Paper Inspiration

I love looking at paper art. Here is some paper art that inspires me:

Find more paper art inspiration here. What inspires you?

New Mini Moleskine Journals

I listed two new mini upcycled moleskine journals.

Gold and Silver Striped Mini Moleskine Journal



White Script Mini Moleskine Journal



You can see more journals in my shop.

Illustration Inspiration

Here is some illustration inspiration I found on Pinterest:









See more illustration inspiration on my Pinterest. What kind of things inspire you?

Sold Map of San Francisco Coptic Stitch Journal

I sold this Map of San Francisco journal.

Yay! I'm happy I made a sale. I'm going to start selling my products wholesale and this is one of the items I'm going to sell. Have you sold or bought anything on Etsy lately?

Iridescent Inspiration

Iridescent means having having rainbow colors that appear to move and change as the angle at which they are seen changes. I have some iridescent items in my shop here. Here is some more iridescent inspiration:









See more iridescent inspiration here.

eBay Tutorial Part 6: Feedback and Other Tips

          Part 6: Feedback and Other Tips

This is the final part of my eBay tutorial. This part is about what to do once an item sells and it is shipped.

Feedback and Communication

It's important to be professional, but personable with customers. Answer any questions you get on an item. I've had a few problems with customers before, but most get solved if I communicate with the customer right away and try to fix whatever problem they are having.

Feedback is important on eBay. It lets buyers see that you are honest and selling items well. When leaving feedback for buyers, think if they paid in a timely manner and how they handled any problems that occurred. If a buyer doesn't leave feedback, leave feedback for them first and then ask if they can leave feedback for you.

More Tips


Here are some more tips for selling on eBay:

- Your Dashboard is where everything is kept track of. You can view items that have sold, see improvement recommendations, leave feedback, see your purchase history and much more. Look on the "Alerts > To Dos" on your main Dashboard page.

- If you ever have a problem with buying or selling on eBay, you might have a case opened. If this happens, try to resolve it right away. eBay could decide to kick you out if you have too many problems, but usually they will just send you a warning first and limit your selling abilities.

- You can download a spreadsheet of your eBay data under Account > View all selling activity > Download. You can also download a spreadsheet of PayPal data on the PayPal website under "History".

- eBay has a ton of resources for learning more about eBay and for selling better. Check out the Guides where people can write guides for buying and selling on eBay. If there are specific items you are selling, search for those items in the Guides to get tips for your market. You can also write your own guides. Check out the Selling Resources page for tips from eBay. The help section also has a lot of information.

- There is an Applications section on eBay where you can find applications that do various things for free or for a price. eBay offers a free program called Turbo Lister that allows you to list multiple items and upload in bulk. It only works for Windows though. Use Outright to keep track of your finances.

- Don't forget you can buy on eBay too and get great deals. If you collect something, eBay is a great place to look. Buying items will also help your feedback. You can add items to your "Watch List" or "Wish List" if you're not sure if you want something yet. If you buy something in an auction, wait until the last few minutes to place a bid. You can also save your favorite sellers and searches.

- If you sell well on eBay, you could become a Top Rated Seller and get benefits like a 20% final value fee discount and improved search standings. You can also become a trading assistant where you help sell items for other people. 

Do you sell on eBay?

Texture Inspiration

Here are some photos of texture that inspire me.









See more here. What inspires you?

eBay Tutorial Part 5: Shipping and Storing Items

           Part 5: Shipping and Storing Items

Shipping Rates


The buyer pays for shipping unless you offer free shipping. It's important to enter accurate shipping prices so you're not paying extra. eBay has a shipping calculator you can use to find out what you should charge for shipping. You might want to offer free shipping if shipping is not too expensive and you'll make a good amount of money if the items sells.

Some options for shipping from USPS are:

Parcel Post - Parcel Post is good for large packages and delivers in 2-8 days.

First Class Mail - First class mail is a good option for small, lightweight items such as jewelry or greeting cards. The item can weigh up to 13 oz. Delivery is in 3 days or less.

Media Mail - Media mail is a great inexpensive way to send education materials such as books.

You can offer international shipping using eBay's Global Shipping Program that you can read about here. You can also enter a flat rate or calculated cost that varies depending on location.

Storing Items


Organization helps you save time while fulfilling orders or makes it less likely you will make mistakes. Always keep track of inventory in a Word document, spreadsheet or notebook. It helps to have a closet or some type of space to store packaging and your items in. Some ideas on storing items:

-  Plastic bags in snack, sandwich, quart and gallon sizes are good for small items like jewelry.
 - Clear plastic storage boxes are great to store items because you can see through the boxes. If you want something cheaper, cardboard boxes work well for storing larger items.
- Use labels or post it notes on side of boxes or bags.
- If you're selling media (books, CDs, DVDs), bookshelves are great to hold items. I like to alphabetize items so it's easy to find them.
- Drawers are another good place to store items.

Packaging Materials


Some good packaging materials to have are:

- mailing boxes
- bubble mailer envelopes (good for small items)
- two or three inch shipping tape, clear
- bubble wrap in two different sizes
- styrofoam packing peanuts
- plastic bags, buy in bulk, various sizes, use them for shipping and storing
- tissue paper

You can find bulk packaging items for sale on eBay or try to get them free. Depending on how you are planning to ship, you can sometimes get mailing boxes for free such as USPS flat rate boxes (link). Save packages and packaging material you get in the mail so you can reuse it.

Once an item sells, you can print out a shipping label right from eBay  I like to print out shipping labels online and use the USPS Schedule a Pickup so I don't even have to go to the post office. Carefully package your item so it won't get damaged during shipping. Ship the item within 1-3 days. If you need a longer time, you can say how long your handling time is in the "handling time" option under Shipping. (screen cap)

Now you have your items shipped! Check back next week for the final part of the eBay tutorial.

Floral Items in My Shop

Floral items are perfect for spring and to buy for Mother's Day (which is next week). Here are some floral inspired items in Move the Needle:

Pink Flower Collage Coptic Stitch Mini Journal



 Orange Flower Garden Mini Journal



Light Pink Flower Journal



Do you like floral items?

International Edible Book Festival

The International Edible Book Festival is an annual event usually held on or around April 1, which is also known as Edible Book Day. Participants create an "edible book," which can be inspired by a favorite tale, involve a pun on a famous title, or simply be in the shape of a book (or scroll, or tablet, etc). Edible Book Festival already passed this year, but here is some inspiration I have of edible books on my Pinterest:

What inspires you?

Inspiration - Collage Inspiration

Collage is a piece of art made by sticking various different materials such as photographs and pieces of paper or fabric onto a backing. You can see collage items in my shop here:











You can see more collage inspiration here.

Random Artwork

Here is some random artwork I've done. Most of it is from last year:

Let me know what you think.

eBay Tutorial Part 3: Photography

                        Part 3: Photography

This is part 3 of my tutorial all about selling on eBay. Part 3 is about photographing items. Before you start photographing items, I'd recommend keeping a notebook or word document where you write down all the items you're going to sell so you can keep track of them. Include the name of the item, how many you have and other info. You may want to write descriptions here too.

Taking Photos
 

You can see my tutorial on taking photos here. For photos, use the same tips you would for taking Etsy photos if you run an Etsy shop. It helps to use a nice digital camera, but you don't need anything too expensive. Have a solid color as a background. How you take photos will depend on your item and size of it. If you're taking photos of small items, use the macro feature. If you're selling clothes, having a model or mannequin can help show how the clothes look and make the item look better.



For media (such as books, DVDs and CDs), eBay has stock photos for a lot of media items that you can automatically put in your listing so you might not need to take a photo.

Editing Photos



You can see my photo editing tutorial here and how to organize photos here. Crop out any unnecessary information so the viewer is focused just on the item. Adjust levels, brightness and contrast to make your item stand out. Depending on the item, have a couple photos that show the item at different views (e.g. front side, back side, close up, from a different angle). I like to have 3-5 photos for each listing. You need at least 1 photo and can list up to 12 photos.

You don't have to have amazing photos for your item to sell, but it helps if your photos are nice. The important thing about photos on eBay is to have a good clear photo that shows the quality of the item. If an item has an imperfection, make sure your photos clearly show that. It's better to be honest to avoid negative feedback.

Check back next Tuesday for part 4 of my eBay tutorial with tips on listing items and pricing.

Gift Wrap Studio Photos

Here are some in the process photos of items I sell in my Gift Wrap section.

This gift wrap uses painted mull. Mull has a rough texture and is usually used in bookbinding.

This is for the Pink Fabric Gift Wrap I sell. The fabric comes from some pink scarves I had that I was originally going to sell on eBay.

Do you buy gift wrap from Etsy shops?