Craft Ideas & How-To's, News

A Lil DIY Elbow Grease

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Who doesn’t love a little DIY to hack the system? Makes us feel accomplished…makes us feel like ninjas.

It can also save a life. What do I mean by that? Well, today’s DIY has to do with household cleaning products. If you’re like me, then you may be a little bit wary of certain cleaning products sold in the marketplace. A lot of them have harsh detergents; chemicals that aren’t all that friendly to us. Or perhaps we are simply allergic.

Today’s 12 DIY household cleaning products may be just the thing for you, then. Take a look and put a lil elbow grease into it.

Read the full article here: 12 Easy Household Cleaning Recipes

Craft Ideas & How-To's, News

Maple Leaves On My Mind

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Depending on where you live in the country, you may definitely have access to falling leaves still. Leaves can be quite beautiful, especially if preserved and later repurposed on gifts or as wrapping.

Take a moment to look at this method of leave preservation that you may find helpful and simple for this holiday season.

Read the full article here: Preserve Fall Leaves

Commentary, Craft Ideas & How-To's

Stay Sharp, My Friends!

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Being the crafties that you are, I’m sure there are two things that you always have on hand: Your glue gun and your rotary blade.

I also bet that you not only have them on you, but you take care of them because these are the tools of your trade, er…craft.

Well, today we have a nice, simple way of caring for one of those weapons in your armament: the rotary blade.

Would you like it to last a bit longer than the norm? In other words, want to learn how to keep it sharp and cutting evenly for longer periods of time?

I’m sure you get tired of exchanging that blade out all the time…all because you want that sharp edge and precise cut. And you know as well as I do, changing out those blades costs a bit of money. Things can add up over time, especially when you have glue sticks to buy!

So what can you do? Well, a simple trick to keep that blade healthy and stealthily sharp. It follows the same concept as sharpening a knife. But instead of using an expensive sharpening tool, you have a simple and easy alternative (read: cheap) already in place at home.

What is it? A bit of tin foil.

Want to know what to do with it and how to use it? Well, take a look at today’s article.

Read the full article here: How to Sharpen Your Rotary Blade

Craft & Soap Business, News

Better Than a Business Card

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What’s that you say? What could be better than a business card? How about a personalized paperclip to go with that business card?

When you pass out your business card to people at trade shows, it’s really just another card that goes into their hand, perhaps their wallet, but most likely out the door soon after.

However, if you attach that card with a personalized paper clip to either a business brochure or the receipt, you are giving people a visual anchor to remember you by.

Think about it, visualize it, and read the article.

Read the full article here: Decorative Paper Clips

Craft Ideas & How-To's, News

Piggy Bank for the Little Munchkins

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Even though Halloween is over now, this is still a great idea for the holiday season. We have for you today a little “piggy bank” that you can fill with your tyke’s favorite candies.  You may want to repurpose this as a Christmas gift and fill it with some yummy candies for the little tykes in your midst.

Or who knows, maybe you don’t have to be so little to enjoy this one. You can have it filled with some awesome candies for your best friend and put a bow on it.

Anything you do, this one will be nice, and very easy to make.

Read the full article here: DIY Halloween Candy Jar

Commentary, Craft Ideas & How-To's

Make Your Little Guys Big Heroes With This Fun Craft

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We loved seeing the movie Big Hero 6 over the weekend. It’s a lot of fun for the family with great jokes and a great message. Great for the kids and even adults (who I know!) that have the big kid inside of them.

C’mon, everybody loves a hero! And now, with this new craft, you can carry around your own Big Hero 6 in your pocket. We have a fun little craft you can do together with your loved ones. It’s really simple, and so you can give the joy of having your young ones create the majority of this on their own.

It’s a tin carrying case made out of an altoids case. Now, to go along with one of the running gags in the movie, this is purposed to carry bandages. But you can actually use it to carry anything, and the design will still carry through.

The supplies are very simple and easy to obtain. It will be a lot of fun to do with your younger girls and guys and they will certainly enjoy carrying this around in their own back packs. That’s another reason why I think you can repurpose it. Instead of just having it hold bandages, let them use it as a carrying case for almost anything (well, anything that will fit into the case).

So take a look at the full (and simple) article, and have fun together.

Read the full article here: Big Hero 6 Craft: Baymax Bandage Tin

Craft Ideas & How-To's, News

Jack’s Back

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Here’s a great Christmas idea for you this year…instead of making Christmas cookies make Jack Snack Soaps!

You remember Jack, he’s the crazy skeleton who tried to steal Christmas in Tim Burton’s unique (read: crafty!) and eventful movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Why soap? Because just like Jack tried to steal Christmas and do things his way, you can create soap and leave in your bathroom this holiday…it will look so good people won’t know whether to use it or eat it.

Take a look at the picture and instructions and go get your craft on, you crafties!

Read the full article here: Melt and Pour Soap: Skeleton Cupcake

Craft Ideas & How-To's, News

Thanksgiving is Rolling in soon…

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So here are a few ideas of crafts to impress the friends, neighbors and most of all family, who will be coming to your home this season.

These particular crafts are easily done, use materials that are not hard to come by, and my personal favorite…are not very expensive at all.

You’ll learn how to make stunning placement holders and utensil settings for your table, and other great holiday ideas.

So take a look today and enjoy.

Read the full article here:  10 DIY Thanksgiving Place Setting Ideas

Commentary, Creative and Marketing Advice

From Hobby to Career

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One of the beautiful things about this craft hobby we have and love so much is the fact that if you love it to death, and are passionate about it, then it can definitely become more than just a hobby. It can become a career. That’s what has happened for many people I know, friends who have been passionate about their craft, who are really great at it, and have found some success about it.

Their passion has taken them from the local craft show to stores on etsy and portfolios on pinterest. This growing trend has been absolutely awesome and awe-inspiring to watch.

Maybe you have a desire to grow more in this area and are wondering how to start. Well, if you do find yourself thinking about such things, we have a little treat for you today. The Weapons of Mass Creation is a conference held every year focused on those who are building there own brand craft companies. It gives ideas, direction, and even stories from others who have gone before to inspire.

The nice thing about this conference is that they place many of their speakers presentations online, and you can take a look today at this wonderful conference and find a bit (or my guess is “a lot a bit”) of inspiration from these awesome crafties.

Watch and be inspired! Take a look here for one of the videos, and then take the jump for some more goodness:

Now take the jump…

Read the full article here: Weapons of Mass Creation

Commentary, Craft & Soap Business

How to Heighten Your Craft Business’ Holiday Cheer

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The busiest season in retail has begun and this is the perfect opportunity to market your soaps, your handmade clothing, art, and other crafts for the holiday rush. Making small changes to your usual selling strategy might help fill Santa’s sack with a little bit extra money than usual.

First, remember that your customers might not be buying for themselves, so imagine who your customers might be buying for. Check your inventory and maybe re-write the product description to include people who would like this product as a gift (example: “cute blanket for your friend’s new baby”). Next, cross-promote and collaborate with other online shops. Sending an email to your customer list with recommendations for another shop as your collaborator does with his or hers will hopefully gain more customers for the both of you. It might not hurt to offer free shipping either, especially for large orders. Following some or all of these tips might help give you an even happier holiday season. For a full article on this topic, click here:: 3 Business Boosting Tips for the Upcoming Holidays