~Happy Summer~

The first day of summer is right around the corner, June 21st to be exact.  How ironic…June 21st is also Father’s Day!  What is your favorite thing about the summer season?  What is summer like where you live?

Here in Western Washington summer has been slow approaching.  We have had some nice hot weather in these past few weeks but definitely not enough to say summer is really here.  Today is pretty overcast and a low 60 degrees…a little too cold for shorts! 

My Top 10 Summer Favorites:

1. BBQ’ing – nothing is better than grilling outside, less mess in the kitchen!

2. Relaxing in the sun – catching rays and reading a book, heaven!

3. Wearing flip flops – gotta love no socks, and pretty pedicures

4. Opening windows – letting fresh air in to the house, smells clean

5. Taking the kitties outside – they are indoor and only go out with supervision

6. Planting flowers – even though I have a small patio I make the best of it

7. Longer days – love when the sun stays out longer, no short winter days here!

8. Feeding hummingbirds – I love watching the hummingbirds swarm the feeder

9. 4th of July – who doesn’t like fireworks?

10.  Taking it outside – bike riding, walking, and playing in the sun

I’ve learned that living in Washington you have to take in every ray of sun you can.  Sun would be nice year round however having 4 seasons is even better. 

To celebrate Summer I made a set of Summer greeting cards.  To purchase these cards from my Artfire shop please click HERE.

Happy Summer everyone!

~Welcome Spring Chickens!~

Even though Spring is officially here it sure doesn’t feel like it here in the great Northwest!  Hopefully the warm weather will be here soon but if not I always have my upcoming Kauai trip in May to look forward to. :)

To celebrate the official arrival of Spring I am dedicating this post to some very talented artists on Artfire.com.  The theme for my post is “Spring Chicks”.  All the items feature chicks! 

This adorable Easter Baby Chicken and Word Blocks Spring Home Decoration is perfect to give as a gift or to keep for yourself.  You can find this baby chicken in Sawdusted’s Artfire shop. 

Are you a crafty person yourself and looking for an awesome and unique Easter sewing project?  Check out this Easter Basket Felt Pattern from LittleCricket’s shop.  Not only is this Easter Basket filled with fat free goodies but will keep year after year.  Please note this listing is for a PDF pattern.

Does your kitchen need a spring touch?  Decorate with this fantastic Yellow Crocheted Chicken Potholder from ArtLoCraft’s shop.     

HAPPY

SPRING!

~February EtsyBlogger of The Month: Donna Pool~

Congrats to Donna Pool who is the featured Etsy Blogger of the month for February!

To visit Donna’s shop click HERE!

Donna’s shop is stocked with lovely handmade goodies.  If you are looking for a gift for a cat lover her shop is a perfect one stop shop.  Below I’ve listed some sections in Donna’s shop, click the category to be taken to the appropriate section: 

• Custom Buttons
• Pocket Mirrors
• Vintage Goodies
• Cards & ACEO’s
• Photographs
• Christmas Goodies
• Plush Toys

Interested in learning more about Donna and her shop?  She has two blogs, check them out:

http://ddpool.blogspot.com/

http://ddpool.vox.com/

~Why Etsy?~

Opening my shop on Etsy, Cards By Jenna, was one of the best things I could have done to inspire myself.  Before selling on Etsy I made paper goods when I needed them. 

For example:  If someone I knew was going to have a birthday I would make a card specific to them.  Depending on the gift I purchased I would even make the gift wrap and tag.  Everything was hand made and personalized.

Don’t get me wrong I still personalize cards and gift wrap…however… now that I have a place to display and sell my creations a whole new world of card making opened for me.  At times I would get bored and feel like I was losing my creativity by making the same type of cards over and over again…mainly birthday cards.  I needed a variety and opening my shop allowed me to create any type of greeting card I wanted.

  

One day I found Etsy by surfing the Internet for inspiration and ideas.  I was definitely inspired and signed up.  I didn’t set up my shop right away.  It took a few months for me to get a banner, avatar, and create more inventory.  Once I was up and running the possibilities were endless.  I could make any type of greeting card I wanted.  I started creating and designing cards for events and occasions I never had before.  At first my favorite cards to make were anything Baby!  Then I moved on to wedding, thank you notes, gift sets, photo cards, etc…my creativity took off!  It was great. 

I love being a seller on Etsy because I enjoy sharing my creations with others.  It’s great to share ideas, browse other shops, network, and make new friends.  Handmade items are so unique and one of a kind.  My shop is not set up to make profit, most of the time I break even or make a few cents.  Whatever money I do make I spend on more card making supplies.  :-)

The draw back to being an Etsy seller is paying all the fees!  On top of the 20 cent per listing fee Etsy also takes 3.5% off the top of the sale.  I understand that Etsy needs to make money too but for a card shop that is quite a bit of money being taken.  On top of these fees I use paypal and paypal charges you too!

Being a part of Etsy has allowed me to join two awesome teams.  Currently I am a member of the EtsyGreetings Team and the EtsyBloggers Street Team.  Within both groups I have made great friends and have been immersed into a world of creativity.  

Thanks for reading!

 

~New Year, New Goals?~

Some may think that with the New Year comes goals and resolutions.  Others might ring in the new year with the same goals as the last and yet others believe that new years resolutions just never work!  

With that said, I don't make resolutions.  I believe goals are much easier to obtain.  My goals this year for my card shop is to sell, sell, sell!  Selling cards on etsy and artfire is not my full time job and is a hobby for me.  It's a creative outlet and a favorite past time.  If I make any money at all I end up using my profit for more supplies!  I get so excited when I sell one item. 

Hopefully my shop sales with go up soon because I really am running out of storage space for all my new card creations. :-)  If not my friends and family will be getting a bunch of freebies soon. Of course if you see something you like from my shop put it in your shopping cart, rarely do I make the same design twice.

Thanks for stopping by my blog and...

Happy 2009 From Seattle!

~Jenna

PS:  Stop by my shop, purchase a card or set, and receive a free gift!  Just mention the code "2009 Goals" in the notes to seller.  

This includes sales from both of my shops: http://cardsbyjenna.etsy.com and http://cardsbyjenna.artfire.com.