New Start!

Hi there!
Last year I started LBOE booklet and promo bags to advertise others on etsy. I gave these out to everyone who either showed interest in art etc. or bought something from my stall. I received all positive feed back and also most said they will have a look at the shops online *fingers crossed that you guys made some new customers*I started off with 20 sellers at the start of 2008 but the last time I did this for the christmas eddittion and i got around 80 sellers!
So this year Easter is no too far away and is useally great for craft fayres etc. so I hope to continue it on. I have got a blog here: www.littlebookofetsy.blogspot.com which is a bit bare at the moment due to the christmas holidays and also other personal reasons but I wish to continue to help advertise you guys once again but this time in a slightly different, eye catching way (and maybe slightly easier way as well).At the craft fayres me and my mum also collected money for charity, CMA which is a heart charity. We collect money in memory of my best friend and we are collecting money by showing our giant rabbit but also we started doing lucky dips last year and it went down a storm! so I saw a great oppertunity to bring LBOE into a different light.
Im serching for any number of promos etc. that are suitable for all ages that people are happy for me to use for the lucky dips and by having your etsy address attached to the item/s it'll help advertise your shop at the same time. It doesn't have to be from your shop and could be a suitabkle item with a 'donated by .....' sticker.
If you wish to find out more about CMA please visit here: http://www.cardiomyopathy.org/ also to find out what we have currently raised and check out all the news paper clippings to make sure we are collecting for a 100% genuine charity (please do!) please check out Ginny's Online Burrow here: www.freewebs.com/ginnythegiantrabbit also she is featured on CMA official website: http://www.cardiomyopathy.org/Vote-for-CMA-fundraising-rabbit.html
Please let me know if you wish to get involved and also any feedback/ideas are very welcome
Thank you guys for your over whelming support of LBOE so far!

Mailing List

First of all appologies for this delayed posting.
I went on holiday and when i came back there where a lot of responces from people wanting to be part of LBOE3
Work stoped me from emailing and now im afraid that etsy would block me if I emailed everyone ;)
So I thought I would just post up a list of people who have responded since. Again a big thank you to those who have joined in or who have returned to LBOE once again. I wish all many customers!
#tialeyvintage
#rosebudandfarthing
#kimmchi
#jacscreations
#randomscraps
#Distinque
#SewDanish
#Silkyprudence
#Conduitpress
#padaysia
#BeadsBySam
#minisforeveryone
#pwnmonster
#matilou
#bubblegirlknits
#lenmar
#stustustudio
#marymarsh
#sweetcarolines
#Afrique
#creationsbyeve
#Shupg
#Impedimenta
#sascalia

thanks guys :)

My Interview With LoveLaurie!

I am very pleased to introduce to you LoveLaurie! A great little shop full of little gems. well worth a look. :)

Well, my name is Laurie, I am 46 years old, and I live in suburban Boston with my wonderful Husband John. We celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary in August. We have a 17 year old daughter and a 14 year old son. Teenagers are fun…..really! LOL. I feel fortunate that I have been able to be a stay at home mom. I grew up in a family where everyone is creative in some way and was always busy making something in their spare time. When I started my family, I naturally followed suit and set up a craft room for myself in a spare bedroom.

My family and friends are the main reason I started my shop. I love making and giving hand made gifts. I would spend hours creating unique gifts and everyone seemed to enjoy seeing what I would come up with next. This was usually followed by someone saying “You should sell this stuff!” After hearing it enough times I started to think, maybe they have a point, and decided I should give it a try.

My Ideas usually come from two places. They usually start by me discovering I have a need for something, and then are influenced by the people in my life. Take my Sewl Mate pincushions for example. I was forever searching for my pincushion because my craft table is always so cluttered. So, I made a pincushion on a pedestal, in the shape of a dress form so that I could see it above all the stuff. It was a great solution. Then one night while out with friends, I happened to mention that I enjoy crafting and one of my friends husbands said, “Really, you don’t seem like the type.” The next day while putting some pins in my new pincushion, I started to think about what he said and wonder, is their really a type? I know so many women with varying interests and careers who also like to craft. I found some clay that I had lying around and gave my pincushion a face. Before I knew it she was wearing a jean skirt, had a little pair of Ugg boots made of felt, and looked a lot like my daughter. The first Sewl Mate was born!

My latest products are a direct result of me always having the need to turn something useful into something that is also beautiful, and maybe improve it a bit along the way. I am currently creating seam rippers and needle threaders, embedded in polymer clay to strengthen them, and turning them into adorable little works of art at the same time. I am also in the process of photographing my new line of pincushions, and my newest product called Pretty Pins, which are basically decorative pins to pretty up your cushies.

My Interview With Snowberrylime!

Snowberrylime, a refreshing and colourful shop for those of the knitting variety :)

**Please could you tell us about yourself and your back ground?

My name is Veronika von Allmen, I am 23 years old and currently live in Germany. Currently means that I have studied for the last four years in the UK (oh how I miss Tesco's opening times), am originally from Switzerland and have spent a great deal of my life on a sailing boat. Inspirations from other countries and the fact that I grew up with barely any electricity has probably had an impact on my need to create things....

**Can you tell us a bit about your work and how did you start your etsy shop?

One of my biggest hobbies from early on was knitting, but the difficulty of buying commercial skeins, which would only contain natural fibres stopped many projects. Especially with the bright and bulky yarns this seemed to be a problem. As I also love antiques it was the perfect match to get myself a spinning wheel. However when I started my etsy shop, it was actually to sell my sewn bags, using all kinds of unusual fabrics including sail. I have always been fond of combining different crafts and although my shop is currently filled with pretty yarns, the accessories (bags and wrist warmers) will be returning soon. On etsy, just as in life, I think it is important to keep learning as an artisan. Learning a new craft will automatically also improve your understanding of your other crafts.

**What usually sparks off an idea?

Often colours or the materials themselves. Fabrics to me are a major inspiration and luckily I have quite a stash. :D From time to time I also see something unusual in a shop and think that I could spin that into a yarn, then I start from there. My general inspirations also stem from Art nouveau, the early 1900s and a classic British style.

**Please tell us about your latest products:

I am currently really enjoying soy silk, which is a by-product of the tofu making process, but am also exploring the joy of natural, undyed yarns. There are so many ways to experience texture when all you have is one colour. Also, for Autumn/Winter I am bringing back a range of wrist warmers and other accessories.

My Interview With RuJu!

I chose RuJu simply because her work is so different while showing and summing up what Etsy can offer. Ruju opened in July and it really needs the full credit that it truly deserves. So I give you RuJu! :)

Little bit about me:My name is erin and I'm a 25 year old mother of two crazy kids. I used to work full time in an office, but when my free babysitter (a.k.a. mom) decided she couldn't handle my munchkins full time anymore I was forced (whoa is me) to cut back to part time. At the time I was also using my traveling photo studio to take pictures of other peoples munchkins in their homes. I love photography and was able to make a bit of extra cash to cover what I wasn't making in my office job. Sadly it still wasn't enough income. So I decided 'hey! I'm crafty!'. I went up to the attic and pulled out my sewing machine and serger. I found them a semi-permanent home in the kids play room and set up shop.

This brings me to how I started my etsy shop:Once my machines were cozy in their new environment I started creating. I thought long and hard about what would sell. Mom gave me the advice of anything to do with kids. I laid in bed that night brainstorming. It had to be something that no one else sells. Somehow the idea of the "Hook N Go" popped into my head. It was like a stroke of genious! The next day I made a prototype (which I use) and a pattern and got started. After a few weeks of none selling I thought I should maybe broaden my horizon a little. So I made some childrens and womens clothing. A few applique childrens outfits, a womens skirt, and some others. One of the skirts I made happened to fit my daughter....and she claimed it as soon as it was finished. I no longer make things in her size when she is around. :)

Latest Product:More recently I have been making purses/bags. When I was pregnant with my first child (now almost 5) I would sit in my bedroom all day long and sew bags. I never sold any....I never really tried. I just liked making them. Different shapes, sizes, colors. I decided a couple weeks ago that I would give it a go for real this time. My grandparents are in the middle of a move, and my memaw (grandma) is a seamstress like me and had boxes upon boxes of fabric with no home. I gladly took some of the fabric (who wouldn't!), took myself to the store for some zippers and created a bunch of new bags for my shop.

What sparks an idea:Oh boy, my mind is always in a gazzilion different places at once. Pretty much anything can spark an idea for me, a color, a texture, a word, a place. My most recent spark..... I use only canvas bags when shopping, so we have no plastic bags to line the bathroom trash can. The fam went to dollar general to get some things that we needed for the house and my husband bought some blue trash can liners (he's in charge of the household trash). They were so pretty. So, now I'm working on crocheting them together to make a reusable plastic bag bag. I bought a roll of the white too and plan to weave it in on the front of the bag to say 'reuse'.

Recruting Members

Hi guys
Im currently recruting more members to take part in the xmas special edition of LBOE. Please scroll down to view the last LBOE booklets and bags for examples of what it could look like. please email me at etsy if you are interested in taking part. Looking for b.cards &/or promos. espcially anything xmasy! yep, i know. sorry guys. summers coming to an end and it's time to think of christmas ;)
dead line: 31st of october.

Mannor Craft Fayre

On the 23rd of this month a very large fayre was held with a while variety of stalls, dog shows, heavy horses and horse rides etc.
It was advertised all along the main road and a constant flow of people was coming in at all times.
On the day I managed to handout around about 20 LBOE etsy bags.
I still have a 23 LBOEs which I hope to give out from now and up untill they run out.
So I may be asking for more people to get involved very soon all ready for xmas :)

Changes to LBOE Blog

hi guys, please dont panic. it's just a few changes to let you know about:

Because the magority of my main computor and it's link to the internet has finaly died (for 10 years old, it did well) and so i have to use a laptop which doent have anything on it to resize images etc. (appologies to those who's ads i couldn't resize due to this.)

Also the fact that because every programe i own run on xp and not vista makes it inposable to buy a computor at this moment in time, I am going to have to rescedual things alittle differently.

I am now going to keep ads up for a whole month and then have a change over. To make up for the long period I will like to feature around 25 free ads so if you wish to grab spot, please just let me know along with your 125x125 pixel image.

Also features will be featured on a weekly basis and not every few days. This way i hope it'll give the blog still a fresh look but without too much of struggeling on a laptop that im not very good at using.

Apologies for these changes but LBOE is still advertising etsy and you shops through the blog and LBOE it self. So please do not worry, LBOE is still going strong

My Interview With CheyLoCreations

When I saw CheyLoCreations shop, I thought it was a great example of what Etsy could offer buyer's new and growing family. So I just had to share CheyLoCreations with you. So I now introduce CheyLoCreations!

Myself and Background: My name is Chelsea, I am 22, married for three years to a wonderful man, Cody, and we have a spunky, sensitive little girl who turns one just yesturday (Aug. 20). Cheyenne is our second daughter, our first was stillborn in May 2006. I am a work form home mom, runnign CheyLoCreations and nannying, while Cody finishes school to be an elementary teacher.

My work and my shop: I started sewing when I was 8, so I now have over 12 years of experience. While I was learning, I would very rarely work from a pattern; I love to come up with my own ideas, my own flow for things. I have also always loved kids, so when our daughter was born, it was a natural choice to start sewing for her. Whenever I couldn't find the perfect product, I would make what I had in mind! I got so many compliments from other parents, that I decided to offer them to other parents who want to nurture their babies naturally.

When I openned my shop, I had paci keepers, a quilt, cloth wipes, and burp cloths, with plans to expand. Within a couple months I had added baby carriers and little lovies and had redone my burp cloths. I just added in nursing covers as well! It is a challenge to balance running teh administrative side of the shop, creating, doing arts and craft shows, as well as being a wife, a mother and a person! But I love it, all the crazy chaos is worth it because I get to do what I love and stay home with Cheyenne too!

Inspiration: My inspiration always comes from needing something for parenting Cheyenne. I generally don't like many of the products available commercially, and prefer to use my own designs. The Beeb Along came about because we are a devoted babywearing family. Cheyenne is very clingy and needs to be in our arms many hours a day; to maintain our sanity and the cleanliness of our home, we wear her! The paci keeper is something I swore I would never use (oh how much we know before we are parents...), but then Cheyenne decided to throw her sucker (her paci) on the ground...at the grocery...during cold season. She cried the rest of the trip because I was not about to give it back to her dirty; the next day I was at the raft store buying supplies to make them!

Latest Products: The Beeb Along Baby Carrier and CheyLoCreations Nursing Covers are my two newest products.

The Beeb Along is named after our daughter, who’s nickname is “beeb.” She comes along with us everywhere we go, and is a much happier baby when she has her “go time” (time in the carrier).

The Beeb Along is designed to be versatile with regards to wearers, babies, and carries. Extra long straps allow wearers of all sizes and shapes to wear their baby comfortably and safely. Super reinforced stitching means babies from newborn up to about 35 pounds can benefit from being worn and you can use the same carrier for your newborn and your two year old! The mei-tai style carrier (a body piece with four attached straps) means you can wear your baby on your front, your hip, or your back in two different positions!

Every Beeb Along ™ Baby Carrier is sold with a matching handmade tote bag, an instruction booklet, and a mesh laundry bag.

Nursing Covers: For the baby who loves to nurse, for the mom who is modest, but doesn’t want to miss out, for the older baby who is oh so distractable, for moms who want to nurture baby, and still be stylish...CheyLoCreations Nursing Covers are for you!

This nursing cover is generously sized at 25” by 36,” larger than most covers on the market, to ensure your privacy, even if your baby is no longer a baby!

Two coordinating prints are super stylish and lightweight, so baby can eat, not over heat! Adjustable neck straps and 15" rigid, peek-a-boo neckline allow you and baby to maintain eye contact while nursing.

Cover can also be used as a sun shade over the car seat or stroller, or a blanket in a pinch!

This two sided nursing cover and coordinating bag will make nursing your baby in comfort and privacy as easy as can be!

Hayle Fest

Well...Sadly Yesturday was abit disapointing: Last year it was a constant flow of people but due to the rain over the last few days it put off the car booters setting up outside and so it didn't attract as many buyers as useal to come inside the markee. Also I heard the campers desided to go home the day before because of the down pours.
It was dry Friday which was great but unfortunatly i think the tourists that did stick the weather out must of gone down to the beach and so it was only the villagers or the few tourists that didn't want to go to the beach.
I did manage how ever to give away a few LBOEs BUT today i went to a big mannor house which was holding a food and craft fayre in their grounds. it was really buzzing!
They have been advertising it around the roads for miles around + lots of articles in the local papers. There was a constant flow of people coming in.
I didn't manage to join in this time round but I have heard that they are asking for stall holders at the end of the month so i might try on monday to grab a spot :)
If they advertise it as well as they did this time round, Im sure all the LBOEs2 will go to good homes.
Will let you know what happens a.s.a.p.
-artbymimi