My Etsy

Friday, August 14, 2009

Totable Towel Tutorial!

Craft Friday


Tired of drugging to the beach with an armful of towels? Try this Totable-Towel Tutorial by Anna Horner!


Have a great weekend!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Welcome To My Favorite Recipes & Tutorials





Here are a few Blogging Tips for attracting Search Engines.


Blog Posting HTML Hints:
The third line in the source code says "keyword content" lists keywords used for that page. Emphasized text lines Titles, headings Subheadings

Keywords should appear buy Title tag Page content
Each page 250 – 600 words of unique content with 4 or 5 occurrences of your targeted keywords. no more than three keywords per page. Using too many keywords in one place can hurt your ranking, as can over-stuffing your pages with too many instances of your keywords.

Advertising Ideas

Advertising Ideas

1. Add your card or flier at grocery stores, and your public library. Most places have a bulletin where you can add stuff to it.

2. Put your card in with your bills when you pay them and mail them out.

3. Restaurants will have a fish bowl or bowl for a monthly drawing add your cards to that as well. I have seen them around business as well.

4. Add your store site to every email personal and business as well at the end.

5. If you go to home shows or things like that they will have drawings take cards and put them in.

6. Check with your local paper, sometimes they will do an article about new business in the paper for FREE.

7. Craigslist - A great way to show your local community what you have to offer. Just make sure if you link to anything that the link is not click-able!

8. Join social networks so you can interact with other crafters/hobbyist/small business owners.

9. Wear what you make! Be your own billboard =)

10. Have a friend host a party for you. Similar to the traditional work at home opportunities like Avon and Tupperware... Have a friend host a party inviting all her friends. Showcase your products, offer sale or incentives.... and most importantly don't forget the host!!

11. Include Samples in the Little Black Box, Spotted Box, or other reputable sampler programs.

12. Join your local chamber, some places do a monthly promoting at a business, a marketing breakfast, card swapping, and promoting each other. Great way to get out in the community.

13. Card swap with other Etsy members of people from your own team. Every month swap cards with members, add them in your packages that you mail out. Or I also add cards that I get that I already have and that I swap with at our local market as well.

14. Send out a monthly email to your customers, with coupons an incentive to get them to come back to your website.

15. Every month you can send out a X amount of fliers with a coupon to people in the phone book. Or get a hold of a copy shop place like Kinkos or something like that and ask about their mailer. They can do a target section for you and narrow it down to possible shoppers that is a market for your product.

16. Check out donating products to charities and conferences. I donated my dog treats to our local animal shelter for their yearly charity BBQ they hold. I have also donated a jewelry set to my kids local school for a silent auction as well as a few others that I have done in the past.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Bailey's Cupcake

Discovered these at Cupcakestakethecake

Can't wait to make me some...yuuuuum!



Now to find a recipe!
Let's see we have


Others I discovered in my search
Bailey's Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
Mississippi Mudcake - no Bailey's here but would be good with Bailey's Frosting or sauce.
Bread & Butter Pudding with Bailey's Sauce
And While were talking Liqueurs
Kahlua

Giveaway
On the crafting home front we have the opportunity to win a free Quilt Kit

Hot Tutorials
excellent list of crafting info


6 Gored Skirt
Before you gorge yourself on Bailey's cupcakes make this skirt and put a picture of it on your fridge to remember to limit your cupcake intake so you'll still be able to fit in your new skirt!

When I get some time I plan to make this. I love this style & I might even start making these for teens if they don't change the child safety law or at least clarify it to the point of saying homemade goods are not the items in question.


SIX GORE SKIRT
Using a waist measurement of 30 inches, hip 42 inches and skirt length of 30 inches. Remember, when you make the skirt for yourself you simply use YOUR waist, hip, and skirt length measurements instead of these sample ones.

1. Begin with a "T" - top of the "T" = your waist measurement divided by 6.

I.E. a waist of 30", 30/6=5. 5" across, then the original measure (30) is the length (vertical T-line drawn from the center of the top line)
2. The hipline is normally 8" below the waist (let's use 42" hips),
draw a horizontal line equal to (42/6 + 1/4") = 7 1/4".
3. Fill in the outside lines of the skirt, (so you have a rhombus shape) connecting the waist to hip to the bottom and draw in the bottom line.

4. Start at the top center of the "T" measure down 1/4" and make the slight waistline curve. The outside edges of the bottom are measured up 1/4" each and the slight hemline curve drawn.
5. Make your waistband to equal your waist measurement plus 2 1/8" (includes seam allowance), and the width is 3" (your finished waistband will be 1 1/2).
6. Seam allowance now measure & mark a 5/8" line above top line, below bottom line and to the outside of right and left lines. Now connect the lines (so outline -draw around- your pattern 5/8" from the pattern.)

7. Now cut 6 of the skirt pieces, for a 6-gore skirt. The vertical center line of the pattern will be used as the "straight grain" line, when placing the pattern on the fabric.