Off this weekend

Sorry if you don't see the weekly posts this week. I am off, celebrating my birthday! :)

Show me your... Green!

This is a live post, so post a link to your items in comments and it will be shown here. After the 5th item this post will be closed.

This is a weekly thing, so please keep checking back every Wednesday!

I will also link to your item and give a good comment on your item!

So I start first!

I love these, they are actually really cute in person! I am going to make my mom a bracelet hopefully with green beads.







Balloons Birthday Card by ValMade

This is a unique card! The balloons are actually metal stuck on the card with raised adhesives so that they look 3D. How cool!


Grass Stain Soap by SubEarthan Cottage

Grass scented soap? I love the smell of freshly cut grass and frankly don't know who doesn't. So this is a great idea and would be a wonderful gift.


Handbuilt Earthenware Ceramic Catalpa Leaf Bowl by HarmonArt

This is lovely! This will be great as a 'key bowl', a beautiful piece waiting for you at the door. I love things like this - it's decorative and yet has a function or a purpose.





Uplifting - 9 ounce Palm Wax Candle with Wood Wick by Jennuine Candles

This candle has a lemongrass/citrus scent with just a hint of sage! Did you know that in South East Asia (mosquito's favorite hang out) we actually use lemongrass candles to keep bugs away? So this to me must be the modern and stylish version.

Sunday - Time to Reflect

It's Sunday here down under! As I prepare for a busy week ahead with work and getting my new supplies shop up WorldInColour and running, I want to stop and take a few minutes of my time to re-flect on how fortunate I really am.

I struggle everyday to get out of bed early enough to catch the early train to work and get there on time before my boss pulls a long face at me. Then I struggle again to understand what my really weird colleagues are trying to tell me when they explain what they want from me. Then I struggle again to get dinner on the table and look all happy and prepped-up before my partner things that something is wrong. Struggle? I don't think I really know what struggle is.

What I am going through is what some people wish they could have, a normal life. I can't help but to say (what we all already know) that there are some who has it worst than me. How lucky they think I am, to be able to have something to cook, while they don't even have something to eat! To be able to afford to get on the train and have somewhere to go, while they are stuck, both where they are and in their lives.

"Put all your complaints aside, and you will make way for your heart to truly appreciate the best you have in life!"

Small change can make big changes:
“I saw a little girl on TV who’d lost her whole family in the tsunami being treated at a makeshift Australian hospital. Afterwards, she was being put back on the streets.That’s when I knew those kids needed our help.”
Father Chris Riley


Redkite is an Australian charity that supports children, young people and their families through cancer by providing emotional support, financial assistance and educational services.

My Choice ArtFire Shop - HarmonArt

My choice ArtFire Shop for this Saturday is HarmonArt! This wonderful and unique ArtFire shop is the work of husband and wife, Brian and Emily Harmon. Even their avatar is a picture of them both. I get a great sense of family warmth here and it is wonderful to see a couples working together!


Thier items are unique as this is the first time (maybe need more exposure?) I've seen gourd that are so beatifully decorated and used in so many different ways. Coming from a Chinese background dried gourd in ancient China were used as a water bottle or to keep wine. In mordern day Chinese culture, the gourd symbolises longevity in feng shui. So this is a wonderful give for someones birthday, it will be like wishing the person will have a long and good life!


The rest of the shop is filled with earthenware in a warm autumn tone. There are bowls, decorative items, jewelry ... etc, which I find to be very practical and useful. They will make the perfect gift for a nature lover!

World In Colour on ArtFire

Yes finally! I have successfully re-invented my ArtFire shop to become a supplies store. Actually it is a little bit also a de-stash store as since I started making some jewelry for myself, I have collected not only beads and finding, but a list of wholesale suppliers. I figured that if I could get them at wholesale price I would be able to reduce the cost of my new found hobby and share the rest with others.

All the prices are all kept at $1.00/pkt, small cost covering some of my time and packing material. And they are all categoriesd by colour so that you could instantly look for that one colour you are looking for.

In the future I will be adding a colour guide for each item for easy colour matching and product matching. And you will see new things every day or two, so please keep coming back to my shop!

Visit Redrubyonfire's ArtFire Shop

Feature Me Friday - Glitzer

Glitzer is a handmade jewelry store inspired by nature and florals, especially the vibrant colors in flowers, and where products are colorful and bold and will be the focal point of the wearer.

Shown Above (clockwise from top right) -La Vie En Rose Necklace, Morning Dew Leaf Necklace, Fuschia Glow Ribbon Pearl Drop Necklace and Petite Pois Vintage Ribbon Earrings

Price Range - $10.00 to $40.00

4 Most Popular Items - Signature Glitzer Rouge Earrings, Hawaiian Tropic Dazzling Floral Earrings, Pear and Leaf on Jade Earrings and Serendipity Earrings

Look out for the new fall line which should be released pretty soon and in conjunction with store owner's birthday, look out for upcoming store discounts at Glitzer!

Themed Thursday Treasures - RED

This is the first Triple T - Themed Thursday Treasures! Therefore the theme is Red! Would love to see what other themes you could think of, so please do comment and leave a suggestion.Clockwise from top right -
1)Red Hawaii Tote Bag with Small Purse by Glorious Hats
2)Sitting Still by yumi yumi
3)Victorian Tea Red Hat Luncheon Accessory by GypsyGoods
4)Roses are Red - Oxidized Sterling Silver Ring by BeadinBabe

Inspirational Mondays - MoxieRings

It's Monday again! For many of us it is frustrating that the weekend went by in a flash, but for some of us it was a disappointing weekend with low sales. But it is the thing that keeps us going that actually get sales coming. Just like MoxieRings, started by Susie in July 2005 the shop manage 1097 sales to date. Here's how -

RROF - Is your Etsy shop your main source of income? If not what is your regular job? (This question is intended to give an idea about how you need to divide your time, which is common issue amongst a lot of people here),

MR - Nope not the main source of income by a long shot!, I wish!I am a graphic designer, currently seeking employment, so I am spending huge amounts of time just searching for a job these days, but at one time Etsy was much businer for me,


RROF - When you started listing your first few items, was the response what you expected?
MR - I signed up to Etsy as member #1150 so it was very early days, and there was nothing happening sales wise. I had my first sale after 6 months and then focused more energy into it, as I saw potential.

RROF - Looking back, share with us some of the mistakes you think you've made when you just got started, and how you overcome them.
MR - No mistakes per se. I would recommend to new craters that they realize not everything will sell though, and just because you can make it does not mean there is a market for it.
I do recommend making sure u have a creative niche, especially when it comes to the jewelry category, which is overfilled and nearly impossible to to get any action in unless you have some outstanding product or insane prices!

RROF - Have you ever felt like giving up? What made you stay?
MR - HAAHAA I gove up all the time but cannot really since I am a creative junkie!

I am compelled to make jewelry and other crafty stuff. When I realized jewelry was a ridiculously overstuffed category I thought why not sell the custom earring cards I make for myself in a customized way for others? I also have always made notepads so started to sell those too! And of course I started offering web banners for Etsy or any other site, ad or blog, was among the first to do so, so it was good to start wit early on…

RROF - How do you promote? And in your opinion, which works best for you?,
MR - I used to have 40-50 orders a month, so I think I should probably check into the forums more often, though I find that promoting there does not net sales or even hits like it used to, and I had also tried purchasing banner ads on other sites (cannot recall names) but I found that was fruitless, too. If I thought a particular site would net some sales I would advertise again.

RROF - If you knew then what you know now, what would you have done differently?,

MR - I would probably do it all the same!

RROF - Any other thing, thoughts, advice, links, ... etc you would like to share with the Newbies?
MR - My pet peeve with some pages is that they write so much that you have to scroll down a bunch just to see the featured products! Pictures sell much better than paragraphs of written words, save all that stuffing for the profile page is what I recommend! Keep it a short blurb and then let your pics and graphics do the talking, especially banners, I notice which DO NOT communicate what your shop is all about, either graphically or with a short catch line…
In bricks and mortar retail, it is all about putting your best forward and same with online sales, make the pics appetizing and quick to grasp words where necessary!

If you do not make a killing right away on Etsy, do not give up, focus on your craft fairs and wholesale accounts, as I have found that things I cannot giveaway on Etsy, sell like hotcakes in person! No substitute for hands on selling where the customer can touch the goods! And once u reach a customer out here in the real world, make sure u do not let them go without your Etsy url be it on a business card, bookmark or whatever! Return customers are the name of the game!
HAPPY ETSYing!


RROF - Thank you Susie of MoxieRings for your time with this interview, it is much appreciated! Wishing you the best with your shop!