Business tips and ideas...

I've been looking for ways to improve and build my little business. I purchased March edition of Country Living magazine the other day and they have started a new series entitled Let your Talent Shine. This Month is The Crafter. It is very good article full of useful and helpful hints and tips. I will certainly be giving some of these a try.

 

It spoke about doing craft classes, which is something I am very interested in doing and I am in the process of organising some to be held at work in the lunch break. These classes will help raise funds for the Breast Cancer Unit at Southend Hospital.

 

The article also gave some very useful websites to look at:

 

craftacreativebusiness.co.uk - for starting up and social media.

 

creativecraftbusiness.com - for new business e-course.

 

I hope those of you trying to do the same thing as me will find to helpful too.

 

Blessed Be

Julie x 

Sweet Love Heart...

Is now in my etsy shop...

 

Sweet Valentine Love Heart

Valentine Love Heart...

As promised here are some photo's of my Valentine needle punch design which will be going in my Etsy shop soon...

 

Looks lovely next to the flowers

Hanging on the handle of a wardrobe

Two tone red/pink



Catch up and magazine article in the offing...

I haven't written for a while as nothing particularly exciting has happened and I don't want to post boring stuff.

 

I have been finishing of my needle punch designs and cross stitch designs (photo's to follow) it has taken me quite a while as I have my day job and quite frankly when I get home in the evening, after cooking dinner I just feel too pooped to do much crafting so it all has to wait until the weekend where I fit it in between the usual house hold chores.

 

I have created a group of crafters where I work and I have organised 4 craft fayres so far with them. We have recently taken some photos of some of our items to use in the poster for the spring fayre due to be held in May and to use in a magazine article.

 

Where I work we have a magazine that is published once a month. We thought an article in this publication will bring the craft fayres to more peoples attention. We raise money for the departments charity of the year, 2015 is the year for the Breast Cancer Unit at Southend Hospital in Essex.

 

My job now is to write the article.

 

 

A bit late...or a bit early...

...depends which way you look at it. Here are my first punch needle designs for Christmas pockets. They are designed to hang on your tree and you can put whatever you want in them. They are not all finished yet.. here they are so far...

 

 

Candy cane and Santa

Closer pic of the candy cane with a sprig of holly

Closer pic of Santa.

 

Because these are small ornaments I used just 3 strands of DMC thread and my pinch needle set at #1.

 

My tools ready for my next pocket:

Showing my needle set at #1

My next pocket is a fir tree with snow laden branches

Tree outlined and filled in - wrong side...

Tree outlined and filled in with green and white snow - right side...

Tree now with trunk complete - right side...

 My colour choice for the tree.

 



Update on New Year To Do List...

...Ok here's a an update on my To Do List for 2015...

 

1. Open my Etsy shop - I have been populating the shop and hopefully over this weekend I will finish the process and have it open.

2. find new avenues to sell my crafts - thoughts and ideas are coming into  my head. 

3. Look for antique cupboard for dining room - yet to begin.

4. Sell unwanted stuff to make space in the house - yet to begin but list of what is to go has begun.

5. Plan my creating year - I have completed some marketing research and have made decisions of what I will carry on with then I will start a new creating list.

6. get the house decorated - this will probably begin planning in the Spring e.g March onwards. We are gathering local decorators details.

 



New Year...New Beginnings cont...

 

...This list will be continually gowing and being updated.

 

8.  Blog more often.

 

9. Learn how to use my new camera.