Rubber Stamp Shop was Featured on Craft Gossip!

I just wanted to say "Thanks!" to the stamping blog editor, Heather, at Craft Gossip for featuring my new rubber stamp shop last week.  I sold two of the featured stamp that day!  Yay!

Made it to the Front Page of Etsy..... Finally!

 It has been a long, long time since one of my items made it to the front page of Etsy.  Today, it finally did in this lovely treasury list chosen by HendersonArt.  The trendy look of Etsy has changed a lot over the past year and a half, and I don't always feel like I quite fit in there anymore, but I was happy to see one of my felted wool bead sets displayed on the front page today.  It is very encouraging (and makes me feel like one of the cool kids for a few minutes).  The item sold right away too - bonus!  Yippee!

p.s. a big thanks to fluffyflowers for messaging me to let me know that my item was on the front page so I didn't miss it!  Thanks to my sweet fellow Etsy seller :)  And, she's having a BOGO sale right now too - oh, so tempting!!

Yay! I've been featured on CraftGawker.com

I just heard about CraftGawker.com through the Etsy forum last week and thought that I'd register there.  Although I was a little nervous about it, I also decided to submit the limit of two items for review.  The quality of the photos that they feature there is really impeccable so I was not extremely hopeful of my items being accepted, but I am happy to say that one of them was.  Yay!  You can see my bright red felted heart ring made it to the front page of Craft Gawker today.  My other entry, a nuno felted scarf, sadly did not make the cut because (to quote them) the photo had "Harsh lighting and/or overexposed" which I could see; therefore, I'm not upset about it.  It is actually nice to get specific feedback for once about why something was rejected.  That is rare when submitting photos online to be featured anywhere.

Anyway, just wanted to share.  I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and if you get the chance, take a peak at CraftGawker.com, it has a lot of wonderful handmade eye candy.

A wee bit of front page fame on Etsy yesterday! Yay!

I had a little front page fame on Etsy yesterday when my Cherry's Jubilee necklace was featured in a treasury by namkim that made it to Etsy's front page for a few minutes. My celebrity status didn't last long, but it was fun to see. My necklace is on the bottom row in the center. I just wanted to share. Have a great weekend!

Yay! My needle felted flower pendants have been featured on Cuteable!

I got a little email yesterday from Lynsey at Cuteable. It was letting me know that my needle felted flower pendants were being featured in a post. I am honored and thrilled! Thanks so much to Lynsey!

If you regularly stop by my blog, you've probably seen me post a few times by now about one of my felted goodies being featured somewhere. You may be wondering how to get your lovely handcrafted items noticed and featured. There's a great article over at Modish about contacting blogs to submit your work. It is a must read in my opinion and is very well written. That is actually where I got the idea to get in touch with Cuteable about my felted goodies, and they responded which in turn became a feature for my needle felted flower pendants.

If you are trying to grow your hobby into a business or just want more sales, it is vital to get your name out there for the recognition and free exposure. This means that you may need to take the initiative and spread the word yourself so don't be shy! Go ahead - send out a polite email or two and let others know about your quality handcrafted items. The worst that can happen is no response at all which is where you started anyway. And, not all of my features have been through contacting blogs and sites. Most of them come from those blogs and sites finding me first, but this is because I have a strong online presence and good product to offer. Essentially, it is a big marketing circle. Don't be afraid to reach out to site and blogs, but also do your best to have a good brand and online presence for them to find you too.

In Etsy's Gift Guides . . . my handmade felted heart rings made the first page in stocking stuffers

After being a seller on Etsy for a little over two years now, I sometimes feel like an old-timer there - a bit over the hill almost. Last year around this time, I remember being in a lot more treasuries, Storque blog articles, and other little features here and there. Now, with so many fiber art newbies and shops in general, sometimes I feel like it is easy to get lost in the crowd - especially if you have been around for a while and are no longer a "fresh" face to see.

Don't get me wrong though! I love Etsy and its community there. Sometimes I love it a little too much! Browsing shops and the forum there really impedes on my daily activities if I let it. On most days, I feel like my shininess has worn off a bit though because I've been around the block on Etsy a few times. If one of my items does get featured somewhere on Etsy, it is a little boost and affirmation that perhaps I am still on the right track some how - whether fresh, new, and shiny or not. I felt that little boost yesterday when I ran across my handmade felted heart rings on the first page of Etsy's gift guide for stocking stuffers. It is so nice when the occasional, out-of-the-blue feature happens anywhere, and it is even better when you stumble upon it by accident. That little gift guide feature makes this old Etsy geezer very happy! I think that I am a little fresh and shiny today after all.

Yay! I'm featured in Interweave Felt 2008! My Orbiting Moons Fiber Art Pendant made it into the publication!

Every year, Interweave Knits presents a special edition magazine called Interweave Felt. It is full of tutorials, felting tips, and felted eye candy. This year, one of the co-editors found me through my flickr photo gallery and requested to use a needle felted fiber art pendant to feature in their Inspiration Gallery on page 96. I, of course, was ecstatic and grateful, and immediately responded with a big "YES!" My Orbiting Moons Fiber Art Pendant is in good company along with eight other featured felt artists on that page.

If you are an avid felter or a fan of felting, I highly recommend that you go pick up a copy of Interweave Felt. It only comes around once a year and is really a treat! It has content on all kinds of feltmaking from traditional wet felting, to needle felting, to knitted and fulled items as well. And, it is an excellent resource guide for felt related supplies, blogs, web sites, and more.

I also wanted to give a shout out to those that I share the Inspiration Gallery with because it is an excellent mix of all kinds of feltmaking talent. Please take a peak at the following sites to see their felt works . . .
The Birds and Bees
Crafty Alien
Fox Glove Studios
Tanis Alexis
Laura Mabbutt
Violet Pie
Knit Knit
Intimate Forest

Thanks so much to the editor at Interweave who found me! I am truly honored!

**The image is courtesy of Interweave Felt 2008, page 96.

Yay! I've been featured on PoshMama.com and capitolagirl.com!

I just wanted to share that my felted flower ring has been featured in a fiber jewelry article on both PoshMama.com and on capitolagirl.com - Yay! Thanks to capitolagirl from Etsy who found my little ring and put it in her lovely article. Check out the full article here to see what good company I am with. There are some great fiber art jewelry examples.

Funky Finds finds the funky felter! Cupid Strikes!

I was pleasantly surprised to be notified by the fab blog Funky Finds that my felted heart collection had been featured for its Valentine's post "Cupid Strikes" - What an honor! Of the many wonderful indie blogs out there, this one is at the top of my list of favorites. It is nicely designed and is a cut above in its choices for great indie goodies. I want to thank Funky Finds and recommend that you check it out!

Yay! My bubble rings have been featured in Uptown Frum!

Thanks to Sara at Uptown Frum, a Jewish shopping blog, for featuring my little bubble rings. Here's what she has to say about her blog: "A portal for frum design junkies. Focusing on lifestyle-friendly, brilliantly designed, beautiful to look at stuff, I corral the internet's best."

Now go check out Uptown Frum!

Yay! I've been featured on Smidge.com

Woohoo! A big thanks to Kat at Smidge.ca - a rockin'awesome blog about indie arts and crafts! I really appreciate the fabulous feature that was written about my funky felted items. You can find the entire article here.

Here's what Smidge is all about in their own words:
"Many things inspired the creation of Smidge. It seems that along with a growing appreciation for handcrafted items comes a growing dissatisfaction for mass produced corporate items. While it can sometimes be nice to slap down a Five and pick up a nice,cheap deal at the local Giganto-mart, nothing, absolutely nothing, can be as satisfying and fulfilling as the pleasure of art. Art comes in many forms and one of the goals of Smidge is to explore those forms.

Smidge began in the mind of Kat early in October 2006. Having a life-long respect and appreciation of independent artists, Kat wanted to not only share their inspiring work with others, but develop a platform on which the artists themselves could gain exposure to their work while developing a network of contacts with potential buyers and other artists.

Smidge brings you the best of the indie movement featuring independent artists who create extraordinary things. Smidge strives to introduce you to quality, unique, handcrafted items. Either for yourself, loved ones, gift giving, or simple viewing pleasure. Smidge helps you turn your ordinary into extraordinary! Be inspired, fall in love. Support independent artists."

Now go check it out!

Yay! I've been featured on IndieFixx.com

Jen at IndieFixx.com has chosen to feature my little heart hair pins! These are available at both my Mintd shop and my Etsy shop. They are also customizable with 20 colors to choose from. A big thanks to Jen and her most excellent blog Indie Fixx!

A little about Indie Fixx, in case you didn't know . . .
"Indie Fixx is a celebration of the creativity, tenacity, and general spunky goodness that is the indie design movement. The indie design movement is made up of artists, crafters and designers who make a literal smorgasbord of delectable indie products. Once you shop indie, you’ll never go back."

Now go check it out!

Yay! I've been featured on Handmadecrafts, an artsy crafty spanish language blog!

I just realized today that a super cool spanish language blog has featured my website in an article. The blog Handmadecrafts has a variety of tutorials and feature articles about artists and crafters. It is a spanish language based site so I had to use my trusty online translator to see what was being said about my handmade felts. The author was too kind in their description. Here's a rough translation of what was said from Altavista's translator bablefish:

"Whenever I see its creations I hallucinate, as each artist has that capacity to transform, to design and to model a material in concrete. She is a graphical designer who although occasionally works like freelance, her dedication is exclusive to work fibers. Here they have a sample of which this girl does and I define it as Wonderful! If you want to acquire something for this season, down you have the Link of its store online."

Okay, so its probably a little off in the literal meaning, but you get the gist of it all - very kind words about my woolly creations. You can read the entire article here, or if you're not a spanish speaker, you can just look at the lovely photos on the blog as I did. It is very interesting and makes me wish that I were bilingual!

I just had to share! It is very exciting when I see my items reach an entirely new culture. It makes me think "what a small world after all" and how we, as humans, are very similar at the core of our being.

EtsyFAST's Showcase on Friday!

This Friday, my fellow members of Etsy's Fiber Arts Street Team and myself will be featuring our lovely fiber creations and supplies in Etsy's home page main showcase. There will be a variety of handmade items to see and wonderful Etsy shops to discover so be sure to visit the showcase on Friday, September 7th!

Just a quick toot on my horn!

I made Etsy's front page today. Thanks to inhope who chose my blue bubble bracelet for her treasury!

Yay! I've been featured . . .

Linda Lanese, CraftGossip.com's Felting Editor, featured my blog and felt making on their wonderful site. You can check out the article here, and perhaps leave a nice comment or two (hint, hint!). I also recommend exploring their entire site, www.craftgossip.com, as it is full of excellent information on all kinds of arts and crafts. If you're a felt maker, be sure to check out their felting section. A big "Thanks" to Linda and craftgossip.com for such kind words. I'm honored to have been featured!