Oh Deer and Other Holiday Trends

Wondering what the current holiday trends are for those selling on Etsy? I'm not an expert, but I do keep my eye on themes, notice designs reoccurring in magazines and read the trade reports.

1. Woodland - Birds are still going strong. Deer, whether it's reindeer, fawns or bucks I keep seeing them! Acorns, pine cones, feathers, trees - these are themes I've noticed on everything from housewares to stationary to jewelry and more.

2. Sugar-coated - it's a candy colored world out there. I've noticed this trend leaning more toward vintage, like old-Hollywood meets the North Pole. Glitter, tinsel, paper ephemera from Christmas past are paired up with vintage trims and sparkly baubles.

3. Christmas is more Christmasy this year with a nod toward holidays past. Classic red and greens with nostalgic motifs like mittens, snowflakes, trees and stockings can be seen in many magazines this season.

4. You big softie! Felted ornaments, crocheted snowflakes, soft and cuddly accessories in wool and cotton are big for decorating our homes and ourselves this chilly season.

Colors that seem trendy for jewelry this holiday - elegant designs in black and shades of plum and berry. Purple is THE color for fall and it will transition into winter too.

Well, that's it for now. What trends have you noticed or maybe you'd like to just announce a trend you plan on spear-heading this holiday season?

Twitter Tips for Artists & Designers

What is twitter? Micro-blogging in 140 characters or less, answering the question, "What are you doing right now?" http://www.twitter.com/

Why twitter? For the same reason we do anything online: for entertainment, information and connection to a global community.

As a small business I twitter for a few reasons. I use twitter to keep up on industry news, inspiration and ideas for running my business. A few of my favorites:

Etsy: http://twitter.com/Etsy
Interweave Press: http://twitter.com/InterweaveNews
Whip Up: http://twitter.com/whipup
Croq Zine: http://twitter.com/croqzine
Softflex Company: http://twitter.com/SoftFlexCompany
The Blog Squad: http://twitter.com/BlogSquad
Rings & Things: http://twitter.com/Rings_Things
Timothy Adam Designs: http://twitter.com/timothyadam
Crafty Chica: http://twitter.com/CraftyChica
Margot Potter: http://twitter.com/MargotPotter

I also use twitter to connect with customers who are following me, my friends and even a few family members.

I check out twitter every day at lunch for "lunch and links." I skim through what everyone has posted and click on the links that catch my eye. Even though I follow over 100 people, there are rarely more than 25 twittering on a regular basis. If someone is twittering too much for me, I simply unfollow.

When I blog or have some news to share I go to ping.fm to make a post to both twitter and facebook at the same time. It takes a minute to set up and has been a handy time saver.

What to twitter?
Your latest blog entry
Good news & important updates
Interesting events in your life
Occasional sales and specials
Listing of new items (although I'd rather click on a link to your blog that talks about your latest item and your inspiration behind it.)
Links from other places that have caught your eye
Good deals you've found or shops you love
a few random tidbits that let us know the person behind the computer screen
You can also use twitter to get feedback on ideas and your latest creations
Ask questions - I like to twitter back now and then.

Please, I really don't want to read about errands, household chores or what you had for lunch unless you are related to me! Of course if you can write about those in an entertaining and funny way I may make an exception. Food items are okay if they are seasonal, quirky or could inspire a recipe search. No "I just had a bowl of oatmeal." A better tweet would be, "hmm, just pulled the pumpkin bread out of the oven!"

Should you Twitter? Maybe! All you can do is give a try and see if you enjoy it. If you are twittering to promote your business, remember with social networking getting your name out there is the goal. Don't be pushy, don't contact people directly asking them to visit your shop. And for goodness sake, don't turn off followers by being aggressive with the listings from your shop. You are building up awareness of your brand and making connections.

Etsy had a great article about Twitter yesterday, which yes, I found out about through Twitter!
Timothy Adams also has some good tips for branding your business with Twitter.

If you Twitter, do you have a favorite crafty, bead or business that you follow that you could recommend?

You don't say? Part 4

(Insert Funny Caption Here)

We need to start out our week with a good laugh, don't we? So it's round 4 of my Funny Caption Contest. Leave your suggested caption in the comments section. On Saturday I will draw one random entry to win one of my new Holiday Bird Ornaments featured in today's photo!

Handmade Sunday

A little squirrel I needle felted for my youngest daughter a few years ago.

I read a great post this week over at the Croq Zine blog on 15 Reasons to Bust Your Stash. And don't we just have a mountain of crafty supplies here at the HumbleHome! When I started this new series, I was making mental notes of everything I wanted to make and what supplies I needed to go buy. But after reading this post, I thought about what I already have on hand and how to use that.

I have wool roving, yarn, fabric, trims, beads, pine cones (?), beads, chain, paint, clay, printmaking supplies, wire and tons of paper. So all of these treasures will be transformed into gifts and ornaments over the next 6 weeks.

One project I am going to tackle is a version of this artist's kit that has pockets for a little sketchbook and art supplies. We have a thing for sketchbooks here, you can never have too many! This will be a good way to use up some of the fabric leftovers from our Halloween costumes.

Have a fun and crafty Sunday with your loved ones!

A flurry of beads

The winner from this week's funny caption contest is Alisa. Alisa check your email!

Today I am a factory. I have a little back up here and working through some big orders as quickly as I can. But trust me, this is no complaint. I'd rather work weekends and nights than work for the man. Whoever he is!

And let's face it, I'm over here making beads and that is fun stuff.

Speaking of fun stuff, I was featured today on the etsy blog for my weekend special. Weekend special? Do tell...

Well, I am offering free shipping all weekend to kick off the start of Holiday shopping.

Be sure to stop by and see what kind of goodies I have, beads for those making their own gifts and ornaments and jewelry for those shopping for gifts.

And because I'm really feelin' the Christmas crafties coming on, I'll share a bit from my favorite holiday movie, The Snowman. Made in 1982, a wordless animation. It's so charming. If you haven't watched it before you need to see it on DVD, each frame is hand-drawn and completely enchanting. Okay, back to the bead table for me.

(Watch The Snowman video on my blog those who subscribe by email.)