Crafty Girlfriends

I love being creative. But, I love being creative with others even more.

Yesterday, a good friend came over so that we could play with tie-dye. We both contributed items that we wanted to dye. I had several Tulip one-step kits and was also "dying" to try the new Tulip custom color kit I picked up at Joann Fabric last weekend. The kit promised 150 color recipes - so, I was sure we would find all the colors of the rainbow and then more to inspire us.

First things first - we set up shop out on the patio near the pool to cut down on the possibility of spilling accidents ruining the carpet! The only concern was that we not get too close to the edge of the pool and fall in...a real possibility since we are both so graceful!

Next, we selected a few colors to mix up and try. The kit instructions called for a gallon of water and we thought it was WAY more dye than we needed of one color. So, we cut the instructions in one-third and mixed up three batches of color. We started with an awesome teal color, then a cool grey and black. Then we added fushia, purple, brown and orange.

Look out! The folding, rubberbanding and scrunching began. Before you know it, we had projects laying out on plastic all around the pool!

We made an attempt to clean up our mess and let the projects sit over night. This morning, I rinsed and laundered all of our creations. At 10, Frances came back over and we started to embellish our creations even more. We added some detail and designs with sharpie markers, some iron on appliques, ribbon and rick rack. What a blast we had - drinking coffee, making lunch and baking brownies while we worked. Why is it that fun is always better with good food too?


When all was said and done, I completed three outfits. Two are little girl bubble rompers and a onesie. AND, I have several more outfits that have been dyed and are just waiting for embellishments! Check them out - cute additions for my shop at cre8tive@etsy.com.

Anyway, we packed it all in around 1:00 and then decided to take in a movie. It was the end of a perfect two days....we went to see Julie & Julia. What a great show about two awesome women! It is amazing how their creative passion changed both of their lives. And, what a super job of acting by the cast! I highly recommend this one!

Looking back, the fun, the fellowship, the laughter, the love - it was all fueled by our creative passion. Ahhhh, life is good!

– Linda

Press time for Make Pie!

Make Pie Not War is tearing it up! We have been chosen by Martha Stewart's team to be the Dreamer into Doer of the week!
Check this link out!

Also, Make Pie Not War will be in Lucky magazine out August 12th! We are having a soiree at the MPNW casa! Anyone who is interested in coming, please email me at alana@makepie.net!

Exciting times! Thank you to my CenCal team for the support and love it takes to keep this thing going!

Love,
alana
Make Pie Not War
www.makepie.net

Chalk it Baby!

Here are my chalk board beer mugs. They are going to be featured in the November gift guide of Real Simple Magazine, so be on the lookout for them. Hopefully, I'll be rich soon!

– Patty
of the Knick Knack Patty Shak

10 ways to get out of a creative rut from Handmade News!

Love the ideas and inspiration that you can find on handmadenews.org ! It's a great site that gives you great business tips, trends, and much more. There's a little something for everyone on this site...for all crafters young and old! Here's an article by Jenn Joyner from there that will help you if you need a little lift from a creative funk!

Stuck in a Rut? 10 Ways to Revive Your Creativity!

From time to time we all get that feeling that we’re stuck in the same old rut, going round and round and essentially getting nowhere. Instead of letting this get you down, try one of these suggestions to get you back on track to being productive:

1. Take a break. If you’re working too hard, or trying to force the creativity to flow, you can get that trapped feeling. Don’t let that happen. Walk away, read a book, go to a movie, or take a nap. If your mind is relaxed, the creativity will follow.

2. Volunteer. For some reason, the act of doing something for the good of doing it, instead of for the sake of profit, often opens your mind to a new way of thinking. Contact a local church, school, or other organization and see if you can help them in any way. It doesn’t have to be hugely time consuming, nor do you have to invest a great deal of your resources. Just ask what you can do to help one day. You may be surprised to see how fresh your work feels when you get back to it.

3. Enroll in a class. Perhaps you want to take a class on something already in your area of expertise, or maybe you want to try something you’ve never done before. Regardless, any form of instruction will allow you to relinquish control long enough to give your own creativity a break.

4. Ask for help. When you just can’t think of what you want to make next, or the best way to proceed at a given time, why not ask your fellow artisans? Try setting up a poll on your blog, or asking on twitter for advice. Survey those around you and see what they think. You may be amazed to hear what others have to say about your current dilemma.

5. Give yourself permission to be adventurous. Too often we get it stuck in our heads that we have to run our businesses a certain way to be successful. Take a day and give yourself the ok to try something new and totally different. It’s ok if it doesn’t work, and it’s ok if it feels silly. Just try it. Breaking the habitual process goes a long way to reenergizing your creative juices.

6. Enlist the help of a child. This may seem silly, but one of my favorite things to do when I get stuck is to color. Something about sitting down with a kid, a coloring book, and a box of crayons helps me to remember that once upon a time someone thought we were all creative enough to be artists. It triggers that little voice in my head that reminds me it’s ok to color outside the lines. Take a day and do something artistic with a child, and you may be shocked to find it reawakens the creative child in you.

7. Go somewhere new. You don’t have to cross the country for great inspiration. Maybe you just need to go to a local park, or window shop in a store you’ve never been in. Whatever the case, broaden your horizons and go gather some new eye candy. It helps to take a camera or a notepad with you, so you can capture any bursts of inspiration you come across.

8. Consult your mentor. By now, you should have a mentor you go to in times of need. Try talking to him or her and see what suggestions are given. If you need help finding a mentor, try reading this article: Getting Advice From a Friend: Finding Your Mentor.

9. Shake things up. Do the opposite of what you would normally do. Whether you realize it or not, most of us have a “creative schedule” we all function on. Try thinking differently for a day or two and see what happens. If you’re a morning creator, try working at night. If you usually don’t listen to music while you work, try throwing on a favorite CD the next time you sit down to create. The more you can shake up your routine, the more success you will have at shaking up your creativity.

10. Take the “grab bag” approach. One of my favorite things to do when I just can’t seem to come up with any new ideas is to walk into my craft room, close my eyes, and grab three or four supplies at random. Don’t think about what you’re grabbing, and don’t try to make them make sense. Just grab. Take those random supplies and see what you can come up with if you put them together. You may not be able to make anything more than a mess, but trying such a “puzzle solving” approach will get your brain thinking outside the box again.

Wedding crafts not just for weddings!

This past weekend, I came upon a wedding web site that totally made me salivate...www.oncewed.com ... it was so inspiring.  As of late, I will admit, I've kinda been caught up in wedding magazine and inspiration fever...I bought a Martha Stewart wedding mag for the crafts last week!  No, I have no plans of getting married anytime soon; however, I do love the uniqueness and personalized touch that revolve around weddings!  Check out some of the cute projects on the site :)

DIY Rustic Wedding Cake Stand

DIY Bridesmaids Headbands

DIY Crepe Paper Place Cards

Check out the site and get inspiration for your next wedding, summer party, or birthday party! Wedding crafts don't just have to be for weddings!

Meet our VP Patty Cappellutti!

Tiffany of Dragon Fly Designs and Patty, our spotlight member at Team Crafty Night, getting ready to make bath goodies!

Every month we'd like to feature and put the spotlight on one of our members, this month it is our very own Patty Cappellutti, the vice president of the Central California Etsy Team as well as owner of the Knick Knack Patty Shak!

What artists/crafters inspire you?
I’ve always been crafty, and was making earrings and selling them at work. Then I met Silvia Chenault our team President, and she told me about Etsy and gave me the encouragement and support to open my shop. At that time I was mostly making wine charms and my shop has evolved from there.


Some of Patty's sassy wine charms.

What was your most exciting sale that you ever made?
My first sale on Etsy was my most exciting. It was very affirming that some person I didn’t know thought my crafting was good enough to pay money for.

What are your long term goals for your Etsy shop? (1 year +)
I would love to double the volume of my sales. I always want it to be fresh and changing so I’m always looking for new inspirations


(Side note from Alexa: Patty is very innovative in her designs and phrases...how clever are these chalkboard glasses? Keep the fresh inspirations comin'!)

How did you get your shop name?
I had been kicking around names for a few days and the receptionist where I worked walked into my office and just said “Knick Knack Patty Shak” and that was it!



Do you sell your work in local shops or out in the community?
I have some of my stuff out at a local winery and am doing pretty good out there. I’ve also started booking myself in craft fairs and events all around central California. I’m hoping to make enough that I don’t have to work for someone else and I can stay home with my daughter.

What is one craft technique outside of what you sell in your shop that you love doing?
My husband and I would both love to do screenprinting for our own personal use. We’re always coming up with slogans and sayings that fit where we are in our lives. This summer is “The Summer of Love”. We’ve been really hit hard by the economy. We may not have much money but we have lot’s of love!

How does being crafty affect those around you?
I see my daughter thinking of things to make and sell for money. Right now she’s more motivated by the money than the love of the craft, but that may change eventually.

Hope you enjoyed this litle bio on Patty. Hop on over to her shop and check out her very original barware, charms, and other fun painted and etched finds!

– Alexa

De-Mystifying the Etsy Treasury

www.etsy.com/treasury.php

How to nab a treasury every time:

The Treasury list is really easy to figure out once you figure out what’s going on.

1. Treasuries expire all the time.

2. When enough expire that the total number drops below 333, the treasury opens!

And it’s really easy to figure out approximately when that will be! Here’s what I do…

First sort the list by expiration (circled in green above). Make the little triangle point up so the treasuries ending soonest are on page 1.

Next, find out how many treasuries need to expire until the total reaches 333. Just subtract 333 from the total (circled in pink above).

Ok, so once 48 Treasuries expire, the Treasury will be about ready to open. (Really there will be one more until it opens, but I like to give myself time to get ready!)

Now to figure out exactly when that will be… just start from the top of your list and count down 48. (Hint: there are 20 Treasuries listed per page) so just click over to the correct page and see how much longer you have to wait!

Once that list gets to 332, this box will appear at the bottom:

The key is to type your super creative title QUICKLY, and click the create button before everyone else does.

It helps to type your title ahead of time, exactly how you want it, and copy it… that way when the box opens, you just have to paste it in!

TRUST ME on this one… your heart will be pounding so hard, and your head will be spinning so fast that you won’t be able to think straight, let alone get that title in there with no typos!

Ok so I have a Treasury space… now what??

Most Treasury spaces are reserved for 2 days. In order to get the most exposure possible, you want to get your items picked out and placed as quickly as possible to start promoting your collection.

Etsy has a tool all ready for us… it’s called Poster Sketch, and it’s ALWAYS available to everyone, current treasury owner or not.

It’s hard to find so here’s the URL: http://www.etsy.com/poster_sketch.php

The poster sketch tool looks like this:

When you find an item you may want to include in your treasury, just copy the listing # into the listing id box!

When you get your Treasury spot, you can just copy the IDs from the Poster Sketch into the spaces in the Treasury.

FYI: Poster Sketch gives you 16 spots, but there are only 12 spots featured at a time in a Treasury. You still need to fill all 16 because the extra 4 are alternates!

When choosing Treasury items consider the following:

· Does the picture look absolutely fabulous??

· Does the picture get cropped all funny in the Poster Sketch??

· Does the seller have 100% positive feedback?

· Has the seller made at least 1 sale?

· Does the picture look absolutely fabulous??

· Be sure you don’t feature one seller multiple times.

· Don’t feature ONLY items that have just been listed… it’s ok to go back a few pages in the search results to give old items exposure.

· Does the picture look absolutely fabulous??

· Pick items at several different price points.

· Are all of the photos simple and un-cluttered?

· Unless you’re working with a theme, keep the types of items you feature varied.

· Dream up an eye-catching creative title.

· PROMOTE PROMOTE PROMOTE! There are often threads in the forums to share your creations!

· When you feature a seller, send them a convo and let them know! They probably won’t find out about it otherwise.

· Does the picture look absolutely fabulous??