Sale Item of the Week!

I'm doing my sale item of the week a day early - because tomorrow I get to announce the winners of the Top Commentators Contest! I'm so excited :) It'll be fun :) Anyway - here's all the info about this week's sale item:

I had a lot of fun putting this necklace together! It's a nice mix of the sweetness of Spring and a little bit of punk. I made it using black hemp and white wood beads. Each bead has fun spring flowers on it. 

No Metal - perfect for anyone with metal sensitivities! 

The necklace is approximately 16 inches long.

Hemp Jewelry Information:
As you wear your piece the fibers will bind tighter together and it will slowly gain a "smoother" appearance than it does initially. Hemp itself is very diverse in it's uses, and has been around for thousands of years! It's use in macrame become popular because it's not too slippery and it's very sturdy. Macrame has been around for centuries, and it's use in jewelry has recently seen a revitalization. I hope you enjoy my pieces!

This week the necklace is only $16 plus $2 shipping and handling! 

"Set me Free"

Do you remember this project I talked about? 

Well it's finally done!

This has been one of, if not the, hardest projects I've ever done. Letting myself go and just create randomness was much harder than I ever imagined it would be! I usually couldn't work on it for more than 1/2 hour at a time because my brain would just start tweaking out on me :P

Ironically enough - even the center piece was really challenging for me. I would have thought that would be the easiest part since it was the only part with a pattern to it (my own btw). However I couldn't come up with a color combination I liked! 

The finaly result was actually take 3.

I chose to name this piece "Set me Free" because butterfly's, to me, are very light hearted and free creatures. Combine that with the free form of the rest of the pattern, and it just seemed appropriate!

This bracelet is approximately 7 1/2 inches long. It contains 7 different colors of size 11 seed beads, 4 colors of size 6 or 8 seed beads, pearls, hex beads, square beads, and even a few pieces of amethyst! It is fastened using a bead with another butterfly, and a loop closure of seed beads.

This piece is OOAK - One of a Kind. No reproduction will ever be made. I couldn't even if I wanted too :)

Like what you see? You can buy it here for $70 plus $3 tax :)

I worked on several other small projects while creating "Set Me Free" because there were times I wanted to keep creating, but I just needed to take a break from it! One thing I made was just for me. Hey - Sharla - it's purple! :P Sorry the picture is fuzzy. I had a bad asthma attack last night and my hands are really shaky today, I'm amazed I was able to get semi-decent shots of "Set me Free" - I didn't try to hard for this one since I'm not listing it :P

Friday's Featured Artist - Chelsea Lynn Designs

Welcome once again to Friday's Featured Artist! I'm excited about feature my friend Larry today. I've gotten to know Larry because of BHR and plurk - and let me tell you he is one awesome guy! He's been a major encouragement to me, and I'm excited to let all of you meet him. So without further ado...

1. What type of art work do you do?

I'm a scrollsaw wood artisan I've been addicted to the scrollsaw for going on 22 years and I use recycled and recovered wood in as many pieces as possible

2. How did you get started doing art work?

I've been artistic and creative all my life so it naturaly progressed as I got older they say its becuase I'm a Libra but I don't know about that

:-)

3. Do you do any other crafts?

Yes I love to paint Landscapes and lighthouses are one of my favorite subjects I paint on just about anything I can get my hands on including saws rocks old boards. I try very hard to use recycled pieces in all my work.

4. What's your favorite piece in your shop right now?

That would have to be my fretwork Christ on the Cross I'm very proud of that piece and draw my inspiration from it

5. Where do you sell your work?

I sell at local craft shows and I have a shop on Artfire at ChelseaLynnDesigns.artfire.com

6. Do you blog?

Yes I have a blog at chelsealynndesigns.blogspot.com

7. Are you on any social networks you'd like to share?

I twitter at twitter.com/Glorybound67 and Plurk atplurk.com/ChelseaLynnDesigns

8. Do you watch or listen to anything while you work? If so, what?

Yes I'm alway listening to Blockhead Radio at blockheadradiolive.com or my oldies from the sixties and seventies

9. Tell us one random fact about your self *wink*

I am disabled and on oxygen but I try really hard not to let it limit my creativity in any way.

Larry is also involved in a couple of endevours to help other artisans that I wanted to let him share about - so here they are :)

Well the Crazy Train was born out of the Artfire Forums it was the brainchild of Paula Picard of Picard creative It was a little idea to help promote each other that turned into cross country express. Larua from LaDeDa Creations is now in charge of the the CT project and I write and voice all the radio ads on Blockhead Radio (which BHR has donated the airtime for). You can still sign up for the crazytrain by looking in the artfire forums for the signup thread But be warned theres a long waiting list we headed toward 200 riders on the train and I'm not a third of the way through the ads each ad runs 2 days.

The Indie Arts Studio was yet another of Paula Picards Ideasshe set up the origanal site then brought me onboard as a web master for the site. the site is for artisans to promote there shop and arts and thats all its for right now until July it is free to put up your ad on the site starting in july it will cost a small 10.00 per month fee to advertise we don't keep this money for ourselves all the money will be put into ads for the site to draw traffic to the site and all the artists ads. we think this will be a very sucsessful way to advertise as we will be able to pool all of our money to buy bigger and better ads. you can see the site at http://www.indieartsstudio.com/Indieartsstudio.html

I've been a busy little bee...

Ok, don't worry, I know today is the day for Friday's Featured Artist, it will be up later today! I'm kinda short on time this morning and I want to make sure I do justice to this wonderful artisan's work so I'm going to put it together this afternoon when I have more time :) 

I've been a busy bee listing lately. Renewed items, putting items in Artfire that I've had in Etsy, even a new item in my Mom's shop! (see the first picture) Remember that if you leave a comment on what your favorite piece is (and why!) you'll earn TWO entries towards my top commentator contest :)

I love Artfire!

I've seen a lot of things that I really like about Artfire since I joined, and I've been super excited this week! First they brought live the new studios. Which means we get to do a lot of customizing. So now my studio is purple themed, and I have two promo buttons on the sides for different groups/teams I support. I need to get one up for my blog next... Anyway, go check out my shops new look! 

NOW they brought back the Free Ride program! Which means that every verefied account that signs up using my link gets me credit towards not having to pay a monthly fee! So if you've been thinking about signing up, or upgrading to a paid (verefied) account, and you LOVE me, please use my linkage! You can click below - and I'll also be sticking a widget on my left side bar :) 

Thanks and I hope your having a great day! 

Register on ArtFire.com

Which is Your Favorite Piece?

Now that byhand.me has their spotlights fixed - it's time to do a run down on some of my most recent listings or relistings! Which is your favorite piece? Leave me a comment and let me know! All comments about what piece you like will earn you TWO entries into my monthly top commentator contest! 

Last Chance!

It's the last chance to save money in my Etsy-versary sale! Everything in the shop is 20% off between now - and whenever I wake up tomorrow! Do you have something you've been keeping your eye on? Now's the chance! So head on over to my shop and check it out :) There are a few new items too...

On a totally different and completely random topic - I've discovered that I do enjoy cooking. I've never really had a chance to learn to cook too much because between health problems and just being insanely busy...there was never much time to cook! So I knew the basics, and I can follow a recipe really well, but there weren't a lot of dishes in my repertiore. 

Then, when I got really sick we took a bunch of foods out (mainly milk) that took away over half of the dishes I knew how to cook! It was so frustrating! Add that too being a newly wed, both of us being picky eaters, and just not having the energy/health to cook much...

Yeah, for awhile there I was just completely depressed about the whole cooking thing. Lately though, I'm enjoying it! I've finally found enough dishes that we both like, and that are easy to make when I'm not feeling great, that cooking in and of itself doesn't stress me out. So now I'm having fun branching out and exploring some!

My fall back though? If it's leftover it'll probably find it's way into an egg burrito for breakfast or lunch :P I tried a lemon chicken recipe the other day that was ok, but the hubby didn't really like the rice that it cooked in. Which was funny because I liked it and usually HE'S the rice freak. Anyway, there's some chicken left over from that with just a hint of lemon flavor to it. So I fried up the chicken with some onions and garlic, mixed it into some scrambled eggs, and put it on a tortilla with lettuce and olives! Ok, olives for me, and cheese for the hubby :P I miss cheese, but there's no reason to make him miss it too!

So that's my randomness for today :P

Tuesday's Tips #5

Can you guess what today's tips are about? That's right - joining teams and guilds! I chose banners from two of my favorite teams to start out this post today. The Etsy Bloggers and the The Stalkers. I'm on several other teams (more on that later) but these two hold special places in my heart! The bloggers because they are the team I have been a part of the longest, they have some awesome people, and they feel like family :) I'm still pretty new to the Stalkers over on Artfire, but I love the mission of promoting others, without telling them what we're doing! 

Ok, enough about me, WHY am I bringing up teams and guilds? Because I think that they are a very important part of the selling experience. 

If you remember last weeks tips I talked about making connections through your blog. Well, another important place to make connections is in the communities that you sell in. Forums can be great tools as well, but I think that teams and guilds provide the core of the support you need.

Simply put, most teams exist for a purpose. It might be to promote a particular type of art or craft, it might be a unified passion, it might even be a common location, but whatever it is you are likely to be surrounded by a community of people who have similar interests. If you have a question or need support, these are the best people to turn to! I've learned a lot from my various team mates and I consider it to have been invaluable experience. 

I also know that MANY of my sales have been either direct sales too or trades with team mates. Now how great is that?

Before I say anything more I should say that I don't know as much about other selling venues. I'm on etsy and artfire - but look around whatever other sites your on and see if they have teams or guilds or something similar! 

So how do you find the team/guild that's right for you?

1. Location based is always a great way to start. It's the best way to find out about local events and resources.

2. Does your shop specialize in something? Like jewelry, paintings, cards, or knitting? Well there's probably a team all about YOUR medium! Which can be great for personal growth in your artwork :)

3. Do you have a passion like blogging, being a Mom, or living green? That's right, there's teams for that too.

Things to look at when choosing teams to join:

1. What are their requirements? Do you meet them?

2. What do they require of active members? Is it going to put to much on your plate?

3. Is it an active team? Or is it just kinda sitting there doing nothing? A team that's really active might be too much for you if your schedule is full, but on the flip side there's really not much point in joining a team that's completely stagnated.

Now since I'm talking about teams and guilds I want to give a shout out to my teams and guilds! Before I do...just be aware that I'm a stay at home disabled woman ... therefore I have more time on my hands than most of you!

On Etsy:

 ~ The Etsy Bloggers - because we love to blog and we love each other! Search "etsybloggers team" to find our stuff :)

~ Team Big Damn Crafters - geeks who love the show Firefly and love to create new items inspired by the show! Search "teambdc" to find our stuff :)

~ The Etsy Bead Weavers - because we love to work with tiny little beads to create beautiful creations :) Search "ebwc" to see our monthly challenge item and follow our blog to vote in the challenge each month! Search "ebw" to see the rest of the teams incredible work :)

On Artfire: Still getting to know these guys - but having fun!

~ The Stalkers - Not as scary as it sounds! Each week our fearless leader picks a different shop - and we all go out to promote it! I love doing this :) 

~ Pacific Northwest - There's that local connection I was talking about!

~ Blogfire - Um, did I mention that I love to blog? I missed the last carnival and I was sooo sad :(

~ Artfire Beadweavers Guild - Haven't really had a chance to get to know these guys yet, but I love to weave beads so there I am!

So what teams are YOU on? 

Happy Memorial Day!

Wow! I've had a buuuusy day :) But it's been fun :) No, I didn't go out and do anything, my asthma has been so bad lately that planning anything was pretty much out. The good news is - I've been breathing clear all day! Which means I've gotten a lot done - and lots that I want to share!

First, I did a treasury blog in honor of our Troops, and I put a simple tribute on my Jedi blog.

I've also done a bunch of listing on Artfire - pieces that you've already seen on my etsy - but I'm excited about putting them on Artfire! Plus they put the studio fusions live to day on Artfire. Basically, we have a lot of customizability now! I really like it :) Go check out my shop to see how it looks and see the new listings! 

I made myself a new bracelet this weekend - and I promised some people I'd show it off - so here it is! And yes, I said, it's actually for ME :P I don't do that often enough >_>

I also started a new project this weekend that is a big stretch for me! Here's what I started with...

Don't you just love the snazzy super-girl pajama pants? My evil twin made them for me :)

Ok, so I'm making a free form peyote bracelet. I've seen a lot of these out there in various forms, and one of my Etsy Bead Weaver team mates encouraged me to try it. I've been wanting to try one but not sure where I wanted to start or what I wanted to do. Then over at Thursday Sweet Treats this week the challenge is for butterfly's. That's when I knew! The center does have a pattern, a butterfly, but the rest is just as the spirit hits me ;)

What you see here is 3 days of work so far. Which is...incredible for me these days. Usually three days and I'm done with a project. Unless I don't really work on it, but I have been working on this! It's not that I haven't been working on it, it's that I can't work on it for very long stretches at a time. My friend who encouraged me to try one said it could be very "zen-like," not for me! Not having a pattern is actually really challenging for me. I'm not sure why. 

I'm enjoying the challenge though. I don't think it'll be done in time to submit it to Thursday Sweet Treats, but the important part to me is the journey and the growth as an artisan :) I'm not sure if I'll do any more like this once this is done, but I do know it'll be awhile before I'm ready to try another one! 

Just a quick reminder - I'm having a sale in my Etsy shop for my Etsy-versary! 

Have a wonderful rest of your Memorial Day :)

Check these out!

Ok - so I know this is just a super quick post - but I have better planned for tomorrow I promise! 

If you chat w/ me a lot your probably saw many of these as I listed them. BUT if you tell me which piece out of these 9 is your favorite, and why, you'll get credit for TWO comments towards my comment contest instead of just one!

Happy Etsy-versary to Me!

It's my Etsy-versary! (well, tomorrow actually) I'm so excited! Want to join in my excitement? Let's have a sing along! Just subsititute "Ruthie" whenever I say Me :P

"Happy Etsy-versary to Me!

Happy Etsy-versary to Me!

Happy Etsy-versary dear Me....

Happy Etsy-versary to Me!"

Don't you feel the excitement? I feel the excitement!

So guess what I'm doing for my Etsy-versary? I'm passing on my excitement to YOU! That's right, between now and the 27th everything in my shop is 20% off! Just wait for a revised invoice after purchase :) 

Friday's Featured Artist - Memories For Life!

Edi is the artisan behind Memories for Life - and a fellow Etsy Blogger Team Mate! I've always admired her work, so it was a lot of fun getting to interview her :)

1. What type of art work do you do?

I do paper crafting of all kinds. Name and Word Albums are my most popular items, but I also make full-size custom scrapbooks, greeting cards, wedding/graduation invitations, party favors. Pretty much anything made with paper :)

2. How did you get started doing art work?

I started making greeting cards over 12 years ago. We had a presentation in 4-H about stamping and then about scrapbooking...and I've been hooked ever since!

3. Do you do any other crafts?
I pretty much stick with paper crafts. There are so many different things you can do with paper that it keeps me pretty busy learning new things :)

4. What's your favorite piece in your shop right now?

My Custom Name and Word Albums are by far my most popular item! They are also my own favorite because of the personalization I get to put into each piece :) I hate giving generic gifts, so I love that I can add that personal touch to these albums!

5. Where do you sell your work?

Etsy is my main selling venue: http://memoriesforlifesb.etsy.com/
and I also sell on shophandmade.com http://www.shophandmade.com/Store/Memoriesforlife
I also sell at local craft shows throughout the year.

6. Do you blog?

Yup :) You can find me at memoriesforlifescrapbooks.blogspot.com It's a mixture of my crafting, my dog, my life...and anything that falls in between :)

7. Are you on any social networks you'd like to share?

I am on facebook under Edi Royer and I am currently working on getting a Fan Page started as well.

8. Do you watch or listen to anything while you work? If so, what?

I always have the radio on when I scrapbook. I listen to a station that plays 80s hair bands, 70s rock, etc. Oldies but goodies :)

9. Tell us one random fact about your self *wink*

Oooh...toughie! I once gave up chocolate for 4 years! That's pretty random :)

10. Why on earth did you give up chocolate???

It was a New Year's resolution and I just decided to continue it for 4 years! It was sort of a power thing...like proving to myself that I could do it :)

Well more power too you Edi! I don't think I could give up chocolate like that!

I hope you all enjoyed getting to know Edi a little bit better - make sure you follow her blog so you can see more of her incredible work as she does it!

Introducing - Earth Walker

I'm so excited and frustrated all at the same time! I knew I was going to the bead store today and I'd be able to pick up the final color I needed to finish Earth Walker - the newest in my Elements series - and I didn't remember to pick up the clasp I need! *sigh* So it'll be a couple days before I can properly finish and photograph this piece, but here it is 99% done!

I used 6 different colors in this piece starting with Smoky Topaz, rootbeer, copper, Dark green, medium green, and light green! I really like how it turned out. This isn't the BEST picture, but since it's not finished I was just snapping something quick so I could post about it anyway :P It's going to be $80. 

If you want to see the other's in the series there are links to all of them in my Wind Dancer listing.

Thanks for looking!

Etsy Bloggers Featured Blogger - Create a Thought!

Art Book Journal Kit

This month's featured Etsy Blogger is Create a Thought - and I had so much fun going through her shop! I mean, look at this quote she has in her shop announcement:

"There are thousands of thoughts lying within a man that he does not know till he takes up the pen and writes. ~William Makepeace Thackeray"

Since you all know I love to write - my love of that quote should come as no surprise!

Here's just a few of the cute items you can find in her shop:

Imagine the Stars Ring

Robot Love Mini Journal

Just Because Handmade Card

And don't forget to check out her blog!

Random Tip

My Blood Type is Coffee

Random Tip - Make sure your coffee and beady project are far enough apart that the one does NOT get dipped in the other! 

Fortunately I realized what I had done quickly, and after drying it off, there is no damage to the project! Oh I would have been sooo mad at myself after all the hours invested...

Tuesday's Tips #4

Wild at Heart Necklace - $20

Last week I talked about building relationships through your blog. There's one more piece to this that I've found really helpful and want to share with you! It has two parts.

#1 Be consistent in checking your comments! I've found the easiest way to stay on top of this is to have the comment notifications sent to me. I don't moderate my comments because I've never had any problems with spammers. I do have the word verification set, and I think that helps weed out most problems. 

~ To have your comments sent to you from Blogger start by clicking on "Settings". 

~ Click on "Comments." 

~ Scroll down to the very bottom.

~ There will be a box that says "Comment Notification E-mail." Simply input the e-mail you want them sent to there.

#2 Did you know that if your e-mail is active on your profile then people will be able to respond to you directly when you leave comments on their blog? This actually helps other people to build relationships with YOU! Now you may be hesitant to share your e-mail with the world, and I can understand that, but if your running your blog to support a business then you should have an e-mail that anyone can have. After all, the more reachable you are the more likely you are to make a sale! 

~ To set your e-mail so that it's visable on your profile first go to your blogger dashboard.

~ In the upper left next to your profile icon it will say "Edit Profile" - click on this.

~ The third option box says "Show my e-mail adress." Make sure this box is checked. And that's all there is too it!

I hope that these tips help you as you build your relationships :) 

Don't forget that I'm running a comment contest on my blog - check out this post for all the details! 

New or Relisted in my shops as of May 19th :)

Sale Item of the Week!

This fun necklace is for those days you just want to say, "I love my country!" and say it LOUD. I had a lot of fun coming up with this design and I adapted the pendant off a design for a different medium entirely. That's what's fun about seed beads, you can do a wide variety of things with them! And yes, that's right, the pendant is handwoven. :)

Necklace is approximately 19 1/2 inches long.

This sale price is only available through this post throughout the week on my sidebar. This week your price is only $34!!! That already has the shipping added in (to anywhere in the world!) and a 20% discount. Now how sweet is that?

Update on Craftiness

Ok! I've started a blog post, I'm going to keep it in drafts, and update as the day goes along! 

Update #1 ~ Relisted two bracelets on etsy that were about to expire (Bracelet 1, Bracelet 2)

Update #2 ~ I got the next segment in my on-going story "Aria's Quest" written up! Ahead of time for once... 

Update #3 ~ I picked up some new agate/rock chip strands yesterday. I love working with these! I usually make extremely simple bracelets out of them, but they've sold extremely well. So I just whipped together 2 bracelets to take with me when I restock my consignment shop on Monday.

Update #4 ~ So I've decided my "hour on one thing, hour on the next" isn't quite practical because some projects take less than that...but I am alternating between one thing and the next!

Update #5 ~ Listed a pair of fun earrings on Artfire! 

Update #6 ~ Took a break from craftiness to go to the store with the hubby :)

Update #7 ~ Came home to find the earrings had sold! It's my first Artfire Sale baby! Thanks Dede!

Update #8 ~ Bloggy time! Star Wars Geeking and a Book Review :) 

Update #9 ~ WOW I've gotten a lot done...lunch time!

Update#10 Lunch was good - and I did some beading while I ate! I picked up the beads I need yesterday so I can work on the next Necklace in my Elements series. The picture above is the only one currently unsold - Wind Dancer. The one I'm working on now is going to be called Earth Walker. I started it last night and I finished up the foundation a little bit after lunch. I'm really excited! I've had a ton of fun with this series :)

Update#11 ~ DeDe's earrings are in the mail!

Update#12 ~ Blue Loving Necklace listed on Artfire.

Update#13 ~ Did some "work" writing. Write up two book reviews! More fun writing later probably :)

Update#14 ~ Picked up my knitting for the first time in weeks! Feels good :)

Update#15 ~ Decided I'm officially NOT going to be taking any photos today - back is waaaay to sore! *sigh*

*Sunday Morning*

I ended up crashing not long after the last update I wrote. My back decided it wanted to spasm, spasm, and spasm some more! So I used a heating pad and took a nap to try and let my back relax. It never really worked. We went over to my in-laws around 5 for a graduation dinner for my brother-in-law. Food was great! I love my hubby's family :) 

After we got back I couldn't keep my eyes open (might have been from the muscle relaxant) so I went to bed...and never got back up! I think I slept for around 12 hours last night >_> My back is still sore today, but much better. I'm not breathing too well though so we're home for the day instead of heading to church.

I still have a million things I want to work on but I'm pretty out of it so some of them are out of the question. I probably won't get any writing done today unless I perk up, but I spent about an hour knitting this morning and I'm going to start working on my Elements necklace again as soon as I post this :) 

I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday! I'll talk to you soon :)

Having a Crafty ADD Day

I read an article on Handmade News the other day that total fits my mood today! Ok, so to be honest, probably my mood for this entire weekend... Anyway, the article was called, "Top Ten Signs You Might Have Craft ADD." Out of 10 different things listed...I could say yes to 8 of them! And according to the author more than 2 shows you may have crafty ADD. So, while I don't know that I have ADD in "normal" life, I think it's safe to say I have crafty ADD! 

Oh wait - I have a life apart from art and crafts? Hmmm... Must fix that...

Just kidding! 

I already knew I have crafty ADD, but I thought the article was a lot of fun! Especially this weekend. A whole set of factors is coming together to make me feel more ADD than ever! For one, since my asthma has been really bad recently I'm on a really high dose of a steroid called Prednisone. One of it's many known side-effects is that it tends to make people hyper and manic. Um yeah, can you say brain racing in a million directions? I could hardly fall asleep last night because I kept bouncing back and forth between crafty ideas, writing ideas, and who knows what else!

On top of that I finally got to go buy some new beady supplies! Thanks to my first consignment check :D Some it was just boring "use all the time and running low" supplies, but I also got a bunch of seed beads so I can FINALLY work on projects that have been bouncing around in my head for a month! I also picked up some more cross stitch fabric while at the craft store...

So now I'm torn. I have at least 3 different beady projects that I want to do RIGHT NOW. I have a book mark I really want to get done in the next week or two because I think it will be good for the college fair I'm doing. Oh yes, and I want to work on the scarf I'm knitting because talking over my Mom's crochet projects have me itching to learn to crochet, but I told myself I had to finish my knitting project first.

To top all of that off I have a ton of items that need to be listed in my shops, and if I can I need to get some pics taken today because I have items of Mom's to get listed but no pictures. It's Saturday - good day for a listing binge.

Oh yes, and I've been wanting to devote more time to writing, and it keeps not happening! So my fingers are itching to work on that too...

So here's my plan...

1. Play some awesome music from BHR to keep the crafty juices flowing! 

2. Work on listing off and on through out the day. That way the exposure gets spread out and I don't get pulled away from my crafty stuff for too long at any one point :P

3. Spend an hour writing before I dive into my other creative projects! 

4. Alternate projects! An hour here, switch, an hour there, switch.

We'll see what I actually get done :) I might blog about it before the day is out :P 

Friday's Feature - Creative Critters

Hi everyone! Since my radio show has been cancelled - but I love getting to know artisans - I'm going to start up my Friday's Featured Interviews again! Today I'd like to introduce you to Michelle of Creative Critters. Just click on any of the pictures in this blog feature to be taken to their listings :)

1. What type of art work do you do?

I sculpt in polymer clay- everything from fantasy sculptures, to animals, to miniature houses, to pen sets, and whatever else I can think of. I also make hand sewn cloth dolls which are great for kids or doll collectors. I make mixed media jewelry with polymer clay and a variety of beads. And I make plush World of Warcraft characters (also hand sewn). Oh, and I make knit stuffed toys for kids as well. I think that's everything.

2. How did you get started doing art work?

I've always been very creative. I learned the basics of sculpture in art class in high school. My grandmother taught me the basics of sewing when I was young. My best friend taught me how to knit a few years ago. Mostly I've advanced my knowledge and techniques through books. I have a whole bookshelf full of art and craft related books. I'm constantly trying to improve my skills as well as learn new ones.

3. Do you do any other crafts?

Let's see, I knit, crochet, sew, sculpt, make jewelry, stuffed animals, dolls, candles (just for friends and family). That's all I can think of at the moment, but I'm always up for trying something new.

4. Do you have any crafts on your list to learn right now?

I'm developing a real fascination with glass beads (seeing all the glass artists on Artfire is very inspirational). I'd also like to try my hand at metal clay. You just never know what will catch my attention next.

5. What's your favorite piece in your shop right now?

That's a hard one. I really love what I do, and I form a very real attachment to my pieces. I think maybe my Plush World of Warcraft Tauren Hunter and his Pet Lion are my favorite right now. I put a LOT of work into them, and I really love the way my lion turned out. I never outgrew stuffed animals!

6. Where do you sell your work?

I sell my work at http://creativecritters.artfire.com/. I've also sold quite a few pieces through word of mouth to family and friends.

7. What got your started selling your work?

I started running out of room in my house for all my creations! Even with giving my work away as gifts, I was still making more than I really had room for. I started selling my work through a consignment shop in NY at my friend's urging. All of my friends and family said my work was good enough to sell, and once I began actually making sales I believed them.

8. Do you blog?

I have a blog at http://www.creativecrittersblog.blogspot.com/

9. Are you on any social networks you'd like to share?

I'm on Facebook, MySpace, JoAnn.com, ByHand.me, and Flickr.

I had a ton of fun going through Michelle's shop to set up this blog piece - in fact it was really hard to narrow down my choices! So I have to leave you with one more piece that I absolutely love. :) Remember to click on any of the pictures to be taken to the listing!

Newsletter Update

Ok - so I'm massively late - but I just sent out this month's newsletter! If it's not in your e-mail inbox send me a message at roseworksjewelry@gmail.com and I'll send you this month's edition as well as adding you to the list for next month! 

Speaking of which, I'm slowly switching over to roseworksjewelry@gmail.com for my business e-mail, so be on the alert for that address in the future!

Product update!

Here's my most recent relisted or newly listed items in my shops!

Comment Contest

Trust Your Heart

Well I thought I mentioned this in one of my posts...but I'm not finding it :P So it's a good thing I decided to do a mid-month update! I'm apparently spacey sometmes...

Anyway, I decided that along with working to respond to the comments I get, I wanted to reward my commentators. So each month I'm going to do a contest! I've been keeping track of all comments left this month so far, and it's been a lot of fun to see who's commenting and how often! 

So what will you win? This is the part I KNOW I hadn't decided on :) 

1st place: $15 gift certificate to my shop! Plus I'll mention you on the blog w/ a link.

2nd place: $5 gift certificate to my shop! Plus I'll mention you on the blog w/ a link.

3rd place: A mention on the blog with a link :)

Yes, there already is one person in the lead, but there are several people who are following up and fighting for first and second! And if you haven't been keeping up with my posts your welcome to do some back reading and leave some comments. :) Please say more than "cool" though ok? Thanks!

Now, because I'm geeky, here's a few stats from the month so far :)

~ Top Commentator currently has 9 comments.

~ I've had a total of 35 different people leave comments.

~ There has been a total of 70 comments! 

*all numbers prior to posting this post :)

I'm kinda geeking out and wondering what the numbers will look like by the end of the month :) I love interacting with all of you guys and I look forward to getting to know each one of you better! I'm also really excited about giving out the prizes :)

Tuesday's Tips #3

I had so much fun talking about blogging in last week's Tips that I'm going to do it some more today! Today's focus is on building relationships. That's why I chose the pic above. It's a picture of me and two of my closest girl-friends. Left to right we have Kat, Bethie, and myself :) That was taken Valentines Day Night. My hubby and I had gone out for a date earlier that day and he quite sweetly let me go out in the evening with my single girlfriends. Isn't my hubby sweet?

Ok, talking about my wonderful hubby is NOT the point of this post. Don't get me wrong, I could go on and on, but that wouldn't be much of a tip now would it?

Seriously though, building relationships is key to having a successful on-line business. I'd say probably 90% of my sales are to people that I've built some sort of connection with. That's a pretty high number! 

So how does that apply to blogging? Well there are a few things you can do. 

1. Reply to your comments! Go to their blog or e-mail them back. Even if it's just a quick "thanks." 

2. Find other blogs to follow and don't just read and leave, give them a comment! 

3. From time to time do a post that requires reader interaction. That could be a contest or even just asking a simple question. 

Lastly - be consistant! I try hard to respond to all my comments in some way shape or form, and I think I've really seen a difference since I started doing that. Now sometimes I won't respond to a comment if I'm really sick, or if that person has been catching up on my blog and left me four comments in a day, but I do get to the majority of them. Some times with a response to their comment, other times by leaving them a comment on their blog. 

Thought for the day: Time invested in building strong relationships is time invested well :)

Sale Item of the Week - Wise Old Owl Necklace!

On sale for $18!!!

When I first saw this scrabble pendant I just knew I had to create a necklace out of it! After all, the first business I ran dealt with owls :) I mixed the pendant with some Red Tigers Eyes (they look brown though) and some "rootbeer" colored seed beads...and there you have it! A necklace I hope you'll love as much as I do :) Plus - This necklace comes with FREE earrings! Necklace is approximately 17 inches long and the earrings are approximately 1 3/4 inches long including the hooks. Pendant purchased from PiecesOfMePendants on etsy! Check out her shop :) Gemstone Lore: Red Tigereye - This is the birthstone of the Gemini (May 21st - June20th). It is thought to promote clarity vision and assist with the focusing of the mind.

This week's sale price of $18 includes your shipping cost!

Making Changes for the Better

Well, I've sat back and kept my mouth shut with all the debate going on about the changes Entrecard has made, and I'm still going to for a large part. I think only time will truly tell if the changes they've made will benefit the community at all. I've seen some things that I take as negative, and some things that could be positive, but aren't very much so yet. 

That's not why I'm leaving though. 

I started Entrecard as a means to drive traffic to my blog in an attempt to raise sales. Well, I have driven traffic to my blog, and I have made some new friends along the way.  I greatly value that! I've also made one sale. 

Wait? One sale? That's something to be happy about! Except I've been doing entrecard for month's now, and I know that really none of the rest of my sales in that time came from entrecard. 

Hmm...that doesn't sound very productive at creating business does it?

Now add that together with not having a very fast internet connection... Yes, loading all the blogs takes me hours and hours! I always multi-task while I do it, but I don't really think it's that productive a use of my time. Think of all the things I could be doing instead! Alternative methods of advertising, working on crafting new designs, writing, there's so many posibilities! 

I still really value my bloggy friends though. So I'm working on getting my google reader set up with the blogs that I actually read an comment on. I'll still be around entrecard for a bit this week as I make sure I catch all of them :)  Then, with a smaller range of blogs to visit, I'll work on building relationships with those people :) Because really, that's what the bloggy world should be about, not number of visits, but quality of visits and the friends made!

My Mom Gave Me a Wonderful Legacy

Crocheted Sunflower Necklace

I have a simply wonderful Mom, and as many of you know, I wouldn't be the artisan that I am with out her influence! She's been making crafts of different types for as long as I can remember, and I can't even begin to tell you how many hours we've spent talking over various projects and exchanging ideas! Now I have the fun of running an etsy shop with her, and she's been incredibly supportive as I've started and run my jewelry business. Thanks Mom :)

Lazy Week...

...Ok so maybe I haven't been lazy. I've had a good excuse! My asthma has been a lot worse again this week, and I was recovering my shoulder injury. It just feels weird because I have very little to show for this week! I haven't listed anything in several days...and I haven't really made anything! I'm 96% done with my Mom's Mother's Day present...and I need to get busy because I need to do my Mother-in-law's tonight as well! I'll try to get a quick shot of them tonight or in the morning so I can show them off :) 

Since I need to get to work I'll just leave you with this GORGEOUS bead that I found on etsy today :) Cheers!

Etsy Beadweavers May Challenge

Each Month the Etsy Bead Weavers have a different challenge theme. They announced this one right as I was joining, and I didn't have any brilliant ideas, so I didn't even try this time! I have some ideas for the next one though :) We'll see if I can get to it and get it done in time. :P

Anyway - May's theme was Hollywood Red Carpet - check out the awesome entries and go to the blog to vote! 

Now for a small bit of a sad news. My radio show is no more. As of today it's canceled. Don't worry, nothing bad has happened between me and the radio station, I've just been too sick. So the powers that be decided it would be best to cancel the show for now. Ah well, it's been a fun experience. :)

April was Busy!

Hey everyone! It's time for my wrap up from last month and my look forward at this month. It's been a crazy month! That's for sure. And yes, I know this post is late, but I didn't want to mess up my daily posts and messing up my shoulder made writing more difficult.

So what's new? Well first of all I have to post up my favorite item out of my three shops for this month :) This is one of my Mom's - and we've gotten a great response off of it! You can find it here in our shop Kindred Spirit Treasures :)

Did I mention three shops? Yeah, I'm up to three shops! It can be a lot to manage, but I'm loving it :) I now have Kindred Spirit Treasures, Rose Works Jewelry on Etsy, and Rose Works Jewelry on Artfire.

It's been a slow month for sales. No sales yet on Artfire, but I'm enjoying getting to know some new people and I'm hoping that the sales will come soon!

One thing I've added into this blog is I've started doing "spotlights" every time I have 9 new items combined between my three shops. That allows my friends from all over to see what's new :) I'm trying to add those in as an "extra" post for those days and not have them be the main post for the day. If you haven't seen one yet you can see my most recent one here.

I've also started up a fan page on Facebook! I'm still working on setting it up, but I'm having a lot of fun with it and I'm excited about the possibilties :) So come check it out and be my fan! (that sounds soooo egotistical).

In bloggy news I'm participating in a Craft It Forward - go check it out! I only have three participants so far...so leave your comment and be number 4 or 5!

I've also started a new feature on my blog called Tuesday's Tips. I've been getting a great response from it so far and I'm loving it!

In BlockHead Radio news...the hosts are all competing to see which of us can get the most new commercials for the station! We don't win anything - just bragging rights :P And, as I wrote about, if you request me to do your voice-over you'll get a free pair of $5 Earrings! So go buy your self some CHEAP by EFFECTIVE advertising!

So what's coming up this month in my plans and such?

Well, first of all, here's my line up for Thursday Spotlight On! Come join me at 9pm EST on Thursday's to meet these fantastic artists!

5/7 Mary of Herban Life Style

5/14 Ray of Don't Eat Any Bugs

5/21 Michelle of Creative Critters

5/28 Stormy of Stormy Designs

Other than that, I plan to keep on listing regularly, I have lots of design ideas, but we'll see what gets made :P I also plan to continue working on updating and optimizing my facebook page, and I hope to reorganize my Flickr account soon as well.

What about you? What have you accomplished this last month? What do you plan on doing this next month?