Cinderella Tutu

Cinderella Tutu
www.etsy.com/shop/glittertulle

Saturday, February 9, 2013

More on the Spring Line

As I've mentioned before, my mom is my freerange supplier (I stole the term freerange from some of my tweeps!).  She finds me things on sale or on clearance and mails them down from Missouri, in hopes that I will be able to use them to take my little one-gal shop global someday and make her a lot of money in stock-options.  We are far from that but I do appreciate her contributions.  She sends me almost all of the t-shirts I use for my rhinestone bling shirts.  And one day about two months ago she sent me these:
Royal blue, gold, and hot pink butterflies

Turquoise butterfly, about to take flight!

Chocolate, lavender and turquoise butterflies


I absolutely loved them from the second I saw them.  I have a ton of little clip on butterflies I get out of the dollar bin at Michael's but these are different.  Some of these colors are so unique and rare. I knew immediately that these would be my inspiration for my spring line.  While I haven't started working on it yet (so many things going on!) once I do, each of my first 12 tutus will be designed around one of these butterflies.  Each tutu will be unique and they will all feature one of these butterflies incorporated right into the tutu. They will also have a ton of ribbon and rhinestones.  Sound fabulous? I think it's going to be amazing! Sadly, I only have two of each color of these little gems. :( So, this is what I've decided to do!  If you see a color you absolutely love and you know you cannot face the spring without your little girl in a tutu featuring that particular butterfly, send me a message and I will put it on hold for you.  Free of charge.  Your name on it until it's made and then you can decide for sure if you want it or if I list it on Etsy.  I'm only offering this to my blog, facebook, and/or twitter followers.  So, if you really love the turquoise butterfly, send me a message and say, "Dibs on the turquoise!" and I'll hold it for you until it's done. If you love it, it's yours.  If you don't, it's fair game.  By the way, I'm thinking the price point for these is going to be about $30--which is a great deal if you price similar tutus on Etsy or ArtFire.
Speaking of great deals, I'd love to hear your thoughts on my pricing.  That's one area where people go back and forth. Is it high quality if it's not expensive? If it's too expensive, is it worth it?  If you own one of my tutus or if you've been pricing tutus, please leave a comment. We'd love to hear what you have to say!
Don't forget about my giveaway!  I'm giving away a free tutu tomorrow night at 9:00 Central (2/10/13). If you don't follow my blog, signing up to do so will earn you 5 entries! Like me on FB or Twitter for another entry each.

Friday, February 8, 2013

Who Wants a Free Tutu? I do, I do!

Back by popular demand, it's Free Tutu Friday--er, Weekend, or Something Like That! I'll be giving away a free tutu (you chose the length, color, style, etc.) Sunday Feb. 10 at 9:00 PM Central. To entry, like me on FB, follow me on twitter, or follow this blog for extra chances to win!
If you're already a FB follower, like a post or leave a comment to enter.
If you're already a twitter follower, retweet my Giveaway post!
If you're already a blog follower, you're already entered!  Like me elsewhere for extra chances to win!
I'm giving new followers 5 chances--so if you're not officially a blog follower, FB or twitter followe, whatcha waiting for?  Sign up and you get 5 chances!  It's easy and I won't bug the crap out of you, I promise!
If you win, your little princess (or you, or your husband--I don't juge!) can soon be wearing your very own customized tutu like this one:
Pixie tutu--very popular!
Or this one:
Teen/tween Rock'n'Roll tutu--more hits on ArtFire than everything else put together!

Or even this one--a tutu dress!
Queen of Hearts Tutu Dress

So, spread the love and tell your peeps! Can't wait to give something away! Let me know what you did to share with others and you can earn extra chances!

Thursday, February 7, 2013

How to Contact an Etsy Seller for a Custom Order

I mentioned yesterday that it is super easy to contact an Etsy seller for more information or to set up a custom order but I thought it might be helpful to explain to you just how simple it is.
I was having a lot of trouble getting Blogger to embed my screenshots so I decided to do it the old fashion way.  I took photos and I'm just going to use those!  Simple enough!
Basically, all you need to do is:
1) Visit etsy.com
www.etsy.com

2) If you do not have an account, it's super simple to create one  Just click on "Register" and fill out the form.  It asks for your name and email. That's basically it.
3. You can search for whatever item you are trying to find, such as "tinkerbell tutu" in the search box and it will bring up lots of choices. In this picture, I actually searched for my shop name so if you weren't sure how to find me, now you can!
How to search for an item or shop

My shop page!
4. Click on whatever you like and it will take you to that item's listing. Once there, you can click on the shop or "contact" the seller.
This is the contact the seller button on my shop!


5. When you click on "contact" the seller, a little dialogue box pops up so you can ask questions.  You can ask anything you'd like and if a seller doesn't take the time to answer you in a timely fashion with a thorough response, they're probably not the seller for you.  Most artisans will answer promptly and make sure they answer all of your questions.
This text box will pop up

You can write a message and ask me about whatever you'd like!  This is a fake message, based on a few I've gotten recently.

6. When you have a response, a little number "1" will show up in blue over the envelope at the top of your page.  This is just to indicate that the seller has responded.  Click on the envelope and you will see what is essentially an email from the seller.  All of your etsy conversations can be found here unless you delete them.
That's it!  Super simple and an easy way to find out if a crafter can create exactly what you want. If you don't see exactly what you want in a shop, ask the seller because he or she may just be able to make it for you.  I know I can customize every single item in my shop, down to color, size, length, you name it, I can do it.  Most other sellers can do this as well.
When the seller responds, you'll have a little blue "1" over the envelope in the middle of this box.

Any questions? Was this helpful to anyone?


Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Custom Tease

Yes, I know that should say Custom T's but I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you the process I go through when creating a custom rhinestone t-shirt so I can get you thinking about all of the possibilities!
I am working on a t-shirt for a wonderful new customer.  We have been working on it together for a few days, going back and forth, and I wanted to let you know a little bit about how the process has been working.
This customer contacted me through Etsy on Sunday and asked if I could put a specific phrase on a shirt for her son's grandmother.  It's kind of an unusual phrase but it's nothing I can't do.  I gave her a price--not a quote--I don't believe in quotes.  If I can't do it for what I think I can do it for, that's my problem.  Yesterday she said, yes, let's go for it!  So, I spent about an hour yesterday drawing up some templates.  I use the program Paint for my templates most of the time because it's fairly user-friendly and it has a lot of options.  I sent her three templates and then we messaged back and forth a few more times. She sent me a picture of a font from one of my other shirts that she would like for me to use. I created another template and I am waiting for her approval.  Once she has agreed to that template, I will create a custom order for her in Etsy.  (If you've never ordered anything through Etsy or used a custom order, it's super simple and it's a great way to make sure your order is specific to what you want.  Maybe I'll post about that later . . . . )  Once the item has been paid for, I will lay the stones.  Then, I'll send her another photo of the stones on the shirt but not transferred yet.  If she loves it, I'll transfer the rhinestones and ship!  If she doesn't, I'll make any corrections I need to and send her another photo.  That will continue until she's 100% satisfied.
That's the process I use for my custom t-shirts!  I know a lot of other artisans read this blog.  What is your process for custom orders?  I'd love to hear!
A custom t-shirt from Glitter and Tulle Boutique!
  

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Thinking Spring


It's time for me to start really designing my spring line.  I've been playing around with some ideas for the last several weeks but I think I've finally got my ideas centered around a theme.  I've also decided on a reveal date--March 16th, the Saturday before Spring!  I will have all of my tutus completed, photos taken, items ready to list by then.  If you happen to live nearby and you have a little girl who would be interested in participating in the spring line photo shoot, please message or email me. I'd like to add a little more variety to my listing pics.
Okay, so here's your clue for the inspiration of the line--may seem obvious and simple, but pay attention to the colors, too! More to come!
 Butterflies - yorkshire_rose Wallpaper

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Like a Rhinestone Cowgirl!

Every time I say the word "rhinestone" I think of the Glen Campbell song, "Rhinestone Cowboy," and since I live in Texas, I can pull the whole cowgirl thing of, sort of, hence the title of this post.
I was super excited when my giant order of rhinestones arrived this week.  I ordered them about a month ago and was starting to wonder if they would ever arrive.  As soon as I opened the boxes I started to think of all of the great things I can make with them!
I now have over 30 different colors of rhinestones!  Most of them are the crystal ones, which are the most popular, but I also got a ton in some really cool colors.
I really like the red, pink, and blue ones. I think I have 3 or 4 different shades of blue.  And each color has plenty to do several projects with.
I went ahead and got started blingin' it up yesterday by adding my school district's logo to an apron for cafeteria duty. What do you think? Sorry the pic is a little blurry.
Oh, the possibilities! Aprons, t-shirts, dresses, what's next? Wouldn't your child's teacher love a little smock or apron with her school logo or mascot on it?  Maybe "Teachers' Have Class" or "Mrs. Smith Rocks!" something like that (I pretty much refuse to put an apple or  #1 Teacher on anything but that's debatable.)
What about your hair stylist?  Could she use a "Hair Diva" t-shirt? A "My Boss Rule's" t-shirt for the coolest boss you've ever had?  Bling on a bib or a onesie? Just think of all the awesome bling that can be created from this many rhinestones!