A Black Cat for luck?

Yes, i'm back with the Etsy favourites. This week I have picked a semi-topical theme - Black Cats, which are of course related to Halloween which is all over Etsy at the moment. The other reason for choosing Black Cats was for some ideas for my Mum's Christmas present as she has a mental little black cat. So here they are, my favourite Etsy shops for the week:

glass4mankind

Gorgeous handmade stained glass items in as many different shapes as you can think of. Most of the items in the shop are pendants and all have a lovely whimsy look to them - perfect for creating personalised Jewellery for loved ones. The featured pendant is Spooky, a cute black cat. The body is black glass and the wire is copper tinned wire that then makes the legs, ears, whiskers and face. The items are so cute in this shop and very unique as well as being very reasonably priced.

A. N. Original Jewelry

One of my favourite materials for Jewellery is silver and this lovely shop is full of handcrafted silver items. All items are hand pierced, sawed or filed and are so delicate. The little cat featured is only half an inch across and so pretty. The shop also features oxidised silver items and earrings to go with the pendants. This shop also has a regularly updated blog: http://www.anoriginaljewelry.blogspot.com/

Dwayne Bulla

"One man's junk is another man's treasure" is the slogan for this shop and it is truly amazing what gorgeous items Dwayne produces from 'rubbish'. This black cat is created from horseshoes, discarded bits of tools and nails! Other items in the shop are things like a saw blade flower and a drill bit dragonfly. This shop is the place to shop for something entirely unique and different to decorate your home or garden with.

Riricreations

This shop features handmade items such as cards, lunchbox notes, personalised gifts and blessing blocks. I have to admit to not knowing what a blessing block was when I discovered the lovely BOO blessing blocks in the photograph. They appear to be decorative blocks that are given to celebrate a blessed event, eg: birth of a child, wedding, anniversary or even halloween. I think they are lovely. The set featured are 2 and half inch square, handmade and hand decorated with lots of halloween inspired ghosts, spiders, cats etc and can be customised pretty much any way you like.

Susan Faye

You will notice my favourites often feature art and jewellery. These are two of my favourite things and the artwork in this shop is brilliant. I really like the bright, whimsical style of Susan's portraits. The featured artwork is an original ACEO, obviously with a Halloween theme, hand painted in watercolour. However I think my favourite things in this shop are the 'Custom cat lady' portraits - if you know anyone who loves cats (and I know several!) this is the perfect gift, an original portrait featuring the cat lover and their cat(s) all at a very reasonable price. Susan has a blog featuring her cat ladies at: http://www.365catladies.blogspot.com/

I hope you enjoyed these (slightly spooky) favourites as much as I enjoyed finding them and happy shopping!!

Relisted Necklaces

I have just relisted 3 items on Northern Dawn on Etsy. These were three items that went in the shop right at the beginning and have just expired, so I thought I would try them again. Re-listing items on Etsy put them back at the top of the search results and is a technique that is nearly always mentioned when talking about improving sales.

So, my three items:

Button Knot Necklace with a glass pendant: FOR SALE: $23.00 (approx. £14.00)

Glass bead cluster necklace: FOR SALE: $23.00 (approx. £14.00)

Fabric bead cluster necklace & earring set: FOR SALE: £29.00 (approx. £18.00)

To Do on Tuesday

Yes I am still alive. So what have I been doing? Well working hard on something I don't want to say too much about untill the end of the year when it's either definitely happening or definitely not happening!

But now, I'm back to do a bit for Northern Dawn. Today I went out for lunch with a work colleague and pretended to do some work for my 'day job' but in spent a very pleasant 2 and half hours sat on a sofa in the pub eating, drinking & chatting. I also did some housework (this doesn't happen often). So tomorrow I must do at least a few useful things. Here is a list that may or may not be completed!

• Finish a knotted bracelet I'm working on
• List my camera on Ebay
• Put some photographs on Flickr
• Take some photos of my Boxes for my Etsy & Folksy listings

So, there's a start. I'll let you know tomorrow what happens.

Etsy Favourites - Autumn

Decided on a seasonal theme for this week's Etsy Favourites feature, now it's September already and it's starting to get dark by 8 o' Clock. I find it such a depressing time of year, but these beautiful items are enough to get a smile on anybody's face!

Blue Heron

This shop features hand made Jewellery, Pottery and fused glass items, such as the lovely item featured which is a glass sculpture, which can either hang in a window to catch the light or be displayed on a stand.

Little b Bunny.

This lovely shop is the place to shop for some gorgeous handmade cards. I liked the cat on this Halloween themed card. The seller named her shop after her daughter's nicknames, which I think is soo cute. It's little personal details like this that make shopping somewhere like Etsy so nice. The shop features a wide selection of cards for all occasions and in a wide range of styles. Little b Bubby also has a blog: http://littlebbunny.blogspot.com/

Radiant Mind Designs

I love this shop. It is full of absoloutely gorgeous beads and also has stunning photographs. Definitely on my list of Etsy shops I will be purchasing from! This shop features handmade lampwork glass beads in small co-ordinated sets or larger focals. Some are one-offs to purchase before they're gone, others are from the custom line that are re-made when sold. They also sell lampwork recipe e-book tutorials for those who fancy trying their hand at making their own beads. Radiant Minds also have a blog: http://www.glassmuse.blogspot.com/

Humblebeads Gaden Party

Another lovely handmade bead shop. Humblebeads is owned by Heather whose beads are inspired by textures and colours in nature. Her beads are made from polymer clay and hand buffed to a matte finish. The shop contains smaller disk beads and really nice focals and pendants, including things like hedgehogs and owls! Another shop to add to my shopping list! Heather also has a blog: http://www.humblebeads.blogspot.com/

Lavender Cottage

This shop features handmade metal Jewellery, using fine silver, sterling silver, copper, brass and occassionally gold. The findings are even handmade as well! The pendant i've featured is hand drawn and cut from sterling silver, resting on a background of hammered copper. The stone is a carnelian. It measures an inch across, so is a pretty delicate little piece. Lavender Cottage is a blogger: http://lavendercottageoriginals.blogspot.com/ and also a Twitterer: http://twitter.com/lavendercottage.

I hope you enjoyed this week's autumnal favourites and have been inspired to do a bit of seasonal shopping.

Scottish Bead Fair

Have just found this advertised in my Make Jewellery Magazine: The Scottish Bead Fair. I need to find a way to amass a fortune before 30th August! It is hosted by Precious Sparkle Beads and as well as loads of trade stands it has classes and demonstrations as well, including Knots & Knotting by Dorothy Wood and Precious Metal Clay with Emma from the Little Bead Shop in Edinburgh, both of which are seriously tempting me! Tickets are only £4 and most exciting it's in Perth which is actually a feasible distance for me to travel in a day without leaving at 4am and not getting home till midnight!

I'm not sure yet if I can go as hubby is away that weekend, but the in-laws might still be here to keep an eye on the doggies for the day. If they are, i'm going. Now, better get making so I might actually sell something on either Etsy or Folksy and get some money to spend at the fair!

Monday To Do List

I've been working all weekend so have had no time for blogging, tweeting or making things :( We also have my parents-in-law staying, who are lovely, but any visitors deserve a bit of attention so I can't spend all my time they're hear locked away in my little studio! However, I do need to get on and do some Northern Dawn work because we're off on holiday for a week on Friday, so tomorrow's To Do List:

• Do a Folksy Favourites blog post
• Add some more pictures to my Flickr photostream
• List some items from last week in Etsy shop & Folksy shop
• Make a Chinese knotted Necklace & Bracelet

So, quite a lot to fit in before heading off to work at 4. I do have the rest of the week off but have plenty of things to fill that time. Hopefully I will have lots to show you in the coming days.

Waiting for the postie - Etsy Favourites

Don't you just love it when the postman arrives with a mystery letter or an eagerly awaited parcel. The best bit about online shopping is the arrival of parcels, like Christmas whenever you want it!

Today's Etsy favourites theme is therefore based around the excitement of the postman arriving.

Weaver Copper Designs

What better place to receive your letters than in a fantastic handmade mailbox. This gorgeous mailbox is made of steel then covered with a sheet of antique copper, which is embossed, hand coloured and then lacquered. It is approved by the United States Postal Service. As well as gorgeous copper mail boxes, this shop also features bird feeders and rubbish bins.

Gwynstone

When you've collected your letters, you need a beautiful letter opener to open that seal. And Gwynstone is the place to shop for one. The item featured is a letter opener and magnifier set, made with recycled glass beads. The shop also features lovely items of Jewellery and Bookmarks featuring semi precious stones.

La Rea Rose

When you've opening your letters you need somewhere to store them. Why not use this pretty cottage style mail holder. It is a vintage mail holder that has been rescued and painted by this very talented Etsy seller. This seller specialises in romantic, shabby and chic decor and the items in the well stocked shop includes bird house, plates, trays and keepsake boxes. If you like traditional cottage style items this shop is the place for you. This seller also has a blog at: http://larearose.blogspot.com/

Petite Maison

Perhaps you want something a bit more more modern to store your letters. How about a Wall Pocket from this seller. The Wall Pocket featured has a French Kitchen theme and would look lovely hung in a kitchen or office space to store your bits and bobs. It is lined and contains a webbing tab for hanging it up. The seller, Julia, says she loves to create pretty things and she certainly does. She also has a blog: http://simbiosis-lifeinasmalltown.blogspot.com/

Mesquite Woodworks

Would you prefer something to put on your desk to keep your correspondance in order. Then how about a Mesquite & Maple Inbox. What a gorgeous, unique way of keeping a desk tidy! This shop is quite new and only contains a few items but the ones it contains are lovely. They are handmade from Mesquite logs and the Mesquite used in the Inbox featured comes from a tree in the seller's own backyard.

So there you go, now you can collect, open and store your post in style. I hope you enjoyed today's favourites, I certainly enjoyed finding them.

Persistance

I found these lovely Rune Pendants on an internet site when buying some other Jewellery making bits and thought they were lovely. I like old symbols and whatnot and love the rustic look of these pendants so bought several with different symbols on. This particular one is for me and is the symbol for Persistance. I wear it as inspiration not to give in, to remind me that one day that first Etsy sale will actually happen!

I do think that I'm getting somewhere. My page views are going up on Etsy, i'm gaining more followers on both Twitter and the blog and featuring other Etsy & Folksy sellers has really helped me spread the word around and a few of the lovely people I've featured have then put links to the blog on their blogs. I do really feel it's helping. I now have 16 hearts, compared to 3 at the end of June, if i carry on collecting them at the rate I am now, I'll have 84 by the end of August!! Unlikely, but nice if I did.

I still need to join Flickr and I also need to make a Facebook fan page, they may well be jobs for tomorrow. I think the main thing is just to stay focused and carry on making. I am also planning on making a couple of Etsy purchases, so at least then I'll have some feedback as well.

Tomorrow I will have some Jewellery to list, some Rune pendants definitely and maybe some knots as well.

Flickr

Flickr is a photo hosting website. I have known about it for many years and have used it to look for reference photographs for my drawings. However, I have never used it to host my photographs, mainly because I have my own web space and i've never been a great one for putting my photos out in cyber space.

Since joining Etsy, Flickr has come up many times as a useful promotional tool and I have looked at photographs on other Etsy sellers accounts. In the Etsy Success email I received on Thursday one of the useful forum posts it pointed us in the direction of was this one: How to use Flickr to get exposure for your Etsy shop, posted by dottyral, who makes very cool pin cushions. She discusses rules, Flickr groups, contacts and tags.

So, one task for tomorrow, join Flickr and start uploading some photos.

Etsy Favourites - Get Knotted!

No I haven't suddenly lost all my manners. Today's theme is based around one of my favourite things - knots. Today specifically Macrame. This fantastic craft is based around 4 or 5 main knots than can be combined in as many fantastic combinations as you can think of. Here are 5 sellers that show how creatively it can be used.

Melanie Miljan

Melanie makes Jewellery & Accessories, including this fab Belt tied with hemp and featuring green Aventurine nuggets and a Bamboo buckle. She uses natural materials and her shop mostly features Jewellery, made with either Fine Silver or Sterling Silver. Melanie also has a blog at http://macramewithmelaniemiljan.blogspot.com/

Intrinsic Imagination

This shop is full of amazing items that are works of a very creative imagination. The Barefoot Sandals caught my eye mainly because I'd never heard of them before! They are made with hemp and glass beads and can be worn in bare feet at the beach or a summer party or to brighten up plain flip flops or sandals. I think they're lovely. The shop also features handmade jewellery, hair falls and some very funky feather eyelashes.

My Imperfections

This is only a new shop but already has some really nice items in it. The knotted cord necklace pictured is made with silver rattail, shells and rings. This shop features big, bold Jewellery that are real dramatic, statement pieces combining so many different elements into pieces that just shout gorgeous at you!

Freedom Market

Freedom Market features lots of lovely Hemp and Beaded Macrame Jewellery. The Necklace featured contains Hemp with fire agate, antique brass, wood and hand carved bone beads. Hemp creates a lovely natural look especially when combined with natural material beads and the items listed in this shop are very wearable.

Katie's Basement

Handmade & Custom Jewellery from a modern day hippy. This is what Katie says about her shop. Being a bit of a modern day hippy myself I fell in love with it. It's a fairly new store, only opening at the end of May this year but already features many items that are all beautifully photographed. The bracelet featured is a Jasper Hemp bracelet, tied with hemp with a Jasper centrepiece and smaller wooden beads. Katie also has a blog: http://katiesbasementblog.blogspot.com/

Two new listings

I have listed two new items today, both Chain Maille Jewellery, one in each Northern Dawn Shop.

• A purple and pink Chain Maille Bracelet on Etsy
• A pair of Purple Chain Maille earrings on Folksy
  

Mobius Link Bracelet

This Bracelet has 25 Mobius balls linked together with bright aluminium jump rings. The mobius balls are made up with one each of a purple, violet & pink anodised aluminium jump ring. It is 19cm long and is fastened with a silver plated Lobster Clasp.

I think it is really pretty. It is also comfortable to wear, moves nicely as you move your hands and arms and catches the light as well!

FOR SALE: £12.00

Japanes 4-1 Earrings

These Earrings are made using a delicate, fiddly weave called a Japanese 4-1. The purple anodised aluminium jump rings are approx 7mm in size and are linked together with 3mm silver plated jump rings. They dangle to a fantastic 7cm.

These Earrings make a real statement with both their length and colour.

FOR SALE: $21.00 (approx. £13.00)

New Photos & Descriptions

I didn't get any new makes done today but did have a very productive day working on what may be a big project for next year.

I did take some new photographs of my Jewellery in my Etsy shop, though. All the new photographs were taken outside with a nice natural backdrop of stone from the garden and I found a post that my earrings hung nicely off of and the wood created a lovely coloured and texture background. I also amended some of my descriptions on the pieces I listed when I first opened the shop. I had planned on listing two new items this evening but ran out of time. They will go on tomorrow and the shop will be all updated and shiny for any new visitors the new items may generate. A huge thanks to Sparklerama for providing this fantastic forum post on item descriptions.

Tomorrow I am also going to make some labels for my new Jewellery Boxes and wrap one up as I would to post to a customer, then add the photograph of this to my listings so people know what to expect. I got this tip from this very interesting Storque article: Packaging and Shipping.

Friday To Do List

I know, it's Thursday and I've not done my favourites. Again. I ended up having to go in to work 4 hours earlier than I was meant to so didn't get a lot done today and had no time to compile my favourites. I did, however, compile a pretty impressive list of articles about sales and related issues on Etsy. I will put them in some sort of resources blog post at some point. One good thing about going in early today means I get tomorrow off. Woohoo! So I have compiled a To Do List for tomorrow:

• Start on my Thank You cards
• Make a cross knot & seed bead bracelet
• Do some more chain maille experimenting
• Do an Etsy Favourites & Folksy favourites blog posts
• Put my resource list into a sensible blog post
• Start a new ACEO for cards

I also have some bits coming through the post for my exciting new project so will get a look at those, and my lovely hubby has bought a load of craft stuff worth £100 for £20 off of someone advertising on a local website, so it'll be like Christmas when he comes home!

See you tomorrow.

Etsy & Folksy Selling Action Plan

I have just added my new items to my Etsy and Folksy Shops. Follow the links below to have a look:

Pink & Black Tartan & Chain Necklace
Pink and Black Chain Maille Earrings
Blank Golden Retriever Greetings Card

I have also been busy updating my profiles on both Etsy and Folksy. Both now have blog links on as well my Twitter username and Etsy has the details of the McEtsy team as well, so people know that i'm 'joining in'.

I've been reading a lot of bits on Etsy about successful selling and listing techniques and today's Etsy Success article was on 'tags' so I read through that and hopefully implemented some of the useful pointers. The Etsy blog, Storque and the forums are a fantastic source of information, but it is so huge it takes time to go through it all. I have stolen a little idea from another UK seller and put a note on the bottom of my Etsy listings of the price in UK pounds and on the bottom of my profile that i'm based in the UK and all items are despatched from here.

I don't know how successful either Etsy or Folksy will be for me, but I don't see why they can't be. One thing I have learnt is they need to be worked at. Both sites are so big, you can't just sit there or no-one will ever notice you! I wonder which one is better but can't decide. Etsy is bigger and more well known, but because of this it is easier to get lost amongst the millions of other sellers and products on there. Folksy is less well known and smaller but there is less competition. I do know I need to do the same things for each site so I can measure my success (if there is any) of one against the other. There is a general action plan for this, which basically consists of:

• Regular updates - I need to list at least one thing a day on both sites, preferably 2 or 3 but this does cost money so I need to be sensible


• Join In - get on the forums on both sites, do 'treasuries' on Etsy. All these things will hopefully make my name known to other site users and I think a lot of them are buyers as well as sellers.


• Favourites - Add sellers to my favourites and also items. I do my Favourites list on here for Etsy and always let people know they've been added. Each person is another one that has been exposed to my name. It may not result in sales but it has definitely resulted in reciprocal favouriting. I have decided to do a Favourites list on here for Folksy once a week as I do for Etsy.


• The Blog and Twitter - need to be updated regularly, but not just with updates to the shop. I need to try and make twitter updates a bit interesting and add some informative articles to the blog. More people will follow me if I write something worth reading!!


• Amend my listings - I need to amend my listsings that I posted at the beginning with better photographs and update the descriptions and tags after reading the articles i've been reading.

So, that's the general idea of where i'm going and what i'm up to. I also need to do some off-line marketing and sort out my own website, but that's a blog post for another day!

I will update the blog with any interesting news on any of the above points and let you know what (if anything) proves succesful.

Google Analytics & Site Feed

I have today installed Etsy Web Analaytics on the Northern Dawn shop. It is provided by Google Analytics and allows you to track things such as site visits, popular content, referrers etc. Hopefully it will give me an idea of what is working and what isn't in terms of promotion, products etc. I won't get any results for 24 hours but I'm looking foward to having a look and learning something from them. For more details, have a look at the Etsy Google Analytics articles.

I have also updated my settings for my blog RSS feed, so I think it now works. So if you want to follow my posts you can simply click on the subscribe to posts link. Thanks to Jennifer of Fuzzy Dragons.

Twitter

Well I have given in and just joined Twitter. I have read so many posts on the Etsy forums about how useful it can be for promotion and they keep on about it on the radio, so I have joined the masses!

I have just added a widget thing in my sidebar so you can click on it and follow me on Twitter. I am at Northern Dawn Twitter. Someone had already taken Northern Dawn, so my username is RaggraCrafts, which is name of where I live and as it is pretty different, I figured no-one else would have it, and they didn't! So I now need to work out how to work it efficiently and not just spam it or put exactly the same on it as the blog!

You may also have noticed my other Widget from Etsy. It displays the latest additions to my shop with a link to it.

Thursday Favourites - Handbags

Its Thursday again, so its also Favourites day. Today I had a look at the hundreds of categories listed on Etsy and chose Handbags. I need a new handbag, so who knows, maybe I'll be shopping at one of these shops soon:

Timberlineltd - This shop creates gorgeous handsewn bags, pillows and purses. They are created from Pendleton Mill Wools and western tapestry fabrics. The items all have a fantastic Western / American Indian feel about them and are truly gorgeous. Really quite different.

AllyBu - Handmade fabric handbags, hobos and totes. Most of the fabrics are lovely floral pieces in fantastic vivid colours. The hobo bags are lined and contain pockets so are very practical as well as pretty.

Fabrichandbags - The bags in this shop are totally up my street and this shop is very likely to have me spending some money in it! It sells fantastic Boho / Hippy style fabric slouch bags in a gorgeous mixture of bright colours. I also liked these bags as they have a zipped closure.

StudioOneDesigns - This shop sells more traditionally designed leather and suede handmade and designed bags. I fell in love with a very pretty pink suede one. This shop is based in the lower Himalayas.

Peace4you - Peace4you makes very cool bags from recycled materials such as tent canvas! They call this upcycling and have some very nice bags in their shop. Due to the nature of the materials that are 'upcycled' the bags have a practical feel to them. All the bags are handmade and definitely for you if you want something different that is also ethical.

Thursday Favourites - Polymer Clay Beads

As promised yesterday after discovering fellow sellers on Etsy had 'favourited' me I went on a search this morning for something special. After quickly realising I could quite easily spend 3 whole weeks solidly searching and always finding something different, I decided to narrow the search slightly. I decided first I would search for 'beads', as these are an essential part of my own jewellery making and great fun to look at, then I narrowed the choice down to Polymer Clay Beads. I am fascinated by Polymer Clay and it is definitely something I would love to learn how to use and I was not dissapointed today in my search - the variety of beads and jewellery produced with this medium is astounding.

So, here they are, my Five Thursday favourites:

Fimo Flora - The creations in this shop are just fantastic. All are handmade. The little characters are all very cute and very original. The choices range from elephants to peanuts and my favourite (for all those Winnie the Pooh fans) is the Heffalump. The prices are very reasonable as well. This shop is definitely one I shall be purchasing from in the future.

Jelly Beads Designs - This shop is full of handmade polymer beads in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. These include animals and characters, but also food and shapes. A lot of the beads are flatback but can also be purchased with holes and can also be glazed or left natural. They are also very reasonably priced and all beautifully photographed.

Tiny Ark - I found this shop by looking for rat beads and found some little mouse buttons instead. I liked this shop because it was a bit different, as it sells lovely, original buttons as opposed to beads. I have seen buttons used on jewellery though so felt it warranted inclusion. There are buttons of all shapes and sizes as well as animals such as some very cool bees. They are also machine washable so very useable.

Creative Spirit Too - I always thought of polymer clay being used to create beads in the shapes of animals, flowers, food etc. This fantastic shop showed me that it can also be used to create fantastic focal pendants and 'normal' round beads. The creations in this shop are just beautiful and I will definitely be shopping here for some beads to complement my knotted jewellery.

New Forest Beading - This is another seller who uses polymer create to create beads and pendants instead of objects. The pendants in this shop are highly detailed pieces in fantastic colours and would be perfect for one of a kind jewellery for someone very special.

So that's my five for today. I had great fun with this and hope anyone reading will find something useful. I have tried to find five shops that show the amazing range of things that can be done with polymer clay. Etsy is not just about buying handmade items, its also a fantiastic place to buy supplies for creating your own special pieces.

There will be five more on a different theme next Thursday.

Aqua Berry Charm Bracelet & Earrings

I have had the idea in my head for a while now to make a charm bracelet using some of the lovely round beads I purchased recently, so on Tuesday I got down to making it:

The random shaped beads are glass pressed and the rounds are 8mm and 4mm, all in various lovely shades of Aqua, Blues and White. They are all hung on silver plated head pins on an antique silver curb chain. The clasp is a bolt clasp.

This braclet is about 18cm long and is lovely and heavy when worn. It's the perfect complement to bright summer clothing or to brighten up more formal wear.

It is currently For Sale at Northern Dawn on Etsy for $24.00.

I made these Dangle Earrings using the same materials and beads as the Charm Bracelet, however have listed them separately as I don't feel they make a set, but would of course be perfect worn together.

The Earrings have four 8mm rounds in Aqua, White and two shades of Blue with twin 3 - 3.5cm tails of antique silver curb chain falling from the middle. The curb chain falls straight and neatly due to the addition of the 4mm White and Aqua beads at the ends.

The Fish Hook ear wires are stirling silver.

They are For Sale at Northern Dawn on Etsy for $19.00

Both of these pieces are perfect for Summer, a fantastic reminder of Sunny Skies and Blue Seas.

Sharing Hearts

One of the sections on Etsy is somewhere you can 'heart' favourite shops. I checked mine today for the first time for a couple of weeks and was delighted to find that three people heart me. So I thought I would say thank you publicly to those three people:

JJM Jewelry - This shop sells jewellery supplies, clasps, beads, findings as well as handmade jewellery. They also have a sale on at the moment. I will definitely have to have a good look through this shop as some of the beads look brilliant.

Blue Girl Jewelry - Hand crafted and wire wrapped Jewellery at a very reasonable price.

Sassa Lynne - This Etsy seller is another British seller and sells hand dyed yarns and threads as well as hand dyed scarves and other fiber art supplies. The items in this shop are truly unique, being created from random dye pots, so would be a perfect investment for someone making individual textile based art & crafts.

I have had a look on some of the other shops on Etsy, but will pick 5 tomorrow to add to my favourites and then 5 next week and so on...

Etsy Shop

I finally got an account set up on Etsy today. I found two other sites to sell handmade crafts, which I will also set up accounts with, Misi and Folksy. The two later ones are both UK based sites, which perhaps would be better than Etsy, which is American and has everything priced in dollars, but I thought I'd stick with Etsy as it is the bigger, better known site and has a wider, international audience. I will eventually try them all out and see which one I get on best with.

You may have also noticed that the name of the blog has changed. I had to think of a username and also a shop name for my Etsy account and spent most of yesterday afternoon inspriring myself using an online thesaurus. In the end I went for Northern Dawn. I think it sounds a bit mystical and wanted to have a sort of 'natural' sounding name. I have changed the name of the blog to fit in with this and will also eventually set up a personal website to showcase the Handmade Jewellery and other crafts, which will all go under the Northern Dawn name.

Anyway, my shop on Etsy is: Northern Dawn Jewellery.