vol.25

a quote for your week chap. 7

flickr photo credit: Omsel

quote credit: Ashleigh Brilliant

Happy monday!!

I just finished a new animated cartoon!!

This is definitely turning into a fun new project! Its time consuming no doubt... this newest video ended up being 53 frames long in photoshop. I edited it with windows movie maker. Whatcha guys think? I have soo many BIG ideas for cartoons, but I'm definitely limited to what I actually CAN do!!

I finished it laaaate last night! So its my second video for the "etsy handmade moments contest."  The deadline is August 31st, so I wont have to wait too long before the judging goes underway. I noticed that it doesnt show the number of views, but I think views are important for judging.

..and to everyone who registered over on etsy.tv JUST to comment and rate my video, THANKS! It is really sweet, considerate AND thoughtful of you. :D Did anyone else enter a video?

Well, I'm sorry to make this so short but I have some MUCH needed grocery shopping that needs to be done! :) Have a great day!!

Oh- If you'd like to share the video: Heres the link you'll need: http://www.etsy.tv/video/i-heart-handmade-moments

...and if you'd like to embed the player: <iframe src="http://www.etsy.tv/video/i-heart-handmade-moments/player" width="420" height="451" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true"></iframe>

my first video - etsy style!

hi everybody!! I JUST finished the video I am submitting for the etsy handmade moment contest. There is some really really impressive videos up, and it had caused me to decide against entering... UNTIL a couple days ago. I finally decided that my thinking was NOT the attitude to have! :) So, I went ahead and put one together, have plans for another too!! I really did have fun, and I'm so glad I did.

The prizes are a HUGE bonus... this is what etsy has to say on the subject:

We will select 10 finalists from those submissions which surpass a minimum score based on a variety of criteria, and then invite the community to vote on a winner. The winning submissions will receive a total of $10,000 (and we'll use the video, too)! First Prize: $3,250
Three Runners Up: $1,250
Six Finalists: $500

so you see what I mean? :) To be even a finalist would be perfectly sweet.

If your wondering how you can help... I really appreciate the thought! ;) The number of views counts, so just watching the video is a big help! If you would like to go one step further... you can embed the video into  your own blog, by copying this highlighted text   <iframe src="http://www.etsy.tv/video/a-unique-experience-wmv/player" width="420" height="451" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true"></iframe>    into you HTML tab of your blog post If you need helping do so, e-mail me! (  vol 25. @hotmail.com ) OR you can simply link to the page with the player: http://www.etsy.tv/video/a-unique-experience-wmv I only have a week to catch up with videos that have been there for awhile, so I need each and every view!! :)

I appreciate it bunches! I have some really really exciting news that I should finally be able to share with you all in the next week. I've been keeping it a secret since February! I'm bursting at the seams! :)

thanks everyone!!

UPDATE: It appears I may have jumped the gun on this- I'm still awaiting admin approval, and it doesnt look as though views are being counted yet?

one of my favorite vintage photographs!

This is a treasured picture of my grandparents when they were dating. There is also a story that goes along with this particular picture. I'm not sure if its true, I guess I'll never know. But, I remember hearing that my grandma was so embarrassed by this photo that she wrestled it from the hands of either my great grandma, or her friend Gladys. Hence the wrinkles, and general condition of the photograph. :) I can totally appreciate each and every crease. Do you have any photographs that have special meaning to you?

a quote for your week chap. 6

This week I really really struggled to find the perfect quote with the perfect flickr pic. Well, I found quite a few pictures I wanted to use, but had a hard time finding pictures where they're privacy setting allowed me to use them. :) When I seen this pic was available I was soo excited! Cause it WAS perfect! :) Have a great week everyone!

quote credit: Coco Chanel (1883 - 1971)

flickr photo credit: macwagen

holiday gift wrapping ideas

hello everyone!! It seems just wrong to be typing up a holiday post in august... BUT it seems its nearly impossible to plan too early for the Christmas rush. I don't think I am mentally geared "holiday" yet... but I'm taking baby steps!! :)

So anyhow, I'm collecting ideas and thinking about offering gift wrap as an option to the shop. I'm not sure how much it would cost yet, since I am still in the "brainstorming" stage... but I thought you might enjoy the inspiration! This pictures in this collage were all taken from the martha stewart website.

 I also just bought some red and white bakers twine at school house locker on etsy.I wanted to buy some of this twine last winter for decorating.. but didnt. So, this year I am getting mine early! I am always stumbling across the sweetest packaging using the red and white twine...see?

This photograph courtesty of nicepackage. Which also happens to be run by ez of creature comforts!
If that little piece of eye candy wasnt enough... this packaging by lockette is equally sweet!

So, I'm super excited to have my fingers on my own red and white candy striped twine. :) I also seen these labels at school locker's shop.  

I thought they would look perfect on Christmas packages this year! I'm not really sure how I'll use them yet, but I am sure I will FIND a way to use them!

I will also be designing another gift tag for everyone to download again. :) Maybe I'll even get to designing a holiday recipe card? I definitely have time! ;) Are you planning for the holidays yet? Even if its waay way in the back of your mind? :)

bookworms are the cutest!

I'm editing pictures from a photo shoot with these cuties over the weekend. There were soo many good ones, that I've been super excited to share a few!

New! Outgoing with every order...

are these!

a double sided 4x6 sized postcard. One side featuring a print you might actually find a place for in a frame, the other side showing a little shameless promotion. ;) I decided against bookmarks, and was more excited about doing a mini print of sorts. SO there you have it, last week's orders starting receiving one of these 4x6 sized prints, and I hope they're loved! Oh- and dont worry, the notepads are still going out with your orders! :)

I'm brainstorming ideas for this holidays freebie ideas! Last year I sent out these holiday checklist notepads. Suggestions for this year!? I wanna get them done early. Especially since my lovely printer is now expecting and working in pregnant mode. ;) BOY do I remember what that was like!

my marketing secrets...

...not that I have any REALLLY big secrets, but I do have some strategies that seem to work for my etsy shop. A few weeks back Jamie from Handmade News asked to interview me, and I was more then willing! The interview has been live and I've been meaning to share the link! :)

handmade news is part of artfire, and Jamie was super sweet through this whole process. In addition t my interview, there is LOADS of other helpful information on the site. If you have an etsy or artfire shop, you can benefit from the shared knowledge available there.

If you get around to it, vote/rate/comment my article! It will bump it higher to the top, and hopefully help more people out! :)

hamburger cupcake craze!

I know some of you have probably already seen these hamburger cupcakes around blog land. I first seen them on the flickr blog. My first thought (which is probably similar to yous) was; hamburger cupcakes? You have GOT to be kidding me... Obviously curious, I clicked on the link and was taken here. The tutorial was super cute, and seemed really easy! I decided to google cheeseburger (or hamburger) cupcakes and came up with a whole bunch of cute pictures. :)

I had a friend planned to visit for the weekend, and decided this might be kind of fun to do. Well, we did and while the process was interesting, the end result was totally worth it! :) Personally I think the sesame seeds instantly turned the cupcakes into buns! 

I should also note the I decided to these on a whim and didnt have everything on hand. So, we improvised. I had a block of cream cheese, so I made cream cheese frosting with some powdered sugar, butter, a little milk and some vanilla. I separated it and we added a TON of red food coloring to get a more ketchupy color, some green for the lettuce and some yellow and orange to make mustard. I didnt have any decorator tips, or bags, so we used little ziplock snack bags and cut a small hold in the corner of the bag, worked pretty good!

I seen somewhere where the lady had used fondant for the sliced cheese... TOO cute! I also had only one box of yellow cake mix, BUT had a box of low fat brownie mix. I used this for the patties, and baked them inside the cupcake pans. We got 2 patties per cupcake. :) It added just the right amount of sweetness I think. Also instead of brushing orange juice (as suggested) on the buns to secure the sesame seeds we used milk, and it seemed to work perfect!

If you make these, please leave me a link!! I cant seem to get enough of them! ;)