Feeling a Block? Ways to Find Inspiration!

Do you ever sit down to create and realize that nothing is coming to you? Or that whatever you're trying to do isn't working? But you don't know how to fix it? Or you sit there and sit there and nothing happens? Your muse has left the building.

This can happen to all of us. It's just a case of being blocked and all you need to get past it is a little inspiration! Inspiration can be found anywhere and everywhere and you've just gotta be prepared to look. Sometimes it can be found in places you'd never even dream of looking, too!

Here I'll list some places I think inspiration can be found. Some of them are rather obvious. Some maybe not so much. If you can think of any, please feel free to comment!

1. Go outside!

Nature is almost always one of my biggest inspirations. Everyone always says "Stop and smell the roses" but when do we do that? Okay, maybe we smell them but how often do we stop and just marvel at their color or the way their petals are so perfectly formed or the curve of their stem as it reaches toward the warmth of the sun? Let the simplest flower be your inspiration. Stare at it. Smell it. Draw it. Close your eyes and pretend you've put it in your hair. Now you'll need an outfit to match, right? Work it!

2. Play with water.

Water is probably my biggest inspiration, specifically the ocean. If you're not near the ocean, look at pictures of it. Read about it. Or discover water in all its other forms. Look at a lake. A waterfall. A stream. Even a dirty puddle on the ground with a sheen of car oil across the top can be beautiful in the right light.

Play with the water. Fill a cup and close your eyes and let it slowly spill out. (Do this somewhere over a sink or the ground, though, or you'll just have a huge mess to clean up and that will surely make your creative block even bigger.)

Swim in it. Do you have a pool near you? A lake or pond or river? The ocean? If you can, go get in it. Feel it flow over you. Imagine yourself a sensuous mermaid or a flirty little fish or a gracious dolphin.

3. Go to a flea market.

Sometimes looking at all the work other people do can either inspire you or show you how NOT to do something. Wander up and down the aisles and pay attention to the colors and textures. Touch things. Talk to the artisans. Listen to what they say. Sometimes I get so many ideas just listening to another artist talk about their creative process. We can help each other even if we don't know we're doing so!

4. Listen to music! 

There are so many different kinds of music that you could listen to a new song in a different genre every day for a month and just think of all the inspiration you'd find! If what you usually listen to isn't inspiring you lately, try something new. Pick a different genre, one you wouldn't normally listen to. 

Say you normally like hard rock. So today you're going to pick country music. Go to google and type in "country music" and "most beautiful" or "timeless" or something. Listen to what comes up. Don't turn it off immediately. Give it a chance. Stop and realize that that musician has dreams and inspirations and blocks just like you do. Appreciate the art of their creation even if it isn't to your taste.

Not working no matter how hard or long you listen? Try classical music. Or bluegrass, rap, religious, folk, anything!

5. Laugh!

Laughter is my absolute favorite thing in the whole world. Anything can be made better with laughter. Anything can seem brighter, more full of hope, more fun, prettier with laughter. Genuinely laughing will put you back on the artistic road in no time. 

What makes you laugh the hardest? Do you have a friend who makes you laugh so hard that you roll on the floor with tears in your eyes peeing in your pants? Call that friend! Is it a comedian? Does hearing Bill Cosby sing about chocolate cake and kids make you giggle like a schoolgirl? Find that shit on youtube! Old episodes of tv shows? Those are online, too! Dig out a joke book. Ask random cashiers if they've heard any good jokes lately. Tell someone else a joke if you've heard a good one. Laughter is contagious!

6. Help someone. 

And do it for free. It doesn't have to be a huge undertaking but try to go out of your way just a little bit. Being generous and expecting nothing in return opens your eyes a bit to what's around you and what's going on in other people's lives and that, in turn, will bring you inspiration. I guarantee it.

If you're at Starbucks or a toll booth or something, pay for the person behind you when you pay for yourself. Offer to help carry groceries for an elderly woman. Drop off some clothes or food to a homeless shelter. Shovel your neighbor's sidewalk when you're doing your own. Help an online noob figure out how to post a picture on a forum or set up their etsy shop. It could be anything!

I have a million more and will post another installment soon. 

I hope something here was able to help you! And feel free to comment with your own tips and stories and inspirations!

Tutorial: How to Add a "How Did You Find This Shop" to Your Paypal Checkout

Ever wondered how your buyers found you and your stuff? Sure you did. And do. So do I!
And I've discovered that there's an optional question you can add to your Paypal checkout that asks your buyers exactly that: How did you find me?

The question is entirely optional and will appear at the end of purchase while your buyer is paying. It's super easy to set up, too!


1. Login to your PayPal account
2. Go to -->My Account -->Profile
3. Selling Preferences --> Custom Payment Pages --> Options --> Merchant Service Options
4. Check "Add a Customer Service Survey" and fill in the blanks with the choices you'd like to offer, i.e. Etsy, Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Friends
5. Save

And voila!

New to Selling?

Are you new to selling? Have you been wanting to sell for a while but were afraid to try? Do you find the idea of writing item descriptions daunting? Do you already sell but constantly look for ways to improve your descriptions? Maybe this can help!




First of all, the best advice I can ever give to a seller: Describe your item like there are NO pictures at all, and take pictures like there is NO description at all. Then, when you put them together, you've got magic.




In this blog post, I'm going to cover most of the things you will need to include in your description, whether you sell on Etsy, eBay, Zibbet, ArtFire, or your own website. And don't worry; they're easier than you think!




1. The item itself. This seems obvious to most of us, right? But it goes beyond just the basic shirt, jewelry, card. What kind of shirt is it? What kind of jewelry? Is it a silk tie-dyed tunic? Turquoise wire-wrapped earrings? What else is included with the purchase? Does your photo show the item on a table with a few other things? You should crop the photo, but that's a blog post for another day. In the meantime, make sure your buyer knows exactly what is being offered for sale and what is not included.




2. Color. Keep in mind that all monitors are different and that everyone can have different settings which can change how color is viewed. I find it's easiest to be as specific as possible when describing color. Not very color savvy? Grab a big box of crayons and match it up!




3. Size. How big or how small is your item? Be specific here. You can't list a bracelet and say it's smaller than a breadbox. Get a cheap tape measure at the dollar store and include measurements. If you're selling jewelry, make sure you let your buyers know how long the item is. Pictures can't always convey length properly. If you're selling clothing, make sure you include bust, waist, shoulders, and hip measurements along with the length. Remember, buyers can't hold your item or try it on! Let them know if it will fit them by being as specific as possible.




4. Material. What is your item made from? What kind of cloth/stone/metal/paper is it? How is it made? Is it serged/quilted/wire-wrapped/etc?




5. Care instructions. Let your buyers know how they can keep your item clean, if necessary. If this is a clothing item or a purse, they will want to know. Can it be tossed in the washer or is it a dry-clean only item?




6. Weight. This can be helpful, and sometimes necessary. Are you selling gorgeous vintage earrings that weigh a ton and can only be worn by people with strong ears? Are you selling a heavy wool sweater? Let your buyer know.




7. Usage. How will the buyer use this item? If it's a bracelet, how does it stay closed and how can you put it on? The same goes for anything, really. Describe the buttons, the clasps, the zippers, ear wires, etc.




8. Feel. This is kind of subjective but I like to include this information when I can. Is something faceted or smooth? Is it soft, rough, textured, or silky? Lightweight, thick, comfortable?




9. Allergens. Make sure you include this information somewhere, whether it's in your profile, your bio, your policies, or the listing itself. Does someone in your house smoke? If yes, this needs to be disclosed. Do you have pets? Lots of potential buyers are allergic and would need to know this. You never know when a stray hair can end up in a package. Do you include dryer sheets when shipping? You probably shouldn't, but lots of sellers do, and this should be disclosed.




10. Packaging and shipping. How is the item going to be shipped? Do you use First Class, Priority, USPS? Or do you use UPS or Fed-Ex or another option? Buyers love to know this. How do you package the item? Do you lovingly wrap it in a gift-box, tie it with a coordinating ribbon, toss it in a baggie? Do you recycle packaging materials? I do, and lots of buyers love that. Lots more sellers are doing this, but make sure you disclose it somewhere so no one gets annoyed or offended. Are your packaging materials eco-friendly? Mention it!

Tutorial: How to Take a Screenshot

Being a seller on Etsy, I sometimes find my items in treasuries that other sellers make. These are always such beautiful collections that I want to take a screenshot, or screen capture, and share these with other people. In talking to a few of my friends the other day, I realized that some of them did not know how to do this. It's super easy. Watch!


Make sure you have the webpage that you want to capture centered on your screen. Look at your keyboard and find the 'Print Screen' button. This is usually somewhere near the top right, to the right of the F12 key.


In some systems, it works fine for you to just press the 'Print Screen' button, but with mine, I have to press 'Ctrl' and 'Print Screen' at the same time. Some systems require you to press 'Alt' and 'Print Screen' at the same time. Try one, test it with the next step or two, and if that doesn't work, try it the other way.


After you've captured your screen, you need to have somewhere to put it!
The easiest place is in your Paint. If you have Windows, you almost certainly have Paint. Look in your start menu.
Start Menu --> All Programs --> Accessories


Once Paint is open, you will see a blank screen. Perfect for pasting your screen capture!
Up at the top in Paint, you will see the Paint menu. Click on Edit and select Paste. Your screenshot will be pasted right there! If Paste is not an available option, that means that your screen was not captured. Try capturing it again with the step I listed above. Try 'Ctrl' and 'Print Screen' together or 'Alt' and 'Print Screen' together, and test it by checking the Edit menu in Paint.


Now that you've taken your screenshot and found somewhere to put it, you could be done! If you like using images as bitmaps or find that it doesn't matter to you either way, then just save your screenshot and you're done. 
If you want to crop or otherwise edit the photo, save it and reopen it using your photo editing software. When you save it after editing, it's best to save it as a jpeg. How to edit the photo is a tutorial for another day. I hope this post helped someone!

Tutorial: How to Add a Grab My Button!

I have been talking with other bloggers lately about trading ad space with each other for free for 30 day blocks. I think it's a fantastic idea, a great networking tool, and a way to support each other while still getting the word out for your shop or your blog.


But rather than have to email each other attachments every time you want to trade ad space, I realized that you can just add a Grab My Button! ad on your side bar for them to just, well, grab!


On the right is an example of a Grab My Button! and please, feel free to, um, grab my button.





Here's how you can add this to the sidebar of your own blog for easy grabbing:


1. First, make sure you have an ad or a button. The easiest way to do this, as I did, is to take a photo of one of your products and add your name or link to it with photoshop or a similar program. It's best to keep the image size under 200 pixels wide so it will fit in most sidebars.


2. Upload your new ad to any hosting site. I use http://photobucket.com because it is free, but there are a lot of options out there for web hosting.


3. Now, open a new tab or window and go to your blog. This tutorial only works with blogspot as I have never tried anything else. Log into your blog, click customize, then Layout, then page elements. Click 'add a gadget' and then select 'HTML/Javascript'.


4. Copy and paste the following in the text area:


<img src="http://YOURADURLHERE.jpg" /> <br /> <textarea style="text-align:center" rows="5" cols="20"><a border="0" href="http://YOURBLOGURLHERE.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://YOURADURLHERE.jpg"></a></ textarea>


5. Keep that window open and go to Photobucket, or whichever photo hosting you are using, and copy the direct link URL for your ad. Then come back to your blog window and paste that URL in both places where I've written YOURADURLHERE. Make sure you leave the quotation marks as that's what keeps a link active in HTML.


6. Then, see where I've written YOURBLOGURLHERE? Put your blog's URL there. Or your shop. Or whichever site you want to link to.


7. Make sure you save.


8. Go forth and multiply.

Tip of the Day: Twitter

I love the idea of doing a tip of the day (or two or ten, or skip a day or two, whatever).
We all had to start somewhere. Some of us are newer than others at blogging, tweeting, selling, living, whatever. There are lots of things I had to piece together on my own, or dig up, or just get slapped in the face with before I learned them and so I'm going to pass on that information to whoever happens to be reading this. Congrats, that's you! Unless there's no one here and then I'll just talk to myself. Either way.




Today's Tip of the Day: Twitter


Are you lost on twitter? Does it confuse you? Maybe you're scared to sign up or don't know how to use it effectively? Do you care? You should.


Twitter can be a powerful tool for your online business. It can also be a wonderful place to make new friends. Ideally, you will combine the two. I'll try to help you figure out how.




1. First, set up a Twitter account.
The best way to do this is to make it the same as your Etsy ID, your Artfire ID, your domain name, etc. You want to trademark yourself across the internet and be recognizable.


2. Fill out your profile and add an avatar.
This makes you more accessible and people can more easily gauge if you'd be a good person for them to follow.


3. Find some people to follow.
Don't go crazy and just follow anybody. That will end up driving you crazy and add to your confusion later. Twitter has a search box about halfway down on the righthand side where you can search by subjects. Are you a painter? Type art, artist, painting, acrylic, or something similar in the search box and you will find people who have used those "hash tags" recently. These are probably people you will want to check out.


It is also good to find people who share the same hobbies with you, so it's not always about business on Twitter. Do you like to garden? Try searching gardening terms. Or cooking terms. Or music.


It is also a good idea to figure out your target market for your business and aim at having some of those people follow you, too. Do you sew and sell purses? You might try finding well-known fashion magazines on Twitter and following a few of the people who follow those magazines.


4. Comment and reply on the people you follow.
If you see a tweet that sounds interesting or asks a question, answer it! Make sure it is addressed to the person you are replying to so they see it. Meaningful conversations are a great way to meet people and become known on Twitter. Other people can see the conversation and think, "Hey, that person sounds interesting! Let me check them out!"


5. Follow back.
You don't have to follow back everyone who follows you. But check out their profile. If they look interesting, follow them back! If they just spam links to their own items, feel free to pass.


6. Make a few interesting tweets throughout the day.
Don't be one of those people who tweets what they are doing 24/7. No one will care if you are going to the bathroom at 7:47 am and eating toast at 7:52 am and waiting for the mailman at 8:02am. Tweet things that others will respond to or find something in common with or that are just plain interesting. Tweet a few things in the morning to connect with the morning crowd, a few things in the afternoon for a different crowd, and a few things in the evening, too.


7. Let people know you're now using Twitter.
Do you have a facebook fan page? (New tip of the day blog post about that soon) Let your fans know your twitter link. Do you have a blog? Put a 'Follow me on twitter' link there. Visit discussion forums and join in on the twitter talks and see if anyone there looks interesting and add your links if they do.


8. Visit http://wefollow.com/.
Here you will find a ton of categories to browse to make it easier to find people you'd be interested in following in the subjects that interest you.


9. Be somewhat consistent.
Don't post a ton of stuff on Monday and then forget to check for a week. People like other active people and will engage much better if you're active. And interesting. (Notice a theme, yet?)


10. Use Direct Messaging sparingly.
This is a big one with a lot of twitterers. DMs are for saying things to people that you don't want public. A lot of people use DMs to spam. Don't do this. Don't send a DM saying "Hey, thanks for the follow. Come buy my stuff." Don't send a DM saying "Retweet this for me". Don't send DMs just to say "Hi."


Okay, well this ended up longer than I'd intended but what the heck. Hopefully it will help someone! If you have any twitter tips and tricks, feel free to comment and let me know!