What do you mean, you've never encountered this situation before?

In my defence, both socks are of the same brand and type, just different colours. AND, they're made of organic cotton to boot.

I've started uploading the new creations into my shop. Not presented exactly how i wanted them to be but i've got to give up that perfectionist streak. It's better to have SOMETHING rather than nothing new stocked.

Hope you like them.

What?

This is difficult. Despire my best intentionns, the relaunch will have to wait/ Several things have come up and i haven't found my misplaced camera yet. At this moment, i can't tell when things will be ready, maybe not for months. But i'm satisfied with the current relaunch inventory; things are looking nicely there. I've got a clearer picture of how the shop will look like, as a whole. More cohesive i think.

Finishing off with this lovely print from ara133photography:-

Very dreamlike..

List

EDITED Saturday 7th Aug. 

This is a boring post, for my own hmm...discipline and reference?

Things that NEED to be done:-

1. Finish up inventory for shop re-launch.
2. Get printmaking supplies for next class before Tuesday. (got some oil pastels for sketching too, yippee! Can't wait to try them out).
3. Finish off printmaking homework.
4. Read sub-lease agreement (new studio, hopefully!)
5. Babysit on Friday. (cancelled)
6. Call a friend.
7. Laundry x 3948938475 loads.
8. Documents for Mum.

Things that i WANT to do:-

1. Go to Borders to look up some art books. 
2.  Purchase a birthday present.
3. Look up something in shops for Mum.
4. Dog-related art for RSPCA exhibition by Tuesday.

I think that's it.

Oh boy....

Re-launch Plans

I think an overhaul is due for Scribble Shop. I've been making some new cards and tags behind the scenes and am quite pleased with the results. No sneak peeks this time. There are about 20 items in this new inventory (have yet to decide if i will keep some of the old a.k.a. currently listed items - depends if they fit into the overall look and feel) and i'm looking forward to adding more as the *ahem* official re-launch date of:-

10th August 2010

TENTH AUGUST!

Which means i have less than 3 weeks left to:-

a) make about 30 more items (my aim is to have 50)
b) photograph all of them (with new props and settings)
c) write descriptions
d) read up on marketing and how it can apply to Scribble Shop
e) and anything else that may crop up.

A little ambitious? Maybe. Perhaps. I don't know. Can you repeat the question? LOL...

Yosh! Let's do it!

New Favourite

I've discovered a freaking FANTABULOUS Etsy shop. It's my new favourite.

Visit www.beanforest.etsy.com for more charming badges.

Sneak Peek

OK, I didn't reach my goal of having 30 items in the shop by the end of January. With a few more sales since my last post, the count has now dwindled to 16. What's a girl to do but keep trying?

Meanwhile, here's a sneak peek of something to come:-

Very quick post. Sorry. =( Going out for yum cha soon. =)

New in Store

At last, i've boosted the number of items in Scribble Shop to 19. It was lingering in the lower tens for a while and the plan was to have 30 by the end of Jan. Tick tock tick tock.........i've only 8 days left to make and list 11 items! *GASP*

Shop link is on the right sidebar - check it out! ---------->>>

Look! There's a Turner in my Home....

....almost. Nearly?? What i made this arvo:-

Warm-up painting (modern abstract mumbo-jumbo-whatever)

 

Acrylic on old book board,

from one of the thrifted books i use for Scribble Shop (free painting surface!! -

except i didn't bother to gesso prime this one, hence the black streaks in the sky part)

Le originale - Venice: Looking across the Lagoon at Sunset

Watercolour on paper, 1840
by Joseph Turner

Just for fun! =D

Well..

..it looks like Scribble Shop will be ending 2009 with 39 sales, unless something comes through in the last few hours. It's been quite a learning curve, frustrating at times but worth it. =) I'm glad i started Scribble Shop.

I've learnt a lot about photography, editing images, shop exposure, marketing/promoting, materials, techniques of working with paper and what-not, sources and suppliers, going thorough uninspired periods, going through busier periods...

 

A big BIG thanks to friends and family for the moral support, suggestions & advice, and all your RECYCLING LEFTOVERS aka Papers and Magazines, Junk Mail, etc. =D And my flatmate aka Brother, who put up with a messy dining table for the better part of the year. And coffee table, in the 2nd half of 2009. Sorry and Thanks Joe! Will try to be more organised and tidy for 2010.

So, what's in store (pun unintended) for 2010? A new art store. That is the plan anyway. I hope it will work out well. We shall see...

Bring it on! And oh yeah, Happy New Year, folks.

Have a Blast

Banner: Updated

I decided to modify the shop's current banner. Better i think:-

:D

On a side note, i had a fabulous Friday. The morning started off well with my physician, after which i treated myself to lunch in the form of a large all-day breakfast (eggs benedict with shaved lean ham and toast mmmmm); spent some time in the spanking new local library (read some art and crafts books), and then went on a date with Edward, Jacob and Bella at the cinemas. It was not bad a movie; if you liked the first one, then you will this. 3.5 ***.

I'm glad i took the day off. The weather was perfect and i got to spend some quality time with my own self. You can't beat that.

Have a great weekend!

Banner Review

Before bed last night, i whipped up a new banner for Scribble Shop. Am quite pleased with it, considering that it only took me about half an hour. A bit of fiddling around with the then-banner in MS PowerPoint and saved as a JPEG file and wa-la..

I think i've improved my banner-making skills. Let's examine shall we?

March-April

May - August, Sept  

++I believe Aug and Sept shared this same last banner.

Oct-Dec

Hmm....I can't tell. I spent a lot of time looking at my shop banners while making them, so i can't be objective enough. Though I can tell you the latest one is my favourite; but even then now that i look at it again, i still can see improvements to make (lighter grey background, more texture).

I have thought about buying one for about $5. Some of the designs I've seen on Etsy are not bad, for that price. But my miserly side is shaking her head. Maybe sometime next year, if i see a great deal. In the meantime, i shall keep playing around with graphics until i make the ULTIMATE banner, the banner to BEAT them all muahahaha!

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*Cough* Ahem. Pardon me.

Goodnight folks.

17 days Till Christmas...

You've probably noticed that it's already Dec 2009. Where does the time go? Soon it will be the start of a new decade. The newspapers here have made up competitions for a new term for the 2010s. No more "Noughties". Good riddance i say. It's a silly term i feel.

ANYWAY....now that i've gotten the boring rant over with, can i just go on and show you what i would love for Christmas? Yup, the wishlist is long and growing but my pocket is small and not growing that much. So maybe it's a wishful-thinking list (shrug). On with it!

From zorya

from MadArt

from paleolochic

from shopelegante

Sigh...black is so timeless...

Wanna win some Stuff?

Just a quick line. Since the holiday shopping season has kinda officially started, how about winning a few Christmas presents instead of buying them? Save yourself a bit of moolah. Check out this giveaway blog:
Etsy Giveaways

where you can win things like this ring and upcycled leather cuff. Yum.

Better get there before i do!

Guess Who?

My last blog post was 30th August. It's been no news for a month, and i had officially closed my shop for about 2 weeks from late September. But now i'm back!

A day after my last post, my nephew arrived. Yup, i was wrong. But who cares? It's a BOY! Meet Edric:

3.04 kg, 49 cm

Aww..isn't he a cutie? Of course, as his aunt, i'm biased. Edric's birth resulted in a lot of traffic between 2 households, entertaining family, baby-related errands and duties, and sleeping adjustments. Thankfully, the sleeping thing does not really affect me. =p

Oh, and there were 2 birthdays and one 1-month-old celebrations somewhere in there too. I've been busy! We've been busy!

Happily so! =D

Super Sunday!

It's Super Sunday today. Got home after badminton session and found myself in this Storque article (the Storque is Etsy's Blog name) about bookmaking, quite by accident. Another check with Craftcult later led me to realise, not only was the article responsible for the GINORMOUS increase in Scribble Shop's incoming traffic, but also i was on the Front Page again! For a little while anyway.

1 Storque article + 1 Front Page features ----> 30 new item "hearts" & 17 new shop "hearts".

Front Page List

A little more reflection and then it dawned on me. I made a comment in the forums about Etsy's new shipping tool option (offering a suggestion and inadvertently making my presence known) and the forum's poster Etsy Admin member JulieinCharge took notice. She was the one who wrote that Storque article.

He He He....Mighty happy. =)

Road Map Envelopes

Things have been quite slow in progress in terms of Scribble Shop additions. August has been a busy month, especially with my new art course. We're given homework and though it doesn't seem like much, it certainly takes up my time.

I feel i should be focusing on my art education and so, i've been trying to do some self-study as well. At the moment, i'm reading 2 useful books on watercolour painting, and pattern design. My plans for the immediate future are:

1. More frequent art sessions - e.g. a painting a day, quick sketches, plein air studies in the Park


2. Organising my crafting areas - find suitable vertical storage, orderliness, separate creating & mailing spots,


3. Better housekeeping (uh-huh)

Also, my niece is coming in about a week. As in, coming into the world. Yes, i think it's a girl. We don't know, only the doc does. My Mum will be visiting and staying for 2 months to help with the baby. And a dear friend of mine is getting married.

Looks like September will be a very interesting month. =)

I need an Umbrella....

....because i'm under the weather. =(

Blog Feature!

Rebecca from SoapDeli sent me a message to let me know she blogged about my envelopes! I'm so happy because i only listed them, like, yesterday? Hehehe...

I've never heard of GreenPress.com before. It certainly looks interesting. I like the green-ness. Don't you just love green? It's such a soothing colour. =D I may just have to look into this further, since i've only recently been going through a blog overhaul and what-not.



By the way, Rebecca makes yummy soaps. Her Etsy shop is not open at the moment but you can sign up for notifications of when she re-opens. Just follow the SoapDeli link above. Or just head to her Artfire shop here.

Ciao!

New Listing

Finally, i have a brand new listing in the shop. More fancy envelopes are here.




I've been up to my ears with class, work and life. Art class is going alright. Last week, we were practising tones and gradations using gouache and the set homework is similar. I'm having a difficult time with gouache having never used it before. Its properties are somewhere between watercolour and acrylic paints. Most people call it a thicker, more opaque watercolour spin-off. I just hate how long it takes to dry and how much lighter it turns out to be when dried. Ugh. Impatience.

EDIT: You may have noticed the blog makeover. I think i shall stick to this template. The previous one was a little bit too fancy. I must be the only craft blogger who likes to use the fancy templates instead of the plain ole Minima White 3-column goodie. Oh well.

Blog Stuff

Every Monday, Etsy is down for maintenance at my local time of 4pm to 8pm. It's only a small window but i feel it keenly at times. Shows how obsessive i am with Etsy.

It's one of those times now. I should probably make it a point to write a blog post every time maintenance is scheduled. My blog's been a little neglected. After its half-makeover, i think i may have to change the template YET AGAIN. *Groan*

Reason being having 3 columns instead of the current 2 will mean i can fit more information and pictures on the page displayed. I've come across numerous 3-column templates and read up on the necessary html modifications necessary to tweak it to your liking. BUT....I really like this notebook style i have now. =( What's a girl to do?

I tried tweaking the current template to make it wider, but it only goes so wide. Another thing that bugs me is the sidebar gadgets. The sticky tape feature can be annoying if it overlaps the words/pictures. Sigh...back to the drawing board...

EDIT: I made some headway since writing the above. But something is still not right (not noticeable at the moment). Hmm....shall keep on working on it.