4 MMG SHOPPES FEATURED in Etsy's OCTOBER OPAL GIFT GUIDE!

CONGEMULATIONS TO THE MORE MEANINGFUL GIFTS BNR SHOPS FEATURED IN THE

ETSY OCTOBER OPAL GIFT GUIDE

ddots.etsy.com
nikid.etsy.com
bambu.etsy.com
jetflair.etsy.com

More Meaningful Gifts - 1st ANNIVERSARY FEATURES: The MAD SCIENTISTS of MMG

"A MAD SCIENTIST is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if they even have a coherent scheme. Alternatively, they fail to see the evil that is implied will ensue from the hubris of “playing god”."

Perhaps they're not quite villainous or god-playing, but the rest is quite possibly true!

As we wind down the celebration of the More Meaningful Gifts Group First Anniversary, I know I couldn't let the month pass without acknowledging the love and support of my favorite Mad Scientists!

At any given time of the day these incredible women are always there to give their love, support, and guidance.

If there is ever an award for ETSIAN OF THE YEAR, no one would be more deserving than our very own Wunder Woman, Jennifer Wunderlich of iwunder.etsy.com.


We are so incredibly blessed to have our very own Etsypedia! She selflessly shares her experiences, tutors us on how-to's in photography, descriptions, the all important tags and everything Etsy! It's like having our own member of the Etsy Admin to talk to everyday!

Wunder, even if you never shared another Etsy tip with us, I couldn't love you more! You are the voice inside my head, never hesitant to speak your mind and make us laugh, always ready to defend us and bold enough to give us harsh critism when we need it!

Thank you for being an amazing team mate and friend...



If Wunder is our Etsypedia, then Ulimanda is our biggest cheerleader! Amanda Giesler of ulixis.etsy.com is best known for her incredible BLOG! Creating instant envy among us all with her dedication to posting everyday, she showcases her wonderful crafts, incredible recipes, and daily Etsy Favorites; our very own Martha Stewart! (I have succumbed to MANY of her found treasures!)

The VERY essence of MMG, Uli is the first to join in on every new project, feature, treasury, blog, listing, life event, and my partner at handmaderegistry.com... I can't imagine an MMG home where her beautiful goddesses don't grace the pages.


Uli, I am so proud of you and the incredible woman you are. I can't wait to see and be a part of the woman you'll become. A Martha Stewart Scientist - who says you can't do it all! I would never have been able to accomplish all of our MMG successes without your support and love.

Thank you for being such a wonderful partner my friend!


No family is complete without a sister! (and I'm not talking about the screaming, pulling hair, get in trouble when THEY throw the once bitten into apple into the trash can and YOU get punished for a month-kind of sister!)

But the kind of sister that you share your own secret language with, that understands "just keep swimming" and doesn't think you're crazy for singing it, the one that you can share your bad days with and is ALWAYS there to pick up the pieces when they're just too difficult to carry on your own...

The same sister that cheers your successes, life events and can be that little voice you need to help you keep dreaming those dreams that may seem hopeless...




Jena Campbell, of marinebiochic07.etsy.com, thank you for being the second mother to our MMG family!

We are so blessed to have you watching over us and making sure no one gets left behind! We are so proud of all of your hard work and determination as you begin your PhD work and all of the good that you do for the ARK.

Thank you for being my MMG sister and friend!


Who would have thought a year ago that a little list of my ten favorite shoppes would lead to such amazing kinship!

Happy Anniversary MMG!

More Meaningful Gifts - 1st ANNIVERSARY FEATURES: The Mothers of MMG

"A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind percepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts." - Washington Irving

If you're looking for ways to learn about building and promoting your handmade business, you wont find a better group!

But if you're looking for more: from recipes, to first aid suggestions, to celebrating special accomplishments and sharing tears, they pray, send us messages of support and cheer us on before even knowing why! Our lives are richer from the wisdom and generous hearts of these MMG MOTHERS!

The rays of light shining in the middle of a summer day cannot measure the love and unending support that these amazing mothers and artisans of the More Meaningful Gifts group!

nikid.etsy.com



h20works.etsy.com


tsurfer.etsy.com

kimberquinn.etsy.com

designsbyericakortz.etsy.com

More Meaningful Gifts - 1st ANNIVERSARY FEATURES: The Painters of MMG

"Great art picks up where nature ends." - Marc Chagall

I wonder every day about the many blessings in my life; my family, my friends, the ability to fulfill my dreams and desires, to experience the beauty that God has created.

How very many few of us are able to see God's beauty through the eyes of others - allowing us the insight to see them again in ways that perhaps we hadn't.

We are blessed everyday at MMG with the talent of these incredible artists/painters/sketchers!

Nothing more meaningful than original works of art to make your house a home!


BellaCosaArt.etsy.com




ArtbyDonnaRose.etsy.com


biancadenise.etsy.com


jerise.etsy.com


Check out these other fabulous peacock-inspired pieces from the MMG AUGUST CHALLENGE!

4 MMG SHOPPES FEATURED in Etsy's SEPTEMBER SAPPHIRE GIFT GUIDE!

CONGEMULATIONS TO THE MORE MEANINGFUL GIFTS BNR SHOPS FEATURED IN THE

ETSY SEPTEMBER SAPPHIRE GIFT GUIDE!

dorana.etsy.com
yarncoture.etsy.com
TrickyBugPaperArt.etsy.com
andra358.etsy.com

ORIGINAL MMG Thread-Mates! A Year Later and Still Supporting More Meaningful Gifts!

I'm the kind of person that doesn't believe in gift cards and cash as gifts...

There's nothing like the initial glance someone gives you when they get a wish fulfilled or something they hadn't dared to dream of or something that they think there's no way that you could have known they wanted or needed...

I started the More Meaningful Gifts Thread with that in mind.

A year later, out of the nine shops that I originally invited, we are blessed to still have three amazing women who take the time every day to share their talents, thoughts, and ideas with us; but I am most blessed to call them my friends.

Thank you Debra, Kara, and Sima for your continued love and support...

If you're looking for More Meaningful Gifts definitely take the time to check out these amazing shops and talented women.

debralinker.etsy.com

karalennox.etsy.com

simag.etsy.com

More Meaningful Gifts - 1st ANNIVERSARY Festivities! Come Join Us for the FUN!

MMG CELEBRATING ♥♥♥ 1900 SALES ♥♥♥ ON OUR

٭٭٭٭٭ ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY WEEK CELEBRATION !! ٭٭٭٭٭

CLICK HERE TO JOIN IN THE FUN!

More Meaningful Gifts is a daily thread in the Etsy Forums.

It is a BNR - "Buy and Replace Thread" where a list of Etsy shops are promoted throughout the day. In order to get your shop name on the list, you must purchase from one of the shops already on the list and YOUR shop name replaces it!

MMG was created and launched on August 27th, 2008 and since then over 300 shops have participated with approximately 40 unique shops posting on the thread daily. The thread just celebrated 1900 sales and celebrate a new shop every week with Seize-A-Shoppes!

I want to thank everyone for making MMG so special to me and such an integral part of my life inside and outside of Etsy.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

In celebration all purchases from dorana.etsy.com and ddots.etsy.com for the week of 8/28-9/4 will give you a X5!

(you must sell 5 items before getting kicked off the list! - if you already have a X2 - it does NOT equal X7 - converts to X5).

IF BY 9/4/09 dorana.etsy.com's shop hits 100 sales, each ITEM purchased from either of the curator's shops will get you one entry into the end of the week drawing for a custom

Double-Strand myBouquet FLOWER WEAVE BRACELET - ONE OF A KIND DESIGN JUST FOR YOU -

which will be revealed on http://doranadesign.blogspot.com/ next MONDAY 9/7!

check out these great examples

siempre - dorana

First Custom Orders for DDOTS ® Greeting ART CARDS!

Check out these great Custom Orders for DDOTS ® Greeting ART CARDS!

19th Anniversary Card for bellacosaart.etsy.com (check out Bella's incredible original artwork); I created a card with their wedding song by Journey and was inspired to create my own "Forever Yours, Faithfully" Bridal Collection! I had a lot of fun creating this card for Bella and whenever I take out the hammer, Todd exclaims, "You're not making another "Forever" card are you!!?" (It took a little more hammering then most!)

Happy Anniversary Bella and may you share many more years of love and happiness!




I was contacted by fellow Etsian, DeslynnWDesigns.etsy.com (check out Des' beautiful, tropical, eastern inspired Greeting Cards), to create a special card for her best friend to celebrate their Christening Anniversary! I was so honored by her request! I made a special FAITH card in honor of their special occasion!


To request a special hand-hammered, one of a kind, greeting card with the perfect sentiment for someone you love, contact me at ddots.etsy.com!

TrickyBugPaperArt.etsy.com - Talented Artists of Etsy Feature - TAETSY

Today's TAETSY FEATURE showcases the talent of fellow Etsian: TrickyBugPaperArt.etsy.com!

I was Tricky's 20th sale and was honored with this beautiful collection of Greeting Cards and a GORGEOUS keepsake box! Make sure to check out this talented artist and take advantage of several one of a kind designs!

My MARESAR Signature Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Earrings - on their way to a BRIDE on her WEDDING DAY!

These simple, elegant and timeless earrings will soon be worn on a BRIDE'S WEDDING DAY! Make sure to check back in for when I post the pictures!



siempre- dorana

BOTH dorana.etsy.com AND ddots.etsy.com Featured in Etsy's AUGUST PERIDOT GIFT GUIDE!

Check out my amazing fellow More Meaningful Gifts shops that are also featured this month; SEVEN in all! (yarncoture.etsy.com, debralinker.etsy.com, kimikal.etsy.com, cardsandnotes.etsy.com, h20works.etsy.com, dorana.etsy.com, and ddots.etsy.com)

TEAM WORK Blog Feature of DDOTS ® Spiral Notecards by SimaGJewelry.blogspot.com

I am honored to be featured by SimaGJewelry!

I created custom DDOTS ® Spiral Mini Note Cards for Sima's signature Spiral Necklaces and Charms.

Thank you for the wonderful write up and feature Sima!

siempre- dorana

baitser.etsy.com - Talented Artists of Etsy Feature - TAETSY

Today's TAETSY FEATURE showcases the talent of fellow Etsian : baitser.etsy.com!

I am absolutely IN LOVE with all of the great items in her shop in support of the men and women who serve and protect our country!

Thank you baitser.etsy.com for your dedication and support of our heroes and their families!

Make sure to check out this great shop and support our men and women in uniform!

Successful LAUNCH OF DDOTS.ETSY.COM - Premium Hand-dotted Paper Art Cards and Gift Tags

On Etsy Day, April 24th, I officially launched my new Paper Art Shoppe - ddots.etsy.com! I am absolutely thrilled with the great feedback and success! It is a wonderful day when you can create something new that others appreciate and embrace.

DDOTS ® Greeting ART CARD and Gift Tags are hand-dotted with a hammer and special tools - they ARE NOT done by using a hole punch or templates of any kind!

Simple designs in three different hand-dotted fonts create beautiful shadows of the image INSIDE the card as you open it!

Each DDOTS ® Greeting ART CARD measures a standard 4 ¼” X 5 ½” on textured card stock in BOLD COLORS and is paired with a plain white envelope and comes packaged in our parent company a Dorana design custom packaging ready for gifting and mailed in a rigid mailer to protect from folding and damaging your ART CARD!

DDOTS ® Greeting ART CARDS are currently available in these colors:

Sky Blue
Aqua
Lime Green
Vanilla
Orange Sherbet
Red
Coral Pink
Chocolate
White
Black



DDOTS ® Greeting Art Gift Tags are created using archival quality papers and adhesives accented with beautiful ribbons and MAKING MEMORIES BRAND eyelets.

Etsy Buy Handmade ddots

BLOGGER FRIENDSHIP AWARD

BLOGGER FRIDAY FRIENDSHIP DAY!

I'd like to thank Tami of The Holistic Diva for her support and awarding me last week's Blogger Friendship Award! It's truly my pleasure to be able to share great artists and business tools with our amazing HANDMADE COMMUNITY!


In turn, I would like to award the Vespa Blogger Friendship Award to the following people who have shared their friendship and support!

Ulixis Crafts
Penguinware Boutique
H20 Works
Nicole's Homemade Treats
DBaker817
Marine's Craft Corner
SimaG Jewelry
Tsurfer
Bella Cosa Art
Debra Linker

If you would like to pass this award on to some of your blogger friends, then here's how to do it (as passed on to me):

1. Put the logo on your blog

2. Add a link to the person who awarded you

3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs

4. Add links to those blogs on your blog

5. Leave a message for the nominees on their blog

Thank you to my blogger friends for sharing your knowledge and humor.

SpoonerZ.etsy.com - Talented Artists of Etsy Feature - TAETSY

Today's TAETSY FEATURE showcases the talent of fellow Etsian : SpoonerZ.etsy.com!

I received one of these incredible "FORK IT OVER!" money clips as a gift for featuring her work in our HANDMADE WEDDING SERIES at myhandmaderegistry.com!

I was "forked away" by the amazing craftsmanship and detail! What a wonderfully unique gift for Father's Day and your groomsmen!

Thank you SpoonerZ.etsy.com for your support and generosity! Make sure to check out other amazing silverware creations!

My FIRST BRIDAL/WEDDING Commission!

I can't believe that a BRIDE is going to be wearing MY DESIGN on her WEDDING DAY!

I'm giddy! It took me several hours to add this piece to my Etsy Shop tonight because I couldn't decide on which image to use as the default picture! I'm thrilled with the way it came out though! Thank you so much for your love and support Heather! Doesn't she look AMAZING!?

myHandmadeRegistry.com's CROPPING TUTORIAL by doodlage.etsy.com - FEATURED ON ETSY SUCCESS!

Congemulations to our fellow myHandmadeRegistry.com member Doodlage (doodlage.etsy.com) whose CROPPING TUTORIAL was featured on Etsy Success this week!

myHandmadeRegistry.com - FEATURED ON ETSY.COM!

myHandmadeRegistry.com is FEATURED ON ETSY.COM's BLOG!



On the morning of March 4th as I was in the middle of managing a dozen open windows on my browser and returning emails, running chat rooms and ignoring my blackberry, I noticed its little corner light flashing red out of the corner of my eye... I grabbed it and quickly skimmed through the message titled, "wedding registry" and read,

"hey there, I want to include you in an Etsy blog post and link to your wedding registry site, ok?... maybe you can reblog it! -v"

I remember reading it, "cool!" I said to myself, and flung the phone to the opposite side of the sofa where I went back to whatever crisis was at hand at that moment.

While checking my inboxes and threads awhile later, I noticed the little red number at the top of my Etsy screen that reminded me of the conversation that was awaiting my reply. I clicked on it just as I had a million times before and as the screen reloaded, my heart stopped, I instantly felt the heat wash over me as I saw it...

Next to the message titled "wedding registry," was the profile picture of a smiling brunette with a red bubble underneath that said ETSY ADMIN.

OH MY GOD!

I clicked on the message and read it again and as the words finally sank in, I bursted into hysterical tears!

I threw myself across the couch and grabbed my phone and started dialing and

NO ONE WAS ANSWERING!

I called my mom, answering machine.

I called Todd, answering machine.

I called Heather, voice mail.

I called Gary, and FINALLY after the third try, I could share my tears of joy!

Words can't begin to describe what that moment meant to me. That instant when you realize that the countless hours of work and dreaming about the possibility of your ideas is finally paying off!

The world's LARGEST HANDMADE COMMUNITY was featuring MY website!

When my mother finally called, I could barely speak through my tears! When I could breathe enough to reassure her that no one had DIED, I cried,

"Mom, I've worked SO HARD! I can't believe they're really featuring my website!"

I spent the next several days contacting the HUNDREDS of artisans that I had spent the last several weeks featuring throughout the website to let them know that the "mother ship" had spotted US!

I wasn't online when their feature hit the air. In fact I didn't see it at all until FIVE HOURS LATER late Friday night!

It was more than I could have ever dreamed of!

Our registry is being featured in Etsy's HANDMADE WEDDING SERIES!

Not only was our site mentioned, it was linked to their article with a display of our ENTIRE BANNER with links to our tutorials and even to my own personal shop!

I couldn't have dreamt of a more wonderful affirmation of all of my hardwork!

The rest of the weekend was a blur of welcoming over 100 new members and celebrating as comment after comment of congratulations was left on the blog!

I HAVE TO take this time to thank everyone in our community for all of your love and support as we've worked to make this vision come to life and as we continue to grow and develop, I know I can't do any of this without you!

To my amazing support, Amanda (ulixis.blogspot.com)- thank you for being so generous of your time and talent! I know that this could not be possible without you!

To my amazing MORE MEANINGFUL GIFTS family, my every day has more meaning having each and every one of you in my life!

Here's to the first step in our more meaningful journey...

siempre- dorana

myHandmadeRegistry.com - FEATURED ON ETSY.COM!

myHandmadeRegistry.com is FEATURED ON ETSY.COM's BLOG!

On the morning of March 4th as I was in the middle of managing a dozen open windows on my browser and returning emails, running chat rooms and ignoring my blackberry, I noticed its little corner light flashing red out of the corner of my eye... I grabbed it and quickly skimmed through the message titled, "wedding registry" and read,

"hey there, I want to include you in an Etsy blog post and link to your wedding registry site, ok?... maybe you can reblog it! -v"

I remember reading it, "cool!" I said to myself, and flung the phone to the opposite side of the sofa where I went back to whatever crisis was at hand at that moment.

While checking my inboxes and threads awhile later, I noticed the little red number at the top of my Etsy screen that reminded me of the conversation that was awaiting my reply. I clicked on it just as I had a million times before and as the screen reloaded, my heart stopped, I instantly felt the heat wash over me as I saw it...

Next to the message titled "wedding registry," was the profile picture of a smiling brunette with a red bubble underneath that said ETSY ADMIN!

OH MY GOD!

I clicked on the message and read it again and as the words finally sank in, I burst into hysterical tears!

I threw myself across the couch and grabbed my phone and started dialing and

NO ONE WAS ANSWERING!

I called my mom, answering machine.

I called Todd, answering machine.

I called Heather, voice mail.

I called Gary, and FINALLY after the third try, I could share my tears of joy!

Words can't begin to describe what that moment meant to me. That instant when you realize that the countless hours of work and dreaming about the possibility of your ideas is finally paying off!

The world's LARGEST HANDMADE COMMUNITY was featuring MY website!

When my mother finally called, I could barely speak through my tears! When I could breathe enough to reassure her that no one had DIED, I cried,

"Mom, I've worked SO HARD! I can't believe they're really featuring my website!"

I spent the next several days contacting the HUNDREDS of artisans that I had spent the last several weeks featuring throughout the website to let them know that the "mother ship" had spotted US!

I wasn't online when their feature hit the air. In fact I didn't see it at all until FIVE HOURS LATER late Friday night!

It was more than I could have ever dreamed of!

Our registry is being featured in Etsy's HANDMADE WEDDING SERIES!

Not only was our site mentioned, it was linked to their article with a display of our ENTIRE BANNER with links to our tutorials and even to my own personal shop!

I couldn't have dreamt of a more wonderful affirmation of all of my hardwork!

The rest of the weekend was a blur of welcoming over 100 new members and celebrating as comment after comment of congratulations was left on the blog!

I HAVE TO take this time to thank everyone in our community for all of your love and support as we've worked to make this vision come to life and as we continue to grow and develop, I know I can't do any of this without you!

To my amazing support, Amanda (ulixis.blogspot.com)- thank you for being so generous of your time and talent! I know that this could not be possible without you!

To my amazing MORE MEANINGFUL GIFTS family, my every day has more meaning having each and every one of you in my life!

Here's to the first step in our more meaningful journey...

siempre- dorana

Time Management - Can You Achieve Work/Life Balance?

I sat in a convention a couple of years ago and watched a gray haired man with thin rimmed glasses, a bright yellow Hawaiian shirt with red flowers and a bright green blazer nearing his eighties jump in front of the room and claim that every morning by 10AM, that he had done more in his business and made his family smile more than most of us in the room would accomplish by 6PM. I remember sitting there mesmerized by his energy and drive, and determination. He had reached success and fortune a million times over and had no sights of letting up on his life's work and unlike some other rich and successful men and women I have met, was still full of life and genuinely happy.

My grandmother calls me sometimes during the day knowing that I'll be immersed in my work and say, "There are 24 hours in a day, Dori. Eight for sleeping, eight for working, eight for friends and family..."

Bob reiterated those sentiments at that convention when he started talking about the key to his success. It wasn't a genius marketing idea or the best computer software program, it wasn't flashy brochures or business cards or the best graphic designs... it was his daily schedule.

Every night before he went to bed he would detail the following day first broken down into six hour increments and then to three, then to two, then to one hour and then into fifteen minute blocks. His jolly face looked up at us in the room so quiet that you could hear a pin drop! And then it lit up unexpectedly with his jolly laughter as he tauntingly said "first my dears, start with the SIX HOUR BLOCKS!"

We all giggled and listened as he explained how managing a detailed schedule and following it created a life of balance and expectations for both his business and his family. When he was working, he was working and wasn't feeling guilty about not being with his family and when he was with his family, he wasn't worried about work. There was a time for everything and everything had it's time.

He then detailed every hour for us to try to explain how much time we truly have each day. He described his first 6 hour block of time beginning at 6AM with his morning routine, how he first takes time for himself every morning - for his body and mind.

How often we go through the day neglecting how important the health of our body and minds are!

His hour on the treadmill while he listened to his favorite classical melodies or read a favorite book; the luxurious shower and the joy he took making his children breakfast in the morning and hearing about the schedule of their lives each morning!

The next four hours until lunch were impeccably detailed: calls, meetings, reports, call and wish the wife a good morning and wonderful day! Imagine scheduling daily calls to tell someone you love them! What could possibly be a better use of your time!?

I remember sitting there as he painted a ticking clock portrait of his day and how each task brought him closer to that final "tock" at 6PM where he shifted from work to home and family and friends!

GENIUS!

If that wasn't impressive enough, there was a detailed weekly account of chores and shopping, family activities, dates with friends and extended family... Every aspect of his life, business and family was given importance.

He had a lifetime of joy because he gave everything and everyone the importance of his time. His wife and children expected him to be working when he was at work and home when he was at home.

In building his business of course there were disappointments and not everything always went as planned but there WAS A PLAN!

I know that in my perfect fantasy world, there is this magical place where my business and personal life somehow create a wonderful balance.

Could we all find this mystical place and that infectious joy I witnessed in that man by merely planning out the details of each of our days? Planning the time for our walks to the park with our favorite four-legged friend, making lunch dates with our children once a week at their schools, a date with our spouse where we dress up in our "first date finest" and anticipate that long kiss at the end of the night - all while climbing that business ladder of success??

I hope you take out that day planner - seriously I know everyone has one that's collecting dust somewhere - and "first my dears, start with the SIX HOUR BLOCKS!"

Are you BUSY or PRODUCTIVE?

I hope you are all sharing in this gorgeous fall day and that it is filled with sunshine and smiles! I'd like to take some time today to thank everyone for all of their wonderful feedback and support of my new blog! I've had some truly great convos, emails, and comments and I am very appreciative!

I would love to take all the credit, but I definitely could not have created such a uniquely me space without the patiently talented Kristen at wildmagic.etsy.com. Please take a second to check out her shoppe and wonderful graphics and designs!

I had the images and the vision of what I was hoping it would look like, but without Kristen's help it would have taken me weeks of playing with HTML code and let's face it - I'm a writer and an artist - I do not need to be a master of all trades! (I'm still convincing myself of this...)

I am a financial wellness and wealth coach by day and I constantly find myself at my client's kitchen tables coaching them not to engage in tasks that will not net them their hourly rate of desired pay!

In business, you need to spend 90% of your time in productive activities that will create either more productivity or increase your income. It is my nature to obsess over "details". If I had committed myself to creating my new blog or recreating my mySpace page to the exact specifications that I wanted myself, I would have obsessed about it for weeks not days - and even when I would have achieved the desired look, I know that I would have continued to play having had reset my work schedule to include HTML coding!

Don't get me wrong - I did start playing with it on my own for about two hours that day, but I was able to snap out of it once I realized that half my work morning had flown by and I had accomplished nothing. One of my favorite business quotes, "Are you busy or productive?"

At the end of the day feeling drained by hours of tasking only to find that I really hadn't accomplished anything I set out to do, I decided to stop the insanity!

So I quickly logged out of mySpace and blogspot and contacted Kristen and sent her the images I was interested in using, the overall feel I was hoping for, got a quote, and set to work on the projects with someone who knew what she was doing! It was economical, productive and the net effect was a week of marketing and creating that I wouldn't have had had I done it on my own!

What it cost me to hire someone to do it was a mere fraction of MY cost per hour of my own production time! In simpler terms, I was able to produce and create in that time MORE than what it cost me for someone else to do the task...

As I write this I remember that I learned this years ago! When I started college, I was a full-time student and worked full-time in a restaurant but still lived at home. I would get home at 2am from work sometimes completely exhausted to my mother's fussing at me for forgetting to do the dishes or not cleaning the bathroom or leaving laundry in the washer...

After about a week of the ridiculousness - regardless how much I wanted to yell, "Are you kidding me?! I'm never home," I picked up the classifieds and hired a wonderful woman named Terry for $50.00/week to dust, sweep, mop, clean the bathrooms, scrub the kitchen... It was worth it to me to spend half a night's income to pacify my mother at home and give me peace the little time I was home...

Just because you're in business for yourself doesn't mean that you have to do every part of the business.

• Figure out what you're good at, the activities that bring you the best results and then STICK TO THAT PLAN for at least 4-6 weeks! You're not going to be able to measure the results of an activity if you change it every time you hear something new! Pick a few projects to start off with and go from there.

• Set a SCHEDULE and stick to it!

• Hire out your weakness and/or get help with administrative tasks
  

Working for yourself is the most rewarding job you can have, but you'll never work harder! I have learned a lot about entrepreneurship... anyone that works hard at anything for ten years will be successful in it - just make sure you're doing something you love - because it will still be work ten years from now if it isn't.

myHandmadeRegistry.com - Not Just Another Networking Site

What I think sets apart successes from failures are those that find adversities and ADVERTISE them and those that find adversities and look for ways to make them ASSETS!

After half of a year dedicated to the idea that people really are interested in the artisan community and then researching, promoting and marketing my jewelry shoppes from various online retailing sites, I came to an enlightening conclusion that I had heard over and over again...

"These sites are really just SELLERS selling to SELLERS!"

After all, before I learned about them from another seller, and joined to sell, I had never heard of them either!

And so I started researching about how I could get BUYERS to find MY STORE of handmade goods and I stumbled across a couple of interesting blog posts...

"I wish I could register for my wedding at Etsy.com!"

"Oh, I'd LOVE it if everyone would get me Etsy.com stuff for my baby shower!"

After searching for several days, I found ONE online registry where registrants could add Etsy.com item numbers to their wish list of goods along with the likes of Macy's, Bloomingdales, ToysRUs, etc.

I thought, "Hey! I CAN DO THIS!" : a Handmade Registry - a place where everyone can create a personal page with a list of their favorite items from only HANDMADE RETAILERS!

Won't be able to find Macy's HERE!

Then the daunting task of figuring out HOW TO DO THIS! With neither the desire to wait what must surely take months to create, nor the funds to support it, I remembered a site that I was introduced to where members could customize their pages to create their own social networking site! And myHandmadeRegistry.com was born!

It's still in its infancy, but I believe it can grow into a powerhouse tool!

It is NOT just another Networking Group - our platform happens to be BUILT as one, but this is my vision...

Imagine the now millions of artisan shoppe owners that flood the gates of the Handmade Community. Now imagine how many times just this past week each one of those members have been asked, "What do you want for Christmas? Hanukkah? Birthday? Anniversary?"

myHandmadeRegistry.com is designed for these shoppe owners to share their Wishlist with their families and friends - especially those that have such a hard time shopping for them! Imagine the incredible relief husbands and boyfriends will feel knowing that there's a place where she has pictures of everything her heart desires and all they have to do is CLICK ON IT and it takes them right to the check out counter! (no offense guys - I KNOW there are many of you that are godsends! but let's face it - this is the promise land for most of you!)

This registry now opens up the artisan marketplace to so many more people!

But lets take this another step further...

I've created GROUPS within the community that I plan to market for OUTSIDE OF THE ARTISAN COMMUNITY - for expectant parents, a house-warming group to share decorating tips on a budget and find that special accent piece, and my favorite :

my $5000 Handmade Wedding!

These days the Platinum Weddings we see on WE are becoming more and more of a fantasy to most of us...

But lately, I've been finding myself watching those shows and saying... "I can do THAT" and "oh! I saw something like that in the forums last week for 1/100th the cost!

My vision in this group is to link these dreaming brides with Handmade Retailers who can make those pictures come to life in quality and affordability!

Members of this group can create BLOG posts on their pages with images of the various ideas for their fantasy wedding with tags relating to the items such as "dress", "invitations", "jewelry", "favors", etc. Vendors who can provide those products or services can then find and leave comments on their BLOG where they can also attach images, sketches, estimates...

How wonderful will it be to have such an incredible resource at your fingertips - remembering first and foremost that the most priceless resource in any network is building relationships - someone will always know someone who can help you fulfill your dreams!

...A place where brides can take those black and white fantasies and turn them into vibrant rainbows of possibilities while keeping as much green in their pockets!


I look forward to a million more endless possibilities with this project and welcome any new ideas, suggestions, questions... but PLEASE COME JOIN US and share what an amazing community of artisans and talented business supporters we have among us!

siempre - dorana