Royal Baby

Fit For A Prince.....

 

MyNipNap

SugarPlumLaneBaby

HippeaMomma

   

nhayesdesigns

July 2013 EtsyBABY Showcase

EtsyBABY Team JULY Showcase

Baby Boy Blanket- Stroller S... SugarPlumLaneB... $40	Red and Aqua Newborn tutu se... Coolbabyboutiq... $20	Rainbow Bamboo Terry Wipes, ... SewTheLoveIn $9.6
Crochet Mermaid Tail, Newbor... CrochetbyPalm $48	Nautical baby onesie bib bur... SewSoDarling $35	Mini Bows / 5 Crocheted Hair... MyMojoBaby $15
Toddler Crochet Slippers CookieLids $17	Ready-to-Ship: 14" Ele... BittyBambino $17	Fourth of July Independence ... SugarBeanStitc... $17.95
Baby soft cloth toy book in ... Babaloola $5.9	Baby Barefoot Sandal, Croche... AveryleeKids $10	Fourth of July Headband Red ... TheCraftyEurop... $10

Chevron nursing infinity sc... Bluelberry $17	Wooden Teething Ring EandLuLu $10	Personalized Ladybug Door Ha... SparkledWhimsy $35
Three Baby Boy Double-Sided ... ThreeFineWoods $8	Hair Bow - Rainbow Theme Sta... SoChicBoutique... $15.5	Modern Burp Cloths - Set of ... RuffledFeather... $24
Sweet Watermelon Hat and Tut... littlehbigstyl... $45	Baby Boy Onesie with Suspend... TheCraftyMenag... $15	Octopus- crocheted, sea gree... musthavethat $18
Personalized Dinosaur Hooded... uptomykneesinc... $25	Baby or Toddler Washcloth se... 1SweetBoutique $8.98	Baby girls bonnet sun hat Gr... LittleKatysBou... $34

An Interview With Palm from Crochet by Palm

As many of you know, EtsyBABY team members are extremely talented. We wanted to take a peek at the person behind the creativity. All throughout June, we will be interviewing shop owners, to get a glimpse of the designer behind those adorable baby products!

Meet Palm Dickerson from Crochet by Palm

What inspired you to begin a shop featuring your own designs?
I have background in design, interior design and architecture. I also love arts and crafts, especially crocheting and knitting. My inspiration is my family, of course my children love wearing hat and soft blanket made from yarn.


 

How long have you been practicing your art/craft?
I started to crochet since I was very young around age 9-11 by watching my cousin making a heart shape pillow case for her mother as a gift. Somehow it fascinated me and I've been crocheted ever since.


What training have you had or are you self-taught?
I am a self-taught crocheter, but most of the time I imply a design knowledge into my crochet work as well.


What is your favorite material to craft with?
My favorite material to work with is merino yarn. It's soft and you can wash the garment made from this fiber.

What has been the hardest aspect of creating a hobby into a business?
Time management is the hardest part of turning a hobby into a business. I do have two little children and the baby on the way, also a full time mother and a military active duty's wife. We've been moving almost every year, and I've been through 7 deployments. It's very challenging try to manage everything, family, business, chores, and good customer service.

Any advice for other Etsy sellers?
When you're new to Etsy it takes time to catch up on orders. I was very excited when I got my first order :) It was 6 key chains. Personally, I think keep adding more items, sign up for different groups, read Etsy forum and seller handbook really help me a lot. Oh! tagging the right words and phrases is really important, too. The key is make what you love and people will love it.

What do you enjoy doing in your off time?
I like to take my kids to yarn store, and they're always complain :) I love to read crochet and knit magazine looking for new inspiration. I also paint when I do have free time.

Describe a typical day in your life...
Believe it or not, it's pretty difficult to describe my typical day. My everyday is different depending on what mood my kids are in :) We wake up early in the morning, have breakfast, get dress, and get ready for the day. I get to work when they take naps or after they're in bed. I enjoy working quietly when they're not around.


 
Where can we find your products online? My products are on Etsy website or on Facebook www.facebook.com/CrochetbyPalm.

An Interview With Cheryl Viar from Coolbabyboutique

As many of you know, EtsyBABY team members are extremely talented. We wanted to take a peek at the person behind the creativity. All throughout June, we will be interviewing shop owners, to get a glimpse of the designer behind those adorable baby products!

Meet Cheryl Viar from Coolbabyboutique

What inspired you to begin a shop featuring your own designs? I love being creative and I created things for my photography business. Clients were asking where I got my outfits. When I told them I made them, they wanted to purchase them.

How long have you been practicing your art/craft? 5 years

What training have you had or are you self-taught? Self taught


What is your favorite material to craft with?  Chiffon

What has been the hardest aspect of creating a hobby into a business? Getting business and traffic to the site is the hardest thing. I sell local also.

Any advice for other Etsy sellers? Make quality products, keep them fresh and always keep your clients happy.

What do you enjoy doing in your off time? I enjoy playing with my new grand babies.
     

Describe a typical day in your life. Most of my inspiration comes to me while laying in bed trying to sleep at night. I put ideas on my phone. In the morning I start early then take a break at lunch for a couple hours to get house work done & ship out packages then start creating again til dinner. After dinner I take photos and post them on the site. I love what I do. It's relaxing & it makes me happy.

Where can we find your products online? My products are listed on Etsy and www.coolbabyboutique.com which takes you to my Etsy shop.

An Interview With Heidi from Chunks Baby Junk

As many of you know, EtsyBABY team members are extremely talented. We wanted to take a peek at the person behind the creativity. Throughout June, we will be interviewing shop owners, to get a glimpse of the designer behind those adorable baby products!

Meet Heidi from Chunks Baby Junk.

What inspired you to begin a shop featuring your own designs?
When my son was about seven months, I would play the sippy cup pick up game an insane amount of times. With all of the suction toys out there, I decided to find a way to make the cup suction to the high chair tray. It made for a much more peaceful mealtime!

How long have you been practicing your art/craft?
15 Months

 



What training have you had or are you self-taught?
I am self-taught. I didn't know how to sew but was determined to create these sippy straps.

What is your favorite material to craft with?
Ribbon

What has been the hardest aspect of creating a hobby into a business?
With sales increasing, it's harder to juggle everything that needs to be done.

Any advice for other Etsy sellers?
Believe in yourself and your product and true success will follow.




What do you enjoy doing in your off time?
I am a stay at home mom to a now 2 year old and a baby due in July. I enjoy spending as much time with my little guy before life gets more chaotic. He is all boy so we are outside riding every toy with wheels and playing on the swing set.

 

Describe a typical day in your life...
I chase a two year old little boy and two puggles during the day. We stay busy with different activities from swimming, story time, errands, playing outside, etc. During nap time & bed time is when I put all my energy into my business. I love my chaotic life and wouldn't change it for anything. I'm so happy other moms aren't having to play the pick up game as much anymore!! :)

Where can we find your products online? ChunksBabyJunk

An Interview With Carissa From Frogs & Fairytales

As many of you know, EtsyBABY team members are extremely talented. We wanted to take a peek at the person behind the creativity. Throughout June, we will be interviewing shop owners, to get a glimpse of the designer behind those adorable baby products!

Meet Carissa Wadding, owner/artist from Frogs & Fairytales, llc.

What inspired you to begin a shop featuring your own designs? 
My inspiration for staring my own business came after having my first child, my son Carter. While trying to decide how to decorate his room, I notice that I was having a hard time finding art that I really loved, and could not find anything personable. This inspired me to start creating children's room decor that could be personalized to fit each customer's unique requests by changing colors, adding a name, or creating a whole new design just for them. I started my business in the summer of 2009, as Wadding Creations. I opened an Etsy store in 2010 as Wadding Creations, after a friend, and Etsy seller, told me about the site and encouraged me to check it out. After having many people confuse Wadding Creations with Wedding Creations, I decided I needed to change my business name to something a little more memorable and exciting. In 2011 I changed my business name to Frogs & Fairytales and became an LLC. I then opened a new Etsy shop under my current name.
What training have you had or are you self-taught? I am self-taught, no formal training other than the art classes I took while in high school.

How long have you been practicing your art/craft?  I have always loved to draw, paint, and craft from the time I was little. As I got older, art became a way to relieve stress and escape from the business of daily life. I love the peace it brings me; many times when I draw or paint, I do it without tv or music on. When it's nice outside, I open a window and enjoy listening to the birds sing while I work.  

What is your favorite material to craft with?  I create children's room decor on canvas using acrylics, and also paint furniture, drawer knobs, and light switch covers using acrylics. 
 
What has been the hardest aspect of creating a hobby into a business? While my first born is now in school, I currently have a one year old son at home with me all day while I work. It can be difficult to juggle work and spending quality time with my son during the day. My day is very broken up, so I have to be able to multitask and jump from one thing to another quickly and efficiently. I have to remember to be "all in." I have a tendency to feel guilty about not giving my full attention to my son when I'm working, and then I feel guilty about not working when I'm giving my attention to my family. I have to remind myself to be "all in" in that moment; giving my full self to what I am doing now, and not worrying about the other aspects of my life at that moment.

Any advice for other Etsy sellers?  My advice to other Etsy sellers would be to do what you love, but remember that you're not always going to love what you're doing. I love my job and would not trade it for anything. The fact that I get to create art every day, while staying home with my son, is an amazing opportunity, however some days are stressful, some days you just don't want to work. You also need to grow thick skin. Not everyone is going to love your work, and that's okay. You're not going to get into every art show you apply for or every store you ask to have your work sold in, and that's okay. I try to use bumps in the road as an opportunity to learn and grow. Why didn't they like my product? How can I improve/what can I add to get more people interested in what I do? Be open to change, including your thought process about your designs, and how to grow your business.

What do you enjoy doing in your off time?  In my off time I love spending time with my boys, my husband, and our Australian Shepherd mix. We love being outdoors fishing, riding bikes, and going on walks. We love to check out the many events happening in our city, including the farmer's markets on the weekends. We enjoy traveling as well, usually to the ocean.

Describe a typical day in your life . . .  My day starts by getting my oldest son and I ready in the morning. I take him to school while my husband gets ready for work and watches our one year old. After taking him to school, I start my work day with my youngest son in tow. He plays close by me while I work on orders. There are breaks for lunch, putting him down for a nap, etc. until we leave to pick up my son from school in the afternoon. I finish up what I am working on and then spend some time with my boys and cook dinner while we wait for my husband to get home. We spend time together as a family in the evening. Once we put the boys to bed, I usually go back to work for a little while before heading off to bed myself. On the weekends I try to focus completely on family time and not paint or create things for the business, except for the occasional email response to a customer or creating a listing for a customer. Again, what i have found is the key to juggling both home and work when you work from home and not feeling guilty about it, is being "all in" in what you are doing at that moment.

Where can we find your products online? You can find my work on Etsy, my website, and on Facebook!

An Interview With Karen from The Dreamy Boutique

As many of you know, EtsyBABY team members are extremely talented. We wanted to take a peek at the person behind the creativity. All throughout June, we will be interviewing shop owners, to get a glimpse of the designer behind those adorable baby products!

Meet Karen from TheDreamyBoutique

What inspired you to begin a shop featuring your own designs?  It has always been a dream of my sister and I to start our own business and sell our products.
With seven children combined, we love children and love creating these nurseries for other people to enjoy.

 




How long have you been practicing your art/craft?  Growing up in a military family, and having to move pretty much every year, our mother taught us to sew. Both of us were making all of our own clothes by the time we were teenagers. There was no such thing as "the mall" in our vocabulary and we learned to create and design our own fashion. Without stating our actual age, combined we have over 60 years of experience!
What training have you had or are you self-taught?  Although no formal training, we had the instruction and guidance of our loving mother

What is your favorite material to craft with?  Cotton and minky are our favorite materials for our Nurseries.

What has been the hardest aspect of creating a hobby into a business?  I think the hardest part is just getting started and learning how to promote the business.

Any advice for other Etsy sellers? Follow your dreams, you are never too old to start!! With Etsy, it is so easy to get started.

What do you enjoy doing in your off time? We love spending time with our families. They are the most important things in our life.

Describe a typical day in your life... Our business is split between my sister and I. I currently still work a full time job and manage the business side, design service and advertising side of The Dreamy Boutique, my sister, starts her day out with a cup of coffee and her rotary cutter, she is the master of all the finished products.

Where can we find your products online? TheDreamyBoutique
We also have our website under construction. 
We hope to add more products and hopefully another shop on Etsy.