More Etsy Tips

I hope everyone had a great weekend! My son came in town, so I had a wonderful time. :)
More tips to share!
1. List new items and list often. I try to list a new item at least twice a day. I have found, using google, and most of my visits come around noon and again between 8 and 10pm. I try to list new items, but if I don't have anything to list, I will renew an item.
Renewing will bring your shop up to the "front of the lists". It doesn't always brings tons of views, but I do think it keeps your shop "fresh".

2. Visit the Etsy forums. I can't tell you how much I have learned from the forums. Granted, you must take advice with a "grain of salt", but there is a lot of good info in the forums. Ask lots of questions and most of the time you will receive good advice. The forums have changed in the past few months and sometimes you have to wait longer for answers to your questions.
3. Visit the Etsy blogs. No, I don't read each and every one, but I do try to each week. Be sure to comment on the blog. Why? Because every time you comment on Etsy you are leaving a link to your shop! I have noticed an increase of views each time I comment on the blogs. Google also picks up your comments!

I hope these tips have helped you. Please feel free to post any questions you may have and I will be happy to help you.

Late Spring in St. Louis!

Warm weather is already here, so I thought I would show you some pics from around my house. Above is my Cairn Terrier, Finch. Notice the ball in the bowl? When she needs a drink, she drops her ball in the water and then drinks around it! Finch always has a ball either in her mouth, or next to her.
I didn't have a choice the other day. I HAD to plant these Sunflowers! I had to cut them out of the milk jug. LOL! These were winter sowed, so they are all ready to go!
I planted lots of Tulips when we moved into our house 9 years ago. They bloomed for about 2 years and from then on the only thing that came up were the leaves...until this year. This beauty decided to adorn our front yard. Tulips are my favorite flower.
And this is my favorite tree: Weeping Cherry Tree. The blooms only last a few days, but when it's blooming, it gorgeous!

I wanted to show off the finished soap. I covered the bar with a brown paper bag and a cute red checked ribbon. Didn't they turn out well?

Fun With Flowers In St. Louis

One of my favorite things to do is walk around my garden and capture the beauty of my flowers! The above picture is one of my dwarf Iris's. I planted the bulbs 2 years ago and this is their first time blooming. I'm in love with blue flowers these have become my all time favorite!
I tucked this Hosta in my back bed 2 years ago. I had no idea is was going to get this big! I take pictures of my clogs next to the plant for comparison. It will be split this fall!
I plant most of my plants by seed and this Columbine too 3 years to bloom, but it was so worth the wait! The details are just amazing. I planted these as "extra's" since I had so many plants come up, and these are planted under my window boxes in the front of the house.
Another true blue Clematis! This one trails on our white banister in the back yard and blooms for a very long time!

Monday Finds With All Kinds Of Yummy Things To Eat!

HowlingWolfSauces's.Etsy.Com
I gave these to my husband and son for Christmas last year. I can honestly tell you that these are the BEST sauces in the world! We used them on chicken, port, and as a dipping sauce. Yum!!
DoubleDippedSweets's
Having tasted Double Dipped's dipped apples, I can'n tell you enough how GOOD these are! They are also HUGE, so be sure you have someone to share it with you!

frankiesfoods.Etsy.Com
This looks like I could just pop it into my mouth! Not only does this look delicious, but the photography is amazing! This shop is brand new, so make a new seller's day by purchasing from their new shop!

Now, I'm hungry!!

Monday Finds!

Monday finds! Monday's are not the most favorite day of the week....at least not for me. I've decided to turn a dreaded day into a shopping day! Every Monday I will share some of my Virtual Shopping, which I'm going to call Monday Finds.
I love finding art in inconspicuous places. I have always admired vinyl art and these really caught my eye. To see where to purchase, just click on the picture.
This adorable art is from vinylwalldesign. I think these would look great in a kids bedroom, bathroom...or in the hallway.
I just love this! ChuckEBrydWallArt made this subtle artwork. This would look great in my half bath!
Elephannie made this little chickie. I think I would buy more than one!

Spring Has Sprung!

Spring has sprung! I've been working on the beds for the past few days. Most of them have been neglected due to my ankle surgery last Spring. My favorite flower , or at least the one I love looking at the most, are the Red Hot Pokers (pictured above). I cleaned out the dead leaves and I can see lots of new growth at the base. I started these by seed, and have divided the plants several time. The stems can be 3 to4 feet tall and the bloom is about 5 inches tall. A very stunning plant!
Peeking out are my Sweet William. Not many came back last year, so I will have to sow more for the upcoming year. They are in the very back of the yard, so I can't see them unless I am in the backyard with the dogs. I need to move them closer to the house.
Cleaning out all the grass, I noticed lots of baby Gallardia's. They bloom all summer long and will grow just about anywhere...we have a few growing in our grass last year!
It was fun getting my hands in the dirt. Nothing replenishes the soul as peering at a worm at eye level!

The Cook

I decided to pull the crock pot out and make some soap today. I was pretty well stocked for several weeks, so I haven't made soap in what seemed like ages! Above is the "cook". The oils and lye/water are almost done cooking. I melted my oils on high and cooked on a low setting.
Here it is all ready to add the essential oils. This batch has Lemongrass and Basil oils. It smells divine! I waited a few minutes between turning off the crock pot and adding my essential oils.
One plus of soap making is that clean up is easy! I put the crock pot in my sink, add all my spoons, cups, and spatulas , add water and walk away!
Of course, I will have to come back and rinse everything off before I put them in the dishwasher. :)
A long shot of the finished soap. I sprinkled lemon peel on the top. It will be ready to cut in just a few hours. These will be in my shop, at Crestwood Court, in a few weeks.

We Are Almost There!

Paperwork is getting done, and we are meeting again tonight..I'm so excited! Hopefully we can get in and start to measure our space and plan our displays. The lease will be signed soon and we plan on opening the beginning of Feb!
Stay tuned for our Grand Opening! Show Me Handmade

A Sneak Peak At My Spring Collection!

Although I have been pretty quiet on my blog, I have been super busy behind the scenes! I have many new exciting, and delicious soaps coming soon! Here is a sneak peek at some new soaps that are on their way.
If you would like to be contacted when these are in my shop, feel free to leave your email address and I'll send you a note when they are available.

New Body Butters!

I'm adding new body butters to my shop! The top on is Winter Grapefruit. It should be in my shop tomorrow. The one below is Pearberry....I love it! Fresh, fruity, and oh so soft!

Through The Eyes Of Dogs

This is how my two Cairn Terriers spend their day. No Soap Opera's for my two!

1000 Markets!!

I joined 1000 Markets a few days ago, and I'm really excited! I love their format and I'm looking forward to running my shop there.

It's free to list, and you only pay a percentage of what you sell.

Click on the picture to see what's new in my shop!

The Fall Craft Show Was A Sucess!

The show is over...whew! It was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun! Above is my table. This was taken before the sun went down and right after the doors were first opened.
I was the first table by the front door! Lots of wonderful comments on all the wonderful scents everyone smelled when they walked up to the table.
The view from the side of my table. We had, I think, 23 booths! The bar was in the back. We served cheese and crackers and there was a cash bar.

I'm going to miss Summer!

I love Fall. In fact, it's my favorite season....but I'm going to miss Summer!

My Second Blog Giveaway!!

Do YOU love handmade soap as much as me? Do YOU need more handmade soap? Have YOU never tried handmade soap?
Well, now is the time!!

I am having my second Giveaway!

All you have to do is go visit my shop!
Leave a comment about what you love about my shop.
That's it! Don't forget to leave
your Etsy shop name or e-mail so I know how
to get a hold of you! Good luck!!!

**Contest ends October 3rd and the winner will be announced October 4th!

I Can Smell Christmas!

I'm getting ready for my street teams (ShowMeEtsy) trunk show, which is going to be October 16th. I think gift sets will do well during the show. Last night I wrapped up quite a few sets. This set is two bars of Pomegranate Cold Process Soaps, with a wooden soap dish.
I used regular typing paper for the wrapping. I used the second half of my Paypal shipping labels.

Why You Should Buy A Warranty On Your Computer

I was logged onto my computer yesterday, and all of a sudden the screen became very dark...too dark to even read the large print. I contacted Dell, and I found out that my warranty, on my lap top, was to expire October 15th! I thought my computer was already 4 years old. What a nice surprise to a dismal morning.

So, I discovered how much I rely on the internet.....how did we ever manage without info (about anything) at the tip of our fingertips!!

Thankfully, I have friends and family that have offered their use of their computer until my monitor can be replaced.

Tonight: It's fixed! Dell came out this evening and replaced my LCD! Yea!!!!!!!!!!!

My Husband Just Doesn't Get It!

I was having problems finding Lye a few months ago. It's not sold in many stores due to the Meth labs that keep popping up here in Missouri. My husband was out running errands and I asked him to stop at a hardware store that I had not checked out yet. I told him I needed lye to make my soap. Well, he tried and I'm now a proud owner of LYE SOAP! LOL! It's a large bar and already has DOS (dreaded orange spots)....yuck!
Next time I need lye, I'll pick it up myself!

Photography - Sometimes I Love It, Sometimes I Hate It!

I tried for two days to take pictures of my solid lotion....ugh! Nothing I did worked and all the pictures were too bright and I couldn't figure out how to take the glare off of the container. They were already wrapped, and I was too stubborn to unwrap them for the pictures. Guess who won this battle??
This picture was taken after I took the covers off (I lost). The pictures turned out much better, but I still want to tweak them.
I need to lift the containers up a little so you can see the label. I usually love taking pictures, but these were a struggle.