Front Page Excitement

Hello lovely readers.

I have some excellent news. I was on the Etsy front page this morning!! Lovely Becci (from Momentsbymartha) took a screenshot for me (as did posh_doodles from flickr - thanks guys!) and here it is:

Can you spot me? I'm the centre of the bottom row, with my fab splodgy rings. You can purchase yours here. I'm so pleased! Seriously, I was jumping out of seat. The rings have received 20 new hearts and my shop has got 13 new admirers. Being on the front page has certainly boosted my creative flow, as a whole bunch of ideas came to me today sitting at my desk at work that I can't wait to get working on! I got paid today from my regular job, so I'm probably going to buy a printer so that I can print my own packaging. I love the idea of packaging and have been having some ideas for it recently, so I'll show you what I come up with!

Had some Etsy people round to my HOUSE believe it or not! Snapdragonbeads, momentsbymartha & lovealittle from the Handmade Oxford team came round to stuff the goody bags. I've been begging, stealing and generally hassling crafters across the world for their promotional items, samples, business cards and general stuff for weeks now, and had a huge pile of it in my living room. The girls came over and we filled the goody bags, they really are going to be a highlight of the day. Each has a bunch of business cards, notecards, earrings, phone charms, magnets, bookmarks. I want one myself, and I've been looking at the stuff for weeks! We'll be giving them out free to the first 200 people through the door to the fair, so you should most definitely make the trip and come along on the day, stop by my stall and say hi if you do! You can check out photos from the bag-stuffing day here, and don't forget we are still accepting promotional items, cards and anything you would like to be included. These bags are going directly into the hands of people who buy handmade, so don't miss out. We'll also be sending a number of bags with the best bits in to buyers for a number of high-end retailers, so it really is a great opportunity. Leave me a comment if you want more information, or you can email me at cakeadaykatie@hotmail.co.uk.

Rainbow Fun

Etsy has this searching tool called a 'Treasury'

Basically, it's a group of 12 items that match a certain theme or look good together. Anyone can make one, but there are only 333 spots, so you have to wait for one to expire before you can nab one. I sat waiting last night for the number to drop and YES! I got it!

Here is my Rainbowtastic Treasury (you can click here to see the real thing if you are a member of Etsy - leave a comment so that my treasury gets pushed higher up the list!)

And yes, Captain Eagle Eye, I did sneak in my gorgeous Meadow bracelet, because what's a bit of shameless self-promotion between friends?

I got a little packet in the post this morning, it was a bunch of butterfly charms to make bracelets with - they are so cute! I was really pleased because I ordered 12, and the lovely seller sent me 15, plus a little bag of freebie goodies! The post this morning bought another revelation too. I'm going back to work! I have been on maternity leave for 9 months, and although I love being at home with my little boy, we need the moola really. So...I am going back, evenings only, 6-9and one weekend day. This with give us 50% more again than what I am getting now, so plenty for treats for little dude and me! I start June 02. I know, I'm going to be knackered aren't I?

I'm in two treasuries!

Unless you Etsy you may not know what this means, but basically, a treasury is a list of items on Etsy, that have been chosen either people they fit into a certain theme, or are part of a certain promotion. I bought into something called a 'Buy & Replace' where you buy an item from someone, and your name replaces theirs on a list. Then someone will buy from you, to get THEIR name on the list.

I just like getting my name out there, really, but I DID buy this ultra-cute bracelet:

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=8273980

Here is our thread:

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5576066

And here are our treasuries:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=40191
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=7725

Cool or what?!