Saturday, July 9, 2011

Get Noticed

So, day one of trying to get my Etsy store noticed.  I've been open for almost 6 months now and so far things haven't been that great.  I thought adding a YouTube channel would be the thing, but sadly no one want to watch videos about an Etsy store unless you're giving things away.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE giveaways, but I can't afford to have one just so people will look at my store.  I hope this new series of posts will get more people to notice my store and the whole Etsy site in general.

Here's a link to a video that gives you an idea of what I sell in my store:

Okay, so not just a link, but my actual video.  How cool is that?

Here's a link to my Etsy store:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/lynbdesigns?ref=si_shop

So that's all for now.  I'll post a review tomorrow.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

The ArtisTree: Project Dining Room Table

I wish I had a the time to do all of my projects. Here's one of my friends' blogs. Go check her out.

The ArtisTree: Project Dining Room Table: "Well, the month of June has come and gone in just a blink of the eye. I don't remember ever being this busy! Things have finally seemed to ..."

Monday, May 30, 2011

Something New

  When I first started making lip balms I had a hard time pouring it into the tube.  I tried straws but they just got clogged and the same thing happened with droppers.  I had resigned myself to struggling with it, when one day i walked into a thrift store and there was the perfect device for pouring.  It had a spout of sorts with an open top and a handle that could stay out of the hot water I use for melting.  So I paid the 53 cents and have been loving the device ever since.
  I went on Etsy to check my store's activity and there on the front page are two of the same things I use to pour lip balms.  They're Turkish coffee pots.  I never in a million years would have guessed that.  Pretty cool if you ask me.  So since this post was about lip balms, I'll post a link to my new lip balm video on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOduURTScns&feature=channel_video_title

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Second Winter

In Michigan we're having a bit of a second Winter, and I couldn't be happier.  I love Winter, having grown up in the UP I've missed snow in mid-April for years.  A couple of years there was even snow on my birthday.  The year my brother graduated from High School, my Grandpa saw ice floating in lake Superior and asked if there was something wrong with the lake.  We told him it was ice, and he refused to admit that it could be.  Those were the days.  Sadly, now that I live in the Lower Peninsula people have a differing opinion of Winter.  It's like they forget that this is Michigan, and a snow fall of two inches is something to get worked up about.  There is also a good portion of people who hate Winter, that's just something that bothers me.  Complaining about it isn't going to make it go away.  Sorry about the rant, it was building all Winter long and it finally came to a breaking point.

All of my ranting being said, there are a few reasons I want it to be Spring.  After doing to some Etsy window shopping I found these great kitschy spray painted picture frames and sconces.  I fell in love with them, but not so much the price.  I then set out on a quest to make my own for a fraction of the price.  It took me about a month to finally get the spray paint.  (I found it all at a local Amish store for a buck fifty a can). Then came the frames and sconces which I finished up getting a good batch today at my local thrift stores.  Now that I have all the ingredients so to speak, I need for the weather to get up to at least fifty degrees.  Sadly it's not anywhere near fifty right now.  It's looking like I have to wait until Easter Sunday to get my spray painting fix.

Another reason I want Spring to get here is that I am moving, not very far, to my Grandmother's old house.  She used to live with us in an apartment we made from our garage.  She died this past year, and the space has just been gathering junk since June.  The space is great, and I am totally excited about moving out there.  One problem, not nearly enough closet space, my solution an almost 60 square foot closet.  We have all the materials, but since it's snowing and cold, we can't cut the drywall or the lumber needed.

A third reason, and probably the most obvious, is flowers.  Some of my favorite photographic subjects are flowers.  They're always beautiful, and never talk back.

So all in all, this post turned into a bit of a diatribe on Winter and Spring.  It felt good to get it all out, and if you're reading this, thank you for putting up with it.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Delete It!

I have some sad news to report to all my devoted followers, of which there are none.  I have deleted my Flickr account.  I hadn't uploaded anything since September, and it costs 25 dollars a year.  I know not a huge expense spread out over a year, but to me it's a pretty big sum to come up with at one time.

I am the proverbial starving artist.  Okay, so I am no where near starving, but you get the point.  There just aren't any actual jobs for artists, hence the etsy account (lynbdesigns.etsy.com).

In more interesting photo news, I found a site that has super cheap print and enlargement prices.  It's 10 bucks for a 20x30 enlargement.  How awesome is that?  I can't wait to find some great shots to enlarge and list on etsy.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Perfume

I've become obsessed with perfume oils recently.  I saw them on Etsy, and totally fell for them.  So I'm adding another facet to my Etsy page.  I think I'm starting out just making perfume oils, but eventually I hope to branch out and make spray perfumes as well. 

The whole thing is just so much fun, but also seriously complicated.  There are top, middle, and bottom notes.  Mix them all together and they create something that smells amazing.  In an effort to make my costs cheaper I thought  I would make my own essential oils, there was a small problem with that though.  You can't make 100 percent pure ones without some sort of distilling process.  Overall, the whole thing is rather complicated.

So, just in case anyone was wondering where I had been, this post is an answer.  I've been obsessing.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Etsy

I recently signed up for an Etsy account.  For those who don't know what Etsy is, here's a short definition.  It's a site on which people can sell the things they create or the supplies needed to do so.  I found out about Etsy from the View when Joy was spouting forth the wonders of her daughter.  I then went and checked it out.  I was skeptical, so it took me three years to finally sign up. 

I have a wide range of interests and think I might have something to showcase on the Etsy site.  I am an artist by nature and photography is my muse.  I live and love photography.  I could take and edit photos all day. O love to take pictures of all the things God has created. I love fashion but can't sew worth a lick, but I continued my keen eye into designing jewelry.  For as long as I can remember I have had an ongoing and constant obsession with make-up and face products.  Lip Balm being the most prolific in my collection.  I have my favorites, and ones that I would love to like.  The problem with these?  They tend to give me a headache or some other annoyance that makes me look but not touch.  My solution?  Create my own lip balms.  I get to make them whatever I want them to be.  I've gotten pretty darn good at lip balm and am branching out to other great all natural face products.  Those have yet to prove be as good as my lip balms, but practice does make perfect.  Just in case there are people who read this, I am putting a link to my sparsely populated store on Etsy. Keep in mind I only started it five days ago.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/lynbdesigns