ArtFire's Unbelievable Group Deal...

Over the past few weeks I have been moving items from my shop on Etsy to my studio on ArtFire. Little did I know at the time I made this decision that ArtFire was going to make an offer that is totally unbelievable.

Originally ArtFire offered the $5.95 monthly deal to 20,000 members. To our surprise, John (CEO) and Tony (COO) of ArtFire changed the criteria to "all" members who sign up by Oct 1, 2010 will definitely get the group deal. After that, memberships will be $9.95 a month, which isn't a bad deal, but doesn't $5.95 sound even better?

I am so excited to be in on this deal! They have also left Beta behind, WOOT! The front page of ArtFire has taken on a whole new look. It now features "Collections" created by ArtFire Artisans.

All the changes at ArtFire are just incredible and in perfect timing for the upcoming holiday season.

If you haven't checked out ArtFire for awhile, it is never too late.

So come on by and visit, love to see you there. *smile*

My Weekend June Arts & Craft Fair...

Wow, I survived the weekend!  22 hours in two days is incredibly long, but soooooo much fun!  I met so many wonderful sellers and customers.  Now the important question, do I still have a voice?  For the answer.... NOPE!  :)  The photo above is my table prior to the fair starting.  I love love love my new banner!   My daughter surprised me with it last week, is she just too awesome?!

This is a brand new venue for this craft fair.  I met the owner of the establishment, he is so into Arts & Crafts. 

Since my banner colors are mostly blue, pink & purple I thought I would use the colors throughout my display.  The photo below shows the corner glass shelf I picked up last weekend in a yard sale for $3.  Isn't it pretty with the fresh coat of Sweet Pea Pink?

And now my earring display.  I was so happy with how it turned out.  I found this adorable whimsical metal mesh mailbox at Goodwill last weekend during their 50% of sale, got it for $5, brought it home and gave it a pretty color of French Lilac.  To attach the earrings,  I one hole punched the earring cards, used satin ribbon woven through the metal mesh and attached the card by tying the ribbon on each with a bow.

Front of Earring Display

Back of Earring Display

I can't wait for July now!  Bring it on!  2nd Saturday & Sunday's Arts & Crafts is going to be my favorite time of the month.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my mini show of the craft fair.  

Have an awesome week!

Carly

Preparing for a Craft Fair...

I feel like I have been neglecting my Blog and ignoring my faithful readers. So I am here to apologize and let you know what is keeping me from my Blog this week.

I have been crazy busy with preparing for an exciting craft fair this coming weekend. This is the first of what we hope will become a monthly special event.

For this event I have made a new item not currently offered in my Etsy or ArtFire online selling venues.  What doesn't sell, will be offered next week.  But guess what?  I ain't gonna tell ya what!  HA!  So you will just have to stay tuned and hope they don't sell just to see what I made.  :)

But to be honest, they are as cute as can be (don't you just wish you knew what they were?), so I am wishing and hoping they sell like you know what!

I have a new booth banner, YAY! and I have new display stands.  My main focus colors of the booth are pink and purple, to be exact, Sweet Pea and French Lilac,  ohhlala!

I promise to post photos next week and let you all know how it went!  Keep your fingers *crossed* I sell out!  

I don't know that I will have time to post again before the fair, so here is wishing everyone a spectacular rest of the week and an awesome weekend!

Carly

Etsy New Treasury East...

WOOT!  Love the new feature Etsy released today.  Treasury East!  It's in Beta, but hopefully not for long.

This new version is in HTML not Flash, which makes it even more awesomeness (is that a word? HA!).  So without further ado, here is my first Treasury in Treasury East!

View Dirty Dancing Treasury

You don’t have to take my word for the greatness of it. Here’s the scoop from Etsy:

"About Treasury East

The Treasury is an ever-changing, member-curated shopping gallery.

Treasury East (beta) is a testing ground for the future of the Treasury. Create lists of items, as many as you like. Comment on other members’ lists. Share lists and enjoy! Treasury East lists have no limits and no expiration. Beautiful, diverse lists may be featured on Etsy’s front page.”

Thank you Etsy Admin, this one earns you "5" Stars!

Carly

Anyone for Lemonade?

First a true confession... I love, love, love lemonade. Addicted? Yup, proud to say I am. So when my husband asked me yesterday if I wanted to make lemonade my response was "heck yaaa!, but I don't have any lemons". Well, the dear husband he is, he had the no lemon situation covered. From behind his back he produced the largest lemon I had ever seen!

He actually brought four of these gigantic lemons home! Problem is, they are so big and awesome, I don't want to cut them. HA! The largest lemon measures 7" long and a 6" diameter. Is that just too unbelievable?!?! I have included in the picture a normal size lemon for comparison. Poor little guy looks lost between the BIG guys.

Well, being the kind of person who has to know the what, why, how etc, I did an internet search for these babies. Using "giant lemons" for a keyword search, I was able to find out just what these big guys are. They are Ponderosa Lemons.

Any suggestions what to do with these? I am leaning towards of course lemonade and maybe some lemon bars? Ok, so now I have made myself thirsty and hungry all in the span of five minutes. :)

Have a great weekend!
Carly

Using YouTube for Advertising...

Being a HUGE fan of YouTube I just knew that some day I would have to try creating a video for my online business.

And guess what? It was so easy, I couldn't believe it took me three years to get around to it.

Now you ask, how did I do it? See that's where we have a problem, it's "top secret" info, so if I told you, I would have to kill you. NOT! :)

I first visited Microsoft and downloaded their "FREE" program Photo Story 3 for Windows. The rest was easy. The program has a wizard and walks you through step by step. I had my video done and ready for YouTube in less than 30 minutes. The program even has music you can select from to enhance your video.

It was Easy, Peazy... and you don't have to be a computer nerd to create your own video.

And with a drum roll, I present my video: Stitch*n*Tyme

Have fun creating your own video, if you do, please be sure to post a link to it in my comments. I would love to view it. :)

Have an awesome day!
Carly

For the Love of Wood...

So 2009 was an interesting year, but I wanted to make it even more interesting by attempting to embroider on wood. It was definitely a challenge, but one I truly enjoyed.

The first major challenge was finding Balsa wood. Who would have thought finding 4" wide balsa wood could be a challenge?! I spent days on the phone calling cabinet shops, the few craft shops we have here in Arizona, hobby stores and everything in between. I finally reverted back to my computer and the internet. Alas, I found an awesome shop in Colorado. They were great to work with, they are now my wonderful source for balsa.

Then the next challenge came to figure out what type of designs worked best. Too many stitches and it breaks the balsa, so it was definitely trial and error. But thank goodness after a few of those, it became easy to recognize which ones would stitch nicely.

After receiving my balsa wood and figuring out the designs, it was time to have some fun!

This was my first set of embroidered coasters on Balsa wood. Before stitching them out, I stained the wood, after stitching I coated the coasters with four coats of a high gloss polyurethane. They were finished off with a cork backing. I was quite happy with the finished product.

Now it was time to do it again. I know, I am a glutton for fun. :)

I live in the Southwest, so my only choice for this set of coasters was a Southwest design. I added a hemp rope for the edging to tie in with the design. I am not sure I will do that again, it was a long, and hard tedious task.

Oh my aching hands when I was finished. But again, I loved the finished product.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about my adventures with embroidery on wood.

Hmmmm.... any ideas what you would like to see stitched out on wood? Drop me a comment, would love to hear them.

Have a wonderful day!
Carly

Oh that Light Box...

In my adventures to getting better pictures of the items I make and list on Etsy, the best thing I have done is make a light box. Some people are addicted to chocolate or Coke, but not me, don't even think about taking my light box away from me, you would only be asking for trouble. HA!

I recently looked at one of my first sold items and quickly decided the buyer bought the item out of sympathy. Oh the GLARE! That's when I began searching the net for ideas to better photograph my items, and repeatedly I read that having a light box was an essential tool for product photography.

I could have bought one, but being the crafty person I am, I decided to take on the challenge of making it myself. Which turned out to be extremely easy and cheap! Total cost was $1.50, yes, you read that correctly. Box was "Free", a trip to the dollar store netted the tissue paper and poster board. Then it was home to make the box.

Below is the finished light box. If you have any questions, leave me a comment and I will be happy to reply.

And here is the actual photo taken using the light box...

If you are serious about taking better product photography, you can't go wrong with the following four items:

1) Light Box (homemade or bought)

2) Tripod

3) Clamp lights/Natural Light/Overhead light (Flash is a No-No)

4) Camera with a Macro Setting (for close ups)

Have fun and don't come looking for me when you find yourself addicted to product photography. :)

Carly

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Being Creative with Sand...

The first time I watched this video I was in total awe! And still in awe each time I view it. It is truly amazing what she does with sand. With grace and elegance. She uses a giant light box, dramatic music, imagination and "sand painting" skills to interpret Germany's invasion and occupation of Ukraine during WWII.

Kseniya Simonova's Amazing Sand Drawing

I hope you enjoy the video!
Carly

YAY, I am Back!

After a long hiatus from blogging, I am back. Hopefully life has been "ducky" for you since my absence.

With the new year here, I hope to be sharing lots and lots of DIY tips, featuring Artisans of various mediums, maybe throw in some awesome recipes and of course a few YouTube videos along the way.

From time to time, "You", my special readers will be offered special discounts for purchases in my Etsy Shop: Stitch*n*Tyme

How about some fun "giveaways"? OK, some of those to. *smile*

I have been keeping very busy with my Etsy shop. I have added a variety of items. I now carry hair slides, children onesies and applique patches like ducky.

I look forward to reading your comments, sharing ideas and having fun with everyone.

Happy New Year!