End Of The Season

Another year of crafting is just about over and now it's time to regroup and rebuild for next year. We tried some new ideas this year. Some worked , some didn't. We will work on some new designs in the next 3 months and try to be ready for show time in April. We will be working on a new promotion for our online shop also. We have to get better keywords and work on SEO. Online promotion and online advertising isn't as easy as I thought it would be but I'm learning, slow but sure.
I hope everyone had a good year and we wish everyone a Happy Holiday season.

Handmade Christmas

How about a Handmade Christmas this year? With a handmade gift, it's unique, one of a kind. As a crafters, we use many different things to create our products. In my case, I build my products out of wood. No two pieces of wood are identical. So even though I build many items that are the same, because the grain in the wood is different, the finished product has it's own unique look. This can't be achieved with mass produced copies. The hand painted items that Elaine makes are also unique because the brush strokes aren't exactly the same or in the exact same spot or size. These handpainted items will resemble each other but they are unique in their own way.
Check out our shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/OldTimeCountryCrafts and see if we can't help fill your Christmas gift needs.

P.S. While you are here, sign up on our e-mail list to recieve special offers only available to our e-mail subscribers

I've been a bad boy. I could use the excuse that I've been too busy to blog, but that sounds quite lame. The fall craft shows here have for the most part been OK. People weren't buying big items, but they did spend on smaller decorative items. It did surprise me that people weren't buying much holiday decor from anyone. It's always a guessing game what the public will want, so I just take what I have and hope for the best. A sale is a sale right? Our e-mail list is growing. By signing up, you become one of our preferred shoppers. When we send out e-mails, we include discount codes that only members receive. The e-mail sign- up is on the right. We won't sell your name to anyone else and we won't send you junk e-mails day after day. We will send you an e-mail a few times a year to show you new products and to remind you who we are and what we make.

Holiday Shopping

It's that time of year again where money and time are in short supply. At Old Time Country Crafts, we understand both. We can't help the money situation, but we might be able to help you in the shopping time department. We offer a variety of gift ideas for the whole family. We have a selection of framed prints to choose from on our website and more that aren't listed. If you are looking for a certain picture, send us an e-mail, we just might have it.
We also make some hand painted plaques and silly signs. We have crocheted snowflakes that you can add to a gift instead of a bow. You can find crocheted hair scrunchies in many different colors. For Christmas, Elaine has made Jingle Bell scrunchies in green or red.
Please take a few minutes and stop by our shop and have a look. You can find us at http://www.etsy.com/shop/OldTimeCountryCrafts

While you're here, sign up for our e-mail and become a preferred customer. You will recieve discount offers only available to people on our list.

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.

Fall is HERE and CHRISTMAS is coming

Another summer has gone by. It doesn't seem possible but it's gone. Time to get ready for the fall holidays and start our Christmas shopping. I've been busy with several projects. I'm starting to feel better now that my surgery has healed and the treatments have begun. I've been putting together a new web site just for my home decor items. This internet world is all new to me and it changes so fast it's hard for me to keep up. I'm trying to build the new site myself so at the moment it's a work in progress. I have added an E-mail sign-up form here so please sign up. I don't intend to send more than 3 or 4 e-mails a year. I only intend to send them to announce sales and include promotional codes to people on the list. This list will be for my use only and your names will not be given out to anyone else.

We have several fall and Christmas listed in our Etsy shop. Stop in to OldTimeCountryCrafts.etsy.com and take a look around. Everything we sell, we make, so if the size or color isn't right, let us know how we could change it to fit your needs.

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.

Hopefully on the way to recovery

I had my surgery last week. I'm tired and sore but once I heal, I will have to feel better than I have felt for a long time. I don't understand why more people with kidney problems don't opt for peritoneal dialysis instead of the normal hemo dialysis. I can do this at home, at night while I sleep and still have my day free to do what I have to do. I now have a catheter coming out of my stomach but I felt this was a small price to pay for my freedom. I change my fluids and hook-up the circulator, then go to sleep. In the morning, get up, change the fluid and I'm done until night. I felt this was a better option for me. Going to the hospital 3 times a week for up to 6 hours a day just didn't seem like a good fit for my lifestyle. So here's hoping I made the right decision.

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.

We have been busy this week increasing the size of our inventory. I have been building as fast as I can and Elaine has been painting up new things as fast as she can. Each week-end at the Marketplace at the Blue Lagoon has been a little better than the week before. Our hope is that this will continue. This week-end is village wide garage sale in Sylvan Beach so people will be out and about all week-end. It is always a crap-shoot at any event but so far this has worked out well and summer hasn't started yet. So we will build and paint and paint and build. No matter what, we will have a good time this week-end. We will be at the BEACH.

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.

Promoting yourself can be real hard, but it has been fun learning. Everyday my Twitter following grows and we get more visitors to our ETSY shop. Promoting yourself seems like bragging in a way. You tell people what you have and tell them why they should buy from you instead of someone else. This isn't any secret. Big businesses have been doing this kind of advertising for years. We know it works so where's the problem. Money for a big add campaign! So I will keep posting and keep telling about our products the way I have been. Not because I'm too cheap to pay for advertising, I couldn't afford it even if I wanted to. It may take me some time to build up sales, but I'm having a good time learning and I'm meeting some great people along the way. Welcome to the 21st century Jay. The internet market is my oyster, I have to learn to open it.

Marketplace at the Blue Lagoon

The marketplace at the Blue Lagoon, in Sylvan Beach, has been a good time so far. Every week-end us vendors turn the lawn into a shopping center. Some of us are there every week-end and they add new sellers all the time. Since Sylvan Beach is a resort village, we have a new crowd of people every day. The weather and sales have been good and the summer season isn't really here yet. There is a nice variety of vendors. Some are crafters, some are retailers, some sell candy, and some are selling antiques. If a person can't find what they want at the marketplace they can still enjoy a round of miniature golf.

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!

Getting Ready

This week-end we are going back to the Marketplace at the Blue Lagoon in Sylvan Beach. So far, it has been pretty good and shows promise of getting better. This is the first year that the owners have tried this. Blue Lagoon is a miniature golf site and we set up on the lawn. Sylvan Beach is a small resort village on the east end of Oneida lake. There is a new crowd of vacationers, boaters, and tourists every week-end so it is different every week-end. The owners are hoping for more vendors when school is out and more people are available. So far , so good. The owners are happy, the vendors are happy, and most important, the customers and general public are happy. Ok, it's time to finish a few projects and start to load the truck. The weather is supposed to be good this week-end so people will be out and about. So we're off on another handmade adventure!

Spooky

That Darn Cat. I think it was Disney who made that movie, but I'm not sure. Our cat "Spooky" could star in the remake. Zing, zoom,bang and he's off! He might be just chasing his tail and away he goes. He has a leash to go outside. It only takes a little breeze to make him happy. The grass moves a bit and he's got a play toy. Then it's time for a nap. What a life! No worries, a warm dry bed, and all the food he can eat! I'm jealous!!! When he wakes up, his alter ego will appear. Just like people, he get's attitude. He goes from 12lb. lovey cat to a miniature tiger. Fingers become chew toys and legs become scratch trees. Then a few seconds later and the lovey cat is back. Time for a nap again

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.