Finding that special gift

Finding that special gift takes time and effort. You know the person so well that you really want your gift to be meaningful. You have several options available for shopping. You can go to the mall and look through several different stores. You could go to one of several department stores and look through lots of everyday items. Or you can shop online. Still nothing jumps out and tells you this is the right gift.

One option online is going to a "HANDMADE" site. Many designers and crafters, like myself, make and sell our products on ETSY.com. On ETSY, you will find thousands of shops making a wide variety of items, all unique in their own way. Because it's all handmade no two items are exactly identical. I make my products out of wood. The grain in the wood is different causing each finished piece to have just a little different look, all it's own.

One other point that I need to mention is that most of the people who sell on etsy can design an item just to fit your needs. This is not an option at the mall. Some of the products that we make are pictured here in the right side of this blog. To get to our shop just click on the words OldTimeCountryCrafts on the right and it will take you there. It's located just above the e-mail sign-up form. Sign up for our e-mail list to keep up with our new products and promotions. We don't e-mail often, only to let you know of new products or special offers just for our subscribers.

Another year is already half over. Where does the time go? Gee whiz, I know time flies but this is going super sonic or something. Time marches on. Summer is upon us bringing new things to concentrate on. We have our outdoor activities, vacations, and the thought that winter and Christmas is right around the corner. So with Christmas in mind, as an independent crafter, it's time to start promoting Christmas. All the projects that you do only for the season come off the shelf and back to the work table. HoHoHo and here we go again. There is nothing like a summer craft show, 80+ degrees outside, and a table full of Christmas. But it produces sales and orders for that one day of the year when we all get to be young again. Even if it's only in our minds and is short lived.

As usual I'm a day late and a dollar short. The powers that be have gone and changed the system. I was just starting to understand a little about SEO and Meta Tags, and now I can learn the new way. The internet Guru's all make it sound so easy, but for an old farm boy like me it's a load of Blah Blah Blah. At least now I understand some of what they are saying and doing, I'm not completely in the dark. This internet system changes faster than the weather. New ideas, new systems, new avenues to explore. It just keeps growing. So now I'm off to find myself in cyberspace and try to make it so others can find me easier. It all in using the right words , at the right time, in the right places. Yee haw, here I go again.

Making Progress

I can finally sayI'm making progress on all fronts. I have learned how to use Twitter better. That get us more exposure for our Etsy shop. Our week-end venture is working out well. With the summer season about to begin, our hopes are that this will continue and get better. Our new style frames seem to be accepted by the public so I'll continue to make them. And finally, after many Doctor visits, I'm now waiting for a surgical appointment. Maybe sometime soon I will be ready to start dialysis and get some of this backed up waste out of my system. I know I'm never going to be like I used to be, but I will have to be better than I am most of the time now. So all is going well at this point in time. We'll call that PROGRESS.

Twitter Works

My Twitter account just keeps growing. I'm not doing any gimmicks or anything crazy. I just keep following people who are in a similar business. I follow people who post interesting articles and points of interest. I follow these people in order to learn from them and most follow me in return. Now I have a large base to learn from. There is always something of interest right there on my twitter home page. Twitter is a good tool, all I have to do is learn how to use it properly. I post my new etsy listings on twitter and I post my new blogs there also. Twitter works. I know because I get views on my other sites after I post on Twitter. I get seen! That's proof enough for me that Twitter works!

Can't seem to concentrate. Working on inventory for the marketplace this week-end and just can't get it together. Nothing is happening. My creative side is out to lunch. No new ideas are coming. I need to add something new, but nothing is jumping into my mind. I'm just blank. I know I'll come up with an idea when I'm not really ready for it, but at least I'll have it. It will come on it's own, I can't force it. So it's time to eat supper and maybe relax for a little while. Who am I trying to kid with that relax line. I know I didn't buy it. Did you?

Confused

When I looked at the calender today I got a little shock. It says today is June 1, no shock there, June 1 always follows May 31. Then I looked at the thermometer. 34 degrees. No way can this be true. But there it was. June 1 and I have my furnace running. That's just not right. Who ticked off Mother Nature this time? Here in central New York, we should be in the 80's during the day and the 60's at night by now. This is April weather not June.I'm so confused. Oh well, time to put on my coat and get started on my day. Maybe I'll build a clock today. Hmmm. That might not be a bad idea.

I've not been feeling very well this week so I haven't been online as much. A few things have changed though. We rented vendor space at Blue Lagoon in Sylvan Beach. We will have this spot on week-ends thru Labor Day. Traffic last week-end was pretty good. This was the first time this was tried by the owners. The weather was good and people were out enjoying the beach. We made some contacts and had some sales, so time will tell. Relisted some items on etsy this afternoon and BANG!!! We had a sale of a relisted item. A fast return on our .20 cent investment. I wish it happened like that all the time.

Sale

This simple little 4 letter word has a tremendous effect on society. It seems like people just jump at the word. They don't really need to buy anything, but it's a sale! Off they go to spend the day at the mall. Once they get there, they can't find the right color or size. Then they find out that they can't get a raincheck. Now they are ticked off and head to the food court to relax. Who ever relaxed at the food court. Kids crying, others yelling and running around. All this fun makes me want to run right over to the mall right now! OH BOY!! For a quieter time at a sale, check out my etsy shop. All framed prints are on sale until 6/14. Go to OldTimeCountryCrafts.etsy.com and have a look around.