are YOU a booty babe???

Are you a seller on Etsy? Are you a Booty Babe? If not, you should be! A while back I met MonkeyThreads in a chat and she invited me to join. I had never participated in a BNR before, so I was a little confused and nervous about it. Turns out, I was (as I often do) making it far more complicated than it really is...and I've met some really nice people! This group of Etsians really goes out of their way to support one another, and this is a BNR that people just keep coming back to.

Every Tuesday starting at 8 pm EST, we have a BBB aka, a sale :) For an hour (sometimes more!), we all try to come in at the same time and offer special deals, not just for each other, but for newbies too! This allows our list to expand and you make some great friends along the way. It's only $4 (pre-shipping) to buy in...and there are great deals tonight! Please come join us :)

You can find our thread here:
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6224167&page=439

many thanks

Those of you who read what I post (and I thank you, as I know it may get boring!) have probably seen that a dear friend of ours recently left for Afghanistan. As a member of Soldiers' Angels, I am no stranger to sending care packages to the sand box, but I've never had to send one to someone as close to me as this. So I decided Etsy was a natural choice in searching for some great deals on items to put into care packages. In the process, I ended up with 3 really great items, from 3 super awesome people! I wanted to give a little shout out to them, as a thank you for being so kind & generous in your offers!

First up is countrymunchkins, who stepped in to offer some yummy suckers at only 50 cents each! Wow! Our friend is a big fan of sour candy, so I ordered some sour apple suckers for his packages :) You can check out country's shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6931041

Next up is scrubsfordirtcheap, who generously offered a trade in exchange for an awesome felt checker board! Lightweight & portable, this will be awesome entertainment! You can check out scrubs' shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7301302

Last but not least...sygnetcreations. She convo'd me & we ended up chatting via convos for a while, and she shared her blog with me. She comes from a military family and understood completely the challenges we face as friends of a soldier :) She generously offered a trade for a fabulous neck pillow (I chose camo, natch lol) and you can see her shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5243668

A special thanks to all of you for your kindess & generosity :)

who loves earrings?

I would love to get rid of some earrings to make a little room in my shop :) I've posted my sale in the shop announcement, on forums, even in the BNR I'm a part of...no bites yet, though!

I'm offering 20% off all earrings! All you have to do is put "20" in the notes to seller at checkout, but don't pay--let me invoice you the updated amount :) Be sure to check it out!

Also, I wanted to let all you Etsy peeps know about this great BNR I'm a part of. We are the Booty babes (fun, right?)! It's such a wonderful group of people and I love being a part of it. It's my first BNR and so far it's been so wonderful meeting such cool people and supporting one another. I encourage you to check it out & join us, you can find our thread here:

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6224167

A special shout out to MonkeyThreads, who found me in a chat one night & got me to join! You can see her shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5098017

Hope to see y'all soon!

it is what it is

Hey everyone! Hope all is well in your worlds. I've been hard at work coming up with some new pendants that will involve old keys, as well as some bead bowls...more to come on that! Gotta get something worth picturing up here first :) I had a mad rush on Etsy around my birthday and that quickly died! Traffic to my shop is slow, and I'm not sure if I am doing something wrong or if it's just that way every where?

Anyway, tonight my heart is heavy. A dear friend of my husband's & mine is headed to Afghanistan for his first deployment. I'm trying to be strong for my hubby, who is much more upset than I am. He had to sign as a witness on his will today, and it just really hit home for him. Our friend has asked that we keep his spirits high by sending packages regularly as soon as we are able...so I have posted an alchemy request on Etsy hoping there are some kind people out there who are able to offer some goodies to round out the packages for a small price...we'll see :) I know times are hard, but it can't hurt to try, right?

Godspeed my friend & come home to us soon! We love you!

at last...

...I finally have some new items up! Two of them are the magazine bowls I've been working on; trying to do each in one color :) I think they've turned out pretty & fun so far! Let me know what you think. This has--to be frank--been a horrible, horrible week...so I haven't gotten as much done as I wanted. I'm still working on more of the single color bowls and am thinking of putting together gift baskets in them as well. Thoughts? Comments? I like to hear from you!

just wanted to say...

...it's my birthday! Wow :) I can't believe I am 27. Not old, I know, but it has gone by sooooo fast! I truly feel like it couldn't have been more than a year or two ago that I graduated h.s.--ha! Time flies...Hope everyone has a great day! I hope to have some pics of the new magazine bowls soon!

keywords...

So forgive me, because I forgot whose blog I was reading...but someone posted on how funny the keywords were that directed people to their Etsy shop. So I had not ever even LOOKED at mine, and thought...hmmm. Not all of mine are as funny, but they are...interesting. I'll keep the original spellings/grammar/punctuation/etc. Makes me wonder if my tags actually serve a purpose lol :)

1. 1980s pleats
2. screw cancer
3. shhh its a surprise
4. beside the white chickens
5. cookies "eat me" alice wonderland (REALLY? what the heck)
6. drop crotch knit pants
7. hamburger eraser
8. knee high leather boots
9. pin up bathroom
10. virgin mary plaster mold

work(s) in progress...

While the hubby is away, I'm trying to be super productive in my crafting...unfortunately I think I've done more laundry and dishes than crafts! lol :) Anyway, I've decided to make a few smaller magazine bowls in certain colors...so instead of doing random colors or just newsprint style bowls like I have in the past, I'm going to try to stick to one color. Last night I made an adorable little bowl in greens that turned out super cool! (the camera is dead for now, pics coming!)

My philosophy behind doing this is two-fold: first and foremost, the single color allows it to fit more into someone's home or gift theme; secondly, I'm able to make them smaller which means less expensive...so hopefully, *more* sales! I've only ever sold 2 of these bowls...They are quite time consuming to make and require lots and lots of glue and Mod Podge and PATIENCE :) I'm also debating making them into small gift baskets--the bowl, a bar of soap, maybe a pair of earrings...we'll see. I'm open to possibilites, so if any of you have ideas, Share!!!

sale! sale! sale!

Hey readers! I'm having a sale in my shop, today thru 11:59 p.m. on my birthday--7/13! Take 13% off your purchase of $10 or more (before shipping)! Just put "birthday sale" in the notes to seller! Go shopping! :) Nothing better than birthday sales, right? I'm also in the process of marking down more items! Have a look :)

booth

Here's some pictures of my little booth space at the local shop where I have my soap...It's taking shape, slowly. I welcome your comments, as well as any ideas you may have on improving it visually! I just got my first check today for sales, and while it was tiny, I must say it's quite gratifying as well!

about me!

I realized not only has it been a while since I blogged (I'm super slack, pardon me), but I've never really told y'all much about me :) So here's some random tangents that may or may not make complete sentences (but do further illustrate 'me' lol) about myself...

I am southern, born and raised in Greenville, SC and live within 5 minutes of both the house I was born in and the one I grew up in. I am married, and I love my hubby with all my heart. He's my rock. Supporter. Confidante. Best friend. I am: stubborn. fiercely loyal. left handed. natural born redhead (yes, I got the temper too). creative. a spaz. a handful (according to numerous friends). my mother compares my energy & talking speed to a whirling dervish (google, friends). sarcastic. an only child that is loved a lot but definitely is not and was not ever a brat. a nerd. former band geek. bookworm. clutterbug. still best friends with perhaps the first 2 friends I ever made in my life (think toddler age). I love: cheese fries. ranch dressing. grapes. Dr. Pepper. pink. the beach. loud music. football. cars. reading. crafting. creating. driving. road trips. Charleston. hearing drums. animals, especially dogs (I have 5). summer nights. thunderstorms. Vera Bradley. pink punky things. taking pictures. God, above all else. I am terrified of: any and all bugs. not much for frogs either. heights. the idea of being pregnant (mucho kudos to every mother out there!). losing someone I love. My pet peeves: too many to list (I'm anal like that). My role models: my grandmother (love you MaMa). my parents (married 41 years and counting).

I could probably go on for days. I hope this paints a vivid picture for you! More to come...

long time, no blog

Hello, all! It's been too long since I wrote apparently! A week, wow...I set up a small booth at a shop here and so far, only 1 sale. Things are super slow there, and while I didn't really expect to sell out, I was sort of hoping for a few sales at least...Other than that...I can complain about people on Etsy who make 'special requests'...ARGH! I welcome them, I enjoy them...but for the love of all that is holy...why do people request something and then NOT PAY?! I got what I needed (had to go search for it, no less), made them, put them up (earrings) within 24 hours of the request...and I've yet to hear back from the person...Seriously?

Hopefully I'll have some new pics up soon for you to take a look at, in the mean time...I hope all is well in your worlds!

what's new...

Hello my faithful followers lol :) Hope all is well in your worlds as this week draws to a close. This has been a busy few days for me! I was surprised and happy to have 2 totally random earring sales on Etsy this week (yay!!!) and got some great news on Wednesday...A new little shop is opening up in the downtown area of a town about 10 miles from me...we call it TR...anywho, Mac & I stopped in on Weds. and as luck would have it, the owner happened to have space for my soap! So I went up today and set up a small-ish corner shelf with some soap, bath tea, and recycled magazine bowls...they opened about 3 weeks ago but tomorrow is the official 'Grand Opening' of the shop! I am so excited! The booth rent & fees are exceptionally reasonable and I think the store as a whole is going to be really successful...So hopefully I will be able to have a little place for my soap to really reach customers...because Lord knows, it isn't on Etsy :( But this news has really put a spark in my week and I hope that I'll have more good news to report in the days & weeks to come!

Facebook Fanpage

Hey everyone! I made a fan page for my store on Facebook. Please become a fan of mine on FB, and send me a link to your fan pages as well! I'll support yours if you support mine :) Hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend!!!

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Greenville-SC/beadsbuttonsbubbles/98674921681?ref=nf

yay!

WOOHOO! So I woke up this a.m. to a convo on Etsy...turns out one of my little rings has been featured on a blog!!! Yessss! Makes me kick myself for not taking a better picture of it, because man...I'm learning a lot about taking great pics...but I digress. It was my black marbled ring, which I have had now for quite some time on Etsy...frankly, it hasn't garnered a lot of attention, but maybe the exposure on this blog will do it for me :) It's a great fashion/artsy type read, you can check it out (and my ring!) here:

http://theeamerikandream.onsugar.com/

Just scroll down and you'll see the pic!

what's the deal with etsy...

My bestie & myself both have Etsy stores. We promo each others stores on our shop announcement. Often times, we end up making similar earrings because we have such common tastes & ideas...however, it seems that her store sells more, hands down, by random people finding, clicking, and buying, than what I do...why? She and I were discussing this today, and we can't really determine the issue here...I use as many tags as I can, I feel like my prices are competitive with other (similar) items...what gives? It doesn't really make sense to me...we have literally had the same item in both shops and hers will have tons and tons of views while mine...will have 3. It's so strange to me...how does that happen? Perhaps I need to promote more...but I don't know where or how! This is truly bothering me...

what's shakin?

Sooo...being that Michael's & *especially* Hobby Lobby are basically my second home...I tend to uh, buy stuff. A lot. Like hit up the clearance section in every HL store (I have 3 in my area lol) and M's and just stock up on stuff that I don't have a project for at the moment, but just *know* I can "do something" with. So last night I'm watching Colbert in Iraq (unusual for me, not my typical type to watch, but the hubs was interested) and thought...hmmm. I should be making something. So I whip out these super cute paisley chipboards I got at Michael's for a song, and decided they'd make super cute magnets. I just have this thing with magnets. I've made them from buttons before, and I just think it's a really cute thing to have--pretty, fun, fashionable magnets. I mean, why not, right? So I get out my oodles of buttons, and start embellishing with my trusty super glue and voila! Cute magnets! They are not yet listed in my store, but should be in the next day or so :) Just a fun, inexpensive treat for someone or to give to someone else! And speaking of buttons...oh my. I DO LOVE BUTTONS. I have developed a button obsession, you might say. They don't have to be fancy or vintage, just pretty & eyecatching and I'm hooked. Yesterday I was perusing Etsy for buttons when I came across this store...*sigh* If you love buttons, or even if you don't...you MUST check out forsythecompanystore on Etsy! SO much to choose from, and super friendly as well. Needless to say, I made a purchase :) You can visit them here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5366352

Can a shop survive on earrings alone???

That is the question I am pondering this afternoon. What would happen if my shop consisted of ONLY earrings??? I love earrings. I love them for me, I love them for others, I love making them. That's primarily what is in my shop right now, aside from my soap. So I have to wonder...would the shop thrive on earrings alone? Not that it is booming right now, mind you...but hypothetically...

I have lots of buttons waiting to be made into earrings and/or rings, and I can't wait to see how they turn out...but the more of those I make, the more they overtake my shop...is that bad? I mean, I AM beadsbuttons(AND)bubbles lol...I've just been concentrating on bubbles in the past more so than beads & buttons...and since bubbles aren't paying the ol' Etsy bill, maybe beads & buttons will? We shall see.

I also need a new outlet for finding buttons. I don't usually get into the vintage stuff too much, because I like being able to keep my things affordable and fun; the vintage can get really pricey...but if any of you dear readers know of a nice Etsian or site with reasonable, fun buttons...By all means, let me know :) I'll tell them you sent me, ha!

Craft Fair Wrap-up

So, the craft fair was not a success. I didn't do very well, people were looking but just not buying. I feel like so many people are anti-glycerin soap, but I don't know WHY...It's giving me a complex. I *did* sell 2 pairs of earrings (Nemo & the gold leaves)...the earrings were something people really looked at, and everyone seemed to love the button rings, but none of those sold either. The scrubbies I got from Lanee's Crochet were a hit, I ended up selling some to a lady for her daughters even though she didn't buy soap...but I didn't make any profit from it...I know that the exposure and experience is always good, I know it never hurts to have a dozen new people see your items...but it still costs money to do these things, and I busted my butt for weeks getting lots of fresh, fun new stuff to sell...and I didn't reap the rewards. I am disappointed. This was my...(I'm counting, hold on)...5th craft fair? Yes, fifth...and I've never, ever done well at any of them...what gives?

2 days left...

...until the craft fair :) woo hoo! Or not...lol :) I'm killing myself trying to make sure I have plenty finished in time...One of the things I've been working on are goodie bags to hand out to people...I just haven't decided if it will be to people who make a purchase or what, because I only have about 30...ok ok I digress. My point was that I decided to make some small, sample sized soaps to include in the bags...I love for y'all to comment and let me know what you think :) I only have a picture of one, the other ones are slices of green & white (the shape of an orange slice, for example). Enjoy & comment away!

a few of my favorites...

So when I joined Etsy in March, I had no idea about the chat rooms or forums. I barely knew enough to tag my items and it took a couple weeks to figure out that relisting really helps :) Once I discovered the chat rooms, I was able to branch out, meet a lot of fun people and discover tons of new stuff...shops, people, ideas, art forms, you name it. I wanted to take a moment to highlight some people I have met, and who are great at what they do as well as super nice people.

The first person I 'met' was in the forums, and it didn't take me long to realize why she's made it on Etsy for so long. A super nice chick who always had a kind word and offered me tons of advice, her name is HempLady4u. I can testify to the awesome-ness of her work, as I have a couple pieces myself! You can check out her store here: HempLady4u.etsy.com

I happened to be in an FS chat one night, and ran across a chick I call...Nic :) She makes awesome gift tags, greeting cards, invitations, you name it...It didn't take long for me to enlist her help with some packaging for my soap & scrubs, and through the course of that, we became friends...You can check out Nic's store here: ambientgirldesigns.etsy.com

I was looking for some awesome crocheted items to package with my soap for an upcoming craft fair, and at a super-low price. I received lots of great offers, but just couldn't find anything in my price range. HempLady suggested someone she new, and I quickly accepted an offer from LaneesCrochet. I must tell you, she does awesome, quality work and is a pleasure to work with. You can check out her store here: LaneesCrochet.etsy.com

Once again, this guy is a find...I ran across him in an FS chat, and just fell in love with his store. He has the coolest green crafts, and at super reasonable prices. I have ordered from him, and recently worked with him on a custom order as well...I can tell you, he's hands down one of the nicest people you can meet! The crazy crayons are a personal fave :) You can check out his store here: Ryanplz.etsy.com

This is just a tiny list of several people I've encountered...I'll add more soon...But I really wanted to shine a light on this awesome Etsians...so take a look and shop!!!

update...

I haven't had much time to write in a few days, I have been soooo very busy making yummy new things for the craft fair this week! I can't believe it's less than one week away--it has really crept up on me. You can take a look at my Etsy page to get an idea, there's lots of new earrings, some new soap, and I'll be adding more soap plus some new bath tea as well (softening like before but with dried lavender and chamomile). So here's a couple of pictures of my newest creations, and I'll leave you with that for now :)

my productive day...

...included making 8 pair of earrings :) I'm really excited to have so many done, because I intend to take a ton of them to Black Mtn. with me next week. I really love all of them, but the fish are just too cute. You can go here to check them out:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7117446&section_id=6024774

Be sure to heart me :) I hope you see something you can't live without!

yippeeeee!!!!

So...I went up to Mac's house today to do some crafting/jewelry making. I managed to make around 6-7 pair of earrings up there, way more than I ever accomplish here at home! Woo hoo :) So that was awesome...but then...THEN...I come home and my oh my...my porch was overflowing with deliveries :) Yessss!!!

Among my lovely treasures were my latest order of business cards; my dried herbs (lavender, chamomile, mint leaves); my *new* suspension soap base; my apricot seed meal and orange peel; my crinkle cutter; a scale; two soap molds...the list goes on! I am so thrilled to have all of my supplies here a full week before the fair! I should have plenty of time to get all of my yummy new stuff made! I plan to make coffee soap, several exfoliating soaps for both bath & body, new bath teas...It's gonna be greaaaat! *does a little happy dance* I'll keep y'all updated and post pictures soon :)

try, try again...

I am trying valiantly to get the house cleaned up before the hubby leaves tomorrow, because I need dust & dirt free space to work on all my projects for the craft fair!!! I have less than 2 weeks now to get ready for this thing, and it has really sneaked up on me. Many thanks to June Cleaver who has volunteered her services while the hubby is out of town...Now here's a little something to induce a giggle, and I'm back to work.

Blog Feature

I met this awesome chick on Etsy, ambientgirldesigns. Not only was she super cool, but she made the most awesome cards! So I enlisted her creative abilities to make some super cool bands & labels for my soap and scrubs. Through this we began chatting and I'm happy to have a new Etsy friend :) We chat regularly and she's awesome. She was kind enough to feature me on her blog today, and I would love to share that with you...you can check it out here: http://ambientgirldesigns.blogspot.com/

Also, here's a picture of some of her work for me, I can't wait to see them in person!

off the beaten (soap) path

I seem to have this obsession with making earrings lately. I don't know what it is. I never remember to wear any of my own, yet I find myself obsessively buying beads to MAKE more earrings...I sat down last night and made two pair...not phenomenal and certainly not as intricate as another certain friend creates...but I really like them...However, I am seriously looking forward to three awesome deliveries this week: soap supplies!!! Yessss...I ordered a ton of things to get some new suds bubbling and hopefully make my first fair of the season and blistering success...

a starting point

I guess this can be a starting point for my crazy craft obsession. I have tackled Etsy & Bonanzle; I have a few craft fairs under my belt; may as well start blogging about it right? There is no telling what will show up on this blog, but hopefully I can be faithful enough to keep my readers (I hope I will have readers...somewhere) entertained with my craziness...there's no telling where this will lead, but I promise to try to entertain!