the funky felters news and tips

News... Endings & New Beginnings!

2010-11-18T08:47:00.000-08:00

I know that I've been absent on my blog for quite a while now. It has all been for very good reason if that is any consolation. There's been a lot of things happening in my life with some things coming to an end while other things are just beginning. It is a good transitional time for myself and my family.

First of all, I will be closing my ArtFire shop some time soon after Thanksgiving. I've already closed both of my Etsy shops. I've had a great run selling online with almost 1,000 items sold over the past few years. I've enjoyed every minute of creating handmade products, selling online and at craft shows, and communicating with customers. I feel very blessed for such good success, but I know that it is time to move on to other things.

Now on to some of those other things...
Some of you may remember a while back when I posted about a wonderful crafty job at Reader's Digest Association. I had been contacted by the talent manager there asking if I would advertise the position on my Midwest Fiber Crafts blog, and I went ahead and posted it on that blog as well as this one. I also checked out the position description and decided to apply myself. Although I wasn't actively looking for a job, I didn't want to miss such a once in a lifetime opportunity. Well, to make a long story much shorter, I got the job! I am the new Associate Editor of Crafts for Reader's Digest Association's branch in Greendale, Wisconsin. I will mainly be working on Country Woman magazine along with some Taste of Home books and other special interest publications.

My husband and I are now working hard to pack up our possessions for our upcoming move to Wisconsin. We've found a wonderful little townhouse to rent and will be relocating in the next few weeks so that I can start my new job. It is a little chaotic in the short-term, but I know that it will all be worth it in the long-term. My husband is just as excited as I am about moving. We both like the area and the nature and weather up there. He's going to be stay-at-home-daddy for a little while as he searches for a job. I think that he's excited about spending that time with our daughter.

Well, there you have it. Closing shop, relocating to Wisconsin, and starting a brand new job. It is certainly a transitional time for us in the Frisby household, but we are thrilled about it all. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers during our busy time. I very much appreciate everyone who takes the time to follow my blog. I have gotten to know quite a few of you over the years and consider you friends :)

Here's a photo of myself and my daughter from a trip to Missouri Town a while back... just thought that you might like to see the redheaded duo...

Handmade Felted Play Hat with a Flower Theme

2010-09-20T12:59:00.000-07:00

In the midst of everything, I have found some time to do a little feltmaking! Hoorah! I recently went to a local felting guild meeting (my first one) and really enjoyed myself. They pick a theme for each month. Then they share their needle or wet felted creations with one another at the next month's meeting. September's theme is flowers. I was very happy to have a focus for my felting. I think it has helped me to find time to create things again and given me a little inspiration. In the photo above you can see my handmade felted wool hat being worn by my lovely daughter, Rowynn, while she plays with a bin of my needle felted flowers, hearts, geodes, and other beads. The hat is a bit big on her and a bit snug on me so I have deemed it a play hat, and she loves to wear it around the house. It has a flower on top and pointy cut out petals that make the hat itself a flower of sorts. It is all corriedale wool. I made it through a combination of needle felting and wet felting. Although I don't have as much freedom in the variety of shape of my hats with needle felting the bases, I have found that it is easier time-wise for me to needle felt first, and then wet felt the hats to finish them out. I did come across this wonderful pointy needle felted hat form though and want to purchase it soon. My existing foam hat forms are ones that I've crafted from combining a pillow bolster and foam pad. They work just fine, but I'd like to have some more variety. Below are some photos of the process and some more of Rowynn in the hat. I've also made an alpaca/wool mix hat that I've yet to embellish and photograph so hopefully I can get that finished and share it soon.

Labor Day COUPON CODE SPECIAL at my ArtFire shop!

2010-09-04T15:51:00.000-07:00

In honor of Labor Day and the wonderful long weekend, I am having a coupon code special in my ArtFire shop. You'll receive $5 off orders of $15 or more if you use the coupon code LABORDAY at checkout. The coupon is valid through Tuesday, September 7th. (This offer excludes any applicable shipping fees and is only valid in my ArtFire shop. Discount does not apply to my Etsy shop orders. Coupon code must be rendered at time of checkout for discount to apply.)

If you have any questions or trouble using the code, please contact me via email at my website. Otherwise, happy Labor Day and happy shopping!

Amazing Crafty Job Opportunity from Reader's Digest...

2010-08-27T10:44:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to pass along the following information to you after being contacted by the recruiting manager for Reader's Digest...

They publish a number of magazine titles including Taste of Home, Country and Country Woman. They are looking for an editor to lead the creative direction of crafts projects in these publications. The position would require the person to work out of their Milwaukee, Wisconsin, office full time.

From the recruiting manager, "This is a very unique position - so we are willing to put the hobbyist skills in front of the editorial skills. I am wondering if you know of someone who might be interested in this opportunity or if you would be willing to post something on your website?"

My answer is, an enthusiastic "of course!" I'm willing to pass the word along about this opportunity. What a blessing it would be to get to incorporate your love of crafts (fiber and otherwise) into your daily job and make it your career.

Click here to read all about the position and how to apply.

(And, a big thanks to Reader's Digest's recruiting manager for contacting me and allowing me to pass along such a great opportunity to my blog readers!)

Trying my hand at some animaguri crochet... a wee little handmade dog of cotton yarn

2010-08-04T17:03:00.000-07:00

As I've stated before on my blog, with a one year old to run after all day, it is extremely hard to find time to sit and needle felt or lay out a piece for wet felting; therefore, I've begun to crochet. It is something that I can pick up and lay down easily and doesn't involve any sharp objects like the barb-edged needles for felting. I miss felting daily terribly, but I've managed to express my creativity through crochet and am learning to read patterns now.

Last week I decided to try my hand at some animaguri crochet and produced a wee little dog for my baby girl to play with. I also made a bright pink rabbit, but unfortunately, I didn't have time to snap a photo of it. Up until these two 3D projects, I was only making wash cloths and pot holders with my beginner crochet skills. I read through several free patterns online and watched some YouTube crochet videos before improvising a pattern for the little dog. I think that there will be more crochet critters in my future. I do enjoy making them, and they aren't as difficult to crochet as they appeared to me at first. It is basically all variations of single crochet stitches.

Anyway, that's what I've been up to creatively lately... at least what little time that I've had to be creative. I'm also building a website for a fellow, local artisan. And, I have a wet felted wall hanging in the works if I can ever find time to put the finishing touches on it.

General news and MOPACA Fiber "U" update

2010-07-28T13:26:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a long, long time since I posted last so I won't delay...on with the news...

I've been so busy with non-fiber related things for the past month. I built a website for my brother-in-laws company. And, now I'm working on another website for a fellow artisan. I am enjoying doing some graphic design work after a little hiatus from that type of professional work when Rowynn was born. I am thinking of doing for-hire freelance graphic and web design work again on a regular basis. It might be nice to cater to the artist since I know where they are coming from concerning business and dedication to their craft... just something that I'm still pondering. I'd love to know your thoughts on it.

I've also been busy doing an array of fun stuff with my baby girl including her first zoo trip this past weekend. She adored the meerkats as they bobbed their heads around and scurried from hole to hole. She was also quite smitten with the sheep, and they were with her as well. You can see Rowynn and her daddy admiring them in the photo below.

And, I've been planning a birthday party because my baby girl enters the realm of toddler when she turns one year old on Friday. Yay! Happy Birthday to my fiber princess! I can't believe that it has already been a year!

Now for the MOPACA Fiber "U" update...
I attended most of the day on Saturday, July 10th, and took a few classes. It was well worth the small registration fee. I learned a great deal, and of course, came home with a big sack full of fiber goodies. If you live anywhere near Lebanon, Missouri, I absolutely recommend that you jot a note on your calendar for July 9 - 10 next year to attend. If you are a fiber enthusiast, I feel it is 100% worth your time! I also got to meet Ron, the maker of my lovely fancy kitty drum carder that you can see in the photo below. He is super nice in person (as he is online).

Here's some alpaca that I purchased from Whirlwind Ranch. It took a bit of effort to clean and card, but it super soft! Also, the natural brown color as seen on the left above is just gorgeous.

Here's some wool that I purchased from the Ozark Carding Mill. They had a very large selection of different sheep breeds to choose from. The above fibers are friesian (in green), romney (in purple), and merino/bamboo blend (in turquoise/purple on top). Below is a corriedale/bamboo blend that I spun a small skein of on my drop spindle. I think it turned out wonderfully. I like that the fiber is already pre-drafted for spinning, but the super thin roving is a bit cumbersome for laying out to wet felt. I still plan to make something felted with it soon though.

After much paperwork and many hurdles...

2010-07-02T14:43:00.000-07:00

Well after filling out what seems like endless paperwork, taking a head-spinning difficult test, and playing the waiting game, I am officially a Graduate student come the Fall semester. I got my acceptance letter in the mail this week. Woot! Woot!

It has been a long time coming it seems for me to continue my education. At first, I was uncertain of what area of study that I wanted to dedicate my master degree pursuits to. Then it seemed, once I had a grasp on that, I was short of time and more focused on starting a family. But now... now it seems just the right time for it. It is almost 10 years since I graduated with my bachelor degree so it feels like a long time coming to go back for a master degree. Although, I truly feel that there is a certain time for everything with all things coming full circle.

I begin classes in August in pursuit of a Master in Education with emphasis on Instructional Technology. I know it is a mouthful really, but hopefully not quite as daunting as the title appears. Really, it is a specialized degree in e-learning which is very appropriate considering my teaching and graphic design background. I am extremely excited about starting this journey!

What about felting? Well, I will still be felting in my spare time - even if it is just for holiday presents and the occasional online sale listing. I think that I'll always be passionate about feltmaking and practice it throughout my life. On occasion, it must take a back seat though. With my family first and classes second to dedicate time to, I will be felting on the side, but I will still be felting.

And, I don't want to forget to wish everyone a happy 4th of July holiday. I also want to declare a big "Thank you!" to all those who have served or are serving in the military as well as to their families who make sacrifices. I appreciate you! God bless you all!

Handspun Yarns and Handmade "Fulled" Crochet Flowers in the Works!

2010-06-28T07:33:00.000-07:00

I know it must seem like I dropped off the face of the earth. Well, I haven't! I'm alive and well. It has just shaped up to be a very busy summer so far.

I have been able to do a few fiber-filled things though. I've found that wet felting is a little too time consuming right now, and needle felting, although easy to pick up and put down, is not very baby-friendly with those super sharp, barbed edge needles. Therefore, I have settled on spinning and crocheting for a while. I have found that it is easier to pick up and put down a drop spindle or crochet hook out of harm's way while periodically chasing after my baby girl. I prefer to full, or shrink, my crocheted items because I like the final effect - a texture sort of like traditional wet felting which I adore! The crochet process is much, much different though.

Most of the handspun yarn that I've made has been done on my Kundert drop spindle with one in the photo (the lime green skein) done on my new mother marion style kick spindle. Each skein is anywhere from around 30 - 60 yards and made of various combination of wool, mohair, and tussah silk. Although the kick spindle is much quicker at cranking out yarn, I have found it to be a bit awkward to use, and it appeals a little too much to my baby girl. I think that she sees it as one of her toys because she heads right for it when I try to use it around her. I guess that, for now, I will be sticking mainly to the drop spindle for its ease of use and the lesser attention that it draws from my baby girl. Even though I like to use the kick spindle for the bigger skeins it can produce more quickly, it just isn't practical for me most of the time. I have even thought of selling it, but can't quite decide on that because I do like it.

As for crocheting, I think of myself as a complete novice. I learned how to crochet in an elementary art class, but have only practiced it off and on casually in the past. I can't read a pattern very well and usually resort to small free-form objects like the flowers. I am taking a crochet class at the upcoming MOPACA Fiber "U" event though so I am hoping to learn to read a pattern and venture into making some larger things. If anyone has any ideas for small (easy!) crochet items that I could make, I would appreciate knowing. Although I like doing the flowers, variety is the spice of life!

As for traditional feltmaking, I actually do have a few felt art objects in the works, but it is slow going right now with all the summer plans. I gradually get time to work on them and hopefully will have some photos to post later in the summer. I still feel somewhat like I'm in a creative dry spell, but I'm trying to focus on just a couple of things at a time to not get overwhelmed and discouraged. On the bright side, I have the opportunity to teach felting at the Fancy kitty Missouri Fiber Jamboree on September 25th. Although I've taught a lot of other subjects on design in the past, I haven't ever taught felting hands on so I'm pretty excited about it! If any of my fellow feltmakers out there has any teaching tips or online sources, I would sincerely appreciate the information. I'm a bit nervous about teaching. I have always wanted to though.

(And, some of you probably noticed that I referred to my Crochet items as fulled rather than felted. I guess that I'm somewhat of a stickler for this terminology. By definition from what I have always understood, felted items are non-woven; therefore, a shrunken crocheted piece would actually be considered fulled rather than felted. I know that opinions on this subject vary widely so to each their own. It seems that often times anything that is shrunken, no matter what process or fiber it is made by, is referred to as felted.)

It must be this week's theme... Inspiration! Check out the 2010 Niche Awards Winners!

2010-06-17T20:44:00.000-07:00

If for no other reason, I love to browse through the Niche Awards winners each year for the lovely photography. It is more for creative inspiration though. I just got their newsletter "call for entries" email for the 2011 Niche Awards... ah, to dream... I don't know if I'll ever be up to par to enter such a grand competition, but it is fun to think about as a (distant) future endeavor. For now, I recommend that you check out the 2010 Niche Awards Winners for inspiration. Now, they are grand indeed!

Off

2010-06-16T10:07:00.000-07:00

Do you ever just feel off? I mean creatively speaking...

After my baby girl was born last July, I haven't really felt like my old creative self. I know that a lot of energies are going into being a mom now, and I gladly accept that. Just recently I actually started to feel like felting again, but it seems that everything that I try to do is a flop. I've made two purses this week... one is marginally ok (not spectacular as I'd wished)... and the other one that I had even higher hopes for actually fell apart during wet felting (that's never happened to me before!).

I feel as if I am rather starting over with feltmaking. I know that I am a bit out of practice, but my knowledge is the same, yet something is different. I have grand ideas, but it seems that I'm just a bit off right now. I hope it is just a short-lived phase that will pass very quickly. I have creative ideas that I'd like to make happen...

I'm hoping that perhaps this kind of things happens to every fiber artist at some point, and that I can work through it...

big *sigh*

Need some inspiration?

2010-06-11T14:53:00.000-07:00

If so, check out Jenne's latest blog post at Feltworks! There are some of the most inspiring felt artists that I've seen in a while. Be sure to click on each one's link by name and visit the one's who have individual websites. Charlotte Sehmisch is my personal favorite for her unique hat designs and superb model photos. Anyway, just go see for yourself... you won't be disappointed.

And, thanks to Jenne for opening up my eyes to some truly amazing felt artists that I didn't yet know of! I hope you enjoy them too!

DESTASH FIBER SALE! Wool Roving, Locks, and Alpaca Fibers!

2010-06-09T08:28:00.000-07:00

It is time to clear out some of my fiber stash! I'm listing several fibers in my Etsy shop at deep discounts this week. All fibers are just $1.50 - 2.50 per ounce. Please see if you'd like to take advantage of the great prices and add some wonderful quality fiber to your stash. It all needs a new fiber lovin' home!

(I currently have listed wool locks and raw alpaca, but I will be adding some assorted roving mixes as the week goes on.)

Some Sorting, a (limited time) Re-Opening, and stuff...

2010-06-04T14:57:00.000-07:00

After thoroughly enjoying my little basement art studio, I have found that is has become quite inconvenient with a crawling baby to keep up with. The basement stairs are steep, and although I have nicely decorated my studio area, the basement is a bit dungeon-like with little natural light. We are also doing some house renovations and really need my walled off studio area for storage while we sort through the rest of the basement (which is an entirely different mess!). To make a long story shorter... I'm bringing my arts/crafts work space back upstairs. This means that I have to condense a lot (i.e. get rid of a bunch of crafty stuff). I am keeping most of my fiber equipment and supplies, but prior to my love of felting, I went through many, many arts/crafts including polymer clay, wood and canvas painting, stamping and scrapbooking (which I still do some), etc., etc., etc.,

Now, what to do with all the excess... Well, I've decided to re-open my Etsy stamp shop for a limited time to destash the craft supply items that I no longer want or use. I've also drastically reduced the price on all my stamps to clearance those out. I really want to focus on fibers (and a little scrapbooking) in my limited upstairs arts/crafts space. Since Etsy has such a large audience and is really becoming known for the array of craft supplies that you can find there, I thought that it would be best to sell my excess stuff there and not clutter up my ArtFire shop.

Throughout the month of June, it is my mission to sort, declutter, and sell off what I can. In the next few weeks, I'll be listing my gently used, or sometimes brand new, craft supplies in my Etsy shop. I'll probably also periodically post about what I've listed on my blog. With 10+ years of craft supplies built up for just about every kind of crafty project on the planet, there's a lot to sort and sell.

The task of decluttering is a bit daunting, but I know that I'll be glad when it is all done. And, I'll be able to work on more fiber projects after I'm done because my workspace will be easily accessible again and more baby friendly.

Last Chance to Save 30-60% at my Spring Clearance Sale!

2010-05-29T08:11:00.000-07:00

After the long Memorial Day weekend passes, I will be slowly returning my ArtFire shop back to original pricing. I just wanted to let you know that this is your last chance to save 30-60% on most items as well as free shipping on select items.

Here's some highlights...

30% off all fibers and fiber batts also ship for free!
40% off all tagging and labeling stamps!
50% off all handmade felted wool scarves!
60% off all character and nature stamps!

An Important Warning to Handmade Artists & Crafters! Please Read and Pass it on...

2010-05-28T09:28:00.000-07:00

Well, to make a little bit longer story shorter, I was contacted by a lovely fellow Flickr user to let me know that there's an Etsy shop stealing copyrighted images to use in their products. Here's the short of it...

This Etsy shop makes what are called Lomo Photo Stickers (among other photo products). Apparently, the stickers are quite popular in other places, but I had not heard of them before being informed of the theft of my photo. Although the actual for sale listing has been removed (it is an error message now), you can see my ripped off image in one of the shop's sold items. My felted heart flower rings photo is being used (without permission!!) in the last product image, second photo to the left on the top row. It may be a tiny sticker print, but it is still my image and my property.

I'm assuming, from the look of their stickers and postcards, that most of the images are being taken from Flickr or perhaps directly from Etsy sellers' listings. Considering the shop in question has sold over 7,000 items, there is no telling how many copyrighted images have been violated. Since the for sale listing was removed, I am also assuming that either Etsy made them take it down, or they were warned some other way and chose to take it down. Either way, in my opinion, the entire shop should be shut down for their blatant copyright infringement and profiting off the work of others. I have reported the shop to Etsy, but since the shop is based in Shanghai, China, there's probably not much else that I, or others based elsewhere, can do legally. This is very sad indeed! I guess the ball is in Etsy's court now, and hopefully, they will rectify the situation.

There are some things that I would like for my readers to do though (that I really beg of you to do)...

1) Check the privacy settings on your Flickr account and anywhere else that you might store photos online. I would highly recommend that you edit your settings to the most strict copyright statement as well as restrict who can see and download your images. Will this solve the problem of stealing (a.k.a. copyright infringement)? Unfortunately, no. I have had all my Flickr settings very restricted for quite some time. Sadly, it is very easy to take a screen shot of your image or copy it to a desktop. That is why ethics has to come into play at some point. Unfortunately, some people don't have any ethics to speak of.

2) Look out for each other! If that lovely Flickr user hadn't decided to message me, I may have never known that my image, and very possibly other images, were being stolen. All it takes is keeping your eyes open and caring enough to act. As independent handmade artists and crafters, we need to look out for one another and help when we can. I know that many of us are competitors, but I believe that as ethical artisans, that competitiveness can be set aside at times to benefit the arts and crafts community as a whole.

3) Take action and PLEASE pass this on! I'm not asking you to post about this on your own blogs, although, you are welcome to. I am asking that you go to the the shop in question and browse their products to see if you recognize any images of your own or from fellow artists and crafters. If you do, please report the shop to Etsy. (I am not asking you to report the shop without reason, but please take action and at least check their images for yourself.) Lastly, if you don't want to blog about this, I completely understand, as it is my matter to sort out, but I do respectfully ask you to pass the information along to your fellow artists and crafters via your email newsletter, twitter, or other social network so that they can be aware of possible copyright infringement. If you'd like to simply link to my blog post here, that would be fine with me. I just want to get the word out in case any other fellow artists and crafters are affected.

I am not nieve and know that there will probably be future occurrences of similar copyright infringement of my images and the images of fellow artists. (I came across another instance of copyright infringement with one of my scarves photos just the other day!) I just think that if there is going to be any real change, artists and crafters need to speak up and look out for one another. Do I always do this? Honestly, no, not as much as I should, but I am slowly working on that and hope that you will too. I sincerely appreciate my online community of artists and crafters!

Have a superb, fun-filled weekend with lots of crafting if possible!

Ever wonder how many links there are in cyberspace to your blog or who's linking to it? Now you can find out...

2010-05-27T13:00:00.000-07:00

If you'd like to know who's linking to your blog or website, there's a nifty little search page offered by Yahoo that will let you know. It is very interesting to find out... According to the search that I did for my own blog, there's over 2,000 InLinks. That was a pleasant surprise indeed.

If you'd like to know about your own blog or website, simply go to Yahoo's Site Explorer, type in your site's address, and click on the "Explore URL" gold search bar. Once it brings up the results, you will click on the "InLinks" button under the Results area. A list will come up of the most recent links to your site.

FYI, this can also be a useful advertising/marketing tool because you can not only use it to explore who is linking to your own blog/website, but you can also use it to see who is linking to other (i.e. competitors) blogs/websites. It is a good way to see who is interested in your particular types of handmade products by researching your own site as well as others.

Also, you can see similar results if you use Google Analytics on your blog/website (which I highly recommend), but with Yahoo's Site Explorer, you can see your own statistics as well as others very easily. It is nice to have that option available for market research purposes.

It just occurred to me that, in some ways, it is rather disturbing to think that you can so easily see information like this about a competitor's website, but on the other hand, I have begun to learn that if you choose to put it on the net, it will be seen sometime in someway... in this case, I figure you might as well use it for positive reasons... and, well, it is just fun to see who's linking to who!

I want a copy of this book soooooo badly!

2010-05-24T11:44:00.000-07:00

After seeing Andrea Graham's post about it on Facebook, I looked up the book 1,000 Artisan Textiles: Contemporary Fiber Art, Quilts, and Wearables. Now I'm drooling over the sample pages that I saw on its Amazon listing. It looks like it is filled with wonderful felted creations - such awe inspiring photos!! I'd love to get my hands on a copy for my collection of felting books.

Although, with diapers, formula, etc., on the top of the list to buy right now, I think that I'll have to wait just a little while, but someday it will be mine!

The Fiber Princess Approves!

2010-05-21T15:34:00.000-07:00

Well, the UPS guy came just a little while ago and delivered a most thrilling package. Inside is the fantastic new drum carder that I won in the Fancy Kitty ravelry group giveaway! I'll be carding all weekend most likely.

And, most importantly, my little fiber princess approves! Although, she is probably more interested in playing with the box than with what is inside of it, but hopefully someday that will change...

Have a great weekend everyone :)

I WON!!

2010-05-19T11:40:00.000-07:00

My heart flutters a little as I post this because I won something truly amazing over the weekend! I am still in shock about it!

As many of my loyal reads know, I purchased a wonderfully crafted fine drum carder from Ron Anderson of Fancy Kitty earlier in the year. I had been wanting one for ages and was finally able to save up the money to buy one. Around the same time that I made the purchase, I joined the Fancy Kitty ravelry group and have become an active member there. It is probably the nicest bunch of fiber fanatics that I've been a part of online, and they discuss all kinds of fiber related topics there so it is a great place to learn. Ron is also very generous and does a giveaway regularly that is usually based on a new membership number milestone at the ravelry group. When the group hit 300 member last week, Ron did a fantastic giveway through an elimination drawing. Guess who was the last name left?

YEP! IT'S ME!!!!!!!!!! I WON!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had the choice of a drum carder or a picker. Although I already have a lovely fine drum carder, I really wanted another one that could do art batts and thicker fibers. I chose the medium 72/90 drum carder as my prize. (A picker would have been nice too, but as a city dweller for now, I really have no storage place for it.) Well, I just got an email notification today that Ron mailed it! Its on the way!

I truly feel blessed to have won such an awesome prize! And, I can not say enough good things about Ron as a person and craftsman. His drum carders are wonderfully handmade! His customer service can not be beat! He's also the most generous businessman that I've encountered online. Please take a minute to visit the Fancy Kitty site. I also highly recommend that you join the Fancy Kitty ravelry group if you are at all interested in his products (you don't have to own one to be a part of the group).

When the drum carder arrives, I'll be sure to post about it eventually. Although, I'll probably be quite busy carding lovely batts for a while. I wonder if I can crank one carder with each hand? Hmmm... LOL!

And, a BIG thanks to Ron for his generosity!

Funky Felter 30-50% OFF Spring Clearance SALE!

2010-05-14T11:37:00.000-07:00

**********SPRING CLEARANCE SALE**********
30-50% off most items in my ArtFire shop!

30% off fiber batts, felted beads, pile of wool packs, and felting kits
40% off all unmounted rubber stamps including labeling stamps
50% off all handmade felted wool and nuno felted wool/silk scarves

...and free shipping on a few select items!

Please visit my ArtFire shop for the amazing deals...
http://www.artfire.com/users/shalana

No coupon code necessary! All items are already marked down!
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions :)

It's a great time to stock up and save!

Why not add a copy/paste button to your blog?

2010-05-05T13:02:00.000-07:00

After someone left a comment on the Midwest Fiber Crafts' blog requesting to use the logo image as a button to advertise on their own blog, I decided to put a copy/paste widget so that others could do the same. Now anyone who'd like to advertise Midwest Fiber Crafts on their own blog or website can simply copy/paste the provided code to do so. I also added a copy/paste logo image button option here for this blog. You can find it on the right side bar.

And, if you'd like to make a button and put it as a widget on the side bar of your own blog to copy/paste, here are some simple, easy to understand instructions that I found.

Midwest Fiber Crafts NEW ravelry group!

2010-04-30T14:08:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are a part of ravelry, I just thought I'd let you know that Midwest Fiber Crafts now has a ravelry group to chat about all things fibery in the Midwestern United States. Please take a minute to check it out and join!

Strand Zine's first issue is all about felting & feltmaking and definitely worth a read!

2010-04-19T09:23:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I did an interview with the editor of a new online fiber zine. The first issue of Strand Zine is all about felting and feltmaking. It includes a variety of resources and information. I highly recommend that you go check it out. If you are a fiber enthusiasts of any kind, I think that you'll find it very interesting. And, I wanted to say "Thanks!" to its editor, Corrie, for including a bit about me in her zine's first edition. I hope that there are many more interesting issues to come!

Goodbye Etsy... for now

2010-04-16T11:20:00.000-07:00

Well, I have officially put both of my Etsy shops in vacation mode indefinitely. Essentially, I closed up my shops for now. Does this mean that I will never re-open my shops and sell on Etsy again? No. It is simply what is best for me right now so I had to make the tough decision to close both my Etsy fiber shop and my Etsy stamp shop. It has been an excellent run on Etsy though with almost 800 combined sales and over 700 combined positive feedback. I am very happy with my time selling there.

You might wonder why I'm leaving when things seem to be going so well there for me. It probably doesn't make sense to some, but it makes perfect sense to me and really that is all that matters. For those who are wondering though... The main reason for closing up shop right now is to have more free time to focus on my family and other life endeavors. One of several secondary reasons is that Etsy is not the same place as when I began to sell there back in the Fall of 2006. Although I still consider it one of the best online selling venues for handmade, the atmosphere has changed there quite a lot, and I personally just do not enjoy selling there lately like I have in previous years. Also, I don't have the time to spend on constantly promoting my shop and listing/renewing items as seems necessary to sell well there. Etsy has many, many wonderful features though. It is just that I feel like I've entered a new era in my life and need a change. I also feel like Etsy has entered a new era, and I really no longer fit in as well there as I had in the past. I still love Etsy for many reasons and may decide to re-open shop at a much later date when the circumstances are different, but for now, it is "goodbye Etsy" and "hello" to other things.

And, just so you know, I am not quitting my online sales entirely. For now, I still plan to keep open my ArtFire shop. It is a smaller venue, and with all the nice tools and seller features that they offer there, it is easier for me to manage my shop on a daily basis. Since I am cutting back my online selling, I hope to start creating for the joy of creating again and have some wonderful felted creations to post on my blog soon so please stay tuned...

What I've been up to...

2010-04-13T14:49:00.000-07:00

In two words....................... not much.

That is to say... not much fiber related anyway.
And, that is to say... not much online either.

I have found that motherhood is truly a full-time job in itself - a happy, loving job, but definitely a full-time one.

I have also found that my priorities really shifted when my baby girl was born. Although I am still looking into the possibility of a public space for teaching in-person classes and conducting my feltmaking, I am contemplating putting my Etsy shops in vacation mode indefinitely and perhaps just keeping my ArtFire shop open for now. There are many reasons for this, but the main reason is time, and how truly precious it has become to me right now.

Until recently, I had not fully realized how all-consuming keeping up with online shops as well as online marketing can be. I also hadn't realized how much precious time it was taking away from much more important things in my life such as my beautiful family and actually creating new things, as well as some (non-fiber) career goals. As much as I've enjoyed the past five years being online and pursuing my fiber art endeavors here, it seems to be wearing me thin at this wonderful new stage of my life. That doesn't mean that I will be disappearing entirely, but perhaps just cutting back drastically and focusing my precious time and energies in more well-deserved areas of my life.

This has been a hard decision for me to face and realize the need to act upon because I do enjoy my online interactions with the fiber community so much, but I know that other areas of my life need my attention now. I'm also looking forward to being able to just enjoy creating things again without a strong focus on selling or marketing. For me, the pressure to get my brand name out there and grow my business has taken away some of that initial joy that I had when I first began to explore feltmaking several years ago. That really makes me sad when I think about it. I'm happy to get back to my roots as well as be able to create things at my leisure again and have that mindset again. I do not plan to stop selling online entirely, but I do plan to learn to enjoy it again and not take it so seriously anymore because there are just too many other things in my life that are at the top of my "important things" list.

Well, I guess that I've been up to more than just "not much" after I think about it and look at that picture of my baby girl. I have been doing some serious pondering over my life and those things which I cherish. That is really quite a lot.

3001

2010-04-06T19:00:00.000-07:00

I checked my Etsy fiber shop hearts today and was pleasantly surprised to find that they had surpassed 3,000. I just wanted to share my little happy for the day. Thanks to all who've blessed me with a spot in their favorites!

A Gem of a Find! The Featuring Felt Blog

2010-04-02T08:14:00.000-07:00

While checking postings on my own blog roll yesterday (as I often do daily), I came across a link to the Featuring Felt blog. I just wanted to share it with you. I've only skimmed through a few posts, but it is a very fascinating read so far. It has a lot of historical information on felt and other related things. I am a bit of a history buff myself and was pleasantly surprised to come across this gem. I hope you enjoy it too!

Gorgeous Vessels and other Felted Wool Creations from Sensory Felteds

2010-04-01T09:01:00.000-07:00

Occasionally I try to feature a wonderful feltmaker on my blog. I don't feel that I've done this often enough lately. It is overdue for me to tell you about Sensory Felteds. This newly established Etsy shop has creations by Connie, a long-time customer of mine and online friend.

Besides being very encouraging and a sweet lady in general, she is also a very talented feltmaker. Her wet felted bowls and vessels are a beautiful mix of form and color. She creates an array of other felted wool items including brooches and wall hangings too. For more about her and her felt art, please visit her blog. You can see more images of her work at her flickr photo gallery.

The kind of big (but necessary) step that makes you have butterfiles in your stomach!

2010-03-31T09:36:00.000-07:00

I've recently decided to look into some career options that make me have butterflies in my stomach. What is this big (but necessary) step? Opening a public studio where I can teach hands-on classes in feltmaking and fiber arts!

This is something that my husband and I have discussed for quite a long time with much consideration and, at times, great debate. It is also something that is not going to happen over night, but I would like it to happen in the near future. After selling online and at shows for several years, I feel the need to take the next step and have a public venue place of my own. I would also like to be able to move my studio work space out of my home basement and have an area where I can teach fiber classes.

To work towards this goal, I have recently begun to research and seek out funding sources. This includes artist and small business grants and loans. My husband and I have discussed all the expenses that we know of involved in opening a public studio so I have a good idea of what it will take in finances, planning, and documentation. I am still researching funding options as well as the business structure. Although I've had a home based business studio for quite some time, I know that having a public space will be a change in several aspects.

As I stated, this is just the very beginning stages, but I feel good about it so far. Don't get me wrong, I am a bit nervous about it all - it is a big step for me! I am just going to take it one day at a time and see where things lead me. If it happens, it happens. If something else comes of it, that is okay too.

For those of you who have been down this road before or have some kind of public space of your own, your advice and suggestions are greatly appreciated. Feel free to leave a comment!

BFF's

2010-03-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

They do love each others' company :)

An Interview with Strands Zine

2010-03-29T09:58:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share a neat, new online publication that will be coming out in the middle of April. It is called Strands Zine and is fiber focused. After meeting its author, Corrie, through twitter, she asked me to fill out a questionnaire to include in the first publication. I was honored to be asked! If you'd like to see what juicy things I shared. Please bookmark the Strands Zine website and check back often for its first issue.

Midwest Fiber Crafts - a NEW Blog and Facebook fan page for promoting fiber events and activities across the Midwestern United States

2010-03-26T09:34:00.000-07:00

I've established another blog for posting fiber events and activities across the Midwest. It is called Midwest Fiber Crafts. The goal of MFC is to freely promote Midwest fiber events of all kinds as well as provide a good information source for Midwestern fiber enthusiasts. If you know of any fiber event or activity happening in the Midwest this year, please submit it to MFC for posting. MFC also has a facebook fan page that I hope you will follow. You can freely post your events directly to the wall there and upload photos as well as start discussions.

Other than some sponsorship ads, this is mainly a labor of love. My husband and I really enjoy attending fiber event. (I think we'd go to one every weekend if we could find them!) I hope this new blog helps others to find great fiber events to attend and support fiber farmers and other fiber business people.

Please take a minute to pass along this new blog and fan page to your fiber loving friends and family. I would sincerely appreciate it!

New super soft hand carded, hand dyed fiber batts just added to my Etsy shop - great for spinning and felting of all kinds!

2010-03-24T09:39:00.000-07:00

These lovely hand carded, hand dyed fiber batts were just listed in my Etsy Fiber Shop. They are super soft and very smooth - wonderful for spinning and felting. I will be adding more fiber batts weekly so please check back often.

After starting to list my newly created fiber batts on Friday, my first one sold on Monday. Yay! I really enjoy making these batts and hope they sell well. I also plan to create some new felted goodies with some of them. I just have to find the time to do that soon.

A handmade felted wool baby beret from mommy and some hugs from daddy

2010-03-23T15:24:00.000-07:00

This is one of those "I just had to share" moments! I snapped a few photos of my husband and Rowynn over the weekend. She is wearing a hand felted wool beret that I made quite a long time ago. It was originally meant to be for an adult, but it ended up being one of my many felting experiments gone astray when it shrank a bit too much. It fits Rowynn perfectly though so I guess that I have a good pattern for baby beret's now and that hat making experiment long ago wasn't a complete loss. More importantly, it makes for a darn cute photo with daddy. These will be so much fun to scrapbook!

BOGO SPECIAL!! Buy one unmounted rubber stamp, get one FREE! (3/22 - 3/26) Read on for the coupon code and details...

2010-03-21T20:39:00.000-07:00

For one week only (3/22 - 3/26), I am having a BOGO special on all my unmounted rubber stamps! Buy one unmounted rubber stamp and get a second one of your choice free! (This offer excludes shipping costs, mounting kits, and discount stamp sets. It is for single unmounted rubber stamps only.)

How to redeem this BOGO special...

1) Simply put the coupon code MARCHBOGOSTAMP in the message to seller at checkout at my Etsy Stamp Shop or ArtFire Shop.

2) Also, please put the name of your top two or three choices for your free stamp in the message to seller at checkout. Some of my stamps are in very limited supplies right now with only one or two left of select designs. I can not guarantee your top choice for your free stamp so please put an alternate choice or two in case your top choice is not available.

FYI: Once my stamps are gone, I have decided not to remake them for a while to focus on fiber art endeavors instead. Therefore, if you are interested in any of them, I highly recommend that you purchase the stamp(s) as soon as possible because it may not be available again. My popular sheep, yarn, hand spun, and hand knit stamps are in very limited quantities!

(And, if you can't figure out how to put the coupon code in the message to seller at checkout with your free stamp choices, don't worry! Simply send me an Etsy conversations message or ArtFire message with the coupon code and free stamp choice names within an hour of purchase. I'll make sure that you get your freebie stamp that way.)

You must use the coupon code MARCHBOGOSTAMP and include your free stamp choices at checkout or in a message to me shortly after to receive your BOGO stamp so please don't forget it!!!!!

Funky Felter Woolly Fiber Batts for Felting and Spinning now available in my Etsy Fiber Shop with more to come!

2010-03-20T21:26:00.000-07:00

I'm having a blast carding batts on my new drum carder! Making colorful wool batts is really a fiber art form in itself. Although I am definitely keeping some of my yummy, yummy batts for felting and spinning, I am also selling some of them in my Etsy Fiber Shop. I have listed a few woolly batts today and will continue to list many more for sale in the coming days. I hand dye most of the fiber for my batts as well as card them several times. My batts are soft and smooth and ideal for the feltmaker or spinner. Since I am a fiber ~~addict~~ artist myself, I always make my batts with the fiber artist in mind!

Here's a glimpse of what I've done so far...

Not one, but TWO artsy craftsy events going on this weekend in the Kansas City area!

2010-03-18T16:08:00.000-07:00

If you live in the Kansas City area there are two great events going on this coming weekend!

On Saturday, March 20th, Gypsy Emporium will be at the Madrid Theatre in Westport. It is free to attend, and there will be fun for the whole family including artists, crafters, music, and activities throughout the day. Click here for complete details and directions.

There is also the MOPACA Invitational Alpaca Show this weekend at the American Royal. Stephen and I went last year and had a blast! There are more alpacas than I've ever seen in one place before. It also has alpaca shows and other events throughout the weekend as well as some alpaca and other fiber vendors. It is very family friendly too with many kids of all ages attending.

A little peak at me carding hand dyed wool batts on my fancy kitty drum carder...

2010-03-17T12:23:00.000-07:00

Ron Anderson, the maker of the fancy kitty drum carder, asked for some customer photos to add to his website's scrapbook page. It is also part of the requirements to be entered in his contest at the fancy kitty group on ravelry. I normally hide from the camera, but I made an exception in this case and had my husband snap a few photos of me working with my drum carder. The wool that I'm working with is some that I hand dyed in preparation for carding. I plan to combine some of the carded colors later to make funky fun batts for felting and spinning. I will also be selling some of the wool batts at my Etsy Fiber Shop so be on the lookout for them.

So here I am with my lovely new drum carder and yummy wool...

There's also a cute one of the baby, and I just had to share!

And Happy St. Patrick's Day to you!
(It is only fitting that I'm carding bright lime green wool in celebration of the festive day.)

I'm back and a good word about Ravelry too!

2010-03-16T15:30:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm back from my mini-vacation. I went to visit my parents with the baby (mainly so that grandma and grandpa could spend time with the baby girl). They live on a farm near a small town south of where I live in the big city. No internet access there and a lot of chirping frogs and bugs. It was a nice rest, but I am glad to be back home and back in business doing fibery things again.

When I returned, one of the first things that I did was check ravelry to see what was going on there with the fancy kitty group. Ravelry is a wonderful fiber community for knitters and crocheters mainly, but I have found many groups and much information there for spinners and feltmakers as well. If you are a fiber enthusiasts, I recommend that you join. It is a very easy-going, fun community to be a part of with a wealth of fiber information and resources.

For wool roving, spinning fiber and equipment, hand spun yarns, and classes in the Kansas City area, check out the Woolgathering in Lexington, Missouri

2010-03-12T08:24:00.000-08:00

Even though I live near Kansas City, it is still difficult to find local sources of wool roving, spinning equipment, and fiber classes. There are several yarn shops and chain hobby stores that carry a wide variety of ready-made yarns, but there are very, very few places to find actual wool roving and spinning supplies as well as classes.

On facebook the other day, I happened upon just such a shop in Lexington, Missouri, called Woolgathering. My husband was very sweet to take me and the baby girl for a little Saturday afternoon drive to check it out. I was extremely happy with what I found. It is an awesome fiber shop! The shop carries all kinds of fiber arts supplies and equipment and even offers classes on spinning, knitting, and crochet. It also has very reasonable prices. I left there with a bag full of roving and know that I'll be back for more. Also, Lexington is really a sweet little town with oodles of charm. I could see making a day trip of it to explore the downtown area and eat there. (Although, it isn't too far for a quick trip for supplies either.) When you get the chance, I highly recommend that you go check out Woolgathering for yourself. If you are a fiber artist or fiber junkie of any kind local to the Kansas City area, I think it is well worth your drive time.

Some more additons to my fiber equipment - a Mother Marion Kick Spindle and a Lazy Kate

2010-03-10T07:49:00.000-08:00

Although I consider myself primarily a traditional feltmaker and always will, I have decided that I'd like to become a more well-rounded fiber artist. Part of this endeavor is to learn to spin yarn. I had a spinning class a little while ago and realized how much I enjoyed the process of making hand spun yarn. Unfortunately, I can't afford a spinning wheel right now. I just invested in a beautiful Fancy Kitty drum carder and must wait a while to purchase a wheel. In the mean time, I am making some smaller investments on fiber equipment including a kick spindle and a lazy kate.

I have used my drop spindle off and on, but I feel a bit uncoordinated on it so I decided to invest in a Mother Marion style kick spindle from Heavenly Hand Spinning. I bought their Little Meggie in Oak kick spindle. I've only used it a few times now and am still adjusting to how it feels. It is faster than my drop spindle and allows both of my hands to be free for spinning so that I can practice drafting as you would on a spinning wheel. I personally like to use it standing up and kick the spindle with my right foot. It is a bit of a balancing act at times, but undoubtedly a great workout too. Overall, I like my experience with the spindle so far. It is quite heavy though and a bit clunkier feeling than using a drop spindle. It will slide around if you don't brace it well. I put plastic furniture tabs on the bottom of mine to keep it in place on my hardwood floors as I use it. It also has a tendency to tip and slip out of its ball bearing. These, in my opinion, are very minor design flaws considering the overall craftsmanship and beauty of the piece. I think the base could be wider to avoid the instability. I may end up attaching it to a wider board myself eventually. For now, I am satisfied with my kick spindle. It is a happy medium between using a drop spindle and a spinning wheel. The truth is that I'd prefer to just have my own spinning wheel right now. Eventually, I will, but there is some saving of funds to do first. If you are in the market to buy a kick spindle, I recommend checking out this blog post by Knitting Dragonflies. It has information on different kick spindle brands as well as a good review of how one works.

The other piece of equipment that I purchased is a handmade lazy kate from a little shop on Etsy called bigfam15. It is made out of recycled oak from a church pew. (I just love that!) It was also significantly less expensive than comparable name brand lazy kates on the market. I must say that it doesn't sacrifice any quality though. It far exceeded my expectations in its craftsmanship, functionality, and overall beauty. It also shipped very quickly and was well packaged with a sweet hand written thank you note. This lazy kate was completely worth the money and an absolute little gem of a find if you ask me. I have tinkered with it a bit and really look forward to using it with my hand spun yarns.

Thanks to Craft Gossip and Felt Planet!

2010-03-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

Perhaps you are the kind of person that is just a natural winner. I, on the other hand, don't remember winning anything in my life... until recently! I just wanted to give a big thanks to the Felting Blog at Craft Gossip and Felt Planet for their recent giveaway contest. I was actually a winner and am ecstatic about it. I won these lovely, thick wool felt shamrocks. Finally I have a great excuse to do something fun and crafty just for myself. I'm looking forward to incorporating these little beauties into a project.

If you'd like to try your hand at winning, head on over to Craft Gossip to enter their latest giveaway contest for a gorgeous wool beret and felted rose brooch. It is really stunning!

On vacation for a wee little bit so if you've had your eye on something...

2010-03-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to let my readers know that I'm taking a wee little vacation to tend to a family obligation. It is nothing serious, but I'll be putting all my online shops in vacation mode in order to focus on what I need to and get some rest as well. My Etsy Fiber Shop, Etsy Stamp Shop, and ArtFire Shop will be closed from Monday, March 8th, through Monday, March 15th. I will also be revamping my shops just a little and raising prices slightly on the cost of my felting kits and fibers to accommodate rising supply costs. Therefore, if you've had your eye on anything in my online shops, I'd recommend that you purchase it this weekend if possible. Thanks to all my loyal customers and new ones as well. I sincerely appreciate your ongoing support and encouragement! I'll be back soon refreshed and ready to go!

A Happy Customer, Her Sweet Handmade Felted Creation, and a Super Blog Contest Giveaway!

2010-03-05T15:21:00.000-08:00

Recently, a very nice customer, Marigold, purchased one of my large size needle felting kits. She contacted me to let me know that she'd felted up a woolly creation named Argus. I must say that I LOVE the little guy! And, to top it all off, she's giving him away! Please visit her blog for a better look at him and to enter for a chance to win him too. Sweeeeeet!

A very fancy kitty came in the mail yesterday afternoon...

2010-03-04T11:33:00.000-08:00

A Fancy Kitty drum carder that is!! Yippeeeeeee!! Yay!! Wooooohooooo!

After years longing for my very own drum carder, I finally took the plunge and invested in a beautiful fine Fancy Kitty drum carder by Anderson Originals. It is of superb quality. I also love that it is handcrafted in the U.S.A. in my home state of Missouri. I highly recommend this brand of carder!

When it arrived yesterday afternoon, I immediately took it out of the box and set it up. (I even cleaned the house earlier in the week so that I could card the rest of the week totally guilt free.) I had a box of fibers all ready to go. Since yesterday, I have carded six batts and can't wait to do more! I have put both roving and locks through it and many different fiber types including Merino, Corriedale, BFL, and even some firestar. It cards wonderfully smooth with very little effort. I've been running my batts through twice, but once for most fibers would be fine. I've even been able to remove the batts rather easily. The only tricky part that I've found is cleaning it. I've been using my hand carder, but it doesn't get all the fibers that are embedded deeply in the carding cloth. I may try using my shop vac to give it a good cleaning once I'm finished for the day. I had seen someone recommend using a shop vac to suck up all the little left over fibers on a forum that I belong to. Now I can use their good advice on my brand new drum carder.

For your viewing pleasure, here's some photos of the batts that I've made so far. I call them my practice batts because I have been using the odds and ends bits of roving and locks left over from felting and and other fiber projects. I still think that they turned out rather well for practice batts though. I may use my drop spindle to make some into yarn.

(By the way, if you love Fancy Kitty carders, want more info about them, or to be a part of a great community of Fancy Kitty owners, there is a wonderful Fancy Kitty ravelry group that you can join. It has loads of great information and good discussions!)

I scored two sweet felting books at Half Price Books this weekend!

2010-03-03T12:15:00.000-08:00

My husband and I frequent the local Half Price Books store. If you aren't familiar with it, it is a chain of book stores with used books and some new books at half price or less. You can also trade in your old books, music, and movies for store credit or cash. We really like browsing there because you just never know what you might find. It is also neatly organized just like the larger, more expensive chain book stores. Half Price Books has a bit of a hodge podge of a selection though because it is primarily a used book store.

I am always trolling the craft books section for anything felting, fiber art, spinning, dyeing, and textile related. It seems that most people want to keep that type of book because they are hard to find used. I must have gotten lucky this weekend though. I found not one, but two wonderful felting books! One is Nuno Nouveau by Liz Clay, and the other one is Sweet Needle Felts by Jenn Docherty. They are both well-written books with wonderful photos (and I am all about the photos when it comes to instructional books). I'm so glad to have a couple sweet new books to add to my ongoing fiber books collection. And, I scored both of them for just a little over $13. A great investment and a pretty amazing deal if you ask me.

The Fruit of My First Spinning Class... A Sweet 2-ply Hand Spun Yarn!

2010-02-27T20:31:00.000-08:00

Today I had my first spinning class and learned to make hand spun yarn on a wheel. In the photo above is the fruit of my labor. The yarn that I made today is 42 yards of 2-ply with wool and silk fibers mixed. The six hour class was somewhat exhausting both physically and mentally, but I learned quite a lot. Overall, I was satisfied with my learning experience. My only wish is that I had gotten to spin on more than one kind of wheel. I was only able to use a Kromski Minstrel wheel. I liked it, but I haven't ever used anything else and would really like to get a feel for other wheels before getting one of my own. At least I have begun the journey of spinning though. With many other things preoccupying my time right now, I am uncertain if I will be taking the plunge and purchasing a spinning wheel of my own anytime soon, but it certainly could be in my future.

A Cruel (and Expensive) Lesson Learned: Why I will never Consign again!

2010-02-26T12:13:00.000-08:00

After having one minor bad experience consigning to an arts and crafts shop out of state, I decided to amend my personal consignment rules to only include local Kansas City area shops. I thought that this way I would be able to keep an eye on things and make sure that my items were taken care of, displayed well, and that the payment checks were on time. In hindsight, I realize that it was wishful thinking on my part.

It is an understatement to say that for the past year, I have been busy. Let's see... I had a baby (life changing!), opened a new Etsy shop for my stamp designs, opened a new ArtFire shop, and added fiber supplies and kits to my line of products. That is just hitting the highlights too. It doesn't even include the day to day events of life that can sometimes be overwhelming. Why am I bringing this up? Well, it is just to say that my mind has been preoccupied. I hadn't really thought much about my locally consigned items. That brings me to my recent horror story of local consignment.

A while ago, I got an Etsy conversations message from a fellow local artisan and friend of mine asking if I knew that a local consignment shop had closed its doors. My fellow artisan also asked if I had gotten any of my items back or payment for them. Honestly, I hadn't thought much about this local shop. I was "friends" with the owner on facebook, and she posted quite often to her page there - never mentioning closing up shop once that I remember, but rather talking a lot about traveling, going to the gym, and losing weight. Well, she not only closed up shop, but she apparently liquidated all her consignor's items and pocketed all the money from what I can gather. My fellow artisan and myself have lost hundreds of dollars in merchandise and display items. Not to mention what her other consignors might have lost. It is angering and frustrating to say the least.

How convenient that the store owner can not be reached! My fellow artisan had no luck at all in contacting the store owner. The store owner responded to one of my emails stating that she'd return my items and the monetary value of the merchandise that wasn't accounted for, but I never heard from her after that one email and never received anything in the mail. It has been a few weeks now with no response on her part and no merchandise or payment. It is just shameful too that her store's website is still up with my stolen merchandise and display items pictured for sale on the "gifts" page. I also believe that she is still may be doing business as a balloon artist in the Kansas City area. She's even had articles written about her as if she is reputable. It is all quite disgusting if you are seeing it from my my point of view.

Where does that leave me you might ask? Plainly spoken, up a creek without a paddle.

I have a signed consignment agreement and merchandise list, but that really does me no good at all if I can not contact the store owner. And, it really doesn't help if the store owner is dishonest as in this case. You might wonder why not seek legal action. There are two main reasons: expense and time. I have a good case to collect from the fraudulent shop owner, but the court costs and other fees involved would probably be more than the actual cost of my items. The entire situation seems very unjust to me. It is not fair that someone who represents themselves as a reputable local business person in reality is nothing more than a thief and criminal. Ah, but no one said that life was fair...

Now what can I do? I can learn a valuable lesson and make wiser business decisions in the future. Therefore, I personally will never consign again. This is not to discourage others from consigning or to say that all consignment will end badly because I know that there are honest business owners out there. I recommend doing what works well for you and your arts and crafts business. It obviously does not work well for me to consign so I will focus my time and resources elsewhere. I just wanted to share my experience to hopefully benefit others.

NEW Handmade Nuno Felted Wool and Silk Scarves just listed in my Etsy fiber shop!

2010-02-25T10:54:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to pass along that I listed a few brand new nuno felted wool and silk scarves in my Etsy fiber shop today. These are a great fashion accessory to spice up your closet!

Organizing my wall of wool

2010-02-23T07:00:00.000-08:00

We had good intentions of going to church on Sunday morning, but the weather thought otherwise. Since we woke up to freezing ice pellets falling from the sky, we decided it would be best to just stay in. Most of the day we lounged around, ate, and watched movies. I even got to sleep in to a shamefully late hour thanks to my husband who played Mr. Mom to our baby.

In the evening, I decided to accomplish one thing for the day - organizing my wall of wool and studio/office. For some of you fiber artists out there, my collection of wool roving and other fibers probably seems meager. I estimate over 20 pounds there that I've gathered over the last few years which is quite a lot to me, yet it never seems enough at times. And, I had another 5 pound box that I didn't have enough room on my wall for. Not only did my piles and piles of wool get a makeover, but I also cleaned up my entire studio/office space which was quite a chore. I'm glad that I took the time on Sunday to straighten things up. I always feel much better when my work space is organized with everything in its place.

This makes me wonder how others organize there own wool roving, fibers, yarns, etc. If you'd like to share, please post a link in the comments to a photo of your own "wall of wool" or otherwise studio or office space.

How spending just $5 can make Photos of your Handmade Arts and Crafts items look Professional

2010-02-22T07:00:00.000-08:00

Quite a while ago, I built a home made light box to use with the help of my dad and husband. Thus far, it has served me well and allowed for some great amateur photos of my handmade products. Recently, I wanted to create more professional looking, polished photos of my hand felted fashion accessories for submission to an upcoming publication. After doing a little research online, I came across a super cheap way to achieve that lovely black to white gradient background that is often seen in the photographs of art pieces and fine crafts. If you buy a professionally produced graduated photography background it can cost upwards of $50 or more depending on the size, but I've found a way to achieve the same effect for just $5.

As a small arts and crafts home business owner, my budget is tight (actually slim to none most days!) so I always seek out inexpensive alternatives when possible. While researching this topic online, I came across a forum discussion that suggested creating a printable file in a program like Photoshop with a simple black to white gradient and having it printed at a local print shop. In the discussion, this link is provided to an already prepared file, size 24 x 36 inches. I saved that file to my flash drive (right click and "save image as"), took it to my local Kinkos, and had it printed in black and white on their large format printer for less than five bucks! And, it works! I've been using it in my home made light and as a background for my dress form with wonderful results. Granted, it probably will not last a long time because the paper is a standard printer weight, but it is easy to cheaply replace when it rips or creases.

I just thought that I'd pass along the information to those who might want to give it a try. You do need a decent light box setup or good light source to work with. In the images on this post, you can see a couple of examples of my new "professional" photography style. If you'd like to see more of the photos that I've taken with my new (cheap) background, check out my flickr photo stream for a variety of my handmade felted wares.

"What Mama Wants, Mama Gets" Weekend Special! 30% off in my ArtFire & Etsy shops... Read on for the Coupon Code and Details...

2010-02-19T06:56:00.000-08:00

What mama wants, mama gets! But unfortunately, mama has to pay for it... In order to add to my saved funds to buy a brand new drum carder, I'm giving you a whopper of a deal this weekend only! This way all the mama's (and gals and guys in general) can get what they want. I am offering a 30% off coupon code for use in my ArtFire shop, Etsy Fiber Shop, and Etsy Stamp Shop. You'll get 30% off your one time order this weekend only (excluding shipping costs). The coupon code MAMAWANTS is good from now through Sunday (2/21/10).

Please read the instructions below prior to purchasing:

For my ArtFire shop...
Simply enter the coupon code at checkout and the amount will automatically be deducted before you make payment. It is that easy!

For my Etsy Fiber Shop, and Etsy Stamp Shop...
Please put the coupon code in the Etsy or PayPal message to seller at checkout. After purchase has been made, I will promptly refund your 30% discount (less any shipping fees). If you'd prefer that I send you an adjusted PayPal email invoice or make a custom price-adjusted listing for you, please contact me via Etsy conversations prior to purchasing your item(s).

You will only receive the 30% order total discount if you use the coupon code MAMAWANTS at checkout so please don't forget it!

If you have any questions, please contact me. Have a fantastic weekend! And, happy shopping to all!

(Psst... and for those who might not know what a drum carder is, it is a piece of fiber equipment that will allow me to easily comb my wool and blend different fiber types and colors to make my own roving and batts. I've had my eye on one for a very long time!)

I just love Amy Butler's Duck Egg Fabric and my new handmade Coin Purse

2010-02-18T12:57:00.000-08:00

I normally do not obsess over fabric. After all, my sewing skills are quite minimal (and I do mean quite minimal!). For whatever reason though, I just love Amy Butler's French Wallpaper Duck Egg Fabric. I don't know if it is the bold color combination of reds and blues or the pattern or perhaps both, but I have been a bit consumed by its loveliness lately. I got this gorgeous handmade coin purse in the mail today from SeventhSphere on Etsy. It is now officially one of my favorite things! It is also of awesome quality, thickly lined, and, well, just splendid.

Now you know that my obsessions do not only include things of wool and felt. I have momentarily branched out. Unfortunately, I think this particular duck egg fabric is now out of print. Although, I try not to think about that devastating news and focus on my new little jewel of a coin purse.

In the Dye Pot with my New Eco-Friendly Acid Dyes = Fabulous Colored Hand Dyed Wool Roving

2010-02-17T14:49:00.000-08:00

Yesterday and today, I have been dyeing wool. I'm very pleased with all the colors! I've dyed over five pounds of wool with my new acid dyes from Greener Shades and am very, very happy with the results. With a baby girl to care for, I sought out a new kind of dye that would be friendlier to use at home as well as better for the environment. I've used many kinds of dyes over the past several years, and I must say that Greener Shades does as well if not better than all the other professional acid dyes that I've used. It is eco-friendly, non-hazardous, heavy metal free and can do impressively well at dyeing on top of all that. I think that I might have found a new professional acid dye to use long-term on my wool and silk.

These gorgeous colors of wool will eventually be carded into batts for felting and spinning. The next thing on my list is to purchase a drum carder in the very, very near future, but that is for another post! Stay tuned...

(And, if you'd like to see a close up of my colored wool, just click on the individual photos above to see any one of them full-size.)

Copyright © 2010 Shalana Frisby. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission.

A Milestone to Share... 700 Sales in my Etsy Shop!

2010-02-15T13:30:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend, I hit 700 sales in my funky felter shop on Etsy! Yay! It has taken a few years to get to this point, but I am so happy to have reached this wonderful milestone over the weekend. A big thanks to my 700th sale who just happens to be a fellow feltmaker, Connie of Sensory Felteds. I hope she enjoys her new silk collection pack and the little extra that I included for being lucky number 700!

Woohoo! What a blessing!
Hoping everyone has a wonderful week!

A Little Reminder about the Weekend and Valentine's Day Shopping...

2010-02-11T11:11:00.000-08:00

For those who are local to the Kansas City area, I just wanted to remind you about an arts and crafts show where I will be a vendor this Saturday. There are many handmade artisans going to be selling their fabulous wares. Please make the time to attend! The event is from 10am - 5pm at the Westport Flea Market, 817 Westport Road, Kansas City, Missouri. You can find complete event details and driving directions by clicking here.

I will be selling needle felting kits, silk packs. woolly beads, heart pendants, and more! Please come by and introduce yourself, browse, and have fun shopping for those you love this Valentine's Day. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

Handmade Felted Soap Tutorial

2010-02-09T10:00:00.000-08:00

How to make a bar of handmade felted woolly soap!

(Please read all instructions thoroughly before beginning. For a larger view of photos, click on each to open it full-size in a new window.)

Materials:

Approximately 1/2 ounce wool roving

1 rectangular bar of soap (3 oz.)
A small bowl
Access to warm water (a sink)
A hand towel or small cloth
A flat work surface

1 knee high stocking (optional)

Dish washing liquid (optional)

Basic Instructions:

1. On a flat surface, lay out a thin horizontal layer of white wool, 8 - 10 inches long and 3 - 4 inches wide. (Figure A)
2. Put the soap bar lengthwise at one end of the wool and roll it up to loosely encase it in the wool. (Figure B)

3. Repeat steps 1 & 2 for the width of the soap bar. (Figure C)
4. Now the soap bar should have one horizontal layer (interior) and one vertical layer (exterior) of wool. It should be fully encased. (Figure D)

5. To add stripes, lay out two small pieces of colored wool horizontally. Put the soap bar lengthwise at one end of the wool and roll it up loosely. (Figures E & F) You can also add vertical stripes or abstract embellishments.
(Optional Tip: Especially for beginners and children, I recommend inserting the wrapped soap bar into a knee high stocking and loosely tieing the top. This allows the fibers to stay in place better as you felt the soap.)

6. Hold the wrapped soap bar firmly. Sprinkle warm water over it until it is thoroughly damp. Gently set aside. (Figure G)
7. Prepare a bowl of very warm water to finish felting the soap.
(Optional Tip: Add a drop of dish soap to the water to speed up the process.)

8. Continue to occasionally dip the soap in the bowl of water as you firmly hold the fibers into place. Press the fibers against the soap bar for 5 - 7 minutes. Do NOT rub the wool at this stage! It will displace the fibers. (Figure H)
9. Once the fibers begin to mat together, you may gently pat and rub the wool for an additional 5 - 7 minutes. (Figure I) (If following the first optional tip, you can take the bar out of the stocking at this stage.) The soap bar should be completely felted after a total of 10 - 15 minutes of continuous wetted agitation. The exterior felted wool layer should be smooth and taut next to the soap bar when it is finished. (Figure J)

10. Thoroughly rinse the soap bar. Pat with a cloth to remove excess water. Lay flat to dry. (Figure K) Allow to dry 24 - 48 hours. Store in a dry place after each use.

Some More Examples...

You can find soap felting kits available in my Etsy shop and my ArtFire shop. It is a fun, easy beginning felting project for most ages. It also makes a great natural all-in-one soap and scrubby to use or give as a gift.

Copyright © 2010 Shalana Frisby. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission.

I know you'll be green with envy...

2010-02-08T20:40:00.000-08:00

...that I am blessed with such a beautiful baby girl!

Want to Win My Hand Dyed Silks and Colorful Wool Roving for Your Handmade Nuno Felting? Giveway Contest Going on Right Now at Craft Gossip!

2010-02-07T13:33:00.000-08:00

Everyone loves a freebie... Right? Well, I know that I do! That's why I offered up a package of my hand dyed silk in 9 different colors and a package of wool roving in 12 different colors to the super sweet felting editor, Linda, at Craft Gossip. There is a contest going on right now, and you could win it all! It makes a great basic starter kit for anyone wanting to try nuno felting. It is also a nice combination of silk fabric and wool roving materials for the fiber lover or textile designer. You just need to click here and head on over to Linda's post for complete directions on how to enter the contest.

My last contest hosted by Craft Gossip received over 130 entries! Thanks so much to all who entered last time for the needle felting kits giveaway and congratulations to the lucky winners. I hope you are enjoying your new adventures in needle felting.

(p.s. Although, I appreciate your comments here, you can't enter the giveaway contest at this post. Sorry about that! It is an easy click over to the contest though for a chance to win.....)

And, a big thanks to Linda for hosting the giveaway!

5 Super Cheap Things to Help Brand Your Small Arts & Crafts Business and Make It Look Big!

2010-02-05T11:37:00.000-08:00

At one point in time (seemingly eons ago now), I was an actual graphic designer. I must admit that has helped me tremendously with developing an online arts and crafts business. I can make all my own graphics, packaging, and other branding materials. You don't have to be a graphic designer though or even dabble in it that much to make your small indie business look very professional and run with the big boys. Over the years, I have learned some very inexpensive ways to put up a good front and make my business look professional on a budget. I thought that I'd share my top five cheap things with you. I hope you find it helpful. (FYI - Most of these tips assume that you have a computer and printer and a basic level skill at using them.)

Brand Yourself on a Budget!

Get a logo! You need to have one consistent name and/or image (even if it is just your name in fancy lettering) to represent your business. This can seem daunting I know if you aren't that computer savvy. Well, my advice is... if you aren't a graphic designer or up on the latest graphic software, hire someone to make it for you. You might be thinking "Isn't that a load of cash to have done?" The answer is.... NO! Check on Etsy, ArtFire, and other handmade type websites for some great deals on logo design. There are some talented designers offering their services very cheaply on the side at these places. Take advantage of it if you need to. And, if you aren't a designer, please don't try to whip one up for yourself. A bad logo image can do more harm for your brand than you probably realize. Do what you do best and pay a little to have others do the rest. Trust me on this one. It is worth it!
Get packaged! If you are an online business, you still need to represent your product well with its packaging and labeling. You also need to be somewhat consistent in colors and style. Here's some cheap ideas to get you started... Buy a pre-made stamp(s) or have a custom stamp(s) made with your logo on it to use for making hang tags, clothing labels, return address labels, stickers, bookmarks, etc., etc., etc., The possibilities with a stamp are really endless. (Click here for a post on custom stamps and branding.) I also offer tagging and labeling stamps in my new Etsy shop. Another option is to once again check out Etsy, ArtFire, or another handmade type website for some great deals on tags and paper goods for packaging. Your local hobby shop also carries great paper goods as well as decorative scissors and paper punches to make your own tags and labels. If you are a little computer savvy, you can easily use it to print some labels to cut out. Then, of course, you can always make your business cards do double duty by punching a hole in the corner and attaching it to your items with a cute ribbon. That brings me to my third point...
Get some business cards! There are several places online that offer a dandy little tool to help you design your own business cards quickly and easily. I personally like OvernightPrints and have used their services for a couple of years now and always been satisfied. I highly recommend signing up for their promotional emails too. It is totally worth getting a little spam for the great deals that they offer on a regular basis. You can often get a discount or 100 business cards for free with their promos. Another option is to have a business card size custom stamp made. You can simply stamp several new cards at once when you run low. Finally, if you are a little computer savvy, you can print your own business card designs on card stock paper. Be careful doing this though because they can look cheap and be flimsy, and you don't want your business represented as cheap. You just want to be cheap with your business budget.
Get a domain name! To this one, I know that you might say "Yikes!" because it seems a bit advanced and costly, but it really isn't. You have options for this that are inexpensive and don't require any graphic design skills on your part. First of all, it can be as cheap as $5 per year to register your domain business domain name. I highly recommend that you visit a site like GoDaddy or another registry site and pay the small registry fee to at least own your own domain. If you don't buy it someone else will eventually! This actually happened to me with the domain name "funkyfelter" when a real shister bought the name and emailed me relentlessly to purchase it for an outrageous amount of money. Fortunately, I like my current domain name ("thefunkyfelter") and did not need to own the other one. It is a good lesson to learn though so purchase your domain business name, or something similar to it if it is taken, for future use. Your own domain name also gives you credibility as well as allows you to be found more easily when searched for online. Now on to the website...
Get a website! This is the part that may really blow your mind. Take a deep breath! It is really not that complicated. You have a few options, some of which are even free. First of all, you can use your existing domain name to point to another location like your blog or your Etsy shop. If you plan to open up any other shops, like an ArtFire shop or etc., I don't recommend pointing the domain directly to your shop. A blog is a good alternative though. You can register one for free at blogger and other places. You can also easily design and modify your blog with side bar content and article posts. You can have links to all your other online shops and networking like Twitter and Facebook Fan pages. A blog can be a good home base that costs you nothing. Another upside to having a blog is that they are highly indexed by Google searches (especially blogger which is part of Google) and, therefore, you will be more easily found by others searching online. This is especially true for those who post regularly and use their titles and label keywords well. Another cheap option to a blog is a one page website that can be used as a home base. You will probably need to pay a little more with your domain registry though for actual web hosting if you go this route. If you check (um, you guessed it!) Etsy, ArtFire, or another handmade type site, you can find one page web designs for fairly inexpensive to purchase considering what an ad agency or freelance professional would charge you. If you go this route, do ask for references or examples of their work if they don't have it readily available. Also, ask them if they know about "SEO" and how to optimize your site so it is found easily in searches. Depending on what domain register you used, sometimes they offer free design templates for one page websites with your registry; therefore, you wouldn't necessarily have to pay for web hosting. And, although I am not very familiar with them, there are some free online design templates available if you search for them. I think that these would require some computer knowledge though as well as some design instincts to make them look professional and appealing. Unfortunately, I have seen arts and crafts websites that used free templates, and it has not enhanced their brand. Quite the opposite! So be picky about going that route.

There you have it. From several years of selling online, that is the basic things that I recommend to get you started when you are also considering a tight budget and developing your brand. (A tight budget is usually all that I have to work with anyway!) I also recommend doing steps 1 - 5 as closely together as possible. If you do one little thing at a time, then decide to revamp your brand later on, it can be time consuming, costly, and difficult to transition. Think ahead and know how you'd like your small arts and crafts business to represent itself to the public.

As an aside, there is one more thing that is totally free and invaluable in developing your brand. Time. If you are serious about making your small indie business self-supporting, you must be willing to spend quality time on it daily.

Hand Dyed Silk for Your Handmade Nuno Felting & Other Fiber Arts Now Available in My Shops!

2010-02-04T12:23:00.000-08:00

Well, I finished dyeing and putting together my collections of silk sooner than I expected. Yay! I now have three collections available for purchase as supplies in my online shops at Etsy and ArtFire. Each collection was hand dyed in limited quantities; therefore, I only have a few sets of each kind available for sale. When they are gone, they are gone, and I will move on to making new fabulous colorway collections.

My current hand dyed silk collections (left to right in the photo):

Stormy Desert - a light tan, dark brown, and blue-purple colorway
Carnival Snow Cones - a bright blue, yellow, and pink colorway
All the Queen's Jewels - a deep red, blue, and green colorway

Each collection includes three long strips (approximately 4" x 54" each) plus a small bonus bag of several mini silk fibers. The strips are all top quality 100% silk gauze. The smaller pieces are a variety of top quality 100% silk gauze, chiffon, organza, and habotai in assorted colors and sizes. All pieces are hand dyed by me with professional grade acid dyes. They are also hand cut; therefore, they have un-hemmed, slightly irregular shaped edges. The collection comes nicely packaged and labeled.

The many possible uses of my silk collections...

Nuno Felting - the combining of fine wool and silk to make a luxurious fabric
Spinning Add-ins - cut pieces to add into your hand spun wool for texture and color
Applique & Piece Work - cut out shapes and apply onto other fabrics or stitch together
Embroidery & Needlepoint - use the vibrant silk fabric as a base for your small stitching projects
Scrapbooking & Card Making - stitch the silk directly onto your paper scrapbook pages or cards

As a feltmaker and fiber artist, I personally use this silk for my nuno felting projects and have been dyeing my own silk for many years now. You can see some examples of my nuno felted creations as well as more photos of my dyed silk at my flickr account.

For complete details on each silk collection colorway, please visit one of my online shops and check out the individual product listings. You can also feel free to contact me!

Photos of my RADICAL New Hair Cut!! Eep!

2010-02-03T11:57:00.000-08:00

As some of you might already know, after my baby girl was born six months ago, over half of my hair fell out. Yes, it just fell out by the fist fulls. It has now (thankfully! whew!) started to grow back in, but I am left with a large majority of my hair about a quarter of an inch in length, especially on the sides, front, and top.

Over the weekend, I went to my wonderful local hair stylist and chatted with her about what to do. The solution that we decided on was a very short "pixie" style hair cut to even out my hair length. This new cut is really radical for me! I am use to having chin length or longer bob style hair cuts. I think that I'm going to need a while to adjust. On the other hand, it is super easy to care for. It takes less than 10 minutes to blow dry and style! That's a big plus with a baby to run around after all day. As long as it is this length, I might as well have fun with it. Just wanted to share... Hope you are having a wonderful "hump day" today!

Dipping in the Dye Pot - Making Hand Dyed Silk Piece Supplies for Nuno Felting, Fiber Art, and Textile Design

2010-02-02T15:35:00.000-08:00

In the next few weeks, I will be adding a line of hand dyed silk to my available fiber supplies. The vibrantly dyed silk gauze will come in sets, or collections, of colors. Each color collection will have a fun theme and be available in limited editions. I like to dye my silks individually and in small batches so I am only making a small quantity of each colorway. My hand dyed silks are wonderful for nuno felting! They are what I use in many of my own feltmaking projects.

In the photo above, you can see some of my dye work on the drying rack. I'm very, very excited about offering my hand dyed silks for your nuno felting projects, fiber art, and textile design. I have been dyeing most of my own silk for many years now. It is always like unwrapping a little present every time I see the final color come through on a piece of silk.

If you are interested in purchasing my upcoming silk collections, please bookmark my online shops at Etsy and ArtFire. I will also be announcing their arrival on my blog when the time comes.

And, if you'd like to see some examples of my own nuno felted fiber art, take a look at my flickr photos.

Celebrate Life Every Day & Be Thankful for Those Who Love You!

2010-02-01T11:19:00.000-08:00

At the end of last week, my grandmother passed away. She was the last living grandparent to go. It is a very solemn feeling not to have any of my grandparents here. I don't think that her passing has quite hit me yet. Her funeral is tomorrow and, unfortunately, I am unable to attend. I will miss her.

This post is my little tribute to her and a way for me to grieve in part. Her passing has reminded me to celebrate life every day and to be thankful for those who love me. Life is very short really.

The above picture is of my grandmother in her late teens or early twenties from many, many years ago. She is the one on the far right. The other two lovely girls are her sisters.

Valentine's Day Special! Get a FREE felted heart ring! Read on for details...

2010-01-29T12:46:00.000-08:00

This is by far one of the best deals that I will be offering all year long so I hope you take advantage of it! Here it is...

BUY ANY FELTED HEART ITEM AND GET A FREE FELTED HEART RING!

For each felted heart item, including pendants, rings, and hairpin sets, that you purchase receive one FREE felted heart ring in your choice of color. Limit of five free rings per buyer. For instance, if you purchase five felted heart pendants, you will receive five felted heart rings for free. Or, you can purchase a variety of felted heart items and receive one free ring for each item purchased up to the limit of five rings. (Please note that hairpin sets count as one item.)

How do you get this great deal? Use the coupon code BEMYVALENTINE2010 upon checkout in my Etsy Fiber Shop or my ArtFire Shop. For ArtFire, you can enter the code phrase in directly at checkout. For Etsy, you will need to put the code phrase in the message to seller at checkout. For either shop, please let me know what color(s) you'd like for your ring(s) in the message to seller at checkout. And, you MUST use the above coupon code to receive the free ring(s) so don't forget it!

Hurry, hurry, hurry! This coupon code is only valid through midnight on Tuesday, February 2nd. It is such a good deal that I can't let it go on for long, and I want to be able to get your felted heart goodies in the mail to you as soon as possible in hopes of reaching you by Valentine's Day.

THE SHORT VERSION:
THE DEAL = 1 free heart ring with each heart item

(limit 5 free heart rings per buyer)
COUPON CODE = BEMYVALENTINE2010
TIME FRAME = valid through midnight on Tues, 2/02/10

How to Use Rubber Stamps to Make Easy & Creative Hang Tags for Your Handmade Gifts and Products

2010-01-28T15:51:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to post a tutorial on how to use my rubber stamps for a while. This is the first post of a few that I have planned for a series of how to's highlighting my rubber stamps. It is quite easy to use rubber stamps and make your own DIY style hang tags or gift tags for your handmade goodies. Below you'll find a simple list of materials and instructions to get you started. (And, by the way, you don't have to use my rubber stamps - any old rubber stamp will do of course!)

Must Have Materials:

Cardstock Paper
Scissors
Stamp(s)
Stamp Ink Pad(s)
Hole Punch

Optional (but helpful) Materials:

Paper Punches
Decorative Edging Scissors
Acrylic Stamp Block (if your stamps are unmounted)
Colored Pencils or Markers
Double-sided Tape
Decorative Ribbon, Thread, or String

Basic Instructions:

1. Using your scissors and/or paper punches, create several sizes and shapes of small paper pieces. Using your hole punch, create a place in each piece for a ribbon or string to go through for hanging.

Handy Dandy Tip: Do not limit yourself to simple circles or squares. You can cut any shape that you'd like as long as it is fairly easy to do and is large enough for your stamp size. Also, not all of your tags have to be the same shape. Don't be afraid to experiment to find out what looks best for your purpose.

2. If necessary, temporarily adhere your unmounted rubber stamp to the acrylic block. (I use a little double-sided tape for this.) Apply a liberal amount of ink to your rubber stamp using your ink stamping pad. (You may want to test the ink color and consistency before applying it to your final tag paper.) When the stamp is inked well, decorate your paper tags one at a time - re-ink your stamp between each stamping. If your ink pad brand is not fast drying, allow the ink to dry for a while before moving to step three.

Handy Dandy Tip: Not all images have to be symmetrical on your paper tag area, nor do they have to cover the entire tag. Have fun with your stamping! Experiment with placing the image off-center or letting it bleed of the edge of the paper.

3. Once the ink is dried, you can embellish your tags further. Add ribbon, thread, or string. Use colored pencils or markers to color the stamp images and customize each tag.

Handy Dandy Tip: You can use your stamping pad to create a colored edge around your tag by easily going along the edge of the paper. It creates a nice outline effect.

(FYI - Click on any of the images above to get a close-up view.)

These are just a few of the hang tags that I came up with in one hour during a leisurely weekday afternoon. If you are making hang tags for a show or special event, I recommend sketching out some ideas of what you'd like first to get organized and be consistent in your tag style. I also recommend making up several (50 - 100) at once to save you time later on. And, remember that it is okay to have some "Oops!" tags - just save them for later. You never know when you might need a little tag for something here and there.

All of the stamp designs shown above can be found in my Etsy Stamp & Paper Shop as well as my ArtFire Shop. I have close to 70 stamp designs available with many of them being specifically designed for creating tags and labels. I also carry wooden block mounting kits and a limited line of hang tags and note cards if you aren't the do-it-yourself type.

A Fantastic Coupon Code with Valentine's Day in Mind is soon coming your way this week...

2010-01-26T07:25:00.000-08:00

For those who like my line of felted heart jewelry, I just wanted to let you know that there will be a magnificent coupon code pertaining to it in my next newsletter. The January/February edition will be emailed to my subscribers on or before Friday of this week. If you don't want to miss out on this most excellent upcoming deal, then please subscribe to my newsletter and/or follow my blog.

As far as the coupon code goes, it will be one of my best deals of the entire year, and definitely the best deal pertaining to my felted heart line. The coupon code will only be valid for a few set number of days because it is just so good that I can't let it go on for long. Can you tell that I'm very excited about this one?!

Now I need to get organized, decide what else to put in the newsletter, and get busy with it. Friday will be here before I know it!

What are your most and least favorite Artsy Craftsy Forums out there in Cyberland?

2010-01-25T17:00:00.000-08:00

There are a LOT of forum venues out there on the world wide web. It really seems endless. I do find forums to be helpful though. Let me clarify: if you know where to go and have a good question or keywords to search, you can really find wonderful information and wonderful people to communicate with. On the flip side, some forums are not worth my time any more, and sometimes there are forums which can be a little hostile in nature no matter what you post and who responds.

So.... I am asking you, yes Y-O-U, what forums do you like most and frequent, and perhaps, if you are brave enough to share, what forums do you like least or find least helpful? Please leave a comment with your answer or post it to your own blog and leave a link in the comments. (You might even ask your own readers what they think.) Inquiring minds (okay so maybe just me) want to know.

Here's my answer for ya...
Bestest ever forums that I either frequent often or find very helpful...
www.feltingforum.com - just love it for all kinds of great fiber info and swell people too.
www.theswitchboards.com - although I don't frequent it very often anymore, it is a great resource for small arts/crafts businesses and women in business.
www.kcetsy.ning.com - this one is private because it is my local Kansas City area Etsy team, but I really love the forum that we have and the group itself.

Then there's....

www.etsy.com/forums_main.php - Etsy's forum... uh, well, I use to absolutely love it. I still find it quite useful to search for great information, but I don't post there like I use to. I find the atmosphere to be mean-spirited now, and I often feel like I am being picked on. It makes me sad. I am not putting it on my "least" list because I really don't have any forums that I feel are a complete waste of time, but I would put it on my "be cautious" list for others.

and...

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=forums - ArtFire's forum... like the rest of ArtFire, it has great features and is very easy to participate in. I honestly haven't been there that long so I don't have a strong opinion either way, but so far so good...

There you have my list... What about yours?

A UK felting group calling themselves Funky Felters...

2010-01-25T13:30:00.000-08:00

Well, over the weekend, I received a very flattering email from someone asking me if I would be attending a fiber event in the UK as a vendor. The person sending the email was very sweet and even joined my mailing list (Thank you!). Although, I was puzzled by all this so I checked out the event's website. Apparently, there is a felting group in the UK called Funky Felters that is on their exhibitor's list. I contacted them about the mix up, but they unfortunately don't have an online presence and couldn't or wouldn't change their exhibitor's listing to clarify who they are.

If you found this post while searching for them, you found me instead (the funky felter)! If that is the case, then please click on the link above to get the UK Funky Felters group contact information. And, if you happen to enjoy felting or love all things fiber, you might check out my website along the way. Thanks!

(FYI - This post was changed from the original, longer article to this version on 1/27/10. I personally felt that it wasn't necessary anymore to leave the original post up. Also, most of the comments pertain to the original post.)

A Twitter Milestone and a Mention on Etsy's Storque - Yippee!

2010-01-24T23:24:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to share a couple of little happy things with you. First of all, I reached 1,000+ followers on Twitter over the weekend. Yay! I have really found Twitter to be a fun way to communicate as well as advertise. If you'd like to follow me, just click here for my twitter page and please pass it along to your friends too.

Second, my Etsy stamp & paper shop was mentioned in a blog article on Etsy about increasing your item views. I found out while browsing Craft Cult (just love their Etsy tools by the way!). Actually a quote of mine was used in the article stating "The more items in your shop, the more items that you have to be found on Etsy — that's my little theory!" To explain that idea a bit further, I believe that if you are going to spend the money to renew an item that you make multiples of anyway (such as my felting kits or heart rings), you might as well just list it again and have several of them in your shop and throughout Etsy's heap of listings. I think it makes a better chance to be seen and less waste of funds than renewing an item over and over. That is the complete concept behind my little theory...

Anyway, just wanted to pass along my good fortune. I feel very blessed right now for many, many things and hope you have a very blessed week!

Weekend ONLY Special ONLY at my ARTFIRE shop!! Read on for the COUPON Code...

2010-01-22T15:03:00.000-08:00

Well, just because I can, I am having a weekend only special at my new ArtFire shop. It is fully stocked with needle felting kits, fibers, stamps, tags, notecards, heart rings & pendants (great for Valentine's Day!), and much, much, much (did I mention MUCH?) more!

In order to receive $5 off your purchase of $20 or more, use the coupon code JUSTBECAUSE when checking out. The discount will be automatic. This coupon code is only good for this weekend (1/22 - 1/24, Friday through Sunday) and only in my new ArtFire shop. (It is NOT valid in my Etsy shops or any of my other online selling venues.)

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Have a great weekend and happy shopping!!

January/February Edition of My Email Newsletter is Coming Soon! Sign up if you haven't already!

2010-01-22T14:10:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to post a little reminder about my newsletter and promotional email sign up. The full edition of my monthly email newsletter for January/February will be sent out soon (by the end of next week if not sooner if all goes as planned). If you haven't signed up for my newsletter and promotional emails, please do! I promise not to badger you with relentless promo spam emails. I usually send out a few short promotional emails each month in addition to a full edition monthly or bi-monthly newsletter. In my newsletter, I include the latest news about my crafty business as well as discount/sales and artsy tips and/or resources. Click here to go to my sign up page. And, a big thanks to my 250+ subscribers! I really appreciate each one of you!

And, just a little hint about the upcoming newsletter...
It will include a SPECTACULAR VALENTINE'S DAY SPECIAL!!!
...just a little hint... he! he! so don't miss out...

If you are a feltmaker, needle felter, or lover of all things fiber and wool, and you are not there, then you're missing out!

2010-01-21T15:00:00.000-08:00

Whoa! That's a long post title, but it is true! I just had to put in a plug for the fabulous Felting Forum. I always recommend it to beginning feltmakers and needle felters when they contact me for resource information. This forum is full, full, full of super talented professional and amateur fiber artists who felt all kinds of neat handmade felted wool items and/or sell great supplies for felting. I must admit that I lurk there and read post after post. Only recently have I become more active in posting and responding to posts myself. If you aren't already a forum member there, then please join me. It is worth your time!

Upcoming Valentine's Day Arts and Crafts Show at the Westport Flea Market in Kansas City Missouri Features Handmade Creations for your Sweetheart!

2010-01-18T19:37:00.000-08:00

I will be a vendor at this local upcoming event. Join myself and several other handmade artisans at the Westport Flea Market on Saturday, February 13th, from 10 A.M. to 5 P.M. It is the ideal place to buy something for those that you love or just a little something special for yourself! I will be selling my handmade needle felted heart jewelry there as well as my needle felting kits and new line of note cards and tags. There will also be some of my nuno felted scarves and other fashion accessories available. Click here for driving directions, a list of vendors, and complete event details. I hope to see you there!

Business in the front, party in the back...

2010-01-17T09:06:00.000-08:00

No, I am not referring to my feltmaking or felt business in the title. I am actually referring to my hair. Since baby Rowynn was born, I began to lose it, and a lot of it. Everyone tells me that it is normal to shed hair 3 - 6 months after giving birth. (It is called telogen effluvium.) My dermatologist said that I'd lose up to 50% of my hair all at once. Then it would grow back slowly in 6 months to a year. Well, I honestly think that I've lost about 70% of my hair, mostly on the sides, front, and top. You know where that leaves me? Yes, you guessed it - with an 80's style mullet, business in the front (super short) and party in the back (my same old long hair). I am thankful though that my hair is growing back. It is about a quarter of an inch long in the places where I shed it completely, but it is there now and slowly getting longer. The shedding has subsided some too so I think that I'm back on the road to recovery from my unwelcome mullet hairstyle.

In the meantime, my solution to the hair loss has been to wear hats - pretty much all the time! I have purchased and traded for several on Etsy as you can see in photo. Below is a list of where I got each of the cute hats so please browse the shops. I am thankful for all of my lovely hats. Now I'm trying to decide whether or not to get my hair cut short all over. That may be my next adventure, but even if I do, I will still wear my hats.

Hat list (from top to bottom)...
passion4craftin
PlayinHookyDesigns
amityjoy
TepperWear
FJCruiser
purplesagedesignz

Nifty Tools for Etsy Sellers

2010-01-15T10:33:00.000-08:00

As I was browsing online last night, I came across this neat page of Etsy seller tools. It lists several sites with great tools that can help you with your Etsy shop and selling online in general. It is at Sqworl.com so check it out and see if you find it useful. Just click here to view the page list of tools.

...And have a great weekend too!

Is there such a thing as Question Etiquette? What to ask and not to ask the Handmade Artist and Crafter about Techniques, Supplies, and Business Practices

2010-01-12T12:17:00.000-08:00

This is a subject that I have been pondering for a while now. What is the etiquette for asking an artist or crafter about their handmade items, techniques, suppliers, and business in general. I actually get quite a few questions on a weekly basis on a wide range of subjects. I don't mind the questions. I love to communicate with fellow fiber artists and the public in general. But...(of course there is a "but" here!) Some of the questions that I get asked can be a little, um, forward and even strange at times.

So my question is... What is okay to ask a professional artist or crafter and what is just taboo?

Here's my take on the subject...
I usually answer questions pertaining to my felting techniques. It is all on a question-by-question basis of course. And, unfortunately, no, I don't have time to type out detailed written instructions for you on how to make something. I get this question once in a while - "Could you give me detailed instructions on how you make (fill in the blank here)?" I'm happy to give you some pointers, but I feel like there are enough online resources and books out there to adequately teach you about in-depth felting techniques. If I get this kind of question, I usually point the individual to free online felting resources and tutorials.

I usually don't answer questions about where I buy my supplies or get my materials. Ordinarily, it is a competitor asking the question. I personally do not feel obligated to share my well researched sources with the competition. Call me crazy, but I feel that is just bad business practice - no matter how nicely you might ask or if we've crossed paths before. I try to be gracious about my knowledge and not stupid. I've decided that you have to draw the line somewhere.

It is a toss up whether or not I answer questions pertaining specifically to my business and business practices. I usually share this kind of information and resources on my blog in posts like this one if I feel it is something that will help the arts and crafts community as a whole. If I feel a business oriented question is too prying into the personal realm, then I politely decline the question and usually give some online resources for the person to research on their own.

Well, that is the sum of how I currently handle questions. How do you dish out answers to questions pertaining to your art/craft, technique, suppliers, and business in general? Do you have an established etiquette or do you take it as it comes? I'd love to know! (Oh, there I go asking you questions... Ha!)

Weekend Special! 30% off at my Artfire Shop! Read on for the Coupon Code...

2010-01-08T15:01:00.000-08:00

My brand new ArtFire shop features both my fibers and rubber stamps. To celebrate the Grand Opening of this new shopping venue, I am offering a 30% off coupon code for use in my new ArtFire shop. You'll get 30% off your one time order this weekend only (excluding shipping costs). At checkout, simply use the coupon code GRANDOPENING2010 and your discount will automatically be deducted. You can pay via PayPal, Google Checkout, Amazon Payments, and with any major credit card. This coupon code is only good in my new ArtFire shop from now through Sunday at midnight (1/08 - 1/10). (It can not be used in my Etsy shops or any other of my selling venues - only at ArtFire, and only this weekend!)

Please browse around my ArtFire Shop and see if anything catches your eye!

If you have any questions or problems using my coupon code, please email me. I will do my best to help you in any way that I can.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Out with the old and in with the new... Selling Handmade Items Online - A Revamped ArtFire Shop and a word about Etsy and 1000Markets too!

2010-01-07T14:45:00.000-08:00

Let's talk shop for a moment, shall we? After re-evaluating my online sales this year and my selling venues, I decided to do some house cleaning.

First of all, I decided to expand my Etsy fiber shop by adding kits and supplies and open a brand new Etsy shop for my rubber stamp designs because Etsy has always been a very good selling venue for me, and I am happy selling there. I will be honest and say that I've had my ups and downs on Etsy and how I feel about the site itself. That being said, it has always been a constant selling venue for me. And, I know that my business would not be nearly as prosperous as it is today without my presence there. So... Viva La Etsy! As long as you'll have me, I am there to stay.

I wanted to expand my horizons last year so I opened up a 1000Markets shop. I was very flattered to have been juried into the site which I consider to represent more high-end handmade items. Sadly my shop there did not do very well; therefore, I put it on vacation mode yesterday to re-evaluate what to do with it next. On that note, I received an email from support at 1000Markets today stating that "Your shop on 1000 Markets has been returned to provisional (pre-approved) status." In other words, they shut my shop down without notice. While I understand the need to keep their shops "well-stocked" and looking good, my shop would have been just that if I had been actually selling anything there, but unfortunately I sold one item there - just one item in the last few months! That didn't warrant me spending a whole lot of time with my shop there. Don't get me wrong though! I love the layout and features of 1000Markets - very upscale and clean in its details, but it does me no good if I can not sell anything on their venue. That is a shop that I will have to let go for now and rethink. I want to like 1000Markets and prosper there... I really, really do! I just cannot afford to waste time on a venue that is not furthering my business no matter how wonderfully pretty the site itself is or how nice the people are there. Both of which I appreciate about it.

Moving on... Today I finished opening up a brand new shop on ArtFire to house both my fiber items and rubber stamps. Although I love both of my Etsy shops, I wanted a selling venue where I could easily combine the two ideas of fiber and stamps. What I love about ArtFire is all the magnificent, and I do mean truly magnificent, features and tools that it offers to its verified members. (Yes, my usual frugal self coughed up the 12 bucks to upgrade my membership, but it seems well worth it.) The importer tool, to import your Etsy item listings, and the global editor, to bulk edit your items, are super easy to use and save so much time! I am very impressed with those account features. I just hope that my new shop there results in sells, lots and lots of items sold! I had a shop there previously, just the basic membership, for my felted items that didn't do so well, but it was rather neglected with few items listed. I'm hoping my full, new shop will be more prosperous. Please take a peak at it and browse when you have the chance.

So basically, Etsy and ArtFire are where I am choosing to spend my time so far this year after trying to sell on several other online venues including 1000Markets. I know that plans change, but for now, that is what I have in mind for 2010.

What are your online selling plans for this year? Do you sell on multiple sites or maybe just your own website (which I haven't gotten up the courage to try yet)? Please leave a comment and let me know...

Please share... How do you handle Returns & Refunds for your Handmade Items?

2010-01-05T08:45:00.000-08:00

Although I have an established shop policy about returns & refunds, I had never had to refer to it in over 600 sales in my fiber art shop until recently. Last week a customer contacted me wanting to return a scarf for a refund. Their reason was that they "just decided on something else" for their friend's gift and no longer wanted the scarf. There was nothing wrong with the scarf. In fact, the buyer even stated that they weren't dissatisfied and that the scarf was beautiful. This obviously made me scratch my head in wonder...

BUT, in accordance with my current return/refund policy, I agreed to refund the purchase price less any shipping fees after the scarf arrived back to me in good condition. Well, it arrived yesterday in its original condition so I refunded the money via PayPal to the buyer. I received a "Thanks." and will probably never have contact with the buyer again.

All of this has me wondering though if I should alter my current return/refund policies to make them more strict. There are at least a couple of reasons to do this. First of all, I am not a chain department store. My items are handmade in small quantities. Every sale counts! Second of all, since my items are handmade and many one-of-a-kind or customized in some way, I can not always resell an item if it is returned. For instance, the scarf that was just returned will probably end up in a blog giveaway or as a gift to someone at some point, because I don't feel comfortable reselling a one-of-a-kind item that a customer has had possession of and returned. Essentially, I lost the resale value of the scarf even though it was returned. That is ultimately money out of my pocket and work time wasted!

I do not want to do away with my return/refund policy entirely though because I want to ensure my customer's satisfaction in some way. I am considering adding the clause "Returns accepted and refunds given for product defect only" or something to that effect to my current policy. It is not that I don't want to make my wonderful buyers happy. It is just that I am a very small business and every penny counts. If I can not resell a returned item, that is a cost that I have to just swallow.

That brings me to my initial reason for posting this. I would really love to know what your return/refund policy is if you are an artist or crafter who sells their items online or at shows, shops, etc. How lenient are you? Do you have any specific guidelines? Please do share! I'd appreciate your input in the form of a comment. Hopefully we can all learn from each other, and I can decide what to do about my current policy. Thanks!

Rubber Stamp Shop was Featured on Craft Gossip!

2010-01-04T07:47:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to say "Thanks!" to the stamping blog editor, Heather, at Craft Gossip for featuring my new rubber stamp shop last week. I sold two of the featured stamp that day! Yay!

Too Tiggerific not to share!

2009-12-31T15:42:00.000-08:00

I just had to share a photo of my precious baby girl that was taken on Christmas day. Okay, so I know that I'm biased, but I think she is quite adorable in her Tigger Christmas hat.

and, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope you have a very blessed 2010 and that your 2009 was absolutely fabulous. Out with the old and in with the new...

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, & 20% OFF!

2009-12-24T19:40:00.000-08:00

First of all, I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. And for those who may celebrate other Holidays, I hope they are joyous as well. Overall, it has been a good year concerning my business, The Funky Felter, and an even better year concerning my personal life with the birth of my first child. The Holidays are extra special this year! I hope yours are too!

Not to be too cheesy on this Christmas Eve... BUT... I did want to offer a little special for my blog readers so here it goes...

From Christmas through New Years (12/25/09 - 1/01/10)
20% off orders of $10 or more in my NEW Etsy shop!
(excludes shipping fees which are just $1 worldwide!)
Put promo code "BLOG-20%OFF" in the message to seller at checkout.

To redeem this discount, you have a few options:
1. Request a revised email invoice in your message to seller at checkout along with the promo code and don't pay right away via PayPal. I will email you a revised PayPal invoice within 72 hours of ordering.
OR
2. Checkout putting the promo code in the message to seller and pay via PayPal, and I will refund your discount within 72 hours of purchase via PayPal's partial refunding option.
OR
3. Contact me with your request and the promo code. I will make a custom listing just for you in my new shop with the discounted price already factored in.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!! HO! HO! HO!

& HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JESUS TOO!

A Call to Feltmakers & Felt Artists from Lark Books!

2009-12-22T10:41:00.000-08:00

A very nice editor from Lark Books contacted me yesterday about submitting some photos of my felted creations for their upcoming publishing project, 500 Felt Objects. She also asked that I pass along the information to my fellow fiber artists who work with felt. I thought the easiest way to do that would be to post it on my blog. You can find the guidelines here.

Now I just have to decide what to submit. If you have any suggestions of what photos of mine I should submit, please do share in the comments or email me. I'd love some help making up my mind!

Needle Felting Kit Featured in Etsy's Do-It-Yourselfer's Gift Guide

2009-12-21T00:16:00.000-08:00

I was honored to find today that my small size needle felting kit was featured in Etsy's Do-It-Yourselfer's Gift Guide. Just had to share... Yippeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!

psst.. you can find it and others in my funky felter Etsy shop

Rubber Stamps Now Available! Check out my New Shop with Many Fiber Art Related Stamps for Labeling and Tagging

2009-12-18T13:33:00.000-08:00

My new Etsy shop is now open for business! I am still in the process of listing the 70+ stamp designs that I have created, but there are many up right now for purchase. (All stamp design listings will be up by Monday.) I have several animal and nature stamps to choose from as well as many fiber art related designs and label/tag designs. All stamps are the same price no matter what shape or size. I will also be making listing for the option to pick your own set of 5 or 10 and receive a discount for buying in bulk.

Please spread the word about my brand new Etsy shop! I hope that you like what you see so far. A lot of hard work has gone into the creation of each stamp as well as my shop setup, but it has been fun so far and very worth it.

Oh, and don't worry, my funky felter Etsy shop is still there and going strong!

Want to Win a Needle Felting Kit? Contest Going on Right Now at Craft Gossip!

2009-12-17T00:35:00.000-08:00

Everyone loves a freebie... Right? Well, I know that I do! That's why I offered up both a large and small needle felting kit to the super sweet felting editor, Linda, at Craft Gossip. There is a contest going on right now, and you could win one of my needle felting kits. All you need to do is click here and head on over to Linda's post for complete directions on how to enter the contest.

(p.s. you can't enter here, sorry about that, but it is easy to just click your way over to the contest.....)

And, a big thanks to Linda!

Baby Rowynn is almost 5 months old!

2009-12-15T06:27:00.000-08:00

My baby girl is growing fast! She'll be 5 months old very soon. Here's a couple of photos that I took of her this past weekend. I had thought about taking her to get professional photos done, but it is just so busy this time of year at all the studios. Therefore, I decided to take some photos of her myself with a little help from my husband. I'm really happy with how they turned out and may end up doing most of her "professional" photos myself to save a little money.

600 Etsy Sales! Woohoo! Reached My Year-end Goal a Little Early!

2009-12-13T19:33:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to share.....

I got that golden notification email from Etsy this afternoon that I had made a sale. It was a very special email because it was my 600th sale in my Etsy shop. I've been on Etsy a little over three years so it has taken me a while to get there, but it feels good to hit this milestone and my year-end sales goal a little early.

A big "THANKS" to all my loyal customers over the years!! I really appreciate your business! And thanks to Etsy to for being such a good selling venue.

Another Needle Felting Kit now available - New Small Size!

2009-12-12T09:38:00.000-08:00

I've added one more needle felting kit to my Etsy shop. My large size kit has been very popular so I decided to offer a small size kit as well. Happy Felting!

Scarf SALE!! Several Handmade Felted Wool Scarves Now 40 - 60% off my Original Prices! Yippeeeee!!

2009-12-09T07:45:00.000-08:00

I have reduced the price of several of my handmade felted wool and wool/silk scarves. Just click here to see what is currently available in my Etsy shop. They would make a great cold weather holiday gift.

Yay! My handmade shibori style nuno felted scarf was featured!

2009-12-04T04:45:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to mention that my shibori style nuno felted scarf was featured in Kelly Callahan's blog. It is one of her picks for the "Handmade Gifts for Her" guide. She really made some spectacular choices of handmade items, and I am honored that she included my scarf in the mix. Thanks Kelly!

Made it to the Front Page of Etsy..... Finally!

2009-12-03T00:01:00.000-08:00

It has been a long, long time since one of my items made it to the front page of Etsy. Today, it finally did in this lovely treasury list chosen by HendersonArt. The trendy look of Etsy has changed a lot over the past year and a half, and I don't always feel like I quite fit in there anymore, but I was happy to see one of my felted wool bead sets displayed on the front page today. It is very encouraging (and makes me feel like one of the cool kids for a few minutes). The item sold right away too - bonus! Yippee!

p.s. a big thanks to fluffyflowers for messaging me to let me know that my item was on the front page so I didn't miss it! Thanks to my sweet fellow Etsy seller :) And, she's having a BOGO sale right now too - oh, so tempting!!

Coming Soon! Rubber Stamps for the Fiber Artist, Feltmaker, Knitter, Crocheter, Spinner, Seamstress, and More! Great for Labels and Hang Tags!

2009-12-02T08:09:00.000-08:00

If you subscribe to my monthly newsletter, some of you know that I will be opening a second Etsy shop soon to destash some of my many, many crafty and fiber supplies as well as to sell my rubber stamps. The rubber stamps are what I am most excited about because each was either hand drawn or created digitally from scratch by me. Although I consider myself a feltmaker, I am also an illustrator and graphic designer. I am very excited about opening my new shop!

As you can see in the image above, I have made several stamps that are fiber art related. I did this because I know that they are difficult to find yet really helpful if you want to make clothing labels, hang tags, and other promotional items. The image above is just a sampling of the 25+ of this kind that will be available. There will also be many other rubber stamp designs of my artwork including all sorts of animals and nature related images.

If all goes according to plan, my new shop should be open by the middle of December which is soon approaching. If you are a fiber artist in need of some labeling stamps or a scrapbooking or cardmaking fanatic, please bookmark my new Etsy shop or "heart" it to find later. Also, I will be doing some custom design stamps and custom digital artwork/promos on a limited basis (which I especially love to do for my fellow fiber artists!).

And, if you haven't joined my monthly email newsletter list, please do! There will be great discounts for my new shop in the next issue plus my current fiber shop.

(© 2009 Shalana D. Frisby. All rights reserved. Content may not be reproduced in any form without permission.)

20% OFF + FREE SHIPPING (11/27 - 11/30)

2009-11-27T07:25:00.000-08:00

Just a reminder about my Etsy shop Black Friday through Cyber Monday sale - 20% off + free shipping! And, I am happy to offer the same in my ArtiFire and 1000Markets shops too! I will refund your discount and shipping cost in those shops after purchase is completed. There are many items for less than $15 and several one-of-a-kind items too. I, as always, encourage you to buy handmade and shop local for your holiday gifts. Have a great weekend :)

Shop Local and Buy Handmade this Holiday Season! Huge KCEtsy Black Friday through Cyber Monday Sales!

2009-11-26T12:44:00.000-08:00

Black Friday through Cyber Monday (11/27 - 11/30), 20+ Kansas City Etsy Street Team members will be participating in a mega sales event! Each individual shop has chosen their own special sale just for you. Check the KCEtsy blog for complete details about savings and a list of shops participating. Many shops are offering percentages off, free shipping, and/or freebies with purchases. Beat the crazy shopping center crowds this weekend and shop in your pajamas with a cup of coffee in hand right in front of your computer! Fun! Fun! Fun!

My Etsy Shop Black Friday through Cyber Monday Sale:

•••• 20% off all orders + free shipping worldwide ••••

No promo code necessary! Shipping fees have already been marked down for all shipping destinations. The 20% discount for your entire order will be reimbursed via PayPal within a few days once payment is completed. Please see my Etsy shop announcements for any further details.

Check out my Etsy shop:

Funky Felter Basic Needle Felting Kit for Beginners Now Available in My Etsy Shop!

2009-11-25T07:00:00.000-08:00

After many requests from me for a felting kit, I have finally made one for basic needle felting. You can find it in my Etsy shop. I hope to do a few more handmade feltmaking kits in the near future so be on the lookout if you have been longing to learn to felt.

A Who from Whoville lives with me!

2009-11-24T14:23:00.000-08:00

My little Who from Whoville, also known as baby Rowynn :) My sister's friend said that she looked like a "Who" from the grinch movie in this photo. I have to agree, but I think she is also the cutest "Who" ever!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone! You can obviously see what I'm most thankful for this year.

Are you into Twitter? Check out TweetDeck and Follow Me!

2009-11-23T16:01:00.000-08:00

I have just recently started to use Twitter regularly. I had tried it in the past, and it just seemed like a lot to keep up with since I do have a new baby at home now. I discovered TweetDeck though, and it has made keeping up with things SO much easier!! I highly recommend it. You do have to download it though, but it is a wonderful application that allows you to easily post to twitter, facebook, and myspace all from the same place. You can also check all the options on those applications in one place. It saves me a bunch of time and is super easy to use. If you do a lot of promoting for your business, check it out and consider downloading it. I feel it is totally worth it!

And, if you tweet, please......

50% OFF Scavenger Hunt this week in my Etsy shop and also upcoming Black Friday/Cyber Monday KCEtsy Sales Event

2009-11-23T15:32:00.000-08:00

I am doing two promotional specials this week. Today through Thursday (11/23 - 11/ 26), I will be having a 50% off Scavenger Hunt Sale in my Etsy shop. What is this? Well, I randomly mark down select items by 50% and you have to find them. These will be scattered throughout my shop and change from day to day or even hour to hour so you'll have to be quick to make your purchase if you find an item that you like! (And, you don't have to worry about any refunds via PayPal this time because the markdowns will already be made on each item.) It is a great time to buy your handmade Holiday gifts!

Coming up on Black Friday through Cyber Monday (11/27 - 11/30), I will be participating with my local Kansas City Etsy Street Team's sale event. Please check the KCEtsy blog for more immediate details as well as my blog and my Etsy shop toward the end of the week for further information. Over 20 shops are participating with specials ranging from freebies to percentages off to free shipping or a combination of these.