Rambling On

Getting ready for a craft fair

Today and tomorrow I will finish creating the last pieces of my jewelry. I have a friend who is attending a craft fair next weekend and she has offered to to take all of my jewelry and try to sell it for me. The craft fair that she is going to is quite far away from here so this is why I am not attending in person. Hopefully she will be able to sell a lot of my stock, but if not that’s OK too as I have already booked a couple of tables myself at a few different craft fairs. So wish me and her luck and I’ll be sure to let you all know how this sale works out.

Taking down my Etsy shop

In January I set up an Etsy shop to try to promote and sell some of my handcrafted jewelry.  I decided to give it a few months to see if this would be a  viable solution to my lack of sales.  But I am sorry to report that this little venture didn’t work out the way that I wanted it to.  So I’ve made a decision.  I have decided to dismantle the Etsy shop and try to sell my products through other methods.  Thankfully my little test didn’t cost me a whole lot of money, but it did teach me that this method is not the way to go for me.  So when my listings expire, I will de-list all my items and close the Etsy shop for good.  I’m glad I tried it, but it’s now time to move on.

Scrapbooking again

Last night decided to get back to the kid’s scrapbooks again. So I dug out all my supplies and pictures and started going through every again. I came across a lot of really nice pictures of the kids that I forgot I had, and instead of putting them in their scrapbooks, I have decided to purchase a digital frame to showcase these special pictures. I don’t have a lot of the kids pictures sitting around the house (they normally go into the scrapbooks) so I thought I would display these particular ones. As the kids get older, I may end up putting these pictures in the scrapbooks, but for now I think I’ll leave them out for everyone to look at.

Their having fun!

Well two days have now gone past for the kids at camp.  They are having a blast.  My youngest son wasn’t too keen on attending at first, but because his sister was going he agreed to go and now he is really happy that he did.  So far they have made me two “vases”, a bracelet and two trading cards.  My son makes sure that everything he makes he gives to me.  So I’m pretty sure that I’m going to end up with a lot of treasures by summer’s end.   I’m just so happy that he’s enjoying himself that I welcome every treasure he makes me.  And the great news is, is that the teacher they have had this past week, will be the teacher they have for all their weeks.  This is good news because Daniel likes her so this is part of the reason why he enjoys attending so much.  And if the kids are happy…so is mom!

First day of art camp

Yesterday was the first day of the kids summer art camp and they  had a blast (me too!).  I dropped them off at the school at  one o’clock with plans to go pick them up at four o’clock.  So I dropped them off and then headed back home for a fun and relaxing afternoon for mom.  At four I went back to get them and got to hear all about their wonderful day.  They painted and played games.  They also both made me a really cool “vase” made out of old juice bottles.  Even after they arrived home they were talking about what fun activities the teacher had planned for today.  So if yesterday was any indication, I think the remaining days of summer art camp are going to be a lot of fun.

Advertising your business

Now that I finally have some inventory made up for my small home crafting business, it’s about time that I look some advertising. With this type of business, getting customers to see the different crafts that I have for sale is essential for generating sales which will generate profit. I have tried to go the route of free advertising but have found this method to be completely ineffective. So I have to start look at inexpensive ways of advertising. And one way that I have found to promote my business fairly inexpensively is through VistaPrint.

This company offers a wide variety of printing services for any type of business. You can order save the date magnets, business cards, checks, rubber stamps, and announcements. Not only are their products extremely reasonable in price, but they will gladly customize any of their products to your complete satisfaction. It makes no difference if you are a small company in need of some inexpensive advertising or a larger company spending a lot on advertising, this company has everything you will ever need for all your printing needs. Their highly trained and professional staff will work closely with you to get you the customized products you need at the price that you desire.

We got rained out!

Well our first camping trip of the season didn’t go exactly as planned. Right now it is pouring rain outside with no let up in site. But that’s whats to expected this time of year. You win some, you lose some. So because we couldn’t go camping I’ve been busy on the computer. On my site over at Life With Kim I proceeded to clear away all the clutter from the sidebar. I took off a few programs that didn’t seem to be doing any good and added a new program that I’m going to try.

I have set up a mini shop on the site to try to sell some of my home crafted jewelry. I have four items listed right now, but plan to add more items in the days to come. So although today was a huge disappointment camping wise, it was a productive day. I’ll be sure to let you all know how this new program works out and I’ll let you know if we get to go camping tomorrow.

ps. I just added it here. All you need to do is scroll down.

Yard sale season straight a head

Because my father in law is planning on selling his current home and buying something smaller, he needs to get rid of a lot of stuff.  So he has decided to have a few yard sales during the spring and summer months.  This is great news for me, as it will give me a chance to try to sell some of the jewelry that I have been making.  I already told him to let me know when he plans on having his first one as I plan to have a lot of jewelry made up and hopefully sell it all.  But, even if I don’t I think it is still a great idea for him to not only get rid of a pile of stuff, but he will also be able to make a little extra money in the process.  He plans on having his first one in a couple of weeks, so I need to get busy creating.  I have all the supplies, now all I need is the motivation.

Direct selling

I’ve been doing a lot of jewelry making these past couple of weeks.  Not a lot of selling mind you, just a lot of making.  So I’ve come to a couple of decisions.  I’m going to try to sell my crafts directly to interested parties.  I am going to take down my crafting website and I am also going to take down my etsy account when it finally expires.  I have found that these two methods don’t benefit me in the least when trying to sell my crafts.

So within the next few days I will be making a few changes to all my blogs as far as the way that I list my jewelry that is for sale.  But before I will be able to find the time to do all this re-arranging, I thought I would give you all a peek at some of the items that I do have for sale.

The necklaces are all $12.00 and the bracelets are all $7.00.  The shipping is included in these prices for all of Canada and the US.  If you don’t live in either of these countries and would like to make a purchase, just let me know and I’m sure we can work something out.  If you would like to make a purchase you can contact me directly at kdarrell21(at)hotmail(dot)com.  I look forward to hearing from you.  And… I hope you all enjoy the pictures.

The Scrapbooking fairy arrived

One of my friends sent me an e-mail the other day about a lady who was getting rid of some of her scrapbooking supplies and she wanted to know if I would be interested in getting them from her for free.  Of course I said yes.  So she gave me her phone number and e-mail address and I contacted this lady. 

Well today she dropped by with the stuff and I have to tell you that I was surprised at all the stuff that she was giving away.  Now don’t get me wrong, I appreciated all that she gave and it will all go to good use, but I was really surprised at her generosity.  I have to say that purchasing this amount of supplies would have cost me a fortune so I am extremely grateful to her.  I am also extremely grateful to my friend for hooking me up with this lady.