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Maker: Soap Maker Vanessa Cochran of Soap Farm
Inspiration

Maker: Soap Maker Vanessa Cochran of Soap Farm

ByAurora Lady October 28, 2013July 26, 2014

Vanessa Cochran is a soap maker. She also runs her soap making business, Soap Farm. It’s a lovely line of soaps with variety… and that’s to say the very least. When you go to her website, you’ll see everything from…

Read More Maker: Soap Maker Vanessa Cochran of Soap FarmContinue

How To DIY Your Next Product Photoshoot
Business Tips

How To DIY Your Next Product Photoshoot

ByAurora Lady October 18, 2013July 11, 2014

We’ve been told this old chestnut time and time again—if you are selling online, you need great photos of your product. As eyeroll inducing as it is, that old chestnut is correct. Images are the direct way to show your…

Read More How To DIY Your Next Product PhotoshootContinue

andy warhol and art : good words
Inspiration

andy warhol and art : good words

ByNicole Stevenson October 5, 2013July 11, 2014

Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make more art. -andy Warhol

Read More andy warhol and art : good wordsContinue

creative time management
Business Tips

creative time management

ByEleanor Whitney September 27, 2013July 27, 2014

Grow Your DIY Business: Creative Time Management By Eleanor Whitney *editor’s note: we’re so happy to have eleanor as a regular contributor to dear handmade life with here bi-weekly friday ‘grow your diy business’ column. we’re also beyond stoked that…

Read More creative time managementContinue

The 5 Second Trick to Help Images Show Up in Google Search
Business Tips

The 5 Second Trick to Help Images Show Up in Google Search

ByGuest Contributor September 17, 2013July 9, 2014

by: steph calvert *editor’s note: for those of you not familiar with steph calvert…welcome to knowing one of the hardest working talented women dear handmade life knows. she’s the powerhouse behind hearts & laserbeams and the tech expert behind dear…

Read More The 5 Second Trick to Help Images Show Up in Google SearchContinue

five tips for using pinterest for your business
Business Tips

five tips for using pinterest for your business

ByGuest Contributor September 10, 2013July 11, 2014

five Tips for Using Pinterest for Your Business *editor’s note: dear handmade life is happy to welcome guest contributor andreea ayers. she’s an indie entrepreneurial powerhouse with a marketing degree and tons of first hand experience running her own business….

Read More five tips for using pinterest for your businessContinue

the benefits of taking a break
Adventures

the benefits of taking a break

ByNicole Stevenson September 4, 2013July 11, 2014

the benefits of taking a break a few weeks ago my husband, seth told me a secret. we took the afternoon off and drove to goat rock beach. the thing i hate about northern california beaches is that they play…

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eight product packaging tips + all my ex’s
Business Tips

eight product packaging tips + all my ex’s

ByNicole Stevenson August 23, 2013July 9, 2014

8 things your product packaging should be: if all my ex’s were in room together and a stranger walked in and was asked, “what do all these people have in common?” chances are the stranger would run through a hundred…

Read More eight product packaging tips + all my ex’sContinue

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Relatable? Drop an emoji! 📣BTW: 🗓Today is th Relatable? Drop an emoji! 📣BTW: 🗓Today is the last day to apply for our fall @thepatchworkshow season! Apply via our bio 🔗. 

Our fall Patchwork Show schedule:
🏖 Long Beach @marinestadium 10.29
☀️ Ventura @downtownventura 11.5
🌆 Tustin @oldtowntustin 11.12
🌉 Oakland @jacklondonsq 11.18
🌳 Redwood City @cityofredwoodcity 11.26
🎨 Sebastopol @sebastopolarts 12.2
🛳 San Pedro @craftedportla 12.10

#shopsmall #shopsmallbusiness #smallbiz #craftshow #patchworkshow #craftfair #craftmarket #makerfaire #makermarket #communityovercompetition #communityevent #longbeach #sebastopol #oldtowntustin #sanpedro #oakland #jacklondonsquare #marinestadium #redwoodcity
Rather be getting crafty than making content for I Rather be getting crafty than making content for Instagram? READ THIS ⤵⤵⤵

Same friend, same. I used to spend HOURS searching for trending audio, scripting & shooting reels and writing captions for Instagram. After lots of trial and error I now I have a real strategy I use to plan, create and post here on Instagram. I’m able to conceptualize and create a month’s worth of posts in a day and I love never having to wonder...

What should I post today? 

I’ve got it planned out and my posts support my business goals. 

I’m ready to share it all with you in our new course debuting next month,
📱 Instagram for Creatives 🎨 where you’ll learn to confidently create and plan on-brand content that builds your community and business on Instagram.

Join the waiting list via our bio 🔗. 

This course is years in the making and I can’t wait to show you the behind the scenes of how I manage two accounts and over 30k followers.
Einstein said, “There are only two ways to live Einstein said, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

If it’s not obvious, I choose the later. 

Here’s to my 47th year on this planet and every beautiful, sad, funny or confusing moment. Thank you to all the people who have loved and supported me and made life more interesting. Ever grateful for it all. 

P.S. - Last year I started this birthday tradition of making a slideshow of myself through the years. The idea behind it is to destigmatize self-celebration. Why shouldn’t we toot our own horn? The answer is, we should!

Birthdays are the ideal time to look at yourself with the eyes of someone who adores you. YES, you can (and should) adore yourself! We’re taught that self-love makes us conceited & that it’s a bad thing but loving yourself is actually pretty selfless.

Hear me out! If you love yourself, you’ll embrace the best parts of you & share them. When you share those parts with the world, you make it a better place!

It’s scary to put yourself out there but you can’t let that little voice hold you back.

Think about the artists, musicians, actors, chefs, writers etc. who inspired you, made you see things from a new perspective, caused you to swell with emotion or made you feel less alone.

I bet every single one of them wrestled with their inner critic. How much less magic & beauty would be in the world if they gave in to that voice saying, “what makes you think you’re so special?” etc.

If you want to get me a birthday present, it won’t cost you a dime.

Comment below with something you love about yourself. It can be a talent, accomplishment, natural gift etc.

It can be BIG or tiny (if you’re proud of yourself for getting out of bed today despite feeling anxious/depressed, that’s something to be proud of & love about yourself and it isn’t tiny). Sometimes the smallest things can feel like mountains.

Get to it! I can’t wait to celebrate YOU today!

#innerwork #innercriticbegone #impostersyndrome #movingforward #keeponkeepingon #birthdaywishes #smallbizsupport #smallbusinesssupport
What can you expect at Craftcation 2024? ✨Five What can you expect at Craftcation 2024?

✨Five life-changing days at the beach in California.
🎨💻Over 200 craft and business classes taught by industry experts.
😍Lots of social gatherings to connect, educate and foster community.

As multi-year alum @marshmueller said...
“Craftcation has this effect… when you walk through the door it’s almost like a magical transformation.”

Holly and all the other alums and newbies... we can’t wait to see you next April!

Discounted early bird registration is open now! 

#craftcation #craftconference #smallbusinesssupport #smallbizlife #artconvention #craftconvention #makersformakers
Which emoji best describes how you cope with appli Which emoji best describes how you cope with application anxiety? 

🍷 📓 📚 📺 🎧 👯‍♀️ 🌮 👟 or something else? 

Application anxiety is real! Remember, one craft fair won’t make or break or break your business.

BTW: Our @thepatchworkshow applications close next week on 9.27. Apply via our bio 🔗. 

We have SEVEN awesome locations in California this fall.

🏖 Long Beach @marinestadium 10.29
☀️ Ventura @downtownventura 11.5
🌆 Tustin @oldtowntustin 11.12
🌉 Oakland @jacklondonsq 11.18
🌳 Redwood City @cityofredwoodcity 11.26
🎨 Sebastopol @sebastopolarts 12.2
🛳 San Pedro @craftedportla 12.10

#craftshow #craftshowprep #smallbizowner #smallbiztips #smallbusinessowner #smallbusiness #makerfaire
Ready for the last one? You have to tell yoursel Ready for the last one? 

You have to tell yourself the new story over and over until you believe in its truth. You may not believe your new story at first, you probably didn’t believe the negative story that you’ve been telling yourself all these years at first either but you kept telling yourself and eventually it felt like the truth. You can do that with the positive story...

📣Tell it to yourself again and again until it becomes the truth. 

This process sounds simple but it isn’t. You’re basically trying to change the way your brain works, the way you think and that isn’t easy. 

⛷Imagine if you skied down the same mountain every day, several times a day. Your skies would make a path in the snow. Imagine you did this for years, like 20 or more years. That path would be deep. 

❄️Then, one day you decide there’s a better way to ski down the mountain. You point your skis in this new direction but after a few feet, you’re back in that old path. 

🗻Every time you go down the mountain, you may be able to go a few more feet on this new path, heck, some days, you may hit a stride and go for 10 or 20 feet on this new path but it takes patience, determination and resilience. 

🧠This is what it’s like to adjust your mindset in your brain. You’re basically carving new neural pathways in your brain for your thoughts to move from, you can’t do this to yeah, we’ve got this! 

Now that you have all this information, what are you supposed to do with it? I want you to take action! I want to help you bridge the gap between understanding and doing.

Join the waiting list for our course Goals Getters Academy where you’ll figure out what you really want and craft a doable plan to make it happen. Just DM me goals and your email address and I’ll add you to the list or join via our bio link. 

#innercriticbegone #innercritic #craftbizlife #craftershelpingcrafters #craftersgonnacraft #smallbizowner #smallbusinessowner

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