I’m delighted to be sending you the premier edition of TheArtfulCrafter Digest. Thank you for subscribing. The Digest will arrive in your e-mail box monthly for as long as you would like to receive it.

When I was trying to decide on a title and format for this publication, I surfed the Internet looking at various on-line magazines – better known as e-zines – and I thought, “Well, these aren’t really full-blown magazines with over 100 pages, lots of color and advertising. These are more like mini-magazines or min-e-zines!" So I decided to call mine a digest

Each month, I’ll send you little snippets of what’s new and exciting in the world of crafting and, especially, crafting for profit. When you see something that interests you, please visit my website, TheArtfulCrafter.com, to read the unabridged version. But drop by anytime. We’re constantly adding new articles. You’re always welcome at TheArtfulCrafter. I’m very excited about this opportunity to connect with other crafters. Let me know what you would like to see on these pages – er – screens. I’m also happy to accept editorial content. Click here to send me an e-mail.

Eileen

Wine Glass Collars

Have you seen the latest in tablescaping? They’re called wine glass collars and are kind of a cross between place cards and wine glass charms. Wine glass collars are disposable little paper circles with pretty designs and room to write guests’ names like place cards; but they slip around the stem of your wine glasses like wine glass charms. Design your own or download our pattern for Della Robia Wine Glass Charms – our gift to you available at Della Robia Wineglass Collar. Collar your wine glasses and help your friends remember where they belong. Use them on the table like place cards or for cocktails and carry-around drinks.

Printable Fabric Sheets

This tip is especially for quilters but also has applications for any crafter who makes sewn items like personalized tote bags or tee-shirts. Pre-manufactured printable fabric sheets are quite expensive – usually running about $3 a page. They are 8 ½ by 11 inch sheets of fabric affixed to paper to carry them through your printer and chemically treated so that the ink doesn’t bleed when it gets wet. Really neat!

Think of the possibilities: tee-shirts, tote bags, book covers, aprons or quilts with your unique design – from photos to logos to family names or crests. Think what you could do for that family reunion. Or if you craft for profit, think of local companies that give gifts to clients. Think of clubs where members would love to buy something unique to their organization. Think of hotels and resorts that sell items with their logo to guests.

Now here’s the really neat part, you can make printable fabric sheets yourself at home using Bubble Jet Set 2000 (new improved formula), and Bubble Jet Rinse. You can expect to get about 70 printable fabric sheets per bottle. With the Set at $16.95 and the Rinse at $6.95 retail, that brings your per sheet cost down from $3 to about 34 cents plus the cost of paper to serve as backing (often reusable)! For my tips about Bubble Jet, click here. TheArtfulCrafter: A Dream Becomes Reality

TheArtfulCrafter.com and the home-based crafting business that led up to it are literally a dream come true for me. Eight years ago, during a difficult time in my career, my company sent me to a development workshop for female executives. I came out of a particularly thought-provoking discussion group and penned a verse titled “Threads They Said” about my soul-searching and all the input I was getting from others in the group. It concluded:

Bob said, “Reach for the sky. Be your mother’s daughter.

Write poetry. Perhaps the answer lies within.”

I reached. I created. I wrote. I discovered.

The threads came together.

I design tee-shirts now.

On a glorious sunny beach.

I write my musings in between.

And share them with other artists

--- like me.

But this was just a dream. So I was truly amazed when I recently came across the verse. My dream had really come true, almost to the letter!

A short while after returning from the workshop, I was laid off. My husband, Chris, and I reassessed our priorities and decided on early retirement. We moved to an area with a lower cost of living; built a beautiful home on a mountainside overlooking a lake and settled in for a life of ease. Of course, it didn’t take me long to get bored with that! I started crafting. It grew into a home-based business. Soon I was getting corporate orders and orders for export.

In the meantime, the stock market had collapsed taking a huge chunk of our retirement savings with it. Now my little home-based business was a necessity; and we had to decide what direction to take it in. Should we expand and hire people to produce my ideas? No, I thought that would be too much like the life I had walked away from eight years ago.

And that’s how TheArtfulCrafter.com came to be. I feel I have the best of all worlds. I’m my own boss. I work when and where I feel like it. Sometimes that means sitting out on the terrace overlooking the lake and brainstorming with Chris or writing these articles. Sometimes it’s taking a trip to the local craft superstore and browsing for hours for ideas and new products that I can share with my readers. I get to do a lot of new product development – something I really enjoy – and if an idea is a hit with my friends and craft clients, I can share the pattern with you. Because now you are one of the artists I share my musings with!

If you’d like to learn how to take your home crafting business to the next level, just go to the “For Profit” section of TheArtfulCrafter.com.

TheArtfulCrafter Wants You!

How would you like to see your crafting success story published in our digest or on our website? We are happy to promote fellow crafters.

We are also interested in ideas for future features, any questions or suggestions you might have … Send me an e-mail by clicking here.

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Crafters Helping Crafters to Be!