New Artwork and ETSY Shop Updates

Hello lovelies!
I haven't done too many DIY projects to share lately cause I've been running around like a crazy lady. I had some issues with our septic tank, a week of fabulous family time, then a week of nasty weather that is just never super inspiring. But one thing I've done a lot of work on this year is my ETSY shop. I did some rearranging, added new sections, and have made some fabulous goals that I can't wait to reach :) I thought I would just do a quick update on the shop to share some of the recently added pretties!



My favorite update has been adding a Painting section. I have always done commissions and larger pieces for friends but was never very confident about adding one of a kind pieces on ETSY. I think all of my work is unique and I hand paint each piece so everything is super personal but doing something that I am not going to attempt to reproduce is really fun. These are mostly pieces that speak to me personally and if I lived in a house with more wall space they would be hanging everywhere :) This Painting section has allowed me to be more creative than the quick gift pieces I've been focusing on for so long. It has been super inspiring and very fun, so hopefully this section will continue to grow!!

I also did some updates to my Watercolor section. I LOVE watercolor and I always have. So by adding some one of a kind pieces I am able to get back in to the medium that really started me on my life as an artist. While my acrylic work is super fun I find watercolor to be so therapeutic. It is a super fluid paint and is so whimsical that its almost impossible not to relax while working with it. 

I did a lot of updates to my Tin Sign section. It is still my largest shop section and where all of my best sellers come from but I decided to build a photo back drop so hopefully the section will be a bit more orderly :) I am still working on this but as you can tell lots of tins have already been re-photographed. 

Of course I still have the Serving Tray section, which is the second best selling section :) It's a favorite because I get to do a little bit a building and painting :) These are often what people buy as gifts for weddings, anniversary, and this past christmas I had an order for TWENTY SEVEN!! Yeah it was crazy awesome!

 And finally what I think is my most unique section, Clocks. Most of my clocks are made from rustic tin and hand painted with all different designs. The tin is so stunning and just perfect the way it is but most clients tend to add a personal touch to match their home decor.

As you can tell the shop is going under some changes and I am loving the way they are going. I can't believe how people have supported me with all of my work. Having a small business is hectic and crazy and not really something I thought I would be doing at 24. But God is blessing me and in just 1 year my sales TRIPLED! I am trusting in God and that He is gently guiding me the way I am supposed to go and I think that direction is towards my passions. I hope this little business will keep growing and that these passions will never burn out :)

I would LOVE to hear what y'all think of the shop so please be sure to visit GraceLangdon on ETSY!!

Easy ETSY Backdrop

¡Hola Chicas!
So many of y'all know I have an ETSY shop and that it has been growing steadily in the past year or so. Well I mad some goals for it in 2015 because I'm ready to take it to the next level! One of my goals was to have a more uniform look.

What I mean is I want my pieces to be the focal point of the shop and not my crappy quick photography skills. In the past year I've been working so fast that I haven't taken the time to photograph my work at a level that is any place close to professional. And thats where this super super easy backdrop comes in to play. 

Really all I wanted was a clean space that I could take to the well lighted spots of the house. So I decided to make a folding backdrop just big enough for the majority of my pieces. I wanted it to be versatile so I could kinda change it up depending on the product but also have a unity that flows through out the shop sections. That is where the two tone scheme came in to play. My tin signs I wanted to photography on a wall but my serving trays need to be laid flat. The white is great for the serving trays to highlight the stain of the tray and the stained portion would look awesome with some of my tin products. 

I didn't take photos of making it because it was pretty easy but I will explain how it works.

Basically, I got 2 24inch birch boards and 2 4 inch hinges. I painted my boards and place the hinges on the UN PAINTED side. This way when I had the boards open for photographing my work you don't see the hinges or screw heads. 

Now the board will sit open and flip backwards on itself for easy storage when I'm done :) 

The picture above shows how nice a backdrop can look. 

This spot in the house had great lighting but our floors are scratched up, the trim needs to be painted and I would have to put a hole in a random spot in our wall to the tins for photos. The back drop solves AALLL  those issues :) Now I have a clean and crisp area I can take with me to the best light and photograph any of my small goods!! 

I LOOOOVVVVEEE how much better my tins look with a crisp and uniform back drop. Can't wait until I can get every piece in the shop reshot and posted :) I wish I would have done this forever ago, now every bodies gonna want some of dis!! In fact, if you are intersted in any of the Tin Signs above they are $20 plus shipping >> click here to go to the shop!

If you have an online shop be sure to always make time to photograph your work with quality. You don't have to be a professional photographer to get photos that display your work in a positive and uniform way. 

Do you have an online shop? If so leave me your link in the comments I would LOVE to check it out :) 

Staging a Festival Booth - York SummerFest

Y'all probably saw all my talk about getting ready for my first ever festival last week. I had to prepare lots of new products, business materials, and just figure out how to put a booth together! I knew it was just going to be Reed and I setting up so I needed some guidance. I went to Pinterest and didn't find a single thing to help with staging a booth for a craft show or festival! So here it is Pinterest, your first staging post :) 

The first things to tackle are your business ends. 
I am no pro, but I did make sure I had these things: 

-Business cards (I took 300 but needed more so take LOTS!)

-Shop banner (I thought about making my own but then got this gorgeous 3ftx6ft banner from BuildASign.com and it was awesome! With 4 grommet corners it was easy to hang, beautiful colors, and great durability. Whatever you choose to do for your banner make sure it has your basic information listed, and is LEGIBLE!) 

-Receipt book (you can grab small ones from the Dollar Store)

-Inventory List (write down EVERYTHING you are taking and the price)

-Order forms (for those customers that didn't find the perfect thing right then)
-Bags/boxes for sold items

-Change! (I took $75 in change, mostly small bills. But because of the pricing of my items I never even touched the change and left the festival with all $75 un touched in my cash box).
-Cash box! (something to securely hold all of your money, we used a zipper pouch that could be tucked in my husbands belt). 

Like I said I'm no pro. But I did learn a good bit, but probably forgot a good bit too. But if you remember these things you will at least make it through the day :)

Now for the actual staging! 
This part was so fun to do, I LOVE staging everything, my home, party decorations, and finally my "shop"! Here is a quick step by step on how I chose what went where in my 10ft x 10ft tent.
1. I decided on a theme and chose the products that went a long with it. (I chose a whimsical living room theme.)
2. I did a pre run of the set up a couple of days before hand so I could see what I needed to prop pieces up with or hardware for hanging.
3. I used lots of furniture so that people could visualize where these items could go in their homes.
4. make sure to add LAYERS. Layers of texture, color, and products are more interesting to the eye and will draw people in and keep them longer!
5. Keep similar products together. I had all of my fall/winter items staged in the back center of my tent and all of the football themed goodies right off of that. This will create a flow for people to move around your tent.
6.  If you can add a 3D element to the front of your tent that will catch peoples attention as they walk past. I had countless people stop and look at the tree filled with signs and from there people ventured in to the tent.
7. Have a station with all your business needs. We dedicated one small corner at the front to hang my banner, display business cards, and even had cold water for patrons. This allowed people to grab my information with out having to totally stop.

I know there is so much more I could share but I'm gonna stop there. This first experience as a festival vendor was awesome! I hope to do it again soon and I will do a better write up with the more I learn.

Also, if you see anything you are interested in please visit my ETSY shop!

Wishing For Spring!

This Wednesday has me wishing for warmer weather, hot sunshine, good books and long days. I can't wait to be outside to do everything. I mean if it's warm you better believe I will be out on my back porch when I'm reading, blogging, cuddling with the pup, but I mostly just hope I will be out in my studio making the coolest pieces ever! I just get so motivated when I'm warm and toasty :)

So in hopes of  that coming soon here are some finds from good ole ETSY that I'd love to have in time for the nice weather.

First up is this precious Vintage Camper Birdhouse by Jumahl. I mean, who doesn't want this?! I'm not a "bird watcher" and mostly we don't need to encourage birds to our yard because well, Tepe will torture them and you never know what Reed will want to do with them... He has a bad history with birds and pellet guns. But despite all that, I'm thinking this Camper Birdhouse will complete our eclectic mix of hanging goodies on our back porch!

Reed and I are talking about starting a garden. You would think with Reeds love of the outdoors and the fact that he works on a farm and a ranch that we would be totally on board with a garden. But I don't have a green thumb, so I think Reed knows lots of the work would be his... REGARDLESS, I would love this Set of Five Garden Markers by The Folk. I mean so cute!  I'm thinking even if we don't start a "garden I'm gonna grab these cuties to put in my window boxes, cause yes I will have some kind of pretty plant in our yard :)

Finally ready for visiting beaches!  This Cotton Peshtemal Beach Towel  by Loovee is 1. super cute 2. sounds like it is the ideal weight 3. It could double as a cover up! Ooooo just so cute! And even though I don't need a new beach towel, and I don't usually get in the water but I do love wrapping my self up in a good towel to take that long walk on the beach :)

Annnnd finallllyyyyyy I can't wait for a new bathing suit! This Sweet Flora Ruffle Top and High Waisted Bottom by Vendorstore is more of a "resort style" because it isn't super ideal for tanning. But shoot this is cute and I may go to a resort this summer... Who knows! I used to have a bad obsession with getting new bathing suits. But growing up kinda changed that, I can't just buy an entire new wardrobe of bathing suits any more... So I haven't gotten a new bathing suit in 2 summers. I'm thinking this one might be the one to break that tradition!!

Ooo this made me so anxious for summer! What item are you waiting to purchase for this upcoming fab weather???

All things rustic, burlap, and cozy??

We are back on track this week with a Wishful Wednesday post Featuring a couple different ETSY shops!! ETSY is such a great place to find handmade goods of awesome quality at pretty great prices! I have my own shops (yes, I now have two... I know I'm crazy) but I'm more obsessed with finding things to add to my wishlist via ETSY than I am with Pinterest! 

This week I found a couple things that all seem to fit in perfectly with our bedroom! We just rearranged and I'm working on finishing it all up to do a tour for y'all soon. So, like everyone in the middle of a project you have to go find "inspiration". Basically that is a creative girls excuse to shop online :)

I've been obsessed with grain sacks lately. I just love the vintage and natural look that they give off.Maison & Company is a shop that caught my attention with their beautiful  grain sack laundry bags. They shared some of their favorite items with me and I think y'all should go check them out because it makes since these items are their favorite!

"Our Etsy store showcases our art and hand-crafted items. We love our feed sack pillows, which compliment the grain sack laundry bags. We are also especially fond of our 19th Century Swiss Advertising Stamp collection and framed vintage Swedish herbariums."

And to go with my dream of grain sack laundry bags, I found the perfect pillow shams!! Right now we don't have any pillow shams so our bed looks rumbled all the time. These would be PERFECTTTTT! I even have a burlap bed skirt :) Burlap Everything is a shop on ETSY that well, has burlap everything! These pillows are made to order just for you so they can be customized to fit you! I'm not a monogram person but this monogram has a very similar aged look as the
grain sacks... so I've got a soft spot :)

Annnnd finally a dream of mine is to have a sheep skin rug beside the bed so when I get up in the morning my feet don't freeze off on these cold hardwoods. This beauty is coming all the way from Poland from the Trending Slippers shop. Obviously, the shop features all kinds of fuzy goodies. Lots of beautiful rugs and even some super cozy looking slippers! Ohhhh I would jump up and down for days if I got my feet on one of these rugs or even in a pair of those slippers!

I mentioned up top that I now have 2 shops. Yep TWO! My first one is one I've had for a while now, featuring all kinds of custom painted goodies like serving trays, clocks, lamps, or tin signs! My newest shop is a collaboration and is a totally new and different adventure for me! Bohemian-ish is a Jewelry shop that features all kinds of eclectic jewelry. We would love to have y'all come follow us on Instagram or like us on Facebook!

Can you believe that all of these are available on ETSY?! I mean seriously everything from Laundry bags, jewelry, pillow cases, to rugs! 

Project upon project, adventure upon adventure

I'm a bit exhausted from all the crazy. whew.

I tend to tire myself out a good bit. I don't "technically" have a job, I don't go to the gym, some days I don't even leave the house, and Lord knows I'm not a clean freak who spends hours ever day cleaning. So why in the world do I feel like I'm going non-stop??

Well I've decided that because I don't HAVE to do anything I tend to take on a lot of projects. I make list upon list upon list, never really finishing any of them. I'm productive, but I've decided my creative brain has gone crazy with no "real structor" and it is on over drive all-the-time. I mean at the moment I have 2 ETSY shops? Why might you ask, oh well because I've had one for a while and I really like everything in it and the other was a new project I thought I could take on with my cousin.

I love them both and I'm totally gonna pursue both hardcore because how rad would it be if instead of having to go to work every day some place that didn't really feed my creative side, I could just wake up put on some leggings and fun boots to head out to my studio for some painting, jewelry making, blog writing, ya know what ever fit my fancy for the day. swooooon.

Wishful List "Tuesday" ??

This week the blog has a lot going on! I've already posted 2 posts just on Monday and have some big stuff planned for Wednesday. Please don't forget to head over and join the Making Monday Link Party, it is growing every week and has some really awesome features and shares from you guys! Also, this week I'm part of a HUGE giveaway with Victoria's Secret and Sephora, I mean who doesn't want $100 worth of pretty underwear  and $50 of fun jewelry :)

ETSY Wish List

Woot woot for wish list Wednesday!
I love being able to cruise ETSY and find some goodies that make my heart flutter. There is just something so astonishing about what can be made by hand, I love being inspired by the amazing shop owners.

Wishful Wednesday #2

Ohhhhh I love having an excuse to shop around ETSY :)
I am so NOT a shopper but as far as handmade goodies I have to really hold myself back some times.

This week for Wishful Wednesday I apparently fell in love with prints. So here are 3 different things that if I had all the money in the world I would own already. Don't forget to check out the shops cause they have some awesome stuff and I'm sure they would love to see your face!

First up are these Screen Printed Flower SackTea Towels by CoryanneEttiene. Aren't these just super fun! We really need some new kitchen linens and I think these are perfect with the simplistic design and catchy little phrases. I couldn't pick a favorite so I shared all four.

Next is this totally precious Squirrel Pillow! I was searching for unique pillows to add out on the porch and this little guy popped up by Out Of Line Press. Her shop has loads of cute creatures gracing everything from pillows to book bags.

And finally is this Southwest Tote Bag. I mean literally I've been drooling over this for at least a year. I don't usually like bags but goodness me I would LOVE to get my hands on this one.

ETSY is such a unique site. I mean I can find anything my heart ever desired on there. Well maybe not but I sure can find almost all of it and usually find things I didn't even know I wanted too! Not only is it awesome stuff but usually you are helping somebody out by purchasing their product. I know for me each time my phone "Ka-chinges" (yes I have the money sound as my ETSY alert, don't judge) I get unbelievably excited! Not just because I get some jingle in my pocket but because it allows me to pursue new projects, help take my family on adventures, and yes sometimes I use it for food too :)

It is just so fulfilling to know that someone else out there in the universe finds your handiwork worth something. I can make all the projects my little heart desired but if I wasn't giving my talents to others I don't think I would enjoy it as much.

So this week for my personal ETSY shop I wanted to share my simply rustic table lamp. I haven't sold many of these yet but I have one that I use by my bed and I've given a larger version as a gift. I think the simplicity of the wood speaks for itself and allows you to accent your decor by adding a simple statement with this lamp.

I really enjoy making these too. As much as I like painting these are a bit more "hands on." They involve some cutting, drilling, wiring and a bit more, so it is something totally different than what I typically do and that is so fun to me :)

You can get yourself one of these lamps for just $30 plus $10 shipping and the dimensions of the lamp are as follows: 16 3/4in T x 9 3/4 in W x 4 in D. Not to big and not too small, justttt right :) 

I would greatly appreciate you checking out all these shops! I'm sure that each one of the owners would be happy to see you and talk to you about any questions you may have. Now go on and search ETSY for your unknown dream items too! 

Wishful Wednesday!!

Part of my new blog schedule I will be posting each Wednesday about some of my favorite items from ETSY along with item updates in my personal shop.

So to start off I've found some of my all time favorite items at the moment. I'm really debating on purchasing each of these... If only I wasn't so freakin frugal!

First, to ring in the new year I really need a calendar. Katie Vaz has a beautiful hand drawn vintage inspired calendar listed in her rad shop that is full of stunning hand drawn paper goods.

Next! I got a new Kindle Paperwhite for Christmas and I am IN LOVE! So of course everyone needs a pretty cover to keep your gadgets warm, cozy, and safe. I found the perfect one for my perfect kindle over at the Beesock shop. I've got a soft spot in my heart for all things fun, funky, and functional and this Quirky fun floral Kindle Case is perfect!

It is still very much winter around here. I am currently cuddle up in my chair with Tepe, a fuzzy blanket, and hot cocoa  while the temps out side are about 9 degrees. So to think about warmer things I have fallen in love with these Large Raised Cedar Gardening Kits. I can't wait until spring and fill up my pretty patio with lush greens and you best believe that RopedOnCedar has a soft spot in my heart now!

Well, I can't share all my favorites with you today because I'm worried 1. I may go crazy and spend all my money while doing "research" for this post and 2. that you will go buy up all my favorites before I can get one!

Noowwww some shameless plugs about my own ETSY shop :) I love my little business and want it to grow so I thought I would share where all my friends can see! What I'm going to do is try and just post 1 or 2 items from my shop a week and tell you a little back story behind them. Or maybe just give more back story on the shop and how it helps fund my family!

This week I'm super excited about a couple new items posted in the shop. I just added these awesome tin clocks that are completely customizable. They are 24in in diameter with black metal minute and hour hand.

I've collected the tin from a few different spots around South Carolina and so it is all very unique. I love working with tin, I think it weathers beautifully and adds a bit of rustic glam to any space :) Plus it is super fun to paint on! And just like everything in my shop I would love to paint nearly anything you ask for!

So please be sure to head over and check out my shop along with the 3 other fabulous shops listed above! Just don't buy them all up because I want some for myself too :)

don't you just love ETSY? So many unique finds created by hand with love from all over the world. I usuasly like to stay local but that's just me :) what are some of your favs from ETSY??