The Best Bread Evah!

Today was Martin's birthday, and although we had the official celebration at the Port Pub yesterday, I decided to make a bit of a decadent dinner tonight as well. A part of the dinner was this bread from Delia Smith's "How to Cook." It was absolutely amazing! It was a bit more like a large scone or Australian "damper" than a yeast risen bread - but so yummy. I actually really love all the recipes I've made from Delia's "How to Cook" series of books. They always turn out, and are just simple and good. I also noticed this variation with cheddar and caremelized onions on her website. And now, if you'll please excuse me - there is one final piece of this bread calling my name!

I was on the Front Page of Etsy!

I have always wanted to make it to the front page of Etsy, and - unbeknowst to me - I did it last Friday! I was checking out my google analytics last night, and noticed a huge jump in my Etsy traffic one day. Turns out that my Blue Daisies Organizer had been on the Front Page!



Although I saw the jump in my stats, it was a bit hard to figure out what had caused it, so I will share my findings with you. They all came from this great Etsy Forum Post, written by one of the founders of Craft Cult. By the way, Craft Cult is a great site, and the Heartomatic is a wonderful tool - although I use Google Analytics to check my stats - Heartomatic is much more user friendly and tells you things that an Etsy seller would want to know without getting too technical.

Also - I just want to note that I think that changing up my photography style in my shop really contributed to me making it on to the front page. After reading an article in the Etsy Shop Makeover Series - I cropped and changed my photos, so that the main photo showing in my shop is a "teaser" shot of the item - something taken close up that doesn't show the whole product. This was suggested in the series, and I think it really works. It's kind of a tantalizing way to get people to click through and see more. Also - if you look at the front page and the treasuries, they all feature these types of shots. My photos still need a lot of work - but I always keep these "teaser" shots in mind when I photograph my products now.

Hot or Not: Cute Skulls

I was out today, and picked up this little punch that I thought was cute, and made some notebooks. Now, my question is - does anyone else think this is cute? Am I alone in loving "cute" skulls. I just love the juxtaposition of the dark imagery of the skull with floral pinks and reds. Let me know what you think!

Head Shot

I've spent the evening creating my artisan profile on the One of a Kind Show site (it's not live yet - but I'll let you know when it's up). The most difficult part was choosing a profile photo. I hate having my photo taken, so there weren't many to choose from. Anyhow, this is the best I could come up with - but it's really old! I look totally different now - new glasses, new hair. Even Milo has a more stylish haircut these days. My mission this week is to try to come up with a better, more current photo of me and my little sidekick!

Nurtured

My neighbor April recently expanded her online business Nurtured into a brick and mortar retail shop. I popped in today to buy some baby gifts, and it's a beautiful light and bright space, with touches of weathered wood - I really love the interior design. The products are pretty great too, and April is really knowledgeable and helpful. I would highly recommend the shop to parents - or those who shop for them!

Puff Daddy

After all the craft show madness is over, I want to make this for my living room. I want it to be bright pink! It seems like a fairly simple pattern - just a garter stitch rectangle that's then sewn together. Pickles (found via More Ways to Waste Time) has lots of other great patterns on their site, including a baby version of this puff.

My Milk Toof

I have been feeling a bit sick the last couple of days, so Martin sent me this link - My Milk Toof - to cheer me up. It is the cutest, funniest thing that I've seen in a long time. Click on the link, you won't be sorry....