Etsy Greetings Showcase

I haven't posted in a few days because I have been busy hanging out with my niece, Mea, and sister-in-law, Paige. Of course we had an amazing time with them. LB and Mea were so cute running around screaming and laughing. Their energy is definitely infectious. And then there's Paige. She is the most adorable pregnant woman around in her short shorts, tank tops and bikinis. She looks just like Paige with a ball on the front. This is probably due in large part to the fact that she is still Zumba-ing at eight months! She's apparently a legend at the local YMCA. Anyway, we were all having so much fun that I neglected the blog and my shop. Tomorrow I hope to blog more about the visit and post some cute pics of the girls. But, for now, on to the showcase.

Etsy Greetings Street Team Showcase

I created this showcase using the search term "etsygreetings." These are a few of my favorites, but there are many, many more out there worth viewing. If you search using either "etsygreetings" or "etsygreetingsteam," you will have hundreds, if not thousands, of choices.

Tweet - Tweet Little Felt Bird (Any Occasion Card)



I love all of the layers and textures in this card by Adore by Nat. And who could resist this lovely little bird?

Herb Notecards - Set of 4



These cards from winemakerssister have me drooling for the first harvest of herbs from my garden. What better way is there to send a greeting during these gorgeous summer months?

Vintage Humpty Dumpty Clown (Note Card)



This card from Kelly Bee's Place looks like a vintage upcycled piece, but is completely new and designed to appear vintage. I love this about it!

Goldfish Bubbles Blank Folded Note Card



Fubabee's goldfish card evokes a peaceful Japanese garden, while also giving one a sense of movement. This is a modern interpretation of a classic theme.

It's Over.

Today is the last day of this month's challenge. Whew! I've been doing this for 17 days! I'm tired. I wanted to share some of the feedback that I received from some participants in the challenge:

"I am so grateful to be part of this challenge and send good luck to all of you..."

"I just again want to say it has been pure fun meeting you all in this challenge. I did not get any sales (yet) but I am happy to report that my best visitor day was on Friday with 35 visits. I know that sounds puny, but it is a lot better than the day of 0 visits before I started this challenge.It very difficult for a newbie....I am very appreciative of the exposure I have received.
I also think we are adding good karma to the world by encouraging the art of letter writing; we add beauty to the world with our creations...."

"Just wanted to quickly respond by saying that I'm finding that 10 days and 10 people is a little too much. I have many different types of things in my shop, so trying to stay in the paper/greetings posting that long is harder for me. I also tend to get bored with things quickly and am ready for it to be over after 7 days. I mean this in the nicest way. It has been a lot of fun and I appreciate your putting it together. I just feel ready to get on with my other listings/etc. It's starting to feel as though it is dragging on a bit. Of course, this may be because it is the end of the school year and there is already so much change going on here."

"I have really enjoyed the first 4 days of this challenge - what a neat way to get to know 9 of you better! Plus, it's always good to see the payoff of extra work in your shop (even if it is just hearts or views for now)."

"It has been a bit stressful trying to get it all posted everyday on top of everything else I have to do but I am enjoying it for the most part too. My favorite part has been getting to see all of your work and getting to know you all better as well."

"I've had 2 sales- one online and one off etsy from a friend. I know at least the off-etsy sale one was related to the extra promotion from Twitter and Facebooking each day about my listings."

I think that the response was positive overall. While it is tiring and stressful, there is also a payoff at the end. I, for one, am going to miss hearing from the challenge participants every day!

Here's my item for today:

Butterfly Notes (Set of 4 Thank You Cards)

Countdown

Tomorrow is the last day of the challenge. Today is the last day I will be featuring another participant, since we had ten people total. I've really enjoyed this challenge, but I am also exhausted. It takes more time than one would think to list items and then blog about them. Doing this every day eats up quite a bit of time (this is in addition to actually making and photographing the items). However, I'm definitely going to do it again. I feel it is totally worthwhile and also enables me to get to know other members of the street team. I'll be announcing the dates of the next challenge soon. Other members of the street team will be given the option to join the challenge before those of us who participated this time have a second go at it. I won't be participating this time around, but will be facilitating and blogging about it to try to send some traffic their way. I'm sure I'll be back with another challenge in July and, of course, will be listing items all throughout June as well.

Here's the item I just posted:

A Rich Man




Today I'm featuring The Paper Flower Shop, a seller of amazing crepe paper flowers and a variety of cute cards. I once saw a crafter on Martha Stewart's show who made all of her own wedding flowers from crepe paper. They were gorgeous, as are the ones in this shop! Here's the most recent listing from The Paper Flower Shop:

Mini Ribbon Tied Pastel Note Cards



And here's my current favorite:

Blue Beach Ball Baby Shower Invitations

Play.

LB got her kitchen! My Dad has been making this for her since before Christmas. He works ridiculously long work weeks and doesn't have much time to dedicate to projects such as this. B didn't know the difference. I think she was just happy to receive something so special. She keeps asking me if her Pawpaw Dan and Mawmaw Pam made this for her. They really did a beautiful job. There is a stainless steel sink, with working knobs, a stove with four eyes and knobs that turn, as well as one for the oven. Speaking of the oven, it has a window for viewing the contents, an oven rack and a pizza stone. There is a two-shelf cabinet under the sink and a shelf that runs across the top. Pegs on the top shelf hold pot holders and cups. There is also a small shelf for her salt and pepper and a clock with moveable hands. Every single piece of it was hand-crafted. Some of the knobs are even made from burled wood found on my grandparents' farm. How cool is that?

So the 10-day challenge is winding down. There has been a mostly positive response to the experience on the part of the participants, although there is some concern that it is too long. On the whole though, we have all enjoyed it, although we will also enjoy a break from the constant listing and blogging. So, without further ado, here is my listing for the day:

Sincerely Monogram A (Thank You Card Set)



Today I am featuring L Whelan designs, one of the challenge participants with an awesomely bright shop. I love her motto: "It's not perfect. It's perfectly handmade." Who wants perfect? That's what machines produce! Give me handmade any day. Lynn makes accessories and paper goods from Lily Pulitzer fabrics, giving her shop an extremely colorful palette. Here's her most recent listing:

Think Pink Card



And my current favorite:

Nautical Tags, Set of 2, Great For So Many Things

Strawberries, Ceiling Fans and Etsy, Oh My!

I know I'm weird, and I think that makes it okay. Doesn't it? We've just wrapped up a wonderful weekend here in L'ville. We had some family visit and enjoyed their company. We also were the beneficiaries of their expertise in a couple of areas. Pam, my stepmother, helped me with some sewing and then repotted all of my house plants. My Dad, Danny, wired in a ceiling fan in our bedroom and wired our generator. It wasn't all work though. We went to a local used/remaindered bookstore and spent a long, long time looking at books, reading said books, including many to LB, and, today, went to visit my sister. She lives out in the country and has a nice garden, so she offered to let us pick strawberries. Yum! Brennan tasted her first warm strawberry fresh off of the vine (my sister didn't use pesticides on the plants) and was hooked. The pic is of the strawberry juice running down her leg. She had it everywhere, her face, hands, shirt, legs and feet were covered with stains. She had a blast!

So I've been barely making it each day with the 10/10/10 challenge. Here I am again blogging at 11 PM. I did list earlier in the day in the hopes of getting more traffic. I haven't had any sales yet during this challenge (The last time I did one, I had four sales.), but have had more traffic and received some hearts. It's been fun, despite whatever sales it might generate. That said, I should move on to today's item.

Small Thank You Note



Today I am featuring jemily, who has a gorgeous etsy shop full of bright and cheery cards that I would definitely enjoy receiving. Here's her most recent listing:

Thinking of You Card



And my current favorite in her shop:

So Thoughtful Card

Nostalgia

(I couldn't resist including a picture of my garden. I love it so.)

I know that is an odd title for a blog post. However, it relates to the seller I am featuring for the 10/10/10 challenge. Her shop makes me nostalgic for a time that I didn't even experience. Cool, huh? Scroll down to see some of her work.

Here's my listing for the challenge:

Cheery Birthday



Today I'm featuring Percival Road Designs, a shop offering collaged and handmade paper goods. You'll find a wide variety of items in a plethora of styles.

Here's the most recent listing in the shop:

Two Elegant Vintage Girl Gift tags - Sun Burst



And here is my current favorite item:

Sweet Greeting Collage Card - First Flowers of Spring

Belated

I'm sorry that I didn't manage to get this post up yesterday. I did post my item, but I had an ill toddler to contend with later in the evening. I ended up falling asleep with her and awoke this morning to find I hadn't even brushed my teeth! Ick! So, without further ado, here's my listing from yesterday:

congratulationsCONGRATULATIONS!



Today I am featuring Cards and Moore, the site of a prolific crafter and homeschooler. I don't know how she does it all! She recently did some interesting things with wood veneer. I'm waiting with bated breath for the tutorial she's planning. Here's her most recent listing:

Owl Rag Bag



And here's my favorite item from her shop:

Thanks a Hoot Card



It's bright and cheerful and, of course, I love owls. Be sure to check out Cards and Moore.

10/10/10

Ten Etsians for Ten Days with 10% off...

That's even more dramatic, don't you think? Some of us in the challenge have decided to offer ten percent off. You'll need to see the original shops for details, as everyone is handling it a bit differently. I'm giving 10% off any of the cards that I list for the challenge to anyone who posts a comment on this blog. Just convo me on etsy and let me know you have done so. Since the challenge runs through June 3, I'll honor this offer for anyone who comments by midnight on June 4.

Here's today's item for the challenge:

Repeating Congratulations



I also want to point you in the direction of another challenge participant, "Scrapbook Completed." This seller is also offering 10% off on the items she has listed during the challenge and has a section for these cards on her front page. Here is her most recent challenge listing:

Flower Girl Card



This is my favorite item in her shop:

2 Card Collection, Spring Trees



Check her shop out!

New Challenge - 10 Etsians/10 Days

Does that sound dramatic? I was imaging music from Star Wars or was it Star Trek? I don't know, it was one of those star movies. Anyway, ten members of the etsy street team, Etsy Greetings, myself included, have decided to list at least one item for ten days on etsy.com. We will then post a link to that item on our blogs, as well as a link to an item of one of the other participants. We're going to be holding each other accountable, so we'll also be checking each other's shops and blogs daily. Whew! Sounds like a lot of work, huh? All in the name of marketing! Links to the etsy shops of each participant are to your left. From there you can find information about their blogs and other etsy shops (if they have either, not all do). I'm offering 10% off on the cards I list in the challenge to those who comment on this blog. This offer expires on June 3rd.

Here's my item for today:

Blue and Orange and Brown...Mmmm (Blank Greeting Card)



This is the challenge member I am profiling for the day:

IsabellaFlora Elegant Greeting Cards
By a Father and a Daughter

Isabella and her ninety-one year old father find inspiration from flowers and botanicals. Together they make classically beautiful greeting cards. Isabella is a watercolor artist and her father is the photographer. Below I posted links to both her "item of the day" and my favorite item in her shop.

Pink Petticoats Card



Oak Leaves Card



Please check out her shop, as well as those of the other challenge participants!

What Do Vegans Eat?

Reading the "Passionate Vegetarian" got me in the mood to post some recipes I have been planning to share for a little while. I made this meal last week. It's a favorite in our household and isn't difficult to make. The tempeh recipe comes from the Candle Cafe Cookbook by Joy Pierson and Bart Potenza. The Candle Cafe is an awesome restaurant in New York City that Tim and I were obsessed with while living there. It was small and sometimes required a wait, but it was totally worth it. The seitan chimichurri was our absolute favorite. It's out of this world. If you're ever in NYC, be sure to check it out. The recipe I used from the cookbook is "Cornmeal Crusted Tempeh" and can be found on page 121 of the cookbook. I also made steamed kale and smashed sweet potatoes, which are my own very simple recipes. The recipes for all three are at the bottom of this post. Yes, I ate that much kale. I love kale, but probably not as much as my friend Erin. She rhapsodises about kale on Facebook frequently. She's headed to Tbilisi next month. I hope she'll be able to find plenty of kale while there.

Update on "First Darling of the Morning:" I've read two chapters and it is breaking my heart. I had to make myself put it down.

The etsy challenge is almost to an end, but, alas, there is no reason to worry. I'm starting a new challenge Monday with quite a few of my etsy street team, etsygreetings, members. We will all be posting items every day and keeping our readers updated every day. We will also be featuring items from one another's shops. Here's my item of the day, just posted in my etsy shop.

A Gift


Cornmeal-Crusted Tempeh (Serves 4)

2 8-ounce packages, tempeh, each cut into thirds
1/2 c shoyu or tamari sauce
3 T maple syrup
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 slices of fresh ginger
1/2 cup medium-to fine-ground cornmeal

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teasoon ground cumin
pinch of sea salt
1/2 cup of extra-virgin olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.

2. Place the tempeh in a baking dish. In a small bowl, whisk together the shoyu or tamari sauce, 1/2 cup of water, the maple syrup, garlic, and ginger and pour over the tempeh. Cover and bake for one hour. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Drain and cut the tempeh into halves or triangles.

3. In a large shallow bowl, mix together the cornmeal, red pepper flakes, thyme, oregano, cumin and sea salt. Dip the tempeh pieces intot he cornmeal mixture to coat.

4. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until very hot. Cook the coated tempeh until golden brown, about a minute per side.

5. Remove from the heat and serve at once.

Steamed Kale (Serves 4)

2 bunches of kale, cleaned and chopped
1/4 cup of water
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
oil and crumbs left at the bottom of the pan the tempeh was fried in

1. Place the kale in a large pot with the water and cover. Steam on medium heat, turning often with tongs. You must watch it carefully so that it doesn't burn.

2. As it begins to wilt, add salt and pepper.

3. Once the kale is fully wilted, drizzle the oil and crumbs over the top of the kale and serve.

Smashed Sweet Potatoes (Serves 4)

4 medium yams or sweet potatoes, quartered
water
soy margarine to taste

1. Fill a large saucepan with water and add sweet potatoes. Cook over medium-high heat until fork tender.

2. Drain potatoes and smash, using a pastry blender.

3. Add butter and stir until well-combined. Serve.

Remixed 10- Day Challenge Item

Here's my item of the day:

thank you.



I barely made it....

Tomorrow's Item

This is the card I just posted for the challenge. It is actually for tomorrow, but I am going to Lexington for the day and won't have a chance to list it. I'm going to go see my brilliant and beautiful friend Erin who teaches at UK and, later in the day, my equally brilliant and beautiful friend Sameena and her sweetie-pie husband will join us on their way to Milwaukee. LB is psyched. She must sense the amount of attention she will be getting tomorrow.

Quilled Flowers Birthday Card

Challenge Revision

At the last minute, I invited the members of the etsygreetings street team to join me in my challenge. It was too late for most of those who responded, so I have decided to revise my original plans so that more people can participate. I know, I know, I'm so kind, huh? Anyway, for the rest of this week, I'm going to try to stick to my original plan and post an item a day. However, I'm not going to freak if I don't. In the meantime, I hope many etsygreetings street team members are preparing to officially start the challenge next Monday. I'll also have a giveaway during those 10 days, so keep an eye on us! I'll be posting links, as well as my faves from the challenge participants throughout the week. Please check out their blogs and shops, if you get the chance.

Here's today's item:


Gratitude Blooming

10 Day Etsy Challenge

I'm embarking upon another self-challenge. Beginning today, I'm going to add one item to my shop each day. The last time I did this, I barely made it, but I've already posted today's listing.

Dad's Day




I also posted two other items this weekend, but I'm not counting them toward the challenge.

my Dad



Father Tree

EtsyGreetings Street Team

Street teams are a type of community on etsy that enable sellers to network, share ideas and market themselves. I hadn't joined any until recently when I decided it would be nice to get to know some of the other sellers on etsy. I joined two street teams, etsymoms and etsygreetings. Etsygreetings seems to be an active, supportive community of sellers who focus on greeting cards, tags, invitations, etc. You can see the wares of team members by searching "etsygreetings" on the etsy front page. I did just that a couple of days ago and found some delicious paper goods. As a way of introducing myself to the team, I decided to do a feature on some of my faves. What's that, you say? I'm advertising for my competitors on my blog? Of course I am, you know how selfless I am. I am a giver, a kind and sharing soul. Actually, I'm a realist. Any traffic to etsy or etsygreetings team members is good for the entire community. We also all have our own niche, our own style, and this can't really be duplicated.

Here are five of my current favorite items found using the search term "etsygreetings." Be sure to check out their shops, as they have many more lovely things to offer. Try to take the time to do your own search as well. There are loads and loads of creative paper goods to be found.




This set of Rustic Chic Thank You Cards by waisze designs would make a great gift for yourself or a friend. They're simple, elegant and eco-friendly, as well as being handmade. The cards are left blank on the inside for your personal message. There are three cards with white envelopes in the set.




Some people, my sister-in-law included, are terrified of clowns. I don't get it. My grandfather was a clown and my sister and I were clowns for Halloween on several occasions. I'm quite sure none of us are evil or from outer space. Anyway, these gift tags are awesome and should be used on gifts for people who have no fear of clowns, or elephants, ladders or tricycles, for that matter. This set of "Vintage Clipart Circus Tags" from firefly notes includes six tags (You can view all six tags by clicking on the fist link.). They come with some cute polka dot ribbon attached.




"A Little Bird on a Branch" from Steph Jacobson uses a variety of materials and techniques to convey a "Happy Birthday" to your loved one. The bird, tree and wording are all stamped, while the bird is chalked and the leaves are bits of folded, textured paper. The border of the card is machine stitched. I always enjoy work that uses different textures.




This "Give a HOOT" gift tag set from Get Happy features one of my favorite animals: owls. The tags are made from heavy card stock and hand stamped with the phrase "GIVE A HOOT" and an owl. There are eight tags in the set and each one comes with waxed thread attached for tying or hanging. These could be used for scrapbooking, gifts or cardmaking.




This "mommy and baby boy" blank notecard is a gift in and of itself. Kelly at Happy Days Studio hand draws and paints each card individually. She is willing to customize the painting and the message. I think these are absolutely beautiful and would make a lovely keepsake for a mother-to-be.