Autumn Wreaths on Etsy

I have been working hard on getting my autumn wreaths listed in my Etsy shop.

The Gathering Season Wreath

Pumpkin Spice Wreath

Autumn Sunset Wreath

There are a lot of steps involved in listing an item.

• The whole process starts when I shop for the materials for my wreath. Sometimes I go into the store with an idea already in my head and other times I pick up a flower and the idea for a wreath is there! I usually spend about an hour in the store perfecting my purchase, and I usually only buy the materials that I need for that particular wreath without buying any extra flowers.

• Then I make the wreaths, which can take at least a couple of hours arranging, perfecting, gluing and making sure it looks exactly how I want it to look. This is when I put a girly movie on and get to work!

• Then come the product photos - my house is way too dark to take the pictures inside, so I go outside. I have to take the pictures in the morning because I get the best light during that time. It also helps that I have a super-duper awesome camera at my disposal.

• I perfect my product photos in Photoshop - cropping, enhancing and tweaking the colors a bit.

• I also write out each description and add up the cost of the wreath.

• Finally I can list it on Etsy and hope that it finds a good home.

It can be a long drawn out process which is why I am shocked that I have been able to get all of these autumn wreaths listed in this amount of time!

Poco Bueno 2009

It has been a very busy weekend for us. This past weekend was the Poco Bueno Fishing Tournament that is held every year in Port O'Connor, Texas - my husband's home town. This is the biggest fishing tournament on the Texas coast, and boats come from literally all over the country, by invitation, to participate. My husband has been working the weigh station for many years now - he told me how many, but I forgot, I'll have to ask him again! His Dad worked the weigh station before him and he was even the weigh master.

This was my second year to attend Poco. I travelled down to Port O'Connor on Saturday afternoon with my brother and his fiance. We got to see the inshore fish being brought in from 3:00-5:00, and then from 5:00-8:00 we got to see the offshore fish which include dolphin(AKA Dorado, not bottle-nose dolphin like Flipper), tuna, wahoo and blue marlin.

Since my husband works the weigh station, I get special privileges and get to sit about five feet away from the action, and get the best possible view (while everyone else has to stay behind the roped off area). I feel like a VIP!!! We got to see some big fish, ate some good barbecue and had a lot of fun. I will post some pictures later.

Peachy Keen

Here's the latest addition to my Etsy shop.

The roses are from Hobby Lobby's new "Fresh Picked" silk flower line. The flowers in this line look so realistic that they really do look freshly picked. They are a little more on the pricey side, but I think they are well worth it! I am so in love with this line, check back often to see more arrangements and wreaths featuring "Fresh Picked" flowers.

Hidden

I am entering in another Photo Contest at Cat's Corner. This time the theme is "Hidden". When I was browsing through my photos on my computer I came across this one and thought that it fit the theme perfectly!

This picture was taken October of last year at the Rocky Creek Corn Maze. There hadn't been much rain for the corn to grow, but it was still tall enough to where you couldn't really see over the top. This is my sister a few rows across from me, jumping up for the shot!

So head on over to Cat's Corner to enter your photo too! Submissions will close at midnight (GMT) Sunday July 19th; she will then open a poll to choose a winner.

Random Updates

I have been so busy lately that I have totally neglected my blog! I have a lot of good news though.

First of all, we had a wonderful Fourth of July weekend. My Mom's side of the family came down for the weekend and we got to visit, eat awesome food, play some sports and shoot fireworks! I was able to take a lot of great pictures, but I'll save those for another post.

I have three custom orders for wreaths and arrangements on my Etsy site! I am so very excited! I love custom orders. I went to Hobby Lobby today to pick up some of the flowers and vases. I will definitely post pictures of the finished designs for you to see.

There is a contest at Martha Stewart Weddings. They are asking people to share a photo of their handmade wedding decor. The winner will have their design featured on "The Martha Stewart Show". I have submitted my "Sweet Magnolia Bridal Hair Comb" already and I hope to make some wedding arrangements to submit as well. I would really appreciate it if you could rate and comment on my item HERE.

I think you have to be signed in to rate and comment on the items.

I have also submitted one of my wreaths in another contest on MarthaStewart.com. It is for the summer crafts contest. You can rate it and comment on it HERE.

And since I hate posts that don't have any pictures at all, here's a shot of a recent storm that brought rain that we desperately needed, and what happens to a yellow dog when she plays in the mud!

Awesome Feedback

I love getting feedback from my customers! I guess everyone does. It always gives me "the warm and fuzzies" to hear how happy they are when they receive their orders - I always save those emails that I get! I love to hear about how they opened the box and gasped because they loved the wreath so much, or to hear that the wreath matches the colors in their home so well! I just received a very sweet email from my latest customer and I just wanted to share my excitement with you!

I hope that you all have a wonderful and safe Independence Day!

I know that I will be taking lots of pictures to share with you!