Thankful Thursdays- 12/30/10

Today I'm going to be a little "superficial" with my thankful post. (I'm allowed to do that once in awhile, right?) For Christmas, I got something I have been pining after for years, just never had the chance to snag myself. A KitchenAid Artisan Series Tilt-head Stand Mixer. TA-DA!

Oh wait! "Is it PURPLE?" you ask... YES! It's purple, and it totally rocks!

Among my many many interests, I absolutely LOVE to cook. As much as possible, really, and I love creating my own recipes. (My hubby has Crohn's disease, so I get plenty of opportunity to bend traditional recipes to fit his diet restrictions better!) While I have always enjoyed cooking and creating, until now I've sort of felt like I was cooking with only one arm. Sounds hard, right? Well... stunted no more! I am SO excited and have been cooking and baking up a storm.

I'm sure you're thinking, "Okay, okay, cakes and whatever... yay." Oh no no no no no. This is SO much more than just a mixer. It does amazing (if not magical) things! Look at all these attachments:

Ice cream maker, ravioli maker, pasta cutter, pasta roller, food tray, food grinder, citrus juicer, grain mill, can opener, pasta maker, sausage stuffer, rotor slicer/shredder, fruit and vegetable strainer/grinder... and the list goes on!! This is like the SUPER machine for your kitchen. I may never need anything else at all.  Needless to say, I'm excited! And thankful for such an awesome, thoughtful, personally perfect gift! (KitchenAid should hire me, LOL!)

I'm thinking of adding a "Food Day" to the blog so I can share my adventures with you all. (Of course, it would need a more clever name, who wants to read about food day? LOL) What do you think?

I hope you all had a WONDERFUL holiday yourselves, with lots and lots to be thankful for! Get ready, that new year is just around the corner!!

XOXO

  

Thankful Thursdays- 12/24/10

It's Christmas Eve, and for the first time in years it's just "us" at home. No parents, no grandparents... It's quiet and calm. I'm not stressed, we're free to hang around in our pj's all day, and there is nowhere we have to be. It's a very refreshing feeling, indeed! :) Normally we have lots to contend with... various family celebrations, visits to and from friends, and never enough time just to ourselves. 

We decided to do things a little differently this year, for a very special reason. This is our little angel's very first Christmas! We wanted it to be special- not necessarily for her, since she won't remember it- but for us. We are so proud of our little girl, and since she was born we've really enjoyed being a "family" instead of just a couple. It's a truly magical time for us!

So here's to being thankful we have something so special to celebrate this year, as well as being thankful for all of the blessings in our lives that give us a reason to smile. :)

I hope you all are enjoying your holiday season and are thankful for your blessings, no matter how big or small! :)

Christmas Crafts!

Usually for me the Christmas season is full of hustle and bustle, and scrambling around at the last minute. I never feel prepared, and I never get the chance to do anything "extra" just for fun. Last year was my first year as a "Stay at Home" but even then I was pregnant, and not really feeling up to doing anything productive, LOL!

Anyway, so this year I was feeling SUPER motivated! I have been doing projects constantly, and I can't wait to share them with you. (What? You thought I was a one trick pony with the oneisies? Nope!) LOL! Some of them will have to wait, as they are gifts and well, you just never know who may be peeking in on your blog. But for starters, I can at least show off my wreaths! (Please excuse my pics, I haven't gotten any really good shots yet, these are direct from my cell phone!)

Fluffy Felt Wreath

This one is made from felt, ribbon, stick pins, and a styro wreath form I found it on the Domestifluff blog, and if you want to make your own, you can find the tutorial here. It was pretty easy, just a little tedious and time consuming. In spite of that, I absolutely LOVE it! I'm thinking of doing another one in red!

Red Burlap Wreath 

(with felt flower)

This is the super-easy, "anyone-can-do-it" wreath. Seriously. It might have taken me an hour to do this one, so don't be afraid. Go for it! It's made from red burlap, a wire hanger, ribbon, and felt flower. That's it! I found the idea for this one from Life on the Ridge Side, and you can find a super easy tutorial to make this wreath here.

I was sort of feeling like it was missing something, so I added the flower after I had a chance to look at it hanging for a couple of days. It too is very easy! If you want to add a flower to your wreath, you can find a tutorial here: Flower pin tutorial

I've got AT LEAST 2 more wreaths I want to make, but they're not holiday specific, so I may have to wait on those while I finish up my plethora of other projects. haha!

XOXO

Thankful Thursdays- 12/16/10

It seems as though every year, despite my best efforts, I find myself scrambling around at the last minute trying to tie up loose ends before the "BIG DAY" (i.e. Christmas, haha!) It's always a mad rush, it always stresses me out, and I always feel like I've missed the whole season...

This year, as the rush continues, and even the corner store is TOTALLY PACKED with people, I am thankful for once to have all my Christmas shopping done already!! YAY!!

I have learned that a little planning goes a loooooong way! ;)

Touched my heart...

The link below is a blog post by a person I do not know. However, this very post brought me to tears just moments into reading it. Jeannett at "Life Rearranged" is hosting a fundraiser to help sweet baby Cliff find a home of his very own. This baby boy is so special, and I hope you'll go take a look and learn a little bit about him and what you can do to help.

http://liferearranged.com/2010/11/make-christmas-count-for-cliff/

In the meantime, I'll be hosting Cliff's fundraiser button here on my blog (in the bar to the right) so you can find it easily, and share with the people in your life. :)

'Tis the Season for Sharing

XOXO

The Infamous Turtle Strikes Again!

Always a fan favorite, my little Sea Turtle Onesie was again featured in an etsy treasury today! Yay!

I really love etsy treasuries... they're a great way to meet new people, find fun new products, and share your love of art and handmade goods with, well, everyone! The turtle particulary has been featured in a wide array of different treasuries. One all about sea life, one about the beach, one green one, one about batik fashions, and the list goes on. 

This particular treasury is devoted to all things turtle! Check it out!

'Turtles' by Mylana

A slection of items I like with Turtles

TURTLE POND TurtlePondSoap $7.00	Turtle and Fish, Togeth... allisonstein $12.00	Free Shipping - Sea Tur... BLACKSWANJEWEL... $29.00
TURTLE 8 X 10 PRINT ON ... Winterberrycot... $7.80	Hand Painted Turtle Bot... skyspirit8 $45.00	Sea Green Honu Turtles ... countrygirl808 $
Sea turtle blue felted ... feltedfantasie... $150.00	Nerd Turtle Journal Not... tamarakraft $14.00	Turtle Crayons - Lil D... LilDoodlers $8.95
Green Tye Dye Sea Turtl... littlebirdieba... $15.00	RUSTED TURTLE SHELL - C... FreakofMetal $35.00	Painted Turtle Note Car... katrinascards $12.00
Eastern Box Turtle / pa... CraftSweetpea $35.00	Sea Turtle with hat- pr... poordogfarm $10.00	Turtle Soap Dish in Gar... GoodEarthCeram... $7.95

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

Thanks to "Mylana" for a great feature! (Be sure to go check out her shop if you have a sec)




Have a great day all!! :)

Holiday SALE going on NOW!!

Discounted prices on:

ALL ONESIES!

ALL DESIGNS!

ALL SIZES!

NEW Gift Packs!

3 for 2 Deals!

... and MORE!

And just like the Black Friday Sale, I'll be giving away a FREE gift from my new line with every order!
***Sale runs starting midnight December 13th and runs through midnight December 31st!***

Holiday shopping for all the little babes and Mommies-to-be on your list just got easier! :)

HOLIDAY SALE!!

Starting midnight tonight, Little Birdie Baby Shop will be having a HUGE holiday sale!!!

December 13th - 31st!!

Discounted prices on:

ALL ONESIES!

ALL DESIGNS!

ALL SIZES!

NEW Gift Packs!

3 for 2 Deals!

... and MORE!

And just like the Black Friday Sale, I'll be giving away a FREE gift from my new line with every order!
***Sale runs starting midnight December 13th and runs through midnight December 31st!***

Holiday shopping for all the little babes and Mommies-to-be on your list just got easier! :)

Thankful Thursdays

Today I am thinking about the holidays... how can anyone not be, really? There are only a limited number of shopping days left, and we are all gearing up for the family, the gift-giving, and inevitably, the stress. For the first time ever I am a part of the holiday rush. My shop is full of traffic and my cup runneth over. Of course I am thankful for all the traffic and incoming orders, but today I am throwing some credit out to my little angel. 

Without her, none of this would have been possible. She is my inspiration, my model, and my little work buddy playing on the floor while Mommy designs. :) She is the reason I started my little onesie business, so I should really start giving her some residual checks or something, haha!

I am a lucky, lucky girl, and I am so thankful that life has brought me so many blessings!

What are YOU thankful for today??

I won!! I won!!

I'm sure like many of you, you enter giveaways via blog or facebook from time to time. Everyone has such cute stuff to give away, it's hard not to! I can't even tell you how many times I've entered something like that, but I never win. Just not the "lucky" type I guess! LOL

However, this morning, I finally won! I entered a great giveaway over at tatertots & jello, and won a $25 gift card to Bejeweled Beads by Chelsea!

If you're not familiar with the tatertots & jello blog, go check it out. Like, now! She posts all kinds of great crafty tutorials, recipes and project, as well as TONS fun giveaways from her sponsors! There's always awesome stuff to see, read, and make over there whether you're a beginner or a pro! :)

Then, go check out Bejeweled Beads... she's making all kinds of cool, chunky jewelry and watches, all customizable! She'll even send you kits to make her jewelry if you need a fun idea for a party! Neat, huh?

Hope you all are having a GREAT week!! :):)

Custom Orders

As much as I love coming up with designs and sharing them with the world, I love making custom orders even more! It's fun to see what someone else's take on one of my designs is, so it's fun for me to put a new spin onto something I'm so used to making one way.

The most popular request I have is for color change. As silly as it sounds, something as simple as a color change can really transform the whole look of the design. Here are some examples:

My favorite change was probably the "Om"; I initially designed it in bright blue, but one customer's request for lime green had me ready to re-list in the new color!

The "Ribbons" were also a fun (and obvious) change. I started with the pink ribbon onesie to help raise money for breast cancer research in the month of October; then as a gift for a friend who's husband is in the military, I did it in yellow as well! Now her little girl will be able to proudly display the fact that her Daddy is a hero! :)

What a small change for such big results! I'm definitely looking forward to more custom requests as the holidays roll through this year! :)

New model photo!

I just wanted to send a little love out to my newest little model, Caden and his awesome mom Allison! Alli got the little boys skull onesie for Caden, and was SO nice to send me a picture of him in it to share with you all!

Isn't he just the CUTEST little guy?? And what better way to start off the day than with adorable baby pics? :)

<3

NEW Etsy Activity stream, what do you think?

This week, etsy announced that they would be introducing an "Activity Stream" feature to everyones page.  They billed it as a "social interaction feature" to use while on the etsy site.

I have to admit, my first reaction went something like this:

"Uggghhhhhh! MORE social networking?? As if Facebook, Blogger, Twitter, and Myspace aren't enough? How can I keep up with one more thing??"

And then I checked it out.

I love it.

It shows you when someone adds your shop to their favorites, it shows you when someone adds a specific item to their favorites, it shows when someone features your items in a treasury, it shows all of your sales transactions and convos... and I haven't even scratched the surface of the "Circles" feature.

You can find it above the "Buy" tab:

So, from one huge skeptic to another, I say- it's totally worth checking out. If nothing else, it seems to be a great tool for keeping track of the traffic in and out of your store, which is ALWAYS good info to have!

Ok etsy, pat on the back... again! ;)

Thankful Thursdays

November is traditionally a time to be thankful for the blessings in our lives. Obviously, Thanksgiving is a whole day devoted to just that, yes? ;)

On November 1st, I followed a little writing exercise prompted by a friend of mine of Facebook. The challenge was this:

For each day in November, write something in your status that you're thankful for... and so "30 Days of Thanksgiving" was born!

It was a fun, uplifting, and thought-provoking little exercise. Even though it was difficult some days (when I was super busy, or super stressed), I was a little disappointed when it was over, and started trying to think of ways to keep it going throughout the year...

So... Introducing: "Thankful Thursday" blogs! I've seen lots of people doing similar things with their blog, but have never been quite inspired enough to give it a go myself. However, starting next Thursday I'll be thankful every Thursday, and challenging YOU to be thankful for something as well. It can be big, small, tangible, or intangible, as long as it's sincere! :)

Looking forward to seeing all of your upcoming responses!!

BIG NEWS for the New Year!

Well, I've been putting off writing about this for one reason or another, but I wanted to make the announcement because, dang it, I'm PROUD of my little shop!

A couple of weeks ago, I was (to my astonishment) invited to be a materials contributor for the 2011 Golden Globes pre-show gift room, taking place this coming January!!

First of all... I have no idea how this happened. I guess striving to become well connected, and working hard at networking has managed to land me in the right place at the right time. If nothing else, that's huge motivation to keep trudging forward, even on those days when it seems like nothing is working.

Needless to say, I am SUPER excited, and can't even imagine how this could possibly change things for my family and my little shop. Just the thought of having some of my merchandise in the hands of some highly fashion-influential people is mind boggling!!

I've received lots of love from my friends and "fans" on Facebook, and for that I am so thankful. I will always appreciate the people who have been rooting me on from the very beginning. You are all so special to me, and I am eternally grateful for letting me be a part of your lives! :):)

***

Unfortunately, there is a bittersweet part to this story. Along with the love and support, I have also received some backlash from the craft/etsy communities that I'm involved in. I have had people "de-friend" me, I've had people "un-favorite" my shop, "un-like" my Facebook fan page, and other childish behaviors. I find this so very sad. I really felt that the point of being a part of these communities was to support and assist each other however we can?

I personally spend countless hours carefully crafting tons of etsy treasuries to do just that- cultivate business for fellow shop owners, whether I know them or not. Not to mention cross promotions, personal plugs, blog swaps, and anything else I can think of to get us some exposure. So you can imagine how sad some of these reactions make me.

So, I guess that was most of the reason for my hesitation in sharing my news. I don't want to give the wrong impression... I'm not bragging, I'm not gloating, I'm excited about this awesome opportunity and want to share it with my friends! :)

I hope you all will continue following on my journey, and I hope to continue to share things with you all along the way!!

BLACK FRIDAY!! Bring it on!

OK, so just like everyone else on etsy (LOL), Little Birdie Baby Shop will be having a BLACK FRIDAY SALE!

Everything in shop is marked 30% off and there will be a FREE GIFT included with every purchase!

The free gift is from a new line of products I'll be introducing at the first of the year, so what a fun sneak peek for all my loyal shoppers! Now, all you have to do is get to shopping, and be sure to tell your friends! :):)

Digging out of a rut...

Creativity and craftiness is such a blessing. Unfortunately, the very thing that allows me to run a successful and creatively based business is also the same thing that sometimes traps me. I'm sure many of you feel the same way from time to time.

Ever since the show I've been feeling a little like I'm in a creative "rut" so to speak. I'm sure it has something to do with the stress of it all, and the subsequent in-pouring of orders. While I absolutely LOVE what I do, the minute it starts to pile up and feel like "work" I start dragging. Quite the conundrum, eh?

Today I decided to take a little break from all the work and switch gears in hopes of restoring my motivation and creative drive. This time I opted for a little crocheting...

crocheted baby beanie with white flower clip

What do you think?? I like it! I can't wait to take some pics of the little one in it. Obviously she's already tried it on for sizing, but her red jammies definitely clashed, so no pics yet. ;)

I'd done some knitting before... nothing major, mostly just scarves, but I had never tried crocheting before. God bless the internet for being an endless resource of knowledge! haha!

Do any of you ever get in a rut like that? What do you do to help catapult yourself out of it and get back on track?

Marketing Tip #1

I know many of you (including myself) are constantly looking for new ways to drive visitors to our shops. I'm sure alot of you already know what I'm about to share, but all this etsy selling stuff is still relatively new to me, so I'm always excited when I come across something new and helpful! In the spirit of building a community of successful sellers, I decided to share the results of my marketing efforts as I discover them in hopes that something I do will be able to help YOU! :)

First of all, a little bit about me. :) My background is in business/legal with a smattering of marketing and advertising as well as some graphic design. I random collection, I know. I tend to be the kind of person who jumps in head first to new ventures if only to learn something new. I guess that's about how my store came about in the first place, LOL. All of those things combined are making for a really fun experience diving into the seller world.

That being said, I track my analytics like a crazy person. I watch them daily via Google, Blogger, and StatCounter. Overkill? Maybe... But it helps me formulate my next move. ;)

I've also been watching the forums on etsy, and some of the team sites I'm a member of for new ideas. Many people seem to agree that renewing your listings is the number one thing to do to drive up the visitor count to your site, so I did a trial for 2 weeks to test it out. 

Turns out, it worked GREAT! I highly recommend it! Now, I'm sure it's not for everyone, but for someone like me, who doesn't list new items often (unlike maybe a jewelry shop or a bow shop) it really seemed to help catch the eye of new followers.

Technically speaking my results were as follows:

- On days that I did not renew, my numbers stayed about average
- On days that I renewed in the morning (before 10am) my numbers went up about 30-50%
- On days that I renewed in the evening (after 3pm, before 7pm) my numbers doubled!

Now, I haven't really figured out the days to a science yet, but so far it's looking like Thursdays are the strongest days for all traffic, with Tuesday in a close second. What's funny is that no matter what, the weekends are always lower than the rest of the week... which would not have been my guess pre-research.

So, it seems as though the evening time is the best time for attracting new traffic. Makes sense being as that's about the time people are getting home from work, etc. Now, I know renewing costs money, but at $.20 a pop I usually only do about 6-8 listings, keeping my cost under $2. No biggie, but it gets the products in front of the viewers.

I would love to hear how this works for others, if anyone decides to try it and track the results. As always, best wishes!! :):)

Great idea!

Yesterday as I was blogging about something or other, I got a notification from Blogger about a new site they're partnered with:

http://blogspot.sharedbook.com/blog2print/googleblogger/index.html

It's a little site that takes your blog and makes it into a book! You can get it in either hardback or paper, and you can have your entire blog published or just an excerpt. Aaaaaand it's super easy to use and they do all the messy formatting FOR YOU!

I personally am no stranger to book publishing, as I've done many in the past, but this site takes like, oh 90% of the work out of it. Hopefully it's still around in a few years when I get ready to publish my baby blog for my little girl. Talk about your cheaters' scrapbook, haha!

Anyway, just wanted to pass it along to any who may not have seen it yet and could really use it. :)

Have a great day!!

So you think you're crafty?

Hey all! I want to take a moment to direct your attention to the new button I added in the right column. Looks like this:

It comes from a really great site, www.soyouthinkyourecrafty.com where some of the craftiest people I've ever seen come together to compete in a weekly crafting contest. Much like "So You Think You Can Dance"... get it? It's really fun! Each week throughout the 10 week period the competitors are given a "theme" from which to work from and then people come vote for their favorite.

I have seen some incredible things come out of this contest. The best part is, the winner of each week shares instructions so you can make your own version of their winning craft. Here are a few of my favorites of the past weekly winners: (I linked the captions to their tutorial page if you're interested!)

flower party lights

leaf rosette wreath

linen cashmere wool frame

etched glass window

toad stools

Needless to say I am loving this blog. So in ANOTHER first for me, I decided to advertise on her site. Yay! In addition to the advertisement, Missy, the creator of SYTYC, will be doing a review of my onesies in the coming weeks coupled with a giveaway I'll be doing from my shop! (I will keep you posted with details!)

So if you've got a minute, go check out the site and maybe even vote on your favorite craft of the week. You won't be sorry! :)

Spreading holiday cheer...

One treasury at a time! Here are a couple I did this morning showcasing the holiday creativity of Team Etsymoms. Enjoy!

'Evergreen' by littlebirdiebabyshop

Christmas trees, Christmas trees, and more Christmas trees! Etsymoms know how to bring the old favorite to life!

A La Mode - 8x10 Fi... flandersfield $20.00	Lexi Lou Christmas ... lexiloudesignu... $3.50	Mistletoe Room and ... LifeSoapSimple $7.50	PDF Greetings Card ... NattyKnits $2.00
Peridot Green Chris... cuteandfun $22.00	5 Tree Soap on a Ro... AquarianBath $10.00	Christmas Tree Card homemadebyaman... $3.00	Silver Twig Crystal... LuminessIce $35.00
HUGE CHRISTMAS SALE... daisysanddots $8.00	Trees on Red Tissue... muppetloon $5.00	Tree Whimsy -- 2 Ch... LadybugLimited $4.00	Stocking 1 red with... artsygaljess $13.00
Oh Little Christmas... chriscloset $14.50	Holiday Pajama or L... lavenderave $35.00	Button Christmas Tr... JustBeccuz $4.75	Boutique Christmas ... prettybowtique $7.50

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

'It's beginning to look alot like Christmas...' by littlebirdiebabyshop

We are getting our first good chill down here in the South and it's putting me in the mood for the holidays! Thanks to team etsymoms for showing us how to do the holidays right!

Winter White Christ... Cr8something $9.00	GREEN SATIN COVERED... anasbabycoutur... $13.50	Boys Neckties for C... MeandMatilda $42.00	Christmas Ball Pend... paulasstressar... $20.00
Six Gingerbread Men... AquarianBath $12.00	Noel Card homemadebyaman... $3.50	chubby red bird orn... madgemdesigns $8.00	Flakey Fancy Pants.... momiboutique $32.00
Custom Holiday Part... lovethierry $10.00	Santa Barnwood Sign... CountryChicCot... $18.00	Unbreakable Christm... EBSpider $3.00	25 Real Pinecones -... littleshopofph... $4.00
Custom Boutique Hol... ladesigns2 $18.00	Christmas Ornament ... personalcharms $21.50	PreOrder NOW for Be... LetterMeThis $60.00	CHRISTMAS CANDY CAN... cuddlehugs $17.99

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.