Goals, Making New habits and my 100 things for 2015

For the last couple of years I have been using Leonie Dawson's Life and Biz books for reviewing the year gone and for making new goals for both my personal and business goals.  To say I love her workbooks is an understatement. I would be lost without them.  I enjoy filling them out and I have found I get results.  Hurray for that!
At the end of each month I set a time to review the month gone and make plans for the month ahead.  Usually I make this into an outing. Last week I went to a local park near the lake, got myself a coffee and lemon tart, sat in the shade of a giant tree and had myself a lovely review day.

So once again this year I have my copy of the 2015 Create Your Shining Year planner and workbook and am using that to set my goals etc.

I have chosen my word for the year.

Achieve

:to bring to a successful end, carry through, accomplish

I have also written out a list of 100 things to do in 2015

The great thing is that I have already ticked some things off my list that I already have done like;

Make homemade cheese, made feta and questo fresco.

More raised vegetable gardens

Plant blueberry bushes

Visit an art gallery, went last weekend to see Archibald paintings.

New products for Creative Wishes, daily weather chart and doll clothing. 

Do you set goals or journal. Do you have a special word of the year or write lists of things to accomplish over the year? 

Top 6 Tips For Preparing My Shop For Christmas Sales

Christmas is only 10 weeks away and I am very busy preparing my online shops for the Christmas shopping season.

List More Products
Now is the time to stock your handmade online shop full of items.  The more items in store the easier it will be for shoppers to find you in searches. Having a full shop with many different items, colour variations, options for custom orders and different prices will all encourage shoppers to purchase more than one item from your shop. 
Think of seasonal items you can make and add to your shop. Can you make your items in Christmas colours or do you make Christmas decorations? Make multiple items the same so you have items ready made in stock and items that can be quickly relisted once something sells. Have items ready to list and renew or add items frequently.

Advertise
Work out what you are willing to spend on your Christmas advertising budget and the best place to advertise your shop. Utilise your social media by sending out more frequent newsletters and blog posts. Connect with potential customers on facebook, twitter, instagram. Ensure your online shops are connected with your facebook and twitter accounts. Connect with others online and be nice and share their great items too. 

Update Photos
A great photo can sell an item. Your main photo should be awesome! Rephotograph those photos that are not sharp, too dark or just not up to scratch. Ask someone else for their honest opinion about your photos and their suggestions. Ulitise free editing software such as picmonkey. Ensure your have photos of your items from different angles, if it wearable on a model, or in use eg. handbag.  Show packaging if that is a feature of your items.

Adjust Descriptions
Understanding how search engines work is complicated. The best you can do is have excellent descriptions and titles.  Use keywords in your titles and descriptions. Find out what items, colours and words are tending and use these where applicable in your descriptions. Also use seasonal words like stocking fillers, Christmas decoration, santa, gifts etc. Ensure measurements and colours are included and how or by whom the item will be used or suited to.  If you are listing more than one of the same item use different titles and descriptive word and list in different categories. You will be giving your items more chance of being found this way.

Pricing
Review your pricing and adjust accordingly. Remember to take into account all materials, time and profit you would like. Have a read of How to Price Your Handmade Items.  Remember you are a handmade business and to take into account the amount of time required to make items. Time is precious so ensure you are not selling your self short. Getting the balance right between fairly paid for time and materials and remaining competitive and in the right price range for your items is often trickly and may need some tweaking.

Shipping and Packaging
Update policies and and review your returns policies if needed. Stock up on envelopes, tape and stamps. Ensure you have plenty of your packaging material in stock. Work out when your last day of shipping will be for items to arrive by Christmas and let your customers know this date. Remember that people who buy handmade love the personal touches.  Consider offering free gift wrapping on request. Keep it personal by writing a handwritten thank you to buyers and sending a quick email saying thanks for the order and when it will be posted.

 I would like to invite you to come and join my Creativity List. 

It is chocca block full of fantastic content from freebies and special offers to kids craft ideas and small handmade business articles.

As a thank you, you get not one but two free Ebooks.

Creative Play To Keep Boredom Away

50 Boredom Busting Ideas For Children.

plus

50 Tips For Selling Handmade Crafts Online.

Leonie Dawson Incredible Biz Workshop

I have really enjoyed spending my time working through Leonie Dawsons Biz Workshop for 2014.  Not sure what the Biz workshop is?

Take a look here.
And read here and here.

So my first task was to Dream big and start writing those dreams down. The workshop is not only really practical but very pretty and easy to use.  The gorgeous watercolour pages and inspirational quotes scattered throughout the workbook make it a pleasure to work through.

Some of my dreams or goals for Creative Wishes are to see my items in more stores, to do a market, develop a range of toys suitable for babies, increase my range of products. 

Once I worked out what my dreams are for 2014 I took each goal and broke that goal down to smaller actionable ones.
 
For instance take my goal of developing a range of baby toys.
I have broken this goal down further- 
Investigate safety regulations for baby toys.
Decide on a toy that will entertain and engage a baby.
Draft toy pattern
Source materials
Sew toy and test for safety and durability
Photograph toy
Promote and list in my shop

The next stage is to schedule each step by setting a time frame and writing it on the calendar.

I am excited where my little sewing business is heading this year.  I feel I am much more focused and organised. I really believe Creative Wishes is going to shine in 2014 and I can't wait to share the journey with YOU.

Present For The Creative Business Person

I'm just a little bit excited to get my copy of Leonie Dawson's 2014 Yearbooks.

Last year I joined The Amazing Business and Life Academy and it has proven to be the best gift for myself and the best singular thing I have done to help grow my creative business.  The academy has helped me focus, set goals and most importantly achieve them.

At the beginning of last year I set myself the goal of tripling sales at Creative Wishes and I am so very close to that goal ... so close I can almost stretch out my finger tips and touch it.

I am excited to begin with the 2014 Create Your Amazing Life Biz Edition. I am ready to review 2013, the good and the bad, to set my goals for 2014 and to formulate my marketing plan.

This would make a great Christmas present for anyone wanting their own small business, or who wants to or already does work from home.

Have you entered my giveaway?

Over $100.00 of my handmade items could be coming your way.

Enter HERE

When family and friends don't support your creative business

I am lucky that I have the support of my hubby and friends in my creative business.  I get to sew and create to my hearts intent without being told that it is a waste of time or I will never make a success of Creative Wishes.  But I often hear from other creative business people that their family and friends are not supportive of what they are doing. 

They don't get it!

It seems that for many people a creative business is viewed as a non traditional career path and one where there will be no monetary success. In particular grandparents and parents seem to think this way.  This generation were brought up to believe that you go to school and study hard, get a 9 - 5 job for someone else and that is how you make money. Most likely these family members really want you to succeed but don't have the understanding that success can be had from a non traditional creative business.

So how do you get family and friends to understand and be supportive?

1. Believe in yourself!
Yes, it starts with you. If you don't believe in yourself then no one else will. Refer to your creative business as a business venture. Think of yourself as a small business entrepreneur.  Act like a business owner.  Have a business plan and make yearly, monthly and weekly goals. Keep records and promote, promote, promote!

2. Communicate.
Talk about your business venture with family and friends and share your goals and business plan with them.  Explain to them that this is something you are very passionate about and like any business it may take time to build and prosper but you are prepared to put in the time and effort required.

Tell them how they can help you.  Maybe it is by not interrupting you when you are working or offering to amuse the kids while you get some work done.   Explain that because you are working from home does not mean you are always free for coffee and chats. 

3. Show.
Show family and friends how others are making a living in a creative business.  Give them examples. Explain how online shops like Made It and Etsy work. Educate them!

And please don't think that because family and friends aren't buying your items or promoting your items on social media they aren't  supporting you.

5 Things I've Learnt From Selling Handmade Online

I have been on a steep learning curve since starting Creative Wishes and selling my hand made toys and games online. Her are just a few of the things I have learnt along the way.

1. Photos are important!
Really, really important! The photos of my items is what will make or break a sale.  Crappy photos, busy backgrounds, backgrounds with shadows will not show off my photos to their best. Because my items can not be seen in real life, the photos have a huge part to play in an online shop. If I went into a shop and was interested in buying a hat I would pick it up, I'd feel the material, I would try it on and stand in front of a mirror, I'd look at the different colours available. Buying that hat would be a very sensual as well as visual experience. Online selling is all about setting a great visual picture.

2. Networking. 
I have a blog (well of course!) and instagram, facebook and post on pinterest. It took me a while to realise that each post doesn't have to be about my shop and what I am offering.  Now I view social media as more about keeping my name out their, building trust and credibility and offering information. Social media takes time but it is part of marketing and free at that. Now I spend time each day on social media.

3. Get the pricing right.
This one took me a little time to work out.  In the beginning I under priced my toys but I was so thrilled when I made a sale.  I didn't have any set formula for working out my price and I didn't take into account my time.  Then I came to the conclusion that I was spending a hell of a lot of time sewing for little reward (but I was loving it). I almost felt guilty for raising my prices but now I know that I am offering really well made toys, that are unique and I am paid for that service.  It is an equal exchange and it is right to price for my time, for profit as well as materials used. See here and here for more about my pricing formula.

4. The more the better.
At the beginning I had a page of items and sales were slow.  Along the way I added more and more options and variations.  I now make my crowns and hats in many different colours and styles.  I offer custom and personalised items.  I also have many different items available and try to keep about 100 items in my MadeIt and Etsy stores. The more items means I have a greater chance of coming up in searches.  It also means that when a prospective customer comes into my store there is more to see and they might hang around looking (and hopefully buying too).

5. Keep working on your online business.
I have learnt that my store is never perfect, never at its best.  There are always improvements to do. Like building a  house I plod along one brick at a time.  One day I may work on my descriptions, redo some photos or rearrange my shop order.  The next day I might learn more about SEO's or marketing. I have learnt that selling online involves constant work.  But boy, I am enjoying it!

Please share in the comments what you have learnt from selling online.  I can't wait to hear!

 I would like to invite you to come and join my Creativity List. 

It is chocca block full of fantastic content from freebies and special offers to kids craft ideas and small handmade business articles.

As a thank you, you get not one but two free Ebooks.

Creative Play To Keep Boredom Away

50 Boredom Busting Ideas For Children.

plus

50 Tips For Selling Handmade Crafts Online.

6 Quick Tips For Building Your Brand Online - Guest Post

Guest Post by Tariq. While Tariq is referring to jewellery in particular her advice certainly works for any handmade seller.

Six Quick Tips for Handmade Jewellery Makers for Building Your Brand Online

So you’ve made a brilliant product that you really believe in and it’s better than all of your competitors. The next natural step to beat your competitors online is to build a brand with a good reputation. In this blog post, I’m going to share a few tips I use in my own brand building campaigns for clients with great success.

Use the Google Keyword Planner

The keyword planner is a relatively new tool, with it you can find out how many searches per month there are on Google for a particular word. Enabling you to monitor the popularity of a specific type of jewellery, if you find there is enough searches for a word, you could include a category of this type of jewellery on your site.

Use Google Adwords

If you’re looking to attract new customers, using Google Adwords is a great way to do this.  Many people use Google search when they’re looking to buy. Using Google Adwords features such as Remarketing, you can retarget visitors of your website after they leave on other websites. Yes you are paying for people to visit your website, but as long as you’re making a return that’s OK right?

Build relationships

This is one of the biggest tips, building relationships online is one way to fast tracking your success. I’ve found it beneficial to build relationships with bloggers, sometimes, I would send out products to fashion bloggers to showcase on their website or write guest posts for them. Guest blogging will also improve your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).

Have a great website

They say the first impression is the last impression, when people look for your brand online, the first obvious destination is your website. Make sure it’s presentable, take extra care with your 'about us' and 'returns policy pages' More people read these pages than you think.  Also make sure your photos are sized correctly as stretched photos will leave an impression that screams amateurish. 

Set up Google Alerts on your brand name

When you’re building a brand, it’s really important to monitor what’s being said about it. One easy way of doing that is using Google Alerts, you’ll get notified by email on new content on your brand name. If for any reason you get a bad review or comments, then you’ll know very quickly and can respond to them before other potential customers see them.

Use social media

You should already be using social media to build your brand , if you’re not you’re missing out. Social media is a good way of engaging with your customers.  Put it this way, your customers are already on these sites and having social media pages is a good way to promote your products, gather intelligence on your customers and provide good customer service.

This article was written by Tariq, a marketer for Henryka.co.uk, a silver jewellery brand based in the UK. If you’ve got further questions about marketing your jewellery business online, you can find here on Twitter.

Developing a new product - whats involved.

At the beginning of the year I brain stormed ideas for new products for Creative Wishes.
Creative Wishes is all about toys for creative play so the toys and games I wanted to make needed to not only be fun and bright but great for sparking a child's imagination, encourage pretend play or have some educational value.

Developing new toys takes time. I have found that most people who aren't crafters aren't aware of the time it takes to come up with a new product. So I thought I would run through my creative process with a brand new (only released these yesterday) toy.

Learn to Count Aliens

1. The Idea The idea for these learn to Count aliens came from a soft toy I had as a child.  I remember it being a monster softie but my mum told me it was actually a mutant type animal toy.  It had one beak, two tails, three spots etc. I remember it had webbed feet and a dog like face with whiskers. I loved this softie, everyone else thought it was a little creepy! Anyway, the idea for a toy that had body parts to count came from this childhood toy.

2. Draft Pattern After I had formed the idea of making a counting alien it was time to come up with a pattern.  To do this I get out paper and pens and sketch until I come up with something I am happy with.  Once I have drawn the finished toy I then set about  drafting a pattern for it. At this stage it is often hard to visualise how it will look once finished after all it is just a flat drawing on paper.

3. Prototype Once I am happy with a pattern I set about making the toy.  The first alien I sewed from the pattern wasn't quiet right (although my son liked him). So back to the drawing board and making alterations until I am happy.

4. Choosing Material Next job is fun.  Choosing the fabric. Lets just say I have a little bit of a fabric stash to select from!  Choosing the main alien body colour was fairly easy but choosing the colour of the parts to count took a little longer. Lucky I have a big bag of felt off cuts in lots of exciting colours.

5. Sewing The Toy This toy is machine and hand sewn and because it is made for everyday play it is double stitched.  Some parts which will pulled more, like the hair and arms, are triple stitched.

6. Writing The Desciption I decided to give each alien an Alien ID Tag with their name and what to count from 1 - 10 on their bodies. These were printed off and tied with ribbon to the softie toy.  Then I wrote the description for the online listing and worked out my pricing using this formula

6. Photographing Finally I took photos of the finished counting toys, edited them and made the listing.

So that's my process.  Making handmade, unique items takes time but at the end it is so wonderful to see a brand new item that I know isn't mass produced and is made with love and care.

Marketing Advice for a New Online Seller - Guest Post by Lynda Lewis

Todays post is by Lynda, the marketing mastermind behind Bellissima Jewellery.
Tell us a little about yourself.

My name is Lynda Lewis and together with Gina Maria Pardo we own and run Bellissima Jewellery. I run the business and marketing side and Gina started the business and creates the jewellery.  Gina is a stay at home, homeschooling mother of 6 awesome children ages 3-12 years old.  Gina has been creating since she was a small child.  The bold, rich colours and endless variety of gem stones provides Gina with endless ways to express her creativity. She enjoys making something that people will be proud to wear. 

What do you make and sell?

 

Bellissima Jewellers offers great quality, up-to-date, stylish jewellery for all women!  Our jewellery is made from genuine Bali Sterling Silver, authentic Swarovski Crystals and natural stones and beaded on stainless steel wire and sterling silver finishing’s. We reject plastic materials, imitations and stretchy string - we only craft genuine, quality bracelets, earrings and necklaces that our customers will enjoy for a lifetime. 

Best marketing for the new Etsy seller.

In the beginning we naively think that if we build “it” with quality products, “they” will come. Well… they don’t. Not unless you tell them to come.

How? Through Marketing.

Marketing is the key to every business, but it takes time, lots of time. I could write for hours, even days about the beginnings, the middle and the never ending marketing road. Here we’ll just focus on the beginning for the new Etsy online seller – where should you start.

4 basic getting started tips.

1. The best first step in marketing your new Etsy shop is getting involved in teams. Etsy teams assist you with promoting your shop. I highly recommend focusing on both internal Etsy promotion and external. So, join teams where they focus on internal marketing and other teams where they focus on external. Visit https://www.etsy.com/teams to join teams. Please know that many of the external teams will require that you have external marketing avenues, such as a Facebook page. Even if they don’t (which most do), Facebook is a great first avenue for promotion.

2. Open a business page on Facebook. In the beginning you will have no fans and nobody will be “listening” to you but just start talking or in Facebook jargon, start posting. The external marketing groups in Etsy will provide you with avenues to promote your Facebook page thereby gaining fans/likes. If you want to read up on the How To’s of Facebook before opening a page, try reading a Facebook guidebook located at http://mashable.com/guidebook/facebook/. The most important thing to remember about Facebook (as with most social media sites) is to share interesting content in addition to info/pictures about your products. Have a Facebook page with personality, one that provides information people can relate to and want to read. There is a lot to learn about Facebook, so take your time and learn as you go.

3. Next, make sure you add tracking to your shop and you monitor where your visits are coming from. As you grow your marketing efforts and expand your reach (through social media, relationships, blogs, etc.) the tracking information will help you determine what is working and what isn’t so you can focus more of your efforts on what works. Time and money are precious, tracking and monitoring helps you to leverage both of them wisely!

 4. The last “first thing” is to make sure you are adding titles, detailed descriptions (size of item, what it includes customization if applicable, colour, materials used, etc.) and tags to each item.  The titles and tags should be repetitive of one another. The repetitiveness strengthens Google’s view that your shop really sells what it says it sells and will serve (list) your shop to prospective buyers who are searching for an item that you sell. This is known as SEO (Search Engine Optimization), a complete topic all of its own!

Best of all, all of the tips shared above are FREE. The best tip to share is to start with all of the free avenues – seek them out, reach out, ask for freebies and take them as far as you can. Believe it or not, there are many free avenues to pursue and maximize. As you begin selling, you can begin to research marketing opportunities that have a small cost, ones you believe will be beneficial.  Remember to track everything so you can make good decisions with both your time and money. Most importantly, buyers can’t buy from you if they can’t find you - so never stop marketing.

Guest post by Lynda Lewis from Bellissima Jewelers

www.BellissimaJewelers.com

https://www.etsy.com/shop/JewelryByBellissima?ref=si_shop

www.Facebook.com/bellissimajewelers

www.Pinterest.com/bellissimajewel

www.Wanelo.com/bellissimajewelers

I would like to invite you to come and join my Creativity List. 

It is chocca block full of fantastic content from freebies and special offers to kids craft ideas and small handmade business articles.

As a thank you, you get not one but two free Ebooks.

Creative Play To Keep Boredom Away

50 Boredom Busting Ideas For Children.

plus

50 Tips For Selling Handmade Crafts Online.

Leonie Dawson Amazing Life &Biz Academy Review

Since mentioning Leonie Dawson last week on my post about my Top 10 Time Management Tips I have had people asking me about her academy, her business e-books and e-courses. So to make it easier I will answer the questions here and for all to read. Please note that I am an affiliate.

In March this year I brought Create Your Incredible Year, workbook, planner and Business Year Calendar. I wanted somewhere I could plan, set goals, schedule them in and see progress throughout the year.  I printed them out and have popped them in a folder which sits next to my computer. 
It has been fantastic and kept me focused.  In the past I have fleeted from one thing to another and had trouble being focused and therefore working constructively.  The key for me has been scheduling in the big things, the small things and everything in between. I am making far better use of my time and creating more efficiently than ever before.
I will definitely be getting and using Leonie's planner and calendar next year.

After having so much success with the Year Planner and reading all about her other e-books and e-courses I decided to go ahead and join her Amazing Biz and Life Academy. That was two weeks ago and I am very glad I did.

The thing about Leonie Dawson is that she comes across as a very new agey, hippy, spiritual goddess. She swears like a trooper, calls herself a Goddess and she calls the members of her Academy her tribe. It doesn't bother me one bit after all she is one clever cookie who is making a very successful career as a professional Goddess! Plus she is Australian and that is very cool althought from what I can gather her business is American. I am disapointed that she isn't really present in the forums or facebook to answer questions and connect personally with her tribe.

In the two short weeks I have been a member of her academy these are the main things I have gotten from it.

1. Access to ALL  Leonie's great courses, business advice, workbooks, e-courses, e-books, meditations etc.
 
2. Able to connect with a wide range of women from all around the world and from many walks of life, all following their dreams and passions.

3. Forums for mums, business, writing, bloggers and loads of others.

4. A sense of belonging, positivity and support within the forums and whole academy.

5. Ability to connect with smaller groups as I work through the e-courses. I am two weeks into one of her E-courses called Business Goddess E-course. 
Being able to work through the course with a group together has been fantastic.  I have got such a lot from reading others questions, interpretation and answers of the course.  Plus it is great to have a sounding board to express my ideas and get feedback. I am taking away far more from doing this course as a group than I would get from doing it by myself. 
(I may have to do a review of this e-course once I have finished it completely in a few weeks).

So there you have it.  I am happy I made the decision and joined up.  Definitely money well spent and absolutely no regrets from me.

Are any of my readers members of the academy?

I would like to invite you to come and join my Creativity List. 

It is chocca block full of fantastic content from freebies and special offers to kids craft ideas and small handmade business articles.

As a thank you, you get not one but two free Ebooks.

Creative Play To Keep Boredom Away

50 Boredom Busting Ideas For Children.

plus

50 Tips For Selling Handmade Crafts Online.

My Top 10 Time Management Tips

These are my top time management tips for my small online business.
Are any of these on your top ten?

1. Get Organised. 
I regularly have organising blitzes of my work spaces (yes, I have more than one).  I speed around in a frenzy popping everything in its rightful place.  Clearing the accumulated clutter also clears my mind to work more effectively.  With a clear work surface I get a lot more sewing done. During this time I jot down supplies I am running low on and I make sure I shop for supplies before I completely run out.

2. Lists.
I am the master list writing guru!  Most days I write my to do list.  Sometimes I write it the night before.  If it is written down it is like I am committing to it and it is much more likely to get done.  I also write down monthly business goals, possible blog post ideas, when I will be sending out a newsletter Etc.  Now this might be sad but I get a little thrill when I complete something off my list and can actually cross it off!

3. Turn off the Computer.
I normally turn on the computer and answer emails, blogs, list new items or work on my online shops of a morning.  I will most likely post on facebook and twitter too.  I try really, really hard not to go surfing, not to get distracted by the latest cool pic on pinterest or interesting facebook story.  I give myself a time limit and then turn off the computer.  I do turn it on later in the day and I often find myself (constantly) checking) my phone.  For me personally, time online is my biggest distraction and biggest time waster!

4. Streamline Creating Time.
I make my toys in batches, sometimes two to four but other times larger batches.  I cut out a batch, sew a batch and will work on the batch until completed and then begin the next. I see what is running low in my online stores and make a batch of those toys.  This saves me loads of time, from getting out the right coloured felts, ribbons and embellishments to not having to constantly re thread the sewing machine. I also have core products that I make over and over, so they are quick and easy for me to sew and complete.  I still sew original toys and games but the bulk of my items are not one offs.

5. Bookwork.
I keep an accounts book, yes an old fashioned Collins Account book. All in goings and out goings are recorded into this book.  Each month I tally the totals.  I have columns for date, item sold description, shop it sold from, and outgoings.  Each online shop has its own column so I know what is selling where.

6. Utilising Free Snatches Of Time.
For me it is the time I would be in the car waiting for one of my kids to finish soccer training or watching swimming lessons etc. Sometimes I'll use this time to catch up on emails, other times I will take along some hand sewing. It is surprising what I can get done in half an hour waiting time.

7. Best Productive Time.
My kids are all school age so the hours between 9.30 and 2.30 are my best productive times.  During those hours I sew like a Trojan.  I do have a part time job so I'm not free every school day.  Maybe your best productive time will be the hour your child naps during the day or of an evening when the kids are all in bed.  Find your time and work, work, work.

8. Write Down Goals.
I do this every month.  I use Leonie Dawson's Create Your Incredible Business Year Calendar.  I work out how I am going to achieve my goals by breaking them up into little steps and then I write them onto the calendar.  There is something about having goals and plans written down.  It is like I have committed to them so I must do what I can to make them become a reality.

9. Shipping Station.
I have stream lined my packaging and shipping by having all I need together.  My finished and listed toys and games go onto shelves ( I have one shelf per online shop).  The shelves are in the study near the computer.  When I sell something I get out the item, get out packaging items that are in a draw next to the computer and pack away.  The draw houses my  washi tape, lime green paper bags, business cards, tape and envelopes.  When ever possible I post same day or following day.

10. Time Away.
A break from doing and thinking about Creative Wishes is so important.  It might be a walk down to the lake, time gardening  or a shopping trip.  I can become so focused on Creative Wishes that productivity actually slows down.  This is when I know I need a break.  I come back renewed and with a clear head, ready to create again.

What are some of your time management tips?

I would like to invite you to come and join my Creativity List. 

It is chocca block full of fantastic content from freebies and special offers to kids craft ideas and small handmade business articles.

As a thank you, you get not one but two free Ebooks.

Creative Play To Keep Boredom Away

50 Boredom Busting Ideas For Children.

plus

50 Tips For Selling Handmade Crafts Online.

50 Tips For Selling Your Handmade Crafts Online

I have been busy lately helping a friend set  up her online shop for selling her handmade sewing items and I have been sharing with her the things I have learnt about selling my handmade toys and games online.

That has prompted me to write down the tips and I want to share them with others.
I think the best way to share this E booklet is via my mailing list.

Would you like a copy of

 50 Tips For Selling Your Handmade Crafts Online

If so go here and sign up for my newsletter and I will email a copy to you.

If you are already a subscriber, drop me a line with your email address and I will send your copy out to you.