Ephemera...Not for the Faint of Heart

So, I'm new to the world of vintage/antique ephemera. But I believe my new-est vintage addiction could have been foretold. I've always loved keeping papers. Souvenir postcards, tickets, photos..and more!!
I love vintage photos. It's anonymous..but the people are real! They really lived. Who were they? What kinds of jobs did they have? Who was their best friend? How long did it take them to pick out the clothes they are wearing in the snap?

Another popular vintage ephemera item is color plates from vintage books. Color illustrations of plants, botanical prints, encyclopedia images, and more!
One surprising collectible is medical ephemera. People seem to love the framable pictures from old medical books, depicting brains, hearts....and more. Great pictures for your favorite doctor's office!!
All of this ephemera is great for framing! Or some collect images for their stash to use in collages or altered art pieces. Vintage children's book pages are great for this.
Recently someone in the Etsy forums called my new condition.."ephemer-itis". There's no known cure..and it's catchy! So look out!!

Is Anyone Else as Overwhelmed As I Am?

A new year. Fresh starts. New beginnings. I love it. In theory, that is. But evaluating last year, figuring out which direction to go this year...my brain hurts already. I've opened new shops at Artfire and Shop Handmade. I have my stuff at Etsy and my mother-in-law's shop there too. I have a Bonanzle shop also to sell the garage sale type stuff I used to sell at Ebay. I still sell at Ebay sometimes. My husband just opened a shop at Bonanzle to help get rid of construction related items, old hardware, etc... that are too good for the landfill. He doesn't have time for that...so I do that too.
And then Auctiva is opening stores in January. Should I do one of those? If so, which other shop should I give up? Have I given them enough of a chance?
Well, I'm just rambling. I haven't blogged in sooooo long and wasn't sure what to write about. My head is so full. So I need some concrete goals to put down here.
1) Blog more often.
2) Blog more meaningfully.
3)Focus efforts. Work smarter, not harder!
4) Promote.
5) Focus on great customer service! Get repeat customers.
6) Clear out clutter!
7) Go to bed earlier.
Good night!!

Diversify, Diversify

So I've been spending a few days brainstorming and trying to figure out how to grow my business(es). I've pretty much decided that it is smart not to put all your eggs in one basket as they say. Going back and forth between ShopHandmade.com and Artfire.com is giving me a headache. Feedback on both of these sites is both positive and negative. I guess the same can be said for Etsy. And Ebay for that matter.
So the only way to figure out what to do is to try them out! So today I opened on Artfire.
http://vyeshi.artfire.com/
I only have two items there so far. I intend to add more. I love their one-page listing format. It's great! They are a little buggy...but they're still in Beta so that's to be expected. But everyone raves about the stats. Next to try ShopHandmade and see how that goes! I'll be blogging about it!

Conquer the Clutter!

A few days back, I started a thread on the Etsy forums asking for organizing tips! I am in sore need of them! I was supposed to be cleaning, weeding, etc...but I was procrastinating...as I am now. I got some great suggestions! I thought I would share them with you!

First, JoyfulAbode wrote: "My best tip is get rid of junk before you start. You can't organize clutter; you can only move it around. It's a fact!" That is a true statement. Others on the forum loved that one!

I also heard from CreationsAnew. They wrote: "My best tip!!!! I clean up my office/workspace every day after I'm finished working in it!and...I close my books every month!!!! Great advice for when tax time rolls around!" If only I could be so organized! Something to strive for.

I totally agree with TheCandlesmith who said: "The hardest for me is putting things back where they belong the first time..........." That is why I'm in the mess I'm in! No pun intended.

Oh and here's a good one! lrichmond3 writes: "oh, oh, I have a great one but it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with organizing your work space but I suppose it would work anywhere. Dump the contents of a drawer in a box. For one month, every time you use something from that box, you place it back in the drawer. At the end of the month, whatever you haven't used from the box, goes in the trash. I've done this with kitchen drawers and man, it really works!"

And here's another system that works for jewelsbyfaith. "If were talking house stuff, I like to walk around with a basket, one room at a time and if there is something that's in room, and doesn't belong, it goes in the basket...then I carry the basket around and put everything back. I do this every now and then for each room, and it helps. When it gets REALLY bad, I get out the laundry basket, make the entire household sweep, set it in the middle of the floor and tell everyone they have 10 min.s to put it away..what's left over gets tossed! The kids mover really quickly when I do that! especially if it's nintendo games, etc,...in the basket!"

And when I'm overwhelmed...I remember what cherrybounces wrote: "Baby steps!"

The ideas I wasn't able to include can be found on this thread. Thanks everyone!

Owls, Owls, Everywhere!

Until I started seriously browsing Etsy, I really hadn't realized how popular owls had become. (again).

What is it about owls? Maybe we're all in the need of some wisdom in these perilous times!

I remember a pair of chalkware ones my mom had forever on her living room shelves. Probably still does.

Here are some of mine that I've collected and can be seen at http://www.vyeshi.etsy.com/

Some Favorites!!

Over on the right I've created an etsy mini of some favorites from other etsy sellers, some experienced, some new. Enjoy and give them a click!

The featured stores are:
Bianca Venice Photography
Signs of my Life
The Unlikely Nest
Deer Path Vintage
Creative with Clay
Sara Grein Photography
Times Gone By
Kaw said the Krow
Vital Industries
Urban Heirlooms

Holy Supplies Batman!

Well, our trip to Montana is coming to an end. We were visiting my mother in law, a die-hard crafter, collector. I was supposed to set her up with her own Etsy store so she could destash and sell her creations. She's not ready.

So I am coming home on the train with the first lot of destash. Jewelry and leatherwork supplies. Here's a sampling.

She has a basement and several storage containers FULL of supplies and thrift store finds.

She wants to CLEAN OUT. I will be her agent. Look in my etsy store for some new items in the next weeks...and I'll have to set up a new supplies store soon too.

I'll be posting here so keep watching!!

my first post!

Well, here I am! After planning on doing this for awhile, I've finally set some time aside. There's been a lot of advice from the Etsy forums to get out there and start blogging!

I have had a blog before, but I think I abandoned it after 2 or 3 posts. But I think this could actually be kind of fun now.

I'm now a SAHM (not that that gives me more time to blog...) but I am trying to build a SAHB (stay at home business) selling things on etsy and ebay.

Having had some success on ebay, some months better than others, I decided to carve a niche for myself on etsy. I like their community and I love checking out everyone's artwork. People's talent is amazing.

I have two etsy stores...one selling my original photo art greeting cards...and the other selling vintage items and ephemera and assemblage art supplies.
http://www.fishboneimages.etsy.com and http://vyeshi.etsy.com

Anyway, i think I'll end this now and save some other topics for another day!!