other, my 'retro craft project' is one of those things that I think will need lots and lots of time dedicated to it, so as much as I want to do it and share it, I've felt overwhelmed with the amount of time it will take (or that I think it will take, anyway), and I've let that overwhelmed feeling freeze in my tracks like a deer in the headlights. So another goal for 2008 is to just do a little at a time, on anything, not let myself get overwhelmed and frozen. To get started on that goal, and the 'retro craft project', here is a photo to serve as a reminder to me, a teaser for you:
Last year I made a short list of crafty resolutions, with the best of intentions, but my creativity took me in different directions than where I thought I was headed on January 1, 2007. Two from that list have been in my mind all year, working towards one, trying to eek out time for the other.
One, Etsy, I've mentioned before that I am working on things to get started. I am still nervous about getting a shop set up, and am looking for more how-to help on the business part, I am so bad with the business part! On the making things part, I have several things ready, and have been working on lots of ideas, trying out lots of different ways to make a few things. Trying to decide which ones will be the most fun for me to make. Etsy is definitely one of my 2008 goals!
The other, my 'retro craft project' is one of those things that I think will need lots and lots of time dedicated to it, so as much as I want to do it and share it, I've felt overwhelmed with the amount of time it will take (or that I think it will take, anyway), and I've let that overwhelmed feeling freeze in my tracks like a deer in the headlights. So another goal for 2008 is to just do a little at a time, on anything, not let myself get overwhelmed and frozen. To get started on that goal, and the 'retro craft project', here is a photo to serve as a reminder to me, a teaser for you:
9/3/07
September Thoughts
So I've been thinking about a 'something' a day creative experiment. I've heard of folks doing a sketch a day or a self-portrait a day (drawing or photograph), or a watercolor a day for a week or a month. I'd need to coordinate it with my Thing of the day post also, but I could do a week's worth, and then post them the following week (I've really wanted to get ahead on my Things anyway).
So I glanced at the calendar, and noticed that September has four nicely rounded work weeks, I could do one topic for the whole month, or each of those nice little weeks. But! WAIT A SECOND!! This is SEPTEMBER! And my goal was to have my Etsy shop open by the last weekend of September. That means I have to get busy!
Here's where I'm at right now:
I wanted to have three different catagories of things to start with, each in various colors. I had decided that one of those three could be my holiday earrings, it is getting close to that time, and they do sell in person, so they would probably sell on Etsy. Plus I have several pairs finished, so that will reduce the stress of what I have to finish. Number two is what I've been making a bunch of, until I get sick of making them, and I am sooo almost at that sick of point! These are cute, I think people will laugh and hopefully like them, as long as I can come up with a reasonable price. The third item is just an idea and a few supplies at this point. I'm not even sure exactly how to put them together yet. And this third thing is why my goal is the end of September, because we are going to a gaming convention that weekend, and I want to have buisness cards to hand out, as I intend to be wearing/using this third thing as promotion and testing.
With the realization of only having a few weeks to meet my goal, I am getting nervous, am losing a little confidence, and am full of questions. Do I need to set up a seperate bank account to use on Etsy? How do I figure out what to price things at? And OMG, I need to figure out shipping, assuming anything actually sells.
So this month I will be on an information hunt, while I'm finishing the first things to go into the store. I've found some good info already, Cafe Mom (I'm seeshellsmrf there, come say 'hi') has an Etsy forum, which pointed me to this EtsyWiki, and a good article on pricing stuff. And looking for more. And maybe October can be a sketch a day month.
So I glanced at the calendar, and noticed that September has four nicely rounded work weeks, I could do one topic for the whole month, or each of those nice little weeks. But! WAIT A SECOND!! This is SEPTEMBER! And my goal was to have my Etsy shop open by the last weekend of September. That means I have to get busy!
Here's where I'm at right now:
I wanted to have three different catagories of things to start with, each in various colors. I had decided that one of those three could be my holiday earrings, it is getting close to that time, and they do sell in person, so they would probably sell on Etsy. Plus I have several pairs finished, so that will reduce the stress of what I have to finish. Number two is what I've been making a bunch of, until I get sick of making them, and I am sooo almost at that sick of point! These are cute, I think people will laugh and hopefully like them, as long as I can come up with a reasonable price. The third item is just an idea and a few supplies at this point. I'm not even sure exactly how to put them together yet. And this third thing is why my goal is the end of September, because we are going to a gaming convention that weekend, and I want to have buisness cards to hand out, as I intend to be wearing/using this third thing as promotion and testing.
With the realization of only having a few weeks to meet my goal, I am getting nervous, am losing a little confidence, and am full of questions. Do I need to set up a seperate bank account to use on Etsy? How do I figure out what to price things at? And OMG, I need to figure out shipping, assuming anything actually sells.
So this month I will be on an information hunt, while I'm finishing the first things to go into the store. I've found some good info already, Cafe Mom (I'm seeshellsmrf there, come say 'hi') has an Etsy forum, which pointed me to this EtsyWiki, and a good article on pricing stuff. And looking for more. And maybe October can be a sketch a day month.
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