Flowers, earrings and things are popping up.

Things are popping up all over... 

Primroses in my front garden.  (ignore the weeds please).

Finally warm enough for the robins to take a bath.

Primroses come in so many colours :)

More primroses, with a single grape hyacinth.

 Our magnolia's starting to bloom.

 

Morel mushrooms.

Spike... he didn't actually pop up.

Some earrings I've just made

You can get them in my Etsy shop soon.

 These pieces have been fired once, and I'm glazing them 

 to be fired soon.

A productive weekend.

I hate to see this weekend end...

 We spent a peaceful morning enjoying the sunshine, birds, and collecting rocks at Queen's bay beach.

(Note: The lake level is really low right now.)

                                     Then the weather changed quickly so we headed home.

 I dived into my studio to start my 3rd clay bird project. This one will be a bit smaller than the others, but only a bit.

         I also made some earrings (and a little pug "window jewel")  with the tiny animal beads I bought recently. 

 Taking pictures and listing them takes some time,

 but I managed to list a couple of them in my Etsy shop as well. 

Back to work tomorrow... time to change gears.

Mood beads and glow-in-the-dark bead

I've recently discovered mood beads and glass glow-in-the-dark beads
The mood beads change color to match your mood, but it's actually your
body temperature that changes the colors.
The glow-in-the-dark beads are glass, and they glow green (after being
in sunlight, or bright light).
Anyhow, they are fun to play with, so I've made a couple of
neat bracelets with them.
If you want to see them, go here:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20906473

Etsy stuff

I recently joined Etsy (on Nov 1/08. )




I've been making "stuff" for so many years,
and have done craft sales, consignments,
custom orders, but my real joy (like most artists)
is in making things, not in selling them.

A friend of mine suggested that I try selling my hand-made
creations on-line at etsy, so I'm trying it out!

I have a small space in the living room, (an over-flowing corner ,)
where I've been making jewellry. But I need a proper place to work
with clay and paint, etc. ...so...
We are building a studio for me in the garage. At last I will
have a place for all me & my supplies!!! and a workspace !!!! YEAH!!

So, after spending (many) hours looking at all the amazing creations, and reading numerous Profiles, I finally took the plunge and joined, then I listed my 1st items....all 3 of them.
I was thrilled when I made my 1st sale a couple of DAYS later!
It's still my only sale... so far.

It all sounds simple enough, right?
Actually it is, but it all takes time, and I've spent a lot of time,
refining, editing, and refining again.

I thought all I'd need is good items to sell, at a reasonable price,
and that's it......not.
It's just another starting point.

Here's what I've learned...so far:
Before listing an item:
- Start with 5 good photos... can't say enough about that! (any
cropping, editing, etc. resize ( 1000x1000 pixels) So they're
ready to download.
- Get a box the item will be shipped in, take measurements, weigh it
and calculate shipping to various places.

- Go to the etsy workshops! (I'd include a link, but not sure how)
- Get to know people, etsy, blog, facebook, etc.
- Ask for help when you need it. It can save an amazing amount of
time, compared to trial & error.
- Get organized. My current dilemma... I've got a ton of photos on
my computer, and need to figure out a good filing system for them.

I'll add things, as I learn...