Are You Ready for New Years 2016?

So, are you ready for the new year?  Have you thought about resolutions, and such?  I don't really do resolutions.  Nothing like setting yourself up for failure, lol.  But, I do try to set small, attainable goals, or make progress on goals already started.

For this blog, my crafting blog, I have the following short term goals:

1-  Continue to improve my drawing and painting.  Maybe expand to other mediums, such as watercolors.

2-  Make more wood burned items.  I have only had time to do a few of wood burned items, and I do so enjoy learning how to do it.

3-  Continue making jewelry, and maybe add some new gemstones to my personal collection.  I have expanded a lot in my wire wrapping, beading is still not a favorite, but maybe as I learn more that will change.  I have sold almost all my inventory of my traditional setting jewelry pieces.  So, I would like to replenish my inventory a little bit.  I still have a ton of gemstones that need setting. 

4-  Probably not in 2016, but eventually, I would love to be able to melt my own metals, and make my own jewelry settings.  That has been a long term goal for a while now, lol.

5- I want to learn some new crochet topics.  Though, no matter how many sweaters I begin, or big afghans, those big projects are not the ones I enjoy doing.  I mostly love items that have to do with holiday decor. 

6-  Expand my promoting skills for my Etsy store, and my brand new Society 6 store.  Be sure to check them both out, by clicking on the widgets in the left hand column of this blog. 

7-  Last but not least, continue to learn and improve my photography skills. 

So, what are your goals for 2016?

Get Ready for Garnets!

January has one of the most versatile birthstones, of any of them. The Garnet, which comes in every color possible, even blue, though that is a color shift gemstone not a true blue, but still! I do not own one of those yet. I love Garnets! They are durable, great for every day wear, and can be cut into all the popular shapes. I will be doing quite a few posts, on Garnets. Don't forget I still have a BOGO sale in progress. Buy one item at full price, get a second item of your choice at equal or lesser value. This will end January 1st, as will free shipping. USPS is raising shipping rates, by quite a bit, so I can no longer offer free shipping after January 1, 2016. So, take advantage of both of those deals while you still can. I have had several sales, since it started, so if you want something be sure and get it. I offer layaway if you need it. BTW many Etsy sellers told me a BOGO sale would not work on Etsy, and that I should just stop doing it. It has been plenty successful for me, and I think I will do it again next year at Christmas. A once a year BOGO sale, I like it! I might do an after Christmas sale, but don't take a chance, because I have not decided, and I am not sure it will be jewelry. I offer crochet items, too! Plus, my art work, and photography items, are now being offered on Society 6. So, be sure to check that out too~! I hope everyone had a beautiful Christmas! I hope to get some new inventory created soon.

Happy New Year Baby Cocoon with Top Hat Photo Prop and Iphone and Ipod New Years 2016 Case

Alright, it is almost Christmas.  You know what that means, right?  Time to get ready for New Years, and Valentine's Day.  Believe it or not, when you sell online, and promote your own items, you need to start promoting your items ahead of time.  I have been promoting Christmas since September, now for the next holidays.  I don't have a ton of stuff for New Years, or Valentines Day, yet.  But, I will start working on it.  I have some cool ideas, for Valentines Day, I just hope I can get them done in time.  Below  you will see a Baby New Years Cocoon with Top Hat.  This is all crocheted, very warm, and the hat is more of a photo prop than anything else.  Check it out in my Etsy store, while I still have free shipping, and my BOGO sale going on.  You could get two cocoons, or any other item, 2 for the price of one.  All the details are in my shop home, so be sure to read how it works.  You can always message me on Etsy, as well.

The 2016 New Years  snowman Iphone Ipod case, is available on Society6, in my art shop.  It is from my original painting, and is available on other products as well.  Be sure to check them all out, for some awesome gift ideas.  Society6, as well as Etsy, offers gift cards.  So, you can always pick up one of them, and let the receiver choose. 

Society6 Christmas Board and a Neon Blue Apatite Bracelet

 I love bracelets.  They are by far my favorite piece of jewelry to wear, besides rings.  The bracelet shown, can actually be worn as a choker, or a double wrap bracelet.  It is all done in genuine Neon Blue Apatite beads.  Such a beautiful color.  It is available in my Etsy store.  I just had another sale, in my Etsy store, so things are moving along nicely.  My BOGO sale ends on Jan 1, 2016, but I think I will have an after Christmas sale.  Below, you will see a link to my new collection, on Society6.  This is not just my art work, but art work of fellow artists, all with the theme of Christmas.  If you know someone who loves customized cell phone cases, skins, home decor, tees and other wonderful gift ideas, then be sure to check out my Society6 collection.  Mine are all called Melissa's Art, so look me up.  It is actually very time consuming to upload 4 years worth of paintings, and all the wonderful photographs I have taken over the years.  So, check back often.  The animals are all still my favorites. 

https://society6.com/missy69/collection/christmas?curator=missy69

Make Your Art Work For You with Society 6

For any of you who read this blog, you know that a while back, quite a while back, I wanted to take some of the hundreds of digital photos our family has taken over the years, and turn them into high quality prints and other fun items. Well, I also wanted to do it for my original paintings, and drawings. Etsy is a pain in the behind for this process. So, I decided to search for other options to suit my needs. There were some very complicated ways that I could achieve my goals, but then I found Society 6. What a wonderful website. I am brand new there, only uploaded a few things so far, and it is time consuming to get all the different products set. Some photos, can not be put on all products, but the paintings seem to work quite well. The tshirt below, is by far my favorite item created so far. My momma and baby panda bear, on a tshirt. So cute! Their prices are reasonable, and they have a sale going on right now, and they ship world wide. I of course read reviews, before I signed up, and customers love the customer service. The one thing I did read, is that if you live over seas the shipping is quite high, because you end up paying fees in your own country to have it delivered to you. So, be prepared for that, before you order. Check out the item I shared below, and then check out all my other items currently available. I suppose you could browse the other artists too. There are some super artists on there. For now, I will not be selling my original art work on Etsy, or Ebay.  They will be uploaded to Society 6 instead, where prints, tshirts, mugs, blankets, skins, phone cases, and other great items can be made.

How To Make Miniature Beaded Baskets

I saw something on Pinterest, that peaked my interest about making these little baskets. So, I went to Youtube, and found a tutorial in video format. I can not wait to make these. So cute!

Hand Painted Steeler Football Glass

Well once again I have fallen behind on my blogging, both for this blog and my homeschool blog. So many things to do, so little time. I have lots of things to share with my readers, just need to take the time to get them posted.

My husband is a huge Steeelers fan. I am not particularly fond of painting on glass, but I do it now and then. While at the Dollar Tree, the other day, looking for Christmas Eve boxes, my daughter found this plain football glass. It was the last one, and only a dollar, so of course I bought it. Then I painted the colors, symbol and name on the glass. I just have to seal it, and it will be a wonderful Christmas gift for my husband. I don't paint trademark symbols, unless they are gifts. This is not legal, and I don't do it.

Don't forget to check out my BOGO sale, in my Etsy store, and I am now auctioning off some items too on Ebay. I wish Etsy offered auction style listings, it would make things so much easier.

Upcycled Wooden Chair For My Daughter

Way back in August, we went to a yard sale, and bought this old wooden chair. There was only one, and my daughter wanted to put it by her window as a reading chair. It had already been painted once, but it was dirty and worn pretty badly. I had to wait until it was cooler, and no humidity, so I could paint it outside. The green base paint, was leftover from when we painted her walls. I put on three coats of that. Chairs with rungs are incredibly hard to paint with a paint brush lol. Then I drew on the wolf design, and the two of us worked on painting it together. It has stars and northern lights, but the lights look like antlers to me. She did those, and was very pleased with her work, so I didn't fuss. She loves wolves, but I am not sure why. Anyway there it is. I will seal it to ensure the paint stays on for a good long time.


Don't forget to visit my Etsy store, for my BOGO sale. It ends January 1st. If you get an Etsy gift card for Christmas the sale will still be on. Also, I have started auctioning old inventory on Ebay. I don't know if you can look up items by user name there, but my user name is MRR05 on Ebay.

Some Updates For My Etsy Store and Ebay Auctions

I had another sale for my BOGO sale event, in my Etsy store.  That makes November a very successful month.  I have decided that for older inventory, and as the listings end on Etsy, I will be auctioning off some inventory on Ebay.  I wish Etsy offered an auction option, but alas they do not.  Plus, I realize that it is far less work to sell on Ebay, and some people do not want to buy on Etsy.  So, to visit either of my selling venues, click the links below.  One other update, my Etsy shop will no longer be offering free shipping after the first of the year.  I think it has been a whole year of free shipping, so it is time for that to end.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/missy69?ref=hdr_shop_menu

http://my.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?MyEbay&gbh=1&CurrentPage=MyeBayAllSelling