Friday's Favorites 3/27

I've decided to do a weekly segment posting called "Friday's Favorites" and this week my theme is Spring! I'm in the mood for spring...even if Mother Nature is not. The wonderful items for this week's feature are very affordable! One is only $10. Ten dollars for handmade? Love that. Enjoy! (Oh--I'm always looking for items to feature so please feel free to convo me at one of my shops or leave a comment here. And if you have a theme you'd like to see please feel free to let me know that too!)

PRINT Be My Guest 8 x10 by Lindsay Brackeen $20

Creamy Orange Bell Flower earrings $10

Le Printemps Ring Number One $10

fleur earrings $20

Sakura Choker and Headband for Spring Night Party $23

Tags work!

http://www.etsy.com/gift-guides/mother-s-day/132?&page=2

I'm so excited to be picked for one of Etsy's gift guides! My sepia Queen Anne's Lace print got picked. It's so nice to see that all the research and networking has actually been working. I went to one of the etsy virtual labs where they were discussing tags and they said using "mother's day" and "spring" were going to be some they would be pulling from for the upcoming gift guides. So, I re-labeled my listings with them and sure enough it worked! Someone asked them how they picked those and they said they searched through tags.

Make sure you use ALL your tags when you are listing! If you run out of ideas here is a good resource: Etsy Treasury Team Blog. They list alternative tags for colors, textures, etc. And if all else fails, use the state you live in (some people shop local) and your shop name in case someone searches for you and they forget to use the drop down menu to look for shops. Also, if you are a part of any Etsy Teams you can list them. Sometimes they search for members that way to see what they are up to.

How did I find out I was in the gift guide? I checked craftopolis.com. It is a great resource! Not only will it tell you if you are in any treasuries but it also will tell you if you are chosen in any gift guides. Check it every time there is a new treasury slot opening up.

Thanks Etsy! You made my day...my week actually!

Latest Treasury

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=47950

I did get a treasury this time! To celebrate spring's arrival (or lack there of actually!) it's mostly green with little bits of poppy red thrown in. Some really amazing artists!

Meet Lorikoop

Fine Art Pottery by Lorikoop

I came across this artist on the Such Cool Stuff blog and had to put a link to it on mine. She is amazing! And a bargain too (which, of course, I love!). There are so many people that make pottery but few who can elevate it to a fine art level. Lorikoop has done just that. Each of her pieces is completely one of a kind and speaks to you. In fact, she even gives each piece a name and a little story.

Rock Star $13

For example, "Meet Walter... a boisterous good 'ol guy.

He's still in college, studying design as luck would have it. (Maybe he could help around here!)" And you can own Walter for only $23.00.

Walter $23

There is also a great giveaway for any product in her store through the Such Cool Stuff blog. Enter here.

Be sure to check out her blog as well at http://LoriKoop.BLOGspot.com.

Smile $13

New Photos

Latest Work

For a while there I was really into sepia tones. Now I am back into color again. Told you I get bored easily!! Took the kids to my husband's park last Sunday for a little hike and came across these beauties. I think those are dandelions from last fall that amazingly made it through all the snow this winter. I'm really into the square format too. I like things to have balance plus they look really great matted and framed.

The pine needle one reminds me of a tropical beach. Ironically, I took all of these photos in a Michigan State Park! They would look really nice as a series too. I cannot say enough about how amazing these look printed on the metallic paper! Imagine them 100 times better and so unique.

8x10, 8x8's are $30

5x7's are $20

5x5's and 4x6's are $15

LilacPOP PHotography

Etsy Shop Idea

I came across this idea on someone else's blog and thought it was worth sharing. It can be a little confusing to first time buyers on etsy when they see an item and try to get to the shop. The small "shop" button isn't all that obvious. You might get more people looking at the rest of the items in your shop if you insert this into your descriptions:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Enter my shop here:
lilacpop.etsy.com
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

The link will take them directly to your shop with ALL your items quickly and easily! Feel free to copy and paste it but be sure to change the shop name or you will be sending a bunch of traffic to my shop....maybe I shouldn't have said that. Just kidding...maybe....

I missed the treasury so I made my own here!

1. Earrings Pink leaf-cute with pink and coral by Kirunalotta
2. Blooming Vine Scarf in Olive by fray
3. TreeHeart Print Olive Green Bamboo T-shirt by Salts
4. Fairy silver crochet beads by Yoola
5. Freedom-8x10 Print by ebethfuller
6. Zinc Wrap with Vintage Beads by puffluna
7. Knit XXXI - Mixed Media - Rania Hassan - 2007 by shoofly
8. Hand Dyed Superwash Sock Yarn - Semi Solid Kermit Green by KashasKnits
9. ONLY TWO COPIES LEFT - L'envol des Libellules 48/50 by
TheNebulousKingdom
10. Asymmetric, first love by Evrydiki
11. Original painting by cristinastreasures
12. mixed media original boys and their red wagon by mummysam

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Front Page!

I am going to shamelessly brag now!

I made it to the front page of etsy!!!

(Said like Joel McHale's "It's reality show clip time!")

And guess whose treasury it was? Evrydiki, who I just featured on this very blogitty blog. Karma, baby! Thanks again Evrydiki!

Evrydiki: Felt Artist from Greece

Felt bracelet $15

Evrydiki: Felt Jewelry Artist

I was cruising through the pounce feature on Etsy this morning and came across this awesome jewelry designer and just had to feature her. I just love the felted beads, especially when she mixes them in with shiny beads (you know how I just love contrasts!).

Magic spheres $23

Then I messaged her and found out that she is a very interesting person too! She was born and raised on Crete and moved to Athens, Greece for college and ended up staying there. Her day job is working for NGO, an organization that helps save sea turtles. Talk about a rewarding job. Her background is actually in political science but she has been crafting for many years. She has also been involved in interior design, photography (as you can tell from her product shots), and theater. She is getting silversmith lessons now and really enjoys it. I can't wait to see what else she creates!

Algerian Tangerine $17

Be sure to visit her shop, Evrydiki.etsy.com. She is an undiscovered jewel on etsy with no sales yet and super affordable prices. A felted bead bracelet for only $15 is hard to find on etsy or anywhere else for that matter! Her shop is so professional and cheerful. I love the cup of coffee necklace, especially how she photographed it using chalk! So creative.

New Photographs

Here are my latest photographs that I listed at LilacPOP Photography. Most of them are sepia toned nature photographs. Let me know what you think! They would look great framed, especially in a series. I will give free shipping to anyone who mentions my blog!

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade lilacpopphotography.etsy.com

Who doesn't love free stuff?!

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE free stuff. I always have and always will. I love a good bargain too. I am a pretty lucky person too. I win things all the time. People always ask me why I am so lucky. But actually I think it is more a ratio thing: the more contests you enter, the more you will win. So I spend time filling out contests while others might not want to be bothered. But you know what? It pays off sometimes. It really does. I decided to share some of the awesome sites that I have been winning things on! Sharing is good. The contest that I am hoping to win (and blogging about it gives me 3 more entries-woo!) is at http://erinstar.blogspot.com/2009/03/march-madness-2-elephannie.html and it is for this awesome decal of poppies that sticks to your wall.

Another great place to find contests and giveaways that people offer on their personal blogs is http://etsygiveaways.blogspot.com Someone had this great idea to make a blog and let people register their contests on it. All in one spot! Love it. Don't worry, none of these are a scam or anything. I know this because I participated in a giveaway not too long ago of some of my earrings and a photograph. Basically, blog writers give their own items away or get other people to donate items for a giveaway. The idea is to get the blogger more readers and give the giveaway-er more exposure and hopefully some sales. Although I didn't make any sales from giving away all the stuff that I did but who knows, maybe someone will think of me when they need a gift in the future. The winner was really happy though and that made me happy. Most of the blogs will have you visit the artist's shop on etsy, find something you like the best and the post a comment at the bottom of the contest page about it. Don't forget write your email address so they can contact you too. I usually write it like this: name at yahoo dot com. I guess it's so that you don't get spammed as easily. Sometimes the bloggers will give you extra entries if you subscribe to their blog. Or if you tweet about it on twitter. Just make sure you comment separately so you get multiple entries. I have won a couple of contests in a matter of weeks of starting to do this. I won these awesome lipbalms from Daisycakes Soap. I'm loving the cappuccino and saving a bunch of them to give as gifts. I also won a cute plastic velcro robot and a starfish for my kid's backpacks.

So if you ever have a few minutes and feel like winning something. Enter. It's easy and you just never know if you will be the big winner.

AND if any etsy artists out there would be interested in doing a giveaway on my blog I would be all for it! Just leave me a comment with your shop info and we can talk about it.

Free Shipping Extended Today!

Free Shipping extended!

Mondays stink and with the time change I am all out of sinc too! To make things a bit easier I'm extending free shipping in both of my shops to include Monday as well. I just added the print above to LilacPOP Photography. It's an 8x8 printed on metallic paper. If you've never seen metallic paper let me just tell you it is really beautiful. Especially with pastel type colors-wow! This print almost glows. And the square size makes it a bit more unique too.

I photographed my latest eco-friendly brooches and bright, colorful jewelry I recently created and am hoping to get some of that in LilacPOP today too. So if you get a chance, be sure to check them out!

March First Weekend Shopping Extravaganza!

There is a big sale going on from Thursday until Sunday on Etsy.com!! Lots of sellers are participating with free shipping and discounts so don't miss it. I am offering free shipping all weekend in both of my shops: LilacPOP and LilacPOP Photography. If you are etsy saavy, you can go into the forums and search for the official thread - “March First Weekend Shopping Extravaganza For All Etsy Shop-Mar 3-8-Join us!” Here is the Promo thread in the Etsy Forums: http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6067724

Father's Day and Mother's Day are right around the corner and who wouldn't want something handmade rather than something generic from the store?

New Treasury!

I got another treasury. I call it "Shades of Ochre." Very peaceful and soft. Check it out and be sure to leave a comment too!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=43428

LilacPOP Photography- Latest Work

Sepia Willow Trees, 8x10 $30

I have been in a caffeine induced, creative frenzy lately! My husband describes me as a schizophrenic creator! I am doing so many different things at once. This month I have been taking new photos, making jewelry, dying raw roving with koolaid, knitting scarflettes, crocheting flowers to make into pins, sewing new brooches out of recycled wool, and photographing everything for etsy....whew.

Scroll Square, 8x8 $30 Columns, 8x8 $30 Alley, Ann Arbor, Mi 8x8 $30

Today I really need to take some photos and get some things listed on ebay too. I need to get some income coming in again!! But I have all my sewing stuff spread out everywhere so I suppose I should finish that up again. I also have this itch to do more wire wrapping. I bought this beautiful Swarovski crystal that I cannot wait to make into a beautiful necklace. There just isn't enough time during the day.

Anyway, here are some of the photographs I have been taking lately while shooting virtual tours of houses for real estate--yes, another thing I do! They are printed on metallic paper, which you really do need to see in person to appreciate it. It's really amazing. It gives the photos a sort of mirrored quality. And for color photos, lets just say, "WOW!"

The photo of the fishing pole in the sand is one I took last summer in the Outer Banks, NC at the beach. I think it would make a wonderful Father's Day gift!

I better get back to my creative frenzy. I will post more photos of my latest work when I photograph it.

Fishing Pole In The Sand 8x10 $30

Martha Stewart

I saw this and had to post it! It's from Martha Stewart's website on how to make flowers out of zippers. They are so cool I might just have to try it.

http://www.marthastewart.com/article/zipper-flower-pins?xsc=eml_crd_2009_03_01