Here Comes the Bride. And She's Dancing?

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past two days, chances are you've seen the video I'm linking to today.  If you haven't seen it, I sure hope you take the time to watch it now.  It just might be the most moving five minutes of your day.

I love weddings.  And this video reinforces the reason why I do.  I've cried at every wedding I've ever attended, and I'll be honest, I cried at this video too.

Because to me, this isn't just an entertaining walk down the aisle.  I see a happy bride and groom who love each other and are willing to go against tradition and do what they want to do.  I don't see an overflowing church filled with ridiculously expensive flowers.  I see a church filled with loving, supportive family and friends truly glad to be there (look closely at the front right pew, I think even Grandma is clapping away).   The bride and groom managed to find a handful of friends willing to wear sunglasses and strut down the aisle to a choreographed dance.  Supportive friends like that aren't easy to find, and if you happen to have one or two, I sure hope you appreciate them.  This video shows me two people starting their lives together smiling, dancing and happy to be together.  That goes a long way in building a successful marriage.

So I wish the couple well.  And I thank them for sharing these few minutes of their lives with us.  I hope if you haven't taken the time to watch the clip, you will now.  I know I'm off to see it again (and download that song while I'm there, can't seem to get it out of my head).

You'll notice I posted the link directly to Jill and Kevin's video on You Tube.  Please leave the newlyweds some well wishes while you're there.  I know I did.

 (Click the photo to see the video)

The Martha Moment

In life, there are good memories, joyous occasions and special days.  Wonderful times that you fondly remember for years to come.  And then there are moments.  The kind of events that when they happen, the rest of your life you will vividly remember every detail surrounding it.  Where you were, what you were wearing, who was with you, what you were eating.  You never know when one of those moments is going to happen, and maybe that's what makes it memorable--being taken off guard by the surprise.  Before today, my most memorable moments went something like this:

• Wedding day
  
• Birth of son
  
• Birth of second son
  
• Birth of third son
  

Tonight a fifth event was added to the list.  Because tonight was the night of "The Martha Moment".  Sitting on the living room couch, watching "Without a Trace" in my favorite burgundy bathrobe, I discovered my work on Martha Stewart Weddings.

  

As an artist, I've always hoped someday I would get noticed by Martha Stewart.  Never actually thought it would happen, but I believe in goals and setting sights high.  And if you're an invitation designer, you can't shoot much higher than Martha Stewart Weddings.  So you can imagine my excitement (and let's be honest--my surprise) when tonight it happened. 

To see myself selected as one of their "Favorite Etsy Vendors" was one of the most surreal moments of my life to date (I'm number 12).  I stared at the computer screen in shock, eyes full of tears, chest pounding, unable to breathe, my head spinning.  And this is how I sat for the remainder of the night.  Staring at my invitation design on the Martha Stewart Weddings website.  It was an awesome moment.

So what now?  First of all, I need to call my family.  Wouldn't you know, everyone was asleep when I made this discovery and I just can't wait to share the news with them.  As for setting the next goal.  That's an easy one.  I'm off to come up with more designs so maybe, just maybe, this happens again.  I've already got some ideas....

My First Front Page

Yesterday turned out to be a very exciting day for me.  Frankly, it was a day I was beginning to believe would never happen.  After nearly 9 months of setting up shop on Etsy, I made it to the front page for the very first time.   
Started as a pretty normal day.  We were heading out of town to my family's annual Memorial Day picnic in Erie, Pennsylvania.  I checked my stats online and headed out for a quick grocery store run with my little guy.  We were gone long enough to get stuck in a parade route (happens to me every year, you would think I would learn the route by now) and buy 3 bags of candy.  Return home and I have enough time to obsessively check my stats one more time.  I check my views at Craftcult and suddenly in the time I've been at the grocery store 1/2  mile down the road, I have 30 brand new hearts.  I reload the page thinking there has clearly been an error.  Still 30 new hearts.  Realizing I must have entered someone else's shop name, I retype and reload the page.  30 new hearts.  Puzzling.  Suddenly it all clicks, I made it to the front page.  Go to the front page--nope, not there.  Maybe I missed it...what's the name of the site where you find out if you've been in a treasury?  Craftcult?  Do they have a link?  Yes, they do. I enter my name and sure enough, I MADE THE FRONT PAGE.  So freaking exciting I can't catch my breath.  And it's really a pretty treasury, too.  My head is spinning.  I made the front page.   Pretty cool. 

So here's what I learned from my first official "made it to the front page of Etsy" experience.

1. The treasury I was in hit Etsy's front page at 10:00 a.m. est on Monday, Memorial Day morning.  Curious if the holiday was a good thing or a bad thing.  Wonder about the time of day as well. 
   
2. From what I can gather, it had 30 minutes of air time.
   
3. I received 30 shop hearts in this time.  That's one heart per minute.
   
4. The item featured in the treasury (wedding reception rock poster guest book) received 25 hearts, several other items in my shop received hearts as well during this time.
   
5. I had 3 times the amount of traffic in my shop yesterday than my busiest recorded day ever on Google Analytics.
   
6. 314 hits to my shop during the 10:00-10:30 a.m. time
   
7. Traffic came from 30 countries.  The most hits from any single city?  New York.  14 visitors from the Big Apple during my front page exposure.
8. Most important stat of all?  To me it's sales.  Not one sale yesterday, but many conversations that I hope will result in sales in the next few days.

So all in all, an interesting day.  If nothing else, it answered the "wonder what it's like to be on the front page" mystery.  

Lastly, I do have to give a shout out to the wonderful designer that created the lovely treasury I was included in.  Petits Metier is her shop. Hope you'll visit.  While you're there be sure to check out her adorable crocheted owl camera case.  Too stinking cute!

The Wedding Witness List

So excited to have this new wedding poster in the shop.  Just finished it up yesterday and couldn't be happier with the way it turned out.  How cute will this look when filled in with all your guests signatures?  What a lovely keepsake and a fun work of art.  Hope you like it!