And the winners are...

Wowser!

This competition had an overwhelming response with over 400 entries... you've knocked my socks off people!

The winners are:

1st Prize - £26 voucher for my shop

Gail Bennett... who wants a Bempton the Puffin!

2nd Prize - £18 voucher for my shop
Shelly who wants a turquoise and white bird to match the wedding cake toppers I made 5 years ago!

If you didn't win there is no need to be sad, as a consolation I am offering a 20% discount couponcode at my etsy store enter code HAPPYBDAYMEL  On checkout in the coupon code box to redeem, code runs till the end of July so you have lots of time to bag a bargain!

The coupon code also works on my Inkmeup shop (minimum purchase of £5 please do not use on the sale items thanks!) and on The Snob Goblin shop too

Why You Really Need to Update Your Etsy Photos

and by you I mean me!

 

Over Christmas my trusty old camera decided to develop a fault and die in spectacular fashion... I didn't despair I cried YAY! It meant I could finally justify buying a shiny new camera for my business... so I did! I was a little scared of it at first... It made weird noises and had twisty bits that my old camera never had. So I bought a digital field guide and dug out my Crafter's guide to taking great photos because if there is one piece of advice I can give you after all my years selling online it's know your camera!

I then realised that all my old photos taken with my old camera were pretty shoddy in comparison to my shiny new one... I groaned as I realised that this meant I had to re take all my pictures so they matched.

But that's no bad thing!

You can see from these images how they've changed, old pics are on the left, new on the right as you look at the screen.

 We crafty types have our best sellers, those things that we've been making for years that kind of just tick over and we don't really have to do too much to promote them but if you think about it these are the things we need to make sure have the best pictures. Over time your style might change as well, you might not realise but increment by increment things end up not quite looking like the picture you originally took.

My owls were my first and best seller and the design hasn't changed much but the style has evolved a little. They're a bit fatter now, a bit cuter... and I'm better at needle felting so they are a touch more refined and solid too. The light in their eyes (the bit that makes them cute and adds life) has moved which alters their mood a bit.

And lets face it... when I first started out I had no idea what I was doing so those pictures I thought were AMAZING when I first took them are a little shabby in comparison to wonder camera's shot quality.

If you aren't sure if things have changed then go to your etsy shop and look way way back to your first sales... aren't those pictures looking a little tired now? Try putting them side by side with a recently made product. Get a pal to look at your shop and see what they think. Join an etsy team and get some opinions, check out those handy blog posts about photography on etsy, folksy and the web in general... your photos are essentially your shop window... so make the most of them!

So I have 130 feltmeupdesigns listings and 90 inkmeup things to rephotograph... it's going to be a tough job but I reckon its worth it!

Black Friday/Cyber Monday discount for Felty and Inky fans!

Hello felty fans! Are you ready for Christmas? I'm not but then I never am... I waiting for the last posting dates and then there shall be a frantic making and baking of presents for my family and friends!

Over the holiday weekend to help you out with you festive shopping we are offering 10% off at both our Estr shops with the coupon code CYBERBLACKBIRD... and if you buy from both we'll combine your shipping and refund the difference (aren't we nice!)

Visit Feltmeupdesigns and Inkmeup and make sure to put the couponcode  CYBERBLACKBIRD in the little box on the right of your screen when you checkout to redeem the code. If you buy from both shops I'll refund the difference in shipping as soon as the items are posted.

Offer ends Tuesday when I get out of bed and take it down!

Early Birds Catch the Bargains!

Christmas is coming!!! Yep, we know this... for us at Felt Towers Christmas has been coming since mid July when we started making robins and planning our Christmas stock for the year.

October has always been a tricky month at the Felt Menagerie because we know that things are about to go crazy for Christmas but we also know that many of our fans and followers are poor and holding on so as a little treat I have made and EARLYBIRD coupon code for all you organised people who are starting you Christmas shopping early. Just enter EARLYBIRD in the couponcode box on Etsy checkout and you'll get 10% off your whole order.

While being a little cash poor I'm also super busy making Robins and getting early Christmas orders sent off to my shops and galleries. Cambridge Contemporary Crafts and Pippin in Edinburgh have already had their first Christmas boxes and I am working on a big pile of robins to take to Me & Mrs Fisher in York soon!

I am also felting like crazy to get 5 big owls finished for a window display, I have 3 so far and another 2 to finish and am getting a wee bit panicky! I'm sure I'll get them finished in time but that doesn't stop the crazy from leaking into my brain and turning me into a quivering wreck! I've also got a bunch of big wreaths to finish and a Christmas display to plan... in a couple of months it'll all be over, let's all try and get thru it sane this year!

Drumroll Please!!!

And the competition winners are:

1st Prize Owl and Owl Baby Katrina from Mrs Leaney's Vintage China Hire

2nd Prize Owl Baby Helen from Hypsela  and  FFFlowers on Etsy

Winners have been contacted and their birdies will be flying to the as soon as possible. In case you didn't win but still really really wanted a birdies I have a little discount code for you, because we had 1200 sales to celebrate all blog readers can get 12% off using the discount code 1200SALES at my Etsy shop

 

I'm off to get to work on the next 1200 birdies... so watch this space we'll be having another giveaway as soon as we hit another big number!!! Thanks to everyone who took part in the competition and has supported me in my lunatic plan to take over the world with lots of teeny birds!

1200 Sales Giveaway

GIVEAWAY TIME... YAY!

We passed the 1200 Etsy sales mark and I am feeling "well chuffed" as we say in Yorkshire... in fact I so happy that I thought I might spread it about with a lovely Father's Day giveaway. I spent a day with my Dad and Grandad yesterday so I couldn't put the competition up. Dad found these scarecrows and leapt out of the car for a sneaky photo!

I have decided to pick 2 lucky winners to celebrate 1200 sales.
1st Prize... In honor of Father's Day a large feltmeupdesigns owl and a fluffy owl baby of your choice and a nice bag of goodies too*
2nd Prize... an owl baby or mini owl of your choice and some goodies

To enter simply first leave a comment on this blog post telling me what your favourite item in my Etsy shop is ... that simple!

For extra entries then if you can leave a Twitter comment mentioning this blog post with link @feltmeupdesigns or become a fan at facebook ... and if you want an extra chance you can become an Inkmeup facebook fan too... If you do all 3 you get 3 bonus entries . Just make sure you come back here and tell me in a separate comment that you have twittered and facebooked, if you are already a facebook fan just let me know to get your extra entry! (but if you only want to enter once just leave a comment on the blog)

I do read all your comments and they are moderated for naughty words so they might not appear immediately. Winner will be contacted within 3 days of close of competition so don't forget to leave me a way to contact you a facebook, etsy or twitter username will do... don't leave an email unless it is in the form of myname(at)hotmaildotcom... this is so spam bots don't get your email address and spam you!

The competition will close on Saturday 23rd June and the winner will be picked by random number generator (aka John, my lovely boyfriend!)

*does not include the BIG barn owls, don't get cheeky now

Boxing day Sale

Well folks we hope you had a very very merry Christmas and took it reasonable easy on the Sherry! I had a lovely day filled with fabulous pressies (new Rob Ryan Book) lots of food (belly pork slow roasted in honey) and some yummy wine (pink of course)

Somewhere in the gap between opening pressies and eating Christmas dinner I got a little bored and decided to set up my boxing day sale. I am clearing the decks for a brand new year so pop along to the shop to check out my sale section where selected tweets have been reduced by a whopping 40% and blog followers can get an extra 10% off with the code DISCOUNT10 as a belated Christmas present from me!

I know I am a little bit behind with my blogging so I'll be catching up in the New Year, it's been a hectic december but I hoping to be able to relax a bit and start working on new designs and an exciting new collaboration... ssshhhh it's a secret! *:D

Right now I am off to spend some Christmas money in the sales and get to work on those new year resolotions ... see you soon!

Moving Sale...

We've found the perfect new flat with panoramic views of the town and a spare room to act as a studio for me... I am so excited that I thought I would share my excitement with my fans and friends with a coupon code to use on my etsy shop.

Just put some tweets in your cart and enter coupon code ONTHEMOVE at the checkout to get 30% off your order.This is a limited time offer which closes march 1st ... we'll be moving early march and I may have to close the shop for a couple of days... squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee... I can't wait!

*note: does not apply to custom orders... please don't be cheeky xx

Autumn Creeps In...

A nestful of Autumn tweets

Pumkin Pie Tweet

Things have been a little quiet at the menagerie, lots of making but not a lot of new things going on, and then this week I noticed a slight chill to the air which hails the end of our all too brief British summer.Chestnut Tweet

Pretty soon the leaves will start to turn and we'll be settling into the Autumnal season, long rainy days, windy nights and an extra blanket on the bed. Copper Beech

Autumn is actually my favorite time of year, an excuse to get out all those big jumpers that I packed away at the end of winter, harvest festival, crunchy dried leaves underfoot, the kids all back in school, the tourists all gone home.

Sweetcorn Chowder Tweet

Inspired by the change in the weather I decided to make some Autumn colour tweets and am enjoying naming them all. Am having a little trouble with this last fella tho... any ideas... he's a cutie no doubt but he doesn't want to settle on a name! Sweet potato? maple leaf? He just can't settle... any help would be gratefully received and the person who suggests the best name will get a little goody bag of postcards and magnets as a thankyou!

Christmas In July... What's that All About Then?

Every July lots of Etsy sellers go a bit crazy and offer all manner of discounts, deals, bargains and offers in their shops. This year felt and inkmeup have decided to join in the fun!

Feltmeupdesigns is offering free shipping ALL birds until the 25th July

Inkmeup has a fabbo sale section where you can pick up a bargain till 25th July, lots of reduced prints and mini prints for just $5 which is quite a silly price if you ask me, so you might wanna grab them before I change my mind!

If you want to find out more about the 3rd annual etsy Christmas in July sale visit the Etsy blog to find out more about how you can pick up a bargain and get organised in advance for Christmas.

That Friday Feeling...

After a full week of blogging last week I felt you needed a break from me... plus I am back at work and thus have achieved very little this week. Instead of my usual felt based gabble I thought I would treat you to some of my faves... enjoy!
Speckled Sparrow Bird Earrings by alibali
Slippers by Thisgeneration
Raspberry Marshmallows By Sweet Treats Bakery
Fairytale Earrings by Lazy Giraffe

Louchelab gets Teeny Tweet Seal Of Approval!

Today I got a lovely little parcel in the mail. I was very excited to open it.I turned my back to find some scissors and the teeny tweets beat me to it!They were very curious, naughty little blighters!It turned out to be my little cup from Louchelab on etsy! I love these so much! The colours are so pretty and obviously the tweets liked it! There was a bit of a scuffle to see who could get inside first but after a little pushing and tweeting (and a stern look!) they came to an amicable resolution and shared!Well done little tweets! And well done Louchelab for being so talented!

Working hard for Christmas

Well, it's that time of year again and I am working hard on my commissions for Christmas. The only problem with this is I don't really have time for my real work, the things that I love. I have, however, still managed to fit in time for making this fella.

This is my very first tentacle bag, something I have been wanting to make forever since i started making tentacle creations. He's really given me a kick start and i am ready to take on those commissions now.

I absolutely love him but he will be on sale on my Etsy site soon...

www.feltmeup.etsy.com

if you want to find out how he was made visit my flickr account at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/feltmeupdesigns/sets/72157602528652859/

for a step by step account of his creation.