On the Martha Stewart Show

MARTHA AND ME!

Presenting the Martha Stewart Show!

I was fortunte enough to be a part of the Martha Stewart Show this past Thursday. Her "Egg Show" presented recipes, egg dying tips, and how to etch eggs! Martha and I both etched a three daisy design on brown and blue eggs!

Please watch the video and check out he link to the list of directions for egg etching on your own as well as my shop link!

I will be updating with more articles on egg etching and the like.

Easter is only a week away!

Thank you for all the well wishes and support while this was in progress. I feel truly blessed. The excitement is still overwhelming! I hope you enjoy the video!

Here is a treasury that made it onto February 26's Midnight spot!

I am so happy and honored to make it into my second ever front page!!!

Thanks for looking!

Spring Giveaway Challenge!!

It's time for a Spring Giveaway!!! I will be giving the lucky winner a scratched egg from my shop! The egg will be floral, and the color will be chosen by the winner. The winner will receive a gift box and wooden stand for the prize egg!

How to gain entries:
** You can enter in an unlimited amount of times!!! **
Here's your options:

1. If you are not yet following my blog, follow my and comment on this post that you are a new follower.
2. Post this blog post on your facebook and put in a separate comment in the post with the link.
3. Tweet this blog post on your Twitter and put in a separate comment in the post with the tweet link.
4. ALSO if you send someone who follows the blog and they put in their comment your name that you sent them, you will get an additional entry.

LET'S MAKE THIS INTERESTING!!

If I get over 50 followers, I will upgrade the egg to a goose egg with flowers all over it.... in sugar plum!

Let the games begin!!!!

This giveaway will last one week! I will post the winner after the week is up.

Crazy Busy!! Craft Show #1 Tomorrow

Most of you know already, but in case you didn't, tomorrow is my first of three craft shows this month! Each show will get larger and larger. Tomorrow's craft show has 20 vendors. Next week's has 30 and the final week's show has over 50 vendors selling crafts!

All these shows will be Spring themed. I hope my eggs will be well received at each show. I worry about being prepared and making enough sales to not be disappointed with the time I put in on preparation.

I have three different kinds of eggs for this show. First, I have the traditional scratched eggs you have seen on here countless times. Also, I have wax "drop and pull" eggs made by my mother. Finally, I have a new technique. Eggs dyed with a plant or flower pressed against the shell. The effect is that on a pressed look with surrounding color. I will post photos of them soon. In addition, I have cards and earrings to sell.

The cards I hope to make a big hit with. I have 24 now, maybe 30 before the day is over. Earrings did not do so well last show, but I am confident I will have some interested buyers tomorrow. Rob made several pairs of earrings, and he does a much better job than me. :)

My main concern about the craft show is not having enough items, but rather, having everything I need. For example, I do not have my containers organized yet. As a result I do not have all my price signs together. The ribbon and scissors are missing and the wire for making cards into ornaments is not where it should be.

It is all a matter of gathering together. I am a good gatherer, but I also want to craft a few last minute items tonight. Looks like I will have to "hire" Rob to do some gathering work for me. I'll have to pay him in quiche... though he made all the quiche :P

Wish me luck tomorrow! I'll be sure to update! Hopefully with pictures! Oh... better remember the camera!

My Name is Christine and I Have a Problem...

A craft supply problem that is...

Last week I took pictures of my egg crafting area. It may not be state of the art, but I think it looks respectable. I decided to take pictures of my second crafting area for fun. This turned out to be a disaster! I found it impossible to clean up!

Why may you ask?

I have a craft supply addiction. I get a paycheck, and within 24 hours I am begging to go to a Michael's Craft Store... Thankfully I do not have a car, and I rely on my boyfriend who refuses to take me most of the time.

However, when I do make it to a craft store, it is impossible for me to leave without making a purchase. I look for great buys and sales. Every time I find some unbelievable sale, at least in my head. Even though I try to use the items I buy, my craft area continues to expand.

See for yourself...
Pretty bad right? In my defense, this is not all my fault. No... It's my mother's. She reads my posts, and I feel it is important to point the blame on her.

My mother is a crafter herself. She has a much larger area dedicated to her projects. She was and is involved with so many projects and organizations where her projects are useful. However, her involvement cause myself and my sisters to be very creative. In addition, we had unlimited items for crafting as kids. It is only natural to expand from that starting point.

So mom, this is ALL YOUR FAULT! (but I'm glad, because it's a lot of fun)

I normally clean this entire area so she never sees the crafting area in full force. This will be her first time seeing it. And I guarantee a phone call from her tonight. Oh well, it was worth it.

Want a close up?

Since I am placing blame today. I blame my eldest sister Mary as well. She crafts gorgeous items (CHECK HER OUT)

Why is she also to blame? She and I give each other items we think the other would enjoy. However, she also gives me stuff she may have too much of. I LOVE IT!!! And she has great taste! But, you see the pictures... I have a problem :P :P
What to d, what to do. I think I will go shopping if I have a successful craft show and see what is on sale. **NOTE** MOM... this does not mean I don't need craft supplies.... i totally do!!! :P LOVE YOU!

Here is a new card just made in this mess of a craft area!

I am so lucky to have a creative and sensational mother and sister. Both have helped me with building this madness. But most importantly, they helped me to have fun crafting and creating. Whenever I get a little bit of ribbon or paper in a care package from my mom I am overjoyed! The possibilities of what I could make on a card makes so happy and ready to dive in.

Though I am a student first, having this unorganized sanctuary has helped me not hate the boring and tedious of law school.

Anyone else have a messy area and too much stuff to craft with.... but wouldn't want it any other way?

Treasuries Made by the Hectic Team!

Treasuries are becoming more and more important on Etsy. They are now one of the most used marketing tools. A curator picks items from favorite shops, team members, or items that conform to a preconceived theme in the curator's head. The items are arranged and given a title.

After completing a treasury, the curator as well as the seller whose items were picked, try to show off the treasury. You may have seen people advertise treasuries on Facebook, blogs, Twitter, and the like.

Today I am showing of treasuries made this week by the Helping the Hectic Etsy Team! Members have either made treasuries only featuring items from team members shops, or made treasuries for fun with a specific theme!

Here are a few:

Materials of Spring
Spring Fever
Relaxing in a Hectic World
Friendly Critters
Semper Eadem

Hope you enjoy these great little numbers! Please click around and comment!

Also consider joining the Helping the Hectic Team. There are no harsh requirements. Instead, we are a group of people who love Etsy but are also busy with school, work, life, and the like.

A major goal is to help one another with questions. No one is too new of a seller or too seasoned to be part of this team. And above all, no one is too busy! You will not get kicked out for not participating is weekly challenges.

New Eggs and Big Ideas

Easter is coming quicker and quicker. Any egg crafter will tell you that the preparation for Easter is harder and stranger than any other holiday. Most people are excited for the coming of Spring and the end of the hectic Christmas season. Several crafters are settling into an easy paced routine but most are not over exerting themselves.

Not the egg crafter! This is our Christmas! Now is the time for new colors, new designs, different techniques, and producing many many eggs! Now is the high productivity mode where one design should be made in several colors and it couldn't hurt to make the design in the same color a few times as well.

I and so many of egg crafters are busy bees right now, balancing life, the coming of spring, lets not forget Spring Cleaning, and the constant production of Easter eggs.

I have been working on some new colors and designs lately. I hope to break out some "Golden Wheat" eggs today (I took the day day of to study for an exam, clean, and etch several eggs!) and then a new color, perhaps "Mushroom."

Here are some of my newly added creations:

This is my M.C. Escher egg! The fishes fit together up and down just like one of M.C. Escher's works of art. I have a lot of fun making this egg, and it always seems to go on a duck egg better than a smaller chicken egg.









This is my geometric egg I made up while at a show. I hope to make it in blue and purple before the Easter season flies by.




Now that I feel the need to make new designs for my shop I am not sure what designs would be best received. I find so many people like flowers, but the traditional designs also draw a steady crowd.

I wonder if people would want to see more modern designs like dog faces, scenes, and other more modern designs that are rarely seen on egg art.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a new design? A new color? Maybe you would want to see a different flower, like a hyacinth or Bleeding Hearts. I appreciate all comments and feedback to help me branch out more and more during this Spring Easter preparation!

As always, thanks for reading!

New Photo Layout - Spring Brights!

Now that its time to work on Spring listings I decided to work on my photos for eggs. I needed something lighter than my past pictures that have a lot of black and white in them. Instead, I though it would be great to incorporate the Shabby Chic element of a dusty white. I used white birds and a glass jar of different eggs:

What do you think? I tried my best not to lose the egg in the busier background. Any suggestions to make this better?

The Key to BRIGHT Photos:

I realize how difficult it is to not only change up your current photo style for Etsy listings, but also to change it in a way that benefits you most for the current season. Take my attempts to brighten my photos for Spring... Now that the dark reds and rich greens of Christmas are slowing ceasing, it is time to embrace the lighter more pastel colors of Spring.

One way to do this is to all white and light to your photos. I added shabby chic birds and the light colors of eggs to my photos. I also took the photos only when a lot of light is shining through my window. In addition, I used a sprig og berries to add some dimension, color contrast, and a feel of Spring to the layout.

It took me several tries but I was satisfied with this final product. Even darker eggs pop well with this bright surrounding theme:


In the end, I think this is an effective theme, that is versatile for many shops.

In the end:

Keep it light
Keep it bright
Keep it simple!

Thought of the Week #1

And it's time once again to get moving with something. Spring seems far away, but it right around the corner in the salesman's head.

Now that 2011 has come, snowflakes and icicles are a thing of the past even though it is still freezing outside. The thought of little chicks, pastel, bunnies, and the beginning of new life floods my head.

Today's Thought of the Week

1. Start earlier than you think.

Now is the time to start posting for Valentine's Day and Easter! People want to look at items and mull over ideas in their head before purchasing. You will lose business thinking it is okay to post in a couple weeks. People have a hard time making quick decisions when it comes to internet purchases. They think, "Do I really like it? Or am I buying it just to buy something?" "Will I receive it in time?" "Maybe I'd like it more if I could customize it a little."

All these issues cause shoppers to second guess and you... lose the sale! Posting items now allow people to think about your item, question you, ask for a small change, or even ask you to make more if you have only one of an item and someone needs more. I found early postings allow for parents who want one for each child to contact me in time to make that request.

The sooner you list the better chances you have! Also if items sell you have the opportunity to relist them. Who knows, you may have the next best thing in your shop and EVERYONE wants it! Wouldn't it be great to have it out on the market longer?

So today's moral is to list earlier than you think. You have to think about the way you and the majority of people shop online, and time os of the essence!

Easter is Coming!!! New Poll!!

The eggnog drunk, presents ripped open, and Christmas cookies reaching their end, it is time to focus on the next big season.... SPRING!

While the weather thinks about warming up, I am getting ready to thaw out my egg shop, making it brighter and greener! With new pictures, new colors, and new designs, Etched Easter eggs will be ready for people to buy to give to loved ones as Spring takes the limelight.

New colors for the shop will be Raspberry, Plum, Dark Forest, Pink, Patina, and so much more.

What colors would you like to see in my shop?? What egg colors would be more interesting for you?

I hope to have more pastel colors in the shop as well as a lighter, whiter background combination. Feedback from followers would be greatly appreciated!