Tuesday 30 March 2010

The Revenge of Lady Muck

Now you might be wondering what on earth The Revenge of Lady Muck is! Well, its my sister Anne Dunlops newest novel and is on sale now from Amazon.


AMIdesigns

This is Annes 7th novel and features one of the Gordan sisters that were featured in The Pineapple Tart,A Soft Touch and The Dolly Holiday

So what is the book about? Well, to quote Amazon -
Escape to the country with this fabulously funny tale of Lords, Ladies and lessons in love...Can you find a prince without kissing a few frogs? Sensible schoolteacher Sarah Gordon used to think so. But now she's so over her ex-fiance, childhood sweetheart Ian, she wishes she'd never been under him. Besides, she's too busy for love. Until tasty toff, Good Evening Ireland presenter Rupert Glass shows up at the Farmers' Club barbecue and all of a sudden Sarah's struggling to keep her cool. And when her sister's wedding to a local farmer unexpectedly throws them together again, it looks like romance could really blossom. But Sarah's about to discover it takes more than a four-leaf clover to be lucky in love...

With people thinking about getting away for Easter holidays and want an easy to read, entertaining novel I'd recommend this one. And no, I'm not on commission :D

Monday 29 March 2010

Mondays Featured Seller

Today I am featuring the work of Helen from ffflowers. ffflowers is the home of fabulous handmade ribbon and fabric flowers and bouquets.

It will come as no surprise to readers of this blog that I love everything blue and green and these Seafoam Ribbon Flowers are my favourites in the shop.


Perfect to wear to a wedding is this stunning Flower Brooch/Pin in Champagne


And how cute are these 2 Mini Flower Hairclips?


Check out her shop for more goodies!

Saturday 27 March 2010

Wedding Showcase

I thought all you Etsy sellers might be interested to find out how my wedding showcase went yesterday and whether I feel it was worth the $15.

First, my shop had a definite increase in shop views - 1100+ over the 24 hour period with a total of 13 new shop hearts.

The bracelet featured got 300+ new views and 5 new hearts.

I did alternate it for a period yesterday afternoon with this Rose Pink Swarovski Crystal and Pearl Cluster Bracelet

which got 50 views and 2 hearts.

Notice that I got no sales as a result of the showcase but I did get a custom request for 8 Bubbles bracelets as a direct result of the showcase. So if that all works out then I would say yes, the $15 was money well spent. I'll keep you posted!

Friday 26 March 2010

Friday Round Up

Wow, I just realised that it's been a full week since I blogged! Will be trying hard to do better next week :)

Today I booked myself a wedding showcase. I decided to feature this Fizzy Bubbles Bracelet which is one of my bridesmaid best sellers.

I'll let you know how the showcase works out.

This week I've been trying out some different things and have decided to do some necklaces for my shop.

This Peach Freshwater Pearls Necklace is one of my new listings.


And for spring - this Cornflower Blue Pearl Cluster Necklace which has a matching bracelet.

Friday 19 March 2010

Friday Round Up

This week I've been working on a custom order for Peach and Coral Bubbles Bracelet. I love the colours the bride has chosen and think they will be lovely for a spring wedding.


I've decided to have a bracelet sale section in my shop, with Memory Wire bracelets reduced to $10 (about £6.50) and Bubbles bracelets reduced to $15 (about £9.50)
Included in the sale is this Blue and Gold Memory Wire bracelet


and this Forest Green Bubbles bracelet

Wednesday 17 March 2010

Happy St Patricks Day!

Just wanting to wish everyone a very happy St Patricks Day!

I actually think that its a much bigger deal in the US than it is here in Northern Ireland though. It's a Bank Holiday here, so lots of people off work but the kids were at school. So I took myself off to the gym, only to find out that everyone else had the same idea. Every single piece of equipment was in use so I just changed back into my jeans and went to Starbucks for a latte and chocolate muffin :)

In honour of the Irish, I'd recommend you check out some of these brilliant shops.
Blue Card by Propeller in Dublin


Lilac Czech Flowers and Leaves Earrings by Lightkeeping in Cork


Original Mixed Media -purple colored Real Estate for Sale in quirky Irish village by Iris O'Connor in Dun Laoghaire, Dublin.

Monday 15 March 2010

Mondays Featured Seller

For all you UK'ers out there who love home baking and home produced marmalades, jams and chutneys but maybe aren't so good at it themselves, Marmalady is the place to look!

Whether it is Caramel Shortbread


Chilli Marmalade


or Coconut Ice
you are after, you can find it in this yummy shop!


You can also check out her other shops -
Marmalady Supplies
for baking supplies
Marmaladytoo for crafts
Marmalady Allsorts for de-stash supplies & vintage items.

Sunday 14 March 2010

Happy Mothers Day!

Today is Mothers Day here in the UK and I am lucky enough to be in the position of not only being a mum myself, but still having my fabulous Mum to celebrate it with.

I took my parents and the kids out for lunch today and I just want to say, Mum I love you :)

Thursday 11 March 2010

I've Been Buying

I've been buying from fellow Etsy sellers again this week.

Firstly I bought myself this lovely Purple Flower Hair Clip from BigBlueBed It makes me want to go back to Barcelona and sip sangria on Los Ramblos - perfect for summer holidays!



I also treated myself to a pair of earrings from my featured seller from a couple of weeks ago - AREjewellery


They are beautifully made and I wore them as soon as I got them yesterday

Wednesday 10 March 2010

Wednesday Wish List

It's Mothers Day in the UK on Sunday, March 14th so for my Wish List this week, I've been taking a look at some of the lovely handmade cards on Etsy and Folksy.

First up is this cuter than cute I love you Mum
card from Ella Parry


Or how about this simple, yet stylish Personalised 'Mum' Hand Cut Card from QuiteContrary2


And from Folksy seller Mollymoo is this gorgeous 3 Little Birds Mothers Day card


There's no shortage of lovely cards on both Etsy and Folksy for Mums - so get browsing!

Monday 8 March 2010

Mondays Featured Seller

Todays featured seller is Clare from ClareBears. Not only does Clare make gorgeous bears but also has a supply shop LittleGreyClouds, where I got this fantastic, custom made stamp for my business.


My favourite bears are the bright and cheery Sock Bears which are perfect as gifts.


My other favourite is this gorgeous Handknitted Grey Bear


Also coming soon are mini sock bears, which I'm sure will be lovely, so check it out!

Friday 5 March 2010

Friday Round Up

This has been a busy old week again, both crafting wise and personally. I finished my last custom order for Bubbles bracelets and have had a couple more enquiries for bridesmaids. Off line the shop I supply rang to say that everything I had left in has sold. I make necklace and earring sets for there, which is a lovely change from wire wrapping pearls!

Online, I've added a new Ocean Bubbles Pearl Cluster Necklace which matches the Ocean Bubbles Bracelet in my Etsy shop.


I've also got a new Ivory and Gold Bubbles Bracelet with all those summer brides in mind!


And finally, I had a frantic weekend of memory wire making and ended up with several new designs in spring shades, including this striking Purple one.

Thursday 4 March 2010

Social Mention

Have you ever got a load of unexplained views on item and wondered how? I have been checking my Google Analytics on Etsy, but to be honest still find it difficult to make head or tail of it, especially since the referral source is still showing up odd things like 'vintage yellow bowl.'

Well, I've found out about a site called Social Mention
which lets you know where you have been featured. You simply type in your name and it 'searches content from across the universe' (my favourite bit!) and then shows you where you've been featured.

You can also sign up to get sent alerts whenever you've mentioned somewhere online. It's another great tool to see who's been featuring your shop and more up to date than google alerts that are sometimes a couple of weeks behind.

Wednesday 3 March 2010

I've been buying!

I've been buying on Etsy again and yes, it's more earrings! This time I treated myself to a pair from LazyGiraffe Deepa makes absolutely gorgeous jewellery using vintage beads and I could no longer resist, so I bought these Wisp Earrings.