One Stitch Designs

New Years Resolutions Or Goals

2012-01-01T07:27:00.000-08:00

I'm not fond of the word "resolution."

It's negative feeling. I resolve to do this, meaning "I force myself, it will happen," which boils down to "I don't want to."

Is it any wonder why so many resolutions fail? Like diets, the #1 resolution of all time, which fail because you do not want to deprive yourself of a goody every now and again; because you don't really want to.

I much prefer the word "goal." Same end result (hopefully), much more positive connotations.

A goal is something to work towards, something worth doing, or at least trying. It's something that makes you feel really good when you accomplish it, but it's not the end of the world if you don't make it.

So I bet your wondering what my goals for 2012 are?

*A month ago, I decided to try to make 2012's sales figures 4X what 2011's sales were. This only brings me to $8,600 in gross sales, which is a reasonable goal.

*Also, The slow adding to my standalone site One Stitch Designs it will eventually rival, and maybe possibly surpass my Etsy site

*getting a pattern published in a major magazine. I've got a couple of candidates worthy of such an honor. And I already write my patterns in the magazine style.

*Finally getting a wholesale account. Doesn't matter how small, but I've only had one wholesale order, and I want to grow that part of my business.

*finding a local outlet for my work. This is a whole lot easier said than done, I've done both of the shows here, and they both were bad. and there's no stores I've found yet that will work with handmade.

*be able to save up enough money to do a wholesale order of the yarns I use the most. Of course that means I'll need to make enough money to save some!

Some of the goals I set up for myself for 2012 have already been accomplished :)

For example: having my own .com , and getting my own standalone website. Both of these things I meant to do in 2012, but I came across a deal I couldn't refuse, which pushed me into doing those things sooner.

I've put a whole lot on my plate! Here's to a better year than last year was!

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-25T19:43:00.000-08:00

It's that time of the year again, the presents are under the tree (some already opened), carols floating through the air, pretty lights everywhere, lots of grub to eat. Cold in a lot of places, maybe some snow somewhere (not here, still too warm :( )

Stay safe this holiday season as you are going to and coming from wherever you have to go.

Happy Holidays everyone!

OOh, Check this out! Spray Paint Art!

2011-11-25T05:46:00.001-08:00

Seriously, this dude is like Bob Ross, but with spray paint!! I never thought you could do such a thing with spray paint, especially that fast!!

Playing with a new stitch

2011-10-29T09:47:00.000-07:00

So I've been watching vids on youtube again, and one of my fave video makers is Neauveau Fiber Arts, so I check out her channel to see what she's been up to.

I see this video, she's showing off a special stitch she uses in knitting her art yarns.

Here's the video:

Notice how her stitches look straight? I give it a try, but with a lace weight mohair/acrylic blend and size 13 knitting needles.

This is what I came up with:

It's kind of like a drop stitch, but i think it's prettier.
So, what do you think?
Something worth repeating over and over??

Cute baby video!!

2011-09-24T15:53:00.000-07:00

OK, so I made Anna a knitted bunny.

This is what happened when I presented it to her!

This is a possible prototype for something in my shop :)

I made another treasury - and updates

2011-09-21T10:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I haven't posted in a while, been working on the shops, closing a couple of shops (I now have 2 active), and posting on the Home.Craft.Biz blog .

Here's a haunting treasury for your enjoyment

'Echos Of The Past' by Stephaniemakesall

The spirits of those we love watch over us

Ghostly Window Photo &q... missquitecontr... $30.00	Undead White Foundation... SobeBotanicals $7.99	1920's Spirit Photo... sweetheartsinn... $9.99	GlamourGhoul obsequies $45.67
Halloween Art Doll Ooak... loopyboopy $275.00	She moves among the sha... shashamane $25.00	Halloween Ghost - Needl... felttess $89.00	Victorian Ghost Dress H... Cherkas $199.00
Ghost of Briar Rose - H... missquitecontr... $30.00	The Other Victorian g... Bohemiart $5.99	Ghost Ship Ocean Recycl... Wyldechylde $10.00	Ghost Dance - 5x7 Art P... AngryMobImages $25.00
Child's Grave at Tu... AllAboutFrames $21.00	One of a Kind - Moonlig... kambriel $475.00	Original gothic ghost p... sarada $30.00	Ghost Costume Ghostly h... michelfox $75.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Praying to the Google Overlords :)

2011-09-03T08:22:00.001-07:00

"Master Google guide us.
Master Google teach us.
Master Google protect us.
In your light we thrive.
In your mercy we are #1.
In your wisdom we are humbled.
We create only to serve you.
Our pages are yours."

Hey, I figure it's worth a try, being as Google is taking over the world and are going to be the ones to start the zombie apocalypse.

OK, so I read a whole bunch of Terry Goodkind novels :)

why handmade is "expensive"

2011-08-22T19:34:00.001-07:00

I just found this really good article in a forum post, it's worth a read

http://whatthecraft.com/overpriced-cant-afford-handmade-pricing/

The great Yarn dye- With Kool Aid!

2011-08-03T13:06:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I attempted to dye some yarn and rovings, so I watched a bazillion videos on youtube, joined the It's A Kool Way To Dye group on Ravelry, and then took the plunge!!

Here's what the color was originally:

I dyed a 100g bit of red roving with fruit punch and black cherry:


The actual finished color turned out just a hair lighter. This is right when the dying was finished.

After I was finished with the roving, I plied the yarn I showed in the first pic of this post, and decided to dye it in citrus colors. Orange, yellow, and green.

The yarn is to the right side, the rest of the pot is taken up with a roving.

After re-skeining that yarn, it looked like this!


Started out with 101 yards of singles, ended with 44 yards of this gorgeousness!

As for the roving in the pot with that yarn? I'm working on it now.

It's making long variegated strands of color, No clue exactly how it's going to look after plying for sure, but it looks like it might have a bit of variegated quality to it!

I'll post my dying tutorial soon.

Making a treasury

2011-07-21T11:27:00.001-07:00

making a treasury is easy, just stick 16 items in the treasury spaces, but making a good treasury can be harder, you have to find good stuff, photographed decently, and it's nice if everything has a theme of some sort.

Here's my latest:

'I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For Ice Cream' by Stephaniemakesall

It's hot outside, too hot.

Ice Cream Pint Cozy... AandBOriginals... $8.00	Double Dipped Delig... ajsweetsoap $6.75	Parfait Necklace teenyweenystor... $8.00
Limited Edition - I... twosieskidbout... $11.95	Ice Cream Scoop mel... raescandles $3.95	TICKLED PINK Coconu... SweetbodySoaps $9.95
Christmas in July S... melbangel $1.50	Brownie Fudge Sunda... AlyrooArt $20.00	Huge Mixed Ice Crea... cherryboop $16.50
Onesie Ice Cream Su... DiaperCakeBout... $14.75	Mini Food Jewelry -... Artwonders $10.00	Cherries on Top Ic... MysticFireDesi... $24.00
Pin Cushion - Ice C... MusicCitySewin... $6.00	Heart Shaped Ice Cr... OneElf $12.00	The Kinley Collecti... KalosCandy $52.00
Double Scoop Ice Cr... ScribblerCrayo... $9.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Converting from mass produced

2011-07-11T06:14:00.000-07:00

For many years, when I go buy any amount of stuff from a big box store, I have expected to have to return at least one thing. And I have not been disappointed.

A person gets sick of having to make 2 trips every time they have to go to the sore, and it's not Eco-friendly either (says the woman who bought a set of solar panels just for gaming :).

When I discovered Etsy and the other handmade sites, it was a revelation. Not only could I sell my artistry there, but I could get nice things that are unique or rare! since then, I have gotten countless handmade goodies, and you know what? I have not had to return a single one of them! And I'm addicted to handmade soap.

I still have to go to stores for some things, but not for any gift type stuff, not for soap, fudge, even honey. I can get those all from micro businesses on the internet!

I am now a supporter of the handmade movement. And I'm happier for it!

Handspinning yarn...

2011-07-07T07:49:00.000-07:00

So a few months ago, when I had some money (I miss that, unemployed sucks, even worse when you can't get unemployment, but that's another discussion), I decided I was going to learn to spin yarn.

I bought this drop spindle:
top-whorl-drop-spindle-double-whorl

And this roving:
domestic-56-wool-roving-8-oz

I used the spindle to do my handplied yarns, but the roving sat unused until a couple days ago.

I'm not going to post a tutorial on how to do it, because there are a bazillion other tutorials out there and I watched many of them. But here is the finished product!

Before plying with thread

The finished yarn, 36 yards of wooly goodness!

Joint ventures...

2011-06-29T10:29:00.000-07:00

A fellow crochet friend and I have joined together to start a new blog chronicling our sucesses and failures starting an online crafting business. Check it out!

http://homecraftbiz.blogspot.com

What I learned from my first craft show...

2011-06-27T08:18:00.000-07:00

I knew a lot about selling in person from my upbringing in the carnival and doing fleamarkets.

Here's a good link for a lot of those tips
http://indiefixx.com/2011/05/25/15-tips-to-increase-your-craft-show-sales/

But I learned a few other goodies as well.

A good tent is a must!

Don't bring paper stuff when it might rain.

If it does rain before noon, all hope is not lost, but if it keeps raining until lunch, then you may have a problem on your hands (this is from my neighbor, who makes his entire living off of craft shows).

Going to my first craft show

2011-06-16T22:25:00.000-07:00

My first craft show, the blueberry festival in Edmonton, KY starts in a few hours.

I'm excited, nervous, and scared all at the same time!

I'll post pics when it's over, if I can remember to bring my camera!

Giveaway!!

2011-06-04T07:49:00.000-07:00

when I get to 60 sales, I am going to do my first giveaway, one of my world famous soap sacks will be given away to one lucky person. At 55 sales now!

Value Yourself

2011-06-01T05:35:00.000-07:00

If you are not being treated with love & respect, check your "personal price tag".

Perhaps you have marked yourself down.

It's you who tell people what you're worth by what you accept.

Get off of the "clearance rack," & get behind the glass where they keep all the "valuables!"

The bottom line is, VALUE yourself more!

Stephanie's Guide to Setting Up an Etsy Shop

2011-05-29T16:25:00.000-07:00

So maybe you've been thinking about opening an Etsy shop, there is a lot to do when you decide to do this.

Having set up 4 shops, I wish i had a list like this for the first 2

Here's the list broken down into steps.

#1 have product. I'm assuming you already have this

#2 take awesome pictures of said product, search the Etsy forums, there's tons of awesome advice. there

#3 Use one of these pics as your avatar and write yourself a profile, shop policies, announcement. again, there's tons of advice about that in the fora as well.

#4 look up shipping. if you are in the US, go to postalcalc.usps.gov, and find the pricing for 1 oz, 2 oz, etc (use whatever weights you will be using) to the US, Canada, mexico, and austrailia to start, you can add more later.

#5 make shipping profiles with the shipping information you just gleaned For more on shipping, there is a really good thread started in business topics about the subject, (written by GoTo) here's the shipping thread

#6 read up on SEO, basically, you want the beginning of your announcement, your "shop title" (or the words under your shop name) your titles, tags, and beginnings of your descriptions to be descriptive of what you sell, again. This is SEO at it's most basic.

#7 Start listing! make sure your tags are accurate, your descriptions are descriptive, etc.

The reason I say listing last is because you want everything else in place first, I made the mistake of not having it in place.

Interesting Story About Perceived Value

2011-05-25T09:58:00.001-07:00

Perceived value is a real thing-seriously!

In the area where I live, the vast majority of people are hunters, gun shops are big business, and 2 out of 3 Walmarts have rifles.

But half of the hunters will not buy a NEW rifle at walmart for $200-$300.

They will go to the gun shop and buy a used rifle (same rifle, same manufacturer) for $300-$400 or a new one for $500 and up!

There are several gun shop owners I am friendly with. And I learned that sometimes they need a rifle fast. the customer wants a specific rifle that can be found at walmart, but will not buy "that cheap crap"

So what does the gun shop owner do?

He goes to walmart, buys the rifle, and sells it to the customer at the price they are expecting.

And the customer is happy!!!

Why Dear Hubby Doesn't Help

2011-05-20T17:33:00.000-07:00

Steve decided to help me with my tags for StephanieREMakesAll.

I have trouble being able to use enough force to use the hole punch, so we decided to assembly line the pieces.

I was to punch out the shape, and he would put the hole in it for the string.

After punching for a little while, he decided to punch 2 at a time.

Since this was successful, he tried 3, and bent my punch. It's not exactly a weak punch, and that cardboard's thick!

He bent it back, but I'm having a hard time punching cardstock now.

I need a new punch now.

The importance of backing up everything

2011-05-18T11:22:00.000-07:00

My computer crashed the other day. had to completely wipe the drive and start all over again. if it wasn't for keeping a backup of all of anna's pictures (I just kept them on the camera), I would have lost every single one of my baby girl's photos!

Everything from my shop could be retaken again, but anna's birth pics, the pics from the day we brought her home, etc., they would have never been replaced!

So back up the irreplaceable stuff people!

paper mache and plaster

2011-05-11T08:44:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to do several projects that would include paper mach or plaster. have no money for supplies, so I figured I'd find a way to do these without spending any more money.

Seems everyone has water and flour, so here are a couple DIY recipes!

Plaster of Paris:

3 cups flour
2 cups warm water
a pinch of salt

Put the four in a large mixing bowl, with a little bit of salt.

add water, starting with 1 cup, mix until the plaster is a thick consistency, and is smooth. Use this quickly!

Paper mache glue
1 cup flour
2 cups water
a pinch of salt

put the flour and salt in the mixing bowl, add the water, mix until the consistency is like runny glue. If you cover this, it can sit for a day.

NOTE: salt is optional on both recipes, it is only for mold retardation.

Easy squeezy, right?

New Shops

2011-05-07T10:43:00.000-07:00

I'm betting that you have been wondering where I have been....

I've had so many awesome ideas, that I just needed to get them all down. And as my main shop, stephaniemakesall is getting convoluted again, I decided to just expand.

My shop list is growing! I now have StephanieREMakesAll , which is all recycled stuff, and StephRecycles , which is going to be recycled stuff too, but thing i don't want associated with the other shops, like tags i make out of cigarrette cartons (I do not smoke, nasty habit, but I save the cartons from being trashed at the convenience store) some are quite pretty.

so back off to my creations!

Yarn Stash!!!

2011-04-19T21:29:00.000-07:00

I love my yarn stash, now that I have a decent one.
I had someone wanting a custom order, and i was able to just get a yarn and send a pic of it.
So very nice :)

I'm happy, I've been almost making a real living on Etsy for the past week, my OneStitch site has had it's first sale. I just hope this pace can continue! and get faster. Because I don't think unemployment is going to side with me on this one.

mmm, taco eggrolls

2011-04-18T16:06:00.000-07:00

This is a very easy recipe to make, a little bit different, though.
It's essentially a taco, rolled up in an eggroll!

You will need: (I never do exactly the same recipe twice, so no amounts are given, use however much you want)
1 eggroll wrap for each
hamburger
a couple of eggs
velveeta cheese (cubed)
cream cheese (cubed)
green peppers (diced)
onions (diced)
taco seasoning
salsa
cooking oil
whatever else you want to taste

Essentially, whatever you might put on a taco, plus i like to add cream cheese and velveeta cheese. then the egg is for the cover.

Directions: cook hamburger thouroughly, drain fat, add taco seasoning and vegetables, cook until veggies are softened.

have eggs beaten in a bowl ready and place 1 eggroll wrap on your working space. lightly brush the edges with egg, then fill with some hamburger, 1 or 2 cubes each of each cheese, salsa, etc.

Wrap eggroll around this concotion, making sure there are no holes, brush the whole thing in egg, and fry it!

eggrolls will have to be turned halfway through frying to get both sides even- it floats

drain eggrolls just as you would fried chicken :) and enjoy!

This recipe is uber fattening, I recommend no more than 1 to a customer, and have a nice side with it :)