Monday, December 31, 2012

2012- An amazing year for me

Wow...I can't believe it's over! This year has marked the biggest year in my crafting business.
In 2012 I've:
-Quit my day job to pursue my business full time
-launched my YouTube
-launched this blog
-closed down my uptown studio
-Mike built me a brand new studio at our house
-had a pair of earrings worn to the NYC premiere of The Avengers by a Marvel writers date
-was lucky enough to be chosen to be in The MADE fair...twice!
-had items I made blogged by others
-bought some sewing machines....lol
-met some amazing people, while trimming away some selfish negative ones
-learned to laugh at my mistakes and embrace my inner artist

I would not be where I am today without my loving family and you. You've welcomed my madness into your lives and I can not thank you enough for it.

So here's to 2013! I can not wait to see what this year has waiting for me!


Sunday, December 16, 2012

I need to make room and Christmas is around the corner!

I need room on my giant earring display..... It's too crowded. So I'm giving away 2 sets of 6 feather earrings.
We'll call them set 1 and 2....
How do you win them?
Well it's fairly simple..... It's going to be a scavenger hunt of sorts....
Go to my Etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheTwistedCrafts?ref=pr_shop
And try and guess what item is the top viewed item for today.
Here's what you'll do
1. Hit "Like" on the item so it posts to your Facebook page or copy and paste it if you don't have an Etsy account.
2. Tag Twisted Crafts Fanpage in the comments of said item so I know you did it.
3. Come over here and leave a post with your name and answer. And be specific...and if you're afraid to be specific, copy and paste it in the comments with your name. This way I know who guessed it first!
If you've guessed the first or second item the earrings are yours! You can only win one set!
That's it. You'll win 6 pairs of earrings free! And I'll ship them tomorrow so you can hopefully have them by Christmas.
I'm taking the screen shot now, so I won't forget....and you'll know I didn't cheat!



Monday, December 10, 2012

Craft Show Fun With Twisted Crafts

Now that we're home and unloaded from The MADE Holiday Bazaar yesterday I want to share some experiences that you may or may not find amusing and informative.
1. I am by no means a morning person. I verge on a wee bit cranky, and big shows make me nervous. So when I walked up to my booth to set up and realized my booth spot was 1/2 of what it was supposed to be. I did a whole panic thing, which set Mike off to go find somebody to fix it. The lady in the booth next to me was attempting to soothe me "Oh, is your booth to small?" and "Is in not as big as you thought?". She had no idea that Mike went to go get help.
When one of the sweet gals that run the show came to assist me, we found our problem. My "Soother" was 1/2 way in my booth! The floor was taped off and she thought that her spot was too small and went over the tape..... A lot!...... She wasn't too happy when I made her move to the tape line.

2. When you can't see the entrance to the show and the people running the show yell "5 minute warning". Take heed. I was fighting with stuffie placement when I turned to see the giant wave of people running in the room I was in. It looked like a Black Friday mob. I was a little caught off guard.

3. People love to take pictures, I don't even think twice. I know that some are taking the pictures to copy my ideas. I'm not stupid, it happens. But the women with the professional camera and set up probably wasn't. And I really should have paused while helping a customer to ask why she was..... When I turned to ask, she was gone.

4. Did I mention how packed and crowded it was? I really should have scoped out the restrooms before hand. Trying to get through a crowd after having 4 cups of coffee and a bottle of water was unpleasant. I'm not sure, but I'm thinking I might have been doing the "Potty Dance" when I reached it.

5. I've got to tell you... Craft Shows that have a wait staff coming to your booth to take your lunch order is freaking amazing.

6. Being able to take credit card sales now is awesome. Sometimes the card reader on my phone is a wee bit particular. It tells me to "Swipe Faster", I wish it came with a net to catch the cards that fling out of my hand when I comply.

7. I thought I had stepped up my display....Dude..... I'm still not there. There were people with antique dining room tables, bookcases, WALLS! Seriously WALLs! I still have a ways to go.

8. If you're going to shoot me dirty looks from you're booth I am going to smile, point it out to my hubby, and we are going to mock you...and laugh...and laugh. Hey, I'm a bitch and you're crate corner was in my space and we kept bumping it. So Mike "helped" you keep it in your spot. Believe it or not, that was the other side of me.

9. We borrowed my mom's collapsable dolly/hand cart thingie. She ain't ever getting that back! Those are sweet! You should so get one.

10. Lastly... I really should have kept better track of what I sold that is currently in my Etsy. I now have to take inventory before I open my shop....I hate inventory...

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Jewelry Displays on the Cheap!

I really needed new displays for an upcoming show, but I didn't want to spend a lot of money. What better way to save money y=then at the Dollar Store!
Here's the tutorial for both displays