MAKING IT ALL WORTHWHILE

Just a quick thought today about selling online. As most online sellers will tell you, this sort of small business definitely has its ups and downs. A sale can come at any moment, anytime of the day and the only sign of it is a message in your inbox. How do you keep your emotions on an even keel when you may have a flurry of activity and then nothing?
There are days that you have a sale or two and you are ecstatic with excitement that someone actually likes your "stuff" enough to pay money for it. Then there are days when you think you may never sell another thing and you keep checking your shop to make sure it's not invisible and the worst part, start doubting your talent! How do you keep going when you are always on this roller coaster ride?

Here's how I handle it:

1. I've always had a need to create things since I was a small child. If I don't have a project going I feel like something is missing or "off". I will keep creating whether my jewelry sells or not. I love to explore different jewelry techniques and mediums and I'm always trying something new. The main reason I sell is because I just don't have enough arms, ears and necks to wear it all at once!
   
   
2. The second thing is Customer Feedback and this is a BIG deal for me. I usually fret when I send a package off, hoping that my customer will love it as much as I do. I was so excited last Monday, when my Etsy friend and talented jewelry artist, Shi, of Shijewels, loved the ring so much that I made for her, shown above, that she raved about it on her blog. You can read about it here. That one really made my day. And then, I found out that earrings I sold to a gal on Friday are going to be for her wedding. How cool is that? She even said she is going to send me a picture of herself with the earrings and the dress.

So that's it, that's what makes it all worthwhile for me. How about you?

MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY

I thought I'd let my cat Ace make another appearance today to show us what DETERMINATION looks like. No matter how many times I tell him "NO!" or place him back down on the floor he just can't get enough of trying to grab a bite of my yarn while I'm knitting. It gets to the point where I place myself in a very awkward position and then I wake up with a pain in my shoulder like I did this morning. I am so close to finishing my sweater I am DETERMINED to finish it no matter how much he torments me!

Ok, this is what finally GIVING UP looks like, thanks Ace!

Alexander Graham Bell:
What this power is, I cannot say. All I know is that it exists...and it becomes available only when you are in that state of mind in which you know exactly what you want...and are fully determined not to quit until you get it.

Have a great Monday!

TREASURY MANIA!

Oh, what a treat! This morning I received 2 messages almost simultaneously that I'd been featured in an Etsy treasury. Not only, does this not happen very often, but two in one day? I should probably go out and buy a lottery ticket or something!

What is ironic is that there was a thread last week in the forums where I wrote that I hadn't been in many treasuries since redoing my shop to my more natural wood backgrounds since it seems that most items that are chosen have white backgrounds. I was also featured in one on Thursday. Thanks go to AuroraFedora, chrdesigns, and EarthlyCreations.

Raven's Nest: My "Fine Wine" Earrings in the top right hand corner.

Ladies, FROST yourselves!: My "Morning Frost" earrings in the bottom middle spot.


What goes AROUND comes AROUND: My "Ripples" necklace in the lower right hand corner.

Note for non-Etsy people who are wondering what all the fuss is about:
From the Storque: What is the Treasury?

The Treasury is a member-curated gallery of short-lived lists of 12 hand-picked items each. Members can feature their favorite items, items selected on a theme or just whoever they like. The Treasury is not intended for self-promotion, but instead to acknowledge and share the many cool things for sale on Etsy. Admin often choose an exceptional Treasury list to promote to the the homepage hand-picked items.

In between the lines by Debora gleened from Treasury obsessed people:

1. It is difficult to even get your treasury posted because there is a specific window of time when they may be submitted.
2. There are so many talented artists on Etsy that your chances of getting in one are low.
3. You have to have fabulous photos.
4. And apparently it's just the absolute best thing in the world to be picked for the Front Page, but I wouldn't know about that (yet)!

Feel free to add your myths and insights into "TreasuryMania" below.

FINGERPRINT FRIDAY

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:

I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know its true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God

So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them?Thank you to Pampering Beki for hosting this each week! Everyone is welcome to join. To see how to join, as well as find links to other Fingerprint Friday posts, visit Pampering Beki's blog.

Last week, I wrote about Spring being just around the corner and how we experience seasons in our lives. Yesterday, I was reminded that we still have a little more winter to go, when we woke up to this lovely snowfall. I couldn't resist taking a few pictures because the sky was such a gorgeous blue! God, I see your fingerprints all over your creation, even when we're a little tired of winter!

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN EARRING CARDS

A while back I wrote a post called "How to Make an Earring Display". Afterwards, I received several requests to write a tutorial on making the actual earring cards. They are very straightforward and seem pretty intuitive but maybe some suggestions will help you with them.

I described the earring cards as "simply cards folded in half with holes punched in them:

And really that's all they are! But where to start?

Here's some details that might help:

1. Size before folding: 2" X 6.75".
   
2. Size after folding: 2"X 3.4"
   
3. Hole punch used: 1/16"

Here's what you need to get started:

1. Paper cutter: 11X17" size
   
2. Matte heavyweight paper or cardstock and a printer.
   
3. 1/16" hole punch
   
4. Computer program that utilizes "layers" like Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0.
   
5. You will also need to know HOW TO USE your program to create layers, add text, and copy and paste files into your layout.

STEPS:

1. In your progam create a file 2"X6.75"
   
2. Add your logo, text, and little dots for location of the holes. Merge all the layers and save as a jpg. You'll also want to save a layered version in case you need to make changes later.
   
3. Once you're happy with the design, copy and paste 5 of these onto an 8.5 X 11" file in the landscape orientation. Use the grid to align them so they are all even with each other, flush with the bottom of the page and 1/2" from the sides.
   
4. Merge all the layers and convert to a jpg. Remember to save a copy of the original layered copy just in case you need to change something.
   
5. Print on heavyweight paper. I use Epson double sided heavyweight paper on my Epson photo printer.
   
6. Cut the long side first using the ruler guide on the paper cutter. See picture below.
   
7. Then cut short sides. I aligned a wave along the bottom so all the need to do is cut right next to the wave.
   
8. Fold in half and punch the holes with the 1/16" punch. You may also use a thumb tack or pin but the hole punch gives a nice clean edge.
   

Now doesn't that look simple? The reason I use the folding cards is so they can easily be hung on my display and it's also very convenient for photographing. When I show my jewelry to live customers I can also discreetly write the price on the inside.

I hope you have fun making these and adding a professional touch to your jewelry! If you have any questions please contact me or you can ask it in the comment section below.

MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY

Well, I must not be very motivated today, as it's already 3pm and I still haven't written my post. I thought I'd better write about motivation to get myself inspired!

I love this photo I took many years ago when my sister and I took a cruise around the Greek Islands. Taken while still on the cruise ship, this is the island of Santorini and the mulititude of steps that lead up to the top. I don't remember the number of steps but it was alot! After all of the rich food we ate on the cruise ship, we decided to forgo the donkey ride and walk it ourselves. I was much younger then, but I remember with the hot sun it was quite the effort. Oh, but what a view from the top and the feeling of accomplishment we had that we would not have experienced if we had opted to take the ride!

Why am I writing about this today? Well, I just had my 75th sale in my Etsy shop on Saturday and I'm thinking about milestones . Sure, I've had more sales than that when I count RL sales (that stand for real life) but there is something about seeing that number there that kinda spurs you on! There is so much talk about this many and that many sales in such and such time. It's really not good to compare yourselves to others, but we all do it and it can be very discouraging. We must keep in mind that we all have different goals for ourselves, and let's face it, someone who sells lower priced items like soaps or cards is going to have a higher number faster than someone who makes jewelry or higher priced items. It took me almost 9 months to reach 50 sales, and and additional 2 months to reach 75 so I hope I'm on the right track!

I have a separate goal for this entire year, but now that I'm so close to my First Etsyversary (March 28th) I have a mini goal to reach 100 sales. Think I can do it? I guess I'll take it one sale at a time, just like we take one small step at a time to reach our goals. And if I don't reach it, I'll try for April 5th because that's when I listed my first item, Ha!

Here are some Monday quotes for you:

"Whoever wants to reach a distant goal must take small steps."
Saul Bellows

"Four steps to achievement:
Plan purposefully
Prepare prayerfully
Proceed positively
Pursue persistently"
William Arthur Ward

How are you doing on your goals?

Oh, and if you'd like to help me reach my goal, click here to go to my shop Beadin' By The Sea!