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..

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!

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! ---------->>>

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.

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.

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. =)

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.

Updates

Last week finished off with a very good Sunday, for me.

An old friend from way back was in town and i had the chance of showing him and a colleague about Sydney for a day. We did all the usual harbour sightseeing things (though it was enough for them to see the Opera House and Bridge from a near distance), took the ferry to Manly (on the way we glimpsed a pod of dolphins! I've never seen them in the harbour before), had lunch in Darling Harbour (all paid for by their employers hehehe), shopped at Paddys Markets, then back to Darling Harbour for...wait for it....a deluxe seafood platter at a good restaurant. Mmmm....the prawns and oysters were to-die-for. =p Pity about the lobster. Oh well.....and it was good to catch up with Alvin too. =)





Got home exhausted but happy. Checked my shop statistics and saw a very sudden jump in views and popularity of some products. Did further checking and yup, i made it to the front page of Etsy yet again. I hope the good news never ends. =)

This Treasury (collection of featured creations) was compiled by Etsy staff themselves. How cool is that! Looking at it now, it seems to be an all Aussie-affair! Yay!

Now, i've gotta go rest a bit. All the excitement of the weekend is still casting its effects on me poor body. I'll be back soon...

Blog Mentions

Sometime last week, i was wondering how to use up my teeny tiny scrap cardboard and paper pieces and was struck with the idea of making thank you tags. So here's what i came up with:

I must have been inspired by Hayley aka Heidi & Seek's old and new clothing label tags and said as much to her. Thank you for the mention Hayley!

And new friend Chrissie also mentioned the Vintage Envelopes on their blog. Thank you so much! Check out her blog, it's so neat and clean.

You may have noticed i've changed my blog template. Any comments? Still not quite happy with it, it's a work in progress.

*Gasp* And it Continues....

Man, talk about the snowball effect.

1 Gift Guide Feature -> hundreds of views & hearts in the tens, -> a Treasury -> Front Page Treasury -> SOLD item.

Hehehe...much thanks to the Down Under Street Team's (DUST) Nicky aka VintagePrincipessa.

Tipping the Scales

What was it that *Bridget Jones said?

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that when one part of your life starts going okay, another falls spectacularly to pieces."

It's been quite a month or so in Scribble Land. Even though i haven't been creating as much as i would like to (due to 2 bouts of the flu/cold), the shop's been getting quite a lot of exposure and coverage. 2 Gift Guide features and 2 blog mentions later (will post soon), i am still surprised at how things have come along.

That, of course, is the part of my life that's "going okay". "Spectacularly to pieces"?

Let's just say some upsetting family matters is making us all....well, upset. That and coupled with having my own troubles and having to keep it to oneself made for an unhappy Carolyn for many weeks. Not to mention a carpet accident involving black acrylic paint and beige carpet 2 days ago (UGH).

Thankfully, today, it does look like the clouds are starting to part and the sun is coming out. Come now, repeat to self...(it's just carpet, it's just carpet, it will grow back...oh wait, no, that's hair. It's just carpet....).

In other news, i've finished my art classes in Bondi! It was just for the one term but i'm going on to another art school further away in the north from August onwards. I must say, the classes were very well worth it. Wanna see some of my paintings?

Acrylic on Canvas Panel

(based on a photograph i took near Wollongong a few years ago)

I did this landscape painting in class, over 5 sessions. It was refreshing to return to it week after week with new eyes. New eyes means looking at a painting in new ways. You could paint in stages over a period of time or look at a painting's reflection in a mirror. Sometimes when you're fixated on something for too long, it's best to move away and come back to it again after a while.

I took the photo during a lunch break on the way back to Sydney. My coursemates and i were on a field trip to the south. There was an ugly dustbin right beside the bench, which i've omitted in the painting. Artistic licence. But other than that, it's very similar to the actual scene. It's true! My teacher agreed with me. =) (Well, of course he did...he helped you know..hehe..)

Watercolour on Paper

(Friends of mine - based on a photograph)

Remember how i was saying i wasn't any good at watercolours in school and in the beginning of this course i took? Well, surprise surprise. During the last 2 lessons, my teacher went "Oh...Carolyn...that looks rather lovely....". What can i say. Sometimes i'm a quick learner and sometimes i'm a late bloomer. Being more relaxed figures into it somewhere as well.

So i felt confident enough to try to paint a portrait of friends of mine. I met Catherine and Vincent through badminton club. She was/is my coach. Nice, friendly folk. I've learnt a lot from both of them.

They liked it! And now, i have to paint portraits of my family. It will not do to paint others other than your family members, first. Right? I don't want to be ignored at the next family dinner...or worse yet, get served blue soup. =p

Will write more soon. Tata for now....

*Bridget Jones - new-age heroine who makes blue soup

This Made My Day

I'm thanking my lucky stars. Another Gift Guide feature! This time, for School and Office Supplies. My Vintage Envelopes are in great company; some really lovely stationery have been chosen. Take a look!

Screenshot of the School and Office Supplies Gift Guide

From Craftcult - every Etsy seller's favourite tool

Herpetology

Yay - a pair of those Mini Sailboat Notebooks were sold and shipped earlier today (pun not intended this time!).

On the way to the post office, i saw this sign in a boutique window: "Turtles for Sale - with tank, UV light, water filter". I'm guessing they must be Aussie freshwater turtles. Any other kind would be illegal. Those close to me know that turtles, terrapins, and tortoises are my favourite animals. When i was younger, Ihad a pet terrapin whom i absolutely adored (....RIP Shelly-Back....). I was a bit mad about it then. Took Shelly-Back for walks in the garden ("exercise"), cleaned his shell with a toothbrush ("polishing") and even took it for unauthorised swims in my dad's large fish tank where he sometimes managed to catch a few guppies (if not, i caught some for him anyway - Sorry Dad!).

Anyway, the sign reminded me of my love for the shelled-ones. Here's some turtle love from Etsy:

Fine Art Photograph by PamlicoBee

Ninja Turtle Hat Crochet Pattern by beachbunny

Sea Turtle Original Art by Rushing aka biggirl4664

Turtle Round Ceramic Dish by SayYourPiece

ACEO by littlemonkeys

The last is my favourite. =D

Woohoo!

I'm stoked!

My latest listing, a pair of Sailboat Mini Notebooks, was chosen by Etsy's Admin member Marymary and included in a Gift Guide!

Classically Nautical - Etsy Gift Guide:

Can someone tell me how to get a higher quality screen capture?

Fantastic news to wake up to. I had actually changed the main photo for this listing and also chose the tags a bit more carefully. Looks like the effort paid off. I'm so glad. =)

Latest Stuff

My latest listing are these gift/hang tags:

Not quite sure where i got this sailboat idea from. Most probably from the wind direction bits in these maps i collected. I had also wanted to use up this massive pile of used envelopes i'd stashed for months. I'm glad i finally found a good use for them. They look so much nicer in person. They look rather faded in the photos but in real life, the subtle colours gives off a very pleasant calming nature.

I'm in a real pit at the moment, creatively. Thinking of starting over in Etsy and heading in a new direction. I've been doing more research into business side of things as well as recycled paper supplies. The latter has proven to be the most difficult part of all. I can't bring myself to lower my standards and just purchase any recycled paper eg lower post-consumer waste, overseas origin, plantation fibre, only green in the energy department etc.

Particularly, recycled acid-free cardstock. Apparently, they exist. Thus far, i've found some from the US but they don't ship internationally and even if they do, way too expensive. I'm a little suspicious of a local supply and they sell only in these humougous sheets (think bigger than A0) and most probably to registered businesses only.

Sigh. Huge dilemma. Do i give in to the masses and just choose a less recycled content paper, or do i struggle on in my beliefs and compete with the other more successful sellers who use them?

I want things to work......

Something a Little Different..

I've put this up for sale in the shop:

Poetry Notebook

I made this over a few days over the weekend. Was just trying out new features; size, closures, bits of text. I'm happy with it. =) I'm thinking of adding elastic bands to the notebooks i make so it can be closed securely while in bags etc. Looks like a trip to Spotlight is in order.

My friend Meilse, who's getting married in September, donated some navy blue cardstock so you will see more of them in the shop. She decided not to use them as her wedding stationery, but was happy to pass them on to me. Isn't she sweet? =) Thanks Meilse...

It's my favourite poem, the so-called "Daffodils". It's also featured in one of my favourite books of all time, "The Eyre Affair". Funny book, try it.

I WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUD

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

and twinkle on the Milky Way,

They stretched in never-ending line

along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced;

but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay, in such a jocund company:

I gazed - and gazed - but little thought

what wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

Til later. I'm going dancing with the daffodils. =D