Clearing out my shop

I am in the process of clearing out my shop at http://pumpkinlights.etsy.com/

I will be opening a new shop for blankets and baby items, but a lot of what is listed now will not be relisted in the new shop. Also, I've spent a bit of time and money listing what I have now that I don't want to just relist it all in the new shop.

So, I am trying to clear a lot of it out. Currently all my items will ship for free and I have been randomly dropping prices.

I am also now offering volume discounts for anyone who purchases 3 or more listings. If anyone is interested in 10 or more items from my shop, I am discounting them by around 60% so if anyone is interested, let me know!

Free Shipping

I am in the process of clearing out my shop and moving it to a new shop. So, I have edited all items at http://pumpkinlights.etsy.com/ to have Free Shipping to the US. $2 shipping to Canada.

And the winner is.....

Thank you everyone for participating in my first blog giveaway, I got lots of great input that I can't wait to read through. There were so many replies, that instead of just one winner, I had my daughter pick two names. The winners are: lilyk and whimsical_creations!

As a thank you for everyone who left a comment, I would like to offer free shipping on anything in my shop. If you are interested, just put 'blog giveaway' in the notes to seller section. http://pumpkinlights.etsy.com

A Question and a Giveaway

I am getting ready to build my own website, but with a link back to this etsy shop. I checked domain names and sure enough pumpkinlights.com is taken. Also a few weeks ago, someone mentioned that Pumpkin Lights didn't seem like a good name for a baby boutique, as it made them think I sold candles. So I am not sure how to proceed from here.

1.Do I want to keep the Pumpkin Lights etsy shop and just get a different domain name? I was thinking of PumpkinLightsBaby?

2.Use PumpkinLightsBaby as my domain name, plus open a new etsy shop also called PumpkinLightsBaby so they totally match?

3.Or totally change it from PumpkinLights and use something that seems more baby-like? One reason I didn't want something overly baby sounding is because a lot of my items are more just for kids in general and not just babies.

That is where the giveaway comes in. I am looking for suggestions. Leave a comment with your choice, either 1, 2, or 3, before next Sunday morning, Sept. 7. I will have my daughter randomly pick a name of the commenters and they may pick anything from my shop normally priced at $20 or less for free!

Featured Artist: Lauren Alexander

I came across an artist with such adorably amazing work that I had to share it. Her name is Lauren Alexander and I found her at http://laurenalexander.etsy.com/. I instantly was drawn to her use of color as well as her animal subjects. I recently had a chance to find out a little more about the artist behind those creations.

Me: When do you first remember being interested in art?

Lauren: "For as long as I remember, I have had an interest in art. One of my earlier artistic endeavors involved using crayons on the outside of a house my family rented - fully believing my mother would be pleased. She wasn't - but has otherwise always encouraged my desire to create."

Me: Where do you find inspiration for what you create?

Lauren: "My inspiration comes from teaching, working with kids, reading children's stories, and imaginaing how I would like to illustrate a story or a character."

Me: What do you see yourself doing artistically in the next 5 years?

Lauren: "I sure hope that in five years I have furthered a professional career as an artist. My ultimate goal would be to illustrate an amazing and unique children's picture book."

I encourage you all to check out her work. You can also find her at http://laurenalexanderart.blogspot.com/

Christmas In July

My etsy shop is having a Christmas in July sale from July 21 until July 31. Just click on the Christmas in July section to find all the items for this sale.

Some of the items are older items being clearanced, but some are either newly listed or Christmas/holiday/seasonal items available now at a discounted price. I'm still in the process of adding items, so be sure to check back tomorrow.

Nothing in that section is priced over $10 so take advantage of it and start shopping for the holidays now.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5269516&section_id=5540689

Vegetarian Chocolate Tofu Pie

I was sent this recipe, I haven't tried it yet, but it looked so good I wanted to share it. They had it marked as vegan, but I'm not sure with the graham cracker crust as I'm sure most have eggs or milk so I am just labeling it as vegetarian. Also it calls for white sugar, so check to see if it could have bone chalk.

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1 pound silken tofu
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust

*Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
*Blend tofu with an electric mixer or in a food processor until smooth. Blend in cocoa, sugar, vanilla and vinegar. Pour into prepared crust.
*Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes.
*Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

If anyone tries it, let me know how it turns out!