My Shop - Progress Update

I came up with the idea to open my own Etsy shop in April of this year. Since then I have spent approximately 100 hours researching Etsy, small businesses, photography, crafting, and the potential market for my jewelry display boxes.

This weekend I worked on filling in a few gaps in my boxes with wood filler and sanding them to perfection. This week I will be painting and working on stenciling some designs I've found. My camera recently died (RIP), but I want to keep my blog posts going until I can get a replacement.

I'm hoping to do a soft opening of my Etsy shop during the Christmas break and will keep you posted on my progress.

If you read this and are also working on a big project, how are you doing? What are you working on now?

(Pillow from www.pillowfarmer.etsy.com. Isn't it fabulous?)

Etsy Finds - Vandalized Vintage Plates and Arts

Trixie Delicious' Shop on Etsy creates "vandalized vintage" items like this fabulous set of plates on the seven deadly sins. More highlights below.

I'd love to have tea with a girlfriend with that kiss and tell set!

Jewelry Display Box 2.0

I started work on my second jewelry display box prototype. I need to come up with a catchier name than a "jewelry display box" but I haven't figured one out yet. I think I may call each version or different size a different name. Like "Chloe" or "Illiana." Maybe I'll do city names. One style can be "Savannah" and another "Paris." If you think of something fancy, let me know okay?

I'm working on two right now. They are smaller than my first one but I'm reworking the design so I wanted to work small and then go big. I'll be working on these all week and will post updates as they come along.

What are You Working On?

I've been wanting to make a cloth pennant/banner for quite a while. This is one from Sweet Jessie's Shop on Etsy.com. I'm going to start with a paper pennant first in a fall theme for a craft swap I'm participating in.



I also want to whip up some of the boxes I mentioned in this post for some of the new teachers at my school.

What are you working on?

Ecstatic! First Jewelry Display Box Complete!

Wow. I did it.



I completed the first 100% handmade version of my idea. It was fascinating to create something I had been thinking about for so long, and to see it turn out so well!



I learned so much in the process of just making one of these babies. I can't wait to implement what I learned on the next one. A few of my friends decided to do a craft swap this summer, so this version was mailed off yesterday to the girl I got in the swap.

I went with purple because it is her favorite color. The next one is going to be done in a deep blue for another friend's birthday. I want to have a few under my belt before I start selling them on Etsy.

I still can't believe I did it! Go me!!

First Handmade Prototype

Whoohoo! I finally compiled all of the tools I needed to start trying to hand-make my own version of my jewelry display cases. Eric helped me on this end.

Honestly, it was more moral support than anything else. I had made a dozen runs to Home Depot and Michael's searching for the perfect paint, for hooks of all sizes, for screen, for sawtooth hangers and L-braces, etc, but when it came to buying a mitre box I just really wanted someone standing with me in the Home Depot tool aisle debating the virtues of which yellow box was better, and it helped, it really did.

So I installed the box on the work table in our storage shed and got to work cutting angles on the wood I had picked up. I can't believe how much I've learned, and I'm not even finished with the first prototype.

Here are some more shots of what I'm working on:

Using the mitre box

Spacing out the different hooks

Bringing the pieces together & more to come!

Using a Light Box

I followed this tutorial yesterday to make a light box. It didn't take very long once I had assembled all of the materials.

A few things I've already learned:

1. The tutorial above suggests only leaving two flaps to control the light source coming in from above. I would suggest leaving three or following this tutorial where the entire top is covered in cloth or paper.

2. I grabbed this box because it was free and because I thought I would need a large box to work with the frames I'm making. It was just too big. Perhaps if I had an apartment or house it would be okay, but after making it I looked around my little storage locker and realized I had no where to store it. I'm going to make a smaller one that is tall (to accommodate a frame).

Here are some of the photos I took yesterday when playing with the new light box:



Whoohoo! Such clarity! This is a lovely bracelet from Out of the Blue, a sweet little shop on Etsy.

Here is a sneak peak of one of my first prototypes:

Again, I'm looking to create a jewelry display that shows off the beauty of one's jewelry while still being very functional. That cute little owl necklace is from Polished Two on Etsy and the gorgeous turquoise necklace is from Hey Renee Designs on Etsy as well.

I'm really impressed with how these photos turned out with the light box. Now I'm wondering how to create a similar, built-in situation on a wall so that I can take photos of the frames while they're hanging.

I'd like to be able to switch out color on the "wall" that they hang on as I'll be making different colored frames and want to show how they'd look in different styled homes.

Last shot - I'm working on hooks and how to best install them. I've got to get just the right drill bits to make sure the wood doesn't split as it did on my first prototype. I used a shadowbox that I picked up on sale from Aaron Brothers, but in my newer models I'm building everything from scratch, so I'm hoping that won't be a problem:

Making a List

I've always been an uber-organized person. I love lists and order and neatness. This is helpful when living on a boat, because there is no room to be messy. It's also helpful with the small storage unit we rent out at the marina. It's about 6'x8' and it fits my work bench and Eric's computer desk. Where I'm also hoping this neatness will be helpful is in opening an Etsy shop.

I've been doing a lot of research on how to open your own business and I keep developing all of these lists in my head to get started. Here are a few of the items on my list:

1. Create inventory. I'm working on this now. I'm slowing bringing my ideas to life and will post some prototypes soon.

2. Learn how to best ship the displays to people. This needs to be cost effective, preferably earth-friendly and the packaging should be cute and reflect my shop's style.

3. Master taking really good photos of my product. I'm creating a lightbox and trying to understand the different modes on my digital camera to know how to do this. I'm going to work on the light box today so I'll post pics of my progress.

4. Getting my shop fully functional on Etsy. I need to figure out what my shop policies are going to be and how I'm going to label and describe my items.

While I know there are a bazillion other things I'll need to do to get going, these four items seem like the most important to my initial start and initial success. More pics to come!

Etsy Finds - Soil

I just discovered this children's clothing shop, Soil on Etsy and am in love with the whimsical, adorable things she creates.

Gasp! I don't have children yet, but I do have little nephews. I may just have to put this entire outfit on order for them:



Chimney Sweep Shorts/Grey by Soil on Etsy

These make me want to have a little girl, and horses! Maybe they are for a little girl who loves horses or playing dress up.


Polly Spats by Soil on Etsy

Pinnochio Suspenders? OMG. And I thought the t-shirts with appliqued ties were cute!

Pinnochio Suspenders by Soil on Etsy

I found this shop through Freshly Picked, another blog I adore.

Etsy Finds - Beautiful Ceramics and Pottery

When we moved aboard our boat we got rid of all of our glassware and anything that could easily break, however just because you're on a diet doesn't mean you can't view the menu! Here are a few beautiful pieces of pottery and ceramics. They all leave me thinking, "if only...."


pair owl candlesticks or bud vases ala macrame from
laurawallstaylor.etsy.com

Love Birdies Vase from redhotpottery.etsy.com

PEACE dove tiny text bowl from palomasnest.etsy.com