Have you ever wanted a nice calligraphic font to incorporate into your design? I was searching for the perfect font and came across this great site. Several fancy fonts are offered and they all look great.
Check them out here.

Before actually starting your own crafting business, some issues should be addressed. First, never infringe on someone else's copyrights. For example, you shouldn't take someone else's crochet pattern and sell it as your own. Most of the time you aren't even allowed to make the item from the pattern and sell the crocheted item you made. It's illegal. If you have the designer's permission, preferably in writing, it may be okay according to their guidelines. I've seen crafters do this sort of thing often, especially newbies. Please understand that this is theft and it's just downright wrong and unthoughtful.

Everyone has some creativity within themselves so learn to focus on your own design ideas. After a little practice it comes naturally without even thinking about it. Inspiration can come from anywhere--nature, family, through talking with someone else, television, magazines, etc.

"Necessity is the mother of invention." This is true and often this is where you will begin to develop for own ideas. Let's say, for instance, you can't find curtains the right size or the right look for your bedroom. Maybe you have an oddshaped window or ceiling (such as in an attic) so you decide you can come up with something yourself. Then you begin to experiment with a bedsheet. Soon you find the exact look you were after for free instead of paying big bucks for something you wouldn't be satisfied with in the first place.

Design ideas are like that with any craft. They flow through you once you learn to develop your creativity. Start thinking and creating!

If you do, start a blog. It's easy to navigate for the beginner and a great marketing tool for the experienced. It is also FREE! If you don't want to use the free domain assigned by the blog, you can purchase a domain name and redirect it to your site. Let's say I owned the domain name www.craftyliving.com and I wanted to use that site name for this blog. I can! I would go to whomever I bought the domain name from and ask them how to have it redirected to go to my free blog site on Blogger or Wordpress. This is a very cheap way to get started because a domain shouldn't cost more than $10 a year. What a deal!

Templates are available online for transforming your blog into a store!

In addition, if you use Blogger, you can import your Etsy items onto the front page of your blog. What a cool tool!!! Unfortunately, Wordpress doesn't offer this feature but Wordpress offers more templates to choose from.

You can easily import your craft photos onto your blog using Flickr. I've done this and absolutely think it is one of the easiest ways to do photos. I'm photo challenged and I don't like taking the time to upload and upload. This process is very tedious for me. By using Flickr I've learned that it doesn't have to take so much time because the tools are all built right in. It's an absolute time-saver.

Now that you have your own website, how are you going to drive traffic to it? Hmmm, this is a challege for everyone but there are some great tools out there and some are FREE! Maybe you can barter advertising space from another online business or join an online group for online businesses similar to your own. To advertise online, you first need a banner.

If you need help with a banner, there are several do-it-yourself banner sites out there you can use for FREE! Some of these ask for a small donation to keep the site up but it would be well worth it. One such site is www.BannerSketch.com. They have great-looking templates in a variety of themes.

Good luck with new online crafting business!

We hear so much these days about layoffs and closures that it is somewhat frightening to listen to everything we hear. As most of us know, we are facing huge changes here in the United States with unemployment rising almost daily.

What better time to be creative than now?

I've been trying to focus on what people need rather than what people want. What are you willing to pay for in times like these...mostly necessities, I suppose. Maybe a little treat tucked in every now and again but not too often. I know that for me, as a mom, it gets tough to say no to my kids all of the time. Everything sparks their imagination and also their "I want that" button.

If you make craft items geared toward children,
here is a word of warning--

Have you heard about the new CPSIA law? Be extra careful when crafting and labeling your crafts. This new law was passed as a cry to safeguard our children against excess lead in toys imported from China. Remember that big scare Christmas before last with the Mattel toys? You can read more about this law on different forums and blogs. Here's one link: http://www.allcrafters.com/forums/index.php?board=38.0

Children's items are required to undergo stringent lead testing procedures or the manufacturer (crafter in our case) can face hefty fines. This testing can be expensive I hear. I've read posts about many moms shutting their crafty doors due to this new law.

I wish I had answers for you, but at this time, everyone is still researching and begging for reform. We will just have to keep our eyes and ears open for updates.

Don't give up hope though. I haven't.

I am brainstorming and coming up with new ideas daily. Time changes everything. Nothing stays the same forever and we tend to have problems adjusting and accepting change easily. That doesn't mean we can't do it though. We can and we will.

Chin up and smile wide!

If you are like most of us out there in the world, you have apprehensions about using lye for making all of those beautiful cold process soaps that you see stocking the shelves at farmer's markets and high-end boutiques. Soap making can be quite profitable if you take the time to know your market and your technique. There are several methods for making those wonderful natural soaps. My preference is cold process soaps because of the look and feel of them. They take longer to cure and you do have to use lye in order to "cook" them. However, there is another method called rebatching, or sometimes referred to as hand-milling, which produces lovely soaps without having to be concerned about the lye. Below you will find an article I wrote explaining exactly what rebatched soap is.
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What is Rebatched Soap?

Rebatched soap (also sometimes called hand-milled or milled) is considered luxurious and sought-after by many consumers due to the pleasing texture. Milled soap is made by melting grated soap base and adding colorants, scents and other additives such as oatmeal, honey, coffee, cornmeal, liquified fruits and vegetables, etc. and then pouring the mixture into molds. It is best to use an unscented soap base because the scent will be present in your completed soap even with the addition of the other scents you add. For an excellent tutorial on hand-milled soaps visit http://www.rebatchsoapbase.com/.

Rebatched soap has many advantages to both soap makers and consumers. Consumers enjoy the elegant feel and look of it while soap makers enjoy experimenting with colors, scents and other ingredients. Another important factor in this method of soap making is that the lye is no longer present in milled soap. Scents, colorants and additives can be used to their fullest advantage without damage as in cold process soap. Molds such as vintage tins or muffin pans can be used without concern as in hot and cold process soaps.

Other points to remember when rebatching your soap are always wait to add your scents, dyes and additives just before pouring the remelted soap into the molds. You want to have a consistent color throughout your rebatch soap so make sure all lumps are melted because the colorants will not be absorbed into the unmelted particles. Also, if you are unable to make a perfectly smooth soap, it's okay. You will have speckled soap, which is very attractive.
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Okay, so what do you think about this method so far? It is a wonderful way to save time and to be able to enjoy the actual process of creating a luxurious soap perfect for resale.

Check back for recipes and links for using rebatch soap base for making your own soapy creations.