Sunday, February 12, 2012

Treasury Round Up - 2/12/12

It's been another great week of treasuries!  Please help me thank the curators who featured my work this past week by visiting their shops and checking out their treasuries.

Margaret (SplendidLittleStars) included my Heart Charm Set - Set of 2 - One Glass Charm, One Metal Charm in her Sweet Hearts treasury.  This is a very inspired collection with lots of red and/or heart items.  Check out Margaret's WASHCLOTHS, set of 4 hand dyed and painted Hearts and Flowers.



Nicole (KnitNicoleKnit) included my Beaded Cuff Bracelet - Multicolored Diagonal Stripe in her Get Rid of Those Winter Blues With These Blue Items! treasury.  Blue is one of many colors that cheers me up.  Check out Nicole's Cream and Lime Button Earrings.


Janet (HoneyFromTheBee) included my Beaded Cuff Bracelet - Dagger Fringed - Pink Garden in her Valentine's Gifts for Me treasury.  I could easily create a wish list from the BBA Team, too.  Check out Janet's Green and Blue Earrings - Moody Blue and Mossy Green Lace Agate.


Anna (AnnasAdornments) included my Beaded Cuff Bracelet - Embellished Square Stitch - Dark Blue/Turquoise in her Blue, blue, blue birds treasury.  Anna found so many sweet bird items to include here.  Check out her Necklace - pink, orange, red, green, beaded - 23 in. (aa-11).


She also included my Beaded Bracelet - Heart Fringed - Raspberry in her Last Minute Valentines #3 treasury.  If you love heart items, check this out.


Edi (memoriesforlifesb) included my Beaded Bracelet - Purple Rock Garden in her Amazing Amethyst treasury.  This is a gorgeous color and a perfect collection for all of the February birthday girls/ladies out there.  Check out Edi's Personalized Valentine's Day Card - Real Wood Greeting Card Laser Engraved.




Patti (SweetPetPhotoShop) included my Beaded Cuff Bracelet - Strawberry Fields Forever in her Strawberry Fields Forever treasury.  This is such an awesome tribute.  Check out Patti's Card Tabby Cat Photo, "I Will Wait For You Forever" 5x7.



Thanks to those who linked up with me last week!  Here are a few of the items that they featured last week.  Click on the photos to check out the product listings.


I am really touched by all the people who I have inspired to start their own treasury round ups with awesome shop features and write ups!  Please link up with me and grab a button for your own post.  I know that not everyone posts these rounds ups on Sundays, which is fine.  I will leave this link up open all week.

I don't like to make a lot of rules for my link ups but if you link up, please visit and comment on at least one other post.  Thanks!

 








treasury round up
Posted by Rose at 8:00 AM 8 comments
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Saturday, February 11, 2012

Saturday Link List: the February resource edition

Welcome to my Saturday Link List!  I got a lot of old links cleared out last month, but this format was so well received that I'm continuing with it.  The link lists may not always be as extensive as they were last month, but at least for February they will be.  This week it's resources that are primarily useful for Etsy sellers, crafters, and/or bloggers.  Enjoy!

Steve wrote this article as part of the 30 Hubs in 30 Days challenge, which he just completed.




This site is filled with recipes, tutorials, studio makeovers, inspirational home photos, business tips, and so much more.








Create your own link list and grab a button for your post or simply spread the word on your blog.

Saturday Link List

Did I feature your work here?  Grab a button for your blog or web site!
Saturday Link List

Did you use one of the resources, tutorials, or recipes from my link list?  Leave me a link in the comments or send me an e-mail (randomcreative28@gmail.com) with your photos and stories.  I would love to post them here.
Stay tuned next week for the February tutorials edition!
Posted by Rose at 8:00 AM 6 comments
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Friday, February 10, 2012

Friday Feature: February random edition

Thanks so much to everyone who linked up with me this past week for my Friday Feature link up!  Here are just a few of the great finds that were featured.  Click on the photos to check out the item listings, blog posts, etc.





 Enjoy the February random edition of my Friday Feature series!

I'm not sure that I like making beaded beads enough to put together a piece like this, but I love the effect.
Total Tubular by BJPBeads


This was on the front page a little while back so a number of you have probably seen it already, but it's still awesome.
Vintage Amica Eyelux Camera Canvas Printed Pillow by intheseam


I would love to learn how to do more with pearls.
Cultured Pearl and Crystal Bracelet w Two Strands - Pomegranate and Mango by MysticWynd

You know how much I love hearts.
4 Soft Sweet Heart Necklaces by FeltForest

I bought a whole bunch of beads from Shannon right before Christmas so I'm not making any more purchases there for a while.  but that doesn't mean that I'm not still looking a little.
8mm Antique Brass Base Metal Seamless Rondels from beadsandbabble

This is another awesome bracelet design.
Brass Disc Bracelet, Brass Disc Cluster Multi-Strand Bracelet by juliegarland

I also recently purchased from Mollie, but I'm still browsing.
Musical Note Rubber Stamp by norajane


What have you been digging on Etsy lately?





Grab a blog button!
Friday Feature


Were you featured in this post?  Grab one of these buttons, too!

Friday Feature


Where else I linked up today:

Posted by Rose at 8:00 AM 16 comments
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Thursday, February 9, 2012

voting for the February EBW Challenge Nest

There is no EBW Challenge in January.  It feels like it's been a lot longer than two months since the last challenge.  The February EBW Challenge Nest (read more about it here) is up and running.  You can vote on the blog today through February 15.  Voting takes place on the right hand side of the blog.  If you can't see the clickable mosaic near the top of the blog, head over here. Please check out all of the entries and vote for your favorite.

This is my entry.  If you missed my post about it, you can still check it out.
This piece is still for sale.  I have not made any more nests yet, but I would still like to add them to my charm line at some point.

As always, there are many talented entries for this challenge.  Here are just a few of my favorites.



Even if you haven't participated in an official challenge (i.e. a team challenge), what have you been working on lately that has challenged you?

Newest Articles:
Looking for older articles?  Click here!
Posted by Rose at 8:00 AM 11 comments
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Wednesday, February 8, 2012

open house/trunk show and my weekend in Chicago wrap up

Thank you for all of the well wishes about my open house/trunk show!  The two custom orders that I got before the show were a great sign of things to come and were enough to cover all of my travel expenses.  However, I'd still put a lot of work into the prep for this show and was hoping for lots of sales there as well.  It didn't disappoint.



The Pros:
-It was a very relaxed atmosphere.  People were happy to just hang out and eat.  I highly recommend providing food and wine and playing music.
-It was a small enough group (20 or so people total over 3 hours) that I was able to talk to everyone.  It was nice to socialize and not have all of the talk revolve around the business aspect of the event.
-While I knew most of the people there, my mom and our friend who hosted had invited some friends I didn't know so I was able to network with new people.
-All but about 2 or 3 people bought at least one item.  Almost everyone spent over $10.
-Lots of people picked up business cards and/or free shipping cards without any prompting.  I am always surprised at shows how many people make purchases and don't pick up at least one business card.
-As for the new items, the glass magnets and metal charms were a big hit.  I got a lot of positive feedback about my cards and sold a few.
-As for the freebie items, they were very well received.  I had a mix of button post earrings, glass magnets, button magnets, button rings, and button hair pins.  People took just about everything except the hair pins, which just weren't a big hit at this show.  That's okay.  If I do another small event like this, I will offer freebies again.
-Linda was able to come!  It was awesome to meet her and see some of her work in person.


Personal Notes About My Display, the Logistics, Etc.:
-I like to allow at least 2 hours to set up for any show.  I only had about an hour and 15 minutes to set up for this.  While I did have some set up help, this was not nearly enough time, especially considering all of the new displays and items that I had.  I can rethink some of my new item set up to minimize the time it requires in the future, but I still need at least 2 hours.
-I knew that going super cheap on my card display easels was going to bite me in the butt, and it did.  I think I'm going to base them on card stock and then secure the card stock to my tables in the future.
-My new banner did not have enough support in the middle.  You can see that in the photos.  I will need to create some loops like the sides have to secure the top to the table next time.  Tape just doesn't cut it with the fabric table covers.  Otherwise it worked well.
-I've been thinking about adding at least one skinny table to my display for 2012 shows so I can create an L shape of sorts.  Adding all of my new displays out for event made it very apparent how necessary that is.  I don't want to crowd my jewelry or compromise the new item space.  Eventually I'd like to add two skinny tables and make an open square but for now, one should suffice.
-A 3 hour show is not a long time to sell when you consider the 3-4 hour set up/tear down time around it and the travel time.  I have a lot of family and friends in the Chicago area so I don't mind making a trip there for the social aspect of the weekend as a whole, but a local open house does make more sense logistically.

Would I do this again?
Definitely.  I would adjust a few of the logistical things I mentioned above.  I would also give potential guests/customers more notice.  We put this together in a few weeks, which worked out okay, but a few more weeks would be preferable I think.  Additionally, I'd be interested in doing a local show at some point, too.  We'll see if that idea can pan out next year.

What else did I do in Chicago?
While I was in Chicago, I had the opportunity to do a few other fun things as well.




Have you done an open house before?  How did it go?  Share your stories, tips, etc.
Posted by Rose at 8:00 AM 17 comments
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