April is Autism Awareness month. Autism is a development disorder that appears in the first 3 years of life, and affects the brain's normal development of social and communication skills. Autism affects 1 in110 children. 

 Here are a few items that are for sale on Etsy to raise awareness.


LazaFlair



TamanthaJewellry BackroomTreasures AlwaysTinaJo



I am fascinated with all things crochet. There are so many talented people with extraordinary creativity. If you search the internet you will find thousands of these people. Here are a few of my favorites.

Pictures are a great way to capture special moments & events in your life. I don't go anywhere without my camera! I love taking pictures. I can see myself as a grandma going through my photo albums telling my grandkids of the good ol' days. But that's years and years and years and years away! So for right now I will share them with you. Enjoy :-)

I Am a ' Kept ' Woman
You see, there were a few times when I thought I would lose my mind,
but GOD kept me sane. (Isa. 26:3)

There were times when I thought I could go no longer,
but the LORD kept me moving. (Gen 28:15)

At times, I've wanted to lash out at those whom I felt had done me wrong,
but the LORD kept my mouth shut. (Psa. 13)

Sometimes, I think the money just isn't enough,
but GOD has helped me to keep the lights on, the water on, the car paid, the house paid, etc. (Matt. 6:25 -34)

When I thought I would fall, HE kept me up.
When I thought I was weak, HE kept me strong! (I Pet. 5:7, Matt. 11:28-30)

I could go on and on and on, but I'm sure you hear me!

I'm blessed to be ' kept '

I'm "Kept" by the Love and Grace of God

God doesn't give you the people you want, He gives you the people you NEED,

To help you, to hurt you, to leave you, to love you and to make you into the
Person you were meant to be.


Peace Be With You Throughout Your Day!


TRUST IN GOD!


~Author Unknown

I read on the forums (yesterday) that Etsybot is no longer going to be on Twitter retweeting Etsy shops. Its a good thing that there are other tweet peeps who are willing to step in and fill the need to help Etsy shop owners network on Twitter. Here are a few: #etsyguy #handmadebot & #madebyhandbot. If you know of any others please share it with us.

One of the things that Etsybot did was tweet useful tips. I managed to collect a few of these tips so I can list them here for you to have. Since Etsybot deleted all their tweets I am missing a few. So if you have any of the ones I'm missing let me know and I will update the list.


Tip #1: Try not to place your links at end of tweets. When people RT you, your links may get cut off!

Tip #5: Try to create an attractive business card or unique item tag to place in orders. You will get repeat business!
Tip #6: Yes being in a ReTweeting team can be good! Just DON'T alienate yourself by only socializing with your team!

Tip #7: Create or have someone create a nice, unique avatar for your Twitter! These avatars help catch people's eye & makes them STOP 2 see!

Tip #8: Your Etsy banner reflects, in the mind of the customer, the quality of your merchandise! Find an Etsian 2 help U create 1 of u cant!

Tip #11: Stick to one specialty in your shop. Don't sell crochet with woodwork with digital graphics. Open up another shop or two!

Tip #12: Blogging is a great way to spread the word about your shop(s)! Create an informational blog with pictures and tweet about it!

Tip #13: You can use the "Share" button to create Twitter promos of your own shop and others! Select "Share" click on "Twitter" and modify!

Tip #14: Try to comment when you ReTweet other Etsian's promo tweets. Let's people know you actually viewed the item in the link!

Tip #15: Pick a Twitter username that is the name of your Etsy shop OR that reflects the name of your Etsy Shop!

Tip #16: In your twitter bio, don't just tell about yourself, tell people about your shop! You can even place a short link to your blog!

Tip #17: Create a unique Twitter background! If you can't, ask around or search Etsy for services related to Twitter, banners, avatars, etc!

Tip #18: wRiTiNg LiKe ThIs Is HaRd tO rEaD aNd CoNfUsInG... Keep it clean when you promote your shop!

Tip #19: Place the word "Etsy" in your Twitter bio/profile. This helps people, who search for other Etsians, find you more easily!

Tip #21: Make sure your Etsy shop's Title contains a few keywords that relate to your shop!
Tip #22: If you create a blog, do write-ups showing how to use/wear the items you are selling. People like to see the items in "action"!

Everyday new shops open up on Etsy. It amazes me all the talent that is out there. Below are just a few of my favorites I found using Pounce. They are still waiting for their first sales. So show them some love ♥



Middlegray

GiddyHippo

FairytaleJubilee

SnowStitched

Part of owning a business is knowing the numbers. With an online shop my numbers are particularly important. Its important to know how often my site is being viewed, by whom and how often. I also have to take into consideration if the number of Etsy Treasuries and Etsy Front Page I am featured in play a part in my views. I use Google Analytics and Craftopolis to help obtain the figures I need. I've decided to keep track of my numbers on a quarterly basis and analysis them to see what has been working and what changes I need to make.

JANUARY

16 Total New Listings
61 Total Renewed Listings
12,686 Pageviews
3,394 Unique Visitors
66 Hearts
140 Treasuries Featured IN
3 Front Page Appearances
9 Sales

FEBRUARY
10 Total New Listings
8 Total Renewed Listings
9,214 Pageviews
2,636 Unique Visitors
93 Hearts
195 Treasuries Featured IN
1 Front Page Appearances
4 Sales

MARCH
55 Total New Listings
8 Total Renewed Listings
12,195 Pageviews
3,135 Unique Visitors
90 Hearts
201 Treasuries Featured IN
1 Front Page Appearances
1 Sales

Overall I am happy with my stats. As long as I keep listing and renewing items my pageviews will continue to climb. I am however concerned with my 54% bounce rate!! More than half of my visitors look at one item and then leave my shop. I have my link placed in every single listing and in my profile. Apparently I have to do something different to keep visitors looking around my shop.

How have your stats been for this quarter? What do you do to keep your bounce rate low? I would love to get some ideas.

What's yarn bombing? Its a type of graffiti or street art that employs colorful displays of knitted or crocheted cloth rather than paint.

Like most graffiti, its a statement of art and creativity. It is pretty amazing what people can do with a some yarn and a crochet hook. While I have never done a yarn bombing, I think it would be a neat idea.

I was at my mom's house and noticed that she covered a few items with crochet work. I'm thinking this is the closest she's going to get to yarn bombing!!

 



http://www.oberholtzer-creative.com/visualculture/2009/01/yarn-bombing/pd26392062-2/

http://yarnbombing.com/yarn-bombing-diy-flickr-pool

Have you done a yarn bombing? Please share!

For those who don't know what WIP means, it stands for Work In Progress.

I am not sure if anyone has this problem, but I have a ton of unfinished projects! I tend to start something and lose focus. Or I get an idea and start working on a new project.

Several months ago my sister requested a pair of fingerless gloves. I accepted the challenge. I figured it should be easy to find something for her, since there are hundreds of patterns out there. I was so wrong.

My sister and I are both thin with long arms. She wanted gloves that would cover the length of her arm and wasn't "holey". Well, I looked and couldn't find any patterns I like.

So here I am working on writing my very first pattern for fingerless gloves. Its been a slow process. Below is a picture of how far I've gotten. At this rate she might have her gloves by the fall!



What are your WIPs? Please share!