I've Been Blogged

It's very late and I really do need to get to bed but I wanted to take a moment and thank an Etsy seller Knitted for Ewe http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6110038 who very kindly contacted me and asked me to be part of her blog posting at http://jonicania.blogspot.com/ where she talks about her passion of knitting and a bit about her personal life. I am so honoured that someone would think enough of my buttons that they would feature me on their blog. Thank you Knitted for Ewe!!!!

And now I really must get some sleep so I am forcing myself to step away from the computer and head to bed. Good night all!

Handmade Buttons-Tree Lover Buttons

I've just added these wonderful tree buttons to my Etsy store http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27116847. They were made with images I purchased from another Etsy seller Found Objects http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=93047. For some reason I'm really drawn to trees at the moment. I wonder why that is? I've made these particular buttons in a set of six different buttons but I've also made the buttons in sets of 6 of each single design. It seems the weekend has passed me by yet again at the speed of light and so I haven't had a chance to list them but hopefully I'll do that tomorrow but we'll see. Tomorrow is my husband's birthday and I've got a bit of a surprise party planned. Nothing big just his parents coming over but I'll be running around all day getting preparations ready and doing some last minute cleaning so we'll see how that goes.

I hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend and is all rested up for another Monday. It's nearly 11:00 pm. as I write this so I should head off to bed soon. I'm not normally up this late but can't sleep for some reason so just did the Etsy listing I mentioned above and am doing some work on some more buttons. I have been working on some images of my own (one's I created) so these should be showing up in my buttons shortly. We'll see how that goes. I am giving more and more thought to selling tutorials on how to make the buttons so maybe I should make some original images to go with that. We'll see. Well I need to get to bed. Good night all.

This Week's Michael's Coupon for Canadians

Here is the link to this week's Michael's coupon for Canadians. Not sure if it works in other places. http://mic.michaels.com/20090621WeeklyCanada.aspx?id=144&referenceNo=02389673258&reg_source=WKY06209&cm_ven=mic&cm_cat=wkly&cm_pla=email&cm_ite=wkly062009 This coupon is good for June 21 to June 26, 2009.

Happy Father's Day Dad

This is the first Father's Day without my Dad. He passed away February 9th, 2009 after having heart surgery. I don't want this to be a sad post though. I want to remember him with happy thoughts. My Dad was so funny. He always made me laugh. He was the kind of person everyone liked. He could strike up a conversation with strangers and they would be talking away like they were old friends. That's certainly something I admire about him. I have a hard time talking to strangers and certainly can't just jump right in and talk to someone I've just met like we're long lost friends. The picture here is of a Father's Day card I made for my Dad a few years ago. It shows my sister and I when we were little. I expect my sister was just a few months old and I was probably four or five. I remember when I sent this to him my mother told me he teared up a bit. I am glad it made him happy. I am glad it gave him happy thoughts. That's what I want to remember about my Dad-happy thoughts, happy times. I miss you more than I can say Dad but I want you to know I am so glad you are my Dad and that I got to spend many good times with you. I love you and I always will and I'll always continue to be Daddy's girl. Kisses.

Handmade Fall or Halloween Buttons

I know it's early for Halloween buttons but when I saw these images I just couldn't resist. I decided to make some of these buttons in a bit larger size. They are approximately 1 1/8" or 2.75 cm round. The first set is listed on my Buttons by Robin Etsy store http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=26717067, the second on my new Buttons by Robin Artfire store http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=270332. I'm finding it interesting having two handmade button stores now as well as a few items on Ebay http://shop.ebay.ca/merchant/primitive_pursuits. I list different buttons on each venue as I would be afraid that two people would purchase the same buttons. I know it's unlikely but I wouldn't want to take a chance. As well I always list a picture of the actual buttons the person will receive so it's important to me that everything is kept separate. I'm not sure if this is a good idea spreading my buttons all over but we'll see how it goes. Now that Etsy has fixed their search engine optimization problems (long story but you can check out the Etsy forums if you really want to read up on all the drama) I seem to have more people finding my Etsy store and I've had a couple of nice sales after a bit of a dry spell. Thank you Etsy for fixing the problem and thank you even more those of you who found my buttons and purchased them! One set is going for a gift and I always love to hear that. I hope the recipient loves them! Anyway I will keep you posted on my experiment opening up an Artfire store along with my Etsy store. No sales on Artfire yet but I only have a few items listed and really I'm looking at it more as a way to Advertise my Etsy store as they let you post an Etsy mini in your "studio" (they call it a studio not a store on Artfire). I figure for the $12 per month I'm paying it's probably pretty inexpensive advertising. Anyway what do you think? Am I spreading myself too thin or is it a good way to get my handmade buttons out there for people to see?

New Buttons By Robin Artfire Store

Well yesterday I decided to open a Buttons By Robin Artfire store. The picture shows a screenshot of my store currently http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&seller_id=15446. It's a little bare right now but I'll be adding to it slowly as time goes by. Most of my buttons are still on my Etsy store and that will continue to be my main store http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6310781. I also list a few buttons on E-Bay http://shop.ebay.ca/merchant/primitive_pursuits. As I write this I only have one item listed o E-Bay but they just came out with an option where you can list 5 items a month for free so I may list a few auctions. I tend to just use the buy it now option and list for a month.

I decided after a bit of an upset on Etsy with the SEO search (which has now been fixed-Thanks Etsy!!!) that it was time to expand a bit. After reading all the posts in the Etsy Community Forums about SEO (search engine optimization for those who don't know) it started to make sense that I should expand a bit. I do want to make my buttons more of a business-right now it's a hobby-a hobby that I love but I would like to expand more. I've even started thinking I might write a tutorial about how to make the buttons yourself. I've learned a great deal over the years through trial and error and I'm sure that would be of interest to some people. I do have a concern about selling "my secrets" but I'm sure if I could figure out how to do it others can as well. As they say "There is nothing new under the sun." Anyway I have to give that some more thought. For now I'm having fun experimenting and broadening my web presence. We'll see how it goes.
T

Back from The Cottage

I'm just back from the cottage. We spent a relaxing few days there but now we're back in the city. I still have a few more days until I have to go back to the day job. I took lots of pictures while I was at the cottage this time. This is a picture I took at my family property which is close to the cottage. I believe this is a Yellow Swallowtail butterfly. I guess I'd better go look that up. I decided that while I was away I would try to take some photographs that I might use in my buttons and jewelry on my Etsy store http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6310781. I have been making buttons and pendants from some purchased images so thought I might give my own images a try. What do you think? Do you think this image might look good as a handmade button?