Happy Birthday to Smu!

I've turned 29 years old on 9/29/09 :) To make my birthday just a little sweeter, when I picked up my packages from the apartment office at lunchtime this adorable bag from BagsPlusMore was waiting for me! I found this cute little yellow flowered number through her MadeItMyself storefront and arranged a trade. I hope she is as happy with her "Mocha Madness" bling ring as I am with my sunny little bag!

Happy Trading with SpookyGrrrl on MadeItMyself

I recently received this adorable Warm Vanilla Sugar I Heart Chicks Soap from SpookyGrrrl on MadeItMyself (also known as NemesisProductions on Etsy) as part of another awesome handmade trade! Make sure to check out both shops to see her entire selection of handmade goods!

*Smu's Call for Trades!!!! It's that time of year where I'm looking to trade for holiday gifts! If you sell handmade items and are interested in trading please contact me via SmuTopia on Etsy or via email at SmuTopia.Jewelry@gmail.com

Oh Trades, How I Love Thee....

Sales have been a bit slow lately, and while I am jewelry-rich and cash-poor I've been seeking trades with other handmade sellers for gift and supply items. I've traded many items with fellow Etsians since setting up shop in early 2008 with great results. My most recent trade was with FairyCake on MadeItMyself--I will be receiving this adorable blueberry muffin pincushion, and we will both have the opportunity to gain valuable seller feedback for our shops on this new selling venue!

Branching Out

After reaching 800 hearts this week in my Etsy Shop (Yay!) it occured to me (not for the first time) that after devoting so much time to developing SmuTopia Etsy I would be well served to spend more time developing my new shops on Artfire and MadeItMyself. I love Etsy and could never have reached this point without it, but it can't hurt to expose SmuTopia to new audiences in these alternative handmade communities. I have a few token items listed in both my Artfire and MadeItMyself shops, but plan to add new listings as quickly as my free time will allow :)

In addition to adding items to SmuTopia Artfire and SmuTopia MadeItMyself, I've also been creating new project wonderful ads for SmuTopia using photos of new work. Here's my latest, just added to my project wondeful bids today:

Finally, I have made an investment in some additional advertising by joining the Cafe Handmade Virtual Craft Show for next month! The cost was $10 for four weeks in the Virtual Craft Show......more to come on the results of that investment!