I've been busy!

Well, that pretty much means I just stopped long enough to actually make a few things. I'm trying to build back up on my cards, since I sent most of them out a while back.

completion

I just wanted to post a photo of the finished cupcake keychains. The pieces didn't look like much, but I think they came together pretty nicely!

Up to my eyeballs...

..in cupcake parts. Well, there aren't really that many, but it sure feels like it. I has a little setback when some of the beads started not fitting over my only beading needle, so I had to wait until I could go into town and get another one. You can see all the little beaded tops and stitched bottoms here waiting to be assembled with their ribbons and rings.

Usually I find it pretty easy to keep myself from buying beads impulsively because I have to buy my supplies online. Last weekend, though, we went on a little shopping trip since the hubby needed some new jeans. And since it was so close to a bead shop... You know what follows. It's just so hard to resist when you can touch and feel and see up close. I was pretty good, though. I did pick up a few things that I've only been able to find at this shop as well as a few strands of beads.

One strand I couldn't resist was this hematite. I love the look and how it can be used with beads of whatever color strikes your fancy. I put together this bracelet with some glass beads, and I love the red with the hematite. I think I want to work on some coordinating earrings now.

Do you ever get tired of seeing...

...photos of people's storage. I usually just look at the photos of people's studios and drool. I don't have anything close to that. Usually it more closely resembles a pile of stuff in the corner of our playroom/office. However, I did take these pics today in an attempt to offer my take on a solution to a storage problem. I thought I might as well go ahead and post them here. I suppose it might be able to help someone. If nothing else, it may help someone else to feel less guilty because they don't work in one of those bright yet oh so neat studios we find on blogs all over the web.



These pics probably say more about me than words really can--messy, yet contained (most of the time anyway).

Taggies in baggies

I just wanted to post a pic of my finished products. I've been playing around with ways to package samples to send out, and this is what I've come up with so far. I have the gift tags in little baggies with printed toppers. I added my logo and my shop url. Also, the sample tags have a stamp of my info on the back whereas the ones in my shop do not.




















As for the mini cards, I simply tucked a business card inside each one and bound them up with the envelopes using various ribbons. I'm hoping this will work out, and hopefully it will give my shop a little exposure.

I Love This!

I have come across this shop several times while browsing, and I'm always amazed at such cute designs and items! You should check it out.

Jenn Maruska Designs

There are so many talented artists at etsy, and I am continually amazed at the things I come across!

A Special Flower

I think part of the beauty of Etsy is seeing all the amazing work of other shop owners. Then there is the possibility of the occasional trade. This is a custom felt flower hair clip that I made just for a trade. The lighting is a little bad, but you get the idea.

I'm trading this for a cute key fob. I'll have to post a pic of it when it arrives. It's funny how trading has taken on a whole new meaning since I discovered etsy. And shhhh.... I'm working on some cupcake keychains that may just show up in an online store soon!

Mailing list

I just wanted to mention that I have set up a mailing list for handcrafted by Crystal. You can enter you e-mail in the sidebar to sign up to receive shop updates and special discounts from time to time. I'm excited about this!

Gift Tags

I love the colors. And I must admit, it took me longer to make all of these that I anticipated. It made my day yesterday a bit hectic since I have so much to prepare for VBS at our church for the next several nights.

I still need to make some more and add other items to send out as promos. Between all that and working on several banners, this week will fly by!

Fabric?

So I am in awe at all the gorgeous fabrics I have seen all over projects on the web. We pretty much no longer have a local source for fabric, and that's one thing I've never really looked at online. Sometimes I get overwhelmed when trying to shop online.

I was looking around Randi's blog, I have to Say..., and she has a few links to some yummy fabric. And you should definitely check out some of the things she has been making. She has a gorgeous bag she's made recently!

Anyway, I'd love it if any of you could point me in the direction of some more yummy fabrics. Do you have a method for finding vintage fabrics?

Speaking of Apronpalooza...

I was fiddling around with Flickr yesterday, and I came across a link to another etsy shop that I absolutely love! Now, I'm pretty ADD when it comes to crafting, but the one thing I'm not-so-good at is sewing. I mean, I can sew a straight stitch, but when it comes time for the patience to really jump in and learn--hasn't happened yet. So of course, I'm always impressed when I see good sewing. All that to say that I found an awesome shop with gorgeous aprons yesterday!

Joyful Abode

You can check out Joyful Abode and drool over the aprons right along with me. And I'll let you kow if I ever sew something worth selling. Ha!

Some Good Stuff

Apronpalooza

Check out this fun contest on Nan's blog to win one of many cute aprons this week. I have never seen so many great aprons in all my life!

Also, I have been trying not to spend more money on Etsy than I make. You know it's kind of like it would be if I worked at a scrap store or someplace like that--I would probably spend my paycheck and then some. However, I did break down and buy some soap from Bathlife yesterday. It just looked and sounded so yummy. I'll try to give a review once I get it in my hands.

I'm in the middle of working on several custom bracelets for an order(which I'm always glad to do). I got the rest of the supplies to finish them today, so I hope to have pics of those very soon!

And...I've been trying to figure out Flickr this week. I'm not so savvy with it yet, but I hope to be posting photos of all sorts of things there. Do you have any great groups that I should check out?

And finally, I'll leave you with a pic of a notecard set I created just because it makes me happy!

A little more playing around

I've been trying to get some more items ready for my etsy shop. I have so many ideas rolling around, but I don't have enough time to make them all happen just yet. Here are some of my latest things I've been working on.







I think I've scored all I can score from the fabric store that is closing. They are pretty much wiped out. I did pick up some cheap ribbon and felt today, though--and some more felting needles.

Also, I wanted to remind everyone that scrapsupply.com is having a birthday party tommorrow afternoon. This is an awesome scrap site, and part of the party will be an exclusive cupon code. Wendy always plans the greatest bashes with Bingo and challenges and all sorts of fun stuff! You can find more info on their site.