I've been selling on Etsy for over 4 years now. During those years, I've learned a lot of do's and don'ts. I've had busy times and slow times. I've made great items that I was sure would be best sellers only to find out they weren't and other items turned out to be a smash success.
My best all time selling item is the plain and simple kraft tag -
I've sold 3,500 in the first 2.5 months of this year. I haven't counted the total for all 4 years. That might take a while...
People use them for weddings, price tags in their brick and mortar stores and craft shows or make their own gift tags with them. They can be purchased in my shop in sets of 25 up to 1,000. I can also make a custom listing for just about any number you need.
Another surprise big seller has been my paper luau flowers -
I had an excess amount of paper in 4 different colors and decided they would make nice party decorations. I sold quite a few sets in quantities of 25-100. Then one day a museum event coordinator contacted me and asked if I could make 10,000 of them. SURE!! The girls and I worked hard for quite a few days on that. I no longer have the original colors but I'm offering the ones pictured above.
People don't often tell me what they are doing with the items they buy but it's fun when they do. The last person to buy my paper flowers said they were poking a hole in the middle and making lollipop flowers to give away at a hospital! What a cute idea.
If you'd like something for your next event, be sure to stop by Ellie Marie Designs. If you don't see what you're looking for, send me a message! I love custom orders.
My family and I were missionaries to Romania. And when we returned from the field, we found ourselves in Richmond, VA living on a single and insufficient income. So I started working too. I subbed in the public schools anywhere from one day a week to full time. John worked evenings, I worked days and somehow we managed to continue homeschooling our three children.
Then my oldest two, Gabriel and Hannah, graduated from high school the same year and went off to college. So now we not only had the added expense of two children in college but working outside the home became complicated. John's schedule had changed from permanent evenings to shift work. That made it impossible for me substitute without leaving our youngest, Holly, home alone for hours at a time.
I was discussing my dilemma with a friend at church who happens to have a very successful etsy shop selling adorable baby bows and headbands. So I started praying about what I could do at home and soon Ellie Marie Designs had begun.
