Taking the Leap

I've never personally entered my work in a contest before. The closest I've come was in high school, my art teacher placed a work of mine in a kids arts contest without my knowledge and I won Honorable Mention. I'm not an overly confident person, so it's hard for me to enter anything into a contest because essentially it's a declaration of "I know mine is better than yours, and I can win."

This year I've decided to think of things differently, and use the 2009 MWR Arts and Crafts Contest as a way to get my work noticed, and maybe draw more customers. In a sense, free advertising. All the submissions will be on display in the Fort Huachuca Arts and Crafts center gallery, which happens to be lucky since the A&C Center will be having a grand re-opening reception (and the hype that comes with it) next month.

I've submitted two of my pieces for the 2009 Contest. This is a big step for me to put my work out there to be scrutinized by the public (and a few judges). If I win, excellent. If not, then I've achieved some great publicity for DunkDesigns.

A campin' we will go!

Soon my family is going for it's first ever camping trip together. I used to enjoy camping in the days before baby, so I'm excited to share this experience with my three year old nature-loving daughter. To prepare for the trip, I've compiled a list of some of camp related Etsy finds. I can almost taste the S'mores now!


Summer Soap Bug Repellant
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Little Camper Tee
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Campfire Cupcakes
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Camping Out Summer Scarf

I confess...

I'm in love with Charles Fuge.
If money wasn't an issue, I would buy every children's book he ever illustrated and selfishly not share them with my three year old daughter. When we check his books out from the library to read at bedtime and my daughter says "Read it again, Mommy!" I don't argue. I let her "read" the story to me while I stare contently at the pages, trying to pick apart his technique. Just beautifully made illustrations of animals and children that just glow from the inside out with personality and charm.

Cereal Boxes: Reincarnated I

I love finding new ways to reuse things. One of my favorite items to stock pile is cereal boxes. We go through at least one box of cereal a week in my house, so I'm guaranteed a constant supply. I've used the discarded cereal boxes for many different things including backing to stabilize a print, mailers, and now business cards. That's right business cards.

When you think about it, it's a great option. The cereal boxes are much sturdier than most cardstock, and they help cut down on paper use since the cereal boxes themselves are usually made from recycled materials and you are reusing. Plus, it's a great way to stretch a buck.

For an investment of less than $20 for the supplies, you can make an unlimited amount of business cards and have the benefit of knowing you're getting a little greener.

Here's how I do it...

Supplies:
Cereal box, cut on the seam and flattened
1 Corner Punch (found in the scrapbooking section of Walmart)
1 ink pad (also found at Walmart)
1 Terbear custom stamp (terbearco.etsy.com)

Step 1. Unglue the seam, and flatten the cereal box
Step 2. Cut 2" X 3.5" rectangles from the box
Step 3. Round the corners with the punch
Step 4. Ink your stamp, and stamp away!

Simple, I know. Don't you wish you would've thought of it sooner?

Look for more installments of Cereal Box Reincarnations coming soon!

One Lovely Blog Award

I was given this blog award by HR Photography and I'm doing my part to pass it along to some of my favorite blogs.

Here are my top 15 (in no particular order):
Nichole's Handmade Treats
FrayBaby Bibs and More
Teri's Treasure
Maddie & Mommy
Bubba, Rye & Me
Beth's Crochet, Art, Jewelry, and more
The Many Roles of Mom
Recycled Jeans Company
SmokeyMountain Scents
The Chameleons Attic
Creations Anew
MooseThreads
Laura Evans Photography
Cutesie Clips
MonsterBug Blankets

ACEOs: The Incredible Shrinking Artwork

Artist Trading Cards? How can I not be excited by that!
I come from a generation where the number of cards you had was a direct representation of your popularity as a kid. But it seems trading cards have disappeared as a popular past time for youth. I'm not sure if this happened gradually as the era of the video game ushered in, or if I just grew up and left them behind. I remember collecting the Disney trading cards when I was little. My brothers collected baseball and football cards. Even those horrible Garbage Pail kids! Now you never see kids bartering each other for the best cards. Even the popular Pokemon trading card game from a few years back seems to have petered out.

My point is, I'm glad to welcome them back... with a twist! Ever heard of ACEOs (Art Card, Editions, and Originals) or ATCs (Artist Trading Cards)? They are little trading card sized art works, sometimes originals and sometimes prints, that are collectible. Not everyone has the moolah to become an "art collector" in the traditional sense. But at a ballpark price of $5-15 a piece ACEOs make owning art accessible to even the average Joe. See an artist you like, but can't afford their gorgeous large scale painting? Buy the ACEO. You still get to own a piece of art history.

I once saw an Antique Roadshow episode where a "stamp sized" original self portrait of Rembrandt was assessed in the thousands upon thousands. Just think if Rembrandt had used a ACEO size format of 2.5" X 3.5" instead of 1" X 1" - what price tag would that have carried?! Who knows maybe the ACEO artist you purchase from will become famous one day, and your $5 investment becomes worth thousands!

Maybe it will be mine?
Keep an eye out at DunkDesigns.etsy.com for new ACEO cards coming soon!

Getting Noticed.

There are a lot of articles and websites out there with a lot of information on how to get your Etsy shop noticed, and produce sales. Here are a handful that have helped me so far:

1. Use facebook/blogs/twitter to announce new products or even foreshadow a product yet to come and sales.

2. Posting comments on other people's blogs and leave your etsy shop URL in full (http:// and all).

3. Browse other shops and heart them, and one item in their shop. Etsy sellers will often check to see who is "hearting" them, and then browse your shop heart you back. When you become one of their favorites, everyone who looks at this admirer's favorites will see your item & shop. More visibility for you!

4. Add a range of differently priced items to your shop. Someone may not be able to afford a $40 10 X 8 print, but could afford a $10 ACEO or greeting card with the same design.

5. Post one or two listings at a shot, not a whole bunch. Did you notice when you search for something on Etsy it will show you the newest listed item that fits those keywords first? If you have 5 photos and list them for sale all at once, you are at the top of this search list only for the day. If you break it up and list one new item for the next 5 days, then you have an item at the top of the list for 5 days, not just one that gets shuffled to the bottom later. Get it?

6. Establish good feedback. When I started up BubblegumGarden.etsy.com, first thing I did was make small purchases from fellow Etsians. Your feedback as a customer and as a seller is thrown into the same pot to make your rating. What a customer wants to know is that you are to be trusted, so competing transactions with other Etsy sellers can help your feedback and make your customer more confident in buying from you over the other guy who has a feedback rating of 90%.

7. Tag properly. Tags are keywords a customer will use to search for a certain item. The more specific your tags, the better chance that someone will find JUST what they were looking, and buy it! Here's a great article on the topic.

8.Although, I've never snagged one I've also heard creating Treasuries is a great way to get noticed too. Many people want to know what creative mind curated that awesome treasury and they browse your shop.

9. Post in the forums. Even the silly ones like "Show me something blue" is an opportunity to show your stuff, and maybe just maybe someone will love it and buy it. Or maybe heart it, and bring more visibly at the least.

10. "Sign" your emails with your etsy shop name, or better yet a graphic. Just think of how fast and furious Forwards circulate. Imagine one of those bad boys with your logo or at the least Etsy shop URL attached to it for all to see!

Art + Yard Sale = Savings!

I love a good yard sale. So this is just the perfect sale for me -- and you!
I've decided to participate in Etsy's 2nd Annual YART Sale with my Dunkdesigns.etsy.com shop. What is a YART sale? Read up on it here.
Better yet, check out the "YART Sale" offerings my my shop!

Save with...
Free shipping on Original Paintings
Free shipping on Fine Art and Photographic Prints
Reduced pricing on Mini Cards

Check out other YART Salers by searching for keyword "YART".

Illustration Friday - Craving

This is my submission for Illustration Friday, topic "Cravings". Inspired by my real life cravings. These candies look so good.
Check out NikiD.etsy.com to see more of her cravable goodies.

Business is Booming!

And we've only just begun.
Tomorrow marks the end of week 1 of Bubblegum Garden's grand opening and I have been busy everyday since.

It seems the timing was right. This seems to be the slow season for sales on Etsy, so most sellers are looking for a way to gain customers and drive traffic to their shop. In comes Bubblegum Garden with affordable web ads and photo editing geared towards Etsy shops. I was actually surprised and overwhelmed by the responses I got. Not only sales, but a slew of custom orders waiting in the wings.

I couldn't be happier. Busy is good. And customers are happy.
Take a look at what Marcella Lamberson of StudioMarcy.etsy.com had to say about me on her blog. She makes the cutest glass lampwork beads with surprising detail. Just this week alone I have made a rush order postcard (reverse) design, an animated web ad, and a static web ad.