Name cards

New name cards! The holidays are fast approaching...wouldn't it be great to be organized now? These are the first of several I will be listing soon.

Craftopolis

Have you Etsy sellers seen this sight yet? Craftopolis...it's pretty cool! It tells you if you are featured in any Treasuries, if you are: what the name of it is, when it expires, and it's clickable! There is also a Treasury Clock there that tells you how much time you have before any of the Treasuries open up. Also they let you know if you are in any of the Gift Guides too!

Another great feature of this site is the "Shop Lovers" section. You can go to any month of the year and every time your shop received a heart, it will show up on that day! It is fun!

Go...check it out!

New Specials, and Special Things!

So it's Monday again! This week's new sale is: 20% off one single card...any one you want from either my Etsy shop, or my Artfire. There are links on the sideboard to each of them! Just enter "20%Blog" in the message to seller, and I will refund you that money!

Just wanted to share a couple of fun things I found on Etsy this morning! The first one is a cool pillow from pinkalmond Isn't it cool?!

Willowcreeksigns is a really neat shop, and once I have my house up, I will be making some purchases! This is just one of my favorites!

And this is actually not from Etsy, but I saw this recently, and I want it!

More for Mother's Day

Made a few new cards again! This time around it was for Mother's Day...and I even snuck in a Father's day card. Although, the Dad card could be used for a birthday too!

If you are looking for a Mother's day card, I have a few. Also, type in EGMOMS and you will come up with several Etsy shops that are running a promotion on cards!

Well, There I Go!

It's official...after selling on Etsy for almost a year and a half, I am just now getting some official looking cards with my URLs on it! Go Moo cards! I can't wait to get them!

I have been making my own, and lately I haven't made enough. Every order I was almost done packing then, oh yeah, a card! Made me so crabby! I'll be sure to post pics when I get them!

Here is my newest Mother's Day card: (I do need to take some better photos of it!)

New Series

I have a whole series of cards that I made with fun paper. The next set of cards I need to make is baby cards! I don't have too many of those in the shop yet!

New Set!

I have been working hard on getting new cards for the shops this week. The new ones are made with really neat paper...and I love how they turned out!

New Fun Stuff!

Lots and lots of newness in my Etsy shop! I have been having so much fun with making new cards lately...just ask me how clean my house is!

Come over and check out the new selection!

Embarking on a New Endeavor

Ha ha! Too funny of a title...such big words...are you impressed?! Well, I really am starting a little something new. I have a friend who makes soaps, and she wants me to make some labels for them and also make some cards to go with it. She found these really adorable boxes that she puts the soap in, then she wants the card to go on top of it. Perfect for a baby gift, Mother's day, Christmas...we will just see how this will go! It's fun trying something new!

Now how about a new card from my shop? I've had a hard time keeping up here, on Etsy, ArtFire, and life, so things have been slow there. I am ready to get back into it, make more cards, and list a lot more. I also would like to get out and personally get some sales off line. Those are my goals, and I will start after the 15th! (I'm going on vacation, I'm going on vacation...and I will be so warm!)

So, in the mean time, I would just love it if you'd buy out my whole shop! ;) At least go and check it out! Don't forget my ArtFire shop, it has some really beautiful cards in it. Now, it's back to packing for me.

New Deal!

Just wanted to inform you all of the new deal I have going on in my shop! Buy 5 cards, and get them for $9.50. It's time to move some cards, and force me to update the shop! Also, check out my ArtFire shop...if you like any of those cards, let me know, and I would be happy to give you the same deal.

Thanks

After receiving all those lovely gifts, wouldn't it be wonderful to send back a beautiful thank you card? I have a couple of new ones uploaded to my shop. Take a look, it might be just what you need!

Batch Listing

The question was raised in my Etsy Greetings Group, what the views are like in our shops ever since Etsy implemented "batch listing." I wasn't sure about this, and was glad that Katherine Adams had a good explaination (below.) What do you think of this new way of listing? I can't imagine this does any good for the sellers!

"The new listing procedure on etsy is a batch system now. It used to be a constant cycle of listing...you list and in the order that your item hit the etsy system along with everyone else that is listing, your item went to the front page and moved along gradually getting pushed back through the pages. This way, everyone in a category got a chance on the front page in the order they listed their item. Now, the way it works is that when you list, your item goes in a "cyber pile" until they have a certain number of items in a category in that "pile" and then they all get listed at the same time. The only way you will get on the front page is if you are the last 21 in the "cyber pile."

For example, you list right after etsy posts a batch of listings so your item sits until they have x number of paper goods listings ready. When that number is reached, say it is 210, your item pops up for the first time on page 10 of the papergoods category. This means you never got seen by anyone unless they went through a minimum of the first 10 pages. I know from listing at busy as well as slow times that etsy has anywhere from 150 to 500 listings every 5-10 mins so your item then goes back even more pages at a time as everyone else lists.

For those that mentioned not being here last Christmas, business was much better and so was the economy. However, I was still plugging along this season with plenty of sales to keep me busy if I worked the system (ie...forums, sales, relisting and listing new items often). Now, I am lucky to sell one item every 2 weeks and many of those have been return customers who knew how to find me. I saw a definite drop off all of a sudden and just in the last few weeks. Etsy won't say exactly when the system was implemented.

There is also a new way they are counting views but I don't know the details of that system. Some have tried to attribute the drop off in exposure to the new view counting but really how often do we ever list an item that has been previously popular and have it sit for days with 1 or zero views? Never for me! I could always drum up some sales with a few of my unique items and even those tank with no interest now."

What do you think?

I was told 2 times in the last couple of days that I should sell some of my photos. While I really appreciate the compliments, I have a hard time thinking that my photos are good enough for that! Especially after seeing some of the wonderful and talented photographers on Etsy!

At the same time, I am wondering if there really is a market for my photos. At this time, I am going to get some of the printed up at a quality place, and see how they turn out. I do love to take photos, it's actually on my mind a lot! And I really hate it when I don't take my camera along with me...it's those times when my "photographer's eye" is working over time!

So, give me your opinion, if you would. Should I?

New Brag Book

I am very excited about this new item that I made! (And, I finally made a new photo box, so I could finally take pictures again!) This is a mini album that is pre finished so that, if you would buy it, all you would have to do is add some of your family's beautiful photos! It's a brag book!

It has 10 pages of fun embellishments, brads, chipboard sayings, and great color combinations. Check it out for yourself...let me know what you think!

Compare

So back to the HandmadeFuzion site... There is no doubt that there is a lot more views, faster, there at that site. I listed similar things there and on Etsy the other day (at the same time) and Handmade has gotten me 32 views, while Etsy's card only has 14. And maybe this isn't a fair comparison since I have been on Etsy for a year, here is an interesting point: I have 11 listings at Homemade, and those 11 items have 642 total views. With my 75 over at Etsy, I have 4475. Do the math...Handmade has an average of 58 views per item, and Etsy has over 59 views per item! I should take the the cards that I've listed in the same amount of time at both places.

Views do not compute into sales however. I have been slow over at Etsy, and have never made a sale on Handmade. (I confess, I have seen something on Handmade that I thought was cute, and ran right over to Etsy to see if that seller was there too. I think if I were to buy that item, I would buy it from that seller on the Etsy site!)

On the other hand, none of my items have been favorited on Handmade, and neither have any of my items. Then there is the issue of not many items being uploaded to Handmade. Imagine my shock after listing something there in the early morning, to come back at night and find that same item still scrolling across the top of the page! There is only the newest 24 items listed scrolling all the time!

This whole thing keeps me in limbo...do I keep going? About 6 months ago I started a Big Cartel shop, and that has such pathetic views (mostly because of me, that is something you have to promote your self and I am lacking in that department!) so I am going to close that down. Keep things a little more streamlined, and focus on making some decent sales!

I am excited about the Christmas season! I am hoping to jump into a bunch of card sales. I've decided to list my Christmas cards for less than my normal $2.50 price.

Give Away!

Ok, so there is exactly 2 weeks before I celebrate my Etsy-versary, and I wanted to give something away! Anyone who comments on my blog in the next 14 days will be entered in for their choice of 3 free cards from my shop! Any card you want! All you have to do is comment...and say that you would like to be entered, and you're in!

I will contact you in 2 weeks: October 23, and then you can go through my shop and let me know which cards you would like to have. I will, of course, ship them free of charge!

The link to my shop is right on this blog page. Thanks for participating!

Etsy Vs. HandmadeFuzion

Today I wanted to see a little test. I listed a baby card on Etsy, and another baby card on HandmadeFuzion at the same time.

First, I am going to write a few pros and cons about the 2 sites.

HandmadeFuzion:
Pros:

• I can load all the pictures at once.


• After listing, the item scrolls across thr front page right away. In fact, it will stay there on that scroll until 25 more items are listed. (Now I realize there are way more items being listed on Etsy, so even if Etsy did that, my item wouldn't be on the front page for long!)


• You can feature your item on the front page for only 50 cents. (I did not do that with this card that I listed.)

Cons:

• Listing an item is more complicated. There are more steps to it, however, I'm hoping that since this is a new site, the kinks will get worked out, and things will change.


• Not a well known site, so I am not sure how many customers are there!


• The site seems a little hard to navagate yet.

Etsy:
Pros:

• The listing process is simple. I don't know, maybe because I am so used to it? But there are not that many steps.


• The site is visited more, so there are more buyers here.

Cons:

• There is a 4 minute delay on the item you just listed to make it to the front page. I did time it, and for this particular item, it was only 2 minutes. Not bad!
• I've always had a beef with the picture loading process...I really want to be able to load all my photos at once!

Anyway, I listed at 9:41 am. At 9:45, I had 1 view at HandmadeFuzion, and 3 views at Etsy.

10:00 am:
Handmade: 18 views

Etsy: 3 views.

**Update: 2:30 pm. Etsy: 11 Handmade: 39

**Update again! 6:30 pm. Etsy: 15 Handmade:47
10:45pm Etsy: 17 Handmade:48

So, there are a lot more views there. Not sure what this means for sales. I didn't have any in either store. I will continue to list at HandmadeFuzion for now though.

I will keep you updated throughout the day! In the meantime, here are the 2 cards that I listed. (The first being the one that I uploaded to Etsy, the second to Handmade.)

Etsy's gone mad

Things are a little crazy over at Etsy lately! There is a lot of "bugs," people complaining about views, items not showing up on the front page, renewed items showing up on the 5th page of the category. I agree about the views, and the renewed items! I haven't added anything lately, or renewed for the last couple of days. Not sure when would be a good time to do that!

I am coming down with a nasty cold. You know those comercials where the person's head turns into a balloon...that is how I feel today! Pass the Advil Cold & Sinus please!

Check out this photo of my apple tree! The weather has been warm here for the last couple of days, and the bugs are loving it. When I look outside, all you see is bugs. It makes it hard to enjoy the nice weather! At least these are lady bugs and not the nasty Asian Beetles. I am sure they will also be out and about soon though too.

Have a wonderful day!

Musings

It's quiet here and I should be in bed, but yet here I sit. Every time I think about writing during the day, the computer is busy, or there are some other rather important things that should be done at the time. A mother is never bored! And a mother's work is never done.

I love to play in the dirt and grow flowers, and with that comes the weeds. Since we were gone this past week, the weeds decided to choke out the flowers! Besides that, we had this mysterious smell in our basement that we couldn't figure out. I did get the sleeping bags washed, and all of the towels, the whites are washed, but I have to admit that they are still in the dryer. Waiting. I do not look forward to folding them.

The smell thing is figured out. It seems as though we must have gotten too much rain lately, and in our storage room in the basement (which has a cement floor) there is some water. The thing is, we didn't see it at first because there is an old piece of carpet laying in there. That was the stench. Now for cleaning that out and dying up the place again...dehumidifier running 24/7.

As for Etsy...well, that has taken a back seat in the last few days. I feel as if I don't have enough time to run it well, although I did list another card today. I am hoping to "muddle" for a couple more weeks, and then take it over again with zeal. I love Etsy, and I love selling my cards there, and so there is no way I am giving that up! ;) I also love summer, and there are so many things that come along with that.

I will have to share with you my newest feedback! I am very excited for my Mom, who sold the second Doll sweater, and this customer loves it! Here is what she wrote:

Fantastic! Thanks so much. I have NEVER seen a better quality doll sweater. Julie doll is loving it.

Isn't that just the nicest feedback?! It just made my day...even though the praise isn't even for me! Thanks mom! ;)

Check it out!

I am in 3 treasuries at the moment! Wow! That is really amazing to me. I try and check out the lists every day so I can see if I am featured, but I gotta tell you, it gets a little discouraging when the little yellow stars are very rare! I have 2 thumbs to show, but right now the treasury west is on the blink, so I will have to take it later.

The first one here is all yellows and that is my card peeking out in the third row in the middle! This one is made by thecraftpantry.

This one, made by backwoodsophisticate, is called "berries and cream" and my card is on the bottom row, middle.

The third treasury is made by muffintopdesigns, and as soon as t-west gets back up again, I hope I can get a thumb.

Then please check out the Treasury that I made! It's all gray jewelry, and before you think, "gray? really?" I have to tell you that it really is beautiful! I guess that's just my opinion! ;)