Etsy day, promo items, and Twitter

Tomorrow is Etsy Day! However, since I'm going to be the gal about town today, yet homebound tomorrow, I decided that Etsy day would be today for me.

I decided to print the sign that was made by shugirl for this special day, but I didn't want to drain my color printer cartridge with all the orange, so I made a black and white version to print on some colored cardstock. Feel free to take it and make your own.

I think it came out pretty good!

I happened to have some extra cardstock because I've been making promo magnets.


If anyone hasn't made these before, they are super simple. You need flat back glass marbles (found in the floral dept. for cheap!), cardstock, Mod Podge, round craft magnets (available everywhere) and E6000 adhesive (craft dept, comes in a gray squeeze tube with a pointed nozzle).

The rest is time consuming, but easy. Print your business name or whatever you wish on the cardstock. Use plain paper the first few times to make sure the size is right before you use your beautiful cardstock. The design will need to be just a touch smaller than the glass marble.

Print your designs and cut to size. Apply Mod Podge to the back of the marble, put the design in place, and Mod Podge again over the entire back. Let dry. Glue the magnets to the back using E-6000. Let dry.

TADA!!! Promo items!!!

Yesterday, I spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to make my blog bloggier. It's getting there, but I'm not totally satisfied. The picture for the header is still a little fuzzy. And I am going to start on Flickr soon, because, well, everyone else is?

I also made a button for my sidebar for Twitter. Once again, if you would like to use this for your own blog, feel free to take it.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.............

My blog is boring. Boring, boring, boring.

So, enough of the boring, the blah, the bland. I've just spent the past 4 days working on product for my etsy shop, so I'm devoting the rest of today to my blog.

We can rebuild it.
We have the technology.
Stronger.
Faster.
Bloggier.

New Goodies and a Creative Blank

I've got a new item for the Etsy shop and I'm so glad that we finally have some sunshine today. Imagine, being able to take pictures when the product is ready! What a concept!

(Shakes fist at Mother Nature, because seriously, this rainy/windy/cloudy/coldish thing she's got going on is getting really old. Sun! NOW!)

So here's a preview...

Know what it is?


It's a point-and-shoot camera set, with a wrist strap and a camera-pod-bean bag-thingie.

Which is exactly where I'm blanking at, because I can't come up with a cute name for this thing. Camera Chaise? Camera Cushion? Camera Rest? Camera Cosy? (ewwww.) Camera Ottoman? (too long) Camera Support? (too geriatric) Camera Throne? (no. just no.)

"Gee Mendy, how about Pod?" Well, I found out that there is a camera bean bag in stores that is called The Pod.

I've got more pictures to take this afternoon. I need to get some action shots, so I'm taking my model (aka daughter) to a local park to get some pics of her using the wrist strap.

Gasping! for Breath!

My number coasters were featured in a new Storque article!

I had been so used to going to CraftCult and seeing the "meritmarket is not featured in any..." over and over, I literally did a little "Squeeee!" when I saw something different.

All of these firsts are so fun!

And now, back to the ironing board...

I guess I'm going to need a cool costume

Apparently, craftiness is the new superpower...

How Crafters Will Save the World.

Treasury Love!

My number coasters were chosen for a treasury!


Thank heaven, no longer a treasury virgin!

Wish me luck

I'm working on a new item (or items) today. This could either be really great and later today I will be on my roof, arms spread wide, shouting to the annoyed neighbors, "Wooo-Hoooo!! I'm Queen of the World!", or...

it could be really NOT great and later today my husband finds me crouched in the corner of a dark closet, muttering to myself and pulling out my own hair.

Gee, I'm really hoping for the first.

(Actually, I did part of this project last night, and early indications are pointing to good.)

FINGERS CROSSED!

Finally!

Well, as Tom and Lorenzo put it, it looks like our long national nightmare is soon to be over. Project Runway is returning! It will be on Lifetime, instead of Bravo, and it will be in LA, instead of New York. (Hope this doesn't ruin the show. I really don't want to see an overabundance of young Hollywood as guest judges.)

AND Bravo is starting a new show called The Fashion Show with Isaac Mizrahi. Could it be? TWO good design competition shows? It's too much to hope for. I'll wait and watch.

Last season, I actually won a talking Tim Gunn bobblehead from TLo by picking the winner and loser for one episode in their comments. He stands proudly beside my sewing machine at all times, and every once in a while he will tell me to "Make it work!" or "Carry on!"

Yes, I made his teeny scarf. I thought he needed a little something festive for the holidays. I guess he needs something for Spring. Perhaps a twee widdle pocket square?

New item for the etsy shop

These have been fun to make. I'm pretty excited with how they turned out.

By the way, these are hand-printed coasters, and they will be available in my etsy shop very soon. Hopefully later today.

I'm anxious to do some printing on some other things.

As I was trying to upload some edited photos...

"See? The handmade organic catnip toys. Just click Buy Now and nobody gets hurt."

TWEET!

I'm brand new to the whole Twitter thing. It's a little bit... spooky.

Not in a "don't-open-the-door-there's-an-ax-murderer-on-the-other-side!" spooky, but just the feeling that I don't really know what it's all about or what I'm doing yet.

So far I've been a twitter lurker (a twurker?). One of the first people I started following was Martha Stewart, who, to my amazement, twitters about lunches with Ludacris, dinners with Valentino, and bathing her cats. Oddly enough, the bathing her cats info was the most newsworthy to me. I also follow several crafty-sites and Etsy, of course. The Etsy tweets are probably the most useful ones I get, letting me know about new articles in the Storque and virtual labs.

I'm timid to actually tweet myself. What would I say? How do you start out?

MeritMarket is ... drinking a diet dr. pepper.

MeritMarket is... avoiding doing laundry.

MeritMarket is... going to go pee, because I drank too much diet dr. pepper. Might as well start a load of laundry while I'm downstairs.

Ah, the drama! The excitement!

And, upon reading my inaugural tweet, all of the 16 followers that I have would collectively decide that I'm not worth their precious 140 characters and unfollow me.

I think I will have to start tweeting soon, though. I saw on a board that other day that it was considered rude on Twitter (or twude?) to NOT participate.

Really? OK, I promise, the first tweet-worthy thing that happens, I will dutifully report it.

This could be a while.

The never ending quest for better pictures.

After looking at the new pictures of my Market Totes, I realized that they needed some color and some contrast. Enter ORANGE!

We'll see if this gets me some more views maybe?

In other news, today I finally listed my first Craft Apron!

I made one of these for myself last year, and I don't know how I survived without it. But this model has a few upgrades, like the extra row of pockets, the scissor loop, and the removable pin cushion.

I'm off to take more pictures.

New in the Etsy shop - Market Totes

Finally! I got three of this new item listed today...

The photos aren't perfect, but the wind is gale force today and the sun hasn't been cooperating.

But it's better than no listing at all.

I'm really thrilled with how these came out. I've got them available in Natural colored cotton duck right now, but white will be coming very soon.

Thrift Store Score!

For those of you who are not sewing geeks like myself, this is a classic how-to book. I spied it at my local thrift store for 50 cents.

I was a hero at the cash register. Apparently, the two women at the register were also sewing geeks, who hadn't been able to check out the table where this book was hiding.

Ah... the thrill of the hunt.

Woot! First Sales!

It's such a huge relief to have my first sales on etsy! Two of them, to be precise.

I'm really looking forward to having some sunshine tomorrow to get some photos done. I've got Craft Aprons and Market Totes just waiting for their closeup.

Thank you universe.

Sometimes, when you have too many irons in the fire and your etsy banner is looking funky and you wonder if you have made any headway at all in the past 5 days, you come across exactly what you need to hear.

So, in lieu of an actual post with actual thoughts and words, please enjoy these wiser words at Modish Biz.

Let's get this first post out of the way, shall we?

Hi to all! Welcome to Merit Made. My name is Mendy, and I have an etsy shop called Merit Market.

On this blog, we'll talk about crafts, look at pretty, pretty pictures, and hopefully exchange some good ideas.

Now I'm going to go mark "First Blog Post" off of my to-do list.