HeadbandsbyPurplelicious now on Artfire

In an effort to continue to build up my web presence, last month I finally caved and opened up my shop on Artfire! I have seen so many of my EtsyNJ friends making the leap but what sealed the deal for me was that Artfire donated 100 Artfire bags for the goodie bags at the Handmade Faire last month. Now that is just cool!

Artfire claims to be extremely seller focused and they ARE! Not only is listing a new item so simple, SEO functionality is embedded into the listing set up. Setting up my market was so easy and within a day of getting my shop set up I already started showing up in google searches! Good stuff!

As if I wasn't already happy with Artfire the other day they released the Artfire Kiosk application for facebook. Now customers can shop directly from my facebook profile and fan page without even going to Artfire. You can even buy items right there through a secure server. Yay!

Check out my new shop on Artfire by clicking here. And if you want to take advantage of easy shopping through facebook, become a fan of Purplelicious by checking out my Facebook Fan Page and checking out the Artfire Kiosk tab.

Happy Shopping!

Hair Flowers - Bridal Style!

When I first learned how to make these adorable little fabric flowers I knew I had to experiment with some white satin and make some pretty bridal hair flowers. The concept was to have an adorable satin flower to accent the hair that could be custom made for the bride, her bridesmaids, and even her flower girl. Since I introduced this white satin hair flower to the Bridal Section in my Etsy shop, several brides have purchased it and I have done 1 custom bridesmaid order. Until recently! I reconnected with an old colleague through facebook and she checked out my Etsy shop and saw the bridal flowers. She liked the satin flowers for her bridesmaids but wanted something different for her. I was so happy to be given the opportunity to design her hair flower, I couldn't wait to get started. I had seen instructions on how to make a fabric rose and this gave me this excuse to try it. Below is the finished product. It is currently for sale here.

I love how this came out but when she sent me a picture of her dress I knew it wouldn't work. Back to the drawing board. I ended up at my mom's for inspiration and saw a fabric flower pattern down in her sewing room. I thought it would be perfect except that the petals were too pointy. But I took the pattern and made some adjustments and the final result was this flower.

The Bride loved it and asked me to make that flower for her, the satin fabric flower hair clips for her bridesmaids, and a satin flower barrette for the flower girl. I was so excited, my first custom bridal party order! Here is a picture of all of the flowers that I made. The bride, flower girl, and maid of honor had matching center stones and the bridesmaids all had something different.

I caught a sneak peek at some pictures posted from her wedding and first could not believe how gorgeous everyone looked. But the hair flowers looked so amazing in everyone's hair including the bride's! I hope I get some pictures to have of everyone's hair! It was such an honor to be chosen to make hair accessories for someone's wedding day! I had so much fun doing it and hope that this is the first of many bridal party orders to come my way!

Cranes for a Cause

Etsy is not only a place for me to sell my hair accessories, it has also become a place where I have found many amazing friends through my membership on the EtsyNJ Street team. Most of us haven't even met yet our friendships continue to grow through social networking sites. When Cat of CatRocks posted a note about Cranes for Killian on facebook, I was amazed to see the response that she got. I had no clue how to make origami cranes but I knew I was going to figure it out and do it. It wasn't long before the status updates from my EtsyNJ friends were about learning how to make paper cranes! Here is the link to what Cat posted which gives you a little background on the request and some pictures of all of the cranes they have received. Cranes for Killian on Flickr The cranes are for an amazing teenage boy named Killian who just a few days ago, lost his long battle with cancer. I never met him but I feel like my life is that much better because I have learned of his story. Even though the battle was tough, he chose to LIVE each day. He started a foundation to help other children battling cancer and since he was a musician recorded an album entitled Somewhere Else which is currently being sold on Amazon and Itunes. Here is the link to the Killian Mansfield - Somewhere Else Fan Page on Facebook if you would like more information. Knowing about Killian when I saw the call for cranes I knew it was something that I had to do. The experience has given me so much perspective. If I am having a bad day or get disgusted with life, I think about that night I was folding cranes and become grateful for everything that I do have in my life!

Here is a picture of my origami cranes. When I first tried to make them I realized it was harder than it looks but once I got the hang of it they were pretty easy. The paper I chose was called harmony and I thought that was fitting for the purpose.

With my paper crane package I also included 2 headbands for Killian's sister. A few months ago, Cat had reached out to me to place a headband order for her to cheer her up. In this package I wanted to give something to her, I can't imagine what she must be going through and from what I heard, she was beyond excited to receive the headbands! I hope that they have received 1000 cranes, as I have been following the story it seems that cranes are coming in from all over the world and Cat is receiving 9-10 boxes a day. I hope they have exceeded their goal! It is amazing to me how 1 child's drive to live life everyday can inspire people to come together and do something as simple as folding paper. May Killian rest in peace and the story of his life continue to inspire everyone all over the world.