New to the shop :: May Earrings

Introducing my May Earrings. These earrings feature boros from Patricia Hernandez in a bright green, with pale blue and white spots. They match perfectly with the green onyx briolettes on the bottom. On top is a cluster of minty green chrysoprase rondelles, light blue topaz rondelles, and darker blue kyanite briolettes for added color and sparkle.

I wanted something bright and green and fresh (I'm so ready for warmer weather!). I love the way these turned out, and the bright kyanite brios add a really interesting texture, methinks.

To see more views, visit the listing right here.

Week 4 :: A Lofty Goal

This week's blog prompt is simple: Name a lofty goal. I've got two big ones right now, a business goal and a personal goal.

My business goal is to reach 500 sales in my Etsy shop by year's end. I feel blessed to have made the sales I have since I started on Etsy, and it would blow my mind to meet this mark. I have some ideas to help me get there, so no matter the outcome, I'll feel good about my efforts.

My personal goal is to save enough to go to Europe with my friends for our 30th birthday. We're planning on celebrating all of our birthdays at one time with a big girls trip, so it would be amazing to actually go.

This goal may be a little harder for me to accomplish than my business goal, simply because I tend to feel guilty about spending money on me, rather than my business. But, since we're all only 28, I've got some time to make this happen.

Anybody have a lofty goal they'd like to share?

Color Story :: If It Works for You

Click for a larger view

I've been wearing a lot of neutrals (read: black) lately, and decided to add in some color. I knew I wanted something that would work from the end of winter to spring, so these are the colors of my newest wardrobe pieces. What do you think?

This palette was made on the COLOURlovers website. You can make your own here, or view my other palettes here.

Tip Share :: The Many Uses of Postcards

Yesterday, I mentioned crafting an MBA's post on how to make the most out of postcards. Today, I thought I'd share a way I make postcards work for me: thank you cards.

When I first started, I made my own thank you cards out of colorful cardstock. While this was great because I could make them whenever I needed them for little to no cost (I already had all the supplies), it was extremely time consuming and didn't match any of my branding.

So, I used Photoshop to design thank you cards. Each one would measure 3 x 4 inch once cut, which allowed me to put 3 thank you cards on each 4 x 9 inch rack card. Not only do I save time and ink doing it this way, I also save money by going for a bigger size and cutting them down myself.

Thank you cards, before cutting

Thank you cards, cut!

I cannot tell you how many hours this has saved me, but I'm willing to bet bunches. This also allows me to keep my branding consistent right down to my thank you cards, which was bugging me from day one.

I like these so much, I'm going to make my business cards (which are in the photo above on the left) match my thank you cards when it comes time to reorder.

To Make Your Own Cards

* You need a program that allows you to create files, not just edit them - something like Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, or Paint Shop Pro. If you don't want to purchase a program, see if GIMP or OpenOffice will work for you.

* Decide the dimensions of your finished card. The general sizes for postcards are 4 x 6 inches, 4.25 x 5.5 inches, 5 x 7 inches, with some companies offering postcards in 5.5 x 8.5 inches, 6 x 11 inches, and 8.5 x 11 inches, and 4 x 9 inch rack cards. Try to make your dimensions fit within one of these sizes; for example, you can get four 2 x 3 inch earring cards on one 4 x 6 inch postcard.

* Get the specifications for your project from the printing company you're going to use. This is important because it can affect the quality of your finished product, and specifications can vary from company to company. Create a new file to those specs (or, if your printer offers a free download, use that and create over it), and start designing your cards.

* After you've ordered your cards and they've arrived at your house, the last step is to cut them down to the size you want. Easiest way to do this is to use a paper-cutter (found in the scrapbooking aisle of your local craft store) or an X-acto knife, ruler, and a cutting mat.


So, I'd love to know, do you have any cool uses for postcards?

Inspired by :: craftMBA.com

Today, I wanted to share a fairly new blog, crafting an MBA. It's run by Megan Auman, who some might recognize from her jewelry shop on Etsy. Megan guest blogged on Scoutie Girl last week, and mentioned crafting an MBA. Curious, I headed over, and I'm glad I did. It has some clever business tips for crafters (like how to make the most out of postcards and should you do a trade show). It's always nice to have another business reading source, and I'm excited to see how the site evolves.

New to the Shop :: Carolina Earrings

Last week, I shared how I started a pair of earrings. Here's the finished result!

Introducing my Carolina Earrings. These feature gorgeous artisan borosilicate beads from Patricia Hernandez, olive green vesuvanite briolettes, blue topaz rondelles, tiny faceted amethyst briolettes, and red onyx rondelles.

In my post last week, I showed just the vesuvanite, blue topaz, and red onyx beads. After some playing around, I decided to add in the amethyst. I had originally seen some purple in the boro beads, and decided this color scheme needed a little extra punch. What do you think?

Week 3 :: Obstacle You Overcame

This week's blogging task is to describe an obstacle you overcame. One question that has plagued me since starting my own business is this:

"How do I give my business everything it needs to grow without losing myself in it?"

When I'm working, it's hard to tear myself away. I'm going, going, going from the moment I get up till I fall into bed at night, and I spend my days brainstorming, creating, photographing, networking. Despite the occasional bad day (everyone's allowed a couple, right?), I still can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing. However, working this way has a high potential for exhaustion and burn out.

After going through that a few times, I figured out balancing life with work is not just important, but imperative, because running your own business isn't a 9 to 5 kind of job; having an online business is also challenging, because my shop isn't "closed" at the end of the day, so I feel a compulsive need to check and recheck all of my sites constantly. The reality of working from home is that I put in about 60-70 hours a week, but I do it because I want to. I want this venture to succeed. Hi, my name's Brandi, and I'm a work-a-holic.

Over the last two and a half years, I've come up with a way to make this work for me: I have a "relaxed" schedule. I know what I need to get done during the week, and as I wake up each day, I plan out what I'm going tackle, rather than scheduling every last minute of the day. To save time, I do things in batches - I usually have two or three production days, then a photographing day, then an editing day. This gives me a certain freedom to my day to tend to personal things, and lets me do daily tasks faster (like blogging or listing items). I started with a firm schedule, but quickly became frustrated with myself when I couldn't meet it or keep it. By having a relaxed schedule, I try my best to keep the pressure off of myself.

Through a crazy random happenstance, I came upon an article entitled "How to Keep Working at Home from Destroying Your Life" last week (I first mentioned this article here). My first thought was "where was this two years ago??", and as I was reading, I found myself nodding along. It's gratifying to know that I made a good choice with the relaxed schedule (I like his choice of terms, "fluid schedule"), and I'm going to brainstorm ways to determine and implement my own boundaries when it comes to work, like the author did.

I'm not sure there is a definite end to this kind of work-at-home problem; I think it's more of a constant struggle to do better than yesterday, to set priorities for yourself, and to make a conscious effort to take a break every so often. Meet up with friends for lunch, take a reading break in the afternoon. Most of the pressure I feel is definitely self-inflicted, so I try to silence the critic in me every now and then; instead of focusing on what I didn't get done, I try to feel good about what I did accomplish. It's a process, but I'm feeling good about it, which is a first for me.

Now that I've shared my story, I'd love to know - how do you balance work and life?