100th Item

I got my 100th item listed. :)I don't think I've had 100 items listed before, though I did get close before I gave a bunch of my journals to a shop. This was my 100th item listed:

Silver Leaves Coptic Stitch Mini Book



It's a mini journal that uses a really pretty decorative paper from India. I originally made it for the holiday season because it gave me a winter-y feel, but it's really for any time. It uses a coptic stitch to stitch it together and has ripped edges on the inside.

When I first started my shop, I'd never imagine I'd get 100 items up at once because each journal takes a while to make. I started adding smaller items though, like cards and mini books.

I'm still waiting for my glue and decorative paper in the mail. I was hoping to be able to work on some new items this weekend. It's the last day of January and I haven't had any sales this month. :( Maybe, I'll get more in February. I hope some of my Valentine's Day items sell.

New Red Items

Yay, it's Friday. :) I got some new listings up, which both happened to be bright and red.

Red Flower Birthday Card



For this birthday card, I made a flower out of red decorative paper. I made it a while ago, but never listed because it had some smudge marks. I decided to just list it at sale price though because I really like it.

Red and Gold Mini Book



I really like this mini book. I made it a few months ago. It uses ripped sketch papers on the inside (there's also a few red pages). I remember doing the ripped pages because I didn't have a paper cutter at the time and I was trying to figure out how to do pages without needing to cut them perfectly.

My cow journal got featured in this etsyveg treasury.

If you want to help support animal charities, you can purchase a copy of the Cooking with Compassionate cookbook that's filled with vegan recipes from the members of the Cruelty Free Etsy, Vegan Etsy, and the Etsy Veg teams. I pre-ordered mine a while and I can't wait to see my copy (I think my recipe's in there, I'm not sure if I submitted it correctly, but you can look for my recipe of really simple marinara sauce).

New Greeting Card & Treasury

I got this card listed:

Purple and Blue Birthday Greeting Card



I love the decorative paper I used for this, which was made in India I think. I had a journal with the same decorative paper, but I gave it to a new shop in Chicago (hopefully, it will sell. I haven't heard from the guy who owns the shop yet if any of my stuff sold).

I also got featured in this new EFA treasury (mine's the little red book). Yay. :)

Also, feel free to rate/comment on my new youtube video. I made the video a while ago, but finally got it uploaded. I'm still waiting for my decorative paper and glue to come in the mail. Then, I can start crafting again and make new items, instead of just listing. It's actually been nice to have a break from crafting, especially starting new classes and having school now. I kind of miss it though. Sometimes, I'll get an idea or in the mood to make a book and realize I'm not able to do it without my glue. If you have any ideas for items (maybe colors or themes), feel free to provide some inspiration. :)

New Photos

Aw, I lost a follower. :( By the way, I really appreciate everyone that follows me. I only had like 8 before, but now I have about 30. I don't know about other people, but I only follow blogs I like and I read my updates so I hope other people do too (even if they don't comment).

I don't have any etsy updates, but I've been going through some old photos. Taking a photography class had me thinking about all my photos. All the photos I have taken since this summer are organized by date, but I never really went through them to edit them or take out photos I didn't like (I end up keeping like all my photos and I'll always have a couple blurry photos that really have no purpose). Thought I'd share some of my new uploads on flickr:


This is a view from my dorm view. I like how the blue sky and white snow matched the blue and white house directly across the street from me.


I took this in Michigan. I just really loved the colors of the mural and the bench in front of it. My family bought a little summer home in Michigan recently. It's really cute and I think I'll like going to it in the summer/spring. It's right by the beach. I always wanted a summer home when I was younger.


This is an older photo of Luna sleeping in my handmade photobooth (I don't have it anymore, she tore it apart and I haven't made a new one). She looks so cute sleeping. I forgot how small she used to be.

I might post some more photos later. Feel free to add me on flickr. I post a mixture of etsy related, journaling, personal and just random shots of things. Also, if you use twitter, you can add me there too by clicking here. I just realized some new features about twitter I never noticed before so I'm excited to use it again.

Coptic Bound Bird Journal & Showcase Spot

I just got an email saying my decorative paper and glue I ordered from Hollander's was shipped today (they wouldn't ship before because the glue might get messed up in the cold temperatures). I'm excited I'll be able to start creating stuff again. I have lots of fabric in my dorm, so I think I might make some more fabric journals (which I haven't done in a while) and some journals/boxes with my new decorative paper. I also should have my paper cutter coming in the mail.

I got this new item listed:

Coptic Bound Postal Bird Book



I made this book over winter break and I really like how it turned out. It uses larger than average computer paper so it gives you a lot of room to write, draw and journal. The covers are collaged together with decorative paper. It was fun because I got to sort of make an artwork with the cover and not just cover them with decorative paper. I actually ended up collaging it because I think I messed up putting decorative paper on it (it might have got ripped and I moved it before the glue was dry) so I ended up trying something different it.

I purchased a spot for the Valentine's Day showcase. I wasn't sure if I should because it's kind of expensive and I always hear the showcase doesn't do much. It did get me more views when I did it before and I think my heart shaped journal is perfect for it so I decided to do it. Hopefully, it will bring me some Valentine sales and/or hearts.

Inauguration + New Listings

Inauguration Day is tomorrow. :) I'm pretty excited for it. There's a little party for it at my college. Anyway, I got two new listings up:

Faces in Crowd Greeting Card



This card is made out of fabric on the outside. I think fabric looks nice on a card and gives it a nice texture. I actually made this a while ago. I can't remember when I started, but I finished it while I was doing my Christmas cards. It uses a colorful decorative paper on the inside.

Marbled Turquoise and Gold Photo Album



This is another photo album, like the one here I posted a few days ago. It uses thick pages to hold photos. I love the decorative, marbled paper I used for the cover. Because there's not that many pages in it, it's a little less expensive than some of my other journals.

There's still a couple more items I took photos of and wrote descriptions for that I'm going to list soon. I mentioned that I ordered some glue and new paper, but I just got an email say they won't ship the glue in really cold temperatures, so they're putting my whole order on backorder. I can't really do anything without glue so I won't be able to make new items yet, which I guess is good anyway because it will give me more time to get settled in to my new dorm and semester. I haven't figured out where I'm going to work on my items yet. I could make a space in my room, but I think I'd need to get an extra table to keep all my stuff on. I'll probably end up working in random spots, which I usually end up doing anyway.

I haven't got any sales this year/month yet. I had some sales for the holidays and it seems like I'll usually get a few sales at a time, so maybe I'll get some new sales for Valentine's Day (If you're looking for any Valentine's Day items, I made a new section in my shop).

Planner & Word Poetry

I got some new listings up.

Altered Brown Digital 2009 Planner




This planner is altered out of an old planner. I had an extra 2009 planner so I decided to make a new cover for this planner. It is spiral bound on the inside, but it is covered on the outside and has a rounded spine. I thought the brown, digital fabric went well with it.

I also listed this Word Poetry Greeting Card that spells out a phrase using word poetry. I like the idea of recycling word poetry for a new item. Last year, as part of a craft swap, I put word poetry magnets in a bar of soap (they were usable once the soap was used up).



I ordered some new decorative paper this weekend from Hollander's. I wasn't planning on buying decorative paper, I just needed to restock on some glue, but I decided it wouldn't hurt to stock up on more paper. I also got a new paper cutter because I lost the blade for mine. It's a pretty cheap one, Then I can work on new projects. :)

Circus Dots Photo Album & Valentine's Day

I just got this new photo album listed today.

Circus Dots Photo Album



This is a photo album so it uses thicker paper to hold photos (it can hold about one regular size photo per page). I used stab stitch to bind it together and I used different colored threads that match the fabric. I was watching an episode of Full House and there was a circus on it for Michelle's birthday. It sort of inspired me to do a fun, circus theme. I was already planning to use this fabric before, but I thought have different colored threads for the binding would make it more colorful and fun.

Last week, I relisted this Tree of Life journal. It seemed to be pretty popular before. Before it sold, it had the most hearts in my shop. I love the design on the fabric.

Tree of Life Journal



I also added a new Valentine's Day section to my shop. You can see it here. I actually had a lot of items already made that fit with love or weddings so I put in that section. If I have time, I might try to make a couple Valentine's Day cards too.

I'm back at my college now. I moved rooms so I have a single now. It's nice, but I think I still have to get used to it. It's also pretty small, but it has enough room for everything. I don't know if I'll make any items right away, I have to get in to the habit of being at school again. I organized two drawers in my room with my crafting supplies though and it looks nice. It's also nice to have a closet now, which I didn't have before. I color coordinated all my clothes. I might take some photos once I have everything decorated the way I want it.

My classes seem good sofar. I'm in Writing Fiction, which I really wanted to be in, so I think that will be interesting and I'm excited to write again (I used to write short stories, but haven't really for years). Personality Psychology seems interesting and more fun than I thought it would be. We get to use twitter in that class (it'd be a different account than my etsy one though) and the teacher seems to be really in to doing stuff on the internet, which is nice. I still have Photography and Creative Coping Skills (which is kind of like a yoga class I think, but we do different types of dances and movement too), which I think I'll like.

Heart Shaped Journal and Package Box

I have two new listings of items I really like. These items are both types of items I've been making (journals and boxes), but I tried something different this time.

Red and Gold Marbled Heart Shaped Journal





I've seen all types of shaped books, like mini butterfly books, and I love how you can make something creative out of something we usually think of as pretty basic. This is my first time making a journal with a shape other than rectangular or square and it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. The heart shape is perfect for Valentine's Day and I used the same decorative paper from this journal. I don't know when people start buying for Valentine's Day, but I just remembered it doesn't always work when I try to list items at my school, so I wanted to get this up this week. I also heard they're working on the Valentine's Day gift guide on etsy.

Mailing Package Box



I got the idea from this one from one of my new bookbinding books. They had an idea for a journal with a package cover like the one I did here and using brown pages inside. I didn't have any brown paper, but I decided the package idea worked great for a box too.

I have lots of other items to list too. I just finished measuring and writing descriptions of a bunch of items so I can post them later. I'm excited etsy has added Google Analytics which tracks statistics for your etsy shop. It will be interesting and hopefully helpful to see what my statistics are.

Mini Journals

I got a few mini journals listed.

Asian Print Mini Journal



I recycled this one out of an old journal I had laying around. I don't even remember where I got it, but I think it was also handmade and the text block was completely falling apart. Opening apart things that are already broken is actually a good way to see how things are made. I just used the text block from the old journal and did new covers. I think the color of the text block actually matches well with the decorative paper I chose for the cover.


Little Golden Tree Bark Address Book



Like the other journal, I didn't make the text block for this one either. It makes making the journal a lot easier when you don't have to do the text block yourself, even though I like stitching the pages myself and makes it feel like I put more in to it. This is the third address book I've posted and think these turn out cute. They're really small, so you can carry them anywhere. I also like the golden decorative paper a lot (I also used this paper in a journal entry/mixed media art I made here).

You can find me listed on the Etsy for Animals website here under Books and Zines. I submitted to be listed a while ago, but just realized it was up.

I can't believe I'm going back to college soon. Winter break always seems to go by really quick. Maybe it's because it starts off with all the holidays and when you really get a chance to relax with nothing to do, it's over. I'm excited about my classes though. I got a camera for my Photography class today. I'm think that class will be a lot of fun and it's my first time working with a non-digital, professional camera. Hopefully, I'll also learn new techniques that can be help me take photos for my etsy.

This Little Piggy Bank

I just listed a new box called This Little Piggy Bank. The idea is the box can be used for coins and change as a piggy bank to match with the pig theme. The box can really be used for anything though.



I'll have more items listed soon. I think I'll be listing a couple of items each week. I have a lot of new items, such as cards, boxes, and journals, but I don't want to list them all at once. There's one journal that's themed for Valentine's Day that's different from the other journals I've made sofar. I can't wait to share. :) I don't know if it's too early to list Valentine's Day stuff.

I'm also working on making a planner. I'm not sure if I'll be able to sell it because it uses planner pages from another planner company, but it'll probably be used as a gift if I can't list it.

Speaking of, I bought a new planner. Moleskine notebooks are sort of the popular right now and I was going to get one to see why a lot of people liked it, but all the stores I looked at it were out of it. I ended up picking one from a shop called Little Otsu. They have a lot of calendars, planners and things that are really fun and non-traditional. I like that the planner had pages that were fun and artsy instead of just plain pages. So hopefully, that will be a good way to keep organized for the year ahead. :) I still want to figured out how to make my own planner pages though and I'd love to make a couple calendars for my shop.

Iridescent Photo Frame

I got my first items listed for 2009. :)

Red and Gold Marbled Journal

I love the bright, red and gold decorative paper I found for this. I used this computer paper that is a little larger than normal. I thought it was perfect to use to make bigger journals so I can have a variety of journal sizes in my shop.



Iridescent Blue Photo Frame

This is actually an altered frame. I found a black photo frame lying around the house (I think I might have picked it up at a dollar store one time). I covered it with a pretty decorative paper and I like how it turned out. It's really sparkly and really picks up light.



I thought I'd also post this card I made for my dad's birthday. It is made out of some leftover cupcake fabric I had. At first, I didn't think fabric would stick well to card stock, but it worked really well.



I was mentioned in this article on the EtsyVeg blog about donating to charities. They said about me, "Anna of MovetheNeedle donates to autism through EtsyforAutism, which supports autism-related causes like KindTree (a group that promotes artists with autism)." I think it's great they mentioned and I love to hear about how other people are using their etsy shop for a cause they believe in.

New Year.

Happy New Year and welcome to 2009! :)

I think the new year will bring a lot of good and new things to my business. I already am working on a bunch of new items and can't wait to list new items in my shop. I don't want to give away everything I'm making, but I've been working on some new journals and boxes.

All my Christmas and holiday cards are half off. I don't know if anyone will buy them now at this time, but I think I'll keep them up until they expire. My green, glitter holiday card is featured in the holiday magic treasury on their blog.



I thought it would be nice to think of some New Year's resolutions for my shop. Here's what I came up with:

*Try new items and continue to expand my learning and techniques as a bookbinder. Getting some new bookbinding books reminded me that there's so much more to learn and I don't have to stick to just making the same items (or type of journals). It got me thinking of ways to be creative with my craft.

*I can always improve myself as a photographer too. Even though I think I have improved a lot when I first started - part of it getting a new camera and part just learning how to photograph better. I'm actually taking a Photography class this semester and that can always help my skill.

*Try to promote myself more or in new ways. I feel like I do promote a lot, but I'm not sure how much it helps or what really works yet. I think a lot of this is just time and being patient too. I did do the Little Black Box this year and included coupon codes. Nobody has used those (yet) so I don't know if that was helpful for me, even though it got my name out there.

*I would love to sell my items at craft shows or sell my items at more shops. I recently gave some items to a new shop opening in Chicago, but that's my first time doing anything like that.

*Don't be afraid to give myself a break. Sometimes, I can overwork myself and even though doing my craft is fun for me, I have to be careful not to overstress myself and just realize if I'm taking on too much.

What are your resolutions for your shop or yourself this year?