a Dorana design

LAST BLOG POST on this site

2010-11-08T10:11:00.003-05:00

Thank you for stopping by! Please find us at our permanent home dorana.blogspot.com

Todd & Dorana - Our Handmade Weddings: A Simple Fairytale - Featured on Etsy.com

2010-07-20T10:21:00.000-04:00

We're so excited to have our wedding featured in the world's largest handmade community! Thank you to all of Etsy Admin and members for helping us have the perfect simple wedding!

siempre- dorana

The THANK YOU - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

2010-04-21T11:57:00.004-04:00

How do you thank not just the people that help you create a memorable and joyous wedding, bring happiness to your life both personally and professionally, but also the people that helped you become the person you are and cheer you on as you aspire to be the person you want to become?

We wanted a special way to say thanks to those near and far!

Thanks to the incredible photography of our friend Stephen Shadrach, we collected our favorite photos of the day and a favorite quote and designed our special 4 Page Photo Thank You Card.

We were fortunate to have our good friend Kat Wauters from Etsy's H20works.etsy.com bring our design to life!

It is the perfect keepsake and token of our incredible union.

Thank you for your wonderful customer service Kat!

A very special THANK YOU to our family and friends who helped make our day exactly what we had wished for!

To my ETSY "MORE MEANINGFUL GIFTS" FAMILY - there aren't words to thank you enough for all of your love and support!

siempre- dorana & todd

THE BRUNHAMMERS

Photography by Stephen Shadrach.

The WISH - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

2010-04-09T05:18:00.005-04:00

(Our Wedding Day featuring custom made gown by Etsy's cybersewingfairy.etsy.com, flowers by dkdesignshawaii.etsy.com, bouquet crystal jewels by 4classydesigns.etsy.com.)

I was thrilled to find a great Etsy Shop to make special personalized handkerchiefs as gifts for our parents and a special present for my new husband on our wedding day!

Linda from Etsy's EmbroiderybyLinda.etsy.com offered the PERFECT sentiments, fast shipping and the best customer service!

My mother cried at my personal message and proudly shared the story to the ladies at the spa during our pampering that morning

"Mom, thank you for teaching me the importance of corn, Uncle Buck, laughter and love. Love, Dani 12-26-2009"

Linda's handkerchiefs were a perfect way to put into words what I have known since me and Todd's first vacation!

Shortly after Todd and I started seeing each other, we went on a mini vacation to Disney's Epcot Center. It's one of my favorite places as traveling has been such a big part of my life; imagine going around the world in a short afternoon!

In Morocco as we giggled over the silly genie lamps in the gift shop, a woman held one up and asked Todd,

"What would YOU wish for!?"

He looked over at me across the way and said,

"... To spend the rest of my life with that girl over there!"

I didn't think I could love him more than at that moment...

Waking up everyday in the beautiful house that we're making into our home in this dreamy historic town, hoping to start a family soon, I know that a wish was granted that day...

But it is EVERYDAY that he makes all of my dreams come true and I love him even more!

The DRESS - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

2010-04-08T05:41:00.001-04:00

After all, isn't always about THE DRESS!?

Everyone knows that I've been fantasizing about a Autumn wedding ever since that last scene in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves where Marianne walks with her white dress floating around her while gorgeous leaves fall down upon them with the incredible colors of gold and reds creating that amazing backdrop!

We didn't do too bad ourselves with this incredible backdrop off of 72nd and Broadway! This picture was taken after the snow storm right before Christmas as I did a trial run of my makeup, hair and unmentionables! (And yes, I promise, I AM wearing shoes - strappy red-satin knotted heels!)

I absolutely fell in love with the off-the-shoulder, simple gown that Mary Jane wore in the Spiderman 2 movie in 2005! I learned that the dress was basically glued onto her body to create that off-the-shoulder, form-fitting bodice and that we would have to do quite a bit of creative design and sewing to pull it off with my ample bosom!

Another favorite dress of mine had a beautiful empire, straight skirt with beautiful embellishments.

I, of course turned to the amazing talented artists on Etsy to find a seamstress that could combine my favorite dresses into my perfect wedding dress!

I could not have been more blessed to have found a more patient, miracle-working seamstress in all of the world; Linda Mampalao of Etsy's cybersewingfairy.etsy.com ! Aside from having less than 6 weeks to make my custom designed gown with both Thanksgiving and Christmas in the mix, she helped me pick out the fabrics and added her own special touches tying the two dresses together!

I wore my great aunt's vintage yellow topaz and gold calla lily earrings, the pearl and diamond necklace that my mother gave me on my 21st birthday that my father had given to her the Christmas after I was born, and amazing red satin strappy heels!

The weather didn't quite cooperate on our wedding day, but nothing could have darkened my day wearing this breathtakingly gorgeous gown!

We are hoping to take the dress with us on our honeymoon to have the opportunity to take more pictures of the two of us together in the sun!

Thank you Linda!

Photography by Stephen Shadrach.

The WINTER WEDDING SHAWL - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

2010-03-17T06:10:00.001-04:00

As I worked with my fabulous Etsy seamstress to create my dream wedding dress, I commissioned this gorgeous Andean Silk Yarn winter wedding wrap with a ruffled edge from the talented Maryum Karim of Etsy's yarncoture.etsy.com!

What an incredibly special work of wearable art!

SO soft and luxurious, I was thrilled with the quality and craftsmanship of the gorgeous wrap Maryum made for me.

It was the perfect compliment to my wedding gown.

I have been so blessed with all the love and support from my Etsy family in helping me create our dreamy Etsy Handmade Wedding!

The CAKE TOPPERS - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

2010-03-16T10:24:00.007-04:00

Do you know what you get when you throw two Alpha-type personalities in a kitchen renovation after buying a new house, hand them a couple of power tools they've never used before, demolish the floors throughout the entire house forcing them to move into a windowless dungeon for three months with two smelly cats and a 14 year old, 90lb yellow lab, that can't walk up and down the stairs on his own, sprinkle in a four-week engagement and Christmas wedding - all in less than 6 months:

Yoda and Chewbacca!

If you've ever experienced any of these things, then you're probably at least a little familiar with the conflict that can arise from such chaos; kinks in the budget, hot dogs cooked by hand-held plumber's torch 'cause you forgot to refill the propane tank and there's no stove, the occasional electrocution, and arguments... lots of arguments...

Arguments between two Alpha's who are NEVER WRONG.

It was during one of those arguments on day one million and 82 of drilling cement screws into cement backer-boards, preparing the hallway and kitchen floors for the 1500lbs of Kale Multi-colored Travertine that I yelled back at my now husband, for what exactly, I can't say,

"OKAY YODA! Whatever you say, MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE!"

"What!?" he replied.

"Don't call me that!

And Yoda wasn't Master of the Universe - that's HE-MAN!"

I raised my sword-like power drill up in the air, clenched with both hands pointing straight up and yelled:

"I HAAAAAAAAAAVE THE POOOOOOOOOOOOWER!"

collapsing in a fit of laughter!

And thus, "Yoda and Chewbacca" were born...

My rolling eyes now had a verbal partner: "OKAY YODA!"

"OKAY CHEWIE!" he always responds hoping to get the same rise out of me that he gets out of my Yoda-ing.

Now, to me, that sounded perfectly logical! I mean, have you seen my hairy Chewbaccaness!?

Yoda, wasn't a new nickname in our family... We've been calling my little sister Yoda ever since her little pointed ears coined the nickname as a baby!

Over the summer a fellow More Meaningful Gifts threadmate had ordered fondant little Yodas for her son's birthday cupcakes as toppers from fellow Etsian The Lil Details.etsy.com and I had bookmarked them for my little sister's birthday!

My brilliant idea was vetoed by my mother, but when I started planning our wedding, I KNEW I had to order her fondant Yodas for our wedding cake!

Even better, I wrote to Jenn and asked her if she could make a matching Chewbacca!

When I opened up those adorable little cake toppers I couldn't help but squeal in delight! I knew Todd would pee his pants when he saw them!

They were absolutely PERFECT!

Jenn even covered them in a sparkling finish- the perfect embellishment for a wedding Yoda and Chewie!

And after our ceremony when I brought my new husband to see the beautiful cake that my little sister had lovingly made for us on Christmas day and put together just hours earlier, adorned with the beautiful clay roses from Diane Phillips of dkdesigns.etsy.com and our special Yoda and Chewie Cake Toppers, the moment was just as I had imagined; filled with joy and laughter and even some magical powers with my new Master of the Universe!

Photography by Stephen Shadrach.

The CAKE - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

2010-03-15T11:25:00.006-04:00

I have been fantasizing about my Aunt's Brandy-Almond Wedding Cake with cream cheese icing for the last 17 years!

After consulting with 14 - yes, fourteen local bakeries and driving my family insane, we decided that there would be no wedding cake - we'd have pies instead!

It seems that even though there are bakeries that can make a cake in the shape of The Eiffel Tower, not one was willing to make a cake that wasn't just white, yellow, or chocolate cake with some kind of filling in the middle!

So pies it would be!

Really.

We just wanted a couple of the amazing pies from the local pub...But my sister just wouldn't hear it!

"You can't have a wedding PIE! I'll make you a brandy-almond cake with cream cheese icing!"

No.

We wanted PIES!

Did I mention that my wedding was the day after CHRISTMAS!?

Who on Earth would want to be baking a cake during the holidays!?

That Christmas Eve, my little sister came over with a sampling tray of variations of brandy-almond cake with cream cheese icing... JUST like the professional cake shows!

There were brandy-soaked cakes, brandy baked in cakes, some with chocolate fudge fillings, some with vanilla pudding fillings, some with vanilla pudding and fudge filling... You name it, my little sister prepared it!

We sampled, okay we devoured the entire tray of delicious mini cakes!

We chose the Lindt chocolate and vanilla pudding filling and ironically, the almond cake without the brandy!

It's funny how once you get what you think you want, it turns out that it's not what you want at all!

On the morning of our wedding as my sister, mother and I enjoyed our pampering pedicures, she sat back to tell us the tale of how she and her fiance stayed up all night baking our cake...

"We ran out of cake batter and it was too late to start making another batch, so I sent Rumon out to get a box of yellow cake mix...

But it's almost ten o'clock at night on Christmas Day and everything was closed...""He walked up to a Hispanic man closing a Bodega (Spanish convenience store that has everything,) in Paterson (not exactly Disney) and says desperately,

"Sir WAIT! I just need a box of cake mix!"

"We're closed - it's Christmas!"

"Sir, PLEASE, it's my sister-in-law's wedding tomorrow and we're baking her wedding cake and

I JUST NEED A BOX OF CAKE MIX PLEASE!

Don't make me go home without cake mix!"

See...

Exactly why we wanted: PIES.

From the PUB.

Down the Street.

We laughed hysterically as she painted the picture of her fiance practically mugging a poor convenience store worker on Christmas desperate for a box of cake mix!

Our Almond and Lindt Chocolate with Vanilla Pudding Cake with cream cheese icing was absolutely delicious and beautiful!

THANK YOU PIANCA AND RUMON for making us the most incredible wedding cake - the thing that I'll be fantasizing of for the next 17 years!

The FLOWERS - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

2010-03-05T08:37:00.010-05:00

(My father and I right before walking down the aisle.)

I remember surfing through the endless pages of shops when I was first introduced to Etsy's Handmade Community.

When I found it, it was love at first sight!

I was completely awestruck by the beautiful images and was dumbfounded when I read that the amazing floral creations from DK Designs Hawaii were made out of CLAY!

OF COURSE she was featured on the Martha Stewart Show, she creates such life-like flowers out of CLAY that even a Botanist like myself had to take a second look!

I was mesmerized for hours as I shared the link to her shop and website with everyone I knew!

When my little sister announced her engagement, I bought her a small sample bouquet from dkdesignshawaii.etsy.com in celebration and to start planning her big day!

I knew then and there that my wedding would have none other than Diane Phillip's amazing floral creations!

Imagine my nervousness when we turned our engagement into a four week affair in the middle of the holidays! I sent Diane a message preparing myself for the possibility that she wouldn't be able to do our flowers.

We were ecstatic when she agreed!

Diane created the most gorgeous open ivory and red rose bouquet and flowers for our wedding! Even in the short time, she allowed me to send her a piece of the lace overlay of my gown to use as the wrap on the handle of the bouquet - it was absolutely stunning!

When I had mentioned to our family that we were doing clay flowers instead of traditional fresh flowers, you can imagine the looks of disgust - I think they imagined me walking down the aisle with a clay pot in my arms!

Everyone was mesmerized as we presented them with the special corsages and boutonnieres and my bouquet is still as beautiful today as it was on our wedding day!

(My stepmother and stepsister pinning the boutonnieres on my new husband and father.)

We ordered extra flowers to adorn the wedding cake that my little sister made for us and we saved and preserved them to send back to Diane to make a Boxwood Wreath for us to hang in our new home!

I can't ever thank you enough Diane for helping us create the special magical touches of our wedding day, last forever.

Photography by Stephen Shadrach and Diane Phillips of DK Designs.

The FAVORS - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

2010-03-03T06:20:00.003-05:00

I never imagined that I'd ever be a Christmas Bride! Imagine my surprise deciding on a wedding date of December, 26th - the day after Christmas!

What a stressful endeavor, a wedding... so many details. I've realized just what a wonderful blessing it is that we decided on such a short engagement! The longer the engagement, the more expectations, the bigger the bridal party, the bigger the show!

The most difficult decisions for me were THE FAVORS! I knew I didn't want anything chotchkie or cheesy - nothing that would be thrown in a drawer and forgotten...

And then it hit me! After all, it was CHRISTMAS!

COQUITO!

Coquito is Puerto Rican coconut rum eggnog and a family favorite. It couldn't be just any kind of Coquito - nope - it had to be special!

I found a great wholesale distributor of full-sized glass liquor bottles! Of course I could have made small flasks instead since Coquito is suppose to be enjoyed as a shot, not a drink, but the image of my elegant wedding favors fitting into the back pocket of a pair of jeans, was not what I envisioned!

After a little time on Etsy, I found customized wine bottle labels to match our Red Rose Theme from tishtica.etsy.com! I was absolutely thrilled with how beautiful the bottles and the personalized labels came out!

We then wrote the recipe on Letterpress Cards from missive.etsy.com and attached them with personalized ribbon from espritdejoie.etsy.com!

After 12 dozen eggs, mountains of coconut cream, and 6 gallons of Bacardi Gold, all the anxiety of choosing the perfect wedding FAVORS for our guests, faded away as we watched our friends and family toast the night away with our special brew!

Photography by Stephen Shadrach.

The RECEPTION - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

2010-03-02T06:47:00.003-05:00

Vibrant Red Roses and delicate White Hydrangeas created a dramatic accent throughout the reception and ceremony among the all black and white dressed party! The floral vision brought to life by my best friend, Heather Peterson included custom double-sided knot Satin ribboned rectangular glass vases with green Spanish Moss and lit branches! (The double-knotted Satin Red Bows matched my shoes and dress!)

Dozens of flickering tealight holders with red satin bottoms trailed the center of the tables on top of custom made white Satin table runners made by Etsy's Teresa Swift of tsurfer.etsy.com!

Thank you for finding the perfect fabric for our table runners Teresa!

Photography by Stephen Shadrach.

The LETTERPRESS - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

2010-03-01T08:55:00.007-05:00

Todd has always been a big fan of the art of Letterpress, so it was important to me to have some Letterpress pieces in our wedding. I was thrilled to find Lisa of Etsy's Missive.etsy.com!

Words cannot begin to describe the amazing design and quality of our custom Red Rose Coasters and Place Cards. They were exactly how we had imagined them and brought a truly special touch to our wedding reception tables!

Our guests were very impressed with the beautiful print work and I ordered an extra set of Place Cards as the Recipe Cards for our favors. THEY WERE PERFECT!

We were touched by the beautiful handwritten Thank You Card and good wishes that Lisa took the time to send to us.

In this process, we learned that how you're treated AFTER the sale is just as important as the way you're treated before the sale. Lisa has been an invaluable resource of information in her trade as we now help my younger sister plan for her wedding this summer!

Thank you SO much Lisa for helping us achieve our dream handmade wedding!

Photography by Stephen Shadrach

The AMBIANCE - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

2010-02-11T12:27:00.008-05:00

Our intimate outdoor wedding turned indoors was magical with special touches from some of our favorite Etsy Handmade Vendors!

Perhaps the most photographed was a beautiful personalized luminary that glowed throughout the evening along our "alter" from Jessica Wolf of Etsy's paperacorn.etsy.com.

Jess was so accommodating and friendly throughout the process and we were thrilled with the packaging and speedy shipping! For the perfect glowing personalized token at any special occasion paperacorn.etsy.com is it!

Photography by Stephen Shadrach.

The WELCOME - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

2010-02-05T09:06:00.009-05:00

The plan was a small outside intimate wedding with 25 of our closest friends and family, celebrated in our new historic town and home.

(sigh)

Alas, Mother Nature had other things in mind; torrential rainfall! It poured from before sunrise into the following day!

As I walked out of the salon with my hair in cascading waves, the howling wind turned my umbrella inside out while the rain crashed down sideways! I struggled with the umbrella trying to protect my hair as I slid on the pavement losing my flip flops (yes, flip flops - note to future brides: don't get manicure and pedicures done the day of your wedding!).

I remember shuffling through growing puddles of water and thinking to myself, "I can't believe this! This is our WEDDING DAY!"

All morning long I had been convincing myself that the rain was GOOD LUCK!

I had read that rain on your wedding day represented fertility and stability and income and guaranteed a long happy marriage!

But as I drove home realizing that we wouldn't be able to take pictures in our new town and have the service in our beautiful side yard, I was so disappointed!

I made the turn into our driveway and was greeted by our beautiful custom made Wedding Sign created by Jennifer of Etsy's Funki Folk Art.etsy.com that my future husband had attached to our mailbox!

All of the disappointment over the weather and anxiety immediately melted away! It wasn't quite what I had always imagined... it was better!

Jennifer's beautiful welcoming signs set the perfect stage for our living room wedding!

I had been exchanging emails with Jennifer for over a year and we were so thrilled to finally be able to take advantage of her unique personalized signs!

We also ordered a "RECEPTION" sign that Todd stole and positioned over our new Wet Bar in the kitchen!

We can't wait to order my little sisters' signs to welcome her guests to her June Wedding! Thank you Jennifer!

Photography by Stephen Shadrach.

The Treats - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

2010-02-03T11:16:00.007-05:00

There are no processed foods, candies, potato chips, no junk food of any kind in our house... really! In fact, one of the greatest joys of going to my best friend's house is poking through the magical cabinet in her kitchen that transports me to another time with Pop Tarts, Doritos, an endless tub of Halloween candy, chocolates - lots of chocolates and my all time favorite: Marshmallows! And not just any marshmallows, but the big fluffy marshmallows - not the teeny tiny ones that we do keep around for the rare occasions we make hot chocolate.

Okay, perhaps there is the occasional tub of vanilla ice cream and chocolate chip cookies, warm chocolate chip cookies and CHOCOLATE. Not just any chocolate though - NIKI'S CHOCOLATE!

There is something about those little white boxes with the freshest, most decadent little bits of sweet heaven! Our favorite: ROCKY ROAD - just something about those fresh soft marshmallows!

We couldn't imagine celebrating our wedding without Nicole Varrenti's of Etsy's nikid.etsy.com's incredible treats!

With whimsical Caramel Apple Pops and Chocolate Covered Coffee Spoons, they were just the special sweet touch of our Handmade Etsy Wedding!

The INVITATIONS- Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

2010-01-29T12:54:00.008-05:00

We've all seen it before.

The bright fuschia dress from a guest that somehow appears in EVERY wedding photo!

NOPE, not at OUR wedding!

It took some serious convincing, but after much begging and pleading, Todd relented and I was thrilled!

A BLACK AND WHITE WEDDING it would be!

My mother was mortified!

"You can't let people wear white to your wedding!"

Of course I could!

My custom made gown was a beautiful ivory and with everyone and everything in black and white, I was certainly the belle of my ball!

The only color throughout the event were signature Red Roses in my bouquet, flowers, and my Red Satin strappy heels!

The theme of the wedding was beautifully set with the calligraphy lettering for our invitation by Jerise Fogel from Etsy's jerise.etsy.com.

Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009 and the Introduction of Renovation Girl and Comp Boy!

2010-01-28T15:39:00.000-05:00

The Engagement Announcement - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

2010-01-27T12:02:00.011-05:00

I am SO excited to finally get the opportunity to catch up on the last eight months!

Had someone told me eight months ago that we were going to buy a new house in a dreamy historic town, spend six months giving birth to a new kitchen as a DIY project from studs to custom wet bar, get ENGAGED AND BE MARRIED BEFORE THE NEW YEAR, I wouldn't have believed it!

For the next couple of weeks, I am thrilled to walk you through our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING that we planned in less than 6 weeks for well under $5000 including a custom a Dorana design wedding gown!

Please make sure to follow my Personal Blog to read about our incredible home renovation!

Dorana & Todd's HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING began with a

Custom Engagement Announcement

created by graphic artist and Etsy member H20works.etsy.com.

We worked together with Kat to design our Engagement/Moving Announcement and are still hearing RAVE reviews from all of our friends and family!

Make sure to check out H20works.etsy.com for custom Holiday Cards, Save the Dates, Announcements and wonderful personal service!

My little sister is getting married this June and Kat once again helped us design her SAVE THE DATE magnets and they were thrilled!

ddots.etsy.com - Custom WEDDING REQUEST for Groom's Gift - "I THINK I Love You!" DDOTS ART CARD

2010-01-12T06:20:00.001-05:00

I was thrilled this summer when ddots.etsy.com received a custom card request from Bride Tracy for a gift for her Groom on their wedding day!

Every couple shares many special quotes and sayings. When they first said "I love you" to one another, he was so nervous that he blurted out,

"I THINK I love you!"

She replied,

"I KNOW I love you!"

It became a little joke between the two of them and she thought it would be a perfect quote for her special Wedding Card!

I'm SO pleased with how it came out!

I am so happy to have been invited to share in such a special moment!

siempre- dorana

Crafting Cat Approved Handmade Kitty Bed by iWunder.etsy.com

2010-01-11T09:41:00.006-05:00

There are antisocial cats, and those that only search for you during mealtime, and those that need to be a part of every breath you take throughout the day!

I am blessed with one of EACH!

Here is my dear Merlin as he succumbs to an afternoon nap after pouncing on a pile of thousands of tiny dots that were piled up on my hammering mat. Pleased with his kill, he curled up in this wonderful cat bed knitted by fellow Etsian iWunder.etsy.com!

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

2009-10-06T10:07:00.007-04:00

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

2009-10-01T08:39:00.009-04:00

"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

2009-09-14T21:45:00.009-04:00

"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

2009-09-04T07:42:00.022-04:00

"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!

2009-09-01T21:00:00.001-04:00

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!

2009-09-01T08:46:00.010-04:00

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!

2009-08-31T09:10:00.002-04:00

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!

2009-08-07T10:17:00.010-04:00

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

2009-08-06T21:35:00.009-04:00

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!

2009-08-06T06:38:00.003-04:00

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!

2009-08-05T16:54:00.014-04:00

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

2009-08-01T07:34:00.003-04:00

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

2009-05-19T06:38:00.003-04:00

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

2009-05-18T12:58:00.010-04:00

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

2009-05-01T08:08:00.006-04:00

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

2009-04-17T08:14:00.008-04:00

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!

2009-04-08T08:32:00.000-04:00

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!

2009-04-07T23:36:00.000-04:00

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!

2009-03-11T17:48:00.000-04:00

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!

2009-03-11T16:31:00.001-04:00

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!

Time Management - Can You Achieve Work/Life Balance?

2009-03-11T16:24:00.001-04:00

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?

2009-03-11T16:21:00.000-04:00

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

2009-03-11T16:18:00.000-04:00

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

myHandmadeRegistry.com - Not Just Another Networking Site

2008-12-09T13:35:00.000-05:00

Time Management - Can You Achieve Work/Life Balance?

2008-11-03T08:38:00.000-05:00

Are you BUSY or PRODUCTIVE?

2008-10-26T13:19:00.000-04:00

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

Don't put off for tomorrow...

2008-10-15T11:27:00.000-04:00

...What you could get done today. When I was in high school I used to wake up before dawn to get my hair done like the "other girls;" with naturally wild curly hair and incredible volume, I of course wanted my hair straight! I remember sitting in front of the mirror with my arms extended painfully out to my farthest wing span blow drying and then ironically using the curling iron to ummmm... curl it again! Then I would sit with a notebook and pen in hand to start scribbling my daily list of "things to do." I was 14 when these lists began - my "day of details". I remember the frustration even then as I scribbled my almost minute by minute schedule of the projected events of the day. Even then I was an obsessive neurotic overachiever!

My mother found my stack of lists one day, each item painstakingly numbered by order of importance and then perfectly struck through in a thin black ink line - only black - never blue - all of my completed daily achievements. (Now I use yellow highlighter to recognize my completed tasks 'cause I'm also a recognition whore.) She snatched them from me and yelled to remind me in case I had forgotten, "You're just a child! You don't have lists of things to do, or places you have to be, or cures for cancer you have to discover! Can't you just learn to just BE!"

I thought about this morning ritual I had half a lifetime ago as I awoke this morning to begin scribbling into my "List of things to do NOTEBOOK"... Not a lot has changed, well except for the yellow highlighter and the fact that you probably could not pay me to wake up early in the morning to do my hair, except that the list keeps getting longer no matter how many things I manage to highlight done.

Launching this business has become another infinite list of "daily details." Where should I post my designs? Should I learn that software program, create that other account? What do I do this morning that will net me the best results tomorrow?

Time management... The ultimate daily affirmation for the self-employed:

I use my time wisely and only do the most productive thing every minute of the day!

Don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today... but what if there is never a tomorrow? Would I have chosen to do the same things today?

I Must Assimilate!

2008-10-07T12:44:00.000-04:00

After much internal conflict, I have succumbed to the pressures of creating a blogspot account and blogging! ☺

But when you're a type-A obsessive compulsive, control freak this opens up a brand new can of worms of decisions. Hair pulling debates on will this just be a business blog - and isn't my business a PEOPLE business - I mean isn't one of the main reasons I am successful in business is because it's personal to me and therefor how can I draw the line between a personal blog and a business blog?

Will I be using this as a "dear vagina, why so blue?" journal or will I be using it like many of my very productive friends and teammates and fellow shoppe owners who feature one another, maybe a favorite recipe, a really cool product they came across...

And now with the ultimate assimilation to the world of blogging comes a whole NEW set of issues to battle in my already over cycling brain - will I now go back to mySpace and regurgitate my daily escapades for the enjoyment of post pubescent boys everywhere? And what for this Facebook? Will I now also rewind my years of climbing up the corporate ladder and join my executive almost-husband and schmooze with the likes of those closet "I hate my jobbers" in Linked In?

I "twit" but don't know what the hell to do with it after days of communicating with the twitting helpdesk, had quite the digs in mySpace until interstate authorities had to issue restraining orders to stalkers, was quite the IM master until honeycyberbots started taking over the airways...

But with the ever cheerful, positive, "I can do and succeed at everything I pursue" attitude, I will move forward with this new blogging venture ever eager to see what lies ahead and which path it will lead to... oh and by the way, that pic up there - my favorite design featured in my shoppe at dorana.etsy.com - that's just in case tomorrow I wake up and decide this is a business blog!

siempre - dorana