What I'm Working On

I've been working on a new website and an online shopping cart. I build my own website using Dreamweaver, and I've signed up for an online shopping cart with BigCartel. The shopping cart will be part of my website. Here's a screenshot of my new website in progress:And here is a screenshot of my new shopping cart. I'm customizing the colors to match my homepage: I have been wanting to re-do my website, make it easier to update, and I've been searching a long time for a website shopping cart that will actually work for me.

I am really glad I found BigCartel. I recommend it for anyone who wants to set up another online shop besides Etsy or Artfire, etc. BigCartel is just a stand-alone store that you'd have to link to from your own website, blog, etc. They are not a venue in and of themselves like Etsy and Artfire are. For a flat monthly fee - or free - you can set up an online store with all the bells and whistles. Check them out.

I'll certainly post here on this blog when the new website is up and running.
Have fun!

Packaging Make-Over

In addition to my new logo, the way cool Moo cards I just got and the matching stickers that are on the way, some other aspects of my image are getting an update. No, not a new wrinkle cream - it's these hand-decorated slide boxes that are now going out to some of my customers:They are decorated using a technique an artist friend of mine shared with me almost 20 years ago. I've always wanted to try it and finally got around to it. I'm a major procrastinator!

To start with, I got some plain white slide boxes from PaperMart.com. Then I tore up different colored and patterned tissue paper into little pieces. I used an Elmer's spray mount to put glue on one side of each piece of tissue, then quickly laid them on the box. The wet spray mount makes the tissue papers meld together in a nice way. Then I let the boxes dry for at least 24 hours... however, I'm finding that some of the spray mount that leaks through is still tacky after more than a week in the dry Arizona heat. No good. I've tried attaching the tissue with a glue stick, and it works, but I don't get the bleed-through effect like I do with the wet spray mount. Some of the good, dry boxes have gone out to customers but I need to find a better way to make them now.

A small set of beads fits nicely inside the box, looking very chic wrapped in matching tissue paper. The Mini Moo cards also fit perfectly inside.

I got inspiration for this packaging make-over from a post I read on Patty Lakinsmith's blog. Neither Patty nor I are big fans of plastic and non-biodegradable packaging, and don't like sending it to our customers who then have to throw this brand new plastic away - or hopefully find a way to re-use it.

I want to send my customers something that they do not have to throw away, like an attractive and possibly reusable gift box. If they can't reuse it, they can recycle it or throw it onto their compost pile and it will biodegrade. So far I've done away with little zip-loc bags for my merchandise, but I haven't found a good alternative to the bubble wrap and padded envelopes I ship in. The overall idea is to redesign my packaging to be more earth-friendly, reusable and attractive.

Payton Jett of GreenGlassCafe packages her beads in muslin bags which she stamps with her logo. I really like the muslin bag idea, it's my second choice after the slide boxes.

The boxes can be time-consuming, but I love making them. They're a great creative outlet for me, something artistic to do besides lampworking.

Moo!

My Moo cards arrived. Yay. I love them! The quality is great, the paper is very thick, the printing is excellent. I can't wait to give them out to my friends and customers.

I designed 50 cards, so the pack of 100 has two of each card design. All of the cards have the same info on the back - my business name, web site, etc.

I'm waiting for matching stickers to arrive any day now.
Here's a photo of the cards and their nifty white PVC box:I will definitely be ordering more of these. I think 100 cards is gonna run out fast.

I also think these would make great Christmas gifts, especially the Moo sticker books. Hmmmm... wow, it's really not too early to start shopping for Christmas. Yikes!

Beaders Showcase

I've discovered a great new site called Beaders Showcase. It's a social networking site for lampworkers, seed beaders, and beadists of all kinds. I've set up a gallery there, commented on other people's galleries, joined the Lampworkers group, and made a few "friends"! Here's a widget with photos from my new gallery:

I hope you stop by and set up a gallery of your own! I'm accepting friend requests!

Triton Focal Bead

Here's my favorite focal bead of late, made with Triton, some Kronos frit, and clear. It's in my Etsy shop:I don't often make focal beads these days, but when I feel inspired to make one and it turns out nice I'm really happy.

I think the reason I don't make focal beads much is because of a decision I made about a year ago. I decided that for the amount of time I spend on a focal - 15 minutes to an hour - the same number of minutes could be spent making 2-5 smaller beads. (I obsess over business details sometimes!) With a focal, if something messes up in the design that I can't fix, there goes 20 minutes or more plus all the glass right into the bead orphanage. Instead I could make small beads, and if one messes up, then I've only lost 5 minutes and a tiny bit of glass. Or, I can cover over the top of the messed up small bead and make a bigger bead or focal out of it. It works out that the percentage of good beads coming out of the kiln the next day is much higher when I make small beads.

What I like a lot about making focal beads is the large surface area I have to work with and the possibility of a more complex design. Also an issue is kiln space. If I'm making large focals all day, I always have enough kiln space for the whole torch session. With small beads, I can work for about 4 hours tops before the kiln is full.

This reminds me to check back on Lampwork, Etc., where someone mentioned they have a technique for packing more beads in the kiln. I'd love to know if anyone has any brilliant ideas they could share on this!

New Banners and Moo Cards

I've been having fun with Photoshop this past week making new banners and business cards. You can see my new blog banner at the top of this page. I designed it so that it will be easy to change the colors around as the mood strikes me. The curly designs are done with a Photoshop brush that I made myself.Besides new banners I'm designing new business cards, and I'm going to try Moo cards this time. Each card can have a different image on the back. You can find out more about Moo cards in the Etsy Storque and Forums.

Helpful Site for Etsians

If you're an Etsy seller, you might want to check out this on-line tool at majaba.org. Type in your Etsy username and it brings up a list of who has hearted your shop, hearted individual items, and the ratio of views to hearts.

The list at majaba.org is easier to navigate than Etsy's (albeit slick and cool) "see who hearts this shop" feature. Try it when you want to heart back people who have hearted you. It's also informative - you can easily see what some of your most popular items are.

Try it out, it's fun. Click here to go to majaba.org.

I found this site when I was "blurfing" around to other bead blogs. Here is the post I found at The Beadful Life @ beadFX.

Beads for Custom Orders

I sometimes take custom orders for beads and sets. Usually I'm asked if I could make something similar to beads I've made in the past.

Here are two sets I made for a customer this week which are variations on some of my earlier bead sets. This first set is made with Caramel Apple and Silver Cinnamon glass by ASK104 and Effetre Dark Silver Plum dots. The octagonal shape was made with Zoozi's Crystal press. Some of the beads were reduced for a slight metallic sheen:And this set is transparent Effetre brown with Psyche scroll designs:

Business Record-Keeping for Artists

Working at the business side of being an artist is oddly enough something I enjoy doing. For a long time now I've been trying to design an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of my sales and expenses, but I don't know enough about Excel to get it to do what I want it to. Last year I tried using QuickBooks and became completely frustrated.

Finally I've found a place to purchase spreadsheets that have been specifically designed for artists, particularly artists that sell on Etsy:
http://jjmfinance.etsy.com
I've been using some of these spreadsheets and they're great. It's a huge relief to finally have a bookkeeping system that works, is easy to use and easy to understand.

So here's my little plug for this Etsy shop, JJMFinance! Here you can buy all kinds of spreadsheets that will help you stay organized if you sell on Etsy, eBay, at craft shows or anywhere. I got great customer service when I needed help using the worksheets, and the products are very reasonably priced, too.

Getting organized and smarter about my business is a great way to start the new year! Woo-hoo!