Pounce..Pounce....Pounce

Help me! I can't stop!!!!!

I hit pounce 3 new shops pop up. Pounce again ... 3 more.

Sometimes I am so amazed by what I see, I can't stand it...I must pounce again.

Pounce...pounce... WHAT'S THAT!?!?!


















The colors, the shininess. I can hardly contain myself! Click


















I'm in the shop now. The UNDISCOVERED SHOP of Robin Kittleson. How are you undiscovered? How has this shop not yet been seen?!?!

I browse for a while, actually finding myself sucked in by the colors.....ack...must pounce more!




Pounce....Pounce....Pounce




Food! There is food on etsy?!?! I knew about the whoopie pies, the cookies, and the cupcakes. But this is food! It's green, it's crunchy, it grew from the earth! I must enter!!!

Is it?! It is!!! It's everything I imagined it would be! Leaves in the banner and all!!!!
TheLiveFoodist .... clever and practical. A website too!

Even my favorite food of all. Hummus. Oh how I do love me some good hummus! What's this? Cashew hummus?!?! Torture, this is pure torture!!!















It's taking everything I have in me not to lick my screen!!! "The strawberries taste like strawberries. The snozzberries taste like snozzberries."
















I must go. I bid thee farewell scrumptious morsels of tummy delight. My addiction is calling my name.

Pounce....pounce...pounce...

FeatureMe - Paperelle

Creativity, originality, quality, uniqueness, what sets you apart from everyone else on your online selling venue?

I started a thread today, to find out who felt they made unique items. In a matter of minutes the thread exploded with responses and it took me a really long time to read it all and be current with the posts.

Several of the uber cool shop owners who posted stuck out to me. This is a link to the original thread, if you would like to browse thru all of the shops who replied.

I found one in particular pretty darn cool. I actually said out loud "wait....she MAKES that?....like really....wow."

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A Little Bit About Paperelle

Lauren is the brains and creativeness behind Paperelle. She hand makes these fantastic little origami stars out of old (about to be thrown away) paper and creates one of a kind jewelry with them.


ME: Origami stars huh? Is this an old origami folding technique? How did you learn about it?

LAUREN: Yes, it's a relatively simple origami technique. (It must be simple, if I can do it!) I saw it on a craft blog and thought it was pretty cute, and wanted to give it a try. I found a tutorial online, cut some paper, and gave it a go. I didn't want to spend any money on this, so I used some scrap that was in the recycling bin. I've heard that if you fold 1000 stars and give them to someone you like, they'll fall in love with you. I've told my husband to take care, as I've sent well over 1000 stars into the world!

ME: Yay for inexpensive crafts! Money is the main reason I haven't pursued other crafts.

ME: Are they coated in something? Do they squish flat?

LAUREN: Yes & yes! They squish flat, the last step in folding them is the puffing part. It's actually useful when you're teaching someone else, because they can practice the puffing step on a star that's already done to get the feel for it. I tend to fold them in really big batches, pick out the ones I want to make into jewelry, then coat those with an acrylic varnish. It makes them very tough, I field-tested the cellphone charms and never managed to squish one.

ME: That is so awesome! I see in your item descriptions that they are water resistant. I wouldn't expect that.

ME: How long does it take for you to fold each star? I would think that it is a very tedious job.

LAUREN: Folding is relatively quick, it's sourcing and cutting the paper that takes the most time. I cannot draw or cut a straight line unassisted! My guillotine paper cutter is an absolute must, and even then I can cut crooked. It took a lot of practice to figure out how to center an image on a finished star, and I'm still not 100%. Plus, each type of paper folds differently. Junk mail and catalog paper can be really thin, and need a very long strip for a good solid star, wheras the manga can be super thick, needing maybe half the length. If you use too long a piece it'll be too thick to fold, too short and it won't hold the shape.

Um, so to answer your question, it's under a minute to fold! I usually do large batches while I'm watching a movie, much to my husband's chagrin. I'm never looking when something important happens, so we have to rewind or he fills me in!

ME: Ok...so the folding is quick, but that cutting, measuring, and checking paper thickness sounds like a lot of work. My least favorite part of sewing is measuring/cutting the fabric.


ME: Is etsy currently, or are you striving to make etsy your full time job?

LAUREN: No & no. I actually really like my day job, I'm a science educator for a park. Plus it uses my biology degree, which I'm still paying for. Selling on etsy really branched out of my seemingly endless creating, and a need for a place to put it! I'm awful, as soon as I have a few sales I turn around and buy stuff from other etsians. If it can be self-sustaining and make a little spending cash, I'll be happy. It's also really fun to trade, I just got an awesome bracelet and pair of earrings that way.

ME: That's great that you spend your earnings on other etsy shops! We have to stick together and support eachother!! (I do the same thing...lol!)

ME: Where is your favorite hang out?

LAUREN: On the beat-up futon, with my husband and our chinchilla, Momo.

ME: Same here, total homebody. . . minus the chinchilla.

ME: When you aren't making your jewelry, what other thing do you enjoy doing?

LAUREN: On the weekends I usually try to see some friends! Although, if my best friend comes to visit we just make jewelry together. She made the sushi polymer clay beads on these earrings.


I'm a video game addict, Rock Band 2 is getting a lot of play in my house right now, and I play my Nintendo DS on the train. I do a lot of other crafts too, like knitting, gocco, collage, a little crochet, painting, etc. I tend to try things that look interesting and have a low start-up cost.

ME: Oh, I want a wii soooo bad!

ME: Of all the fancy flash tools on etsy...pounce, tm2, colors, etc. Which is your favorite?

LAUREN: Pounce! I like the undiscovered option. Before I had a sale I kept pouncing to see if my shop came up! I've never quite figured out the time machine.

ME: Same here! I could pounce for hours!


ME: Do you sell on other venues? Either online, or B&M?

LAUREN: Yes, I sold at New York Anime Festival last year in their artist alley. All of the positive feedback lead me to open the etsy shop. I've joined the {newnew} etsy street team, and that has opened a lot of local selling opportunities too.



When you purchace any of her gorgeous jewelry not only do you get a one of a kind masterpiece that you can wear, but they come gift wraped in a hand folded origami box!

It's Official - President Obama

President Obama...has a nice ring to it!

In celebration of such a wonderful day in our history I have compiled some fantastic products available on etsy!

I did a search with the keyword 'Obama'. To my surprise (good surprise) there were 147 pages of awesomely handcrafted Obama items. Amazing. Click here to see all of the results in etsy
(Since I posted this it jumped to 152 pages. WOW!)

Anyway...here are a few that really caught my eye!


Wanna purchase one of these great items for yourself? Here is where you can find them!: (click on the name to go straight to the shops!!)

Row 1
1. Presidential Evolution T Shirt - www.isotope.etsy.com

2. Pen & Ink Illustration - www.jenniferkohnke.etsy.com

3. Mama Likes Obama Button - www.printmakerjenn.etsy.com

Row 2
4. Coffee Sleeve - www.whatsupyoursleeve.etsy.com

5. Yes I Did Vote Button - www.graffiti2.etsy.com

6. Earrings - www.kimazier.etsy.com

Row 3
7. Collectable Bracelet - www.leeza888.etsy.com

8. Hope Necklace - www.underhercharm.etsy.com

9. Rocks My Socks Bag - www.MABelhandbags.etsy.com

FeatureMe - JulieMeyer

Today is Wednesday, and my awesome week continues! I decided yesterday, after receiving so much love that I would really like to be able to 'pay it forward'. If you have a shop you know how awesome it is to be recognized for all of your hard work.

So here we go, time to give someone else a little recognition and let them feel special for a while! :)

Here is how it's gonna work. I asked Julie a few question, and being an opinionated person...had to include my impression of what she has to say. Please feel free to comment on this post, and give your opinion as well!



A little bit about JulieMeyer


Me: Where did you get the idea for your 'clean in style' gloves?

JulieMeyer: I was cleaning my basement, wearing my cleaning gloves, and when I moved a pile of oilcloth I had to make bibs, I realized that it would be perfect trim for gloves. I had seen ribbon-trimmed gloves before, but knew the oilcloth would be a fun, sturdier choice.

Me: Oh the basement, I have to start that this weekend. Thanks for reminding me. (ugh)


Me: You sell bibs and lunch bags, are you worried about the new law that might effect shops selling items for children? And do you think this law is fair? (click here to see what YOU can do)

JulieMeyer: Since I only have a few oilcloth bibs in my shop, I'm not worried about business once the new lead law takes effect. I agree that better testing needed to happen to protect children, I worry about how quickly this law was passed without really understanding the whole effect. I really feel for the shops that specialize in children's items, especially the ones that already use all natural materials.

Me: Personally, even tho I don't make much kids stuff, this law really gets me going! Last time I checked the issues we had with childrens items were not from handmade toys. It's the mass produced stuff that needs quality control.


Me: So, your are a mom? How do your children affect your ability to create? Do they ever 'assist'?

JulieMeyer: Being a mother of 3 does pose it's challenges to create. Without them though, I'd be sitting in an office all day with very little chance to create the things I make. I've learned to work when I can. I used to work late into the night when the kids were in bed, but since I'm not a night person, never really liked this arrangement. I've learned to prep my materials during the day, then try and go to be shortly after the kids. I'm able to get up between 4-5am and work for a few hours before everyone gets up. There are times though during the day when I have a toddler sitting on my lap while I'm sewing. When it's time to ship items, my 10 year old loves to find out where in the world the packages are going.

Me: Ack! 4AM!?! No way! I'm the opposite of you. I like to stay up until I can't move my arms anymore, then sleep in. Good point on the fact that without kids you would be stuck in an office, never really thought of it that way. I'm 25...not 10, and I'm still amazed by all the places in the world that are connected thru etsy.

Me: I see you have made over 100 sales in less than a year! Congrats, that is quiet and accomplishment! What advice can you give to some of the newer etsy sellers?

JulieMeyer: I think the key to making consistent sales is to try and create and list something new every day that you can. I try and spend some time each week in the fun Etsy Forums to learn something new or help someone with a question. I've done a couple of Free Shipping Sales on weekends and that seems to help too.

Me: Yay! The etsy forums! One of my favorite ways to spend my day (and where I met you!) Trying to list a new item everyday is hard, but it really does help, and I have to agree on that bit of advice!

So Much Love For RuJu

Wow! What an amazing week I am having, and it's only Tuesday!!!

MONDAY:
Yesterday I was featured on a blog!!! (veronablu.blogspot.com) It's a fresh blog that is just starting out. The blogger plans to feature a new etsy shop each week. And I was lucky enough to be chosen for this weeks feature!
Read it here

And to top off my Monday I got 3 sales!!!! WooHoo!!!!

Oh! And my new earrings came in the mail! I was so excited about them I put them on in the post office parking lot. hahaha!

These are my gorgeous new earrings made by a fellow fantastic etsian! Check out her shop www.sarawestermark.etsy.com


TUESDAY:
Well, today is Tuesday, so technically more good can still happen. But even if it didn't I would be totally cool with it cause it has been so fantastic already!

I logged into my etsy this morning to find another sale!! Sweet!

Then I checked one of my new favorite sites (www.handmadeinpa.net). To find that Tara (the person who runs the show) wrote a fantastic article about my shop!!!!
Read it here

I seriously could not feel anymore fantastic than I do right now!