Evidence of Love: Artist Trading Card

I made this a few months ago and it got buried in the mess on my desk. Eeek!

It measures 3.5 inches by 2.5 inches. The ruler on the bottom is actually a vintage piece of measuring tape from one of those spools you have to crank back in manually. The spiral clip is an Italian paper clip. The woman image is a rubber stamp. I cut the paper for her to look like a Polaroid picture. The faux manila folder closures are just paper punch circles and eyelets. I used my sewing machine to sew around the edges in an uneven way. (Really, I *can* sew in a straight line!) The card is made on a piece of watercolor paper that I added some gel medium to so it looked like stucco.

I'm thinking I might put this up for sale in my Etsy shop for Valentine's Day. What do you think?

I hope you have a Happy New Year's Eve and a safe night!! Cheers!

Birthday Flowers Never Die

Eleven days later (!!), the flowers Erik gave me for my birthday still live and are flourishing! I've been carefully maintaining the water. The lilies were closed when he gave them to me and the show as they unfolded and opened has been amazing. Now the whole house smells like flowers!

Chippy the Hamster

Meet Chippy the Hamster whom I took care of the week before Christmas before she was gifted to my nieces. Isn't she cute? How could I not miss her? I come downstairs in the morning now and I think, "Oooh, man! Chippy isn't here and I'm lonely." Insert sad face.

I think I might have to get my own hamster now! But I know Erik won't really go for that at all. He kept calling Chippy a "rodent" in a disgusted voice. Scrooge.

It sort of did me good that week to have something tiny and cute to take care of and love. I know I can always pop in to my sister's and visit Chippy since she's only seven blocks away. Maybe it's time to revisit the pet ideas with Erik. He wants a dog really bad and so do I, but it's snowy now. Will a puppy go potty out in the snow to housetrain it? I'm doubting the ease of those training sessions. Plus there's a ton of stuff in the studio that a puppy would rip to shreds in a heartbeat. It would be nice to have some company in the studio though. I am torn on this topic. Lately my brain has refused to be decisive so this may be on hold for a while longer.

Merry Christmas!

I got this as a gift when I was born from a grandparent... not sure which one. My twin sister has one just like it with her name on it. This is one of my most treasured belongings. So that makes it about 35 years old! Yikes!

I nearly died last night when it wasn't in the ornament box as we decorated our tree (rather late, I might add). The box it was in somehow got separated from the Christmas boxes in the basement and it was well hidden in a seat bench. I couldn't find my ornament for about an hour. It was a horrible feeling, but I'm happy now that it is safely on the tree! When my nieces were born I made sure to get one for each of them. It made my sister cry.

These are what I've been working on today and this week.

This one is inspired by Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas 2009: Day 5. These little plastic charms are a product in his line. The images are glued to the backs with Glossy Accents. You can see these pictures bigger at flickr by clicking on them.

I made this tag this morning to give to my mom for Christmas. I really like gold embossing powder! And I cannot let a tag be with just one ribbon. It has to have lots of foofiness!

This tag is for my mom as a gift. She's a big fan of my work! Ha! Anyway, what says "I love you" better than handmade?

I hope you are having a very merry Christmas, if it's your thing! xoxo

Oh, What A Mess!

Click to see it bigger with notes over at flickr

OK. I’ll be the first to admit I am a total slob in my studio. I do not have a “neat gene” at all. I like all my tools to be within arms reach. So it piles up around me. Not too good at putting things away when I’m done with them! I might need it again in another minute! It displeases me to have to get up from what I’m doing to get something for my current project. It’s disruptive. So I have this eternal mess.

It’s an inspiring mess, though. I love to sit and look at the little bits of paper left behind and how they mix with other paper around them. This is a source of design inspiration for me. It keeps my eyes busy and my brain going. I simply cannot work with a clean and organized work table. I’ve tried. It totally freaks me out.

My hunny calls the studio “The Fire Hazard”. I’m too embarrassed to show you the rest of it, to be honest. It’s really just more of the same from the work table, just spread out over a 10’ x 15’ room. Ugh. I cringe when people say, “Hey, can I stop by the studio and see your work?” Sure thing… if you can even walk into it! Welcome to the mess!

Not helping is the fact that I am a paper freak and collect it like it is gold. I have lofty plans to use it in collage work. But working on the size canvases I do (on small dominoes) not much of this paper collection gets used up. A domino maybe uses up 1.5 square inches of paper.

I would love it if you shared a photo of your studio. I like to see how other artists work. It’s very interesting to me. So please share!

Winter Wishes Tag

This one was inspired by Tim Holtz’s 12 Tags of Christmas, which is sadly over for this year. I learned a lot of new techniques from Tim.

I had to improvise some of his instructions, as I didn’t have the same stamps or grungeboard. So I used chipboard from a cereal box for the snowman instead. I also don’t have a Dymo but I have the next best thing: a faux Dymo font in Photoshop. That’s where I made the “Winter Wishes” text and printed it on matte photo paper. The icicles and sparkliness on the snowman and flourishes is Stickles, a kind of glitter glue. It’s extremely sparkly and the snowman looks frosty. I made him a little scarf from some red ribbon printed with French words about love. The crackle in the background is Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint. It’s the best one-step crackle I’ve ever seen!

Hope this puts you in a winter-y Holiday mood!

Still Time to Ship for Christmas!

This Paris Postage Altered Domino Pendant is one of my very favorite designs. At the home jewelry show I did at my sister’s house it sold right off my neck. So I knew I had a winner! I made two more this past week. One sold out of my shop in less than four hours. Have not had that happen before! I went to go check on the views on it and it was gone! I still do the Happy Dance of Joy when I make a sale!

The comment the buyer wrote humbled me: “This is a gift for my mother -- she loves Paris and spent hours playing dominoes with my grandmother, who died last year at the holidays. So this is a perfect gift. Really need to have in time for Christmas! Thank you!”

The "perfect gift"! I love hearing things like that! (Do not worry! You will have it in time! I shipped it yesterday!)


There is still one in stock so if you want it, don't delay! The domino is very vintage. The dots on the back are nice and big and have a rich patina on the off-white color.

Right now through December 20th I’m offering free worldwide shipping! Deadline for orders to be shipped in the US in time for Christmas is December 20th so I can get it in the mail to you by the Post Office’s cut off of December 21st. It’s currently too late for on time delivery outside the US but a late gift is better than no gift! ☺

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade inmyheadstudios.etsy.com

“The Journey Awakens the Soul” Tag

Getting into the spirit of Tim Holtz’s 12 Tags of Christmas has me making tags, tags, tags! I am waiting on more supplies to come by post to make tags inspired by his art. So more tags to come!

I bought some of his stamps at the craft store. I highly recommend his clear stamps. The quality of the material surpasses any other clear stamp around. They aren’t mushy at all. Each impression is perfect. They don’t have that give like most clear stamps have that often result in a blurred impression. Also, they stick to the acrylic blocks like nobody’s business. (What does that expression even mean?)

I didn’t have any tags in the right size so I made this one out of cardstock. I made a faux paper re-inforcer for the hole with two hole punches. Tags are a great size to work on. Not too big to be daunting but more room than an artist trading card. Plus I get to use my bits of ribbon and lace for the hanging part. Foofy!

If you have not checked out Tim Holtz’s blog, go there now to see the awesome inspiration he provides during the 12 Tags of Christmas. Each day he just blows me out of the water with his ideas! Plus he’s doing giveaways each day so be sure to leave him a comment!

Season's Tweetings: An Etsy Treasury

This is such a gorgeous Etsy Treasury that I've been included in (Candy Cane Domino Christmas Tree Ornament)! I love the cute little Santas by SassyPackRatStudios. There are several items in this Treasury that would make great gifts for someone on your list. Go give it some click and comment love! Buy handmade for the holidays!

Created by EndlessSunner.etsy.com
Expires December 4th

More About Picture the Impossible

The folks who made Picture the Impossible possible made a video overview about the game. Watch it if you want to understand my recent obsession with it. Doesn’t it sound like fun?

I’m having less PTI withdrawal than I thought I would experience. So that’s a good thing. I have gone back and done some of the web based games again. A few times I’ve had a bit of panic happen when I thought I was forgetting to do something for the game on time like run off for a scavenger hunt or make and upload a video to YouTube. But then reality set in and there are no deadlines for PTI now. And I sigh in both a little relief and a little disappointment. I am glad that the holidays have set upon us so soon after the game ended to give me something to focus my energy on. And craft shows to get ready for. I honestly cannot wait to play this game again. Maybe next time I’ll win something!

Don't forget - I'm still offering free worldwide shipping on everything in my shop at inmyheadstudios.etsy.com. It ends today! And for reading my blog I'm also offering an additional 10% off through today if you type "Blog10%" in the Message to Seller upon checkout! I'll refund your discount promptly through PayPal.

Etsy Buy Handmade inmyheadstudios

Last Show of the Season

This week has been busily spent getting ready for the next craft show today at the Irondequoit High School. This is going to be a good show. I can feel it. I’m pretty much all packed up and ready to go. I have three pendants that were sprayed with sealer yesterday to finish.

These are domino pendants I finished this past week. I am unable to pick a favorite from this bunch! They’re all really nice!

Stop down to the show if you're local. It's our last show of the season!!

Irondequoit High School Arts & Crafts Show
Saturday, November 28th
260 Cooper Road
Irondequoit, NY 14617
10 AM to 4 PM

I'm offering free worldwide shipping on everything in my shop at inmyheadstudios.etsy.com. It's good until Monday! And for reading my blog I'm also offering an additional 10% off through Monday if you type "Blog10%" in the Message to Seller upon checkout! I'll refund your discount promptly through PayPal.

Etsy Buy Handmade inmyheadstudios

Red Hat Domino Pendant

At the last craft show we did at St. Rita’s School I got several custom order requests. This was the first time this happened at a craft show so, as you can imagine, I was thrilled. I adore doing custom work. I love the challenge of figuring out exactly what my customer wants and making it happen.

One very kind lady said she plays dominoes with her friends. And one of her friends is into the Red Hat Society. So she asked me if I could make a Red Hat domino pendant. It’s interesting to say, “Yes, I can do that!” before I actually have a plan of how to do it. But if I stood there and thought about it for too long the customer would walk away. So I say “yes” to these things without really knowing what I’m going to do. I have to tease information out of the customer. More often they know what they don’t want more than they know what they do want. I like sifting through that information to form an idea. So I quickly came up with thoughts about feathers and rhinestones. She agreed to the design and I went from there. This is the finished product.

I let the light hit the extreme shininess of this one to show you just how glossy these end up if all goes well. This has two layers of sealer on it. It looks like it is encased in glass!

I used white ink to stamp on the purple and red cardstocks. I made a little template of a hat so I can reproduce this design later. Then I made little fake feathers out of lilac paper. Real feathers would have ended up looking wet under the sealer so I had to improvise. I added a tiny rhinestone for some additional shine. I tied red and purple beads onto the black waxed cotton cord.

Now it’s off in the post for this one. I hope my customer likes it! And I hope her friend likes it, too!

This would be a really good time to contact me at inmyheadstudios@gmail.com about custom orders. The earlier the better as I have quite the busy schedule coming up with shows and the holidays and the Etsy Twitter Team. You dream it… I can do it! Let’s work on something together!

Paper Exchange

I am participating in a paper exchange I found out about on Twitter organized by @SamsArt5. She has a Twibe set up for the exchange in case you are interested.

This is a photo of what I'm sending to Andrea in Japan. I hope she likes it. Some of this paper is my favorite but I believe in sharing the love. So she's getting some of my beloved stash!

I got a fabulous paper package from Japan! It has lots of beautiful paper in it that I have already organized and therefore cannot photograph for you now. Should have done that before I put it away! But, please, give me points for organization. Usually new paper gets thrown onto the heap and it stays there until I make something out of it. I have a bit of a paper fetish. (Really, No kidding!)

Etsy Twitter Team: Shop Of The Week: Jenco13

This week's Shop of the Week from the Etsy Twitter Team is Jenco13.etsy.com. She is the head of the PR Committee for the team and does an excellent job with that work. Here is the post from the Etsy Twitter Team blog:

Visiting Jenco13 is a sure way to feel a serious need for something warm. Multi-colored shawls, scarves (with pockets!), cup cozies, cuddly baby blankets and more fill this Etsy store.

Jen freely admits that most of her items narrowly miss being kept. "I love each item I make and sometimes find them very hard to part with! I spend anywhere between 6-8 hours on a scarf to make sure my stitches are even and consistent. If it's not up to my standards, I rip out the stitches until I'm satisfied. I only sell things that I would use myself. When I'm done making things, my husband, Joe, normally has to remind me I already have a million scarves and cup cozies of my own!"

Jen credits her mom, a graphic designer and artist herself, with inspiring her. "She is amazing with colors! We try to get together at least once every 6 months to do an art day for the girls."

Husband Joe is also supportive. "He is an amazing supporter of my art work and never says to me, 'You're crocheting again?' He helps me pick out what my next projects are going to be."

Jen ships her work internationally and is happy to do custom items. "I love to take custom orders from people when they see something new that I have not thought about making before."

As head of the Etsy Twitter Team's PR Committee, Jen is an avid user of Twitter and has a few tricks of the trade to share.

"Each month I go on to friendorfollow.com to see who has been following me, who are my friends, and who is not following me. I first figure out who is no longer using their accounts and get rid of those friends, so that I have room to add those who are following me. I only spend about 30 minutes or so, because you can really get caught up doing things on Twitter!"

She also makes it a point to respond. "I ALWAYS respond to those who RT my information, recommend me for #followfridays or DM me. I feel its important to make those connections on Twitter."

Jen credits persistence and determination for helping her get her store going. "I am the little engine that could! I never give up on things. When times are tough, I stick to my goal and keep on trucking."

Become a fan of Jen on Facebook : http://tinyurl.com/ygnf96e
Follow her on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jenco13

Jenco13 is offering a two deals this week:

CUP COZIES ARE BUY ONE GET ONE FREE!
SCARVES ARE BUY ONE GET ONE 1/2 PRICED!
USE THE COUPON CODE -ETTROCKS!

Please note these deals are for the the lesser or equal amount of the second item chosen. Custom orders are welcome. It will be refunded through paypal within 24 hours of purchase. Buyer is responsible for shipping and handling of all items purchased (please see special rates for second items). Priority mail rates are available for US customers only.

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade Jenco13.etsy.com

Etsy Twitter Team: Shop Of The Week: Jenco13

I'm In A Treasury!

This Etsy Treasury was created by SalonDArte.etsy.com. It features handmade gifts under $50 from the Etsy Twitter Team. I'm down there on the bottom left! Yay! It's not too early to start your holiday shopping!

If you visit the Treasury please click on each item and take a look. Also I would be honored if you left a comment. Both of these actions move the Treasury up the "Hot" rankings and get it seen by more people!

Pumpkin Eater

Happy Halloween!!

My sister took this picture a couple of years ago. She finally discovered what was eating her pumpkins! All week a little pile of chewed pumpkin kept growing until finally this little bugger could get inside the pumpkin. I'm sure he enjoyed quite the meal!

This picture makes me wet my pants laughing every time I see it. I guess I'm simple that way. But what a shot! How lucky was she to catch the bandit in the act?!

I hope you and yours have a very safe and happy Halloween. I will be hanging out with my two little nieces tonight. Then we have the big Picture the Impossible Gala to attend once the kids go to bed. Ooh! I'll take a picture for you of the masquerade mask I created and show you next week!

Halloween Parade!

Each year the school near our house sends all the kids out on a Halloween Parade in their costumes! This was my dose of cute for the day! The whole street was filled with laughter and vampires, witches, Storm Troopers, and cats. Adorable!

Here is my niece:

(Don't fall out of your chair because I managed to blog twice in one day!)

Craft Shows Galore

I’m sure you’ve been waiting with bated breath for the craft show update. So wait no more!

This year I signed up for three craft shows in the span of two weeks. Crazy, I know. But we pulled it off. The first was at St. John’s of Rochester, the second was a fundraiser for the Victor PTSA, and the third was at St. Rita’s School. It was our first time at all of these show so I didn’t really know what to expect. All three were very well attended. Overall, I am extremely pleased with how we did.

I was honestly surprised to have gotten in to the St. Rita’s show, as it’s one of the biggest, most well attended craft shows in town. As a jewelry vendor we sometimes don’t get spots because the jewelry spots get filled up early. Maybe it’s because my jewelry isn’t beaded whatnots… it’s different. We were also extremely lucky to have gotten a spot in the gym. Some vendors were in these tiny classrooms. They had three or four booths in these rooms and if there were more than five or six shoppers in the rooms you couldn’t walk around. So I think the traffic in the classrooms wasn’t as good as in the gym.

The location of our spot was excellent - in the middle of a short aisle near the back door where people were coming in. It’s always good to be near an entrance, I think. Spot location is a big factor in your sales totals! We had our best show total ever at this show – beat our last one by a whopping 33%!

My booth consists of domino pendants, Scrabble tile pendants, domino Christmas ornaments, and a few checker keychains. The feedback from customers and the just-looking folks was great. I lost count of how many times I heard the word “clever” about my work! Several shoppers also placed custom orders in addition to their purchases.

The craft show business is still new to me. This is only our second holiday season doing this. I still get all ecstatic that people like my work enough to part with their cash for it. My feet have not really touched the ground yet after the last show. Words cannot do justice to the feeling of gratitude I have for being an artist and all the good stuff it brings my way. People like my work and took it home with them and are giving it as gifts to people they care about. How cool is that?!

We have one more show this year unless I can squeak into something else. Our next show will be at the Irondequoit High School on Cooper Road on Saturday, November 28th from 10 AM to 4 PM. Hope to see you there!

It’s Been A While…

I’m sad to see that I have not been blogging. I have been really busy. It is fitting that Picture the Impossible is the last thing I blogged about as that is the thing that has literally taken over every waking moment of my life for the past month and a half.

There have been web games everyday. There have been photograph challenges, video challenges, and recipe challenges. My sister and I have spent countless hours doing weekly scavenger hunts and deciphering documents from The Watchmaker. I have learned so many things from this game like reading source code for websites, making, editing, and uploading videos to YouTube, solving very cryptic puzzles and clues, and reading Morse code. This game has brought me closer to the city I live in, and I have learned a lot about its history. Most of all this game has taught me how to picture the impossible by being so very challenging. It has forced me to be open to any possibility. I have come away from it with a better sense of myself and my strengths and abilities.

This photo is my entry for the "Rochester Innovations" challenge. The photo had to include things that were invented in Rochester, NY. My entry included the reclining shampoo chair, Gannett newspapers, a box camera, French's mustard, and roll film. Did you know that bloomers, pipe cleaners, Fanny Farmer candies, copy machines, and Ray Ban sunglasses were also invented in Rochester?

It’s not quite over yet. There is still a week of puzzles. But the points are cut off for the big prize on Wednesday night at 6 pm EDT. The big prize is that the top 150 players get two tickets to the Gala on Halloween. It’s a semi-formal/formal masquerade ball. I’m making my own mask for the Gala! Can you say "feathers"?!

I am currently in 38th place. This is only because I was late doing two puzzles and lost points for it. Otherwise I have completed every single challenge placed before me from making a PhotoSynth of a horse (to which I cannot find the link) to making a seriously silly video theme song to the tune of Y.M.C.A. with two total strangers who are also playing this game.

Picture the Impossible has taken over such a huge chunk of my time that I am going to have withdrawal from it when it’s finally over on Friday. I don’t know what I did with all my free time before this game started. Oh, yeah, I did things like make and list items on Etsy, kept up with housework, saw my hunny, and had a sense of sanity. So it will be interesting to see how things go starting on Sunday after the Gala. My brain could use a break.

In the midst of all this business I also had to get ready for having three craft shows in the span of two weeks. One was on a Monday and then I had one on each of the two following Saturdays. The last show at St. Rita’s in Webster, NY was our best show total EVER. I’m thrilled. People bought my dominoes, Scrabble tile pendants, and domino ornaments. They liked my stuff. I’m on cloud nine. It’s so very validating to have people like what I do. My sense of purpose is renewed. Also my "To Do List" is filled up because the shows emptied out my Etsy shop. Several custom orders were also placed at the last show that I have to get going on.

Ok, I have written a short novel here to try to get you caught up on my doings and what nots. I hope the rest of your day is fantastic!

Check out my newest creations at my shop at InMyHeadStudios.etsy.com. I have some Halloween pendants that you can still get in time if you order today. They have free shipping!

Picture the Impossible

Let me just say that I love scavenger hunts of any kind. Sign me up! So while perusing Twitter I found out about Picture the Impossible. There was a link to the Facebook group and I signed on immediately without really knowing what I was getting into. But they said “scavenger hunt” so I was in!

Picture the Impossible is a city-wide game hosted by many of the big names in town like Rochester Institute of Technology, Kodak, and our local newspaper, the Democrat and Chronicle. There are going to be all sorts of games in the newspaper and local events to attend and get codes and clues. Wheeee!

I cannot wait for this to start this weekend!! The newspaper said today I will have to go to the Clothesline Art Festival at the Memorial Art Gallery and get codes. We were planning on going anyway so now it’s going to be even more interesting.

Picture the Impossible is also raising money for local charities. When you sign up, you join a faction. I joined The Tree faction and the money raised from the points I earn will go to the Golisano Children's Hospital at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

The game culminates in a gala party held on Oct. 31st at RIT's new Student Innovation Center. Only 300 people get to go and invites will be based on how well you do in the game standings. I really hope to go!!

So the next month and a half will be fun with me running around the city trying to figure this stuff out. My twin sister also signed up and we joined the same faction. I’m really looking forward to doing this with her. She is lots of fun! She loves scavenger hunts, too!

I’ll keep you posted about this event!

Nature At It's Finest

My friend Joolie who recently came to visit (and I have unkindly not filled you in on that very fun visit yet because I've been so busy) is the funniest person I know. Case in point is the following video narrated by the wildlife expert/artist Eric, who also happens to be her hubby. I will say no more and just let you enjoy. (But I will add that I want to go live with them because this kind of fun stuff happens all the time in their house.)

This video was inspired by this video.

I seem to be on some sort of funny video sharing trip. Hope you don't fire me. More news from the actual studio soon! I swear promise!

Interview With Gloria From Facebook Fans On Etsy

Ruthie Stickney, of Roseworks Jewelry, posted such a great article about Gloria Bray and Facebook Fans on Etsy Street Team (FFEST) I asked her if I could repost her article and she said yes! So the original article can be found here.

Here is what Ruthie had to say on her blog:

I interviewed the team leader of one of my teams, FFEST, to tell you a little bit more about our new team! Sorry for the lack of pictures in today's post - just not up to it.

1. Can you tell us how the team started?

In mid-July I began a thread on the Etsy Promotions forum asking for Facebook fans for my shop's fan page. My original intent was to get to the magic 100 to have a shortened URL. It became a very popular thread and I decided to begin a group on Facebook to share information. One day while checking the thread I got this crazy thought, "There should be an Etsy Street Team for Facebook Fans on Etsy." Silly me, I decided to post that on the thread and it sort of took on a life of its own. The wonderful thing that happened was other Etsy sellers jumped on the bandwagon and most importantly volunteered to assist with this crazy idea. Once we got started it started to fall into place rather quickly. By mid-August we were "official". As of September 1st there are 22 members signed on to FFEST! My hope is that we grow at a slow and steady pace.

2. What are the goals of the team?

Networking and promotion with a heaping side of FUN thrown in. Here is the description that I originally used on the FB group:

"A diverse group of artisans and crafters who have shops on Etsy.com and Facebook pages in order to promote the sale of handcrafted items. Also, to share ways to improve sales and promotions through Facebook."

First and foremost, promoting the team and each other to increase traffic in all our shops. Each month the members have a point goal of 20 to achieve to remain listed as an active member on the team blog. Many of the tasks suggested involve promoting another members shop or the team as a whole. We use more than Etsy and Facebook to do so. We tweet on twitter, have contest and in the future some giveaways, and we blog. I have already found that the more visible you are as a team, the better chance of increased sales. I recently had sales that I can contribute to the promotion of our team!

Another wonderful aspect of the team is the concept of "Pay It Forward" What I have found is this group is made up of many caring individuals. If some one is in need of fans or assistance, everyone steps right up to help. When I think about the FFEST team, I am moved and grateful that they have come into my life. As we learn about being a team and grow in numbers, it will be exciting to see what directions we will go in. This is a group effort and as a team we are open to suggestions and ideas.

3. My readers want to know, "I want to be a member! How do I join and what do I need to do once I've joined?"

There are two basic requirements to request membership.

• ♥ You must have an Etsy shop with 10 or more items for sale. We want active sellers!
• ♥ You must have a Facebook Fan page with 100 or more fans. This will only increase the visibility of the team as a whole.

We are Facebook Fans on Etsy, so it makes sense that those two elements are non-negotiable. So if someone has those covered the next step is visiting our forum home and checking out the other requirements. At that time, if someone believes this team will be a good fit, they can follow the directions at the left-hand side of the forum home page and we will set the approval process in motion. This involves emailing me the requested information. Once I receive it and check for the basic requirements, I will send an invitation from the forum for that person to join us.

Once a member is approved, they can post to their heart's content on the forum, use the tag "ffest team" for items posted in their Etsy shop, and participate in team promotion through our monthly points roll call. That info can be found on our team blog and forum.

4. Where can we find the team? (blogs, FB, ning...)

We seem to be EVERYWHERE. Our main page is:

ffonetsy.ning.com - the forum that serves as our team "home"

facebookfansonetsy.blogspot.com - the place where we blog it! You can find our team treasuries posted here along with contests, featured FFESTy friends, and more. This is a work in progress! There are also a links to our shops, blogs and twitter accounts.

www.twitter.com/EtsyFBTeam - follow us and we will follow you!!

www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=113391211629&ref=ts - the FB group that got the ball rolling and a great place to find fans! We ask that you join the group before requesting membership to FFEST.

www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6223696 - the now famous thread on the Etsy Promotions forum that is still active! It was started on 7/20/09 and now has 88 pages of 879 posts! And to think I was just looking for 100 fans on Facebook!

5. Anything else we should know about the team?

There are some incredibly talented and dedicated individuals that step up to this challenge and have become part of the FFEST Admin Team (thank goodness because I couldn't do this alone!)

Missy of MissMooseDesign.etsy.com - she set up the Ning forum and spent a Saturday afternoon on the phone with me working out the logistics of creating a street team... it was so nice to talk in real time with such a kind and talented person!

Heather of aktie9.etsy.com - she is our liaison between the team and the Etsy staff. She was the point person for all the info that needed to be sent with the initial team request.

Cheryl of cherylspurplecow.etsy.com - keeps the official team roster and is a lover of all things purple! She recently snagged a team treasury that was (you guessed it!) purple!!

Talina of ripperarts.etsy.com - did an amazing job with our team blog and our graphics! The one thing that I thought was extremely important was branding our team and our team avatar is bright and easily recognizable! It goes for Etsy orange to FB blue!

Anglea of Amievoltaire.etsy.com - contributed tons of time and ideas to the team start up and now has the role of Promotions Goddess! She is always looking for giveaway and contest ideas. I know I am looking foward to some of the things she has planned.

Vickie of inmyheadstudios.etsy.com - is the Leader of the Etsy Twitter Team and has signed on as a blogger, tweeter and all-around wealth of information! She blogs about any team treasuries we might snag.

Without these ladies, this team would not have come to be. I am eternally grateful for their time and talents. We are still learning what works and what needs to be changed. It will take time to settle into a good pattern. With these ladies on board it will happen sooner rather than later!

6. Take a minute to promote your self! Give us you shop addy and tell us a little about what you sell :)

I have a shop on Etsy called Lucky Ladybug Designs (LLD) at glorybe1024.etsy.com I set it up in April of 2007. At that time LLD wasn't in the picture. I put some bracelets on there and nothing and I pretty much forgot about it. I took my bracelets in to work one day and sold quite a few and had a great response to my designs. One woman suggested that I sell them online... Etsy popped into my head. I needed to come up with some sort of name. The date was 7-7-07... needed to have something to do with luck. Then it hit me! Ladybugs are considered lucky and after a couple of different tries, I came up with Lucky Ladybug Designs.

I have the cutest little ladybug as my avatar... branding!

I began by selling jewelry and branched out to crocheted items and now I am moving in the direction of sewing. I love my mini key fobs... they would make a perfect stocking stuffer!! After many attempts I came up with the fat-bottom clutch which is a wonderful make-up bag since is stands up and has easy access. I love to crochet simple things like the cotton cloths and scarves. I am constantly getting inspired by things I might see in a store or the work of others. I usually see something then say to myself "but I would change this or that" and go home and try it.

About me in general, I am 47. I live in Indianapolis. I have two children, a grown son - 20 and a teenaged daughter - 17 who receives a lot of my "attempts". I am married to a wonderful man who tolerates my crafting. I am also active in the local community theaters in Indy. I am an administrative assistant by day - the job that supports my crazy crafting habit. And I happen to love ladybugs ~ go figure!!

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Thanks, Gloria, for sharing your story! And thanks to Ruthie for letting me repost this!

I hope you stay tuned for more great stuff from this team called FFEST that I'm helping out with. We have some great things on the fire coming up soon!

Fun Videos I Found On Twitter

I don't normally post videos on this blog but now I wonder, “Why not?” I like 'em. I watch 'em. I should share the great ones I find! And I found two yesterday and today that I think you will really enjoy.

The first one is called "Extreme Sticky Notes Experiments". I like this one because it involves paper and we all know that I love paper! This short film makes me want to run out and buy more sticky notes! Enjoy!

This next slightly longer “short film” is called “The Mysterious Explorations of Jasper Morello”. It will be the best 26:08 you have spent today! Seriously… if you’re into this kind of thing. And by “thing” I mean “silhouette style steampunk gorgeously delicious art animation plus a good story”. My jaw was literally hanging open during most of this as it is so beautifully animated and the art is stunning. I had to watch it twice in order to take it all in. I know you’re going to like this one, too! Have fun picking your jaw up off the floor!

I hope you are having a lovely Labor Day! I don't really have plans at all so I'm going to hang in the studio. I applied for four craft shows this holiday season so it's full tilt domino Christmas ornament making time. I begrudge having to do Christmas stuff in September but I won't be ready if I don't get a move on it now.

I hope you enjoyed these videos as much as I did. And I wish you and yours a Happy Labor Day!

I'm still having a sale! 15% off ALL purchases made now through September 7th at InMyHeadStudios.etsy.com!!
Just checkout like normal and I will give your discount through a prompt PayPal refund. Happy Shopping!

Blogging Goodness!

I just wanted to say "Thank You!!" to everyone who blogged me this week as I am the Etsy Twitter Team Shop of the Week through Sunday.

Pretty Whimsical
Curious Mess
Tamdoll
Punky Jane
Threepeats
Geek Details
Mikiye Creations
Deco Hand Spun
Southpaw Studios
Joslin Jewels
Jaybird Designs
The Chain Maille Lady
Char Anderson
Dig Under Rocks
Verre Design
LindaB142

15% off ALL purchases made now through September 7th at InMyHeadStudios.etsy.com!!
Just checkout like normal and I will give your discount through a prompt PayPal refund. Happy Shopping!

Warning: New Background Alert

I'm testing out a new background. I wanted something more funky, more "me" and this fits the bill. I know I need to change the purple in my banner to match the background purple and I will do that this week probably.

I would love to know what you think! It doesn't look like a carnival in here now, does it? I honestly want your honest opinions!! My ego is not so fragile that you cannot tell me it stinks. :) Comment away!

Facebook Fans On Etsy Street Team

I recently teamed up with the founders of the Facebook Fans on Etsy Street Team. It started as a group on Facebook and then grew to becoming an Etsy Street Team. An Etsy Street Team is a group of Etsy sellers coming together for a common purpose such as sharing our love for Facebook and Etsy combined.

The founders are Lucky Lady Bug Designs, Ripper Arts Studio & Gallery; Miss Moose Designs; In My Head Studios; AmieVoltaire; Buddha Kitty Glass; 3am Art Productions; Cheryl's Purple Cow.

I’m really excited to be a part of another team like this. I’m lending my “expertise” gained from running the Etsy Twitter Team. So far we have a blog, a site for our shops, a site on Ning, a flickr group, and the original group on Facebook.

The founding ladies are all very welcoming and knowledgeable. I think starting a team with several people in leadership roles is a great way to do it. The Etsy Twitter Team started with just two people and it has been hard to get others to sign on for more work.

So keep your eyes peeled for our big flashy first promotion. I’m not sure when it is yet. I will keep you posted! For now please enjoy (and click and comment on) this Etsy Treasury created by our main founder, Gloria Bray!

Created by GloryBe1024.etsy.com
Expires August 27th

Give it some click and comment love!

Helping Joyce from the Etsy Twitter Team

Repost from Punky Jane's Blog:

What an amazing community Etsy is. Add to that the love and support from the Etsy Twitter Team and you've got a powerful combo!

One of my fellow EtsyTwitter Team members, Joyce Richards of Beads of Glass, was recently diagnosed with Stage 3 Lung cancer. We just found out this week that it has also spread to her brain.

We planned a "Sneak Attack" on her shop on Sunday, August 16th, trying to clear out her inventory and help with the unbelievable medical expenses. There are still items left to buy to help her financially. Her work is beautiful!


I just read in our Team board that South Paw Studios is donating 60% of the next 10 sales directly to Joyce. Amazing idea!



In the spirit of imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, I'm [Punky Jane] going to donate 50% of all sales now through Friday, August 21st to Joyce Richards.



Mikiye Creations will donate 100% of the proceeds of the purchase price of this flower Elegant Camille will be DONATED to Joyce:



8-17-09 :: JUST ADDED!
1st sale @Ojami will be donated to help Joyce:



8-17-09 :: NEW!
50% of the sale of Strength In Numbers donated directly to Joyce:



8-17-09 :: NEW!
100% of the proceeds from the FOR JOYCE cancer support coffee drink cozy will be donated directly to Joyce:


8-17-09 :: NEW!
100% of the proceeds from everything in the Joyce Richardson Benefit section will be donated:



8-18-09 :: NEW!
75% of the proceeds from any sale at charleneanderson.etsy.com will be donated:



If you are going to offer something special to help Joyce, please let me know by leaving a comment here with your offer and your shop link. I'll grab your banner and compile the list so readers have a one stop shopping list.

If you'd like to make a PayPal donation directly to Joyce, you can do that using this email address: joycercatastrophicillnessaccount@comcast.net.

And she still has beautiful, handmade jewelry available in her shop BeadsofGlass.etsy.com.

Please spread the word by blogging, tweeting and FB to help this fellow Etsian!!