Bloglovin'!

I haven't written anything here in some time, but I'm going to get to it soon! I have lots of thoughts, and I'd like to do a tutorial of some kind this week or weekend. I'm itching to do a craft, and I've got big plans for a holiday collection on my Etsy shop. I'm also looking for Christmas gift ideas (cards, stationary, artwork, ect.) that will be great to sell! Feel free to comment below with any good ideas you may have!

On another note, I finally joined Bloglovin' and took all the blogs that I have saved in my Bookmarks Bar on my browser, and added them to Bloglovin'. I always felt like some sort of hero for going to each individual blog every day to check for a new post, but this is great for checking in on the ones that don't post at the same time very day, or that I don't follow as avidly.

So... Follow my blog with Bloglovin!

We'll talk later!!

A Little Self Promotion Never Hurt Nobody

You were supposed to say that in your best Fergie voice (like in The Great Gatsby).

I've been getting little projects slowly but surely, mostly from friends and family here in Auburn. My Etsy shop has not taken off at all so far, which is disappointing, but I haven't exactly marketed myself as much as I could/should. There's not enough time in the day! I thought I'd share some of the things that I've been working on...

This one is a gift for my former college roomate who just had a baby girl! I think I got the inspiration for the flowers from a greeting card that I saw on Pinterest. Isn't it darling?

Congrats Ibelise!! (If you're seeing this, it should be coming in the mail soon!)

The daughter of a coworker approached me last month to create the party invitations for her little boy's second birthday party, which is at a local pumpkin patch here in Central New York. I usually do a few different designs for clients to pick from, especially if I'm not exactly sure what they're envisioning. This was the final decision:

This was another choice, and I loved it just as much! The perfect twist to a fall color scheme!

I've been trying my hand at designing custom resumes for some friends. They're quick and easy to do but they make a huge difference! Just imagine an employer's delight when they open this up:

And no, I wasn't talking about how beautiful my best friend is. I was talking about how effective the design is! (Ha-ha)

And this is another one I did. Cute, right?

And this is my resume! I did this one awhile ago, and I'd actually like to redo it a little bit. Make it a little more sophisticated.

If you're interested in my work, you can pop over to my Etsy shop and look at more of my designs, or email me at emmabauso@gmail.com, and we can get a little project in the oven!

My Etsy Shop & Giveaway!

Besides having recently started this blog, I am also relatively new on Etsy, too! I started my shop, The Littlest Print Shop last month, and I won’t lie- I expected it to take off quicker than it has. I’ve scoured the internet and Pinterest for tips and advice on creating a super successful shop, and I feel like I’ve followed the steps as best as I can! I’ve put myself out there on all the social media platforms that I have, and even approached women that fall into my target audience, and offered them coupon codes- and nothing! Sometimes not even so much as an “Ok, thanks!”
Darn you Facebook messenger for allowing me to see that someone has seen my message and just doesn’t want to reply.
I even went the extra mile and had these super cute business cards printed, so I could hand them out to the women I know through work.
                
Ok, so I’ll stop whining now and get on to more about my shop! I’ve been creating my own invitations and announcements for awhile now (my first was an invitation to my graduation party, and I’m embarrassed that I thought they were the bees knees), and people are always commending me for my talent and saying how great my work is. With some prods and words of encouragement from a few people- namely my Aunt Jen on one or two occasions- I opened up shop. I have no real experience with photography, and especially not product photography. It’s pretty difficult to take interesting pictures of pieces of paper, so I established the signature style of having the wood of my kitchen table as the backgrounds to my products.

When it came to pricing my products, I looked at similar items on Etsy that were big sellers. For now I’m offering the actual, printed invitations, and not digital files, so that’s what I looked at prices of. I also checked out Shutterfly and Tinyprints to see what they charge per invitation/announcement/card. Once I had my price per card, I figured in the time it would take me to edit a customized piece, and tacked that on. I estimated the cost of adding envelopes, and then I had my price. To me, it seems extremely fair, considering I’m not charging for shipping! Since I’m also a newbie, I didn’t feel right about charging an arm and a leg for my items. If the price doesn’t seem right, or I find that I’m not actually making anything, once I start selling, then I can reevaluate.
So, with all this information, I’d love to hear from any Etsy sellers, or even freelancers or non-virtual shop owners! What am I doing right and what am I doing wrong, and am I just impatient?!
I’m itching for a sale- not for the money, but for the excitement of having my work “out there”.

Lucky for you guys, I’m giving away 20 FREE Invitations or Announcements of your choice from my shop! This offer excludes envelopes, but does include shipping to wherever you are, within the US. All you have to do is:

• Comment on this post saying “I Love Etsy”
• Tell me if you’ve ever purchased from Etsy and if so, what did you like about that experience?
• Your email address

Because I’m not sure how large my readership is right now, I’ll keep this giveaway open until there are 10 comments on it. Once there are 10 comments, I’ll randomly select a winner. The winner will then be emailed by me and we can talk about your order from there!
Feel free to check out my shop before you enter this giveaway!