Are You Ready for New Years 2016?

So, are you ready for the new year?  Have you thought about resolutions, and such?  I don't really do resolutions.  Nothing like setting yourself up for failure, lol.  But, I do try to set small, attainable goals, or make progress on goals already started.

For this blog, my crafting blog, I have the following short term goals:

1-  Continue to improve my drawing and painting.  Maybe expand to other mediums, such as watercolors.

2-  Make more wood burned items.  I have only had time to do a few of wood burned items, and I do so enjoy learning how to do it.

3-  Continue making jewelry, and maybe add some new gemstones to my personal collection.  I have expanded a lot in my wire wrapping, beading is still not a favorite, but maybe as I learn more that will change.  I have sold almost all my inventory of my traditional setting jewelry pieces.  So, I would like to replenish my inventory a little bit.  I still have a ton of gemstones that need setting. 

4-  Probably not in 2016, but eventually, I would love to be able to melt my own metals, and make my own jewelry settings.  That has been a long term goal for a while now, lol.

5- I want to learn some new crochet topics.  Though, no matter how many sweaters I begin, or big afghans, those big projects are not the ones I enjoy doing.  I mostly love items that have to do with holiday decor. 

6-  Expand my promoting skills for my Etsy store, and my brand new Society 6 store.  Be sure to check them both out, by clicking on the widgets in the left hand column of this blog. 

7-  Last but not least, continue to learn and improve my photography skills. 

So, what are your goals for 2016?

Get Ready for Garnets!

January has one of the most versatile birthstones, of any of them. The Garnet, which comes in every color possible, even blue, though that is a color shift gemstone not a true blue, but still! I do not own one of those yet. I love Garnets! They are durable, great for every day wear, and can be cut into all the popular shapes. I will be doing quite a few posts, on Garnets. Don't forget I still have a BOGO sale in progress. Buy one item at full price, get a second item of your choice at equal or lesser value. This will end January 1st, as will free shipping. USPS is raising shipping rates, by quite a bit, so I can no longer offer free shipping after January 1, 2016. So, take advantage of both of those deals while you still can. I have had several sales, since it started, so if you want something be sure and get it. I offer layaway if you need it. BTW many Etsy sellers told me a BOGO sale would not work on Etsy, and that I should just stop doing it. It has been plenty successful for me, and I think I will do it again next year at Christmas. A once a year BOGO sale, I like it! I might do an after Christmas sale, but don't take a chance, because I have not decided, and I am not sure it will be jewelry. I offer crochet items, too! Plus, my art work, and photography items, are now being offered on Society 6. So, be sure to check that out too~! I hope everyone had a beautiful Christmas! I hope to get some new inventory created soon.

Make Your Art Work For You with Society 6

For any of you who read this blog, you know that a while back, quite a while back, I wanted to take some of the hundreds of digital photos our family has taken over the years, and turn them into high quality prints and other fun items. Well, I also wanted to do it for my original paintings, and drawings. Etsy is a pain in the behind for this process. So, I decided to search for other options to suit my needs. There were some very complicated ways that I could achieve my goals, but then I found Society 6. What a wonderful website. I am brand new there, only uploaded a few things so far, and it is time consuming to get all the different products set. Some photos, can not be put on all products, but the paintings seem to work quite well. The tshirt below, is by far my favorite item created so far. My momma and baby panda bear, on a tshirt. So cute! Their prices are reasonable, and they have a sale going on right now, and they ship world wide. I of course read reviews, before I signed up, and customers love the customer service. The one thing I did read, is that if you live over seas the shipping is quite high, because you end up paying fees in your own country to have it delivered to you. So, be prepared for that, before you order. Check out the item I shared below, and then check out all my other items currently available. I suppose you could browse the other artists too. There are some super artists on there. For now, I will not be selling my original art work on Etsy, or Ebay.  They will be uploaded to Society 6 instead, where prints, tshirts, mugs, blankets, skins, phone cases, and other great items can be made.