Drying Roses

Roses are really easy to dry -- Look for ones either in you garden or to buy that are fairly fresh -- and not too past peak.   They need a place where the air is fairly dry -- you have to be careful that they dry out before rotting.  Do not leave in direct sunlight as the sun will fade out the color.   I find my house is perfect in winter months for drying -- when the air in the house is dry and harsh but we will see what happens here in July. 

While at trader Joes, I found these roses on sale called "Savoy".  They are a creamy shade, with darker pink around the edge.  They looked like they were in decent shape. 

The smaller tea roses dry better since there is less chance of rotting because they dry faster.  The pink shades dry really nicely.  The color intensifies as they dry so a pale pink might become quite vibrant when dry.  These are not the smaller tea roses and I'm not sure how the creamy shade will dry so we will have to see how they come out. 

 So, all you do is take off wrapper -- hang in a dry spot -- out of direct sunlight.  Here are mine hanging in a corner of my kitchen.  You might want to group them into smaller bunches so that they don't touch one another -- or separate by stuffing some tissue paper in center of the bunch.  A fan might help also to dry them more quickly.  Check on them in two weeks or so and make sure the stems are completely dry and stiff before taking down.  You then can arrange in a vase will some kind of filler like baby's breath or dried greens or break buds from stems and use to decorate a wreath or wall hanging.  Check back here in two weeks to see how these come out and see what I plan to do with them.  You can visit my Etsy shop here to see some of my wreaths and wall hangings.

Janeen T.of JT Web Marketing on Etsy

I was approached recently by Janeen T.of JT Web Marketing with an offer to edit some of my pictures in exchange for a blog post about her shop and services.

Press release writing for your Etsy shop

She is an internet enthusiast with over ten years of web experience who just recently opened her Etsy shop. Having quality photos in your Etsy shop is so important so I was thrilled with the offer and anxious to see what she could do to improve my photos.  I send her 5 of my product photos and she edited and lightened up the backgrounds in each.  Here are some of the before and after photos.

Edited photo

My original photo

 Janeen offers various services in her JT Web Marketing Etsy shop.  Besides photo editing, her other services include Banner and Logo Designs, Website and Blog Header Designs, Product Description Writing, Video Advertisement Creation, Press Release Writing and Submission, and Article Writing.  I don't know about you but I know I could use help with all of those.  Click here to view her listing for photo editing. 

Wreath, heart shape, dried roses and seashells - $29.00

A 18" twig heart wreath decorated with seashells, sea glass and mini pink dried roses accented with lavender and eucalyptus. Created in a smoke free home.

Click Here to Visit My Etsy Shop!

On Sale at Angels n Everlastings

If you'd like something special to decorate your home or dress your front door, take advantage of these special prices on these beautiful spring/summer wreaths.  Each one has been reduced by $10.00.  Prices will never be lower.

 This pretty spring heart wreath is a great buy at $17.00:

Heart Twig Wreath with Silk Flowers

This generous sized 18" grapevine wreath decorated with silk flowers in spring colors of pink, purple, and yellow is now $39.00. This wreath can hang with decoration on side or bottom. It could even hang with decoration at top.

18" Pink Purple Door Wreath

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One more beauty-also a 18" grapevine frame and a  great buy at $39.00:

Silk Flower Front Door Wreath

Special orders don't upset us on Etsy

Heart twig wreath

A great feature about shopping on Etsy is being able to communicate directly with the shop owner -- the creator, the artist.  Many shop owners on Etsy, welcome requests for special orders.  If you are unfamiliar with Etsy, it is an online marketplace where you can buy unique handmade and vintage items directly from independent sellers from all around the world.  Check it out here.  As you can see their are all sorts of categories with oodles of choices.  If you like handmade or one of a kind products you will love checking out these unique listings.

Recently I received a request for one of my photo frames but the customer wanted something a bit different.  She contacted me and told me what she liked about my photo frames but then told me what she wanted.
Here was her request - she referred to this listing:

Photo frame embellished with seashells & sea glass

"Do you do custom orders? Kind of looking for something a bit more simple, I think.... preferably a 3x5 photo size (but 4x5 would be okay too. It is for a horizontal photo... and I was just thinking some pieces of pale aqua sea glass, maybe on the bottom corner... and if that is too plain, possibly a couple of tiny shells sprinkled in. Maybe a few pieces in the top (opposite) corner.... but only a few."

This is what I put together:

 So, if you see something that interests you in my Etsy shop, contact me and I'll see if I can do something special for you.  If I put something together and it's not right, there is no obligation.  If you decide the finished product is not right -- I'll list it in my shop for sale.  In my shop I offer front door wreaths, silk and dried flower wall hangings and seashell decor.

Spring front door wreath

 Here are a few listings I found on Etsy offering "special orders":

Handmade modern crochet accessories by Loopdeedoo

Special order handebar bag by Savvysacs

Can you make money on the internet?



Twig heart wreath

Selling on the Internet - Easy Right?
Not so fast. While there are opportunities to sell your handmade creations on-line - It's not quick or easy.

Handmade sun dress and matching purse

This is my third year selling my silk and dried floral home decor on Etsy.  For those who are unfamiliar with Etsy it is an online shopping site for handmade, vintage or supplies.  Take a look for yourself here.  There is everything imaginable for sale on Etsy.
From handmade childrens clothing -
to unusual one of a kind handmade jewelry - handmade pens, photography or artwork - Etsy is the place to find that unusual one of a kind item.



Rainbow moonstone bracelet

Eash seller sets up their own on-line shop.  Once set up, the wait for sales to begin.  I really thought by this time I would have made my first fortune yet I'm still trying to turn a profit.  I mean, take a look at my shop here and the beautiful, one of a kind, handcrafted dried and silk floral home decorations that I create.  The problem is that it's easy to get lost in the crowd.  You need to spend a considerable amount of time promoting what you sell.   If you are thinking of starting an internet business, familiarize yourself with some social media sites, the most popular being facebook, twitter, pinterest or stumbleupon.



Handcrafted wooden pen

On Etsy, there are teams that you can join which give you a chance to socialize, share ideas and help promote one another. You can easily find a team where you fit in as there are numerous teams to choose from.  On Etsy, I found a Christian team called the CASTteam (Christian Artist Street Team) Being a Christian, you like to cross paths with other likeminded Christians. With over 3000 members, the CASTteam is a great way to connect with other Christians from all over the world. On the CASTteam, we help one another with business but more importantly, we support one another as Christians. We share our burdens, we pray for one another, and we laugh and cry together. It's interesting that there are so many different backgrounds or Christian religions represented in the group, yet there is real harmony, as we are all one in Christ.    

Erasable magnetic calendar

So if you are thinking about starting a on-line business, these are just a few of the things you need to think about.  Jump in and who knows who you might meet on-line.

Highlights from 2011 sales

I thought I would review my sales from 2011 as I prepare for new things in 2012.  I'm wondering if I should repeat any of my items that sold.  I suppose I should but I find that I don't have interest in repeating something.  Very often my pieces as one of a kind. Here are some of my favorite creations that sold from my Angelsneverlastings Etsy shop in 2011.

In January I sold this dried flower wall topiary. I had two and both were sold to the same person.

This dried topiary was flat backed and hung flat against a wall.  This unique grapevine base was carefully decorated with soft green tone emerald king and accented with velvety pink celosa, soft pink globe amaranth, burgundy nigella, and soft white larkspur.

Here's another unique wreath that sold in March.
A heart shaped twig wreath beautifully decorated with white shells, soft green emerald king, fragrant lavender, pink celosa and white larkspur. This wreath measured approximately 20" across. It was so soft looking and much more beautiful than the picture showed.

One of my mini-wreaths sold in April.
Dried flowers and sea shells decorated a 6" grapevine.  These are perfect if you have a small spot to fill.

This grapevine wall hanging sold in June.  This was a  beautiful grapevine twig background with a handmade cloth angel. The angel was accented with silver king, deep blue larkspur, velvety pink celosa, pink globe amaranth, and fragrant eucalyptus.  Here was the feedback from the customer:
"Love this! It is perfect for what I had in mind. And it arrived in very good shape - good packaging on a fragile item. Thank you. Highly recommended seller"



In October this beautiful dried flower gathering was sold:

A dried flower mix of fragrant lavender, velvety pink celosia, white larkspur and globe amaranth beautifully decorate a bow shaped twig base.

Feedback from customer:  "Very beautiful and fragrant display. Nicely packaged for shipment."

 This unique angel shaped grapevine decorated with mixed dried florals sold in November. 
Customer feedback:  "Super quick shipping - so cute!"









Here is one of my seashell photo frames that sold in December.  This 4" by 6" photo frame is decorated with assorted seashells and sea glass



 



And lastly, this Christmas wreath sold in December. 

Customer feedback:  "JUST BEAUTIFUL!!! Very fast delivery! Packaged very well."

So here I am looking for inspiration and ideas.   What should I do in 2012?  Should I continue my dried flowers?  Should I do more silks?  Photo frames? Angels?  More holiday wreaths?  I would appreciate any comments or ideas you might have.  I'll be here but I'm taking a few months off to recharge and renew my creative energies.  In March I should have some new creations to list in my etsy store.