I had heard of several other authors who now use pinterest to help keep their inspiration going when writing a book. I love it!  I decided to go on and play a little. So these are the pins I choose for my completed manuscript FORGOTTEN REINS.

What do you think?

Week #5

Wow, we’re now halfway through our 10 week talk on selling your craft online. If you’ve missed any of our previous talks, you can click here to start at Week #1.

Have you ever gone out with a group of friends and gotten this really…really…really awesome idea to go do something? I’m sure you have, or maybe everyone was just sitting around having lunch together and looking for something to do out of boredom. Either way, when you presented your idea or suggestion to the group, nobody but you were interested.
It’s like signing up with three friends for karaoke and then when it’s time to step up on stage, you find yourself all alone.
Well, not exactly. But you get the idea, right?
That’s usually how it is in the craft business.
In most cases, selling your craft involves a one person solo act or a duet partnership. Often you’ll find partnerships between siblings, mother and child, spouses, or best friends. Having an extra hand in keeping up your online shop, selling, and craft creation is has both its pros and cons. Yet, today, we’re just going to approach the subject of going solo, since that is what most artists, writers, and crafters present themselves.
So what does going solo mean?
You’re a one man/ woman show. What you sell is your craft and nobody elses. You alone are the boss of what you do. You handle what goes into your work and what you get out of it.
Financially speaking, going solo puts all the financial risk on you. At the end of the year, you simply file a SCH C for your business on your 1040 with the IRS.
As a sole proprietorship, the IRS treats you as an individual, they recognize your name, they send you tax notices, and they expect you to pay on time.
However, going solo doesn’t mean that you don’t have a support system in place. Perhaps it is your family, friends, or even hired professionals. The two basic things you must accept when going solo is that 1) you can’t do everything yourself  and 2) Nobody’s perfect.
You may need to relay on others to help you keep up the financial end of your business. This may require hiring a bookkeeper or having a spouse help you enter invoices and help package product to go out the next day. It could require having someone watch your children for a  few hours while you catch up on orders or work to meet a deadline. It could simply be supportive customers casting word of mouth advertising to get you started.
You’re never alone, no matter what craft you choose to sell. It’s okay to step up on the stage alone, just as long as you’ve got your friends standing near by to cheer you on.
Are you flying solo or soaring over the wings of your support system?

In the meantime, I had to try to find some quick and easy meals this week and while floating around on pintrest (yes pintrest, I’ll tell you more about it in a few days.) I came across this mouth-watering Chicken Ranch Pizza recipe by Fake Ginger.

Her picture looks so much better than mine, but it was so yummy I had to make another pizza because the kiddos gobbled it all up! Ranch dressing is a big hit in our house and to put it on pizza… yeah the kiddos were in love at first whiff.

I’m all for quick and delicious recipes, how about you?

Got one you’d like to share?

I hope today that Emmanuel Kelly inspires you too!

Last weekend I took a writing workshop with Cheryl Klein on re-visioning a novel. She had some great ideas and techniques for writers, but she also introduced me to wordle. I know we’ve all seen those posters full of words and other sayings.

Wordle was a program developed by a IBM researcher and how the program words is this: you take a piece of writing and insert it in the wordle text box. The program will then pull out the words used most frequently in the text. You can change the layout and the colors. Cool right?

This this my Forgotten Reins Wordle.

I’m thinking I’ll do this with all my novels when their finished, it’s a piece of art made of words and reflects a part of the story that leaves us all to wonder until we read the book.

So I’ll leave you with these pondering words of my wordle today, as I get back to writing.

Week #4

So far we’ve covered: Craft Ideas, Plan and Purpose, Inventing Your Style, and today we’re about to play the name game.

If your like me, then you’ve probably got a lot of ideas running through your head. You love to create things, whether it is with words, textiles, or recycled products.

Now that you have a plan, you want to sell your craft online….but you can’t decide on a name.
It is a lot of fun playing the name game, isn’t it?
It’s a lot like playing the “what if” game. There are many possibilities to choose from.
Here are some helpful hints to help you decide on just what to name your craft business.
For writers, this means using your real name or a pyseduem. It’s not uncommon for a writer to have more than one name, especially if they write in several different genres. This way their fans follow the name of the genre they like best.
The same could be said for an artist. In the beginning years of putting their artwork on the market, it takes time to build a reputation. Many artists, like authors use their real name or pyseduem. They build a business of selling their craft based on their name.
Which is a whole lot less paperwork with the IRS if you use your real name, but we’ll get into that in more detail later.
What you do need to know, however, that when playing the name game to sell your crafts online, you need to take in consideration both the IRS and SEO. Two totally different things, but equally important.
First we’ll approach SEO, because let’s face it. No matter what name comes out the winner in your name game it won’t matter to the IRS as much as it will to the success of your customers being able to find you. That’s what SEO is all about – KEYWORDS.
Keywords are these little things we drop into our names, our product descriptions, and what search engines look for every time someone types a word into their database.
For example, if I went on google and typed RED KNIT SCARF, it would bring up a listing of shops that have product searches and keywords matching my search.
So, if your craft is exclusively knitting, then you would want to put the “knit” or “knitting” into your shop name.
Now here is where the IRS comes into the game. Taking the example above, say you decide to call your shop “Knit Whit Creations” (look it up…who knows it may actually exist). You’d have to file for a DBA with the IRS. This would involve filing for a EIN number and a Fictitious Name (there are fees involved here).
Yet, if you decide to call your craft shop “Karen’s Knit Creations” and your first name is Karen, then you wouldn’t have to file for a Fictitious Name. According to the IRS, if you use your real name (the one you file your taxes under and most likely the one you’re mother gave you at birth) then you don’t have to file for Fictitious Name, just a DBA and EIN.  A little less paperwork and a few dollars more in your pocket toward start-up costs.
Hopefully, by now, you’ve got your name narrowed down to a few choices. Or maybe, you’ve selected the one…remember this name will stick with you forever. You’re not going to change your name often due to paperwork, IRS, and if opening a shop through etsy.com, it’s just not allowed.
Got your name? There is just one last thing. Ever hear of a back up plan? Make sure you’ve selected a second choice or back up name for your endeavor. Before you go to the IRS, register a domain name, or set up shop, you need to first check to see if your name is available.
Let’s face it, we all know that there is more than one John Smith in the world, but there may only be one John Smith Milling Co. That’s what you need to find out. With the billions, yes billions, of names out there in the world and the expansion of the Internet, you need to make sure your name hasn’t already been used by someone else.
You can search places like godaddy.com to find out if your name has been already reserved in as a domain name.
When you’re done playing the name game, or if you already have a name and want to share, we’d love to read it in the comments sections. Think of this as your opportunity for a little free promotion. I don’t need ads or gimmicks – those will be deleted, but feel free to share your business name and website for your craft.
(anything spam or non craft, art, or writing related will also be deleted).

As a writer, paper lover, and person who normally gets mail everyday I wanted to share this super idea with you. Mary Rominette Kowal has posted this challenge and so I want to forward the challenge to all of you this month in Febuary.

This challenge is this:

Every day starting with the first day of February write a letter and send it to someone. Simple right? It doesn’t have to be a letter necessarily as we think of a sheet of paper, but could also be a short note in a card, or simply a card that might make someone smile or brighten their day because you thought of them. The catch is… you have to mail it. I know it will cost you $.45 for a stamp in the US, but the cost is little compared to what it might mean to the person on the other side of the mail box.

You can send a letter to a  loved one, a friend, or a complete stranger. There are several listings of places where you can send cards and letters to prisioners of war, those who fight to protect our countries, or those in homes and shelters needing to know someone cares.

Stars and Stamps has a great resource for those of you who like to make cards to send to our troops. I highly recommend hoping over to their blog and checking out how you can create and contribute to this effort.

Well it’s time for me to finish unpacking before our weekly bible study group meets. Hopefully, somewhere in my suitcase are some photos to share!

like these yummy yogurt strawberrys from Jessica Gamer

or how about these adorable crochet heart bobbi pins by Grateful Prayer and a Thankful Heart?

or check out this sweetheart coupon book by Passionately Artistic

and last but not least of today’s heart-speration share is…

this darling princess hair style.

I’m out of town today, but I’d love to see what you’ve made this week or what heart-sperations you’ve found. Be sure to link up below. I can’t wait to see all your heart-sperations!

I’ll see you all again on Monday, have an awesome weekend!

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First of all, I want to apologize for the lack of  posts this week. Our family was bit by the flu bug. For the past two days, Bug and I have been curled up in bed watching cartoons and being sick together. Bella had it a few days before us, and hopefully it will bypass Boy and Chad. Or I pray so.

Last Saturday, Bella’s girl scout troop went bowling. It was just the three of us, Bella, Bug, and I. And both of them scored higher than me. I guess I could use the excuse that Bug had to ‘assist’ me by holding on to my ball until I left go, but it was the time we spent together that mattered. Bug couldn’t pick up the bowling ball she rolled it instead. Nothing like granny bowling at the bowling alley!

Tuesday night, before the flu hit, Boy’s cubscout den went on a tour of our local fire station. The kids learned about fire safety, and dialing 911 in an emergency. They even got to see a crew go out on a call and come back, thankfully it wasn’t anything very serious.

Yesterday was Bugs field trip to the Discovery Workshop over at the YMCA, of course we didn’t go, but don’t tell Bug she missed her field trip. The last thing I want to do is upset my sick child.

Chad has been great this week with taking Bella and Boy to school for me and checking up on us.

As you read this, I’m more than likely on my way to NY today for the SCBWI conference this weekend. Just me, Ole Blue, and the highway. I’m happy to say that after two days of being knocked off my feet I’m still able to attend the conference.

I’ve had a lot of challenges this week and a some big decisions to make, but I’ve been really thankful that our family has rejoined and is back in our Life Group again through our Church. We’ve just started studying the book of Romans. I had missed our group, its support, and the weekly assignments that brought on the motivation to dive deeper into my Bible.

I promise to share plenty of photos and tell you all about my trip when I return, and if you could so kindly say a prayer for Boy and Chad that they don’t get the flu while I’m gone or that Ole Blue and I don’t have any mishaps on the road today, I’d greatly appreciate it.

Oh and yesterday was both my big sisters birthdays. No they’re not twins. Just born a year apart to the day. Happy Birthday to my sisters!!

Happy Friday Everyone!

Week #3

Invention and style are both words we are familiar with, however, when we put them together it can become a little confusing.
For instance, inventors are people who create new products for the use of society. So really an invention is the product of an inventor. Much like you the artist, crafter, or author, you’re long hours of creative talents are spent on creating a unique and well crafted invention. That invention may be a story or novel, a piece of art, or designer knit sweater.
Of course, style has a complete different meaning. If you ask a writer about style, they would automatically assume you’re talking about the prose of their words for creating a story. Yet, if you ask a fashion designer about their style, they would refer to the types of fabrics, prints, and overall design of several items of clothing assembled together to make a great outfit.
A dear friend of mine loves french country decor, that’s her style, with a little hot pink and black pitched in for good taste.
So, how do you go about inventing your style?
It maybe easier than you think. You’ve been inventing your style from the very first time you began using your talents, even before you knew you wanted to sell your craft.
Just take a look at your craft. What do you create? How do you do it?
If you’re craftsmen or an artist, look at your products.
What colors do you favor most in your creation? What textiles do you use most often? (fabric, wood, metal, beads…etc..) What do you create? (type of product, art, or writing genre)
Now look around yourself. What do you love? What type of decor is in your house? What is your favorite color? Yes, color has a lot to do with you personally and your style. Just read Blue Today Green Tomorrow to find out.
For instance you may just find something out about yourself you didn’t know before. Don’t be shy, what’s your style?