Mr. John Steinbeck Everybody

So, the other day I was tagged (the blogging equivalent of an email forward for those of you, like myself, who are ignorant in the way of the blog) for the first time. I've seen some tell-us-about-yourself tags but I thought this was a cool one: find the nearest book with atleast 123 pages, find the 5th sentence and post the next three. The closest book was a dictionary so I'll spare you that. The next one was East of Eden by John Steinbeck and it is one of my all time favorite books.

"I don't want to go to California."
"You are my wife," he said softly "I want you to come with me."
She was silent and did not speak of it again.

After doing this one I'm now a little obsessed with this excercise. I keep walking over to the bookshelf to see what other books have to say on page 123. I'm finding that alot of my favorite books sound horribly boring in this context and more than one sounded incredibly vulger, though I know the books on a whole aren't. And some of the worst books I've ever read sounded like literary masterpieces, full of sage wisdom, atleast through those brief three sentences. As interesting as this all has been, just like the forwards I receive in my email, I will not be passing this on.

Weekend Feature: thetinyfig

This week I discovered The Tiny Fig. I think I'm in need of cuteness because this shop is full of polymer objects that are sweet as pie. Connie makes everything from cell phone charms to jewelry and each item is pinch your cheeks cute! Click on a pic to see her etsy listing or visit her at thetinyfig.etsy.com. You can also find her at her blog, thetinyfig.blogspot.com or view her Flikr photos here. Read The Tiny Fig interview below.

Bread Buddy Phone Charms

Timmy The Pirate Necklace

Happy Blue Cloud Brooch

All photos used with the permission of The Tiny Fig

What do you do for a living in the daytime?

Etsy is my day job and I love it.

Tell us a little about your etsy self

I am an Etsy addict and not ashamed to admit it! I am always in the forums some where giving advice, seeking advice or just chatting. I've met really great bunch of sellers and learned lots and LOTS of things from them about business and crafting. Being able to run my own shop really excites me I love coming up with fun ways to get my shop out there and share my learning experiences with others. Some days, I think that the whole business operation excites me more than the crafting does!

Tell us a little about your non-etsy self

Hmm.. I'm not very good at talking about myself but here goes. I'm 21 and I live in beautiful Vancouver, B.C. where there are beaches and mountains. Aren't we lucky? I have a 3 year old dog (pomeranian cross poodle) named Suki that I love to death. I love watching movies, cooking and just hanging out with my friends. I am currently taking the semester off school but I'm working on getting my degree in Marketing or Accounting or maybe both ;) I have a love for graphic arts (shhh.. it's a secret). I love to doodle. I wish I could sing. I really REALLY can't draw. I heart my nintendo ds. I dream of owning my own retail store one day. I love watching hockey games. I love guitar heroes even though I'm terrible! HAHA this is all so random!

What do you make and why did you start making it?

I just got bored during the summer and started crafting. Lots of things strike my interest and I dab at this and that until I find something I really like. Working with polymer clay is really relaxing for me. It's a lot of fun experimenting with different techniques and seeing what I can create with it.

How did you discover etsy and how long have you been selling on etsy?

I discovered Etsy from a blog. I don't really remember which one exactly but I fell in love with Etsy at first sight. I've been on Etsy for almost 6 months now.

I noticed you’ve made quite a few sales in a short time on etsy, any selling secrets you’d like to divulge?

There are no secrets. I do a lot of promotion off Etsy. It's about finding what's right for you. Before you go promoting you have to determine who your target market is and consider how someone like them would think. It's also about finding a good logo and creating a strong brand for yourself. For me I have my winking bread as my avatar and even though I changed my shop name people still recognize me for who I am because of it.

Where did you come up with your shop name?

Recently, I changed my name for business purposes and some sellers on Etsy helped me come up with it. It was lots of fun! I originally wanted to name the shop Figments but it was already taken so we came up with a few variations, I did a poll on my blog and we ended up with The Tiny Fig. Fig being short for figments. I love it. Everyone in the forums refers to me as "tiny" and it's funny because I really am a tiny girl.

What inspires you?

The question should be what doesn't inspire me! I get inspired mostly by yummy food I eat, things I see during my daily activities, or things people say to me. I get a lot of suggestions from people about things I should make and eventually I do get around to making them.What advice do you have for people trying to sell their crafts?Don't give up! People who are just starting off always expect that their shop will take off and get hundreds of sales. It takes A LOT of work to promote a shop. I spend countless hours everyday just doing this. When the sales aren't coming in you have to be creative and think of new ways to attract customers. No one can buy from your shop if you don't tell them about it.

Lover's Spat

My beloved was desperately in need of some attention, her cutting mat was wearing out and her blade was getting so dull it was pulling and tearing the paper instead of cutting it. So, the other day while I was scrapping with Mr. Golden Curls I asked if they had these things in stock. "Why yes, right this way." says the pleasant scrapbook store lady "HOLY CRAP! You've gotta be kidding!" I would've yelled had I not had my 3 year old standing next to me. The blade alone, and I do mean a single, very tiny, very lonely blade, cost $36.00! The mats, atleast they came as a couple, cost $18.00! The honeymoon is in danger of being over. I'm pretty sure we'll be able to make up over a roll of $8.00 self-adhesive vinyl though. There isn't much that cute diecut decals, and love, can't fix.

One of Those Days

Sometimes I feel like my to-do list has a to-do list!

Second Generation Scrapper

My husband isn't the best with picking up around the house but he is the master of knowing when I need some time away from the glorious title of "MAMMA!!!!!!" He not only has the indispensable talent of walking in the door and immediately seeing "frazzled" written across my forehead, he is also one of those blessed men who recognizes the fact that being a mom is a job, a hard one, one that affords few breaks, so he gives me a weekly break. Every Tuesday was my day off. From sun up to sun down I didn't have to do a single mom-related chore I didn't want to do. This usually meant a blissful day of my beloved crack-filled mochas and scrapping with my buddy Kim at our beautiful local scrapbook supply store. That is until the move. I was very reluctant to give up my scrapping day-o'-bliss so I decided I would put Jackson, aka. Lil' Spitfire, into Mother's Day Out on Tuesday and I could try entering the world of scrapping with a 3 year old. Much to my amazement it's going pretty well! He does some work on his scrapbook, which is heavily Thomas and Cars themed, and I actually get some work done on my own scrapbook! So I'm busily training up the next generation of scrappers.

When dropping little brother off at MDO Graham was asked what he was going to do today. His response, expressed in his usual slow and contemplative way: "I'm going--with my good friend Mamma--scrapbooking." Well, just melt my heart with sweetness Mr. Golden Curls! Graham is scrapping pictures he took himself (sooo much fun!). My favorite layout so far: bright blue Thomas paper and a photo of our bright turquoise bathroom and, somehow, Pappa's hand.



Such a literal little man: "Put the page under your chin so I can see it!" "OK, Cheese!"

It's a Nice Day for a...

...cobalt blue, ivory, orange, yellow, with a touch of gold wedding! This is my first custom order for a scrapbook, well my sister in law ordered the Asian baby album, but this is the first outside of the family. It is for the buyer's daughter and as odd as the color combo sounded once I started researching her flowers I could see it working and I think it actually turned out quite lovely. I didn't get the best pics of it. I usually try to take pics during the day so I can get as much natural light as possible but I didn't want her waiting on my pursuit of perfect photos. Again I'm love love loving my diecutter! I used it to do the monogram letters for the title page.

Visitation

It has been three weeks now since my husband started living 4 hours away, but I got to hang out with him for most of this past week. On Monday afternoon I drove down to visit feeling giddy, like a school girl visiting her crush, and I had so much fun! It was like a little vacation and I got to get to know this future home of mine a little better and must admit, I'm warming up to it. It's pretty artsy and the downtown is cool, I haven't gotten to venture much past that so I don't have a good feel for the whole town. I had planned on doing a photo documentary of how my husband is living these days because it's so bohemian, and more than a smidge odd. After he was all moved into his apartment, I use the term apartment loosely, we walked back into the ally, I looked around at the beautiful rundowness of it all and said "Jack Kerouac would be proud." Unfortunately in the hustle and bustle of getting kids and dog out of the house and on their way to Grandma's house (yea for Grandma!) and my over excitement to get on the road to see the husband I hadn't seen in two weeks, I forgot my camera, so pictures will have to wait.



I felt inspired visiting this town with it's moderately neglected oldness. We walked up and down the main street, in and out of boutiques full of really cool stuff I will never afford. We had breakfast in the restaurant upstairs from my husband's apartment. It's so closely upstairs that the scootching of wooden chairs on the wooden floor above and the soft rumble of customers' voices was my morning alarm. We visited "The Poet's Loft", a little place about a block away. The first night they had open mic jam session. My husband is a Jack of all Musical Trades so he was up there drumming, singing, and playing guitar. The next night was their poetry slam. I'm not a poetry writer/reader, actually I'm not much into being on display in front of people, I leave that to my husband who on this night read a poem by Mother Theresa and sang a silly ditty.



My husband even got to come home with me for a day or two but now he's gone. Drove off in the cold, dark night in our as of yet topless '68 VW convertible bundled up to twice his size. While he was here he felt a little like a stranger in his own home, having had to live out of a suitcase. As he was leaving I had the feeling that I just have visitation rights to my husband, I guess that makes Hot Springs the evil stepmother. It seems there is still some warming up to be done!