Sale Time!

It's BACK-TO-SCHOOL time!

I love this time of year, its like getting ready to start something new. This year in honor of Back-to-School I am having a sale in my Etsy shop.

From Today until August 31 I will be offering FREE SHIPPING worldwide, and selected items at 15% Off!

Shop today for the best selection, and get ready for the start of a new (Back-to-school) year in style.

Thursday's Thoughts

"You cannot govern the creative impulse; all you can do is to eliminate obstacles and smooth the way for it."

Kimon Nicolaides

My Favorite Things

I was surfing Etsy today and as usual I found some wonderful artwork by many talented artists.
Here are some of my Favorites.




Don't forget to take my poll on the sidebar!

Business Tip Tuesday - Try Something New

Last week I was on the road for a couple of days and I decided, last minute, to do a showing of my jewelry. I have never done an impromptu showing like that before, but I needed to raise some money and and I thought why not.

You can read about how it all came about in the post Last Minute Show and how it all turned out in this post Doing Business on the Road. It turned out better then I planned, and I was very happy that I gave it a try.

It did get me thinking that I don't do enough out of the box thinking and trying new things. So I am going to commit to trying something new every month. I am going to do dome brainstorming to come up with some unique ideas.

Lets all brainstorm together and come up with some new ideas for getting the word out about our business, doing a show, or making our shops better. Leave a comment, share an idea, and then stop back and see if you can find a new idea you can use.

Sometimes the simplest ideas are best, and the more we share the more ideas we have to build on, helping us all step out of the box and try something new.

New Blog Poll

Thanks to everyone to participated in my poll a week ago!

The results were split between reading your favorite blog everyday and once a week.

I have a new poll on the sidebar, and again it is for one week only.

Do you click on the links in blog posts?

Please share your opinion.

Plus if you have anything else you want to add about the last poll about how often to check out blogs and I love to hear that too.

Doing Business on the Road

I don't do a lot of shows and selling online has been really slow this summer, so I decided to do something I have never done before an impromptu show. Check out Saturday's post Last Minute Show and read all about how I pulled it all together.

It was a success. We only had a few people show up, but they came and spent. There were no displays or anything fancy, and it took about 10 minutes to set everything up. I had bags and boxes of items so it was easy for everyone to dig through to find some items they wanted. Everyone enjoyed the process of just relaxing, talking, and checking out all my pieces.

I also did a drive by, one of our friends could not make it on Sunday so I packed up my truck and sold out of the back of my truck in her parking lot. It seemed strange to do this but I sold a few items and no one seemed to mind hanging out in the parking lot.

This was a unique showing for me. I prefer things to be set up neat,with displays, so it is easy for everything to be seen, but it worked. I made the goal I set for myself and a little extra.

I think I might have to try that again next time I go visit my parents.

What is the most interesting show setup you have ever done?

Thursday's Thoughts

"Whatever you hold in your mind will tend to occur in your life. If you continue to believe as you have always believed, you will continue to act as you have always acted. If you continue to act as you have always acted, you will continue to get what you have always gotten. If you want different results in your life or your work, all you have to do is change your mind"

Unknown

Business Tip Tuesday - Change

Change is difficult

It causes fear of the unknown or fear of failure

It disrupts the routine

It can cause you to feel uncomfortable and unbalanced

But it can also prevent success

Change is important to fulfilling your goals and desires. You need to really look at what is not working and start by determining what small changes you can do to make it work. By changing a little at a time you avoid the discomfort that making any major change can cause.

Review your business, you shop, your plan and see what needs to be changed, make a plan to start slow, change only one thing at a time. It will be easier to face your feelings about those changes and you will readily accept it and even welcome it, feeling less stressed and positive about your future goals.

Change is good!

What has been holding you back because you know it will be difficult to change? Are your ready for change?

Creativity Boost - Time for Art

Do you need a creativity boost?

Take time for art.

In the summer it can be difficult to find all the time you need to create. There are outside activities, vacations, errands to run, places to go, you know how it is, it's summer.

Try scheduling your art time is short uninterrupted sessions. Even if you only can find 15 minutes (a half hour is best) use that time just for yourself and create what makes you feel happy. Make sure you slot out time everyday so you will see progress in the projects you work on. You will be surprised when you work with time constraints your ideas come to you quickly and you are more energized to create.

Remember to stay on schedule, and jot down all new ideas that come to you for future inspiration. Store them in your idea box (6/1 creativity boost post), so you always have access to them. You may find the working with time limits will boost your creativity.

How do you find time to create during the summer?

Last Minute Show

I am off to Minneapolis, MN today to see my family and pick up my teenage daughter and her friend who have been hanging out with Grandma, Grandpa, and Auntie for the last week.

In the past I did a home show at my sisters in Minneapolis every year when I first started making Jewelry, and I have a following there. Well in the last 5 years or so I have only been there twice. So when I dropped off my daughter my sister and I decided to do a quick impromptu showing of all my both my Additions Collection and my V.Design Sterling Silver Collection.

We are only going to do it for three hours and no displays, just digging through boxes and hanging out with friends.

What a great response. I have several people who have already confirmed they are coming and most of the people we talked to were very excited about the idea.

So I packed up one box and I am off to do a quick show. I am looking forward to a great day. Tell you all about it tomorrow.

Thursday's Thoughts

"When you expect the best, you release a magnetic force in the mind which by a law of attraction tends to bring the best to you."

Norman Vincent Peale

Blog Reading

I love to read blogs. I have blogs I read everyday, some I read every week, and some I read only when I am in the mood. You can check out this post for some of my favorite business blogs and this post for blogs I love.

I read blogs to learn something, to be inspired, and sometimes just to read a good story. I think there is so much we can learn from each other and reading blogs is a great way to do that.

On the side bar I am taking a poll for one week (Tuesday 7/21). I want to know how often you read your favorite blog.

I would also love to here your feedback. How often you like to read blogs, do you read several or just a few that you really like, what is your purpose for reading blogs, any comments welcome. If you don't have time to comment please take the poll on the side bar.

Business Tip Tuesday - 3 Action Steps

This past weekend I read a blog post on Wickedly Chic called Marketing Morsel written by Judy Winslow. It covered a couple of ideas to help you get unstuck with your marketing.

The post talked about taking 3 action steps (marketing ideas) that will put your business on the road to success and concentrating on those ideas only. Instead of trying several different things try 3 and do them really well. Taking these action steps will be getting you ready for success, and inviting the laws of attractions to deliver you exactly what you want.

Then add 3 actions to your calendar each month and you might be amazed at your progress to reaching your goals.

Make sure to check out the complete Wickedly Chic post for more info.

Want more on creating action steps check out this Business Tip Tuesday post.

What are the 3 action you are going take to attract success to your business?

Do you need a creativity boost?

Take a walk.

Sometime when you have a lot going on it's hard for new ideas to flow, and for you to be open to creativity.

Why not try a walk. It could be a quick and brisk, slow and leisurely, or even on a treadmill, any type of walk will clear your head. Have you ever noticed when your head is clear you are more receptive to new ideas?

Let your creativity flow and take a walk.

Blog Feature

I was thrilled when Nancy of Nfall2rt * Design Studio blog asked if she could feature my work on her blog. She will be featuring some work along with some tips on taking photo's for your shop.

Stop by, check it out, and leave a comment letting me know what you thought.

A Good Read

I was reading Etsy Storque (Etsy's blog) today and I found a post I want to share.

How to Network Offline: Increase Online Sales in Five Easy Steps

Marketing offline is a necessary part of business and the tips in this post are easy to follow and to incorporate into you marketing schedule.

I am going to give them a try!

Thursday's Thouhgts

"To be human is to be creative. You don't have to go outside yourself to find creativity - you already have it. It lives in your heart and mind every moment of every day."

Sandra Magsamen

Accessory Style

According to Lucky Magazine the big trend for this summer is leather and metal accessories. There is a fantastic collection of unique pieces on Etsy, here are a few pieces I especially thought would make a great additions to your summer wardrobe.

Leather Flower Choker by emikokellerdesigns

Large Leather bead handmade bracelet Y302 by mofei

Crown Nut Necklace by additionsstyle

Silver 925 Bracelet with freshwater pearls by preciousjd

Chocolate Brown Charm Leather Bracelet with oblong Baguette Swarovski Clear Crystal by KesTdesigns

Spruce up you summer wardrobe with the additions of this fun leather and metal jewelry.

Business Tip Tuesday

It has been a crazy busy day today, driving around a teenager and running errands, but I still wanted to share with you something to help our businesses.

I was in the Etsy forum and The Watchman listed a blog post from Creative Pendent.

It is a list of 50 FREE sites to promote your site.

Lot's of good info so check it out.

If you have any other ideas please share them in the comments.

Family Time

It has been a great long weekend! My family came for a visit from Minnesota and we hung out, laughed a lot, and just had a great time being together.

I did not get on the computer all weekend, and I did not miss it. Usually if I don't get on at least once a day I feel like I missed something, but this weekend I just sat back and let thing happen without me. I did realize that when you are not online and don't do some type of marketing you don't get any visits to your sites, but I did not expect much to happen.

This week I am going to get back on track, I plan to do a blog post everyday, add several new items in my shop, and do more research of my new project ( a video and new blog format). I am excited about the new changes coming soon.

Did you work over the holiday weekend?

Two in one Day

One of my goals for this summer is sending out info for possible blog features. Today I found out that I am featured on two different blogs.

Wickedly Chic is featuring a pair of earrings I just added to my shop yesterday, you can see the feature at http://www.wickedlychic.com/category/Daily+Ditties/.

Dirty Pretty Things is featuring a necklace and you can see the post at http://ravenxxxx.blogspot.com/2009/07/what-were-lovingcall-for-submissions.html.

I am thrilled to be featured on both these sites. Stop by and check them out.

Thursday's Thoughts

"Every day remind yourself of your own ability, of your good mind and affirm that you can make something really good out of your life."

Norman Vincent Peale