Stormy Designs Rocks

I took a look at Roseworks Jewelry new blog and was floored! It was a beautiful site so I asked her who designed her new blog and she quickly told me Stormy Designs did. So I asked the awesome Stormy what it would cost me to redesign my blog! Well she doesnt charge a specific fee but takes donations and is more than willing to barter! The end result for me is this incredible site that Stormy Designs did for me. Not only that but she did a new banner for my store and an Avatar! Way above and beyond anything I could have designed myself or paid someone to do for me!

Polymer Clay couch Business Card

Stormy Designs is one of the most giving Etsyblogger team members I have met! She is very active in the Etsy Community. She is a member of the Etsy Bloggers Street Team and Organizer of the EtsyBloggers Carnival. She is such a sweetheart and gives to her family so above and beyond. Stormy told me she has 10 grandchildren! That is so awesome! I love her spirit and her giving heart! Hats off to one of the most encouraging Etsy Artisans!

Glitter Star Crackle Earrings

Tip from Palleiko Designs - How to create a screen shot

Tip from Palleiko Designs re: how to create a screen shot! Worked for me – see my treasury shot below!


* Hit F11 to view full screen, then hit the print screen button.
* Hit F11 again to return to normal screen mode.
*Use whatever photo editor tool you have, paste the screen shot there & save as a .png or .jpeg
* Crop wherever needed and there you have it!

Note: If for some reason it is blurry – you may need to check your monitor setting or how you are saving your document in your photo editor software.

My First Treasury - Yippee!

OMG! I am sooo excited! The awesome LazyTcrochet just featured me in my FIRST TREASURY ever! At least that I know of! I was so excited and it made my day! Thanks LazyTcrochet!

check out LazyTcrochet's blog

Working with Polymer Clay

OK so Why was I so INTRIGUED by working with polymer clay?! I love working with my hands and I love the possibility of what you can create but geez it is so intimidating to me. I bought all of this sculptey clay when it was on sale at Michaels and of course a few books and tools and gadgets the books and different people recommended. Then I let it sit for 3 whole weeks too afraid to jump in and start because I simply didnt know where to start. So today as I cooked Sesame Ginger Turkey tenderloins for a church luncheon tomorrow, I sat outside and simply STARTED. Now I have NO CLUE how these pieces are going to turn out once I bake them but HEY at least I started and at least I tried (so no laughing allowed)!

First I picked out some clay and worked it some with my hands and some with my polymer clay machine that I got from Firemountaingems.com for $11.



Then I looked out on Etsy and through some of my books for inspiration! I found a pair of earrings on Etsy made from glass that I loved and tried to make them out of clay! I really dont like what I see so far but hey I played and had fun with it and will see what the finished product turns out like.

My inspiration earrings from Etsy

Then I knew I wanted to do something with autumn leaves so I grabbed a few leaves off of a tree that was just gorgeous and cut the leaf up and placed it on the pendant I made using liquid polymer clay (sure hope that was right..LOL).

Supplies I used

Made an acorn pendant and embellished it with gold clay. With the left over clay, I made a few beads - one of which I embellished with gold circles. Now I have to let it cool, sand it up and add my glaze!

Here it is! Cooling and ready to be sanded and Glazed!

Feel free to share any tips and offer any feed back!

YIPPEE! The price of gas is dropping

I tell you the price of REGULAR UNLEADED gas being at $3.99 a gallon was CRAZY! I remember when regular gas was .89 a gallon! Long gone those days! But I will say I was most excited today to find Regular Unleaded gas here in Columbia, SC at 1.98 a gallon! I thought finally some relief and sure hope it is not temporary!

Got my gift in the mail

I got my gift in the mail and I LOVED it so much it made me CRY! As I shared before the sweet glorybe1024 http://glorybe1024.blogspot.com/ tells us on the etsybloggers forum that her close friend Vicky from http://2sistersandme.blogspot.com/ held a contest in honor of her own birthday and I WON! I received my items in the mail this past week and I was so encouraged. The gift was beautifully packaged and I got more than I expected. She sent me chocolate (OMG), the BEAUTIFUL hand made journal, journal cover and TWO matching pink pens. Not to mention I got a warm encouragement card that lifted my spirits and a gorgeous hand bag! Thanks again Vicki! I will cherish the gifts you gave me in honor of your birthday! I showed it to all of my coworkers!

Signed with much Etsy Love,

Terronda

WELCOME NEW ETSYBLOGGERS TEAM MEMBERS

Welcome to our NEWEST Etsybloggers team members!

I decided weekly to welcome all the new Etsybloggers to the team! This is an incredible street team where we support, encourage and push each other towards our goals! More than anything we are all blog-a-holics! LOL! I wanted to take the time to welcome the new team members below and let you know if there is anything you need from me (or any other team mate) we are all here to help!

Welcome to…..

AMYSBEADING SUPPLIES

Amy

Etsy: www.amysbeadingsupplies.com

Etsy: www.amyscollections.etsy.com

Blog: www.amyscollections.blogspot.com

THE13THGYPSY
Xylia……
Etsy: http://the13thgypsy.etsy.com/
Blog: http://the13thgypsy.blogspot.com/

WILDONEZDIAPERZ

ShannonEtsy: http://www.momofwildones4.etsy.com/blog: http://wildonezdiaperz.blogspot.com/

COLLECTIVEELEMENTS
Danielle
Etsy: http://collectiveelements.etsy.com./
Blog: http://blog.collectiveelements.com/


BLISSCANDLES
Suzanne
Etsy: http://blisscandles.etsy.com/

Blog: http://blisscandles.blogspot.com/

Blog: http://mustloveetsy.blogspot.com/

Joined as a shopper! Super!
AnnaBlog: http://www.misosouper.com/

Blog: http://www.twitter.com/misosouper

JMWJEWELRY
Jen
Etsy: http://jmwjewelry.etsy.com/

Blog: http://jmwjewelry.blogspot.com/

DEMANDABLUE
Amanda
Etsy: http://demandablue.etsy.com/

Blog: http://demandablueblog.blogspot.com/

WINEMAKERSISTER
Heather
Blog: http://winemakerssister.blogspot.com/

Etsy: http://www.winemakerssister.etsy.com/

Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/winemakerssister/

LOVAREVOLUTIONARY
Jody
Etsy: http://lovarevolutionary.etsy.com/

Etsy: http://lovahandmade.etsy.com/

Blog: http://lovarevolutionary.blogspot.com/

JEZABELL13
Izabella
Etsy: http://jezzabell13.etsy.com/
Blog: http://www.bluefishhandmade.com/

XSMIPLYCHARMINGX
Julia
Etsy: http://www.xsimplycharmingx.etsy.com/

Blog: http://www.xsimplycharmingx.blogspot.com/

Blog: http://www.crafterconnection.blogspot.com/


STUDIOGILEAD
Doda
Etsy: http://www.studiogilead.etsy.com/
Blog: http://www.dodadidit.blogspot.com/


MACLANCY
Clancy
Etsy: http://www.maclancy.etsy.com/
Blog: http://clancysclassics.blogspot.com/

Wordless Wednesday

My Friends

Me and a few of my friends at a church function. We all wore colors that represented either fruits of the spirit that we were or that we wanted to be. I wore Green (gentleness) and blue (kindness) because those are the fruits I am working toward being like!

Dana & Terronda

Patti & Terronda

Dale & Terronda



Tranae & Terronda

LifeStyle Changes......

It is not where you start, but where you FINISH!

The fact is I have been obese for the past 9 years. I weighed my heaviest of 242 lbs this past April. My knees hurt, my body ached, couldn’t fit ANY of my largest size 20 clothes and felt depressed. I felt trapped by my desire to eat all the time..like an addiction. I still feel the battle and the trap of it but at least now I am fighting. I have lost 30 lbs so far and right now because I have NOT been disciplined I have gone up and down 5 – 6 lbs for the past month and a half. But I still have a victory in that I am LEARNING day by day …sometimes moment by moment to think differently about food! Food is for fuel not for simple pleasure. I eat more for pleasure than for sustenance. What have I been doing to lose my weight you asks?

Exercising 3 to 4 times a week – I do 20 min cardio and then do 20 minutes of weight training, rotating between upper and lower body each day. I JOURNAL! So important to write what I feel. Why I am eating when I eat.

I eat a LOT less! And actually started out doing this special weight loss program that my ENTIRE office is doing. We all have lost about 350 lbs between the 10 of us! I will share more about that program in my next weight loss blog. I plan to take you on this journey with me and have you hold me accountable and ask me how it is going!



Here is to a healthy lifestyle and a reminder that “It is not where you start but where you finish!

She melts my heart

With those puppy dog eyes and warm smile, she melts my heart. Being a mom is an amazing thing but being a grandmommy...oh that beats all. I don't think there is any way to effectively describe it! Having my daughter and grand daughter live with me is a blessing. When they move,I will be a sad Grammy!

See why she gets whatever she wants? Look at those eyes!

Posing for the camera already!

I see you Grandmommy!

Featured Etsyblogger of the month of November - Storybeader

Friendly and Always lending a helping hand to her Etsyblogger team mates – Storybeader is the well deserved featured Etsyblogger of the month! With unique jewelry designs such as the Tipi Treasure Necklace featured below. All of her jewelry and bead work tell an invigorating story. No doubt wearing her creatively designed pieces will be a stepping stone for great conversations and shared stories! Check out Storybeader's blog!



Tipi Treasure Necklace

Tagged TWO DAYS IN A ROW - Butterfly Award

WOW! Tagged two days in a row! I am surely feeling the love! (big Smile) Tagged by the truly encouraging and warm magdalenejewels! I have been passed this blogger's award which in turn I must now pass this "Butterly Award" on to 7 other bloggers. For those of you who don't know Magdalene jewel’s shop, her shop contains a mix of classy and elegant jewelry. No doubt she is talented! Her blog Magdelene Jewels - where you will find some of her very interesting blogs: So here is a little more of me to share about! I have tagged the below 7 to share and pass it on! Sorry having done it two days in a row – it gets hard to do the research to see if have already been tagged for this and even recently!

1. I definitely am not a witch or a psychic but I do know that when I have a VIVID/CLEAR dreams about something/someone, it usually happens very similarly to how I dreamed it. I also have more than my share of “déjà vu” moments. In fact, I had one today and it scared the crap out of me..LOL

2. I love the beach! There is something about the vastness of the ocean, the sound, of the waves and the sands on the seashore that move me to tears whenever I am near it.

3. I have lived in the same city/state all of my life

4. I write poetry and short stories though I haven’t done it in quite a while. Hmmm..maybe I need to post one of my poems and write a few in the near future.

5. I love R&B music – Old school baby! Old school!

6. I went to Aruba last year for my first international vacation! It was paradise! I love clear blue/green waters!

7. I LOVE to smile! It is contagious…(See me smiling?!) I told you it was contagious! PASS IT ON!

You've been tagged my etsyblogger family!
Tulip's Treasure Box
Etsy Mexico
My Favorite Shop
Nature Manipulated
TILTcreations
Home Made Originals
A Keepers Jackpot

Tag – I’m it for the first time!

I was tagged by Lovarevolutionary a member of the awesome Etsybloggers street team to spill the beans and share 7 secreets – hee-hee! Don’t forget to check out her store Lovarevolutionary


So 7 secrets hmmm….let me think!

1. My first online business was selling on Ebay! I used to go to yard sales, find neat items and sell them! The items I sold and made the most money from was a large box of college medical books that I paid $5 for (yes the whole box of about 15 books was only $5) and I made about $1,000 off of all of those books I sold! Oh the days of profit on Ebay!

2. My favorite color is Red. I generally love all bright colors but red is my absolute favorite because it is bright, bold and vibrant and representative of my personality.

3. I was born breech. BUTT first in fact with my right leg flipped up and over my left shoulder and my arms wrapped around that leg. My mom has over 100 stitches giving birth to me! Poor mommy!

4. I am the single mother of two young adults ages 21 and 19 and the grandmother of a beautiful granddaughter 13 months old!

5. I love to play games – Spades, Phase 10, Monopoly (my all time favorite)!

6. My dream was to graduate high school, become a Broad Cast Journalist and move to California! Never happened but I dreamed anyway..LOL

7. My favorite shows are CSI, Forensic Files, Dr. G Medical Examiner and HGTV with HGTV being my all time favorite!


Now spill more beans cuz tag YOU are it! I've tagged you to spill the beans and share secrets! Share 7 secrets and tag 7 bloggers to share 7 of their secrets!

CRAFTYCHEFGRAPHICS
PALLEIKO
BARBARABEADS
HBIC
SPIRITMAMA
CARAPACE
DEVINEDESIGNSJEWELRY

Humor

After twelve years of therapy my psychiatrist said something that brought tears to my eyes. He said, "No hablo ingles."

Here is your Payment! :)

OK OK! So here is the payment for ALL of you who complimented me on my family pic! Now NO fighting over it..Let's all share! LOL!

Family Affair

Here is a pic of me and my 19 year old daughter Brittany. We were at my sister's baby shower this past weekend!ttany! We were at my sisters baby shower!

Quick Wit

He who laughs last didn't get it.....

Blog Carnival - Veterans Day Plans

You know normally I would say that I would be SHOPPING on Veterans day but since I just unexpectedly put almost a $1,000 down to fix one car and I still have to pay $1,000 to fix the other car that my daughter recently wrecked…I won’t be. I will definitely take some time out to pray for those Veterans that gave their lives for us and those that have served us and are still in some capacity serving us. But the truth of the matter is, I will simply be sleeping in late on Veterans Day and then creating some new pieces. Perhaps I will create a piece in Red, White and Blue in honor of Veterans! That’s an idea!

H. Palleiko Designs offers "HOPE" in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women, except for skin cancers. It is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, exceeded only by lung cancer. The chance that breast cancer will be responsible for a woman's death is about 1 in 35 (about 3%). In 2008, about 40,480 women will die from breast cancer in the United States.
In honor of Breast cancer awareness month, H. Palleiko Designs( an exceptionally talented Etsian Artist) is donating a one of a kind necklace titled "Hope" to the Avon Breast Cancer foundation Auction.


Hand crafted from sterling silver, the multicolored glass focal piece was created by glass artist Patty Lakinsmith. Large teal chalcedony faceted stones grace each side of the neck. The spiral design is borrowed from ancient Egyptian, Greek and Celtic motifs and symbolism. Spiral motfis span many cultures and symbolize rebirth and life ever unfolding. To find out more about this designer and her work, please check out her blog http://hpalleikodesigns.blogspot.com/2008/10/avon-breast-cancer-foundation-auction.html and her Etsy site http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5524144

Wordless Wednesday

I WON!!!!

I WON!!!

So the sweet glorybe1024 http://glorybe1024.blogspot.com/ tells us on the etsybloggers forum that her close friend Vicky from http://2sistersandme.blogspot.com/ is holding a contest in honor of her own birthday and I think well I don’t usually win but hey I definitely want to wish her a happy birthday! Well go figure just got the message last night that I won the below! YIPPEE! I feel so special and it made my morning because I woke up feeling a bit down today!

Laughter is food for the soul.....

Men are like parking spots, the good ones are taken and the free ones are handicapped.

A Little Humor

When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.

Providing Excellent Customer Service

I was looking at a stream of communication among some Etsians to discuss what is good customer service. Is it important to quickly respond when a buyer makes a purchase from your shop? How much follow up? When? To be honest I was a bit alarmed by some of the responses. Some said "Well customers on Etsy understand that most Etsians work full time jobs and do this on a part time basis so its ok to not send a quick follow up to say. "Got your order and will get it shipped by xxx date" NOT!

Communication is a major KEY to excellent customer service! It really bothers me when I get no communication acknowledging my order and then a week later I get my item in the mail and no follow up whatsoever afterward. All I want to say on the feed back is "Thanks" or "Item as described". I state very specifically in my shop policies my standards for Customer service and my goal to the customer. Below is the process I follow when someone buys from me.

1. When someone orders from me, I respond with the below standard statement within 48 hours of the order (usually it is the same day) My subject is "Your Order" I am not specific in stating the item ordered. Use the customers real first name! It is more personal and shows your customer you have taken time to at least review the details of their Invoice/order:

**************Order Received Acknowledgment and statement of process!**************

Hi ______,

Your item will be shipped within 5 days. Once you receive your item, please leave positive feed back. I pride myself in having great customer service and a feedback rating that shows it! If for some reason you are not satisfied with your purchase, please contact me before leaving neutral or negative feedback so I may rectify the problem. And hey–thanks for choosing to shop with Uniquecommodities! :)

****When I ship the item I put "Tracking number - 9101 XX XX XXXXX in the subject line****

Hi______

Your item has been shipped! Once you receive your item, please leave positive feed back. I pride myself in having great customer service and a feedback rating that shows it! If for some reason you are not satisfied with your purchase, please contact me before leaving neutral or negative feedback so I may rectify the problem. And hey–thanks again for choosing to shop with Uniquecommodities! :)

**********Follow up if no feed back is left within 7 days of verified receipt of item**********

Hi ____I see that you received your item on _____! I hope it was to your satisfaction. If so, please leave positive feed back. If for some reason you are not satisfied with your purchase, please contact me before leaving neutral or negative feedback so I may rectify the problem. Take care!

After this I leave it alone and Notice that I have feed back for almost EVERY item I have sold (about 98%)..because I follow up and not in a nagging way. I have never had a complaint and I believe it is because I state my focus and intent from the start and follow through accordingly!

REMEMBER...EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE BREEDS REPEAT CUSTOMERS AND REFERRALS!

Blog Carnival - Party Cheese Wreath Recipe

1. Ingredients

2 (8 ounce) packages PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 (8 ounce) package KRAFT Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 tablespoon finely chopped onions
1 tablespoon chopped red bell peppers
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 dash ground red pepper (cayenne)

2. Cooking Directions
Beat cream cheese and Cheddar cheese in small bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended.
Add remaining ingredients; mix well. Cover. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.
Place drinking glass in center of serving platter. Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of cheese mixture around glass, just touching outer edge of glass to form ring; smooth with spatula. Remove glass. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and additional red bell pepper, if desired. Serve with assorted NABISCO Crackers and breadsticks.
Yield: 24 servings

Nutrition Info
Per Serving
Calories: 105 kcal
Carbohydrates: 1 g
Dietary Fiber: 0 g
Fat: 9 g
Protein: 3 g
Sugars: 0 g

3. Still Hungry?
Notes:
Substitute
Prepare as directed, using PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, 1/3 Less Fat than Cream Cheese and KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese.
Mini Cheeseballs
Shape cream cheese mixture into 1-inch balls. Roll in soft, light rye or dark pumpernickel bread

RELAX, Relate and Rejoice

Relax! Relate! Rejoice!

They say laughter is the best medicine and helps to relieve stress! There is nothing that makes me smile and laugh more than my beautiful grandbaby Zionna! She is hilarious! I come home from a stressful day at work and she greets me at the door with a hug and blows me a kiss. Looking at her reminds me there is not much more important in life than spending quality time with those you love! Relaxing, Relating and Rejoicing that I have been blessed by my daughter with such a beautiful gift! I love you Zionna!

Look at her hard at work!

And after all of that fun! Time to go beddy by! What a way to end the night! Smiling and relaxing

Zionna is ONE!

Being a grandmommy has been a most exciting experience! My how time does fly! My grand daughter Zionna turned one this past Sunday! She brings us so much joy! Her laugh, her puppy dog eyes! The way she says "hi" and "bye". She keeps us laughing and on the go! She turned one on October 5th and I tell you she has a loved little girl! She had about 15 people at her birthday celebration and she got more gifts than any one year old would know what to do with. More than that though she was surrounded by the people who love and adore her the most. Her grand parents on her dad's side, her parents, gammy (me), her God parents, aunties, baby sitter and a host of other friends and family. Her grandmother made her TWO cakes and might I add they were both DELICIOUS! LOL!

I thank God daily for the joy she brings to our lives! I love you Zi!

Featured Etsy Blogger of the month - Mama's Magic? BFbeads or Domestic goddess? Hmmm....

Need a little magic in your life? A little mommy care? Well look no further! This month’s featuered Etsybloggers is Mama’s Magic or should I call her BFbeads?! With either shop name, she is an exceptionally creative mom who makes Baby Friendly Beads that make breastfeeding easier and has a magically creative talent to make unique pieces like those in her shop called Mama’s Magic! Now how creative and original is that niche?! Here is one of her baby friendly necklaces!

Featured Etsyblogger of the Month -September

The featured Etsyblogger of the month is our amazing leader Joey and Aleethea! The work she does for our street team is phenomenal! She makes it so easy to be a part of this team! We wouldn't BE the EtsyBloggers we are without her!!


She's having a HUGE Sale Sept. 1st & 2nd with 20% OFF everything in her shop PLUS she's got 2 Giveaways going on too!

Here's the link to the Give aways!!
http://joeyandaleethea.typepad.com/blog/....-giveaways.html

Link to give away button
http://joeyandaleethea.com/SALE/SALE_joeyandaleethea_sept1_sept2_GIVEAWAYS.jpg


blog: http://joeyandaleethea.com/blog

shop: http://joeyandaleethea.etsy.com/

Blog Carnival - In Summery

In summery"
This was one of my best summers! I have a new grand daughter and she is 11 months old. This summer my daughter, grand daughter and I went to Orlando, FL for vacation to visit one of my best friends! We had a blast! We made jewelry, stayed up all night laughing and talking, went to the water park, shopped, and got our nails done! We even bought rings that were alike (mine has turned colors though..LOL) It was an incredibly fun time! Below is a picture to show it!

April's Featured Etsy Blogger

So excited about Etsybloggers first new Featured Etsian of the month - Stormydesigns! I looked at her shop and was excited to see so many unique designs! Check her out

Here are the links to where you can find StormyDesigns:

Etsy: http://StormyDesigns.etsy.com

Site: http://StormyDesigns.biz

blog: http://StormyDesigns.biz/blog

6 Ways to Have and find More Jewelry Making Time

by Charlene Anderson of Unravelings http://charleneanderson.typepad.com/unravelings/

1) Delegate as much as possible around the house. My husband is a great grocery shopper…he finds bargains, uses coupons, and does a far better job than I do. (He recently purchased 40 boxes of Kleenex at our local supermarket for 20 cents a box versus the regular price of about $1.25 - we won't run out for a while and we saved a lot of money). Guess who is responsible for keeping the fridge and pantry filled? Not me. I have more time to make jewelry.

2) Have projects lined up so when you finish one you'll have another one ready to go. I use small altoid-sized tins to set up projects in advance. I usually have about a dozen going at once. Spending the time to set up projects in advance will save time when you can sit down to work. It's also great for traveling as you can just pick up a tin and go.

3) Make sure you always have a good supply of the basics that use you on a regular basis. Nothing is more frustrating than running out of something simple, like crimps, when you are ready to work on a project. As you start running low on a regular item, order more.

4) Put away tools, equipment and supplies when you are finished with them. Have a regular place for everything. You'll save time if you know your pliers are always in the top drawer of your workbench rather than hunting all over the house for them.

5) Try listening to audible books while working so you kill two birds with one stone - reading and beading! Audible.com is a great source for audible books. I love to read but can't bead and read at the same time (though I can knit and read at the same time) so I use audible books to get my reading fix. I play them on my iPod while I work.

6) The last but most important tip is to learn to say NO! Don't commit to anything unless you truly want to do it. Don't bake cookies for school unless you really want to. Don't volunteer for that committee unless it is really important to you. Eveything you say yes to means less time for jewelry making. A friend taught me years ago to say to myself "what part of no don't you understand: N or O"?

Unique's Jewelry

Dare to Share – Time Management tips from Brandi of Caties Blue

-- What activities are important to you?
Creating, photographing, listing, in that order. Then, once I've got photos on the computer, I'll post them in Flickr and maybe do a blog post, too, depending on time.

-- How often to you list?
Not often enough! But when I was regularly listing, it was at least 3 times a week. I try not to go more than four days without listing, but that doesn't always work.

-- Do you re-list items for increased exposure?
Nope. Jewelry is so saturated that it doesn't seem to make a difference, really. I do relist in my destash shop, but those supplies sell faster than finished jewelry.
-- Do you blog? If so, how often?
Yes. I used to blog pretty regularly, every other day or so, on two blogs, but time is limited these days, so that's gone by the wayside.

-- Do you ACTIVELY participate in any groups, such as this one? If so, how, and how often?
I only have one street team, this one, and yeah, I'm pretty active on these Google pages. I hardly go onto the Etsy fora anymore, so my participation here involves the Google group, the Team blog, team meetings, and mentoring. Besides etsyBEAD, I am a member of a couple other jewelry making groups off Etsy, so I post occasionally on those.

-- How do you support others so they support you?
I have a blog called ThisRocksMySocks solely devoted to featuring others, via interviews or other posts. But I'm probably going to have to give it up (no time!). I also exchange blog links with people, make contacts through Flickr, and try to be as open and supportive as I can with my fellow etsyBEADers.

-- Do you pay to advertise your Etsy shop? If so, in what venue?
I'm really bad at self-promotion (one of the things I'd like to work on this year), but I have used Project Wonderful. I didn't see a big increase in views or sales, but I have a feeling I didn't put enough effort into it.

-- If you were to recommend just THREE networking activities, what would they be?
Flickr, a street team, and joining a blog ring.

-- And maybe most importantly, what have you eliminated because it just didn't seem to be beneficial?
Besides housework, lol, I'm cutting back on the time I spend online. I have profiles on a lot of different sites, like Indiepublic, We Love Etsy (which I deleted after a while), TalentDatabase, DaWanda, but I don't do anything with them and I rarely check them. Without advanced shop statistics, it's hard to tell where people have found me, but when I was active on every single site, I didn't see any increase in views or sales, really, so I don't put a lot of effort into them anymore.

-- If you dare to REALLY share, how about providing a glimpse into your weekly schedule (basics) and any tips or tricks for time management you have learned along the way.
I do create full-time, but I don't really have a set schedule since my life is kind of hectic and I need to be flexible. But I start my days the same way; get up, turn the computer on, go through my emails and convos, read replies to posts, respond if needed. Then, I'll do a mail run, eat something, and get going on whatever tasks I have planned for that day. While I don't have a set schedule, I do have what I call "Photography Day", "Creation Day", etc. Those are days where I first focus my attention on getting things made or photographed, and those days can change based on what my personal schedule is at any give time.

Basically, I try to group doing a bunch of similar things at once, and I'll wait till I have a bunch of pieces made before I photograph. Once those pieces that have been photographed, I'll sit and work on pricing and bookkeeping for all those pieces at one time. So, ideally, I'll photograph once a week (Photo Day) for the upcoming week(s), and I'll plan out when I list my finished jewelry. When I go to list, everything is already done (from the price to the description and measurements, etc,), so that cuts down on my listing time. I find that's the best time management thing that's worked for me; rather than spend half an hour photographing every day, I'll group it together so it'll maybe take just an hour once a week instead since I only have to set up the camera and arrange everything once.

Creation Days are days when I just ignore everything else and make pieces. I do create whenever I can, but it helps me to have specific days where I don't let anything interrupt me. I'm also really patient with myself, so if a particular piece isn't working, I'll start a new piece or do something different altogether and let it sit.
When I take a break
from doing whatever I'm doing, I'll pop online and check everything again. Once the day is done, I'll go through and print any orders, get those packaged and ready to ship in the morning. I'm a night owl, so chances are I'll work some more at night before I go to bed.

-- Any tips or tricks you have learned?:
Go slow when signing up for things, and make sure you've got time for them. You do need to be visible for people to find you, but you still need to find what works for you balance-wise. Time is precious, so price your work accordingly.

Brandi http://catiesblue.etsy.com/