A pleasant surprise of all the treasuries I've been featured in on Etsy this week. To check out the full twentysomething list of treasuries I've been featured in, click HERE and just search "blinkdesign."
Storm...
Skully...
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Boys Stuff
I've slowly been trying to infuse men's accessories into my inventory. Below is the one of the first tie tacks I made. It can be personalized and can be purchased HERE.
This next one was created in response to my popular "Ode to Geekery - Lightning Bolt" necklace. This tie tack is available on my website too.
Now I didn't make any of the following, but It does indicate the direction in which I would like to expand my line to include more items boys would like... enjoy.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Another Day of DIY
Ok, so you've made tons of cute knit hats ready for sale, but what do you tag them with? This was usually my dilemma when first venturing into selling my wares. Sure, many craft stores carry various styles of tags, but they all seem so sterile and boring.
Last night I figured a way to create 100% personalized DIY price tags that will set you apart from the others. This is what they look like...
Items you will need: Card stock, hole punch, tag paper punch, your computer and computer printer. If you don't have these items lying around, don't worry... luckily these items (sans the computer stuff) aren't too expensive. On a good sale week at the craft store, the supplies will run you about $25.First, your logo. If you don't already have one, try to create an image that is simple, timeless and something that truly reflects you and your creative style. Avoid detailed images as the details will be lost if/when the images are forced into a small space such as these tags.
After you've created these tags, now you need to create a hole to attach these onto garments. Any hole punch will due, however I prefer to use the tiniest hole punch I can find, which is the 1/16 size hole punch.
Create a type of wallpaper image using either Photoshop, Publisher, or even Word. I found that things work best if your logo is about 1 inch wide and sits at least 1 inch apart from the neighboring images. Using the 1x1x1 ratio made it pretty easy to fit at least 20 images on 1 sheet of card stock.
Now that this has been done, print this out on a test sheet of card stock as shown below. Get creative on your card stock too! You don't have to always use white.
Next, use a tag paper punch and simply punch out the tags with your logo at the center. Within minutes, you will have about 20 new tags. These paper punches can be found at any craft store within the scrapbook section. This particular paper punch is the exact one that I used and creates tags 1-1/4 in.X1-7/8in.
After you've created these tags, now you need to create a hole to attach these onto garments. Any hole punch will due, however I prefer to use the tiniest hole punch I can find, which is the 1/16 size hole punch. 
See how small hole is!
I personally don't like using floss or string to attach the tags onto garments, but rather prefer to use safety pins.
I find that the smaller hole makes the tag look a bit more polished and less bulky and awkward. Now that you've got a mini arsenal of tags, start pricing and get your name out there!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
More Like, "Knit and Crochet" YESTERDAY!
I love PBS's Create channel! Every so often though you do get the show that seems to be a bit out of touch with the times and perpetuates the notion that only old retirees watch PBS (no offense to PBS or retirees). The other day, I was watching the PBS show, Knit and Crochet Today. Let me tell you, this show is pretty dreary. There is very little that seems modern about this show, even though it's currently filming. I would give it some slack if it were an old PBS show in reruns, but it's not.
Now I'm not saying that they need to go off the deep end and have a Lisa Loeb looking host with the closing credits rolling over the performance of some obscure indie band, but come on! I would like to see something more than a variation on granny squares or pillow covers.
I think it would be nice however to see the last segment of the show devoted to some knitting project outside the box. Sure, the blue-hairs may scoff, but seriously, if you're going to include the name "TODAY" in your show title, then at least feature things that are a little bit popular... TODAY! Here are some things that I think are pretty up to date among today's knitters.
Check out those needles... now that's what I'm talking about.
Geeks are pretty technical beings. Knitting is a pretty technical hobby. Geeks and knitting were bound to come together!
This tattoo is a little extreme for my taste, but 'A' for effort on the enthusiasm of knitting
what can I say, these slippers are just too cute!
I LOVE knit softies!
Now, I love knitting! And I consider myself to be a pretty contemporary knitter. Never once have I made a quilt, granny square, afghan, or pot holder. I'm not saying that all of the techniques are useless... the embroidery segments are pretty useful, what I am saying is that the show is just really out of touch. I know a lot of like minded knitters, such as myself, that would like to see a shift from the notion that knitters are over the age of 60 and only knit pot holders.
Knitters TODAY are actually much more creative and would like to push the boundaries in terms of gauge, color, texture, and subject matter. There are more and more publications that have called out to this market such as the short lived Vogue Knitting magazine, Knit 1. Just go to the craft section at the bookstore and you'll see an array of books on punk rock knitting, knits for your guy, etc. All I'm saying is, come on, K&CT... get with the times!
Friday, August 6, 2010
Bummer Summer
Well July was a bit of a bummer. My sale came and went, and online sales were mehhh. And while I've heard that a slow July is statistically common, it was still pretty disappointing to go through. Now that August is here, I've cleaned up my shop, discontinued about 2/3 of the inventory and already begun to add a whole bunch of new items for Fall. So far the month of August is already off to a good start. Everything is up... views, hearts, favs, and even sales!
Fall marks the return of some of my most popular items such as my 100% Jersey Cotton Scarves, which sold like crazy last Autumn/Winter. The Sky and Dark Horizon were just added. I will be looking for more great colors in Jersey, so stay tuned.
Floral headbands have also made a return, but in a different form. Many of my popular Bandaeu de Bordeaux headbands will no longer be available at BLinkDesign, however you can still find them at BLinkWedding! Instead you will find more of these fabulous fabric rosette headbands from now on.
Fall is definitely my favorite time of the year. I love the rich tones and luxe fabrics. This Fall, most of my new items will focus on the color palate featured in the items above. Lots of cool blues and grays with splashes of complimentary colors here and there.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
The Wonderful World of Color
I made a few treasuries on Etsy the other day, but I think THIS ONE is my favorite. It takes a delightful stroll down the ROYGBIV line. Here's just a sample that's featured.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Weekend Wedding
I will be heading to Houston this weekend for a good friend's wedding. On that note, I leave you with these lovely images...
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