Come see LeaKarts at the PDX etsy show Aug. 11th!

I had a dream last night that I sold a gazillion pendants at the show. Premonition?!? I hope so! Either way, come see my cute pendants and super-fun ACEO's in person, not to mention lil' ol' me! :) Plus a ton of other fantastic Portland etsy-ers and their fan-tabulous crafts!!

See you there!

eBay hmmmm......

Day 2 of the experiment :)

One of my challenges is to put up some of my ACEO's on eBay. I put 2 of them up just a minute ago, the one to the left included. (I love seeing her in this position for some reason--she looks like she is about to vomit. Hilarious!!)

I am really exited about this for a few reasons. Call it "feeBay" if you will, but eBay has a HUGE community of ACEO artists--so much so that ACEO's actually have their very own category!! I have done decently listing them there before. Secondly, I am charging the same starting price as I would on etsy, but am experimenting with a "buy it now" feature so that someone can buy it outright for $20 if they don't want to go through the auction. It is *possible* that I could get a higher selling price to cover all of the extra fees....

My only hesitation with eBay is that people expect to get fine art at garage sale prices. Not cool. I have been guilty of it in the past (sold some paintings there years ago for $20 a pop!). But these days I have enough love for and confidence in my work, that I refuse to feed into that mentality. I will not list anything for less than what I deserve to get for it! So, let's see what eBay can do for me! :)

The Experiment!

My friend Ryan is a marketing genius. She's constantly coming up with new ideas, or reviving old ones. Her own etsy shop is thriving! So last weekend, as our kids played in her back yard and she and I sat chatting in her studio, she pulled up her laptop and opened up my etsy shop.

"How can we make this happen for you?" she said. We brainstormed for a long time, in between more chatting, bringing the kids to a thrift store, and getting some ice cream cones. Finally she turned to me and said, "That's it! We are going to perform a social experiment. We are going to market you as though you are ALREADY famous! And we're going to do it without spending a dime."

Then came my assignment. Post ads on craigslist, let her post some for me, too. List some of my ACEO's on eBay. Come up with wholesale pricing on one of my items. Those are all for starters, anyway. Finally, blog about the experiment. Blog every day. Act as though I am already known in order to make myself known. Maybe not the 1st time this has been done, but it sounds like a good plan to me anyway! So here goes......

The Damn Cutest Thing I've Ever Made So Far

Yes, I am tooting my own horn! But this is one of my best ideas so far--a "paper doll" ACEO, with strategically placed slots around her body where you can put her wigs & dresses!

Recently I started making interactive ACEO's, with moving eyes, floating hair, and more. The ideas are coming so fast that I don't have time to keep up with them! (That is not a complaint, by the way). I am just so exited by my ideas, I can't wait to make more.

ACEO stands for "Artist Cards, Editions & Originals." ACEO's started out as ATC's (Artist Trading Cards), which were meant purely for exchange and not for profit. ACEO's are for-profit versions of ATC's. They can be made of any medium, the only real rule is that they have to be 2.5" x 3.5"--the standard size of baseball and other trading cards. They are so fun to make!