Craft supplies organized in 3 simple steps.

Do you find yourself looking at a room with bits everywhere, let alone a house with knitting in one room, Painting gear in another, card making supplies in another? Does this sound like you? If so lets look at a 3 step plan to get you and your craft gear organized….

1. Start by collecting all your craft supplies into one room, I mean everything! If you have the space then at the same time, put like with like ie Paint brushes with your paints and canvases. Wool and needles together with patterns. Card, cutting pads, embellishment’s and the like for card making all together and like wise with scrap booking supplies and any other craft that you par take in. Whilst doing this, take time to get rid of things that you don’t use anymore. If you haven’t used it in six months, out it goes. If you have a lot of magazines on crafts that you enjoy, keep them together as well.

2. Now that you have all your craft supplies in one room and organized into piles, its time to look at what you have around the house to tidy them into. If you can afford it, then maybe its time to go and have a look at Target or Walmart for some storage containers. If your like me and have a lot of little embellishment’s then a lot of small plastic containers is perfect. What you can do is put all like small supplies into these containers and then keep them together in a larger container (this can be a shoe box). Keep all your scrap booking papers together (I have an open file that I keep all of mine it, makes it easy to see what you have too) The other option is if you have a filing cabinet, you can use one draw for papers, patterns, cutting pads, and even canvases and another for all the other more bulky supplies. The idea is to keep it simple, but all together and easy to access. You don’t need to spend a lot of money doing this, you can even cover a few boxes with pretty paper and keep supplies in these.

3. Lastly, make sure you keep your craft supplies where you can access it easily. After all, its really not worth it to put these things that you use at least once or twice a week on the top shelf of a storage cupboard. If you are lucky enough to have a room that has space then make the most of it. I have a desk in the spare room, and under it I have a plastic wheelie bin, with the things I use lest often, on top of that I have my canvases so they are easier to get hold of. Next to the desk I have a set of plastic coated baskets, which hold all my main craft supplies in shoe size boxes, and a few other containers I found around the house. It really does work, because you come to learn where everything is. It also means that if you run out of something its easy to see that its not there….you don’t find yourself running around looking for the particular item for days on end, swearing you had it the other day.

Good luck with sorting out your supplies.

Making crafts can be a lot of fun. But there are some other areas that have to be covered if you plan on networking your item to people in your community. Explore your options when attempting to network. If you don’t know where to begin, try reading plenty of books on the subject or talk to friends who may know a bit more about the subject.When starting out, create a mailer to be sent out to people in the community. This can consist of a flyer, short glossy magazine or news article. Whatever you feel is best. You can have them sent out as a free mailer, or you may want to go with an opt-in mailing. This is where your customers sign up for a free mailer about your item. This is the best way to avoid wasting paper and stamps. But you may ask, “How do I get the addresses?” There are several avenues you can take.

1) Anytime someone makes a purchase, ask if they would like to be added to the free mailer. If they’re impressed with your crafts, more than likely you’ll list will be pretty long,

2) when attending a local craft show, have a clip board with pen that people can sign up for. They may not buy something right then, but if they’re interested in your craft, they will sign up. Collect Name, address, city, state and zip code. You can even make room for an email address. On average, a mailer should be sent out twice a year. If you do send too much information, too often, it may end up in the trash.

Placing flyers around your community is also a good networking tool. Check with local businesses to see if it’s ok to post a flyer in the window. You might want to stick with businesses that sell craft supplies, clothing or anything that can be connected with your item. When creating your flyer, put lots of color to catch people’s attention. You can input pictures on the flyers as well as an average price.

Contact your Chambers of Commerce. They help promote businesses by having meetings and items displays. This is a good way to introduce your self to the community. You can also find out what’s happening in your community such as local craft show days and times.

Stop by your local consignment store or boutique. These are great ways to get your craft out there. Generally, they will receive a percentage of the sales. Of course, this will be discussed before hand. When approaching the business owner, dress professional. Bring a sample of your item in with a list of prices. Also expect to sell in large quantities and for a discounted price.

Craft store owners generally don’t pay full price for bulk items. Come prepared to give a price to the owner, but make sure you’re making a profit from it as well. If the store owner isn’t sold on your product, ask if it would be ok to leave business card or flyers behind with a sample of your work. If potential buyers take an interest and ask about the craft enough times, the owner may see the want for it and will be contacting you.

If you’re not one to get out there and start marketing your item, you can even hire a sales representative. They generally collect a percentage of what they sell. They can do it the old fashion way and walk door to door telling people of your product or they can visit local businesses and display your product. Make sure they are educated on your item. People make ask questions to the sales representative and you don’t want them to reply with a blank stare.

Try your local church. Churches have many functions throughout the year. Some even hold small craft shows for the community. Word of mouth is also a great way to network in your church. Churches are small communities that once the word is out, it travels fast.

If you’re selling an item that is wearable, wear it! Things like hair bows should be displayed in your daughter’s hair. If they’re unique, people will begin asking about them. If your selling handmade clothes, try making a holiday pattern and wear them before the season starts and see how many people want to know where you got it.

Whatever route you take, get out there. Even avenues you wouldn’t think to explore, try it. You never know, you might just make a sale.

Garry Neale asked:

If you want to make your own jewelry at home as a hobby, you need to find your own jewelry making supplies online so you can put together the trinkets you want without spending a lot of money. Handmade jewelry is the most beautiful you can own because it’s made by a caring person – and it’s a piece of art. Luckily, jewelry making supplies are easy to find on the Internet.

Simply do a search for jewelry making supplies and you should come across tons of sites that sell exactly what you need for low prices. In fact, if you’re into making handmade jewelry, you’ll have more choice than you’d expect, and will need to take some time sifting through the different stores and their wares.

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It’s easy and inexpensive to make handmade jewelry at home, and it can be a lot of fun if you like to get creative. It makes a great gift for yourself or family and friends, and you can even turn your hobby into another form of income by selling your handmade jewelry online or locally.

By getting your hands on the right jewelry making supplies from the beginning, it’s possible to put together some items that will last for years, especially if you find amazing, high-quality jewelry-making kits.

If you visit craft supplies sites you can get more than just materials for your creations. You can find kits that help you with patterns and to design ideas. You should also purchase a book on making beaded jewelry to help you along the way. It’s easy to find books on the topic because craft supply stores have tons of them for sale on a regular basis.

Learn some of the terminology before you get into making beaded jewelry as well. Learn about where you can find clasps, metal rings, and earring posts. Making silver jewelry is a particular subject you may want to familiarize yourself with if you’re going to get into the hobby of making jewelry at home. Silver necklaces and other accoutrements can make amazing gifts and keepsakes for those you love.

Other supplies you may need, in addition to the actual beads for the jewelry, include tools, pliers, glue, clasps, and other items such as containers to hold the various supplies, and bead boards to stay organized.

If you look in both online and local stores you should be able to find exactly what you’re looking for, as far as supplies are concerned. Compare prices to find the best deals, and browse as many stores and items as possible.

When you purchase kits, the whole process from start to finish will be much easier. You won’t have to worry about forgetting supplies, and most kits are fairly reasonably priced. Also, the kits are available for a wide range of different jewelry-making, so you won’t run out of ideas to try. If you’re buying online, don’t forget to factor the cost of shipping into the price calculations.

Craft making as one of the best ways of giving gifts while being intimate and personal in all special occasions.There are many ways your family can have quality time with each other. One of the great ways is craft making. It may be simple or may involve delicate, specific and articulate designs but all the members of the family may be involved in all the exciting steps of craft making starting from planning to designing. This is a sure way of having fun while doing something for special occasions or just for quiet times with your loved ones.

Every special occasion means giving something, which will symbolize your love and appreciation to someone. Craft making involves personal touch and ideas thus, it will be more intimate and sensitive because it is made specifically for that special person. The relationship you have with each other may reflect with what you have done. Craft making can eat an hour, your whole day, weeks or even months depending on your plan and how you would like it to be made. This will also depend in the personality, age, and the willingness of how much time and effort the person doing craft will put into.

Magazines and websites will be of great help in choosing what you would like to make and finding the right supplies. You can either ask your friends of what is the best design to make or you may also buy things from the store and then put designs with your personal touch. You may also buy craft supplies you need for craft making and find outside assistance with certain steps.

Now that Mother’s Day is fast approaching, what will be the best thing to give the woman who we owe our lives to? You can buy expensive or cheap stuff in stores or personally make that special gift for your mom. We should be reminded that the day is not only for the mothers but also for the children. From the traditional cards saying love and poems, we can choose from other ideas and designs made into lovely gifts which require a little time and effort. For younger kids who really want to give something special for their mommies, they would need assistance and might end-up being a helper to the older ones.

You can choose from customized pillowcases, personalized clock or other ideas. In doing customized pillow cases, these crafts can be made easily with a simple stitching pattern guide. If you want you can put heart warming messages or designs such as hearts and flowers of your choice in embroidering them. In doing personalized clock, buy a simple analog clock. You may pop the cover off the front and remove the hands. Place a special photograph of your mom or other art design on the front, gluing it into place. Replace the hands and front cover, and its ready! Always remember to remove the battery of the clock before removing the hands; but before removing the hands, it is a good idea to synchronize them to a single position first. This is to make sure that the clock is still working after being reassembled.

Another great idea is to have a picture of you and your mom put it in frame decorate with artwork, seashells, shiny stones, ribbon, or other tidbits and it’s all set.

We should remember that it is not how expensive or beautiful gifts are, or how much we liked them or will be in used, the thing is that we know how to be grateful for what is given to us if it is made with love and wrapped with so much appreciation.

You are become Craft-a-holic when:

1) If it doesn’t move, then you paint it!

2) Your kids bring flower covered scrapbooks instead of binders to school.

3) You wear a glue gun holster… you just never know when something will need hot glue.

4) You house is full of scrap fabrics, papers, threads, wool, beads, broken vases, old wooden boxes, glue gun sticks…. these are not scraps to you, these are potential craft projects.

5) Your side of the table, is piled high with craft ideas, pictures and articles, and half done crafts.

6) No one wants to get your name at Christmas, because they just know they are going to get one of your latest “crafts” for a present.

7) You have a craft supplier on speed dial.

You pick your kids up from school, with paint in your hair, on your face, and you wear your painting shirt like its a new fashion statement..

9) You have been called the stencil queen…

10) You will never be fingerprinted, because you have burned your finger tips too many times with the glue gun.

If this is you… then maybe it is time to get serious about your crafts and turning them into money. You probably have enough crafts around your house, that you can open a online store right away! Get some great pictures, I am sure your friends and family will be so excited that you are going to sell your crafts as a business, that they will help you get organized.

What better business to start, then one you are already passionate about?… Rather than unloading them all on your friends and family for every holiday there is on the calendar, try going worldwide, which is what will happen on the internet. You will empty your house and line your pockets!… then you can buy more craft supplies!

open an online store and sell your crafts

Some people associate autumn with the “death” of summer. I see it as a gorgeous, vibrant, colorful time where fiery reds, oranges, and yellows compete for our attention. Crisp wind lively plays among the fallen leaves. Warm cocoa and crackling fires chase away the cold at night.

Thanksgiving List

It might seem obvious, but the main objective this Thanksgiving season should be to actually give thanks. It’s sad how distracting our lives can be, that we forget to remember how blessed we are. There are many ways to show gratitude to our Lord and Savior this season. You can spread paper across any surface, a table, refrigerator, or wall. Then, equip your homeschoolers with crayons. Each day, have them add something for which they are thankful to the list. On Thanksgiving, you can have each child read his or her contributions aloud in order to share them with the rest of the homeschool family. You can cut out leaves in construction paper instead of writing on a list or draw pictures instead of writing out words. Be creative!

Leafy Fun

For most families, fall means leaf-raking time. Have your homeschoolers help out with the lawn care this year by making it family endeavor. Let them run around and jump in the leaves. At night, you can even burn up the leaves in a brilliant bonfire. Don’t forget to bring the hot cider and hot chocolate!

Family Football

For a lot of dads, Thanksgiving is a time to settle down in the living room and stretch out for a few hours of quality football. Don’t just watch football this year. Get outside and get that blood pumping! It will be a great opportunity to throw the pigskin around with your family. You can even plan for a halftime mini-game, inviting other homeschooling families in the neighborhood.

Play a Thanksgiving Party Game

Think about ways to attribute Thanksgiving imagery to existing games. Consider Mayflower Memory:

Everyone sits in a circle. The first player says, “I am sailing on the Mayflower and I am taking Apples. The next player repeats the phrase, only instead of apples, thinks of something that begins with the letter “B”. The game continues this way until players can no longer think of words. If a player can’t contribute an item, he or she must leave the circle. The last person in the circle wins!

Use your imagination! Give Duck Duck Turkey a try!