New Greeting Cards

Here are some new items I got up this week. They're all greeting cards that are blank on the inside so they can be used for any occasion.

Black and White Alphabet Script Greeting Card



Wavy Black and White Hieroglyphics Greeting Card



Rounded Red Flowers Greeting Card



Let me know which is your favorite!

365 Project

Here are some updates to my 365 Food Project:



This was homemade ice cream I made. The texture didn't turn out completely right because I don't have an ice cream maker, but it still tasted really good.







Have you had any good meals lately?

EtsyVeg Challenge Winner

I won the monthly EtsyVeg Challenge! I'm really happy I won because I've entered the monthly challenge a lot and this is the first time I've won. They haven't officially announced it on their blog yet, but I have the most votes in the poll.



My blog will be advertised on the EtsyVeg blog for next month. I think it's a good reward because it will help bring more traffic to this blog. Thanks to everyone who helped out by voting!

Project Wonderful and EtsyVeg Challenge

I've been using Project Wonderful to run ads lately. Project Wonderful is an online advertising site where you can bid to put your ads on different blogs and websites. I had this ad on Craftster for about a week.

It got 55 clicks and 39 unique clicks. The webpage itself got about 400,000 views which means next time I should put my URL in the image of my ad too so people who don't click might remember my site. I've done Facebook ads and I paid about $1/click for that so this is a lot cheaper.

I also used Project Wonderful to promote my Mary Kay business. These are the ads I ran:




Let me know which Mary Kay ad you like the best. I like the lipstick one, but I think people might be more likely to click the ad if the image is more unique (like the concealer). I got a lot of views on those ads, but only a few clicks. Since I'm not getting any sales, I'm not running any ads right now. I think it might help to put a set amount of money on ads every once in a while and just let the ads run until that fund runs out. I also want to redo some of my ads since I haven't changed them in a while. Do you do any advertising or use Project Wonderful?

By the way, today's the last day to vote for my This Little Piggy Bank in the EtsyVeg challenge. Just click here and scroll down to the poll to vote. Thanks for any help!

New Greeting Cards

Here are the new items I got listed this week. They're all greeting cards.

Fuschia Photo Frame Greeting Card



I've had this card made for a while, but just listed it yesterday. I like this card because you can insert a personal photograph in it that will display on the front. Let me know if you'd like to see more cards like this.

Wavy Blue and Gold Bird Greeting Card



I love the colors and design of this paper. It's a kind of tribal design with birds on it.

Rounded Animal Postage Greeting Card



This is another animal themed greeting card. I used this paper in my art journal and thought it would look nice as a card too.

I feel like i haven't listed items in a while so it was nice to get some new cards listed.

EtsyVeg Challenge

I'm in EtsyVeg's "On the Farm" challenge this month. You can vote for my "This Little Piggy Bank box on the poll here.



I've never won an EtsyVeg challenge so it'd be fun to win once. I'm doing pretty good in the poll sofar so every vote helps. It would also help if you post on Twitter or anywhere else. Thanks for any help! Have you ever won an Etsy related competition or contest?

Urban Outfitters Shopping Inspiration

I love looking at the apartment section of Urban Outfitters. A lot of their stuff is really creative and reminds me of things you can find on Etsy. Here are some of my favorite items:

Ceramic Cupcake Soap Dispenser



This soap dispenser is shaped like a cupcake. I love how unique items like this make mundane tasks seem fun.

Heart Measuring Cups



These heart shaped measuring cups are so cute. I've also seen smiley face measuring spoons on the site.

Hippo Toothbrush Holder



Hippos are one of my favorite animals so I love this hippo themed toothbrush holder.

Scratch Off World Map



This scratch off map would be great for travelers. It's a creative way to keep track of places you've been.

Astrological Jewelry Stand



I love the astrological theme of this jewelry holder. I'm always looking for ways to store my jewelry so I'd love to have something like this.

Phone Keys Wallet Rug



This rug reminds you to bring your keys, phone and wallet every time you walk out the door. I think this is a really clever idea and it's useful.

Have you seen any interesting items lately?

Photos of Marathon

I thought I'd share some recent photos I took of my sister's dog, Marathon.







You can see more personal photos on my Flickr. If you any photos of your pets, feel free to share!

Planners on Sale

Planners and calendars for 2011 are now half off in my shop. If you still need a planner or calendar for this year, now's the perfect time to get it for cheap to stay organized. Here's one calendar on sale for $12:

Brown Butterfly 2011 Calendar



I put also this Pumpkin Coptic Stitch Journal on sale ($6 off) since it's sort of Halloween themed. Shopping early is a good way to get deals on Halloween/Thanksgiving items.



You can see all items on sale in my Sale section.

Changes to This Blog

I haven't really made any changes to my blog for a while so I thought I'd try something new. Usually, I'll post randomly a couple times of week, but I'm going to try to do a schedule type of thing. I'm going to post every day with a theme for each day. I think it will help me keep more organized and give me ideas of what to post. I think it will be good because sometimes I don't know what to post on this blog if I don't list new items in my shop.

I came up with this:
Sunday - On Sunday, I'll post about new items I listed that week.
Monday - Monday is for other things I've been featured in such as treasuries on Etsy or having my site featured on other sites.
Tuesday - Tuesday is about teams and business. I'll talk about events going on in my Etsy teams or ways I'm promoting my shop. I might include business tips and things I've found that were helpful in my promoting my shop.
Wednesday - Wednesday is for showing off my items again, but instead of new items I'll feature an older item I've made in my shop or talk about sales going on in my shop.
Thursday - Thursday is about other things going on in my life. I might post other crafts I've made, other artwork I've done or non related Etsy photos I've take.
Friday - Friday is about things that inspire me. I might post other artwork, crafts, photos or websites that are inspiring me and that I think others would enjoy.
Saturday - Saturday is a day off.

I was also thinking of making a logo for the top of the blog instead of just text. I'm trying to think of a design. I don't know if I want to do a logo/clip art or maybe have photos of some of my items. Let me know what you think or if you have any ideas for this blog!

Social Networking

I think social networking websites are a great way to promote your Etsy and interact with other people. I thought I'd post social networking sites where you can also find me:

Flickr - Flickr is my favorite social networking site to promote my Etsy besides this blog. I like it because it allows me to post my personal photos and also promote my Etsy items. I have photos of all items I've posted on Etsy, including ones that are no longer for sale in my shop. I also have other photos related to Etsy like in the process/studio photos and screen captures of all the treasuries I've been featured in.

Tumblr - Tumblr is sort of like Flickr because it's photography related. I don't post photos of my own stuff on Tumblr, but post photos of other crafts, artwork, food, makeup and other things that inspire me. It's a good website to find inspiration and unique photos.

Facebook - I post general updates on Facebook. I have photo albums of my items and add to my photo albums occasionally.

Twitter - On Twitter, I just post general updates on my shop. If I list a new item, renew an item or make a new blog entry, I'll post it on Twitter to try to get views. I also interact with other Etsy members on there sometimes.

What other social networking sites do you use? Do you find them useful in promoting your Etsy or finding other Etsy shops?

Tree Bark Greeting Card and Advertising

I just got a new greeting card listed:

Rounded Golden Tree Bark Greeting Card



I've used this paper before in an address book that sold:



I have a bunch more cards I'm going to list soon. I also put an ad box on this blog. It's to help advertise other craft blogs and sites. I'm also trying to make a little money off of it. If you use Project Wonderful, you can click here to advertise on my blog. Right now, it's free to advertise so it'd be great to promote other Etsy shops and craft related blogs.

My Thread of Thought 1000th Entry Giveaway

It is my 1000th entry on my blog. To celebrate, I'm giving away one greeting card of your choice from my shop, Move the Needle.To enter, just leave a comment with your e-mail and write down any extra entries you did. The giveaway ends on October 20th (12 midnight eastern time) so you have about 2 weeks to enter. I will announce the winner shortly after.

Extra entries:
*Follow or subscribe to this blog
*Favorite my shop on Etsy or favorite an item (up to 2 entries)
*Like Move the Needle on Facebook
*Follow Move the Needle on Twitter
*Follow Move the Needle on Google +
*Follow Move the Needle on Pinterest
*Follow Move the Needle on Flickr
*Follow Move the Needle on Tumblr
*Like Move the Needle on StumbleUpon
*Post on any social media site with hashtag #mythreadofthought about the giveaway (up to 2 entries)
*Open a store on Etsy with my referral link
*Purchase from my Etsy shop
*Subscribe to Move the Needle's mailing list

Good luck!

Fourth of July Inspiration

Happy Fourth of July! Here are some Independence Day themed photos that inspire me.

















You can see more things that inspire me on my craft Tumblr. Do you have any plans for Fourth of July?