New Coupon Code!

It's Cyber Monday so I'm giving you extra incentive to check out my Etsy shop. This coupon code expires a week before Christmas...so hurry over to my Etsy shop to order gifts for people on your list. Just enter "CHRISTMAS12" at check out to receive 15% off your total purchase!

P.S.--Links to my Etsy shop can be found on the top tabs or the slideshow on the right hand side. :)

New Etsy Item: Baby Snuggle Wrap

I'm getting behind in my blogging as the holidays approach, and life is getting busier. Anyways, here is a new product preview for my Etsy shop. I'm excited to introduce baby snuggle wraps!

 

 

 

I made the one shown for a baby shower at church. Of course I found the printable pattern linked from here on Pinterest! I chose to make the one pictured above with coordinating cotton flannel, but will have a custom option in my Etsy shop. Then customers can choose from the fabric choices I have on Flickr.

I'll be listing these in the next day or so. Please let everyone having a baby or looking for a great baby shower gift to buy one of these from my shop.

Etsy feature: Moon Stone Designs pics

These are the pictures that won't cooperate with me.

They're as follows (from top to bottom): shark hat, sheep hat, sewing/work space, and orca hat. I hope you enjoy the new feature and check out her shop regardless of my technical issues.

Etsy Feature: Moon Stone Designs

It's still not posting exactly as I want it to, but I'll just post things separately. Here's a link to the post with pictures: http://arainydaydesigns.blogspot.com/2011/07/etsy-feature-moon-stone-designs-pics.html

Etsy shop feature: Moon Stone Designs

Tell us a little about yourself.

I am a crazy busy woman! I always seem to tackle the impossible and succeed most of the time. I am a mother of three boys. I live in a house full of BOYS, even our dog. I was a mother at 16 and still managed to finish high school and I went on to college, and I am the only one in my family to get a college degree. I am now a work-at-home mother and home school my 6 year old in between creating and selling my fashion accessories.

What three words would you use to describe yourself?

Creative, responsible, silly

How long have you been crafting?

I have been crafting since I was a child. I was always interested in how to make everything. My mother and grandmothers taught me many things, and I just keep learning new things.

When did you start selling on Etsy and what inspired you to give it a try?

I have been creating and selling as a side job for many years. I opened my Etsy shop but I really took a lot of time to build it up before I got serious. The fleece animal hats really started after my 5 year old had brain surgery and a shunt placement in the spring of 2010. We spent an entire month at the hospital and when it was time to leave, his hair was gone, he had horrific scars, and a bump from the shunt. I really didn't like having to explain to everyone in the grocery store why his head look liked that! People really couldn't help stare. So, I started making fleece animal hats for him. They turned out amazing and I kept making new designs, people really liked them, and then I started selling them on Etsy. I now sell them around the world. I keep making them for my kids and because I love to see people wearing the hats and having a great time. They are the perfect mix of function and fun.
I continue to be connected to the Seattle Children's hospital and I regularly send hats to children there as well. On my site, you can purchase a hat at a discount and I will send it directly to a child at Seattle Children's Hospital on your behalf, or to the hospital of your choice!

Besides creating, what are you passionate about?

I am passionate about my kids and working hard to be sure they have all that they need to become amazing, fully bloomed, adults.

What does your craft space look like? Are you an organized crafter or would you be embarrassed for us to take a peak at your workspace? (Please share a picture if you’re willing)

I am a somewhat organized crafter. I live in a very small house and my studio is also my bedroom. My workspace started in the living room, but I moved it to the bedroom so that I could shut the door! It works great as long as I keep it clean.

Describe your Etsy shop in three words.

Colorful, fun, affordable

Currently, what are your favorite 3 items from your shop?

I always adore my new designs. The two newest designs are the Orca Whale and the Great White Shark. My all time favorite is the lamb, because it is so soft and adorable.

What are some of your favorite Etsy shops?

Butterflygirldesigns: gorgeous glittering battings for spinning wool

TianaCHE: fashion accessories, expensive, but amazing

JustHatched: cool wooden puzzles for little ones

Finally, what suggestions would you make to someone who’s thinking about starting an Etsy shop?

If you have something unique to sell, get some really great photos. Be patient and diligent. Read the forums and connect with others. Don’t give up, just get better! Be bold.

Thinking about the Fair

I realized today that the Evergreen State Fair is only a month away (well at least the deadline for entering items is)! This means I've got to get to work on finishing any items I wanted to enter into the fair, and possibly get started (yeah I know there isn't much time) on new projects. This possibly means that I'll be putting my Etsy shop on vacation while I work madly on finishing projects in between my crazy work schedule. I enjoy entering crafts into the fair because then I can volunteer and get free admission. :) I also like the rush I get from looking at my hard work displayed for all to admire with a ribbon (hopefully blue) attached. It's also fun to enter little contests. Last year i made this little cupcake pincushion:It didn't win, but I think it's sweet (haha pun fully intended)! It was made out of scraps of yarn, too. :) Well, I better go work on some projects & think about realistic deadlines. AGH!!

New Way of Listing

Etsy has changed the way we sellers list items for sale. So this is my job today: update all of my items for sale. I've also been working on some new items so stay tuned because I'll preview them here first!

New Fabric a.k.a. Christmas in May!

A week or so ago I ordered some fabric from Joann Fabrics online since I couldn't find what I wanted in the store. Well, on Saturday the box arrived, and I could hardly wait to open it! Much to my delight it contained all of the cute fabric I was expecting plus two balls of Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn (one of them scented). Adorable prints included: Curious George, Pooh and Piglet, Animal Talk, and red plaid. I'll post pictures as I make things out of the new fabric and yarn.

Just Keep Sewing (and Knitting and Crocheting)...

This week I've been reading a lot of posts and forums on Etsy about improving my shop. Instead of grouping items together in one listing I've separated them into separate listings. This is a win-win for me as it gives my shop more items, and also gives more listings when a customer searches for an item. I've also changed my shop section titles. Since my shop tag line is "knitting, crochet, and sewing"; I decided to use those as section titles instead of "for home, for baby, for fun". That way my customers will know what craft they are getting (I can tell the difference between knit & crochet, but many people don't know).

I'm going to start a new tradition on my blog (here) and my Facebook page: item of the month. I'll post an item from my Etsy shop for the month and an item on Amazon that goes well with it. So for this month the item is the Duck Tag-Go Blankie pictured to the right------>
I think it makes a great baby gift along with the book "Make Way for Duckings" (one of my favorite childhood books). You can find it on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Make-Way-Ducklings-Robert-McCloskey/dp/0670050172/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305229729&sr=1-4

New Item on Etsy and Cute Fabric

I'm listing a new item on Etsy this week and you get a sneak peek! Here it is:
These are crocheted baby bibs with a snap on the neck so it's easy to get on & off for parents. Made with 100% cotton yarn so just throw them in the wash after meal time. More colors are coming soon!

Here is the adorable jungle animals baby blanket I've been working on.
There's more where that came from! This is the cute fabric I found:

These will be adorably cute unisex and girls' blankets soon! Can you tell I like brown & pink together? Check back for an update on how these blankets are coming along.

Almost Earth Day and Easter

Wow! Since tomorrow is Earth Day, also Good Friday, I've been mostly vegetarian for a year now. I made a promise to myself last year on Earth Day that I wouldn't eat red meat or anything with 4 legs (this includes but isn't limited to: beef, pork, lamb, venison, etc). I also try to limit my intake of chicken and turkey to once a day. I made this decision for my health and I feel so much better because of it. I would go full vegetarian, but I'm afraid I wouldn't get enough protein. Earth Day also means FREE coffee at Starbucks tomorrow if you bring in your own travel mug. :)

Easter is this Sunday, and it's one of my favorite holidays. As a Christian, I love how this holiday reminds me every year what I believe in and why. I also love how in my church we sing the "Hallelujah Chorus" every year. Such a blessing and moment of awe and praise to our Father!

My project and goal is to finish a dress that I started two summers ago while in Utah, with my cousin, so I can wear it on Easter. I found the cute fabric at a yard sale, and took it along so we could make matching dresses. We started it but got busy going hiking and other stuff, and never finished it while we were together. She showed me her finished dress last summer at our family reunion. Mine has been thrown haphazardly in my closet since I came home two summers ago. Last week I pulled it out, and I'm determined to finish it. The bodice needs to be taken in (YAY!), the skirt shortened (typical since I'm only 5'1"), and put the zipper in. I'm alos thinking of top stitching some ribbon on the bodice, but that can wait if I don't have time before Sunday. So here I go!