Selling crafty stuff online

So ArtFire just announced that they're offering Pro accounts at $5.95/month for up to 20,000 people who want them. They're now officially out of beta; actually I didn't even realize they were in beta!

I've never had much luck selling stuff online. It's partially me trying to do too much -- jewelry, scrapbooking, fine art, collage, sewing weird little creatures -- to ever have the time to focus on one product. To have a successful store, one needs a good product; a niche, almost; and a lot of it.

But based on the cost of some of the other craft sites, ArtFire's is a good deal. If you've got the goods.

As for me, I just need to clone myself or hire an intern. Maybe when my children are older I can conscript them... ha!

Robots and Robeez and design contests, oh my

It's been quite a week around here. First the Silhouette designer stuff happened, them I found out my robots design has been chosen as one of six semi-finalists for the Robeez baby shoe design contest (see Stride-Rite's Facebook page for details.)

The winner gets a bunch of cool stuff and I'm hoping it's me... not so much for the cool stuff, but for the possibility that they might like my design well enough to commission me to create more little creatures and silly designs for their shoes. I just love doing stuff like that.

And if that all weren't enough, one of my paintings was chosen as a semi-finalist in a calendar contest (details to come!). So I'm sitting here thinking, with all this good stuff, now what bad thing is going to happen??

Changes and other good stuff!

I'm so excited to announce that I've been accepted as a designer for Silhouette and am going to be selling things in the Silhouette store!!!

The Silhouette is a really cool machine that cuts shapes out of paper, vinyl or heat transfer so you can use it for about ten thousand things... scrapbooking, wall art, t-shirts, bags, plaques, Christmas presents of all shapes and sizes...

As someone who used to spend hours with my old X-Acto cutting out intricate (and annoying) little shapes, I can say from personal experience that the Silhouette is pretty cool.

Plus you can get pens that will sketch designs instead of cut them out -- I foresee production of a line of cards with my artwork, drawn by my Silhouette and handpainted with watercolors!

Hearts for Haiti

Here's my ATC for Hearts for Haiti. The elements might look a little familiar, since they're from my kits Love Letters and Be My Valentine Embellishment Pack.

I reused stuff from my kits since I just didn't have the motivation to create something new... or something non-digital.

I don't know what's wrong with me/us lately, but we've all been overly tired and cranky these days. Maybe it's just cabin fever. Yeah, spring can come any time. Really.

Somehow it's 2010

I don't know how this keeps happening. It's summer, and the next time I look out the window it's the middle of winter. Suddenly it's January and I'm way behind in getting my new kits finished and posted to my store.

So I'm trying, really trying to get caught up. I just listed two new ones... take a look!

My favorite season

Halloween is just around the corner! Check out my latest kit, Trick or Treat, now available at Scraphead.

This one has dozens of cute characters and word art, like my candy corn couple and wacky purple bat. Plus a bonus alpha! It coordinates perfectly with my kits, Fright Night and Haunted House, also available here in my store.

Congrats to my little brother!

The more I use Photoshop, the more cool things I discover it can do.

Last weekend my brother got married, and I've been playing around with his wedding photos, adding texture, filters, borders, color, etc. I'm encouraged by the results and think I may do more with photography.

But first I need a really good digital SLR ("need," ha ha...)

I have an old 35mm Leica which is, by far, the best camera I've ever used, but it's a film camera... Besides the cost and hassle of film, living way out here in the outer 'burbs as we do, there isn't a good pro camera shop to do the film developing and processing.

At the wedding, I used my brother's Canon (?), which I totally covet now. My Casio Exilim point and shoot is good, and does a decent job, but wow, what a difference between the quality of the photos my camera takes versus his camera!

Since we got back home after the wedding, I've been working on -- of course -- a wedding themed kit, called "Josephine". It's very nearly done, so I'll be posting it to my store in the coming days... stay tuned!

Here's a page done with the kit:

A whole month of freebies!

Even though I've been designing digi kits for a year, I'm still new to the digital scrapbooking world and am constantly discovering things where I'll think, why in the world didn't I know about that sooner??

Like the Daily Download at Scraphead: it's basically a whole kit you can download for free, made by several fantastic designers, with the same theme. It's available in the forums at Scraphead.

Every month we put together a new one for you. This August, the theme is Sea, Sand & Surf, and I'm excited to be participating! (Here are a couple samples of my contribution.) So come on by, sign up and join in the fun!

Seriously? July already?

Every time I think, write, or say that, I feel like my parents. It means two things: They were right about time speeding up the older one gets, and I must be getting old, 'cause time sure is flying by.

I have two new kits in my store so far this month: Stars & Stripes, with a vintage political campaign / patriotic / ephemera feel; and Summer Fun: bright colors to celebrate the hot days of summer.

Buy them here:

Stars & Stripes
Summer Fun

Love Letters

I absolutely love this kit, but then I'm a sucker for all things shabby chic (or Victorian -- they're similar in style). Though you would never know it, to see the interior of my house... white walls, toys on every flat surface...

The kit includes a 12x12 pre-designed QP (see preview above) that I like so much, I am currently using as my desktop wallpaper. :)

(Click here to buy my kit, Love Letters, at Scraphead.)

Working on this kit reminded me of antique shops around the region where I grew up, full of boxes and boxes of really old letters, postcards and family photos. It seems sad to see such personal and once-loved things being sold in such an impersonal way.

When I was in college, my mom used to send me old Victorian era portrait photos that she thought were particularly interesting. She said I could hang them on my walls as "instant ancestors"... if their real relatives couldn't enjoy the pictures, at least I could.

Memorial Day Sale!

Actually the entire store at Scraphead is on sale -- 35% off everything!! Digital kits, Photoshop actions, templates, etc. Lots of great stuff. The sale is this weekend only... check it out!

New kit & freebie quickpage!

As my older daughter gets well into the terrible twos, it's taking more and more energy out of me in order to keep up with her! As a result, after a day with her and our 6 month old, I am just worn out by the time my husband gets home from work.

The two hours or so a day I have to do my "real" (that is, paid) work, are just not enough time... so the end result is that new kits take FOREVER to create. I'm designing them all from scratch, and rarely reuse elements from one kit to another.

Sometimes I create everything digitally, but more often I combine real (scanned) textures and things with Photoshop work. You can imagine the temptation my scanner, digital camera, and a boxful of ribbons and trims would be to a 2-1/2 year old! I have to be sneaky about it and make sure I clean up before she gets a hold of things.

Anyway I have a new kit, Pat-a-Cake, inspired by vintage childhood ephemera from the early 20th century... purchase it here! Here's a freebie quickpage I made from elements from my kit -- download it here.

Scraphead birthday & NSD Blog Train - plus, a freebie for you!

My upcoming kit is called "Birthday Bash" and it's kinda retro, definitely festive, and very fun. I put together a cute 8x8" mini kit for you -- enjoy! Download it here.

Check out the other designers' blogs for more fun freebies:

Carla - http://atiger5811.blogspot.com
Sandra - http://sandrakdesigns.blogspot.com
JenArt - http://jennartdesign.blogspot.com/
Snowraven - http://silversnowyraven.blogspot.com
Michelle: http://kutnkudlyskreations.blogspot.com/

A GIANT sale & other festivities!

The entire store is on sale at Scraphead, this weekend only: 40% off EVERYTHING! Stop by and grab some goodies in honor of Scraphead's birthday and National Scrapbooking Day!!!

A little freebie

Trying to figure out what's new in Photoshop CS4, I put together a quick little frame from elements in my Goth Chick kit (get the full kit here at Scraphead!). Enjoy!

(Click on preview image to load large version. Right click on image, save as; Mac users control + click, save as.)

New goth inspired kit

Looking at some old photos from college I was remembering how goth I used to be. You'd never know it to see me now!

This kit reminded me of those days. You can get it here in my store at Scraphead.

Playing around with Photoshop CS4

Just upgraded to CS4 the other day and I'm trying to figure out what's new and different. I put together a quick LO using my Daydream kit and Lauren paper pack, available in the store at Scraphead.

It's a page for my youngest daughter; she's 5 months old. Hard to believe it, it seems like she (and our older daughter, too) were just born a couple weeks ago!

A freebie, a sale, and a new kit... and spring!

Looks like spring is here in the Midwest, finally. Daffodils are just starting to bloom, grass is getting greener, weeds are popping up in the yard. A perfect time to introduce my new kit, for sale at Scraphead: Spring Fling.

We're having a big sale over at Scraphead: 40% off everything until midnight tonight -- so it's a great time to pick up some new kits and things!

Here's a little freebie frame I put together using elements from my new kit. Hope you enjoy it!

I'm late, I'm late... and a freebie

It has been an incredibly busy fall and winter! We have a three month old and a two year old, so it's been a challenge to find time to concentrate on much of anything... like reading more than a sentence, or hearing enough of the TV program so I get the gist of what's going on. Never mind scrapbooking and other fun crafty hobbies.

Though I sometimes complain, I wouldn't have it any other way. My girls are the best Christmas/birthday/Easter presents I could ever have hoped for!

Over the past couple weeks, I've finally wrapped up and posted a bunch of new products to my shop. I also created a little freebie frame from my latest embellishment kit, "April Showers" (as in, "bring May flowers"... and hopefully sooner rather than later. We are all sick of being cooped up inside!)

Here are my newest kits with links to where each one can be purchased, and here's a link to the freebie. Enjoy!

April Showers Flower Embellishment Pack

Winter Tags Embellishments

Daydream Digital Kit

Lauren Paper Pack

Be My Valentine Embellishment Pack

Be My Valentine Paper Pack

Spring Fever Chipboard Circle Embellishment Pack

Candy Hearts Page Embellishments

Because we're getting a foot of snow...

In honor of our white Christmas, my latest contribution to my shop at Scraphead is this collection of winter shapes, made from all kinds of cool materials: metal, porcelain, plastic, etc. Check it out here!

Happy Holidays everyone!