EtsyGreetings Handmade Cards: March 2009

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Article: A Haiku for Spring

Thanks to OrangeCatArt for putting together this great representation of Spring! Three verses of the Haiku are stated and then one of the EtsyGreetings members' cards is shown below.

Spring (8 Haiku)
by Ben Gieske

spring breezes
blowing bubbles
puppy tails

Wonder by HumanInterest

spring breezes
whispering now
our secret

Pink Dogwood Blossoms by orangecatart

spring wind
sail boats in the fountain
my first kite

Flight of Fancy by LemonStPhotography

spring wind
Easter dresses
white flashes

Girl and flowers by MagnolijaART

spring wind
foul air
circus in town

The Big Top by bomobob

spring wind
gazebo gone
April fool

Mystical by SherriConley

spring wind
kite in the sky
pulling my hand

Red Kite by petuniaz

spring night
our last dance
song without end

oh for spring again by buckscountyframes

Tuesday Treasury

Tag, you're it! created by jumpingjackdesigns

Calendar Circle Tags $3.00 ascrappydesign

Lily the Hoot Owl Gift Tags $3.25 lemontreestudio

Funky Hello Baby Tags $4.00 moderncard

Custom Illustration Circle Favor Tags $45.00 fubabee

Just a little doodle $3.00 caelum

Set of 5 Thank You Gift Tags $5.00 inspirationpoint

That extra touch (pink) gift tag set $1.50 katieblairdesigns

Friday, March 27, 2009

Friday Feature

This week's featured shop is quirkynberkeley

1. Tell us about you and your shop.
I live and work in Berkeley, California, with Rosie the Wonder Dog and Twink the Monster Kitten in a nice old tree-lined neighborhood. When I'm not making cards, I'm a writer.
I love papercrafts, and the process of making things by hand. Almost all of my cards are one of a kind. My style is eclectic and I love to experiment. I get completely absorbed in engineering my varied creations for hours. Each one is a new and unique production, made of treasures from my collection of paper and ephemera, transfigured into a single piece held together by a little glue, a lot of ideas, practice and work, and most of all, a great amount of joy.
My work is designed to be something that one person gives to another. I'm lucky to have a craft that has a personal role in people's lives, and that can so easily become a part of the story of people's lives together. It feels good to be the recipient of hand-written correspondence: no matter what the occasion -- there's a strong emotional connection during the moments of anticipation, and when it is held and read; the mystery of what's inside the envelope, wondering what prompted someone to stop everything else in their life and focus for a few minutes on writing this note. Your full attention for a few minutes is a very special kind of gift to another person, in a hand-written note that moment becomes frozen in time.
Gifts are imbued with all sorts of symbolic significance in every culture, and I'm always interested in the stories that people tell me about how they've used my cards -- who it was for, why they picked that particular card, why it touches them in some special way. Giving a handmade card is an act of intimacy since it is touched by very few hands-- the hands of the maker, the sender, the recipient. Being its creator allows me a role in a beautiful ritual.

2. How did you get started in your craft?
I got my graphic design skills from years working in the newspaper industry. I started making cards sometime after I found my first rubber stamp. Now I have a collection of around 800 to choose from, plus a wall full of paper.

3. What is your favorite material or tool?
Paper and rubber stamps.

4. Where do you get your design inspiration from?
I like to sit in my studio and contemplate the paper, embellishments and rubber stamps I have. I only buy things I like a lot, so when I get into the studio, inspiration is there waiting to be discovered.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

March Challenge - VOTING

A wonderful thank you goes out to all memeber that entered this month's Easter challenge!

We welcome all readers and member to vote and leave a comment on their favorite card!

PRIZE: A readers comment will be choosen at random and they will recieve the card that receives the most votes! This will be shipped to them FREE OF CHARGE.

Please be sure to click on the members name to be taken to their site.

Created by lavendergreetings

Created by ahlacarte

Created by halfempty

Created by ajkartistry

Created by stephjacobson

Created by matdi123

Created by mfcardworks

Created by expressivepapers

Created by cardsbyjenna

Created by beansproutstudio

Created by L67designs

Monday, March 23, 2009

Bundle of Boy Giveaway by Intertwingle

Karin of Intertwingle is celebrating the surprise adoption of her brand new baby boy. Since giving cigars is so passé and Karin is a papercrafter, not a smoker she is giving away cards instead! Her shop is currently closed for maternity leave but please visit her art blog, Choi to the World or her adoption blog, Garden Variety Family and then come back here to leave a comment on her work or her son! The winner will be chosen via random number generator and will get a grab-bag of cards she has in stock. The winner will be drawn on March 26, actually probably March 27 about 3am! Ha! To get an idea of what her cards are like take a look at another recent giveaway she has had on her blog.

Please make sure that you leave an email address or way to reach you should you be the winner.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Friday Feature

This week's featured seller is PaperFairy.

1. Tell us about you and your shop.

I am a newlywed with two four legged children (two cats - 7 years old). I have been on Etsy since July of 2008. In my shop, I carry many different styles of greeting cards from sympathy cards to birthday cards to blank card sets. I started to do custom work recently. A friend of mine has a vintage shop on Etsy and I made thank you cards for her buyers. I would love to do more of that in the future.

2. How did you get started in your craft?

I have always been a crafty type of person. When I was in grade school, I would make those embroidery friendship bracelets and I worked with FIMO a lot to in high school. In recent years, my friend became a Stampin’ Up instructor and I started going to her classes. When it came time for my wedding, I had faith in my abilities and made all of my paper products - bridesmaid cards, wedding invitations, programs, place cards, table numbers, save the dates, you name it. My mom and bridesmaids kept telling me I should sell my cards. Well, I followed their advice and here I am. The sole designer and creator of Paper Fairy.

3. What is your favorite material or tool?

Paper, as boring as that may sound, is my favorite material. I can spend hours upon hours in a paper store. I love the fact that it comes in so many textures, shades of color and designs. The possibilities are endless.

4. Where do you get your design inspiration from?

Everywhere and anywhere. It can be from a photograph, or just something around me like a vase of flowers. I recently sold a sunflower card that I made one day because of a bouquet my husband brought home for my birthday. It was sitting on the table where I was crafting and the idea just materialized.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Give Away From MFCardWorks

Wouldn't you just love to win these great cards offered by MFCardWorks!

From the artist: Something that sets my cards apart some from others is option of a Bible verse in each one. I include a pertinent verse that is ready to attach to the card; it is the buyer's choice.

To enter just take a look at MFCardworks' Etsy shop and leave a comment here what you like in their shop.

A winner will be chosen by random number generator around 7 in the evening on March 21st.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Article: Wholesale/Retail Pricing Structure and what is a "card rep" anyway?

Hi Everyone. I started my greeting card adventure in 2007 with the printing of my first set of images. I have been travelling to Europe for many years now and am using the photographic images I have taken on my trips to make these wonderful greeting cards. Inspirational quotes paired with timeless images. I had the happy thought of making them into greeting cards when going through my photo albums my grown daughter asked me what I was planning to do with all those gargoyle photographs! I fell in love with the gargoyles and statues and without realizing it
had really concentrated my photo journaling on them. The idea of making greeting cards really appealed to me as I have been making my own greeting cards for years using different techniques. I knew I had to do some footwork in order to get this "off the ground".

I began my research by calling a man I knew in the card representative business. I had done his travel arrangements for his "reps" for years. He was very discouraging and said no decent card rep would carry a company that had less than 100 different images and to really get a good start in business you NEEDED a good card rep. Not to be daunted I asked him a number of other questions and gleaned this: 80% of the greeting cards sold in the United States ( my initial market ) sold for between $2.50 and $3.50, there are 2 categories of cards, special occasions and greeting, some retailers required a UPC code, and all retailers bought cards at 50% of their retail value at best;sometimes this is an even lower % if it is a very large order! This was all very helpful information. If you start with the actual cost of your card ( your supplies ) and add a profit margin-whatever you might want that to be-then double that amount, you should arrive at a retail price. Then you need to decide who your main retail market is going to be. Most florists do not require a UPC code, most high end retail stationery shops do. Once again, I did some research and found a company online that you can purchase a UPC code for around $80 and they send you a pdf file that you can use to print on the back of your cards if desired. Since my target market was larger retail shops I decided to purchase a UPC code. The UPC code is yours however it is for the use of the retail market that purchases your cards. They put the code into their computer system and have it say whatever is convienient for them. I decided to sell my cards at retail $3.25 and wholesale at $1.62. I give my buyers 30 days net to pay after their initial order. That means that I am willing to "float" their purchase for 30 days. I would not do that for an overseas buyer but was told that was standard practice for most retailers. I cannot confirm or deny that but it has worked for me. I do not do consignment orders because it is too much bookkeeping for me. The way I do it now, I approach a store that I think would be a good retail fit and ask for an appointment to show them my wares. If they like them and agree to buy them, I do a happy dance and fill the order. I leave them with an invoice due in 30 days and yes, they always pay on time!!!

However, whenever I have had one of these sales I am told by the owner of the business that I really need a good card rep!! Every time!! The last store owner I spoke to explained to me that he is "used to" dealing with card reps and that is how most of their purchasing happens. I asked him for the names of a few reps that he liked that might be a good fit for my cards. Here is where my story gets frustrating. I called 3 of the names he gave me and left messages. None of them called me back. I went to a local trade show and picked up names of 3 more reps. Called and left messages and none of them called me back. I am now playing phone tag with someone recommended by yet another store owner, one that I do business with already. I have high hopes for this one. Once you get an agreement with a card rep they expect 15 to 20% of the wholesale price of the sale as compensation. Oops, I forgot to mention that in the whole pricing structure above because I DID figure that in to my final retail price. I am offering a rep 20% because I would love to hand over the sales portion to someone else and concentrate on the cards themselves. And of course, you want to connect with someone who is in love with your cards and
will represent them well. The reps will carry several card lines and that's why the store owners like them, they can do several orders at once and deal with someone they have built a relationship with.

So that's my wholesale/retail story in a nutshell and I hope it helps some of you who are thinking of entering the wholesale marketplace. I have 10 shops that carry my cards now and have a goal of 100!! Then I plan on going worldwide!!! Cheers everyone. Please visit my etsy shop and convo me with any questions.

Cheri of TravelnCheri

Friday, March 13, 2009

Friday Feature

This Friday's featured seller is InvitationsByDesign
Check out this shop for unique invitations for any occasion.

1. Tell us about you and your shop.

Invitations by Design is a modern stationery + design shop catering to babies, weddings, and social stationery needs. I started making my products almost 3 years ago after creating my own wedding invitations. I loved it so much, I decided to share my creations with others. I work out of the Northern Virginia area and also have a photography business working in conjunction with my stationery design.

www.agphotographydesign.com

2. How did you get started in your craft?

I've always loved created things and when I designed my own wedding invitations it sparked an interest I didn't know I had. I've been doing it ever since.

3.What is your favorite material or tool?

I love working in digital design. I can create almost any design I have in my head and put it down on paper using my graphic design abilities.

4.Where do you get your design inspiration from?

I often am inspired by interior decorating magazines + fabrics.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Beautiful Giveaway offered by SouthernScraps

Southernscraps is generously offering these beautiful cards for this week's EtsyGreetings Giveaway.

Both cards are made with a pink, black, and grey combo of patterned paper. They feature rubber stamping (which is my favorite way to make cards) and other embellishments. The larger card has lots of bling. One is a thank you card and the other is perfect for any occasion.

All you need to do to enter is go to SouthernScrap's Shop and leave a comment here on the EtsyGreeting's blog which item you like the best from her shop. A winner will be picked from all the comments left on the evening of Saturday, March 14th. Please make sure to leave a way that you can be reached in case you are the winner.