Getting ready to Etsy

I've cleaned up my craft room only to start make a mess again that same day. I need to get into the habit of putting things away when I go in there instead of just dumping them on the floor.

I finished photographing my coasters. I used a slightly different method than the one I posted awhile back. I don't know if I'm going to update my entry or make a new entry and put a link to the better way of doing it on the original entry. Choices, choices.. I'm just not in the picking mood.

Here is my coasters:

As you can see, I added felt to the  back instead of the little feet. I also sprayed them down with varnish to give them a shiny but non tacky feeling on the top. On the original one I did the little feet got stuck on the tacky modpoge and split apart leaving a residue on the top of the coaster. I also used it to test out the varnish originally. I found out then you needed a layer of modpoge over the top or the paper that is on there starts to wrinkle  and the coaster is wasted.

Nothing important

*Sad face*
I ruined a:

Yudu emulsion sheet
because I forgot to take the protective cover off before I exposed it.
I am almost finished doing my coasters. I'm still trying to decide what to charge for them. I'm thinking $8. I figured out the cost and it costs $1.70 to make a group of four so I think $8 for four might be asking a little too much, but when I look at Etsy I see people charging $20 for them. Aaaaa, yikes.
I'm talking about groups of four. I haven't seen anyone sell singles.
I'm doing 3 coats of Mod Podge Mod Podge CS11272 Mod Podge Satin Finish (Google Affiliate Ad) instead of just one so I guess I should change my instructions. But I'll have a good variety to sell at the boutique.
Almost time.

Trial and error

Well I learned something today. I've been trying out my Dicro Slide and I've figured out while it looks cute, but pale on the light colors, it looks beautiful and striking on dark colors. I tried it on a purple I bought the other day and it came out a wonderful chameleon color. From one angle it is a brilliant blue color and from another it is a golden green. I could have done better with the hole punches, but still, I like the results. I'm going to try it out on my dark red next, and maybe my clear green.

I'll post pictures of it on my Handmade Pendants and Crafts website when I get the chance to take pictures, I'm in the process of moving so I don't know if I'll have a chance anytime soon. I guess I could do it while I'm not able to sleep.

Trying new things

So I've been trying to branch out with my marketing. I'm planning to start tweeting again, I'm going to be focusing on my Facebook page, not my personal page but the Damik's Design page. I also started a Meylah page, I don't know much about Meylah, but it's free and I figure more exposure can't hurt, right?

I went to the glass store today and picked up a bunch of new glass. I'm excited to see how they turn out. One of the pieces I got is a deep purple that is supposed to turn a purpley-gold. I still need to get a blade for my saw, but I'm I'm learning how to better use my grinder. I'm also excited to see the kinds of effect I can get from my new dicro slide. I got dark and clear colors to try it on.

I'll be posting more pictures on Handmade Pendants and Crafts when I have more to show.

Back from the dead

I'm back from my break. I completed NaNo and survived the holidays. I'm back to working on my jewelry. I've been posting some fused glass pendants to Etsy and I've got many that I'm happy with how they turned out.

I participated in NAMI's Christmas boutique and sold a handful of my pendants there. I'm not sure how to generate more interest for my site, but I'm starting to search out more ideas. I think I'm going to start participating in giveaways.

There is a new pendant on Handmade Pendants and Crafts.

Posting Spree

I know its not recommended to post a ton of items at once, but I haven't been good at uploading one a day. Instead I have been posting about four a day. I'm almost done posting all I have. I'm starting to describe them on Homemade Pendants and Crafts. I'm working on talking about the pendants in a more dynamic way. I'm still learning how to sell these things.

But anyway my Halloween pendants are available for sale on DamikDesigns. I'm still trying to decide if I'm going to leave them in my store after Halloween ends.

I'm mixing things up in my SEO campaign. I'm posting articles with links back on Squidoo and Hubpages. I don't know if I'm going to see results from that, but I'm having a fun time with it. You know I'm just going to crow the first time I see money from one of these endeavors.

Crap, I just realized I've forgotten to use tags on my posts. I'm still getting used to this.I'm sorry about the picture layout, I can't figure out how to make them integrated into the posts.

Learning to Etsy: The start

As a relative newb to the Etsy scene I want to jump in with both feet and make the most money I can in the quickest way possible. There are sites everywhere that have suggestions on how to drive traffic to your Etsy site and all of them sound like a good idea, but I want to know what works best. I'm not sure what the right way to test the different suggestions would be, but every two weeks I will try one suggestion and report the results. I will use one week for the suggestion and one week for a buffer, I know it isn't exactly scientific, but it is the closest I can think of today. For each suggestion I will talk about how much time it takes to follow, how easy or hard it is, if there is a change in my traffic, etc. Hopefully this will give other newbs the info they need to pick campains that will work for them.

Where to begin

I have been trolling the Etsy forums for information about where to start, I joined a local group, I asked for feedback, and I sought out all the advice I could find. Now I'm more overwhelmed then ever. I think I might just stick to making pendants nobody will buy.