Format for the catalogue!!

I know a few people that are interested in placing an ad want to see some kind of idea about how the ads will look - so I started thinking.

I sat down for a little while and whipped up a few formatting ideas. Keep in mind these are just ideas that I made in a few minutes, and not something you will be restricted to using. I would like to keep a nice neat look overall and I think a great way to do that is to follow some sort of format - even if things get switched around, etc.

And without further ado, here they are:







And lets not forget that you could change the background to any color or image - just try to keep it not 'busy'. Of course, everything is customizable, we will work on this together when I contact you. But this is to give an idea to everyone what I am hoping for as a 'format' for our catalogue. CLEAN.

Samantha Marie

*ALL images belong to FlipFlopFancy!!

Categories for the catalogue

So I have the categories all figured out [although if you have suggestions I'm open to them]. There are places open in all categories still, but they are filling up fast! I can't wait to get started working with you on your ad designs. I'm working on the design for the cover, and will have a few options, post a poll, and we will all decide on which is best, and make any changes then.

Here are the categories:

Clothing
Fresh Ideas
Toys
Diaper
Bathing
Nursery
Breastfeeding
Carriers
PUSH gifts
Sibling gifts

And there is one more spot for another category, I was thinking GREEN, but what do you all think?

!!!Contest!!!

Win a $10 gift certificate to TeacupElephant's shop! You will get one entry for each thing you do and comment about. [Don't forget to leave your email in each comment]

Here are the ways to enter:

1] Pick and post a favourite item either from TeacupElephant's shop or my shop [or both for two entries].
2] Follow my blog.
3] Buy something from either store and post trans number.
4] Post this Contest on your blog and comment the link.

The contest begins tomorrow, Tuesday the 17th, and ends April the 1st. Winner will be notified by email on April the 3rd.

A Catalogue for baby items!!

I want to create a catalog of 'handmade' sellers who sell newborn, baby, child, mother, parent items. I am willing to design/and have printed/distribute the catalog. See the forum on this topic.

A 2 x 8 inch ad in this catalogue would be $25. That might seem like a lot at first glance, but this catalogue will be printed 2000 times, distributed all over the place and reach potentially tens of thousands of customers in your 'market'. Each catalogue printed would cost you a measly .0125 cent!! There will be, at MOST 100 shops included in this catalogue, which means you won't get lost in a big jumble of items. There will also be 'categories' such as Clothing, Toys, Nursery, and so forth, and even one for GREEN items and PUSH gifts.

I think birth centers would be an outstanding place for handmade goods (the clientele tends to lean towards natural/handmade goods). Birth centers themselves are always busy, and copies of a catalog in their small waiting rooms would be thumbed through regularly.

The catalogues would also be placed in many OB's offices, hospitals, waiting rooms, etc. that would be focused on these types of products.

Why do I want to do this? It's certainly not because I stand to profit from it. I want to promote handmade. I want to promote Natural and Green. I don't want to de-mote commercial and mass made products.

So, now what? Let me know if you're interested. Ask me any questions you may have.

It will be printed full color throughout and be very professional.


SCHEDULE:

Currently looking for participants.

I am approx 3 months to be published and distributed.

I am currently taking names, numbers, info, ect, for interested parties.

In a few weeks I will be contacting and working with those shops to create there ideal ad [content, pic size, category] within their ad space.

In a few more weeks I will publish the catalogue - and send it to those who wish to have their own copy [for about 3 dollars shipping] and then start distributing copies around. [I will be constantly working on where to distribute from the beginning - er I have already started the beginning so from when I started]

And then I will try and keep track of where they are and keep everyone updated.

Create Daily!

Okay, so I've been trying to get motivated to make stuff again. And for the most part, I have succeeded. I make stuff - sometimes. Today I made one arm/leg for my octopus. So that was technically creating something.

However, what I really want to do is make one item a day and list it for sale. So in order to convince myself to do this, I will pledge to you, my faithful followers - to create something everyday.

This way, if I don't feel like making something or am just being lazy, I can tell myself I have people counting on me - my pledge!! So then I will make something. Hahaha. Or so I hope.

Tomorrow expect a post about my new creation!!

<3
Samantha Marie

I'm all around the web!

Have you searched your name before? Well, I just searched my shop name to see what others were saying about me, and I found some interesting things about my baby doll coat rack...


Yeah, that one. I was featured on WebUrbanist.com's 18 Creative Modern Hat and Coat Rack Designs! That is a major boost in my book! So thank you very much!

I was also a mention on stumbleupon.com. Not a huge feat, considering there is only one comment, but still really cool to be out there.

One more place I found to be hilarious was someone's blog post about it. They refered to my piece as something you would see in PeeWee's Playhouse, or something you would see in a killers house. Umm, okay?

I guess not everyone sees the humor in my rack.

So what I'm saying is that you should search the web to see what people have to say about you, your product, shop, ect. Because in the end, if you are trying to sell things, people do matter... just not everyone.

<3
Samantha Marie

Environmentally Friendly Bags and Envelopes

100% recycled materials, these small 2" x 4" bags open up to around 1" thick. You get 30 for ten bucks! It's a good deal, eco friendly, promo tool, a bag, an envelope.... all in one!

These big version bags are 4" x 6" and open up to around 2" wide. These are 20 for ten. They are also 100% recycled materials!

Check out my etsy site for a whole round of new items!! And as always, thank you for your time!!

Samantha Hughes

The Well Dressed Bastard

I don't know if you guys can tell from this pic, but this is a hoodie!! Its called the well dressed bastard. I am in love with it! I am thinking about trying to make it for someone I know, and if I do I shall post pictures. Here is the link for this: http://forum.threadbanger.com/showthread.php?t=8329

So, I have been working on a few things here and there, but mostly haven't posted anything on etsy yet. I shall be doing that sometime soon. There is a new bracelet, a wonderful huge butterfly mobile, a new pretty heart 'dive in' necklace, and a giraffe necklace pendant. Its going to be a good posting time. :P

For now,

Samantha Hughes

76 hearts in about 2.5 months! I'd say thats pretty good! And, I know some people post to get more hearts, like free gift to the 100th hearter.... but honestly, wheres the point in that? I want all my hearts to be from people who LOVE my shop, or at least a few items in it. Since I have never, and will never advertise my hearts to anyone, only people who truly like my stuff will have hearted me. At least thats the hope.

In other, similar news, I have just made my 11th sale!! Which helped me pay off my 'start-up' costs for this Etsy adventure. Really, just listing all the items that I wanted added up a lot faster than I thought! I have learned that I should not list one listing with multiple items for sale in it. IE my tags with 10 sets listed... baaaaddd Idea!

Now I get to relist those soon so people will actually see them. Although, I would love to be able to organize my shop, so people see the things I want them to see, and not the things I [still want them to see] but not first. I want the things at the top of my list to be the things that I believe BEST reflect my store, so people will be more likely to look around further.

Okay, enough of the ranting. I now have three orders in the works, about 50 pages of reading to do, donation of plasma, class,... so things will be started around 5:30, depending on if my daughter naps then. But I promise to start them today, I will, I will, i will. :P

TREASURY!!

Etsy Treasury - Not purple!

I made myself a treasury this time around! Whoo! Exciting! I've made it about violet items... when I was in grade school, my art teacher, Mrs. Inabinet [In a cabinet, she always said] used to say that there wasn't purple in the world, just violet. She has inspired me many times and I think of her often. So this one's for you. :)

I was thinking, and what a great idea for my new treasury 'line'. Whenever I get a treasury, I will post "Not [some color]" and then use a different name for the color in my search to find the items I post in my treasury! I have a fancy that my next treasury will be NOT pink! And I will use fuschia instead. And I also have a hankering that a few of the pop rings I posted earlier will be in that treasury!!

So here it is... if you have any pink items labeled as PINK... also label them as fuschia if you want me to find them!! Also, you could leave me comments with your ideas and/or your fuschia items you would LOVE to see in treasury!!!

Oh, and PS, I couldn't get the whole thing on my screen for a nice screen shot, so a few names got cut off. I'll list them when I get more time. :P

Samantha