My blog is 1 year old

Just wanted to pop in and wish my baby blog a happy 1st birthday. I had a baby shower for my sister today and I'm still working on that blog post. It was a lot of fun. I'm excited to see where this blog goes in year #2. HAPPY BIRTHDAY baby blog. :)

Valentine's Decor

Well Valentine's day is fast approaching. So I decided to finally take down my Christmas decor and get with the times.
I had all of these things already lying around the house. I just had to put them together.
This is my new carafe I got for Christmas. I already had the mason jar. Love the conversation hearts inside. I used some ribbon from my sister's baby shower invitations. I've been working on getting that all together this week too.

I can't decide if I like the white garland around the two jars or not.

These are my Christmas ornaments but I will leave these out through Valentine's Day. Clark got me new bed sheets and I got him tickets to go to "Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me!" It's coming to town in February. He loves that show.

I just noticed this is my 100th blog post. I've been blogging for just about a year now and I still love it. Thanks for stopping by.

Some projects I've been working on

One reason I've been slacking off on my blog is because I've been working on all of these lightbulb necklaces and earrings. I have had so much fun picking colorful beads and then assembling these necklaces and earrings. These will definitely be showing up in my Etsy shop soon. Happy crafting everyone.

A little teaser for the big blog post

Again it's been too long since my last post. My husband and I went on vacation and I'm getting my big blog post ready. But for now I'll just share a fun ring that was very similar to some jewelry we saw while on vacation. You can find this ring here.

I'm just getting back into the routine of things and this is just a little reminder of the fun we had this week.

Do you need a blog and an Etsy shop?

Wow, this week just slipped by without much blogging going on. I've been working on my taxes :p, attending an HOA owner's meeting (it was very dramatic), two cleaning appointments, and trying to keep up with my house work (not doing too well with the dishes).

So today I wanted to share an article that Etsy sent me. It has some wonderful blogging tips and explains how to have a blog to support your Etsy shop. But this article applies to you regular bloggers out there too. Here is the link. Have a relaxing Sunday everyone. :)

A fun shopping trip

Shhh! Don't tell anyone but I took another day off from blogging. Today I decided since I needed new black socks for myself and my husband I would do a little window shopping. I got the "necessities" (socks) at Target and then it was on to the fun stuff.



Since I was already in Target I had to go check out their new home decor section. This is the Target in Cottonwood Heights on Park Centre Drive. They remodeled their store a while ago and I have never gotten to fully explore. And explore I did. They had the softest blanket that I wanted so bad for my bed. It was soooo soft and my favorite color (sage green) but the price tag was not going to be so wallet friendly...$50. So I moved on and saw some cute pre-made spring wreaths and glass home decor ideas. They had these little silver metal candle holders that reminded me of a tin can with little holes poked through all over. Put a little candle down inside and watch the light twinkle polka dots on your walls. These were more reasonably priced. But I refrained again.



Next stop was World Market. This is in the same shopping center as Target. They had some interesting picture frames, carafes for $5.00 for flower arrangements, interesting materials for vase fillers, and some beautiful plates and dishes. Again, I reminded myself this was just a window shopping trip and had fun just looking for new ideas.



And the last stop was the T.J. Maxx right around the corner. Going into this store is dangerous for me. The deals are so good and the quality so high I almost always HAVE to buy something. I found the cutest sage green shower curtain with navy blue polka dots in the clearance section for $10. This was originally priced at $25. I found some matching Ralph Lauren sage green towels that matched the shower curtain perfectly and a Ralph Lauren rug that was luxurious. Everything together would have come to $50. What a steal for my favorite color and brands! But my fun was in the find and I ended up leaving empty handed from there too. This is my version of catch and release fishing. I love the thrill of the hunt but I don't want to kill my budget.



I really need to start bringing my camera along and documenting all of my "real life" shopping finds. I do a daily Etsy find on my Facebook page which is my outlet for online shopping. I'm thinking I will start featuring my Etsy finds on this blog too.



Stay tuned for my finds and the ideas that go along with each treasure. Happy Hunting.

A little teaser for Monday

Hello everyone. I decided I needed a day off from blogging yesterday to get a start on a new creative project I'm going to be trying out. This project could be a potential line that could end up in my Etsy shop. I have to see how it all works out.

I've been doing some research this week on all the red tape of starting a creative business or Etsy shop. On Monday I will get into whether or not your Etsy shop is a business and how to set it up so you won't get into hot water with your state or the I.R.S.

This side of Etsy, for me, is the yucky side. I just want to create and sell and not have to jump through all the hoops government entities put in my way as stumbling blocks. But they are there for a reason so we have to deal with them.

I'll be back Monday with some helpful advice. See you then!

The cutest baby booties and advice on setting a price for your handmade items from CuriousWorkmanship

Wow, last week was quite a week as I got this blog started. It takes a lot of time, but I'm still here so let's see if I can last another one. :) I also wanted to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day today! My husband Clark says he has a surprise for me but I'll have to wait and see what he has up his sleeve.

Today I have asked Etsy seller "CuriousWorkmanship" to give us a little advice on choosing a price level for your handmade items. I know Sarah, the shop owner, "IRL" (in real life). I am amazed at how fast she produces her booties and how successful she has been at selling them. Here is one of my favorite items from her shop: PINK COWGIRL BOOTIES. It just can't get any cuter than this, but it does! She does crocheted ice skates, sneakers, football cleats, mary janes, sandals, and ballet slippers all for babies bare feet.

Sarah wrote a very informative article here:
http://www.etsymadness.com/2011/02/feature-friday-sarah-natividad.html?spref=fb

I loved this article and the advice she gives as I'm deciding how much to sell my products for and how to balance that with the time it will take to produce them. She teaches that there IS a way to sell fewer things at a somewhat higher price and not work yourself to death to crank out tons of products to sell cheaply. Whew, what a relief!

Check out her, oh so cute, Etsy shop here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/curiousworkmanship

My First "Real" Blog Post

Hello, Testing 1,2,3.... Is this blog on? Just kidding I know this is for real now. I have been a "wanna be" blogger for two years now. That's when I created my personal Facebook page and started practicing posting daily. It is hard to come up with some sort of entertainment for the "masses" (currently 105 Facebook friends) on a daily basis.

I still don't know what this blog will really be about. I'm thinking it will be a place to feature my crafts, my now famous daily Etsy finds, and anything else that catches my eye. I will probably mention my family occasionally too but it will most likely be interspersed among all the decorating and design ideas.

I would love suggestions from the "masses" of readers out there on what kinds of things you would be interested in learning / hearing about. I'm thinking I might talk a little about starting an Etsy shop and discussing all of the little details I've picked up over the last year in creating a shop that will attract those ever coveted and elusive buyers. A lot of crafty women and some crafty men (I have tremendous respect for guy Etsy sellers) would like to be able to stay at home and work and I believe this could be a legitimate way for them to do that. Get ready for a bumpy ride as I get going here. :)