Rainy Monday

I love rainy mornings!  There is something cozy about it!

Since I can't photograph shop stuff, I thought I'd show you a few of my favorite Etsy items!

Wedding favors

 As you may know, I love pinterest!  When my daughter Lindsey announced her engagement, I started a wedding board for her!  Even though she was married this past June, I still add pins to this board!

I love this pretty Etsy shop, especially the name of the shop:  MyDarlingHeart!

Beautiful Photography

 I am constantly attempting to improve on my photography, so I really appreciate talented photographers!  I love this shop!  Be sure to check it out!

So pretty!

Back to the wedding theme~!  I love this idea for a gift for the bridesmaids!  These would also be great gifts for any lady, bridesmaid or not!

Happy Etsy shopping!

Jen

Good and Bad News

Blue Willow Dinner Plates

The good news:  Adam from the Etsy Press convo'd me from my china shop!  He wanted me to overnight these pretty Blue Willow dinner plates, because they had a chance of being featured in the Rachael Ray magazine!  

The bad news:  I was in Cocoa Beach, Florida, at the time, and would not be able to ship them until the following week.  According to Adam, that would not work, the photo shoot would be happening before that time.

I was partying with this guy while opportunity was knocking

So there you go!  That's what I get for going on vacation!  But my life attitude is things are what they are! You change what you can, and the things you can't change, you can't change and you move on!  

I have been lucky enough to be contacted by Adam on a few other occasions, and they worked out, so hopefully there will be another opportunity soon!

By the way, when my daughter Katherine was taking the photo of me with the statue, these cute ladies went by and said "take his leaf off!".

Happy Wednesday!

Jen

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

Katherine and the Mayberry Pickers

I try to have fun wherever I go!  We just returned from our annual August trip to Cocoa Beach!

I will blog more about other adventures soon, but I thought I'd do a quick blog about one of our stops at a West Virginia rest stop!  

That's me gettin' down with the Mayberry Pickers!

 That poor guy on the right is wondering why they let me join them!  When Katherine and I first saw them, my first reaction was, I have to get a picture of this!  Katherine was a bit worried that they wouldn't like that, so I plopped some cash in one of their cases (others had done the same), and asked them if it was alright if I got a picture of them.

It was more than alright, they invited Katherine to join them, and then even let the old broad (moi) try it out!

What a nice group of people, and great music too!!

Smile!

Jen

Beautiful Table Setting

Love this table setting!

I love it when my customers send me a picture of what they've done with something they've purchased from me!

Donna had purchased vintage Royal Quban floral bread and butter plates from   my china shop (you can see one of them on the right).  

I love the gorgeous flower centerpieces!  I also loved that she has an eclectic mix of vintage china and the layer of plates/chargers!

Truly inspiring! Thanks Donna!

Jen

My First Car Show!

Love this yellow car!

 

 

I just went to my first car show!  I don't know much about old cars.  What I do know is I love certain colors and styles.

Cool blue car!

 I did see some cute Studebakers and Thunderbirds, oh, and a cute old corvette!

This was my favorite!

 I loved the shade of blue on this old car!  That's the owner of the car in the picture.  He said he wouldn't have bought this car if it was black, because it would look like a hearse!  I think he said this was  1941 car.

Vroom Vroom!!

I need this car!

 

 

They just don't make them like they used to!

 I'm so glad I finally went to a car show!  This was a pretty small one, so hopefully I'll find a larger one to check out soon, and maybe I'll actually remember the names of the cars!

I want to find one with old trucks.  My friend Laura has the cutest one for her twitter avatar!

Happy weekend!

Jen

My Fancy Photography Studio

I'm sure you've all been wondering where I've been, since I haven't posted since July 4th!  You missed me, right!? :)

My fancy photography studio 

 I thought I'd share my lovely photography studio with you!  Yep, this little spot is where I take most of my pictures for my Etsy shop stuff!

The best place for good natural lighting

 I first lay a piece of wood down and then my poster board.  We bought the cute wainscoting board at Home Depot.  

I also used to use a light box that my daughter Lindsey made for me (for jewelry), but I've found it works just as well to use my fancy photography studio!

My daughter Katherine even used it to photography her yummy salad and blondies she made (from white beans!).

Oh, and my camera is a cheap but perfect Canon Powershot!

Since starting my Etsy shops, I've developed a real love of photography!  I still have quite a ways to go to be totally happy with my pictures, but it's coming along!

Jen 

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July!

 

 

I hope everyone has a safe and fun 4th of July!  I'll be watching fireworks safe and sound at home, on tv (yes I'm kind of boring!)!

Boom!

 

 Never was too crazy about the crowds~!  Especially crowds of people that are blowing off fireworks!

Proudly wave your flag!

 

 

 Westlake has a nice parade on the 4th of July, which should be traveling passed (it's not past right?) our house later this morning!  That's when the city brings out their finest service trucks!

Enjoy your holiday!

Jen

Featured Etsy Shop - Quotation Marks

Quotation Marks

This unique Etsy shop is called Quotation Marks!  The shop owner is Farrell, and she makes the prettiest scarves!

Little Darling

 Here comes the sun!  This bright and cheery scarf in inspired by the Beatles song!

Do Not Worry

 Wrap yourself in comforting works...do not worry!

Farrell says "we think everyone should surround themselves with their favorite words the way you'd surround yourself with close friends.  Our number one goal is to provide you with your new favorite quote on your new favorite accessory."

Be sure to check out this wonderful Etsy shop!  I'm sure you will find something special for you or a friend!  Oh, and Farrell can create custom orders too!

Happy shoppping!

Jen

Lucky Number 3000!

Vintage Jewelry

The countdown to 3,000 sales in my 1st Etsy shop, Jenscloset !

As of today, I have 2,998 sales!  I've learned so much since I started this shop back in 2008!

My china shop

I've learned the "art of packing" fragile items.  Speaking of shipping, that has definitely been my biggest challenge!  I have an official USPS scale that I weigh my items on.  I add a box with some packing material inside to simulate the actually weight when the item is packed.  I add almost another pound to that weight, and use my USPS chart for the cost, using the farthest zone.  I always refund if shipping is less (minus a small fee for packing material).

My Milk Glass Shop

Another big challenge is storage!  My husband Bob is constantly putting up more shelves for me, and my house looks more like a warehouse than a home!  I am not proud of that, but that's the way it is!  I would love to have a separate storage facility for all of my shop items.

With such large inventory, it sometimes is a hunt to find a sold item!  One of my methods is a spreadsheet/box method.  I add the item to a numbered box, and at the end of the listing, add that number, and also enter it into a spreadsheet.

Pink Pyrex

I also know that summer sales can be a bit slow, so I must be patient and not get discouraged!

Jen

Featured Etsy Shop

Aquamarine Necklace

I'm so excited to introduce a beautiful Etsy shop and the owner, Jasmaree Lisa, all the way from New Zealand!

Orange Calcited Necklace

Jasmaree Lisa loves living in New Zealand, a place she describes as "natural and down to earth"!  She recently finished studying graphic design and hopes to use her design skills.

Cute notebooks too!

Jasmaree Lisa considers herself to be a spiritual person, and if you check out her product descriptions, you will get a sense of that!  For an example, her Citrine Necklace description:  "the citrine properties that are most well known are its value for aiding manifestation of prosperity, particularly if you combine it with the power of affirmations" (love that)!

Clear Quart Necklace

She loves laughing (me too)!  Her passion is crafting!  I love that she says she enjoys bike riding and that bikes should replace cars, because the world needs to slow down a little, and I totally agree with that!

I would love to meet Jasmaree Lisa in person some day, she sounds like such a lovely person!

Please be sure to check out her shop at DreamDazeDesignz

Enjoy!!  I will have a new featured shop up by next week.  Let me know if you would like your shop featured!

Jen