say happy valentine's day with a heartfelt hoop art

More and more, it seems like I’ve been preparing myself (without knowing it) to open up an Etsy shop.

I’ve always been drawn to pretty things, typography, handmade.
I’ve been a paper-crafter for over a decade.
I take hundreds of photos every year.
I’ve been a digital scrapbooker for the past 6 years (and know a few things about Photoshop).
I had a brief career as a professional writer/editor.
I’ve written tutorials for a digital scrapbooking magazine.
I’ve been blogging for 8 years (mostly for myself, friends and family).
I’ve been published in national scrapbooking magazines.
And….I love shopping on Etsy!

this one is in my shop 🙂

Today, my digi-scrapping skills (basically scrapbooking with Photoshop) came in handy when I made a new banner for my shop. I like idea of using the banner as your own adspace. So I plan to update the banner for the seasons and holidays or when I have a new collection or sale.

click for larger view

TIP: In case you like the font I used in the banner, it’s Quicksand. And you can download it at Fontsquirrel for free! The best part is that it’s okay for commercial use too. I just discovered this site and I already love it.

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In other news, there seems to be a lot of buzz around the internet about two craftworthy events: Alt Summit and Winter CHA.

I just heard about Alt Summit a few days ago when Brittni mentioned it on her blog. It sounds like a great way to spend a few days. I’ve been following some of the tweets on twitter from some of my favorite bloggers and designers like her, her and her! (Type in #altsummit in the searchbar at twitter and you’ll see what I mean).

CHA is another big deal in the crafter’s world that is coming up at the end of the month. As a reformed scrapbooker, I’ve been following this conference for years. I’ve never gone, but it seems like my kind of convention! (Of course, I’d have to get over my social anxiety, but the thought of seeing all those lovely products in person, might help me along!) Lots of sneak peeks of soon-to-be-released items are popping up. A few of faves so far are this one and this one and this one.