First Sale of 2008

After the rush of the Christmas season, I was certainly ready for a little break. I needed to relax and to restock all of the things I had run out of.

Well, I had a couple of weeks of resting and relaxing, and now I'm ready to get back into the swing of things on Etsy. Good thing I had my first sale of 2008 today!

Yeah, me!!

Photo Shoot!

Recently I got some new photo equipment (a light tent, some really good lights and a few other goodies) and today I had a chance to try them out with Elli, a friend I sold with at Market this summer. We had such a good time! I love my new toys.

The lights and light tent made taking good clear photos so much easier, and Elli was able to take photos that she was satisfied with for the firs time ever. I can't wait to take more pictures and experiment more.

This was fun!

Crafty Kids Rock!

My daughter has been doing pretty sophisticated crafting for several years now. My intrepid mother-in-law (check out the Handmade Holiday posts below for some of her accomplishments), has had my little one sewing on buttons, painting, snipping threads into tiny piles of fluff (not crafting per-se, but great for small motor skills) and so many other things I can't remember off hand. Lately I have begun to walk into the sewing room to see my little one crouched under the sewing table running the presser foot while Ma guides the fabric. What a hoot.

This weekend, my daughter designed and made a fused applique pillow with only minimal help from the grownups (except for the ironing and the sewing). I think it turned out great! Watch out Etsy, in a few years, she is going to take you by storm.

201 Hearts

I know it is a bit silly to be so excited about something not directly related to sales, but I finally made over 200 hearts. For those of you not in the Etsy-know, that means over 200 people have marked my shop as a favorite. I've been deathly ill since right after Christmas (that's why no posts for so long, sorry), and I haven't been checking my hearts like I usually do. It came as a complete surprise to see that the number had grown so high. And this also came on a night when I got two wonderful feedbacks left for me as well. What a great set of pick-me-ups after feeling so cruddy for so long.

I promise to post some pictures this weekend of some of the handmade gifts that were shared at Christmas time.

Merry Christmas, Handmade Style

Its Christmas Eve, and as I sit here contemplating just how lucky I am, I just want to wish everyone else a happy holiday, too. I can't wait for tomorrow, when I will go to my in-laws house. There, the spirit of Handmade Holidays lives on, and has for many years. We went over there yesterday (as we do every Sunday for dinner) and my mother-in-law was still finishing up the last few gifts. I can't wait to see what was made for me and for everyone else. It is always so exciting to open up the gifts from Ma and find the treasures inside.

Here are just a few of the gifts that I made this year:

• Wobblebob Keychains
• Wobblebob Ornaments
• The Pink Flower bracelet in the photo above
• Wobblebob pendants for the girls in my family (I promise to take pictures on Wednesday when we exchange gifts, I forgot before I wrapped them)
• Jens Pind necklaces
• Lego magnets
• Celtic Star Earrings
• Double Spiral Bracelet

I could have made more, and that is my goal for next year. I also bought quite a few handmade gifts, including ones from boulderglassmonkey, hairbowdepot, jengee, ThePrincessBowtique and SeeJayneKnitYarns

May you and yours be blessed with all the best this holiday season, and may the New Year bring only the challenges you are able to meet.

I snagged a Treasury!

Hey, everyone, I got a Treasury. I chose to feature EtsyRain artists that I know personally. It was a blast to put together, and I'd love it if you would check it out!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=19987

Color Trends Challenge

About once a month Kayce from EtsyRain issues a challenge to all of us to create something centered around a theme. So far, we have had Calendar related themes -- "Halloween", "Autumn", and "Winter. This time, the theme was different. We were given this link to the projected Color Trends for Spring 2008, and the task of making something that was inspired by that palette of colors. I am not a color person, so it was hard for me to even begin thinking about this task.

Finally I was able to find beads in the fucshia, turquoise-y blue, and bright yellow, and I made one of my favorite bracelets. I had intended to add Swarovski crystals for added sparkle, but after I finished with the beads, I decided it was sparkly enough.

What do you think?