Journal Your Plan

It's the end of September and Tomorrow is the beginning of the holiday season for selling. Have you reviewed your goals or plans lately?

Pull out your plans and start creating your to-do-list for getting sales.

I have been working on my to-do-list for a week and now I have my plan for my holiday season. I set a goal of 100 sales between now and the end of the year. It's going to require a lot of work, but now that I have a plan I feel better about making my goal.

Have you prepared your plan for the holiday season? Today is the day. Take out your journal and create your to-do-list for your best selling season ever.

Do you have a plan?

DYI Friday - Create with Autumn Leaves

It's that time of the year again, the leaves are turning brilliant colors, and falling from the trees. With so many leaves to choose from they make the perfect canvas for creating fun items for the season. Have fun collecting and creating.

leaf painting

gold centerpiece

tie leaves around a votive candle with raffia 

wax dipped and hanging

Make a leaf painting

                           Source: joybx.com via Valerie on Pinterest

What fun projects have you created with leaves?

What are Your Favorite Marketing Materials for your Business?

Last week while participating at an art show, I took some time to walk around and check out all the booths of amazing artists.

I love to collect everyone's cards and marketing materials. People come up with some amazing ideas for marketing their business.

One booth used playing cards as price tags and another had a brochure from book pages, and lots of handmade business cards, like stamped rubber from bike tires.

I am in the process of designing business cards, thank you cards, and postcards for the holidays. It is always such a process, because I have so many ideas it's always hard to narrow it down.

I'm curious, what marketing materials do you use, or would like to use, for your business?

Here is a list of marketing material ideas to get you started:
Business card
Brochure
Tags
Thank you cards
Post cards
Labels
Notepads
Banners
Catalogs
Bookmarks
Magnets
Stickers
Sales Sheets

Be Inspired - Architecture

Words to Inspire

“Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength.”

Photos to Inspire

One of my favorite sources of inspiration is architecture. I love all the different angles and how those angles create a variety of different shapes. Today I have a collection of a few of my favorites from Pinterest.

Source: best-pinterest-photos.com via Valerie on Pinterest

Source: designspiration.net via Valerie on Pinterest

Source: superfuture.com via Cuauhtemoc on Pinterest

Source: daniel-libeskind.com via Nicole on Pinterest

Source: architizer.com via Marcel on Pinterest

Source: glo.msn.com via Valerie on Pinterest

Artist to Know - Lorenzo Duran

Lorenzo Duran

Lorenzo Duran a Spanish artist, and has been creating since he was a child. He started his career as a painter until one day he saw a caterpillar eating a leaf and thought to himself cut paper.

Instead of paper he uses leaves as his canvas. His process begins on paper coming up with his design, then he carefully washes each leaf, drys it, and cuts in his designs with a very sharp scalpel.

He believes that every natural object or living being is art in it's purest essence. The colors of a butterfly, mineral crystal, the majestic tree, etc., are a form of art that delights the senses and a good way for him to experience nature's creativity.

Motivation Monday

Let Yourself Dream

Dreams are like microvacation, whether in sleep or daydreaming.

Some make sense of our daily lives .

Some are extensions of our hopes.

They remove our barriers.

They open possibilities.

Now It The time by Patrick Lindsay

DIY Friday - Cool Coasters

I recently got a new table for our family room and realized I need some coasters to keep the table in good shape for years to come. I decided to make some tile coasters for our table, and when I was looking for instruction I found lots of other cool ides for making coasters.

customize cork coasters

decorate wood pieces

decorate a tile

create rope coasters

make your own felt coasters

recycle old lids

chalkboard coasters

What are your favorite coasters made from?

Share Your Passion - Grow Your Business

Last week I was invited to be the main speaker at a Chicago Bead Society meeting. I was excited about this opportunity and I had a great time sharing my passion of inspiring artists.

Speaking to groups and teaching is a passion of mine. I don't know if I shared this before, but used to own an art school in my hometown. I used to teach classes all the time, and really enjoyed the process of sharing what I loved to create with others.

Since I started working and selling online, I have not had the opportunity to do much speaking or teaching. After last week I realized how much I miss talking to groups and teaching.

Speaking to groups comes kind of natural to me. I know this is not the case for everyone, but sharing what you love with others is not only rewarding, it can be really good for your business.

Here are a few tips for speaking to a group:

Be well-prepared before speaking to a group - Have an outline of what you want to talk about, but don't write down everything you want to say. If you do you will be tempted to read what you wrote instead of speaking directly to the group

Practice what your going to say - Do this several times. When you are comfortable about what you want to say it makes it easier to speak with ease.

Have a backup, in case you forget what you want to say - Think of some stories you can share about your topic, in case your lose track.

Reduce your fear of the audience - Remember you know more then the audience. They will believe anything you tell them (within reason of course).

Relax yourself just before you speak - Close your eyes, take a deep, breath slowly, and relax. Speaking should be fun, so enjoy yourself!

Speaking or teaching is easy, fun, and a free way to market your business.

You get to share your passion for your medium, meet and network with lots of new people, and share your business cards with a new group of potential customers.  It should be something you consider as part of your marketing plan.

I really enjoyed the opportunity I had to speak last week, I think next year I am going to find a couple of venues for teaching and speaking. I will share with you more tips as I go through the process.

Do you, or have you, or would you like to speak or teach about your medium?

Be Inspired - Clouds

Words to Inspire

“Clouds may come, but clouds must go, and they all have a silver lining. For behind each cloud you know, the sun, or moon, is shining.”

Photos to Inspired

Sometime getting inspired can be as simple as sitting outside and looking to the sky.

Source: news.yahoo.com via Valerie on Pinterest

Source: moblog.net via Valerie on Pinterest

Source: imgfave.tumblr.com via Valerie on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Valerie on Pinterest

Source: wanderingpixie.tumblr.com via Valerie on Pinterest

Source: imgfave.com via Valerie on Pinterest

5 Questions About Your Product

We make stuff, we sell stuff, but how often do we think about our product and why we create.

I am guilty of doing this all the time. I make stuff to sell stuff, even if it's not my favorite.

Taking the time to review our products is an important part of the marketing and selling process.

Today I have five questions for you to reflect on your product and discover something new about yourself and what you make.

1. Is it better to be good or original? Why?

2. What do you create that lets you be your most creative?

3. What do you create that offers the greatest potential to make a lot of money?

4. What is more important to you, to create for fun or money? Why?

5. How do you strike a balance between what you love to make and what will make you the most money?

Click below to print out an copy of these 5 questions in a one page easy to answer format.

Click here for your copy

Take your time with the questions. These question will give you a better understanding about why you create and where to focus your ideas to get to the next level. Once you have concluded what is important to you about creating, it will be easier to plan for what you need to create to achieve your goals.

Answering these questions was important part of my creative business redesign. I hope they will inspire you and your creative process.

How often do you review the products you offer?

Motivation Monday

Find Your Inner Leader

It comes naturally to some.

To most, it's cloaked in self-doubt and fear.

But we all have an inner leader.

Whether it be on the big stage or in our private world, as a parent, a friend, a mentor: 

the power is within us.

Now is the time by Patrick Lindsay

I Have Been Inspired

A couple of weeks ago I shared with you in the post New Look that I was making changes in the Additions line. I have been really inspired lately and started working on a variety of new designs.

Today I am posting a few of the new items I have put in my Etsy shop, and a few that will be coming in the next week.

Let me know what you think!

steampunk mixed metal bracelet

mixed metal pendant

This necklace has earrings too.

Beaded wire wrapped hardware

The matching earrings will be listed this week.

copper and washer pendant

Here are a few of piece I will be adding this week.

Just for my blog followers I am offering 15% off everything in my Etsy shop all week long (September 16 - 23). When you place your order, use coupon code Blogreader to receive your discount.

Thanks for following my blog, and have a great week!