It's Been Awhile

It's Been Awhile since I posted on this blog.  I've been dabbling.  Making Coloring books and Journals and putting them up on Amazon.

I put a coloring fitness journal  and a Snowflake Coloring book on Etsy.  I'm trying to get into publishing more printables as I can make them once and sell forever. Just a little diversifying.  

I still make top hat and baby shower items to well in my Etsy shop.  Soon I'll be putting printable baby shower games there too.

This is a cover for my  Snowflake Coloring book, available in my Etsy shop.

Check it out.

Happy New Year!!

I love New Years.  I always feel so hopeful.  Like it's a new beginning.  Leave all the things behind that didn't go so well last year, wipe the slate clean and start again.

I was looking over last year's resolutions and this year's will be about the same.  I don't feel like that means I failed because I 've made progress or rethought most of them:

My Goals for 2014 were:

 

1. Blog at least once a week and maybe more.
2. Get those patterns on Ravelry.  I have lots of good ideas like a bunting (or garland) a month pattern and a blankie a month pattern.
3. I'd like to figure out Google +
4. Continue growing my Etsy business.
5. And that diet and Exercise.

 

 

1.  I didn't blog once a week but I blame that on the whirlwind the year became after my son proposed to his girlfriend and we spent the first 7 months of the year preparing for and having a wedding. 

 So I still want to try and blog at least once every two weeks.  Maybe that's a more reasonable time frame for me.

 

2.  I still want to put patterns on Ravelry.  I think I got two on there this year.  Not bad, but I can do better.

 

3.  I've decided I don't care about Google +.  People were predicting it was going to be so big, but I don't think so.  I'm concentrating my media output on Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram now.  Especially the last two as they are photography based.

 

4.  My Etsy business grew quite a lot this year.  I had almost 300 sales in 2014.  I'd like to continue growing my business.

 

5.  Sigh!!  Diet and exercise.  I lost some weight but gained it back over the holidays.  This is still an important goal for me though. 

 

6.  I'm doing some creative things for me.  I joined Lifebook 2015  which is doing mixed media art once a week.  Hope I can keep up.  Here's the link if anyone is interested in joining.  Life Book 2015.

It's not free but the price is really reasonable and you can break it into three payments.

 

Those are my resolutions for the year.  What's yours?

 

 

 

2013 Wrap Up and New Goals for 2014

 

2013 Wrap up

 

These were my 2013 goals:

1.  Build on last year's success with Etsy and increase sales and do some real world craft shows.

                  - I had a really successful year on Etsy thanks to the many interpretations of my top hats and the love people still have for Harry Potter .  I didn't do any craft shows because I can never seem to get enough stock made up to have on hand.

 2.  Concentrate on my blog. -  

                   I did do a lot more blog posts especially in the beginning but once September rolled around I slacked off

 3.  Figure out Facebook for my business. 

                  - This didn't happen.
4.  Write some patterns and e-books and  figure out how that whole deal works.

                - I wrote the patterns now I have to get them up on Ravelery.  This is MY BIG GOAL for this year.

 5. And on a personal note, get back to exercising and lose some weight.

               - sigh.  This is on my list again.  But being a cardiac nurse I know the importance of a proper weight so I'm determined to lose at least 30 pounds.  Our office moved to a new location and at the last building I was running up and down the stairs all day.  Here we're on one floor and I sit in front of a computer most of the day.  What a difference!  I put on 30 pounds since that move last March!  Yikes!

 

My Goals for 2014:

 

1. Blog at least once a week and maybe more.
2. Get those patterns on Ravelry.  I have lots of good ideas like a bunting (or garland) a month pattern and a blankie a month pattern.
3. I'd like to figure out Google +
4. Continue growing my Etsy business.
5. And that diet and Exercise.

Those are my goals.  What are yours?

 

Have a very Happy and Healthy New year!

 



Coloring My World

Coloring My World

 

So this week I’ve been playing with color.  I finally got my box of cotton yarn from Germany.  It’s Catania from Schachenmayr.  I love it.  The colors are so pretty and it’s wonderful to work with.

 

I made this birdie.  I really enjoyed this pattern and I plan on making and selling these birds for decorations  in my Etsy shop.  After I took his picture I found better beads to use for the eyes and feet.  This pattern is by Atercrochet.

 

So is this one.  I love this pincushion ring!  It was fun and quick to do.  I want to make a bunch of these to sell also.  Tho maybe just at craft fairs.

 

 

 

 

 

I got the idea for the colors for my latest diaper cover and hat from a truck that drove past me while I was driving home from work and stuck in traffic.  It was a big blue truck and it had a large orange sphere on it.  It said Blue Moon on the side of the truck and I just thought it was so pretty. I came home and crocheted up a diaper set for baby girls.

 Where do you get your inspiration for projects?

 

 

 

 

J is for Jump

Jump!

Just do It!

 

 

 

 A lot of times I hem and haw and stand on the brink of a new project or goal or dream and just stare at it, frozen.  I can’t start it.  It can be as small as a new idea for a crochet project or as big as opening up an Etsy shop.

When I first wanted to open my shop I was so overwhelmed by all the advice in the blogosphere I became paralyzed.  “You must have excellent pictures.”  “You must write a witty and revealing profile.”  “Your sales copy has to be primo.”  “And don’t forget your tags and SEO”   And while of that is certainly true, you don’t have to do it all at once. 

It actually took me 3 months longer to get going because I was afraid to start.  Nothing was perfect.  My pictures were bad.  I didn’t know what tags and SEO were.  I would just sit and stare at the Etsy  site  and then walk away because I couldn’t do it.

But I really wanted an online shop.  And a lot of people were doing it.   So finally one day I did it. I just started.  I put up my bad pictures (which are no longer available, I didn’t even know about cropping or rotating the pictures LOL) and wrote bad copy and just did it.   And my first attempt was bad.  But it was out of my head and the shop was open. 

Now that it was out of my head, I could see what had to be done. I learned how to write copy, and use tags, and take better pictures. (I’m still not great at photos, but I just signed up for an online course at Craftsy to learn more.)  I’m still learning every day.  I just found out a few weeks ago you can rearrange you shop pictures. 

So my advice is Jump in, get started and keep going.  Soon you'll be jumping for joy.

 

             

 

E is for Etsy

E is for Etsy

 

 

 

I love Etsy.  I love to shop there for unique handmade items. You can search for almost anything you can think of and you'll find it.  Stuff from all over the world.  I'm amazed at what  people sell.  Steampunk, vintage, jewelry, scrumptious hand spun and hand dyed yarns, clothes, shoes, makeup, and even food.

And I love having my shop on Etsy.  Every day I learn new things about selling and marketing.  I've been really active the last year on Etsy, really trying to make it successful and my products have improved so much. 

Etsy has so many wonderful things to help you grow as a seller if you take advantage of it.  Join teams, make treasuries, read the Etsy blog and put as much of it as you can into practice and you will notice a BIG difference.  I have.

Post links to your shops in the comments so I can visit and see what you have to offer.