Buttons!

I have always loved buttons and I recently found this great Etsy seller Mr. Button who sells bulk buttons by color.  I ordered a few "scoops from the color jar" and just received them yesterday.  They are a great mix of large ones, small ones, shapes, and unique buttons.

I started making cases with them right away and I love how they turned out!  You can expect to see these posted in my shop throughout the week.

                                      

                              

Giveaway winner!

Thanks so much to everyone who participated in this months giveaway for a custom iPhone case.  Congratulations to the winner Joanne J!  I really enjoyed reading everyone's favorites and suggestions for new designs.  Keep an eye out because you may see some in my shop in the future. 

Giveaway - Custom Gadget Case!

My giveaway last month was successful and a lot of fun so this month I'm going to make it even better!  I am giving away one custom gadget case!  I know that you don't all have iPhones so the winner will receive one case for a cell phone, digital camera or any other small gadget with a design of their choice from my shop. 

To enter:

Be following this blog and leave a comment below with your favorite item in my Etsy shop and a way to contact you if you win.

Additional entries:

One additional entry for leaving a comment suggesting a unique design that you would like to see made into a gadget case.

One additional entry for tweeting or blogging about this contest.

I will randomly select the winner on Saturday 3/6.  Good luck!!

Project in Progress

Today I thought I would share my latest beading project that is currently about 1/4 of the way done.  When it is finished it is going to be a bracelet for my mom.  This bracelet is made using odd count peyote stitch and the different sizes of the beads that are used create this great ripple effect.  I am using size 10 seed beads in light purple, dark purple iridescent triangle beads, and size 8 seed beads in matte purple.  If you want to try making one of these for yourself you can find good instructions for how to do peyote stitch here.   

March Goals

My Etsy sales have been slow.... and by slow I mean practically non-existant for the last 2 months.  I'm starting to get discouraged but I know that I should use this slow time to really focus on making new items and improving my shop so that when sales pick up again everything will be smooth and faster than ever.

In order to get focused I have written down a set of goals for March and started making a plan of how to reach them.  Here are my goals:

1.  Make 10 sales.
2.  Get at least 2 new shop hearts each day.
3.  Make 2 new designs.
4.  Stock up on all of my current designs.
5.  Make at least 1 treasury.
6.  Increase shop views to around 100 per day.

How am I going to reach these goals?

- promote outside of Etsy by handing out business cards and posting flyers.
- post often in the Etsy forums.
- twitter daily.
- blog often.
- keep track of that treasury clock :)
- get to work!!

There is lots to do despite things being so slow.  If you have any suggestions for other ways to reach these goals I would love to hear them too.

Lucky Rabbit!

I just found my lucky iphone case in this super cute treasury filled with Irish easter bunnies.

Snowy Photographs

I am very jealous of all the bloggers I follow posting their pictures of the early spring flowers and buds on the trees.  Here in Michigan we still have weeks of winter before any flowers start popping up.   I snapped this picture while I was waiting for the bus this morning.  As I stand in the freezing cold waiting for the bus I have to remind myself that winter can be beautiful too. These absolutely gorgeous photos found on Etsy are evidence of that.

 

Ice Orchard by CountryDreaming

Snowfall Symetry by CountryDreaming

A Fishy Treasury

I just found my Koi iPhone case in this cute fishy treasury.  Click here to take a look! 

I think my favorite item might be the Wild Alaskan Salmon Vertabrae Earrings, mostly for the wierdness factor.  They're kind of cute and I can just imagine the conversation when someone asks where you got them and what they are...   (plus I study vertebral development so I have an excuse :P )

Time to Get Organized

 

This is what my desk at work looks like this morning.  As you can see it is a jumbled mess of notebooks, papers and sticky notes.  I probably couldn't survive without sticky notes :) 

My goal today is to get this whole mess cleaned up and organized and hopefully it wont get into such a mess again too soon.  Do you have any tips that help you to get organized and stay organized?

I also want to share one thing with you that has helped me to be more productive recently.  Free productivity planners.  I can't remember anything if it isn't written down (hence my love of sticky notes) and these planners have helped me not only remember all of the things that I need to get done but also plan out exactly when I need to do them and what is top priority.

Face Scrubbies Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to HappyKATT who won my first ever blog giveaway!  Thanks to everyone for participating.  I enjoyed this giveaway and will be hosting more in the future. 

Top Five Valentine's Picks

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and I admit that I am not at all ready for it.  I have been amazingly stressed because I am having my first ever thesis committee meeting today.  If you don't know what that means just think about giving a 1-2 hour presentation in front of four faculty members who are judging you and your work. 

Ok so little stressed rant aside, I thought I would share some cute Valentine's things today that really just cheer me up and hopefully they make your day a little brighter too :)

1.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/ThePaperAddict

2.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/KnitsbyJess

3.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/awdesignsuk

4.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/ReneeLoughlin

5.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/LittleKeirasBows

I need your feedback!

I have a new style of gadget case in my Etsy shop today and I would really love to know what you think.  This crocheted cozy is made for the Motorola Droid and is super soft to protect from scratches.  Click here to check it out.

So tell me...

Do you love it?
Do you hate it?
Is the price right?
Would you like to see it in a different color or for a different gadget?

Be honest! Your feedback can only help!!

Also, if you haven't done so already you can still enter my face scrubby giveaway here.

New and Beautiful Etsy Shop - T for Edgar

One of my favorite things to do at work in my free time is to click through Etsy's pounce tool and look at all of the new shops that haven't had any sales yet.  This is how I found T for Edgar.   T for Edgar is definitely not going to remain undiscovered for very long.  They have a gorgeous selection of jewelry made with gemstones and sterling silver.  I especially love these earrings. 

Ocean Dreams Earrings

  

Pink Candy Earrings

Giveaway!! - Face Scrubbies

Last week I posted a tutorial for how to make your own face scrubbies and I have been making them all week long whenever I have had a free minute.  Now I am going to share them with you as my first blog giveaway!!

The winner will receive the face scrubbies pictured.  (2 pink, 2 purple, 2 confetti) Since this is my first giveaway I will make it super simple.

To enter:
1.  follow this blog
2.  leave a comment including how you can be reached if you win

The winner will be randomly selected on February 14th.  (Happy Valentine's Day)

Super Sweet Treasury

One of my fellow Owlies was recently featured in this treasury and I had to share it here.  If I were to use pictures to describe how I'm feeling today this would be it.  Sweet, soft pinks and creams and Valentine's happiness.  Click here for a closer look.

Bioartography (my job as art)

When I'm not running my shop on Etsy my full time job is as a graduate student. I study developmental biology. The goal of my research is to better understand how the skeleton develops so that new strategies can be designed for bone healing and repair.

One thing that I really love about my work is the overlap of science and art. I spend a lot of time looking at tissue sections under the microscope to examine the expression of specific proteins. This is an image that I captured of a section that shows the neural tube, kidney, and somites (what will become vertebrae). It is amazing to me how beautiful biology is.

This image is part of the bioartography collection from the University of Michigan's Center for Organogenesis. Scientists from the university submit photographs that they have taken during the process of their research and a panel of artists and professors chooses the most remarkable and beautiful images to be sold. All proceeds go towards funding graduate students and post docs.

You can take a look at the rest of the collection here https://bioartography.myshopify.com/

Gastric Rainbow

(my favorite bioartography piece)

Cupcakes!

Super cute, adorable, delicious... who couldn't love cupcakes? Today my day is all about cupcakes because my cupcake iPhone cases have been so popular that I need to make more.



I thought I would share these and some other great cupcakes from across Etsy.

Tutorial - Crochet Face Scrubbies

I love these super simple crochet face scrubbies. They are perfect for washing your face in the morning and removing makeup at night. You can make a few to keep for yourself and they also make great gifts.

What you will need:

100% cotton yarn (I'm using Lily Sugar n' Cream)
Size H crochet hook
Yarn needle

Directions:

1. Chain 4.
2. Insert your hook into first chain stitch forming a ring.
3. Yarn over hook and draw through stitch and loop.



4. Chain 3, 12 double crochet into center of the ring.
5. Complete the circle by putting your hook through the first double crochet.
6. Yarn over hook and draw through stitch and loop.
7. Chain 3, 2 double crochet in each stitch of the first round.
8. Close circle as before and use your yarn needle to weave in ends.



I made a few face scrubbies and some washcloths and added them to a basket with homemade soap I got from Etsy. I think this will make a great Mother's Day gift.

Pamper Yourself!

Recently I have been on a handmade soap kick. I bought my first bar from an Etsy seller a few months back and now I'm hooked. I love the fact that they are handmade and you can find just about any scent you can imagine. Plus there are all sorts of other bath and body items I can't wait to try like bubble bath dough and sugar scrub cubes. I've been experimenting with making homemade sugar scrubs and I will share that soon but for now here are a few great bath products from Etsy: