September Already!

Its September already, and I am yet again asking myself where the time has gone.

Last month I made myself available in Etsys forums, to critique some shops. I never imagined the rsponse that I would get, so many people asked for critiques that I couldn't even get to everyone. So if you asked for one and didn't get it send me a convo on Etsy and I will do my best to find time to look at your shop. In the process of critiquing shops I chatted with some interesting shop owners from all over.
One shop that stood out amongst them was 'littlebirdtoo", so go check it out!http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5718525
There are some absolutely darling finds in this shop!!
Now if only there was a giftcard that was good for any store on Etsy, of course, that might be dangerous too. Perhaps someday!
For the upcoming holiday season I will be offering gift certificates to my Etsy shop, watch for the listing for those to appear soon!

Thanks for taking the time to read, and take care.
I promise to do a better job of updating :o)

Been awhile

Its been awhile hasn't it. Time flys, regardless of whether or not you are having fun, if you are busy, it just seems as if it goes even faster!

A few topics I have been mulling around: Etsy Hearts, Favorites and Favoriting- No matter what the site may be, Gift Registrys and Wish Lists, and lastly Gift Certificates.

I plan to blog about each of these in turn in the coming weeks, so if you have any ideas, comments, questions, or suggestions, please let me know... I am also planning to try and run a feature on shops and sites in my blog.

I look forward to spending more time on this as well as trying to finish my facebook fan page so that it can be published or posted or made public or whatever we want to call it. Let me tell you getting this going has been interesting.

On another note, I have been busy with work, and family, and life, and learning. Its true we learn something new all the time, I have recently been helping someone with the fun job of fixing a computer mess, and although I am not real technical and in the know about computers, just the mere basics and what I know from trial and error as well as just plain experimentation, I can say I have learned alot in a short time! Long story, too long too tell here! So maybe my newfound computer confidence(which still lacks at moments) will inspire me to finally finish that fanpage on facebook.

For now...

10 days!? Where did time go?

Sadly I realize it has been 10 days since my last blog post! Wow where did time go? I started out with the best intention on the first of this month to try to update this daily, or at the very least every other day, guess I wasn't so successful at it.
I started back to school deals in my shop and extended the earring special thru the 14th, buy one get one 1/2 off. Things are slowing down some, and I am looking for a few new and creative ways to draw business. I am also toying with the idea of some fun new blog topics and features, so if anyone has any ideas feel free to let me know... they would sure be appreciated. I would like to make this fun and something that poeple look forward to wantng to read and come visit!
Happy Monday!

Back to School Sale

Back to school sale starts August 1st! August 1st-August 7:All Earrings Buy one get one half off. Free shipping US and Canada the entire month of August. Shopping everywhere else is offered at half of normal shipping cost. Spend $10 and receive a free gift with purchase. Watch for weekly specials and updates.

I am planning to run a sale of some variety on something all month long in my Etsy Shop. I am also planning to throw in a few surprises and contests/giveaways. So keep checking back for further details!

:o)

Another week...

Here we are Thursday already and another week of summer almost gone! It seems like my days just bet busier and I have less and less free time, some days I hardly slow down and feel like I am stuck on auto-pilot! I took my handmade jewelry out to the flea market on Sunday but found a different buying market than what I am used to, took my best friend Jess along for the trip so I would have some help and not be out there alone all day. What a early morning, I picked her up at ten to 5 in the morning and we were there by 5:20 or so, and got a good spot, watched everyone else set up and it soon looked like a small city, watched the sun come up, got a tiny bit of color to the skin, got some exercise walked around and looked at what all the sellers had, and done by noon and off to DQ for some lunch and then the half hour ride back. Unloaded the truck and it all sat in the living room until last night, now its been relocatoed to my bedroom/office/workspace where I can deal with it later. Now that that is over I can begin listing many of the new designs and items that my mother and I have made over the past month or so. So keep an eye on my Etsy shop for new things. I am also planning to pick thru my horde of beads and other art and craft supplies so that they can be listed as well, there is just so much stuff, and some of it that we don't even need or will have a use for. Hopefully I will get that done before the next TnS. Other than that not much new, Mom is still recuperating and hopefully will be off the vac pump in 2-3 weeks. Dog shows coming up at Lake Elmo, kind of excited for that even though I don't have a dog entered still will be fun to go. And the best part will be my vacation over Labor Day Week, when I hope to have some "me time" and be able to relax and go do what I want, maybe get away for a couple days with friends or something like that. Hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

List of Trade Friendly Etsy Shops

As promised here is the list of trade friendly Etsy Shops that have replied to me, thanks everyone for taking the time to do so. I will try my best to keep this list updated periodically, and once figured out would like to find a way to put it in my sidebar(I am still learning how all this blog business works on here, so bear with me). Please if you haven't, take a moment if you can to visit the following shops even if you aren't interested in trading, we have some very talented people in our midst.

Please contact individual shop owners regarding trade details.


Trade Friendly Etsy Shops
funnyface12345.etsy.com
nativebaby.etsy.com
ixtlicouture.etsy.com
alteredbeauty.etsy.com
gloriasjewelrybox.etsy.com
butterflydesign1.etsy.com
candlewhiz.etsy.com
jewelrywhiz.etsy.com
BooBooMonsters.etsy.com
TYEJ.etsy.com
angiehandmade.etsy.com
GeckoJewelry.etsy.com
muffintopdesigns.etsy.com
thoughtfulexpression.etsy.com
peculiarparchment.etsy.com
Raevyn77.etsy.com
love2embellish.etsy.com
gratefulgoods.etsy.com
gratefulsupplies.etsy.com
Mopsical.etsy.com
craftychris.etsy.com
redbracelet.etsy.com
smutopia.etsy.com
JanineMarieJewelry.etsy.com
SuperCuteJewelry.etsy.com
JMBridalJewelry.etsy.com
Indiethrift.etsy.com
dinolover77.etsy.com
EuniceNeedlecraft.etsy.com
delights.etsy.com
TheGirlyTutu.etsy.com
JollyJennifer.etsy.com
MartiArtstudio.etsy.com
theglasswillow.etsy.com
hazelhoney.etsy.com
LittlePreciousThings.etsy.com
Sharnemainiaknits.etsy.com
FuzzyWuzzysoaps.etsy.com
PnsNNedls.etsy.com
RanaMuck.etsy.com
luvmymonkeys@etsy.com
beckynot@etsy.com
RubysUniqueBoutique.etsy.com
jewelryinfusions.etsy.com
jewelryinfusions2.etsy.com
marinebiochic07.etsy.com
charmingmittens.etsy.com
pennyspug.etsy.com
MamaJBoutique.etsy.com
iiinventory.etsy.com
overloadednoggin.etsy.com
LDCraftSupplies.etsy.com
Genevive.etsy.com
yjja123.etsy.com
AmeGem.etsy.com
funkyluke.etsy.com
MelissasMagicSpot.etsy.com


If there are any errors, please feel free to let me know so that it can be corrected. While I strived for perfection, I am only human! If you are not included on this list and would like to be please let me know...

Thanks Again :o)

Trading

Happy Monday to all, it has been about a week since I have posted last. Last week I decided to try a new venture, I wanted to learn more about trading on Etsy, and posted in forums looking to make a list of trade friendly shops on Etsy, because I know if I was curious, I imagined others would be as well. I had completed a trade with another etsy shop real close to that time, and I thought what a neat idea, from so many standpoints: you get a sale(the trade), feedback-which is what can make or break many a online business, you get something you need or want without spending $ in this tough economic time, you get the opportunity to chat with great other sellers, amongst a host of other benefits. So I posted that, and to my surprise received convos and replys to my posting. At the same time I also stumbled into a thread on the forums that was for a Trade n Stay event hosted by the Etsy Tradeaholics Team. So I also put a posting on there, to which I got many nice replies and found myself welcomed in to a community of other trade friendly shops. I felt so welcomed by this group of people, and had so much fun trading with other shops, I only wish I had known about it sooner. I felt for awhile now like I hadn't found my niche on Etsy yet, and now I feel as though I have.
If you have never traded before, or are considering trading, I encourage you to do so, and to check out the following links some are articles about trading, and two are links for Etsy Tradeaholics which have some helpful info.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade
http://www.livescience.com/history/080218-hs-trade.html
http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/141653/trading/history_of_trade.html
http://tradeaholics.ning.com/
http://etsytradeaholics.blogspot.com

As always have a great day!
~Catherine :o)

P.S. List of fabulous trade friendly shops to follow this post!