I've decided to start renewing again one day early. For May, I may try to complete 50 items! For April, without renewals, my bill was still $6. Half the cost of the renewing as normal bill though.

I want to blog in support of the selling of supplies on etsy. People say that we can just go to a brick and mortar shop such as Michaels, but I have to admit that the variety and quality of supplies on offer is not up to snuff. I can't find ring bases there, for example, or the really unique supplies that help me create the designs that bring eyes to my shop. The same old Michaels stuff doesn't bring people into my shop- they've seen it all before. And yes, we could go to ebay, but items bought on ebay don't bring cash into etsy that they can use to do things like fix the search and make new features. So stay supply sellers! I love you!

Ok, I love me too.

Heh, this painting is great.

Yay for apologies.

I won a contest!



My prize is in a nice box.




I'm not sure how Sandfibers keeps her eyesight. That's so intricate[not shown: the also delicately beaded ring band]

Copy or not a copy, in the latest etsy drama!


Littleput quits for a few months. PS. Don't be dicks to successful people. I am saving up to buy from them.

It seems that etsy is fixing the search

I'm in indieparade today, yay!



I went garage saling today, and got a great haul- 3 pairs of pants for $6, 2 video games for $10. I also got this fun pair of earrings that I debated keeping for myself, but selling them on ebay is the cost of being able to take much needed naps.

People are looking before they leap on RME. Some don't trust RME.

Etsytools drama.

I'm really glad that my google base store connector for my ebay store is finally working. I am going to have to do my google base for my etsy and my website. I also have to study for finals.

I finally found my how to use promotions storque article

I still haven't listed all the ebay items I need to list, but I've made great inroads into my etsy listings. It's nearly May, so I'll stay the course for a few more days, and then I'll be able to spread out into my other venues.

Some good photographs today

part of a bracelet
Originally uploaded by cassowaryjewelry

It's very rare that me making a large batch of items and a sunny day come together all at once. Of course, it'll take me a week to list only 6 items, but better late than never.

An etsy related rant. On this thread, not only do we see some vintage elitism, as if one vintage thing is so much better, and some ebay elitism, because success is bad and all that, but the worst bit is people suggesting gamestop. You should never sell your used games to gamestop- you're not going to get what they are worth! Do you want a nice old lady[Ok, I made that part up] being ripped off by a big corporation here? I mean, just because you don't understand video games and video game culture doesn't mean you need to put them down and have people getting maybe $2 if that, for a game that could sell for at least $10.


Also, found on etsy- yay for atari journals!

In the middle of my no renew experiment, there is a furor about renewing on etsy. Apparently they changed it so that you don't get as much time if you renew.Of course, I was renewing for a little exposure, so I won't be affected by that. My sales are only slightly down from March in which I renewed three times per day. I may renew once per day when I stop my experiment as it didn't ruin my sales or anything when I didn't renew at all.

On etsy, you can get baby ball gowns. I need to start listing like crazy, but I am oh so slow. The horrors of finals will be upon me soon enough and I'll be really sorry. I also need to ramp up for fall to replace my income from my lack of a part time job because of my crazy schedule. At least the sun will shine, even though the creek is rising.

Unefemme explains how to use the promos. A note on promos: If you start a thread, please talk to the participants. It's very friendly.

Also, etsyartists of color starts a ning network.

Oddly, I won a contest. It seems I'm having sweet luck today.

Jewelry making party

tulips
Originally uploaded by cassowaryjewelry

It's so much easier to make jewelry than it is to photograph and list it. It took me 2 photo shoots today to come up with decent photos, and I haven't listed any of the five items I made yesterday.

Frozen shops instead of brick walls? It's the latest etsy dirt.

[sooo not my pic!]

Bright blue chocolate? Sounds nice.

Indiepublic has been sold?! An email received by me:

Dear IndiePublic Members -

First off, I'd like to take a moment to thank Sion for creating this awesome network of people - we are now over 6,700 strong and growing every day!

It is with great excitement that I write to you to introduce myself! I'm thrilled to be the new steward of indiepublic - Sion has created a wonderful community and my overall goal is to maintain the indie spirit.

My name is Casie Metcalf and I live in Portland, Maine. I do have an almost three year old son (Andrew) who keeps me hopping, a wonderfully supportive husband and more ideas than there are hours in the day!

Timing is everything and within days of being laid off from the local newspaper (after 10 years), Sion offered indiepublic for sale. This offer came at the exact right time for me and I think will be a great fit.

Thank you all for the kind words and support that many of you have shown since Sion's announcement. I do appreciate each and every one! I'm sure we'll get to know one another much better in the coming weeks.

Please feel free to send me an email with any questions, comments or suggestions - I'm always open to new ideas.

Stay tuned - I'll be re-introducing the member of the day feature next Monday. And I hope to get the indiecontests site up and accepting new deals and contests shortly.

I can't think of a good name for this

I can't think of a good name for this
Originally uploaded by cassowaryjewelry

I made a necklace, photographed it, and have been promoting up a storm. I also did some ebay listing- I'm so behind on that. My goal is 100 ebay items in store, but I only have 17. I tried to get some photos of a ring I made, but the overcast skies just wouldn't let me get a good picture of the ring, so I'll try again tomorrow.

I'm adding my work to a new gallery site. Promote, promote, promote! It's tough not being able to renew, because when I am tired, I have to expend energy for outside promotion.

New stuff

rose quartz
Originally uploaded by cassowaryjewelry

I think that I'll also try to stock up my website as well. I have tons of supplies I want to use.

Lately, I've been obsessed with sterling silver lately. I even made a list of sterling pieces. So today, I've decided to feature a sterling artist- Khristinne, who opened her etsy shop in March. [all pictures not mine]

She does well in traditional subjects such as butterflies and hummingbirds:



Butterfly Ballet- good for people from little girls to women with a sense of fun.



Flower Kissers- birds for the ears.

She also does more whimsical designs such as a watering can necklace for spring:



or maybe paper clip earrings?

Breaking my renewing addiction has been hard. Yesterday I almost renewed because I hadn't posted an item for a whole day. The image of my newest item on page 1000 haunted me, but I managed to control myself and not renew.

The debate about the best online advertising goes on. I've got to fiddle with my adwords now.

I'm pretty excited. I got 100 sterling silver headpins. It's going to be a good time in the beading house tonight! I've been toiling over this tiny paper so much that I haven't been listing any of the eleventy billion items I have to list, because I'm so invested in the push pull of procrastination. I do a million little things to avoid the work like blogging, but I don't feel that I can undertake any other work, like listing, or leisure like playing a video game. It's a terrible limbo.

Also, hey, an etsy blog aggregator. I also didn't know people collected fonts.

Supply shoppers, start your visas! The creators of the etsy mini blog has started a seperate one for supplies.

It's tough to not renew when there's a new etsybead theme of the (two) weeks as people search the theme for items for treasuries. However, it's just one month of not renewing, and I'll tough it out.

Is social media borked because we game the system? On one hand, yes. Spam clogs the lanes, making it tougher to move towards stuff you like. On the other hand, not all people hoping to promote their business through social media are very good at it, so those clumsy attempts can be easily sidestepped. Another important thing is that people can connect and add value while promoting. The truth is that nobody wants to come back for 30 posts a month saying merely 'look at my new item'. They want information that is of interest and use to them, and if you can provide it, you rule the social media world.

I'm having a tough time. The google base store connector isn't working with my etsy store, it's been rainy all week, which has been affecting my photos, and I am a bit slow on the listing front. I was able to ship out a big ebay sale within 12 hours of payment, which was good, though. I bought some big mailers for my ebay items. It's tough to use boxes because they always increase the weight of your package by several ounces, which is especially bad as shipping costs will probably increase again.

I'm ebaying as much as I can as I already spent my whole paycheck. [it was only $50 but still...

There's a lot of flickr controversy on etsy.

I've got to send out the newsletter early tomorrow as I have to go to a Munchkin playing meeting

I made a new thisnext list. More about my no renew experiment. I listed a fresh new item today- and got 4 views. On a shiny fresh item.

new item

matching
Originally uploaded by cassowaryjewelry

Yesterday I made a pair of earrings to match this bracelet in my shop.

Another consequence of not renewing is that I have less stock to put in other areas.

The problem with not renewing is that even if you made new items, it can be tough when it rains and you can't take pictures. I'm hoping it dries up a bit later. I also need a lot of headpins, as I'm making a necklace that requires a lot of them and I think I've ran out.

New items

it's a cell charm
Originally uploaded by cassowaryjewelry

to make up for the lack of renewals, I posted a new item.

Today is day one of the no renewing experiment. I'm hoping that I don't slip up and renew because I'm so used to doing it. I have a new item I can list if I get too antsy though.

A new idea

earrings!
Originally uploaded by cassowaryjewelry

I plan not to renew on etsy for the entire month of April

My bills and sales for March

etsy sales: 23.90
bill: 13.60

ebay sales: 43.55
fees: 21.91

website: 47.35[a single sale]
fees: 9.99

I'm hoping that I can devote tomorrow to beading, stocking my ebay store and advertising as today is a lost lost cause. I have to remember that it is April name and that my money in, money out spreadsheet should be updated accordingly.

Oddly yummy april's fools day joke.