Looking Back on 2008 for T and Little S

--I had my first Etsy Sale in April 2008.
--Created custom wedding scrapbooks, custom polaroid guest book, digital scrapbook via Scrapblog, baby shower invites, bridal shower invites, recipe books, Lego album, and more for Etsy and other online customers.
--Learned to love trading with other Etsy sellers via the trade games, secret shopper games, etc. Have long since dropped the games but still welcome a great trade!
--Branched out from just paper bag albums, premade pages, and other scrapbooking items to include most paper crafts and decoupage items for the home.
--Starting blogging at least a few times a week, if not every day, in the fall of 2008.
--Joined 3 Etsy Teams- EtsyMoms, EtsyColumbus, and EtsyScrap
--3 Consignment Gigs- The PinkMoonCupcake shops in Powell, Ohio; Smoothie Brews coffee shop in Pataskala, Ohio; and just recently PrimandPosh Boutique online!
--Did 2 local craft shows (in between family weddings, showers, etc.)
--Joined Artfire and Twitter to continue to market and look for new online venues.
--started setting monthly goals for myself, adding new items to my shop more frequently, etc.
--Ended the year with 375 positive feedback and 234 sales!! (mind you, some were trades and from the games, but they were still positive experiences that I learned from)

More great things to come in 2009!!!!

A Slight Price Increase in the New Year

Starting January 1st, I will be increasing the price of a few items in my shop to cover additional costs on my end. I do still give bulk discounts on many of my items if you need a larger quantity.

Post-it Note Holders (these come w/ the post it note pad and the binder clip)--from $2 to $3
--I now ship all of these in a cello bag making them perfect little gifts, party favors, etc.!

Small Altered Clipboards--from $5 to $7
--I will be adding more embellishments and personalization!

Large Altered Clipboards--from $8 to $10
--again, more embellishments, quotes, and personalization!

Now's the time to stock up if you love them!

Sale and Updates!

All of my fall/ winter/ Christmas items have been moved to my sale section of my Etsy shop
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5324821&section_id=5696788
to make room for new items that I will start listing on January 1st!! I have listed a few new Vera Bradley coaster sets this week, but more items, including Valentine's Day coasters, cards, etc. and party supply sets are on their way!

Also, my very supportive hubby bought me a new laptop for Christmas as "an investment in T and Little S Designs" (his words, not mine). How sweet is that? Just another reason why I love him. :)

I hope that everyone had a great Christmas yesterday and happy holiday season. I was thrilled to be able to give so many handmade gifts for the holidays from other Etsy sellers. Good luck with after Christmas sales today!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays!

I hope that everyone has a very Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays, no matter what you celebrate. We'll be celebrating Christmas with our families tomorrow, so we're busy today cooking, cleaning, wrapping gifts, etc. I'm taking a few days off of my blogging, but I promise an update of some sorts this weekend.

New Artfire Shop!

While I'm taking some time away from listing new items in my Etsy shop, I have a few goals to accomplish for the new year. The first being to find another online avenue to sell my items. The higher fees at 1000markets made me a little nervous, even though it's free to list. I decided on Artfire after reading about their new $7/ month for life verified member promotion! Listing is free, no fee after the sale either, just $7 per month to list. I spend way more than that on Etsy w/ listing, relisting, etc. I also like that you can list up to 10 pictures per listing, and it's much faster to me to list items. Everything is on one page, instead of 4-5 separate pages to create a listing!

So......check out my new Art Fire Shop! www.tscrapper.artfire.com If you decide to sign up, please use me as a reference!

I'm slowly adding new items to that shop and checking more items off of my professional to-do list (join Twitter and use it daily for marketing--done, find another online venue--done). My next big goal is to redo some of my pictures for both shops.

I have been busy, I promise!

I feel like I've neglected my blog a bit the last two weeks, but I swear, I 've been busy! I finished up all of my custom orders and Etsy orders for holiday delivery, then I started working on my personal Christmas cards and some of the little one's scrapbook. I'd love to have her album up-to-date again before the family comes over for Christmas!

I've also been working on ceramic coaster sets for a new consignment deal with a shop in Houston, Texas called Posh and Prim. She wanted floral/ pink/ girly/ shabby chic coasters for her shop. These aren't my personal style at all, but I think they turned out really cute! I just thought of my Aunt who decorates in these styles and tried to create what I thought she might like. How did I do? Let me know what you think.

Are you on Twitter?

After reading in the Etsy forums that Twitter can be a valuable marketing tool, I signed up for it about a month ago. I must confess--I have no idea what I'm doing on Twitter at this point! I don't really post sales, updates, new items, etc. on Twitter because I only have 6 people who are following me there. How do I find people to add? I'm tscrapper there, too.

If you're on Twitter, please follow me and share your tips! I'd love to post new info. there, too, once I can figure it out. I have some great Valentine's Day items that are almost ready, as well as some altered frames and party supplies to be introduced in my shop on January 1st!