Tuesdays Tips #15

Wow - I haven't posted a Tuesday's Tips all month! Sorry guys! Things have been soooo busy that I haven't really had the time and energy to put into doing one of these. Which is sad, because I both enjoy putting them together and I enjoy the response I get from them!

Do you love treasuries? Do you love finding your in one? Do you love putting them together and showing off the lovely items you found? Well...if your answer was yes to any of those...do you know about Craftopolis?

Craftopolis.com is a wonderful tool for Etsy sellers. As you can see from my little screen shot there are 5 different sections. In the first, the "Treasure Hunt," you can enter your shop name and it will automatically tell you if your in a treasury or a t-west! I LOVE this feature! I used to sit down once a day and go through the pages looking for those little stars that marked that you were featured. It took too much time though, and it could be disappointing when I went a long time with out being featured. This way I can check on my shops, and it only takes a few seconds!

The "Treasury Clock" is also a great feature. It gives you a count down for both the main treasury and t-west for approximately when they will be opening. It's been awhile since I've made a treasury (too busy and I keep forgetting) but my friends who make them regularly swear by this feature.

The "Gift Guide Search" functions just like the "Treasure Hunt," only this time you can find out if your in any gift guides! I must admit I rarely remember to check this feature. I've never been in a gift guide to my knowledge and for some reason I just kinda assume I won't be! I guess with that attitude I probably won't be right?

The next section is called "Shop Lovers" and it gives you a quick and easy way to find out if your shop has been hearted recently and who by. I tend not to check this feature very often, but then again, it's been a loooong time since I kept track of my shop hearts! Since Etsy considers contacting people who've hearted you as spam, I don't really see how it does me that much good to pay too much attention. Now if I could contact them without fear of reprisal from Etsy...it would be a great networking tool!

The final tab is "Advertising." I haven't done any advertising on Craftopolis yet, but the rates seem really reasonable and I might just give it a try at some point this holiday season because it is a high traffic site! If I do, I'll make sure to let you guys know how it goes.

Tuesday's Tips #14

If your anything like most crafters you probably have at least one work in progress (WIP) lying around. If your like me, and many others, we might be talking more like half a dozen to a dozen! They are just sitting there, taunting you, so now what?

WIP's aren't a bad thing in and of themselves. They happen for very legitimate reasons. Maybe you needed one more component to finish the piece, and your waiting for it to come in the mail, or a chance to go to the store. Or you got a custom order, so you had to put the piece aside to complete that. Don't get me wrong, custom orders help keep the money rolling in, but they get in the way of doing what you want some times don't they? Of course there are also the pieces that end up in the WIP pile because you are fed up with the piece, or simply not in the mood to do the last little "fiddly work" as one of my team mates put it.

Ok, so we all have those WIP's, what's next?

I'd challenge you to dip into that pile of WIP's once in awhile. Especially if your craft is also a business. If it's just for fun, it's not big deal, but if you sell your work every WIP represents a piece that could potentially make you money, and it can't reach that potential until you finish it!

I personally find it hard to get around to working on the WIP's. I have so many NEW ideas that it's hard to go back and finish up things that got put aside, not matter how legitimate the reason for putting it aside was. My first step in combating that is that I try not to put things in the WIP box in the first place. Unless I'm being faced with a deadline, I try really hard not to start a new piece until I've finished the old one. Sometimes I can't resist, so I make myself alternate between the two, but I try really hard not to abandon anything until its done!

So, next time you wrap up a project, before you start a new one, look in your WIP pile. Try to pull one thing out and finish it before you go onto your next project. You don't have to finish the whole pile, but get one thing done before you go on to your new idea! If you try and do this each time you finish a project, eventually you won't have a WIP pile :)

Well...at least until you get interrupted again :P I think it's just human nature for us to accumulate those WIP's from time to time. Or at least the artsy/crafty nature!

Tuesday's Tips #11

The last month or so I've been talking a lot about Inspiration and Challenging Yourself. This week I want to take a little bit of an opposite approach. That's right, I'm telling you to take a day off!

A day off???

Yup.

Not necessarily today, but when you need one, taking a day off can be very important!

Coming from me that may surprise you. I know that some of you think I'm Miss Super Productive (and maybe I am, but that's an argument for a different day) and I'll admit that taking a day off is HARD for me! But, I have learned that it's necessary sometimes.

When should you take a day off? Well, are you feeling burned out? Have you run out of ideas? Do you feel like you need a break? Well then give yourself a break!

We all need breaks sometimes. We all need to unwind and decompress. We all need to get some distance from our work.

So take some time to just relax. Put down your paint brush/knitting needles/whatever, step away from the computer, and do something else! Go for a jog, read a book, cook a fancy dinner, kiss your significant other. Recharge your creative energies :) Then...go back to work! :P

Tuesday's Tips #13

"Set Me Free" Free Form Peyote Bracelet

I used my "Set Me Free" bracelet to start this post because it totally fits the topic! This is my last post on inspiration (I think) (for now) and I wanted to talk about ways to get inspiration from challenges. Challenges that are maybe less overwhelming then the 100 in 100 that we talked about before, but still give you that external deadline that you wouldn't have from just personally challenging yourself.

The only problem is - there are so many out different opportunities out there! One of the easiest to hunt down are the one's done by teams, guilds, and what not. Do you have a specialty in your art work? Many of the teams that are focused on a specialty (jewelry, fiber arts, paper craft, etc...) will run periodic contests. It's a great way to find inspiration AND a dead-line for when it has to be done! I've seen other types of teams do themes as well, so keep your eyes peeled and do your research!

There are a lot of other challenges and contests out there. Check out the magazines and specialty sites for your type of art work. They often have contests that you can enter that will inspire you, give you a chance for more recognition, and sometimes there are even monetary rewards if you win!

You can also try doing a google search :)

Swaps are another fun way to challenge yourself. Unfortunately, I've never done one, so I don't really have an info for you there, but I've heard good things!

Lastly I want to share a blog with you that I absolutely LOVE and that provides me with lots of inspiration! Over at Thursdays Sweet Treats Natasha posts up weekly themes, and any one who wants to can submit their project! There's no prizes, but friendships are made, your work is seen, inspiration is provided, and it's a LOT of fun :) Not to mention Natasha does some incredible posts through out the week :)

My "Set me Free" bracelet was originally inspired by a butterfly theme on Thursdays Sweet Treats. It is one of the most challenging pieces I've ever done, and I don't think I would have done it if I hadn't been "pushed" by the challenge.

So what are you waiting for? Go out there and find yourself some inspiration!

Tuesday's Tips #12

Robin's Egg Blue Flower Earrings

Last week I interviewed Arlene of Spirit Essence Art and she told us about the 100 in 100 challenge that she's participating in. It was a great interview, and if you missed make sure you go back and read it! I realize that some thing like that may be a bit overwhelming for many of us though, so this week I want to talk a little about some smaller challenge options :) Well, one in specific, I'll have more for you next week!

The Personal Challenge

That's right, this challenge is for you, from you. Why? Because YOU know yourself best. You know where you want to grow, you know what you want to learn, you know what you struggle with, and most importantly, you know best what you can reasonably accomplish! Let me share a story with you...

Just over a year ago I was looking at my shop and my jewelry and evaluating where I was at. It was the middle of the Christmas season and I knew that sales were likely to dry up after the new year. Which in turn meant I wouldn't be able to go shopping for new supplies as often! At that point in time I was making a few bead woven items here and there, but the majority of what was going on-line was my other forms of jewelry. The main reason for that was that I was still SUPER slow at bead weaving.

I decided that I needed to focus more on my bead weaving. Not only does it cost less to purchase the supplies since I use mainly seed beads; it also takes up lots of my time! It's also something I really wanted tog get better at.

So I challenged myself. I wanted to get at least one bead woven item done a week. At first that was HARD to do! Then I noticed, as I got more consistent in the time spent, I was getting faster. It also became more of a part of my routine. If I don't spend time with a needle and thread in my hands every day I feel a little lost!

Since then I've come a long way. It's not uncommon for me to produce 2 or 3 bead woven items in a week, especially if I'm not doing much else that week, and I've learned a lot of new styles! I no longer stick to a strict challenge, because I don't need to. It's now just a part of my life.

So what should you do when setting up a personal challenge/goal for yourself? Here's some things to think about as you get started:

1. What are you dissatisfied with in your art work?

2. What can you realistically do to change that?

3. What challenges are you likely to face in trying to accomplish this goal?

Now, having thought that through, set yourself a SMALL goal. You don't have to shoot for the stars! You can, I won't stop you, but remember it's much easier to start small and then add on. So maybe you want to do a painting every day like Arlene is. You can also start out by saying, "I'd like to do a painting every day, and that would be awesome if I achieve that, but lets start by saying I have to finish 3 a week, and go from there." Starting small and building on it is much easier :)

Not the type that stays motivated on your own well? Don't worry - I have more ideas for challenging yourself! Stick around and we'll talk about it next week.

Tuesday's Tips #11 (on Wednesday!)

Move in Grace

I know, I know, it's Wednesday, but this week's Tuesday's Tips was too good for me to miss just because I was too sick to post it yesterday! I'm operating off the theory that you'll all forgive me.

Continuing in the topic of inspiration I wanted to talk a little bit about how participating in challenges can be inspiring. I have more I want to say on the topic, but to start us off I've interviewed a friend of mine who's participating in challenge that I really admire! So come meet artist Arlene of Spirit Essence Art :)

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the 100 in 100 challenge you've been doing?

Sure, be glad to! It all started by my needing some extra incentive and inspiration to start creating more, especially after I lost my job and was home with time to create. I happened upon a site called www.CreativeEveryDay.com and loved the idea behind it, which was a challenge to do something creative every day. The site owner, Leah, provided a place for all participants to “check in” on a weekly basis and post about what we have done for the week, and to read other artists’ comments and look at their blog posts.

This is how I found the 100 in 100 Challenge because Rowena of www.warriorgirl.blogspot.com is one of the Creative Every Day participants. I saw that she was just starting her own challenge to provide herself extra incentive to continue to create.

The idea is to create 100 paintings, drawings, art journal entries, or whatever creative activity you want to do more of – in 100 days! Part of me didn’t want to commit to yet another activity, and I almost dismissed it. However, I think deep down inside of myself, that “higher” part of me kept pushing me to join in. It was almost an involuntary act, putting my name and blog address down! I laugh now to think of it! I am so glad I did, though, and that I have blogged about it and announced it so that it will be so uncomfortable NOT to complete that it pushes me to keep up with it.

2. What's been the hardest part?

For me, the hardest part has been (and still is sometimes), sitting down to do a painting every day even if I really don’t feel like doing it. Even more than that, deciding WHAT to paint every day! This has always been my challenge. Even when I have lots of ideas, trying to decide where to start is difficult for me. Either there are too many choices, or my mind goes blank and I simply do not come up with a single idea that turns me on at that moment. Keeping it interesting and varied has to be the key for me, so that I don’t get bored, which I can experience fairly easily if I find myself doing the same things over and over.

3. How have you seen yourself grow as an artist through doing this?

It’s been kind of amazing, actually. I have done things I would have never thought possible: paint portraits (including self portraits!), draw figures, create miniature paintings (ACEO’s), paint animals, paint spontaneously and abstractly, having no idea of what I would end up with when I first put paintbrush to paper.

I have also seen a growing ability to push through blocks much more readily, and to actually dare to paint more without fear of creating something really ugly or not “good enough”. I know that sounds funny, but that has stopped me on more than one occasion from continuing on a painting that halfway through looks really awful to me, and giving myself permission to finish it anyway.

The fact that I have committed to creating a painting every day, pushes me to do SOMETHING. I realize that I don’t have to show anyone what I have done, if I choose not to. Just the act of painting so frequently has helped me expand my skills and self confidence in what I am able to do. Practice truly makes “perfect”, or certainly BETTER.

4. What do you do on the days where you have NO IDEA what to do?

Often what works for me is to do a technique where I just start on a page with a scribble in pencil or permanent ink pen, and then fill in shapes with color, looking to see what emerges. Most of the time this works well and I like the results a lot, though sometimes the product is not so much a “piece of art” but a freeing of my stuck energy, which then leads to being able to create something that flows better.

Other times I have done a project that uses different media, like pen and ink or collage or some mixed media art journal pages. One of my favorite paintings so far started out with a thick coating of gesso which was then “smooshed” around with a piece of plastic wrap to create some interesting shapes and textures. Once dry, the texture that appeared suggested some interesting fantasy shapes and “creatures”.

I have also learned that occasionally I need to just take a break and give myself some leeway. Making a conscious choice to take a day off can be the best, most refreshing thing I can do for myself. Though my “work” is a labor of love, everyone needs some time off to do something for themselves on a regular basis. Usually I have found that whenever I have done this, I am excited to get back to my studio to create some more, and have lots and lots of ideas.

5. Anything else you want to share?

By doing some of these techniques to unblock myself, I have more and more given myself permission to just play in the studio rather than feeling like I have to PRODUCE something that will be a great work of art or that is worth something in a marketing sense. Being able to create just for the sheer joy of creating and expressing myself, frees me tremendously.

One other thing I have noticed very often is that when I get part of the way into a painting or project, I often think it is just awful and that it’s just not “working.” When this happens I find that if I persist, or walk away from it for a while and return to complete it later on, I am very often thrilled with the result. Additionally, I usually find that when I put a completed painting away for 24 hours or more, and revisit it, I have a totally different perspective on it. In fact it often looks better than I remembered it! My take on this is that sometimes we, as artists, can get too close to our projects while they are in progress. A little distance and perspective on it can make a world of difference.

Thank you Arlene for sharing with us about your creative journey through this challenge!

To all my readers - Think 100 in 100 is too big of a challenge right now? That's ok! I'll be talking about some other ideas and opportunities for challenges in next weeks post :)

Tuesday's Tips #10

Set Me Free

Last week on Tuesday's Tips #9 I talked about some different places to find inspiration from other artists in your field. I got some great responses from you guys - so that's what I'm featuring this week! You!

Glorybe1024 said: Searching around Etsy is great inspiration. Often I will see a color combination or item that "speaks" to me. Usually, I will think that if I added this or changed that it would be really cool. I never want to imitate, I just try and make it my own in some way. (Glory is an artist in many mediums and in her shop, Lucky Lady Bug Designs, you'll find crocheted items, key fobs, jewelry, and more!)

Merily said: I tend to avoid looking too hard at things in my field because I don't like my style to be influenced, even if it was subconsciously by me having seen something in passing (same thing when I used to write- I refused to read LotR parodies when I was writing one years ago). I mean, I'll still sometimes look around just out of curiosity at other art to see all the pretties, but I try not to pay too close attention to it if it's something I do.

I do love all my Etsy teams and Artfire guilds, though! I definitely get inspiration from them (especially the ones that run challenges), and it's so helpful to be around people who share your interests. :) (Merily is crochet, clay, and jewelry artist with a passion for fantasy. You can find her work on artfire at MeriGreenLeaf.)

Splendid Little Stars said:

Bead and Button

Lapidary Journal bead and jewelry catalogs Somerset Studio books from the library for my dyed and painted clothing, inspiration comes from the world of nature around me

(Splendid Little Stars also works in a variety of different mediums. On her blog you'll see her stunning photography, at Sparkly Park you can find her jewelry, and at Splendid Little Stars you will find her fabric work!)

Silver Parrot said: Lately I've been taking pictures of "nature" (the beach, butterflies, insects, flowers, etc.) and using them for inspiration. Nature is not shy about mixing color and yet they always seem to "work." (Silver Parrot is a jewelry artist who's work definitely reflects that love of color!)

Julie Antinucci said: You asked, so my favorite magazines are The Quilter and American Patchwork And Quilting (a Better Homes and Garden Mag). Both of these have things each month that have modern fabric and modern patterns, none of that dark and depressing fabric that I don't like. (You can find a variety of fun fabric items in her shop Creative Mines).

MemoriesforLifeScrabooks said: You're so right. You can admire work of other in your field and take from them...but create something totally your own :) (You can find awesome scrapbooks in her shop - which is now on Artfire!

StoryBeader said: I love looking at the etsy bead weavers. Some of my favorite jewelry artists are in that team! {:-D (At Story Beader you'll find a variety of beautiful jewelry - each with it's own haiku!)

Patchfirstshop said: Always get inspirations from Wedding Magazines.. I love to see the wedding gowns and think about what design of jewelry to match those dresses. (And it certainly shows in the lovely jewelry you'll find at Patch First Shop!)

Stay tuned for next weeks tips - I have an interview lined up for you guys that I think you'll love!

Tuesday's Tips #9

Wind Dancer

We've been talking the last few weeks about inspiration. Today I want to look at one place you can find inspiration - other artists in your field.

Note of Caution: They say there is nothing new under the sun and the imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Both statements have truth to them, however, you need to be aware of copy write laws and how they affect your field of art. While being inspired and learning from other artists is fine, you don't want to steal their hard work!

Ok, on to cheerier thoughts!

I LOVE to look at the work of other jewelry artists. Often I just look and drool. After all, there are many forms of jewelry that I can never attempt. For instance, anything that involves a lot of fumes (like resin) is off limits because of my severe asthma. That doesn't mean I can't admire and be inspired by their work! Here's some places I go to look at other jewelry artists work - I think you'll find you can translate this to your particular field of art :)

Teams:

I'm on several teams and they all contain fellow jewelry artists. The one I gain the most inspiration from though is my Etsy Bead Weavers team because the team is very focused on that medium! The other teams are great - but their focus is different and so it doesn't provide as many challenges or as much inspiration for the art side of things. If your not on a team specific to your medium I'd highly encourage it!

Books:

I just got done going through the book "500 Beaded Objects: New Dimensions in Contemporary Beadwork" and I was utterly floored by the possibilities out there! Sometimes looking through the work of the masters can be humbling, but I found it both challenging and encouraging as I see how much I have left to learn! I also got some new ideas :)

Magazines:

I regularly read Bead and Button and even sometimes Jewelry Artist. Now this is an area you need to be careful. You can learn a LOT, but you don't want to recreate their patterns for sale without first getting the permission of the artist who created it. Sometimes they will be willing to let you, other times they won't. You can make the patterns for yourself (and you'll often learn a lot!) but don't ever sell them without permission.

There are many other places you can view artists work in your field, browsing the various selling venues for instance, but these are some of my favorites!

I'd love to hear from you guys. What are your favorite magazines, books, or teams in YOUR field? I'll compile a list from what you tell me and post it for next weeks Tips :D Let's help each other!

Tuesday's Tips #8

Custom Name or Word Album with Pockets

Sorry I missed last week's Tuesday's Tips guys! Life's just been insane! But I'm back on track...at least with this one post. *wink*

I want to continue talking about inspiration, but before I do any more of my own talking, I thought I'd share some of the responses I got to the last post about inspiriation. Now maybe I'm cheating to quote all of you - but I found the variety of responses intriquing! Don't worry, I promise I'll actually do some of my own writing next week.

Memories for life Scrapbooks said: "I've gotten lots of ideas from my customers. When they ask for custom albums...my mind gets to wandering as to how I can market a new kind of custom album. I'm making one with pockets right now...how cool is that :)" (and you can see it featured at the top of this post!)

Story Beader said: "you have blogs on your list, but also the internet at large (photographs, artists, nature, etc.)" (Great reminder - thanks!)

Beaded Tail said: "I get inspiration from many sources but it's often hard for me to figure out how to do what I want to do since my mind doesn't think creatively. I have an idea for beadwoven earrings but don't even know how to begin - do you give lessons? :D" (Why yes, I do :) Not sure how that would work over the internet though :P And I happen to think she's quite creative from looking at her shop!)

Mama's Little Monkeys said: "I find the items that are inspired by something are FAR more fun to make than just some THING. THe monkeys have personality and are formed as they go. I mean I see the sock print, but WHO they will become remains to be seen! :) I also name my flower pens based on friends who inspire me! (www.fleurdeink.com)

I also am inspired by the fabrics! Certain fabrics inspire certain projects..plusi just love fabric.. " (Believe me, this lady has more ideas than she knows what to do with most days!)

Nomadcreationsetc said: "Conversations are where we get most of our inspiration. Whether if it is from customers, each other, our kids, our dogs or from the check out lady at the store our inspiration is from a ton of conversations."

(I personally think that's an awesome way to find inspiration!)

Leather Made Nice said: "I guess I am one of those folks whom receives inspiration through dreams. I am artistic but unimaginative - go figure!" (I find inspiration through my dreams some times too.)

Unique Commodities said: "I get inspiration from a lot of different things... an outfit,a color I see, an animal, LOL lots of stuff" (Sounds a lot like me!)

Splendid Little Stars said: "I like to look at patterns, such as the play of light through leaves, or the pattern light makes on a wall or ceiling, or reflections of light through water. Perhaps the pattern is something like metal grill work. On my recent vacation I saw lots of these. I love looking at flowers and their amazing patterns." (And this lady has an amazing eye for detail - her photos are stunning! I tend to look at patterns too for some of my bead weaving.)

The Eclectic Element said: "I'm one who can find inspiration anywhere like you.

Especially different looking beads, random pieces of junk jewelry, etc. It's weird, I will look at it and all of a sudden see a totally different thing in my mind-It's like it creates itself in my mind before I realize what's happening!" (You'd be amazed at how much this artist and I have in common :P)

Tuesday's Tips #7

A Sock Monkey Named Huff

Today I want to talk about inspiration. Where do I find it? Where do you find it? What do you do when the well runs dry and you have NO IDEAS???

There is a lot that can be said about inspiration. In fact, I'm going to be spending the next couple of weeks of tips devoted to the topic. Well, more specifically challenges to you as an artist that might help you when need to find inspiration.

So where we find inspiration? Here's just a few ideas I had when I was thinking over the topic (in no particular order):

1. Books

2. Music

3. Art

4. Artists

5. Conversations

6. Nature

7. More Nature :P

8. Old Pieces we've created.

9. Children

10. Museums

11. Malls

13. Materials

14. Blogs

15. Dreams

I'm sure the list could go on and on! In fact - I'd like to hear you stories! Where do you find inspiration? Tell me something that's not on the list! I know I find ideas in the weirdest places sometimes. Like one time I was in class and I couldn't focus because the pattern on these girls shoes was calling out to be made into a bracelet...

The item I featured at the top of the post is a great example of finding inspiration. Amy, of Mama's Little Monkey's, started making sock monkeys for her shop a little while ago. Somewhere along the line (no idea where, but she just rocks, so that's that) she thought it would be fun to pattern some of them after her friends! The one at the top is the musician Chris Huff, who has some GREAT music :) Isn't that a cool idea?

And yes, I know, there aren't really any great "tips" you can pull out of this post, but I do hope it gets you thinking, and it gets the ground work laid for what I have planned in the next few weeks :)

Tuesday's Tips #6

One great way to improve your business is by reading great books! I'd like to share one with you that I read recently. I think it has a lot of potential for helping artisan's like you and me take our business to the next level.

"The Sassy Ladies' Toolkit for Start-up Businesses" is a great book written by Michelle Girasole, Wendy Hanson, and Miriam Perry. These ladies certainly are Sassy, and more importantly, they really do know what they are talking about. Are you ready to learn and have fun at the same time? Then this book is for you!

This book is set up to take you step-by-step through every thing you need to do and think about when starting your business. Already have your own business? That's OK! I already have my own business, but I found a lot of these ideas helpful, even the one's for just starting up! Sometimes it can be really good to go back to the beginning, to the basics, and take a fresh look at what your doing.

Each chapter contains useful tips, anecdotes, and some wrap up questions to think about. There is also a "Toolkit" at the end of each chapter which contains books, web-sites, and other resources for further research. I found the chapters to be easy to understand, but at the same time they managed to cover all the basics you would need to know. I really appreciate the tool kits at the end so that I can do more research if I want to!

To be honest, there were a lot of things that didn't apply to me at my current level of business. However, I still got a lot of ideas while reading those sections, and if I ever do manage to grow my business to anywhere near that level I plan on using this as a resource! In fact, next time things slow down in my life I plan on coming back to the book and looking through it for ideas for what I can do next in growing my business!

Interested in learning more or reading the book your self? Here's the Sassy Ladies' Website!

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? 

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! 

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 :)

Tuesday's Tips #2

Bloggy Bib

Can you guess what my tips are about today? That's right...blogging! Now there is a LOT that can be said on this subject, I could go on all day, but I'll be a good girl and keep a narrow focus. Just know that this means you'll probably see lots of other bloggy tips in future week's editions of Tuesday's Tips! 

Now the step one to using your blog to it's full advantage is....drum roll please....really, this is a doozy...you have to have a blog! If you've stumbled upon this post, you own an on-line shop, and you DON'T blog yet, let me recommend blogger as one of the best blogging services I've found. If you have any questions about getting it set up just let me know, and I'll be glad to help all I can!

Ok, so now you have a blog, what's the next step? The next step is to start building regular content! In simple terms, write stuff! Blogging experts say it's best to blog at least 3-5 days a week. You can blog every day like I usually do, but it's ok if you don't have that much to say (I talk a lot in real life too), but the key is being consistent. Don't blog 4 days in a row, skip a week, write one, skip 4 days, write 3... you get the idea. Find a routine that works for you and then stick to it as best as you can. This helps build your readers because they know what to expect. Most people won't continue to read your blog if you let it lie dead for long periods of time.

So what should you write about? Here's just a few ideas to get you started:

~ Write a little about your personal life.

~ Write about what's new in your shop.

~ Write about your creative process.

~ Write about your plans.

~ Write about another artist who's work you admire.

~ Post your favorite recipe.

~ READ other blogs - you'll get lots of ideas that way!

~ Do you have an area of expertise? Share it! 

~ Find things that make you passionate - and write about those.

Your blog can have as narrow of a focus or as broad of a focus as you want. Some people find the most success by keeping their blog very focused in on their art work and business. Other's would go insane trying to create that much content on that narrow a topic. Find what works for you, and don't worry about the naysayers!

Tuesdays Tips #1

I'm going to start a new weekly feature on my blog called Tuesdays Tips! Over the last half a year, as I've managed this blog, one thing I've noticed is that I've gotten the biggest response when I've posted advice or reviews for my fellow artisans. The one tutorial I've posted was really popular, as were the series's I did on Time Management and Promotion Techniques. I really enjoyed the feedback I got from these posts, but I was a little overwhelmed trying to fit these different series's into my schedule! I've decided the best solution is to do a once a week post (on Tuesday's!) dedicated to helping and encouraging my fellow artisans. In these posts I'll share tips, tutorials, and site reviews of places that I think you'll find helpful. I hope you enjoy them! 

Tuesdays Tips #1

Measuring Success and Setting Goals

One thing I've heard people say over and over is that it gets very depressing to look around you, see the people who've quit their day jobs and sold thousands of items on-line, and wonder why you haven't reached that level of success? While it's true that we can often look to these people and learn from their success, you should NOT be measuring your own success by them or anyone else! Measure your success by your ability to reach your own goals.

Be careful in setting your goals though, or you'll find your self just as frustrated as if you were comparing yourself to other artists. Here's a few tips for setting goals that can bring you success.

1. Start by sitting down and writing a list of all the things you want to achieve with your business and your art. Include the big fancy dreams, the small dreams, things you want to learn, things you want to make, anything you can think of! 

2. Break your list up into smaller lists. Put your big dreams on one list, craft projects on another, business goals on another, and so on.

3. Make SURE that not all your goals are sales related! 

4. Evaluate your goals in terms of what it will take to get them accomplished, and what is most important.

5. Create a plan for achieving those goals.

6. Start working on them!

7. After a certain period of time (a week, month, quarter) go back to your goals and re-evaluate. What goals we're unrealistic? What goals weren't reaching far enough? Where did you succeed? Where did you fail? WHY did you fail? That why is a really important question. Sometimes you don't reach your goals because of things completely outside of your control. That's OK. Don't let it get you down.

8. Reset your goals and plans. Either continuing with the current plans, or setting up new one's based on what you've learned.

Here's an important key: Do not measure your success by whether or not you achieved all your goals, but on the amount of progress that you made, and what you did within what was in your control.

On a personal note, I've had to learn the hard way the value of measuring your success by progress, and keeping in mind outside factors that affected your progress. I have severe health problems (as you know if you read this regularly) and that often prevented me in the past from even trying to set goals. In the last few months, since I've started setting these types of goals, not only have I achieved a lot, but I've learned a lot about what is and isn't attainable at this point in my life! 

Good luck :)