What's Happening on Saturday

It's going to be a busy day here again. All week I've been busy, busy, running errands and trying to get rid of things we haven't used in some time. How does this stuff get so out of hand? Seems like I did this last year, yet I'm finding things we haven't used in at least two years. I'm also going to be thinning out my vintage items. I have collected too many things over the years. Some of it needs to go.

Weigh-in day for me is Friday. I lost another two pounds. I was ecstatic. The weight usually goes on and is hard to take off, yet in the last 7 weeks, I've lost 12 pounds. I still have a long way to go, but I'm happy and still working toward my goal.

The boys are coming today and we're going to hit some fleamarkets and thrift shops. If we find anything good, I'll post photos.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Show and Tell Friday

Each Friday, I will be featuring something from my Etsy Shop here on my blog. One of my most recent additions is this pair of vintage sandwich plates. They are very unusual. Each comes with it's own tea cup that fits very nicely into the plate. These are so pretty.

Wouldn't these be great to serve tea to one of your friends. They are made by Celebrate.

If you have time, please drop by The Old and New Shop to see what else I've listed in the last week.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy weekend. Some parts of the US are to be hit by a major snowstorm. If the weatherman is correct, we won't be seeing it here. Instead, the weather is to below seasonal and that's fine by me.

If you would like to see other's Show and Tell, please visit Cindy at My Romantic Home.

Monday and Tuesday Happenings

Monday morning I went and picked up Brandon and he came to spend the day. We did quite a few things together. He went on the computer and showed me what he was doing on FB. He played a few games on there, then had a game of Mar*io Base*ball with Grandpa. We had lunch and played Uno and War. I beat him good at Uno, but he really skunked me at War. However, it was a lot of fun.

About 4pm, Grandpa took him home and went to get some gas while I started thinking about supper. All in all, it was a good and fun day.

Today I did a few things around the house. Yes, I'm still decluttering and getting rid of things we haven't used in years. How do we accumulate the stuff we do? What in our nature makes us hate to throw things out because they might be useful at some time in the future. Tomorrow, I am going to fill a garbage bag full of gently used clothes that I have and drop them at the Salva*tion Ar*my. I'm sure there's someone that could use them. I don't have a lot of clothes but these are things I haven't worn in a long time. For everything there is a season and it's time to let them go. Can you believe I still have sleeveless top I wore in high school?

After lunch, hubby and I went out to a craft store and I bought a pair of tiny sharp pointed scissors. I've been wanting a pair for a long time and just happened to spot them. I'm working on another project and it would be impossible to make it work without them. When the project is finished I'll post about it.

It was a beautiful day here today. Much more mild than it has been and the sun was shining brightly most of the day. We had a few flurries but they didn't amount to anything.

My Weekend Treasure Finds

On Sunday, hubby and I decided to head out to do a little treasure hunting. I love going to garage sales, fleamarkets and estate auctions, so we headed out to a fleamarket not far from here.

As we browsed, I came upon the box in the photo below. I love ephemera and this box was in excellent condition.

I opened it, wondering what treasures I would find inside.

What lovely little note cards. I remember getting cards similar to this when I was a child.

I absolutely love the one above. It is so feminine looking. What a lovely card to send to someone to let them know you appreciate something that they did.

There were a variety...birthday, baby and thank you cards.

Beside the cards was this beautiful Scarlett O' Hara figurine. She was sold by Avon representatives in 1985. I took photos of her from different angles and put her in my Etsy shop about 4pm this afternoon. She sold about 9pm tonight. The lady that purchased her was ecstatic.

We had a good time looking around the fleamarket. We bought a tea pot with a rooster on it to complete a set I've been collecting for about three years and some dominoes that I'm going to experiment with.

Hope you all had a great weekend. We got a little snow, but nothing much. We've had very little snow this winter but I'm not complaining, and tomorrow, my friends, is Groundhog Day. Of course whether he sees his shadow or not, southern Ontario will still have six weeks of winter.

Etsy Interview with Niki of Pink Magic

As most of my regular readers will know, I recently started selling on Etsy. I have vintage and handmade items in my shop, called The Old and New Shop. I had created a banner for the shop, but it wasn't something that caught the eye, so I requested a custom made banner in the Alchemy section of Etsy.

It wasn't long until I had four bids. The one that was most appealing was from Niki at Pink Magic. She worked with me diligently and within one hour, I had a new banner and avatar for my shop.

I asked Niki if she would consent to be interviewed. She agreed and here is the result.

1. What circumstances brought you to opening a shop and selling on Etsy and how did you chose the name of your shop?

I decided to start selling on etsy because money has been tight. I was selling items on ebay, but decided to take it up a notch and found etsy. When thinking of a name for my store, I simply closed my eyes to see what would pop into my mind. Pink Magic was the very first thing that came to me. My favorite color is pink, so I just thought it would be a great name.

2. What medias do you use when creating the items for your shop?

I use a lot of cardstock for my paper crafts and cards. I recently started embossing and I love it! I also love to paint wooden objects, such as my mini keepsake boxes and wooden coaster sets.

3. How did you feel when your first item sold?

I was ecstatic! I posted a few Halloween die cuts, went to bed, woke up six hours later and saw that someone bought them right away! I was so happy!

4. How long have you been selling on Etsy?

I made my first sale August 27th, 2009. So, five months now.

5. Do you have a day job or is Etsy your only source of income?

I work at the hospital as a contact rep and I also fill out online surveys through cashcrate.

6. When I accepted your bid to make my banner, you had it done in approximately one hour. Do you usually give your customers such prompt service?

I try to do my best. I only accept bids if I know I have the time to make the item....especially with banners and avatars.

7. What is the most important thing you've learned about selling on Etsy?

Keep a good relationship with your regular customers. They will keep coming back and will refer you to others.

8. Do you find that the more you create, the more your artistic talent grows?

YES!! My items where pretty basic at first. Now, as I continue to grow with etsy, my projects are more detailed and more professional looking.

9. Do you sell your products locally, or is Etsy your only venue?

I only sell on etsy. I used to sell on ebay, but I just wasn't happy with the results.

10. Can you give some tips to those who might be thinking about selling on Etsy?
How do they get started and what are the most important aspects of starting a shop?

Just go for it. You never know who will love your items. Just think....something that you created is used or displayed in someones home. It's a wonderful feeling and a great way to earn money.

Thanks, Niki, for responding to my Alchemy post and for doing such a great job on my banner in such a speedy manner.