Front Page Etsy Tags #2

Did you find some extra tags to use this week instead of your name or location? With all of the discussion surrounding search and getting seen I have decided to make this a weekly Friday feature. In case you missed last week's list of tags that made it to the front page of Etsy you can find them here.

Here are some of this week's tags that made it to the front page:

*sunny
*rustic
*bark
*blue skies
*retro
*artisan
*inspired by contrast
*inspired by country homes

Have you had a chance to check out the Treasury East yet? I wrote a bit about it on Monday and would love it if you had a chance to stop by for a visit! Last but not least if you are looking to get some extra exposure for your own shop be sure to learn more about becoming a featured artisan on one of my blogs. HAPPY FRIDAY!

Twitter Hop Thursday!

I love twitter so I was thrilled to find this fabulous this fun Twitter Hop Thursday on Simply Stacie. I hope you will twitter along with me and share in my handmade journey, musings on parenthood and more!

Hosted by Simply Stacie, The King's Court IV, Little Yaya's, Review Retreat and Moms Wear Your Tees! Would you like more Twitter followers and be introduced to more neat blogs and businesses out there? Come and join us!!



1. Add your Twitter to the MckLinky (you only have to add it to one and it will appear on all).

2. Click on the Twitter hostesses and follow each of them on Twitter. We will follow you back.

3. Follow as many people on Twitter as you like, but make sure to leave comments with links so they'll know where to follow you!

Spread the word and add this MckLinky to your blog! Write your own post or copy and paste this one. Below the MckLinky box, you'll see "Want to be a part of this Blog Hop? Click here for instructions and code...." Have fun Twitter-Hopping along!

Outstanding Oranges!

It has been a couple of weeks since I last featured some beauties from fellow artisans. If you missed Precious Pinks be sure to check it out here. Today I thought we would really brighten things up with Outstanding Oranges!

1. Hand Crafted Tangerine Hoops from Galit
2. Tea of Love- Fabric Tea Pot Cozy from Bon Ton

3. Sun Kissed Bracelet from Tristan Inspired

4. Daisy Shaped Palm Wax Melts from Jennuine Candles

In addition to these fun features I am also looking for artists to do a full feature on for both this blog and our Supplies blog. You can find out all the details in this post.

The NEW Treasury East!

If you are an Etsy seller or buyer you may have had the opportunity to check out some fabulous member curated features called treasuries. These are a great chance for Etsy artists to highlight their fav's from others in the community. Recently Etsy launched its new Treasury East with equal opporunity for everyone to create one (although I loved the excitement of trying to nab a treasury opening the old way!)

If you have not had the chance to curate your own treasury they are tons of fun...and completely addicting! Etsy has a great article about How to Make Treasury for those who are justing beginning. Tomorrow, April 27th, the front page of the site will be featuring some of the treasuries from the new Treasury East. I hope that one of mine make it!

Feel free to visit either of my treasuries, comment love is appreciated!

Spectacular Supplies
Lovely Lavenders

"Charming" Additions!

I have always loved charms, collecting them and seeing what cute treasures can be made from them. I had such a good time hunting for the perfect tractor charms for a custom order at Christmas and decided that I would like to add more charm related items to my offerings. I recently listed this cute Scissors and Button Bookmark and Sewing Machine Necklace, two great gift ideas for the crafty gal!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Front Page Etsy Tags

I don't know about you but tagging my items can sometimes give me a headache! I can ususally get to tag #10, sometimes more, before I run out of ideas but those last couple always seem to be just out of my reach and I end up filling them in with my shop name or location. I want to make sure that I am tagging appropriately so I don't just want to throw anything in there. I decided to start keeping a list of tags that appear on the front page of Etsy as a reference and I thought others might find it useful as well. Here are some of this week's with a front page that stated "found using search term x" or "inspired by x":

*tropical
*blossom
*robin's egg (the colour)
*sunset
*gadget
*diy
*relax
*milk
*oatmeal (the colour)
*eco-friendly
*spring

What other one's have you noticed? Do you have any tagging tips to share?

A Girl and Her Pearls!

I just love reading about stones and their properties, especially the folklore surrounding them. In case you missed my last post A Bit About Amethyst be sure to stop by.

What girl doesn't LOVE pearls and with prom/wedding season quickly approaching they are sure to adorn the neck of many. Jennifer over at Handmade News wrote a great article about the different types of pearls and was gracious enough to include a picture from our supplies shop!

Here are some of my favourite tidbits about pearls:

*Official birthstone of June

*Symbol of feminine wisdom, purity, and innocence
*Said to reduce irritability (I should wear extra pearls some days!)

*A myth of the early Chinese speaks of pearls falling from the sky when dragons fought!

*Brides have been wearing pearls throughout history believing that pearls promote harmony in marriage (plus they look fantastic)

Do you have a favourite style or colour of pearl? How do you enjoy incorporating them into your work?

Calling All Canadian Artists!

I am currently looking to feature some fellow Canadian artists for artisan interviews. You can view previous featured artisan's Saffery Moore, Derniere Fois, Agawa Canyon and Bijoux Designs For You to get an idea of what the interviews look like. I also include your Etsy mini for a two week time span in the top left corner so we all get to see your beautiful goodies!

Not a Canadian artist? No problem, I love to showcase artists from all over the world with all sorts of creations. I am also looking for featured artisans for our supplies blog Rouge River Beads. I would also love to interview some bloggers who would like to share their insights.

If you are interested in being interviewed just leave a comment below and I will email you some questions. You can also email me at kawarthabeads@gmail.com

Have a great weekend!

Precious Pinks

Time again to share the talents of some fellow artisans. If you missed last week's feature Perfect Purples be sure to check them out here. A perfect colour for spring/summer enjoy these Precious Pinks!

1. Milky Pink Lucite Calla Lily Flower & Pearl Earrings from Kats All That
2. Apricot Freesia Handmade Artisan Soap from Ginger's Garden

3. Fancy Pink Dress . 18 inch doll clothes from Miss Ems Dolls

4. Cupcake Toppers Gift Set from Toadally Cute Products

Selling your handmade goods~ Home Parties!

Last week we explored Hosting an Open House of your Handmade Goodies. If you missed it be sure to check out that post here. Another avenue for growing and selling your handmade creations is through home parties.

I just love doing home parties. They are a great opportunity to showcase your wares while chatting with some great people in a relaxed environment. Best of all there is little to no cost! I thought I would share with you today a little of what one of our home parties look like:

Try to get there at least an hour before the guests are scheduled to arrive. The thing with home parties is that your setup is always different and of course there are always those that arrive early so you want to be ready.

I always offer something small for a door prize and have little ballots for people to fill out. The ballots also have a place for their email address and a box to check if they want to join our mailing list (most people do). Once the majority of guests have arrived I often play an icebreaker type game such as celebrity trivia, however this is entirely optional depending on your hostess/crowd. You can find all kinds of quiz/trivia games just by searching the internet. It gets people fired up and in the spirit!

I usually give a little "intro" speech-who I am, how long I've been creating, I talk about hosting a home party (and the incentives) and any specials being offered that night. Then I have the hostess draw for the door prize and let people start shopping!

I make sure to have lots of postcards/business cards on hand about our website and little flyers about hosting a home party that I put in with each guests purchases. Hostess incentives can vary depending on your product pricepoints but ours consists of a set $ amount for hosting the party to be used towards merchandise, a % of the sales for the hostess to use towards merchandise and a set $ amount for every person who books a home party for her to use towards merchandise. And that's about it!

If you are in the handmade business and have never tried having a home party in your own or a friend's home I highly recommend it. What are your experiences with home parties? Do you do anything differently? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Etsy Shop Now Open!

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend so far. I have finally began to list some items in my Etsy shop! Here are some of the goodies you can check out (just click on the pics for more details):

Friday Follow- A Celebration of Followers April 9th

It has been afew weeks since I have participated in Friday Follow and I'm excited to check out some great new blogs! Friday Follow is hosted by One 2 Try, Hearts Make Families and Midday Escapades! If you haven't taken part before here's how it works:

•* Link up your blog name and URL using the MckLinky below. Only need to add on one blog to be seen on all the blog hops.
•* Grab the Friday Follow button and include on your Friday Follow blog post.
•* Follow the Friday Follow hostesses listed in the first 3 slots.
•* Follow as many other blogs on the linky as you'd like
•* Take a moment to comment on the blogs telling them you're from Friday Follow
•* Follow back when you get a new follower through Friday Follow
Also be sure to stop by Buttons and Blogs for all of your blog design needs!

Happy Friday and have a great weekend everyone!

Perfect Purples!

Time again to share some beauties from fellow handmade artisans. Last week's feature showcased Spring has Sprung items so be sure to check it out as well if you missed it. Enjoy this week's feature of Perfect Purples!

1.Guitar Pick Earrings by Clever Crafter

2. A Field of Flowers Skirt by The May Flower

3. Knitting Pattern - Inchworm Socks by Perknitious

4.Vintage Enesco Spring Teacup and Saucer 1980 from Magyar Beader

Making Your Own Price Tags

In the handmade world creative packaging, finishing touches and price tags are all an important part of branding your business. I recently started making my own price tags out of these adorable little scalloped circles by punching a hole in them and adding some decorative ribbon. They are the perfect finishing touch to my handmade creations! I have become so addicted to punching circles and trying out different types of cardstock, decorative papers, old Christmas cards and more! I have listed the pastel and plaid assortment in my Etsy shop so feel free to stop by and grab some of your own!

Hosting an Open House of your Handmade Goodies

I have written about hosting an open house in your home on Bijoux Designs For You blog but thought it was worth revisiting here. Open houses/home parties are a great way to increase sales, gain valued feedback and get together with friends and family. I will post separately about home parties (held by someone else) later this week. Last year I held a couple of open houses (one in the spring and one in the fall) and both had great turnouts. Here is the posting I wrote about it:

Yesterday was our open house in my home for friends and family. I had several visitors and many of them were first timers and even some friends brought other friends that I didn't know. I set up a small display in my living room using a dropleaf table, some tv trays, my entertainment unit and my patio table (on the other side of the room). It was open house style, with guests dropping by between 1-8.

Invites: I sent out an email to my mailing list, an invite on to my friends on facebook and put up a little poster at work. Just something simple with date, time, directions and a link to our Etsy and Artfire stores so they could browse ahead of time if they wanted to. I offered a door prize and had guests fill out a ballot with their name, email and a box to check if they wanted to be added to our mailing list (everyone checked the box) AND I had one girl book a home party.

I loved doing the party in my own home. I could invite guests on a day/time that worked for me, I didn't have to find a sitter for the baby, when there was no one here I could just work like normal, I set up the night before so I didn't have to rush AND there was no overhead cost or competition! If you have been contemplating having an open house I say go for it! Even with a small inventory it's great practice to work on your display and get the hang of dealing with customers face to face (especially if you have only ever sold online). You can also team up with another artisan in your area to offer a wider range of products and have them invite their friends as well.

Hope this was helpful to others who have been contemplating an open house. If you have any questions feel free to contact me.

Broccoli Salad Recipe

Looking for something different to serve with your holiday get together? My mom's broccoli salad is one of my absolute fav's and it is even better the next day! Here's her fantastic recipe:

5 cups broccoli florets
1/2 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup roasted and salted sunflower seeds or you can put raisins or dried cranberries
6 bacon slices, diced

Dressing: 2 tblsp. granulated sugar 2 tblsp. white vinegar 6 tblsp. mayonnaise -

Combine broccoli, red onion, cheese and sunflower seed in large bowl.- Cook bacon. Drain well. Cool. Add to broccoli mixture.

Dressing: Mix all 3 ingredients in small bowl. Add to broccoli mixture and toss together.

♥HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE♥