Week in review...this week was MARVEOUS!!

This has been such an amazing, awesome week!

Here's why:

I added some new things to the shop:

two new stationery sets, vintage goodies, and debuted my Stellar star headbands!

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My little shop was featured in two lovely treasuries!

We All Love Letters

Yes, we do!

Vintage Easter

Love the pretty Spring-y colors!

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I bought a new camera

thanks to Lindsay's post about the awesome cameras she spotted on Poketo!

I can't wait for it to come in the mail!!

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I made some new blog buttons that I totally love!

Feel free to grab the codes from the sidebar! :)

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aaaaand, Crack the Sky was featured on FIVE blogs this week!

My article "How to get out of a rut" was featured on the Etsy Blog Team blog!

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La was sweet to include my Stellar headbands in her "10 Lovely things this week" post....

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And so did Alex, on her blog The Wait Will Be Worth It!!

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I'm in the monthly sponsor feature on Scissor Quirk!

Right next to (well, under) miss Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching - *starstruck* hehe

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aaaaand, I'm having a giveaway on LDC Designs!

Swing by and enter to win a one-of-a-kind stationery set

and a Stellar headband in pearl!

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Whew! That was exhausting! But...fun!

Thanks to all of the lovely people who gave my little blog and shop a nod this week!

It is much appreciated!

♥ ♥ ♥

Thoughts about selling handmade...and a question

I bought The Handmade Marketplace a while back, skimmed through it here and there, and never really sat down and read it. This morning, I was doing some catching-up on my blog reading, and I saw Moorea's post from earlier this week about her own Indie Business experience. I checked out the Indie Business 3.0 website, and it sounds really awesome....but a little expensive for a grad student. So I finally sat down and read The Handmade Marketplace, and it got me thinking... I recently posted about taking "the next step" with Crack the Sky.... I've started advertising on other blogs, created a new product line for my shop, and have been actively promoting my blog and shop with Twitter, Facebook, and also the Etsy Blog Team.

This is Crack the Sky in a nutshell.....

With all of that said, I still feel unsure about how to proceed... I feel like there are bits and pieces that I'm missing.... but I don't know exactly what they are! I feel like I'm at a pivotal point in my life.... I just graduated from college, and have started grad school. My field has absolutely nothing to do with art, but creating has always been a huge part of my life - and I don't plan on that ever changing. I know that, right now, I'm ready and able to take my business to the next level. I just need to figure out the missing pieces - how can I better brand myself and my business? I feel like I'm really starting to figure out my 'identity' - the look and feel of my brand - and I want to better communicate that. I also want to expand my product line - I want to carry a wide range of items, but still have a cohesive feel to everything. That's the tricky part, for me!

So...all of this rambling leads me to this: have any of you taken the Indie Business class? It sounds like an amazing opportunity...it sounds like it will answer many of the questions I've had about my own business. But $90 is a little steep for poor, destitutde grad-student me. That's an entire week's babysitting pay! So.... what are your thoughts on the class? Have you taken it? Know someone who has? Do you think it would be worth it, or do you know of any other resources that would offer similar information (like a book)?

The Handmade Marketplace talks about a lot of the same subjects.... but there aren't any step-by-step guidelines, helpful pictures or tutorials, or real people to answer my questions!

(Does it sound like I'm answering my own questions and convincing myself to just shell out the $90??)

What do you think??

I love sweet surprises!

My sweet little vintage bird was featured in this oh-so-pretty treasury that has got me wishing for Spring!

I'm in love with all of the bright, happy colors - definitely takes some of the chill off of this snowy, cold day!

Did I mention, its snowing like crazy right now? I decided to skip my night class... not worth braving the roads for the 40-minute commute home. No way, Jose.

Oh! And I almost forgot - I made 2 new bloggy-buttons - they're over in the right sidebar. See 'em? Feel free to grab 'em and go! :-D

   

         

Some things of note:

source

1. I added a Google Translate tool (drop-down menu in the right side-bar, below Archives) for my non-English-speaking readers out there (hi!)

2. My "Pretty" letter set was featured in a treasury!

3. My article "How to get out of a rut" is featured on the Etsy Blog Team's blog

4. I'm working on some new items for the shop today! Stay tuned!

I am so honored to have been given a 7 Facts Award by the lovely Kat of Something With a Chance of Other Stuff (love the blog title, too! Hehe)

1. Link back to the person who awarded you.

2. Tell 7 random facts about yourself.

3. Pass the award on to 15 bloggers you adore!



So, 7 facts about myself:
1) I need coffee to survive! If I don't get at least 1 cup of coffee in the morning, I will turn into a hideous harpie and terrorize small villages!
2) I have lived in Florida, North Carolina, Maryland, and Pennsylvania
3) I wear glasses (pretty much blind without them!) but I usually take them off for pictures because I think I look much friendlier without them! (And I have super-sensitive eyes, so contacts aren't really an option)
4) I'm kind-of a homebody...and while I my small circle of friends, I crave independence and usually prefer to do things on my own.
5) I have 4 tattoos and a lip piercing....but I'm seriously phobic about getting injections at the doctor!
6) I'm not really the romantic-type, but Pride and Prejudice (the one with Kiera Knightly) is my favorite movie ever!!
7) Seven and Seventeen are my favorite numbers!

I'm not going to pass this on because  did something similar recently, but there are SO MANY wonderful blogs out there that take up TONS of my time every day! :-D So I'd like to extend this award to ALL of my lovely readers! You all deserve an award, so feel free to post 7 facts about yourself on your own blog (and be sure to leave a link in the comments!) or even in the comments below - I'd love to know 7 facts about all of you!

XO

An exciting announcement...the next step!!

Can you believe, I started this little blog nearly 4 years ago, in May 2007??

Looking back at my first couple of posts, its kind of funny to see how things have changed, but...they really haven't changed all that much! In my first month of blogging, I posted about things that inspired me, things that I made, some Etsy faves, my pets, thrifty finds...even a very rudimentary outfit post! I still blog about all of these things, but the look and feel...the style in which I blog has definitely progressed.

I like to think that my little blog has grown up, just as I have grown up :)

Anyway, I'm reminiscing over all of this because, in the past month or two, my little blog has grown in leaps and bounds. From May 2007 through July 2010 (three years!), my blog averaged only a few hits per month...literally, like, maybe 25 hits per month, if that! In July 2010, that number jumped up to nearly 1,000 hits...and I honestly have no idea why, but I'm not complainin! :) The numbers stayed around there until January 2011, when my blog hits doubled - and have stayed in line with that trend so far this month!

My little blog is growing in leaps and bounds. To put it in perspective, about 30% of my total blog hits spanning the past four years have come since the New Year! That is so crazy/cool to me! I've gained about 30 new followers (hi!) so far this year, and I've been gaining an average of about 3-4 new followers each week. Awesome!! I am just so tickled that other people are interested in my little blog. I love sharing my inspiration, my art, and pieces of my little life with you guys!

So, all of this is leading up to an exciting announcement...

I recently made a foray into the world of blog advertising! With my Etsy shop back up and running, and my less-prohibitive grad schedule, I'm excited and ready to embrace this new-found attention in the world of the interwebs.

Right now, I only have a few ads up... I'm just a poor grad student! ;-)

But the hope is that those few ads will direct people to my blog, and to my shop, and perhaps generate a little bit of $$ that I can put back into more advertising!

You can currently find my ads up at Scissor Quirk, Sunshine & Carousels, and LDC Designs. I've already got a slot lined-up for March over at MaieDae, and am still looking around and deciding who else I would like to (or am able to) sponsor.  

Someone thinks I'm stylish!!

I am so very honored to accept the Stylish Blogger Award by Kami, aka Marathon1981.

Kami creates hilarious/adorable/wonderful little creatures (case-in-point), and I am so thrilled to know that such sweet, talented people enjoy reading my little ol' blog!

Thanks, Kami!!

Now The 4 duties to perform upon receiving this award are:

1. Thank, and link back to, the person who awarded you this award

2. Share 7 things about yourself 

3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers

4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award!

So...7 things about me! Here we go!

1. I'm vegan...and I looooove food!! Haha! People always tease me because I'm pretty small/petite, but boy, can I eat! Yummm!

2. I'm definitely addicted to lip balm... I realized yesterday that I was literally carrying around six different tubes of lip balm in my purse....and then I bought a new one. But...I don't like chapped lips!

3. I live with four doggies...and 3/4 of them are mine! It gets really crazy sometimes (our house is pretty small!) but I love them so much, I wouldn't have it any other way ♥

4. I just graduated with my B.S. in Geoenvironmental Studies in December '10. It took me 6 1/2 years to get my degree because I transferred to several different universities and went out-of-state for a few years. But I wouldn't trade those years or my experience for anything - it made me who I am today!

5. I just started grad school in the same field (Geoenvironmental) - with a concentration in Geology and Coastal Geomorphology. I'm a nerd!!!

6. I have 4 tattoos, and definitely plan on getting more. I don't know exactly what or where yet, though. Actually 3 of my 4 tattoos were spur-of-the-moment things, which I prefer. ;-)

7. I used to be absolutely terrified of children! I just never had any maternal instincts, or even knew how to interact with them - until I was about 24 or 25! Now I babysit my advisor's 3 kids, and love it (most of the time). Maybe I'm just a really late-bloomer?

8. I have Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) - I feel really down-in-the-dumps in the wintertime... I'm just not meant for cold weather! Although this winter I've been feeling pretty good. :-)

*Oops, I just realized I was only supposed to tell you 7 things about myself. Well, you can blame it on the fact that I'm an overachiever!! (Eep, was that #9??)

15 Recently-Discovered Bloggers*:

*Recently discovered by me, anyway!

QuietViolet

Oh, Lauren

Stuff You'll &Hearts;

Smitten & Hazel

CraftedLove

SillyGrrl

MaieDae

&Hearts; Elycia

Yes and Yes

Create Loves

Kalidarling

Well...that's only 11, but those are my most recently discovered and 'emerging' blogs!

Thanks again to Kami for giving me this award, and I hope that you all will find some new blogs that you enjoy reading!

xoxo

Who, me?!

Thanks for all the sweet comments everyone! I'm so excited that other people actually read my blog, haha! Blogging is something that I really enjoy doing, and I'm happy to be able to share it with other people. :-)

I've noticed a lot of new faces around here, too, so I think I'm going to do a "getting to know you" post later this afternoon...rather than making ya'll read back through 3 years of posts!

That being said, is there anything specific that you all would like to know about me, or any questions you want me to answer? I'd love to hear what you all think!

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On a completely different note, I had my first sale over at My Closet! 

Yay! And I just listed two pairs of heels that I love, but never wear... see them here and here.

The way I see it, the more I get rid of, the more I can get! Hahaha! :-D