Fantastic Supplies for Fall/Winter!

It may be June, but my eyes and nose are already deep into Fall and Winter! This month, I will begin making my fall soaps and other items, so I've started getting in new fragrances for fall and winter, as well as working on summer makeovers for my wax tarts and bath bombs.

Lets get to the good stuff first! Fragrances!
I made an order with a new company this week: TheCandleSource.com! I found them through eBay, but I ended up buying directly through them. I picked up three fragrances: Kumquat, Sleigh Ride, and Monkey Farts. I've had many requests for Monkey Farts, so I was anxious to get this one in. I am so delighted with my goodies, the shipping was fast, the prices were excellent, and I cannot recommend TheCandleSource enough!

I also made an order with AromaHaven. I love selling wax tarts, but this summer I decided to give my tarts a makeover from the single tart to clamshell breakaway tarts. My wax also got a makeover: All of my tarts are now being made with soy wax! I picked up some great clamshell molds/packaging from AromaHaven, and I am so pleased with the results.
While at AromaHaven, I picked up four new fragrances:
-- Wild Muscadine: A sweet grape scent with hints of musk... Totally Southern!
-- Applejack N' Peel: An apple, cinnamon, and cider blend. Another heavily requested scent!
-- Corn Husk: A combo of citrus, sweet fruit, floral, and amber musk
-- Red Maple Leaf: A lighter scent with maple leaf, patchouli, sandalwood, and fern.

I also ordered some new molds off of eBay for my upcoming craft shows.

First, I ordered a new Snowflake silicone mold, which arrived today. I am already thinking of Peppermint soaps, Eucalyptus soaps, Sleigh Ride Soaps, and lots and lots of glitter!

Second, I ordered a cute Apple silicone mold. I picked up the Apple mold because I recently applied to attend the Apple Festival in Erwin, TN, and if I am picked to attend (cross your fingers!), I'll have apple-shaped soaps with me! (Sneak peek: My apple soaps will be scented with applejack n' peel, apples and mint jelly, and granny's green apple!)

This fall is going to smell amazing! I cannot wait to get started!

Friday Spotlight: June 2013 Soap of the Month - Waterlily Orange

Soap of the Month: June 2013

This month's Soap of the Month is Waterlily Orange, a very popular soap at craft shows!

This soap is a vegan cold process soap in blue and orange, with a very unique, lovely scent. The soap was made with olive oil, coconut oil, and castor oil for a mild, hard bar of soap. It was colored in layers of blue and orange, with delicate orange flowers gracing the tops of the soap.

The scent is called Waterlily Orange, which is a lovely mix of the floral and citrus. Lily notes top off the scent, with orange notes in the middle, and an anchor note of amber.

Since this is my Soap of the Month, you can catch these bars at a discounted price of $5! Also, be on the lookout for samples of Waterlily Orange in all orders going out in the month of June (while supplies last). Make sure to head over to my Etsy shop and grab a bar before they are all gone!!

First Attempt at a Peacock Swirl

I've seen the peacock swirl around in the soaping world, and while it is gorgeous and produces amazing looking bars of soap, I've always been a bit hesitant to start such a complicated-looking technique. I love beautiful, bold swirls on the tops of soap (so much that I bought a mold just so I could do them!), so yesterday, I decided to bite the bullet and try a peacock swirl.

First, I watched this video by LovinSoap about 10 times in a row.

Then, I attempted the swirl using my 9 bar mold from Brambleberry.com and Blackberry Sage Fragrance Oil  from AromaHaven.com. I chose this mold because it gives me lots of room to swirl on the top of my soap, and I chose this scent because it does not accelerate, giving me plenty of time to work.

And here are my results:

I like the swirl and it is very pretty, but it is not in the classic peacock, or bouquet.

I think I have identified two problems with my first attempt:

1. My lines of soap in the beginning were more thick than I have seen others do. I think I need to thin out my lines, which will give me more room to have more lines and more swirl.

2. I drew my S-curve very wide. Next time, I am going to tighten up that curve, hopefully giving myself more swirl per inch.

All in all, I am pretty happy with the soap, I love the colors and the scent, and the swirl isnt terrible for a first timer. The soap gelled overnight, so the green and purple really pop next to the white and black. I have some new fall and winter scents coming in next week, so I'm looking forward to practicing this advanced swirl a few more times! Plus, I am going to get some help from a friend of mine who is an expert at swirling and marbling paper! Go check out her Etsy shop here: DynamiteFibers

Friday Spotlight: Tea Tree and Peppermint Soap

I really miss my weekly segments focusing on different sellers on Etsy, so this summer, I am debuting a new weekly segment: Friday product spotlight!
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Let's take a look at this week's spotlight: Tea Tree and Peppermint Soap!

This soap is a vegan soap made with olive oil for mildness, coconut oil for hardness and cleansing, and castor oil for loads of bubbles. The soap was made using the hot process method, where the oils, lye, and water are cooked until the mixture is completely saponified.

I colored this soap with activated charcoal powder, which is a natural black. Activated charcoal is known for drawing out toxins.

The soap was scented with a combination of tea tree essential oil and peppermint fragrance oil. Tea tree is a medicinal scent that is a light medium note. Tea tree has antibacterial properties. The combination of tea tree and peppermint is classic and rounds out both scents perfectly.

The combination of activated charcoal and tea tree makes this soap a great facial soap for people who suffer from acne breakouts.

Spring Fling Festival, May 2013

Last weekend was the Spring Fling Festival in Chucky, TN at Mountain View Bulk Foods. This is the second time I have been to this gathering; I went last year in October on a cold, windy day. Saturday was gorgeous, and it was great to see everyone coming out in support of small business!

My booth has had a complete makeover since my last time at this show. I'm slowly working my way to a green theme with accents of yellow and purple. I am extremely happy with the booth! I've even started adding some decorations to help draw in folks!

My booth! Loving the green...

I brought along most of my products, including my newest soaps scented with coffee, honeysuckle, and grass! My grass soaps were my most popular, and I almost sold out of them! I am making more this weekend, and I hope to have them up on my Etsy shop soon.

Green grass soap

I also brought along my lip balm, bath bombs, bath salts, and body sprays. I debuted my bath bomb cupcakes, which will be photographed and listed soon.

Next weekend I will be at Grogan Park in Gate City, VA! Come out and see me, Southwest Virginia!

Craft Tutorial: Homemade Notepad from Recycled Paper

If you are like me, you take notes on everything, but it always seems like you never have a notepad around! I'm always thinking of new things to do or try, or making lists of things I need to do for my business. So, I decided to put together a quick and easy notepad for my desk out of old, used paper!

You will need:
-Used paper with one blank side
-Binder clips
-Elmer's glue
-Scissors

Cut up your used paper. I found that cutting the papers in fourths made for the most convenient notepads. Face all of the blank sides facing up.

Put your binder clips along one side of the stack of paper. 

Along where you placed your binder clips, pour a thick layer of glue.

Let the glue dry completely, then remove your binder clips and boom! You have a brand new, ready to use notepad! Super easy project that recycles old paper... love it!

So much for a slow summer...

My summer is off to a running start... I barely had time to catch my breath from a grueling finals week before I was staring in the face of three back to back craft shows. My next three weekends look like this:

Super secret new project!

May 25 - Mountain View Bulk Foods Spring Fling Show
Chucky, TN from 8am-7pm

June 1- Scott County Art Bazaar
Gate City, VA from 10am-6pm

June 7 - Boones Creek Day
Johnson City, TN from 9am-5pm

Fun times! I am actually enjoying keeping busy. It keeps me moving, rather than becoming slothy and stagnant over summer. I'm in full production mode, stocking up on 18 different flavors of lip balm (including 4 new ones that have not made their debut on Etsy yet). I'm also working on reformatting my bath bomb recipe. I love my round bath bombs. The shape is so classically bath bomb... But I am working on a new formula, which will help me create new shapes, like hearts and flowers. The bath bombs will be bigger (yay!) and I'll be able to offer more fragrances.

I'm also working on a super secret new project... If I tell you, can you keep a secret? ;o) Ha! It's cupcake bath bombs! I am so excited about them... I am working on mini ones (like the photo above) and normal size ones. I'll be debuting them at my next craft show, so if you are in the East Tennessee area this Satuday, come down and see them!

So, I am headed back to the grind!
For homework, leave a comment below and let me know what new bath bomb scents you would like to see!

Milestone: 300 sales on Etsy!

On Sunday, I passed a huge milestone: my Etsy shop now boasts 300 sales! Wow! I am so excited and happy and thankful for all of the support from my customers, friends, and family.

So, in the spirit of giving back, I am holding another giveaway through Rafflecopter to give back to my awesome people! You can enter a chance to win 3 lip balms (your choice of flavors)!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Make sure to enter daily for your best chance to win! Winner will be announced on Monday, May 20!
Thank you all so much for your love, support, and kind words.

Tennessee Soap and Candle Social 2013

This past weekend, I was lucky enough to be able to attend the Tennessee Soap and Candle Social in Nashville, TN! I got to rub elbows with some amazingly talented soap makers and candle makers, I got some amazing swag, and I learned loads from the guest speakers!

I thought I would take a few minutes and talk about the amazing speakers, and later this week, I am going to make a YouTube video of all of my swag and goodies from the social.

So... On to the lectures!

We started off our day with Lela Barker of Lucky Break Consulting and her "Dont lose your ass donkey" talk! Barker talked to us from a business standpoint, talking about pricing our products and not forgetting things like labor costs and overhead. She broke down Cost of Goods Sold for us, and gave us simple equations to use to make sure that we dont lose our asses donkeys! ;o)

Our second talk of the day was led by Kayla Fioravanti, and Kayla spoke to us about self publishing, which is something that I have been interested in for AGES! I have been a writer all my life, from poetry to fiction, and I've recently been inspired to start writing some nonfiction. I began researching self publishing back in March during my Spring Break, and I started on my first "How to" book shortly after... But Kayla really inspired me to kick that project into high gear! I purchased Kayla's book, How to Self-Publish: An Author-preneur's Guide to Publishing while at the Social, and I've already learned so much!! I highly recommend her book... Amazing information!!

And our third talk of the day was led by Donna Maria of the Indie Business Network, and Donna spoke to us about "The 5 Best Business Models for Handmade Entrepreneurs."Two that really spoke to me were "clubs and subscription boxes" and "teaching and information sharing." I've already got a soap of the month club, with a three month subscription and a six month subscription, but I have already been inspired to work with my local Etsy team on something bigger and better! And with teaching, I have always wanted to teach classes on soap making... Maybe that is something that I can work on in the future!

We also had some demonstrations by local artisans. The group was taught how to make Massage Candles, Felted Soap, and Shower Tarts, so there are loads of goodies that I cannot wait to try my hand at! :oD

I had such a wonderful time at this year's social! I cannot wait for next year!

I will try to have my YouTube video of my swag bag, my garage sale goodies, and the door prizes that I won this week. Keep an eye out for it!

Featured Post: Pam of PeeGeeJewelry

Meet Pam of PeeGeeJewelry! Pam makes fun and funky jewelry that I absolutely adore! Learn more about Pam below...
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I am Pam George and I sell Country Girl, Gypsy Chic jewelry with a kick of Vintage Boho. I round it out with Shabby Chic!

I am an art quilter at heart, but I love to make jewelry when I'm not quilting. Now the jewelry has seem to taken over. Although I do have a quilt going usually at the same time.

I love to work with cold porcelain and air dry clay. I tend to get inspired by nature and vintage things. I love to create plants and flowers and work a lot with my photography for inspiration.

Right now I have been making vintage camping trailers that I have cut from steel. I paint each one to have it's own retro feel. I hope to create custom pendants for people who "Glamp" , thats glamorous camping. I also would like to reach out to the vintage campers.

I have a Face Book page called PeeGee Jewelry at www.facebook.com/PeeGeeJewelry and I share a blog with my daughter called Family Style Living at Wordpress. familystyleliving.wordpress.com/
We are both DIY girls and I talk about my quilting and jewelry on the blog quite frequently. We share all our decorating projects and cooking and gardening ideas. Life is great!

3 weeks and one final exam to go...

It's finally getting closer and closer to summer break, and I am looking forward to it more than ever! I have so many ideas and plans in my head... But first, I have to get through two end of the year projects, one 10+ page research paper, and one killer final exam. Three more weeks and counting!

I spent last weekend at Tusculum College attending the Old Oak Festival. It was a blast! I was there with a bunch of my friends from Etsy, including PinkMouse, SSBaud, ChickenCoopStamper, JaneyLaughs, JerisJewels, and W.E.Creationz. We had a blast through the cold and the rain, and I got to meet some great people and had a bit of fun as well!

This coming weekend, I am looking forward to heading to the Spring Craft Show at the Boones Creek Baptist Family Life Center in Johnson City, TN! This show is being thrown by my friend Cathi at SistersActTwo, and more of my Etsy people will be attending!

I am planning on bringing my soaps and lip balms, as well as new products like whipped body butters in 5 scents, water-based body sprays, and scented bath salts! I am featuring new scents in soap, as well as classics like lavender, vanilla, and sandalwood.

I will be at the show on Saturday, April 27 from 9-4! Come out and see me!

Only three weeks left until I can kick my shop back into high gear... Stick with me, readers! The blog drought is coming to an end soon!

Feature Friday: Eric and Dustin of KnitsbyED

Eric  and Dustin of Knits by ED features fun knit toys along with a sampling of gorgeous vintage finds. Learn more about him below:
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1.Who are you and what do you sell?

We are Knits by ED; a small town business, producing hand-knit plushies and home décor made from recycled materials. We can recycle any blankets, clothes, knitted items, and even plastic bags. The items are cut into strips (or in the case of knitted items they are simply unraveled) and attached at the ends to create yarn; then we can turn that yarn into unique creations and critters.

2.What inspired you to get started in your craft?

We got a lot of our inspiration from our childhood memories with stuffed plushies, Beanie Babies, and the like. But we really wanted to start our business to help save our environment. Most of the materials used to make our items are recycled. We wanted to turn plastic bags, old sweaters and other knitted items, and even old t-shirts into something useful and memorable instead of them ending up hidden in the back of the closet, or stored away forever in the garage, or even worse, littering our precious Earth.

3.What is your favorite part of your process?

Our favorite part of our craft is seeing the joy that one Knits by Ed creation can bring to a person and knowing that we’re helping the environment in the process.

4.Handmade: What inspires you the most while you create?

We gain a lot of inspiration from nature and animals. We have two cats running around at home plus multiple aquatic critters. Whether it’s from the sea, the sky, or land, all of Earth’s creatures are beautiful and deserve to be recognized and kept safe.

5.If you could pick, what is your most favorite item in your Etsy shop?

Our favorite items to create are the octopi. We love them all too much to pick just one, though!

6.Got any social media links?

Please like us at www.facebook.com/knitsbyed.

7.Anything else that you want to share?

10% of all sales from Knits by Ed are donated to Oceana to help maintain our oceans. We’re just two guys running a small business in a very small town but we believe that everyone can make a difference when it comes to keeping our planet clean and beautiful!

Feature Friday: Lisa of W.E.Creationz

Meet Lisa, of W.E.Creationz fame! You may know her from her bright and fun creations, or you may know her from her colorful, happy presence at craft shows, or you may know her from her Zulily.com fame! Learn more about her below!
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1.Who are you and what do you sell? wecreationz....anything and everything shabby chic and for children!!!! I love creating for children and it needs to be things you can't really find any where else!

2.What inspired you to get started in your craft? I have sewn all my life, I make my own patterns, and when grandchildren started coming along I realized this was the funniest stuff of all to make!!!!!

3.What is your favorite part of your process? Going from a pile of fabric, ribbon and trims to all dolled up kids at a photo shoot. I guess I love the entire process!!!

4.Handmade: What inspires you the most while you create? The love for my grand babies and just how special and cute these little people are in our lives! :)

5.If you could pick, what is your most favorite item in your Etsy shop? My new "Emmelia Grace" set

6.Got any social media links? 
www.wecreationz.blogspot.com
W.E.Creationz on facebook
wecreationz on twitter

7.Anything else that you want to share? Being able to create with your hands are sew gratifying but being able to do this and make your little pint sixed customers and their parents happy is even better!!!!!!

Updates

Hello, everyone! Thank you so much for sticking with my blog while I scale things back a bit. I just wanted to let everyone in on a few updates...

ANNOUNCEMENT:
I will be at the Tennessee Soap and Candle Social on Saturday, May 4 in Nashville, TN! This is my first year attending, and I am really excited to meet and rub elbows with other Tennessee soapers. I'll have a full write-up on the different speakers and activities that are planned, so keep your eyes peeled in the second week of May!

CRAFT SHOWS:
I have two craft shows to announce coming in April, with many more coming later in the year.

• April 19-21: I will be at the Old Oak Festival at Tusculum College in Greeneville, TN! Hours are Friday: Noon-dark, Saturday: 9am-dark, Sunday: noon-4pm! (I will be with the indoor crafters, so come out and see me rain or shine!)
• April 27: I will be at the Boones Creek Baptist Church Craft Show in Johnson City! Hours are 9am-4pm!

NEW PRODUCTS:

Green Apple Solid Lotion Bar

--I am working on a few lines of new products that I am hoping to debut soon. My solid lotion bars are slowly working their way on to my Etsy shop, so make sure to keep checking back for new fragrances.
--I am also working on a line of whipped body butters! They are packed full of great oils and butters, like mango and shea butter, avocado oil, and sweet almond oil. I am going to have them at my spring craft shows, and I am working on the stability of the mixture, so I will be able to ship them in the summer months.
--Lastly, I am perfecting my recipe for water-based body and linen sprays. These will also be at my craft shows and should start popping up on Etsy very soon, so keep checking!

I have a few other things that I am developing, like new melt and pour soaps, new cold and hot process soap varieties, and whipped cold process soap, so keep a look-out!

With school starting to wind down, I should be able to pick up my blogging a little more often, which is great! I have really missed it... I cannot wait to start up again!

Feature Post: Judy of Dazies Head 2 Toe

Judy's handmade items are amazing! Learn more about her below:
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My name is Judy Carrier and I live in Bristol, Virginia. I have been married to my high school sweetheart for 41 years and have two children, and three grandchildren. I work for the City of Bristol Tennessee, but I have a little business on the side called Dazies Head 2 Toe. I have two shops on Etsy, one is called Dazies Head 2 Toe, the other is Dazies Head 2 Toe Too.

I started my first shop in March 2008 after the birth of my granddaughter. I’ve always been a crafty person and when my daughter asked if I would make my granddaughter some hairbows I started looking around to see what the little girls were wearing. I started making the hairbows and since I loved to crochet I decided to also make her some crochet trimmed socks. It just blew up from there. I found that I loved making them and decided to open a shop on Etsy, and because it was hairbows and socks I came up with the name Dazies Head 2 Toe. I soon incorporated jewelry, headbands, and hairbow holders, into my line also.

My second shop Dazies Head 2 Toe Too is mostly key fobs right now but I plan to expand that shop to also include more adult jewelry as well.

Even though I work a full-time job I find that in the evening and on the weekends I have plenty of time for handcrafting and making the things I love. I like everything I make, but I guess my favorite is the hairbows. They were the beginning of Dazies Head 2 Toe and will always be my first love.

I not only have the shops on Etsy, but I also have a shop on Artfire.com, sell my hairbows at True Colors, in Bristol, Virginia, and I have a section in Blowfish Emporium in downtown Bristol where I sell my whole line.

Feature Post: Leslie of atouchofhealinghands

This week's feature is all about Leslie! Read more about her below in her own words, and make sure to check out her Etsy shop to see her amazing creations!
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I am a wife and step-mother who loves to be at home with family, that is why I decided to sell on etsy. I create cross stitch patterns for other people to find there artistic and crafty side. I believe with the right encouragement anyone can stitch. My grandmother taught me to crochet and it took off from there. I am the only family member left who can carry on the tradition of making gifts for the kids in our family. My favorite thing to do is help someone learn how to create something for themselves that they will cherish for a lifetime. My family and Movies inspire me most, watching movies would be my 2nd hobby. My Beauty and the Beast pattern is my favorite, because its the 1st disney movie I ever got! www.facebook.com/leslie.grizzell I have tried to sell other things on etsy and have found that my patterns are the most successfull and give me the most joy!

Spring Break!

Whew! I am so grateful for the person who first dreamed up the concept of spring break! I really needed this week off... School has been kicking my booty up and down the road, and it is great to take some time off and relax... and make soap!

I've got lots planned for my spring break week (wait, wasnt this supposed to be relaxing?!?), and I'll give you a quick taste:

• I am planning a HUGE project for this summer, and I am so excited about it I could burst! The planning stages are going to start this week.... :oD
• New bath bombs are coming!! It has been ages since I made any new fragrances, and they're going to feature some of my most popular scents!
• I'll be soaping once a day for 5 days straight! I've got everything planned out, and I am going to make YouTube videos of each one. I'll be doing different techniques, from in-the-pot swirling, to using embeds, to piping. It'll be fun on the bun!
• By the end of this week, most of my solid lotion fragrances will be listed on my Etsy shop. I'll also be playing around with my whipped butter recipe, tweaking it as I go.
• Two words: Body. Spray.

Relax?!? Who ever said anything about relaxing?!?

Featured Post: Peggy from MyCountryCloset

Girls Pillowcase Dress

MyCountryCrochet is filled with a touch of vintage and a touch of handmade! Peggy creates gorgeous crochet creations as well as beautiful clothes for children. I am love with her shop! I love the vintage patterns that she offers... They remind me of patterns that my grandmother collected. Learn more about Peggy below in her own words:
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1. I'm Peggy Spivey, originally from Chicago where I raised 4 children, then got divorced. Soon after, I was offered a job here in Kingsport TN. I met my 2nd husband here and we've been married 23 yrs, have 6 adult children together and 15 grandchildren. I'm retired now, and I have to keep busy.

Easy Stitch & Save Pattern 6268

2. I've been sewing & crocheting since I was 9 yrs. old; my grandmother taught me. When I had children, I started sewing for the girls, and continued through their proms and weddings. I stopped for awhile when I was pursuing my career (about 15-20 yrs.) I resumed when I retired, first collecting antique dolls and sewing & selling doll clothing. A few years ago, I started making clothing for young girls because the styles & patterns were so adorable.

3. The favorite part of the process is choosing the pattern and the fabrics. That's the creative part.

4. I get inspired by the work of others. I love browsing through sewing and craft sites, through etsy and ebay. I post my items for sale on sewing sites and enjoy members comments and input.

5. My favorite item in my etsy shop is a girl's dress with an attached apron; I added free-hand appliques of chicks and hens and enjoyed seeing them come to life.

Crochet Scarf

6. I have 3 blog sites, but I'm bad about keeping them up.
sews4you-peggyspretties.blogspot.com/ mycountrycloset.blogspot.com/
sews4you.blogspot.com/
...and a Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Sews4you-Creations/179173778830832

My crochet scarves have been selling well, but the girls' dresses have not. I've been asked to write an article for Sew Beautiful and it's supposed to be in the July-August 2013 Issue. It will feature 3 of my girl's outfits, and I'm hoping that will bring in more traffic. I'm in the process of making more inventory in a variety of dress styles.

My Inspiration Wall

I love to read books on crafting, and one of the suggestions that I have came across a few times is to start an inspiration wall, filled with gorgeous things that inspire you to create. So, I started one of my own! Mine isn't big yet, but I hope to keep adding to it as time goes on to make a beautiful collection of awesomeness!

Ignore the panic button in the middle...  All, college living!

I started by adding my three favorite photographs of my three favorite people. First, I added a photo of me and my husband at our wedding, a picture of my son blowing kisses at 2 weeks old, and a picture of me and my sister making chocolate dipped strawberries for my wedding. I also added the note from the Fall/Winter S.O.A.P. team that I received last year. And I picked out three gorgeous handmade cards from ChickenCoopStamper last winter at a local farmer's market that I cannot part with and they have made their way onto my inspiration wall! My wall still looks a little bare, but I am always keeping my eyes open for great new things to add to it! Inspire me, wall!

Featured Post: Ashley of AshleyAfterDark

Glass Paper weights

Bright. Colorful. Fun. Those are the three words that I would use to describe the amazingly cool things that you can find in Ashley's Etsy shop, AshleyAfterDark! Ashley makes some beautiful peices using alcohol and ink to create random, gorgeous patterns! Read more about Ashley in her own words below:
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1.Who are you and what do you sell?

I am an artist that loves trying new ideas and projects. I specialize in designing an assortment of gorgeous and unique alcohol ink products. You will find a very colorful variety of coasters, tiles, framed art, motivational and inspirational art pieces, as well as upcycled and repurposed jewelry. I am also in the process of adding a new line of trendy magnets. As time progresses I continue to branch out on new adventures in order to create fresh and new products.

2.What inspired you to get started in your craft?

I had been eyeing alcohol inks for awhile so one day I decided to give it a whirl. I started out with 3 colors for a trial run. And as soon as I tried them I was completely hooked. It was fascinating to see all the colors and how they combined and mixed. You will notice that all my products are different and reflect a unique style.

Alcohol Ink Coasters

Crafting and creating however has always been a big part of who I am, and is something that I am passing along to my children. I grew up in a house with a mom that is very talented and always had some craft project going on. We now can create together and bounce ideas off one another. It has become a real bonding time for not only my mom and I, but my daughter and I as well. She is always asking when she gets to head out to the craft cave to do some art.

3.What is your favorite part of your process?

Getting to view the final product is by the far the best part of the whole process. I have somewhat of an idea what it’s going to look like just from the colors that I have applied, but the high gloss glaze is really what completes it in order to make the colors POP!
I also love to see what tiles people gravitate towards and so far people seem to order such a variety of colors and would much rather them be all different versus coordinating.

4.Handmade: What inspires you the most while you create?

While I am creating a big part that plays into my creativity is my emotions. I have to be in a carefree relaxing state of mind in order to properly create something that I love. Many times I will sit down to start a piece of art, then when I step back and view it I think of it as just ok. With a little more color and love being poured in it, it usually ends up being one of my favorite pieces of art.

Magnet Set

5.If you could pick, what is your most favorite item in your Etsy shop?

There is so many that I love that it’s hard to pick just one. The brighter colors have more of an appeal to my eye so I would have to go with this one…..

www.etsy.com/listing/121152239/alcohol-ink-modern-artwork-trivets

6.Got any social media links?

Following me on:
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/AshleyAfterDarkWhereThePartyStartsAtTheCraftTable
TWITTER: twitter.com/AshleyRodgers26
PINTEREST: pinterest.com/ashley_breann/
GOOGLE+: plus.google.com/u/0/101678518806867897153/posts?tab=XX

7.Anything else that you want to share?

Creations of any sort come from the heart and have meaning behind them for each and every individual. You must have confidence in yourself and in the products you are selling. In order to make it worthwhile you have to believe in yourself.

The first craft fair I did was very intimidating, but it was also a great learning experience. There was a blind vision on my part that I could hide in the corner and magically sell my art. But as many of you know that is far from how it works. It forced me to communicate with buyers as well as various sellers in order to get my products out there. When I began to see results there was a confidence about me that I wanted to share with the world. If you are able to connect yourself with craft fairs and galleries it's something I would highly recommend to any artisan.

Upcycled Domino Necklace

You also have to go into selling with realistic expectations. Most etsy sellers aren't able to throw some items together, take a few pictures and make money. It takes patience and realistic goals. Success is not going to happen overnight.