How to make a DIY Ribbon & wool storage box from an old shoe box video tutorial

I was tired of my ribbons becoming all tangled and unravelled plus the constant being unrolled for fun by either my youngest children or my puppy! 

Hence the inspiration (or desperate need) to DIY make this ribbon storage  box to hold my ribbons and bakers twine, it could even hold wool or thread for knitters & crocheters ....       

Before ....   

During

After

Here's a quick video showing you the details up close & personal ...      How pretty & efficient is that old shoe box now? 

Have you DIY'd any of your craft materials storage solutions? I'd love to hear about them!

Craft store demonstrations can boost your craft business visibility & success!

Like attracts like, yes?

If you've spent time thinking about the type of customers that your business needs to attract then it's likely you've also identified that these customers are also likely to be craft product purchasers. 

Why not try asking your local craft, hobby or creative stores if they'd like to offer a hands-on, live demonstration in store to help attract customers to the store? 

Chances are they'll welcome the extra publicity and potential custom and you'll be able to raise awareness of yourself and your business. 

Win, win - right?

# Ask local craft stores if you can demonstrate techniques to their customers

How to dress up your gift packages video tutorial using Stampin' Up! ribbons

Who doesn't like to receive fabulously dressed gifts? 

Sometimes what's on the outside can be better than what's on the inside ;)

And I can't be the only person who saves the extra special wrapping? ;)

Here's how to dress your packages to create works of packaging art using just ribbons .. 

20 themed ideas to keep your craft creations fresh, timely, on trend & in demand

Keeping your products and services in demand is hard work. Using themes to create and craft to gives you a structure to enable you to plan ahead and ensure your products & services are always fresh, timely & capturing the major purchasing trends.

Here are the top 20 main UK celebration themes you can use to plan and theme your future creations:

• Christmas
• Easter
• St Patricks day
• Summer holidays
• Starting school term
• Halloween
• Harvest
• Wedding season
• Valentines Day
• Mothers Day
• Fathers Day
• New Years Day
• Burns Night
• Chinese New Year
• St Davids 
• Pancake Day/Shrove Tuesday
• At Georges Day 
• Diwali
• Bonfire night
• Rememberance Sunday 
• St Andrews Day
• Hanukkah

#58 Create to a calendar theme for fresh, timely & on trend products 

that people are looking to buy

How to make a handmade paper flower bouquet with Stampin' Up! craft products

My paper peony bouquet heralds a riot of Spring blooms in ombre shades of daintly named pinks ranging from Raspberry ripple, Strawberry slush, Blushing bride & Pink pirouette the perfect colours for celebrating!!

My project was inspired by the gorgeous new 'just need to make it' Stampin Up Burlap & Blooms wreath kit, the the new Spiral flowers original die which is perfect for handmaking your own blooms and the cute little Petite Petals punch. 

I've also used the new Spring/Summer hostess stamp set Natures Hello for parts of the foliage to add a little green to the pink!

The key to making any handmade flowers is layering - the more layers you use the better the flowers will look! I just love the flower centres from the Burlap and Blooms wreath kit.

If you'd like to make your own handmade paper peonies and need supplies then pop over to my online Stampin Up store - don't forget with all orders of £45 you get to choose a free products from the fabulous Sale-a-bration range!

10 simple sales & marketing tips to skyrocket your craft business summer sales

Summer can traditionally be a slow time for sales - here's 10 quick ideas on how you can sky rocket your summer sales!

Using your social media platforms, your customer newsletters (you do have one, don't you?), your printed promotional materials, your website and/or blog tell everyone you know or who knows you that you're having a summer special for a limited time period (don't forget to specify when it ends!)

Try one of my summer sales step-ups a week over the summer months (or whenever the slowest sales time is in your calendar) and see which ones work best for you!

• Buy one get one free! Buy two get the third free!
• Buy a product and receive a small gift!
• Free gift wrap or delivery or gift with every purchase!
• Spend £x and receive a discount on your next order!
• If a friend buys you both get something free!
• Enter a competition to win!
• Share our info & get a discount!
• Sign up for updates/latest news & get a discount code!
• Collect loyalty points for a money off voucher!
• Buy a product and get a discount off a related product!

 

#57 Draw up a repertoire of sales tactics to boost sales during slow times, 

test them out & see which your customers prefer & works best for your business

How to make handmade hair bows video tutorial using Stampin' Up! ribbons & buttons

As mummy to four hairstyle concious young girls, I'm always looking for cost saving ways to keep up with the latest trend in hair accessories!

This fabulous video tutorial shows how easy it is to make handmade hair bows & accessories using Stampin' Up! buttons and ribbons (scraps!!) that are totally unique and can be personalised to each recipient.

Happy hair days are here again ;)

1 simple marketing & sales tip to keep your craft customers coming back time and time again

If you find a seller, site, book, blog or other resource that provides entertaining, useful, interesting, helping and valuable information perhaps answering questions, pointing you in the right direction, giving you hints & tips to try  you'd keep going back to it for more, wouldn't you. 

And you'd rave about it to others too. 

Image c Unsplash

You too can be that resource 

You can be a mine of information, advice & helpfulness on your chosen creative or craft speciality. 

You can be the go-to choice of those looking for information relating to your area of experience. 

You can be the business your customers love to do business with for not just the products they can buy but for all the extra that comes with it that exceeds their expectations. 

You can provide care instructions, useage instructions, wear instructions, background information, specials offers, ideas & inspiration and help tell your products story. 

Who say's you can't soon be the #1 resource in your creative craft? 

#56 As well as selling a product or service, provide your potential and existing customers with a reason to keep coming back - be a useful, informative & entertaining resource to always look for ways to add extra value to their custom.

How to make a handmade HUGE paper gift bag from 1 piece of 12" x 12" Stampin' Up! paper video tutorial

My handbag size paper gift bag takes just 15 minutes to make, uses just 1 sheet of 12" x 12" patterned paper and is the perfect gift wrapping & packaging for gifts - you can theme it to match the recipients tastes & styles and imagine their delight when you present your gift in this gorgeous gift bag! It's part of our Mothers Day gift making week!

Inspired by the ever popular Radley range of handbags this gift bag is simple, quick, easy and inexpensive to make - perfect! Ready to get started? Check out the video tutorial to follow along!

The pom poms are a cute addition nabbed from the Sale-a-bration promotion Heartfelt Banner project kit(free with purchases of £45+ & ending 31st March so hurry!)  and really finish the handbag off perfectly :) 

The pom poms are strung with the equally delightful Sweet Sorbet accessory pack twine - also free with orders over £45 in Sale-a-Bration promotion! I've used the pom poms in a few other projects recently such as my Spring Fairy peg doll & pom pom bluebird and will be using them a lot for forthcoming Easter projects in a few weeks time!

I've used Stampin Up's retro fresh designer series paper coordinated with Bermuda Bay cardstock. The top note die cut enclosure is made using a different piece of paper from the same Retro Fresh paper range - I love these vibrant, fresh, funky designs! 

I've used some retired ribbon in this project but you'll hear in the video how Coastal Cabana ruffle edge trimwould be a perfect substitute! Tools wise, I've just used the Stampin Up Top Note die, Stampin Trimmer/Scorer, a standard office hole punch, the scallop edge border punch, and the 1 3/8" circle Stampin Up punch and a couple of Stampin up silver mini brads.

Keen to get started? Grab your supplies from my Stampin Up shop by clicking here! 

How to get fabulous customer marketing testimonials to boost your future creative craft business sales

After you've sold a product or service to a keen customer what happens next in your creative business? 

Do you get feedback? Do you ask what they thought about their experience of buying from you? 

Do you ensure they are kept informed on what your business is up to?

Obtaining feedback, whether positive or negative from your previous customers is a fabulous way to gauge how well you are delighting them, or letting them down. 

Without feedback how are you going to know what people think, like & say about your business? 

An added bonus of soliciting feedbak is, after obtaining permission, you can use it as 'social proof' - it's well know that positive testimonials from real customers helps persuade others to buy much  more than just your own claims about your good your product or service is.

After all, in Mark Zuckerberg's* words "Nothing influences people more than a recommendation from a trusted friend" 

#55 Start collecting feedback today, ask permission & publish it on your blog/website or printed materials as 'social proof' to influence others to purchase

*Co-founder & CEO of Facebook

How to make handmade boxes, bags & tags video tutorial using Stampin' Up! craft products

Boxes, bags and tags are the perfect way to finish off gift wrapping for a loved one - and Stampin' Up! make it so easy!

Here's a quick video tutorial showing how to make your own beautiful boxes, bags & tags - enjoy!

Why teaching others is one of the best marketing & sales tools for your creative craft business

Have you ever thought about teaching others your creative craft skills? 

Whether it's a couple hours in a once a month craft class, a meet up over coffee & cake to craft together or a more regular workshop to learn new craft skills & ideas, we all love to learn new things, hone our skills and meet fellow creatives & crafters. 

Plus it's a great way to get your business out there, talked about & noticed!

Holding your own classes to teach others skills isn't time consuming or difficult - simply put the word out that you're happy to show others how to make & create, invite them to your home or a local meeting place and charge a small fee for showing how to craft. Once a crafter, always a crafter and most crafters are multi talented and often wish to dabble in different crafts - & happy to come to you to learn! 

Whether your specialism is in classes are for knitters, sewers, scrap bookers, card makiers, embroiderers, jewelery makers, paper crafters, painters, artists, photographers, musicians, you provide materials to purchase, within a class fee or if they need to bring their own is your decision but what could be more enjoyable than crafting on a regular basis with friends?

#55 Hold classes in your creative craft specialism & teach others how to create & craft - it positions your business as a n informative & entertaining resource plus  you may profit from doing so!

How guest posting can accelerate your craft business marketing efforts FAST

Guest posting involves writing content and articles that will be published in your name on a related site owned by someone else. 

The benefits of guest posting are you're able to raise awareness of your product or service to a new audience, attract a new community of followers, build relationships with fellow business owners and be seen to be adding value and growing your influence in your niche.

Linking your blog to anothers also creates great search engine ranking juice which can raise the status of your own site. Conversely, you can invite guest posts to your own site again also creating valuable SEO links. 

What's not to like about guest posting?

# 54 Try guest posting as a way to reach new audiences

How to make owl shape party invitations with Stampin' Up! craft products tutorial

Owls seem to be a huge trend this year - my four daughters have gone owl crazy! 

If owls are order of the day in your house then here's a quick tutorial on how to make cute owl party invitations using Stampin Up craft products & punches.

Aren't they just cute? 

To make your own owl invitations or cards,you can use Stampin Up chocolate chip cardstock and this owl template found on Pinterest for the owls body & wings. 

The eyes are made from Stampin Up circle punches - 1" & 3/4" punches and the beak from the smaller of the triangles in the Stampin Up Petite Pennants punch. 

The feather frills over the body are made by cutting 1" wide strips of paper using the Stampin trimmer and then the scallop edge punch with the Crisp Cantaloupe, Strawberry Slush & Pistachio Pudding papers and then glued overlapping each other. 

The sentiment is from the Sketched birthday stamp set and has a dimensional on it and is clasped between the wings.

Wit woo be making some twit twoo? 

Are you making these 5 simple marketing mistakes with your craft fair, event & exhibition customers?

Craft fairs have exploded in popularity over the last few years and every year new ones crop up. 

Your sales experience may differ year on year depending upon the craft fair location, timing, economy and trends however these are the 5 biggest mistakes creatives & crafters make when exhibiting at them. 

c. javier baranda

Costly craft fair mistake #1 Looking miserable
Footfall may be slow, the weather may be poor, the refreshments may not be flowing, the visitors may not be spending but hey, they're more unlikely to buy from you if you're looking miserable, jaded, fed up & disinterested! Treat every visitor to your stall like royalty, get to know them, be helpful, friendly & fun & interested in what they have to say

Costly craft fair mistake #2 Not collecting contact details
The visitors come, they look at your products, they pick some up and then drift away without making a sale. How are they ever going to find you again? Engage them whilst they're browsing (you'll be able to tell if they want to be left alone!), give them a business card and ask for their contact details (name and email at minimum) so you can keep them updated on sales, discounts, new products - they can only say no!

Costly craft fair mistake #3 Comparing you products with others 
We are all unique in our creations and the way we run our businesses. therefore it doesnt pay to compare yourself or your products to someone else's. There's 7 billion people in this world and enough business for everyone. Be proud & confident with who you are, what you make and how you price. Being cheapest doesn't always give out a great vibe.

Costly craft fair mistake #4 Sometimes you'll fail to make a sale
Sometimes, the event just isn't the right match for you. If you've taken the time to scope out who your ideal customer is (and no it can't possibly be everyone!) and the event audience did not include these types of people then don't be disheartened. Instead focus on networking with other stall holders (no this doesnt mean gossiping or complaining together), focus on the fact you're out and about, focus on the fact that if you hadn't attended you wouldn't have made sales either. chalk it up to experience and try again at the next one.

Costly craft fair mistake #5 Ensure you have insurance
To attend craft fairs you most definitely require at least public liability insurance and dependant upon what you make and sell there may be other types of trading regulations you need to abide by. Ignorance is no defence so ensure you are legally compliant with all regulations so as not to put yourself or your customers in harms way. 

#53 You have just seconds to make an impression upon a potential customer. Smile, be friendly, engaging, helpful, confident & try not to get disheartened.

Super Stampin' Up! savings this week

All  of today's weekly deals available in my online Stampin' Up! shop until Tuesday 24th June 2014

Attract new customers with this simple but often forgotten marketing tip all craft businesses should use

Have you ever received a great service, product, deal or offer that got you all excited & delighted? 

Then you passed it on to a friend who was equally delighted with your generosity and thoughfulness and excited with the offer? 

Plus as your friend already trusts you, your judgement & your motives, they're more likely to trust the suppliers you recommend.  

#52 Introduce a referral reward for existing customers to share with their friends and contacts. It could be a discount, freebie or some other form of value recognition.