Learning the Ropes

Lately I've been able to concentrate a little more steadily on promotion of my Etsy shops.  I've figured out how to plant Etsy minis on my blog and on my Facebook account, and how to change out my avatar on Twitter.  And I've sold two canvas growth charts in one week!  Way!

                                                                                                                                                              

I did a voltunteer job this week for my daughter's Venturing Crew.  A couple of weeks ago they tie dyed t shirts to where at this weekends 

Venture Daze Camperee at Boy Scout Camp.  I took all 16 of them and stenciled on our crew number; Crew 144.  I think they cam out smashing!

I've also been posting more items on my Etsy supply shop, www.finishthis.etsy.com.

I've come into a wind fall of vintage knitting and crochet books and ma

gazines.  I'm gleaning out of them all the things I really want to make and then listing them.  They're a neat little picture of the past.

I think I'm finally begin

ning , just beginning, to understand the whole marketing thing.  Well, maybe not, but if I take things tiny step by tiny sep I just might ma

ke some progress.

www.JudyAGoddard.Etsy.com

www.finishthis.etsy.com

www.Measureformeasuregrowthcharts.com

www.JudyGoddard.Homestead.com

In Isaiah 54:2,3 God spoke to Israel as to a barron woman. He told her to get ready because the Love that he would pour out on her would be a great blessing, like many children.

Isaiah 54:2,3 (NASB)

Enlarge the place of yur tent, stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, spare not, lengthen your cords and strengthen your pegs. For you will spread out abroad to the right and the left. And your decendants will possess the nations and will resettle the desolate cities.

Rol and Joan, you prepared. You enlarged your tent so that it was never full.

Hundreds of children came through your doors and shared communion in your living room. You taught us to Love God's Word and to believe God's Word. You told us that if we trusted theword of God, he would change our lives.

And these children - your children - have gone out to possess nations in God's name; and they have prayed the renewal of life into desolate places.

Thank you. I love you!

Necklaces that need restringing

Hello all.

Here are the pictures of the necklaces that need to be restrung.  I do desire that they be knotted.

The moss agate beads will need a clasp.  Not an expensive one but one that is sturdy since the beads are a bit heavy.  It measures 16" with out the knots.

The amber necklace has a peculiar clasp.  One bead has a screw in it and screws into the other bead which has the hole for the screw.  I can't tell how to thread the string through these two beads, but I guess someone bidding on this job will. It measures 18", knotted, but stretched out of shape a little.

The tourquois necklace has a screw clasp which I would to be reused.  It measures 16" unknotted.

I am looking for the most expertise with the best price.  This is my first excurssion into Alchemy, so please excuse any blunders.

Old Man River

Yesterday was the ninth anniversary of the homegoing of my father and my aunt.

My father suffered from emphysema, and, after a disastrous mistake in the increase of dosage for his medication, he ended up at the hospital with no way to get better.

On the second day of his short stay my sister and I went to see him in his curtained ICU cubby. He was frail, and disoriented and, we discovered, very afraid. But he would never tell us that! He was from the old school. "Never show your fear!" this WW11 veteran had drummed into his head.


As he lay there, he looked at us and quoted, " I'm tired a' livin' and I'm feared a' dyin'". Hmmm.... that sure sounded familiar, but neither my sister nor I could place where we'd heard it. He was no help! His response was, "I'm not telling you! Go out and find out for yourself!"


When our visit was over and we had left the hospital and each other, I thought about what he had said. But also thought about what he had "said".



As soon as I got home I called my pastor and asked him to visit my father. I felt that his lyrical speech was his way of saying that he truly was afraid. And if he was afraid, then so was I. I took my pastor up to see him and then left them alone. I waited right outside the door to the ICU and prayed and peeped through the window and prayed some more. I never did ask either my father or my pastor just what it was that they talked about.



Two days later, with his family all around, he slipped into the Kingdom God. And I was so glad and so grateful that he had taken the chance to talk to my pastor and I had peace about his passing.



That was on a Thursday. The Saturday following I had to set up and take care of matters for a small concert that was being performed at my church's parish house. My good friend Bruce Davies, Scottish singer of traditional and original songs, was making an American tour.



The concert was a diversion for me, a kind of spate from the deep feelings that the passing of a parent can bring. And it was good to see Bruce! His concert ran about two hours and then he sang his final song...."Old Man River" And there in the middle of the song was the line, "I'm tired of livin' and I'm feared of dyin'"



And for me it was a beautiful confirmation that I had gotten it right. I had done what needed doing for my father and he was, and is, safely living eternally in God's gracious love.



How awesome is that?

Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday

My godparents owned a sailboat that they kept in the Caribbean Sea.  They lived on the Glory Be each winter from January through April.

It was Holy Thursday.  They were anchored in a cove that was inhabited by several different yachts from countries all over the world.

The weather had turned rough as evening came on and the water rushed and beat against the sides of the sail boat causing it to rock and buck.  But they were safely anchored and having their sea legs under them they carried on as if the waters were completely calm.

Roland got the wine while Joan got the bread and as they sat in the gloaming they remembered the night on which Jesus was betrayed and they broke the bread and ate it and they drank the wine in memory of him.

Joan looked out at the other boats moored around them and wondered how many others were remembering that this was a holy night.  And then she knew what God was asking her and Roland to do.

“Rol, lets take communion to some of the other boats.  We can ask them if they’d like to share in the Lord’s supper.”  She poured the wine into a glass and covered it over with an unused paper cupcake wrapper.  She broke up some bread and put it in a bag and off they went in their dingy to the yacht that was closest to them.  It was an American yacht.  They pulled up along side and called up to the couple on board, asking they would like to share communion.  But the couple just laughed at them and told them no. 

Undaunted,  they then approached a sail boat that was flying a German flag.  Having spent time in Germany after WW11, both Roland and Joan knew German.  But it had been many years since they had spoken it with any kind of regularity.  They pulled beside the boat and called up in German.  A man put his head over and very quickly they realized that his English was much better than their German.  So they asked if they would like to share in the Lord’s supper on this special night.  And the man answered, “Yes!”  he called to his family; his wife and two sons.  When they appeared on deck they all knelt down and the father began to recite those beloved words, “ On the night when he was betrayed, Jesus took the bread....”  And in the beautiful rhythm of the the rocking boat and the gentle quality of the spoken German words, God revealed himself to Joan and Roland and also to this good family.  The father served his wife.  The wife served her oldest son.  The son served his younger brother and the youngest son served his father.  When they were done, and had handed the wine and bread back over the side of the boat to Joan and Roland, the father said, “We are all one body.”  And Roland and Joan knew that too.

They continued on their way from boat to boat and several others appreciated the kind act and thanked them for their willingness to share.

They had made a holy night more holy, with love and service and reaching out to those around them.

It would have been enough.

Up to my elbows in "How to Market" books

"I'm up to my elbows in "How to Market" books!  I've taken out several from the library and have been poring over them each night before I turn out the light.  I keep my notebook handy and jot down phrases and quotes that I think will help me to focus on the task of successfully promoting my artistic work.  I also take down lists of what I should do and what I should be doing.  I keep hoping that somehow, in some magical way,  it will all begin to line up in my brain and make some kind of sense.

What I read last night, in Craft Inc. is that I need to find my own personal style that stands out and sets me apart from the millions of other people selling their wares.  

I need to discover whether I'm serious or whimsical.  Am I country or urbane?  Would my works appeal more to younger people or more mature folks?

But then, in the very next sentence there seems to be a discrepancy.  I need to remember that the most important thing is to do what I love and not cater to the whims of fashion.  If I do what I love then I'll be happy and will draw folks to me with my positive energy.  

So, how's that been working for me so far?  Guess! 80)

Do I sound just a tad jaded?

Well, I still have Marketing for Dummies and Guerrilla Marketing to slog through.

I will figure out how to make wonderful things that make me happy and fulfilled and I will figure out the best way to present them to the public in a way that will draw people to my web sites so that they can ooh and aah over my wonderful wares and just have to buy them!

I wish there was a check list somewhere that I could use  that allow me to just follow the rules and get success.

Oh well.

 

I have this particular problem, can you relate?

I have never been a person who is fond of being on the computer. I'm not a surfer. I don't hang out on facebook. I have a bazillion sites bookmarked and I hardly ever get back to them. I joined Etsy.com last April and slowly slid into despondency.

I faithfully read the forum posts and posted questions. I frequently received sympathetic responses and kind words of encouragement. I set up this blog, specifically for the purposes of networking and drawing others to my shop. Every time I thought I had reached the end of what could be done, someone else came along with another suggestion.

But I just can't keep it all in my head. Even if write it down, I get so easily overwhelmed.

I read a blog post the other day that said that the reason so many web businesses fail is because of poor marketing skills. And I totally agree.

I've bought books on how to market myself.
I bookmarked and read articles written by professional business people on the pitfalls and how to avoid them.
I've taken the advice of friends and colleagues.
I've made a buisness plan and tried to stick to it.

I try to digest it all, in little bites, and I feel like a stuffed sausage. If I attempt to organize my data and thoughts later in the day, like afternoon or evening, I quickly become confused and then frozen. So I tell myself to wait until the morning, when I am fresh, and it makes no difference.

There are many, many people who successfully promote and market their wares. I know, with out a doubt. that I am capable of producing items that others will want to own. I just do not have what it takes to get it to those patrons.

Is there a service that anyone offers that can tailor a plan for someone like me? Is there a person that will help me make a plan that can work for me? Is there a person who I can talk to when I become overwhelmed? someone to hold my hand and walk me through it?

www.JudyAGoddard.Etsy.com
www.finishthis.etsy.com
www.Measureformeasuregrowthcharts.com
www.JudyGoddard.Homestead.com