Messy Jessie: My Never-Ending Quest for Craft Room Organization

As I start to prepare for my next appearance at the Designers' Downtown Market on July 11th and gather inventory and display pieces for the show, I have (out of necessity) begun to dig through the mess my craft room/studio/guest bedroom has become. The picture on the left is the room on Friday, and the one on the right is from this morning. You'd never know I spent the whole weekend in there cleaning! Granted, there is a lot you can't see from this angle, including my beading table and bead storage shelves which received a good deal of attention. The hardest part of organization for me is not getting sucked into half-finished projects as I discover them in the mess :)

My grand vision for this round of organization is to clean up the room enough to be able to move the bed to a different location to allow me to take photos closer to the natural light coming from the window (currently located a the head of the bed). I also have considered abducting my hubby's old desk from it's current location in the dining room to use for extra workspace, providing I can arrange the room to make it fit :) I'll be following up with additional photos as I continue the deep-clean and (hopefully) re-organize the furniture in the room. Please feel free to comment with any of your own organizational tips!

Smu's Friday Finds - Ocean Creature Feature: Jellyfish!

Here is the first round of Smu's Friday Finds for today! First up, another ocean creature feature: Jellyfish!

Jellyfish Earrings

Jellyfish Jacket

4x6 Print - Jelly Romance Jellyfish Earrings

J is for Jellyfish Limited Edition Animal Alphabet Print

An Adventure in Asymetry

Here is a sneak peak at my recent foray into asymetrical design! These are the first two asymetrical designs I plan to list on Etsy, both necklaces, and I am quite pleased with how they turned out, despite my predisposition to symetry in design :) Please post a comment letting me know what you think of these new designs!

SmuTopia Independance Day Giveaway: Enter by 7/4 to Win these Earrings!

Enter to win these sparkly beaded glass dangle earrings designed and created by SmuTopia Jewelry! Entries will be accepted through midnight on Saturday 7/4; winner will be drawn on Sunday 7/5 using Random.Org to select the winning entry. You will receive one entry for each of the following:

• Visit SmuTopia on Etsy then come back here and comment on your favorite item!
• Visit SmuTopia on Facebook and leave a comment (You may receive one facebook comment entry per day)
• Tweet a link to this giveaway, then post a comment with a link to your twitter profile! (You may receive one tweet entry per day)
• Post a link to this giveaway on your shop or blog, then post a comment here with a link to your site! (You will receive one entry for each link posted, so feel free to post in multiple places for multiple entries!

Good Luck to everyone who enters!

Sale on Zipper Pull Charms! (Plus Free Shipping)

I've updated all SmuTopia Zipper Pull Charms on Etsy with a sale price of $2.75! Combined with my FREE International Shipping offer on all items this is quite a deal :)

Learn from the Masters! Updating a Listing Page

SEO is my focus lately, and I'm learning a lot of great things from other Etsy sellers!  First, for the basics on SEO (Search Engine Optimization) check out the Storque.

This listing from misseskwittys is a great example for SEO!

In starting to update my shop and listings for SEO I've been focusing primarily on my item titles and tags--that was a good first step, but when I saw this listing today in Misseskwittys's Etsy shop I realized I have a TON of work to do on the description section.  Take a look at the listing linked above and note the quick summary at the beginning followed by an expanded description offering more details, the descriptive title, optimal tagging and other great attributes of this listing!  I've added it to my favs as a great example, not to mention an adorable item!  

Smu's Friday Finds: Here Be Monsters!

Here Be Monsters of the Handmade variety :)

Loch Ness Monster Wearable, Mini Feltidermy

Sea Serpent

SNARFBLAT in GREEN - MoNSTER - handmade lampwork bead

Pluggy the Monster

Smu's Friday Finds: Playing with Food!

Welcome to another edition of Smu's Friday finds! Want to have a little fun with your food? Check out these great mock-food items found on Etsy!

Fun PopCorn Soap by LoveLeeSoaps

Fruit Tart Earrings by PetitPlat

Bacon and Eggs Apron by Snappyshop

Bubblegum Necklace by SugarRainDrops

What's in a Name?

Naming my designs isn't always easy, and this piece has me stumped.  I was thinking something to do with Caramel (I must have candy on the brain!)  Another suggestion from my new Facebook Fan Page is "Amber Waves". Please leave a comment if you have an idea!

Milestones and Upgrades: 200 Sales on Etsy!

While I am contstantly working to make improvements to SmuTopia's many homes on the web, it is always nice when reaching a milestone to look at the big picture and see how far I've come since opening SmuTopia in late '07/early '08. One of those milestones came last night when I reached 200 sales through SmuTopia on Etsy. To celebrate this achievement and thank my wonderful customers, I have marked all of my inventory for FREE International Shipping! Also, be sure to check out SmuTopia's new Facebook Fan Page!

Sneak Preview of New Work

Here's a peek at a few new designs.  I plan to list these items on Etsy by the end of this week :)

BlueBell Dangles Earring Giveaway! (6/16-6/20)

Enter to win these lovely floral-themed "Bluebell Dangles"! Entries will be accepted through midnight on Saturday 6/20; winner will be drawn on Sunday 6/21.  You will receive one entry for each of the following:

• Become a fan of SmuTopia Jewelry on Facebook!
• Visit SmuTopia on Etsy then come back here and comment on your favorite item!
• Tweet a link to this giveaway, then post a comment with a link to your twitter profile!
• Post a link to this giveaway on your shop or blog, then post a comment here with a link to your site!

Smu's Friday Finds--Octopi

More Great Friday Finds of the Ocean-Themed Variety:  Octopi!!!

Bunny X Productions

Happy Whosits

FutureGirl

SabaJewellery

Smu's Friday Finds--Turtles!

While vacationing last week in the Outer Banks I spent a lot of time walking along the beach collecting shells and watching for wildlife. One of the most exciting moments was when I spotted a sea turtle as it surfaced for air! To celebrate this sighting, I'm sharing some great turtle-themed finds from Etsy! Be sure to follow the links back to the amazing shops these items came from!

EmandSprout

Liquid Phoenix Glass Works

ConstantDreamer

Work in Progress!

While I was on vacation I started a project with some gorgeous blue stone beads and silvertone sea themed charms.  Although I didn't get far past the design stage while in the Outer Banks, I've pulled my jewelry cart into the living room to work on jewelry while watching baseball :)  Stay tuned to see the finished piece as soon as I'm done!

Found on the Beach--Shells and Such from the Outer Banks of NC

My husband and I just returned from a fantastic vacation to Outer Banks of North Carolina, and I had to share some of the treasures I found on the beach! I didn't have any luck finding seaglass this trip, but came away with some fantastic shells including several broken shell pieces sculpted by the sea into beautiful shapes--the purple and white striped piece with the holes in it (bottom right) is one of my favs and will make a beautiful pendant or focal point for a necklace.

My design ideas right now are focused on the small "V" shaped piece of driftwood I found on the beach near our rented condo in Nag's Head. I'm thinking of pairing it with a piece of aqua seaglass and wrapping both the wood and seaglass with sterling silver wire to create a unique sea-themed pendant or necklace.

In addition to the small piece of driftwood I found myself, I also purchased two larger driftwood pieces on Roanoke Island to use for jewelry display during photo shoots for item listings. If you love shells, seaglass and all things beachy, add the Outer Banks to your vacation list!

YARD + ART = YART SALE on ETSY 6/10-6/14

If you've been surfing the Etsy forums, you may be wondering, "What is YART?" A "YART Sale" (Yard + Art) is basically an unofficial collective sale by participating Etsy shops that will run Wednesday June 10th through Sunday June 14th. To participate in YART as a seller all you need to do is create a YART SALE section in your shop (I also suggest tagging each sale item with YART to help sellers find your sale items!) Learn more about YART on the Storque.

I will be creating SmuTopia's YART Sale section today and plan to heavily discount some of my older items to make way for new inventory. What are your plans for the YART Sale? Post your shops and sales here!