Trash & Treasures Tuesday: Getting Organized

This week, I wanted to share two treasures I recently picked up on Etsy. I think a lot of people think of arts or crafts when they think of Etsy, but the vintage items shops list are amazing! It's like visiting multiple thrift stores, antique shops and garage sales all from the comfort of your living room.

First up, something to keep track of my mail. I'm not a fan of "piles" here and there; I'd much rather have nice little bins or baskets to organize with... which is why this letter box is so fantastic.

 

Purchased from autumnalways. Photo courtesy autumnalways.

How perfect? Letters in and letters out. Up next is something I originally thought I'd use for the mail (until I found the letter box), but now happily holds the napkins in my kitchen.

Purchased from verovintage. Photo courtesy verovintage.

This sweet little napkin holder is the perfect addition to my vintage-friendly kitchen. Similar items could be used to sort mail, hold letters to be sent or display vintage postcards. I love the idea of something old finding new purpose.

Check out Etsy's vintage section and let us know what treasures you find!

Peace & thanks,
Kaitlin

Make- it Mondays: Write a Letter!

April is National Card and Letter Writing month. How often do you get deliciously personal mail outside of the obligatory Christmas card or wedding invitation? This month I encourage you, my fellow team members, to write a good, old fashioned letter. Reach out to an old friend or your favorite crazy aunt. Try my idea or support the R-Nesters below who make letter writing related items:

Make a mini art gallery on your envelopes with stamps. Few people realize that their unused stamps don't expire. You can continue using your old stamps, like coins, indefinitely. Add them in a cluster until you get the shipping amount you need.

Add this great tag to an envelope from Jackbear Stamps

Get your own letter writing station from Up Up Creative

Or send a quick (and soft!)postcard hello from The Quilted House
Catching the wave of a lesser known holiday like this can also be helpful to your shop sales. The magazine Country Living published a small blurb on letter writing ideas in their April issue and suggested that their readers search Etsy for supplies. I have been promoting National Letter Writing Month in my Etsy shop announcements and tags for just two weeks and in that time three of the five items I specifically posted in honor of letters have sold. What a great way to get a bigger audience searching for a your items!

Jack's Pick: VHS Tape Clutch Purse by Duncan Creative

Each Friday I select an item created by a member of the Rochester NY Etsy Street Team(RNEST). What criteria do I use? I look for great looking items that I think are well made offered for a great price!

Earth Day is almost here, and creator karenswimmer has just the accessory for you, a clutch purse made from an old VHS tape!

I think this is so genius! Take an old VHS tape that will never get watched again, crack it open, and start ripping out the guts. Miles of that black magnetic tape spills out, making a great

material to weave, knit, braid, whatever! Oh sure, maybe it isn't as soft as cotton, or smooth like leather, but it is going to be very durable, waterproof, and you feel really good about it! That's worth it!

This can't be the easiest material to use, so this has to be fairly time consuming to make, so I feel the price is right on the mark here. I love ideas like this because they are so straight forward, and you wonder why you haven't seen something like this before.

Kudos Karen!

Wednesday Wellspring: The Quilted House

It's about time for another giveaway. . . and about time that I offer up a goodie of my own.

In case you're new on the scene, let me introduce myself. My name is Michelle and I am quilting away in The Quilted House. I specialize in unique and colorful houseware and gift items. I LOVE fabric and LOVE color and have so much fun combining the two into unique quilted wares.

My favorite thing to make at the moment is Simply Chic Wallets and one lucky winner will get their choice of any from my shop.

I'll keep it simple this week. There are just two things you need to do to enter - you have to do them both to qualify:

1. Follow this blog - leave a comment telling me you are a new or faithful follower for one entry.

2. Take a look around The Quilted House and tell me what you like best by leaving a second comment here. That's entry number two!

Best of luck to all. As always, the winner will be chosen at the end of next Tuesday (4/13) and announced in the next Wednesday Wellspring. This giveaway is open to the world!

Trash & Treasures Tuesday: RNEST Upcycles

I mentioned last week I've really been into upcycling lately; many hours have been spent looking through Etsy's listings of all things upcycled. And, our RNEST team has some pretty great listings! Here are two of my favorite upcycled treasures posted by two creative RNEST artists, Buenahelena and Creative.Hodge.Podge.

Cigar box perpetual calendar by Creative.Hodge.Podge. Sarah has repurposed a vintage cigar box, wooden blocks and cardboard into a one-of-a-kind calendar. The numbers can be arranged for each month and can be used for years to come. So creative and clever. 

I have been Etsy stalking these earrings for a little while now. How sweet are they? Primavera Button Earrings by Buenahelena. Carol repurposed an embroidered vintage hankie into a pair of earrings. She has a few other sets of these cute earrings in her shop, so head over there quick (before I buy them all!).

So, from cigar box to calendar and hankie to earrings, these items have a new life thanks to some creativity and inventiveness by two very resourceful artists.

I've been tinkering around with some washers lately, so hopefully by next week I'll have something fun to share of my own.

Peace & thanks,
Kaitlin

Make- it Mondays: Optimize Your Creative Time

Thanks: garfield.nfshost.com

Last week I blogged about boosting your creativity. This week I want to focus on actually finding the time for all that boosting. Many of our team members have day jobs outside of their Etsy shops, families and everyday life to take care of before they can get down to working on new items. Here are some ideas for the time crunched:

Always keep a small project with you. Much of our time is spent waiting for buses, interviews, doctor's appointments, commercials to end while watching tv...and the list goes on. Use that time for mindless work. Perhaps punching holes onto handmade price tags or cutting loose threads off quilted items.

Keep your hands busy while you learn. One thing I have challenged myself to do is learn more about the business side of Etsy by checking out Etsy's virtual labs. Many of them last a half an hour or more. I use that time to listen and learn while doing handiwork. A tactile experience also improves your aural retention on the subject of a lecture. Knitters know this well!

Invest in a kitchen timer. If you are spending more than hour a day looking at blogs and tutorials for inspiration, you're probably daydreaming projects more than actually starting them. Before you get sucked in, set a timer and promise yourself you will walk away from the computer when it dings. Working on your own site doesn't count. That's work!

Pencil creative space into your schedule. As artistic people we like to wait for the mood to strike us. Too often though, it strikes in the middle of something. Find three solid hours in your week and isolate yourself from the world. Turn off your phone, drop the kids off at grandma's and shut the door. After awhile you will jones for that three hours and bust out the goods.

Comment, comment, comment! Where do you find the time?

Jack's Pick: Louis the Lonely Bunny by Gock's Frocks

Each Friday I select an item created by a member of the Rochester NY Etsy Street Team(RNEST). What criteria do I use? I look for great looking items that I think are well made offered for a great price!

This week I have found a cute little lonely bunny by the name of Louis. Now Louis is probably lonely because he would like a loving family to become a part of for Easter or springtime. At least that is what I think, but maybe he's lonely for some other reason only a rabbit would understand.

Cute little Louis was made by Gock's Frocks. Now usually I'm cruising through Gock's etsy store to find skirts for my little daughter like I did a few months back, but I came across this little guy and thought I would have to share him for Easter.

Also, I have also learned that Gock's Frocks has joined forces with Reckless Necklace (great name!) and has taken up studio space in Rochester at the Hungerford Building on 1115 E. Main Street through Door 5 on the second floor. She is having an open house tonight, April 2, from 5-9 pm. I'm hoping to check it out if my little one can stay awake! It is an open house for Rochester's First Fridays event, so there will be other studios open in the area as well, so stop in and maybe you will see Louis and all of Gock's Frocks excellent craftsmanship.