In Like a Lion

What's up with me?

About everything!

March has been crazy and I'm seeing some more craziness in my future.

I've sold two items so far this month, which is nice. It's been so slow on Etsy and I hope this is a sign that business is gonna pick up!
Also I sold a huge custom order on Etsy. A lady from California bought 320 custom magnets to give as favors for her wedding. I've ordered all the supplies and those should all be in by Wednesday. After Wednesday, I will be elbow-deep in magnets & gems & glue & loteria cards. I can't wait!

Also I've decided to spearhead an Etsy Craft Show. So I've been e-mailing back & forth with other Etsy sellers in the area and we plan to meet in a few days to start planning.
I don't know when the show is gonna be, but I'll let you know when I know.

So between magnets & craft shows... I looks like March is gonna go out like a lion too.

I'm happy to be busy!

Belated Resolutions

Well, I'm a sucker for peer pressure.

All along the web I've seen people (bloggers and such) talking about their New Years resolutions, in the crafty sense. Some talk about all the things they want to accomplish and all the things they want to create. Others talk about things they'd like to avoid or things they'll change.

And I'm usually a firm believer that resolutions don't work. Blah, blah change... blah, blah diet... blah, blah bigger boobs.

But secretly, I've been finding my hate towards resolutions softening. I now see that a new year is like changing the sheets. It's so fresh and crisp and it smells awesome!
Plus, everyone else is doing it (don't worry, this never worked on me with smoking).

So here are a few of my resolutions. Some are personal, but most involve m. ranae.

-- Blog more. No surprises here... especially if you actually read my blog and wait patiently for the next post (which sometimes takes a while).

-- Upload to Etsy more frequently. It's a known fact that the more days you upload stuff to Etsy the more "seen" you are. I use to upload tons of things at a time... now I pace myself (like a seasoned runner... running, of which I know nothing about).

-- Do at least one craft show. This may be harder than I think, because you have to be accepted to do it. I was recently rejected... so maybe my rejection streak will continue. Nonetheless, I'm gonna try.

-- Keep track of my papers. I don't sell tons & tons of stuff, but the bit I do involves some paperwork. This year I'm gonna keep my files organized and easy to locate. Yay!

-- Keep track of my life. I'm forgetful and scattered and sometimes I don't have a clue what I'm doing. I have an iPod with all the right apps... I just need to use them.

-- Learn more about running a business. I feel the key to success is know your enemy. My enemy is bookkeeping and other business related voodoo. I bought a "Gardening for Dummies" book and now I can actually grow things. I plan on buying "Small Business for Dummies" and start growing my biz.

-- Play more Plants vs. Zombies. Nuff said. Really.

-- Get healthier. I take a lot of vitamins and I try to be conscience of what I eat and do. I got into the habit of exercising last year, but fell out of it. This year I'm gonna conquer exercising.

-- Perfect my art. Every day I get better and better are making my bags, wallets, pouches & such. But there is still room for improvement. There are still things to learn. So I'm gonna keep on keeping on.

Well that is it for now. I'm sure along the way I'll decide that exercising sucks, Plants vs Zombies is time consuming and it's more fun to play games on my iPod than work. But I'm a winner as long as I try to follow these resolutions

Who? What? When? PART TWO

Okay... so I did some searching on this "Featured on Etsy" thing. I learned that there isn't really a notification system.
But other Etsians have had this problem and they've found a solution; either Google Analytics or Craft Cult. I used Craft Cult (cuz it's cool).

So... below you will find the list I was in. Mine is the orange & paisley makeup bag.
Yay!

Who? What? When?

Okay... so apparently sometime over this weekend I was featured on the front page of Etsy.
Woo hoo! Right?
I'm not so sure...
I didn't find out about this from Etsy. I found out because I had posted it on Facebook. But I didn't actually post it... a computer (somewhere out there) did it for me.
So I was excited... until I logged into Etsy. I didn't have a message there telling me I was featured. And I looked at the front page of Etsy and I didn't see my shop there. So I'm baffled. I figured I'd get some e-mail somewhere along the way. But all I got was the automatic post to my Facebook.
Weird, huh?
Again, I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth... I'm just confused. Strange system they have in place over there at Etsy.
Strange.

Etsy Favs

OK... I love Etsy. No joke.
I log in every day to see what's new. Today I saw these beautiful Tidal Pool earrings on the front page. They sold out quick!
Most days I just add the things I like to my favorites, but I have been noticing a new pattern lately... I'm starting to buy.
Oh! I love it too. I run across all kinds of things that catch my eye. Sometimes they are supplies for m. ranae designs, but other times I just want something special for myself or I get someone else a little something.
Now I totally cruise for the best deals. Thankfully, you can search fairly easily and sort by price. Sometimes I'll shop and not buy... I just want to window-shop (or computer screen-shop). Nonetheless, it is fun and Etsy is full of unique, awesome stuff.
Check out my favorites list... and if you're really inspired you should create an account and start your own favorites list.

m. ranae designs' Etsy favorites

Wild November

A custom order of mine.



November was an ass-kicker and I learned a few things.

It started out quiet and then BAM! I had order after order after order. And along with me being thrilled I was suddenly juggling two jobs.

I was working the "9-5", embroidering during my breaks. Then I'd come home for hours at the sewing machine. I made lots of shipments and I even had to trek out to the fabric shops to get supplies to fulfill my orders.

It was wild. And I was having trouble sleeping through it all. So I was tired.

But being busy at m. ranae designs was awesome and it gave me a small taste of the good life... that meaning that I'm doing something I love & making money from it. Ah... the sweet life.

I learned something that may be good/bad for my customers... I learned that I am not charging enough. Boo! Hiss! But I learned it the correct way (selling cheap, then adjusting prices) instead of the incorrect way (not selling any of my expensive items).

I also learned that timing is everything. I had two items in my Etsy shop that expired because no one ever bought them... then on a whim I relisted them and they both sold in day.

Lastly, I learned that listing stuff often is a part of being successful. When I listed weekly, I made sales weekly. Huh... who knew?!

So I hope that I can keep some momentum up through this next year... I plan on being a little more consistent and I plan on adding some awesome stuff.

Now... back to the machine!

Happy Birthday m. ranae designs

Yay! I've been selling on Etsy for a year now! Woo!

And I haven't sold enough to quit my job, but it has reinforced how much I love making and selling stuff.
And I've grown so much in the past year. I get better everyday at sewing and being creative. I've learned a few tricks and I've found some great vendors for supplies.
I made up all kinds of different things... things that sometimes come to me when I should be sleeping (and then I want to get up to start making them).

Honestly, it's been good. I'm about to really dig my heels into Christmas and I'm hoping this next year is even more fruitful and exciting.

To celebrate I've discounted everything in my shop by 15% for the rest of the month of November... and I'm gonna add new stuff every week this month!

So check it out & keep in touch. I'll see you next year!

A fun Halloween how-to from Etsy

I stumbled upon this and thought it would be fun to share!

Here are the links for downloadable templates of the graveyard & dead guy.

Gravestone Shadow Puppet

Dead Guy Shadow Puppet 1

Dead Guy Shadow Puppet 2

LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY TROUBLE WITH THESE LINKS!

FREE SHIPPING

Check out my Etsy shop for FREE SHIPPING for a limited time on all aprons.

I'm trying to get them out before I get new ones up.

So start shopping!

Etsy Exposed Treasury

The Asheville Etsy Team & I have patiently been waiting for an opening on Etsy for our Asheville Treasury.
And it's here!

The Treasury is an ever-changing, member-curated shopping gallery of handpicked items. An Exposed Treasury has a mini-bio about each member & features an item for sale and/or the member's studio or craft room.

The exciting thing is it's only good for three days... our's expires Monday.

So please stop by and take a look at some of our team members & their items for sale.

It only lasts for a while... so hurry!

ASHEVILLE ETSY EXPOSED TREASURY

What I'm doing...

So I have been working on my to-do list most of today. I started it last week and it seemed to, at the very least, leave me feeling like I have a little more exposure.
And today's to-do went just as well.
I am gonna finish up my owl bag today so I have something to add to Etsy next weekend. I may even start on some new projects.
That's about it.
I haven't been going out during the weekends anymore because I'm really trying to get stuff up & running with m. ranae designs... so hopefully my friends forgive me and it all pays off!

My Own To-do List

Today I was browsing online and I stumbled across my own Etsy store and I thought to myself "only a few people have stopped by to see my new stuff!".
Then I started wondering "how do I get people to stop by more?"

So I started browsing through the articles on Esty and found an idea that I am gonna try.
It's a to-do list that is done daily to promote your online shop. The list includes:

• Post MySpace Bulletin
• Add 5 New Friends on MySpace
• Post on 5 Promo Threads on Etsy
• Post on 5 site help threads
• Post on ??? Ect threads
• Play in Chat
• Renew/List 1 Item
• List Said Item On DeviantART
• Upload Said Photo To Flickr
• Friend 1 person on IndiePublic
• Add I Photo To IndiePublic
• Blog post

Now I don't know what some of that stuff is... like ???Ect or IndiePublic. And I know what some things are, but I don't use those sites... like Flickr or DeviantART. Nonetheless, I want to promote more. So I am gonna make my own list and go from there.

Here are my thoughts:
I am horrible at doing things regularly... take this blog for example.
I am horrible at multi-tasking... just ask my coworkers at my 9-5.
I get bored with routines... anybody can tell you that!
So I am gonna give myself a small goal/list to start with and then maybe add if it works.

Here's my starter list which I will do once a week:

• Add three new friends on MySpace
• Post a bulletin/note on MySpace and Facebook
• Post on five craft threads (Etsy, Craftbits, etc.)
• List one new item in my shop
• Find one place in town to post my card
  
• Blog

I have some other ideas I'd like to get in to motion soon. But, again, I'm horrible at multi-tasking... I'm just gonna work on my list for now.
So... I am off to start myself a Facebook listing (I have a personal one, but I'm gonna start a m. ranae designs one). Then, since I'm done with blogging for today, I am off to do the rest on my list.

Wish me luck, I'm gonna need it!!

New Stuff on Etsy

So my husband and I sat and lounged at the coffee shop this morning.
I brought my laptop and "worked" on adding some new stuff to my Etsy account.
Check it out! Here are some of the highlights!

Cowboys, Cowgirls & Denim

I logged into my m. ranae designs e-mail account today to find something really exciting and no, it wasn't my Etsy bill.
I found that I was chosen to participate in an Etsy Treasury. The little cowboy coin purse I had made was chosen for the Cowboys, Cowgirls & Denim theme.



There are a ton of great cowboy themed stuff in there. Check it out!

And one more thing!

I sold this awesome makeup bag the other day on my Etsy.com.

I'm happy so far with the results of showing & selling my stuff online.

In fact, I'm about to add some more stuff now!

So far...

First and foremost, this blog is me... blogging more. So there... I'm doing it.
Okay, now to the task at hand!

So far, I've been on etsy. com for a week and I haven't technically sold anything, but I have been contacted by a fellow etsian (that's etsy.com talk for a person who is a member of etsy) for a trade.
She loved my messenger bag for a friend of hers and wanted to know if I was willing to trade.


Of course, I was! So I chose a new scarf that she had just worked on that has this awesome fish-net lookin' design. I got to pick my colors... burgundy & gray and it will be here soon!

I'm very excited!

So, I encourage my few readers to check out her etsy... and I will post pics when I get my new scarf.

GothBarbie.etsy.com