Congratulations Becka!

The random number generator says #25 so my winner from the Grown Your Blog party is Becka from Girasole Farm.  Congratulations, Becka!  I was happy to meet you and I had, in fact, already added you to the sidebar on my blog before I even knew you were the winner.  I am looking forward to following your posts.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by to say hello and leave a comment!

I have few updates to share, as well.  Betty left a comment on my last post letting me know the handwork on the doily on the right side is made using a combination of cornation cord and crochet.

  Thank you so much, Betty, for helping us all learn!

I mentioned at the beginning of the month that I was going to sign up to take credit cards and offer international shipping in my Etsy and said I would update you other Etsy sellers on the results.  The recent increase in USPS prices has been DAUNTING to say the least but I will soldier on because the changes easily increased my sales by at least 50%.  If you haven't done it yet - go for it!

 

Crowd Control and What I'm Working On

A bright, shiny new year feels like a fresh start, don't you think?  Like many people, it puts me in the purge and de-clutter frame of mind.  Top on my list this year is my Etsy.  I recently passed the 400 sales mark and decided it is time for me to clean up the mish-mash, get some focus and make an effort to "brand" myself a little more so people know what they can expect when they go to my shop.

Men's sewing patterns just don't sell.  Gone.  (Amy, I saved the tissue for you!)

I don't know enough about vintage jewelry or beads to even describe it well.  Gone.

I am working on packaging for my inspiration kits so they make a nicer presentation instead of just a pile of stuff packed in a box.  I don't think I am ready to commit to printed headers so will probably go with sheet music fold-overs for now.  I am trying to keep them envelope-friendly to keep the shipping cost low.  All three of these are pretty big but I have plans for different sizes, meaning different price points.

I am thinking of adding international shipping to the listings.  I currently ship international but the customers have to convo me and then I add it to the listing.  I might be missing out on the impulse buys.

I don't currently take credit cards. My husband takes credit cards in his shop and quite a few of his customers have used them.  I am an admitted bottom-feeder in the world of junkers.  With most of my items under $15 I never really saw a need but now I'm thinking it might encourage folks to buy multiple items.

Do any of you have big plans for your Etsy shops this year?  I would love to hear about it!

New Altoid Tins

Gosh, it was a busy Summer!  It has been a long time since I took time to make something.  Recent trips to the anitque malls yielded two vintage photos that whispered a caption to me so I made a couple of new altered Altoid tins for the Etsy shop this week.  It felt good.

More Altered Book Pages and a Shout-Out

These are a couple more pages from the altered book project. I love the quote on the right but don't know who to attribute it to. "Not Everyone can be a hero because someone has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by". Love that. We all have a role.
I also want to give a shout-out to my sweet MIL, Lisa. She has just recently opened an Etsy shop called MagicWithYarns. Her Etsy Mini is over on the left side of my blog. She owned a yarn shop in historic downtown Jackson CA for about 30 years, until her retirement over 10 years ago. She is listing her one of a kind knitted items plus lots of new old stock from her store. I am SO proud of the effort she has made to get her Etsy shop set up. If you are an Etsian please stop by her shop and welcome her with a heart.

Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes!

I finally finished setting up my BRAND NEW AND IMPROVED ETSY STORE! WooHoo! It's been a long time coming and I'm so happy with the way it turned out and to have it DONE.

I will be activating all the listings Sunday afternoon.

So why would I inflict all this work on myself, you might wonder. Well, me too at times! I opened my original Etsy store on a whim just about a year ago and regretted the name - kluless - ever since. I didn't realize that your Etsy user name would become your shop name. I have used that moniker for about 15 years and it is fine for many things, including my blog, but just wasn't intuitive for my Etsy store. I put what I wanted for the real name - Strange Notions- on the banner but it was confusing for people trying to find me - truely a "kluless" move on my part! For those of you who are wondering about "kluless"... KLU are my initials so it was just a natural progression.

As some of you know, Etsy does not allow you to change your shop name so the only recourse is to open a new shop. That means leaving behind your sales and feedback and hearts. Big sigh. Since I've only been open about a year I finally concluded I should just bite the bullet and make the leap sooner rather than later.

I have listed lots of new items including some of the vintage linens I picked up in my treasure hunts this summer PLUS a couple of my crochet necklaces. My shop has always been about sharing my plunder to fuel others' creativity so offering a finished product is a new adventure for me for sure!

I have changed out my Etsy Avatar and link on the left side of the blog and will add an Etsy Mini preview after I activate the listings. If you are an Etsy user please pop over and take a look and leave me a heart if you like what you see so my new little shop won't be sad and "heart-less". At least it isn't kluless!