November Reflections

Ah November!   when glorious Earth shouts a last hurrah! 

and beauty fades to a more tattered and well-worn form.

when whoosh!  leaves abandon trees

and the wind in a blustery whirl bites cheeks

I'll sit by the fire contemplating and dreaming of what is past and what is to come

and hope for life's miracles to reveal themselves.

Soon silence will have passed into legend.  Man has turned his back on silence.  Day after day he invents machines and devices that increase noise and distract humanity from the essence of life, contemplation, meditation.

~Jean Arp

My Blogging Business Artisans team sets forth a new Challenge every month.  The purpose is to encourage us to explore our creativity, to stretch our imaginations.  Perhaps we are re-working something we've done in the past or still do.  Perhaps we're making something entirely new.  
It's always fun to see how others interpret the Challenge!

The Blogging Business Artisans team Challenge for the month of November was created by me.

November is a time of changes.  In much of the Northern Hemisphere, the weather turns colder and we begin to look inward.  Through your art, express what this means to you.

I am inspired by beauty in the world-- and relationships.  Instead of being specific, I am encouraging myself to reflect and letting my imagination run and my dreams percolate.  I am hoping for renewal of spirit and mind.

QUESTIONS:  
What inspires you?
What renews your spirit?
How do you reflect?

photos by me © 2009-2016   all rights reserved

Review Your Etsy Shop: a Challenge

Last year I was invited to be part of a group launching a new etsy team, the Blogging Business Artisans.  We all have shops on etsy and we all have blogs.   The team gives us opportunities to share our experiences and business information, and has been a wonderful support personally as well as professionally.  Although I have never met any in the "real" world, I count my teammates among my friends.

One of our team requirements is to participate in 6 of the 12 monthly Challenges each year.  These Challenges are meant to be fun as well as to grow our skills.

That leads to the Challenge for December presented to us by  Deb of storybeader.   Deb asks us to review our etsy shops.
"The December Challenge is all about looking back over the year and reviewing your Etsy Shop.  Can you think of one thing to do that will help improve your shop? There's a whole list of things available to do:  re-shooting photographs, coupons, having a sale, removing/adding products, changing sections/shipping requirements, or merging two shops. Write a post and share with your teammates what might help you!  And if you see results, tell us!"

My shop is Splendid Little Stars.   I opened it in late 2008.  I must admit that up until the start of the BBA team I had not put lots of effort into it.  Being part of this team has re-energized me.  This past year has been a difficult and busy one for me, but I was still able to grow my shop and make some important changes.  I'm hoping next year I will have more time to put into implementing good ideas and plans.

Besides some basic tweaking like photos, descriptions, sections, and perhaps pricing, I know I need to be more active in promoting my shop.

Here are a few of my thoughts:
1.  Read more/participate more in the Etsy Success team's discussions.  One thing I learned this year is that the title of a product is not necessarily the name of the product.  It's important to get as many descriptive words in the title as possible in order to optimize searching. 
An example is my blue and white silk scrunchie.  It's title now reads:  SILK Scrunchie, hand dyed, soft for hair, ponytail, silk, scrunchie, scrunchies, indigo, royal blue, navy, creamy white

I learned it's important to put the descriptive title words in the tags as well.   And while we are on this subject, do search for your own products using various search words.

2.  Continue to post in threads in these 3 teams
     Shops 
     Leaders of Handmade 
     Pure Handmade    
Doing so this past year has resulted in more views, favorites, treasury lists, and one would suppose, sales.

3.  Being in treasuries definitely helps views, favorites, and sales.  One of our BBA requirements is to make one treasury per month including at least six BBA members' items.  I think my teammates would agree that these treasuries have definitely increased visibility.
Perhaps I will join  Avid Treasurers--a team to which I've been invited.  They even play promotional treasury games. 

 4.  Read topics about shop promotion and selling.  I am looking foward to the upcoming topics planned for our team blog.

5.  This year I began a notebook in a 3 ring binder that has pages for my blog, my shop, and the BBA team.  These are all further divided into more sections.  Here I can keep my ideas, plans, and record my results.  This notebook has helped me keep organized and stay on track  (at least most of the time!) .


LINKS to my past BBA Challenges: 
New Mittens, Old Sweater! a challenge! 
LOVE: a Challenge! 
Turquoise and Red: a Challenge! 
Spring is in the Air! 
Spring Blossoms: a Challenge 
Under the Sea 
Miniature Garden: a Challenge 


all photos © by me and BBA team

Miniature Garden: a Challenge

My Blogging Business Artisans team on etsy hosts a monthly Challenge.  You don't even have to be a team member to participate!  The idea is to be inspired to create!

This month, Jenny of A Bird in the Hand Art gave us the following Challenge:

Create anything summer-related, love-related, and/or GREASE (the movie) related.

I've been inspired by miniature or fairy gardens.  I attempted to create a little scene in a rectangular pot that hugs the railing of my deck.  It was challenging and fun!  

Wander up the stone pathway.  Twist the knob of glass and enter into this little dwelling by opening the door made of bark and pieces of raspberry cane.

It's a great day for a picnic!  Journey to the High Stone where you can spread out your feast for two.  
(The picnic basket was made of bark and grapevine and hot glued together.  The plates are little pieces of bark cut in circles.  The blanket was made from a scrap of cloth and the squares were colored with a red sharpie.  I may cover this in something like polyurethane or perhaps clear nail polish to make it more weather resistant.)

In the late afternoon, perhaps you will climb the stone steps and sit on the bench overlooking the valley below.  
(The bench was made out of grapevine hot glued together.)

Before you turn in for the night, check to see if the baby birds have left the nest.
(The birdhouse was made of pieces of bark glued together.  The perch is a piece of grapevine.  The fence is made of raspberry canes around which I twisted copper wire.  The copper will eventually weather and turn darker giving a more natural look.)

I've been collecting miniature/fairy garden ideas.  Come over to my Pinterest board and see what I've found!

Intrigued by our team challenge?  Come on over to our BBA team BLOG and see what others have made!  Create something yourself that fits the theme and link up!   

QUESTION:  What inspires you to create?     

photos by me © 2012  all rights reserved 

Treasury Round Up: Part Two

I've been featured in lovely treasuries lately!  Many thanks to the treasury makers!
(All treasuries and items within the treasuries are clickable.) 

Erika of Artful Rising featured my hand dyed blue silk scrunchie in her treasury Nothing shabby about it, in lovely shades of pink, blue, and green.

Erika has wonderful journals in her shop with covers that say things such as--"Show Up.  No one ever drowned in their sweat." and "You are meant to be whole.  Tell your story."  Besides journals, Erika is selling this wonderful mixed media art print, "Let Your Dream Soar."

Sue of Lemon Drop Treasures featured my hand dyed pastel rainbow scrunchie in her sweet, dreamy treasury Sunshine Happy.

Sue's shop is filled with treasures of every variety!  Who know what goodies you may find!  You'll have to visit to find out.  Here's a 1940s little Lefton porcelain creamer that caught my eye.  Almost everything is on sale, so hurry on over!

Kathy of tapestry316 featured my pink tie dyed swirl T shirt in her treasury I'm thinking PINK!  Kathy has a new granddaughter on the way!  

Kathy is a wonderful watercolor artist!  Her animals are her favorite subjects, particularly her horses.  I love that she offers ACEOs of her paintings.  I'm a cat lover, so I can't help but find Oranges Bajoranges most alluring! 







Sarah of Magnolia Surprise featured my patriotic "flag" T shirt in her very fun patriotic treasury Three Cheers for the Red, White and Blue!

Sarah creates the most fabulously wonderful crochet items!  Here's her latest--sea creatures play set which includes the felt storage bag.  Besides very imaginative interactive toys, Sarah also sells coasters, cloths, and other items to decorate your home

Polina of PoStra featured my hand dyed silk pastel rainbow scrunchie in her delightful treasury So fresh!

Polina creates the most exquisite jewelry!  Here is a beautiful bead woven bracelet "Black Sea"--so named because it reminds her of her trip to Abhazia.  There are three marine rubbles from Black Sea incorporated into this bracelet.







And here is a treasury I created to honor the BBA team's monthly Challenge for June, Under the Sea.

To see what team members created for this Challenge, go HERE.

I'm linking up with Random Creative's Treasury Round Up.   For more awesome treasuries, go HERE!

photos by each individual artist © 2011-2012  all rights reserved!