Blog Feature on My Little Angel

Hi Everyone,
This weeks Blog Feature is on a Fellow Etsykids Member My Little Angel.
She makes Amazing diaper cakes and so much more.

1)How did you first hear about Etsy?:
I first heard about Etsy, hmm it's hard to remember. I think when I decided to start selling online I googled " sites for selling handmade" and of course Etsy was at the top so I joined.

2)Tell us about a little about yourself and your favorite craft/art!:
My store is named after my son who battled leukemia for five years and lost the war on November 25, 2008. I miss him every second of every day and he is, and always will be my little angel.
Brandon Cameron 12/24/01 - 11/25/08

I have always been a very "crafty" person. I love to make and decorate things whether it's painting ceramics, making hooked rugs, learning to cross stitch, designing wedding flowers, etc. My problem is that I have the attention span of a gnat and I get bored halfway through something and want to switch. I have so many half finished hooked rugs and cross stitch that my husband won't let me buy any more. : ) I also love creating new things much more than repeating old ones. But making money has been a tremendous motivator to finish what I start and to keep selling the favorites. The process of making crafts is also a healing thing for me and helps me cope.

3)How did you get started as a designer?
I have created floral arrangements for my wedding, my sister's, my cousin's, and a friend's. I have created custom wood items for babies' rooms and I got into creating diaper cakes and shower items when I wanted something unique for my sister's first baby shower. When I decided to open a shop, I couldn't make up my mind which direction to go but I love babies and everything to do with them so I went with the diaper cakes. I wanted to branch out and I also love little girl stuff and desperately wanted one (but was gifted with two big headed boys instead) so I live out my little girl dream by making hair clips and headbands for them and trying them out on my year old niece.


4)What inspires you to create?:
My son is my top inspiration because of his bravery in dealing with his illness. Whenever I get frustrated with customers or lack of sales I remember that in the scheme of life, it is not that big of a deal. I get inspirations by trying to keep up with what is popular right now and by looking around and finding unusual items to build a theme around.

5)How do you get the word out about your shop and Etsy?:

I have just started trying to spread the word about my shop by joining teams and starting a facebook page. Soon I might build up enough nerve to tackle a blog. I am not very computer literate and I can get confused easily about things (my 14 year old son had to help me make my facebook page). : ) I have a website but all it really does right now is direct people to my etsy shop. In the future I would like to have a shop website where I sell things on it. I am trying to build up my local presence by passing out business cards and am contemplating sending out flyers.


6)Any advice you would give to aspiring designers?:
Try to make items that are not the same as everyone else. There are around 4,300 diaper cakes for sale on Etsy but I try to make mine look unique and stand out from the pack. Don't get frustrated. I sat with two sales for a month and I wanted to cry and call it quits but after Christmas for some reason, I started doing much better. I think if you have a quality product, eventually people will start to recognize it. Don't become too obsessed where you shut everything else out, I have been guilty of that. Especially if I am in the middle of creating something new. And make time for yourself. I have a hard time with this and then get stressed out and cranky which does not help anyone.

Check out her shop for more Diaper Cake themes and so much more:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/mylittleangelco