Etsyblogger of the Month: Pruitt Handcrafts

Straight from her profile: "I am a Breast Cancer Survivor & Grandmother of 25 grandchildren and all-around creative person! I blog about family, inspiration and creativity." And she still finds time for 3 shops and a blog!! I wonder just how many hands she has for her handcrafts?!?

That 25th grandchild...she just arrived earlier this month. Wanna see the sweetness?

And now to show off some of the things you can find in her shops:

Breast Cancer Lap Quilt

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Pruitt Designs: Hurry on in to this one....it is closing on January 15th...
be sure to read the shop announcements for special store closing sales...

Pink Lampwork Bead Bracelet

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"Helping you make the music of creativity"

Square Flat Green AB Beads

My First Collection

Rainbow of BlogFire

Curated By: tiltcreations

ArtFire.com

This is the first Collection I have made on ArtFire...it is as addicting as treasuries on Etsy, so be on the look out for more in the future. This one features fellow BlogFire members :)

Friday Feature: Rachel Quinlan

Today I want to show off one of my new handmade goodies. Well, newish anyway. I picked this up at the Flint Handmade Spring show last month, but have had my eye on one since a show in Pleasant Ridge last year.

The artisan is Rachel Quinlan and she has a shop on Etsy as well. (Be sure to check out her Facebook page also) The piece I picked out is the start of my sewing area's decoration. It is a needle & thread hand pressed and hand detailed ceramic tile piece.

Doesn't it rock?!? At the moment it is on my sewing table. I am waiting until the walls get painted before I hang it up. And then I get to go searching for more fun stuff to keep it company :)

Saturday Shop: The Taffy Box

*** What is the name of your shop

The Taffy Box. I use to work in a school where I would bring my handcrafted jewelry items bagged and ready to sell to fellow teachers. I carried them around in an actual old cardboard taffy box from a beach vacation in north Carolina. They would often say "When are you going to bring in The Taffy Box again?" That is how I named my shop.

You can also find her here:
Twitter: Facebook:

*** What do you create?

Hand stamped and personalized jewelry and accessories for the whole family from Grandparents, Mommy, Dad, kids, even pets!





*** What are your favorite materials to work with?

Sterling Silver, Copper, Gold filled

*** What are you working on now?

I am making a lot of cuff links & money clips these days for wedding party gifts as well as graduation gifts such as tie-tacs and necklaces for teens.

*** How long ago did you open up shop?

2007, but I really threw my heart and soul into it last year when I was fighting cancer. It is what kept me sane and focused on something I find enjoyable. In turn, I was able to really grow the business beyond my wildest dreams and quit my teaching job!

***Do you have another job aside from your shop?

I am a part time counselor with Network Of Strength's breast cancer hotline on an IP phone from my home, as well as a patient rep. for a chemotherapy drug company.

*** How to you advertise? Any tips in this area?

I do several giveaways per year at mommy blog type sites as well as advertising buttons on blogs of friends. I give my business card to everyone I see or talk about my business with. You never know when they might end up needing a gift for someone, and remembering me! I have brochures printed up and use those at craft fairs and shows along with photographs of my work.


*** What 2 things have you learned since starting to sell your items?

You can make most of the people happy most of the time but you can't make all of the people happy all of the time. For that occasional unhappy person, I try to not take it personally, and to learn from the experience. Then I move on. I do not dwell in the negative. I have also learned that it takes time to grow a business. I chose not to go into debt to grow my business but rather to let the business pay for itself and grow as I could afford to.

*** Show off your craft/work space

You don't want to see my craft work space! You would be shocked how messy it is. I am one of those people who can find anything I am looking for in my own mess. It consists of a small utility room in my basement, a table and several organizing drawer units and a covered pool table. I have yet to master the organizing part! My goal is to someday list and sell all of my stashed beads and supplies I will never end up using.

*** Do you have any method for pricing you would like to share?

I see what other items are selling for on line and try to be in the "range". Maybe a bit lower to stay competitive but I have also found that raising prices sometimes makes the buyers believe they are more valuable and they are willing to pay the higher price! Online sales work that way, since the buyer can't physically touch and feel the item, so subconsciously they base their idea of how valuable it is on the price. It's a combination of eyeing the competition plus my own cost and profit ratio too.

***Do you have any plans for your shop in the coming year/season?

I recently started using more gold fill and combination of metals such as mixing silver and copper, and I also bought a texturizing mallet which I would like to use to create some pieces that have more depth and contrast to them.


***Any funny crafty mishap stories?

Well, the mishaps happen from time to time, like a misspelled name and I always manage to catch it before shipping the item, but some of the funnier things that have happened are when in one day there seems to be a hot ticket selling item. I just can't hardly list them fast enough like the day when over 13 people ordered collar stays and they were 13 different customers from 13 different addresses - "Where are they finding me?" I would ask myself! That happened once with guitar picks too. I have no idea how it happens.

***Tell us one random thing about yourself that is not craft related.

I had four children born in less that 5 years. Oh yeah, and they were all c-sections. They are now ages 16 - 21

Friday Feature: Batty's Bath

This is how they looked when I received them. And bonus - you can "recycle" the containers with her! How cool is that! I was going to take pics after I opened them, but forgot & just used them instead...so worth it! Here are some shots from her shop of the scrub & face cream....


This scrub not only looks good...it smells great! My hubby loved the way it smelled on me so much, he had to try some out for himself. The texture is so fab...and was great on his skin. My skin thanked me too. So soft & smooth afterwards. Yum!

The face soap also smells divine. And my face feels super clean after. It even looks clearer now. I have my teenager use it...and he does so without complaint. Always a good sign of a good product LOL :)
The coconut cream face soap was not in the shop when I wrote this...but I am sure she could whip some up for you....here is the whipped soap version:
Don't those look fabulous ?!?! Well, they are...and they are all mine - bwahahaha! Okay, so hubby has been sneaking even more of the scrub & my son likes the coconut face cream. It's still mine. And I know where to find more. You can check out her shop here. And I found a new release of hers at over at Craft Gawker...woots for that! You can keep up with all her bath goodies on her blog.

And now I am off for a nice long shower...finding such great handmade bath & body goodies have made my showers much longer than they used to be :)

Blogfire: Of the Season

The Blogfire carnival this week is about the best of the season. I'm in the U.S., so we are heading into warm weather...well, someone forgot to tell Mother Nature, but I am hopeful. I did some browsing around ArtFire and found these lovelies that reflect what I see as my fave parts of the season. Enjoy.

Bicycle Basket Liner by Katie Kouture




Wooden Decorating Block Set - Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme by Audzipan






Burgundy and White Cotton Print Summer Dress by Ramonalisa






Plain Bio Leather Sandals by Sandali





Tree of Life Bubble Wand by Purple Bus Studio

Flint Spring Market and Changes

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Originally uploaded by flint handmade

What a blast! Craft shows are even that much better when you have friends nearby. I left yesterday's shows brimming with ideas. Where to start!?!





I can say one thing...changes are a comin'! I can't guarantee they will be super noticeable to you, but they sure will to me.To start the changes...a sale...of course. Why? Because the first change is nixing most of my bags. I am working on the shop rework now :)

Backpacks shall stay.

Clutches shall stay, but will be split in two.

The current bags are going to be made with skinny strap options. The 2nd part of the split is into a more embellished line. There will be ruffles and bows and flowers and doodads galore...but a slow galore. These bags will be upped when it comes to fabric choices. More along the lines of silk and linen. Sound fun?

Messenger bags will stay, but possibly as custom order only.

They are pricey, take many hours to complete - especially when you add in the embroidery- and do not move quickly. But I love them!

Totes will be only in the form of market totes. Bye Bye painted...except custom orders.

Market totes will be made in batches.

I have a futon cover (unslept on) that will make about 10 or so. I took a poll at the show on the finish - hemmed -v- bias tape...hemmed won...by lots! Funny thing - the bias tape bag was the 1st to go at the show. Go figure!

Wristlets, handbags, larger purses...TTFN!

Zip pouches will always be around.

They are too perfect for small and odd shaped fabric remainders. I want to get better about making tiny change sized pouches to go with each bag also.

The next change is an expansion. Monsters and fun creatures will start to take over.

I am going to take my current guys and add on to the family from my sketchbook. They will be named - I will be coordinating with my oldest for this. And each will become a small keychain and small stuffie. Some may get super sized. And in all sorts of colors. I have an idea for their display too...more on that later.

The other expansion is the fabric baskets...which have not made it into the shop just yet. I want to make 3 sizes, not just the one.

There is more, but I have yet to finish the pro/con list for them, so more on that later too. Yes, this part goes back to quilts & such I always talk about but never quite get to...now I hope I will :)
Phew! That's a lot!

Blogfire Carnival: Green and Gold

The blog carnival themes to choose from were any combo of necklaces, green & gold or your favorite accessory. I though I would try & look for sets with necklaces since my fave accessory is a bracelet...but most sets were necklaces and earrings. So I will skip over my beloved bracelets & stick with necklaces.
My initial search gave me over 3000 goodies!!! That's a lot of drool to wipe off the keyboard :P Now that I have done all the hard work of looking through such great handmade items, you can just sit back & enjoy...

Earth Walker - Bead Woven Necklace - Element 4 by Roseworks Jewelry

Light Green Adventurine Necklace with Antique Colored Chain by ybuzby

Green Web Necklace by Creations by Crystal Rose

Moss Green Textile Statement Bib Necklace by kirevi8

Abalone Green Beadwoven Necklace by Tulips Treasure Box Jewelry

Slugs Come Home

A little while back I won a gift certificate to the Etsy shop MissusD. As usual, I got a few "extras" before I checked out. I couldn't resist her slugs - I got one for me & one for my son. And now that my hair is long, the yo-yo flower pony holders had to come home to me also. There was even a surprise inside...cool button earrings!!!


This is the end journey for these slugs....

I hope I didn't scare them off. Guess I should have opened the box further away from the big scary sewing machine :P

You can see some of their friends' adventures on her blog....like the Siamese twins planning a holiday or heading out on that holiday.

Etsyblogger Carnival: Spring

March 12th's carnival for the Etsybloggers is hosted by Made By Melissa.
Our choices were either Spring time or March being National Nutrition Month, National Irish American Heritage Month & National Women's History Month and pick one.

I used to study Exercise Science, so doing something about nutrition felt like work :P I do have a bit of Irish in me & hubby has even more, but that post would probably get too long...and I'd want a Guinness after, which I am currently out of. And Women's month...shouldn't they all be?

Anyway, i decided to stick with Spring because I am so eager for it. I am not usually like this. I get the usual drearies that most Michiganders do and this season was a pretty mild one for us. But for some reason, I am itching for Spring. I even noticed that my tulips started popping!! At least I am pretty sure they are tulips :P See...

And in my shop - tons of Spring! There is pink and general bright cheeriness everywhere! These are some of my faves:

Pink:
Candy Kaleidoscope Backpack, Blooms Handbag, Shadow Gold Clutch, Pink Pebbles Tote
Blue:
Illusions Capri Blue Backpack, Green Handbag, Butterfly Garden Clutch, Pink and Orange Purse