Etsy Success Holiday Boot Camp and Other Goals

I have decided to participate in Etsy's Holiday Boot Camp this fall in order to prepare myself and my little shop for the upcoming holiday season. It really is just what I need after keeping my shop in vacation mode all summer, and only just returning to it in the beginning of September.

I feel like I have so much to catch up on in terms of building inventory, re-photographing my existing work, organizing shipping supplies, making sure I have enough of all of my supplies, etc. All of the Boot Camper's receive an email from Danielle at Etsy each week with a checklist of different things we should work on accomplishing for the week. It has helped me to prioritize what needs to be done in the next few months and has been an awesome source of motivation. It is nice knowing that thousands of other Etsy shop owners are working on the same tasks I am each week!

I have already started to inventory my supplies, and noticed that I could really use something new to adorn each of my flowers with. I decided that filling each of my new flowers with tiny faceted gemstones would make for some absolutely gorgeous and luxurious flowers! So, I went ahead and ordered aquamarine, quartz, peridot, garnet, topaz, spinel, and citrine faceted beads. These little gems will be in each of the new flowers I create, so be on the lookout for these new pieces as they enter my shop! I listed the first one yesterday and it sold an hour after I listed it! The gemstones are a hit!

Each week I will keep all of you filled in on some of my new shop features and products as I continue to work my way through Etsy's Holiday Boot Camp! It has been an inspiring and motivating journey so far.

Marie Antoinette Fall/Winter 2010 Collection

Over the course of this Fall/Winter season, portraits of Marie Antoinette will inspire a majority of the flowers I create. After all, she was and is still recognized as a major fashion icon of her day. I have scoured the Internet as well as the database ARTstor (which I have access to through my university's library) for portraits of her to use as color inspiration.

Each of the gowns she wears in her portraits are so richly colored and to my surprise, many of them feature color palettes that are currently considered to be the hot colors for fall! I hope you all enjoy the great colors in this new collection as they are released throughout the next few months. Each flower that is part of this collection will have a "-Antoinette" at the end of the listing name in my Etsy shop. If you have a favorite portrait of Antoinette that you would like to suggest, please mention it in the comments!


Portrait of Marie Antoinette by Gautier D'Agoty, 1775. More pictures of the flower inspired by the portrait can be seen here.

Back After a Long Hiatus!

I have really neglected blogging for quite a while, but I am back and have hopes of posting regularly without anymore major breaks!

As inspiration, I am planning on purchasing 52 Weeks of Blogging Your Passion by Tara Gentile of Thinking Big for Small Businesses. If you are also an aspiring blogger you may want to check her book out here: "52 Weeks of Blogging Your Passion".

My First Treasury: A Rococo Inspired Valentine

Just earlier this morning I finally made my first treasury on Etsy's Treasury West. Sitting at my computer and waiting for the treasury number to get down to 222 was quite nerve-racking, but once the treasury opened up, I quickly entered my title and got to work. The treasury features Valentine Themed pieces from my last post "Etsy Weekly Feature: Valentine's Day Edition" plus a few others I found since posting those items.

You can see and comment on my treasury here: A Rococo Inspired Valentine Which piece would you absolutely love to get for Valentine's Day?

Enjoy!

Weekly Etsy Feature: Valentine's Day Edition!

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This week's vibrant Etsy feature showcases items with a Romantic twist.

Featured sellers/items (from left to right/top to bottom):

Red Aqua Pirate Queen Tribal Hoop Earrings by bionicunicorn

Leather Moleskine Cover Hand stitched Nota Buttone Feral Empire by feralgirl

French Kiss by risamay

FRANKLY MY DEAR (with silk ribbons) by gildapearl

ROYAL Ruby Red Silk Dupioni Lily Headband Fascinator by ThreadRare

Presentation 12x18 Print by vorpal

Lady Worsley - Large Rococo Inspired Flower by RococoFleurs

Heart in Hand, Valentine's Day, Love, Romance, Engagement, Wedding, Friendship note cards by SimpleJoysPaperie

Spring Melody in pink - teal - olive by violetbella

Valentine Scarflette no.3 by flutter

Large - Reversible - Hobo - Deer Valley Terra Cotta and Azure by retrofied

LOVE Letterpress and Screenprint Greeting Card and Envelope by amyb13

How do you like my Valentine themed selection? I adore the ROYAL Ruby Red Silk Dupioni Lily Headband Fascinator by ThreadRare! Which one is your personal favorite?

If you are an Etsy seller and would like to be featured in next week's collection please leave a comment, or send me a convo on Etsy!

Inspiration: Madame de Pompadour

I recently began creating a collection of flowers inspired by the illustrious Madame de Pompadour, one of the mistresses of Louis XV. Originally named Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, she was born in 1721 in Paris and was raised in a convent. She was well educated by tutors her mother personally hired, and she eventually became a talented actress and singer. She was married to Charles-Guillaume Le Normant d'Étiolles, and became quite well known in society. Her notoriety earned her the attention of Louis XV, and only four years after her wedding, she became his mistress and moved into her own apartments at Versailles. Shortly after that, she and her husband were officially separated.

As mistress of Louis XV, Madame de Pompadour gained wealth and power. She was able to have many portraits commissioned of herself and often helped artists rise in popularity as a result of her support. My latest flowers have all been inspired by a pastel drawing of her by Maurice Quentin de La Tour created in 1755 when she was 34. In the drawing she is wearing gown made of light blue fabric patterned with contrasting gold and turquoise flower designs. Each of the flowers incorporates these colors in some way. I love how the complimentary colors work together to create such lively little compositions in each flower!


To view or purchase one of these flowers, please visit my etsy shop at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/RococoFleurs

Weekly Etsy Feature

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Featured items/sellers (from left to right, top to bottom:

Side Tie Panty - Cream and Black Polka Dot by LonelyGirlLingerie

Beaded Charm Bracelet by Kim Smith SRAJD - Serenity by KIMMSMITH

Vintage Venice - 8x10 Print by DanaLaymon

The Claire Cuff in Peachy Pink by laktjohnson

Croquet with the Queen Earrings by lookingglasshouse

Little Delovely by clairelafaye

CUPCAKE shabby chippy cottage chic pink Valentine sign
by SignsByDiane

Princesa necklace - Hand knotted freshwater pearls. by jennyhoople

The Love Letter - Rococo Inspired Flower Headband by RococoFleurs

July 09. Letterpress Limited Edition of 100. 8 x 10. Original Print. Meredith Prevot by sycamorestreetpresss

BLUEBERRY MUFFIN lip balm .15 oz tube MARIE ANTOINETTE Queen's Patisserie Collection by Vintage Bella by vintagebella

Champagne Clay Necklace or Choker by LavenderField

So, there are all of my lovely finds for this week. I am in love with the letter press print by sycamorestreetpresss! Which one is your personal favorite?

If you are an Etsy seller and would like to be featured in next week's collection please leave a comment, or send me a convo on Etsy!

Antique Bottons!

What could be more perfect to adorn the centers of my Rococo inspired flowers? Check back at my Etsy shop starting tomorrow to see some new flowers featuring these wonderful and rare finds!

Weekly Etsy Feature

Each week I will be featuring my favorite items from twelve different Etsy sellers. Each item reminded me in some way of the Rococo era and aesthetic. Here are this week's featured Etsy Items:


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Featured Sellers/Items (left to right, top to bottom):

Let Them Eat Cake Collage Sheet by Darvahlous

Duck Egg Blue Ruffled Silk Carina Bolero by Bonzie

Marie Antoinette Pillow (in blue-grey) by PacoandLupe

It's So Good - C'est Si Bon Greeting Card in Blue/Brown by letterpress

Crema.......................Fresh Flower Brass Hair Pins by WildArtDesigns

Vintage Cane Chair with New Aqua Lacquer by FabulousPieces

Romantic silver screen star ((statement Necklace )) by florabond

BOUDOIR QUEEN CAKE CORSET by BoudoirQueen

Vintage French Book Paper Wreath with Fleur De Lis MTO by SimpleJoysPaperie

Saucy ANTOINETTES DREAM TRICORN SHIP HAT 18th Century Pinup Burlesque Couture by heysailor

GORGEOUS NEO VICTORIAN GOTHIC LOLITA CAMEO RING by ghostlovejewelry

Special Edition Marie Antoinette Pale Blue Heels by OxfordHeaven

So, which one of these gorgeous items is your favorite? Decisions, decisions...

If you would like to be featured in next week's Etsy Feature please leave a comment!

Enchanted by Josephine: French Historical Challenge

Enchanted by Josephine will be holding a reading challenge for 2010. The goal is to read as many fiction or non-fiction books based on French history or French historical figures as you can this year. Considering that this is a genre I am already quite passionate about, I HAD to join!

Each time I finish a book, I will review it here on my blog.

Here are the ranks Enchanted by Josephine has specified:

La Princesse: Read 3 books
La Dauphine: Read 6 books
La Reine: Read 9 books
L’Impératrice: More than 9 books

Of course, I hope to be L’Impératrice by December 2010!

At the end of the challenge one entrant will win a giveaway! So exciting!

Do you also want to be a part of this challenge? See Enchanted by Josephine's blog post for more details:FRENCH HISTORICALS Oh-La-La! Challenge

Book Review of the Week: Forever Amber

Just before Christmas I began reading Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor, a novel set during the reign of King George II (around the 1660's). The novel was written in 1944 and sold over 100,000 copies during the first week of its release! Quite impressive! It is one of the original historical fiction/romance novels, and inspired many later works.

The story is one of a young woman, Amber, who comes to live in London. She begins her journey as an innocent girl of 17 who grew up in the country. As she becomes adjusted to the life of London and eventually of the courts of George II, she slowly loses her innocence and strives to become as rich and powerful as possible...no matter who she hurts along the way. Each chain of events in the story is set off by a handsome nobleman, Bruce, who Amber is desperately in love with and therefore is constantly trying to impress. Will her climb through society all be for naught?

My favorite aspects of this novel: Although the story is quite long (approximately 1000 pages), the plot is fast moving and packed with period detail. It is evident that this book was very well researched, which I really enjoyed. I felt like I was learning the whole time I was reading.

Also, I really liked the fact that Amber is a very human character, she makes mistakes, she can be jealous, vain, and over confident at times, but it made me love her character even more.

My least favorite aspect of the book: There was originally a sequel planned for this book, and it is evident that this book was written in anticipation of that sequel. Yet, Kathleen Winsor never wrote it, so I felt as if there was no closure even I finished reading Forever Amber.

My Rating: ****

Newest Creations: In Honor of Valentine's Day

I have recently begun creating my Valentine's collection. Yes, I know, it is still a bit early and the holidays have just ended...but, I figured I would get a jump on it so that I can have a wide range of flowers for my customers to choose from.

These flowers will all be inspired by two paintings by Fragonard: "Lettre d'amour" (The Love Letter) painted in 1770 and "The Confession of Love" (also known as "The Love Letters") painted in 1771. Both of these paintings are quite romantic and are perfect inspiration pieces for my 18th century valentine line. They are also made up of the most lovely warm pastel colors! I cannot wait to see how many different pieces I can come up with this color palette.

To view my latest creations, simply stop by my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/RococoFleurs

Also, if you have suggestions for other 18th century French paintings that you feel would make great inspirational pieces for my Valentine's line, or for any flowers, please let me know!

Marie Antoinette's Gossip Guide to the 18th Century

My flowers are currently featured on the well known blog: Marie Antoinette's Gossip Guide to the 18th Century.

You can see the article, and the blog here at: http://marie-antoinettequeenoffrance.blogspot.com/

A big thank you to Lauren for featuring my work on her wonderful blog!

Today's Flowers: Princesse de Lamballe

I just finished listing my newest creations on Etsy! All three of them were inspired by paintings of the lovely Princesse de Lamballe, also known as Princess Marie Louise of Savoy.

At the age of eighteen she married the wealthy Louis Alexandre de Bourbon (Prince de Lamballe), yet their marriage lasted only a year due to his untimely death. After the death of her husband, Marie Louise, a widow at only nineteen, returned to the court of Marie Antoinette where she became one of the queen's confidantes and was present at all of the important events. It was at one of these events that she met the Dauphin of France. He was immediately smitten with her, and lavished attention upon her. Sadly, due to her connections with the royal family, she was killed during the Revolution by an angry mob after she refused to swear to hate the King and Queen.

The flowers I created were inspired by two different paintings of her; the painting at the beginning of this post, which was painted in 1780 by Antoine François Callet and the painting directly below: Marie-Thérèse Louise de Savoie-Carignan, Princesse de Lamballe by Jean-Laurent Mosnier.

I found the flowers that I created using the colors from the Mosnier painting to be very vibrant and fun! The flower inspired by the Callet painting is more reserved, regal, and elegant. Check them out at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/RococoFleurs

Enjoy!

Introduction (inspiration)

I have always been interested in history and will be receiving a minor in Art History, but this year I have come across a time period that has particularly captured my attention. The 17th-18th centuries in England and France, otherwise known as the Georgian and Rococo periods respectively have provided me with inspiration for my recent paintings and for my new etsy shop: RococoFleurs.

My fascination with this period began with some of the modern popular culture surrounding it. Specifically, it was perked when I started reading The Weaker Vessel by Antonia Fraser and grew as I read Karleen Koen's amazingly well written series: Through A Glass Darkly, Now Face to Face, and Dark Angels. I gained new insight into the period as well as a few different book suggestions while following the popular blog: georgianaduchessofdevonshire.blogspot.com

While studying Rococo and Georgian paintings to complete a series focusing on women's lives and rights during the eras, I fell in love with the colors the paintings were composed of, especially the colors used in the fashions of the time. These colors inspired me to create fabric flowers composed of the same colors as the gowns the women were wearing in the portraits. This eventually led to me opening a new Etsy shop (my old one being DesignsbyDannie) featuring these creations.

Below are a few of the paintings I created this past fall that inspired my new hobby and exploration of the Rococo Era through the lives of the women who experienced it:

First Day of Blogging...

I hope to fill this blog with images of my work, the inspiration photos/paintings I draw from, and other interesting anecdotes that have shaped my etsy shop and have been an influence in my own artwork.