Craft Fair Items

Here is your first peek at one of my craft fair items. I made these post-it note holders out of acrylic picture frames that I bought on clearance at Michaels. They are the 3-1/2 x 5" size. I measured and cut the DSP and slipped it into the frame. I decorated the frame and made a matching pen. I wanted to use a retractable pen because it seemed more practical to me. I bought a pkg of these pens from Staples and they were relatively inexpensive. I cut a piece of card stock 1 x 2-7/8" and slipped it inside the pen.

They turned out better than I had imagined. I'm very happy with them. I think I'm going to try and find more frames so I can make some more for the craft fair. So far I only have 15.

Thanks for stopping back. Check back tomorrow for another craft fair item!

Holding onto Halloween

Yes, I know that Halloween is over but I just had to share these photos with you.

I took the cupcake decorating class at Michael's Craft Store a few weeks back. Now I finally know how to use the different tips to decorate. Here are the gluten free Halloween themed cupcakes I made for my department at work. BIG improvement compared to my attempt at a 3D soccer ball cake I did 2 years ago!

I also played around with a product called "3D Sculpt Gel" that I bought from Party Bazaar. I decided that I was going to be Freddie Kruger for Halloween this year, but I wanted my costume to be better than the store bought version that I tried on. I thought it would be cool to make half of my face look burned. The sculpt gel was so easy to use. I let it bob around in hot water for 15 minutes or so until it was liquid. When it wasn't too hot, I started spreading it on my cheek and as it got sticky and started to set, I started pulling up with my finger and stretching it around to create some texture. Here is a picture of it after I finished putting it on my face, and a picture of me after I got my make up done. Stacy at Mac did an awesome job!

Last but not least, here is a picture of my rabbit Royce in his lobster costume. He wasn't very happy about putting it on so that is going to be the last time he will ever "wear" anything.

Not so Wordless Wednesday

For today's "Wordless" Wednesday, I wanted to find something from an Etsy shop that was nearby (just across the border in Vancouver, WA). I found the cutest pillows at tickingandtoile. I also thought it would be neat to pick something that was French related.

I'll be back later with today's Christmas card post (It's already listed in my Etsy shop if you want to peek!)

Holly Jolly Christmas

Here is another card that I listed on Etsy this morning. I’ve decided to list three cards each day until I run out. So far I have 6 Christmas cards listed.

The card below consists of many layers. The dsp is layered on top of very vanilla cardstock. Snowflakes are punched into the old olive cardstock, which is then layered on top of very vanilla cardstock. (You can see the very vanilla peeking through the snowflakes) And finally the very vanilla is layered on top of cherry cobbler cardstock.

I’ll keep today short and sweet. See you tomorrow with another Christmas card and a Wordless Wednesday pic.

Recipe for card above:
Cherry Cobbler cardstock (su#119685)
Very Vanilla cardstock (su#101650)
Old Olive cardstock (su#100702)
Snowflake punch (retired)
Christmas Punch stamp set (retired)
Dimensionals (su#104430)
Jolly Holiday DSP (su#117159)
Oval Punch (su#119859)
Curly Label Punch (su#119851)

If you live in Canada and would like to order any of the supplies shown, please send me an e-mail with your contact information and a list of the items.

Holiday Greetings

This one of the three Christmas cards that I listed in my Etsy shop. I love this card. It is a modern card that uses traditional Christmas colors.



I’ve been working on dressing up the inside of my cards a bit so you will see that I’ve done that really simply on this card with just a strip of cardstock and two punched ½” circles. I wanted to get it to match the dsp that I used on the front of the card.

I also used dimensionals to pop up the reindeer. I love dimensionals. I can’t seem to make a card without using them!

I have my Christmas cards ready to go. I’m planning on listing a few each day on Etsy, and featuring one of them on my blog.

I’ve been working on my “card catalog” to give to family and friends for Christmas card orders. I was almost done last night and then I thought that I should include cards for all other occasions as well in case they want to buy some for gifts etc.

Here is my supply list for today’s card:
Cherry Cobbler cardstock (su#119685)
Very Vanilla cardstock (su#101650)
Old Olive cardstock (su#100702)
Old Olive Ink (su#102277)
5/8” Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon (su#109054)
Dasher stamp (su#116816)
Sincere Salutations stamp set (su#115068)
Dimensionals (su#104430)
Jolly Holiday DSP (su#117159)
½” Punch (for circles inside card) (su#119869)

Where have I been?!

It seems like it’s been years since I last posted. As some of you may already know, I have my first craft fair coming up in November. I’ve been working hard on my Christmas cards and other gifts for the fair. Needless to say my work space is a mess! Even the picture below is pretty tame!

I spent approx 2 hours last night taking photos of my new cards. I will post them on my flickr page and the cards will be available for purchase in my Etsy shop starting Monday October 11th.

I’ve also been working on some other projects for my craft fair but due to the estimated price of shipping, they will not be listed in my Etsy shop. I would still love to share them with you so I will be posting them on my blog along with instructions and possibly a video tutorial. I can’t wait! I love this time of year!

Take care. Thanks for stopping by!

Intro Video

I haven't had much time to start making any video tutorials...BUT I did make an intro video. It took me a few days to play around with it until I was happy with it but here it is.

Comment below and let me know what you think.

Summer Blossoms Birthday Card

I know I’ve been MIA for the past week or so. I’m hoping to be back to posting regularly next week. Things have been a little hectic. I’m trying to prepare for a Christmas craft fair but I’ve been having a “creativity block” lately. Sometimes I don’t know where to start. So, I decided to re-vamp one of my favourite cards.


To decide what colours I wanted to use, I pulled out my colour coach that Stampin Up just released on July 1st. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, it has a swatch for every color of cardstock Stampin Up currently offers (core colours and in-colours). On the back of each colour, it shows a couple of colour combinations to try.

I knew that I wanted to start with Melon Mambo so I took a look at the back and it suggested to try Old Olive and Perfect Plum with it.

I used a pencil to help me curl the pedals back on the large flowers. The stamp sets that I used are “Eastern Blooms” and “Sweet Sentiments”.

If you live in Canada and you are interested in purchasing any of the supplies mentioned above, please feel free to send me an e-mail.

As for props…sometimes I find it difficult to use props because of the lack of space I have within the picture, but I really feel that it makes a big difference. In this picture, I used black jelly beans, and an espresso cup and saucer that I just picked up for a local twoonie store.

I think that I’m going to work on a couple of video tutorials this weekend: one video about how I take pictures of my cards, and another video about how to make this card. Hopefully this won’t take long to do. This is going to be my first time making a video. If you have any suggestions for videos that you would like to see on my blog, please comment below!

Have a great weekend! Talk to you soon!

Wordless Wednesday

Feature Friday - Brooke

I’m so pleased to finally introduce Brooke, from Flourish Bath & Body. I absolutely love her stuff and I know that you all will too! As soon as I saw Brooke’s shop on Etsy, I instantly knew that I HAD to feature her on my blog!

Introduction - Tell us about yourself.
My name is Brooke and I just turned 29 (yesterday- ugh!). I live in Baltimore with my husband and Flourish is my full-time job.

Besides crafting, what else do you do? What are your other interests?
Besides crafting, I love to cook- I used to cook in restaurants, so you could I'm pretty comfortable in the kitchen! I'm also very into working on my house- we bought it last fall and it's a bit of a fixer-upper- so there are a lot of projects we've got going on. Lately I've discovered gardening (now that I finally have a yard), which I'm really enjoying. Basically I'm very domestic!

In your opinion, what sets you apart from the rest?
From the very beginning I had the goal of creating a product line that raised the bar for handmade bath & body products. I wanted to show people that just because it's "handmade", doesn't mean it has to look "homemade". I've always been a beauty product junkie and beautiful packaging and unique fragrances are what would catch my eye when shopping. So I put a lot of effort into professional-looking and attractive packaging. I think my fragrances are one of my biggest selling points- original blends that you can't get anywhere else. I'm so picky about fragrance and I don't add a new scent to my line unless it makes my eyes roll back into my head when I smell it!

What is your favorite item in your Etsy shop?
My sugar scrub cubes. The formula was almost a year in the making and it felt so great to finally perfect them. And, in my humble opinion, they're really awesome!

What is the most exciting thing that has happened since you've started?
Being chosen as the Featured Seller! It was just an amazing thing to have happen, and I'm so grateful to have been chosen. I found out about it six weeks in advance- on the day we finished packing our things up in boxes to move into our new house! It was a stressful 6 weeks- the room at the new house that I was planning on using as a workshop needed to be totally renovated before I could set up- so I had to get that done in about 6 days (ripping up carpet, putting down new floors, painting, putting in shelves). Whew! Then it was on to ordering supplies and stocking up on product. I worked non-stop for the weeks leading up to the feature- and then for the month following, trying to get all the orders filled and convos responded to. The whole thing was just insane, I got no sleep for weeks at a time- but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

What is the worst thing that has happened since you've started?
Being chosen as the Featured Seller! I learned a valuable lesson about getting in over your head and knowing when to say no. I thought I was prepared, but the volume of sales was just unbelievable- coming in in a steady stream. I was selling out of things and then getting a half a dozen convos immediately from people wanting to buy those things. I didn't want to let people down, so instead of telling people "sorry, I'm sold out of those for now- I'll have more in stock next month" and concentrating on getting orders filled- I was trying to fit in production as well, and placing all kinds of rush orders for supplies that I ran out of. Everybody needed everything by Christmas (I was featured at the beginning of December) which added tremendous pressure. And unfortunately some of my international orders did not make it in time, and I had some unhappy customers as a result. I greatly regret disappointing those customers- and it's a mistake I vowed never to make again.

Do you sell in any shops locally?
Everyone asks me that- I'm actually not yet! I have been growing my wholesale base very organically and slowly- all of my wholesale customers are people who found me on Etsy and contacted me. I need to get out there and actually solicit some new accounts, but I'm so shy in person! I don't do craft shows either, for the same reason. I'm way more comfortable dealing with people over the internet!

What advice would you give someone new to Etsy?
First of all- ask your self seriously: "do I want to have a hobby or a business?" Business is not for everyone- some people may find that worrying about promotion and advertising and SEO and on and on and on sucks the enjoyment out of what they do- and there's nothing wrong with that. If you create things that you love, and selling them is just a nice little bonus- then just make what you love and enjoy it!

If you DO want to have a business- then know that you'll have to approach things a little differently. Take a critical look at your PRODUCT first- is it well made, is it interesting, is there a market for it, are there 100 other people already selling this product- if so- does yours stand out from the rest or blend in? What makes your product unique and special? This can be tough to do with things that you pour your heart and soul into- but it's important. No one else is going to tell you- "the reason you are not selling things is because your product looks exactly like every other one out there" or "the quality doesn't seem to be very good" - people will tell you "improve your photos!" or "do more promoting!" Those things are important, but the product itself is primary.

Assuming you have an awesome product that you just know people are going to love- then you need to focus on presenting it in the best possible way- it's all about the photos! I won't get into details, because there's been so much written on the subject already. Suffice to say- photos are incredibly important. You can get tons of ideas for how to photograph your products by looking at how similar items are photographed for catalogs or magazine features. Those people know what they are doing!

And finally- if you really believe in what you are doing, be patient and don't be discouraged if you are not an immediate success. It takes time, and things build slowly, under the surface. I started my shop in February of 2009. In May, I was considering giving up- I'd had some sales but things just didn't seem to be progressing the way I'd wanted them to. It seemed like the goal of doing this full-time and being able to support myself was not in my reach. I told myself- "if things haven't improved by the end of the summer, I will re-evaluate and consider moving on." In August I got my first wholesale order (a big one!) and got a few blog mentions that brought a bunch of traffic to my shop. Things started to pick up. Then they exploded. Sales were great through the fall. In December I was the Featured Seller.And things have been steady since. It's so funny to me that just one year ago, I was considering giving up. You just never know what's going to happen.

Contact Info:

Etsy

http://www.flourishbathbody.etsy.com/

Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/flourishbathbody

Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brookemarton/