Rachael's Handmade Designs

Hi All, As the outside gal, creativity is your strong point. Sometimes, tho, we all run into a brick wall. One way to battle this is to clear the cobwebs from your work space. It really gives you a fresh start. (Personally I find that it's difficult for me to create when my space it too messy or too clean. I like it *just right* I like to see what I have and what I can work with.) I also feel that going through your supplies every now and again when you feel blocked can really be beneficial.  This is where the "Inside Gal" can come in handy. Clear off your design table. What do you have? Take inventory of your supplies. (Jot down price if you have it available.) What do you use on a constant basis? What have you *not* used in the last six months? Generally if you don't use it in six months, you won't ever use it. (Side note: this works for just about everything you own - wardrobe, personal effects, books, etc.) So? Sell what you don't use! Recently I sold ...

Hi All, I hope you all had a safe and wonderufl fourth of July! Stunning photographs can be hard, but you don't need a fancy uber expensive camera to get premium photographs (I know - I'm a photographer!) You don't even have to hire a professional photographer! All you need is: 1. A nice quality point-and-shoot camera with a macro feature; and 2. knowledge of light and how to manipulate it. (Also, you don't need an expensive program like Adobe Photoshop, either. I like to use a free program called Irfanview to play with my photographs - it's simple and easy.) Let's talk about light. Leonard da Vinci spent years studying light. He would drape fabric and draw what he saw and how the light played off of the fabric and where the shadows and folds occurred. Eventually, da Vinci's study of light led to a style of shading technique called chiaroscuro , which allowed da Vinci to paint a broader range of light than he actually saw. This, in turn, provided da Vinc...

Hello All, Let me preface this post by saying that the FABG selling technique is not my original idea. When I was in commission sales I read a selling book that saved my life (and my paycheck) by Harry J. Friedman called "No Thanks, I'm Just Looking". While not the most well written book, Friedman does a great job of explaining how his years in the industry have helped him to form his professional retail sales techniques and turn shoppers into buyers. I recommend you pick this book up! It has saved my bacon many many times!! So, What *is* FABG? FABG stands for Feature, Advantage, Benefit, Grabber. Any item can be FABG'ed. Features - features are parts of the piece. Either a part of the piece or a characteristic of the piece. Often times this is the size, color, texture, materials used, etc. Advantages - this is tied directly to the features of the item. An advantage is what the customer will gain from the feature. Friedman uses the phrase "which means...

Hi All, This is Part I of a new topic. It's an in-depth look at your store and what you should be doing to make your shop work for you, not the other way around. I use this as my personal functioning list on Etsy and its what I offer as critiques for other small business owners on Etsy; although some of these apply to just about any business, online or otherwise. Some items I've taken from their critique list and other items I've added from my own experience. So follow this list for a more complete shop and to get the sales you want on Etsy! 1. Are you using ALL possible features ? This includes the exorbitant following list: a. Profile - fill out your profile completely for a more rounded-out shop. If your customer views your profile, they want to get to know you. b. Location (City/Town, State/Province, Country) - customers want to know where you are located and where their shipping will come from. (*most buyers on Etsy are from outside of the continental United...

Hi All! I wanted to share with you a fun and exciting new way to create a card.  Let me first say that I did this tutorial with just a regular 80 lb. sheet of legal sized paper to make a mock-up first. You may want to do this, too, before you start to work with your favorite sheet of cardstock.  So - let's get started! You Will Need: 1.  8.5x14 piece of cardstock; 2.  a ruler; 3.  something to score with (I use scissors+my ruler) 4.  craft knife + self-healing mat or protected surface. 5.  pencil ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ To Do: 1. Cut down your 8.5x14 sheet of paper to 12x5.5. 2. Lengthwise, score at 2"; 4"; 8"; and 10". 3.  Now, along the first score line, measure 2" down from the top of the card. Mark with a dot.  Do the same on the 10" score line and, pressing LIGHTLY, connect the dots across lengthwise.  This is where you will cut. 4.  Now do the same, only measure 2" up from the bottom and do the same as you did befor...