Trading

I'm still reeling from the most exciting weekend I've ever had in cyberspace. If you know me well, you know that I love to trade. If you've got something I can use (whether it be a product or a service), I'm probably game for trading you something from my stash. In fact, I love trading so much that I joined an Etsy Team all about trading. Don't laugh, I'm not kidding.

Every few months, all of these crafty people get together and designate a weekend as an official trading weekend. During that weekend, the people in the group contact other people in the group and try to establish a trade. Trades are to be fair and are to be equal in price. You give something, you get something. That's precisely what I did all weekend long. I traded. I traded. And then I traded some more. I racked up a whopping 29 trades when Monday evening came rolling in. There were some shops that traded a modest amount of 3 trades and there were some shops that traded a grand total of 54 trades. There were prizes for those that traded the most.

I have to admit, I was a little nervous about what my husband would think about all of my trades. I am pleased to report, though, that he was a huge supporter. I seriously think I took care of every woman in the family for Christmas. I can't guarantee that the gentlemen will have the same fun that the ladies will, but I think they'll survive. I even traded a few things for my husband to give me for Christmas.

After it was all said and done, I am pleased to say that I've gathered together some encouragement and inspiration for the future of my shops and my jewelry. It's always funny how someone's handmade soap can plant a seed of creativity for a piece of jewelry. In the following days, I hope to begin posting new work that can be directly linked to this weekend.

In the meantime, if you have an Etsy shop and you'd like to join the trade team, let me know and I'll give you the details. The more the merrier!!!