Etsy Bloggers Featured Blogger - Create a Thought!

Art Book Journal Kit

This month's featured Etsy Blogger is Create a Thought - and I had so much fun going through her shop! I mean, look at this quote she has in her shop announcement:

"There are thousands of thoughts lying within a man that he does not know till he takes up the pen and writes. ~William Makepeace Thackeray"

Since you all know I love to write - my love of that quote should come as no surprise!

Here's just a few of the cute items you can find in her shop:

Imagine the Stars Ring

Robot Love Mini Journal

Just Because Handmade Card

And don't forget to check out her blog!

Update on Craftiness

Ok! I've started a blog post, I'm going to keep it in drafts, and update as the day goes along! 

Update #1 ~ Relisted two bracelets on etsy that were about to expire (Bracelet 1, Bracelet 2)

Update #2 ~ I got the next segment in my on-going story "Aria's Quest" written up! Ahead of time for once... 

Update #3 ~ I picked up some new agate/rock chip strands yesterday. I love working with these! I usually make extremely simple bracelets out of them, but they've sold extremely well. So I just whipped together 2 bracelets to take with me when I restock my consignment shop on Monday.

Update #4 ~ So I've decided my "hour on one thing, hour on the next" isn't quite practical because some projects take less than that...but I am alternating between one thing and the next!

Update #5 ~ Listed a pair of fun earrings on Artfire! 

Update #6 ~ Took a break from craftiness to go to the store with the hubby :)

Update #7 ~ Came home to find the earrings had sold! It's my first Artfire Sale baby! Thanks Dede!

Update #8 ~ Bloggy time! Star Wars Geeking and a Book Review :) 

Update #9 ~ WOW I've gotten a lot done...lunch time!

Update#10 Lunch was good - and I did some beading while I ate! I picked up the beads I need yesterday so I can work on the next Necklace in my Elements series. The picture above is the only one currently unsold - Wind Dancer. The one I'm working on now is going to be called Earth Walker. I started it last night and I finished up the foundation a little bit after lunch. I'm really excited! I've had a ton of fun with this series :)

Update#11 ~ DeDe's earrings are in the mail!

Update#12 ~ Blue Loving Necklace listed on Artfire.

Update#13 ~ Did some "work" writing. Write up two book reviews! More fun writing later probably :)

Update#14 ~ Picked up my knitting for the first time in weeks! Feels good :)

Update#15 ~ Decided I'm officially NOT going to be taking any photos today - back is waaaay to sore! *sigh*

*Sunday Morning*

I ended up crashing not long after the last update I wrote. My back decided it wanted to spasm, spasm, and spasm some more! So I used a heating pad and took a nap to try and let my back relax. It never really worked. We went over to my in-laws around 5 for a graduation dinner for my brother-in-law. Food was great! I love my hubby's family :) 

After we got back I couldn't keep my eyes open (might have been from the muscle relaxant) so I went to bed...and never got back up! I think I slept for around 12 hours last night >_> My back is still sore today, but much better. I'm not breathing too well though so we're home for the day instead of heading to church.

I still have a million things I want to work on but I'm pretty out of it so some of them are out of the question. I probably won't get any writing done today unless I perk up, but I spent about an hour knitting this morning and I'm going to start working on my Elements necklace again as soon as I post this :) 

I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday! I'll talk to you soon :)

Having a Crafty ADD Day

I read an article on Handmade News the other day that total fits my mood today! Ok, so to be honest, probably my mood for this entire weekend... Anyway, the article was called, "Top Ten Signs You Might Have Craft ADD." Out of 10 different things listed...I could say yes to 8 of them! And according to the author more than 2 shows you may have crafty ADD. So, while I don't know that I have ADD in "normal" life, I think it's safe to say I have crafty ADD! 

Oh wait - I have a life apart from art and crafts? Hmmm... Must fix that...

Just kidding! 

I already knew I have crafty ADD, but I thought the article was a lot of fun! Especially this weekend. A whole set of factors is coming together to make me feel more ADD than ever! For one, since my asthma has been really bad recently I'm on a really high dose of a steroid called Prednisone. One of it's many known side-effects is that it tends to make people hyper and manic. Um yeah, can you say brain racing in a million directions? I could hardly fall asleep last night because I kept bouncing back and forth between crafty ideas, writing ideas, and who knows what else!

On top of that I finally got to go buy some new beady supplies! Thanks to my first consignment check :D Some it was just boring "use all the time and running low" supplies, but I also got a bunch of seed beads so I can FINALLY work on projects that have been bouncing around in my head for a month! I also picked up some more cross stitch fabric while at the craft store...

So now I'm torn. I have at least 3 different beady projects that I want to do RIGHT NOW. I have a book mark I really want to get done in the next week or two because I think it will be good for the college fair I'm doing. Oh yes, and I want to work on the scarf I'm knitting because talking over my Mom's crochet projects have me itching to learn to crochet, but I told myself I had to finish my knitting project first.

To top all of that off I have a ton of items that need to be listed in my shops, and if I can I need to get some pics taken today because I have items of Mom's to get listed but no pictures. It's Saturday - good day for a listing binge.

Oh yes, and I've been wanting to devote more time to writing, and it keeps not happening! So my fingers are itching to work on that too...

So here's my plan...

1. Play some awesome music from BHR to keep the crafty juices flowing! 

2. Work on listing off and on through out the day. That way the exposure gets spread out and I don't get pulled away from my crafty stuff for too long at any one point :P

3. Spend an hour writing before I dive into my other creative projects! 

4. Alternate projects! An hour here, switch, an hour there, switch.

We'll see what I actually get done :) I might blog about it before the day is out :P 

Tuesday's Tips #2

Bloggy Bib

Can you guess what my tips are about today? That's right...blogging! Now there is a LOT that can be said on this subject, I could go on all day, but I'll be a good girl and keep a narrow focus. Just know that this means you'll probably see lots of other bloggy tips in future week's editions of Tuesday's Tips! 

Now the step one to using your blog to it's full advantage is....drum roll please....really, this is a doozy...you have to have a blog! If you've stumbled upon this post, you own an on-line shop, and you DON'T blog yet, let me recommend blogger as one of the best blogging services I've found. If you have any questions about getting it set up just let me know, and I'll be glad to help all I can!

Ok, so now you have a blog, what's the next step? The next step is to start building regular content! In simple terms, write stuff! Blogging experts say it's best to blog at least 3-5 days a week. You can blog every day like I usually do, but it's ok if you don't have that much to say (I talk a lot in real life too), but the key is being consistent. Don't blog 4 days in a row, skip a week, write one, skip 4 days, write 3... you get the idea. Find a routine that works for you and then stick to it as best as you can. This helps build your readers because they know what to expect. Most people won't continue to read your blog if you let it lie dead for long periods of time.

So what should you write about? Here's just a few ideas to get you started:

~ Write a little about your personal life.

~ Write about what's new in your shop.

~ Write about your creative process.

~ Write about your plans.

~ Write about another artist who's work you admire.

~ Post your favorite recipe.

~ READ other blogs - you'll get lots of ideas that way!

~ Do you have an area of expertise? Share it! 

~ Find things that make you passionate - and write about those.

Your blog can have as narrow of a focus or as broad of a focus as you want. Some people find the most success by keeping their blog very focused in on their art work and business. Other's would go insane trying to create that much content on that narrow a topic. Find what works for you, and don't worry about the naysayers!