Happy Chinese New Year!

Chinese New Year began on January 23, 2012! This year it is the Year of the Dragon.  In the spirit of the new year, I have created a few new Lotus Blossom items!

These items are now available in my shop as MADE TO ORDER!

Congratulations are in order!!!

Thank you to all participants! This had to be the best giveaway I have done yet!   I really enjoyed reading all of your New Years Resolutions on my Face Book Fan Page and hope that all of the new fans I have gained will continue to participate in future giveaways.


THE WINNER IS:

DIANA Z.

Thank you again everyone! Pop in every now and then to see what's new at Hapa Girls!

Bring on 2012!

2011 was a great year for Hapa Girls and I have all of my fans, followers and customers to thank for it!!!!

I am now ready to embark on 2012 with new goals and resolutions.  I am also looking forward to gaining new contacts and bringing new designs to life. 

What's Coming in 2012

January 8, 2012 will mark my 3rd year on Etsy! It's been an awesome experience and I feel very fortunate for all of the followers, fans, admirers and contacts I have made through this ever growing Handmade Market Place.

If you did not know this by now, every year I have an ETSY Anniversary Giveaway!!  The first year I gave away a Cherry Blossom Key Chain.  The second year I gave away a pair of Cherry Blossom earrings.  This year, I thought I would change it up a bit!  I will be posting my, "Anniversary Giveaway" starting January 1, 2012 ~


Have a safe and Happy New Year!!!

1000th Sale on Etsy Giveaway!!

When I opened Hapa Girls on Etsy almost 3 years ago, I never imagined I would have 1000 sales!  Actually it is probably more with all the custom multiple listings I've done, but still 1000!

 In honor of this personal milestone, I have decided to do a 1000th Sale Giveaway!!! You are probably wondering what you have to do to enter this giveaway?

Rules:
1.Visit my Etsy shop (if you haven't already) and take a look around.
2. Go to my Face Book Fan Page and post to my wall your favorite item in my shop.
3. Leave a comment and your contact info under this blog post.

How easy is that?

*I will be giving out numbers to everyone entering in the order of the information left in this blog post.
*I will pick a winner randomly with the help of Random.org.  I will announce the winner on my Face Book Fan Page!
*This giveaway starts TODAY, November 29th and will end on DECEMBER 6th (1 week from the start date.)

Oh! I bet you are wondering what I am giving away!!!!!  Well, since this ring was one of the top trending items on Wanelo with over 385 saves, I'm giving away one of my new Cherry Blossom Branch Adjustable Rings! You will have the choice of the Rounded petals or the pointed petals.

Good Luck and Thank You for making my 1000th sale possible!

It's official!

Hapa Girls is kicking off the Holiday shopping season with the first of many Holiday items ready to ship!

I hope to get more pendants and earrings listed in the coming month.  All items will be inspired by the Holiday season but can be worn year round!!!

What's going on in the studio?

Key, Keys, Keys!

When I get an idea in my head, there is no stopping me!  Right now I am obsessed with making key style pendants.  These are my newest additions.

I have also added a new Lotus pendant to my ever growing collection of flowers.  I started making this blossom about a year ago but only offered it in my shop when one was made.  It is now available as a made to order item. Let's see how it does!!!

Spring Cleaning  

I know some metal artists participate in challenges such as "Ring a Day".  I would love to do that but there is not enough time in a day, week or month to devote the energy needed to come up with designs for a new ring EVERYDAY.  I also can't see myself creating so many pieces that may never find a new home but the plastic container I keep them in! 

On that note, one doesn't have to participate in a challenge to have excess rings and pendants. I think all jewelry artists/Metalsmiths, have pieces they have made tucked away in  baggies titled, "NEED TO LIST ON ETSY", or "NEED TO RE-PHOTOGRAPH"! 

It may have taken me 2 years but I final am starting to clean out those baggies and get these pieces out for public viewing!  Visit my "Is this Ring Your Size" section of Hapa Girls and get Free Shipping !

I just want to say.....

Thank you!
March was awesome for Hapa Girls!
For starters my silver cherry blossom ring made it to the front page of Etsy!  To top that, my cherry blossom branch cuff made it into the Etsy Finds daily email!

It was the perfect month to have been featured as I am donating a percentage of my sales to The American Red Cross to aid Japan in their time of need! I'm excited to donate and feel very appreciative to have had such a great month.

I just want to give a big "Thank You" to all of my new customers as well as returning customers!

Merry Christmas!!

It's been an amazing month for Hapa Girls!!! I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Thank everyone for following me on Face Book, Tweeting and Re-tweeting me on Twitter and following my blog! 
I hope next year brings me more time to blog and feature some of the great sellers I've come across on Etsy, Zibbet, Craft is Art and Bonanza.

Christmas is on the way!

November was a crazy month for Hapa Girls! I appreciate all the new customers and my returning customers.

Now that Thanksgiving has past and the Christmas decorations are up, I am slowly adding new items to my Etsy, Zibbet, Bonanza and Craft is Art shops. Stop by and do some window shopping!!

This past month I have also been helping my sister start up her own Etsy shop, Urban Corner. Currently she has about 7 items listed and more on the way! Urban Corner specializes in handmade Leather Wrap bracelets.  I am quite fond of a few of her designs and am hoping she will be surprising me with one for Christmas!!
Stop by Urban Corner and show her some handmade love with a "Heart"

Urban Corner

 

 

 

I'm getting a jump on Christmas!

Halloween is soon to come and go! I still have the Pumpkin and the Boo pendant left in my Etsy shop.

My Vampire Pumpkin

Getting a jump on Christmas!
I have added this new Poinsettia pendant to my Etsy shop. I hope to get a smaller version made as well as a few snowflake pendants.

Poinsettia Pendant

Birthday Giveaway!

With 2 more days left of the month my special ice cream charm is still in the shop!  Go to Hapa Girls  and read my shop announcement to see how you can get this cute little charm!!!

Goodbye June - Hello July!

June was a very busy busy month for me! I appreciate all the new hearts in my Etsy shop as well as the orders that followed!

My family and I were able to take a mini vacation to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas! My daughter had a great time taking her first train ride on the Grand Canyon Railway.  We all had a great time and it was a much needed vacation. We hope to be taking another one in August and this time my husband and I will go rock hunting!

New in the shop this month

Lately I have been obsessed with making different types of flowers from copper.  I hope to be creating more flowers and adding new one of a kind pendants and bracelets to my shop. Hapa Girls is becoming a "Copper Garden".

Let's promote one another!

I have joined a new group on Etsy called, " Bringing Unselfishness Your Way".  I found them in the Etsy forums.  Go check them out and get your name added to the list of shops.

 
As always, I would like to thank all my followers on my blog, twitter and Facebook fans.  Also, a Big THANK YOU to all me customers an returning customers!
  



 

EXPOSURE

This month I wanted to feature shops that were either on Etsy for more than a year and had less than 50 sales, or had been on Etsy for less than a year with less than 50 sales. My shop, Hapa Girls falls into the second category of less than a year and 50 sales or less. While putting this feature together, I got my 50th sale!!

I would like to help Expose everyone I have featured so they can reach their 50th goal.

Featured are 8 different shops from different areas of the art world. In photo order.

I found Studiondanale in the Etsy forums. I went to her shop and found this great children's painting of a train. I thought it was interesting how she had taken a 2-dimensional painting and turned it into a 3-dimensional painting by adding air dried clay. Studiodanale has many other unique items for decorating your nursery.

How can anyone pass up this lavender dandelion by ginaphoto . I think photographers don't get quite enough credit as I think they should. As we all know taking photos of our works of art can be frustrating. Can you imagine taking a photo of building or a bridge, outside, in a variety of light conditions? Gina is a 12 years veteran of photography and it shows! Her black and white cityscape photographs are amazing.

I originally found WhiteSparrowbindery on Twitter, or maybe they found me first! Either way, I was immediately drawn to their Giraffe Journal. I love writing in journals and my daughter loves giraffes, what a great combination! The Whitesparrowbindery offers a great variety of handmade journals, photo albums and sketch books ( a must for us artists). They even make holiday journals which make great gifts!

Drcraze, was found in the Etsy forums. I am so glad the Dr. replied to my post. As a jewelry artist and wood worker, I love to mix the two mediums. So naturally I was drawn to the idea of concrete, glass and metal. Though we think concrete is heavy, Dr. Craze's pendants look light and airy with the use of brass tubing inlays. Love it!

Studiomme, has been a favorite of mine for the past 6 months! Her Victorian inspired illustrations are amazing! Let me just say, drawing is a requirement for any art degree, but that doesn't mean we can all draw!!!! Some people have a gift for it and Megan has it! Megan is not only an Illustrator , but she is also a printmaker, photographer and much more.

I found Gr8clay while I was searching for sushi dishes! I think I have found them! Gr8clay offers great functional pottery with amazing detail. The Oxyblood mug is too die for...

Choumie7, Is another great Illustrator that I have been following on Twitter for some time now. Christelle has a dreamy style to her illustrations that radiate a sense of tranquility! I also like the idea that she has taken her original drawings and made them into jewelry and accessories. Can you say "Multifunctional Art"

Lastly, I found Rebecca of edwardandlilly on flickr. Her wool felt and embroidered bird ornament caught my eye, especially the lavender one! Her shop is filled with handmade embroidered items and plush animals, a sure "sweet" friend for your little one.

Everyone needs a little Exposure now and then. For some of us having an Etsy shop is a business and for others its just a hobby. Whichever it may be for you, it never hurts to help someone else attain their goals.

Thank you to all the artist that allowed me to feature them.
Please leave a comment and visit their shops!

What's New For October

September was a busy month for me. I was only able to get in one feature but hopefully I will be able to get in at least two features this month.

The totals are in...
Last month I did a Firefighter tribute and a promotion to donate 10% of Hapa Girls sales to the Los Angeles County Firefighters Memorial Widows and Orphans Fund. I was able to generate $47.80 in donations from sales! Not too bad considering the economy. I will be adding to the donation for a total of $100.00. A big thanks to everyone who ordered something from my shop!

I want to say thanks to all my new customers and returning customers and for all the new followers and fans I have gained this last month!!

Monday Update

It's been a few weeks since I last updated my blog. I just wanted to update everyone on what has been happening!

For starters I have been busy working on a order of 4 surfboard dog feeders! Here is a photo of my work in progress. I am now in the process of painting them. I also finished a custom Surfboard dog feeder for a Chihuahua named Bailey! I think it came out quite nice!

When I have completed this order I will definitely be starting a new feature!
I will be posting pictures of the completed order.