I found this great blog with some awesome examples of beadweaving. So many beautiful things to buy through her store on Etsy and a real treat for the eyes. How could you even choose one? Oh and check out her special this week! You can get lost in her Etsy site as she has over 3,000 items listed there.
Time2cre8 is the blog site. MaryLou has visited my site tons of time and I wish to thank her for that as well as applaude her magic fingers and eye for design.
Enjoy!
I found these great DIY blogs tonight while surfing. If you want some tips on getting started on craft projects, you need to check out The Best of DIY. Its a very cool site!
Another one that was very helpful and full of info on Ditigal Scrapbooking is Scraps on Mind. Ooohhh Love them. I am going to have to get busy creating instead of surfing and dreaming!
I ran across a great blog the other day thru EntreCard and it was all about these great giveaways and contests. Chic Giveaways is the site and you can enter the contests by commenting on the post.
Great traffic for you and you make win some awesome jewelry and neat things. Gotta love the free and appreciate the awesome work done by the artists.
Thanks ladies!
Believe it our not, fall is right around the corner. Even with the heat that we currently have, we still need to be thinking about fall colors, harvest themes, and the start of the Christmas selling season. It may even be a great time to start hunting for some pre season deals and sales that will be popping up very soon.
Also on tap will be the changing of your setup, whether it be through color, display pieces or decorations. Keeping things interesting is key to a great event. You don’t want to look like a plain jane when your competitor goes over the top.
Happy hunting!
I have been browsing the craft pages and have found so many professional beaders lately. I am so jealous of your beautiful artwork and eye for color. I used to play with beads a lot when I was a kid. It might be time to try out that craft again. Oh, ladies, your work is Gorgeous!
If you have something wonderful to show me with the craft work you do, leave me a comment and I will come check it out. Free advertising is always the bomb!
I had to pleasure of meeting the owner of a great chime business today and I knew I had to share their product with you all. These are not your normal grocery store tinkling chimes. These are harmonious, beautiful sounding musical chimes. Grace Note Chimes is the name. What an awesome small business this is, starting from craft shows.
Do yourself a favor and check out their site. What an awesome gift for someone special, like you!
A lot of towns do big 4th of July events where booths and tables of homemade items are encouraged to be displayed. What a great time to get your name out in the community when so many are out and about for the festivities.
My town always does a big parade with food booths, craft booths and info booths as well. The whole day has festivities, concerts and fireworks at the end. Some of the best sellling items used to be the princess tiaras with tons of ribbons floating down the back as well as princess wands too. Things eveole and our crafters always have some great new ideas each year so it will be interesting to see what is the hot items this year.
Wow. I found another awesome local gal working on tatted jewelry and is it fabulous! Also on Esty, you have to check out TotusMel and her amazing craft. Who knew how beautiful handmade jewelry could be.
This crafter lives in my town and has some awesome products she is making. Her site is at Etsy and she does some local shows and sales. Check out Ashlee Nicole’s Trash Bags. I love the red tote! Also the diaper bags and bookbag. Super Cute!
I thought I would show some neat products that some of my friends are creating out there in the www. Stop by and see their product lines.
My friend Marybeth has been creating her awesome Island Girl items. I just love her.
Check it out!
What special items have your created to showcase for your Mothers Day Gift buyers? There are so many great ideas that you can do for specialty gift ideas.
-Grab a basket and put together different size sets of products. Your best sellers would be great. Throw some Wrap and Tulle around it to make it beautiful.
-Cello wrap a few key items and dress it up with diffferent ribbons and gift tags
-make a special gift just for mom or grandma with your special talents.
Anything you can create is special. Make a flyer and mail or send out an email notice to your customers about the special gifts and items you have for this holiday.
I had an offer the other day from someone who found my sales site and invited me to participate in a show. My first thought, COOL! I have some product I would love to move.
My second thought? No way. Why, you ask? Well I have talked on here before about making sure you are making enough money to warrant your participation. This event wanted $50 for a 5 hour show. Plus it was 2 hours away. Oh and third, it is a first time show with no guarentees on attendance.
Red flags went up in my brain. Lets see, we are talking about $75+ in gas, $50 in fees, plus lunch and my time. But only 5 hours to hopefully sell your product.
Sorry. 3 dings mean that there is not enough incentive for me to do it altho I would love to move some product, it is just not worth it.
Please take the time to add up your value. Your time is a commodity and very precious. How much is too much for you?
What are you doing for spring?
Spring is a great time to do some shows. Alot of companies have new products out, perfect for showcasing at a show. Also great buying times fall into spring like Mother’s Day and Easter and birthdays, of course.
Start hitting the papers and sites for spring shows. Break time is over!
If you are looking for a craft show or vendor expo to display your goods at but have no idea where to start to find one, here is a list of a few good places to start.
* your local Chamber of Commerce – usually has knowledge of whats happening and coming up.
* The local paper – you can do a search online for towns around you. Sometimes the promoters advertise that they are looking for vendors or they start advertising the show ahead of time for max exposure.
* Ask friends that do shows – they usually have knowledge of what is upcoming.
* Go online. CraftLister and CraftMasterNews are a few examples of listing services.
* County Fairs – While they cost a lot more, it maybe worth checking it out if you hav the time and proper type products.
* Farmers Markets/ Flea Markets – some towns have very extensive open air markets. It may be worth a browse or two to see if it would be viable for your product.
Chris
