New look on the website!

I guess I could start every blog post apologizing for the lack of keeping up with blog posts, so maybe I should just make this apology a catch all for the rest of time.
I've been super busy with working on redesigning some aspects of the website (the page layouts and photos in particular) and I'm really pleased with the changes so far. Of course it will be a long process that will involve lots of incremental steps as I update the different sections. Being super anal, I will try not to let it drive me crazy that everything isn't going to match for a while (and probably a long while), but hey, what can you do 'eh?



So the first section to be updated with the new design is women's lingerie (and not the slips - I added those pre-change). I hope you'll check out the new look. Feel free to let me know what you think. Of course, feel free-er to let me know what you think if you like it :)



Here's a sneak peek at what I'm working on now. I love enamel flower pins! The colors are always fun and the shapes are so pretty. I also have a bunch of sweet little animal pins - there are lots of poodles, woodland creatures, owls, and other cuties. They should be up in the next few days.



And for a quick Etsy 5 A Day update...
For those of you who read my last blog post you'll remember that I challenged myself to list 5 things a day on Etsy for the month of July. I gave myself 5 freebie days of which I've used 2. I have had to rely on relisting items on a few of the days which I was trying not to do, but since I'll sometimes sell an item quickly after relisting it, I've decided to consider it valid. I now have close to 200 items in the shop with somewhere around 80 of them being brand new listings in the past 3 weeks. It's been a great motivator - although admittedly there have been a few days where it's been tough to make the time. I have one week left, but I'd really like to establish a regular routine to include it in my schedule (not that I actually have a regular routine...).
I'll make a more complete report at the end of the month.
Did any of you take the challenge? How's it going for you?

The Etsy 5 A Day Challenge

I've been wanting for a while to dedicate a chunk of time to developing my Etsy shop. So far I haven't been able to stick with it on a consistent basis for as long as I'd like, listing a bunch of items at once and then getting caught up with other things. I'm always struggling with where to focus my energy, trying to find a balance between my website, Etsy, Astro Vintage (and formerly Orphelin), eBay (ugh) and in-person events. I've always had a toe in the water with Etsy, and have wondered if I put my whole foot in if it would pay off. So, it's experiment time...

Since I find it's easier to reach a goal if you tell someone (or everyone) about it, I'm declaring my goal right here on this blog.

For the rest of the month of July I'm going to list 5 things a day in my Etsy shop.

Now, I'm not crazy and I don't like to set unrealistic goals, so I'm building in a feature that gives me 5 days off of my choosing when other factors in life may interfere with my plans. And since today is July 3rd and I just came up with the idea, the first two days of the month won't be included. Yup - I'm making the rules here... That leaves 29 days (minus 5 freebies) for a total of 120 items. That doesn't sound so hard. The point is to list every day and not do 20 in one day. It's part of the experiment. If I don't need the freebie days I won't use them, but a girl needs options you know.

Feel free to join me if you'd like and take your own Etsy 5 A Day Challenge.
And wish me luck!