And here is what I have been working on lately.... An altered book that turned into a purse... I decided to focus myself on creating for the purpose of creating with this piece instead of attempting to direct my work towards a visualized end result, and the outcome was fantastic (I think).  I had so much fun with this project and the processes involved actually engulfed me.  I had a

So, after a long pause in my "web participation", I have jumped back in- and one of the first things I did was visit Inspiration Avenue to see what I had missed.... Wow!  A lot of beautiful work has been posted in the challenges lately- and I was saddened to see I had missed the Angel Faces Auction!  Last year I had so much fun with the auction and bought a gorgeous pendant from one of the

Well,  long time no write... For those of you who check in often, I apologize for my absence- it has been a  hectic time in my life but I think we are finally beginning to reach smoother ground- and although I have not been writing, I have been creating (my escape)!  Lately I have been imagining some really elaborate jewelry designs, but the technical composition needed to make them work is

I love FaveCrafts, don't you?  I am always browsing around and finding awesome new ideas or techniques.  Well, I have been thinking about sharing some of my own patterns with my readers here, and thought that it might be cool to get published at FaveCrafts, also!  So, for my first attempt at publishing a pattern/tutorial with Fave Crafts, I am offering up my Pink Ribbon and Wire

Well, recently I find that I spend most of my time creating and barely any time marketing- which, unfortunately, now I have a lot of items in my stores but my sales are just not coming through.  It really is amazing how much can change if you take a few weeks off from promoting yourself.  Well, it happened this weekend I was checking out a few blogs and browsing some linky party entries (which I

FaveCrafts has a few new great giveaways going on that you really do not want to miss.... Check out the Zetangle book giveaway and the Deborah Norville Yarn Giveaway here: http://www.favecrafts.com/sweeps/Inspired-by-Zentangle-Fabric-Arts-Quilting-Embroidery-Book-Giveaway Scrapgirls has some awesome digital download freebies just added, too! http://store.scrapgirls.com/product/21621/ And take

One of my greatest passions is creating fun, fiberlicous scarves and fashion accessories.  My beginning crochet days kept me in a more conservative arena, but once I learned the basic stitches and skills needed for crochet I began to explore the wonderful variety of fibers and yarns.   Color is always an enticing factor, but the feel, texture, and appearance of the yarn is what really pulls me in

As I began my holiday marketing campaign this year, I decided to try a few new avenues for marketing- you probably have received all the same advertisements and junk mail that I have for "marketing services", "viral marketing", etc. etc. Well, I decided to actually check out what some of these are- and I think I have a better understanding now of what these terms mean, and how we can actually use

So, only a few days left...so much to do, right?  Where to begin?  How will anyone possibly find my shop amongst all the other sales and specials out there?  Time for optimism to kick in... "Optimism: The doctrine, or belief, that everything is beautiful, including what is ugly, everything good, especially the bad, and everything right that is wrong." Etsy shop owners- create your own coupon

Black Friday?  For the longest time I had no idea what this was... But, with all the hype in the online marketplaces and social networks (like Ning)- how can you miss it?  So, as part of my marketing for the holidays series, I thought I would talk about creative ways to get yourself in the ranks (with all the competition, it may be a little tough) for the upcoming Friday Super Shopping Day! So,