Attack!

It's time to attack! The following shops have been chosen for today's attack:

RoseHips - http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5922732

artrepublik - http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5056766

Don't forget that the attack runs all night. So if you don't get to the website right away, you can still participate. Visit the Handmade Movement website for more information on Sneak Attacks.

For Today Only: Sneak Attack Central

Phippsart, the papa of Sneak Attacks, will be away today for the holiday. Since I'm hosting the attack today, I'll be posting the shops here at 7:00 pm EDT.

For more information visit The Handmade Movement website, chat on the Etsy forum beforehand, and stay tuned....

RAK-a-Day

I'm taking part in a very fun swap -- perform one or more RAKs (Random Act of Kindness) per day for a week then write to your partner to let her know about your week.

Most of the RAKs will be quiet ones. You don't need to know. It's more fun that way.

But one of the things I'll be doing this week is listing one or more PIF items in my Etsy shop per day. PIF stands for Pay It Forward. Sellers list an item for 20 cents (the cost of the listing). The buyer is supposted to continue the movement -- list something in their shop as a PIF or perform sort other sort of RAK.

I did a seach for PIFs yesterday and discovered that (as is the case with most things) some sellers are using the PIF listing as a selling tool. They tag something PIF but charge a huge shipping charge (often the actual price of the item plus shipping). Really bad karma, I'd say.

These PIFs are real. The cost is 20 cents (because Etsy won't let you list something for free). I'm paying the shipping charges.

Be on the lookout this week!

EtsyBlogger of the Month: CreateAThought

"There are thousands of thoughts lying within a man that he does not know till he takes up the pen and writes. ~William Makepeace Thackeray"

This quote, in the Shop Annoucement of CREATEaTHOUGHT's shop, is a wonderful invitation the world of journaling and creative writing. The artist behind CREATEaTHOUGHT offers journals and journal kits in all sorts of designs to spur your creativity.

In her profile, she writes, "everyday you are creating thoughts. Thoughts that are interesting and beautiful, profound and deep, silly and funny. Whatever your thought style is, they should be recorded. CREATEaTHOUGHT's mission is to help you do just that."

In addition to journals, she also sells handmade buttons, rings, magnets, and cards. Check it out!

EtsyBloggers Blog Carnival: Summer Shop Show & Tell

The current Blog Carnival theme for EtsyBloggers*:
Show & tell: Summer line - what you will be making/showing in your shop this summer...

I've been wanting to introduce some new items to my shop for a while now. But RL work has been keeping me very, very busy. And sales in the shop have picked up just enough (during this otherwise busy time) to give me pretty much no spare time.

Here's to hoping I can get to some new things soon!

I want to add a line of decorated cotton twill tape (similar to the commercial tapes you can get from Japan). The materials are sitting in my studio waiting for me. Look for them soon (I hope!).

And my hand-carved rubber stamps are doing well in the shop. I want to continue to expand my offerings. As you can see, I've got a sketch of a gnome ready to go.

Look for the new offerings soon. I hope. :)

*EtsyBloggers, I apologize for not fulfilling my April blog obligations. So sorry!

Bad Blogger

I should probably realize that every year at this time, things (like this blog) suffer because work gets so busy. You wouldn't think the winery biz would be so busy in April and May, but the public/PR side is just as busy now as we are in September and October.

April is "Michigan Wine Month" so there are lots of events planned to coincide. I've been running all over the state for the past 6 weeks or so, attending various winetasting fundraisers and other events.

It's great for the business, but I'm hoping my life will calm down a little bit at this point....