48 for Larry

Larry is the man behind Chelsea Lynn Designs - and not only is he a wonderful artist - he's got one of the biggest hearts I've ever known in anyone! He's the type of guy who's never met a person he doesn't like, and he's always been a huge encouragement to me. I did an interview with him awhile ago if you want to read it :)

One of the things that Larry and I connected on right away was dealing with extreme health problems. We have different issues that we face, but we both struggle every day with our health. His health problems are a lot worse though.

Right now Larry is facing just having lost his health insurance, having monthly prescription bills of over $2000, and needing a surgery to keep him alive.

So we're having a fund raiser to help him out! I've donated the necklace below to the auction - and we're doing a 48 hour radioathon! To get all the details - Go here - 48 for Larry.

Weekly Special and New Items!

This week's special is a pair of my new line of hoops! I'm still slowly working on getting these added into my inventory, I have several pairs of wood bead hoops up, a few others, and many more planned to come! This pair that you see above is only $4 this week! Plus only $2 Shipping to anywhere in the world! Isn't that a fantastic deal? If these sell - I'll put another pair up!

It's also time to show of the latest items in my shops! Remember, any comments about your favorite from the below spotlight gets you TWO entries into my top commentator contest!

I also wanted to invite you to check out these treasuries I'm in!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=64774

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=64820

A big thanks to Peacox Creations and Angies Crafts for featuring my Mom's piece and my bracelet!

Have you visited Block Head Radio lately? Well I won an slot as the featured item of the week this week! I can't even begin to tell you how happy that makes me :) I'm down on the right. :) Also...I'm going to be doing some writing for BHR...so stay tuned for more details about that!

One last thing - Honey Love did an incredible feature on me! Go check it out to learn more about me...and see a pic of me from my wedding :)

I'm so feeling the love right now :) And I really needed that this week!

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 

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?

Special of the Week - Yellow Millifiori Bracelet!

I just recently discovered Millefiori beads - and I think you'll see more showing up in my shop soon! Millefiori means 1,000 flowers in italian. I bought these Millefiori chips and beads from beadboxsupplies here on etsy! Memory wire has the fun property of being super-strong, and springing right back into shape! As a result, this bracelet will fit most wrists comfortably. It also creates the fun "multi-strand look" that is so popular these days!

Today it's only $7.60, that includes your 20% discount and a $2 shipping charge to anywhere in the world! So what are you waiting for?

And don't forget! If your looking for some awesome advertising head over to buy some from BlockHead Radio - and ask for me to be the voice talent on your ad!

Sweetening the pot!

That's right - I'm sweetening the pot! Yesterday I wrote about a great advertising opportunity over at Block Head Radio. Well, today I'm adding a prize on for asking for me to be the host that records your ad! Anyone who requests me will get a free pair of $5 earrings from my etsy shop or artfire shop! How sweet is that? So go buy your ad now - and don't forget to request Ruthie in your message to the seller! 

I also wanted to show off this weeks great treasury by Peacox Creations - this one features one of my Mom's butterfly hair clips! Thanks my dear! That made my Mom's day :)

Looking for some great advertising?

If your like me than your always looking for a great way to advertise your work. Well I've found you one! You've heard me talk about Blockhead Radio right? Well the station is growing by leaps and bounds! Advertising is way cheap. I'll let the boss man tell you all about :)

What kind of reach does BHR have and why would I benefit from advertising. BHR is an Internet radio station, so that means people all around the world can listen and do. Our top 5 countries are:

1. United States
2. Canada
3. U.K.
4. Israel
5. Australia

Our demographics are a split of 60% Artisans and 40% General Listeners. 70% Women and 30% Men. Ages vary from 12 years old to 71. Yep we got a grandma jammin' with us.

Why use Internet Radio for advertising? Simple, interactivity. With an audio commercial you have put a voice/personality to your site. When your ad is playing a banner is displayed in the player and the listener has the option to go to you site right then and there. Then the most 5 recent audio plays are kept in a list on the player and those link up to your site too. It opens in it's own window so you have the listeners complete attention.

We sell in stream audio/banner spots on CPM. That way you know that 1000 people will hear your ad. CPM is frequently used in advertising to represent cost per thousand (where M is the roman numeral of 1000). When used in advertising it relates to the cost per thousand page impressions. Using the CPM model the advertiser is guaranteed that a minimum number of listeners will hear their ad.

The cost is $15.00 CPM. Advertiser is responsible for supplying a 240 pixel square banner and link to information. Please provide us with a couple sentences describing your site and we will do a script and voice over. You can renew your ad for $7.50 for another 1000 impressions.

If you have any questions or would like to setup and ad please email us at advertsing@blockheadradio.com

Would You Like A Jingle For Your Ad?

How would you like a catchy jingle for your ad? This special $30 offer for a low cost jingle will boost your image and grab the listeners attention! Singer/Songwriter Mike Burnes is available for this.

One quick more answer. When checking your Goggle Analytics/Incoming URL's the incoming link from the player is: media.streamads.com

And if you love me (and I know you do!) you can ask for me to be the voice of your ad when you purchase it! Just go to their artfire (no account needed) to order now!

Honey Child Designs

Last night I had the privilege of interviewing Nicole of Honey Child Designs. Nicole specializes in making jewelry that is designed to enhance your life through the stones and crystals she chooses to use. I love what it says in the introduction to her shop, so I'll let you read her own words.

"Inspired by the healing energy of crystals, Nicole hand selects and delicately handcrafts every piece. She begins the process of creating her signature Agate pendants by looking deeply into each slice of Earth, examining its wonder and with awareness, Nicole closely studies its uniquely intricate and extraordinary properties. Then, she marries it - stone by stone and gem by gem - with other healing crystals, carefully assembling each piece with a nurturing spirit, to ultimately awaken the magical and meaningful properties of her One-of-a-Kind works of art. "

Nicole went to film school, and has had the privilege of working in several different areas in that industry. Right now she works a day job, and does her jewelry at nights and on the weekend, but some day she dreams of opening her own crystal shop. She told me last night that she can picture herself as that eccentric lady who try's to convince every customer about how much crystals can enhance their lives. 

One thing that really impressed me about Nicole is that she really knows her stuff. She's done a lot of research into crystals and the chakra's, and it shows in her passion when she talks about it! 

Guild Crazy

Now, I am not always what most people would call sane. Yesterday I think I proved that. *guilty grin* What else was I supposed to do the market I was supposed to be selling in was cancelled, and I had just upgraded to a paid artfire acocunt...

I've been on artfire for a couple of weeks now. Originally I signed up as a free member. I figured I'd start loading my shop and getting comfortable before I went paid. Unfortunately I have so much inventory to put on-line that I quickly ran through my free listings! So this weekend I bit the bullet and signed up for a paid account. Now I'm having way to much fun because there's so much I can explore! 

I knew one of the first things I wanted to do when I went to a full account was to sign up for the Artfire version of my dear Etsy Bloggers - Blog Fire. So I went searching through the guilds to find it. Um, yeah, I might have gotten carried away. >_> I made myself stop when I found the Blogfire group, but they damage had already been done! In addition to my 3 etsy teams I'm now in 4 Artfire Guilds! But seriously, they all look like they are worth it. So here are my new Guilds:

Honestly - as a BHR host - how could I NOT be a Stalker?

Pacific Northwest Artfire - because I live in a GREAT part of the country!

Blog Fire - because Blogging is what I do.

ArtFire Beadweavers' - because weaving is my passion!

I still have a lot to learn and need to get to know my new team mates - but I'm excited! If your one of my dear Etsy friends who's ALSO on Artfire, put your shop address on here so I can add your shop to my market. If your someone who'd like to be a new friend- all friends are welcome! Introduce your self and leave me your shop addy :) 

New or Relisted in my Shops as of 4/22!!!

Byhand.me

I promised in a previous post to tell you more about the site byhand.me - and that's what I'm going to do today!

Many of us have multiple web-sites, and it can be a lot of work to advertise all of them right? I know personally I have three shops in two on-line venues, two blogs, and I'm a radio host BHR. Oh yes, and I'm currently part of 3 teams on etsy. Think that's a lot? Hah! I mean, I feel like that's a lot, but some of my friends have a LOT more sites that they keep up with! Take my friend Amy of Mama's Little Monkeys. She does WAY more than I do!

So how do you manage all of that with out going crazy? Well time managment is obviously key, but an important part of that is managing your advertising time effectively. That's exactly what byhand.me was created to do!

I'm still exploring all the incredible features at byhand.me, but I love what I have learned to do so far! You can link ALL of your web-sites onto your profile page at byhand, then when you go to print business cards or otherwise advertise yourself, all you have to do is give them your byhand address! I'm getting ready to design new business cards and I'm really excited about being able to just put the ONE address on my card! http://roseworksjewelry.byhand.me/

The people over at byhand.me are really awesome too! Adam of Infinivision and Rebecca of SoapDeli have poured their heart and souls into the creation of this site. They don't do it for the money, they don't accept any money for this and have day jobs, nope, they do this just to help out their fellow artisans! The web-sites still pretty new, but it's exploding like crazy! Their putting up new features as fast as they can and, most importantly, LISTENING to the needs of their users! What more could you ask for?

One of my favorite features to play with so far is the Spotlight feature. Do you like the etsy treasuries? This is way better! You can take your favorite items off of number of different sites and display them all together. No waiting for an opening, and it doesn't get deleated unless YOU decide to deleate it! I also love that you can easily post it to your blog, like I did with this spotlight on some of my new teammates over at the Etsy Bead Weavers (Search EBW).



There are lots of other fantastic features over on byhand.me, but like I said, I'm still exploring! So why don't you head over and explore some for yourself?

Thursday Spotlight on DeDe Sorensen

Last night was a great show with DeDe Sorenson. DeDe creates fine art in a variety of styles. You can find her work at: http://dedesorensen.googlepages.com/ andhttp://dedesorensen.byhand.me When you check out her google pages you'll see that she sells on a variety of sites!

In fact, one of the things we talked about last night was how she manages all of the different sites she has her stuff on. I was quite impressed because this is something I struggle with! She told us that every morning she checks her blogs and social sites. Then, she has a schedule for when she updates her selling sites. A different place every day, that way there's always new things going up, but she's not overwhelmed on any particular day.

As well as her incredible art work, DeDe loves to write. She has several different blogs, but her main one is: http://paintnpen.blogspot.com/ She also writes for The Art Network, doing two columns monthly, and the next magazine will be coming out at the end of May.  The Art Network is an international magazine, and I think you'll find some wonderful advice in her columns!

Speaking  of DeDe's great advice, she's going to be starting up her own show on BHR! I'm really excited about it! It is going to be called Outside the Frame and will begin on the 29th at 1PM EST. Many artists struggle with the business side of things, because it's never really taught in art schools. It can be a vicious world out there! So DeDe is going to share her years of experience with us. The first week she'll be talking about Gallery shows. I'm really excited to learn more about them! I definitely have plenty to learn.