Need Your Input...

I am reading this new book, The Boss of You, by Lauren Bacon and Emira Mears...which is helpful for information regarding small business startups. The authors suggest finding out what people like and do not like about my merchandise...from layout, pricing, etc. Soooo I am asking you to give me input about the merchandise I have for sale in my etsy shop www.junkstylediva.etsy.com/ Tell me what you like, dislike, can improve on, pricing, etc. For taking part in this survey of sorts, I will add your name to a pool and the winner will win a journal made by yours truly. Please go to my shop, look around and tell me what you think, you can either convo me through etsy or leave comment here! I will take comments until October 13th.

Thanks for your help!
Inge

I have been a busy girl

this weekend! Here are some new goodies I made for my etsy shop (except the Haloween House)...stop in and look what else I have!

Hope your weekend is going well!

Inge

Yesterday, I went to San Francisco to see my dentist. I have a great dentist and I am willing to travel the three hours each way every six months to get my teeth cleaned. I also have friends that live in Sf and I decided to visit them at the sametime. My friend, Monica has a son I had not met yet and his first birthday is next week! She is also expecting her second child early next year. Monica is a great role model for working mother's and women in general...she is driven, smart, funny, confident...I wish I had her focus and ambition when I was her age...well at least I am focused now and all I can do is stay on track...and not let problems that I have no control over ( like our economy) disway me from my dreams and goals.

I got an invitation to sell my crafts at the Christms Craft Show the first weekend in December...so you know what I will be doing for the next several weeks.

Oh and guess what! I was contacted by Karley Ziegler Mott of The Chic and Green Blog http://kzmface.blogspot.com/ (look for the September 25 blog post) and she wanted to feature my etsy shop! What makes this more exciting is Karley is featured in Martha Stewarts Body and Soul Magazine, October 2008 issue page 30. She sells natural bath and beauty products in her etsy shop www.facialcareboutique.etsy.com/ I am really happy to be noticed by another focused and successful business woman!

I like women who push the envelope!

which brings me to my feature artist...Katie Kutthroat who takes cross stitching and embroidery to another level!

She started cross stitching at age 14 and gave one of her first pieces to a guy she was dating at the time.. It was a towel with his name in cursive with little decorative designs in the corners. She started embroidering about 4 months ago and likes to use Sublime Stitching because they make so many amazing designs for her to play with.

She started making jewelry when she was about 17, but didn't get into it as much until she was living in New Orleans. She worked at a bead shop, actually called The Bead Shop, where she learned how to wire wrap and some other basic techniques.

Katie opened her etsy store about 4 months ago, which includes some Sublime Stitching pieces, along with Nintendo themed pieces and of course her witty one liners. "Sassy samplers make you rethink cross stitching.. its not just for grandmothers anymore! " Be sure to check out her blog http://katiekutthroat.blogspot.com/ and her etsy shop http://www.katiekutthroat.etsy.com/

Fun at the Chico Canine Carnival

John and I took the kids to the first annual Canine Carnival at one of the local parks in Chico. We weren't sure how they would react even though they have been to the dog park several times. Cooper, Olive and Charlie had a doggie blast! I was so impressed how well behaved they were even though they were obviously excited about being there. Olive kept entering the area where they were judging doggie Halloween costumes and trying to get in on the fun. She didn't care if she was supposed to be wearing a costume... I think she was amused seeing all those doggies wearing clothes! And she thought she was the only one!

The weather was and still is great today and this is the first family outing we were able to take since the summer heat. Olive cannot take anything over 85 degrees before she starts feeling uncomfortable. Judging by todays event we will take the kids for lots more outings this fall. I hope you are enjoying your day. Cheers! Inge

Fall is in the air

and before you know it...the holidays will be here! Time to start thinking about decorating your home and giving gifts to those special people in your life. I don't know about you but I enjoy buying my gifts and just about anything special for that matter from artists. I just don't get excited about anything I see in the malls anymore, which brings me to my feature artist. Her shop is on etsy, www.OliviaMae.etsy.com/. Her specialty is handmade one of a kind fabric wreaths (she accepts custom orders). In my opinion a handmade wreath is eco friendly and can be used for many years to come.

Olivia Mae is a second generation wreath maker. Her mother taught her how to make them when she was a girl. After going to college and then getting married, she started making wreaths again for her friends who were having babies and got such positive responses she decided to open an online shop...where else but etsy! Currently she works part time at her craft and works full time in education!

Each wreath takes many hours to make and she is always on the look out for the perfect fabric.

Right now OliviaMae is focusing on creating several holiday wreaths ... Not only are the wreaths great gifts, but also a great decoration for your own home. If there are certain colors you are interested in -- just let her know and she would love to create a wreath that is created especially for YOU! She can make the wreaths with as many colors as possible. The wreaths in her shop have either two or three different fabrics, but she has made wreaths with as many as six different fabrics and it looked amazing! Just let her know what you want and she can come up with the perfect gift or decoration.

Monday is the fall equinox and the beginning of my favorite time of year! I adore walking through the leaves and hearing them crunch under my feet, sitting outside and watching the leaves turn colors...the sunsets seem to be more beautiful that time of year. I hope you are enjoying the last two days of summer and don't forget to create something wonderful for yourself!

Monday, Monday

and it's back to my day job. Ugh! Oh well, I will spend as much of my time daydreaming and for my break I will bring a Somerset magazine.

I want to share with you another etsy artist, http://www.joannagoldman.etsy.com/

She makes the cutest switchplate covers as well as tee shirts, prints, magnets and other fun things! Joanna's story begins with her graduation from a Seneca College's Post Grad program (with honors) in Visual Effects for film and television. She then moved from Toronto to Montreal, and got a full time job, all in the span of 1 week! Wow! That is quite impressive!

Her day job is a Motion Graphics/ Visual Effects artist, and is currently working on a show called "Deconstructed" due to air on The Discovery Channel in September. Joanna's said in her spare time Etsy keeps her very busy with custom logo designs, portraits and cartoons, as well as creating new pieces for weekly listings. Her inspiration seems to feed off of keeping creative at all times. Now here is a woman who is able to juggle many plates at the sametime...and I thought I was busy :D

Here are links to Joanna's sites http://www.joannagoldman.com/ http://www.joannagoldman.etsy.com/ and visit her blog http://www.joannagoldman.blogspot.com/

>Got some new stuff for me and to sell in my booth at Treasures from Paradise...check out these great boots...vintage fauz fur coat( got the coat for free at a yard sale becuase it was almost 100 degrees outside and seller did not get any offers for it and she did not want to bring it back inside)...ceramic bird made from an unknown artist. I also found a great new thrift store not far from the antique mall and their prices are awesome! They keep prices low because they get soooo many donations the store is not big enough to hold everything and they are too small to rent a storage space. Lucky me! I took some new photos of my booth which is getting a nice variety of inventory.

TGIF!!!!

And I have another fabulous artist to share with you! You can find her at http://www.southernaccentsjewelry.com/.

Her name is Stephanie and she works in corporate America by day and creates beautiful jewelry by night...what started out as a hobby has now turned into a part time business. She gets her inspiration from the colors of the four seasons and other artist's work that she admires. She accepts custom projects and has received domestic orders as well as international through her website SouthernAccentsJewelry.com.

"Most of my work is done on jewelry wire, chain, waxed silk, leather cord or stretch cord. All silver and earring wire used in my pieces are .925 sterling, never plated. The only exception to this are some of the wine charms. I also have plans to begin mastering wire-wrapping (a specific, very detailed technique used in jewelry-making) which will expand my item selection even more! "

If you like jewelry (and what girl doesn't) check out Stephanie's websites for custom projects an
ready made unique bling!

I better get back to making my own art...I have 3 friends with birthdays in September!