Almost JUNE!!!

I can't believe how quickly the past month has flown by! Luckily we have been able to enjoy some beautiful summer-like weather and the little dude and I have taken advantage of it by heading to the zoo, playing in our kiddie pool, and having a blast at the park. Business wise mom and I have been super busy at Rouge River Beads with the arrival of some beautiful new beads, I am blessed to have had some sales in my new Etsy shop Kawartha Beads and the "bucket" idea with my sales gals has definately begun to take off!

So where are we headed for June?

I have some new goodies ready to photograph and list and I can't wait to share them with you. Also be sure to watch for more new supplies to be added to our supply shop. I'm very excited to be participating in TWO fabulous giveaways. You may have noticed the button on the left hand side for WIN YOUR AD HERE. Blogger Chix Designs has put together a wonderful opportunity to win ad space on several blogs and it is a great chance to find some new blogs, learn a bit about the bloggers AND win some ad space. Your chance to win ad space on Kawartha Beads is June 9th but I will keep you updated about all of the ad space giveaways. I am also thrilled to be a part of the Spring Bling Jewelry Event at Simply Stacie. Her blog is simply stunning and she offers great giveaways and reviews all year long! Beginning June 7th you will have a chance to win some fabulous new additions to your summer wardrobe. I will be giving away a pair of my Lavender and Lace Pearl Earrings to one lucky Simply Stacie reader so stay tuned for your chance to win.

What are your plans for the upcoming month? Sure to be a busy but exciting one!

Where has the week gone?

Maybe the heat has zapped my brain but I can't believe it is Friday already! It's been a very busy week with the arrival of some beautiful new beads to add to the supply shop I run with my mother.

I have also been getting organized for the upcoming Supplies Sellers Marketing Exchange. I now have two girls with "buckets" of jewelry selling on my behalf and they are keeping me busy! This is the first official month for my "sales representatives" so I can't wait to see how it turns out. In case you missed the original article you can catch up here.

This week's Etsy Front Page Tags is quite reminiscent of last week's, relying heavily on the marketing desk article. We have seen many front pages featuring Father's Day gift ideas, gifts for grads, and summer weddings. I did catch one that was found using the search term rustic, one inspired by the French Open and one featuring Undiscovered Shops.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Today I'm Going to Wear.....

With the temperature hitting record highs here today summer outfits are on all of our minds and this one would be too cute!

1.Gold and pink sequin/disc chain earrings by Black Sheep Fashion

2.Seaside Seersucker Wrap Dress by One Avian Deamon

3.Vintage Berries Reusable Shopping Bag by Prairie Wind Designs

4. Ice Cream Charm Necklace by Kawartha Beads

The Great Marketing Exchange!

Ever wish you could combine efforts with some like-minded individuals to give your shop some additional traffic? A marketing exchange might be your answer!

Last fall and again this spring I organized a marketing exchange for handmade goods. The shops that signed up were all sent a list of who was involved and their shop link and what their feature days were. Then on a shops feature days everyone involved would promote that shop through their shop announcement, blogs, twitter, facebook and whatever else they could think of. I know that I found many wonderful new shops this way and we did see an increase in both traffic and sale at Bijoux Designs For You which I was running with my mother at the time. It is a bit of an honour roll system and you have to have faith that the first shops to be featured will still help to promote the last. Admittedly it does take alot of organization but its a great way to meet some new people, discover some new shops and help to promote handmade!

Currently I am putting together a marketing exchange through Rouge River Beads with some fellow supplies sellers. I can't wait to share their stories starting June 1st so stay tuned!

Front Page Etsy Tags ?????

I don't know if you have noticed but this week there were very few "found using the search term" or "inspired by" front page Etsy tags. Rather there was a heavy focus on Father's Day and Graduation themed items as well as other items from the May merchandising article. I must admit that I never used to pay too much attention to these articles but with the focus of the front page changing, and relying heavily on the themes of these articles, it is worth revisiting them.
You can check out the June merchandising article here. Most of the themes are ones that you would expect, Father's Day, weddings, bbq's, etc. Etsy also celebrates its 5th birthday in June so I'm sure we will be having a big party!!!!! Since June's birthstone is the pearl I'm certain that there will be many beautiful pearl items featured. They are also perfect for the summer bride and one of my fav's all year round! My mom is also a big fan of pearls and you can find many of them in her creations over at Bijoux Designs For You including this pretty Filagree Heart and Pearl Necklace. I recently created a Pretty Pearls treasury and would love it if you had a chance to stop by and check it out! I'm always most interested in the forcasted colour trends and of all the ones they have listed I'm most excited to see some citrus's (lime, lemon, grapefruit, blood orange, tangerine).

What are your thoughts on the upcoming trends for June? Do you take them into consideration when you are designing? It will be interesting to see how the month unfolds while we celebrate 5 years of Etsy!

Today I'm Going to Wear....

I thought it might be fun to "make" an outfit using the great items from fellow Etsy sellers. I wanted to "wear" these cute Aqua Sparkler Earrings from my own shop and sent a shout out in the forums to see what fellow artisans had to match. Here are some great pieces to compliment the outfit, topped off with a yummy lip balm (perfect for any outfit!)

1. Crochet Volumed Flowers Bobby Pins in White from Derin Mavi

2. Turquoise Blue Hand Knit Shrug from Nevita

3. Atlantis Beaded Bracelet from Fivefootfurry Creations

4. Pink Lemonade Lip Balm from Soapscentsations

Tidbits about Chalcedony!

Time again to dive into the world of stone properties! If you haven't had a chance to check out some tidbits about Jasper you can catch up here. I must admit that I didn't really know very much about Chalcedony but I thought the name was interesting and so I would do some research. I discovered that it is a derivative of the name of the ancient Greek town Calkedon in Asia Minor and is used to name the group of stones where the quartz crystals are too small to be seen without magnification. For jewelry purposes Chalcedony is usually applied only to the light blue translucent and waxy form. Other stones in this group are known as agate, jasper, petrified wood, bloodstone, petrified dinosaur bone, fire agate, tiger's eye, chrysocolla, chrysoprase, onyx, sardonyx, and carnelian.

Legend and Folklore:

I should run out and get some chalcedony as it is believed to be beneficial for business! It also is said to bring love and comfort, promote good health, relieve nervousness, increase vitality, endurance and emotional balance.

Native American Indians believed chalcedony was a sacred stone and used in the spiritual ceremonies of the tribe.