The question of free gifts

Does anyone else ever wonder if you should give free gifts in your Etsy shops when someone purchases a product? My most challenging question is WHAT should I give? My little shop is mostly a mishmash of a few kinds of things, so I can't really have just one free gift that I give out to everyone.

At least that's what I think.

For instance, I used to give one free face scrubbie when I sent orders out, but I wasn't sure if that was always a good idea. I mean, one little face scrubby. If all I had was one face scrubby, that thing would get lost so quickly that I'd probably use it once and then never see it again. On the other hand, everything else I make is usually too expensive to just give away (like wash cloths or jewelry).

But let's step back a bit here and look away from the items I sell in my store and more at the theme for my shop. Mother Nature's Child, a shop of earth inspired jewelry and eco-friendly house products. So why not send something that's either earth inspired or earth friendly? Like some of the cool little things I've upcycled, like these notebooks? Now that is a perfect idea.

No matter what people send as free gifts, I feel like it should be something that's related to your shop, and something that's generic enough that it's useful to everyone. I ordered a mess load of earrings from a shop some time ago, and as a free gift, the seller actually sent a couple pairs of free earrings. I totally loved the idea, but the earrings weren't actually something I would have picked out for myself, and that's when I decided that free gifts should be something small and generic.

Do any of you Etsy sellers send free gifts? I'd love to know what you send. Maybe we can share some ideas :)

Reusable Mop Pads

My biggest seller in the past has been my reusable mop pads (that fit on Swiffer mops), but I've been pretty lazy lately with posting more of them.  

Well, last night I got more up in the shop! 

 

I still have two more to get pictures of though, so there will be more coming as well.  I like these guys, but they're a little tedious to make.  They take me about an hour to finish, so I feel a little odd selling them as cheaply as I do.  But on the other hand, I wouldn't want to raise the price, either, because $8 is about the limit of what I would pay for them.  Nevermind that I'm a cheapskate.

Laid up

In the wee morning hours on Thursday, I woke up to a pain in my belly. A few hours later, my husband was driving me to the ER. A full 12 hours after I arrived at the ER (seriously, that's how long I had to wait), I was wheeled off to surgery to have my appendix removed.

Now that I have all the free time in the world, I'm wondering if I should use this time to A) rest and recuperate, or B) work on promoting my Etsy shop and this blog. That's my real problem in life; I just can't sit still. I always have to be doing something, even if it's something trivial. I can't just watch TV. I have to be folding laundry or crocheting at the same time.

I wonder if this is because I'm a crafter or because I'm a woman. Hmm....

I have an update on the Neem oil, too! I received it in the mail a little less than a week ago, and my squash are doing really well now! They're not completely healed yet, but they're doing so much better. It's almost like magic. I will say that although the powdery mildew is going away, they're getting a dark kind of fungus. But since Neem is a general fungicide, I just sprayed them again and it will probably go away. Yay!

So there's a update on my life. I'm working on a series of blog entries about how to reuse everyday trash, and make it into something that's actually useful. I want to post these things once a week. I was thinking about posting on Monday and then calling it Makeover Monday, but that sounds kind of cheesy. If I can think of something better, I'll let you know, otherwise it'll probably be on Mondays.

But since I'm still feeling mostly crappy, I think I'll end this now and get back to watching TV and crocheting at the same time.

Let's get to know each other

I'm back! I figure since this blog is new, I should say a little about myself and what I plan on writing about.

Well, at the moment, I'm a 25 year old house wife and stay-at-home artist. I love to craft and do art and do simple, domestic sorts of things, like baking and decorating. It annoys me when people suggest that I should have a job, as if it's a crime for a girl to be a homemaker these days. We don't have any kids, and don't plan on having any for a while to come, but as with most things, you never know until it happens.

I have a little Etsy shop that I've been working with off and on for about two years now. I'd have better success there if I actually stuck with it! I mainly have sold useful, eco-friendly, reusable household items like wash cloths, mop pads and face scrubbies, but I started selling nature inspired jewelry this summer, too. Mostly, my shop is about appreciating and loving Mother Nature and all she has given us.

As for this blog, I think it's going to run along the same lines. Simple ways to love Mother Nature, as well as practical advice for selling on Etsy and being crafty and creative. I can't promise anything because I'm kind of flaky, but that's what my hopes are :)

So that's all for now. See you all another day!

Hello Blogger!

Hello world! I've had a few blogs in the past, but I decided it's time to have one specifically for my crafty endeavors. What better way to show the world I'm serious about them?

But seeing as it's 10:16pm, and I want to go running at 6am tomorrow morning, I should say goodnight for now. See you on the morrow!