Spring into KPTography!

Anyone else sick of the cold weather yet?  I know there are a few of you who are already enjoying the warmer climates...but here in good ole New England, Mother Nature is still laughing wickedly at us.  She's blowing her cold winds and colder temps like it's her job.  Ok...maybe it *is* her job, but I'd much rather finally see gorgeous blooms and blossoms, wouldn't you?  Well, if you're in my boat, you've got to go look at KPTography's Etsy Shop: KPTography.  Kori has THE MOST GORGEOUS photo cards of blossoms and flowers!  I just love flowers, and her shop is filled with handmade notecards and postcards, all featuring her very own photos of gorgeous flowers and adorable animals.  Her cards are a perfect pick-me-up for these cold spring days.  They're ideal to send to make someone smile, or just to put in a frame and enjoy!  Here's more about Kori and her shop:

1. What is your favorite item in your shop? All of my photographs have a memory for me but my favorite item has to be my purple pansies with dew postcard. It was the first picture I took with my new camera. It was also Mr. Fabric's first trip to Asheville. He went down with me when I was interviewing for a summer internship.

2. Did you have an "A-HA" moment where you knew you wanted to open an Etsy Shop?There really wasn't an A-Ha moment for me. My very talented mother (FabricGreetings) talked me into it. She loved my cards and then I started giving my cards away as presents. This was just the next step.

3. When did you fall in love with photography?I fell in love with photography about 7 years ago at the same time I fell in love with the Biltmore Estate. I started out with a Kodak point and shoot camera and I was trying to capture the beauty of the estate and the surrounding area. I knew that I would never be able to capture the beauty of the area in words. Since then my love for both have grown. I have since traded in the Kodak for a Cannon Rebel. My favorite time of the day to take pictures is first thing in the morning when the flowers are covered with dew.

4. Tell me some fun things about yourself...I am an avid fan of changing my hair color. My favorite was when I had blue highlights in my hair for my Vegas vacation. I can tell what the weather is going to be like by how big my hair gets (sadly when I called Fabric for some help with this it took us 10 minutes to come up with this one fact). I love cows so much that I stopped eating beef almost 20 years ago. I have a rather large cow collection and I would have a whole herd of them if I had the space for them. I have a very extensive Harry Potter collection everything from the collectors books to a life-size Dobby sculpture in my media center. My goal is to collect the first book in every language it has been published in.I love brussell sprouts but I believe that peas are the root of all evil :-)

5. Besides your Etsy shop, where else can we find you?On some Sunday's you can find me having a bagel with Fabric and Mr. Fabric.

There you have it...beautiful photographs, amazing talent, Harry Potter and bagels...it doesn't get any better than that!!  Check out Kori's shop..I guarantee you'll feel warm and springy..just want everyone needs right about now! 

Sending Lovely Fabric Greetings Your Way!

Who doesn't love getting fun things in their mailboxes?  I'm talking about your mailbox outside your house..not your email.  I love sending random packages and cards to people, but Alyce takes it to the next level of thoughfulness and fun in her Fabric Greetings Etsy shop - http://www.fabricgreetings.etsy.com/ 

Her fabric postcards are sweet, thoughtful and unique!  Imagine you're having a bad day and you find this in your mailbox:

You'll be all smiles, and you can frame and keep it!  Each of her postcards come with clear, plastic mailing sleeves so your card will be protected in the mail.  She also has adorable bookmarks in her shop. And most importantly, everything in her shop is handmade with love.  Here's more about Alyce and her Fabric Greetings shop:

What is your favorite item in your shop?

 Favorite item in shop - since basically all my items are the same, I obviously like fabric postcards. However, this one is the one that catches my eye the most. First I love the colors, second it has some buttons which I love and third, it reminds me of a friend I have had for about 50 years. We seldom see each other because of distances, but when we do, it is like we never missed a day. That is a forever friend.

www.etsy.com/listing/51266929/friends-forever-quilted-fabric-postcard

Did you have an "A-HA Moment" when you knew you wanted to open an Etsy shop?

No A-HA moment. In fact, I was terrified. That came from my computer illiteracy. I have sold items at craft fairs for 40 years or more and can relate to people one on one. This cyber space is a whole new ball game.

How did you come up with the brilliant idea of fabric postcards?

 About 5 years ago when the arthritis in my hands got so bad I could no longer do the hand work on my art dolls, I remembered seeing some art postcards at the International Quilt Market years before. They had to be mailed in an envelope which - to me -defeated the idea of them being postcards. So I decided to reinvent the wheel. I began making and sending cards to my friends. I am a huge believer in sending snail mail cards for no reason at all. When I got favorable responses to the cards, I started making them for sale. Why buy a mass produced card, when you can get a one of a kind that can be used for table art or wall art or a luggage tag. That has to make the recipient feel special.

What is your favorite thing about Etsy?

I like the treasury feature. I enjoy making them, looking at others and am especially pleased when I am featured in one. Once again, they were a little scary until our daughter walked me through the process.

Tell us some fun things about you...
 Fun things about me...........hmmmmmm Will be married 45 years in Oct. to same guy. We met in high school. He went his way and I went mine. Then we reconnected and married 5 years later. Our daughter is KPTography ( http://www.kptography.etsy.com/ ) and we are super proud of her and her accomplishments. My sewing machine goes on vacation with us. I usually walk 2.5 miles in the early morning. My outfit of choice is a denim jumper and white T-shirt or turtleneck depending on the season. The first thing I do when we check into a motel is check the yellow pages for fabric/quilt shops.

The next time you have an occasion to buy for, whether it's a new baby, a wedding, or even because you just feel like saying hello, go to Fabric Greetings!  Send a framable smile to someone special soon!!

Sweet as a Daisy Girl

If you're looking to sweeten up smells around your kitchen, bathroom, car and more, you've GOT to check out Daisy Girl Delights on Etsy.  Jennifer makes the yummiest-smelling candles, sachets and other delightful items!  My first purchase at Daisy Girl was a sweet Pina-Colada sachet that I hung in my bathroom. (Part of that week's Christmas in February packages!)  And it came with SAMPLES! So did my second purchase, when I bought another Pina Colada sachet for my car, and a cinnamon one for my kitchen.  Also, I've had the Pina Colada song stuck in my head for about two weeks now.  :) Now that you do, too, here's some more info on Daisy Girl Delights:

What is your favorite item in your shop?

My favorite item in my shop has to be my Aroma Bead Melts! They are such a fun new way to have a touch of fragrance wherever you need it. I have one hanging in my car and one on my fridge, held up by a chipclip magnet!  I can't wait to start carrying different shapes and fragrances!

Did you have an "A-HA" Moment where you knew you wanted to open an Etsy Shop?

 I definitely had an "AH-HA!" moment about starting up my first shop, MontanaDaisyGirl, on Etsy. My Mom had taught me how to crochet when I was young, and has just recently taught me quilting as well. I loved to spend my time crafting whenever I got the chance, but I needed a little something more than the once a month project. I came across Etsy about a year ago and loved looking at all the handmade items and then it hit me, "I can do THIS!!" From that second on I've thrown myself completely into it, and I felt like this is what I was meant to do. I have so many more ideas of expanding my shops on Etsy and locally in Montana as well!

What is your favorite thing about Etsy?

 My favorite thing about Etsy is all the wonderful people I have met and have come to know! It is so nice to have that awesome support and encouragement from others. My friends on Etsy know and understand the huge commitment of time and hard work that it takes to make your shop successful, and it means so much to me how supportive and helpful that they all are!

Where can we find you? 

You can find me at either of my 2 Etsy shops: MontanaDaisyGirl and DaisyGirlDelights.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/DaisyGirlDelights or http://www.etsy.com/shop/MontanaDaisyGirl

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/DaisyGirlDelights/166489286733470?ref=ts#!/pages/DaisyGirlDelights/166489286733470?sk=wall

And on Twitter: http://twitter.com/MTDaisyGirl

Tell us some fun things about yourself!

I have 2 1/2 yr old daughter, Scotland, who keeps me on my toes at all times! Her favorite thing to do is to smell all of my DaisyGirl products and pick out her favorite one for the day. :-) I also work full time as a Surgical Tech in our local hosptial in the Operating Room, and my huband and I recently discovered we will be moving to Helena, MT within the month! I love a good glass of Merlot and also love to travel!

Trust me, everyone..you won't be dissapointed.  Jennifer's aroma creations are wonderful, and most important, they're not overpoweringly strong.  You get the sweet smells without the "oh, man! What is that?!" effect!  I hope you all stop by Daisy Girl Delights and check out her stuff!  (Ok, stop singing the Pina Colada song, guys!!)

Move Over BBW, Here Comes Lauren!

I'm hooked, I have to admit.  I wasn't even looking for new bath & body products. The first time I purchased from Lauren's Luxuries was to buy into a BNR (Buy and Replace - you purchase from a treasury of items on Etsy and your shop replaces the shop you purchase from) and I ordered her Peppermint Foot Scrub. It was packaged beautifully and shipped quickly.  Two days later, I was trying my new foot scrub.   Let me tell you, that stuff is AWESOME.  Since then I've bought more scrub, and a little gift basket (for me, of course!) with the scrub and peppermint foot cream.  Lauren was really pateint with me while I "convo'd" her with a few silly questions, and the last couple orders I've had from her came with SAMPLES!!  Lauren's Honey Almond line smells like my biscotti cookies, and I've bombarded half my family with smelling it already. 
Here's a little more info about Lauren's Luxuries:

What is your favorite item(s) in your shop? My favorite item and one that I can't live without is my Peppermint Foot Cream. www.etsy.com/listing/28688399/peppermint-foot-cream-made-with. This was one of the first products I created and tested extensively before launching. I have not made any changes to the formula since...it's that good. This product is a wonderful and creamy blend of shea butter, aloe vera, and peppermint essential oils. After rubbing into your feet or other body areas, you will notice a slight tingle from the peppermint. Such a great relief after a hard day on your feet.

Did you have an “A-HA!” moment when you knew you wanted to open your Etsy shop? I had known about Etsy for a few years and had even created a shop and login back in 2009 but I never had much time to spend researching it and did not have any listings. Instead I had been relying on my own website and storefront to reel in sales, but unfortunately it was not going well. It's so hard to get noticed in the big world wide web. In late 2010 I ended up talking to another Etsy Seller who had been having great success with her jewelry line on Etsy. I started watching her sales and other sellers who were doing well and one day I made the decision to change my web sales strategy and focus more on Etsy. Within one week of promoting on Etsy, I had made more web sales than I had made all year out on my own. I know I have made a right decision.

What is your favorite thing about Etsy? Hands down, the networking and other Etsy Sellers that I have gotten to know. There are so many great sellers and unique products out there that without Etsy I may never have known about. The spirit on Etsy is so cooperative even amongst competitors. I am a member of one team that is dedicated to just Bath & Body Sellers. The camaraderie on that team is so special and helpful to me in my endeavors. Where else can you work with and help your own competition?

Where else can we find you?
If you live in the Louisiana area, you can find me at a few gift shops around the Baton Rouge area. You can learn more about these shops at www.laurensluxuries.com/updates_from_lauren. I hope to make it in more gift shops in 2011.

Tell us some fun things about yourself! I am a true animal lover. I have the best "kids" in the world....One very special fat cat named Allie who is going on 16 years (that's almost 112 human years). And then I also have the friendliest and cutest Mini Daschund anyone has ever met. Her name is Lucky (AKA Lucky Love). She brings a smile to everyone's face. I created some special treasuries a few months ago honoring my "kids". www.etsy.com/treasury/4d27fe37adde6d9121fd1210/lucky-love?index=17
www.etsy.com/treasury/4d21439013a68eef4a677d43/fat-catss-2011-new-years-resol...

When you have a few minutes to do some Bath and Body shopping, she's the first one I'd recommend.   Her hand lotion doesn't leave that greasy feeling you get with some lotions, and her foot care line is top notch.  Her gift baskets come adorably wrapped and carefully packaged for shipping.   And folks, this isn't a paid advertisement....one of the feedbacks I wrote for her was the title of this blog - look out Bath & Body Works....here comes Lauren!

The Wonderful World of Handmade

It's been almost four months since opening Shane's Sweet Creations on Etsy.  A wonderful, fun four months.  Etsy is filled with wonderful, supportive sellers and enthusiastic buyers.  Every time I check my email and see a sale notification I do a girlie happy dance, and suspect it'll be like that for a long time.  It's such a great feeling that someone likes your items so much they'd pay money to have it!!  I've found some great sellers in these short four months who sell such a wide variety of products, like graphic design,  bath and body products, handmade cards, knitting and crocheting projects - the list goes on and on.  You want it, these people have it, and they're all lovingly made from a hardworking person who is passionate about the products they make. 

Yesterday was like Christmas around here.  I had ordered a few things from different Etsy sellers on Sunday and Monday.  (It's also funny that I ordered something online - in stock - on Monday as well, still waiting for that order.  Not that I'm complaining .. but it's coming from the next state over and my Etsy items were all shipped from the midwest to the east coast.) I received all my Etsy orders yesterday.  My 6 year old daughter was a bit sad that nothing was for her, but she had such fun (as did my almost 2 year old daughter) smelling the wonderful lotions and sachet I received.  We all oohd and aaahd over my pretty new blue goldstone beads I got ("ooohhhh...pretty, mommy!" was the reaction from my littlest).  All had little thank you cards packaged in with them, two even had samples of other store items.  Truly, we were all like little kids opening these packages!

The more gifts for loved ones and myself I can get on Etsy, I will.  It's clear to me that these items are all made wtih love and a passion that you can't get from going to the mall.  The customer service from the people I've dealt with is top-notch, and they all have nothing but patience for me when I send them messages with silly questions.

I'll be back with information on more of these wonderful stores! For now, plase feel free to poke in mine.  ♥  http://www.shaneyz.etsy.com/ You'll find lots of shiny things - I love using Swarovski crystals and pearls! There's a wide assortment of bracelets (wrap, woven and just regular ones...), earrings, necklaces, beaded bookmarks, zipper pulls, wine charms and more.  Thanks for looking!

Spread the word, everyone.  You've been welcomed into the wonderful world of handmade!