Pulp Sushi - Fresh Handmade Design & Sweet Creative Dreams

Blog: DIY Tutorials 3.30

Time to end the week with some fun tutorials from around the web, check them out and enjoy!

Fancy Felt Flowers from Pie N' The Sky

These pretty flowers never need water and will never shrivel up.  Super easy!

Learn to make a Terrarium from Little Nostalgia 

I made one for the first time last  year and it's still holding in there, although I'm afraid to air it out (yikes!)

DIY Scrap Fabric Banner from Bon Jour Hello

I am so doing this! I have a bag FULL of little fabric scraps that was left at my place the last time did a Craft Supply Swap. I don't even know who left it but it's mine now! I can make a few banners with the amount of scrap I have.

Tonight's Mega Millions drawing is $540 million! I usually don't play Lotto, but I got in on this one.  I don't even need to win the whole pot, just give me a taste, it would help a gal out greatly. :)  Who knows, I may have the winning numbers. Good luck if anyone else is playing along!

To Have & To Hold - Wedding Eye Candy

Have you seen the latest Bridal Collection from Ruche - To Have And To Hold? This is what you're missing...

I decided a long time ago that when I do get married, my dress will be pretty non-traditional, it probably won't even be white.  My boyfriend and I have been together for a long time. I even joke that in some states we are married. I've even heard my parents refer to him to others as my "husband". I just leave it alone lol! But when we do get married, it will definitely be something pretty low-key, reflecting our quirky interest and *hopefully* on a budget. I think Ruche would be a good place to look for a dress. :)

A Couple of Friendly Reminders :)

1) I'm close to reaching 600 sales on Etsy and I would like to offer a free gift to the next set of customers to help me get there. The next group of customers to help me reach 600 will get a Pulp Sushi Vanilla Sakura Candle included with their purchase, no minimum order or coupon code necessary.  

2) PulpSushi.com is closing for good this Saturday (3/31). Get 20% off your purchase when you use the code SUSHI20 at check out.

3) Check me out in today's post over at This Enchanted Pixie. I share what Happiness means to me. :)

4) I usually don't post on the weekends just to give myself a break, but this Sunday I will be introducing my new sponsors swapees for April.  No April Fool's Joke here!

More New Lily Flowers (& Thank You)!

First off, I want to thank you for the comments left in yesterday's post. I know it was a little wordy but the encouragement left on the blog and my Facebook is *SO* greatly appreciated! ♥♥♥

I'm happy to have more stud earrings back in the shop.  I have a couple more I would like to add but the colors are kind of hard to photograph and I can't quite get it to match on Photoshop so I may just leave those as in person exclusives (?).  I will definitely have them at the Bust Spring Craftacular which is less than three weeks away!  I guess I'm as ready as I'll  ever be at this point.  I will bring everything I have but since I'm sharing the space, I'm not sure how much I can have out but it's gonna be a good day.  Even though it's indoors, I hope the weather will be nice.  SoHo is pretty busy when the weather is crummy but when it's nice, it's super bustling.

I took this picture back in February 2010, the buildings look like something out of a miniature model kit, not real.

Closing PulpSushi.com (The Shop)

It is with a weight being lifted off my shoulders that I write this post.  This decision was a couple of months in the making.  I decided that I will be closing the shop PulpSushi.com.  I will continue to sell my jewelry on Etsy and I'm keeping the domain (I'm not stupid!). It has become clear to me that I wanted to try something a little different but chose the wrong time to do it.  Not to say that I won't do this again somewhere down the line.

I believe that in 2011 I was going through an identity crisis with Pulp Sushi.  I was taking in SO MUCH information about running a business that I got so crazy enthusiastic about putting the business on overdrive.  I am not ashamed to admit that I am so desperately dying to get out of my 9 to 6 office routine. In that desperation I made some decisions that were not truly thought out.   Why did I decide to have different shops with the same name????  This is NOT how branding is suppose to work people! I wanted to be something else than just another jewelry shop because there is such an oversaturation of it.   My vision got a little distorted from my frustrations.  I wanted to get into craft fairs as something OTHER than jewelry.  That was foolish.  I need to let my work speak for itself. 

It was back in February, I woke up at 3:58 am thinking about this. Am I really losing sleep over this??  Promoting one shop online takes a lot, two is even more challenging especially when you have a full-time job. I don't know how people with two or three Etsy shops do it! The sales just aren't happening and I feel like I am letting the vendors down who trust me to sell their items.  The shop does fine in person but I don't sell at a market every weekend.  Seeing the monthly costs of keeping the shop open with no return stings a little. I really thought I was able to pull it off.  I know it hasn't even been a year yet since I launched the new shop but my gut is telling me that I can't keep going in this direction.  The shop has taken a backseat to Etsy & the blog.  While brief, it ran it's course.

So it's time to scale things back a bit and get back to what got this ball rolling in the first place which was the jewelry.  I can't be timid anymore about the work that I do.  I started this post saying this is a weight being lifted, that's how I see all of this. I don't see it as a failure, maybe it had to happen in order for me to truly see which direction I should be going.

I didn't think this day would come...

"This day" being Friday that is, this week was incredibly SLOW for me.  I took this picture the other day during my lunch break on the way to an unplanned trip to Ann Taylor Loft.  I came back with TWO new outfits.  I needed pants. Badly.

The drama with my camera continues. :( I contacted Support at Canon and they suggested I try a couple of things to see if it would kickstart the camera. Still no luck.  They offered this Loyalty Program where I can exchange for a refurbished camera at a discounted fee. I may have to look into that. In the meantime, I'll continue to use my iPhone to take Etsy photos, it just makes the whole listing process take longer now but I gotta do what I gotta do!   Enough of my whining.  I hope you have a great weekend!

An Outfit Blog Post: My *First* Ruche Dress

I'm so excited to share my first dress from Ruche! I've admired their clothes and lookbooks for so long. I came across a dress I couldn't turn away from. Flamenco Dancing Curvy Plus Dress

I wasn't too crazy about the kind of zipper they use in the back (it's really stiff) but overall I love this dress. The colors are lighter than what I would usually wear but not too far out of my comfort zone. It's a great length, very light and airy. I wore it to work!

I ordered this in a 1XL based on their size chart just to play it safe. It's tricky ordering clothes online especially if you're not familiar with their sizes. I learned a long time ago to not get attached to sizes, every store varies. I go from Medium to 1XL. I am more concerned with clothes fitting me properly and look flattering so I don't care what size is on the label. 

The only problem I do have is the top part of this dress is a little too loose and with the stiff zipper in the back, it looks like a have a slight hump. I am smaller on top than on bottom. :) But this is easily covered up when I wear a cardigan. It's too bad because the back is pretty but I don't know if I'll be able to wear it solo and show off the cut-outs in the back (not to mention my tattoos!).  Otherwise it fits me pretty nicely but I think next time I may go down a size.

Some More Spring Bling!

Some Bunny Loves You Necklace

Summer Breeze

Darling Scarab Earrings

Happy first day of Spring!  Seriously it feels like it was just last week I was wishing everyone a Happy New Year.  Here are some of the latest items added to Etsy. Full of Spring Love!  Don't you love that Rabbit pendant? I actually have another idea involving that little guy. Can't wait to get started on it.

What about the little scarab bugs? Not my first time using them and I know they're not for everyone but I think they're pretty neat and the green works with them.  Not all bugs are bad. Just another sign that the warmer weather approaches.  I'm trying to keep it positive here. :)

I noticed that I'm only eight Etsy sales away from 600!  I just got an idea!  The next group of customers to help me reach 600 will get a Pulp Sushi Vanilla Sakura Candle included with their purchase, no minimum order or coupon code necessary.  I wish I can give a candle to everyone.  

Keep Blogging Fun Shall We?

I'm a member of the Etsy Blogger Team and some of the members are new to blogging and they don't know where to start or are afraid.  Some are borderline freaking out about it. What do I write about? How much should I write? How do I get people to read my blog? Why am I not getting comments? What should I use for a blog? Gaaaaah!!!!!   I'm hoping that if I share what I get out of this blog, maybe it can bring some comfort to others.  It's really not that bad and not as complicated as you make it out to be.

1) Shop Updates: First and foremost this is a blog for Pulp Sushi news & updates.  Those posts are maybe once or twice a week, depending on how productive I've been. 

2) Write Reviews:  In the last year this blog somehow got on the radar of some publishers and I have been lucky to receive some amazing craft books to write about. I love to write, always have. Writing is my favorite form of expressing myself.  Before doing reviews on this blog I've written a few for Venuszine.com. Now that the Pulp Sushi blog has become a place a reviews, I'll take it! =D

3) No Income: I don't write this blog to make money so there's less pressure to update constantly and keep my sponsors happy.  Would I like to get paid for this? Heck yeah, are you hiring???

4) I ♥ Reading Blogs: For real, my blog feeds are ridiculous but I make time to get some reading in EVERY day.  There is so much awesomeness out there, I can see how someone new to the game can be a little intimidated to jump in. However there is a risk where you start seeing blogs posting similiar things and you think you'll have to do the same. Don't do that.

5) Chatty With My Blog Friends: That is if I'm not talking to them on Twitter or Facebook, I leave comments, they leave comments. Although I don't write posts to get comments.  It's a crazy way to communicate and be in touch with people but this format is here to stay. 

And now I leave with you some quickie tips.

*Write for yourself first - let your blog be an extention of who you are. It's more fun that way.   If you're obsessed with fashion, food, movies, music in addition to telling people what's new in your Etsy shop, share it!

*When it's stops being fun, take a break.  Your blog will still be there when you come back.

*Have a Facebook or Twitter? Link it to your blog so when you post an update, your friends and followers will know.  The readers will come.

*Make it as personal as you want it to be. I don't share much about my family, what I do with my boyfriend and where I work.  That's my own choice. If you want to share stuff like that, go for it!  I like to share my feelings sometimes, even if they're not good, just to get it out like writing in a diary, except everyone can read it so I try to be mindful of what I say.

Are you ready to embrace your blog now? I have maintained so many blogs throughout the years before I settled with this one and I've changed my style a lot.  Don't be afraid of getting yourself locked in to a certain type of blog, it can always change.

Special thanks to Ashley from After Nine To Five for launching this week:

Want to Swap Blog Ads in April?

Last July I thought I'd try out swapping blog ads with other neat websites. It was pretty fun minus some minor frustrations from one person who was not happy about where their ad appeared. Really? It's FREE!!!! That turned me off a little bit but I'm over it now and would like to try it again in April.  I have to lay down some rules:

Blog Ad Swap Rules

#1 Ads must be linked to a blog
#2 You must link back, this is a Swap afterall 
#3 Ad must be up for the entire month of April
#4 Ad size width is no less than 125 px - see those buttons on the right? That's where it's going. I will adjust the size if bigger.

If we are currently exchanging ads then you don't have to do anything, you're not going anywhere. :)

So if this is something you would be interested in, leave a comment here or shoot me at email at marilyn@pulpsushi.com and we can get this going! Deadline to swap is March 30th.