Removing Obstables in the Creative Process

For me the creative process is spontaneous (and often messy). Since moving in our first house in November I've found that I'm spending a lot less time making jewelry. There are many reasons for this, first and foremost being that we have a house to take care of now :) However, after realizing that my overwhelming urge is to be in the same room as my hubby (hence our choice of a house with an open floor plan downstairs) and accounting for the fact that my craft room is upstairs (where we spend very little waking time), I decided to remove one barrier to my creative process by setting up a small workstation in my dining room along the half-wall looking into the living room area.

Now my tools and supplies are within reach when the urge to make jewelry strikes :)I've already made a bunch of new charms and a fantastic new necklace I hope to have pics of soon.

Smu's SPOOKY Friday Finds!

One Cuddlesome Candy Corn.... (scrumptiousdelight)

Falling leaves clothespins (mykonos)

Claude the mouse and his wee pumpkin house (goldenneedlecreation)

Glittering Halloween Sticker Pack (ChelseaVanTol)

Skull and Crossbones Soap (karenssoaps)

Smu's Friday Finds: Harvest Gold

With fall rapidly approaching, I'm devoting this week's Friday Finds to "Harvest Gold", the wonderful rich yellow-gold hue so popular on appliances in the 70's. Whenever I hear "Harvest Gold" I think of my Mom's kitchen from my early childhood :)

Hand embroidered fiber wall art DRAGONFLIES AND THISTLES

Honey
Golden Leaves, Leather Journal, Suede
Amber oval Earthling ring sterling silver

Smu's Friday Finds, Round 2: Pretty Posies

Here's my second round of Friday Finds: Pretty Posies! I found so many that I've adjusted the format for this round to fit in more selections (including one of my own items that fits the theme!) Links to each of the listings featured here are listed numerically below :)

1 - Handmade Original Map Paper Rose pin International
By hopeandjoystudios.etsy.com
2 - Blossoms--Peaches and Cream Earrings
By smutopia.etsy.com
3 - Simplicity Essential Patchwork Bag in Fresh Poppies
By Antiquebasketlady.etsy.com
4 - Flower Cupcake Toppers ' Spring Celebration '
By millalove.etsy.com
5 - the kayla headband
By monkeyandsquirrel.etsy.com
6 - I Love You Petals. flower plush
By lapomme.etsy.com
7 - True Blue Flower Sterling Silver Ring
By Nafsika.etsy.com
8 - Pink Fairy Rose Lariat Scarf Necklace
By knittingguru.etsy.com
9 - Sailors Valentine inspired Ivory SHELL BLOSSOM Brooch Pin
By MermaidsBaubles.etsy.com

Smu's Friday Finds: Canadian Geese (for Mom!) :)

Per my Mom's request, my first round of Friday Finds this week are all items featuring Canadian Geese! Be sure to click the links to give these items and the shops they came from some handmade love!

Canada Goose Earrings

Felted Canada Goose Tapestry

Geese in Flight

Canada Goose Pendant

Geese (8 x 10)

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! 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

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!

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 :)

Party Time!

The date of the post-holiday party I have been planning at work has finally arrived! SmuTopia Floral has been in full-swing and the centerpieces I have been working on are finished and ready to go. Although these are really a minor detail in the overall party planning, I was happy to find a way to use my creativity in my life at work :)

The other reason this day is exciting--with the party over I will be free to re-focus my creativity on my Etsy shop! In preparation for some new listings, I have started putting some of my older items on sale. Hopefully some of my older pieces can find nice homes :)

Have a great day everyone--wish me luck at the party tonight!

My Craft Room is Clean--a Christmas Miracle!

As i have mentioned in previous posts, my craft room goes through cycles of messiness--it barely ever reaches a state I would call "clean". Well, my Christmas present to myself was to spent a good deal of time cleaning and organizing over the holiday break :) My husband was shocked at how good things look now. He actually asked me if I had thrown away half of my stuff (I did recycle and discard a few things, but the appearance of extra space in the room now is really the result of organization.) Hopefully I can sustain the new level of organization in the room!

Make room for the Tree!

My husband and I finally went shopping for our Christmas Tree, which means all of the furniture from the dining room is now (temporarily) in my craft room, making it a bit difficult to get anything done in there. On the other hand, I am very lucky to have a whole room devoted to crafting! Looking at the room right now, I feel like I could use a whole lot more in the way of storage and organizational containers :) Do you live and craft in a constantly fluxing mess like I do? Have you found any great solutions for bead storage or organization? Please share your wisdom!

New Work: Pendant and Earrings, a Set!

One of the recurring themes in the feedback I've received is that I should list matching sets in my shop--here is my lastest work; a matching set of a pendant and earrings! I'll be working on more adding more sets and a greater color variety to my shop soon!

The other thing I'm actively working on is lighting for my photos. I've constructed a light tent, but the bulbs I have just aren't doing the job. Any comments on what you use for lighting product shots will be most welcome :)

And the winner is....

Melissa of Melissa33brew@yahoo.com!!! Thanks so much to everyone who left a comment! I truly appreciate the feedback and will be working on incorporating your ideas :)

Freebie Friday Jewelry Giveaway!

Happy Friday! Would you like to win these earrings? Here's what you need to do:

1. Check out my Etsy shop http://smutopia.etsy.com --I am going to add more inventory soon and would like to know your thoughts on what items and styles I need to add.
2. Return here and post a comment about my shop--what I need more of, your favorite styles, or any other feedback you would like to give.
3. Be sure to include your email address in your comment here.

I will pick a name at random from all of the entries on Sunday August 10th. Good Luck!

Just Passed 100 Etsy Sales!!!

When I posted my first item on Etsy in January of this year, I set the goal of reaching 100 sales in my shop by by 1 year anniversary. Well, I hit my goal several months early! While I'm still celebrating this acheivement with a free-shipping sale at http://smutopia.etsy.com I am also starting to look forward and think about setting goals that will continue to grow my customer base and improve my shop. I've also begun to entertain the idea of opening a bead shop as a sister store to SmuTopia :) Anyone out there who has advice on improvements I could make, or new ways to promote my shop please leave a comment--I'm especially interested in your experiences with various forms of advertising....please share your experiences!

New Charms!

I'm slowly but surely working my way back to a fully stocked Etsy shop (I want to have at least 40 items listed.......currently I'm at 33.) Pictured here are a few of my 'orphan bead' charms that will be listed soon.

Time to Stock my Etsy Shop!

The inventory in my Etsy shop is rather low, and I finally got some good photos for new listings! I've added a few items to the shop already, but here are some photos of things I will be listing later this week. Both are rings made during my recent E6000 glue experiement--I had never used it before, but everyone says it is the best for this sort of work. I agree that the hold is fantastic--but boy does that stuff stink!

A little background on the pieces pictured here: The top ring features a chunk of lace agate that I purchased at the Raleigh Gem & Mineral show in April of this year. The bottom photos shows a ring made of sea glass my Mom brought home from Grand Turk Island on a trip she took with my Dad in Febrary--Thanks Mom !!

Etsy Success--500 Hearts!

Despite slacking a bit on promoting my Etsy shop lately, I've just reached one of my two first year goals: I've passed 500 hearts!!! WooHoo! I have just four more sales to go to reach my other first year goal of 100 sales :) My main priorities right now are to get more photos taken (I have a ton of new unlisted work at home) and to fill up my shop--I'd like to keep at least 40 items listed but I keep falling back toward 30. I suppose I should be happy about that since it means I'm making sales!!!!

Since I've almost reached both of my first year goals (in only 6 months!) I'm starting to think about where I go from here. I'm very interested in advertising my shop outside of Etsy and my blog, but don't really know where to start. Anyone out there who has input about advertising, please comment on your experiences--I'm sure there are lots of people out there like me who would value the info!

89 Sales and Counting!

Since I listed the first item in my Etsy shop in January of this year, I have had 89 sales and counting! I have definately exceeded the expectations I had when I opened the shop, and I'm creeping up on the initial mid-range goal I had set for myself of 100 sales. I had hoped to have 100 sales by my 1 year anniversary on Etsy.....now I'm hoping to reach that goal much sooner and am starting to think bigger.........

How long did it take you to reach 100 sales (if you have)? What are your current goals? Leave a comment and share your thoughts :)