Spring has Sprung!

The sun is shining and we are looking at record setting high temperatures for this upcoming Easter weekend! I think I might take part of the day off and take the little man to the park this afternoon, but before that I wanted to share some springtime beauties from some wonderful artisans. Enjoy!

Mom Bookmark
Pink and Green Fresh Water Pearl Chandelier Earrings
Medium Wallet - Chinese Lanterns

Green Glass and Blue Bead Earrings

Mama's Dress-up Beads

Do you ever sit at the computer with a listing ready to go and draw a blank as to what to name it? I have had this beautiful necklace completed for awhile but a name didn't jump out at me. I decided to get it loaded up on the computer in hopes that the listing gods would be on my side and I would be suddenly inspired. Lo and behold a tiny voice whispered "Mama's Beads". I looked down to see my toddler pointing at the screen and smiling and I thought....how perfect! Since this style of necklace is a little fancier I thought that Mama needed some Dress-up Beads for a night on the town or lunching with the gals! Inspiration sometimes comes when you least expect it!

A Bit About Amethyst

I had so much fun with Tidbits About Turquoise that I thought I would share another stone with you. Here are some bits about amethyst for you to enjoy:

*February's birthstone

*Said to assist with stopping addictions (Funny, I have plenty of amethyst beads and yet they don't seem to be helping with my bead addiction!)

*Assists with meditation and psychic awareness

*Suggested that amethyst helps with headaches and other pain

Do you know any other bits about amethyst or have an amethyst or purple creation to share?

Any ideas as to which Bits you would like to learn about next?

Starting the day with some SUNSHINE!

What a nice surprise to wake up to this morning! I was thrilled to find that Josee Lafond Design nominated me for the Sunshine Award!
This award is given to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspires others in the blog world. So sweet!
The rules for accepting the award are:
1. Put the logo on your blog or within your post.
2. Pass the award to 12 bloggers.
3. Link the nominies within your post.
4. Let Them know they received this award by commenting on their blog.
5.Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

Here are my nominees:

1. Audrey's Country Crafts
2. Christie Cottage
3. Fools and Jewels
4. ARE Jewellery
5. H is for Handmade
6. The Floundering SAHM
7. She's Batty Designs
8. Graphic Design by Tara
9. Bumbleberries Boutique
10. In Pursuit
11. One 2 Try
12. A Single Mom & A Teenaged Girl

I hope that you will check out these blogs for great tips on crafting, business, parenthood and more! Have a favorite blog you would like to share? Feel free to post in the comments...I've got a fresh cup of coffee and would love to do some reading!

Let the Sun Shine In Bookmark

Ever since I was a little girl I have been addicted to bookmarks! I remember being so excited for the bookfair at school and spent ages wading through the bookmarks in search of one that was just perfect. I'm still addicted to bookmarks (although I don't get as much time to read with a little one as I'd like) and I'm even more addicted to making them! I recently listed this sun charm bookmark in my Artfire studio.

Now that the little guy and I are FINALLY getting over this terrible cold I'm hoping to kick it into overdrive and get my shops loaded up!

Featured Artist~ Saffery Moore

What would you like people to know about you as a person?
My name is Rachelle Luitjens and I am a Canadian (North Vancouver-born) living who has been living in the US for the past 6 years. We moved here when my husband (Nathan) took a pastoral job in Iowa. After not being able to work legally for someone else 5 years (immigration laws), I decided to start my own business doing what I love to do! I work in my "spare" time which I take in little bits because I have 3 boys ages 5, 3, and 2 who keep me very busy.

Tell me a bit about your art and your products? What inspires you?
I love bags and purses - I used to walk through stores just eyeing them, wishing I could buy more. So now, I make my own instead - which is so much more fun because I can choose whatever fabric I feel like using at the time. I tend to gravitate toward bright colours because they just make me happy. And I have a pile of fabric just waiting and calling my name in my "workshop" right now (that's what my 3 year old calls my sewing room!).

Little Leopard Handbag

Most of the baby and child items I started making out of necessity with 3 little boys around, and found that others liked my stuff (which is always nice!). The change pad is my favourite creation because it has made my life so much easier - I hate having to take a full diaper bag everywhere I go! I made my first puppet theatre in order to channel some of the creative energy of my kids into something fun for me as well, and now I'm trying to figure out what themes I should use on the fronts of the theatres to stock my store!

I guess you could say that my kiddos are my inspiration for a lot of my items.

all-in-one baby change pad / diaper bag

How do you share your creations? Where can we find you?
I share my creations on both my blog and on facebook. My blog address is http://www.safferymoore.blogspot.com and my facebook fan page is http://www.facebook.com/safferymoore. I also have a flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/people/safferymoore.

And of course I sell them in my etsy store at http://www.safferymoore.etsy.com.

What is your most important lesson since starting your craft/business?
Patience, patience, and patience! I get really excited when I get an order, especially when I get more than one order at a time, but then I get frustrated when things slow down again. I've heard others say that it takes time to become established on etsy and to be patient with sales, so that's what I'm focusing on right now.

Some fun tidbits:
-Coffee, tea or hot chocolate?
definitely coffee - I just bought myself a Saeco Aroma Espresso Machine last month and have been making myself at least 2-3 Americanos a day! (and yes, I'm a little bit jittery :))
-Your favourite candy?
dark chocolate - I could eat it all day (while I drink my coffee)
-Your favourite colour? I've always like blue, any shade!
-Your favourite movie?
well... that would necessitate actually getting out to the movies for "grown up" shows which hasn't happened in a while! But if I were to choose an all-time favourite it would probably be Fried Green Tomatoes. I could watch that movie any day.
-If I were to catch you grooving it would be to this song….
almost any country song, but probably something by Brooks and Dunn - who I get to go see in Vancouver in May!

Promoting your craft business- Marketing Calendar

Do you ever turn on the computer with the intention of doing a little promotion only to find that hours have gone by while you got sucked into the forums, started browsing shops or have checked your craftcult stats 100 times? One of the most useful tips that I have read is to create a marketing calendar. It is a great way to keep yourself focused and after some time you will begin to see some trends between your promotional efforts and shop traffic/sales.

All you need is a calendar. The large desk calendars work great if you have the space but any size will do. For every day you will write down if you posted in the forums (and how many times), blogged, tweeted, facebooked, social networked in some other way, sent out a newsletter, etc. You can also add your shop/item hearts and sales to the list. Then take coloured pencils or highlighters and assign a colour to each listing. After awhile you will be able to see at a glance where you are concentrating your efforts (and hopefully whatever colour you assigned to sales is also appearing with some frequency!)

How do you focus your promotional efforts? What tricks have worked for you to keep you focused?