Seasonal Snowflakes

I remember the magic of being taught how to cut out my own snowflakes. How easy, and yet rewarding it was to carefully fold a piece of paper and then cut tiny shapes out. My inner perfectionist, always hard at work when it came to crafting, even as a child, loved to try to make infinitely more delicate and complicated snowflake designs.

I have to admit now that I haven't taken the time to really make some great cutout snowflakes, but I still love them and anything else that has to do with snowflakes at all, really.

In celebration of this wonderful little natural geometric phenomenon, I'd like to share with you a few of my favorite snowflake inspired items that I've found on Etsy.

Winter - 5 Cards and 5 Recycled Brown Kraft Envelopes


These beautiful greeting cards by Interrupt Designs are eco-friendly and perfect for sending off a sweet greeting to friends and loved ones.

Whimsical Snowflake Gingerbread Cookies


These sweet gingerbread cookies by Just-Iced would be great gift or treat for Valentine's Day and look absolutely scrumptious. I love that the snowflakes are decorated with bright colors and not just the usual blues and grays that are so commonly used for snowflake designed items.

Floating Flakes Irish Coffee Mugs


And to finish it off, what would be better than a cup of decadent hot cocoa served up with whipped cream (and maybe some good Irish Whiskey;) in these gorgeous engraved mugs by Daydream Designs. I even love the name of their shop.

There's something magical about snowflakes, especially in their unique and perfect geometry, formed out of the tiniest filaments of ice crystals and falling down from above like magic. At least, like magic until you're stuck in your house because all that magic is three feet deep outside your door.

But it's humid and "warm" in Western Washington, so I can enjoy the beauty... from afar.

Hope for the New Year: Welcome to Twenty-Ten

As part of my New Year's resolution, I really want to be focusing on growing my business. Part of this is participating in the Etsy Bloggers team (like I mentioned in the previous post).

One of our requirements for membership is participating in the Blog Carnival, which is a great way to direct traffic to your blog, and hopefully through that, your Etsy store.

I missed the deadline for this carnival, but I'm going to participate anyways as sort of an exercise. Get in the swing of things, as it were.

The topic I chose for this carnival is (drum roll please):

Now that 2010 is here, what do you have planned/look forward to/hope to accomplish this year?

A great question, considering that for the first time in years I actually took the time to think about this and have already started implementing a number of my plans.

I'm really hoping to separate all my business finances from my personal finances. I've started by getting an EID (Employer Identification Number) from the IRS, which was surprisingly easy and fast considering I had to deal with a government agency. With that I'll be able to open a bank account in my business' name.

I've also been approached by a boutique in the midwest that's interested in selling some of my knitted items, so I'm getting ready to start wholesaling. That's a lot of work and I've been doing a lot of research. Thankfully, Etsy has a number of great forum threads and resources that I have been a huge help on pointing me in the right direction. Check out this great forum thread for a lot of great wholesaling resources.

Something else I'm hoping to accomplish is learning how to sew. I've done some over the years on other people's sewing machines, but now that I have one of my own I'm really hoping to integrate a number of sewn crafts, namely costume items, bags and purses, and childrens and womens clothing, into my merchandise.

One more major thing is that I'm hoping to be better prepared for holiday shoppers by making sure I have gift-friendly items in my shops.

That pretty much covers everything I hope to do with my business this year. It should keep me very busy, which is great. Hopefully it'll also pad my pocketbook.

I think I'll keep my personal resolutions to myself ;)

Featured Etsy Blogger of the Month

Time is rushing by! I've been running this blog and my Etsy store since October and things are starting to get easier to organize. To celebrate, I'm going to start (finally) participating in the Etsy Bloggers, an Etsy street team that I joined ages ago but just haven't had time to work with.

So, without further ado, I'm proud to present Nico Designs. Besides having an adorable Etsy store, Nico Designs also has a fantastic blog with a number of great tips and tricks for sewing a variety of projects.

A recent post of her's I really liked reading was Using Japanese Patterns. I just got a snazzy new sewing machine for Christmas and have been stocking up on all the various supplies I'll need and I really think that trying some of these gorgeous patterns for my daughter would be a blast.

If you haven't heard of Nico Designs, you should head right over to her shop and take a look around.

I just a adore her Isabella Crib Shoes. Aren't they adorable?



I know. I love them too.

Etsy Bloggers Holiday Sale! Black Friday to Cyber Monday

Ring in this epic holiday season with Etsy Bloggers and buy that special someone a wonderful, handmade and original gift. Remember, homemade says, "You're so special I wanted to buy you something as lovely and original as you are!" Isn't that a better message than, "I bought you what everyone else is getting too"? Of course it is!

Check out the Etsy Bloggers Treasury by clicking here!

For a list of participating shops in the Etsy Bloggers sale be sure to check out our Etsy shop at EtsyBloggers.Etsy.Com.

Also! At My Shop receive 30% off your entire order when you use promotional code BlackNovember in the Message to Seller box when you pay. I will refund you, via PayPal, 30% of your cost.

It's always a great time to buy handmade, but even better with Christmas coming up. Share the homemade love with your family and friends and buy them something wonderful, unique, special, and original for Christmas. I promise they'll appreciate it!

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!