Greeting Cards Of The Month

When I think back to summers growing up, I think of roses. My father loved his roses.

For June meet Colorado photographer Julie Magers Soulen. Her lovely flower photographs, delicate roses and beautiful blue and purple flowers make stunning cards.

Not only is Julie an accomplished photographer,  she has a very artistic way of displaying her artwork.

Julie Magers Soulen Etsy Shop

Spotlight On Claylady42 Of Etsy Michigan Trolls

For as long as I can remember I have enjoyed doing some sort of craft. I never seriously thought about making a business out of it until 6 years ago. My husband was looking for a hobby while I studied to get my realtor's license, so he bought 1500 ceramic molds. Yep, 1500! Needless to say the real estate market tanked and I got interested in learning about these molds and what I can make.

Once I got the hang of it, I started working with day cares and held parties to teach others this wonderful craft so they could make their own keepsake. Then I discovered hand-building and all the wonderful textures you could add and the infinite possibilities of what can be made. I discovered Etsy through my father- in-law who read an article about it, so I gave it a try.

I'm totally addicted to my clay and Etsy!

My favorite texture is a doily. While helping to clean out my parents' basement, we came across a suitcase of old linens and doilies. I just had to see what I could make with them! Not only do I feel I'm bringing back some sort of nostalgia using the doilies, but I feel like I'm keeping my family's memories alive. I love my ceramics and I always get a warm fuzzy feeling when someone thinks my items would make a nice addition to their home!

Greeting Card Of The Month

Father's Day Card

This is a new feature. Once a month I am going to feature a card from shops on Etsy.

This Is A Special Father's Day Wish
For A Day Filled With Happiness

Spotlight On Kelly Of AttitudesOfRed

Hi, I am Kelly, of AttitudesOfRed. I started my Etsy shop late last year, but began beading long before that. I started beading with a good friend, just as something fun to do, then continued to make jewelry to match certain outfits. I work outside the house full time, and have a husband and two small kids, so my daily life keeps me busy. Now I bead to have time to myself and the peace and quiet that comes with it.

The name of my shop comes from my lovable and spunky red-headed daughter. She helped me realize that my mood and attitude are what determines what jewelry I am going to wear on any given day. My physical shop is wherever I can find a free minute to work, usually after everyone is in bed and the house is quiet. I enjoy getting to know other crafters on Etsy, especially those local. I have learned so much from them, and hope to continue to, and to grow my online shop. Thanks for checking it out! Thanks, again. ~Kelly

Spring Is Here In South Eastern Michiagn!

Spring is here. I know it, even though it is cold by the Yellow Crocus in my front yard. My Day Lilies are about 2 inches tall, and so are my Irises.

I planted new Cone Flowers last fall. Orange, Yellow, and a Green variety. Hope they come up so I can take some photos and let everyone see how lovely they are.


Cathy 4 / 7 / 2011

Spotlight on Alpha Dog Photo

Meet Ada, A.K.A. AlphaDogPhoto on Etsy. One day about five years ago my husband and I were visiting the Fountain of Youth in St. Augustine, Florida when Steve looked down at the sidewalk and said, "look, this crack looks just like a K." That was the start of a very addictive hobby.


We have traveled all over the United States and have taken photos of pretty much every crack and crevice we ever walked by. We go on wonderful vacations with beautiful scenery and come back with photographs of things that look like letters…but none of ourselves. We’ve even been driving down a highway and had to turn around and go back because something looked like a "P". Many times I’ll focus in on something on the ground or way up high--I must admit unlikely places for a Kodak moment. By the time I’m done snapping away, I realize that passersby are looking up or down perplexed and trying to figure out what I could possibly be taking a photo of. Little do they know that it’s something that looks like a letter that will eventually end up on Etsy.
In November 2010 we joined Etsy and wish we had signed up years before when one of our friends told us about it. We tried, and failed many times, at setting up our own website. Merchant accounts, tags, URLs… it was all so confusing. Etsy took a difficult and expensive part of our business and made it easy and affordable. We sell our alphabet photos and unique barn wood frames at craft fairs and Farmer Markets and love meeting new people and being part of the crafting community. What we did not expect when we joined Etsy was that it was also a community, but even BIGGER! I just shipped to the United Kingdom today and "convo’d" with someone in Hong Kong.

Who knew that Steve noticing a crack in the sidewalk would lead to an International business called Alpha Dog Photo?
www.alphadogphoto.etsy.com

To Twitter or Not to Twitter?

I don't know how you felt when you opened your shop with Etsy or Artfire. I didn't know anything about setting up a shop, nothing about online e-commerce, would I need a webmaster to do it? Would anyone look at it? How do you collect the money?

Before I joined Etsy I did get a website, and I had a Business Paypal account and an email account set up by my webmaster. It was still a slow process for me. What to add to my shop. Now I add images that are new and sometimes different than what I sell at Art shows. I love the creativeness that Etsy has given me to try different things. There is so much to do now during the winter off-season. I also love the world-wide market place Etsy has opened up for me to sell my cards and photographs in. And still have the Shop Local option, for Michigan sales.

I am now in the process of converting some of my old negatives to digital, a very slow process, some of them aren't in as good of condition as I hoped they would be in. An example is the blue boat above, taken in 1985, in Connemara, Ireland, on a rainy afternoon. The old boat has been retired. The grounds landscaped and the Abbey enlarged. New boats are in its place, nice boats, but without the character the old boat had.

I recommend Handmadeology, Facebook, and Twitter to new people to e-commerace whether it is Etsy, Artfire, or one of the card companies.


Cathy March 8, 2011