Treasury Sunday - March 10th

Every other Sunday I like to show my appreciation to the curators on Etsy who have featured my shop in their shopping collections, otherwise known as treasuries.  Please take some time to view these unique products!

'Plant a Flower' by wcuster

Always March 12th- Plant a Flower Day

Gift card Lavender ... NewCreatioNZ $5	Purple Blister Pear... lindab142 $55.87	Hyacinth reed diffu... DLitesbyDorene $7.99	Pale Pink Pearl Ear... LittleHillJewe... $17
Beaded ribbon brace... AlyxAndreaDesi... $10	Pink Flower, Plant ... SqueakerPics $15	Pillow Cover, Flowe... Andrekart $37	White Jasmine Flowe... NewEnglandQuil... $8
Vintage Rosina Chin... RosaMeyerColle... $12	Fused Glass Necklac... Mtbaldyglasswo... $37	Flower Cameo Locket... CloudNineDesig... $18	Crochet Bohemian Ch... PinaraDesign $18
Rhinestone Centered... simplyserra $2.5	20% Off Entire..Hot... KemailyBoutiqu... $24.95	Beads Polymer Clay ... RolyzCreations $11	Cascading Hibiscus ... JulieHananDesi... $150

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

'Rain n Bows ' by ChickieVintageLove

Riding High - 5x7 p... maybesparrowsp... $17	Little Girl with Um... VintageRetroAn... $3.5	Vintage Successful ... scarlettess $6	Watermelon earrings... 2fillesdunord $12
Shower With Love Wr... cupcakewithcha... $10	Rainbow Abstract 13... TheVenusCollec... $50	Spring, Yellow Rose... FullyHooked $16	CMYK Swirl Polymer ... KatyMarieCreat... $25
Pink and Cream Bow ... annadesignco $5.5	10pc Elastic Hair T... CrownedPeacock $7.5	Drops of Water - Cr... BeadzNBling $16	Spring Rain - set o... DLitesbyDorene $10.99
LAVENDER scented Ne... LittlePeepsHom... $24	Blue Bear Over The ... LDesigns02 $18	July Birthstone Red... TheBrassHussy $18	Digital Collage She... BlissfullyDigi... $3

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

'Here Comes the Sun....and I say - It's All Right...' by Gemstonesonmymind

Crochet Beanie The ... SalemStyle $20	Three Yellow Daisie... IllusionCreati... $15	Vintage Texas-Ware ... TheGrassHarpis... $12.5	Yellow Butterfly Fi... CTCostaPhotogr... $30
Pearberry tarts DLitesbyDorene $5.49	Lemon Poundcake - S... SymbolicImport... $11	Cute Polymer Clay D... LotusAsylum $80	Button Crystal Ring... TrinketsNWhatn... $32
Lemon Quartz Earrin... VeronicaRussek... $51	Support our Troops ... BlackdogParaco... $11	Yellow Mustard Crys... BijiBijoux $18	Basil Single Note S... flossiefern $14
Art Photography - I... jojolarue $12	BRIGHT YELLOW Switc... smijims $8	Koi Fish Soap Cucum... ABreathOfFrenc... $8	Yellow Sardonyx Ear... MariesGems $20

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

'Beach Colors' by stinkR

Beach Theme Wedding... BillsWoodenPle... $40	Decorative Pillows ... minagraphy $35	Teal Green Chiffon ... TheMayFlower $9	Beach Decor Golden ... SEASTYLE $29
Seaside Beach Merma... camillioncreat... $6.99	Cha cha necklace Be... AutomatedButte... $12	beach house nautica... folkybirdsandf... $34	Spirals Rock Cuff ... LiveInArtJewel... $150
St Thomas on a chai... elementsinspir... $75	Beach Blue Seahorse... StudioTree $12	Large brown and whi... DLitesbyDorene $20	Dog Collar Custom H... PinkysPetGear $17.99
4pc Beach Decor Dec... beachgrasscott... $60	Bar Sign - Surfboar... WPThayerPhotog... $25	Day At The Beach - ... colorsofserend... $17	Beach Bracelet Desi... EmpyreanArtist... $15

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

'For you' by Nikita551

Scarf Knit in Green... knitBranda $120	Brown and lemon gre... LenaMer $65	Green crocheted hat... ForevArt $25	Tea And Coffee Mug,... TatianasTienda $7
Apple Green Crochet... CasaDeGato $35	Ivy leaf pendant, a... ZazieWorld $25	Door Photo, Ramshac... j2studiosphoto... $15	Felted wool slipper... Storow $45
Rosemary-Nettle han... Fisikashop $5.8	Fabric Buttons - Gr... PatchworkMill $3.5	Dried Fern resin ne... GBILOBA $28	Vintage Doll Tea Ke... heartseasevint... $25
Green Grass Ring in... aptoArt $22	Flower hair clip br... AijasFlowers $13	Beautiful dangle ri... BBTAR $25	Lily of the Valley ... DLitesbyDorene $7.99

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

Luck o' the Irish!

Fragrance of the Month - Green Clover and Aloe

It’s March, so I’m bringing the Luck of the Irish to you, in more ways than one!

New to you this month is Green Clover and Aloe, a fresh, unisex fragrance to get you in the mood for spring!

Green Clover and Aloe is an outdoors fragrance to bring the freshness of spring into your home or work space! With a hint of citrus and jasmine, there are also slight bottom notes of woods and musk.

Whenever I try to describe this fragrance, I automatically go straight to the adjectives “fresh” and “clean.” It certainly has a “green” scent to it; I can imagine laying in a meadow of clover, yet not once do I find this fragrance to be a bit grassy. The aloe certainly adds to the freshness and clean qualities you smell.

 As fragrance of the month, all Green Clover and Aloe products are 10% off:

· 12 oz container candles, $15.79;

· 15 hour votives, four for $9.89;

· 7 oz container and wickless candles, $7.69

· 2 oz diffuser oil refill, $7.19;

· Tealights, six for $5.89;

· 4 oz fragrance spray, $5.89;  and

· Fragrance tarts, four for $4.99.

And Now.....Luck o' the Irish!

Shop D’Lites by Dorene and be a winner! Each purchase you make in March comes with a random prize….is the Luck of the Irish on your side?

Prizes are coupons for future orders and range from free products to free shipping.  Increase your odds! Every order in $15 increments will receive an additional coupon! For example, order one set of tea lights ($6.49 total), receive one coupon. Order three sets ($19.47 total), receive two coupons!

Etsy shop review - Nuta Orlova of EjaEjovna

Every other Sunday, I am pleased to introduce an artist who sells on Etsy and his/her shop. Today's artist is Nuta Orlova, from the Ukraine, and her shop EjaEjovna.  Please read more about her and her inspiration.

Hi, my name is Anna, also known as Nuta. I was born and now live in Ukraine in beautiful city Kharkov with my husband, son and cat. I make colorful, elegant and natural jewelry.

Initial Jewelry

I have loved handmade things all my life, but only when my son was born I discovered my love to crochet and knit. At first I prepared presents for my parents, friends and my son. Then I wanted to develop my skills! Some time ago I decided to open this shop! I like to experiment.  I create under a pseudonym "Eja Ejovna" :)))...

Red Nursing Necklace

My nursing necklaces are totally natural necklaces, a must-have for every mom or just for those who loves nature and everything natural. I make these beads with covering wooden beads with a cotton yarn or linen yarn and lots of love :)

Blue Nursing Necklace

Other my jewelry is simple elegant and lovely. Perfect for everyday wearing.

Vintage Style Skeleton Key Necklace

I begin my day by visual inspirations from my family, nature and piece in my heart. It is difficult to say what exactly gives me creativity. J  I'm happy to be a wife and a mom. I spend all time with my son (he is 3 years).  I`m a housewife. I love to embroider, play the piano, and draw. My hobby is taking photography.

Vintage style blue headband

I love all my items. All my jewelries made in single copies. But one of my favorite items which I most proud of is:

Knit and crochet nursing necklace

You can also find my products here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/EjaEjovna

http://wanelo.com/nuta

http://pinterest.com/yanuta

https://twitter.com/YaNutata

Treasury Sunday, February 24th

Welcome to Treasury Sunday! Now is when I like to show my appreciation to curators who have put together shopping lists, also known as "treasuries", of the unique products available on Etsy.  Please take some time to view these gorgeous collections and to shop the included stores.

Inventory Management

As your business continues to grow, you are going to need to consider an Inventory Management system at some point in time. I can hear your groans now (and trust me, I've groaned a bit myself), but if you're serious about quitting your day job, developing a better understanding of your inventory is going to help you manage the business side of your art.

I can hear you now, "My business is small and I do custom orders only." Well, please consider the following reasons to begin a finished goods inventory system:

• Craft shows - It can be difficult to track every item sold if you get busy. Knowing your beginning and ending inventory can help you reconcile your sales at the end of the event.
• Planning for your heavy sales season - Do you prepare a larger amount of product prior to the holiday shopping season? Enough said.
• Consignment sales - Some consignment stores have formal contracts for items you have delivered, others are extremely informal. You need to be able to identify the amount of product you have placed in a store to be able to reconcile your sales at the end of your month or other time period, as well as an understanding of your cash outlay in product.
• Wholesale sales - As your business grows and you get additional wholesale orders, you will need a method to track on an ongoing basis how much product to make in consideration of how much finished product you have on hand. You may also need to produce additional items to prepare for imperfect or damaged goods.
• Costs of goods sold - Dig out your accounting books! If you remember the difference between FIFO and LIFO inventory accounting, you know the costs of goods can vary over time. 
• Cash flow - Your inventory represents liquid assets - an item to be converted to cash. Granted, this conversion doesn't take place until the product is sold. Conversely, your supply inventory is a sunk cost you cannot do anything with until you make a product (unless you sell supplies, which is a bit different discussion).
• Taxes - As mentioned, your finished goods represent liquid assets for end of year accounting purposes. Which is why a good accountant will tell you not to replenish your inventory at your fiscal year end if you can help it. 

These are just a few practical applications of inventory management. Our next few weeks will involve a discussion on this topic, specific to your finished goods. While I use Stitchlabs online system to manage my inventory, the principles we discuss will be useful for all systems, even a simple Excel file if necessary. 

So please let me know your questions, thoughts and concerns, as well as your experiences and challenges with managing your inventory! 

Until then, happy sales!

Dorene