The obsessing begins.....

Thank-you to everyone who shared information with me about my Etsy vs. Amazon. I have not totally ruled out another way to sell, but for now I started my listings on Etsy. I haven't had a ton of time, so it is only up to about 19 or 20 at this point. I have a ways to go.

And it begins...... first came the picture taking. Yup.... memories!! I took out my old heavy camera to discover my batteries weren't charged. After digging through ONE of my junk drawers I found some AA's that worked temporarily and gave me about 5 minutes of power before having to rotate them with another set buried in the junk drawer..... ughhhh!

By the time I had my other batteries charged I had already decided I would try using my I-phone. Another problem..... I have 5 grandchildren and my phone was FULL of pictures..... ughhhh #2!!! There goes another couple of hours trying to clean that out (something that needed to be done a year ago). FINALLY..... I have room on my phone and squeeze in a little time for picture taking. I decided that my Iphone was much easier than my big camera.

Next comes the listing.... I did that easy enough, but then obsessively looked back and looked back and looked back to continuously see ZERO views. Oh no, this is why I left to begin with.... the memories are coming back. What to do, what do do...

Well, I have to face the inevitable... promoting myself! I HATE THAT!!!! I hate it whether it is online, at a show, a gallery or anywhere else. I was just not born to be a sales person and that is what you need to be to get sales. Now what? I just have to suck it up and do it. I start checking out other Etsy shops to find differences that might have happened after leaving. There were definitely some. I used to add a cutesy name to each of my products and from what I was seeing, that was not a good idea. So, first change.... the cutesy names.... replace them with dull boring names like "handmade ceramic beads". I don't know about you, but sometimes I have so much going on I literally feel like....

..... my head is dizzy.... I think I forget to breathe and since breathing is essential to life, I need to work on being able to do that at the same time as listing. ughhhhhh #3

Now breathe.... I switch the names and still nothing. I obsessively checked again and again and again..... nothing. I then do a search for handmade ceramic beads and I do see that they came up. Why so few views? It's a big world, isn't it? Maybe I am just not up for this anymore. ughhhh #4

I decide to research even further and look for forums or tips about how to get your work noticed on Etsy. I find that not only should I change my cutesy heading, but I need to add all of my descriptors in the title. Are you kidding me? The head goes dizzy. Don't forget to breathe......  Back to Etsy and back to my listings to change everything once again.

I research more. I found blog posts about using Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and whatever the heck else is out there! Are you kidding me? Yup..... dizzy!

I decide I am going to succumb to the new ways of doing this and put a post on our Twitter page. There were a few more views after that, so that's good. I put one up on my own Facebook page too. I'm not sure that did much. I am at a temporary dead end. It is just too much to figure all of this out, teach full time and make time for my family. 

Is there something easier to do? What do you do to get your work noticed or if you don't sell online, how do you search? I could use some advice!

Thanks for sharing what you have to offer...

MaryAnn

Happy Independence Day!

by Sherri Stokey

Looking around for some Independence Day inspiration, I ran across this vintage add for Hand Made "torpedoes".  I'm a big fan of hand made.  Quilts made by hand are family heirlooms and hand made furniture can be around for generations. Handmade ice cream beats the store-bought stuff every time.  But hand made fireworks just sounds like a bad plan.  Luckily, I also found some handmade inspiration that won't give me nightmares, like this patriotic wire wrapped pendant:

Rachael's Wire Garden

Isn't that fun?  I love how she incorporated the Tree of Life symbolism within the flag and gives the impression of stripes with just a few "branches".  These lamp work glass pieces also caught my eye with great use of color and movement:

Cat's Meow Art

Karla Eames Classy Sassy Glass

I found eagles done in several different mediums, including hand painted  porcelain, glass and deer antler:

Top: Loco Lobo Designs, Bottom left:  Joy Munshower, Bottom right:  Spirit Wind Studios

These metal end caps, charms and large hole beads all feature a rustic star motif:

Cathy Dailey

Inviciti

The Happy Jewel

I am so impressed with what some folks can do with a coin:

Left:  Saw Artist, Right: Hamilton Custom Cast

There were some great pieces of patriotic handcrafted jewelry, too.  The stars and stripes design really stands out in the Western Cedar laser cut cuff, and the use of color blocking in the beaded wrap bracelet really struck a cord with me. 

John Leslie Studios

Boulder Beads

DGierat Leather

I love the worn look of the wide leather cuff and the vintage picture in the pendant below.

My Sweet September

This etched bullet pendant has a secret:  there's a casing fitted up inside it that you can remove and add your own little treasure:

Dazzlez

The riveted on star is what caught my eye in this next pendant.  It's a nice little touch that really makes this one stand out:

Little Bits o' Faith

And last, but not least, this charming wax seal charm:

Gilded Lily Charms

All in all, I think I'll stick with jewelry components for my handmade fix.  Nobody wants to look like this on July 5th:

Many thanks to all of the lovely artists who agreed to let me use their photos here.  I hope you'll spend a minute or two and visit some of their shops.  Have a Happy 4th!