"virtual nesting" at NestInk

If you follow me on Facebook at all, you know that I've been dealing with a house full of sickies this week. I mean really sick. I've never seen my girls sicker, in fact! Without going into too much detail, let's just say that I have had a LOT of messes to clean up this week. So glad that I took my nice, neat living room photos a few weeks ago. 'Cause it ain't pretty now, folks.

happy

What I did get a chance to do today is finally some updating and housekeeping at NestInk. Editing photos and creating listings on Etsy is very time-consuming, but it's obviously necessary if you want to...you know...sell stuff. And that I do. Want to sell stuff, I mean. Oh dear...nevermind...

retro roses

Anyway, I'm trying a different approach with my photos. I'm going for a much more zoomed-in look as the main pic, the hope being that it will attract attention and get people to click on the item for more information. Each item photo on Etsy really only shows up as a small avatar, and so it's important that the photo packs a big punch on a small scale.

three flowers

What do you think? I'm hoping this approach will help attract more business and more people to click-through each listing. 

contemporary cluster

They're not the highest-quality photos ever (because I'm cropping them waaayyy down) but I'm liking the overall new look that it gives my "storefront".

iris cluster

I've also added several sets of 10. I've received enough requests for varying quantities that I think I just need to start listing them. Up until now, I've just sold sets of 6 (unless otherwise requested). But now I'll also be offering sets of 10 or 20 as well.

elegant scrolls

Anyway, sorry about all the shop-talk. It's just what's on my mind today, and it's been refreshing to spend some time on something for me while my kids are continuing to recuperate. They are at that point now where they are weak enough to stay out of trouble, but well enough that they don't need constant nursing.

I'll bring Friday's Finds back again soon, don't you worry! Have a great weekend, friends.

paper love for a dancing queen

Here are some sweet cards I made recently. A friend of mine asked me to create cards for her daughter's ballet teacher as a thank-you gift. What a great idea! And since my daughters are in ballet too...I'm stealing the idea, and their teacher will also receive these personalized notecards as a year-end gift.

Each card is embellished with two light-pink rhinestones, and the name of the dance teacher (or whoever's receiving them!). These would also be great gifts for the dancer in your life...or any girl who likes pink and romantic ballet slippers. How about a "thank you for coming to my dance recital" note? Anyway, I'm selling them in sets of six, just like my other notecards. But I'm always willing to do custom quantities, so if you'd like to purchase some in a different amount, just ask! I'll just listed these in my Etsy shop.

In other news, my mom's surgery yesterday to remove colon cancer appears to have been a resounding success! What a relief and answer to prayer. I have to confess, it's been hard to think of anything to blog about in the last week, because somehow decorating is the farthest thing from my mind when I'm concerned about a loved one. That being said, creating cards was a nice mental escape. The cards above were made by my kids and myself to decorate my mom's hospital room. She'll be there for several more days, so we wanted to give her cards that were as bright and cheerful as possible. I can't think of anywhere more in need of a ray of sunshine than a hospital room.

Click here if you need a before-and-after fix. I'm basically finished with a friend's redesign - just have to get back over there sometime soon to take pictures of the space. I can't wait to show you! It's a room that's gone from having no function at all, to now two or three functions in one. LOVE it.

beautiful things in the mail

My Friday's finds will have to wait...till next Friday I guess...'cause I'm just so excited about this recent NestInk order that I had to share it with you!

Here is part of a large custom order I did recently for a surprise birthday dinner. The customer ordered a different design as a personalized party favor for each guest. I think that is so cool!

 And you know how I am. Once I found out that they were favors for an event, I offered to package them up in a way that would coordinate with the event colors. This customer sent me a link to the gorgeous invitations she had already sent out, and I found the perfect ribbon to coordinate, in addition to the white paper lace I like to use. I can't help myself...I get ridiculously excited about these little things. Just ask my husband! He just shakes his head and smiles.

As a special surprise, I also created these little gift tags that coordinated with the card packaging. My customer can choose to use them as gift tags for each card set at the party - or save them to use herself! The photo above is a little dark (sorry), but there's a beige flower with a tiny rhinestone on each little gift tag.

I did my best to make the package beautiful. In fact, even the postman commented on "what a pretty little box". Even my packing tape is decorative! I just think that ordering beautiful things from my shop should be an experience, from the moment the box arrives. It should be attractive and build anticipation for whatever's inside. Like a beautifully-wrapped Christmas gift!

And while I was at it, I finally created new business cards for myself! Each one is, of course, adorned with a tiny rhinestone. Sigh. I just love this sort of thing. (Silly, I know. But it's just how I was built, I guess!) I will most likely be adding business cards/calling cards to my Etsy shop very soon. Needing a new business card or even a Mommy calling card for yourself! Contact me and I'll make something special just for you. :-)