Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Taipei, Taiwan - December 2011



We stayed in Taipei, Taiwan for 3 nights. It's too bad that it was cloudy and rained the entire time we were there.
Unlike most tourists, we did not go to those attraction sites that are normally suggested such as Memorial Halls and Temples. Instead, we went to places where most Taiwanese go on a day-to-day basis.


Night market is one of the examples. We really enjoyed the foods and drinks: stinky tofu, noodle soups and bubble teas. Authentic as is. Shopping is fun and inexpensive. Gotta love that, right?



So we thought let's go to at least ONE recommended tourist site, and we chose Taipei 101.

They had Coral Arts Exhibition. I was in awe. The details are impressive. The fact that these corals are hard to get makes them very expensive.

 
I wish we had more time to spend in Taiwan and explore more what it offers. Maybe next time.

Giveaway Winner of Vintage Children Book

Hello sweet friends! I'm in Indonesia right now, enjoying a little break but I do miss papercrafting so much. Good thing that my shop is an online shop and we have FB and twitter, which somehow makes me feel that I'm still present and is in touch with what I love doing. We have a winner for the Vintage Children Book's giveaway. Congratulations Shannon Foust! Thank you Lilly's Lucky Penny for sponsoring the giveaways. To everyone who entered, thank you! I'll be sharing some pictures of our vacation soon!




Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Giveaway Winners

I'm sorry for the giveaway winners late announcement. I've been crazy busy in completing last orders, final errand runs before heading for a vacation. Did I mention that I haven't done any packing yet? Eek!!
So without further a due, Congratulations to Kairi #128 for winning Shadow Jewels's Earrings and Maegen Morin #4 for winning Scrapbooks and Stones' $10 gift certificate. Thank you Rhonda and Colleen for sponsoring the giveaways. To everyone who entered, thank you! There are 2 current giveaways. Be sure to enter here!

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Giveaway: $10 Gift Certificate


Win $10 Gift Certificate from Baby Tweeds. Get to know Christine, our Saturday Artisan this week.

There are many ways to enter. Please make sure you leave a separate comment for every entry.

How to enter to win:

Mandatory entry:

Extra entries (only qualify once mandatory entry is fulfilled):
  • Earn 2 entries - Go to yesterday's post to know her more. Leave a comment there (yesterday's post) on at least one the following: what you learn from the interview, what you want to see more on her shop and why, or any constructive feedback are always appreciated. Come back here and leave 2 comments that you did, to ensure your entries are counted.
  • Heart Baby Tweeds (1 entry). Simply let us know your Etsy username.
  • Follow my adorebynat blog (1 entry). If you're already a follower, you still get an entry, just says you're following already.
  • Like Baby Tweeds Facebook page AND tell Christine , Nat of adorebynat send you there.
  • Like my Adorebynat Facebook Page. You must drop by and say hello to earn 1 entry.I'd love to hear from you.
  • Follow Baby Tweeds on twitter (1 entry)
  • Follow adorebynat on twitter (1 entry).
  • Tweet about this giveaway, add "@adorebynat" in your tweet. (1 entry).
  • Blog about this giveaway to earn 2 entries. Leave two separate comments here please providing me with the link to your post.
  • Be creative and share the love! Refer your friends and family to enter this giveaway. Use your social media (other than twitter and blog) to shout out this giveaway. As long as you provide me a link or a way to confirm it, you'll earn 2 entries (two separate comments).
  • Purchase an item from Baby Tweeds and earn 10 entries for each purchase. Don't forget letting us know by leaving comments.
Contest starts now and ends on December 17, 2011. Contest opens worldwide.
Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you. Entries without contact information will be disqualified. Entries that do not follow the rules will be disqualified. Contest winner will be drawn on Sunday, December 18 by a random number generator, by the artist herself. Winner must respond within 48 hours after being contacted otherwise another winner will be randomly selected.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Saturday Artisan: Baby Tweeds

Meet Christine of Baby Tweeds, our Saturday Artisan. Baby Tweeds is an Etsy shop where vintage is dedicated for children. Adorable vintage clothing, toys and blankets and many more can be found at this shop.

Tell us a bit about yourself and what arts/ crafts that you make?
I am a stay at home mom (living in Seattle, WA) who spent several years working in high tech before my daughter was born. After the birth of my daughter 1.5 years ago I decided that I wanted to pursue a career where I would have flexible hours and that would be a great creative outlet for me. A friend of mine turned me on to Etsy and I finally opened my shop at the beginning of 2011 (although did not have any items to sell until August of this year). I love to sew headbands for babies and also plan on making some quilts and caplets in 2012.

Why vintage?
I have always been drawn to vintage items whether it is clothing, furniture, serving pieces, it is something that I love. I think that this is probably because there was a certain craftsmanship, care and detail that was used in years past to make things that you don't necessarily see in items sold today.


What is the story behind your shop name?
I can't quite explain the name except to say that one day it just came to me when I was thinking about opening a shop on Etsy.

Who is your target market?
Moms, grandmothers or anyone interested in purchasing a unique gift for a child.

For us who love to travel, could you share a bit about your beautiful town/ city?
Seattle is an amazing city. My husband and I moved here 8 years ago and absolutely love it. Downtown Seattle is filled with fun restaurants and shops in addition to the world famous Pike's Place Market where you can buy everything from fresh seafood to hand knit sweaters. Also, the Space Needle is a big draw for people visiting Seattle for its unique architecture and beautiful views. The city itself is divided into specific areas or districts (similar to San Francisco). We live in Wallingford which is an historic part of town. Many of the homes in Wallingford are over 100 years old and are craftsman style architecture (we live in a Craftsman bungalow which was built in 1906).

Could you share on how your organize your products, we all can use a little tips here and there in this department?
I organize my products by the type of clothing that I sell (as opposed to organizing the products by gender). For example, I have one section called Christening and Baptism, another called Dresses, Suits and Slips, another one called Sweaters, etc. I think that this organization works well in helping people find what they are looking for easily.

What is your best seller?
Coats, then dresses then sweaters. Everyone seems to really love a vintage warm winter coat for their child.


How does your day go in general?
Each day is different and always crazy busy. However, my daughter attends preschool 3 days a week so on those days I take her to school and then spend the rest of the day focused on my Etsy shop (photographing new items, uploading them, creating treasuries, looking through the blogs of the teams that I belong to to see if there are items that I can add to a discussion thread, etc.

How do you balance your personal and work life?
I always place my family first and once their needs/wants are covered than I work on my business. My husband is incredibly supportive of my Etsy shop so he does a lot to make my life easier in terms of keeping the house running smoothly allowing me time to work on my business.

What inspires you?
My daughter as she has a really sweet and sunny personality and makes me laugh a lot but also see the world in a new and different way. Also, other Etsy sellers have been really inspiring in terms of their products, treasuries and feedback for me.

What is your goal for 2011? And are you on the right track?
My goal for 2011 was to break even in terms of the cost of starting up my business vs. total sales. I am unfortunately not on track because although I opened my business on Etsy at the beginning of this year, I didn't actually upload anything to sell until the Fall. I am ok with this however, because I am having a lot of fun and feel like the sales and positive exposure will pay off next year.


What is your favorite tool that you cannot live without?
My laptop or sewing machine depending on how I am looking at my business. :-)

How do you promote your shop?
Through treasuries. Also, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. I also want to start a site on Tumblr and independent blog but haven't had the time yet.

Any advice for others running their on-line shop?
Have great tags for your items - this is key for helping buyers and other Etsy sellers find your shop. Create treasuries and get them out on Etsy through teams that share similar interests that you have. Create a Facebook site, sign up for Twitter and also Pinterest. Lastly, stay positive and ask for feedback from fellow sellers as they often give the best advice and can be incredibly supportive.


Saving money is important; tell us one thing that you do to save money?
I am constantly looking for bargains related to my business in terms of buying supplies and also trying to find the most unique items to sell that are at a reasonable price so that I can resell them and make a good profit. Also, I have found shopping at thrift stores (such as Goodwill) is a great way to find business supplies and items to sell at really reasonable prices.

Stay-tuned for tomorrow's giveaway!

Friday, December 2, 2011

Weekend Special - 3 FREE Cards

This weekend only, from Friday to Sunday, Dec 4, 2011:
Buy 3 Handmade Cards Get 3 FREE Handmade Cards (doesn't apply to sets of cards)

 
Simply purchases all 6 cards of your choice and I'll refund 3 cards (equal or lesser values).

 

So what are you waiting for? Shop for the holidays at my AdoreByNat shop. A set of handmade cards are great gift!