Adding Vintage Costume Jewelry To My Etsy Shop!

Sales have been fairly slow for me on Etsy as of late. It couldn't be that I haven't listed or renewed much, could it? I think I will be adding some new inventory tomorrow and the rest of the week. It seems that I do much better when I continually add new things to all of my shops. Makes sense the way Etsy is set up...

I still have loads of vintage jewelry just sitting here waiting to be photographed and listed.  I still have photos from a year ago that I haven't gotten around to listing yet! I "cherry-pick" my favorites to list and save the rest for later......much later! Silly, I know!

The weather is starting to improve around here. I took my grandkids on a walk yesterday. We were out at least 30 minutes walking around the neighborhood I grew up in. Nostalgic for me...boring for them!

I'm trying to make the effort to get outside more often. I like to spend most of my time outside during the summer but right now...it's a little harder to get me out there! I think I will try to weed my flower beds around the front porch this week as well. Time to replace the bark mulch as well.I've been TOO home bound this winter and I need to get out!

The photos are pieces of jewelry that I will be listing during the week. Please watch my shop if you are interested in anything! Thanks for reading.....Kitty

My Sister's Etsy Shop:SignOfTheDimes

Every Photo Is A Clickable Link To That Item

I've decided to feature my sister Kristy's etsy shop:signofthedimes
since she has been so busy trying to fill up her etsy shop and escape from feebay!
She sells primarily vintage jewelry and parts that can be
used to assemble new pieces. You can find a variety of vintage items there.
Please visit her etsy shop and see her touching story about dimes!
Great job, Sis! Good Luck on etsy!

My New Blog: Vintage Shop Of The Day

I started a new blog this week that features only vintage . I thought it would be fun to search out some great vintage shops to highlight. We could all use the exposure right? My posts are very simple with a few photos and each seller has given me some background info about how long they've been selling vintage, how they got started and why. A few have added more detailed info about themselves. It's been fun so far!

I'm trying to let the photos do the talking for me. I love looking at true vintage clothing, jewelry, accessories, housewares, toys, textiles, etc. so the photos are the most important thing to me! I do find the bio's interesting too! I'm trying to keep it simple.

So far I have made my goal of featuring one vintage shop a day. I'm hoping the blog will gain a following once I get a few months worth of posts. It will be interesting to go back and look at all the featured shops! Please add the blog to your favorites if you are interested. I love vintage blogs but some are heavy with information that most of us already know. I'll leave the research to others....I just want to see the pretty stuff!

I also have a section with links to other selling venues and networking opportunities. I've only added the ones I knew off the top of my head. If you know of any other viable options please e-mail me or leave a comment. I've also added some vintage blogs that I found interesting or informative.

I hope you'll take a look. Please let me know if you have any suggestions. Here is the link to Vintage Shop Of The Day. Have fun reading!

I finally did it....I quit my day job!

Well, I finally did it! My last day at work was the night of August 13. I thought it would take me some time to get back on a normal sleeping schedule but it happened the next day! I've been busy with family and haven't been spending as much time working on my etsy shops as I thought I would. That needs to change! It seems like everything that could go wrong has lately so my "extra" money has been dwindling fast! So, I need to get on the ball and get some work done and add more to all 3 of my etsy shops! Hopefully sales will pick up soon. It's been quiet but I always do best when I continually add to my shop and I haven't been doing that.....

I feel so much better not working right now. I'm not tired anymore! We took a 3 day camping trip to Suttle Lake, Oregon (near Sisters) the morning after my last night of work which explains how I got right on track with my sleeping schedule! We had a good time sitting IN the lake with the canopy over us because it was so hot...over 100 degrees. The whole family got to go this time so it was nice spending time with my 2 younger kids who live up in Portland. I don't see them as much as I'd like to and they are very fun to be around! It took us 4 hours to find a camping spot which wasn't so much fun and I think we got the last one at Suttle Lake! We took our boat and our new towable and had fun taking the kids on rides around the lake. Got lots of photos of all the excitement! We slept in tents.... the old fashioned way! But can't live without the air mattress! My neck still hurts WITH the air mattress and we could NEVER get comfortable enough! We wanted to buy a trailer for more comfort but know it won't get much use so why bother? Still thinking about it though...

I've been having FUN cleaning my house and decluttering too! Imagine housework being fun....or enjoyable. I guess I feel a sense of accomplishment that I haven't had for over 2 years...since I started working nights and I guess that's my idea of fun for now. I love my house and spending time at home so I like it to be enjoyable to be here. My laundry is caught up, my entry closet is clean and organized-shoes all in a row, my kitchen cabinets and drawers are clean, my refrigerator and freezer too! I spent several hours this morning gardening in my very neglected front yard and got rid of some very overgrown bushes and plants. What a difference it made too! It was like the Curb Appeal show! I made a very overgrown corner into a cozy seating spot with a wooden bench and lots of potted plants. Too bad I won't have any "before" photos. I will post an "after" photo later! Wow, what an exciting blog post! Sorry, I'm excited about the smallest things now.

It just feels good to have a life. I babysat all 3 of the grandkids this week. I love them all so much. It's fun getting to see them more often and being awake and coherent for it. I will post a few new photos of them here today. Might take them to the park next week if the weather cooperates and have lunch...Emma's special request so it must be done!

Well, I need to get back to working on etsy so please check out my shop if you get a chance. I am offering free shipping right now until Sept. 1. I'm participating in a 24 hour vintage sale starting 10 am Aug. 31 to 10 am Sept. 1. It's called the Vintage Market and may be a monthly thing with many of the vintage sellers on etsy. Lots of good deals and some freebies too! I will post about any giveaways that I'm going to do in the next few days.

I will try to post more often as I get used to a schedule! I will try to have less mundane topics too!

Work & Family

After much thought I have decided to quit my day job! I'm very excited but scared at the same time. I just decided that I had too many obligations and my family was being shortchanged. Now to let the bosses know......

My family is very happy about this though and that is what matters most. I've been through alot in the last few months including cancer so I am very aware of how short life can be. I need to pay attention to my gut feeling that this is the right thing to do. It's been a long time coming. I will be very busy but enjoying every minute of it! I will be babysitting my grandkids during the week. Emma is 9, Evan is 2 and baby Ezra is 3 months old. They are all adorable of course!

My goal is to spend more time creating and gathering for all my etsy shops. I sell vintage costume jewelry and I like to create my own one of a kind jewelry using parts and pieces of vintage costume jewelry. I have a fascination with resin and I like to use that as a medium too!

I hope to start to feature some of my favorites on etsy and to maybe have a giveaway or two in the future. I can answer some questions about vintage costume jewelry but I'm not an expert. I think I've learned a little over the years so we'll see.....

New Pendant Projects

I'm gearing up for the holiday selling season and started working on some new pendants today. Still have to do the resin process but will wait till I have more ready to go. A little goes a long way and I always seem to waste too much . I'm trying to do better on that! These are little 1 x 1 inch brass squares. My silver squares are on backorder. I'm also trying to use up lots of watch backs that I have acquired. I try to be unique and add elements that I haven't seen before. Photos soon! Have lots of ideas and not so much time....

Hello! I'm new here.........

This is all new to me and I'm still trying to figure this blogging thing out! My name is Kitty and I live in Oregon. I wanted to post mostly about my etsy business and what I do there but I think you'll read about my family too! You'll hear lots about my grandkids!
I sell vintage costume jewelry on etsy. I really enjoy it alot. Sometimes it takes over my life but I still can't help myself! I work full time too so I keep myself busy between my family, "real" job and etsy! I also make new jewelry from broken bits and pieces of vintage costume jewelry from my huge collection. I will add some photos soon. I'm always trying new techniques and hope to get some new designs into my 3 shops for Christmas. Yes, I do have more than one shop on etsy!
I will also be adding links to my favorite etsy shops too! There are so many great things to be found there.
Please come back and see my photos! Kitty