The SEO learning continues....

After giving a really good thought about my Etsy, it's time I do some streamlining. I start to pull out stuff which do not sell well in the past. Instead of keep paying fees which does not lead to sales, I want to focus on stuff which sell. 

Black and White Musical Theme Travel Wallet

Please note, that I am not an expert here, so I just write down what works for me. To each his own. 

I started keeping  a small note book and researching what keywords that related to my product. Yes, that is very important. And from what I read, you must NOT use single world keyword such as #quilted #table #runner ...that's a definite NO NO

So, be clever with your keywords. Especially for etsy. Many websites I read said you should sort of scatter those keywords in your Product description. This is a difficult part for me, I wish I paid more attention during the English class. Ha!! Writing a catchy line is NOT EASY :( 

So, now I am still struggling with this keywords things..try to get the hang of it. And also trying to learn more about twitter! Oh yes, I know many of mompreuners out there feels like me. I used to use twitter to vent ! You know things that you cannot say or share on Facebook LOL.... Well, if you are selling online, apparently you have to be savvy enough to use twitter. I heard your sigh saying when is the time to use it. Well, there are a couple of apps that you can schedule your bulk tweets, or you can do it manually for free, like me :D . 

Your can READ THIS if you want to know more about how to tweet. It's pretty straight forward for us, mompreneurs, who wants to be twitter savvy. 

So, this week, I am all learning about how to tweet properly and I have a little time to start adding stuff to my shop. 

Now, you can order a multi purpose pouch matching your passport wallet. 

Matching Vanity Pouch 

Many of us, esp mommies with kids, need at least two pouches. One you need for your personal stuff and one for your kids, emergency medicine, gadgets cables, etc. 

Blue Paisley Wallet & Pouch Set

I will be adding more to the shop! Stay Tuned.

Until then,

Keep Learning

Learning about Etsy SEO

After the latest Etsy updates, seller outside USA like me really feel the effect of the new changes. I have been reading Etsy Teams post, blogs, and sign up for SEO tips newsletter. And well...it seems I have to really keep up with what's happening in the WORLD!

If you make good stuff, take  good photos, and many of you friends on social media admiring your work then you start selling online on a popular marketplace and realized after few weeks that NO ONE buying your stuff, you start losing your trust on yourself, right?? 

Pink Ballet Dancer Women's Wallet

Well, DON'T GIVE UP!! All you need to do is STUDY more...just like you little baby start learning ABC...even me after so many years I realized there is so many things that I need to improve and learn. There are so many blogs and youtube videos telling you how to do your SEO right. 

Cherry Blossom Family Passport Holder

Start from research your keywords. I use Google Trends and Etsy Rank. I keep a small notebook and noted down everything that related to my product. 

I've been studying for the past few weeks and slowly start editing and changing my shops. One thing I learned it's beneficial to hang out in Etsy Forum and Teams. Many member shares their tips and tricks and sometimes you will find a good link about how to do SEO. That's how I get to Renae's Blog.  

Rose Pink Couple Passport Wallet 

So, apparently, only making good products and taking awesome pictures do not guarantee your success. You need business plan and marketing strategy for that. 

Yellow Green Fat Quarter Bundle

So, now start searching and doing a little research for your business. 

Green Blue Fat Quarter Bundle

Work a little harder and All the best!!

Happy Learning 

Hello April!!

April is here. 

March was quite productive month for me, tho I didn't really blog it but yes I had quite few finishes. Mostly I share in Instagram or my Facebook Page. it is more practical but I find blog is better. Because in blog I can tell the stories and I can always come back here to read it and having a good laugh over it. Well, at least I do. 

Yesterday, I finished another Super Tote for a friend. I promised her the bag few months ago after I finished making this Tote. She wanted bag where she can tote around her laptop. And this one is just perfect

I made with one big pocket with elastic. 

I made with fully interfaced on both exterior and interior and added a thicker needle punched felt kind of material. Some kind of dense fleece to make it sturdy. 

I still using grey jute as my previous Bag but this one is a bit smaller and sturdier.

  

don't you love that ikat print? I so wanna make more with the other colors. But that have to wait,I still have few pending Passport Wallets to make

ChezVies

This bag will go all the way to Indonesia to meet its new owner. 

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And as I was roaming around in the garden to take the bag photos, my younger one  happily posed for me. His t-shirt matched the bag!! Green and blue :D

and a pic of my MIL's hanging pots. 

I so love my Canon 50mm f1.8 STM. The bokeh is perfect, esp for novice like me, this lens seems like my saviour. 

Until then,

Happy Sewing

Movie Date : Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice

Today was the movie date with the boys and one of Rizqi's friend, Rudraneel.  They have been planning to watch Batman vs Superman Dawn of Justice since the beginning of the holiday. 

Don't ask me about the movie, even if I sat there more than 2 hours, I could not understand the story. I can only say that somehow Lex Luthor reminds me of our Bollywood Badshah - Shah Rukh Khan. The body language, the way he emphasised his words, the timing of his speech. I wonder if,  maybe...just maybe Jesse Eisenberg is a fan of SRK.

Another wonder is why Wonder Woman was not mentioned in the title despite her role of helping the boys defeating the Doomsday. 

Other than that I really don't follow the story, I was busy chatting with my friends. Truthfully, I much rather watch Korean Drama any day. 

Ah, we have discussion afterwards about why Superman cannot die, and the boys keep correcting me about Krypton and when I kept saying wrong thing about Avengers, they were like

anyway, it was fun day with the boys

snack time after the movie

Now, I need my dose of Kdrama...

Until then,

{TUTORIAL} Bunny Pencil Case

My elder son told me last week, why don't I start a youtube channel for my tutorials. He suggested after he saw me  making short video tutorial for my friends.

Giving it some thought, and I said "why not"?!. I can make a picture tutorial movie instead of the video tutorial. As it is I have a couple tutorial ready to share in this blog but have not got the time to upload it. 

I have the pictures uploaded in my Google+ Album for my Indonesian friends who want to learn making basic zipper pouch. We did the sew along and it was FUN. 

So I sat down and start adding caption to my photos and make a picture movie in PICASA. I love PICASA its so easy to use!!

So, for you who want to make this cute Bunny Zipper Pouch, check my new Youtube Channel !!

Here's the video tutorial:

I think video tutorial is more effective, since it's easier and more practical. Not everyone have time to read the whole tutorial description. My tutorial always have lots of pictures and in blog, sometimes it takes longer to load the pictures. 

What do you think? 

Until then, 

Happy Sewing

Session Break

The kids report giving day was done. Now both are in 7th and 5th grade respectively. yay!! 

the boys in our vegetable garden

Nowadays the competition is very tough. I always told my friends in Indonesia, that here in India, the parents are so concerned with the children study, in this case, how much mark they bring home after every test. Be it weekly, quarterly or semester. Most children will go for extra tuition. I keep telling my boys, that I don't expect them to bring straight "A" always, for me it's more important for them to understand what they learned in school. 

Well, I must admit I also give my sons extra tuition for Maths and Hindi. For obvious reason because I don't speak or write Hindi and for maths, well because when I tried to explain they get more confuse. ha!! I always told my boys, I studied maths in Bahasa Indonesia so I am not familiar with mathematical terms in English...I know its lame haha I love maths only when I have to calculate my quilt blocks :P 

one of my WIP...too many of them :(

So, how they spend their session break holidays?  

They  had a play date

Rudraneel, Rizqi, Raihan & Agnibha

and had a fun time playing cricket to their heart's content

And one day we had a pizza day. 

when the pizza took too long to arrive, we do selfie/wefies

Raihan - who never sit still - sniffing the pepper bottle and could not stop sneezing   >-(

No pizza photos, we were too hungry to take a snap :P

 

The boys already plan for movie date next week.

Until then....

Have fun!!

Sewing with friends is FUN

Yes, it's lots of FUN cos you can always learn something new! 

Namrata of Bagstock {psst..she just opened her ETSY shop, go and take a look at her awesome bags!! }  and myself have been planning a bag sew-along since last year. Finally the chance came up after she told me about the new tote pattern from Bluecalla Pattern , the moonflower tote. 

In the beginning I was not sure whether to try it or not, but she convinced me that I should try and I can do it. After 2 days I decided to go ahead and buy the pattern, before the sale price ended ;)

and as it happened, my new handwoven fabric stock just arrived from the suppliers 

The fabric came with patchwork  border which just perfect for the moon  applique part. And even the orange patch is just the right size for the side pockets.

I used the bright orange cotton for the lining and used it as accent fabrics for the handle. 

the bag is very spacious. It has 2 interior pockets, one zipper and one slip halfmoon pocket which is very cute. 

This is just perfect for you, who like to carry around la lot  of things. The side pocket is perfect to carry your water bottle. Isn't it?

Namrata convinced me to try the zipper closure instead of the magnetic snap the pattern suggested. With her guidance and read THIS tutorial from Ikat Bag, I did it! Yay! 

if you are beginner bag maker and want to try this pattern, don't hesitate. Celine wrote a clear well written pattern with step by step pictures and included tips and tricks and even highlighted few important points. 

Absolutely agree with the quote!!

Thank you once again Namrata, we should do sew-along again soon-ish ;)

Until then,

Happy Sewing

Bags and Wallets

I finished few pouches,bag and wallet the past 2 weeks but didn't get around to blog it. 

First was this Gatherer Crossbody bag from Noodlehead  and wallet from my own pattern. I love  patterns. It's so easy to follow with clear step by step instruction. This is my second bag from Noodlehead

I used Indian linen for the solid and Japanese cotton featuring Sunbonnet Sue {my fave print!} .

I change the closure with this cute flap to match the wallet. 

Now, I need to stock more on that closure. I wish I could get all these cute hardwares supplies in India. 

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The first Noodlehead Bag I made was this Super Tote I made last December. This fastly become my "go" bag. It's roomy and since I like to carry so many things, this bag is perfect size. 

Finally I found a perfect pattern for my ikat fabric. 

the grey fabric is burlap or jute fabric. It's so gorgeous!!

I love ikat, be it handwoven or printed. It's just so pretty.

I even made a matching NCW clutch  from Emmaline Bags.

My bestie, Namrata of Bagstock  encouraged and helped me a lot while making this. She even sent me the rivets since my machine struggle a bit while sewing thick layers. 

And I love how it turned out !!

This one I gifted to my DH's niece. 

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All the bags and wallets are available for purchase in my ETSY shop

I know I'll be making more of these.

Until then,

Happy Sewing