Pinterest for Your Business

Good Morning Everyone!

Yes, I'm up at the crack of down 7am with the sun shining and the first thing I want to do is Pinterest! I know I'm kind of behind in the times and never considered joining until I came across a webinar on Pinterest for Your Business. It was Free and I said "What the heck, I mind as well see what all the noise is about". So I listend in for nearly an hour and I was hooked! She discussed on ways that your pinterest can be part of the seo search. Also some very valuable information on how to pin your own craft products without saturating the board and it won't get you in any trouble with their policy.

So if your considering growing your business through Pinterest, google the words "pinterest for your business in the search box and watch what happens~. Well I'm off to Pin some more then I will have me some breakfast and start my craft day!

Hugs

Craft Room Clean--Creative Mind Begins

Hi,

Well I finally got around to cleaning my sewing/craft room. It was amazing how much hidden supplies I had found. Now I know where everything is and can find things without tripping over myself. lol Here are my before and after pics:

Before

After

With my room looking normal again I can concentrate on the business side of my crafts. So I'm sitting at my desk this very second and remember reading something about Esty thinking about wholesaling. Here is the link:

http://www.etsy.com/blog/news/2012/etsy-wholesale-on-the-horizon/

Its very interesting read but there was no particular time line on when it will start yet it feels great to know that they are considering it. Although I sell my crafts to boutiques on consignment there are times when the pricing can be tricky. Therefore I'm starting to look into other avenues on getting my business noticed.

Its been Too Long

Hi all,

Yes, it's been too long since I last posted. It's been such a crazy summer with job changes, school and being on crutches for nearly a month. During my down time it gave me time to think and now it's time to put my thoughts into action. It really hit me when I was watching the Living Well Network channel and they had a section on self publishing. It was a real eye opener and made me realize I wasn't putting my best foot forward.

I stepped back for a second and asked myself a question...yes I talk to myself but then who in the craft business doesn't. lol So I said to myself "What is stopping you from walking into the shops and getting your book out to the public?....my response was ME! In any business the only person stopping you from moving forward is You. Of course there are other family situations and things that are beyond your control. But once you put all of those past you, what else gets in the way...You do!

This was so true for me and I need to put an end to this now. So today I'm going to put together a list of places I would like to see my book displayed at. The 3 most important places I want is AC Moore, Michaels and of course Joann Fabrics. After all they do have a book/magazine section. :-)

Now that I have a game plan I need to get into my sewing room and start preparing, but I think I better clean it first. It looks like a tornado hit it...what do you think? lol

FREE CD and Website!

Hi all,
Crafting into Business now has a website!! Yippee!! It's a venture I've been working on for a few months. Its a resource site for everything craft & business related. I'm still working out the kinks on a few things but it should be live by the weekend!
I felt having a site will make it easy for me to keep track of my book sales and hopefully get a broader customer base. I got this idea from a author/motivational speaker Mike Howard. One thing about writing a book is that you must keep people in the loop who motivate and push you to the next level. This also holds true with your crafts or anything you love doing.
Stop on over to Crafting Into Business for our FREE CD on Booth Design & Merchandising for Craft and Trade Shows.

Selling to Gift Shops

Hi,

I've found a great book on selling to Gift shops. I;ve downloaded this and a few other e-books. If you business has reached a level where you are ready to find more gift shops...this e-book can help.
Stop on over to my Business E-Book Section and take a peek. I will be adding more e-books as I find them.
Well I'm off to mastermind my next adventure. :-)
Blessings & Hugs to you

Books Are Ready!!

Good Morning,
Today I'm spending time organizing myself...Yes sometimes I have to organize me so I'm not running in so many different directions. lol
I'm happy and excited to say....Books are in!! and copies to the lucky winners of the amazon contest will be mailed out Tuesday!~~Special Thanks to Libby, Kathi and Denise~You Gals Rock!

I'm looking into getting a website devoted to just my books and once I get that up, I will make sure to let you. :-)
Ok, gotta get back to working on this self organization. Needless to say I want to do everything at once and I sometimes forget I'm not Wonder Woman...but I sure did love the outfit she wore! :-)

Amazon Contest Winners

Hi All,

Congrats goes to following ladies who entered the contest. Denise, Libby and Rustic Heart Treasures! You all get an autographed copy of my book. Please email me your addresses. Shipment of my book will be mailed to you after the holidays!
Here's a peek of my author page http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B006CUBW1S
I'm so excited and nervous because now I have to work on book #2. My sister said that an author has to have another book ready to go. :-)
Happy Holidays!

My Very First Pattern

Hi all,

I thought I would share how I got to this point of selling my book at Amazon. I'm sure many of you have thought about writing a book or it at least crossed your mind. I know it didn't cross my mind until I started my own craft magazine and realized I had alot of funny things happen to me while in this crazy craft business. I decided I wanted to share what I know and hopefully help others. So here I am...
To start off let me show you my very first pattern. This was the one that started me on this journey to where I am now. You can say I blame it on the cat.
My first pattern was McCalls called Fat Cat! I changed the ears up and now I have my Chubby Bunny! I sold these cuties for $15 which was big money to me back then.

Here is what the original pattern looked like. I must say that they were the cutest pattern I ever bought and simple to do. Even if it took me 2 hours to make one bunny. lol
It has taken me 22 years to get where I am now. But if I can help you get to this point quicker with my experiences or what I call bumps & bruises then I will do what I can. Welcome to my journey...it's gonna be a bumpy ride so hold on. lol

Amazon Day Contest!

hi all,

Today is the day I send my e-book to Amazon. It will now be turned into a paperback book! Yipeee! I'm so excited and nervous at the same time. I kept putting it off and scared to take the next step. Then I thought...why was I so scared? It's the same feeling I felt when I first opened my craft website back in 2006. So I took a deep breathe and said....today is the day!

So to celebrate I am starting my first contest!! I will be offering my paperback book For FREE. Post a comment and follow me to double your chances to win! Once the contest is over I will be choosing 5 lucky winners!

Finally Finished and Now it's Time!

Hi all,
I thought it fitting to say this to myself over and over...Finally finished your book and now it's time to get it to the public!! It took me nearly 5 years to get the book in motion but it's completed. Although it's been on my sites and facebook for a few months as an e-book, it was time to get it to Amazon.
I already have book #2 in the works and hope it won't take me another 5 years to get it done. lol
So now comes the fun part marketing and promoting....ok it's not fun but I have to fool myself somehow into thinking it will be. :-)
For those who don't know me....I've been doing craft shows for over 22 years and decided to share all my bumps and bruises with you. Of course all of it's not bruises but alot of fun and informative things I learned while doing shows.
One of the things I learned is to bring an extra pair of pants. Why...well lets just say that I spent most of my time in a porta-potty repairing some jeans.lol
Oh the details are in my book and loads of other tell all stories.
So if you get a chance, grab a copy and read all about it. :-)
Well I better run and get some things done on my sites.

Blessings to You