Smu's Friday Finds! Space--The Final Frontier

This is without a doubt my personal favorite Friday Finds collection!  Enjoy the Space/Sci-fi theme, and be sure to check out the out-of-this-world shops they are from!

GirlFriday1962

NiftyKnits

JetFlair

TwoSeasideBabes

CrazyKBathandBody

AdoptanAlien

Smu's Friday Finds! Nature

Are you inspired by Nature? I am! From the great items I've found on Etsy it seems that many of us in the Handmade community share this love of the natural world. Take a look at these fantastic nature-themed items and be sure to click back to the shops they came from for more excellent handmade wares!

MonarchDancer

Malodora

AdobeSol

ShellieArtist

And if you're still looking, here are the Nature-Themed Items from SmuTopia!

Smu's Friday Finds! Ocean

Here is today's first round of Friday Finds.  Check out the awesome ocean themed items below and be sure to visit the shops they came from for more fantastic handmade goods!

CrazyDaisyDesigns

Kellysbeads

MadameCupcake

GreenMeanies

Sailor's Valentine--Gorgeous Gift from Mermaid's Baubles!

I just received a fantastic gift in the mail from Mermaid's Baubles!  It is a Sailor's Valentine hairpin, made of seashells.  It came well packaged in a cute labeled box with an insert explaining the history of Sailor's Valentine.  If you're looking for a gift for someone who loves the ocean, make sure to check out this shop!

Blog Improvements!

I've added a few new features to the blog tonight and will continue to add the the improvements in the coming days.  Tonight's additions include a search box, and subscription buttons.  I will be adding links to my "Smu's Favorite Blogs" in the coming days.  I also plan to add two more sets of links:  "Smu's Etsy Favs--Handmade" and "Smu's Etsy Favs--Supplies".  Do you want your link in my list?  Leave a comment here!

VoteHandmade: Another Fun Way to Shop Handmade!

Since joining Twitter I have discovered some great new sites geared to the Handmade community. One of my favorites is Vote Handmade.  For those of you familiar with Digg, the up/down voting system may seem familiar.  The concept is simple:  Anyone can register and submit links to handmade items, articles, etc.  Everything appears on the front page when it is first submitted and the rank changes based on the popularity of that item (popular links rise to the top).  Since the links posted are from all over the web it is a great place to find items Etsy-holics would not otherwise have discovered (I'm definitely including myself in that group!). The flip side of that is by posting your items on Vote Handmade you are reaching an audience that otherwise might not have found YOU!  Take a moment to look around Vote Handmade, and be sure to visit SmuTopia Jewelry's Submission Page :)

Adventures in Advertising--Project Wonderful

As part of the never-ending process of promoting SmuTopia, I recently began advertising through Project Wonderful. I learned about this ad service in the Etsy forums and have seen Project Wonderful ad spaces on many of the handmade blogs I read, so it seemed like a great way to get started while utilizing the experience and advice of my peers in the handmade community.

If you would like to either post your ads on others' blogs, or display ads from others on your blog, take a moment to visit Project Wonderful's home page. From there you can register for an account to create ads, then place bids for ad space on sites where you would like to advertise. Once you have registered and made a deposit (I started with $5 and most spaces I have bid on cost only a few pennies a day), you can also submit an application to host ad space on your site or blog (it will take a few days before you get a response, but the process is simple--no harder than adding any other button or gadget to your blog.)

One hint while creating your ads--they must be smaller than 100kb. I had to re size all of my ads because they were too big. I could have saved myself a step if I had checked the file size before trying to upload :) Once you have completed and activated your ad, you can search for ad space using the bid search engine on Project Wonderful. If you're looking to spend as little as possible I suggest changing the search options under the "bidding" section to show only ad spaces with a minimum bid of $0 to $0 with current bids from $0 to $0.50.

More Friday Finds! Birds :)

As promised, here are some Etsy finds of the bird-themed variety :)  Take a moment to check out the great shops these items came from!

BlueNostalgia

MaCarroll

MtJoySchool

ZooLooNaturals

Friday Finds on Etsy!

I'm always amazed at the great variety of fantastic items on Etsy, and this week was no exception. In fact, I actually did a bit of shopping for myself (gasp!) purchasing one of the items from my favorites and placing a custom order with MadBird for items similar to a fav of mine she had sold.

Today's first round of Friday Finds will be Ocean-Themed, but I will be following up later today with some fantastic bird-themed finds!

Take a moment to click back to the listings for these items and check out the wonderful shops--there are many more great items where these came from!

Have an Ocean or Bird Themed item in your shop? Post a comment with a link so we can take a look!

Happy Surprise from DesertSoapStone!

Always on the lookout for new ocean-themed items, I had to heart this gorgeous "Oceanic" soap when I found it yesterday on Etsy :) Following this item back to the shop was a treat, as I discovered a new favorite in DesertSoapStone. Much to my happy surprise, I had a convo waiting this morning letting me know I had won a free soap sample for being the shop's 300th heart! If you're looking for vegan-friendly handmade bath and body items, this shop is for you!

New Work! E6000 Glue Project

I got out the glue this weekend and made some new jewelry using fossils and a geode slice from a gem and mineral show I shopped at last year (as well as a pretty aqua piece of seaglass). If you are thinking about making jewelry that requires glue, I highly recommend E6000.

There are zillons of different types of glue for sale--almost an entire aisle at my local craft store. When I first wanted to use glue for a jewelry project I did some research through forums of jewelry artists on Etsy and Flickr. Everyone came to the same conclusion--E6000 is the glue to use! After trying it, I absolutely agree! This is a seriously strong glue that I feel confident using to bond stones and glass to ring bases. I have also used it on plastic with great results. It dries clear and I am not strong enough to break the bond (I've tried!). One word of warning--E6000 smells terrible! Make sure you are outside or in a well-ventilated area!

Milestone! 700 Hearts on Etsy!

So I spent most of this weekend away from the computer--I just checked in on my Etsy shop and realized that I have over 700 hearts!  The next milestone I'll be working toward is 200 sales :)  That will definately be a reason to celebrate!  For now, I'm off to bed to rest up for another week.

Ocean-Themed Thursday Continues!

More Great Ocean-Themed Etsy items!

Wishing for the Sea.....

I'm always on the lookout for great handmade items with an Ocean, Sea or Beach theme :) Here are a few I found through Twitter today!



Be sure to click your way back to the fantastic Etsy shops these items are listed in!

Another Great Artist on Etsy: WickedlyGood

I found this great Etsy shop through my new friends on Twitter.  If you're looking for unique handmade supplies you definately need to visit WickedlyGood on Etsy!  The fantastic ceramic pendants pictured here a just a few of the designs listed on Etsy, and there is a great selection of jewelry in addition to the handmade pendants.

New Blog Features "Our Creative World"

I just wanted to post a quick update to share a new blog called Our Creative World that is looking for artists to feature. You might recognize their first featured artist (spoiler: it's me!). If you'd like to be featured, look for the "I want to be featured!" link on the right :)

Post-Show Notes

Saturday 5/9 was the second Designers Downtown Market of 2009 and SmuTopia Jewelry was in attendance :) Overall, it was a moderate success--My sales total was double the booth fee, so it was a good day (if not quite a good as I hoped it would be.) I was happy with my set-up and my designs, there just wasn't a huge crowd, probably due to the hot, humid weather.

Now it's time to shift gears and re-focus on Etsy shop improvements and online advertising. I plan to create some project wonderful ads within the next few days and venture into the world of online advertising :) Stay tuned for more on this!

Last Chance for Craft Show Prep!

Tomorrow, Saturday May 9th, I will be setting up SmuTopia Jewelry at the Designers' Downtown Market in Raleigh, NC. I'm almost ready to go, but I always have more ideas than time when it comes to improving my displays and making more jewelry to take to the show :)

I've saved myself some time in the prep process by collecting all of my essentials into a craft-show toolkit, which I leave packed between shows. Must haves for my toolkit include scissors, scotch tape, duct tape, hemp cord or string, pens/markers, safety pins, extra tags, a calculator, thumbtacks, and shower curtain rings. Most of those are pretty self-explanatory.......the shower curtain rings were a gift from my Mom last Christmas, and are perfect for hanging items from the edges and crossbeams of my pavillion tent :)

Do you sell at craft shows? What is in your craft-show "toolkit"? Leave a comment sharing the knowledge you have gained through your experience!

I Love this Shop! MermaidsBaubles on Etsy

In today's travels through Etsyland, I came across MermaidsBaubles for the first time and absolutely fell in love with this "young" Etsy shop (only on Etsy since December'08). The designs in this shop are all ocean inspired and incorporate seaglass and shells into lovely jewelry and accessories. It was difficult to pick a favorite, but I'm leaning toward the pinkish seashell hairpin pictured here :)

Make sure to take a moment to check out this fantastic shop and explore!

Smu's Etsy Finds: Rings!

In my daily travels through Etsy-land I see so many amazing things, sometimes I just have to share :) Today's "Smu's Finds" include a variety of rings from different shops, all priced below $20! Take a look at these awesome items and the fantastic Etsy shops they come from!

MAY GIVEAWAY! "Live Life" Bracelet from SmuTopia Jewelry

It's May, time for a new GIVEAWAY!  This month, enter to win the "Live Life" bracelet pictured above.

Receive ONE entry for EACH of the following:

• Visit SmuTopia on Etsy, then come back here and post a comment with your favorite item, or some general feedback.  I love to hear what you think about my shop.
• Post a link to this contest on your site, then leave a comment here with a link to your site.
• Tweet about this giveaway then leave a comment here with a link to your Twitter site.

Good Luck Everyone!  And be sure to include an email address in your comment so I can contact you if you win.  Entries close May 31st, 2009.

New Designs for May 9th Designers' Downtown Market

Only one weekend left to prepare for the May 9th Designers Downtown Market, and I've been hard at work on new designs to premier at the show :) Here is a sneak preview of some items I completed last night. The wire-wrapped seaglass and pearl pendant is my favorite.

We Have a Winner!

I just drew a name to pick the winner of my April Giveaway--Audrey of Audrey's Country Crafts! Be sure to visit her Shop on Etsy and her fantastic Blog!