Making Money With Watercolour

So why did I choose Etsy?

I chose Etsy because it was really really affordable and I was really really poor. I had been shopping on Etsy for a few years and loved what I got.

So often though I would see listings and think I could do that.

Then one day it hit me .. the only difference between those shop owners and me was that they were doing it and I wasn't. 

Etsy only charges 20 cents to list an item and no monthly fee they take 3.5% of your sales you lose a bit more in banking fees when your money is deposited. Still the cost is far less than any other site plus you get the power of Etsys reputation behind you. You pay the 20 cents on a once a month bill and the rest is deducted from your sales automatically.

I couldn't afford to buy any supplies to make things to sell but I did have a huge supply of watercolour paints and paper already kicking around and had been painting as hobby for years.As any small Canadian business knows the charges for shipping here are astronomical so I wanted to avoid anything bulky or heavy.

Low and Behold Etsy offers an Instant Download Platform! I had taken Graphic Design Years ago so I decided to paint cute little things (starting with cupcakes) edit them and sell them as clip art. No shipping needed!

I didn't have the professional programs anymore it had been so long but i did find these awesome opensource programs that were almost as good! Instead of Photoshop I used gimp and instead of Illustrator I used Inkscape 
So total cost of setting up shop? 20 cents per digital item listed!

Over the next few weeks I am going to go over the free ways I am getting my shops out there, social media and more.

- June
OrangePeelPaperie

Want to Start your own shop consider using my referral link, than we both get 40 free listings!  Start Selling on Etsy

'Red and Green Dreams' by junipertulips 

This Etsy treasury was created for JimAndGina and it features work from the members of the Etsy team Integrity  an excellent team to join for help getting your shop and items seen. :)   

If you like something you see each image can be clicked and you will taken to that listing! 

Retro Walnut Pendant with a ... JimAndGina $29	Woman Tunic Top - Resort Wea... PetrinaBlakely $40	ON SALE*** Office Desk Set, ... BoardArtistry $50	Oxidized sterling silver dra... FlowerOfParadi... $17
Washcloth, cotton washcloth,... BsCozyCottageC... $21	Red flower necklace, resin n... TheyStoleMyHea... $18	Womens Tote Bag, Fabric Tote... BerkshireColle... $63	SALE Strawberry earrings - S... DarkFireHandma... $6.4
Tropical Tangerine pendant, ... FirepanJewelle... $194	Green Bead Trim - Beaded Tri... supplysideecon... $2.25	Knit red fingerless gloves F... KnitWithPleasu... $24	Twinkle Glass Dangle Earring... GlassDreamsHaw... $25
Giraffe ornament. Vintage Ch... AnnaLuninGiftS... $34.99	Red Heart Beaded Brooch Pin ... shelikesthis $8.5	Vintage Copper Color Bright ... PippinPost $5	Vintage Glass Necklace Soft ... RockySpringsVi... $22.95

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Christmas Joy

'Christmas Joy' by junipertulips

Christmas banner, Joy banner... ThatCraftyAunt... $24.75	Joy To The World Mug Christm... WishfulPrintin... $16	BUY EARLY SALE Choose Joy - ... LoveMaude $27.2	Red Joy Printable Art Print ... PaperCanoePrin... $5
Custom Leather Belt Cuff Bra... yourwordscuffs $40	Choose Joy BiblebyHand $5	Simple Christmas Greeting wi... TheNestedTurtl... $4	Rustic Faux Wood Holiday Sig... MemoryMakerStu... $30
Joyful Christmas - Elegant R... ShishiCreation... $11	Christmas Joy Door Hanger - ... DesignedSigns $79.99	Christmas poster, Christmas ... TwoBrushesDesi... $4.5	Be Joyful, Holiday banner wa... ArtandAroma $22
Sale - Christmas Joy Card. ... TheNestedTurtl... $2	Outdoor pillow Christmas joy... crabbychris $38	Christmas Ornament, Red orna... TropicalEarth $18	Joy Wine Bottles, Christmas ... BriEllaCreatio... $22

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Homemade Muffins and Charms

Well it's Black Friday and I am sitting here with my homemade Pumpkin Muffin and a coffee with a little almond extract added for that extra bit of special. Naturally charms and tools are near by.

At the moment I am feeling a little discouraged, I have two shops on Etsy JuniperTulipJewelry and OrangePeelPaperie and was hoping this, my first Black Friday, was going to be a momentous start. I thought maybe I would wake up to more than one sale for the first time ever. NOPE.
I read blog after blog, thread after thread, how do I increase views how do I increase sales? They are all the same, basically stay on top of SEO, share share share, pay for advertising, and of course the most annoying piece of advice be patient it takes time.
How can I be patient? I mean other folks have started shops and are clearly getting more sales than I am what's so special about them? Is it that they advertise? Did they have a loyal following? Or did they get that coveted lucky break? I know this is basically a pity party but hey I think we all need to blow a little steam off every now an again when the dream of being independent and self employed seems so out of our grasp sometimes.
Pity Party aside I am not giving up though it may take longer than I had hoped, I still believe these shops are the answer. In the following weeks I am going to write about why I started the shops and give tips/ideas for shops you might want to look into as well.

Small Shop Owner Woes

My little Shop Small Blog has suffered these past few weeks because I have been so sick. This is the plight of the small shop / blog owner. In the future the best plan would be for me to have some extra posts already written and ready to go for those awful sick days!

I have been working on getting my etsy shops back up and running so I can take advantage of the holiday season!

I am loving Etsy's new seasonal support options! They have downloads for wrapping paper, greeting cards and gift tags! They also have a new program that lets you quickly make cute personalized advertisements! (see below)

Tiny Love Charm