New stationery and a dilemma

It's been a long time since I added anything new to my Etsy shop Well no more, I finally received the new greeting cards I ordered and will be adding them to the shop this weekend.

Here are a samples of the the new cards, I hope you like them!

They will cost 4$ each and arrive with a matching envelope. I also relisted my puppet stickers, as I got a whole new lovely batch. They are already available on my shop.

As for the dilemma, I wonder if I want to reopen my jewelry and art shop or simply list those items on my main shop. On one hand, it is a nuisance to manage two shops, but my jewelry style is very different from my puppet design, and I think it does not comply with my branding. I simply can't decide. Here are a examples of my designs, what do you guys think?

Finally, after 9 months, a shop update!!!

You guys probably know the past few months (months? what am I talking about, years is more like it) have been a general hell as well as a creative hell. Caring for my mom then losing her 9 months ago left me completely listless. It took me quite a while to realize I also felt if I will continue with my creative work, I will be betraying her memory or that it will somehow mean I am not really mourning her loss (which I am, daily).

But finally, I am happy to inform you that I just completed a shop update, with several new items. How exciting is that? Trust me, it will not take 9 months till the next one, I promise you that.

So what's in store for you?

Two new Flutterbutt (or Puppet Mobile) ballerinas - Odile and Eleonora

Happy Birthday postcard that doubles as a greeting card and decorative print.

The long awaited Love is in the air postcard set (which also doubles as decorative prints). Only two sets available!

And last but not least, for this batch, another postcards set entitled Boys will be boys.

That's it for now. There will be another mini update soon. I hope you like my new creations! I will share some of the process of creating Odile in an upcoming post.

A short note and an even shorter little lady

To let you know I am (finally) working on a batch of new Flutterbutts that will be listed on my shop in near future. One might say, it's about time too!

In the meanwhile, meet little Tamar - a very special custom ordered Flutterbutt I recently finished.

Isn't she cute, with her little shoes?

Almost forgot - Also in a couple of weeks, I will be holding an international giveaway on my fashion blog. I will keep you guys updated here as well, so you can register if you want to win a nice prize.

Wanted - Etsy shop promos

It's that time of the year again, when I find I am almost out of the little promo packs I send to my customers with their order. I am looking for items up to the size of a standard business card, such as:

• Coupons
• Buttons and badges
• Magnets
• Charms
  
• Stickers
• Moo cards

Here are come samples of promos and promo packs from the past.

If you want to send me your promos, please leave a comment or email me at and I will send you my shipping address (in Israel).

Black Friday? Cyber Monday? I'm going for the entire weekend!

Ladies and gentlemen, this year I will be holding a long weekend of discounts on my shops (excluding custom made items) to celebrate Black Friday and Cyber Monday - and I do mean discounts!

All puppets and puppet mobiles are 35% off

All holiday and birthday gifts are 35% off

All crafty stuff is 20% off

All stationary is 50% off  

My entire art and jewelry shop is 30% off

The titles of all items on sale are marked with BLACK FRIDAY SALE to make it more comfortable or you to find them.

The sale starts on Thursday the 25th and ends Monday the 29th. On your marks, get set, ready? shop!

Etsy on Sale - Application tutorial

Etsy on Sale is a wonderfully useful third party application which enables you to have a limited time sale on your Etsy shop in a few short steps. It is free for use, is the winner of the 2010 Etsy handmade code competition, and requires a login based on your Google account. Nice and simple!

Here is how to start a sale on your Etsy shop:

1. Go to Etsy on Sale and click on Sellers.
2. Login with your Google account.
3. Click Settings and select your time zone. Now click Authorize access to your Etsy account. The application will then take you to the Etsy login page, where you should login to the account whose shop items you wish to discount. Click on the Allow Access button.
4. Back on the application website, click on the banner of the shop you want to select.
   
5. Click on Sales Events and select New Sales Event.
6. Give the sale a meaningful Name then select which Listings to include, from the available sections drop down menu. You can select a specific section or the entire shop.
   
   You can create a section especially for this sale if you want, then select it here.
   
7. Select the Start Date and End Date for the sales event as well as the start and end Time.
8. You may either select a Percentage Discount Type (which means you will have to enter the percentage by which the items' price will be reduced) or Amount (which means you will have to enter fixed the amount of $ that will be reduced from the price of each item on sale).
9. Enter a Listing Title Prefix - the text that will be added to the title of each of the items on your sale. You may, for example, enter the text ON SALE to the beginning of each of the sale items (the item called "Teddy bear" will be called "ON SALE Teddy bear" till the end of the sale). This prefix will be removed once the sales event ends.
10. Click on the Schedule Sales Event and review the details of your event. Click the Go Back button to change the setting or check the I have read and agree to the terms above box and click on Confirm.
11. That's it! Your sales event is set.

You can review its details by logging in to Etsy on Sale, selecting your shop and clicking on Sales Events. All scheduled events will be listed. You may start your sale immediately, by clicking the ► button or cancel it by clicking X.

If you want to add more events, click on + New Sales Event. Et voila.

Honestly, it will take you longer to read this than actually create a sales event, it sure took me longer to write this little tutorial. I wish you all lots of glorious sales!

Custom orders for Christmas

Last year, my custom made Flutterbutts (or puppet mobiles) were a huge hit for Christmas gifts. I am providing a portrait Flutterbutt service, where you send me the characteristics of the person you want me to imitate (hair, eye and skin tones, signature clothing and jewelry etc) and preferably a photo and I make you a wonderfully adorable puppet mobile or miniature puppet.

Another option is to order a custom made full size hand puppet, based on similar characteristics.

Practicing my new photography skills

This week, I have been practicing my new photography skills. Unfortunately, I missed the second meeting of my photography class due to my painful fractured rib, which forced me to catch up on my sleep. Still, I used the few hours of light I had available this weekend to take some photographs. Here are some of my favorites.

  China blue necklace, available on my art shop.

This is not me :o)

Practicing yoga and photography

Part of our Etsy holidays boot camp plan is to make and list new items towards the holidays season (and in general). I have been working on some new jewels for my art shop. They are made from brilliantly wonderful ceramic beads I bought, which are handmade in Peru and feature yoga practices in great detail. This is what I listed for sale so far. 

Lotus tear earrings, available here.

 Blue sphere yoga earrings, available here.

 

Lotus and dove earrings, available here.

I have only a few of these beads, and plan to make a couple of necklaces in the next few days. 

You can also see the beginning of the positive influence of the photography course I am taking. I started taking manual photographs instead of working in automatic mode and am learning to know my new camera. You can see I was practicing shallow depth of field on the second photo. This photography class is so much fun! Next lesson will be composition, so I hope to get much better photos after that. Can't wait!

Etsy bootcamp update

I am so proud to update that Aya, from the very successful and inspiring Etsy shop LoucheLab, approached me about being my Etsy bootcamp buddy. How amazing is that? We are yet to set the actual details of our buddyism, but our aim in general is to encourage each other towards achieving our holiday sales goals, and brainstorm new promotions and products. This is Aya's reveling and artful blog. You really should visit.

On top of that, I started using Project Wonderful advertising again, after a few months off. I am using a new ad, which I like, but am not sure how attractive\clickable it is. Your feedback will be most appreciated.

I had a two week ongoing ad on Craftcult this month, and it brought a lot of traffic to the shop, but it costs a lot, so I don't want to continue it for now. Traffic traffic traffic, where the hell art thou?

Plans for my Etsy shop

Hello guys, long time no write.

I have to admit I have been spending a lot of time and energy on my fashion blog, which left this blog quite neglected. On top of that, there is the general neglect my Etsy shop and interests have been suffering these past few months. Caring for Mamisha on her last months meant I had zero energy for Etsy and creation, and after her death almost two months ago I was left less than a person. These days, however, I am trying to recover my Etsy business and am making some plans, which I would like to share with you, my trusty readers.

Step 1 - Set goals for October

This month I plan to reach 2000 hearts and get at least 5 sales on my puppets and crafts shop. On my art and jewelry shop, I plan to get at least 3 sales.

Step 2 - Make holiday plans

I am joining the Etsy Holiday Boot Camp program in order to prepare for the upcoming holiday season. The 2009 holiday season was a great success for me, which I want to repeat and exceed. I already relisted some holiday items on both my shops, which will expire at the end of December. After I finish writing this entry, I will take a few of the steps on my this week's checklist - Read this week's article, make a list of my most popular items (based on web analytics) and find a bootcamp buddy to brainstorm with.

Would you like to be my bootcamp buddy? Please let me know if you do!

Step 3 - Better photographs
I already bought a new camera, which is much more advanced than my previous Canon. I also got a tripod and now all that's left is learning how to use it. I am starting a three week photography course this week, which should make my familiar with my new camera and teach me many new techniques for shooting both macro (for my blogs) and micro (for Etsy) photographs. I am planning to re-shoot my entire jewelry line after the course is done, and am very excited about it. I hope the training meets my expectations. I will surely share my exercises on the blog.

Step 4 - New items
I haven't added anything new to my shops in a few months. The only exception is the Pinky goes shopping tshirt, which is the first and so far, the only one in a new line of products. I also finally updated my Etsy guides in Hebrew two weeks ago, just to find Etsy updated their user interface yet again, so again I have to rewrite them.. Oh well!

I feel no guilt about not making anything new for so long. I have not really been in a puppet making mood lately, if you know what I mean. But now it's time to get back to business and start defrosting. What will I make? Well, that depends on step 3 above. I also expect to get custom orders starting this month, as I did last year towards the holiday season. Nothing like a Flutterbutt or Foamie portrait to please your loved ones.

I would love to hear your thoughts, comments and plans!

Google, translate!

I am happy to announce (now that's a little feel good sentence) that I added a Google Translate widget to my Hebrew plus size fashion blog. This means, from now on, you will be able to read about my fashionable adventures in your very own language which is nice, since much of my shopping is done online and you can never get too much fashionable inspiration, especially in plus sizes.

All you have to do is selcet your language from the drop down list on the top of the left-hand side bar (marked in pink on the screen shot below) et voilà!

I am also reopening my Etsy shops in the following few days. I had to close them temporarily due to Mamisha's passing and the week of mourning, but I think I can handle shipping now, as long as I do it once a week for a while. The Puppets and Crafts shop opens tonight, and the Jewelry and Art shop will reopen shortly as well.

Christmas in July - Better late than never!

July is almost over, and it is time for a little Christmas in July Sale.  I know, the official Etsy Christmas in July ended already, but you know I am very busy with my mom, and time is very fluid these days, so I say better late than never.

On my Christmas in July section you will find wonderful Flutterbutts, hamster magnets, Flutterheads (ornaments or wall hangings or whatever you choose to do with them :o) and cards all seriously discounted, up to 50% off!! The sale ends on August 1st.

And who, you ask, may you find there waiting for you? Well..

The Gossip Girls - Serena and Blair

are down to 28$ instead of 38$

Little Frida Kahlo Flutterhead 

is down from 14$ to 10$

The Queen Elizabeth Flutterbutt cards set

is down from 12$ to 8$

Leopard hamster magnet 

is down to 7$ instead of 10$

Happy shopping everybody!

Is it me or is Etsy less attractive these days?

For the past few days I have been wondering if it's me who have lost the passion for the Etsy community tools, or are they simply less attractive.

Once upon a time, I used to roam the forums, read the Storque (which is now boringly titled "Blog"), hunt for treasuries featuring me and my friends, look for cool new findings using Pounce and curate as many treasuries I could get my hands on.

These days I can hardly find any interesting topics on the Blog, since most of it discusses local affairs directed to Europeans or US citizens. The forums seem empty and tired, and the treasuries, with the new mechanism, lost all interest to me. I almost never click anything, despite the fact I used to click all items on a list before. I feel the community either moved on to Facebook, or maybe the interface changes celebrating Etsy's 5th anniversary overdid it. Or maybe it is my general lack of handmade passion these days reflecting on a poor defenseless Etsy?

On top of that, my sales are low, as they usually are in the month of June. But I do admit I have not been actively promoting lately. Just don't have the energy for it. In fact, I am contemplating putting the shops on vacation till my family affairs are less energy consuming. Not sure what to do about that..

I would be interested in hearing what you, my Etsian readers, think.

Oh almighty Etsy Sales Fairy 

spread your sales dust on me

Shop update - Sex and the City

Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha are now 

waiting for you at my shop. Get ready to be carried away!

Sex and the City

These past few weeks have been so energy consuming, that I have not made anything but earrings for a very long time. In fact, I did not make any puppets since February, I believe. That's how it works for me, I fear. When worries come through the door, my creativity goes out the window.

But this week, I finally managed to sit myself down and bring to life a project I first thought of two months ago. It's almost too late, as the hype is already gone I fear, but still it's better late than never. So please welcome the wonderful, sexy, fun loving, devoted and oh so trendy Sex and the City girls!

This is my original draft

And here is the gang, which will be available in the shop

tomorrow (Saturday the 19th of June)

Carrie Flutterbutt is wearing her signature tutu outfit

with Louboutin cowgirl boots

Miranda is wearing a printed strapless day dress with a

trendy oversized straw bag and huge earrings

Charlotte is wearing a strapless coral velvet dress'

with black lace and satin roses. She also has a 

sequined evening handbag and is wearing her 

matching pink diamond ring and earrings.

And finally, Samantha is wearing a super reveling yellow

micro mini sequin dress with her signature statement jewlery

which include a purple crystal bracelet, huge gold earrings 

and, of course, the flower ring she got from Smith.

I hope you like them, and remember to check back for the 

shop update tomorrow.

A fly withouht ears cannot fly

Nor can it enjoy the new handmade earrings I listed on SharonArt this week. I mean, if the fly has a steady income it can buy the earrings, but they probably be bigger than it, I mean.. Well you know what I mean.

These new earrings cost between 18$ and 24$ plus shipping. I hope you like them as much as I do.

 Large netted teardrop earrings in matte gold

Red Babushka earrings

 Sweet rose earrings

 Onyx drop earrings

Ruby red drop earrings

And while on the topic of flies, here is a funny one, from the wonderfully brilliant Aardman animation. Enjoy!