Dissapointed

So today was a pretty disappointing day as far as my etsy shop is concerned.  For those of you familiar with selling on etsy your items expire after four months and today was that four month mark for me.  I guess I just thought I'd be doing better by now and I didn't think I'd have so many unsold items when this day came.  So now the big question is:

What do I do to boost my sales?

currently I've been looking at blogs like handmadesuccess and handmadeology which have a lot of great marketing ideas.  I guess I just need to put them in to practice.

Just a Little Update

So school has been crazy busy and I've had very little time to work on my long list of craft and DIY to-dos. Despite that I have ads running on both facebook and etsy and have mad three sales in the last thirty days! YAY ME!!
What do you do to advertize your blog?

xoxo

The Modern Day Dauphine

And on the Etsy front...

I made not one but TWO sales today at Modern Day Dauphine! YAY!!! I only wish I knew if it came from the etsy add, the facebook add, the sorority facebook walls I posted on or sheer luck!

Ready. Set. CRAFT

Today my mom came to visit at took me to the craft store to buy some supplies so I can get back to doing what I do best, craft.  I haven't made anything since my last update to my etsy store and I'm really looking forward to getting back to work. I bought a ton of wooden goodies, some blank wood picture frames and best of all I got SEVEN canvases for 20 dollars.  Definitely a steal.  I'd love to take the time to write more but I'm dying to get to work playing with my new toys, err... crafting!

Time to Get Serious

Unfortunately it's been a while since I blogged but since then a lot has changed and I finally feel like I'm ready to put in the work to make a name for myself in the handmade world.  Two very exciting things have taken place recently.  First of all I MADE MY FIRST ETSY SALE!! Now if you've read my previous bogs you're probably thinking 'yeah....you already made two' but those were to family and friends.  I finally made my first sale to a complete stranger and let me tell you it felt AWESOME.

About two weeks ago I was in Seattle sharing a hotel room with my parents visiting family.  I was fast asleep when my phone made a noise that sounded like a cash register.  When my parents asked what it was I sleepily replied "The x-ray machine."  I'm still not exactly sure what I was dreaming that prompted that response from me, but when I groggily wiped my eyes and checked my phone I saw the alert from my etsy app telling me that I made a sale.  Instantly I was wide awake and over joyed.  As soon as I told my parents that the noise was not an x-ray machine but an etsy sale they were equally ecstatic.  The three of us had a little celebration, I immediately updated my facebook status to share the good news and eventually went back to sleep.

In other news, one of my absolute favorite blogs, Champagne lifestyles on a beer budget is letting me do a guest post!! Check it out next week for my tutorial on how to make a tufted headboard like these:

Obsessed with this look? I am too! So make sure you check out Champagne lifestyles next week for my tutorial.  And check back here for what I hope will be daily updates!

Mailing out my First Sale

  Today I mailed out my first etsy sale (and a swap angel package for a craft swap I did on www.craftster.org) at the post office.  Overall I'd have to say the process was a little overwhelming.  I hadn't packaged the mirror I sold yet and was hoping to buy some bubble wrap and stick it in a flat rate box, but unfortunately the post office didn't have either of those things.  Luckily the lady working was extremely helpful and explained that you can order flat rate boxes and envelopes for free (shipping incuded) from www.usps.com. Eventually we got everything figured out and I mailed my first package and dropped off anotherat home for my parents to give to the buyer.  Now all I need is to get the rest of my pictures on line, but as for now I'll celebrate my first two sales!!

And so it begins...

I'm finally doing it! After promising myself to start my own business for the last three years I'm finally doing it.  I've spent the last few months crafting my heart out, convinced a good friend to take and edit my photos, and as of Thursday night www.etsy.com/moderndaydauphine is officially open for business. And the best part? I've already made two sales!! I plan on using this blog to express what it's like, trying to make a living off of the thing I love doing most: crafting! I make things for people of all ages, from baby books and blocks for infants to frames and home decor for teen's and adults.  I love everything feminine, girly and elegant, and I'm a sucker for beachy, shabby chic. In this blog you'll find posts about my current projects, my triumphs and frustrations, an occasional tutorial here and there, other crafters, blogs and sites I admire and a little bit about who I am, The Modern Day Dauphine.

So first things first, it all starts with a name and I chose mine because it describes me to a T.  If you don't know, Dauphine is the french word for princess.  I've always felt like I was born in the wrong century and I just know that had I lived in 18th century France Marie Antoinette and I would have been besties.  Marie lived a lavish lifestyle as a young dauphine, it wasn't until she took on the responsibilities of the Queen of France that it went down hill for her, and who would want to be queen when you could be a carefree princess?  I base a lot of my work on the style, elegance, class and extravagance found in the French Royal Court before the revolution (and my girl Marie's unfortunate beheading) but with a modern twist updated for a twenty first century princess.

So where am I at right now? My site is up, I've got my facebook business page, I've made my first two sales and my etsy shop is looking pretty empty.   Lucky for me I have two amazing friends who have been helping and encouraging me every step of the way.  I'm currently waiting for my extremely talented friend (who you can find at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001429546463) to finish editing the pictures of the rest of my crafts that he took so I can get everything up for sale on my site.  As for crafting, I just participated in a craft swap for one of my favorite websites, www.craftster.org and am still working on new projects for my shop. That's all for now, but check back for updates soon!

xoxo                 

The Modern Day Dauphine