DIY:Organization – Recycled Paper Basket

If you are looking for an eco-friendly, visually interesting and easy way to help organize some of the chaos in your house (let’s face it, we all have some), this tutorial from Design Sponge may be perfect.

Reclaimed Paper Basket vis Design Sponge

Make It! – Pinata

This tutorial from Oh Happy Day for DIY pinatas is just fantastic. Not only is the project clearly detailed and easy to follow, the idea of creating numbers (and not just animals) makes it a fun activity for parties celebrating any age. Not just for kids anymore.

Hello Etsy: Branding and Media Workshop Antwerp, Belgium

Monday night, I had the opportunity to attend an Etsy workshop here in Antwerp! And lucky me, not only was it presented by Matt Stinchcomb, it was in English.

I want to bullet point a few of the more important items Matt spoke about.

Establishing your brand:

Write a Mission Statement – Develop a simple and direct statement defining your mission. Matt made the example that your mission statement should be able to fit on a T-Shirt.

What Are you Making – What makes it special? Will someone want to pass the word about your product to others? Is it unique enough to stand out from the crowd? Do not pigeon-hole your self into making something your don’t enjoy creating  – What will be business be like in 1 year? 3 years?

Who is your customer – Identify who your customer is by creating a customer profile. Is this who you want to target? What does your customer value and are you providing that for them?

Make a Budget – Don’t underestimate yourself and your skills. Charge appropriately.

**Abandon what is not working for you**

Develop a Marketing Plan:

Tell your story – This is so easy to do. Create a connection with your buyers by telling them why or how you made an item. Give them the story to hang onto and to tell others. This can be done in many ways – item descriptions, blog posts, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Let them know there is an actual person creating these pieces.

Social Media – Do it! Facebook, Twitter, Blogging. People are reading.

Public Image – Good photography is king! Create a consistent visual style.

I could go on, but I thought these were great points all DIYers can work with. There were 2 other key phrases that Matt used while giving his presentation that I thought were important. Micro Production and Reconnecting. What we are doing by creating is micro production – hands on manufacturing in our own small way and putting money back into our communities and pockets. What we are doing is trying to reconnect the consumer to the process, the materials and the creator. I would like to believe that most people value this.

Parting Gift from Hello Etsy Workshop

 I felt that this was a great opportunity to meet some of the local artisans in my new community. Thank you so much to Matt Stinchcomb, The Dutch Handmade Team and Etsy! 

Too Good to Pass By – Craftster

Craftster featured this wonderful tutorial today. Reusing packaging is a must for my house and finding creative ways to make your own out of materials you already have is even better.

http://www.craftster.org/blog/handmade-gift-ideas-bubble-mailers/

DIY – Make Friends with Birds

These are pretty hard to resist! Simple and colorful. Your neighborhood birds will be clamoring to become your best friend.

http://www.creakit.etsy.com

Will Holman

There are so many things that are right about this. First, it is upcycled. Perfectly good lumber from crutches reused  to make an attractive chair. And if you are feeling ambitious the creator, Will Holman, has posted the directions for making this chair on Instructables. What a beautiful chair and an incredible project.

http://www.wholman.etsy.com

http://www.instructables.com/id/Crutch-Chair/

Heather Bailey

I am not sure how I have made it this far in my art and craft filled life not to have known about Heather Bailey. It’s almost embarrassing. Any one of Heather’s sites is pure fun and totally falls into the category of eye candy. Her bright floral  prints and adorable patterns are enough to brighten even your darkest day!

I am currently working on the Pinwheel tutorial:

http://heatherbailey.typepad.com/links/FlowerPinwheel.html

Heather’s sites
http://www.HeatherBaileyStore.com
http://www.TrashTies.com
http://www.heatherbailey.com/

DIY – St. Pat’s Hat – Crochet Spot

How can you resist! Just looking at the picture makes me happy, let alone having the real thing in front of me!

http://crochetspot.com

DIY – Around The Campfire – Sweetie Pie Bakery

If you haven’t noticed yet, I love felt. I love finding great playthings to make for the kids that are not plastic and will spend the rest of eternity in a landfill. Smore anyone?

http://www.magpiepatterns.com

DIY – The Uniform – Sugar City Shop

Oh my goodness gracious! As soon as I am back on my sewing machine, I will be making this for my daughter – in every size and in many, many fabrics. It is sure to become her daily uniform.

http://www.sugarcityshop.bigcartel.com