Monday Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Review on Tuesday

My 11 year old daughter has been beside herself waiting for this movie to come out. Evidently it was heavily pushed in elementary school a couple of years ago and she had fond memories of the book. We couldn't go see it the first weekend so we went this past weekend. My 14 year old was too cool to go, so my husband suggested that they go to a scary movie together while I took my daughter and her friend to Meatballs in 3D no less.

We got our corny glasses and went into the theatre. I let them pick their own seats while I sat on the aisle near the top. Of course they sat front row. They loooooved it. I on the other hand thought it was typical Disney. Mom dies, dad has trouble communicating, "the man" is the villain. etc. I found the use of color a little over the top. First scenes are dull tones, food portion of the movie's candy colored. Almost nonexistent use of blue except for the heroes eyes. I also have to confess that food and I have a love hate relationship and I left feeling a little nauseous, the 3D effect not helping matters!

My son and husband used questionable judgement and went to see Sorority Row. In a surprise move my son got up and left the movie 2/3 way through and met us in meatballs, saying and I quote "Mom that movie was full of Ho's" (is that the right spelling?).

that was our weekend at the movies!

Today is the first in a series of features on etsy shops open less than 6 months. I had a great response to this so I have quite a few to feature!

Excess Baggage Solutions http://www.seville83.etsy.com/ is my first feature.

Why do you craft? I craft because I never quite feel right not doing anything. I always have to be using my mind and my hands, so I do a lot of multi tasking, like today I was finishing up season 5 of House while restructuring a bag for a friend. It gives me something productive to do with my time and let’s me enjoy my friend’s reactions when I can show a new piece I’ve created.

What is your shop theme? Right now it’s a bit jumbled. The initial theme of everything was quilted bags and other quilted items. I’ve got some photography in there right now, but I’m thinking about starting another account for the sale of the photography and it’s related items.

Why did you decide to open a shop on etsy? This summer when I decided “yes, I can run my own little business type adventure” I was sitting on my friend’s front porch turning some straps when his sister came home and asked what I was up to and after I explained and mentioned that I was going to try eBay because it was the only thing I knew, she mentioned Etsy. I checked it out the next day and set up my shop right then and there.

What has been the most challenging thing in setting up your shop? I think after realizing that in order to keep everything 100% legit I had to file all these things with the state first and so on it was realizing that I have to work really hard to get myself out there and noticed and have people want to pay attention to me.

What has been the most rewarding experience you’ve had on etsy? My first 2 sales were a trade, my 3rd was a donation for a review. I was sitting in class a few days ago bored out of my mind and decided for giggles that I would check out my store front to see if any views had changed or anything (like I said, I was really bored). Well I was looking and numbers and saw that it said “sales: 5” and I’m sitting there going “I have 3 sales, what’s wrong with this number. Somebody bought something… OMG SOMEBODY BOUGHT SOMETHING!!!!” This was the first sale that I had that somebody just wanted my stuff and bought it and it made all the crap I’ve had to dig through to get to that point totally worth it.

Finishing the Sale, Etsy Tips

So you have a shop now and have made a couple of sales but things aren't going as smoothly as you thought?

Well you aren't alone! In some of the groups I'm in we are seeing an increase in the amount of time it takes for the buyer to pay. A lot of times it is because new buyers are unfamiliar with how to complete a sale in etsy. I recently came across a seller http://www.amorevivo.etsy.com/ .

She sells wedding florals and sees a lot of first time etsy buyers. She includes in her listings the text

"If you're NEW to Etsy, here is a helpful link to guide you through the checkout process: Very Easy to Buy!!http://www.etsy.com/help_guide_checkout.php "

This link takes them to the super explanatory link that takes them step by step through payment. I loved this and thought it was a great solution to both welcome new buyers and guide them through the process and in return, get your cash! I just had to share, thanks AmoreVivo!

Also, when you ship internationally you are required to fill out a form 2976 or 2976 A . On those forms is an identification number. Keep your receipts! These have recorded on them the scanned id number and even though it doesn't work every time, if you need to track that package many times you are able to get a status by putting that number into the tracking number blank on the usps website. In addition if you need to investigate a missing package you can go to the post office and with that number send an information request. I know from experience that shipping internationally can sometimes be frustrating so every little bit of information helps! Well, all you etsy sellers have a great day and if you have a tip of your own, post it here in comments, I love new ideas!

Helpful Websites for Etsy Shopkeepers

There are soooo many websites out there that claim to be informative, helpful, etc, but which ones actually have good information? You hear through the grapevine about different sites here or there so I've listed a few, maybe you can find one that is helpful for you!

Etsy Price/Profit Calculator - http://www.rolbe.com/etsy.htm

Heartomatic View/Heart Synopsis - http://www.craftcult.com You can also browse Front Page Treasuries there!

Craftopolis Treasure Hunt - http://www.craftopolis.com/ search current treasuries to see where you might be featured. Also has a treasury clock to see when new treasuries can be created.

Poster Sketch for Treasuries - http://www.etsy.com/poster_sketch.php create a treasury here have it ready when they open!

Etsy Wiki - http://etsywiki.com/index.php?title=Main_Page Tons of information from who are the top sellers to how to open an account

Etsy Hacks - http://www.etsyhacks.com/ home of the popular "copy listing" function

Lets-Ets - http://letsets.com/ valuable tool to help you upload your items to google base so they
show up in google shopping search results, more helpful than you might think!

Google Analytics Setup - http://www.etsy.com/storque/etsy-news/tech-update-etsy-web-analytics-now-available-3141/ - read this post to find out how to set up google analytics for your
shop.

Okay if you are a new seller this is probably more information than you want, but each of these links provides valuable tools for both fun and in depth ways to help get your shop out there, so click a few links have a little fun and sell a little more! (okay, maybe sell a lot more we hope!)

Everything Old is New Again, or New is Old Again?

Felt and Fabric are my mediums, Paint and Glue, ehhh, not so much. I've found some great artists/creative people lately though. Whether it is re-making an old bed to match new decor or taking new things and making them look old it is all great re-theming of items to match your purpose.

For example take a look at this refinished bed......

Robin in her blog Sweet Little Memories documents the transformation of this old bed and the room it goes in. She repainted it to go with new decor.

In the opposite vein Rosida of Handmade by Decoupage Art took new items from Ikea and remade them into shabby chic style items.

So as you can see whether it is something old becoming new, or new becoming old it is all beautiful and beautifully matched to it's purpose! Take a visit to their blogs for more projects and some great pics of items in shops in Greece!

Out of Character, Rant and a Call to Be Careful!

Usually I stay away from political, sensitive subjects, I'm never really tooooo opinionated about anything in my blog but the movies!

This week though my son had a rude awakening. He is 19 and if you have read some of my other entries got his first apartment off campus this year. Like a lot of students, he is somewhat nocturnal, getting a lot of work done in the evening and at night. He was leaving his studio space at school Monday night when he saw three people hanging out near the building. They were not students. About that time a girl student came out of the building and started to walk home as well. He decided to walk with her and that together they should be okay.

It is only a block to his apartment, near there the girl split off from him to go to her own apartment. He went into his parking lot and the three guys that he had lost track of during the short walk came up to him with a gun and asked for whatever he had. He immediately gave them his backpack and wallet and they left.

We were so thankful he was not harmed. Warn your kids, loved ones etc to be careful, in this economy people are doing desperate things.

I asked that the guys who got him be led down a different path. That same effort put into a positive goal eventually would lead to positive results. Raise your children in a positive environment, give them daily doses of uplifting words and actions. Make them the change and yourself the instrument that makes it happen, no government can do it for you.

What Woman Doesn't Love Shoes?

I had an especially successful day of vintage shopping this week. I found lots of different things, but, my most prized "find" this week were some 1960's pumps. I'm sure they were from the same original owner, since they are the same size and similar styles and she had great taste!

Classic pump style but they have huge amounts of 1960's personality, find them now in my etsy shop retrochique.

While I'll never know much about this lady and her life I read a blog post this week about another lady and her family and their quest for shoes and the wonderful friendships and connections it has created for them! Read about Shelley and her family and their quest for shoes here, it's an old fashioned story about the always special process of getting your back to school shoes!

A Total Romantic Indulgence - Movie Review

I didn't feel great yesterday so I decided to take a Mom is tired and stressed break yesterday morning. I can't just do nothing though so I watched a netflix movie that neither my kids nor husband would watch, Twilight.

Okay I understand why my manly man husband didn't want to watch the vampire flick and also my 13 year old son, who told us it was a girly movie. My daughter is sporty too and not really taken to the whole fantasy thing either. But, I Loved It!

Totally self indulgent from the girls point of view this movie is about a girl and the guy who finds her special and will do just about anything to protect/love her. The whole vampire back story is just dark, appealing window dressing. And face it there is so much gothic, romantic aura about vampires it is natural. There isn't any sex or naked body parts, ever. The couple of kisses are so tortured, and full of want though the tension is huge! So Ladies, grab you a pint of your favorite Ben and Jerry's if you haven't seen this one and curl up for a totally romantic and entertaining evening.