Crochet Cuffs

This week I added two crochet cuffs to my Etsy shop. It's been a while since I did anything with the shop so I am happy to be able to add something. Especially that the cuffs were in my "done and to be posted" box for far too long.

I am also very happy to use the new Etsy feature: shop and item stats. When I look at my stats, I come to the conclusion that I need to make and add more doilies, serviettes and place mats. This seems to be the things that people look for in crochet. 

Etsy Treasury

Tonight something for you, Ladies. I made etsy treasury sporting colorful, fancy, imaginative and one-of-a-kind polymer clay rings.

Leave comments and let me know which ring you like the most.

Warm Coffee and Croissants

Doesn't it look scrumptious? The green cozy is my first really finished knitted project. I am so proud of it and I think it looks fantastic. I know there are several design flaws but I ignore them and stare at my coffee pot instead of drinking it.

And by the way, I am sure you all know it's Etsy Euroweek and I've been featured in this lovely European-themed treasury!

Playing with Fire

Just a quick post, dear readers, to let you know that I hunted me a treasury this morning. It is called Playing with Fire and explores how fire can be perceived in the crafts world (as allegory, tool or inspiration). So have a quick look and let me know what you think of it.

BeWelcome and Busy Me

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Mine was pretty good, but also really busy. It all started on Friday with special orders for my earrings from the new collection. Now, you will hear no complaint from me there! Nevertheless arranging the orders, packing and sending them out took some time.

Then, exactly as I suspected, I got impatient and posted the new collection into my etsy shop instead of waiting until the end of February! It's very exciting to see it finally out and about. The earrings are the first on the line and necklaces will follow soon so keep checking in.

I also worked on a new design for candle shades. And I am really happy with the outcome. The shades make beautiful light patterns and create something special out of the simple tea lights. The first pair is already for sale in the shop and they look like a great gift for St. Valentines day. I will continue with this project and I'm planning to write up tutorials for this design.

And also, all through the weekend, next to my craft projects I've been working for BeWelcome.org. Those of you who follow me on Twitter could have noticed some tweets about this great community. The basic idea of the organization is to provide a completly democratic, free and volunteer driven platform for travellers. Members can exchange ideas, tips and helpfull materials but the best part is that they also open their homes to others and meet in real life. You can read more about the project here.
As you can already see I'm completely in love with the idea and so I spent a lot of the weekend with other enthusiasts from around the world writing up and translating the community newsletter. I just love working with passionate people. Check out the website and join in the network of open doors around the globe - it only takes few minutes to fill in the form. And once you are a member, don't forget to give me a shout. You can find me under the username: demorganna.

Polymer Clay Treasury

Photo curtsy of rabinowitzorly

Following my recent fascination with polymer clay, I browsed etsy to see what polymer items are there. And I found an amazing variety of projects, from sculptures and household items, through beads and pendants, to buttons and pens.

And so, I decided to share my finds with the wide world through this treasury. Look around and enjoy the beautiful items.

Shop Re-Opened!

Yey! After a few months break my etsy shop is opened again. Very exciting!

I started with relisting my old favourites. You will also find a new line of 80s style earrings.

And the best things is that if this Saturday and Sunday you spend at least $8 in my shop you will get the shipping free!

Elfish Elegance or Few of My Favortie Etsy Items

I was hunting for an etsy treasury for the past week. Tonight, after setting up an alarm clock and staring at the screen intently for an hour or so, I managed to finally get one.

It is really gratifying to be able to showcase your favorite items from other sellers. Especially so, for someone who wasts a lot of time browsing crafty creations...

Nevertheless, the system Etsy has in place is really frustrating and I am not sure when I will be bothered again to hunt another one of treasuries. I think someone should rethink the idea and maybe allow you to book slots for the future or allow more treasuries...I know the problem isn't one that can be solved simply, but I think it is worth putting some effort into.

Anyway, enjoy my treasury here.

Beaded Crochet Bracelet

Over the weekend I discovered that one of the big bookstores in London is about to close down. To get rid of the stock, the bookstore offered 50% sale on ALL books. When I reached the place on Saturday morning the shelves were already half-past-empty. Luckily for me (and unluckily for my wallet) the craft section still had some interesting titles. And one of them was Beaded Crochet Designs by Ann Benson. I thumbed through the pages and, since I had some beads lying around, I decided to try out the pattern for beaded crochet bracelet.

The beginning was very frustrating and the beads just really didn't want to fall into places.


Then, things started working a bit better.


But once the bracelet was finished I realized, I butchered the seam up.


Luckily, I managed to unravel the problematic part and redo the seam. And voila! a seamless bracelet was created:


Conclusion: I love this technique, it makes for a beautiful, summery jewelery! You can see more pictures in my etsy shop.

Earrings on Etsy

Yesterday, I read this great article from Yoola of Etsy's yoola.etsy.com posted on Handmade Marketing. Yoola is writing on how she was wondering what to do to improve her sales. Her exposure was great - blogs, treasuries, hearts, showcases and articles - yet she wasn't selling too many items. She analyzed her shop and came up with three ideas to improve her situation.

So, after reading the article I started wondering what I could do to improve my business. Granted, I do not have as much exposure as Yoola has but still there are quite a few people hearting my items and following my on Twitter and yet I have only sold one set of blue doilies. I looked at my shop long and hard yesterday night and I came up with one idea!

I need cheaper items!

Easier said than done. To keep my shop profitable I cannot lower the prices of my craft. The prices are set due to the high quality materials I'm using and the amount of time it takes to create any of the items. So what to do? I collected my wits about me and decided to work on a line of crocheted jewelery - the new earrings you can now see in my Etsy Shop are smaller than my other creations and therefore require less material and less time to create. This allows me to lower the price considerably and will hopefully attract business.

New items in my etsy shop

After a bit of a break I had a chance to work on two more projects. I can now safely say that I mastered the serviettes design. The results are to be seen (and purchased) on my etsy shop!

Battle won

I spent the morning fighting Adobe Photoshop but it was worth my while. I figured out the nuts and bolts of the software and created my first etsy shop banner.
I used my signature project and the slogan I want to promote. Let me know if you have any comments.

Excited about my projects

I have just created my very own etsy shop. It is so exciting and a little bit scary to finally see my projects online. I will be updating the shop regularly with new items so keep checking it out.

I also spent some time today preparing business cards (or more like business slips) that I will add to my projects that I send to buyers.

It is a great feeling to see my project develop!