BESTeam Feature

It's time for my weekly BESTeam feature.  Once a week on our blogs we feature 3 or 4 of the members of the BESTeam.  If you have a blog and are looking for a team that will push you to keep up with your blog posting - The BESTeam is a good choice.  

The first shop that I would like to feature is knitfuldezigns.  Veronica Grace of Knitfuldezigns has some basic knit hats for adults or children.  She also has some creative knit accessories like bows and headbands along with knit scrubbies and baby booties.  Stop by and take a look.  If you see something you like -or if you want a different color - she is willing to do custom orders. 

Here is a darling toddler hat from Knitfuldezigns on Etsy:

Toddler's Hat by KnitfulDezigns on Etsy
Here are the other links for Knitfuldezigns:
Facebook   Blog     Twitter

The next shop to feature is GMaEllenCrochetGifts.  

Ellen Mackler of GMaEllenCrochetGifts has some unique crochet items in her shop.  She calls it "Not your everyday, ordinary crochet".  Check out this heirloom lace edging. It is handmade using a double strand of bedspread weight cotton thread.

Here is what Ellen says about her heirloom crochet lace border edging:

"I am particularly fond of this one. It is a little bold because of the double strand of thread. Use your imagination and it can be used in so many ways.

As shown it has dressed up my secretary very nicely. Use it on a shelf to really dress up your home decor. Use on shelving in your kitchen . . . wow! Really makes a statement!

Get brave, use it as a fashion neck scarf. Dress up that satin blouse. It drapes around your shoulders and will fold over once, to hang nicely on a button up blouse." 

Here are her other links:               Facebook             Twitter

Heirloom Crochet Lace Border Edging by GMaEllenCrochetGifts

         

Infinity Scarf Crochet in Creamy Beige

Our Home to Yours is the next shop to feature.   Our Home to Yours is a creative mother daughter team.  The shop has a great mix of jewelry, crochet and home decor.  Debbie is the mom and creates the jewelry and floral decor.  Here is a crochet scarf created by daughter Amanda.   And here is a beautiful unique African beaded necklace by Debbie.  Here are their links - take a few minutes and check them out. 
Blog    Facebook   Twitter

African beaded necklace by ourhometoyours on Etsy


The last shop to feature this week is Absolutely Kismet on Etsy.    Check out this unique pendant.  This shop has
wine glass charms, stitch markers, and hemp and beaded jewelry.  If you are looking for unique stocking stuffers or gifts check out this shop.  



Tiger striped heart pendant

He calls me friend!

John 15 vs 12 by Angelasheartworks on Etsy

I am a friend of God - lyrics by Israel Houghton

VERSE:
Who am I that you are mindful of me
That you hear me, when I call
Is it true that you are thinking of me
How you love me, it's amazing (Who am I Lord)

CHORUS:
I am a friend of God
I am a friend of God
I am a friend of God
He calls me friend

God Almighty
Lord of Glory
You have called me friend

We sang this song at church on Sunday and every time we sing this song I am so moved.  Here on the internet and also in life, we spend much time trying to make the right connections.  We think, if only I knew someone who would help me.  If I could get the right people to follow my Facebook page or my twitter I could be successful.  There is much concern about who we have as a friend and how many friends we have.  If we are looking for a job we think, if only I knew someone who would help, the mayor or someone in some big company who would show favor to me.   

Well, we do have a friend to help in our times of need.  His name is Jesus and we can call upon Him and He hears our cry.   He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.  He is our advocate. He is God and He calls me friend!

Here is an uplifting version by Israel Houghton and New Breed.  Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXFi6lUUz5s

Etsy shops from the BESTeam

This is my very first BESTeam feature.  I just joined the BESTeam this week and have spent some time familiarizing myself with the many shops on the team.  If you are looking for a team which encourages marketing via blog posting this team would be a good choice.  There are some very talented members on the team and I have some shops that I would like to share with you.  One great thing about having an Etsy shop is that via your computer you meet shop owners from all over the world.

The first shop I would like to share is Riorita.  Irith of Riorita is a gold and silversmith from Tel Aviv, Israel.  How cool is that?  I would love to buy something made by hand in Israel.  Check out her shop to find unique handmade jewelry designs.  She likes to combine her jewelry with semi-precious stones, ancient glass and beach glass or pebbles from the Sea of Galilee.  Here is a beautiful sterling silver ring from Riorita with a gorgeous oval blue kyanite stone. 

Riorita's blog   /Facebook   /twitter

Sterling silver oval kyanite ring by Riorita on Etsy

My second shop to share is Las Flores Del Sur. Marisa of Las Flores Del Sur is from Montevideo, Uruguay.
This shop has an assortment of necklaces, bracelets and earrings with glass or acrylic beads.  Her seed and glass bead bracelets are beautiful.  Marisa has a second shop Flores Del Sur which carries handmade hair pins, hair clips, pins and brooches.  Check out this owl necklace from Las Flores Del Sur.

An owl in a starry night by Las Flores Del Sur

The final shop that I would like to share is Poison Garden on Etsy.  This shop carries neovictorian, gothic, steampunk jewelry and accessories.  The location for this shop is Lafayette, Indiana.  Every piece in the shop is unique.  Take a look at this unique necklace made with icy cracked glass beads, accented by glowing blue crystals.  Just beautiful!

Neo Victorian cracked glass necklace by Poison Garden

So here are just three of the many talented shops that belong to the BESTeam -- check them out!

Trading or Bartering On-Line

I have to admit, I'm not an expert on this subject.  I did my very first trade this week.  While we all are thrilled when we sell one of our listings and make some money, another way to do business and benefit is to trade. If you are limited with money, you can trade your artwork or creations for something of equal value.  There are teams or social groups on Etsy specifically for trade friendly shops. Here is one that has over 1000 members called Etsy Trade Team and here's another with over 2000 members called Etsy Trade-a-holics   Just search the teams on Etsy  with "trade"" to find other trade friendly teams on Etsy.  If you find something you'd like to have -- send the shop owner a message asking if she is interested in trading.  Don't feel bad if she says no.  It just might be that what you have is very nice but not what she is looking for or not her taste. 
So my trade came about when I received a convo or message from  DELdreamart on Etsy asking whether I was willing to trade.  I took a look at her shop and it just so happened that I was looking for someone to do just the kind of art work that she did.  Here is an artwork from her shop. 

Fairy Dancing by DELdreamart on Etsy

I have a friend who had written a children's book which had some mystical characters and I was looking for someone to do a artwork that illustrated some of the scenes in the book.  I asked her if she would do a special art work for me to give to my friend for her birthday.  We agreed on a value and in exchange for the artwork she picked two items from my shop.   Here are the two items from my shop that she chose:

So I sent her the descriptions from the book which included a young girl with long brown hair and blue gray eyes.  She lived in a cottage on a small farm.  There was a field with bluebells and heather and fairies and a  queen fairy.  So this is what she did for me.

 
She matted it nicely and I gave it to my friend and she loved it.  Overall this trade was quite the positive experience.  I might just join one of the trade friendly teams myself.  One good thing about doing a trade is that it shows as a sale on Etsy, and it is also a great way to build up positive feedback. 

You want to sell your creations on-line.........

Here is another post for those wishing to sell their creations on-line.  I have had my Etsy store for about two years now and I probably know 10% of what I need to know to run a successful ecommerce business.  If you'd like to take a look, visit my Angelsneverlastings Etsy shop.   There are a lot of skills you will need.  You will need to be creative, have patience, be disciplined, have time, and be organized.  Last week I listed a few of the sites available for selling on-line.  Here are the steps once you have chosen a site. 

1.  Create your handmade items.  Create something that is unique and different from what is already being done.  Spend some time checking out what others are doing so you can set yourself apart. 

2. Photograph your items.  Your customers can't touch your product so your photos need to touch them.         Take the clearest, sharpest photo possible. If you are like me, your first photos won't be great but with some practice, they will improve.  You don't need a fancy camera but you do need to know how to get the best photos with the camera you have.  Familiarize yourself with how your camera settings work and how to get the best results.  If your photos aren't great, you can edit them after with good results.  There are some free photo editing programs available. Gimp for Windows, Picasa,  picnik, are a few popular free photo editing programs.  There is also a wealth of photography how to information on the web.  Here are just a few that I found. http://smallobjectphotography.com/ 
http://pareandfocus.com/index.htm/point-and-shoot-challange-making-point-and-shoot-pictures-look-more-like-a-dslr/
http://www.digital-photography-school.com/macro-photography-for-beginners-part-1

3. Post your listing including uploading the photos, choosing the title,  writing a description, and deciding on the price.  Choose a title very carefully so your items will be seen.  You want to choose words by how you think someone will search for your item.  The first few words in the title and description are the most important.  You might be tempted to come up with a cute name for something but if it's not something that someone will search for it's not a good idea.  For instance, if you sell hair bows, if your title is frilly silly pretty ribbon bows, no one will be searching for frilly or silly - you might want to use bows as the first word in the title, then maybe children's, babies, after that you can use descriptive words like frilly or silly if you want.  Here's one of my Etsy listings as an example:   http://www.etsy.com/listing/78779781/wreath-grapevine-dried-flowers-pink 

4. Do social networking to get your product seen.  You need to work hard to be seen.  Join some of the many social networking sites.  Facebook, Stumbleupon, Twitter, are a few of the more popular social sites.  Joining these sites is only the beginning - then you need to learn how to use them effectively.  There is so much helpful information on the web.  Here are a few sites to help: http://www.articlesbase.com/ecommerce-articles/how-to-use-facebook-for-business-and-marketing-4765088.html  http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/pages/how-to-use-twitter-for-e-commerce.aspx   http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/stumbleupon-guide/  Depending on which marketing site you choose, familiarize yourself with the social options available.  For instance, Etsy has "teams" you can join.  I believe Artfire has "Guilds". 

5.  Be patient!  If your items sell immediately that's great but most times it will take quite a while to be noticed.  Don't get discouraged.  The more items you list in your shop, the more opportunity there is to be seen.

Could you use some extra money?

Who couldn't? Are you creative?  Do you have some unique talent or skill?  Can you make something unusual - something that can't be purchased at the local Target or Walmart. Something that someone will see a picture of and say "I have to have it".   Would you like to use that talent to generate some additional income for yourself or your family?  Maybe you have some bills to pay off or would like to save for that something special. If so, you might want to utilize the internet to sell your handcrafted creations.  Do you have enough time to devote to creating, listing and promoting?  You can of course, set up your own web page and sell directly or you can set up shop in one of the on-line eCommerce marketplaces. Here are a few good eCommerce marketplace choices:

http://etsy.com - Their motto is  "Buy and sell handmade or vintage items, art and supplies on Etsy, the world's most vibrant handmade marketplace."   Etsy charges .20 per listing and when the item sells Etsy takes 3.5% of sale price.  You can visit etsy.com and search through the sellers in your category to get an idea of  what others are selling and for what price.  There are hundreds of thousands of sellers on Etsy and it can be very challenging for your shop to get noticed.  Here is a link to more  info about Etsy.


http://artfire.com - Their motto is "A premier handmade marketplace to buy and sell handmade crafts, supplies, vintage and art".  There are over 80,000 sellers on Artfire.  The cost for Artfire is $11.95 per month for unlimited listings and unlike Etsy there is no fee when your item is sold.  Like Etsy you can visit the Artfire site and look around at other shops and what they have for sale.  Here is a bit of history about Artfire. 

 http://handmadeartistsshop.com -  The Handmade Artists Shop is a relatively new handmade marketplace having started in December of 2009.  It is a much smaller marketplace than Etsy or Artfire. Unlike Etsy or Artfire, you cannot sell vintage (anything over 20 years old) on handmadeartistsshop.com.   No resellers, unaltered vintage, or non-handmade supplies are allowed.  They plan on closing open registration at 10,000 members and at that point, create a wait list and hand pick the remaining vendors, capping out at 20,000 members.  Take a few minutes and check out the shops and what they are selling.  You can sign up for either $5.00 per month or $50.00 per year.  There are no additional listing fees or fees when your item sells.  Here is a link to Handmade Artists' Shop info. 


Of course these are just three of many eCommerce marketplaces available on the internet.  I presently have a Etsy shop called Angels n Everlastings and at one point also had a Artfire shop but decided to close my Artfire shop to concentrate on my Etsy shop.  You'll find that setting up your shop is easy but that listing your items is just the beginning.  With over 100,000 shops on Etsy and 80,000 shops on Artfire it can be a challenge to not get lost in the crowd.  There is a wealth of knowledge available on the internet, Etsy or Artfire that will help you on this eCommerce journey.   In my next post I will  list some sources of information that will help you develop a successful eCommerce business.

Great Finds by Made for Me by Oaklie

Autumn Fall Front Door Wreath

My autumn/fall door wreath was selected as one of the featured fall items at. http://madeformebyoaklie.com/greatfinds.html 
Take a few moments to look at the beautiful items featured. I'm honored to be included with these talented artists and handmade crafters.  This is a voter contest so if you have a moment and want to vote for my wreath, I would really appreciate it.  You can click the link about or click the button to the right to view or vote. Here are a few of the other featured listings.

Carnelain Rainbow Bracelet by enlalumiere

Golden Seashell Beaded Scissor Fob by TJBdesigns