Day 1 Show Review

One successful day down...one successful day to go :) Yesterday's show went really well! I was so excited to use my new display! (pics tomorrow) And I met some really great people as well!

I shared a booth with my crafting friend again and that makes it so nice for the slow times! We had a 10'x10' space this time, so it took us a little longer to set up since we had a square instead of a rectangle like we're used to, but it all worked out well :)

We both did really well and are anxious to see how today goes! We heard that Sundays can be better than Saturdays when people get out of church...keeping our fingers crossed! We are also excited to be doing this show again in the fall. We were told the estimated # of attendants for this show is 3,500 and the one in September will be almost 20,000!!! Super excited!!! And we learned about two other shows that sound wonderful! I had another vendor just fall in love with my albums :) She does lots of other shows and gave us information on those and thought we would do really well there too! It's all about connections!

I want to send out well wishes to others doing shows this weekend :) Sprinkling sales dust on us all!!!

Celebrating 2 Years!!!

That's right...I'm celebrating 2 years on Etsy!!! Actually my anniversary was yesterday...but I had such a cute picture for Wordless Wednesday I couldn't pass it up :)

I can't believe it's really been 2 years since starting on Etsy! Where has the time gone! When I started selling online, I wasn't sure what to think! I wasn't sure how to start. I wasn't sure what to charge. I didn't have any policies in place. It has been quite the journey with several changes and learning processes along the way :)

Milestones always get me to looking at numbers and statistics. I like to see my progress over the last year and make new goals for the year ahead :)

In 2008 I had 30 sales. I was happy with this and it kept me going and wanting to learn more and do more. In 2009 I had 91 sales!!! What a change! I was so happy in looking at these numbers :) My goal for 2010 is 120 sales! And I've already got 5!!! I wanted to keep my goal attainable...but I really hope it's even higher than this :)

I have reached 267 hearts :) And I hope to make it to 350 by year end!!!

I am very happy to say that I have 100% feedback :) This makes me so excited! It says that people are not only buying my products, but they are really liking what they get :) I have also set up quite the repeat customer base! Even better...people who like what they get and come back for more! Thank you to every one of my wonderful customers!!!

So what is in store for my 3rd year on Etsy?

More of everything! I want to add more Notebooks. More Simply Stunning Albums in a variety of colors and themes. More Premade Word Albums in a variety of colors and words. More choices for Custom Name Albums. More Flip Flop Albums. And I really want to start using up all the supplies that are starting to take over my scrapbook room!!!

Thank you to every one who has been on this journey with me :) I hope you will continue to follow my blog and check out my shop in the coming years!

Craft Show Success

Thanks to everyone for their well wishes for my craft show! It was a success! The morning flew by and I couldn't believe it was already noon when I looked at my phone! We had a great steady flow of people all day long...even during lunch hour when it usually slows down :)

I wasn't sure how my sales were until I came home and got everything totalled up. I was afraid I didn't do very well, just because things were so steady instead of big busy periods. So I was happy when I found out I only came out $50 short from last year...that's basically only 2 albums short! I was very happy with this outcome :)

I also had several people take cards and were thrilled that I had a website! I think this is one reason I didn't have as many custom orders as last year. When they know you have a website, they don't feel pressured to buy that day and know they can get ahold of you later :) This helps spread out the orders and a lot of times they order more online because they have time to think of all the people they have to buy gifts for and they can pay with a credit card!

Here's a few pics I took of my booth. It was set up pretty much the same as last year, but we found a couple of things we'd like to change before my next show. I would like to make three or four long shelves that run the whole length of the middle section. And then the smaller shelves will go along the sides. I would also like to make a sign that will attach in the back with brackets and stand up in the middle of the display. I think this will really grab people's attention and draw them in :)

Changes in My Shop

After numerous trips to the post office to find out my packages were over the 1 pound weight category, I finally did something about it!

You will now find a new listing in my shop :) Additional Letters for Custom Albums. My Custom Albums are now Up To 6 Letters. And you can add 3 more letters for only $2. This will fix two issues for me: 1)It takes more time and costs more money to make longer words. 2)Shipping is always more on longer names/words. With my new listing, both of these problems will be fixed :)

Another reason I wanted to make this change is that the USPS raised their prices back in January and I didn't raise mine at the time. I was tired of having to pay the extra out of my profits! So I've adjusted my shipping prices and added this new listing to fix that.

I would love to hear what you think of my change. I want to make sure that my listings are clear and that people won't be confused when they read them. If you would...go to my Custom Albums Section in my shop and let me know what you think :) Your opinions are important to me!

New Albums In Store :)

After my Internet being down for almost a whole week...I was finally able to get my new Word Albums in my Etsy Shop!!!

For your viewing pleasure...drum roll please...

HOME Word Album

I♥MYDOG Word Album

I♥MYCAT Word Album

DISNEY Word Album

Custom Sports Team Word Album

All of the albums measure 4"x12" and can be purchased in my Etsy Shop :) Click on pictures to see descriptions and additional photos!

And don't forget there is still time to enter my February Card Giveaway!!!

Mr. and Mrs.

It sure has been nice having a few days off work this week :) I've been getting a lot of scrapbooking done...gotta love that!

I finished this Custom Wedding Name Album and am super excited to show it to you :) I think the Mr. and Mrs. turned out really cute. I have added a few of these shots to my Etsy listing as well to offer this style to others!

I customized the first couple of pages to show the couples names and their wedding location and date :) I feel the more personalized an album is, the better gift it makes! I know they are going to love it :)

Next I'll be working on some Valentine's Word Albums...stay tuned for pics...

First Sale of 2009!!!

I was thrilled to get my first sale of 2009 yesterday! I really thought January would be pretty slow. After the holiday rush and with our "wonderful" economy, I didn't quite know what to expect. This just made the sale even more special :) It looks as though my Custom Name and Word Albums are going to be popular again this year!!! Here is the album in process. It will say MR&MRSHARVEY (Mr. and Mrs. Harvey) when finished. The MR and MRS will be vertical on the page to make room for the last name. I know it's a little hard to see right now...don't worry, I will definitely be taking more pictures when it is finished :)

I plan on adding more Name and Word Albums to my shop in 2009. Many more premade options and more custom options as well. Keep watch for these new albums in my shop soon :)

A Productive Weekend :)

I know it's already Tuesday...and I'm just now writing about the weekend!!! What's wrong with me! Well, my ISP was being a pain Friday through Monday and I wasn't able to upload any pictures during that time. The upside is...I was able to get a lot of work done during that time :) I got one album totally finished, boxed up and ready to send out. I got another done and ready to be boxed (red and white), one cut out, covered with cardstock, patterned paper and waiting to be decorated (black and white...which I completed this morning), and two others cut out and covered with cardstock!!! I was so excited to have such a productive weekend...I hope there are more to come :) Here is a close-up of the one ready to be boxed up and shipped out. (Which I also got done this morning!) It says GRAHAM and is decorated in town/school colors with a family theme. It will make such a great gift for the buyers mother-in-law :) Okay...now off to finish those other two in the picture :) What did you get accomplished this weekend? I hope yours was as productive as mine :)

Successful Craft Show Today!

I had a great craft show today :) I thought I would share a few pictures of my booth with everyone and see what you think. It is still a work in progress, but it seems to be working out well for now. I added the display boxes on the card table to put things more at eye level and create more areas to display albums. I also added the card tree to put my wedding invitations on. Last year I had them in an album they could look through, but I really like them being out and visible this way.

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think. I'd love to hear suggestions of how you think I could make this better :)