Rolled Scallop Rose Tutorial

Check out this pretty paper rose. It's easier to make than you'd think, just read up on the tutorial at the Inspirational Tips, Techniques and Tutorials Blog!

New Superhero Card

Finally! A new card in my store -- I haven't added anything since I posted things for Father's Day (I've been totally distracted by my Crafty Space Makeover Challenge).

My other superhero card has been popular, so I think this one will do well as well....

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=24330367

Customer Spotlight: Love from Singapore 2

More photos from Nicolette, our flea market friend in Singapore (read about her in this previous blog posting)

I was excited to see two of my Three Reasons cards at the top of the yellow display that her friend made for her (top middle photo). Yay!

Here's what she says:

As you can see, I put both your cards on the yellow stand, and I swearrrr at least 10 people asked me how that worked!! It was really cool, and I was so happy! Didn't manage to get a decent shot of the crowd cuz once they started coming, I was swamped!!! The last picture is a picture of my friend & I (right). She follows me to all my fleas and helps control my spending!! Even then, I'm often way over my budget. I will always remember how nice you were to give me such a good price for the cards!! :)

We were so busy we didn't even have time to eat! At around 3 or 4 in the afternoon more friends came (thankfully!) and helped us to take over so we could fill our tummies (no food since the night before!! Busy preparing, haha!) and for a toilet break. Friends are awesome sometimes aren't they!

I'm really excited for the one this coming weekend! It's supposed to be really big & I really can't wait! Will let you know how that goes Molly! :)

So there you have it! I am now a global card manufacturer! Thanks for the update, Nicolette!

Let There Be Light!

The first photo at the top shows my before shot and the second is the current, after, shot. It's still a work in progress, but I feel like I'm miles ahead of where I was already!

My big bugbear has always been clutter. If there's junk all over the desk, then I'm unlikely to feel motivated to clean things off before I craft, so messiness is a big barrier to creativity for me.

Another problem about my nook is how dark it used to be. I think that's one of the reasons why being able to pick up my essentials and craft downstairs, at the dining room table, is so much more appealing to me: more light!

In the first image, for before, the main source of light was a little lamp. It was cute, but the problem was that we had an energy-efficient bulb in it -- the kind that corkscrews. As a result, the cute shade was always askew.

The other problem with the lamp was that it is the kind of lamp that has the on/off switch on the cord, so I was always having to find the switch for it and the clamp-on lamp for my desk, fumbling about for several seconds to locate them.

Not a big deal, but I headed out to Ikea and bought a new swing-arm light (under $10!), traded the cute lampshade lamp for something less floppy (from another part of my house) and also bought a power strip that I stuck on the desk.

Now I just flip one switch and all three lights light up my desk like a summer day!

You'll also notice that the clutter is off my desk, thanks to the in/out trays I bought and painted. Anything that is in-process or that I haven't quite decided what to do with gets stuck in my trays. Whenever I have some spare time and no particular project to work on, I go through the papers in my trays and put them away where they belong.

So that's the update so far! More to come -- just two weeks left of the challenge to go!

Glass Storage Containers

With a budget of only $100, I've been trying to be creative for the Crafty Space Makeover Challenge.

For the most part, it's been fun just looking around and reusing things that I otherwise would have overlooked (and I've had some great luck browsing thrift stores -- the fun thing about thrifting is that you can go back a week later and continue to find new stuff all the time).

I've been able to find a ton of great glass container (apothecary cars, fish bowl, candy jars, mason jars), perfect for storing small craft supplies. You can see them above. I'm a sucker for glass -- everything looks so pretty in them. Also, they're good for my style of organization because it helps me to be able to see everything (if something's stored in a tin, I probably wouldn't think to use whatever's inside).

A lot of the jars came originally from Goodwill -- I bought a bunch to use as moss terrariums and also as stick bug habitats to find homes for the boys' little critters. They're generally between $2 and $4 or so.

Just going through my house, I've found lots of other great containers, far more than I need. If had a great many, say, embellishments, I think a whole line of mason jars lined up across a shelf would be a lovely way to display them.

I'm about halfway through the four weeks I allotted myself for this challenge. Still a lot left to do, but I'm already seeing so many improvements!

More Crafty Space Makeover Updates!

Take a look at Elana (Life in Sunset)'s fantastic Crafty Space Makeover!

Tons of wonderful photos to show her creative use of inexpensive containers:

http://lifeinsunset.blogspot.com/2009/06/craft-space-makeover-update-photo-heavy.html

For myself: things are going great! I have had a setback in repainting the bookcases that I purchased cheap, but I'm convinced that I'll be able to do a lot of work on them today.

Reorganizing is one of those things that is a little viral. Sometimes when you set out to just tidy up your desk, it becomes an entire makeover and then you infect others and suddenly there's a whole group of you working at it at the same time. For me, it's even spread from my little upstairs corner nook to get me to totally rearrange the living space area and dejunk that area as well!

I'm not done, by any means, but I have to gloat just a little here: it is SUCH a wonderful feeling to have a nice clear open desk that I can sit at and craft if I have a few spare minutes. Sometimes I just like to sit there even if I have nothing in particular to do.

I love knowing where all of my tools and supplies are (although I'm still shifting them around a little bit). I love that I've tossed away years worth of junk that were just taking up very useful space (I found two huge boxes of VHS tapes with old Seinfeld recordings, among other things -- they are now gone!).

All of these useless items were like tiny little weights on my soul: each one unnoticeable, but the combined weight of all of them really did wear me down, even though I hadn't realized the effect it had on me.

I really feel lighter and happier just inhabiting my transforming space.

Okay, enough on this metaphysical nonsense! Here are some cute ideas I found online that I found inspiring:

• Turn ordinary household objects into clever craft storage items (check out the paper towel rack-turned-ribbon-storage above)
• Some wonderful crafting spaces to inspire your own makeover

Customer Spotlight: Love from Singapore

As I've blogged before, I'm a member of the EtsyGreetingsTeam, which is a group of cardmakers who sell on etsy. Among other things, we have a very active discussion board in which we discuss marketing tips, success stories, favored vendors and everything else under the sun.

In the past people have brought up the topic of "Nicolette from Singapore" who had tapped several members and made several wholesale purchases from various teammates. She seemed like a very glamorous and mysterious figure.

Naturally, I was totally thrilled when Nicolette contacted me with a request for a variety of cards -- I felt like I was suddenly part of a very elite club.

After she had given me some very nice feedback, I felt like I had to ask her about where she sold the cards. I knew that she sold them in some sort of flea market, but I wanted to know more. I was pleased to get a response from her in just hours! This is what she told me:

I've participated in about 5 fleas so far, the latest was the most successful!! I only have pictures from 2 of the fleas though, my card reader is spoilt and I've got to grab a new one!!!

For all the fleas, it's always been first-come-first-serve, so my partner & I would DRAG ourselves up really early in the morning just so we can grab a good spot later in the day!!! It's REALLY tiring!

I play with a limited number of things as 'props' for the cards. Due to the LACK OF SPACE (most often, I get a 3m by 3m area, if I'm LUCKY!), I can't afford to display the cards exactly the way I want them! Which really sucks actually :( I've also combed Ikea a thousand and one times looking for cases that can hold and yet showcase the cards well but to no avail :( My partner then put together the yellow thing you see in the pictures! Haha, yes it was made from scratch! Acrylic holders are SO EXPENSIVE!! (Btw, I would LOVE any ideas any awesome etsyians can give me about displaying my items!!!)

Anyhow! I'll talk about the latest flea since I brought most of the stuff along with me to that flea! As I said, that was THE most successful flea ever! We had a corner booth with lots of space at the side, so we laid down red cloth (EYECATCHING!) and laid cards & tags & notecards... you get the drift! on the cloth. People REALLY stopped to look! That was on top of the usual display I'd do on the table! At one time, there could be up to 10 people crowding around my small area! Which I had some photos! I'll definitely update you with them!

People were really intrigued and interested in the items. More often than not though, they walk away empty-handed unless they really have an occasion to buy for! Do you encounter this too? I guess it's the recession or something :(

I put 2 of your cards on my yellow stand at the latest flea and I think I demonstrated at least 10 times how those work!! Haha.

I've another HUGE flea coming up next weekend. That's going to be huge as there are about 200+ vendors! Plus it's coined the biggest flea in Singapore so the turnout should be awesome. Will let you know how that goes!!!

Please do relate all this to the etsygreetings team!! I know many people have asked me but I have been SOOOO busy since June started!!! I had to rush to get the items prepared for the flea once my aunt landed and I have been SWAMPED! This month alone, I've had 2 fleas so far and 1 more coming up! Please relate my apologies as well!

Fleas are REALLY tiring, but really worthwhile at the same time. I feel like with each flea I'm 'educating' my peers (most are teenagers / young adults like me!) and stuff. I feel like I'm bringing them loads of cool stuff! Haha! I've been told a thousand times how awesome and wonderful the cards and stuff are!!

Also, please help me let everyone know (I guess you guys have a forum or something? Haha!) that everyone who has worked with me is making my dream come true! So I'm really thankful and blessed :)

I hope this answers all of your questions! Let me know if there's anything I missed out on! :)

Love,

Nicolette

So there you have it. The mystery of "the girl from Singapore" unravelled!

I'll post any additional pictures that she sends me after she gets her card reader working again (she says that in the new photos we'll be able to see some of my cards -- yay!).

In the meantime, if anyone has any wonderful tips to share with her (like ideas on how to display her wares at the shows), convo her at etsy, she is forneverlove. (I asked her specifically if she would mind if I posted her "etsy handle" and it sounds like she would love to hear from you!)