So you want to be a successful seller on Etsy?

If your dreams of becoming a successful Etsy seller are fading fast, I have one question for you........are you a BUYER on Etsy? If you havent sold any items or many items....it's time for you to go shopping!!

Now dont get all worried, There are plenty of inexpensive things that are thoroughly wonderful!

But you need to establish yourself. People need to see your good feedback. If you are a trusted buyer then it goes to show you will be a trusted seller! It's not a backbreaking task for sure!

Here are a couple of things I have bought and LOVE!!!

MossyOwls.etsy.com EssentialGoodies.etsy.com (try 'Amazing Grace or Still!)

Happy shopping :)

500th Sale on Etsy!!!

Simply AMAZING! Do you have any idea how hard it is to get anyone to notice you on Etsy much less BUY something from you? So, after about 1 1/2 years I have hit the milestone of 500 sales! Here is a picture of the 500th item sold...
Not the most glamorous thing I sell, but they are something people like because I sell a lot of them.

I am going to have a little think back to when I started my Etsy shop. My friends were HORRIFIED at how cheap my prices were. Well, I had a PLAN...I had all this cheap but cute stuff sitting around. I had very few tools or equipment and I had a dream to learn how to solder and work with Sterling Silver..which I could not afford to do when I started Etsy. So the plan was to use the stuff I had to make sales on Etsy and then gradually start incorporating nicer components...along with a little higher prices.

Guess what? People BOUGHT from me....it was all just stuff that was languishing in my house...I put it together and people gave me money for it.

I saved up and bought a torch and various equipment.....learned how to solder....I now have a pretty darned nice studio set up.....paid for by ALL ETSY MONEY!

My prices are still low...but they are fair to me. I am doing what I love, just had my best month evAR.

There will always be more tools, gems and silver to buy...that is part of the FUN....but I am glad that my business plan has worked out so well. It feels DANG good!!!

HELD......Sterling Silver and Pearl Necklace

I used to hold on to way too much. But as I've gotten older I train myself to let go of things that I dont need. But what I have discovered is there are plenty of things I've held onto that aren't things.....they are.....feelings.......anger, fear, resentment, toxic things. I'm getting rid of them slowly.

Now, everything and everyone I hold on to is a decision I have made that I want that in my life....well, some of you I'm sure I'm still deciding on.....oh, and there's a coat I've had for a long time that I cant decide about....but overall, I'm doing pretty well!

AGING STINKS.....with a couple of exceptions....

Maturity....ah that elusive little bugger........no fair that it takes so long to come and you only get it in such small doses. And then you are too old and tired to care that you are mature.

Aging is so tough, but the best thing about it is that you begin to gain real perspective on life, the way you choose to live it and the things that get thrown at you during it.

I used to think that everyone needed to know every single thought I had. That somehow I would burst if I didn't share MY perspective on everything. Now, to be honest.....I have only made a few deliberate steps away from that...it's not been a 'growth/maturity' thing.....well, outside of the fact that I recognized that people didnt WANT to know what I thought about every single blooming thing. It was a big moment for me......someone actually TOLD me that they didnt need to know every single thought that went through my head and that my opinion would be more valued if it was meted out a bit. Wow, I was gobsmacked! What nerve, what kind of person would say that kind of hurtful thing to a friend...what a painful blow...what a MOMENT OF ILLUMINATION!

I wish I could find that friend, I wish I could tell her that even though she doesnt know it and isnt around to see it that I really did hear what she said. And it changed my life.

But......the tendency never really goes away.....I still have to really work hard to cork up the dam of words that wants to fly out....and I have limited success with it. But I am aware........that must be the part that growing older and maturing has to do with it......

Kristine's Heart

I created this stylized heart for my Sister-in-law to be. The syombolism here is that the heart is composed of two separate pieces of silver, bonded (soldered) together. Each part adding it's own uniquness to the whole. This heart also has sparkly Swarovski crystals wound around it......like her sparkling personality, and it is a Big Heart (over 2" wide) like hers.

For My Son's 21st Birthday

I made him this cross. It was a labor of love. I made it in a style I thought he would related with.

New FAB Hair Thingy.........

This one I'm especially proud of...I love this. To wear it is to feel feminine and strong, just like this little flower. Made from copper I have given this piece a patina and sanded away until it came to the place that it needed to look.

The are on my site lavalleygirly.etsy.com along with many other choices for hair Glamour.

Timeless Chandeliers

I love chandelier earrings. They bring out the femininity in me. I love they was they move against my cheek. I love the tinkling sounds of the beads dancing together.

They will always be what I put on when I want to feel special. Fabulous Chandeliers

More FAB Hair Thingies

These little guys are selling like hotcakes!!!

My FAB Hair Thingies!!!!

OH yes..these rock! I am making a little different style now, it's easier to make and I am using beads...sometimes even lampwork beads by my friend Jennifer Kramer of http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=99355

Here's some pics for you to drool over!

LemonTree Sudio

My new friend Shelley has the cuuutest shop! Here are a few of the things she makes:


Isnt this birdhouse DARLING?

And look at this cute owl...who (hooooo) doesnt love owls?

I bought these kitty magnets and they brighten up my boring 'fridge!


Here is the link for her shop http://www.etsy.com/profile.php?user_id=5622688

Ooooh, These are fun to make!

Ok, MORE scrolly stuff, but I LOVE scrolly stuff! It's so fun to make, it's almost like I cant mess it up....well not too badly............

Niiiiiiice!

Wow, my wonderful friend, Jennifer Kramer surprised me with these wonderful earrings! If you make jewelry you will know how VERY much work goes into a piece like this! If you dont, you will see that they are just super-duper cool!!!

Jen is the Owner/Administrator of my home-away-from home: http://www.starvingjewelryartists.com/index.php?&CODE=01


She also has a wonderful shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=99355

Scrolled Silver

Here's my latest offering on Etsy. I love soldering. This was a lot of fun to make. I love the ear wire connection because it doesn't add any length to the earrings.

Cool Hair Thingy Prototype

Here's my latest project. I just LOVE this thingy! Wearing a dumb rubber band or claw is just the pits! It gets hot here in LA and I like to be able to throw my hair up, but I always feel so ugly!

So, I designed this little baby! I am testing it out right now. Working on some other designs and other way cool 'secret' things for it.

This next pic is of it in my hair.....after a whole DAY in the hot, sweaty LA sun. I didn't even touch my hair before the pic, or ALL day!!! Wow!!

Li'l Poppies

So here's my new latest pair of earrings.........these are tiny things, about 3/4". Posts, which I haven't made a lot of, but they are really fun to make.

The center is a little red coral cab......3 mm!! Teeny!! It was interesting setting it......never tried to set a cab in a cup like that.......tricky!!

But I like how they turned out.......I see more post-making in the future!

Let It Be

I love little taglines....just little reminders. Sometimes they get overused......

I made this set after hearing Brooke White on American Idol sing 'Let It Be'. Of course I had to do it 'my' way.....: )

Vintage Commission

A friend of mine commissioned me to make a set from some beads that had once belonged to her great aunt. Really pretty faceted glass. All different sizes.

Here are the pics from that venture:

Kitty Pic

Ok, so I haven't taken any jewelry pics yet....but here's a pic of my cat on our back door:

My Sad Boring Blog

Yes, Yes, I know.......no pics yet........I've not been good on the pic front. My poor Mother-in-law is pining away in PA for pics of our new house. My friends want to see my new jewelry set-up, and *I* just want to make jewelry!!!

Well, I am finishing up some pieces tomorrow, maybe I'll get all motivated and actually snap a few pics! (oh *I* know why I haven't taken pics....I like things to look like we dont live in a rubble heap.......so I'd have to clean AND take pics AND post them.....now I get why I haven't done that yet *grin*)

Moved In!

Well, almost! But it's looking good around here....Oh, I forgot to blog about that we moved! Yes, from Granada Hills to Glendale. I love Glendale! We are in the middle of everything!

We have a cute house that has the most beautiful hardwood floors and a lovely garden....just waiting for me to come and muck it all up!!

I'll try to get a few pics up.

The biggest problem for me is trying to get my jewelry studio set up. I have a great space for it, but I need to buy a workbench.....so I'm shopping now....sigh, I just wanna go and melt and pound some metal!!!!!

3:00 in the Morning

It's 3:00 in the morning. No, 3:22. I am not asleep, obviously. I've got my Trader Joe's Sleepy Time Tea and a whole wheat Hawaiian Roll sitting here. It's pouring rain, for over a week now...this is LA! I moved from Seattle.....oh well, we need it. You'd think it would lull me to sleep. It seems like nothing does.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm nocturnal. I start getting REAL sleepy at about 5 in the morning.

Having a sleeping disorder is not cool. Really, really not cool.

Moving and starting over

Well, it's that time again. We are moving...again. Wow, all of the emotions wrapped up in this.....wow.

We are moving for my almost 15 y/o DD so she can have a chance to blossom at a 'normal' school.

We must love her, moving is hard. Decluttering is FREAKIN hard. I have some things I never use. My grandmother died what I was still very young. The only thing I have of hers is a necklace, and a set of three kind of odd vases. I have to keep them, that's all I have, but I wont USE them I don't think, I really haven't yet...........so ...that stays. But what about the hundreds of other things that have special meaning to me...what about those things. huh????????

Yes, this is gonna be hard. From 2400 square feet to1800 square feet, yes, quite a wonderful challange!!!