Too busy to blog!

I'm happy to say that over the past few weeks I've been too busy to blog. That's because I've been stitching my little heart out. I've gotten several things done to give as gifts and some things to list for sale.

This is one of my latest sale items. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160386060175&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

It turned out so cute. Here's one of my others that I got done. This is a cute feather tree pattern with holiday buttons on it (picture at the right).




Here's another one I finished and listed on ebay. It's a
foam block covered in fabric with the cross stitch on the front
with cording and ribbon. Warm & Wooly Winter Time!

Hope everyone is having a great time getting ready
for Christmas. Here is a link to photos of my completed items on Flicker.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stitchcrafts/

New work

I finally found a little time this morning to get a few items finished so I can list them. It's hard to get anything done with deer hunters popping in and out but my mighty hunters are finally in the woods instead of on my couch. Here are a few pics of what I got done. The first one is a Bethlehem quilt block pattern with a Merry Christmas sticker on the front that I put into a card.








This one is a Prairie Schooler Santa stepping into a chimney that I placed into a card also. I think they both turned out rather well. Hope any interested buyers think so as well.

Working on a cute cat pattern for the holidays and hope to have it done today. Guess I better go stitch.

Happy crafting everyone!

Sales again

I sure haven't managed to get much stitched in the past week. Hubby has been off work since Friday for deer season and my house has been filled with hunters. I spend a lot of time cooking warm meals for the cold hunters. We are fortunate enough to own 50 acres in mid-Missouri and that allows my husband and his dad to hunt here instead of packing up for deer camp. No deer yet. They are just watching them, waiting for that big brute of a buck to come along.

I did have 4 sales on e-bay over the weekend so my perseverance has paid off. Hope all you crafters are getting sales as well.

Stay warm and dry!

I think I lost my mojo!

I was doing better with sales until this past week. Crashed and burned with no sales. My word of the month for October was perseverance so that's what I'll do. Sure hope you all are having tons of sales during this pre Christmas time. I'm sticking with it and have listed a couple of things on ebay and in my etsy shop.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=33354815


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160376699746&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

Hope this week is kinder to me and for all of you.

Ebay listings for this week, November 1 - 7.

I've got 7 items listed on ebay this week. Check them out. I stitched a really cute reindeer peeking out from behind a Christmas tree with seed beads on it. Also stitched a funky, retro tree with buttons as the ornaments.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160374649063&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160374648011&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

Indian Summer

We are finally getting our Indian summer here in the midwest. After at least 12 inches of rain in October, November started out warmer and thankfully drier. Now I'm trying to play catch up with the 7 acres of leaves now covering our yard. It's a never ending job usually but this year all the leaves fell over night.

Loving this weather though. 70's today and sunny. Happy crafting everyone!

My perseverance is paying off

My word for the month was perseverance and it is starting to pay off. I've had 3 sales over the weekend and am hoping for many more. My goal this month was to keep listing things for sale, promote and try and improve my sales. So far I've had about 6 sales in the past 2 weeks and I find that I am liking it!

I hope the holiday sales are picking up for everyone. Persevere!

New Cross Stitch cards

I was a busy stitcher this week and finished 3 cross stitch pictures that I turned into 5 X 7 cards. The weather has made it easy this past week to sit and stitch. It was cold, dreary, windy, and rainy almost every day. Here's what I got accomplished.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160372582425&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160372584230&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

Twitter

I've done like many of you other crafters out there and joined a few of the social media sites to self promote my items. I joined facebook, flickr, started blogging, and joined twitter. My favorite thing to do, I hate to admit, is tweet.

All this week I've been conducting a mini survey of my own to see if it really helps with getting your items seen. I can honestly say that it does. I wrote down the views for some of my items and then tweeted about them. The views on my Etsy items and e-bay items definitely went up compared to last weeks views when I wasn't into shameless self promoting.

Now I haven't had a sale from any of my tweets but at least there are more people out there looking at my crafts. And that's a good thing!

Etsy vs. Ebay

Let me state that I just love Etsy! The site is easy to use, not too expensive (that's if you don't relist items constantly), and has a pretty big following. I had 22 items up for sale for almost 2 months and made 1 sale in 4 months. I've done all the marketing of my shop I can do but to no avail.

Many people now think of E-bay as a flea market atmosphere. I can see why they would feel that way. But lately I have had much more success on E-bay than on Etsy.

Over the weekend I sold three cards that I had listed on E-bay. The previous week I sold 2 cards that I had listed in my Etsy shop for over 6 months. I didn't make a huge amount of money with these sales on E-bay but those same three cards sat in my Etsy store for a month and though I got alot of views, no buyers!

I'm trying hard with both venues to sell my craft and make some money. I set reasonable prices for handmade goods, offer the lowest shipping I can, all to make a few dollars. I am going to keep plugging along, building up sales (hopefully), to get my handmade goods out there.

Perseverance

Perseverance is my word for the month. The definition of perseverance is a steady persistence in adhering to a course of action, a belief, or a purpose.

I am determined to keep creating, finishing, and listing items regularly so I can hopefully get a following of buyers. I am the first to admit that I don't now and never have had much perseverance but I am determined to give it my all this month.

Check out my some of my listed items.


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160370596006&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160370595240&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

Cold & Rainy so I'm stitching

It is so hard to believe that we are supposed to be experiencing our Indian Summer here in mid-Missouri since the temperatures have been hovering around 50 degrees. We got 4 inches of rain last week in about 24 hours and now we are supposed to get 2 more. Cold, miserable rain falling lightly that makes me want to snuggle down into my chair and stitch.

I started on a Santa pattern a day ago and am making pretty good progress so far. I hope to finish it today and start on something new. I'm always looking forward to the next project even while I'm trying to finish the current one.

Stay warm and dry!

Back to normal routine

Today everyone is getting back to their normal routine. Yeah! All my husband's tests last week came out negative or normal. He's a healthy, manly 50 year old and it looks like I will be blessed with his company for many years to come. Thank goodness!

Now that the rest of the family is off to work and school I am hoping that I can find the time to get back to stitching and such. I did manage to get a few items listed on ebay last night. Here's the turkey card I worked on a week ago. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160369096627&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

I'm hoping to sell a few more things this week while I'm working on some new patterns.

Have a great week!

All is well! And I'm exhausted.

My hubby and I spent the last two days together. Not the romantic vacation type days but one day he got a colonoscopy and today he had a cardiac cath done. I'm happy to report that both tests went well. He has no blockages at all in his heart arteries. Doctor said they were big and beautiful, and clean. That's a huge relief and a lot off of our minds. Now he's quietly napping the day away while I'm playing catchup. I was up at 4 am this morning to get some things done before we left for the testing at 5:15 a.m. He slept like a baby until 5 a.m. Yesterday morning I was up at 4:30 a.m. while he slept peacefully until 6:00 a.m. I'm exhausted! He's feeling sleepy!!

In spite of the fun I'm poking about him sleeping so much, I am thrilled beyond words that he's gotten a clean bill of health and we can spend many more years together in good health.

Check out this etsy seller!

I just found this beautiful pendant on etsy. The colors are what caught my attention. Great for fall and a really good price too.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=29546919

Started on an owl cross stitch pattern

I finished this adorable turkey last night and made it into a card. This other piece is one I stitched over the summer, it says "Here comes the sun" and is by Bent Creek.

I started on a really cute owl pattern this afternoon. I didn't get much done on it yet but maybe this weekend.

Forgot to blog

Wow! It's been almost a week since I last blogged. I've been doing really well in blogging at least 4 or 5 times a week but got off track this week. We've had a hectic health week. I've been busy setting up medical tests for my hubby. Seems like he turned 50 just a week ago and has decided to fall apart. Have a colonoscopy scheduled for Monday and a cardiac cath scheduled for Tuesday. Not looking forward to next week at all.

Right now he's on a restricted diet for the colonoscopy and he's already getting cranky. Can't wait until Sunday when he's on a liquid diet. I keep warning the kids not to poke the bear on Sunday because I'm sure he'll bite since he will be starving.

I'm hoping and praying all the tests come out with positive results. Be back to blogging when I can.

Have a great weekend.

Cross stitching on a rainy day.

What a beautiful fall day here in mid-Missouri! I woke up at 6:00 a.m. this morning to the patter of rain. It's been raining here off and on all day so I just curled up in my chair and stitched to my hearts content. Is there any better way to spend the day than doing something you love to do?

Yippee!!

Got online last night to check my listings on ebay and discovered I had a sale on Esty. YIPPEE!!! It's so thrilling to see that e-mail telling you that you have a sale. Even one sale makes it all worthwhile.

Now I'm feeling more motivated so I'm off to finish my santa whimsey.

Have a great day everyone!

How I learned to cross stitch

When I was about 15 years old, I ended up with a horrible case of strep throat. My grandma, who was living with us at the time, thought I could relieve my boredom by cross stitching. She purchased me an adorable kit that would look great in a child's room when finished and proceeded to teach me how to get started.

I admit I wasn't hooked at first because it took me at least 4 years to finish that piece. Once it was done though I was hooked. I ended up getting that piece framed and gave it to my sister when her daughter was born.

I stitched randomly over the next 5 to 10 years because I'll admit I was a normal teenager and didn't have much time to spend stitching. It wasn't until my second child was born that I picked it up again and I haven't stopped since. My baby is now 14 and I stitch some every day. It's my therapy.

Books

I don't know about you all but I am an avid reader. I could devour at least 4 or 5 books a week if I didn't have to deal with every day life. Darn life! Sometime this year I just got to where reading just couldn't keep my interest. That is until last week.

I found a new author named Hunter Morgan who has a series of books that I encountered in my local library. The first book was She'll Never Tell, the second was She'll Never Know, and the last was She'll Never Live. Great series about a serial killer in a small town named Albany Beach. I enjoyed them alot. Check them out!

Are you feeling richer?

Are you feeling richer? According to the news last night Americans are feeling richer. This is due to the stock market taking an upward swing. Yeah, right!

I don't know about the rest of you, but my husband and I aren't feeling any less of a pinch these days due to stocks "reacting favorably". Grocery prices are still high, gas is still high, and our paycheck is still exactly where it was a few years ago.

I got so pissed off last night at that announcement that my poor husband must have thought that at any moment my head would start spinning around and bile would come shooting out of my mouth. I ranted and raved about the stupid, over paid politicians who are trying to convince us that the economy is turning around. Let them try to live "richly" off of the pay we regular folks receive and see if they are feeling rich at the end of the day.

Sorry! Just had to vent. This was the final straw for me, especially after more layoffs at my hubby's work last week. Fortunately he wasn't one of them but we feel the axe looming over our heads on a daily basis while the big wigs talk about making more cuts because they aren't getting enough profits. I'm so sorry, Mr. Big Wig that your monthly bonus wasn't up to your expectations. Earning $20,000 a month just isn't enough I guess.

Thanks!

I'd like to thank the people who commented on my earlier post about being discouraged. I'm not giving up because I don't know what I would do in my down time if I didn't stitch. It's what I do to relax. I'm one of those people who can't sit still. I've always got something in my hands either stitching, reading, or doing puzzles on my daughter's Nintendo DS.

I think I get this from my grandma who was always stitching, knitting, or crocheting no matter where she was.

Thanks again for your support and keep doing what you love to do.

Keeping busy

I've been keeping busy working on new cross stitch stuff. Here are some of my new just finished items I have listed on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160363202850&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160363205975&_trkparms=tab%3DSelling

I'm currently working on a Santa whimsy and looking through my patterns for yet another project.

Feeling discouraged!

I'm a positive person, I see the glass as half full, but right now I am feeling so discouraged about trying to sell my creations online. I do everything I can think of to promote and sell my cross stitched creations but to no avail.

I use Etsy, Ebay and Artfire as sources for selling online. I tweet, post in forums, use facebook fanpage and talk to anyone who has a pulse about my shops, crafts, and my passion for cross stitch. What's a seller to do?

Any advice from my fellow crafters would be greatly appreciated.

Have a good one!

Happy Monday!

Kids are off to school, hubby off to work and it's time to restore my house to it's previous splendor (you know, Friday when everyone was gone and I had the whole house clean and pretty for a few hours).

Heading off to clean house and then see what I can create. Happy Monday, y'all!

Promoting

Promoting is a necessary evil when you are trying to sell your own crafts online. I, at first, didn't want to get involved in all the promoting sites because after all it's time consuming. Let me tell you the real reason I resisted, FEAR!

I consider myself somewhat computer savvy even if I am in my mid 40's and have been a SAHM for the last 14 years, but some of the ways of promoting your own business just scared the beejesus out of me. I decided to be brave and tackle Facebook. After all, my own 16 year old daughter was on Facebook, how hard could it be.

I'm still confused by Facebook. I have managed to get a personal page and a fan page up and running. http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/StitchcraftsonEtsy?ref=ts This is my fan page. I'm also proud to say that I twitter, blog, and have 2 Facebook pages. Not bad for a middle aged mom.

But what the heck is it with the Farkle, farming, and other stuff on Facebook? I guess I'll figure that out one day too.

Now I'm waiting to see if all this promoting pays off. But if it doesn't at least I've made new friends along the way and I've learned something new. You can teach an old dog new tricks!

Christmas Tree Sampler Standup/Block with plaid fabric

Here's the newest piece I just listed in my Etsy store. I had listed it on ebay but no luck there. Changed the ribbon to green instead of a solid red I had and put it on Etsy.

Finished my pumpkin that I was working on. Now I have to figure out what I want to stitch next. I love to look through my patterns but often get sidetracked for hours looking through them and trying to decide what to make.

What should I stitch? Something just cute, something floral, holiday themed, Santa, country, I just can't decide. Helpppppp!!!!!

Where are the sales?

Where are all the sales? I've been working hard, sometimes I think I work harder at promoting than I do on my craft, but my sales have been lagging. What's a crafter to do? Somehow I need to find a balance between promoting and crafting. Darn this internet! I easily get sucked into reading other crafters blogs, viewing others shops, blogging, tweeting, posting. It's a vicious circle I can't seem to get out of.

Deep soothing breath, chanting to myself. Great! Now I'm talking to myself. I'm outta here. Going to stitch my way to a calmer, peaceful place.

Happy crafting everyone!

Stitching time

I'm sure there are other crafters out there who find it difficult to get that little block of time when you can work on your craft. Another three day weekend gone and I didn't stitch a thing. Now it's Tuesday and my house looks like a giant picked it up and shook it. Took me a solid 4 hours of cleaning, doing laundry, washing, wiping, dusting, etc. to get it back in shape. Unfortunately it will only take around 1/2 an hour for the results of my work to disappear. But for now I'm off to stitch.

I'm not stitching

I haven't stitched a bit over the last 2 or 3 days. It seems like once I get out of my rhythm I find it hard to get back into the groove.

I'm not sure if other moms notice this but when my husband is home at an off time of day for him, the whole routine of the house gets thrown off. I told my hubby the other night to just stay out of the way until 6:30 am when we would be done getting ready to head out for the day. I think I hurt his feelings but he would have upset our morning routine and it was much easier to keep him out of the way than to change the routines of three people.

I'm probably the only mom looking forward to Tuesday when things will go back to normal! I apologize to my family for feeling this way but I am a creature of habit and routine.

Busy Day

I didn't find time to stitch today. Somehow my husband and I ended up with doctor appointments on the same day within 20 minutes of each other so we went together and then went and had breakfast. It was nice to spend some time together but I can think of better places to do that.

I've been working on a pumpkin/fall pattern and it's almost done. Can't wait to finish it and turn it into something for the fall and upcoming holiday season.

Just Finished

I just finished the turkey that I took pictures of while I was working on it. Here's how the finished product turned out. The first picture is of course the front, the one next to it is the side view. I'm happy with the finished standup picture.

I listed it on etsy just a little bit ago. Look for my stuff at www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5451311

I also finished another standup today that is Christmas themed. It's a tree with with the word NOEL underneath and letters of the alphabet framing the tree.

Fall

Definitely feels like fall here and I guess that's why I've been inspired to stitch fall themed patterns. Today I plan to turn some of my stitchings into completed products. I'm anxious to see how they turn out.

Finished one, started another

I think I've finally got my groove back. Finished stitching my turkey yesterday and started on a pumpkin pattern. I feel like making fall stuff I guess because the weather here in mid-Missouri is fall like.

It was 49 degrees this morning. The pool is steaming and now I wish that I had gotten in and removed the steps before the cool down. I'll just have my husband do it! He can thank me later! Ha! Ha!

Off to stitch. Happy day!

Works in Progress

I found lots of time to stitch yesterday since my kids were up all night at slumber parties and needed to sleep in. I finished a "Noel" picture and worked on a turkey. I'm hoping to find the time to turn them into some kind of lovely creations.

Where did the day go?

Wow! Yesterday just flew by. I was busy from sun up until sun down. I know everyone else is busy too but as a SAHM I usually have a little breathing time while the kids are in school and I get my chores all done. Guess it was the fact that the kids only had a 1/2 day of school on Friday.

Did manage to do a little stitching last night while shuttling my son to the movies and back. I'm working on a turkey pattern that I'm planning to turn into a fabric cube with the picture on the front and some pretty embelishments. Hope it turns out well. I'll put a picture on here when I get a chance or I get it done. Whichever comes first.

Floss tip edit

On yesterdays blog about doubling your floss, I just realized that I forgot to tell you to run your needle through the loop on the back side of the fabric. This cinches down your first stitch and eliminates the need to cover the loose ends of your threads when starting with a new piece of floss. This is an easy way to make the back of your work neater.

Didn't have much time to stitch yesterday but I did finish a small Christmas piece I was working on. Now I've got to choose what I want to do next. I'm thinking a turkey for the fall season that's coming up.

Have a great day and be creative!

A tip for stitching

I've been stitching for years and even I learned something new recently. When starting a new piece of floss, I cut it to about 30 inches, seperate one strand from the six strands and then thread my needle with the single piece of floss folded in half. Doing this keeps you from having to stitch over the flapping thread on the back of your piece to secure the floss and gives you less mess on the back of your piece.

Cross stitching

Cross stitching seems to be a hobby or craft that has gone by the wayside. Other crafts such as making jewelry, soaps, body lotions and potions have pushed what once was a creative past time into oblivion.

I get a huge amount of satisfaction from taking a paper pattern, a blank piece of material and turning out a highly detailed work of art. Patterns can be very intricate with lots of detail or much simpler and old fashioned looking. No matter what the pattern, when you are finished, you have a beautiful piece of art.

The hardest part, to me, about cross stitching is deciding upon the one pattern in my library of patterns to stitch. I can spend hours flipping through my patterns until one just begs to be stitched.

If you haven't tried cross stitching, maybe it's time to give it a chance.

Cross Stitching

It's been a great summer but I 've not had any time to cross stitch. Between the kids, garden, yard, pool, and all the other general things to do, I haven't had time to do any cross stitching. School starts in a couple of weeks so I am going to work stitch time into my daily schedule.

Cross stitching has been a great way for me to relax and stay busy for years. Just recently I decided to try and make some money from my favorite past time. Unfortunately, I have been viewing this as a hobby instead of a job and haven't been too successful. Now I'm looking at it as my job.

Check out my shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5451311

Rainy Day

Woke up this morning with no electric which means no coffee. What a way to start the day. Had to wait for electric to come on before I could run my errands. Made my whole day run behind. I did at least get one thing listed on etsy today.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25010545

I think it turned out pretty darn cute. Better head off to start stitching again. Tomorrow is another busy day.

Will I stitch today?

Here it is another beautiful day and I'm wondering if I will find the time to stitch. I actually got in about an hour of cross stitching on Thursday. Yeah! I'm hoping to be able to list some more things in my etsy shop over the weekend. Check it out!

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5451311

Time

This is a first for me, blogging! I sure hope I'll be able to find the time to blog. Can't seem to find the time to cross stitch since the kids are out of school. Seems like time is my enemy lately. Not enough in the day to tend to the kids, house, garden, pool, and the million other things that need to be done.

Well until next time. Happy stitching!

stitch crafts