Facebook Special Deals

I started a new Facebook business page.

Become a fan and you will receive posts on new work, specials, and sales just for fans.

First fan only special starts next week, so sign up today!

Thursday's Thoughts

"The living self has one purpose only: to come into it's own fullness of being, as a tree comes into full blossom, or a bird into spring beauty."

D. H. Lawrence

Beading Fun

I love to teach jewelry making and I use to do it all the time when I owned an art school a few years back.

I miss teaching, so when I get the opportunity to do workshops I jump at the chance. Last night was the first workshop I have had this year and it sure was fun.

Here are some photo's of everyone having fun making jewelry.

Business Tip Tuesday - Newsletters

Do you send a newsletter?

I have been thinking about doing a newsletter, and in my research I found this list of interesting ideas for newsletter content. Sometimes the hardest part of doing a newsletter is coming up with ideas.

Newsletter ideas:

-Talk about your work

-An event you participated in or helped with

-Donations you have made

-Do an interview

-Review a book, a art collection, or show

-New material you are using

-How to care for your art

-Calendar of upcoming events

-Awards you have received

-Share great websites, blogs, helpful and fun links

Even if you don't do a newsletter these are ideas that would work just a well as a blog post on your blog. Need more blog ideas check out this post - Blog Ideas.

Do you have any other ideas for good newsletter content?

I would love to get your feedback! Share your experience's with putting out a newsletter.

Creativity Boost

Want to jump start your creativity?

Explore something new every day for a week.

• Try cooking a new recipe you have never cooked before
• Read a book in a different genre then you normally do
• Drive a new route to a common destination
• Listen to a new style music

It does not matter what you do differently, you just want to stretch yourself to think and act differently. It will open you up to new possibilities, get your creative juices flowing, and you may find you like theses new options.

What are some other ideas of something you could do differently?

Environmentally-Friendly Shopping

I recently joined a site for handcrafted items that are environmentally-friendly called Cosa Verde.

The sites goal is to make it easy to find green goods, while valuing products, how they are made, as well as style, uniqueness, and the changes that will happen in the way we think about consuming.

They showcase handcrafted items in categories such as clothing, accessories, home goods, beauty products, kid & baby goods, food, books & paper, as well as supplies. You can also do searches for organic, reusable, repurposed, recyclable, conflict-free, cruelty free, and green sources.

Cosa Verde is a unique site with items that are Eco-conscious.

Do you create handcrafted items that are environmentally-friendly and want to be part of a market that is Eco-conscious, and will bring traffic to your site, then this is the place for you.

Check out out there how to sale pages, and click here to sign up.

Flowers for Mom

Every Mom loves flowers!

Check out these Etsy shops for unique ways to give Mom flowers this year.

Mom's don't forget sometimes you need to buy flowers for yourself.

Little-boxes and Photographs by Littleputboxes

Whimsical Flower Dish by maryjudy

Small Journal Book - Imagine by wildmustangs

Flower Washer Ring by additionsstyle

Organic Cotton Flower Pillow by curleycreations

Blue Trumpet Flower Stained Glass Suncatcher by DianasStainedGlass

One Inch Magnet Set Funky floral pattern by misschief

Field of Poppies Vinyl Wall Decals Stickers Art Graphics by singlestonestudios

Buy your Mother something special this year, buy handmade!

Happy Earth Day

Celebrate our earths beauty!

"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open."

Jawaharla Nehur

Happy Earth Day!

Business Tip Tuesday - Your Elevator Pitch

You only have 10 seconds upon meeting someone to capture their attention. Studies have shown that you only have 9 seconds to keep someones attention before their mind starts to wandering.

When someone asks you what do you do - do you always know what you are going to say? That's why we all need an elevator pitch.

Your pitch should be descriptive enough to want the listener to engage in a conversation about your work and compel them to want to see what you do.

Your pitch should include:

○Your name (if you have not already said it)

○The type of art you create

○Descriptive language that helps the listener imagine what your work looks like

It does not have to be long, remember you only have 10 seconds, just make it enticing enough so the listener wants more. Once you have your pitch written down, and I suggest you write it down until it is just the way you want it, start practicing it over and over until it rolls off your tongue easily.

Every person you meet is a possible customer, so be prepared to always put your best foot forward and promote, promote, promote.

Copper Washers

This year I decided I was going to actively participate in the groups and organizations I am a member of. I have joined different committee's in a couple of my groups, and this past weekend I volunteered to help out at an event hosted by the Chicago Metal Arts Guild.

One of the benefits of being part of different groups is meeting new people, networking, and talking about ways to make our businesses successful. In my many discussions with other metal artists, I talked to someone who worked in copper. I have been wanting to add copper washers to my work for sometime, I just did not know where I could find some new and recycled ones. Lucky me she knew of a source for copper washers, and it turned out to be close to my house.

What a great find! I am so excited, I started working with them over the weekend and everyday this week I will be posting a variety of pieces with copper incorporated into the design in my Etsy shop and on 1000 Markets.

Lots of fun new stuff, just in time for Mother's Day.

Funky Finds Feature

I am very excited to be featured on Funky Finds.

Check it out and as a Funky Finds reader you will get FREE SHIPPING all week (4/19 - 4/24).

Find the feature here

Also, there is a giveaway for a free necklace, check out the site for details.

Join Flickr Groups

I love Flickr.

I joined a pool called V&A -find, make, wear, which happens to be Flickr group set up by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Well a couple of weeks ago the museum contacted me about adding the two necklaces in this post to a permanent page on their website. When they choose the pieces there were 718 entries and only 28 spots on the page, I was thrilled to have been chosen. The page went live this week and you can check out all the cool items that were chosen.

Victoria and Albert Museum

Find, Make, Wear

I am excited to be part of this project, and I will keep you posted about future projects.


You never know what can happen on Flickr.

More Time Management Info

Earlier this week I did a post about time management. You can read it here.

As I was reading my online newsletters and came across Carve out Time for Online Networking by Alyson B. Stanfield of ArtBizCoach.com, which has some good tips for making time for your online networking. This is a section of the newsletter, you can read the entire newsletter at Art Biz Coach.com.

Carve out Time for Online Networking
In order to avoid being overwhelmed by all of the social media opportunities available, you might be best served by carving out time for them, This isn't something you do in a block of time one day a week. Instead, you need to do a little bit every day. I suggest starting with 15 - 30 minutes a day for logging in to sites like Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. That's enough to create and maintain a presence.

You could spend longer on these sites, but I advise you to monitor your time. It's easy to get caught up in other people's tweets, questions, and photos. Whenever you catch yourself doing this, stop and remember that you only have 15 - 30 minutes. Ask yourself: Do I really need to spend time on this right now? Is it the best use of my time? This awareness will pull you back to reality and what is most important for your art business.

Tara Reed of Art Licensing Info has a Twitter philosophy to reduce your stress about this fast-paced site. She calls it the "Zen of Twitter".

Don't worry about what you might have missed when you weren't looking,

just assume that the tweets you are meant to see are the ones on the screen

when you are inspired to look.

It's perfect, and it might easily be applied to Facebook and Linkedin. Look only at what's on the screen. There's no need to dig for older posts.

In carving out time in your schedule for online networking, select a time of day that is best for you and your working rhythms. For instance, if your best creative time is 9 am to noon, don't spend your time on the computer during those hours--unless you use the computer to make your art! One last piece of sage advice is to use a timer. Set your timer to the minutes you have allotted and spend no more time than that. It's amazing what you can accomplish under the pressure of an anticipated buzzer.

Copyright 2009 Alyson B. Stanfield. Alyson takes the mystery out of marketing your art and making more money as an artist. Visit http://www.artbizcoach.com to get articles just like this one delivered to your inbox.

Thursday's Thoughts

"Life is change. Growth is optional. Choose wisely."

Pretty in Pink

Found out these earring are in a very pretty treasury today. Click here to see the rest of this beautiful treasury.

Business Tip Tuesday - Time Management

Now that I have started my online business, it is harder and harder to find time to create. I spend a lot of time updating my shops, writing blog posts, and other social networking ventures. I recently found these tips to help me get the time I need in my studio.


Determine your peak productivity time based on your energy cycle and habits. Schedule the things that need to get done during your peak energy cycle and then add everything else. I am a morning person, so I do as much as I can on my computer and in my studio before 3:00 pm and pack up orders, take photo's, and respond to e-mails after that. I know my Mom is a night person and does most of her work after 10 pm.

What time of the day do you have the most energy?

Know in advance what you want to accomplish. Break down what needs to get done into manageable steps so at the end of your work session you can see results. I usually write a list before I go to bed, so I know what I want to get done the next day. It helps keep me on track, so my day does not get away from me, which is easy when you work on the computer which has lots of distractions.

Does a to-do list help you?

Prepare your workspace for the next day. When you are done for the day it may be easy to just leave things all over, but you will accomplish more if you start your day with a prepared work area. This is the hardest for me, because I like to create in a little bit of chaos, but I do put away papers and pull out projects in my office area, so I am ready to go the next day.

How do you prepare your workspace?

These are some simple ideas to help organize your day. There are many resources online about time management try google.com and hundreds of book on the subject, check out amazon.com for more information.

I hope you find the time you need to be most productive during the day.

Creativity Boost

Want to jump start your creativity?

Take a break.

Sometimes when you spend a lot of time working on a project or a new ideas, and you don't like anything you create, that's when its time to walk away and take a break. Have you ever noticed that some of your best ideas come when you are out shopping, or in the shower, or even at an event? Well that's because when we are not concentrating on a project our mind is relaxed and can see those blocked ideas freely.

When I need a break I go to the library or the bookstore. I read magazines and look at books of art in all different mediums sketching ideas as they come to me. Usually come home with the idea I need to finish my project and several more to start future projects.

Figure out the best place to let your mind relax. It might be cooking, playing in the park, sitting by a lake, or going to a museum, whatever it is take the time to recharge your minds creative bank and let your creativity start flowing.

Want to read more ideas to boost your creativity check out last weeks post Step out of your Comfort Zone.

1000 Market - Things I love

I thought this year I would plan ahead and start looking for Mothers Day gifts early. I found some wonderful items on 1000 Markets today, and I thought I would share three items I love.

All the cards in this shop are eclectic and a little different from your usual Mothers Day cards.

Thanks: A greeting card by Traceyj

This candle holder is like getting an original painting with a candle.

Wish Candle Holder by stypecreative

The Paintings in this shop draw you in that you are going to want one in every room of your house.

Fruitful Times by Genie

There are wonderful items on 1000 Markets, stop by and find a unique Mothers Day gift for your mom.

One More Day

Tomorrow is the last day to get FREE SHIPPING off all the men's items in my Etsy shop. Guys week is coming to an end, so stop by and see all the new items that were added this past week !


Here are a couple of new pieces I will be adding next week.










Lots of new items to come as we get ready for Mother's Day.

Finally on Facebook

I have been contemplating it for some time now and I finally created a Facebook page for Additions Style.


Stop by, take a look, become a fan, and if you are one of the first 25 fans you can get free shipping on your next order.


My Facebook page

Thurdsay's Thoughts

"If men liked shopping, they'd call it research."

Cynthia Nelms

Men and Shopping

Do you like to shop?

Most women enjoy the process of shopping. The biggest thrill for women is the hunt, and for some they will do whatever it takes to find just the right item. Most men prefer to get in the store, quickly find what they need, and leave, but things are changing.

Oddly enough in this economy, men are paying more attention to their appearance. Men need to look the part to keep their jobs, get in line for a promotion, or to find a new job. Men are becoming more fashionable and they want something different. They are looking at handcrafted item more now then ever before.

Men like to shop online. It's convenient and a time saver. They can do their hunt on their time and buy when they are ready. Men don't care much about policy's or customer feedback, they want detailed information about the product they are purchasing and to know what it's going to do for them.

A study commissioned by GQ Magazine found that 84% of men said they purchase their own clothes and accessories, compared to 65% back in 2002. Retailers surveyed said that 52% of their male customers were stopping into their shops at least once a month. Now is the time to start marketing to men. Letting them know that shopping handmade is the where they can find those unique looks they are looking for to stay on top.

Do you market to men?

Business Tip Tuesday - Business Cards

This past weekend my husband and I went out for the evening. This is not something we have a chance to do that often, so I wanted to dress up for a change.

Well I decided to change purses, which is something I rarely do, and of course I forgot business cards. While we were out 3 people asked me for cards and I did not have any, so my husband was telling me how he started putting extra cards in the pockets of his coats, his briefcase, and his travel luggage, because he was forgetting them when he traveled.

I thought what a great idea!

If you put a few business cards in your extra purses, and the pockets of your coats you will never be without your cards, and the more cards you pass out the better your business will be.

If nothing else, it will sure make it easier to remember to pass them out.

Accessory Style - For the Guys

Men like to look good, even if they don't say it. Check out these cool items from Etsy that are just for men.

Dirty White and Wire Mesh with Nail Buckle by bykali

Floopy Booky by Contexto

Minus Messenger Bag by minus


Cappello da Ciclismo by galstudio

Olive Love Watch Strap by RADCOW

Small Green & Checkered Leather Wallet by CitisensofElysium

Washer and Leather Money Clip (coming soon) Additionsstyle

The Commuter Bag by sketchbook