Crochet-a-thon Winner Interview - mcleodhandcraftgifts

This interview features mcleodhandcraftgifts who won with the item Spring Gemstone Like Fancy Ribbon Headband
Enjoy!
-Benji

Tell us a bit about yourself. A full time mom. full time wife, full time working person. A jack of all trades -- doing everything I know how in the business perspective. My husband and my income can sustain us, I don’t need to crochet to make money for living --- I crochet for fun, for the missions I support and for saving the dying art of knitting and crocheting. Apart from creating things, what do you do? Singing in the choir, Leading a ministry and assisting newcomers in my church, my area. Balancing life, work, church, family life and my professional career. What else ? gardening, reading, camping, fishing. What first made you want to become an artist? A broken heart. someone came to my church, told us that he just wanted a white house, a white picket fence. Let kids play soccer. Nothing fancy in life. Yet, he decided to give up everything, include the dream of living the average people's life and go to a poor country, to be a missionary. My heart was broken for him. And my church friends came back from Cuba, telling us what they saw, and what they did there. My heart was broken for them; Have you had kids knocking on your door, many times a week to raise a few dollars because they wanted to go to their mission trip ? I decided to knit something, to crochet something for them to auction off --- that is where the passion and determination came from. From there, a hobby became business. I am "famous" in my small world -- school, church, work. Two local Boutique stores sell my product. And my products are welcomed at local craft shows. I was told that I had the best thing in that craft show, and my customers pushed me to get a website set up. That is how I ended up here. Please describe your creative process. I am a truly blessed woman. I never learned how to read music, but I can sing. I never learned crochet jargon, but I can do knitting, just about making anything, from sweater to socks. I can do crocheting and can do other crafts as well. By looking at others, I will have an idea on how to create my own. What handmade possession do you most cherish? Silk shawls. They are just beautiful, elegant and upscale. I make one, people take one away. And it take much time to make it, adds more sentimental feelings towards them. What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy or the Create Crochet Team? I think we should expand our view to other area, to see how colors are being used and what the trends are, etc. Then come back, to better our crocheted projects. How do you promote your work? Most word of mouth. After the State Convention show, I sold out most of my stuff, but got calls and e-mails from those the customers who bought my scarves. Worked till Christmas Eve. A lady bought one scarf, sent to Colorado . Her sister wore the scarf one day, someone stopped her on the street, asking where she got the scarf. She sent the new customer to me. Now that I am on the Internet, I an learning to use Twitter, Facebook, etc. My child used to tease me: my mommy is sad, she has a blog no one reads it and has a website no one look at it. It was sad at the beginning. Now, after 3 months of up and running, I have 1,394 people visited this site. Over 9500 pages being viewed by people came from 82 countries all over the world. and over 600 people following me on Twitter. It wasn't that sad at all. Still, I need to understand how to use the social medial to promote my work, and not just publish my listing --- that is what I am doing now. In ten years, where would you like to be? Be successful in what I do, to create something people want, desire, love and cherish. To touch people's heart, to touch people's lives and to leave a legacy. What was your inspiration for your challenge piece? A shout of spring, the shine of gemstones come through the project.

Team Charity Event, continued

Hi everyone! This is Jennifer of The Hat Shop reporting in for duty in my new role as the blog and newsletter coordinator for the team.

As many of you already know, Debi of Peanut and Tommy is moving across the country and has to step down. She will be terribly missed, as she has been a wonderful, personable, and valuable member of the team! I haven't known her long, but she's been great to work with as we make the transition.

I started to make this post to display more of the beautiful items that are being made for our Team Charity Event at the Relay for Life in Kingman, Arizona, June 5-6...but there are far too many of them! Wow, there is some amazing generosity going on in this team of crafty crocheters. Please check out the photo album on our facebook page to scroll through all of the pictures.

Here are just a few!

1st row l-r: BenjaminKrudwig, Barbiloulou, StitchesbyJulie. 2nd row l-r: JDFootloose, PlayinHookyDesigns, mmg10

If you have posted a link to your pictures of Relay for Life items in the team forum thread and you don't see them in the facebook photo album, let one of our facebook coordinators know (Mamta and BenjaminKrudwig).

Keep those hooks moving and remember the deadline to mail your items is May 25. I can't wait to see the results of this great event!

Team Charity Project - Relay for Life

The CreateCrochet Team's latest charity project is to support the Relay for Life program.

Members of the team are making Chemo Caps and other goodies that will be sold at a booth at the Relay for Life at Kingman High School in Kingman Arizona the weekend of June 5-6, 2010.

This project is sponsored by our own team member CreationsbyM2, who will be organizing the booth as well as walking in the Relay.

All proceeds earned in the sale will go to the Relay for Life Foundation.

Here are some of the wonderful items that will be for sale:

A gorgeous set of crocheted chemo caps

from the Etsy shop of CharlotteLaughs.

Lovely hand crocheted caps from the Etsy shop of BigAlHats.

Beautiful feminine pink toppers from the shop of SheilaRHarden.

An adorable assortment of goodies from RemarkableCreations.

Please be sure to support our team by visiting each of these shops and, if you live in the Kingman Arizona area, stop by the team booth on June 5-6!

Crochet-a-thon Winner Interview - honeybee69

Here is the interview with Honeybee69!

Sorry it is so late! - Benji






A little about me. I am a stay at home mom to 3 kids. This year on May 4th will be Me and my hubby's 19th anniversary. 
Things I do besides create. Well I help my husband with his computer store. We are also building an addition on our house by ourselves. Other than that I run my kids all over for sports, music and church school. 
What first made me want to become an artist? Well it has always been in my life. I had a great grandma that crocheted. A grandma that could draw and made t-shirts. And my mom could crochet blankets and draw. She also made cakes of all kinds as long back as I can remember. So I guess because it was always there it was just natural to do something too.
My creative process. Hmmm. I dfeas just kind of pop in my head and I kind of work on them in my head trying to figure them out. Then I finally sit down with yarn and a hook and try to make the vision come to life. Sometimes it does and sometimes it takes more work.
What handmade possession do I most cherish? Well I actually have 2. My great grandma made all the grandkids dolls and bunnies. They were both crocheted, and an original desighn of hers, she never used patterns. I still have both of those! They are over 30 yrs old now. They have never had to be patched either.
Advice for new members. Don't be afraid to try something new. And you can't sell it if you don't list it. You never know what someone else is looking for.
How do I promote? This I am actually pretty bad at. I do have a twitter account, use it sometimes. Have a facebook page, always mean to update it. I am on a couple other forums, don't always get there. And blogging, yeah, I am terrible at writing! I have a blog, probably hasn't been updated in months.
In ten years I hope to be still creating new items and making people happy with my items.
My insperation for my challenge item was looking at all those plastic eggs waiting to be filled with candy for an easter egg hunt. I just had to crochet around them!!

Crochet-a-thon Winner Interview - CrochetTLC

The crochet-a-thon interviews continue!

CrochetTLC won second place with her item "One of a Kind Spring Dress"

I hope you enjoy!

-Benji

By CrochetTLC (aka Sharon Blalock)

Tell us a bit about yourself. I am a mom to 4 (son is a firefighter, daughter just joined the Marines, son is graduating in May, and daughter who has one more year of high school), grandma to one 2-½ year-old little man, and wife to a wonderful husband. I have my Etsy shop to give me an outlet with my crochet and I love the communication with the other people on Etsy. I like the idea of a “small shop” meaning I don’t have any plans to put my items in shops, wholesale, or consignment. 

Apart from creating things, what do you do? I am a stay-at-home wife/mom, so I try to keep busy in between house cleaning, cooking, etc.

What first made you want to become an artist? I have been crocheting for over 30 years. When my husband started working on pipelines and moving a lot, I decided to go with him which meant giving up my day job. So crocheting keeps me busy and from going crazy.

What handmade possession do you most cherish? I have a blanket my mom crocheted for me when I was little; my youngest daughter now has it. I also crocheted blankets for all my kids, which they still have and several for my grandson.

What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy or the Create Crochet Team? Be patient, find your niche, and promote as much as you can. And be careful for what you wish for! :)

How do you promote your work? I do use Twitter and have a Facebook Fan page. I try to post on the promotions forums every once in a while. I have done the “Etsy Showcase” promotion a few times, but other than that I don’t advertise.

In ten years, where would you like to be? Wherever my husband is, that is my home. I like to crochet and hope to have more grand kids to spoil.

What was your inspiration for your challenge piece? I had an idea of a colorful medallion and decided to make a little dress out of it and yellow is Spring to me, so I decided to have the main color of the dress yellow. I love making things for babies, so a toddler dress was just logical for me. 

Crochet-a-thon Winner Interview - Barbiloulou

So as a prize, we decided  to do an Etsy-style interview with each of the winners and runners up. I am posting the interviews every tuesday and thursday in the order I received them.

-Benji

I'm a retired Dialysis Nurse, and my husband and I are fulltime RVers. We live in a 35 foot fifth wheel, and spend winters in Kino Bay, Mexico at our little casita (made of straw bales!) Summers we live in a beautiful RV park on the Mississippi River in Minnesota, near the kids and grandkids. 

Aside from creating things, I enjoy the grandkids (7 of them, ages 2 through 25), fishing, shopping at thrift stores, and am quite addicted to my TiVo. I also enjoy photography and photo alterations through Photoshop.

After I had several spinal fusions (arthritis) I was on disability and bored, so I started crocheting. I haven't stopped. Something inside makes me want to create something beautiful or useful from something that's not! I also make windchimes and ashtrays out of seashells, or wizard wands out of driftwood, for example. I think it's from growing up poor? 

I cherish a flannel quilt one of my patients made for me, a lap quilt with cats on it that a good family friend made, my huge felted yarn tote, and my grandmother's embroidered tablecloths and crocheted pansy doilies.

To new artists, I advise reading the Create Crochet Team forum every day, and do searches for similar items to yours for ideas on what sells, what others charge, and trends. Do Facebook and Twitter to market. Watch Google Analytics. And pay close attention to customer service with your sales.

I use Facebook, just started tweeting, and email friends and family in my address book. I've only had two sales through Etsy, but many more outside. ALSO, wear or use your items publicly if possible.

In ten years, I'll be right here on the beach in Mexico with an adult beverage and a book. Or maybe my yarn tote and hooks...

My jellyfish was inspired by one that stung me last month!

Sell More with a Custom Wig Head-Prop

Written by Kim Selzman of BlissThings.etsy.com

How can you get incredible photos of your hats and headbands without depending on a live model to show your pieces off? Try using a custom-made wig head prop. Here’s a demo showing how quick and easy it is to make one.

The materials you need:

A wig head--cost is @ $3.99 at a beauty supply store.

Mod Podge in a matte finish
Sponge paint brush, small enough to fit in the modge podge jar.

Non-stick work surface (cookie sheet covered in wax paper or foil)

Now comes the creative part! Figure out what you want to use to cover your wig head. Tissue paper is the best material to use: it’s cheap, it comes in all kinds of fun colors and designs, and you probably have several gift bags full of it. Whatever you use, it must be some kind of thin, flexible material like paper. For the wig head I’m showing here, I’m using a leopard print paper that I got, you guessed it, in a gift bag.

And here we go! First, tear up your tissue paper into small pieces – approximately 2 inches by 2 inches but in various sizes. Small pieces are much easier to apply than large pieces. Tear up all of the tissue paper you think you will need to completely cover your wig head BEFORE starting to apply the Mod Podge. If you try to tear while you’re applying Mod Podge, you will have a gooey mess. (I’m speaking from experience here.) Also, tear your paper. Don’t cut it with scissors. The ragged edges you get from tearing absorb the Mod Podge better. Here’s my pile of paper:

Now get to work! Brush the Mod Podge onto the wig head in a small area, maybe 4 inches by 4 inches. Then begin applying pieces of your paper, overlapping them as you go. Once this area is covered with paper, brush over it with a thin coat of Mod Podge, making sure to brush down all edges so the paper is covered with Mod Podge and is smoothly covering the wig head.

Continue working this way over the entire head. Be sure to cover the entire wig head and bring the paper down and over the bottom if necessary.

When you run out of unsticky spots to hold onto, use a fork to help stabilize your wig head.

Cover your wig head completely with paper and Mod Podge. Use your brush, your finger and/or the fork, to work the paper and Mod Podge around the facial features of the wig head. These will show up nicely in your photos.

When you think you’re done, slowly look your wig head over, turning your cookie sheet to make sure you have covered every spot. Apply more paper and Mod Podge if necessary. You do not want to drag all of your supplies back out later to cover one small spot that you missed.

When you’re sure you’re done, throw away your sponge brush, seal up your Mod Podge, and put your wig head to the side to dry for 24 hours. Make sure it is completely dry before use!

And here’s my finished product:

I call the leopard print wig head the Gossip Girl. She’s hanging out with her sister, the Indie Girl (covered in newspaper), and they will soon be joined by their younger sister, the Sweet Girl (to be covered in pink and red Valentine hearts).

Make your own wig head prop and you will be able to take incredible photos of your hats, caps, headbands and earwarmers – any time of the day or night and without the need for a live model. And, don’t be surprised if you feel the need to start your own family of wig heads!

© Kim Selzman 2010
February 19, 2010