Sunday 25 June 2017

5 Un-Christmasy cards to make with Hobbycrafts Pa Rom Pa Pom Pom collection



OK so who else was a little surprised (and slightly horrified) to hear that Hobbycraft had released their Christmas paper collections in June?

Now don't get me wrong, I love Christmas as much as the next person and spend most of my year planning for it. But to release your Christmas collection a full 185 days (over 6 months by the way) is just touching on the ludicrous.

If you haven't started thinking about your Christmas crafts yet (good for you), then here are 5 cards you can make with the new Hobbbycraft Pa Rom Pa Pom Pom collection. And we guarantee there isn't a snowball or Santa hat in sight.




Take the polar bear felt cut out, give him some cool shades and he makes an awesome card topper for any cool dude.


Use PVA to glue the pom poms to the card. This also makes a great moving house card (just substitute the person for a house).


This simple Happy Birthday card was made using the small presant papers in the card kit as well as some cut out from the larger 12" x 12" papers.


I love this Llama. The backing paper came from a selection at Hobbycraft and the Speech bubble was made using Picmonkey


Need a card to pop the question? Use the flamingo in the "card set" and trim the winter boots into sassy heals before adding it to the card. Add self adhesive gemstones for a little extra bling and they won't be able to say no.





Thursday 22 June 2017

Music to craft too


I love music.

All music, all kinds, all genres.

I have made a playlist on Spotify of the music that I love to listen to while I'm crafting.

I would love to know what music you listen to?

Thursday 1 June 2017

Copycat Crafters - 5 steps to protecting your work



As a crafter you spend hours dedicated to making beautiful unique items. So finding out that someone else has stolen your idea can be heartbreaking.


on the 1st of October 2014 the Intellectual Property Act 2014 came into force. This means that it is now a criminal offence to intentionally copy a registered design.

In today's world of Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram It's difficult to protect your ideas, but there are ways that you can reduce the chances of someone poaching your intellectual property (IP).


First lets talk a little about Intellectual property rights.

It is possible to own the intellectual property of;


  • something you have designed.
  • something you have invented.
  • the name of your product or a brand.
  • something you have written or produced.

Step 1 - Protect your name and logo

Your brand is possibly the single most important part of your business. It encompasses the combined reputation, standard and quality of your enterprise. The last thing you want is to find out that someone has been riding on the coat tails of your brands success by imitating it.

You can search to find out if your business name is available to register as a trade mark and apply HERE


Step 2 - Protect your designs

These are classed as "design rights" and automatically protect your 3D designs from 10 years after they were first sold or 15 years after they were created. 

if your design is 2D, for example a fabric or wallpaper then you MUST register them to be protected. 

You can register your 2D designs HERE.

Step 3 - Protect your images

I have written a much more detailed article regarding how to protect your images HERE

Step 4 - Protect your data.

This may not seem that important. But remember that all of your product research, images, passwords and written content is most likely saved on your computer.

80% of cyber attacks could have been avoided by taking steps such as updating anti-virus software. IPO, IP Basics 2016


To protect your designs you must first protect your computer.

Step 5 - What to do when you find someone using any of your IP

If someone is using your IP on Facebook

If they are selling through a group then report the post to the group admins and to Facebook. 

You can do this by clicking the downward facing arrow to the top right of the post and selecting "Report Post".

If they keep using your IP than you can escalate the issue to Facebook directly HERE.

If someone is using your IP on Etsy

Report IP infringement to Etsy HERE

If someone is using your IP on their own website

It is much more difficult to implement an IP notice on a website. This is because website hosing providers are not held responsible for the content held within the sites that they host. You can try to report infringement to Wordpress etc, but as they are not legally liable it is unlikely that they will do anything about it.

In this instance the only option you have is to contact the website owner yourself. Often the site owner has no idea that they are infringing copyright, and will be more than happy to credit any images that belong to you. 

If they refuse then you can enlist the help of a copy righter or a solicitor that has experience if working with IP infringement.

If someone is using your IP on Instagram

I have found a great article over on the Me & Orla blog all about what to do in the event of Instagram IP infringement.

Read it HERE.


For more information on where you can go to register your designs, click HERE.

Wednesday 17 May 2017

How to get a Booker card for your craft business



5kg bags of Dolly Mixtures for sweet jars. Kegs of beer for that special product launch and cut price duct tape for when your husband complains about the state of your craft room. 

Whatever your crafting enterprise you probably want to get your hands on a Booker card.

While seemingly elusive, obtaining a business account for the biggest wholesale retailer in the UK is quite straight forward.

So who can apply for a Booker card?

You can apply for an account if you own a UK based business. 
It doesn't matter if you are entirely based online or if its not full time. You don't even need to be trading yet.

Do I need to be VAT registered?

No. When you shop at Booker you will see two prices on the tags. The larger price (and cheaper one) is the price minus the VAT. 
The price you pay at the till will be the smaller price that includes VAT. If you are registered for VAT then the difference is what you will be able to claim back.

How much is it?

Free. Some cash and carry stores charge you for becoming a member, but not Booker.

How do I prove I own a business?

After you apply for an account online you will be required to go into the store to receive your card. 
At this time you will need to provide two pieces of evidence that you run a UK business. 
These need to have the name of your business and your registered business address on them. I used an invoice from when I had some business cards made and a copy of my business insurance certificate.

How do I apply?

The first part of the process is done online. It just asks for things like what Kind of business you have (the closest I could find to my shop was "Retail").

You need to select your local branch and go from there.

You can start your application by clicking HERE.

Its that simple! Go forth and enjoy jumbo packs of loo roll and 10l bottles of Fairy washing up liquid!

Sunday 16 April 2017

Cute, Carefree and Ready to Craft - How craft makes you happier




Here is an extract from an article that was released as part of Carole Matthews most recent book launch;

One in six of us (17%) are turning to crafts, with activities such as sewing (12%), knitting (12%), painting (9%) and card making (6%) becoming popular. Only 16% of women have never actually tried their hand at crafting. And completing crafting projects has many psychological benefits for these hobbyists. Nearly half (45%) of women feel a sense of achievement when completing a craft activity, 42% do them for their stress relieving properties and a further 42% enjoy feeling focused. A further one in ten (11%) gain a sense of pride from their creations.

http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/sponsored?mvi=33c088a5352b45eab653508a3e8337f5


Now, It's no news to us that craft helps us to relax.

But how exactly does craft make us happier? 

Behavioural psychologist Jo Hemmings explains, “In these stressful times, it’s natural that we turn to activities that not only give us a sense of purpose and achievement but also allow our minds to switch off from anxiety and relax.

So here's the science-y bit....

When focusing on activities that give us a sense of pride and achievement we stimulate a part of our brain called the hypothalamus. This is the part of the brain that decides what chemicals are released into our nervous system. These positive neurochemicals are responsible for giving us an "emotional high" and are what make us happy. 

Some of these include;

Dopamine

https://oldenglishprints.com

This motivates us to achieving goals and desires. Those who have poor motivation and experience self doubt, could have low dopamine levels.

You can increase your dopamine levels by achieving goals such as a crafting activity or learning a new technique. Keep motivated by setting a new goal before the previous one is complete. 
Break down your bigger goals into bite size ones that are easier to achieve (you will get a little dopamine rush from each one).

Oxytocin

https://www.etsy.com/listing/180084689/hi-five-print?ref=shop_home_active_1

This chemical is responsible to intimacy, trust and building healthy relationships. It's produced when we have physical contact with someone and helps in bonding. 
It's also released when we receive gifts. Try making a gift for someone to give them a oxytocin rush. They may even give you one back with a hug.

Serotonin

http://ow.ly/ozAV30aTjWL


This is released when we feel valued and important. It's why we feel good when we get lots of "likes" on Facebook or make an Etsy sale. 
Its also released when we reflect on past achievements. So put that painting that you'r proud of up in a prominent place. 
Each time you see it will give you a serotonin fix. 

However the effects of serotonin can be addictive. Those with low serotonin levels can display attention seeking behaviour such as addiction to social media. Failure to achieve a serotonin hit can cause someone to become dependant on artificial stimulates such as drugs and alcohol. 

Raise serotonin levels by becoming part of a craft club locally or online. Try joining this Facebook group to talk to like minded crafters worldwide;  https://www.facebook.com/groups/553938394678159/

Serotonin is also released alongside vitamin D when you sit in the sunshine, and can also be found in bananas and chocolate.

Endorphin's

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/0d/23/5e/0d235ec033bb17b9bc7aafecaf85f639.jpg

These are released as a result of pain and stress. 
Vigorous exercise can result in a "runners high" acting as an analgesic and sedative, diminishing our perception of pain.

Laughter is also a great way to get endorphin's flowing. Meeting up with a friend that you know will send you into the fit of the giggles is a sure fire way to get a hit.

I'm no advocate of stress. But overcoming a stressful situation such as a big Etsy order or finishing a project in a certain time frame, can cause a big release of endorphin's too. 
Check out the #100daysproject for a laid back craft challenge.


What you can do to make your crafting more relaxing?

We all have our reasons why we craft. For some It's a business and some purely for pleasure, but we all do it foremost because we enjoy it.

So what happens when your crafting becomes a cause of stress in your life? I wrote this article recently about how taking a break from crafting can help you re-focus. 
There are also other ways that you can reduce stress in what is fundamentally supposed to be an enjoyable activity for you.



1. Read the above article and re-discover WHY you craft in the first place. 
Did it start out as a way to relax, but you have found yourself trying to cram craft into your busy schedule? Don't make craft just another thing on your to-do list.

2. Don't take on more work than you can manage. Regardless of if your crafting as a business or for pleasure it's easy to say "Yes" every time someone asks you to make something. 
"I know you make cards so would you mind making 100 invitations for my daughters wedding?" 

"I saw the lovely cake you made for *insert friends name* Birthday. Could you make one for my Husband? Oh by the way, I need it for tomorrow....."

You may be every ones crafty go-to, but that doesn't mean you need to say yes to every request. 

3. Find a safe place to craft. 
You don't need a concrete bunker buried in the garden. 
It's difficult to unwind through craft if you can see all the washing that needs doing out of the corner of your eye, or the kids are running around the dining room table driving you crazy. 

A safe place to craft is just somewhere that you can concentrate on your craft without getting distracted. It could be a fold out table in your child-free bedroom, a beading tray that comes out once the kids are in bed, or a painters folder that can be taken to the park. 

So just relax, unwind and craft yourself happy!

Wednesday 12 April 2017

What does your brand say about you (and your Squirmlets) behind your back?



Victoria Reece-Heal from DHBS Marketing is here to help us understand how a little brand awareness can help improve your business image within the marketplace.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You’re creative, so crafting a fantastic brand should be a doddle (or is that a doodle).
Wrong.
Your wonderful creations are a personal testament to your creative ability and your passion. You spend hours carefully stitching detail, moulding intricacies and blending colours. This is about what you want to do and what you want to sell. However, your brand isn’t about you, or even totally about your amazing creations... it’s about your customers and what they want and like.
To show you what I mean, let’s go back to the birth of your creations...
Introducing Squirmlets.
One day you have this wonderful idea and you turn that idea in to (for the purposes of this blog) a ‘Squirmlet’. Now this Squirmlet is soft and squishy and adorably cute. They come in a range of colours and there are ten different characters to collect, each with their own personalised poem about their individual likes and dislikes. Fantastic idea and absolutely perfect for primary school aged children to collect.
So how is a brand going talk about your Squirmlets behind your back?
Well, your brand is how your Squirmlets (and your business) are perceived by others, and most importantly by your target audience (i.e. those mums, dads, aunties, grannies, etc of primary school children, as well as the kids themselves). Your brand literally speaks to your customers, telling them what to expect from you (quick delivery and quality craftsmanship) and your Squirmlets (hours of fun and swapsies with friends).
So how does your brand do this?
  • Through the words and pictures on your flyers and adverts;
  • By the quality of your Squirmlets and how you package and present them;
  • With your Squirmlet (and non-Squirmlet)posts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest;  
  • Through your Etsy descriptions, images and price-points;
  • By how your Squirmlet website and online shop look and how easy they are to navigate and purchase from...
Everything that is seen by those mums, dads, kids, etc. is your brand and each one of those elements will create an impression about you and your Squirmlets. So you need to be sure you are creating the right impressions.
So what impression are you creating right now?
  • Is it an honest and representative impression?
  • Is it the right impression?
  • Is it an impression that will interest and entice your customers?

Here’s how to craft a brand that will say the right things (up-front or behind your back!)
  1. Define your best (and actual) customers. You need to know exactly who your target market is in order to understand the best way to promote to them, with right images, best words and most suitable methods that will grab their attention.
  2. Know your competition and define how/why you are different. What makes you stand out, and what sets you apart from others offering similar products/services, is what will make customers come to you. Shout about what makes you (and your Squirmlets) special and unique.
  3. Create the right logo. A single image can convey numerous messages, and these messages are providing your potential customers with their first impressions of your product/service. Creating a first impression only happens once and creating the right impression is vital.
  4. Set the right tone. People don’t always remember the words and images you use, but they will remember the impression and the feelings they created. So how you say things is just as important as what you are saying. The right words delivered in the right way can influence your customers and persuade them to choose you
  5. Define your message. Strong, clear and consistent messages are needed across all your promotional and sales activities, in order to sell yourself to your customers... to get their attention and guide their actions.
  6. Be consistent. Make sure your customers recognise YOU instantly on your website, your Facebook page, your Etsy page, your Eshots, your craft fair signs, etc. So that means the same use of colours, imagery and messages in the same way across everything.

And one final thought for you...
Does your brand whisper sweet reminders when you deliver your products... a branded gift tag, a logo’d sticker on the packaging, a leaflet about your product range inside the package?

Or does your brand sneer and say ‘you can’t find me’ as it hides on a plain white carrier bag, a blank Facebook cover, or a missing strap line?
Blog post by Victoria Reece-Heal, who helps small businesses get new customers. Check out her blog for more marketing know-how and advice:


Tuesday 28 March 2017

DIY herb Planter


Anyone who is into cooking will tell you the advantages of using fresh herbs in your food. But how do you store them when cut herbs from the supermarket only last a couple of days?
Well you make a cool herb planter of course!

Sunday 26 March 2017

Improve the effectiveness of your boosted posts on Facebook with audience awareness



This is an article for all those of you who would like to use the Facebook "boost" feature.

If you are struggling with your post reach and haven't yet tried my suggestions on how to extend it without paying, then I would suggest you click on the image below to be taken to the relevant article.


If you have tried these methods already and you are looking to use your marketing budget more efficiently then the are ways of making your money go further.

The first thing to remember is that Facebook does not like text in boosted posts. This is because the algorithms that Facebook use to decide what content is shown to whom finds it difficult to distinguish between the topic of the text with that of the image/video. The most effective boosted content is either a picture or a short video. If you need text to appear, just ensure its embedded in the image or video. 

Like this;


Not this;

Ok? Got it? Right lets move on.

When boosting a post you can be very specific as to who you actually want to see it. There's no point marketing your page to men in their 20's when all your customers are women in their 40's

I will (once i get round to it) write an article about identifying your audience. Subscribe to this blog to be notified as soon as it's available. 

Once you know who your audience is you can use the appropriate feature on the boost window. 

Step 1

Click "create new audience"


Step 2



Step 3

Define your audience by interest. These are the things that people were prompted to list as interests when they first created their profile. 
Note, if you requested that someone must have one of the listed interests and they don't have any of them, then they probably won't see the ad.



This will refine your post audience ensuring that only your ideal customer is targeted. 

So give it a go. Try starting with a very broad audience and then quite a restricted one, see what difference it makes to your page views and sales.



Friday 24 March 2017

5 steps to increasing organic reach on your Craft Business Facebook page



Social media had become a game changer. 15 years ago if you wanted to promote your craft business your options were things like; advertise in craft publications, attend craft fairs and give out business cards perhaps even have a radio ad. Now with platforms such as Facebook and Twitter it has never been easier to put your products in front of potential customers.

Facebook cottoned on to this and now provides the "boost" feature. For a modest fee you can have your ads placed right in front of potential buyers that fit in to the criteria that you have set.

But do you know the one thing better than cheap publicity? Free publicity!

The number of people that see your business is described as your "reach". The more people see your posts and share them, the more your reach will increase. 

So whats the best way to do this?

Here are 5 ways that you can increase your reach on Facebook without spending a penny.

1. Share content onto relevant groups.

Only sharing content on your own page is just preaching to the converted. You may get a couple of shares from people who already "like" your page, but your going to be waiting a long time to see your reach increase that way. 

Start sharing your content with Facebook groups that would find it interesting.
For example, if you specialise in making button frames you may want to share a picture of a recent commission on Crafting with Buttons

If you make Harry Potter inspired book folds then you may want to share a picture onto Home made Harry Potter


2. Encourage interaction by asking questions.

If you put an interesting post on your page, someone may "like" it but that would probably be the end of it. 
If instead your asked a question, then someone may leave a comment answering it. Facebook ranks post with comments higher than that of those with just likes. Comments also work by "bumping" posts up to the top of the news feed meaning they are more likely to get seen.


3. Create "shareable" content.

Shareable content is something that the reader would think that other people would find interesting.
We've all see these posts on Facebook;
(Sorry for the naughty swearing)

This is a prime example of "shareable" content, because nearly everyone will know someone with their name on that list who will inevitably "tag" them and share the post.

By creating content that the readers friends and family will find interesting, you are encouraging them to press the "share" button. 

4. Leave the hashtags where they belong! #######

There's a time and a place for hashtags and Facebook isn't it. Facebook just doesn't like hashtags. If you can't bear to leave those scratches alone then use them very sparingly.
This info-graphic from Surepayroll demonstrates how using too many hashtags on Facebook can do your post more harm than good.



#just #don't #do #it

5. Don't be all about business.

If all you ever do is bombard people with images of the same woolly hat you have made in 20 different colours, your page will be getting "unliked" faster than you can blink. Keep the content fresh and engaging. Direct sales and marketing posts should only be making up about 50% of the content that you share. 

What are your customers other interests? If you make customised wool gloves then why don't you share that article you just saw about us being in for the coldest winter on record? If you sell bath bombs, then write a post asking people when was the last time they had a proper soaking session in the bath? Keep all content topical, relevant and consistent with your brand image.


I hope you find these tips useful. If you have any other queries as to how you can improve your Facebook business page then please get in touch, we love hearing from you!



Click the image below to be taken to our Facebook page.