Hello! Let's start chatting!

[sewmuchfrippery]

'Bopa' here under another guise.
Thought I'd get a general chat thread rolling ... while we wait for the 'big chop'.
Shall we get our knitting needles out - like the women who surrounded the guillotine?! (seems very etsyesque!)

[artizen]

Hi Im joining now.. my pc crashed and I should be filing my tax return online.....teach me to leave it till last minute..Im at the Library now trying to catch up so thought I would post so I can find this agin in a few days when Im back in circulation!

[CariadClay]

Hello all
it's a lovely sunny sunday here :)

off to the bay for a walk around soon :)

also have made this treasury
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d4551a1f9736d91ca66ccd4/the-last-gunslinger

enjoy x

[sewmuchfrippery]

Helo bawb! Haia everyone!
Lovely day here too. Nice day for painting Teabreaks!
Still busy working on the tax returns (hubby's are done - mine still to go!). It will be easier next year, now that I have worked out what I'm supposed to be doing!

Sorry to hear about your mishap artizen. I hope you have managed to get your returns completed too.

Keep us posted Molli on news of the new arrival!

As for shawls, I'm not a great lover of fringes myself. However, if you are making something in the style of the 60s or 70s it's almost mandatory! I suppose it all depends on the style of the shawl really - what 'works' best.

Hope you're well Morag - and feeling 'upbeat'. Difficult I know when your future is uncertain. I think you need to perhaps speak to someone at the Job Centre about your options and 'do the maths'. Personally, despite the risks, I feel that self-employment is much more fulfilling than some dead end job where you're treated with indifference. That's my feeling anyway! And it may be possible to again combine self-employment with some sort of part-time job that you will enjoy. Keep your eyes peeled for something suitable. I do believe that when one door shuts another usually opens.

Back to the tax! With a bit of luck I can actually start listing some stuff again tomorrow.

[Former_Member]

Hiya.. hope you all got my thank yous on the last bit of the forum.. but just in case thank you again for all your time spent on giving me advise xx.. been painting and trying to fill up my shop.. here is one of my new listings.. http://www.etsy.com/listing/67038545/original-painting-so-much-love

[Former_Member]

CariadClay love your treasury nice warm colours great collection!

[Former_Member]

sewmuchfrippery doing my normal dyslexic jumping about i am dyslexic so can be rude about me,, lOL anyhow thanks read your wee bit after I had posted the other two.. Ill just have an entire page all to me eh!!! thanks for caring.. Iv got a few meetings with my boss they are looking at seeing if I am keeping an evening class.. someone else asked if I would take some workshops.. so if I can get 5 classes a week in bits and bobs Id be ok.. just need a healthy dose of confidence now.. ;-/

[Former_Member]

Morag - your new painting is lovely. You have every reason to be up there with your confidence high. The trick when teaching - especially adults - is to keep a chapter/subject ahead of them. Remember that you almost certainly know more than you think you do - act and speak with authority. You are the expert.

I hope artizen and Sewmuch that you get your tax finished.

Apparently etsy have pushed the lady? from Ivory Coast out of etsy. Scam.

Thanks for the view on fringes Sewmuch. My daughter doesn't like them either - I suspect they may be a bit dated. I finished my new black shawl without one. I'm calling it my Australian Open shawl - partly because that's when I made it (while watching the tennis) and partly 'cos of the colour!

The colours on your new treasury are lovely Cariad - very calm and elegant.

8 more cookies on my system this morning - I'm keeping a close record of everything I look at online.

Goin to look at email and then watch Larkrise and Arctic, so I'll say nos da.

[Former_Member]

Ok I need to learn some Welsh is nos da .. goodnight?
Thanks re shop been painting a lot this weekend.Yes well teaching I have lots of confidence with for some strange reason.. I teach adult education and also I work for a charity and mostly I work with dementia and I love that its very rewarding. With College I do prep its part of my job.. Iv 7 hrs teaching tomorrow so have a lot to sort for Mondays and I teach until 9pm.. loosing my job in the summer at end of contract then.. Think its going self employed that scares me... been there before and its very scary...

[CariadClay]

Hello all :)

Thanks for the treasury comments :) x

Morag, love the new picture :)

[Former_Member]

Nos da = goodnight.
Bore da = good morning.
Diolch = thank you.

Good luck.

Just listed a new shawl - www.etsy.com/listing/67108522/crochet-black-triangle-shawl-wrap

Calling it my Australian Open shawl - for fairly obvious reasons.

Lots of other work to do - I'll pop in later.

[CariadClay]

Lovely Shawl Molly :)

I wanted to let you all know there is going to be a Craft Britannia BNR all this weekend :)
it is a great place to meet other sellers/buyers, get your shop noticed and maybe get some sales :)
ask Molii :)

I'll post a link when it opens :)

[Former_Member]

Hi all, haven't been able to get on Etsy this last month but hope to catch up with everyone.

[Former_Member]

I'll keep an eye open for it Cariad.

I sold my first (and so far only) sale from a CraftBritannia BNR.

I'll try joining this one and see what happens.

Must get to work - I have lots of ideas for crochet necklaces.

[Former_Member]

Cariad - thanks for your kind comment.

[Former_Member]

CariadClay thank you!

MolliMade Thank you Diolch.. must of heard this and other welsh being spoken in my young ears but I was only 4 when we left Wales so Im afraid I didnt learn any... good luck with all the work...



Used to live in Holyhead..

[teabreaks]

Morning everyone...a very wet South Wales this morning and we are in the clouds...can't see a thing outside.....still, it is better than snow...so I am not complaining.
I am still struggling with find my way aroung these new teams...not sure what to do other than to chat on here and list new items.....still haven't a clue about what a BNR is or how to do treasuries etc...sigh...all too technical for an oldie like me...lol...
Have a nice day everyone...one day nearer to Spring!

[sewmuchfrippery]

Helo bawb! Hi all!

Managed to get my tax return done - I think it's correct though I do get a bit confused about where all the expenses are supposed to be listed! Should be easier next year.

Hi acacia - good to see you - hope you're well.

Lovely shawl Molli. Another nice treasury Cariad - I left a comment. How's the blogging going. Morag started a 'Discussion' for blogs so it may be worth pastin a link there.

I have also started a 'Discussion' where we can introduce ourselves ('New Memebrs'). It would be worth you all posting something there - just in case any 'lurkers' are intrigued as to who we all are.

I have been wondering whether to add two more topics to the 'Discussions' - one for listing treasuries we've created and one for treasuries we appear in. Also perhaps one for 'Promotions' (e.g. BNR treasuries or sales we're having). It would make it easier to keep track of topics. What do you think?

I'm hoping to catch up with some listing this week. Ideal weather today for taking photos.

I'm not really sure what you can do to promote your work more on etsy Teabreaks. I tend to renew a lot but it gets expensive. It does bring in views and sales but you need to leave sufficient margin in your pricing to allow for lots of renewals. Other than renewing, I'm not really sure what other options there are that work. The showcases are a waste of time - though etsy are supposed to be replacing them with something else soon - something that may give you a 'bigger bang for your buck' as they say in the US! You could also try the BNR treasuries - I'm sure cariad or acacia could advise you on that.

Off now to blow the cobwebs off some of my stuff!

[Former_Member]

Hi all
Iv been working hard on some new work and trying to vary prices a bit without hurting myself , just doing some less detailed work for less and more detailed work for more!
Please let me know what you think.. also Iv tried listing at 5pm today to see if it makes any difference to views..
http://www.etsy.com/shop/MoragLloyds

[sewmuchfrippery]

Hi Morag.
Fingers crossed with the part-time teaching. Hopefully it will work out.

I think it's a good idea to have a variety of price points in your shop. It may even be worth thinking about greetings cards/prints/packs of postcards etc.

I have also left a comment on the other discussion thread re. best times to list - though I don't know how much help it's likely to be!

I'm hoping to get a bit of listing done myself tonight after a couple of weeks with nothing new. I also quite fancy trying my hands at a treasury - though I'm more in need of revenue from sales at the moment!

Hope everyone's well - and that all of you who have been wrestling with tax returns managed to get them done!

[Former_Member]

sewmuchfrippery Yes have replied thanks for the advise.. yes Ill just keep adding and trying new things added fish today for a change.. ;-)
Might get some prints done later or .. mirrors I thought would be nice.. but done want to spend out any thing at the moment.. had thought of doing my bigger work too, just for variety..

[sewmuchfrippery]

Hi Morag:
One further thought re. postcards: Vistaprint do special offers on postcards from time to time. They also have days when they are offered 'Free' - though they usually charge you for postage and try to persuade you to also purchase 'the world and his mother' during the check out process (which is how they try to recoup the cost!). I have bought some on several occasions over the years - and the quality isn't too bad at all considering they are free. You can also upload your own images. Something to bear in mind for your art work. If you're not happy with the quality, you could always use them as business compliment cards (I got my etsy shop url printed on mine). Let me know if you're interested and I can run through some of the pitfalls with you first (there are several with Vistaprint - I have learned through trial and error!)

[teabreaks]

I have vistaprint business cards...the free ones with the standard tree pattern on them
I also tend to print off a few paintings then type my details on another piece of paper. place them back to back and laminate them for other business cards.
Damp outside this morning but far better than the snow that they are getting in the US...they can keep it...lol...
Hope you are all selling well.....my sales on etsy are not good lately...nor on ebay.
Folksy is better for me at the moment...but I am hoping to promote etsy more and see if I can improve the situation !!

[Former_Member]

Sorry I've been a bit awol, I'm finding it hard to keep up with everything at the moment.

Molli, that's a gorgeous shawl

Teabreaks, a good idea about laminating your paintings ;)

I listed a new Welsh Goddess pendant today :)
http://www.etsy.com/listing/67262783

[Former_Member]

That reminds me Teabreaks - I really must get a Folksy shop up and running. When I went there to register a couple of weeks ago it didn't look as easy as etsy so I didn't take it any further.

BNR means Buy'N'Replace. It is a treasury sale. There are the usual 16 people in the treasury - who will have booked in to the BNR from their team thread - and assuming you are not one of them you buy something from one of the shops with an item listed - it doesn't have to be the item listed, it can be something else. When you do that, the people who are running the BNR replace the item you bought with something from your shop - they choose what it is although you can send them a message if you don't like what they've chosen.

CraftBritannia have a BNR going next weekend - look at it and follow the thread underneath and you'll see how it works. I made my one and only (so far I hope) sale through a BNR. Some people love them and some hate them.

If you want to join CraftBritannia Cariad is the current leader. It's a very active group and they have lots of ideas for promoting your shop. Trouble is, they all seem to understand the technology better than me and because there's lots of them I get totally out of touch on the chat threads. They're worth joining though.