Friday, October 29, 2010

Have you heard?

 
 
Have you heard of Craftopolis? You haven't! Well, let me shine a little light on this gem of a business tool.
 
Craftopolis is a site whose entire purpose is to make etsy even easier for shop owners. Etsy is already super user friendly so it is pretty impressive that Craftopolis has come up with several tools to simplify it even more.
 
Visit Craftopolis and login with your etsy user name. This site runs all kinds of cool reports that can give you insight into your busines and customers. We all know that running a successful shop depends on understanding our customers and Craftopolis definitely helps with that.
 
"Shop Lovers"- The information within this tab tells you your sales, hearts and page views by day and month. You can also view your activity by day and see specifically which items are getting the most page views.
"Edit Express"- This is a SUPER way to do mass edits at once. You can edit price, description, title and quantity of every item in your shop all at the same time. This is a fantastic way to have a sale in your shop and adjust all the prices before hand. Or to add the word “sale” to all your listings quickly and easily.
"Tag Report"- In this tab, you sign in with your google analytics username and it will tell you what words people are using to search when they find your products. This is really helpful in making sure that your items are tagged correctly.
"Treasure Tracks"-Again, using your google analytics login, this tab will tell you which treasuries that you have been featured in.
 
Now, go check out Craftopolis and see how cool it is!
 
PS- If you do not know what google analytics is or have it set up for your shop, go here and do that asap! It is so helpful to your business.
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Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Fun Etsy Finds: Upcycling

Do you know about upcycling? In case you have no idea what I am talking about, according to Wikipedia, something that is upcycled can be defined as "the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value". Cool, huh?

Etsy has all kinds of upcycled goodies to find. Here is a sampling:

 Blue Bird Heaven: Check out this super cool jewelry display. It is an upcycled antique drawer!
 Collageorama: This is a vintage dictionary page with a new print layered over it. I love this look.
 Handmade:Modern: Vintage book upcycled into a notebook
 Eye Pop Art: This vintage record has been re-purposed into a clock. This entire shop is recycled records- they have done some cool stuff!
 Fox Island Fancywork: Look at this gorgeous wool brooch.  
 Handmade Pretties: Check out this girls skirt! It is made from old sweaters. I big fat puffy heart it!
 Jen Gourley Designs: I need these earrings. Seriously. I need them.
 Marchello Art: This funky bracelet is a fork! Isn't that amazing?!?!
 Metal and Mud: This shop has all kinds of great upcycled plates and ceramics.
 Mountain Cove Antiques: Antique frame that has been upcycled in a beautiful robin's egg blue color.
 Sew New Things: These bracelets are vintage knitting needles! I think these would be a cute gift for the knitter in your family.
 Tom Bjorn Designs: Look how colorful this necklace is! It is made with upcycled buttons. Once again, I need this. Immediately.
Tweal: This upcycled shirt is so precious. I adore everything with ruffles, so it is right up my alley:)

I hope you have enjoyed these upcycled goodies. Happy Shopping!


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Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Kinder Kouture Giveaway Winner

Again, so sorry for the delay. This time of year is just super crazy for us (and all of you I am sure). We spent the weekend celebrating my precious daughters 3rd birthday! I am exhausted...now I have to find the energy to gear up for Halloween this weekend!
 
Anyways, the winner of the Kinder Kouture giveaway from last week is...
 
 
lil misses' mama
who said...
I tweeted this giveaway!
 
October 19, 2010 8:57 PM

 
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Monday, October 25, 2010

Featured Shop: Minnie and Me

This weeks featured etsy shop is Minnie and Me. This shop is run by Shelbey, an absolutely precious newlywed who adores God and strides to share her faith. Look how cute she and her new hubby are!

 Here is a little bit of what Shelbey has to say about herself:

"Ever since I was a little girl I’ve always loved to work with my hands. I love the outcome of a project or a craft that in the end you can say, “I made it myself”. It’s so rewarding. My mom and dad were a big inspiration to me growing up. They built their own home and it is absolutely gorgeous. On weekends they are always working on home projects and I think that is where I received my drive for my own projects. Luckily, I married a wonderful man who supports me and loves home improvements as well. We do not have a lot of experience in home improvements as a couple, but we are gaining a lot of trust and knowledge from one home improvement to the next."
Isn't this pin beautiful?

 
"I have been making my marble and wire crosses for over 8 years, that’s almost a third of my life! (I turn 21 next month.) I’ve loved improving on them and making them a very sound product. My crosses are something that I am very proud of. I get to work with my hands and in the end I have not only made a beautiful product, but I have shared my faith. I began making my Pins of Faith 2 years ago when my best friend asked me if there was anything I could make that was a cross but was small enough that she could give to several people. I whipped those up on the spot and I absolutely love them. I have one on my purse. "



This pin comes in a color for everyone

"Minnie and Me was born in my first apartment during my first semester of college. I had been making my crosses and selling them, but then I stumbled upon Etsy and fell in love with all the handmade products. I knew I had to be a part of the community. Minnie is my little dog who I love dearly. It was always “Minnie and Me” in my apartment and for a very important part of my life. "

  
I collect crosses and love this wall cross

"I love to be able to stay at home with online classes and my Etsy business. I would love for my Etsy business to take off to where I had orders every week. My dream job is to be a stay at home momma while bringing in an extra income through the gift of crafting that God has given me."


Minnie and Me also has fun tutus for your princess

Shelbey is generously giving away a $20 gift certificate to 1 Noodles & Milk reader. To enter the giveaway, you can do the following (in separate comments please):

-Visit Minnie and Me. Come back here and leave a comment with your favorite item =1 entry
-Become a follower of Shelbey's blog. Come back here and leave a comment =1 entry

Shelbey also has a coupon code for our readers. Enter "N&MFall" in the comment section of your order and receive 20% off your order. Coupon valid through November 5th.

Giveaway ends October 29th at midnight. Good Luck!

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Friday, October 22, 2010

Fit for a Birthday Girl!

My precious daughter is having her 3rd birthday party on Saturday- side note: I CANNOT believe she is turning 3! Where does the time go? Here is a peak at this year's birthday outfit. It needed to be something simple because she is having an arts and crafts party and I did not want her to craft in a super frilly dress like last year. She loves bright colors and looks fabulous in aqua, so I these fabrics are perfect.
 I LOVE this fabric combination!
 I used Michael Miller's Multi Big Daisy and Bubblegum Ta Dot fabrics and the Noodles & Milk Madeline Ruffle pants pattern to make these cuties.
I used this tutorial to make an applique 3 for her shirt.
 
Now, I am off to clean the house and start getting ready for the party! Have a great weekend.
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Thursday, October 21, 2010

If I can ever find the time...

Finding time to work and sew with a newborn has been much harder than I anticipated. Much harder. To prove it, I have these two patterns written. They have been written, photgraphed and modeled. All I need to do is type them up and send them to testing and then they will be ready for the shop. I am really hoping to have them ready in the next month because I hate having these projects partially finished. Plus they are just too cute not to be listed in my shop!
 
This one is an elbow length ruffle sleeve twist on a peasant dress. I plan to layer it over jeans and leggings once the weather cools off (keep in mind my daughter was modeling this in August)


This one is actually a pattern written for knit fabrics. It looks fancy but is actually quite easy and would be perfect for beginners or those who have never tried knits.

What do you think?
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Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Ragadoodle giveaway winner

Okay, so sorry for the delay. The past week has been crazy to say the least. To top it off, my daughter's birthday party is this weekend so I am cramming and trying to get ready for it. Yowzers, being sleep deprived and having a newborn has really done a number on my brain.
 
Anyways, the winner of the Ragadoodle giveaeway is:
 
 
Jolee
who said...
I like the appliqued Halloween Candy Bag. So cute and a great keepsake.
October 13, 2010 3:39 PM
 
Thanks to all who participated!
 
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Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Fun Etsy Finds: Embroidery

We all know that there is plenty of monogramming and embroidery available on etsy in the baby department. Did you know that there is a lot of fun embroidery in other categories to be found on etsy? If you love embroidery, check out some of these fun finds!

 Blue eye Brown eye: Wouldn't you love to get this precious Thanksgiving card in the mail?
 Cassie Art: I cannot get over the cuteness of this belt!
 Eden's Wake: This stylish bag has beautiful hand embroidered details
 Jella bee: This hair clip is so cute. The shop is full of adorable hair accessories for your little girl.

 Kain kain: Look at this pillow! Enough said.
 Leila lou: This bunny is so sweet. It is hand embroidered in France!
 Metal cloth & wood: This sterling silver ring has a stunning hand embroidered heart. This shop has lots of embroidered jewelry to choose from.
 Nestle and Soar: I am in LOVE with this pillow. Seriously. Love at first sight.
 Nicole Steward designs: This wall hanging cracks me up! Wouldn't this be a fun house warming gift?
 Sew Sweet Stitches: Look at this gorgeous broach! Talk about making a great first impression.
 Sew Zinski: I love this wallet with metallic leaves that are hand embroidered. It is almost too pretty to imagine shoving in your purse.
 Yali Paz: These broaches are AWESOME. 


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