Back home.

I'm back home again.  This means that the shop is back out of vacation mode.
I was hoping to find some cool things to work with while I was in Germany, but that didn't happen.  I saw a few things but ran into some problems: 1) It was tourist trap stuff, so not materials to work with, and not cheap; 2) All the craft shops we found were closed when we would have been able to go to them.

Oh well, I had fun.

Slowly filling up the store.

While I have not met my goal of adding some things every few days, I am still adding new items to the store.  The one problem I seem to be running into now is finding things to list.  I made a ton of those earrings and listed a lot of them, but I don't want to have my shop be 90% very similar earrings, 10% random other things.  I want some sort of balance.  Right now I have about 4 card holders, 4 tissue covers, and 5 pairs of earrings.  I think that is pretty good and I should start adding new things.  I have made two sets of stitch markers and I have plans for more.

Yellow Owls with green beads.

Yellow Owls with blue beads.

Good news time!  Though the button thing I mention late last year seems to be on a hold, she is still interested.  I will have all the supply to make them once we both can get everything in order.  Not sure when this will be, but it is good to stay positive.  I also sold a pair of my cherry blossom earrings!  I am super happy about that.

Earring mania!

I seem to have a small obsession.  Not sure if I am calling it small because I don't want to admit how often I think about making these or if it is because the finished project is on the small side.
Crocheting flower themed earrings with beads is a lot more fun than I thought it would be.  This very moment I have made about 8 pairs and I have 6 of them listed.  While I still really like making them, I feel that my shop needs some more verity.  Right now I only have a few pocket tissue covers, a few bi-fold wallets/card holders, and a bunch of cute earrings.
I was thinking of making some knotted bracelets, but I'm worried that they will take more time to make than people are willing to pay for.  I will just have to do a test piece and see what happens.
Sorry for the short update, but I'm distracted by all the tiny crochet flowers dancing around my head.

Can't Do Worse Than Before...

What is that you see on the side there? Could that be items for sale?! I do believe that they are!
I finally figured out what was keeping me distracted and off-track.  I kept fearing failure.  I couldn't fail if I didn't try.  Then I remembered something important.  The last time I tried to sell items, there would be months and months where I would list things, but I wouldn't sell any of them.  There is no way I could do worse than that.
So even though I had put aside days in past weeks to list thing, I did not.  I even tried to set aside days just to work on descriptions.  That also didn't happen.
I was having the problem of not knowing what I wanted to do today, so I decided to push myself to get this going.  The listing interface has changed a lot since I used it last.  I like this new one more.  I also like that you can copy a listing.  Before you had to have one listing open in edit mode while you made the other that was similar.
I also did not list many things at once because of something I read a while ago.  One of the successful Etsy users posted some tips and tricks.  I wish I remember who it was, but it was probably over half a year ago that I read it.  They said that instead of uploading a lot of things at once and letting them sit, to upload a few things at a time.  This way it is more likely that someone will notice something your listed in the "Recently Listed Items" area and take a look when they might not have searched for that type of item.  Listing a few items at a time also gives more time for me to make things so there won't be long times where I don't list anything at all.

Still nothing on the side bar? I think I know why.

I have been wonder and pondering over a problem I have noticed that I have.  I keep thinking of wonderful things to make for my Etsy shop, I have all the materials to make the things, and I have the technical skills to do everything.  Sounds great right?  It sounds like I should have lots of things listed on my shop that people would love to look at, right? 
So why is my shop still in vacation mode with nothing sitting in it?
I think I have it figured out.  I keep feeling like I don't have enough things to list.  I think this is because I have a new idea, I make one item, then move on again.  I need to focus more.  I need to take that one idea and make a few of them.  Then I can have some to list and then I can move on to the next idea if I wanted to.  This way I won't have a ton of single samples sitting around taking up space and not helping me.  No one wants to buy something they don't know they can. 
Who knows, I might have made the perfect ~insert item~ that someone was just thinking about the other day.  If they did a search for it, they wouldn't find it because it is just sitting in my living room.
So my new goal is to take some pictures of the things I have made and go back to some of the older "new" ideas and get a few more of those made.
It feels good to have solid goals and a good plan.

This time I mean it!

Yesterday I noticed that on my schedule for my "day job" I only work 2 days next week.  I knew it was a sign!  It also snowed a ton last night and I got a snow-day today.  Another sign in my eyes.
Last night I spent some time and worked on a style I liked better for the pocket tissue covers.  I also made a style that takes a lot longer to make and is harder for people to get the tissues into and out of.  I think that one won't be made more than once.

Here is a picture of the original style on the top and the newer one on the bottom.  I like how the lining is showing.  What is the point of picking out a fun lining if it is kept a secret?  I think I am going to make that border a bit bigger on future ones.

 

This is the one that will be one of a kind.  It looks pretty cool and you wouldn't think it would be much harder to make, but for some reason it was a pain.  I don't know if it was just because it was the first time I made it or something else.  But like I said before, it also makes getting the tissues in and out a pain.  I don't think people want to work for them when they need a tissue.



Because people like cat pictures.  Here is my boss telling me I'm not doing it right and to work harder. 

I think I'm finally getting back on track.

I know last year this place was a ghost town, but I know that was my own fault.  I had a lot of ideas and projects I wanted to get going on.  Too many in fact.  I couldn't decide which was more important than the others and didn't really start anything.
This year I plan on being more focused. I already got the last payment and dropped off all of the extra things to the Accessory Lady.  Here is a link to her main page.  We talked how I would get to show off the things I helped make and decided linking would work out best for both of us.  I helped on the Sanaa(mixed media flower), Fedha(gem scoop), Yulu(mixed media bow), Zizi(asymmetrical flower), Roka(metal mesh shoe bib), Ari(asymmetrical pleated ankle cuff), and Ngoma(feather cuff).  I know those are the only designs listed now, but she mentioned new designs that she was thinking of starting in the spring.  She mentioned us working together again, I'm hesitant.  It was nice at first, but a little rushed and frantic near the end.


I have been thinking of new ways to make the kanzashi flowers I really love making.  They are fine as they are for the most part, but I've been watching a lot of TV where they add sparkle and gems to everything and I want to add some to the flowers.  I found a trim I had bought a really long time ago that would work perfectly.  I had only bought a bit of it, since at that time I had no idea what I was going to do with it.  Big mistake.  I can't get more from the store I got it from because I bought it when it was on clearance.  I've tried looking online, but it seems it doesn't really exist.  I might have thought I dreamed it up if I still didn't have some.
Since that wasn't working, I'm trying other things.  So far my ideas of bright ribbon are working out for me.  Here is my newest problem with them.  I want to be able to list and sell them on Etsy, but I'm not sure how to make mine stand-out in the search.  They will look different if people actually see them and click on the listing, but I'm worried they won't get that far.  Even if you type in "ribbon kanzashi" you still get over 900 results. "Bling kanzashi" gets you only 65 results, so if I stick with sparkly ribbon that might work out for me.
The picture of my first finished one is coming soon.  The glue on the ribbon is drying as we speak.