Esty Shop Feature-Ceraminic

This weeks Etsy Shop Feature is Ceramic, or Ildi.  It has been so great to get to know her. I love her shop!

 

Start by telling the readers a little bit about yourself.

It was 7 years ago that my life took a major turn, when we moved from Budapest (the capital of Hungary) to a small town in the Netherlands. I stopped with my full time job, where I worked as an economist at a marketing agency.

I’m a proud mom of two girls. I realized that I have plenty of time for my daughters and myself. I wanted to learn English, I started volunteering at the school and joined two clubs. One was a local pottery club, and the other was an International Ladies Club. Now I’m a happy chairman of the Ladies Club and an enthusiast ceramic shop owner on Etsy.

Do you have a favorite piece that you have made?
I feel like sometimes I am still a child at heart, so I like my fruit plates the most, the frog dish and the cat spoon rests. My hubby is a fan of my owl collection and my girls love to wear my ceramic jewelry.

Now my focus is 1oo% on my new Wedding Gifts and Decorations Collection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Describe your workspace...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, yes…..this is something new in my life: I have a Hobby Room, a small place with a great view. Imagine, before I used to work in a local Arts Center and in my kitchen, so my life was always cleaning and packing……now I am very grateful to have a separate room to work.

When you are not working on your crafts, what else do you like to do?

Our International Community is changing every year, thus people are coming and leaving. We help new members to feel better about themselves here, organize different programs, craft projects, Charity Lunches, dinners, family days, one day and long weekend trips in Europe.
I’m also a member of a Walking Group. This is a big challenge for me, because it it is always raining here….
I love to go biking with my husband; it is a fun, relaxing time for us☺

Lastly, do you have any advice for fellow crafters/entrepreneurs just starting out?

1) First of all, join in to your favorite Teams. One of mine is the SOS Team. I found great Treasury games here and the new Business Topics are great extra help every week. We all want to take better pictures, use the most relevant title and find the best tags…

2) Make Treasuries regularly and ask successful sellers who have more experience. It’s not a joke, we are a social community too, most of the shop owners are very kind and helpful☺

3) Don’t hesitate to fill your shop up with hundred(s) of items and use social medias.


You can find Ceramic here:

Etsy shop:

www.etsy.com/shop/Ceraminic

My blog: ceraminic.blogspot.nl/

Twitter: twitter.com/Ceraminic

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Ceraminic/476092472418005#

Pinterest: pinterest.com/ceraminic/

Rebelmouse: www.rebelmouse.com/Ceraminic/

 



Chocolate Chip Cookies, Yum my favorite Recipe

Here is my very favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe. Yep, just a yummy recipe. :)

This is off of an old Chocolate Chip bag. I remember someone giving me a bag of chocolate chip cookies years ago. I told them how delicious they were and asked for the recipe. Oh, it was just the one off the bag they told me! So I found the same chocolate chips they used and grabbed that yummy recipe.  I may have changed it slightly over time, but still my very favorite soft cho chip cookie recipe.  By the way, this is a recipe for a day you aren't worried about too many calories.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 C. Shortening
1/2 C. Butter or Margarine
1 1/2 C. Packed Brown Sugar
3 Egg Whites
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp soda
1 tsp vanilla
2 Cups Flour
2 C. Chocolate Chips

Bake at 350 deg for 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Blog Feature Etsy Shop GatzBcn

Start by telling the readers a little bit about yourself.
My name is Anna and I was born in Girona, Spain, very close to France. However, I am living in México City temporarily because my boyfriend is from there. I am 23 years old and I studied a degree in Humanities in Universitat Pompeu Fabra, in Barcelona. I love reading and traveling.

Do you have a favorite piece that you have made?
I loved a custom order I made for a man who wanted to give as a Christmas present to his wife a little story. He wrote the story, a Swedish girl illustrated it and I bookbinded it. He also requested a shiho chitsu, which is a Japanese type of case to keep it. The ending result was so beautiful in my opinion! I would have loved to keep it for myself. Unluckily, we were on a rush because Christmas was close and I finished it at night, so my pictures are horrible.
My second favourite is this journal that I gave to my boyfriend as a gift:

He loves the movies from the origins of the cinema, specially Méliès' films. I thought he would love this paper, so I did this Belgian binding for him. He loved it! And so did I.

Describe your workspace...
The flat where I am living is quite small, so I work in a table and keep my materials in another room. On the table you can see my laptop, a box that helps me keep my tools organized, a cutting board and some journals in project. Four have the covers and the block for the inside and are going to be bound journals; then there is a pile with cardboard and fabric cut, ready to be glued and to become the covers of four Belgian journals. You can also see a leather journal waiting to have some pictures taken and a little wood press with some papers in it.

When you are not working on your crafts, what else do you like to do?
I love reading. I am currently reading La Celestina, a Medieval classic by Fernando de Rojas.

Lastly, do you have any advice for fellow crafters/entrepreneurs just starting out?
Well, I actually consider that I myself am starting out. Even though it says my shop is two years old, I could only start working full time in it when I finished school, last June.
First, I would advise them not to despair if the beginnings are slow. Trust what you are doing and don't be afraid to spend time and money in it.
Secondly, I would tell them not to expect Etsy to do everything for them. They also have to move in social networks because they are a good source of views: Twitter, Facebook, DeviantArt, blogs, Tumblr, Pinterest,... It is important.

Here is a picture of Anna and her sister. The one on the left is Anna.

Etsy Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/GatzBcn
My blog: gatzbcn.blogspot.com
My facebook page: www.facebook.com/pages/Gatz/211477362220254
My deviantArt: gatzbcn.deviantart.com
My tumblr: gatzbcn.tumblr.com
My pinterest: Layra Leopluredon (that's my facebook name... a personal joke with some friends)
My twitter: @ChatAvecChapeau

Thank you Anna for sharing!

Whole Wheat Muffins

These are delicious!

Whole Wheat Muffins (Makes 12-16 Muffins)

2 C. Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 tsp. Salt
1 C. Milk
1/2 C. Melted Margerine or Butter
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 C Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Soda
1 Egg

Mix all dry ingredients and liquid ingredients seperately. Then mix together. Put in greased muffin tins. Bake 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Enjoy :)

Mermaid Party Invition Necklaces

Here is a fun way to invite your guest to your Mermaid Party.  A personalized message in a bottle inviting them to the party. This is also a necklace!

Etsy Shop Feature Eyelah

Blog feature today is Etsy Shop Eyelah. If you have an interest in having your shop featured, please let me know! I will be doing Etsy Shop Features every Friday.

My name is Ayla and it's pronounced as "Eye-lah" hence the name of my etsy shop and blog. I started my blog a few years ago when I started making jewelry. I thought it would be a good way to keep track of my work and write about my thoughts and journey. A friend told me of Etsy in 2009 and thats how I got into the handmade business.

I have a science background and I never thought in my dreams that I would prefer making things and selling things over working in a lab. Learning to craft and sew really has changed my life in such a positive way.

Do you have a favorite piece that you have made?

I have so many favorite pieces it's hard to pick just one. I would have to choose my floral clutch purse. It was the first final product that I made that was really really happy with.

Here are some items from her shop:

Describe your workspace... (include a pic if you'd like)
my workplace is a constant cycle of mess and cleanliness. The picture I have included is my work area "cleaned"

When you are not working on your crafts, what else do you like to do?

If I am not crafting I am either working at my full-time job, spending time with my boyfriend, or cooking.

Lastly, do you have any advice for fellow crafters/entrepreneurs just
starting out?

It's hard to say because I feel that I'm a crafter starting out too. But, I think I can say is have a set goal. Once you figure out what you want to do it makes it a lot easier to run the business. It took me a while to finally decide what I wanted to make , sell and promote. Writing goals down and completing them is definitely helpful.

Another piece of advice would be to start a blog. I have found that having a blog bring so much traffic to your shop and people really enjoy being able to see the life of the shop owner too. I know I enjoy reading about fellow shop owners.

Other Places on Etsy to find Ayla:

Links:
Etsy Shop: www.etsy.com/shop/Eyelah
Blog: www.eyelah.blogspot.com
Tweeter: twitter.com/eyelah2012
Facebook: www.facebook.com/EyelahAccessories

My Favorite Banana Bread Recipe

Do you have a recipe book that just opens to certain pages automatically because you have used those pages so many times?  This banana bread recipe is one of those. I just love it!  So next time you have some bananas that are just a little too ripe to eat, enjoy some yummy banana bread. Actually the riper the bananas the better the bread!

Banana Bread

1/2 c. Oil (I like to use a light tasting Olive Oil)
1 c. Sugar
2 Eggs
2 Ripe Bananas Crushed (the more ripe, the better)
2 c. Flour
1 t. Baking Soda
1/2 t. Salt

If you like nuts and blueberries you can add them (I don't add them, but they are probably delicious)

1/2 c. Chopped Walnuts
1-1/2 c. frozen blueberries

Cream oil and sugar together well. Add eggs one at a time mixing well after each one. Add bananas. Sift flour, soda and salt together. Add to sugar mixture. With last 1/2 c. flour, dust nuts and frozen blueberries. Add and mix as little as possible-just enough to distribute evenly. Pour into greased loaf pan (or into 4 mini loaf pans).  Bake for 45 minutes (30-35 for mini loaf) at 350 degrees.  Test.  May have to cook longer if you add blueberries. 

***I recommend using Bakers Joy to spray the pans.  It combines flour in the spray to have a wonderful baking experience. :)

A Lavendar High Tea Birthday Party

I was sent an message from a customer that I made a special order for. She had requested purple necklaces. They turned out beautiful. She posted this beautiful party on her blog, and I wanted to share. The cake is absolutely amazing and the treat bags adorable.  Click on the picture for a link to her blog:

This necklace turned out so cute I added it to my shop after making it:

Blog Features

Today was supposed to be my blog feature day. I didn't end up getting the feature done, but plan on doing it for next week. If you have an Etsy shop and would like your shop featured on my blog, please let me know! I will be looking for shops to feature :)

Recipe for Glitter Playdough

Today I'm going to share one of my very favorite recipes. Homemade playdough. I like to add extra fine glitter to it to make glitter playdough! The kids love it! 

Here is the recipe:
2 c. Flour
1 c. Salt
4 t. cream of tarter
2 T. cooking oil (I use olive oil, you could use any vegetable oil)
2 c. water
food coloring
extra fine glitter

Mix all dry ingredients (including extra fine glitter) in a bowl. 

(this picture you can't see the glitter, but I did add it here. I added an extra fine iridescent silver glitter)
In a pan, add water, food coloring and oil. Bring to a boil. Pour into dry ingredients and mix together.

(this is the boiled water and the dry ingredients before I mixed them.)


 Knead like bread dough (with hands-it is hot so I mix with a spoon until it cools enough to touch). The more you knead the smoother and nicer the playdough gets. Makes quite a bit (you can do a half recipe).

Here is the finished playdough. The glitter doesn't show well in the picture, but makes the playdough fun and sparkly. 

Store in a zip lock back. Can be used over and over as long as it is kept in an airtight container. Hope you enjoy!