The Gift of Making Something or how to bring more creativity into your life - Part 1

The gift of being a maker, of practicing any kind of heartfelt artful activity is that it teaches us how to create. It teaches us how to be a creator.

This is kind of a mind-flip for those of us who grew up being taught more about having by "getting" than we did about creating.

Imagine if we were taught, and if we taught our own children, how to create the things they want rather than how to get them.

This having by "getting" starts early and can stay with us -

we try to get people to like us, get straight A's, get a good job, get lucky, get someone to do something, get married, get more money, get customers, get our acts together ... the getting goes on and on.

A focus on "getting" makes us grab at life. It sends our sticky little tentacles out into the world. It takes us out of the present moment.

(the moment where the only true success is ever possible- the moment of creation)

It gives our creative power (maybe the only power we truly have) over to someone else - what if we don't get the job, the guy, the house ... the "getting" makes us manipulate life as we try to control the situation. It blocks the flow.

maybe this is why so many incredibly creative people have so many problems - maybe our addictions and despairs stem partly from this block - this mindset blocking our true creativity. Maybe this is why so many people (myself included) can begin to heal all kinds of messes and vices through creative processes and practices.

As makers, we are charged with flipping this "getting" mindset. It is our gift; our obligation to the world, really truly.

It is the difference between "getting" a job and creating a business or a career, "getting" married and creating a family, "getting" a life and creating a life.

It is why makers know that success is in the moment of creation. It is why you cannot not be a successful maker/artist if you get to experience that moment, if you really love what you do and put your heart in it. The reaction of other people to what you do will matter less and less.

Now if this thing you are making is something that it is your intention to create money with and you are somewhat successful with this and it becomes your intention to recreate this experience again and again - another mind -flip is needed because the repetition of creating something again and again changes the something you are creating.

(I have always liked to make something one time then I would get bored and move on. I was crafty and creative, but never stayed with anything long enough to develop any real skill with it.

When I realized that the intense moment of inspiraton, part of the creative process -the "high" part, but not the only part can turn into an equally creative and inspiring physical act of creating - even when, and maybe only when, this act is repeated again and again if it is our intention to create something amazing, I had another mind-flip.

You may be knitting your 100th sweater, but that sweater may will find its way to someone who has maybe never owned a handmade sweater; a sweater whose care and attention to detail can be seen and touched like your sweater - it is your 100th sweater, but if you keep that person in mind and it is your intention to extend your passion for knitting and for handmade out to them - you will find there is a meditation and joy in the repetition - at least until there isn't anymore and you will figure that out, too.)

Creativity works with the subconscious brain and so it can’t be forced

(it can be cultivated and allowed - more on this in Part II)

and before you go thinking dammit I need to be creative right now.

I need to create something amazing in the 2 hours I have while little Sami or little Joshua is napping!

(and if your child takes a 2 hour nap, I bow to your skills as a master creator of time for yourself)

be assured this is actually good news, amazingly excellent news actually because our subconscious "limbic" brains have access to vastly greater amounts of information than our conscious "thinking" brains do. Gazillion times more, in fact.

(brain researchers have discovered that an average person's conscious brain has access to about 2 feet of information while the average unconscious brain has access to 11 acres of information! or over 450,000 feet - if my math is correct - maybe someone should double-check me on this)

Scientists believe that every experience, every lesson, every mistake, every triumph is all stored away in there and your brain has the capacity to access that information, even though you're not conscious of it.

I mean, how cool is that?

This is where gut feelings and decisions come from - and why we need to trust them.

Because the feeling part of our brain is digging deep into our past to help guide our decisions. This is the reason experiences matter. The more experiences you have, the more information your unconscious brain has access to, which will help generate ideas and solve problems creatively.

It's why sometimes the answer will come to you in the shower, or when you go for a long walk or when you just stop thinking about it.

Now, we need to make these experiences the right kind of experiences or our gut reactions to most things may be fear - and even this is ok, too, for awhile - because this is just one more thing we will work through and be stronger for.

Next week in Part II we will talk about some practices to allow more creativity into your life. This week we set our intention to be more creative - next week we take action!

(creator necklace by CupofSea)

Take 10 Tuesday - the summer lazy-girl version where we may or may not get to a ten count

1. Disposable Culture and Our Fear of Commitment over at Scoutie Girl

2. How to Use Photos to Sell More Online over at Smashing Magazine (some new info here)

3. Dr. Evil's 7 Tips for Achieving Worldwide Domination at Copyblogger

4. Believing Mirrors - Do You Have Them? by Robin Norgren over at Handmade Spark


5. CosaVerde's interview with the amazing Elisa Shere!

6. Scoutie Girl's Creative Thinker interview with the incredible Stephanie Fizer!

7. Social mention is a great place to see if people are talking about your business (in good ways, of course) - it seems a bit more complete and up to date than Google Alerts to me. Thanks Sherry for finding this.

8. 5 Etsy Features You Should be Using over at Kate and Oli (just realized I could be Cat and Oli!)

GIVEAWAY That Old Blue House 2 Vintage Quilt Earrings!

AND THE WINNER IS #77
Fisiwoman!

Lisa is the amazing artist behind That Old Blue House 2! She has worked with stained glass for over 20 years.

Her jewelry has evolved from Lisa's love of antiques. Her vintage lace and quilt pieces pay homage to the women who created these works of art many years ago.

She uses only tattered pieces of fabric to give them a "second life"; to be enjoyed by a new generation!

Lisa uses silver solder and most of her work uses micro-thin glass.

That Old Blue House 2 amazing jewelry has been featured in Lucky Magazine, Anthropologie, Quilters Home Magazine, The Quilter Magazine and Quiltmaker Magazine.


We are so lucky to have one of her amazing pieces for our giveaway!

WHAT YOU GET:

One lucky winner will receive this pair of gorgeous earrings created from a vintage quilt and sandwiched between micro-thin glass, soldered with silver solder and finished with an antiqued patina. These are one of a kind!



HOW TO WIN:

Visit That Old Blue House 2 and and check out Lisa's amazing work- then come back here and leave a comment letting her know which piece is your favorite!

For additional entries:

(5) Twitter this post
(5) Blog about this contest; linking to this post
(5) Follow my blog

Let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone.

DRAWING:

Enter by midnight, Sunday July 4th! Good luck! CLOSED

Friday Finds Part II - Authenticity at its Finest - the Soda Pop Stop - flavor to the people

You won't be able to stop watching this guy, I promise!

Proving that if you have a strong sense of why you do what you do, you won't need to do what the market tells you, you can tell the market what you're going to do! Thumbs up!

Friday Finds - Inspiration is Everywhere!

With their cute new umbrella, Microworks transforms the boring umbrella strap into a little creature's tail.

How can we incorporate something fun and unexpected into our own work?

Konstantin Datz has created a Rubik cube for the blind. The colors are in Braille, so that the visually impaired can be driven crazy by this game, too!

How can we reach out to a new niche market with our product?

How can we make our product accessible to an overlooked audience?

PIG swine flu masks designed by Zijns Design Office. The mask is printed with a pig's nose graphic.

How fun are these for a pandemic?

How can we incorporate something totally timely into our work to generate some amazing buzz?


Mouse Graphics Design is a Greek studio providing package design. Their design for olive oil producer Agrovim is spectacular!

How is our product packaging helping to create our brand?

How can we make our packaging more interesting and memorable?

Onesies designed by Steve Denekas with letters and designs that face the baby!

How cool and genius are these!

How can we make our own designs better and more exciting for the end-user?

Maybe it would help if we start looking at things upside down!

Have a wonderful weekend and remember that inspiration for your work is everywhere!

Upcycled Shovel and Pitchfork Planters DIY Tutorial plus those flea market bargains find a new usefulness

First a quick update on the new lives of some of my recent flea market finds, although the bicycle wheels are just taking a little pitstop ...


1. more little golden books for our book wall - pants hangers from Ikea
2. this horseshoe has a nice new home bringing us some good luck
3. vintage doorknob plus cork = cool new bottle stoppers
4. bicycle wheels make a great temporary seed holder
5. vintage mallet makes a perfect little bookend
6. old baseballs + stampings = a total homerun


Now, this tutorial is almost too easy peasy to call itself a tutorial,

but since everyone who sees mine goes home and makes one, I won't let that stop me!

Your rusty old shovels and pitchforks can be easily turned into great planters that will add some whimsy and old-time farm magic to your garden!


what you need:





1. empty coffee cans
2. screws, washers, screwdriver
3. metal straps from hardware store
4. some rusty old farm tools
5. your drill


1. the cans can be double strapped (top and bottom) or double screwed into your shovel or pitchfork handle very easily
2. pick a great spot in your garden that needs a little height and gets enough sun for your plantings
3. add your plants and a garden gnome to keep watch and you are all set!


And check out some amazing gardener goodies on Etsy:

1. Succulent seeds by PlaidPigeon
2. I dig dirt toddler tee from RoundBottomBaby
3. Green thumb locket in my Polarity shop
4. Rusted handmade ceramic herb markers from Glazed Over
5. Woodland Waldorf Gnome from MariaAsenova
6. Work With What You've Got collage by TinyArtbyJMullin

Whining Wednesday - yes, it's back, but just for one week because I'm a glass half full kind of girl now

I have been aching to whine for weeks

I mean it is in my DNA,

but I have been busy staying positive and professional and all that.

Since it is the first week of summer and the birds are singing, the bees are buzzing, the kids are BORED .. I think it is time to whine a little ...

Whine 1 - I cut myself shaving. I know, I know we all do that. But I cut my face shaving my legs.

Let me set the stage without being too indelicate ...

I was in the shower and reached the razor behind my head to put it under the water so I could rinse it off and as I did, I felt the cold razor blade on my face and suddenly I was bleeding ... alot.

My first response was a bit of a freak-out thinking I had just scarred the only 50 square inches (how many square inches is a face do you think) of my anatomy left unscarred from one mishap or another,

but once I got a little bit calmed down realized that I had just cut my face shaving my legs and would get to wear one of those tiny little pieces of bathroom tissue stuck to my face for a little while, which was actually kind of cool, although I was the only one home and no one would see me.

So, I kept checking out the window for the UPS driver, so he could see my tissue-papered injury and I would get to announce - yeah, just cut my face ... shaving my legs ... but that never happened.

Whine 2 - this is kind of a little lesson wrapped in a whine - my chiropractor raised his prices and my health insurance doesn't cover chiropractic care

(or dental care or vision care or any of the other things I guess we are not really supposed to require)

even though hubby and I pay over $8000.00 a year for it ... sigh


Anyhoo, he raised his prices and it honestly wasn't very much of a price increase and I was actually sort of ok with it until I happened to be in the parking lot last week when he pulled in -

and I saw his brand new, incredibly shiny, incredibly red JAGUAR

and this little resentful voice in my head immediately was all

"well, this we do not like."

He had gotten an expensive new car, and I judged that a little bit.
(actually, he had gotten an expensive new Jaguar and I judged that alot)

And that voice continued with, “Is this why I am paying more?"

"Who does he think he is?!”

Ouch ...

So, I had to take a breath and sit with my little self-righteous self for a minute and think this all through. What exactly was I judging here?

Because here’s the deal - I know we are not meant to stay small. I know we are not meant to be broke.

My chiropractor is very good. Why doesn't he get to drive a Jaguar? I don’t want to stay small. So, why would I want him to stay small?

Even though my idea of EXPANSION is not a Jaguar - what was my real problem with this?

(it wasn't a Hummer, for pete's sake)

Whine 3 - We've got crop circles. Well, we don't exactly have crops and we don't exactly have circles, but we've got something in our corn ... or what used to be our corn ... or what could have been our corn ...

Let me set the scene - hubby goes outside to water the farm garden and he comes inside for about 30 seconds to get a drink of water

(he will not drink hose water or let Olive drink it - personally I am not bothered by the bacteria growing in the 100 degree, 100 feet of plastic tubing, but I am a tough Jersey girl after all)

He goes back outside. He then comes in screaming the kind of four letter words that even I will not lay down on paper. The corn was dead- all the corn was cut off as if with a little sickle, every single stalk within the 30 seconds it took George to walk across the yard, into the house, drink a glass of water and walk back outside.

"Is this some kind of f---ng joke!", he is yelling up at the trees.

The most logical (if there is one) explanation is that this was a very hot day, he had just watered the corn, corn stalk leaves hold water very well, some tiny little thirsty critter gang had rushed the corn stalks for the water and cut every stalk off at the base to get to the leaves ...

(or maybe the corn was just tired and wanted to lay down ... like forever)
it was something like this -----> ... well, sort of

16 stalks in 30 seconds

some kind of crop circle making record, I am sure.

Hubby later described this to people as the stalks being cut almost all the way through, almost down to the very base and then pushed over, just like you would cut down a tree ...

When he said this, I caught his eye and held it. He knew what I was thinking.

He knew I was thinking about the trees we had just cut down. The trees that, although rotted, were also in the way of his farm garden and his sunset just like his little cornstalks were in the way of that critter gang getting to its water supply.

Of course, hubby thinks I am the kind of person who sees signs in all sorts of ridiculous things, including burned toast crumbs.

(which was just that one time, when they happened to fall into an amazing silhouette of a dangerously bent bicycle and had me driving my car to the post office that day ... just in case)

And of course, since I am the kind of girl who turns lemons into lemonade

(well, cans of frozen lemon concentrate anyway)

let me recap (1) if we see a girl with a piece of bathroom tissue stuck to her face, maybe we should feel a bit of shock and awe for the type of shower manuever she was most likely performing and not assume she had just popped some kind of gigantic pimple

and (2) when someone gets a new car, even if that car is a bit much and that someone is someone we are paying- maybe especially if that someone is someone we are paying, be happy that our money has expanded their world and know that it is busy expanding ours, too.

and (3) when crop circles happen just think of the great story this will make one day (and next year plant your corn with some critter-proof fencing like all the other vegetables or at least get some kind of video monitoring system installed to determine which critter gang is responsible for the carnage and maybe win yourself a free year's supply of dog food on that amazing animal tv show).

Life is a classroom folks. Lessons are everywhere.

crop circle digital print by SkinkInk

Take 10 Tuesday - the summer version ....

Now that summer has officially come to this part of the world and I am allowed to get officially lazy

(yes, it's like, in the Constitution or something)

as opposed to the unofficially lazy way I usually operate, Take 10 Tuesday will be reduced to Take (insert any number here) Tuesday for the next few weeks.

(why don't I just call it Take 8 Tuesday, etc you are probably asking ... well, I don't know ... it just doesn't seem to have the same kapow, you know what I mean)

Anyhoo, here's some stuff you might want to check out:

1. My own interview with Tara at Scoutie Girl about Creative Thinking!

2. A seriously good podcast over at Crafty Pod where Megan Auman nails it about Professional Crafters and Hobbyists on Etsy

3. Tips for Etsy Sellers - Product Descriptions that Work by the amazing tinahdee

4. 5 Reasons to Title Your Art at Art Biz Blog - why numbering your work is not a good idea

5. Very funny post Why Having a Toddler is Like Being at a Frat Party over at Suburban Snapshots.

6. 5 Quick Tips to Take Better Photographs by the amazing Jessica Torres.

Jessica also found some stunning new work for the Photographers of Etsy team blog which included an amazing photo by my buddy Ann Wilkinson, who is hopefully in North Carolina as I right this, having a wonderful summer and drinking alot of wine (she sends me her corks) - I'm not trying to wish a drinking problem on her or anything, but I do need those corks Ann ...

7. Chris Brogan's post Make the Ask - why is it so hard for us to ask for the sale?

8. Get WAY Better at What You Do NOW by Tara Gentile - what have we done lately to improve our maker skills?



rustic spinner ring by tinahdee
Peek fine art photo by Jessica Torres.

Giveaway - LEMONBALL - Handsome, Handmade BASEBALL by Paul Cunningham! CLOSED

And the winner is: SilverWork!

Chosen by random.org #46 out of 227

Paul Cunningham is the incredible designer/craftsman behind the amazing LEMON BALL™ baseballs!

They are handmade baseballs modeled after the original "base ball" from nearly 200 years ago.

Made from beautiful American tanned leather and high quality waxed linen thread, you will not find a finer ball anywhere.

Paul was born on the first day of spring training in Cooperstown, NY.

(born for baseball you could say)

He has served as a researcher for the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown and was the long time photo editor for Major League Baseball in Manhattan.

Paul was also a Sr. Baseball Glove Craftsman, making ball gloves for elite players!
The lemon peel style baseball represents an important link in baseball's early history. Few are aware that the modern "figure eight" style baseball evolved from the lemon peel style ball.

Paul's incredible work has been featured in Men's Fitness, the Fox business show Happy Hour and his LEATHER HEAD™ Handsome American Football is showcased in this month's Real Simple magazine!


We are so lucky to have one of his amazing creations for this week's giveaway!

WHAT YOU GET:

One lucky winner will receive a handsome, handmade LEMON BALL™ baseball!




HOW TO WIN:

Visit LemonBall's shop and and check out his amazing work- then come back here and leave a comment letting Paul know which of his incredible handsome handmade leathers is your favorite!

For additional entries:

(5) Twitter this post
(5) Blog about this contest; linking to this post
(5) Follow my blog

Let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone.

DRAWING:

Enter by midnight, Sunday June 27th! Good luck! CLOSED

Friday Finds - Summer is a Coming!

"A life without love is like a year without summer." ~ Swedish Proverb


1. savannah bee company tupelo honey
2. velorbis bicycle with wooden crate
3. alice supply company garden tools
4. cb2 oscar planters
5. seltzer studios picnic set
6. alice supply company hose
7. push me pull you the fox and the stork print
8. rosewebs lawn chair wallet
9. gudrun sjoden floral topper

Another amazing stack to get your weekend started right brought to us by the amazing wedding photog and stacker of all things stackable Kella MacPhee.

Upcycled DIY Tutorial - A Log Table & Chalkboard Sign or what to do when you need to cut down those trees

A couple weeks ago, we had to cut down 5 trees - it was a hard day for us me.

George was very certain these trees were going to crash down on our heads and we have had enough trees fall over the years, including one that hit our neighbor's garage, to take our tree problem seriously.

You can see from the holes in these poor trees that they had seen better days, but it was very hard for me to make the decision to cut them down.

This decision was not so hard for hubby who longs for any reason to use his mostly idle chainsaw.

(for a man who likes to makes things, he really likes to "unmake" them, too)



I have a few projects planned for some of this wood and the rest is being picked up by some friends with fireplaces. I saw these log stools in a magazine and knew I would be making one for us and a couple for other people.


You will need:

1. a log that has been cut to be level
2. your handy drill
3. 4 swivel casters

(if you are going to sit on this log you may want bigger casters than these and longer screws)

4. screws, screwdriver and marking pen


1. Lay out your swivel casters fairly close to the edge of your log
2. Mark your drill holes

(I actually skipped this step and just drilled through the caster holes, but this could be a good step if you are a litle less lazy than I am)

3. Drill your screw holes
4. Screw on your casters
5. Flip your table
6. Voila- and this is a heck of alot easier to move around than the heavy log is!

BONUS PROJECT - WELCOME SIGN
Using a round template paint a chalkboard onto a slice of wood- add a little welcome message!


And for some amazing Etsy creations you can buy now- check out:


1. Log #20 original water color painting by Gollybard
2. Personalized carved initials necklace by Lisa Hopkins
3. Tiny wee hoot owl by Buttercupbloom
4. Tagua nuts eco-friendly earrings from Decorate the Diva
5. Custom tree heart pillow by Cozyblue
6. Pileated woodpecker by StudioLyon

NEW Half-Pint Cork Necklaces in Uncorked Shop!

In my continued effort to make cork the other white wood - I introduce half-pints. Maybe, the cutest little corkers I have ever made!


They are available in my Uncorked shop here for the unbelievable price of only $14.00.

Just leave me a message in the comments to seller section of your order about making cork the other white wood and I will refund your shipping and include a free gift with purchase (not sure what this will be yet, but you will just have to trust me that it will be cool ... and free) - email me for any special colors! Offer good thru 6/30.

Creative Tithing - The Other Stuff We Spend - Part II

In Part 1, we talked about Creative Tithing in monetary terms.

You make money in some kind of crafty, creative endeavor and you give 10% of it away to someone that has inspired you creatively.

The act is very powerful.

It is an act of expansion. You are expanding your own thinking about what is possible for you (ie there is more where this came from, alot more), you are drawing something new and creative into your life and you are expanding someone else's creative world, too.

If they also tithe 10% this goes on and on forever and ever ...

(just sit with that for a second and really let our power sink in!)

There are also ways to practice creative tithing and creative expansion without using money as our practice point.

One way is with applause.

Yes, as in put our hands together, whistle through our fingers, scream bravo until we lose our voices - tell 'em that you love 'em - applause!

This is a very easy practice point, but very powerful.

When you see something that someone has created and you love it - TELL THEM! Convo other sellers on Etsy just to say WOW!

This can't help but send little ripples (which can turn into tsunamis) out into the world.

Encourage people. It's not about blindly saying - “you can do it”.

(although that's nice, too!)

It’s deeper than that. It’s seeing the truth of the other person, especially when they can't see it yet for themselves.

Also, remember to practice expansion by practicing gratitude when you get this kind of applause.

If someone tells you how great your work is and your first thought is - well, then BUY something for pete's sake - the energy just stops ... right there ... clunk.

Or, if you think- "what? my work? it's just ok" - clunk.

Now, if you really allow yourself to take it in and let it expand the way you see yourself and the way you see the world - stuff happens, big stuff happens!

Another great practice point for creative tithing is with your time.

There are as many ways to do this as there is creative inspiration out there.

Time is a very powerful tithe.

You can always make more money, but we all get just a finite amount of time in a day and to tithe some of this into the creative community is a very powerful thing.

If you sell on Etsy, making treasuries to promote other sellers is a huge tithe of your time. Giving your time to creative people and creative groups expands your world in very powerful ways.

Your talent is also a very powerful practice point.

Giving away your talent in terms of work, skills, mentoring, training, information, etc is a huge way to expand.

Our talent is something that we are called to express. It isn't so much a gift to us, as it is our gift to everyone else! We are called to pass it on. We cannot waste it!

If you are called to paint - paint! If you are called to write - write! You never know who will read your words or see your work and in what way they will be moved and inspired to bring more of that creativity into their own life!

Donating your work to charities that support the arts and schools are great ways to practice creative tithing of your talent.

You don't have to be a teacher to be a teacher. You don't have to have it all together to pass on the stuff that you do.

(and have you ever learned anything really true from anyone who wasn't a total train wreck at some point in their life?)

You are always mentoring somebody - even when you are just doing a really good job, maybe especially when you are just doing a really good job

Inspire them.

You can tithe other abundances in your creative life, too, everything from supplies to connections - it is kind of endless.

Now, these are all practices. And practices need to be practiced to work (and just like the practice that you put into your craft and the practice called exercise - it doesn't just work for other people, it has to work for you, it can't not work).

If we didn't do things unless the outcome was guaranteed we would never do anything of value.

Faith comes from first doing the thing – not necessarily knowing that everything will turn out the way we want it to. And creative tithing is not a religious act, but it is an act of faith.

Tithing your time and talent and praise and money probably will not work in any positive way for us if we do it grudgingly

(if a situation feels wrong then don't do it - the lesson for that type of stuff is most likely about standing up for ourselves and our value and saying no to things) -

because tithing keeps our energy at the level of the act, so making it a selfless act

(as much as possible, we are not expected to be Mother Teresa here)

and letting it go is very important.

I also think it is very powerful to do the thing that is the hardest thing, for us to do.

For some people it is easier to give money than time - for others it is easier to give away their time than to part with 10% of their creative income and I do think that maybe always doing the easier thing can dillute this a bit, so try to do the thing that makes you uncomfortable and work with that once in a while.

Because creative tithing is about expansion and expansion is about growth and growth is about challenging ourselves.

What else can we do; what do you think?

great job on that thing you did card by sycamorestreet
make time don't kill time - flourish print by daisyjanie
waste of talent t-shirt by wasteoftalent13

Take 10 Tuesday - some stuff we would be talking about around the watercooler - if we had a watercooler

1. The BP oil spill updates on the Daily Green also some great info here

2. Top 10 Biz Lady Mistakes by the Biz Ladies at Design Sponge

3. Making returns and exchanges easier for your customers over at Smallerbox

4. Ecoetsy's post by Lisa of Lil Fish Studios on Flickr- Moving Beyond the Basics

5. Duct Tape Marketing or Social Media Remorse over at Open Small Business

6. The Spring Inspiration girls take on the Law of Attraction in these podcasts

7. Sister Diane of Craftypod's Craft Blog Tune Up Course starts on the 28th

8. Some of the Summit of Awesome speakers will be broadcast live in the Etsy labs! Check out the schedule here.

9. Seth's post The Wrapper Matters - all his posts are must-reads!

10. John T. Unger's interview over at The Launch Coast.

GIVEAWAY - Locket2You - AMAZING LOCKET celebrating Summit of Awesome! CLOSED

CLOSED - AND THE WINNER IS - ALAMODESTUFF!

Chosen by random.org
True Random Number Generator

Min: 1
Max: 642
506
Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Locket2You has a special place in my heart because owner (designer/maker) Miranda is my niece! Miranda and her (designer/maker) hubby Scott are the crafty couple behind this amazing little locket line!

They live in Portland, Oregon with the handsome and totally clever Adriel, age 7 (although he does think his Aunt Cat is a brain-eating zombie) and the incredibly adorable Elise.

Miranda has been a craft maven since childhood - her earliest crafty ventures involved puff paint and plastic visors and also candles and seashells (this one might have resulted in the untimely death of a snail named Shirley, but we're not going to go there) - she is also an excellent cook and writer!

Their lockets are fun and gorgeous and very hard to resist (but why would you want to?)

Locket2You has grown their little business into a 75 store crafty empire in less than a year.
How'd they do it?

Well, we are going to talk to them about that when I do a series on wholesale next month (a little heads up would be that this process includes a totally great product, Scott's excellent understanding of social media, alot of hard work, a bit of good luck and the positive intention to expand - think law of attraction in action again - something tells me they have not been whining on Wednesdays ... well, maybe a little knowing Miranda).

Scott will be speaking about wholesale selling at the Summit of Awesome in Portland this week. Etsy will be following the Summit in the virtual labs, so check it all out for lots of great (ok, let's just say awesome) information.

We are so lucky to have one of their stunning lockets for this week's giveaway!



WHAT YOU GET:

One lucky winner will receive your choice of one of Locket2You's stunning brass lockets!




HOW TO WIN:

Visit Locket2You and check out their lockets- then come back here and leave a comment letting Miranda and Scott know the locket you would like to win (colors and availability may vary):

For additional entries:

(5) Twitter this post
(5) Blog about this contest; linking to this post
(5) Follow my blog

Let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone.

DRAWING:

Enter by midnight, Sunday June 20th! Good luck! CLOSED
(some photos by Presents of Mind, Portland)