Adventures Online

I am currently undertaking two new adventures that I am oh, so happy about.

The first, is my new family blog. As Little Lovables expands, it's time to create a distinct space for me to gather my mommyhood rants and relishes, family adventures, and such. It's called, Oh, Those Aarons! and I hope you come by to visit.

My second adventure, concerns Etsy (of course). I have been playing around for a while with graphic design and have been having so much fun with it! I still have a lot to learn, but with my new Little Lovables shop graphics kits, I am offering them at very low prices for people just starting out, but who still wants to get something a little bit funky and glamorous! What do you think of them? What themes/colors are you looking for in a banner?



As a seller mentor, one thing I always think of when I first come across a shop is their banner. I have heard it said, that if a seller can't put up a clean looking presentable banner, than their products/customer service can't be that great. Now, I know this isn't true for many of us, but I can see how a first impression of the shop is determined by the first thing the {potential} customer sees, your banner and avatar.

I will also compile a huge mentor list of advice soon, so if you have any questions (don't be afraid to ask, I've probably already heard it!) then let me know and I will try and address each one.

The Art of Giving. Part 1

sea unicorn

 Part 1: Artful Giving
Part 2: Artful Tagging
Part 3: Artful Embellishing.

There is something truly sweet when a package arrives in the mail and upon opening the mailer, you pull out a deliciously thoughtful array of eye candy. Whether you are an online or brick an mortar seller of goods, or you are giving a gift to a friend, little details can make all of the difference. These are nice and simple touches you can do easily to make a small impact.

daughter of luxury

talula

mia sophia

rafya

A packaged gift does not need to be all fanciful, full of frippery with a flippant regard to wasteful packaging, but just a touch of something special, a little hint of awesome is all it really takes to make an already splendid thing turn into an exciting valuable to behold.

farouche

sjane

percival road

garden gwyn

by bethany

jack and izzy

Now, I mostly am showcasing little boxes for gifts, but any of these techniques can be used for those of you who sell (or give) larger things. If you cannot gift wrap item, perhaps a tea stained tag with a paper rose or seashell tied to it? If you leave the gift tag blank, this can double as an additional gift that the recipient can use in the future.

anna laura

annie and olive

annie and olive

jack and izzy

Later, I will show you what you can do with simple embellishments for tags and more packaging goodness!! If you would like to find out more right now, than visit Etsy's online mag, the Storque, for packaging ideas HERE!!!!!!

nan's glam

Fancying Photos with Photoscape

dragon fly necklace gussied up, click on photos to enlarge

In yesterday's post, I showed you some free photo editing with Picnik. Thanks to Cam, I discovered Photoscape, another free download photo editing program. I used the the pre edited picnik holga-ish photo of my dragonfly necklace from yesterday, to turn it into this beauty with Photoscape, with my youngest toddler in my lap the whole time! It took me less than 10 minutes to download the program and finish this photo. For now, this little program will help with my graphic design learning bug.


before, stand back boys, this lady is taken, beware, do not click on photo to zoom!

Now, I want to see what it will do with beautifying a blemished photo of a person (if you remember, Picnik does a great job of that, but you have to pay for that feature). So, I took this photo of me and Isaac when he was a wee one. Note the haggard skin. Aside from cropping, all I really wanted was to erase some hormone induced imperfections... no need to say the actual word, it may summon them back (like the "he who must not be named" HP fans)!


after

First, I used "mole" to individually clear those areas, then I went under "filter" then "smart blur" (clear skin). I first tried the "noise reduction (clear skin)" but it really made it look too freakishly anime-like airbrushed. So, I still look like me, not ultra perfect, but not as yuckified either. And there you have it!

I much prefer Picnik Premium (not free) for the human edits, but for the other fun stuff, Pissaca 3 is wonderful for basic touch ups, Picnik is a most excellent for enhancing with features and playing with exposures and photoscape is best for layering on the goodies (limited options, but still good).



Here is a glorified version of mommy and first born yet to be potty trained 3.5 year old love of my life son. (In case you are wondering, the "1" is for "first-born"... I was going to do his birthday, but got lazy, so there!)

Editing Your Photos With Picnik

holga-ish on my dragonfly necklace

Whether you have an online business and you would like to make your photos really pop, or you want to enhance your blog photos, or you enjoy photography as a hobby, or you just want to edit your family photos to make you look ultra hot, then you would love to try Picnik. It is a free program that is quite user friendly.


infrared film with yellow matte a signature and logo

Though only the basic edits are free, you still get some neat choices. I edited the same exact photo in this post using only the free tools for examples. Now, for basic editing, I really love Picassa 3 which is totally free does have lots of neat features and easy to use, but Picnik has lots of other features for more "play". You can really acheive the look of vintage photos, holga photography, and the style of film noir and a play on exposure that is just beautiful. Of course, this program is probably a nightmare to the true photographer that has studied and learned their own tricks and uses the lens and darkroom to capture these effects, but this is just for fun!


boost, vingette, 1960's round corners and a touch of film grain

Of course on the free version, you have limited uploads and for more advanced tools like "gritty" (so neat!), and photo editing for people, like eye and teeth whitening, sunless tanning, eye color brightening, red eye reduction, wrinkle softening, airbrushing, mascara highlighter!!, shine reducer... (wish I could get these and a belly roll reducer and a make dinner and do dishes tool in real life!). All of these tools are in the premium package that you have to sign up and pay for, but you can at least try them out (one at a time though) to see if you would like the investment.


touch of black and white, cross process and focal softening

I hope you have fun experimenting with your images. You can give your shop or blog an entire overhaul without ever having to retake photos. Unless your photos are very dark, overexposed, blurry or poorly staged, most can be saved with an artful flair with Picnik.


boost, filmgrain, vignette and orton-ish

Edited to add~ as you can see through my photos, the colors have changed drastically. For fun, artful purposes, this is totally acceptable and encouraged! But remember, if you are selling online you need to remember to keep the colors as close as possible to the real thing so that your buyers won't be mislead.

Originality, My Etsyversary

Meep by Schmooks

Yesterday was my One Year Etsyversey (for my jewelry shop, Jeweled Ambrosia) I recently had a two year Etsyversery in my Little Lovables shop. This has been such a whirlwind and adventure for me, I am so happy to have found Etsy, and am so thankful for my customers and all who have helped me out along the way! I am going to share some thoughts with you on success on Etsy throughout the course of my blog, but today, I am going to focus on originality.


Cracker Jacks Recycled Notebook by Ivy Lane Designs

As a kid, I thought Original meant "mundane, commonplace, boring." How did I come up with these assumptions? Because on cereal and snacks boxes, The Original always had the giant words "plain" right under it. It was the new versions of the same cereal that had all the fun stuff, the extra rainbow shaped marshmallows, new cinnamon flavor, more scoops of raisins, honey nut Cheerios... you can see why I was confused.

Embarrassingly, I held these same assumptions until I was an adult. Why would a company claim an item to be their original, but then call it "plain" and release the "New and Improved" right next to the (frownyface) "The Original" ?

I think a lot of crafters/hobbyists/artisans are like that. We take an original idea, add to it and make it ours. I think, one reason my shop has had the success that is does, is because I do create interesting, beautiful and original pieces of work.


Colorful Royal Polymer Clay Cross by Labor of Love

However, I also follow trends. A lot of designers think following trends is a bad thing, that your "originality" is what sets you apart. I find this true, but false.

According to my Google Analytics, people find my shop through my Twilight jewelry. Original? No. I did not come up with the Twilight idea. But, I did create a line to compliment the story in my own fantastic world of jewelry and romance. By producing a line of "Inspired pieces", I stretched my mind on new designs that have improved me as a designer.

Also, by providing a popular and trendy concept into my shop, I have been able to come in search engines a little better than before, and I have invited those interested in Twilight jewelry, to my other jewels that are non Twilight related.


Sweet Vintage Ivory Rose Earrings by Jeweled Ambrosia

I didn't come up with the vintage flower cab earrings, or the vintage flower cab rings either. There are so many on Etsy, but they are beautiful, inexpensive and fun to make and wear. By having trendy and popular items in your online shop, you are inviting fun, trendy customers into your shop and they will find something unique and become trendsetters! Remember, that what may be popular on Etsy (like the octopus and love note necklaces) are not neccesarily popular outside of Etsy, so all of our customers are trendsetters! By also having lower costing trendy items in your shop, you will find that they can become add on items to multi purchase sells and introduce new customers to you.


Recycled Poppy Bobbypin Set by Foundling

Please, I am not telling you to find a popular artist and copy their original idea (this has happened to the lovely Foundling and her poppy pins!) I mean say, owls or babushkas are popular, perhaps have a few of those incorporated in your designs. I am telling you it is okay to run with a trend for a while, so long as you don't count on that trend to sustain you, because it will pass. You need to always be evolving as a designer.

Another note. Treat your customers kindly! They deserve it. They have chosen you out of THOUSANDS of others to entrust their money and time on your product and delivery promise. If a problem arises, take care of your customer. Resize the bracelet, exchange a charm, repay for shipping if you need to have it shipped back, answer convos!



Policies are a MUST have for shop owners, but there are times when you can bend your shop policies to help a customer out. There is a selller, that I absolutely love to go and read the feedback she leaves for her buyers when I need a chuckle. It is so rude and abrupt and scary, that I am amazed she gets the sales she does. If she would help a few of her buyers out, who are new to Etsy and maybe don't understand the checkout process, then she would have wonderful return customers.

Just a thought, return customers are the best! I love them, every single one. They are all so unique with custom design requests and loyalty to me, as well as the other sellers they are loyal too. I know, that I as a buyer become loyal to a seller when I find one I love.


Cardboard Blue and Gold Charlie Brooch by Poaplum Bags Jewelry

Cross Promoting, Screenshots, Happy Day

Look what my husband made me. A warm, buttery, ginormous blueberry muffin with a strawberry and milk in my (new) favorite vintage Popple's cup. I got it from SplishySplashCrafts, she has cute handcarved stamps and lots of vintage goodies. I still have my white Popple by the way... do/did you have one? If you are needing some memories of 80's toys and such, check here. I will find Rainbow Bright, Strawberry Shortcake, My Little Ponies, Smurfs, Muppets...

Also, I was featured in two treasuries today! Thanks to the wonderful Etsy sellers, CreaShines and JanEleven.


My Victorian Blush Flower Necklace

Do you know how to take a screenshot? Me neither. But I DO know how to copy and paste a link, and that is all you need to do to get a screenshot. It won't work on password protected sites (like bank accounts, convos...) but it is great for other things. Just click on the size you want after "thumbalizing is complete", right click the image and save it in your photos. Easy. Go and play with it at Thumbalizr. (In the past, I was able to crop these so the weird white background wasn't all huge, but the format has changed, so it will take me some figuring out, but at least I have them.)

**UPDATE** I learned how to do a screenshot. Here is how:
Screenshot info...
Position your page you wish to copy, then find the keyboard button for Print Scr (top row, right hand side) hit that key, then open up your programs and find Paint, open it...
Open Edit, click on Paste, next open your File tab and click on Save as (save as a jpg.) then put it in any file you want on your computer.


My Compass Ring

Now, a final word on Etsy selling. Have you ever considered cross promoting? I saw on the lovely Talula's site that she had cross promoted a matching item with another seller and vice versa. I thought that was a wonderful idea, so I contacted Miss Indie and suggested we do the same. Her mom, Beautiful Bridget joined in, and now we are cross promoting!



My Tribal Goes to the Ball Earrings with Miss Indie's Old Manor Cowl

Here are some ideas for you:

How can you make this work for you? If you sell jewelery, then a bag, clothing or fiber accessories person would work well with you. If you sell soap, then a candle person would do well (like, if you love my vanilla soap, you will love these vanilla candles by...) If you make baked goods, then perhaps a lipgloss in a matching flavor (if you love my mint cookies, then you will love her mint lipgloss), if you make soap that looks like food, then maybe a seller of that food OR a polymer clay artist who make that food charms (if you love my bundt cake soap, then you wil love to eat this bundt cake OR you will love this bundt cake charm...) Anyways, those are some ideas for you. Sewn baby items can cross promote with baby nursery artists, mixed media and fine art can cross promote similar styles of others (like a painting/photo of an ocean lighthouse, can cross promote with someone who makes sea glass art.

I hope this gets everyone's head turning to think of people you may or may not know to cross promote with each other. Feel free to use one of my listings as an example to show to you who contact.



My Garden Love Necklace with Beautiful Bridget's Miss Marple hat.

Giveaway, Midgets and a Crazy Mouse

Sleepwalk print by Serpent Mandalas

Have I ever told you that my husband sleep walks? I haven't? Well, I will give you TWO crazy examples and then tell you about last night.

When we were first married, I awoke, being thrown out of bed, flying through the air and hitting my head on our dresser. Fortunately, my husband's body softened the fall. Apparently, he dreamt I was about to be hit by a speeding bus in his dream, and he was saving my life by throwing me out of the way, what a superhero. Thanks, hon!


Superman print by the amazing Mikiep

Another time, I awoke to a bouncing bed. He was jumping up and down on the bed vigoursly while attaking the ceiling. Little white ceiling popcorn paint chips were all over the place. When I asked what he was doing, he frantically replied something along these lines, "There are plastic sporks coming down on us!" Apparently, some crazy mutant plastic sporks were sneaking up on us and stuck in the ceiling, and yet again, he was saving the day. (I hope the spork wasn't as big as this one from Paul Pape Designs!)



Back to the present. I am on the computer (suprised?) and he is laying on the couch waiting for me. He falls asleep. All of a sudden, he jerks awake and speaks gibberish to me for a minute or so (completely normal for him).


Cute little gnome stamp from Niko Art not quite a midget, but the cutest related thing I could find and still be respectful :)

He screws up his nose and says "Who is in that chair with you? I don't see them anymore, did they leave? Oh, there they are, how can you both fit in that chair? Is there a someone in your chair with you?"

I simply reply, "Yes."

He says, "Really? No... NO! She must be a midget then or something. Why don't you come over here then. Shoot my legs off and carry me around, you little midget lover."

Then, he falls back asleep. I suppose, in sleep theory, by removing his legs, he would then be midget like and I would love him too, like my midget companion that was sharing my seat with me? Weird, huh? But seriously, that is not very weird compared to all of the other sleepwalking/talking events I have encountered in these last 5 years if marriage.



Okay, here is another cute little family thing. We finally figured out how to upload video from our digital camera. Too bad it was after I had already erased our UFO sighting video!! He did a little crazy mouse puppet playtime with Isaac (who has named the mouse Pinky Roo). It's cute and 5 minutes long, so take a look if you want to watch. (Yes, I am on the computer again working on my Etsy shop, Bad Mommy!)



Now, the reason for this post, Jennifer of Elegant Journey is hosting a giveaway on her blog for this lovely button print. She is a sweet designer with pretty art and a much less cluttered blog then mine! Go and enter her giveaway and browse around, she has some cute stuff!

Also, my Thanksgiving feast with my husband's sweet family. We didn't do boring turkey this year, we did FONDUE!! Enjoy our pics, b/c it was Yumm-o!








fried chocolate, sooo good!













PS, the wonderful Contrariwise (wonderful metal jewelery designer) has an excellent article on getting your products to show up in Google image searches (I use that all the time!) HERE is how to do it. I am going to try it right now with this vintage style rose shabby chic flower cameo locket necklace!