Treasuries by RetrospectPhoto and CindyLouWho2

What a nice surprise! Special thanks to Cindylouwho2 www.cindylouwho2.etsy.com of the Alberta Team and RetrospectPhoto www.retrospectphoto.etsy.com for including my cards in their beautiful treasuries!

Treasury by FootprintDesigns and aimeesrockworks

Two very pretty treasuries to show you today! Special thanks to FootprintDesigns www.footprintdesigns.etsy.com of the Alberta Team and aimeesrockworks www.aimeesrockworks.etsy.com of the HAFTeam for including my cards. You can check out the Handmade Artists Forum using the link to the right.

Treasury by NotGrandmasVintage

Special thanks to NotGrandmasVintage www.notgrandmasvintage.etsy.com of Etsy and the Alberta Team for including my Party Card in this lovely collection of Alberta Team shops! I appreciate it!!

Treasury by FootprintDesigns

Is this not the best title ever!! Special thanks to FootprintDesigns of Etsy www.footprintdesigns.etsy.com (the reigning treasury queen!) for including my retirement fishing card in her very fun treasury!!

I upgraded the ram in my laptop - why didn't I do this years ago! What a huge difference!!

Treasury by FootprintDesigns

I will admit a laughed a little at this treasury featuring items from the Alberta Team. It happens to be snowing and very cold here in Alberta right now! I guess this is wishful thinking!! Special thanks to FootprintDesigns www.footprintdesigns.etsy.com for including my mini flower cards in this very springy collection!

Blog Feature on sugarshoxcrafts.blogspot.com

Special thanks to SugarShoxCrafts of Etsy www.sugarshoxcrafts.etsy.com for a wonderful blog feature on her blog http://sugarshoxcrafts.blogspot.com ! She chose to feature my Crossword Puzzle Birthday and Christmas Cards. Thanks Nikki - you're too sweet!

Treasury by FootprintDesigns

Wow - love this color combination! Special thanks to FootprintDesigns of Etsy www.footprintdesigns.etsy.com and the Alberta Team for including my Vacation Chipboard Album!

Treasury by FootprintDesigns

I love this treasury by FootPrintDesigns of Etsy www.footprintdesigns.etsy.com ! It's so much fun - thanks to her and the Alberta Team!!

Blog Feature on FoundHandMade.com

I had a nice surprise today - my Turkey Card was featured on www.foundhandmade.com - thanks so much! It was especially nice because I fought with my computer all day trying to get my dvd drive to work - frustrating!

Treasury by BouncingOffTheWalls

Special thanks to BouncingOffTheWalls of Etsy www.bouncingoffthewalls.etsy.com and the Alberta Team for including my Hot Mama card in her impromptu treasury!

Treasury by FootprintDesigns

So pretty! I love this color of red! Special thanks to FootprintDesigns www.footprintdesigns.etsy.com of Etsy and the Alberta Team for including my Snowflake Card!

We had such a crazy weekend - I'm almost glad for Monday to come.

Treasury by FootprintDesigns and Christmas Cards

Special thanks to FootprintDesigns of Etsy and the Alberta Team for including my Celebrate Life card in her beautiful butterfly treasury www.footprintdesigns.etsy.com . Here's a sneak peak at some new Christmas Cards I'm going to list today.

Treasury by themash...

This is a beautiful treasury done by themash of etsy www.themash.etsy.com - thanks so much for including my turkey day card!

And because I'm still excited I had to include the craftcult featured screenshot - do you suppose I'll be this excited if it ever happens again!

One of my items is in a Storque Article!

Can you tell I'm excited - haha! One of my Christmas Card sets was included in the Storque Article about voting for your favorite Christmas Cards. You can find the article here http://www.etsy.com/storque/etc/vote-which-is-your-favorite-holiday-card-60022/ .

Another treasury (lucky me!) by cindylouwho2!

Somedays I just get lucky - I found myself in this beautiful treasury by cindylouwho2 of Etsy and the Alberta Team www.cindylouwho2.etsy.com . Thanks!!

Two Treasuries by Sybillinart and PerleAmies

Special thanks to PerleAmies of Etsy www.perleamies.etsy.com and Sybillinart of Etsy and the Alberta Team www.sybillinart.etsy.com for including my Time to Rock Card and my Mini Butterfly Cards in these very cool treasuries!

Treasury by Splurge

Isn't this a gorgeous treasury!! Special thanks to Splurge of Etsy and the Alberta Team www.splurge.etsy.com for including my Congratulations card! I appreciate it!

Treasury by ArtBeadwork

I love this treasury - I think it's really fun! Special thanks to ArtBeadwork of the HAFTeam (Handmade Artists Forum) www.artbeadwork.etsy.com for including my Vampire card! And take a look at the Handmade Artists Forum - its new and a great place!

Treasury by Federicaknits

This is a fun idea - Federicaknits of etsy www.federicaknits.etsy.com put together this treasury to celebrate her sister's graduation. Special thanks for including my diecut congrats card!

Treasury by DCHStudio

Isn't this a pretty treasury! Special thanks to DCHStudio of etsy www.dchstudio.etsy.com for including my Merci Card! I was off scrapbooking all weekend so now it's time to make a couple of custom cards and catch up on my sleep!

A Very Pretty Christmas Treasury

I love this treasury! I think it's so festive! Special thanks to ThePinFactory of etsy www.thepinfactory.etsy.com for including my ornament cards!

I had a laptop meltdown this week - how frustrating! I'm hoping they can fix it quickly but I could be stuck without it for over 10 days! Oh well - lots of time to create new thing!

NEW Christmas Cards and a Treasury

Special thanks to knitsbywlsm12 of etsy www.knitsbywlsm12.etsy.com and the hafteam at the handmade artists forum for including my card in this beautiful purple treasury! I am very partial to purple!

With all the snow here I thought it was time to start on some Christmas Cards! You can check them out at my etsy shop www.mygrandpaspen.etsy.com .

Two more team treasuries...

The Alberta street team at etsy is in the final two days of our big Prairie Harvest sale - you can check out all participating shops at www.etsyalberta.blogspot.com . Special thanks to GenuineArticle www.genuinearticle.etsy.com and SilverSistersStudio www.silversistersstudio.etsy.com for including my cards in their treasuries!

Alberta Street Team Treasury

How fun! Another treasury to promote our team sale! This time rozzie of etsy www.rozzie.etsy.com created this autumn orange themed treasury and included one of my Frankenstein cards - thanks!!

Back to Business and a SALE!!

Special thanks to cindylouwho2 of etsy www.cindylouwho2.etsy.com for including my Crossword Birthday Cards in one of our Team Sale treasuries. The Alberta Team is having a sale! There's over 60 shops participating - check us all out at www.etsyalberta.blogspot.com .

I'm offering 20% off list prices for my entire store refunded on paypal - hurry! Only until Oct 9.

After a far too interesting summer (I broke my upper arm falling off my horse!) I think I'm back to business - if there is anything you would like to see - let me know - I love custom!

Here's a couple more!

Special thanks to SuziesArmoire www.suziesarmoire.etsy.com and BouncingOffTheWalls www.bouncingoffthewalls.etsy.com for including my cards in these two very fun treasuries!

Happy Summer!

I hope you're all having a wonderful summer! This is a HAFTeam treasury made by CreativeArtStudios www.creativeartstudios.etsy.com that features one of my cards. Thank you!

I've been out of internet range for most of the summer but will be around a little more the next couple of weeks. Thanks to everyone who included my cards in treasuries while I was away!

HandmadeForumTeam Treasuries!

Special thanks to IcedAdornments www.icedadornments.etsy.com and the HandmadeArtistsForum Team at etsy for including my cards in these two beautiful treasuries!

I'm a featured artist!

This makes me smile - I am the featured artist on the Handmade Artist's Forum blog - thanks so much all of you! You can check it out at www.handmadeartistsforum.com and go check out the forum at www.handmadeartistforum.com/forum/ or follow the link on the pink badge to the right!

2 More treasuries - by kitzbitz and thebellefleur

Wow - I feel truly loved today - 4 treasuries! Special thanks to kitzbitz www.kitzbitz.etsy.com of the HAFTeam and thebellefleur www.thebellefleur.etsy.com for including my cards in their wonderful treasuries!

2 Treasuries - by Splurge and knitsbywlsm12!

A special thank you to Splurge www.splurge.etsy.com of the Alberta Street Team and knitsbywlsm12 www.knitsbywlsm12.etsy.com of the HAFTeam for including me in their beautiful treasuries! One of the best things someone new to etsy can do is join a street team. It's a great way to connect with other people - in some cases the teams are united by location, sometimes by a forum that we meet on and sometimes by a common craft.

Treasury by the HAFTeam...

I've posted before about the Handmade Artists Forum - this time the forum etsy account made a beautiful red treasury and included my mini thank you cards! Thanks for including me in this gorgeous treasury. Please check out the Handmade Artists Forum using the link to the right or click on the pink badge!

Another HAFteam treasury by knitsbywlsm12

Special thanks to knitsbywlsm12 for including my celebrate card in this incredible green treasury showcasing artists from the HAFteam. You can see her shop at www.knitsbywlsm12.etsy.com and please check out the HandmadeArtistsForum - just follow the link to the right! Look for the pink HAF badge.

Treasury by craftedbylindy!

Special thanks to craftedbylindy www.craftedbylindy.etsy.com of Team Alberta for including my King of Rock and Roll card in her Brown treasury!!

Treasury by kitzbitz!

I've joined the HAF Team at etsy (Handmade Artists Forum) Team and kitzbitz created this fabulous treasury and included one of my cards. You can check out kitzbitz's shop at www.kitzbitz.etsy.com . Thank you!! You can check out the Handmade Artists Forum by following the link to the left - look for the pink badge - it's a great place to meet other artists!

A Treasury Promoting YART SALE!

Special thanks to Cindy of www.cindylouwho2.etsy.com for including my Drama Queen cards in this refreshing pink and turquoise treasury celebrating the Yart Sale!

YART SALE and a new listing!

Hi all - welcome to YART - a crazy time of year at Etsy. I'm offering 10% off the item price of my store - discount will be refunded on paypal!

I'm a litle late on this style of card - for the States anyhow - in Canada we're still in school until the end of June. This would be perfect for any teacher! Direct link to this listing: www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=26318087

Another review!

A special thank you to Megan of www.studiomme.etsy.com for her wonderful review of my store! You can see her review at her blog www.studiomme.blogspot.com/2009/06/my-grandpas-pen.html . Thanks so much!!

Internet Friends

One of the really interesting things about spending so much time on the computer promoting handmade cards is all the cool people a person runs into.

While I was happily posting away on the Handmade Artists Forum www.chainmaillebymboi.com/forum/index.php I met Jane of JMLArt www.JMLArt.etsy.com . She has written a very sweet review of my cards and store on her blog www.a-painting-mom.blogspot.com . Thank you Jane - you made my day!!

Jeanine

My simple lighting setup and picture strategy.

One of the areas that seems to cause huge issues for new etsy and online sellers in general is pictures. I wanted to show you my very simple lighting setup. In the top picture there are 4 pieces of white cardboard - 3 of them taped together to form the backing and one forming the floor. It's sitting on a chair in my bedroom and I move the chair around depending on how strong the outside light is - sorry the picture is so bad - it was pretty sunny that day!

I then use the macro setting on my camera (Digital Canon Rebel XT) - it looks like a little flower, and the general use lens that came with my camera. I also take every picture in a portrait orientation (up and down) and use the smallest picture setting. That way I don't have to crop any of the pictures - it's the proper size for etsy. I use vista to auto fix the colors and then upload to etsy.

Hope this helps someone!

Grad Cards

Christine of http://www.chrisn123.etsy.com/ reminded me that Graduation season is fast approaching! This is the first two cards of a series of grad cards I've put together. I think they're simple but eye catching.