New in July

While i anxiously wait to hear from Crafty Bastards.....i've been busy with custom orders with a little time for some creative explorations.... thought i woudl share:

1) Custom Puppy Sillhouettes : The customer sent me her puppy profiles i then created a silhouette for her to approve and continued to cut them from 20 gauge sterling silver. Pendants were then hand stamped with their names. cute, no?!


2) Custom Braille: I hadn't done these in a while... i'm guessing the customer went through some of my sold items and saw a similar item... she also ordered another bracelet with mixed the braille with the cloud pendant. very cute. A lot of great ideas come from custom orders...which is why i'm always happy to make them.


3) Necklaces for layering- I'm really into layering long necklaces with short ones over solid color shirts and summer dresses so i started creating some simple and colorful themed necklaces for the summer. I wear them out a lot because they're such and easy accessory to work with.


Anyways I'm keeping busy in hopes of some good news ;) Hope everyone is having a great summer.
CHEERS!

Why make/buy Handmade Goods

Crankbunny is a "Animation Director by day and paper puppet magic rabbit fish at night." Based in NY she makes quirky and beautiful "paper puppets" and popup cards.

She also made this great video about why she makes handmade.
Check out her video i just saw via city paper cut the craft blog.

Happy July 9th!

Hope everyone's 4th was fun!
Vermont was about 30 degrees cooler and with beautiful fireworks!

Also when i got back my MOO cards were waiting for me along with a little gift i had ordered for myself from Leaf People. :)


Lastly I wanted to share something that my husband just posted this on his blog. I really like Ira Glass and the show This American Life. It's a great video if you tend to get discouraged as a creative person ;)


originally from justinhamilton.org/blog

Happy 4th!

Heading out to Vermont for the weekend to catch some fireworks with my inlaws and hopefully cooler weather.

Just had to show off my new buttons i recieved yestereday from busybeaver.net

My new little promos ... aren't they fun!?! My dog El Guapo already has one pinned to his harness :) The one that says "i bite" . hehe... he's a terrifying little lap dog....isn't he?



Anyways, still waiting on the moo cards ...and hoping to get picked by crafty bastards again this year. I had so much fun last year. i'm really looking forward to it.

Have a great weekend.
CHEERS!

Craft Fairs

We just got back from a hot but fun day at the Crafty Bastards fair in Silver Spring Maryland... i went to check out the vendors and their set ups and get a couple of gifts...and yes stuff for myself.

I also recently went to a Crafty Bastards 101 discovery series where they gave out tips for those looking to become part of the craft fair experience... i thought i would share and get some thoughts..

1) Pick the right show for you....makes sense. Don't want to be selling to the wrong crowd.

2) Customer relations... basically smile and make friends. If they don't buy right then they will buy later... i've found this to be quite true.

3) Accept credit cards! SO TRUE.. most of my sales are CC. If you don't accept credit cards make sure you know where an atm machine is close by....to direct your customers.

4)Booth set up. ..this is one of the reasons why i went to check out the silverspring show. (see my pics for more examples of set ups) but basically be organized and neat... wear your own merchandise. Bring mirrors, apron, calculator, pens...

5)Have promo items... i found this tip especially interesting. Basically if you have a cool promo item that a customer is willing to keep and display, they're advertising for you for free... they're suggestions were postcards with and image of your product(s), stickers, pins,... also something i hadn't thought about before but makes a lot of sense.... have a pic of your stuff on your business card.. at the end of the day you may have a ton of cards you collected but can't quite remember what everyone did unless there's a pic or good description on your card.

6) email list sign up for those wanting to keep up with your sales and shows.

Also consider having items at all different price levels
have things at eye level....(added benefit is it keeps things out of reach from toddlers )

Anyways, i just applied to the crafty bastards show here in d.c....hope i get in. I'm really inspired by everyones really cute displays and wares! Hope everyone had a great weekend!
CHEERS!

Resources:
etsy.com
overnightprints.com
bannerstogo.com
stickergiant.com
stickerrobot.com
busybeaver.net .... i just ordered some pins from here... i can't wait to see how they turn out!

my dog talks

TOO COOL

Via The Carrotbox Jewelry Blog - rings, rings, rings! by (alice)


Brilliant take on finger puppets . This piece by London's Yuwen Lu
is designed so that the nervous motion of drumming one's fingers is
manifested in the movements of the two attached figures.