I got interviewed!

It was so awesome to be on the receiving end of an interview, after all the long years of podcasting and videocasting. iCreateFlix is a classroom site where I've got some videos for sale, and they talked to me on BlogTalkRadio last week. Here me talk about living my creative life, writing the book with Ilysa, and growing up in a teaching family. Among other things :)

Check Out Art Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with iCreateFlix Radio on BlogTalkRadio

One thing leads to another...

When we decided to write a book with a major publisher, we knew two things:

1. Some parts of it would be a pain in the rear (dealing with someone elses' deadlines and demands)
2. It would give us street-cred.

We were totally correct on both points. Going with a publisher means you get an editor, who may or may not work with you in the way you are best suited... it also means dealing with their schedule (they said our book would be available on September 20, and we noticed it was actually in stores and Amazon on August 23.... we actually MISSED the launch date of our own book because they forgot to tell us), and they had no marketing plan. WHAT! We are supposed to handle the marketing of our own book, totally on our own for that. So that's why they wanted us to have a strong social media platform. lol.

The street-cred thing is highly sought-after by artists. It seems that no matter how great you are at what you do, the crafting community only believes you are "real" if you've been published. I actually had someone say to me once, after I had been doing free monthly demos and teaching sessions for their polymer clay guild for several years, that I was not a "real" polymer clay teacher (because I was not published and/or traveling the country like a gypsy to teach in other cities). How do you think that felt?

I digress. It's finally here! Next month, on November 5th, I will have my first guest-post on www.CreateMixedMedia.com! I'm so psyched about that. And today I'm being interviewed by www.iCreateFlix.com for their podcast, as a guest teacher. And I have a guest post coming out on their blog later this month too, when I will be featured in their newsletter AND I'll be releasing a new class on making a mixed-media shrine with cutout niche. So cool.

The next step will be getting published in Cloth-Paper-Scissors.... and then I think I'll take over the world :)

Packing up for Craft Shows and such- Crafty Love Note # 3

At the end of October, I'm going to vend with a friend. It's mostly her booth, she's been doing it for a while and I'm just starting to poke my head into that world. So booth decor and a way to arrange my small items (mostly jewelry backstock) are on my mind.

I was at Michaels today and saw that they now have "suitcases" made out of cardboard. You know, in the boxes section where they have faux books, hatboxes and various sizes of decorative paper boxes. While I was looking at them, a thought occurred to me... Why not get one of them, and arrange the inside so that I can put all of my earrings and necklaces inside of it and have it totally ready- all I would have to do at the craft show is open it up and Voila- it's ready to go! My plan is to do some customization, the box I got is mostly black so I will probably add some paint to the outside and perhaps some other stuff, maybe paper, on the inside. I'm going to put ribbons in the lid, taut, so that I can slide earring cards in there. On the bottom, I intend to cut a piece of foamcore, wrap it in faux suede and lean it so that I can pin my necklaces inside. Then with some minor touchups, I should be able to sell jewelry right out of the box.

So here's my Crafty Love Note for you- always keep your mind totally open when you are browsing at the craft store! Sometimes I go there just to wander, think, and brainstorm and the most interesting connections get made in my mind. I problem solve and sometimes I walk out empty handed without buying anything. Today was my lucky day, because those boxes were 40% off. I might go back for more!