Moo.com: for quite awhile I've been a fan of this business card/sticker/postcard creation site. Last year I tried out making stickers (all featuring my cat Spike... yes, I'm a complete dork for making stickers of my cat, but we knew that already) and was delighted at the results.
I had been meaning to get business cards for my Etsy store, and decided to go with my gut and try out Moo's Mini Moo cards. They're a bit more expensive than other business cards, but they've got a heaping pile of benefits anyone in a creative industry can appreciate.
First, the card designing is all done via their website. So fussing with creating the actual card layout yourself in, say, Photoshop, is unnecessary. You crop your photos to the business card (or sticker, or postcard) size directly on the website, and then design the back of the card using templates. Yup, they're two-sided cards: one side has your pictures, the other has your traditional business card text.
And your photos... you can upload them to the site OR you can link directly to your Etsy, Flickr, or Facebook account to use the photos you've already uploaded in the past to those accounts. It's freakishly easy.
The other thing that's great about Moo.com's products, and this might be my favorite part, is the fact that each business card can have a completely different graphic on the front. If you order 50 business cards, the cards can utilize 50 different graphics. Feel like only using 10 different images? Then you get 10 of each. How's that for helping you to promote a variety of your items?!
So how did my cards turn out? See for yourself:
Here is the front and back of the cards. I directly linked my Etsy account to Moo.com to use the photos I was already utilizing from my store. In designing the text side of my card I was happy to discover that Moo.com has a mini Etsy banner that you can use on your cards.
Here you can see some of the different images I used for my cards. The Mini Moo cards come in batches of 100. I used 30 different photos, giving me about 3 of each card.
I also ordered a case for my cards. They're only $4.99 USD each and come in 4 different colors. I've got mine hanging from my purse so that I've got business cards in an instant. As you can see, I pimped mine out a bit with a sticker.
...SPEAKING of stickers, I ordered another set of stickers as well. I'm planning to add them to my packaging when I mail out jewelry purchases. I know it's a silly thing, but I love that Moo.com gives you a couple of color options for the cover of your sticker book. It's a little detail, but it's the little details that make Moo.com special.
Here are the stickers themselves. They're small (around the size of a postage stamp), so make sure you pick out simpler images for your stickers as tiny details will get lost when the image is shrunk down to sticker size.
My first batch of Mini Moo cards and stickers weren't perfect, but that was my fault, not Moo.com's. I learned quite a bit about which of my photos make the most impact on the skinny little Mini Moo cards and which maybe just don't work quite right. Regardless of this, I'm overall deleriously happy with my purchase and I can't recommend the site enough. It's definitely worth the extra cost.
Thinking of getting your OWN Mini Moo cards? Use the following discount codes:
15% off your first order
2RB2CK
20% off 1 package of MiniCards
YRY7H6
Here's a contest you may be interested in: Handmadeology is sponsoring a "best item photo" contest for the next two weeks. You can enter by posting your best item photo in the blog. The photo with the most votes at the end of the two weeks wins $60 worth of advertising on the site.
Here's the contest link.
Check it out and, while you're there, consider voting for my photo: my Sienna Bamboo Blossom necklace.
For any of you who are Toronto-area beaders, this may be of interest to you.
The Toronto Bead Society is having their Spring sale on Saturday, May 2nd. The sale is located at the Metro Toronto YMCA at 20 Grosvenor Street and will be taking place from 10:00am-5:00pm. There is a $5 entry fee, but you can click here for a $2-off coupon, bringing it down to just $3.
I've never been to this sale before, but with 50 different vendors it might just be worth a try.
Click here for more info.
I'm adding a feature to this blog to talk about some of my favorite Etsy sellers. First up is Felt The Love.
I was recently looking for a case for my iPod Touch. The cases in stores bored me completely, so I decided to see what Etsy had to offer. There's lots of great cases to be found on Etsy, but my favorites were sold in the Felt The Love store.
Felt The Love currently has iPod, iPhone, and Blackberry cases composed of felt with exciting and fun details like buttons, contrasting thread, feathers, and felt cut-outs. They also sell adorible felt rings as well. The items are fun, creative, and VERY reasonably priced.
I intended to order a specific case, but unfortunately it was sold before I was able to purchase it. As it turns out, this wasn't a problem. I contacted the shop and they were happy to make me a copy of the case I had wanted. This shop was quick to get back to me with answers to my questions, perfectly willing to do a custom order, and sent out my case quickly.
Plus, my case came stuffed with Sweet Tarts, which was a fantastic bonus for a sugar fiend like myself.
Felt The Love is a great option for people looking for an iPod case with a bit of personality... and candy... I can't say enough about the candy.
*Here's the case I picked up. Isn't it fun?
Salma Earrings: Chandelier earrings composed entirely of pink freshwater pearls.
Lorelai Earrings: Daffodil blossoms made of white lucite and yellow glass beads accented with topaz-colored Swarovski crystals.
My Plumeria earrings have just been featured in an Etsy Treasury themed around the color crimson and Spring.
Click here to see my earrings and the other items featured with them. The treasury is only up until Friday, April 17th at 5:38am, so check it out while you still can.
It's not related to Etsy or jewelry, but I liked this article so much I thought I'd share it here anyway. It's about easy paint makeovers for your home. There's some really obvious suggestions at first, but also some unexpected ones as well. The best part is the article ALSO explains all the technique and materials needed to do each paint makeover, including how to prime different types of surfaces to take paint properly.
I love customizing and tweaking things to make them my own, so this article was one that completely clicked for me.
Click here to check it out and enjoy.
I've got more of the new Primavera line up on my Etsy shop.
First, Natasha Earrings; a colorful concoction of lemon and butter yellow, pink, and lilac.
Next, June earrings; they're like dangling a bouquet of freshly picked flowers from your ears.
Finally Blythe Earrings; shimmering blossoms in cool colors.
Enjoy!
I've been spending the last week working towards better photographs of my items. I think I'm finally on the right track with the photos of these new items:
Primavera Earrings - Lily
Primavera Lariat Necklace - Buttercup
Primavera Earrings - Ava
To try and keep my prices competitive, yet still allow me to earn a decent amount of profit on each item, I try and save money on my materials. In particular, I try as often as possible to buy my materials on sale.
Note that I didn't say that I buy the cheapest supplies possible. Doing this can lead to jewelry (or any Etsy item, for that matter) that looks cheap and/or doesn't last. You don't want to be sacrificing quality to save on cost.
So how do I go about finding materials when I need them on sale?
The easiest way I've been able to do this is to sign up online for e-newsletters from my favorite jewelry supply stores. Larger chains, like Michaels, do this, but these days smaller stores (and likely even some Etsy stores) often send out e-newsletters as well.
These e-newsletters are great because you'll be the first to know about sales, new products, and general news from the store. For larger companies you may also get a copy of the weekly flier as well.
The other perk of e-newsletters, and this is the BIG one, is many stores offer perks, discounts, and sales ONLY to their e-newsletter subscribers. I haven't paid full price for anything at Michaels in months, as ever since I signed up for their e-newsletter I've gotten coupons for 40% off pretty much every other week. These coupons are great as they're good for a week, you can print as many as you want, and you can use one coupon a day. If you hold off on larger purchases and then buy one expensive thing you needed each day of the week you receive your coupons, you'll save a ton of money. These savings can be passed on to the customer.
Part of the trick to this is being able to stock up when you see things you know you'll need when you see them on sale. The other trick is to be able to put off picking up new supplies until a sale and/or coupon hits. If you can plan ahead though, you'll be able to reduce your supplies bill by quite a bit.
If you like saving money this way, you can use this technique to save in other areas of your life as well. In the past few months I've saved on shoes from Fluevog and Aerosoles, business cards from Moo.com, and my yearly calendar from Despair Inc, all because of exclusive sale offers that were sent to me through signing up for e-newsletters.
FYI for Toronto-area Etsy sellers: T.Dot and Friends is your local Etsy street team.
This group started last year, but is really getting into gear for spring. We're coming up with blog postings, events, trunk sales, sharing craft sale info, and other great resources for Etsy sellers and customers alike.
The T.Dot and Friends blog is available here.
If you're a Toronto-area Etsy seller looking to join the group, click here to send a convo to LittleRaven to sign up.
There's currently a Spotlight with my jewelry in it on the Found-Handmade website.
Check it out by clicking here.
In other news, I'm currently working on experimenting with natural light for photographing my jewelry. I haven't quite got the setup right yet, but from my test shots I think I'm heading in the right direction.
Moo.com creates fabulous business cards and stickers using your photos (I love their stickers myself). The best part is you don't even need to upload your own photos... they can use the photos you've already uploaded to your Etsy or Flickr account, which makes making photo-based business cards a complete breeze.
Currently Moo.com is offering a deal: use the code W4X4HK when you place your next order, and you'll get free shipping. The offer expires on 19th March 2009 so get in quick!
I also heard on the Etsy forums that you can use the code K7ZA25 for 15% off, not including shipping. This code expires on 19th March as well. I haven't tried this one out myself yet, but I figure it's worth sharing.
FYI to Toronto-area beaders and anyone else who likes ordering their beads online.
BeadFX is holding their March Madness sale from now until Sunday, March 22nd. Nearly everything in their online store and brick and mortar store is 20% off. They have a great selection and also offer free shipping if you order $100 or more in merchandise, so now's a good time to stock up on supplies.