Weekly Happenings on the Team 6/27/08

Kudos to our very own Becca of HappiKnits.  She was spotlighted as an emerging designer for 2008 on Indieshopping.com!!!  And ...... her beautiful shrug, created by Becca for the debutante ball, the team's May challenge, was chosen by a member of the Etsy team for a Treasury - which made it to the front page!  WooHoo, Becca!!

Becca creates the most wonderful knitted items.  They are so chic and stylish and full of color.  These accessories would liven up any wardrobe!  Check out all of her lovely knitted items at happiknits.etsy.com.  And make sure you visit the indieshopping.com website to see her wonderful write-up, too!

This cuter-than-cute couple, made by Margarida of ei!kumpel, was written up by cuteable.com.

These two lovebirds certainly live up to that name!  Margarida originally made these for a custom order and has decided to share them with the rest of the world.  She is selling them at her etsy shop.  Check them out, along with all of her other adorable things, at eikumpel.etsy.com.

Karen, of stargazer, and Nora, of Norakaren, have added fabulous items to the team shop for the June challenge.  Check out all the items at fdlteam.etsy.com.


 

Look for Karen's beautiful art and jewelry at stargazer.etsy.com, as well as Nora's fabulous wearable art at norakaren.etsy.com.

Morgan, of Karma711, had a very successful trunk show at her home.  She shared some wine and cheese, relaxing moments and good cheer, as well as her lovely jewelry with gals in her southern town.  Check out her lovelies at karma711.etsy.com!

Once again, the FDL Team has shown their amazing talent.  You are all so wonderful and creative!  Can't wait to see the rest of those challenge items appearing in the team shop and everyone's personal shops!

Have a great weekend!

Beth

Meet the Person Behind Ei!Kumpel

Ever wanted to know who the person is behind all those colorful and creative items in the Ei!Kumpel shop?  Well, meet Margarida!  She took some time to tell us about herself recently - how she got started, what inspires her, and her dreams for the future.  Read on!  You can also see Margarida spotlighted as an emerging designer for 2008 on indieshopping.com.  Check her out!

Tell us about yourself.

My name is Margarida.  I'm 29 years old and I'm presently living between Portugal and England.  I'm a Biologist, currently finishing a PhD in Environmental Toxicology.

What do you do?

I make funky and fun felt treats such as brooches (lots of!), bookmarks, softies, decorations, and pincushions, among others.

 How did you get started?

My grandmother taught me many craft techniques when I was a little girl., but I only started to explore my creativity in the summer of 2006.   I was going through a phase of lots of work an I was tired.   I searched for something to do that was different from my everyday life and my mum gave me some materials that I started to explore by making several brooches for myself.   I found it addicting!

What inspires you?

Life in general, I must say ... books, stories, patterns, colours, music, art galleries, travel ... sometimes just a piece of fabric or a button is enough.

Your dream for your life is ...

It may sound cheesy but it's to be happy for as long as possible. :)

What is your passion?

Life, people, travel, sunny days and crafts!

What would you like to do (or are doing) on the team?

I was appointed as colour expert and I am working on a post about colour trends for the Fall/Winter 2008/2009.

Anything else you would like to tell team members?

I am really looking forward to our Debutante Ball and I hope we can put the FDL team's name out there!

Visit Margarida's shop at http://eikumpel.etsy.com!

Weekly Happenings on the Team 6/20/08

Happy Friday!

The team is busy working on their items for the June team project.  The theme this month - sunset colors with a tribal or ethnic feel to it.  The definition around this month's theme was definitely very loose so it should be interesting to see what this creative team comes up with!  Aly has finished this beautiful necklace, crocheted in 100% cotton with wooden beads.  Just beautiful, as always!  Aly's items fly off the shelf!

 

Look for other fantastic items showing up soon in the team shop.  Check it out at http://fdlteam.etsy.com.

There are still some beautiful items from the May project - our debutante ball - introducing the new FDL team!  There were more amazing items added after the introduction date, such as this fabulous print by StarGazer.   Isn't this one magical?

HOT OFF THE PRESS!  Our very own Amy of amysfunkyfibers will have a scarf featured in the July/August issue of Figure magazine on Page 53!  Huge congratulations to Amy!  We all know how hot scarves are this season and Amy's are to die for!  Each silk chiffon scarf is hand dyed in gorgeous patterns and colors. Snatch one up today at http://amysfunkyfibers.etsy.com.

Here's Amy's featured scarf:

We are currently going through our membership roster to clean it up and ensure that all members are active.  If you have not responded to Laura yet, please do so!

Lastly, on a personal note, the team is all anxiously awaiting news of mylittleaura's newest addition!  Good luck, Barbara, and let us know when your newest little one arrives!

That's all the news from around the world for the FDL Team.  Have a great weekend!

Beth

http://thirdfloor.etsy.com

Successful Bloggers

"Spring Picnic" Blaze Danielle

This weeks post is an interview by Blaze Danielle, "a university student who finds herself being inspired often and twirling much." Blaze's blog was one of the first I found on my enrty into blogland and I have watched it and her shop grow and grow over the last few months. Here is a sneaky peek into her world.

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your creativity:

I love to create. If I’m not creating, I’m planning on what I’ll create next. I love to make lists of ideas, take walks, and browse old dusty children’s books for reference and inspiration. Painting and creating allows me to make up a place I wish to be, and there’s nothing more exciting than that.

2. When did you start your blog and why? I started my blog (seriously) last year in November, after browsing on Etsy and peeking into other artist's worlds. There are so many amazing and beautiful blogs out there, that if you read too many, you've just got to start one yourself!

"Picture Taker" Blaze Danielle

3. How has blogging affected your business? I love blogging! Most of my sales come from amazing blog friends. It is a great way to stay connected with the crafting community, and it also allows me to share some of my life with friends. Blogging also allows me to see into other people's creativity, and I most always end up a customer too!

"Pink Morning" Blaze Danielle

4. You have a great readership, what advice would you give beginners for drawing readers in and back again? I think the best way is to keep people excited about what you're doing. I like to look at other people's blogs that keep me coming back, and I ask myself why I'm so interested. I think it is because I feel a personal connection to them, and because they are always into something new. I also feel that it is important to have a large percent of my posting be my own artwork. That way, my blog friends can get excited about what I'm creating. And lastly, I definitely think it's very important to have an aesthetically pleasing blog. If it is obvious that the reader put a lot of time into it, I think it will do better.



5. Do you have tips or advice to share that you have learned along the way? I have definitely learned that there is no shortcut for time, effort, and hard work. Sometimes the crafting business feels competitive and intimidating, but if one loves what they do, I think they can find that extra spark that helps them do well!

Beginners Guide to Blogging - 2

"Contessa- Camera and Coffee" by RSilver

Todays post is all about the importance of using photographs in your blog. Firstly I have to admit I scan down a blog and look at the pictures first and get a feel for the place and if I'm drawn in I will read and read on. It is great way to show little snippets of your work, life or surroundings and makes your readers feel like they are learning more about you or your products.

"Indulging" by afancifultwist

Another factor is that if you develope a style readers begin to recognise your photography or products through time. For me a great example of this is a fancilful twist. I instantly know by her style and wonderful bright colours that a image has been created with her signiture. (We will have an interview with afancifultwist soon, as she is someone I consider a Successful Blogger and she is willing to share some knowledge with us!)

There is some really useful information here at Smart Blogging Tips for how to load photos to your blog for typepad, blogger and wordpress. And we may get a post from our very own Stargazer29609, with some photography tips.

"Electric Roses" by Laura

I tend to use a mixture of my own images and Flickr. Always let people know when you have used one of there images and tell them where it is (a link). Always quote the image name and photographers name, and as a courtisy I add a link to their Flickr page, Etsy shop or Blog. Flickr is fairly easy to use, you can upload your own photos, join groups to add your photos and search for imges with anything as a title. I find it a great pool of inspiration. I had a bit of help when I started out and would be happy to help anyone who needed it.

Thanks for all your comments on the last post and if you have any ideas or things you want to contribute just leave a comment and I'll get back to you.

Beginners Guide to Blogging - 1

This is my first post as a member of the team and I will be moderating the blog for the month of June. I have decided to use the theme of blogging to get us started for a few reasons. 1. I am addicted to bloggin now, between posting on my own one, hunting down new and interesting blogs and learning tips to increase my blog traffic, I am always thinking about blogs. 2. It is a great way to boost interest in what we are doing within the team and share our knowledge.

First image I loaded to my blog, a photo of a thistle from my garden altered using Photoshop

So, I'll get started and ramble less from now on I promise.

I started my blog in October 2007 after finding an interesting website while looking for information about illustration. I found this artists website with a link to her blog and from there I found lots of other really interesting ones and Etsy. I fumbled around for a few months leaving comments and making friends and thinks have grown from there.

Here are my top tips for blogging and increasing traffic to your blog

1a. Write and write often. Write about what inspires you, what you are making/ selling, what you have found other people making and interesting sites and blogs. Try and post a couple of times a week. People get put off if they link to you and head by to read what you have been up to and it is the same post from 3 weeks ago, people get bored.

1b. Decide on who you are writing for. Freiends/ family, or work. If you want your blog to be a promotion for your work, try and keep most post connected to this. You can make it really personal too, but think if you want potential customers knowing what you did last night!

2. Make friends/ post comments. This is how people find you to begin with. If you are using blogger and click on your dashboard then on one of your underlinded interests you'll be sent to a list of other bloggers who share your interests. Take a look at some of them and if you like what you see say so. Keep going back and maybe they will come and see you.

3. Have interesting post titles and tags. These are what get you found in searches. Keep them relevent to what your wirting about but think outside the box for catching peoples' eyes.

4.Submit to blog search engines. I'll be doing a post about a few of these over the next few weeks. But to begin with just google the heading and have a look at a few of these yourself. This way more people can find you and you are on the radar for the big search engines to see you too.

5.Add photographs. It makes it more interesting to look at and can keep readiners looking longer. Use photos of your work, what your making, things that interest you or things other people are up to. (If you are going to do this always ask permission from them and quote who took it and where you found it.) You can use Flickr too, here you'll find a bank of images you can use, but again send the person a message to let them know you are using their image. I'll do a post in this series about this later on.

6. Tell people about your blog. Anywhere and everywhere.Again look at blog search engines, or have your blog address added to your business cards ect.

7. Share your expertese. People love learning from blogs. How to's and tutorials are great for getting return visitors and again bump you higher in search engine searches. Here is one of mine for a gift bag.

8. Run competitions and Giveaways. Readers love this sort of thing. At the moment my reader numbers vary from 5 - 8 per post, but when I run competitions it jumps.

9. Ask questions. Get your readers involved, give them a reason to comment.

10. Have fun and be patient!

There we have it. Over the next 4 weeks myself and some of our other team mates will be telling you about lots of other blogging related stuff, successful bloggers, photography how to's, why we blogs, and maybe even a Blogging 101 surgery! Let me know what you think or if you have any questions about the tips I have and am using myself. But whats more join in and get blogging!