Project 365

I'm starting project 365 today and I'm very excited! Hopefully this will help me improve my photography skills along the way. I'm hoping to post all the pics from the week on sundays from here on out. Stay tuned!

Priorities?!

For the past few months I've been preparing for a big change that is about to happen in the near future. I had everything planned out and time tables as far as how things should progress at work and school and with my business.

But life just loves to throw a wrench in there, doesn't it?....

The past few days have been...for lack of a better word...difficult to deal with. On top of the stress of everything I already do on a daily basis, more has been added. And yesterday someone told me what they thought my priorities should be...Work.

I already work 7 days a week....and on Thursdays...I don't sleep....at all....thats right...just like your favorite vampire! So, in disbelief I looked at her and thought to myself, 'What have my priorities been?' Work....then school....then everything else....mind you...I have a mountain of laundry on my floor that has been accumulating for 3 weeks now. So when I say "everything else" I mean..nothing else. Nothing else comes before work and then school.

So I thought...what have I NOT been doing?

I haven't been eating right or cooking

I haven't been exercising.

I haven't been doing my physical therapy exercises for my back everyday like I'm supposed to.

I haven't been studying as much as I should be.

I haven't been working on any of my projects for my business.

I haven't been able to spend as much time with my family and friends.

I defiantly haven't done any laundry....or dishes...or vacuuming...or any cleaning for that matter.

And I rarely sleep.

I've worked myself to death. And now someone is standing there telling me I don't work enough and I need to re-examine my priorities. Well...now I have and I think she's right. I traded my health and my happiness for money and a good work reference. It embarrasses me to admit this. Not because I didn't also love my job, but because I put important things aside so I could work more hours.

So bring on the fresh start! and bring on the happiness....its long overdue.

New Book Design and Photo's of Recent Projects

My friend Elizabeth has just asked me to create another wedding album and a few baby books. So I've decided to do things a little different this time. I'm going to make an accordion album like the cigar box book (you can see that on the flicker page.) And the baby books are going to be about half the size of an 8.5x11 piece of paper, but the spine will be at the top instead of on the side like a regular book. The pages will flip upwards. Stay tuned for some pictures of those!

I promised a LONG time ago that I would include more pics of my 'mystery project' once it was completed. What was I working on?! Well....it was a wedding album for my mom. I used a recycled expandable file and sewed pages into it. I've included some pictures below!

Front Cover(left), View of the spine(right)

Pages(left), Inside Cover(right)

Example of inside pages

Audrey's Back

Its been way too long since I posted anything here. Now that the holiday season is over...way over, its time for me to get back to work. I've started making a new batch of books and there are even some new items in the works! Larger books and stickers are just a few of those. I'll be posting pictures as soon as they are complete.

Finals Week

I want to apologize in advance....there won't be as many posts this week as normal. I am starting finals week here at Sam and there will be lots of long hours studying and finishing projects for the end of the semester. Plus my little sister is graduating college this Saturday! I'm so proud of her and very excited to see her walk! Check back next week for the regular scheduled posts. I hope everyone is having a fun and safe holiday season so far!

Oranization is Key

One day I was searching through the Etsy forum...basically looking for people who knew what the heck they were doing. I found a few comments that caught my eye, and they all said the same thing: get organized! They also said a few other things like: start a blog, don't be afraid of Twitter, and always have business cards on hand....but I'll get to all that later.

I started with organization. Just like your studio, office, or in my case, craft-closet, you need to be organized. This always starts with setting goals....think New Years resolutions. This year I want to lose weight! Great! How much? By when? How do you plan on doing that? How do you stay motivated along the way? I've recently learned that you need to answer these same questions when it comes to your crafting business.

What is your long term goal? Is it to make $300 a month crafting for the next year? How many sales do you need each month to meet that goal? How much product do you need to make each month to meet that goal? Is your goal to post 3 items a week? Next, break it down even further. How many sales/product do you need to make each week?

These goals need to have three qualities: they need to be realistic, they need to be attainable and they need to be specific. If your goals don't meet these qualifications then toss them out and start over. Don't set yourself up for failure right off the bat. Start small and grow over time.

Now that you have your goals, post them where you can see them. Next you want to come up with your plan for making that $300 in sales. Any time I get ready for a craft fair, I make a list of items that I know I already have the supplies for. Then I figure out how much I can make from what I've got! Then I get busy. This is no time to get lazy....craft your little heart out. And post...make sure you are posting your items when they are finished. Sure you only have one item now, but this will get your name/shop out there so people can see what you can do.

Now you have a system in place. We'll start to talk about advertising next week. Get ready to blog!

December 7's Showcase

LonelyPaper journals are perfect little multipurpose journals. They have several forms of paper in each one: heavyweight watercolor, drawing paper, graph paper, various cardstock, book pages, illustrations, colored construction paper, day-planner pages, and more! Each journal is 5x5 inches and includes 100+ pages. The pages are heavy enough to support pasting and additions to the book. There are no two alike; each book comes with a unique cover, end pages, and arrangment of journal pages.

Snow in Texas?

That's right guys! It snowed last Friday here in Huntsville. It didn't last long but for a moment there is was pretty heavy. When I went into Walmart it was nice and pretty. Just some light flurryies. When I came out 15-20 minutes later, it was like a blizzard! Well a bizzard for Texas anyway. By the time I got to my car I was covered. Of course, we had to commemorate the moment by running around like idiots trying to scoop up as much as we could to throw at each other. It was fun while it lasted....all 3 hours of it.

The fanny pack is FABULOUS again!

This Monday's Fabulous Find is Kinies Ruffled Waist Purse. My favorite is the dark gray, But check out all the other styles and colors! Now you don't have to worry about leaving your purse on the table when you go out dancing or to a party, because its part of your outfit. The straps are adjustable as well, to fit you!

P.S. Check out the hooded scarves too!

Product Promotion for People who ate Poor at Promoting Thursdays!

I've been a member of Etsy since October of 2008 and I've made 5 sales. Not the best. Sure, I've made a few bucks at craft fairs and on custom orders for friends and family, but things aren't going the way I had hoped. What I want is to take my business full time. I want to be my own boss. And most of all I want more time to spend crafting and less time actually working for someone else.

So I've been reading everything I can get my hands on about how to promote my site and my products. I'm hoping that I can share what I learn with others. There are lots of people selling 'how-to make more money on Etsy' manuals, but if this stuff is so easy to master, how come more people aren't "selling more on Etsy?" And shouldn't this advise be free? I think so.

So I'm starting on my little advertising adventure. Sharing what I find. What works. What doesn't. And every Thursday I'll post my progress here! Join along, learn a few things too, or share your knowledge with others by way of a comment.