Glass Blocks

The thing I love most about taking custom orders is hearing all the fun ideas that my customers come up with! Over Christmas I had a friend ask for a special request. She wanted glass blocks with her nieces' names etched on them. But she didn't want any ordinary blocks...She wanted them painted pink, tied with a black ribbon and lit up! What fun!

I wasn't sure how the paint would stick to the glass or how many lights to put in them...this was all new to me. But I think they turned out awesome! The ribbons finish them off nicely too :) I haven't decided whether I'll add these to my Etsy Shop yet or not. I know shipping will be rather pricey since they are quite a heavy item. But they sure are cute :)

Wine Glass Giveaway!!!

I'm so excited (and honored) to be hosting the first giveaway at the Blogging Business Artisans blog!!! And I'm giving away a great item ~ A Set of 2 Personalized Wine Glasses!

Aren't these perfect for right before Christmas! You can give them as a gift...or keep them for yourself :)

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The giveaway starts today and ends November 21st. To enter, and for all the details, visit the Blogging Business Artisans blog.

Good Luck!!!

This is my favorite post from last week, so I'm linking it up at Artful Rising!!! Come join us!

Fall Wedding Planning

It's that time of year when fall weddings are on our minds! The temperatures are cooling off and it's the perfect time to enjoy an outdoor celebration!

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I recently made some Wood Guest Books that would be perfect for fall and outdoor weddings!

Or any other celebration as well :)

These guest books are made from Real Wood and they are custom engraved any way you like! They can be a guest book, a photo album or a combination of both. I love the kraft pages in these books :)

I have added a Wedding Section to my Etsy Shop and plan to add a lot more too it soon! I have more great ideas for guest books and wedding decor as well!

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This post is for the EtsyBloggers Blog Carnival. Thank you to Rose of RandomCreative for hosting :)

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Update 9/19/2011: This is my favorite post from last week :) And I'm linking it up at Artful Rising! Stop by and check out the fun!!!

First Glass Order!!!

I sold my first set of glasses to a coworker over the weekend!!! I was so excited when he asked about some beer steins...and then ordered 6!

The other guys at work were pretty interested when I delivered them too!

It's funny really...I've been making scrapbooks for several years now and once in a while I'll get an order from work, but not usually too much interest. But I start engraving things that have to do with alcohol and my coworkers go nuts...LOL :) Well, I do work in a factory!

I can't wait to show you my next set of custom glasses as well! That's right, I've already gotten my 2nd order!!! My friend Re is having me make a custom set of 12 tumbler glasses for her daughter as a wedding gift!

Just think how many I'll sell when I actually get them listed in my Etsy Shop :) I want to get a lot done before my friend comes to take pictures so I don't make her come out every other day when I create something new...LOL! So that's why there's a delay in adding my new glasses to my shop.

Personalized Wedding Gifts

Last weekend we attended the wedding of a friend and coworker. It was such a happen event and I wanted to give them a gift that they would cherish for years to come. Of course I wanted it to be personalized and I wanted to engrave it :)

I first thought of these Wine Bottle Stoppers:

These are great gifts even if the recipients don't drink wine. They can be added to a decorative bottle as well :)

(I just added these to my shop yesterday!!!)

I also wanted to give them something bigger that they could display on their wall. This Engraved Name Frame was perfect!

I hope to add these to my shop soon, but I want to get a frame that I like and can reorder when needed. This frame was from my personal stash :)

Personalized gifts are so personal and special! These will definitely be my go-to wedding gifts from now on...along with my Custom Coasters too!

Custom Is Key

As I mentioned in my Winery Review post, when people found out I could customize my coasters any way they wanted, they were the hit of the show! People love anything they can personalize. Especially for gift-giving! It adds that extra touch to make a gift even more thoughtful and special. My Custom Name Albums have long been my best-selling item. And now that I have my laser engraver, I can customize so much more! Here are two different styles of custom coasters I've added to my shop this week: There can be personalized with any names, words, initials, photos, graphics, etc. you want! And what a great gift they make! Do you offer custom or personalized items in your shop? Give them a try!

Friday Features - Wine + Custom

I recently started selling my items at another local winery! And last night they had an Artists Premier night for myself and another crafter and it went great :) It's so fun getting to talk to people and tell them about your work! I made several wine-related items to bring to their gift shop including coasters and picture frames with their logo on them. I also made some cool coasters and a wood plaque to match a painting they have on their wall...the coasters have already sold! And as you know, custom work is my favorite! I can customize pretty much anything in my shop! So today's features are both wine-related and custom as well :) Enjoy... Custom Wine Bottle Invitation by KatherinePaigeDesign Personalized Wedding Invitation Cheese Board by PJsGlassCreations Custom Wine Cork Letter by MyMamaMaria

Party Time

I love making Flip Flop Albums in the winer. Their bright, fun colors always perk up my mood! This album is going to a party! It's a special album made as a guest book and photo album for a 30th birthday party. I enjoyed personalizing the first page for the birthday girl with her name, birthdate and a photo mat :) What perks up your mood in the winter?

Two Times The Treasuries

This week we have two beautiful team treasuries! And both have the holidays in mind!

The first is from miesmama with An EtsyBlogger's Holiday

And the second is by me with great Custom and Personalized gift ideas

Click the photos to be taken to the treasuries and see all of the lovely items up close!

New Guest Book Design

As promised...I finished one of my new guest book designs this week :) I am really pleased with how it turned out!

As you can tell from my shop, I like custom work! This guest book is no different :) You can customize the front any way you like with your photo(s), names, date, or any other info you would like! You can also choose what color to use for the inner covers and whether the book has photos and message areas or simple sign-in pages!

P.S.-Don't forget to enter my OWOH Giveaway!!!

Bare Chipboard Custom Albums

Both non-scrapbookers and scrapbookers alike seem to love my Custom Name or Word Albums :) Since scrapbookers like the freedom to embellish and customize their albums on their own many times, I decided to add another Custom Album listing to my Etsy Shop.

I've taken all the work out of the process and left you with all of the fun :)

You can choose to have the album bound, or punch your own holes after you decorate it.

Happy Scrapping!!!

First Custom Albums for the New Year

I am happy to say that orders have been coming in wonderfully to start off the new year :) As a seller, you just never know how sales will be after all the holiday hustle and bustle is over. I think my Custom Name or Word Albums sell well all year because of the endless possibilities they offer :) Take these first three albums I made for example:

Custom Pet Name Album

Custom Baby Name Album

Custom Family Name Album

All three albums offer three very different choices :) There's a Custom Album for everyone and for every need!!!

A Special Thank You!!!

I want to send out a special Thank You to JudyCootie!!! You've seen Judy's work featured on my blog before here and here and now I must feature her again :) I purchased one of Judy's Custom Painted Wooden Keepsake Boxes for my parents and I couldn't be happier!!! My parents' older dog (and my little sister) passed away recently and I knew this would be the perfect gift for them! I went ahead and put both dogs on the box so they can always remain together :) Judy's work is absolutely stunning! I emailed her a couple photos of the dogs and she did a wonderful job of replicating them on the box! My mom said it looks like Lucky (the one on the right) is looking right at us! So cool! If you're looking for a special gift...or a gift for yourself...definitely check out Judy's shop! You'll find lots of wonderful treasures :)

Weekly Feature

This weekly feature is brand new in my shop...just listed it a few minutes ago!!! I didn't think my Custom Name and Word Albums could get any cuter...but I think they just have :) My new Custom Name and Word Albums have POCKETS!!!

These are just like my original Custom Name or Word Albums...but even cuter!!!

The possibilities really are endless with these albums!*Make them into a guest book (lined inserts available)

*Give them as a retirement gift and have coworkers leave a little message in each pocket

*Have party guests write spcecial messages to the honoree

*Tell someone all the reasons why you love them :)

*Place hidden journaling on tags to remember all the special details from your photos

*And Many More!!!

The album is hand cut from heavy-duty chipboard and covered on both sides with cardstock in the colors of your choice (2-3 colors). The letters are then covered in matching patterned paper. Pockets are added by machine stitching cardstock and adding them to the pages with super-tacky adhesive. The album is decorated with quality scrapbook embellishments to match your theme. The album is bound with 2 metal rings that are covered with matching ribbon. Then all you do is add your photos to the front of the pockets :)

How it works:

*Choose your name/word

*Choose your colors

*Choose your theme (optional)

*Choose between lined or blank pocket inserts

What do you think...super cute, right!

Weekly Feature

I'm pretty excited about this week's feature :) I just listed it in my shop last night! I have made two of these Custom Wedding Flip Flop Guestbooks and decided they needed to be added to my shop as a permanent item :) And you blog readers get to see them here today! Want a guest book that everyone will talk about? Want a memorable keepsake from your special day that you can leave out all year round? Then my Custom Flip Flop Guestbooks are just what you're looking for! This guestbook is made from a real pair of new flip flops and reads Just & Married on the inside (bottom) of the flip flops.Choose from either black or white. And choose any colors for the inside of the album to be decorated with! This listing is for 26 pages. The front page is a great place for the bride and groom's names, wedding date, etc. Any information you would like included. There are 50 lined mats where guests can either leave a short message or over 500 people can sign their names. However you would like the book used. The pages are made of chipboard and are covered on both sides with patterned paper. Additional pages can be added for a fee...convo for more info. Please allow 2-3 weeks for the album to arrive. Need a rush order...please convo first :) So if you have a wedding coming up and would like a unique guestbook...look no further :)

Same Word...Different Albums!

Have I mentioned how much I love making custom albums! Okay, I know I have, but this is just another reason I love to make them...

These two albums are made using the same word...Honeymoon...but have very different looks. They are very different albums with unique touches :)

This one is very tropical with fun, bright colors. I imagine the places these honeymooners may have gone...Hawaii, Tahiti, Cancun...the list goes on :)

Then there is the muted, toned-down album. Maybe these honeymooners went to a beach house or on a camping trip?

Everyone's honeymoon is special and unique...and their Custom Albums should be too :)

Off to Paris :)

No, not me...these scrapbooks! I only wish it were me!

I had a lot of fun making these scrapbooks for a lovely lady in Paris :) I have always said that these Custom Albums are for everyone! You can do so much with them and the custom options are endless. Sometimes my customers think of things I would have never thought of!

These Hannibal and Clarice albums are perfect examples! I never would have thought to do albums about movies. But when you love a movie so much...why not do an album about them. These albums are, of course, about the movies Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal. Two great movies by the way :)

These albums got me thinking about other options I could do. I know that the Twilight movies are very popular and everybody has a favorite movie :) You could even do one about a night out at the movies with the movie title for the album.

Oh the possibilities of Custom Albums :)

Flip Flop Frenzy!!!

I think I'm having flip flop overload...is that possible :)

I just got more flip flops in the mail yesterday :) There's nothing better than getting scrapbook supplies in the mail!

These will be used specifically for wedding guestbooks. I had another request for a custom one, so I thought I would order a couple more pair to have on hand :) Black and white seem to be very popular wedding colors this year, so I went with those. Any other colors can easily be added to the inside of the album.

I love how these say Just Married on the bottom side of the flip flop! How cute!

And here is the last Flip Flop Guestbook I created:

I think it turned out super cute...as my next one will as well :)

Etsy and Me...How It All Began

One of the topics of choice for the EtsyBloggers blog carnival this week is: Etsy. What made you open a shop on Etsy? What do you like about being a seller on Etsy? What don't you like?

So I thought this was a good chance to tell my Etsy story :)

It all started with my love of crafts...scrapbooking in particular. I've been crafting for over 10 years and got to a point where I was creating more than I needed. My mom was getting all my newest creations...and they were starting to take over! It dawned on me that I should start selling my creations!

I started selling at local craft shows and had some success, but wanted more. I'd looked into starting my own website, but don't have the computer know-how to do it on my own. I kept seeing this name, Etsy, in magazines and wondered what the heck it was. I was so excited to find such a wonderful website! A place where I could sell my creations and all the work was done for me...all I had to do was list! I was in love :)

My favorites about Etsy:

• I get my products seen by a much larger customer base.
• I can sell 24/7, 365! I don't have to wait for a craft show to come open.
• I am selling internationally! I had never dreamed this would be possible!
• It gives me confidence in my work...people really love my albums :)
• EtsyBloggers Team...my online family :) They are the BEST!

My least favorites about Etsy:

• A very saturated market. But with the good comes the bad. Etsy is so popular that everyone wants a piece of it.
• It is very hard to get on the front page, in a gift guide, or in Etsy Finds...they tend to play favorites it seems. But I guess this makes me work harder :)
• The descriptions...I hate to write them! I have such a hard time telling how great my products are. When people can't see and touch them...it makes it difficult. But as I stated earlier...with the good comes the bad...and I'll take it!

Here is my most popular item in my shop...by far. People love custom items! They like the personal touch :)

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!!!