Red White & Blue!

lol... I was gonna skip the UWIB blog hop this month, but I see I have been included on the list on the group blog...
Unique Women In Business

So, here goes...

Now,  head on over to see what the other UWIB gals have posted for this coming 4th of July/ Red White & Blue/ All American Celebration!

Rita Wetzel www.HandmadeBits4u.blogspot.com
Judy Woodley - www.WellspringCreations.blogspot.com
ME! Linda Stranger - www.capecodjewel.blogspot.com
Trudy Miller - www.MommaGoddessTreasures.blogspot.com
Wendy Kelly - www.blog.vintageday.com
Ann Rinkenberger - www.harvestmoonbyhand.blogspot.com
Miriam Nelken - www.goldcrestbags.blogspot.com
Robin Koehler - www.nestlingsbyrobin.blogspot.com
Cory Trusty - www.store.aquarianbath.com/index.php/blog
AudreyFetterhoff - www.AudreyGardenLady.blogspot.com
Janet Bocciardi - www.thehoneyfromthebee.blogspot.com
UWIB- www.uniquewomeninbusiness.blogspot.com
Karen Terry http://www./jmjcreations.blogspot.com

Spring... sigh...

"Spring" is the theme for the UWIB blog hop this month, but I'm having a tough time coming up with something to blog about.

It's hard to think about Spring when the morning shows frost on the grass and temps in the 30's... but the birdies are still singing up a storm, and the sun rises bright in a blue, blue sky. I know it's getting here... just in tiny steps.

These are NOT the birds who sing, but they're all over the place around here. ;)

Yes, it snowed the other day... snow does not obey the stop sign!

This is actually a hard time of the year for me... I'm prone to depression in the spring. I feel tired all the time, and I'm cold, and definitely lazy, so even though I have plenty of things I should be doing, or making, I'm eating and sleeping too much... is that what spring fever is?

I know it's not much, but I DID at least change my blog background to look more "springy". ;)

So, I know this is kind of rambling/blathering, but my fellow UWIB gals are a great bunch, and I'm gonna go and visit their blogs and see what they've come up with. :)

Have a look, they're all listed right here.

Rita Wetzel                http://RitasCreativeNest.com

Jenn Nolda                http://brynnsbeautifulbows.blogspot.com

Ann Rinkenberger http://harvestmoonbyhand.blogspot.com

Robin Koehler          http://www.nestlingsbyrobin.blogspot.com

Linda Reynolds        http://bellalindadesigns.net

Audrey Fetterhoff      http://AudreyGardenLady.blogspot.com

Birgitte Hendricks     http://SewDanish.blogspot.com

Wendy Kelly              http://blog.vintageday.com

Janet Bocciardi         http://www.honeyfromthebee.com

Linda Stranger          http://capecodjewel.blogspot.com

Karen Terry/McDuffie http://jmjcreations.blogspot.com

Judy Woodley           http://wellspringcreations.blogspot.com

Trudy Miller                http://mommagoddesstreasures.blogspot.com/

Cory Trusty                http://aquarianbath.blogspot.com

Nancy Pace               http://nancyswildwirejewelry.blogspot.com

Lois Stifel                   http://foxygknits.com

Jenn Brockman         http://alexshares.com

Also, here are the links to our blog and our ETSY Team

UWIB ETSY Team - http://www.etsy.com/teams/6263/unique-women-in-business-uwib

UWIB Blog - http://uniquewomeninbusiness.blogspot.com/  

Thanks for stoping by, and I'll come up with something better next month. ;)

Coming Soon to CCJ&T

My favorite soap supplier has discontinued her product line... so if I want to keep enjoying my favorite soaps, I'm going to have to make them myself. :)


Coming Soon!!! 


That means I'll have lots of extra soap, so keep an eye out for CCJ&T's new line of quality handmade goat's milk soaps! I'm also planning on making up some awesome gift packages combining my jewelry creations with my soap, for a true "bath & beauty" experience. ;)


What do you think about that?

Big Time UWIB Giveaway!!!

The

Unique Women in Business Yahoo Group

is

having a

UNIQUE GIVEAWAY!

"Feel the Love"

The Great Valentine's Giveaway!

One Winner will enjoy an outpouring of love

with the following gifts arriving to their door

from Unique Women in Business from around the world!

Beach Escape Pendant by Maria Soto Robbins of artbymsr

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=26433986

Cherished Collection-Archangel Wings by Karen Terry of JMJCreationshttp://www.jmjcreations.etsy.com/

Hearts and Roses Mini Wallet by Rita’s And Bags and Morehttp://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=39032957

Lovebirds - Antiqued Birds and Red Hearts -

Valentine's Day Earrings by Tracy of Polished Two

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=39334154

Luggage or bag tags by Bridget of Japip

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=39815488

Monogrammed Note by Jennifer Pilchak of Lilly Pea Designshttp://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=36273654

Note Cards by Julia

http://www.lindentreephotograph.etsy.com/

Pink Flowers Aceo by Julie WabiBrookStudio

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=31752460

Rose Geranium Perfume by Cory of Aquarianbath

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=38677793

Rose Love Garter by Donnielle of DesignKnitFun

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=39897329

Tapestry of Love Print by Robin Maria Pedrerohttp://www.etsy.com/shop/RobinMariaPedrero?section_id=6003632

Vintage Pink Heart Earrings byTrudy aka Momma Goddesshttp://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=39933279

To be eligible to be in the drawing for the
“FEEL THE LOVE” UWIB Great Valentine’s Giveaway
post a comment on the UWIB blog.

Here is the link to the blog to enter your comment:
http://uniquewomeninbusiness.blogspot.com/2010/02/feel-love-uwib-giveaway.html

One winner will randomly be chosen from the list of on

February 14th 2010,

Valentine’s Day.
Twelve packages will be shipped directly from the shop owners

to the winner’s door.
The small print says it’s all FREE, No SHIPPING Costs, No Fees!
UWIB ladies give to their communities around the world
and wish to share the love with friends, family and the world!
GOOD LUCK!!
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!Written and organized by Robin of RobinMariaPedrero on Etsy

Thanks for stopping by, and as always,

Bloom Where You are Planted!

Big Hugs,

Karen

post pilfered from:

   http://www.jmjcreations.blogspot.com/ 

who pilfered it from: 

   http://uniquewomeninbusiness.blogspot.com/2010/02/feel-love-uwib-giveaway.html

;) ;) ;)

Twitter, and the quest for more followers

This question was posted by a fellow UWIB member, and I thought my own observations about Twitter might help...


"I haven't figured out how to increase Twitter following. I googled it but it was no help. One article said to follow people connected to what you do. How do you find them?..."

-Miriam

www.goldcrestbags.etsy.com

www.goldcrestdesign.etsy.com

www.goldcrestbags.blogspot.com

I've found that Twitter, though it can be effectively used as a business tool, it is really just an interactive social micro blog. 

Twitter doesn't like when you use outside tools to increase your followers, and using them will eventually get your account suspended, especially the sites that auto tweet, DM or follow other tweeters for you. 

The best way to use Twitter is to just be yourself, tweet about what interests you, follow others who you find interesting and DON'T ONLY tweet about your business, new listings, sales... no one cares.

 

Start off by doing a search on a topic that interests you, and follow a handful of folk who post interesting tweets.

 

DON'T follow too many new people at once, Twitter will see that as suspicious activity and will suspend your account. 

How many is too many? Twitter doesn't say, but of the folk who've followed me and been suspended, I'd say the number is less than 300, but I wouldn't follow more than 20 at a time. The idea is to get to know people and grow your followers slowly.

 

I started by following other Cape Codders, folks here with UWIB, fellow web nerds, deal sites and funny people... ya gotta have funny people on your list. :)

 

See who other people you like are following. Don't worry about who's following you, at least in the beginning... it's about who YOU follow and interact with. If they're polite Tweeters, they'll follow you back, at least long enough to see if they connect with you. Then the ones that DO connect, will recommend you to others, respond and re-tweet your tweets... that's where you'll get quality followers.

 

Keep in mind, not many tweeters join Twitter to shop, but if they like you and connect with something you offer, you WILL get some sales... at the very least, you will get some exposure. 

I follow 600+ people and have 800+ followers. I have gotten a few sales from Twitter, and I have bought more than a few items that were shared by folk I follow. But mostly, I find Twitter to be a pleasant pass-time where I keep up with friends, make new ones, share some laughs, gain some ideas and inspiration and generally have a good time.

I hope this helps you, and if you're not already following me, you can at:

http://twitter.com/capecodjewel

I'll follow you back. :)

Take a look at my lists, especially http://twitter.com/capecodjewel/funny

Weird and Wonderful

While doing a little window shopping through the land of Etsy, I came across some items that I would classify as "weird". I thought, why not do a weekly blog posting featuring a couple of weird things, balanced by a couple of "wonderful" finds. I hope you enjoy my picks. :)

First, here's something I found particularly weird. This print of a photograph shows a female adorned with a real octopus! I can only imagine how that felt, and my thought is, it didn't feel good. I wonder if they had to photo-chop the goose bumps off of her. Euwwwwwww!

Here's something wonderful... I love this original work of art, and here, it is applied to a framed tile. (you can also  purchase a full-sized print) I find this piece both haunting and beautiful.

 Now, this piece is definitely weird, but also cute as heck. ;) I'll let it speak (or smell) for itself...

 

Finally, this piece is a little odd, but it is oh so wonderful! I want to jump into this piece and frolic along with the wonderful creatures within. It's so fun. :)

 

I hope you've enjoyed my first W&W post. Please visit the artists (the pictures are linked) and come back next week for some new choices. :)

byhand.me - Your Handmade Shells by UWIB

I'm a member of a great group of women called Unique Women in Business. It's a Yahoo group, and if you would be interested in joining us, leave a comment and I'll send you an invite. :)

Below is a spotlight I made up on the site: byhand.me, which is a wonderful site to promote your handmade goods and businesses.

Saturday, 28 February 2009   Linda Stranger

Tags: shells, UWIB, cameo, fleur, crochet, purse. earrings.

UWIB's take on Shells

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