Around here.

I have to admit I haven't been doing much crafting lately, and at the risk of sounding like Jennifer Grey (is she whiny or is it just me??) I have a lot going on in my life right now and crafting has taken a back seat.  However, a few special occasions have come up that have required a card so that has gotten me back to my craft table for a bit at least.  Can you imagine buying a card?  Uff da.

A dear friend of our family passed away at the age of 95 recently.  I made this card, which says "with sincere sympathy" on the inside.  There's really nothing on the front to indicate that it's a sympathy card but I was ok with that.  The woman was a bright, warm, loving person so I thought this paper fit her perfectly.

My brother (older I might add) turned 49 recently and I wanted a man's man kind of card for him.  I created this card which I thought looked kind of like a tin shed, the kind of place a guy might want to hang out.  It's rough and tough, complete with brads that look like screws.

Again, not to sound like Jennifer Grey (you know, the one no one puts in a corner?) but I'm really not sure what to do about my Etsy shop right now.  Although I've had lots of local support my Etsy sales, well, there aren't any.  I was advertising on Ali Edwards blog but she did a site redesign and raised her prices to the point that's there just not a good ROI (that's return on investment to you non-business types!) when you aren't getting any sales.  I'm thinking I'll spend the rest of 2010 coming up with a strategy for my shop, which could include other advertising, working on getting published, or maybe just calling it quits.

I have learned so much since I started my shop in 2008 but really, I'm just not getting enough sales for the time and effort that is required.  Having said that, I can't say I've put a lot of effort into my shop lately so I really don't know that I've given it a fair chance.  Like I said, I'm going to spend some time rethinking the whole thing and either it's going to be bigger and better than ever or it's going to run it's course.

For now, here's a little incentive for all of you blog readers.  I made this tag using some of my extra paper and I'll include it with the next order from my shop along with 10% off one item.  This is a first come, first served, one sale deal so don't dally!  The discount will be refunded to you through PayPal.

I'll keep you posted on my plans, so keep coming back to get the latest news!  If there's something you'd really like to see in my shop feel free to leave a comment here - I'm always open to suggestions!