Project Wonderful

Don't you just love that name?  I'm so excited to now offer free advertising here on my blog!  Even as the bids go up, they stay relatively low.  It's a great service for all involved.  I only know of them through the handmade movement although I'm sure others use the service.  If you are a blogger, project wonderful is a great way to support artists world wide.  As a reader it's a great way to see all the great work that's out there being offered.  As an artist and indie business owner, I love how easy and friendly the service is.  And I love that I can get my name out there one person at a time for pennies a day.  They work with paypal which makes it all seriously easy.  So be sure to check out the lovely things being advertised on the side of my blog!!

ARTFIRE - Item of the Hour!

I'm so excited!  My Paint It Black Cozy Cowl was featured on the front page of Artfire as the item of the hour.  What a fun feature they have there.  It is a great feeling to get an email letting you know your item is going to be featured on the front page.  Thanks for the warm fuzzies Artfire!  And if you need a warm fuzzy, take home on of these cowls.  : )

Blue Star Butterflies in the Local Paper!

A local paper, The St. Croix Valley Press, sought me out to do an interview.  It was so fun and exciting to be contacted.  They did a search online for artists and creative types in this general area.  This area being Eastern Minnesota / Western Wisconsin.  The gorgeous St. Croix river is the dividing line between the two.  I am so honored to be featured in the local paper and was pleasantly surprised to be contacted by someone who read the article the day it ran.  She is a costume and ball gown designer and needed to make a lace edging on an amazing gown she was working but had not had much luck trying to figure it out on her own.  She was so relieved to find me in the paper and we got together that weekend for a bit of a lesson and a plan to make her dress come to life.  What a wonderful opportunity!  I hope to get to see more of her work again soon.

Please take a peek at the interview here.  There were pictures included in the article that was printed, but they're not on the website.  I didn't know what day the article ran, until the woman contacted me about a crochet lesson!  So, I don't have a copy for a keepsake which is a bummer, but I suppose I'll be alright.  Thanks for checking out my interview and getting to know a little more about me and Blue Star Butterflies.

SPRING!

It's coming, it's coming!  The birds are out and I adore listening to them.  I've been able to shoo the kids outside and bring my knitting with while I watch them play.  I've been eagerly searching for buds on trees and they're still a bit hard to find.  But they will come and I'll be so happy when things start greening up a bit around here.  

The warmer weather brings slower business in my neck of the woods.  And that's alright with me.  I think I'm really enjoying taking the slow road (not sure that I had the choice to take the fast road, but hey) in growing my business.  It's been fun to think of things to implement next fall or next year etc.  I found a fantastic cotton blend yarn that I'd love to work with more to offer some spring and summer friendly items at Blue Star Butterflies.  Here's a sneak peek!

I've also thoroughly enjoyed finally learning to knit this year and dreaming of all the future holds with the added possibilities it brings.  I'm doing a LOT of personal projects as I hone my craft before putting it out there for all of you.  So here are the latest two...  Of course I think the kids are particularly cute as well as the handcrafted pixie (or alien for my boy) hats!

2 More Days!

Hey party people, you've got two more days to enter in the huge handmade giveaway that Blue Star Butterflies is co-sponsoring on TryHandmade.Com!!  What are you waiting for?  Get yer booties over there and snag a chance to win some awesome handmade goodies.

Featured Artist - Krug's Eco-Logic

I found Krug's Eco-Logic on the Etsy forum through another etsian posting about a super cool experiment that Erin, the super-mom behind the product, was doing.  I had been wanting to switch to handmade natural skin products for a while but had no idea how to choose who to go with.  I read Erin's blog about the experiment and read the comments people left and I decided it was a sign.  For an entire week she was using commercial soap on one half of her body and her handmade soap on the other - in December!  With the cold burn and heater drying outs, ack!  She posted pics of each side nearly every day, it was super cool.  I bought a bunch of stuff from her on Etsy and I am so happy with it!  Especially the whipped lotion.  I've had eczema to varying degrees since I was a toddler.  It has gotten better in adulthood, but I still have outbreaks and end up using cortisone like lotion!  It's only been a few months now, but since I started using her whipped body butter, I haven't had to do that.  Yippeeeee!  I'm happy to say that I'm now a repeat customer and plan to be for a long time!  My favorite scents so far are Sunrise and Calming Scent - Lavender and Chamomile.  I have the body scrub in Sunrise and it smells delish in my shower!  Mmmmm.

Right now Erin is offering a super cool 'online spa party' deal.  You can get all the details on her blog.  Check it out!

Fun new hair!

Etsy in the news!

Here's a report from local Minnesota news!  Click

HUGE HANDMADE GIVEAWAY

I mean HUGE!  There are more than a few different sponsors for this giveaway that I am participating in.  TryHandmade.Com is running this fantastic giveaway and I'm donating a Cozy Cowl from Blue Star Butterflies in the winners choice of color.  Go check it out, have some fun and browse the other fantastic shops in this giveaway.  

Testing, Testing.

I'm trying out a new blog layout.  I really wanted the 3 column layout, I love the way they look and I think it's easier to navigate.  I love the look of this, but the placement of the words in the header is less than great.  I am super tech un-savvy, so this is all a serious challenge for me.  Not to mention, trying to learn techie stuff with my kids running around poking each other with dinosaurs and fairies, screaming and whining at each other!    

I also finally found the cute Twitter buttons, thanks to Lori from Risky Beads who I've told you about before.  I really would like to throw one on my page, but I totally don't get it!  LOL  Maybe it's because it's Friday the 13th, maybe it's because of the gloomy weather we've had all week, or maybe it's just my mommy brain.  I was hoping to figure it out and come tell you all about it and how to get one of your own. But I can't, WAH.  What I can do is share the link so if you are smarter than I am you can get one for yourself.  And if you are in a good mood, maybe you'll tell me how to do it too!   They also have a nice assortment of  Twitter backgrounds for you to choose from.  In other news I am teaching myself a new craft so that I will have more diversity of product for my  Blue Star Butterflies shops on Artfire  and Etsy  I tried to learn to knit several years back, but I was so much better at crochet that I couldn't hang in there.  I quit half way through a scarf and never looked back.  But I have always liked the way that knit looks.  Now that I have started this little indie business of mine I wanted to expand.  And I live in Minnesota which provides me with a long winter, just begging a person to learn a new craft while cooped up indoors.  I am really happy that I listened to my heart and ditched the scarf because I just wasn't into it.  I decided to go for a hat and it was totally worth it!  It was fun and interesting.  I started over several times, so I'm a pro at casting on now.  I won't say it's a great hat, but it ain't bad and I'm not embarrassed to wear it- rock on!  This is the pattern I used.  I even made my hubby at hat and it turned out very well.  I'm super pleased that my years of yarn work have lent themselves to picking up this new craft.  I have a few more personal projects in mind, like a hat for myself that I'm currently working on with some gorgeous hand painted alpaca yarn in a super fun design.

Not bad, eh!  And I want to make a wide scarf/shawl.  By that time I think I will be doing well enough to start creating things for Blue Star Butterflies!  Yipee.

Minnesota Fabulous

There is a fantastic little studio that I've been dying to go check out.  It's called The Studio at Rush Creek.  They offer some really cool classes - Here  is the link for the schedule.  One of my fellow team members fro the Etsy Minnesota Street Team, Jennifer Clayton,  teaches some classes there.  This month she's teaching a class on how to spin your own yarn.  OMG, is that right up my alley or what?  There is an amazing variety of classes offered here and your sure to find something your interested in.  They also do kids parties and classes, and teen and adult parties in addition to all the cool classes.  They even have a coffee bar!  If you are in the Twin Cities areas, you have got to check this out.  

I'm not sure that Jennifer remembers, but I met her last spring at the Craftstravaganza craft fair.  I had the whole fam in tow, and it was colder than all get out.  She makes the most adorable little, and big, crocheted creatures.  My son was totally in love with one of the big monster/alien type ones and it was super hard to leave it behind.  I have often thought I should have gotten him.  It would have been worth it.  You can find more of her work on Etsy!  Her seller name is FuzFrenzy.  Http://fuzfrenzy.etsy.com  And keep up with her regularly on her blog!  

Featured Artist - Risky Beads

I recently made a purchase from Lori at Risky Beads.  With the Artfire buzz growing, I set up shop and wanted to go through the buying process myself.  I looked around a little while and quickly found Risky Beads.   I was surprise that I hadn't run across her shop on Etsy, but we all know how crowded Etsy is!!  Lori sells on etsy at RiskyBeads.etsy.com and has a destash bead shop there as well RiskyStash.etsy.com  , also on artfire RiskyBeads.artfire.com  and at 1000 Markets 1000markets.com/users/riskybeads

She has been selling on etsy for nearly 18 months and has a fantastic shop with stellar photos. She has even written about her experience in a little book you can find in her shop.  I look forward to reading it soon.  It's full of helpful tips and her great personality.   She's a true artist all the way around.  From intreaging write ups for her work to creative photo set up.  She is what I hoped to be when I started putting my etsy shop together, slowly, last spring.  

I purchased a couple pair of earrings ( here and here ) from her and was extremely pleased with my experience.  We had good communication and my package arrived quickly.  The contents were cutely wrapped, it was fun to open each little item.  The package was full of goodies, business cards, suggested sellers, a calendar magnet, and some other surprises!  I think Lori at Risky Beads has got it going on!  If you are a seller of handmade goods on line, you can learn something from her.  And if you are a buyer of handmade goods, you are going to love your experience.  If you are both, like me, you really can't go wrong!   I am really enjoying my new earrings, there are exactly what I was looking for.  Thank you Lori!

Lori has a very cool blog (included on my bloglist on the side) which you can find at riskybeads.blogspot.com  in addition to her other artistic abilities she's a fantastic writer.  I highly suggest popping over there for a while!  She is currently running a huge Artfire giveaway.  You won't want to miss it.

The Cutest Blog on the Block

   Today, I'd like you to meet 'The Cutest Blog on the Block'!  I was on the Etsy forums the other day and someone was asking about blog style.  This site was suggested and I figured if more than a few pages of people on Etsy found it helpful, than you might too!  If you're looking for help designing your blog, this site is tons of help.  They have everything from free blog layouts to how-to's.  This cure all site for a boring blog has a total of 350 FREE layouts.   I couldn't believe it!  You're sure to find at least one that you love.  You can scroll through the pages from one to the next, or use the navigation tool on the right side of their page to look through different categories.  The Cutest Blog on the Block also has an assortment of other accessories for you as well.  Cute little buttons ranging in topic from Twilight to Humor.  For those interested they have several digital scrapbooking pages available for download and photo card design for purchase.  Check out their 'blog secrets' section for helpful how-to info on a variety of topics, like adding a signature and getting a 3 column template.

Handbag Giveaway!

I came across a very cool blog doing a super giveaway the other day and wanted to let you all have the chance to score this sweet bag too!  I have loved this fabric for quite some time now and have been teetering on the brink of buying myself some.  Imagine my excitement to find out you can win a bag made out of it!!  The bag to be given away is from GirlyGirlBags  .  The giveaway is running on Designs by Vanessa, which is another cool artist blog.  Take a minute and check it out.  Good luck to you!!  (and me....)

New Blog Links

I have added a new list on the side of the blog.  Some of my favorite blogs!  Some of them are inspirational, some are indie business helpful, some are just great artists I love.  I hope you'll find something you like over there too!

Another featured artist coming later this week.  Check back soon!

Wordless Wednesday

Lauren Alexander

Something new for Monday morning.

This is a fun idea I found on 1 stop mom    Meet my friends Monday is an introduction to other blogs you like.  Which equals, 'meeting my friends'.  It is Nap Time   came up with this fun idea.  Today I'd like you to meet  Timothy Adam Designs    I swear, if there is anything you need to know about running an indie business, he can help!  There is so much helpful info, it will blow your mind.  I really don't know how any of us would get along without Mr. Adam.  If you are selling your handmade goods, this is a blog you can't live without.  
Happy Monday to all!

Crazy helpful!

As I have been wandering through blogland reading many, many amazing things, I came upon this fantastic post written by Infektia.  She gives a straight forward how-to for getting stats from Google about your blog!  Hallelujah.  I am certain that if I had not found her post, I would never have been able to figure this out on my own.  With her directions it was easy.  THANK YOU Infektia!  You can click here     or go here -->   http://www.infektia.net/how-to-track-your-blogger-statistics-with-google/  to read her helpful directions for Google Analytics.  You won't be sorry.  

Happy New Year Blogland!  2009 is going to be a GREAT year.

On the hunt

I am currently searching out sellers I'd like to feature here on my blog. I hope to get a list together before the new year and have one seller a week all set up to go for the full year. There are so many GREAT shops out there I don't think I'll have any problem. I also want to find other related blogs with helpful and interesting info to feature articles from. And lastly, I am going to try and take more photos of the creation process of my items for Blue Star Butterflies as well as including a 'Wordless Wednesday'.

The holidays have been absolutely wonderful and I am enjoying the visits from family who are normally far away.

Let me know if you like the new layout!

Snowy weekend

It was -9 when I woke up this morning. It blows my mind and I love it all at the same time. You'd think a girl who grew up in Southern California would have a more difficult time settling down in Minnesota, but I really love it. Our kids love it too and that's even better. They had so much fun yesterday playing in the piles of snow while Daddy used the snow blower, shooting streams of light fluffy snow into the air. The temperatures plummeted while they were out there so I cooked up some hot chocolate for all.

I stayed inside where it was warm and got to work on creating a cowl in every new color and a couple fun variations. Today I'll photograph them and hopefully they'll be listed by tonight. Snow days make good 'work' days. They also make for messy homes. So I'll be needing to do a lot of picking up and cleaning before I get started on my next project. I have a huge stash of yarn waiting to be worked into something exciting. So hopefully while I'm getting the house in order some of it will 'speak' to me and let me know what to work on next.