Crafty tweets

Still busy ramping up inventory for my three upcoming craft shows.  Yesterday I started making a whole pile of my Purse fobs/keyrings/zipper pulls - like this St. Patrick one. 

I have a lot of fun picking out the various beads and different shapes, sizes, and color assortments and deciding which Holy Medals to use.

If you follow me on Twitter you may have seen me tweeting pictures of my newest creations.  I figured why wait until I get the "real" photographs online to share them - so as I completed each one I took a quick snapshot of each with my cameraphone and tweeted away.

The pictures are a little dark since it's just a cameraphone and terrible office-lighting.  But it was great to share the little creations as they were made throughout the day.  

I'm finsihed for now.  I made a total of 20 new fobs over the course of yesterday and today.  If you want to see them all you can visit my Twitter account.  You can also browse through my Twitpic page and leave comments if you like.  :) 

All of the fobs I have just made will NOT be available in my Etsy shop until after all my craft fairs are over.  But if you stumble across one you really like I'd be happy to make a listing for you.  I can also change out the medals if you wanted a different Saint featured on whatever color arrangement you like.  I love making custom creations.

I have some more bookmarks and cellphone charms to make.  I might be live-tweeting those creations too. 

Treasured x4!

My fellow Etsy rosary makers have been making delightful mischeif!  We somehow acquired a total of FOUR Treasuries yesterday!  Two in the main room and one in Treasury West.  Here are the newest addtions as our October celebration of the rosary continues on!

Thank you to Beadedtreasuresetc and SpiritualArts! Thank you to the friends and fans for the clicks and comments! And thank you to the entire guild for being such a talented group of artisans! I am blessed to be surrounded by your love and inspiration!

Treasured!

The Rosary Guild did it again! Our members LaudeArts  & PMMDesigns1 have created TWO beautiful Treasuries as our Celebration of October as Rosary Month continues!  Whoo hoo!

Please comment and click each and every item in both Treasuries to help boost them to the top!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=88865
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=89010

Treasured!

Another Treasury for the Etsy Rosary Guild! October's celebration of the Rosary is going strong!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=88509

2010 Crafting Calendar - Marketing Locally

I'm about a month away from my first big show - I have been busy, busy, busy getting everything together and I'm about 3/4 of the way finished.  I have 3 shows this season and that is a huge increase from the one show I did in 2008.  But I'm already looking to 2010 and filling my Crafting Calendar full...

Now that I've made the purchases of tables, display pieces, and the hundred and hundreds of business cards that I need to be a REAL craft show seller, I fully plan on doing a lot more local craft shows next year. When I'm not preparing for this season's already-planned events, I am searching for more places to sell.

Since I am in a niche market - only selling religous (heavily Catholic) products - it can be a little intimidating applying to a local street fairs and Indie marketplaces where my products may not be fully appreciated.  I'm not letting that deter me by any means - and will still be happy to sell anywhere and everywhere that will accept me - I realized that I can also use my niche market by focusing on events sponsored by local churches and schools in my Archdiocese.

First, I was thinking of doing direct self-marketing campaign.  I wouldn't send them to the whole Archdoicese of course, but I would send them to the churches/Catholic schools that I can get to easily in my neighboring cities.  I want to let them know who I am, what I make, and that I am available as a vendor at their parish/school craft shows or fundraising events.  For those parishes with gift shops, my items would also be available for wholesale or consignment. 

I'm thinking of starting with post cards with pictures of my rosaries/crafts and links to my Etsy shop, Blog, and Contact information.  Instead of postcards, I may consider sending a small package with one of my inexpensive rosaries included as a gift to showcase the quality. Focusing on the fact that everything I make is handmade and that I am a local parishioner of the Cathedral in Seattle will be my selling points.  Knowing that a rosary or Holy Medal trinket was made with love from a fellow Catholic - and not mass produced in another country - could make all the difference.

I'm going to give this a lot of condiseration with plans on executing my first batch of marketing early in 2010  in hope of some Spring/Easter Sales and then again later in the year as a reminder for Fall/Winter/Advent sales.

If I get positive response from this campaign idea, and I'm not too overwhelmed with orders (I wish! LOL!), I may consider in 2011 branching out to other parishes in the Archdioces specifically for gift-shop wholesale or consignment.

So tell me, bloggers...how do you market yourself in your community? Do you sell in local shops as well as online and at craft shows? Besides social media (blogs, Twiiter, etc.) how do you get the word out there about what you do?

Treasures galore!

The Etsy Rosary Guild is at it again! A third Treasury in a week!  How lucky we have been to get these hard-to-come-by Treasuries...and we hope to get many more as we continue to celebrate October being the Month of the Rosary!

This Treasury features the talented artisans of the Rosary Guild - we make a whole lot more than just standard rosaries! This showcases the other fun and funky items you can find in our shops.  Please clikc, comment, and enjoy!  Thank you for your support!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=71867

Treasured!

Another Rosary Guild member,  BeadedTreasuresEtc, was able to get a Treasury last night!  Great selections!  We would love your support with Clicks and Comments.  Remember, clicking each individual item helps boost our Treasury rating.  Thank you so much!

Visit our Treasury!

Treasured beads

The Etsy Rosary Guild has a Treasury to celebrate October - The Month of the Rosary as proclaimed by Pope Leo XIII in 1883.  Please visit the Treasury, click the items, and leave a comment.  The Treasury expires October 14th.  http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=71525

I'm PoppyPlace's Friday Feature!

The crafty and kind artist behind PoppyPlace has featured me today on her gorgeous blog. 

http://poppyplacepdx.blogspot.com/2009/10/friday-features_09.html

I really loved doing her little interview - she's an absolute delight to talk to and I plan on doing a shop feature for her soon as well.  Until then, please give her blog and shops a visit -

http://poppyplacepdx.blogspot.com/
http://www.poppyplace.etsy.com/
http://www.vintaget.etsy.com/
http://www.designt.etsy.com/

Thank you PoppyPlace for the feature.  It's my very first blog feature ever! I am over the moon with excitement!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Rosary Guild Chatroom Sale Thursday!

October is the Month of the Rosary and The Etsy Rosary Guild is going to be hosting Chatroom Sales once a week all month long.  Our first Chatroom Sale will be this Thursday, October 8th starting at 4pm PDT/7pm EDT.

I'll be your host/moderator for the chat.  We'll be chatting with and featuring our teammates and the beautiful beads they make. 

You are encouraged to stop by the chat to make some new friends, ask questions, see pretty thing, and maybe even learn a little something in the process of having fun.

Hope to see you there!

Neato Site of the Day!

My Etsy shop is featured on NeatoStuff.com today!! I am the Neato Site of the Day!

See the scrolling banner at the top of the page.  If you click it you can Tweet it.  Please Tweet!

Treasured!

My red St. Benedict rosary was chosen for this Treasury for the CASTTEAM.

Beautiful items!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=85434

Click, comment, link, and love!  Thank you!

I'm in the Big Show!

I GOT ACCEPTED TO THE BIG CRAFT SHOW!!! *happy dance*happydance*

To be more precise, I got accepted to the EtsyRain show which I really, really, really wanted to be in (I was calling it "Big Show #1" in previous posts).  I got the email last night and I busted out a "WHOO HOO!" so loud it scared my cat off my lap and she hid under the bed for a while.  LOL!
It will be the weekend before Thanksgiving - Two entire days! - November 21st & 22nd. We have the entire upstairs and downstairs of the lobby at the Intiman Theater which is located on the Seattle Center campus near the Space Needle. Prime holiday shopping time in a prime location - I could not be more thrilled! I feel like an understudy hitting the Big Time! 

For the record, I was NOT accepted to Big Show #2.  And this is just fine by me.  The booth fees for that one are a tad intimidating (over $300!) so I'm a little relieved I won't be doing this one.  I will, however, consider applying for it next year for either the Summer or Winter shows.

I will also, of course, be selling during my church's Advent Bazaar in early December.  I am also thinking about contacting another local parish that has an upcoming event too. 

So that's two (possibly 3) events to look forward to.  Needless to say, I have the  jitters and will most certainly be blogging a lot about my excitement and nerves as I prepare more inventory, creat swag, work on display set-up, etc.  I apologize in advance for any upcoming blog posts where I am spazzing out with joy and worry all at the same time.  LOL!  I appreciate you guys putting up with me and supporting me. 

October 1st - Feast of Saint Therese of Lisieux

Today the church celebrates the Feast of Saint Therese of Lisieux for this is the day she was Born to Heaven, having died September 30th 1897.  She is also well known as "The Little Flower of Jesus. 

Therese is known for her "Little Way." In her quest for sanctity during her illness, she realized that it was not necessary to accomplish heroic acts, or "great deeds", in order to attain holiness and to express her love of God. She wrote,

"Love proves itself by deeds, so how am I to show my love? Great deeds are forbidden me. The only way I can prove my love is by scattering flowers and these flowers are every little sacrifice, every glance and word, and the doing of the least actions for love."

She lived a very short life (1873 – 1897) but has had an enormous impact on Catholics worldwide because of her writings and unending love of Christ.  Therese was beatified in April 1923 and canonized on May 17, 1925, by Pope Pius XI, only 28 years after her death. In October 1997, Pope John Paul II declared her one of the thirty-three Doctors of the Universal Church, one of only three women so named (the others being Teresa of Avila (Saint Teresa of Jesus) and Catherine of Siena).

She is the Patron Saint of flowers, the ill, missionary workers, especially those on missions to Africa and the African AIDS crisis.

It is said that those who ask for her Saintly intercession will receive a shower of roses. 

Novena to Saint Therese of the Child Jesus

O Little Therese of the Child Jesus, please pick for me a rose from the heavenly gardens and send it to me as a message of love.

O Little Flower of Jesus, ask God today to grant the favors I now place with confidence in your hands... (mention specific request)

Saint Therese, help me to always believe as you did, in God's great love for me, so that I might imitate your "Little Way" each day.

Amen.