My Thread of Thought

More Updated Valentine's Day Photos

2012-02-01T00:00:00.001-06:00

Here are some more updated photos in the Valentine's Day section in my shop. The first photo is the older photo and the second is the new one:

Tan Heart Ribbon Jornal

Light Pink Rose Journal

Pink Hearts Coptic Stitch Journal

Are you excited for Valentine's Day?

Ads on My Blog

2012-01-30T00:00:00.000-06:00

I posted last week that I'm now accepting ads on my blog. If you scroll down and look on the right side of this page, you can see two new blogs. One is for the Etsy shop randomcreative and the other is for the shop statements2000.

You can see my ad up on on the randomcreative blog:

Do you like to advertise your Etsy shop? I still have to try Search Ads on Etsy.

New Harlequin Romance Upcycled Journals

2012-01-29T00:00:00.000-06:00

I listed two new upcycled journals. I actually made these a while ago, but never listed them. Both journals use covers from Harlequin Romance novels.

The Right Time Harlequin Romance Upcycled Journal

Temptation Harlequin Romance Upcycled Journal

Have you ever read Harlequin Romance novels?

Organization Inspiration

2012-01-27T00:00:00.000-06:00

I love seeing how people creatively organize things. Here are some organization photos that inspire me:

How do you like to stay organized?

Black and White Photography

2012-01-26T00:00:00.000-06:00

I took a black and white photography class next semester. Here are some photos I took:

Let me know which is your favorite. By the way, today is the first day of this semester. I have a fashion class all day today. I took fashion last summer and I liked it so I hope I'll like this class.

Updated Valentine's Day Photos

2012-01-25T00:00:00.002-06:00

Here are some more updated photos for my makeover series.

Love Deeply Inspiring Quote Greeting Card

Red and Gold Ribbon Journal

Orange Flower Anniversary Card

I'll have more improved photos next week. You can see more Valentine's Day items in the Valentine's Day section of my shop.

Blog Advertising

2012-01-24T00:00:00.001-06:00

I am offering advertising on My Thread of Thought! My Thread of Thought is a craft blog mainly about my Etsy shop, Move the Needle. Move the Needle sells paper crafts such as journals and greeting cards. Besides crafts, I blog about artwork, photography, business tips, holidays, my personal life and things that inspire me.

My Thread of Thought has 300+ subscribers. It gets about 1,500 pageviews monthly. I regularly promote My Thread of Thought on the Etsy forums and through social networking.

There are three advertising spots. You can choose to advertise a graphic size of 125 x 125 pixels or 250 x 125 pixels.

For 125 x 125 pixels, prices are:
1 month: $3
2 months: $5
3 months: $8

For 250 x 125 pixels:
1 month: $5
2 months: $8
3 months: $12

If you would like to advertise on My Thread of Thought, please click here or email movetheneedlecreations@yahoo.com with the subject "Advertising". You may also contact me through Etsy.

New Treasuries

2012-01-23T00:00:00.000-06:00

Here are some treasuries I've been featured in lately:

Slush Fund

The second treasury was taken down so I don't have a link, but I took a screen capture of it before it was taken down. Have you seen any good treasuries lately?

Mini Wedding Greeting Card

2012-01-22T00:00:00.000-06:00

I just listed this Mini Wedding Greeting Card:

I have a bunch of mini greeting cards (A2 cards). I originally made them as samples to give out. I think I might sell them in my shop though. Would you buy mini greeting cards?

Wavy Paris Map Greeting Card

2012-01-21T00:00:00.000-06:00

I sold my Wavy Paris Map Greeting Card:

It sold after only a day of being listed. I'm really happy it sold so quickly! Yay, I'm happy I got two sales already this year. Have you bought or sold anything on Etsy lately?

Cake Inspiration

2012-01-20T00:00:00.001-06:00

It was my sister's birthday yesterday. I thought I'd post photos of cakes that inspire me:

Small Pearl Cake

Watermelon Cake

Henna Cake

Easy Ice Cream Cake

Sweet Tooth Cupcakes

Do you like to bake?

Venice Oil Painting

2012-01-19T00:00:00.000-06:00

I'm currently in art school. I took a painting class last semester and this was one of the paintings I did. The subject is a landscape and my oil painting is a view from a gondola in Venice, Italy:

I based my painting off this photo I took while I was in Venice a few years ago:

You can see more of my artwork here. You can see more photos I took in Italy here. Have you ever been to Italy?

Updated Valentine's Day Photos

2012-01-18T00:00:00.002-06:00

I'm in the process of going through all of my Etsy items and retaking photos. I have a nicer camera than I originally used so I think it will make my photos look a lot better. I'm also better at editing photos now than when I started listing items on Etsy. I'm going to do a makeover series every Wednesday where I show before and after photos of items I updated photos for. Let me know if you want tips on how to take better photos. I might do a post on that too. Here are some updated photos for Valentine's Day items. The first photo is before and the second is after:

Multicolored Hearts Greeting Card

Heart Shaped Vintage Valentine Mini Greeting Card

Balloon Heart Valentine's Day Greeting Card

You can see more Valentine's Day items in the Valentine's Day section of my shop.

Urban Folk Circuit The Alley Craft Show

2012-01-17T00:00:00.003-06:00

I got accepted to a craft show at Urban Folk Circuit. I haven't done a craft show in over a year so I thought I'd try doing one again. The craft show I'm doing is on February 12th and is called The Alley. The craft show celebrates Valentine's Day. You can RSVP on Facebook if you're in Chicago.

Have you been to any craft shows lately?

New Treasuries

2012-01-16T00:00:00.001-06:00

Here are some treasuries I've been featured in lately:

Ring in the New Year

Love is a Gift Treasury

Have you seen any good treasuries lately?

Snowflake Inspiration

2012-01-13T00:00:00.001-06:00

Last week, I posted some winter photography that inspired me. I found this website that was really beautiful closeup photos of snowflakes. Here are some of them:

What photos have inspired you lately?

365 Project Update

2012-01-12T00:00:00.000-06:00

Here are some updates to my 365 Project on food:

What kind of food do you like to make?

Leopard Print Photo Frame

2012-01-11T00:00:00.002-06:00

I sold this Leopard Print Photo Frame:

I'm excited I made my first sale in 2012. I think it's also the first photo frame I've sold in my shop.

Mary Kay YouTube Video

2012-01-10T00:00:00.000-06:00

I got another video done reviewing Mary Kay products. I am a Mary Kay consultant and I sent some products for review to somebody who does makeup videos on YouTube. You can see my Mary Kay website here. Here is the video:

Do you ever watch makeup videos/reviews on YouTube?

French Themed Treasuries

2012-01-09T00:00:00.000-06:00

I just noticed my Map of Paris Altered Moleskine Journal was featured in these France themed treasuries:

Paris

It's All French to Me

Have you ever been to France?

New Paris Map Greeting Cards

2012-01-08T00:15:00.000-06:00

I listed some new cards today:

Wavy Brown Paris Map Greeting Card

Wavy Paris Map Greeting Card

Both are of Paris maps. I'm also in the process of taking new photos of some of my older items. I'll do another entry about that later. Let me know in the comments which card you like the best.

Winter Photography Inspiration

2012-01-06T00:00:00.001-06:00

I love looking at winter photography. Here are some winter photos that inspire me:

Do you like winter?

Baby Clothes Greeting Card

2012-01-04T00:00:00.002-06:00

My cousin, Pam, recently had a baby boy, Max. My mom made a baby blanket for him. She wanted a card to go with it so I sold her this card in my shop:

I didn't get a photo of the blanket she made, but it was a baby blue color. Here's how she wrapped it:

You can see more baby cards in my shop.

Postcards from Europe Journal

2012-01-03T00:00:00.001-06:00

I sold this journal! The person that bought it lives in Australia which I think is really neat.

Hopefully, I'll get a lot of new sales in the new year!

Favorite Photos of 2011 (Part 2)

2011-12-31T00:00:00.000-06:00

Here are more of my favorite photos of 2011.

I took a lot of photos of my sister's dog, Marathon.

I walk by Millennium Park in Chicago every day and this is a shot I got during the summer.

I tried a lot of nail art this year. You can see more photos on my Beautylish.

This photo was taken on my birthday while my mom was lighting my cake.

Feel free to share in the comments what you did in 2011 that you think is worth remembering.

Favorite Photos of 2011

2011-12-30T00:00:00.006-06:00

These are some of my favorite photos I've taken from 2011.

I'm currently in at school so I've done a lot of paintings and other art projects this year. This was one still life painting I did.

I took this photo around my house as part of a photography class. The photo is of Irish dolls I have.

I went to a couple concerts this year. This is a photo I took at the Thursday Farewell concert in Chicago.

I got in to gardening more this year. This flower is from the garden we have in our backyard.

This is another flower shot, but of my neighbor's garden. My parents got this photo framed and put in our beach house.

Check back tomorrow for more of my favorite photos of 2011!

New Year's

2011-12-29T00:00:00.005-06:00

It's almost New Year's Eve/New Year's! Here are some ideas to try:

Decorations

Glitter candles are perfect to celebrate New Year's. Place a few candles in a large box. Coat with spray adhesive and spoon superfine metallic glitter over candles. Let dry overnight.

New Year's Treats

Clocks and countdowns are great themes for food and treats on New Year's.

Outfits

Anything sparkly (outfits, makeup, decorations, etc.) is perfect for New Year's. I love this black dress.

Memory Jar

Start a new tradition this New Year's and keep a memory jar. Write down memories and quotes throughout the year and read on New Year's Eve.

What do you do for New Year's Eve?

Goals for 2012

2011-12-28T00:00:00.002-06:00

These are my Etsy resolutions for next year.

*I want to experiment with techniques. I might want to make my own pape or try to find paper from new places. I always use computer paper or sketch paper for my journals, but it might be nice to try different types of paper.

*I want to continue listing and making new items consistently.

*While organizing my collection of Etsy photos on my computer, I noticed a lot of my item photos are outdated. My photography has improved a lot since I first started my Etsy so I want to go back and redo a lot of my item photos.

*It's always a goal to sell more in my shop. It would be nice if I could get more consistent sells such as selling one item a week or one item a month.

*I want to do at least one giveaway in 2012. I feel like I haven't done a giveaway in a while so I might do something on this blog soon.

*I used to sell a couple of my items in local shops. I want to try doing that again with a couple of items.

*I didn't get to do any craft shows in 2011 so I want to do more in 2012. I want to find craft shows that are not too expensive, but still will have a good turn out. If you have any suggestions for craft shows in Chicago, let me know!

*I want to find new ways to promote my shop. I might try advertising on other blogs. I haven't had too much success with advertising so I want to find a way that works for me. I also want to try Etsy search ads and see if they are effective for me.

*I want to keep blogging consistently and promoting this blog.

Accomplishments in 2011

2011-12-27T00:00:00.005-06:00

Every year, I write about accomplishments I made this year and goals for the next year. Accomplishments I made for 2010 are here. I wrote my goals for 2011 here. Here's what I accomplished in my Etsy for 2011:

*One big thing that happened to me in 2011 is I changed schools. Now, I'm going to an art school where I can focus more on my art. I really like it sofar and it's given me the opportunity to start new projects. I feel like I've developed my painting skills a lot and am able to try new types of art I wouldn't have usually tried.

*I wrote as a goal that I wanted to make new items and learn new bookbinding techniques as a goal for 2011. I didn't exactly learn new bookbinding techniques, but I did take a Painted Book class at my school which allowed me to create two books with paintings inside (I'll do separate entries about these projects).

*I wrote as a goal for 2011 that I wanted to list new items a couple times a week and renew items every day. I think I accomplished this goal pretty well. For a while, I was listing at least one new item every week. I kind of took a break from doing that because I've been so busy, but I think it's a good goal to keep.

*I was featured in a couple YouTube videos this year. One was for my Etsy shop and three were for my Mary Kay business.

*I've changed this blog a little. I added a graphic on top which I've been wanting to do for a while. I also made a blog schedule which I've been using the last few months. I like using a schedule because it gives me a topic to write about and I've blogged almost every day. I've also been using the blog team on Etsy which has really helpe me promote my blog and connect to other bloggers.

*As a personal goal, I wanted to try to relax more. One thing I've been doing every day that has helped me relieve stress is doing yoga. I do videos on Yoga Today every day. Some of them are only 5 minutes and others are longer so I can fit them in to my schedule.

*I've also been working out almost every day. I have a binder with a bunch of work outs I've pulled from magazines. I do one of these every day (except for a couple days off) and mark them off in a calendar when I'm done. Looking at the calendars makes me see how much I've accomplished.

Let me know what you accomplished in 2011.

Statistics for 2011

2011-12-26T00:00:00.000-06:00

Every year, I do a little review of statistics for my shop of the previous year. You can see stats for 2009 and 2010 here. Here's my statistics for 2011 looking the new Etsy stats feature and Google Analytics.

New Items

These are some new items I listed this year:

Wavy Blue and Gold Bird Greeting Card

Rounded Animal Postage Greeting Card

Visitors

I got about 5,300 shop views this year. About 30% were new visitors. According to Etsy stats, I got 46 shop favorites and 151 specific item favorites. The shop and page views were about the same is last year, but I had less favorites this year. Most people visited on February 10th.

Sales

This year, I got 20 sale orders which I think is the most I've ever gotten in a year. I had the most orders at the beginning of the year. Some of the items I sold were:

Pink Rose Journal

Green Damask Altered 2010-2011 Moleskine Planner

Top Referrers

My top referrers were Google, StumbleUpon, LinkReferral, this blog and Craftster. SocialWhale also gave me a lot of traffic, which is a site I've never heard of,

Blog Statistics

I had about 5,000 visits to my blog this year. Most people visited 2 pages and stayed on the site for 3 minutes. I had the most views on October 23 (123 visits) which was children's Halloween costume ideas.

Most Viewed Items

2011 Planners were popular this year and were my most viewed items. These items were also popular:

Leopard Print Journal

Map of Paris Altered Moleskine Journal

It's always nice to look over and review the year. If you run an Etsy shop, what kind of stats did you have this year? Feel free to use this format in your blog and let me know in the comments.

Christmas Photos

2011-12-25T00:00:00.008-06:00

These are some of my personal photos from the holiday season this year. Here are some Christmas ornaments I took a photo of while we were decorating the tree:

These are some of the Christmas gifts under the tree this year:

I did some Christmas themed nail art this year:

These are some photos I got when it snowed:

Merry Christmas!

Gift Wrapping Ideas

2011-12-24T00:00:00.002-06:00

If you want to get creative with your gift wrapping, use other materials besides basic wrapping paper and ribbon. Here's some ideas of materials to use:

This photo uses maps instead of wrapping paper. Use old maps you have or look for vintage maps.

Decorative paper makes good wrapping paper. I use decorative paper in my Etsy items, but forget it also makes good gift wrap. You can find decorative paper at craft stores such as Paper Source.

Comics make a great gift wrapping alternative. Recycled newspaper and magazines would also work well. Pick something that fits well with the gift or person you're giving the gift to.

Use kids artwork as wrapping paper. This would be great for relatives and family members.

Potato chip bags are a creative, upcycled material to use as gift wrap. Cut open a potato chip bag along its seam. Flatten the bag, wash it with soap and water and let it air dry.

Use fabric as gift wrap. Tie it together to secure it instead of using tape.

Add jingle bells instead of ribbon on top of your wrapped gift. Purchase the bells at crafts store. Use lengths of thin ribbon or cord to secure to packages.

How do you gift wrap your items for the holiday season?

Christmas Desserts

2011-12-23T00:00:00.002-06:00

I made a post about winter inspired desserts here. These desserts are also winter themed, but more specifically for Christmas.

Reindeer Cupcakes

These cute reindeers are made by decorating basic chocolate frosted cupcakes with candy and frosting.

Christmas Tree Cupcakes

These Christmas cupcakes use an ice cream cone to get a Christmas tree shape.

Candy Cane Cookies

To make these cookies, use a sugar cookie recipe. Make red and white colored dough (using food coloring for the red). Gently roll each color separately into ropes on a flat, lightly floured surface and twist the two ropes together. Chill 20 minutes before baking.

Strawberry Christmas Tree

This strawberry tree is a great unique dessert to try at Christmas.

Santa Hat Cupcakes

I love these Santa hat cupcakes. Just decorate a basic cupcake with red and white frosting in the shape of a Santa hat.

You can see more Christmas inspiration on my Pinterest board. Let me know if you plan to try any of these out for Christmas. What do you like to make for the holiday season?

Christmas Nail Art

2011-12-22T00:00:00.001-06:00

I love nail art. Here is some Christmas inspired nail art.

Do you like to paint our nails for the holiday season?

Christmas Ornaments

2011-12-21T00:00:00.010-06:00

Instead of just buying ornaments for your Christmas tree, try making some handmade ones this year. Here are some ideas.

Find out how to make these thumbprint reindeer ornaments here.

Reuse your cookie cutters as ornaments. Use colorful ribbon to tie them to your tree.

Click here to learn how to make pipe cleaner snowflakes.

Make homemade paper stars using contrusction paper, water, a cookie cutter and some other materials.

Decorate pinecones to make them festive. Gold or silver spray paint works great for easily painting pine cones. You can also dip your pinecones in glue and then glitter.

Do you like to make your own ornaments?

Non Handmade Gift Guide

2011-12-20T00:00:00.001-06:00

Handmade items are great to give out during the winter holiday season, but sometimes it's faster and less expensive to give something non handmade. I thought I'd do a give guide for items that are not handmade, but are still creative.

For the Fashionista/Beauty Addict

This Dream In Full Color Palette features 29 eye shadow shades, seven cheek colors, a smudge stick and a 12 page step by step artistry look book. It's only $39 for a $366 value so it's a great deal. I love the design of the packaging and it would be a perfect gift for anybody who loves makeup.

For the Dreamer

This Dreamlight is a fun a night light. It'd be great for children, but could be given to someone at any age.

For the Movie Buff

I think it'd be cute to put homemade or store bought popcorn in a jar or tin and put movie related items in it. You could put DVDs, gift certificates to movie theaters/movie stores, a Netfix subscription or movie memorabilia.

For the Gardener

This Elephant Watering Can is a creative gift idea for gardeners and animal lovers.

For the Person Who Has Everything

These Designer Keys are perfect for somebody who wants to stay organized and has a lot of keys. You can get all sorts of shapes such as hearts, houses, stars and cats. You can also get custom designs.

Do you give out more handmade or store bought stuff during the holiday season?

Etsy Gift Guide

2011-12-19T00:00:00.009-06:00

Items on Etsy are unique and handcrafted so almost any item on Etsy would make a great gift. The key is to choose the right item for the right person. Here's some ideas.

For the Fashionista

There's a lot of great handmade fashion items on Etsy. I like these earrings for a fashionista.

For the Dreamer

This inspirational print would be great for children.

For the Movie Buff

I love this TV Necklace which has a television test pattern on it. It's perfect for somebody who loves television and movies.

For the Gardener

These herb stakes are vintage silverware handles that are hand stamps with herbs of your choice. These are perfect for the gardener in your life.

For the Person Who Has Everything

This organizer is great for storing or carrying small items such as coupons, pens, letters and journals.

Do you shop on Etsy during the holiday season?

Stocking Stuffers

2011-12-18T00:00:00.000-06:00

Stocking stuffers are small gifts you put in someone's stocking on Christmas. Stocking stuffers are usually less expensive than bigger gifts and have to put small enough in size to fit in someone's stocking. Here are some crafty things you might consider putting in someone's stocking this year:

DIY Galaxy Playdough

This DIY Galaxy playdough would be a great gift for children. Just put it in a bin to make it a stocking stuffer.

Pocket Hand Warmers Wool

These recycled felted sweater wool handwarmers from WormeWoole on Etsy are filled with rice. You put them in the microwave for 25 seconds and put them in your coat pocket keep your hands warm for up to an hour.

Silver Leaves Coptic Stitch Mini Book

Mini journals are great to put in someone's stocking. This item is from my shop in my "mini journals" section. It uses dark blue decorative paper with silver leaves.

Other good items for stocking stuffers would be candy canes, candy, small stuffed animals, inexpensive jewelry and makeup. What do you like to give or receive for stocking stuffers?

DIY Gift Ideas

2011-12-17T00:00:00.005-06:00

Homemade gifts are always great to give out. Here are some crafts you might consider giving as gifts this holiday season:

Reindeer Gift Wrappers

These reindeer candy wrappers are really cute and perfect as gifts. I couldn't find a tutorial for these, but it looks like you just use colored paper, felt and pipe cleaner over a candy wrapper.

Recipe in a Jar

Homemade food is a great gift if you're a good cook. You can make a treat and put it in a nice box or basket. You can also do a recipe in a jar like this Curried Lentil Soup that is made with dried lentils and seasonings.

Glitter Nail Polish

This video explains how to make your own glitter nail polish. You use clear nail polish, glitter, stainless steel balls and a couple other items. This would be great if you use someone's favorite colors as the glitter or have the nail polish match their favorite shirt or dress.

Heart Sweatshirt

This site shows you how to make two old sweatshirts in to a fun heart sweatshirt.

Do you make handmade gifts for the holiday season?

Christmas Crafts

2011-12-16T00:00:00.014-06:00

Here are some crafts to try during Christmastime.

These are burnt out Christmas lights dipped in glitter. Full instructions on how to do this are here.

This hand print tree is great craft for children. Just use a blank canvas and paint.

This photo gives inspiration on how to set up candles in your house.

Make your own paper stockings and use them as envelopes to give Christmas cards, money or gift cards.

What crafts do you like to during the holiday season?

Christmas Decorating

2011-12-15T00:00:00.000-06:00

I love seeing how people decorate for the holiday season. Here's some outdoor (and one indoor) Christmas decorations:

Do you decorate your house for Christmas?

Etsy Wishlist

2011-12-14T00:00:00.000-06:00

Here's my Etsy wishlist for the holiday season. I chose some of my favorite items from items I've hearted.

Beautiful Bear Tee

Personalized Name Necklace

Little Baker Necklace

Little Cute Hippo Mini Zipper Pouch

Japanese Paper Wrapped Pencil

What's on your wishlist this year?

12 Days of Christmas

2011-12-13T00:00:00.002-06:00

I decided to do a Christmas series this year to celebrate the winter holiday season. For 12 days, I will post Christmas related blog entries and crafty things you can do. Here's the schedule:

12/14 - My Etsy Wishlist
12/15 - Christmas Decorating
12/16 - Christmas Crafts
12/17 - Crafty Gift Ideas
12/18 - Stocking Stuffers
12/19 - Etsy Gift Guide
12/20 - Non Handmade Gift Guide
12/21 - Christmas Ornaments
12/22 - Christmas Nail Art
12/23 - Christmas Desserts
12/24 - Gift Wrapping Ideas
12/25 - Personal Christmas Photos

What winter holiday(s) do you celebrate?

Treasuries

2011-12-12T00:00:00.000-06:00

Here's some treasuries I've been featured in recently:

Gifts for Her for Under $25

Going Turkey

Glamorous Gifts in Red and Gold

Check back tomorrow for my 12 Days of Christmas special!

Winter Themed Desserts

2011-12-09T00:00:00.003-06:00

Here are some winter themed desserts that inspire me. These desserts use the theme of snow so you can use them for any holiday during the winter holiday season.

Snowflake Cupcakes

These snowflake cupcakes are really pretty and perfect to start the winter holiday season.

Snowman Donuts

I couldn't find instructions for this one, but you can just start with powdered doughnuts and decorate them with treats or frosting to look like a snowman face.

Melted Snowman Cookies

This video shows you how to make cute melting snowman cookies.

Peppermint Bark Snowflakes

This recipe uses a snowflake mold to make snowflake themed peppermint bark.

Check back next week for Christmas themed desserts!

Still Life Oil Paintings

2011-12-08T00:00:00.001-06:00

I did a series of still life oil paintings in my painting class last year. I posted about it before on this blog, but I took better photos of the paintings and edited them a little so I thought I'd post again. In real life, they're pretty big size.

Let me know what you think. If you're interested in buying a print of any of these, you can on my DeviantArt account.

Hanukkah Items

2011-12-07T00:00:00.004-06:00

Hanukkah is an eight day Jewish holiday. It is from December 20-December 28 this year. Here are some Hanukkah items in my shop:

Ribbon Hanukkah Star Greeting Card

Rounded Eight Nights Hanukkah Greeting Card

Red Star of David Greeting Card

Red and Purple Star of David Greeting Card

Some of my other winter holiday items would be good to give out for Hanukkah too. Do you celebrate Hanukkah?

Winter Holiday Promotion

2011-12-06T00:00:00.002-06:00

The holiday season is a great time to promote your Etsy shop. If you have a shop, here are some tips for promoting your shop during the holiday season:

- Have a holiday themed section in your shop with either Christmas themed items or items that you think would make good gifts. Have this section at the top so people can find it easily. Also put holiday themed items as your featured items.

- Make a coupon code for your shop just for the holiday season. Etsy makes it easy to make a coupon code with their "Coupon Code" section under "Promote". For my shop, you can use the code "HOLIDAYSHIP" to get free shipping on any purchase. Use the Etsy forums, your blog, Twitter, etc. to let people know about your coupon code.

- Offer free gift wrapping. I wrote in my store policies that when checking out, customers should just write in the "message to seller" box if they want it gift wrapped. You can also choose what color you want your gift to be wrapped in.

- Offer gift certificates in your shop. Gift certificates are perfect for customers to give out if they're not sure what to get someone. You can decide how you want your gift certificates to work in your shop. For my gift certificates, I have the customer tell me some information about the person they are giving the gift certificate to. Then I send that person an email with the customer's message to them and how to use their gift certificate.

- Accept custom orders for your shop. This makes so if a customer wants something that's not in your shop, you can make it for them. Make sure to let your customer know how long a custom order takes if the want it by Christmas

- If you have a blog, consider doing a Christmas special. You could write about Christmas items in your shop, Christmas items in other shops, do a gift guide, etc. In the past, I've done a gift guide and then sent convos to the owners of shops I featured items from. This helped promote my blog, but also helped promote some other shops. This year, I think I'm going to do a 12 Days of Christmas event where I post about ideas for crafty things to do for Christmas.

- If you're in any teams on Etsy, most teams usually run some kind of holiday event. Participate in some events to help promote your shop!

- The Etsy blog has a lot of good advice for promoting and managing your shop for the holiday season.

- The holiday season is also a good time to do things outside of Etsy to promote your shop. Look for local craft fairs in your area. There's always a lot of craft events during the holiday season. If you have local crafty shops in your area, see if they'll sell some of your items. Leave business cards out and pass out business cards to friends who might be interested in purchasing in your shop for the holiday season.

How are you promoting your shop for the holiday season?

Treasuries

2011-12-05T00:00:00.000-06:00

Here are some recent treasuries I've been featured in:

Those "Anna" Girls Are Awesome

Going Places

Sunny With Hints of Blue

Crafty Fundraisers on Etsy

Have you seen or made any good treasuries lately?

Winter Items

2011-12-04T00:00:00.001-06:00

These are some winter items in my shop that are not any specific holiday.

Rounded Winter Cardinals Greeting Cards

Wavy Red and Silver Winter Berries

Rounded Red Polka Dot Greeting Card

Let it Snow Greeting Card

Silver Paper Snowflakes Greeting Card

Silver Snowflakes and Leaves Greeting Card

Snowflake Shaped Journal

You can see all my winter holiday themed items in this section on my shop. What winter holiday(s) do you celebrate?

Artwork Inspiration

2011-12-02T00:00:00.002-06:00

I changed the layout on this blog! I made a graphic for the top of the page. I also made the width of the blog entries bigger so photos don't get cut off. Let me know what you think.

For Friday's inspiration post, I thought I'd post artwork with girl characters as a theme.

To see more, you can follow my board on Pinterest. What artwork inspires you?

London and Paris Photos

2011-12-01T00:00:00.005-06:00

My mom went to London and Paris last month. I thought I'd share some photos from her trip:

She also brought me back these teas and lotions:

Where's the last vacation you've taken? Have you ever been to London or Paris?

Christmas Items

2011-11-30T00:00:00.002-06:00

Christmas is coming up! Here are some Christmas themed items in my shop.

Glitter Christmas Tree Holiday Greeting Card

Wavy Glitter Christmas Tree Greeting Card

Wavy Iridescent Green Christmas Greeting Card

Rounded Winter Cardinals Greeting Card

Holiday Reindeer Greeting Card

I redid photos for almost all items in my winter holiday section on my shop. Do you celebrate Christmas?

Items on EBay

2011-11-29T00:00:00.000-06:00

One way I like to make some extra cash is on EBay. I think it's a good way to get rid of old items and also find good deals. I put a bunch of items up last week and made some money. Here are some items I sold:

Apple Macbook Pro Unibody A1278 Trackpad Touchpad - New

Views From Our Shoes Book

Art History by Michael W. Cothren and Marilyn Stokstad

New OPI Nail Polish in Houston We Have a Purple

I find that books sell better on EBay than Half.com and beauty products usually sell pretty well. I also decided to list some of my Etsy items. Hopefully some of my items will sell. I just put my winter holiday items up for now to see if any will sell. You can see my listings here. Do you use EBay?

Cyber Monday

2011-11-28T00:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Cyber Monday! I have some deals going on for the holiday season:

*Just for today (Cyber Monday), you can get 25% off any purchase if you enter the coupon code "MONDAY" at check out.

*Use the code "HOLIDAYSHIP" to get free shipping on any purchase in my shop during the holiday season.

*Also, you can enter the code "THREAD" at any time during the year to get 10% off. It's a coupon code I made just for blog readers!

Did you shop for Black Friday? Are you planning to shop online for Cyber Monday?

Thanksgiving Pumpkin Recipes

2011-11-24T00:00:00.004-06:00

Pumpkin pie is my favorite Thanksgiving dish. Here are some pumpkin inspired recipes to try for Thanksgiving.

Easy Pumpkin Pie

Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

Crustless Milk and Cardamom "Pumpkin Pie"

I even have a pumpkin pie greeting card in my shop.

I was going to post personal Thanksgiving photos tomorrow as part of the Thanksgiving series, but my camera's not letting me upload photos. Feel free to share personal photos or what you're thankful for in the comments. Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Desserts

2011-11-23T00:00:00.001-06:00

Here are some fun Thanksgiving themed desserts to make for Thanksgiving:

Pilgram Hat Cookies

Sugar Coated Cookies

Thanksgiving Teepee Cupcakes

Thanksgiving Delight

What desserts do you like to make for Thanksgiving? Check back tomorrow for pumpkin themed recipes.

Thanksgiving Recipes

2011-11-22T00:00:00.001-06:00

Here are some recipes to try for Thanksgiving. These are all vegetarian, but they would be good for any Thanksgiving table as a side dish or a main dish.

Saffron Pumpkin Soup in Mini Pumpkin Bowls

Acorn quash Vegan Alfredo Pasta

Mashed Potato Puffs

Turkey Veggie Platter

What do you cook for Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving Decorating Ideas

2011-11-21T00:00:00.000-06:00

Here are some decorating ideas for Thanksgiving.

You can decorate pumpkins for Thanksgiving. It's perfect if you have leftover pumpkins from Halloween that you didn't carve. Adding text is a great way to welcome guests.

I love the idea of pumpkin candles. These would be good at the Thanksgiving table or around the house

This article explains how to make stenciled napkins.

How do you decorate for Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving Items

2011-11-20T00:00:00.001-06:00

I made a Thanksgiving section in my shop. Here are some items from it:

Thanksgiving Tomatoes Greeting Card

Pumpkin Harvest Coptic Stitch Journal

Pumpkin Coptic Stitch Journal

Enter the code "THANKS" to get 20% off any Thanksgiving item. What do you like to buy for Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving Series!

2011-11-19T00:00:00.004-06:00

I'm doing a Thanksgiving series on this blog. It's kind of like my Halloween Series, but only for a week. Here's the schedule:

11/20 - Thanksgiving Items in My Shop
11/21 - Thanksgiving Decorating
11/22 - Thanksgiving Recipes
11/23 - Thanksgiving Desserts
11/24 - Thanksgiving Pumpkin Recipes
11/25 - Personal Thanksgiving Photos

Are you excited for Thanksgiving?

Rainbow Craft Items

2011-11-18T00:00:00.001-06:00

Here are some rainbow craft items that inspire me:

You can see more things that inspire me and links to these items here. Feel free to share what inspires you in the comments.

My Nail Art

2011-11-17T00:00:00.001-06:00

These are some nail art designs I've done on my hands.

Do you like to do nail art?

EtsyVeg Spooky Halloween Bash Challenge

2011-11-15T00:00:00.000-06:00

My card was part of EtsyVeg Team's October Monthly Challenge on their blog. The theme was "Spooky Halloween Bash". I didn't notice my card was up on there so it's too late to vote. I thought I'd post about it here anyway though. This card was the nominee:

Rounded Iridescent Jack-O-Lantern Halloween Greeting Card

Have you been in any contests lately?

New Treasuries

2011-11-14T00:00:00.000-06:00

Here are some treasuries I've been featured in:

Cookies, Cupcakes and Candles, Oh My!

Blue and White Christmas

Going Batty in the Pumpkin Patch

Have you seen any good treasuries lately?

New Christmas Items

2011-11-13T14:29:00.002-06:00

I got two new winter holiday greeting cards up this week:

Rounded Red Polka Dot Holiday Greeting Card

Wavy Iridescent Green Christmas Greeting Card

You can see all my winter holidays items here. Let me know what you think!

Spirituality Inspiration

2011-11-11T00:00:00.001-06:00

Here are some spirituality related photos that inspire me. I found these on Pinterest:

What kind of things inspire you? Feel free to share in the comments.

Worldwide Moment

2011-11-10T00:00:00.004-06:00

There's a photography project I participate in called Worldwide Moment. It was started in 2007 and happens once a year. Basically, people from all around the world take a photograph at the same time and then upload it to the Worldwide Moment website. The idea is to have a moment of peace together and connect to an international community. It's really fun to see everyone's photos and how everyone was at a different place at the same time.

The Worldwide Moment is happening tomorrow this year (Friday, November 11 at 11:11AM New York time). I think everyone who reads this should participate in it. All you have to do is take a photo at that time and upload it to the website. Let me know in the comments if you're going to take a photo! By the way, my first Worldwide Moment photo is in their logo above (it's the orange photo with food on it).

EtsyGreetings Team

2011-11-08T00:00:00.000-06:00

I joined a new team called EtsyGreetings. I'm hoping it will help me promote my greeting cards and connect to other card makers. Here are some greeting cards in my shop:

Black and White Flower Greeting Card

Rounded Octopus Greeting Card

Little Red Riding Hood Get Well Card

Wavy Black and White Hieroglyphics Greeting Card

You can see more greeting cards here. I want to feature one of my cards on the EtsyGreetings blog so let me know which card you like my shop the best.

Heart Hop

2011-11-07T00:00:00.001-06:00

My Blue and Gold Marbled Journal was featured in this blog entry that did a heart hop. I thought the heart hop was a good idea so here's my version of the it:

- PolkaDotPendant (Heart Brooch Pin Pendant Recycled Denim) who hearts . . .

- MariMartin (Apple Coasters who hearts . . .

- Ohmafelt (Felt Evergreen Trees) who hearts . . .

- ThePetiteChouette (My Deer Love Minidress) who hearts . . .

- AlytheRed (Fingerless Fox Gloves) who hearts . . .

- CabinNo7 (Ukulele Ring) who hearts . . .

- SunshineButterCup (Six Adorable Vintage Turquoise Glass Seashells)

Let me know if you like these heart hops so I know if I should do it again. It's a fun way to find new items.

Cupcake Inspiration

2011-11-04T00:00:00.000-05:00

I found this really fun channel YouTube that has really creative ideas for cupcakes. Here are some videos from it:

You can see more cake inspiration on my Pinterest board. Do you like to make cupcakes?

Personal Halloween Photos

2011-10-31T00:00:00.004-05:00

Happy Halloween! Here are some personal Halloween photos.

I drew a ghost design on this white pumpkin.

This is the bigger Jack-O-Lantern pumpkin I carved with my family. I used masking tape to make "band aids".

I painted pumpkin nail art on my nails.

I made a Jack-O-Lantern pizza. The spinach is supposed to make a face design.

This is an orange spider stuffed animal my mom made.

This is a spider we put on our porch.

I put a witch hat on a stuffed lion I had so he could get in the Halloween spirit too.

This is a stuffed green witch we have that usually goes on our porch.

I hope everyone has a great Halloween! I'll be in school all day during Halloween, but I'm going to dress up as a leopard. What are your plans for Halloween?

Halloween Desserts

2011-10-30T00:00:00.003-05:00

Besides candy, these Halloween desserts are perfect for Halloween. Homemade treats always taste better and it's fun to make your own desserts. Click on the title to go to the website with the recipe.

Forked Eyeballs

Pumpkin Pie Bites

Candy Corn Fudge

Witch Hat Cupcakes

What desserts do you like to make for Halloween?

Halloween Food

2011-10-29T00:00:00.007-05:00

Here are some non desserts Halloween inspired recipes. Click the link to find out how to make it.

Ghostly Pizza

Pizza Mummies

Apple Bites

Swamp Creatures

The Mummy Sandwich

What do you like to cook for Halloween?

Halloween Nails

2011-10-28T00:00:00.005-05:00

Nail art is perfect for Halloween. You can use nail art that fits whatever costume you're doing (see my previous costume tutorials in the archive). These are some Halloween themed nail art photos I found. They would be good to use if you don't have a costume and want to do something to get in the Halloween spirit.

Do you do your nails for Halloween?

Halloween Pumpkins

2011-10-27T00:00:00.000-05:00

I love Halloween pumpkins. You don't have to just carve a pumpkin. Consider using other materials such as glitter, paint, rhinestones, ribbon and fabric.

Feel free to share photos of your Halloween pumpkins in the comments. What is your favorite photo?

Halloween Decorations

2011-10-26T00:00:00.003-05:00

Here are some ideas to decorate your house this Halloween.

Cut out designs out of black crafts foam and use removable black cloth tape to stick them to your garage. These designs would also look good on your front porch, front door or inside your house.

To make these glow in the dark balloons, you need two eight hour light sticks and white balloons. Snap the glow in the dark sticks do they glow an insert them into a white balloon. Blow up the balloon and tie it. Use a black marker to draw a face.

If you don't have glow in the dark steps, you can make these Jack-O-Lantern inspired balloons. Just blow up orange balloons. Use a black sharpie or marker to draw faces on them.

These candles look like they're dripping with blood. To make these, fill a cup with sand and plant white candles inside. Light a red candle and spill red wax down the tops and sides of the white candles. Be careful while doing this not to burn yourself. Make sure they're cool before touching them.

How are you decorating your house for Halloween?

Halloween Crafts

2011-10-25T00:00:00.005-05:00

Here are some fun crafts to try for Halloween.

Skull Garland

You'll need:
Felt in a variety of colors
Embroidery floss
Cotton balls
1/2" wide ribbon

Cut out skull shapes from the felt, about two inches long and an inch wide. You'll need a front and back for each skull you're making. To make the faces, snip a pair of small circles for the eyes. Place a contrasting piece of felt behind the holes, and then use the embroidery floss to stitch them in place. Once you've done that, add other features like noses, teeth, flowers, dots, etc. Once you've decorate the face, place the backing piece of felt on, and stitch about 3/4 of the way around the edge of the skull. Stuff the inside with a pair of cotton balls, and then stitch closed. If you want, you can make a bunch of skulls and use ribbon to connect them all using a whip stitch.

Candy Wrapper Light Switch Plates

You'll need:
White light-switch plates
Candy wrappers
Iron
Glue or glue stick
Decoupage gel
Scissors
Bone folde
Utility knife

Flatten the candy wrappers by ironing them a a lower temperature. Cut the wrappers to a desired shape. Rub the wrapper with glue stick or glue and apply to the switch plate. Use a bone folder to get out the wrinkles. Repeat until the entire switch is covered. Use a utility knife to make an X over the switch opening. Fold over and glue in place on back of plate. If there is excess along edges, fold under and glue in place. Use decoupage gel to seal the entire plate in place.

Ribbon Snakes

You'll need:
Spool of ribbon 1 1/2 inches wide or larger
Masking tape of a smaller width than ribbon
18-gauge floral wire
Fine-tip brown or black permanent marker
Thin red ribbon
Scissors
Stapler
Adhesive gems

Unspool about 3 to 4 feet of green ribbon (or whatever color you like). Lay a matching length of masking tape sticky side up on a flat surface next to the ribbon. Put floral wire down the center of the tape, pressing it so it sticks. Flip masking tape over and smooth onto length of ribbon, leaving about -2 inches from the end of ribbon unqired for the snake's head. Use fine tip market to make horizontal lines on the masking tape to make the snake's belly. Fold over 1/4 inch at the end of the ribbon and tape down with masking tape. To make the tongue, slice 2 to 3 inches of 1/4-inch red ribbon down the middle along half the length, and cut ends into points. To make the nose, fold in corners at end of ribbon, but don't make a point in center. Slide the red tongue ribbon into nose (underneath folded corners). Staple the corners and tongue in place with the hooks of the staples facing out to make nostrils. Attach adhesive gems for eyes. Wind ribbon back onto spool to create the coil and pull upwards, bending the wire into place, to display on spool.

What crafts do you like to do for halloween?

Halloween Pet Costumes

2011-10-24T00:00:00.000-05:00

Get your pets in the Halloween spirit too. Here are some pet costume ideas. I know it's kind of late to buy costumes, but these ideas can get you inspired to make your own.

Bat Costume

This listing is a bat costume for a dog or cat on Etsy. You could make your own bat wings out of black material.

Witch Hat

This is a listing for a hand crocheted witch hat. You could make your own witch hat or buy a kids/toddlers witch hat for your pet.

Pet Bandana

Pet bandanas are an easy way to dress up your pet. If you have a bandana already, you can just use that on your pet. This listing is for a Halloween themed bandana.

Lion Costume

This article explains how to make a lion pet costume using a Wolfman mask.

For more information on making your own pet costumes, see this article. Do you dress your pets up for Halloween?

Children's Halloween Costumes

2011-10-23T00:00:00.002-05:00

All of the Halloween costume tutorials I did can be done on children. Here are some more children specific Halloween costume ideas:

Bunch of Grapes

To make this grapes costume, blow up purple balloons and attach them to a child's outfit. For the headband, cut out a leaf shape from green foam and attach it to a headband.

Dragon

For a dragon, cut green sponges into triangles and stitch or glue them down the center of a pilot’s cap. Attach more triangles down the back of a matching bodysuit.

Moose

To make the antlers, stuff white cotton gloves stuffed with batting and attach onto a brown cap. Fill the toes of brown baby socks with batting for ears and attach above antlers.

If you have children or know any children, what are they dressing up for for Halloween?

Halloween Costume - Paper

2011-10-22T00:00:00.001-05:00

This is another tutorial for an inanimate object. Inanimate objects are fun and unique ideas for costumes. This tutorial explains how to be a piece of paper/notebook for Halloween.

Costume:

I was inspired to do this costume from this shirt I found here. You can pair a shirt like this with jeans or leggings. Sneakers would be a good shoe to wear with this look. I've also seen this design in a dress if you can find one.

Accessories:

Consider carrying a notebook around with you as an accessory. You can also buy a jumbo pencil to carry, such as this this one:

If you don't mind your shirt getting ruined, you can bring around sharpies and ask people to write on you.

Makeup:

For the makeup, you could use a white eye shadow eye look to match the paper. You could also use matching blue and pink eye shadow that matches the lines of notebook paper:

Nails:

This video explains how to do matching notebook nails:

Halloween Costume - Gameboy

2011-10-21T00:00:00.000-05:00

This is a fun Halloween costume for gamers.

Costume:

This video game dress from Etsy was an inspiration for this costume.

The dress is kind of expensive so you can also choose to wear a Game Boy shirt with jeans or black pants.

Accessories:

For accessories, consider bringing a Game Boy (it doesn't have to be working). You can even find a cheap broken Game Boys on EBay.

Makeup:

I think a gray eye makeup look would match well with this costume.

Nails:

These matching nails would be really cute with this costume:

Halloween Costume - Spider-Man

2011-10-20T00:00:00.001-05:00

Being a superhero is a fun costume. My favorite superhero is Spider-Man so this tutorial explains how to get a Spider-Man costume. You can customize this costume however you like or get inspired to make your own superhero costume.

Costume:

You can find a Spider-Man costume at Halloween Express or other costume stores. This costume is for women:

If you don't want to buy a costume, you can use any red and blue outfit. You can even draw spiderwebs on it in black sharpie marker.

Accessories

If you want the Spider-Man mask that covers your whole head, you can buy one here. You can buy Spider-Man gloves here:

Makeup:

There's a good tutorial on how to get Spider-Man makeup here:

Nails:

If you're not wearing gloves, paint your nails a fun Spider-Man design:

Halloween Costume - Minnie Mouse

2011-10-19T00:00:00.002-05:00

Disney characters are a fun character costume to be for Halloween. This tutorial is for Minnie Mouse, but you can use it to get inspired for any character.

Costume:

You can find a Minnie Mouse costume at the Disney Store. If you don't want to buy a costume, you can use a polka dot dress. If you don't have a dress, use any outfit with black and red such as a red shirt with black pants.

Accessories:

You can buy Minnie Mouse ears here or even make your own and add a red bow (see the leopard costume tutorial).

You can wear bright yellow shoes like Minnie Mouse had. If you don't have yellow shoes and don't want to buy them, red or black shoes would also go well with the costume.

Makeup:

This video explains how to get a Minnie Mouse makeup look:

Nails:

These cute nails are perfect for a Minnie Mouse costume:

Halloween Costume - Vampire

2011-10-18T00:00:00.001-05:00

Vampires are a classic scary Halloween costume. Vampires are mythological beings who feed on the blood of living creatures. Here's some tips on getting a good vampire costume.

Costume:

If you don't want to buy a vampire costume, a black or red dress works great, such as this one. The good thing about using dresses you already have (or a new one you bought) is you can use them for other occasions and not just Halloween.

Accessories

A vampire cloak is a good accessory to add to your costume to make it look more like a vampire.

You can buy vampire fangs here. I think these might be the most important part of a vampire costume. Even if you don't get dressed up in other ways, fangs can make the costume.

Makeup:

This video explains how to do makeup for women and children:

Nails:

I think these nails would be perfect for a vampire costume:

Halloween Costume - Leopard

2011-10-17T00:00:00.003-05:00

Animal costumes are a great Halloween costume. This tutorial is for a leopard costume. I think leopard costumes are pretty easy to do because you can find leopard print items everywhere. You can also change this costume to represent another animal, such as a zebra.

Costume:

For the costume, use a leopard print dress you have or find a new one such as this one from Overstock:

If you don't have a dress, you can also pair a leopard print top with leopard print leggings or black pants.

Accessories:

You can add leopard print ears and a tail to this costume. You can buy ears and a tail or make them yourself. To make ears, take a headband and cover it in fabric. Use construction paper to make ear shapes. Cover these in fabric and use glue or wire to attach it to the headband.

If you have a leopard print purse or other leopard print items, consider bringing them as part of your costume. Any leopard print items work great as accessories.

Makeup:

Leopard print makeup can be a lot of fun to do. Here's an intense leopard makeup tutorial:

If you don't want to go full out, you can always just do leopard print eyes and draw on a nose and whiskers in black.

Nails:

This tutorial explains how to do leopard print nails:

Halloween Items on Etsy

2011-10-16T00:00:00.004-05:00

Here are some Halloween items I found around Etsy:

Felt Pumpkin Pincushion

Halloween Soap

Pumpkins 8x10 Print of Original Pen and Ink Drawing

Miniature Envelopes

Pumpkin Spice Whipped Body Butter

Pumpkin Hat Adult

If you have a shop, do you have any Halloween items in it?

Halloween Items

2011-10-15T00:00:00.000-05:00

I have a bunch of Halloween items in my shop in my Halloween section. I've been posting newer items I've made this year in recent blog entries. There are some of my older Halloween items:

Pumpkin Coptic Stitch Journal

Witch Hat Costume Halloween Card

Pumpkin Carriage Shimmer Greeting Card

Pumpkin Harvest Coptic Stitch Journal

Let me know which is your favorite. What kind of things do you buy for Halloween?

Halloween Series!

2011-10-14T00:00:00.003-05:00

I'm doing a Halloween series for the next two weeks on this blog. It's going to be a lot of Halloween articles instead of my usual blog posts. Here's the schedule:

10/15 - Halloween Items in My Shop
10/16 - Halloween Items on Etsy
10/17 - Halloween Costume: Leopard
10/18 - Halloween Costume: Vampire
10/19 - Halloween Costume: Minnie Mouse
10/20 - Halloween Costume: Spider-Man
10/21 - Halloween Costume: Gameboy
10/22 - Halloween Costume: Notebook
10/23 - Halloween Children Costume Ideas
10/24 - Halloween Pet Costume Ideas
10/25 - Halloween Crafts
10/26 - Halloween Decorating
10/27 - Halloween Pumpkin Carving
10/28 - Halloween Nails
10/29 - Halloween Food
10/30 - Halloween Desserts
10/31 - Personal Photos

What are your plans for Halloween?

Crafts I Want to Try Out

2011-10-13T00:00:00.004-05:00

I'm used to making paper crafts so it's nice to try some new crafts once in a while. This blog post is about some crafts I want to try out sometime.

Clocks

I think it would be really cool try to make my own clock. There's a lot of creative clocks on Etsy (I made a post about clocks here).There's a tutorial here on how to make a Dali style melting clock based off Salvador Dali's The Persistence of Memory painting. This is what it looks like:

You use an old clock and old record to make it. I've made record bowls before, but I wouldn't have thought to make something like this. I think it's really creative and unique.

Strawberry Pillows

I watch this channel on YouTube about makeup called anneorshine. Sometimes she has crafty tutorials. I love these videos she has on DIY strawberry and donut pillows. I have a couch in my room that's brown and always looks boring so having some fun pillows like these would look really nice.

Besides these, I also want to try to make a wallet and tote bag for myself. What kind of crafts do you like to do or are you working on now?

Animal Themed Items in My Shop

2011-10-12T00:00:00.001-05:00

For today's blog entry, I thought I'd share some animal themed items in my shop.

Rounded Elephant Collage Mini Greeting Card

Silver Cranes Greeting Card

This Little Piggy Bank

Leopard Print Photo Frame

Let me know which is your favorite.

Promoting Your Etsy on Squidoo

2011-10-11T00:00:00.000-05:00

I found this site called Squidoo recently. Squidoo is a community website that allows users to create pages (called lenses) for subjects of interest. I think Squidoo can be a good way to promote your Etsy. There's an easy to follow lens/article on how to promote your Etsy shop on Squidoo here.

Here is my lens on my Etsy shop: Move the Needle, My Etsy Shop. I have basic info on my Etsy shop and I also post some reviews people have done on my shop. I don't know if it will help get traffic to my shop, but it was fun to make and I think it provides a nice overview of my shop.

I turned some of my blog entries in to lenses:
Using Flickr to Promote Your Etsy
Using Facebook to Promote Your Etsy
Using Tumblr to Promote Your Etsy

I also made some lenses about other topics:
Vegan Pizza Ideas - This is part of the GoodVeg magazine section of Squidoo.
Anna's Flickr - This is just an overview of my Flickr. Feel free to comment sharing a link to your Flickr
My Mixtapes - I made this lens about mixes I've made and how to make a good mixtape.

Do you use Squidoo?

Winter Holiday Section

2011-10-10T00:00:00.000-05:00

I made a new Winter Holiday section in my shop. I usually wait until November to put my winter holiday items up, but I figured I'd put it up early this year.

I have greeting cards that can be used for any winter holiday like this one:

Rounded Winter Cardinals Greeting Card

I have Christmas specific items:

Rounded Winter Cardinal Holiday Greeting Card

I also have Hanukkah cards:

Rounded Eight Nights Hanukkah Greeting Card

And Thanksgiving items:

Pumpkin and Vines Thanksgiving Greeting Card

I also put my gift certificates in that section. I don't have any new items this year yet. I'm not sure if I want to make new items or not. I might want to wait until some of my older items sell. Let me know what you think. When do you usually start shopping for the winter holiday season?

New Halloween Greeting Cards

2011-10-09T00:00:00.000-05:00

I got some new Halloween greeting cards listed:

Rounded Polka Dot Pumpkin and Bats Halloween Greeting Card

Rounded Iridescent Jack-O-Lantern Halloween Greeting Card

Pumpkin Harvest Iridescent Orange Greeting Card

Let me know which is your favorite!

Hair Inspiration

2011-10-07T00:00:00.002-05:00

I love seeing creative hairstyles. For this week's inspiration post, I thought I'd post hair related photos that inspire me:

For good tips on doing hairstyles, check out the LetsMakeitUp1 and Cute Girls Hairstyles channels on YouTube. Do you like to experiment with hairstyles?

23rd Birthday

2011-10-06T00:00:00.000-05:00

It was my 23rd birthday on Tuesday. I thought I'd share some photos. This was my birthday cake, all lit up:

I had aloo gobi with my family. Aloo gobi is an Indian dish with potatoes and cauliflower:

Here are some of my gifts. I got some soaps I requested from Lush:

I got this red notepad:

This candle was made in France:

My sister made me a copy of one of her art pieces. She used pink ribbon to frame it:

I also got the book "The Lying Game" by Sara Shepard and some makeup. I forgot to make an Etsy wishlist for this year, but I love the stuff I got. Thanks for the birthday wishes on my last entry!

Birthday Themed Items

2011-10-04T00:00:00.001-05:00

It's my birthday today! I'm 23 today. Here are some birthday themed items in my shop:

Yellow Polka Dot Birthday Wavy Card

Yellow Flower Birthday Greeting Card

Balloons Birthday Card

C is for Cake Greeting Card

You can see all birthday items here.

Treasuries

2011-10-03T00:00:00.001-05:00

Here are some recent treasuries I've been featured in:

Have you seen any good treasuries lately?

Fashion Inspiration

2011-09-30T00:00:00.002-05:00

These are some fashion photos I found on Pinterest that I like:

Where do you get your fashion inspiration?

Ten Things I'm Loving Right Now

2011-09-29T00:00:00.000-05:00

I like to do these "10 things I'm loving" posts occasionally with ten random things I'm enjoying at the moment.

1. Glitter
I found a thing of white glitter in my house and I've been using it everywhere lately. I've been putting glitter in my journal entries and cards for my Etsy. I also put glitter on my nails. I did a solid color on my nails and put one layer of top coat polish on it. Before the top coat dried, I just sprinkled glitter on my nails. I love how glitter makes things stand out more.

2. Nail Art
Speaking of nails, I think it's a lot of fun to do nail art. Doing nail art was kind of hard to do for me at first, but I'm getting better at it. I think I'll do a post in the future with photos of different nail art I've done to my nails.

3. Making To Do Lists on Google Docs
My laptop has been broken for about a month. Since I don't have my files, one thing that has made my life a lot easier is Google Docs. I have my document files backed up there so I have access to my files without needing my computer. I can also create new documents like to do lists of things I need to do or things I want to do on my Etsy.

4. Stretching after working out
I like to work out every day, but I always forget to stretch. It always feel really good to stretch and it's important if you work out. I'm also trying to get back in to yoga.

5. Beautylish
I found this site called Beautylish that's all about makeup and beauty tips. People can upload photos or video to the site and share their makeup ideas and tips. You can see my profile here. Feel free to follow me if you use the site.

6. Pinterest
Another site I've recently discovered is Pinterest. Pinterest is a photography websites where you can post photos that inspire you on different "boards". It's great to keep inspiration for different projects you're working on or topics you're interest in. I like to organize my photos in to different topics on my computer anyway so I think Pinterest is a great idea. You can see my profile here. Again, I'd love if you'd follow me if you use the site.

7. Cooking podcasts
Speaking of food, I've been loving a lot of food podcasts recently. I'm a vegetarian so I listen to a lot of vegetarian and animal rights podcasts. I've recently discovered the Joy the Baker which is run by two women who have popular cooking blogs. Their podcast is a lot of fun and they talk about non related food topics too such as relationships, blogging and fashion.

8. Bean Salads
I've been experimenting with recipes more lately. One thing I like making when I don't have a lot of time, but want something healthy and homemade is bean salads. I just take a thing of canned beans (such as black beans or garbanazo beans) and put olive oil, vinegar and spices in it. Sometimes, I'll put other things like garlic, onion, fresh herbs, corn or other vegetables. I let it sit in the fridge for at least an hour and it always turns out really good. You can also put the beans in a tortilla wrap or in a sandwich.

9. Wishlistr
I love making wishlists. Wishlistr is a site that allows you to create wishlists online. I use Wishlistr to keep track of makeup products I like. To keep myself from impulse buying makeup, it helps to make a wishlist so I can keep track of products I'm interested in.

10. Black and white photography
I'm taking a black and white photography class in school right now. I love black and white photography and I like being able to develop my own film.

What have you been loving lately?