1. DIY Dress Kits…where else can you find a cute dress like this? This adorable kit is from A Little Sweetness.

2. Artist of all kinds…I love & want this set of bracelets! Tamara Scott is so talented!

3. Inspiring gifts! You can have them sent right to their door…or you can do the whole “one for you and one for me” kind of thing. My Polka Dot Pottery has a great selection!

4. Beautiful vintage finds found within seconds! Type in a few keywords and you’re all set. Southrosewindow has tons of treasures from the past.

5. Unique supplies like these felted beads…you could make something beautiful with these! Check out Stemellina for supplies you can’t find at those big craft stores.

Honestly, I could go on and on, but this is a start! I can’t stress how much buying handmade benefits everyone involved! Have you ever compared your craft supplies with sellers on Etsy? They are super competitive and the customer service is outstanding. And don’t forget to check Etsy first before you buy that next gift!  It’sso easy to find the perfect gift for everyone on your list.

Go Etsy!

What have you bought lately? Feel free to leave a link of a great supplier or shop that you’ve purchased from recently!

~Kim

I’m sure I’m not the only one who watches the web blur by in a wave of never-ending progress. Progress to where? Not sure.

But one thing is clear… the “where” is part of the progress. Got that?

I’m talking about location. Facebook just launched Facebook Places, Google has a strong location-based search engine with Google Maps, and whole social media platforms revolve around location. We’re way behind the bandwagon having not yet tried foursquare! (but we just got new Droid phones… so lookout!)

So How Can Location Work For Etsy Sellers?

Etsy was actually way ahead of the curve on this. They’ve had the geo-locator for as long as I remember. That cool tool allows you to see what Etsy sellers are within a certain geographic area. I love to look at that when we travel. It’s also neat to watch how Etsy grows in an area over time. (there were only three in Punta Gorda when I started)

But I’ve never had that make a sale for me, that I know of. (yet)

What could we do to use location to bring in sales?

Two Ideas Come To Mind

One is really more of a thought than an idea. It’s the thought that we all really should pull together to promote Etsy as often and as hard as we can.

Imagine a day when the Etsy shop local gets a measurable share of general shopping traffic. Instead of heading to the nearest mass-market chain retailer, a buyer looks online to see what kind of unique handmade gifts they can buy locally on Etsy.

The larger the selection is, the more well-known Etsy is, the more people will do this and the more business we all get.

So promote your Etsy shop, but also promote Etsy in general as a great place to shop!

The Idea I’m Thinking Of

Is the thought of Etsy sellers having little sections in local retail establishments. How about a shop announcement that says “Local Buyers – buy these great products today at Main Street Hair Salon”. I know that some of you already do this. I think it’s a great idea.

Another thought is something along the lines of these gourmet lunch trucks that are popping up in big cities.

How about a mobile Etsy Shop? In a big enough city, it might work. Just let your social network know you’ll be at the corner of Elm and Boulevard from 10:00 to 4:00. … can it work?

Maybe I’m dreaming. Like I said… just daydreaming.

What other ways can we use the move toward location to improve our Etsy sales?

Wedding bells are in the air…

And handmade treasure are sure to be there! More and more people are turning to Etsy sellers to help make their wedding day spectacular!

Why settle for the regular cake topper when you can have this custom topper from Star House?

You can customize it with your pet…dogs, cats, or even an iguana! You don’t see that everyday!

Hand crafted matchbox goodies from Ivy Lane Designs would be so much fun at a bridal shower or filled with bird seed for the wedding day. Too cute!

Invites by Jen has these beautiful table numbers in so many designs.

Wow! Take a look at this bouquet set from Modage Floral! They’re stunning…and who wouldn’t love that Tiffany Blue color ribbon?

I would never leave out the shoes…I’m a shoe person! These little fabric roses would make any pair of shoes wedding worthy!

You can find them at b. poetic. It’s a beautiful shop!

If you’re looking for a wedding gift that’s creative…These custom silhouette mugs from Miss Crowland will do it!

Isn’t that a great idea?

I’ve always loved monogrammed pillows from Alexandra Ferguson. You can have special words or a poem embroidered on the back…love that!

Etsy is full of wonderful handmade creations perfect for that wedding day of your dreams, or the thoughtful gift that they wouldn’t want to return!

Have a great weekend!

~Kim

It’s a craft show weekend around here! Are there more shows starting to pop up all over the country as the weather warms up? I think there are actually two different shows going on downtown this weekend, and I can walk to both of them! You gotta love a town like that!

I found a booth with colorful leather bracelets, but I don’t think they were made by the girl selling them. I guess I’ve gotten a bit spoiled with shopping on Etsy. I love talking to vendors that make their own products!  Hearing their stories about how and why they made it makes shopping so much more fun! Don’t you think?

This photo was taken about a month ago when the weather was AWFUL! We had freezing temperatures with rain…not like Florida at all! I felt sorry for the vendors that weekend because it was hard to get anyone to stand still long enough to buy something.

I’ve never sold at a craft show, but I can only imagine the disappointment when the weather doesn’t cooperate!

Here’s some beautiful mixed media art with a jazz flair…love it!

Lovely Orchids to brighten up the day. I had never seen this one before…white with wine colored spots. Years ago I collected Orchids.

I always seem to end up with a little something from each show. {Well, a little something besides the Kettle Corn that we purchase and fight over until it’s gone.} This time it was this fun little leather bracelet. The colors were just too pretty for me to pass up!

Shows seem like so much work to me, but I guess I only have small items to sell. Do you sell at craft shows? Any tips?

I hope y’all are having a fabulous weekend!:)

~Kim

This week’s “I Made It” party is closed, but be sure to be ready next Wednesday night at 10:00pm for next week’s link-up. It’s a great way to promote your blog, your creativity, and it’s fun!

Hi! Welcome to the third week of the I Made It Blog Party at Everything Etsy! We had a great first two weeks, but you know what they say, the third time’s a charm!

If this is your first time, you’re in for a treat! It’s so much fun to show off your awesome, crazy, and cool creations! And just as much fun to go around and see what everyone else made!

Flashy Fish Giveaway!

Each week, for I Made It, we’re going to have a great giveaway. I’m contributing to the cause myself this week with a $25.00 gift certificate to win hair accessories at my Flashy Fish Etsy Shop. I make pretty and fun hair accessories for little girls and the young at heart! I’m sure you can find something you’d like or that would make a great gift!

Lot’s of my items are priced low enough so that you can choose a good selection for your $25.00 shopping spree! Have fun and good luck!

Here’s How It Works

When you link to the McLinky thing below, you must link to a blog post that shows off anything that you made! It can be arts, crafts, food, and I guess even your kids would count! As long as it fits the title “I Made It!”

A Couple Of Important Points

• Link directly to your post, not your Etsy shop or your blog home page
• Make sure you mention I Made It! at Everything Etsy and link back to this post
• You can choose to use the button below which is already linked right to this post
• Don’t miss out on what everyone else made! Just follow the links!
• We made a more detailed instruction sheet right here.

Ways To Win The Giveaway

There are two ways to win this giveaway! You get one entry by linking-up to the blog party. You get a second entry by leaving a comment below. Two chances to win. Like buying two Lotto tickets, sort-of.

The giveaway will be open for entries now through Saturday.

Tweet Away

Make sure you use the cool new (to us, we’re slow) Twitter thingy at the bottom to help make the party more popular for everyone! The more people that get involved the more people see what you made!

The giveaway winner is: Abbey @ At Home With The Richards Family

Here we go!

Isn’t this a beautiful purse? I love all the details and creativity in the design. Two Peas in a Pod is a shop full of quality handmade purses, bags, wallets, dresses, aprons, patterns and so much more!

Trish is a mom of three {including a set of twins}, and sews every chance she gets. She gave up being a park ranger and police officer to be at home with her family and let her creative ideas grow into a wonderful Etsy shop, Two Peas in a Pod.

She uses beautiful fabrics, and I love her talent for combining them just right. That’s where I always get stumped! Custom orders are always welcome and she even has the patterns available if you would like to sew one for yourself.

This is her newest creation…a beautiful flower necklace! Love it! You can read more about it on her blog.

Alright….these are too cute! You can personalize a sweet little apron for your little one, and it comes with a matching apron for her doll. What do you think about that?

And since I love the look of aprons blowing in the breeze like this, I had to include another apron photo from her shop.

This bag can carry everything you need…it has a ton of pockets! The Amy Butler fabric is sure to match so many things in your closet, and it looks terrific with denim.

Trish has been kind enough to offer one Everything Etsy reader this beautiful owl clutch! The owl is adorable, and the color combination can’t be beat!

Visit Two Peas in a Pod, and leave a comment telling me about your favorite item to be entered. If you subscribe to Everything Etsy, leave a second comment. For more chances, you can tweet about it, share it on Facebook, or spread the word with a blog post. You can enter up to 5 times!

This giveaway ends February 22nd…Good luck!

**This giveaway is closed.  Thanks so much for your comments.  The winner is Bernice….congratulations!

~Kim

The Vintage Pearl is well known for creating unique handstamped jewelry that is simple, sentimental and meaningful!

Don’t you just love every single design? I sure do!

Every piece is handmade with sterling silver, freshwater pearls, or crystals. There are so many beautiful designs at The Vintage Pearl!

Here’s a sample…

This inspiring bracelet is one of my favorites!

Oh, these are just darling…and the flowers are perfect!

Engraved baby spoons make fabulous shower gifts!

Love birds are simply sweet!

The Vintage Pearl is full of beautiful handmade treasures, and a great inspiration for the rest of us with Etsy shops. I recently saw one of their ads in Real Simple Magazine! Yay for handmade!

Erin has a wonderful blog with beautiful photos that I really enjoy. You might want to stop over there and take a few minutes to browse.

To celebrate out 996th follower we are having a special giveaway! Yes, 996th! I just couldn’t wait another day to get to 1000! The little counter thing gets on my nerves anyway.

Thanks for all the support! I love your comments and emails with photos and encouraging words! You Rock!

One lucky, lucky Everything Etsy reader will win a $50 gift certificate to The Vintage Pearl! Isn’t that awesome?!

Erin has a wonderful collection that you must see for yourself, so hop on over to The Vintage Pearl website and let me know what you would LOVE to wear!

Just leave a comment to enter.

For additional entries:

• Leave a comment if you subscribe to Everything Etsy by email or an RSS feed reader{I heart you!}
• Another comment if you Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter
• And another if you post the giveaway on Facebook or your blog, linking back to this post

You can enter up to 4 times! Good luck!

This giveaway is closed.  Thanks for all the wonderful comments.  The lucky winner is #120!

Congratulations Angie!!!

This giveaway ends February 15th at midnight!

~Kim

Bella Dia has a wonderful tutorial on making these sweet hearts!  I posted this last year, and I just had to remind everyone about it now.  Isn’t it beautiful???  I HEART IT!

She has step-by-step instructions that are easy to follow.

Once you start…there will be no stopping you!  I’m sure you’ll make one for everyone you love!

What a special handmade gift, and you can’t beat it for a Valentine’s Day decoration!  This is a great weekend project for a winter day!

Keep checking back for more great handmade gift tutorials!

~Kim

Sometimes there’s just a little scrap of your favorite fabrics left and you would hate to part with them. I understand. Throwing them away doesn’t always seem like an option!

Take a look at a few ideas I found for those scraps…let’s decorate with them!

Apartment Therapy featured this beautiful wall display of embroidery hoops. Think about just how easy this would be to duplicate in your home using your favorite fabrics. Sometime you can find these embroidery hoops at garage sales for super cheap. Buy them all and you can decorate a wall in minutes!

Lindamade has a tutorial for this colorful scrap wreath. It hangs on her studio wall. After seeing this I might never throw away a scrap of fabric again!

Bella Dia made stunning fabric panels out of her fabric collection. I love the different sizes. You might want to stop over there and see more photos of her studio.

If you haven’t seen the fabric scrap baskets in the post on fabric storage…check it out. They’re really cute!

I know some people are talented enough to make quilts…that takes a ton of scraps. One day I’ll have to try that.

What do you do with fabric scraps? Have you seen some cute ideas…leave a link!

~Kim

Hey Everyone! We’ve been busy packing and unpacking boxes. Oh, and it’s time for Christmas decorating, shopping, and baking cookies. No Problem!!! Things have been a little crazy around here, but I had to share this fun news with you.

I made it to the front page of Etsy last night!!!

This beautiful set of lavender sachets from my shop, The Lavender Road, got to shine on Etsy…how neat!

So, I’m going to give a set away to one Everything Etsy reader!

This would make a wonderful Christmas present. I’m even going to send it Priority Mail to any spot in the United States. Have it shipped to you or someone on your list!

A few ideas for these all natural sachets:

** They make a great hostess gifts to keep on hand
** Store in the Linen closet for great smelling linens
** Freshen your car
** Eco-friendly
** Display near your bed to aid in sleep
** The scent lasts and lasts, just give a squeeze
** Natural moth repellent
** Freshen your closet and clothes
** Help out a smelly boy’s rooms…ha! I have two of them!

The winner will receive one set with this beautiful yellow fabric on the front and 100% linen on the back. You just need to decide if you are keeping it or giving it away if you win!

If you just can’t wait…I’ll give any Everything Etsy reader FREE SHIPPING! Just mention this post when you order and I’ll refund the shipping when it’s mailed.

Please visit my shop and mark it as a favorite with a heart. If you know much about Etsy, you know that hearts are important! The shop has only been open a month, so I don’t have too many.

Leave a comment on this post to be entered. Heart my shop and leave a comment for a second entry. If you subscribe to Everything Etsy, you can enter a comment for a third chance.  Spread the word with Twitter or Facebook for a fourth entry.  Good luck!

This giveaway ends December 15th.

The giveaway has ended and we have a winner…Jacky at The Sweetest Petunia!  Congratulations!  Stop over there and see her beautiful Christmas decorations!

Thanks y’all!

~Kim