hello friends! i’m sure many (if not all of you) are familiar with MOO, the digital printing company. particularly popular in the handmade community, they make stunning business cards, greeting cards, stickers and accessories! from personal experience, my favorites are the MOO MiniCards (but you know that, because i told you in 2009!). they are half the size of regular business cards, which make them unique and super memorable.

today i am beyond excited that MOO has offered a giveaway for not one, but three lucky winners! thanks, MOO!

about the cards:

MOO MiniCards: MiniCards are half the size of business cards but ‘twice as nice’! upload your own images or personalize their designs. use up to 100 different designs in each pack, with a different image on each card. show off your portfolio, your products, your business or yourself. plus, when it comes to the jolliest season, they make great gift tags and place holders too!

MOO holiday cards: send a festive greeting this season, it’ll impress clients of course, but to friends or family it’ll mean a lot more. easily upload your own photos or designs, or personalize with a selection from MOO. customize with a logo and message to create individual cards or even have a different image on each card!

wrap up: {business} {giveaway} {holiday cards} {minicards} {moo} {printing} {winners}

hello lovelies! i’m attending fall quilt market this weekend (eeee!) and decided to make a little business card holder for the event. i made one for myself and another one for one of you as well! they are really simple to make, and only take a few minutes. each of these are made with some custom fabric i designed and ordered from spoonflower, but you can use any cotton fabric. read on for the tutorial and giveaway details!

supplies:

- 2 pieces of fabric measuring 4.5″ x 6″
- 2 pieces of fusible web (i use lite steam-a-seam 2) measuring 4.5″ x 6″
- an iron
- pinking shears
- sewing machine

step 1:
apply each piece of fusible web to the wrong side of each of your pieces of fabric and iron into place (follow package directions).

step 2:
peel off the paper liner of your fusible web and fold each piece of fabric in half, making each piece 4.5″ x 3″. iron to fuse together.

step 3:
cut around all 4 sides of each piece of fabric with your pinking shears, making one piece 3/4″ shorter than the other to make a place for your cards to ‘peek out’.

step 4:
lay one piece of fabric on top of the other and pin into place. using your sewing machine, straight stitch on top all the way around using a 1/4″ seam allowance.

finally, i’m so happy to be giving the one pictured above away to one of you!

deadline: giveaway will end wednesday, october 31st at midnight, pst.  the winner will be drawn at random and announced here on thursday, november 1st.

to enter: leave a comment below sharing why you’d like to win this business card holder. (attending an event? just need to have one handy?)

additional ways to enter:

>> like going home to roost on facebook, and leave another comment here letting us know you did so.

>> tweet the following, and leave another comment here letting us know you did so:

Giveaway! Enter to win this handmade business card holder on @gohometoroost! http://bit.ly/VkdTcE (Ends 10/31).

**giveaway is now closed. congratulations yuri (#6), you won!

wrap up: {biz} {business} {card} {diy} {giveaway} {holder} {tutorial}

**UPDATE: psst.. this workbook, video and ebook are now included in the welcome packet when you sign up for the roost tribe!

today i am so excited to share with you a project that has been long in the works. we all know that it’s important to accurately describe the items we sell online, but did you know that it’s also important to tell a story through your product descriptions? it engages your customers, draws them in and helps them connect with both you and your product. here to help us write killer product descriptions that support our brand story is brittany campbell.

if you happen to recall the interview i did with etsy a while back on how to pitch to bloggers, you might remember that i talked a lot about how much i admired brittany campbell’s ability to write amazing product descriptions for her shop, the home ground.

i”m so happy that brittany agreed to come share with us about how to write amazing product descriptions through this engaging interview, printable and thought provoking workbook. to begin, check out the interview above (it’s about 25 minutes) to get an in depth look at why it’s important to engage with your customers, how to tell a story through your products and how to go about getting started.

to accompany this interview, we’ve also put together a little checklist for you! just click on the image above to download the pdf. it’s the perfect size to keep at your workspace and will serve as a great reminder as you sit down to write your descriptions.

want to learn even more?

finally, for those of you who’d like a more in depth look at this topic, i’m thrilled to be offering this 14 page interactive e-book to the roost tribe! it takes an in depth look at how to write engaging product descriptions and provides a 10 step fail-proof process to mastering the art of telling your brand story through your descriptions. with writing prompts and a place to jot down your ideas and thoughts, it’s a must have for any seller, regardless of whether it’s on etsy, big cartel or an independent website.

this e-book will be sent out this friday, october 26th to the roost tribe. you can find out more information and learn how to join here!

wrap up: {advice} {brand} {business} {descriptions} {e-book} {etsy} {handmade} {interview} {printable} {product} {selling} {story} {tell}

this little cutie patootie diy biz card holder is easy enough for anyone, i promise! when i saw it on justina blakeney’s blog i instantly fell in love with it. it’s simple, yet trendy and obviously handmade (notice i didn’t say ‘homemade’- there’s a big difference! haha). you could even add a few arrow stitches or some ////’s or even some >>>’s!

for craft shows, business meetings and trade shows i think having a unique card holder to accompany your unforgettable business cards would just put the recipient over the top. head on over to justina’s blog for the full tutorial and a cute little pattern print out.

wrap up: {biz} {business} {card} {diy} {easy} {felt} {holder}

i don’t know about you, but without my iphone and several handy apps, my online biz would suffer and i’d feel completely out of touch with you! whether you’re a blogger, crafster, indie biz owner or just a lover of all things creative, i think you’ll enjoy the apps above (they are my personal favorites!). however, i know you all have to have some favorites of your own. so go on, spill the beans! what are you favorite apps for creative souls?

1. paypal
2. instagram
3. etsy
4. dropbox
5. evernote
6. square
7. wordpress
8. pulse
9. pinterest
10. adobe photoshop express

wrap up: {apps} {business} {crafty} {creatives} {devices} {free} {iphone} {mobile} {photography}

when i recently learned about stitch labs (discovered via papernstitch) i was absolutely blown away. in a nutshell, it’s a design-focused, fully integrated business management suite for designers, makers, sellers and crafters. and it’s exactly what i’ve been looking for!

in more than a nutshell, stitch labs is a management program for product-based business owners who sell their products through one or multiple channels (e.g. online, wholesale, consignment, trunk shows or street fairs). it’s an incredibly intuitive solution for managing inventory, orders, contacts, shipping, expenses and business analytics all in one place.

wrap up: {business} {code} {independent} {managment} {organize} {program} {stitch labs}

happy friday, lovelies! today i have an inbox inquiry comes from the lovely writers over at plant. eat. create. they wrote in to ask me a few questions about going home to roost and how i’ve grown it over the years, and below you can find my answers!

pssst.. if you like ghtr, make sure to visit their blog, as i think you’ll see we have a lot in common!

1. Did you intentionally try to grow your blog to make a living off of it or did it just happen?
hmm, well sort of both. i started it with intentions to dedicate all that i had to it, but kept my expectations low. i really wanted to create a beautiful space to share my inspirations, projects and recipes- so i focused all of my energy on making it the best that it could be, rather than on gaining more readers.

2. If you did try to grow it, how did you go about that?
i’m not sure that i really set out to grow it, but rather just did things that made sense as i went along. twitter and facebook have been a huge help and they are great way to network- plus they’re fun! i have also always tried to focus on two areas that i believe are critical to growing your blog: consistency and an authentic voice.

3.Did/do you pursue sponsors or advertisers or do they come to you?
i have never pursued advertisers but rather just put the word out there. i am blessed to say that they have always found me! :)

4. What are some other things that you’ve found have increased your blog traffic?
i really feel like reaching out to others and making an effort to create genuine connections goes a really long way. growing meaningful relationships with others in the industry is so important and fulfilling, as blogging can be a little lonely at times! other good ways to connect are through the many social media outlets- flickr, pinterest, twitter, facebook, instagram are all great ways to meet and greet. :)

5. Do you think its possible to plan a blog like a business venture or do you think it just has to happen if it’s gonna happen?
hmm, good question! i think it could definitely be both, but it seems like to me that most people tend to either become overnight successes or grow their blog over a long period of time (like me). i think if you set out with honest intentions and focus on your authentic voice, anyone can become a success. just remember to be consistent and be YOU!

wrap up: {blog} {business} {grow} {inbox inquiry} {increase traffice} {questions}

hello friends! i’m excited to share with you this morning a new e-book just released by one of my favorite gals, jena from miss modish! it’s called the tip-top pitch kit and it’s all about how to pitch yourself and your business to blogs. pitching yourself to blogs can be one of the easiest and most successful avenues of ‘advertising’ you can have, but also one of the scariest! well have no fear- if you’re an artist/designer/maker looking for more exposure for your online shop, and products, this kit will teach you everything you need to know about pitching yourself to blogs.

you’ll learn:

- how to choose which blogs to submit to.

- what you should say in your pitch.

- how to grab an editor’s attention.

- and what really goes on after you hit send.

sound good? it gets better! not only does it include all of what miss jena has learned over the past 6 years as a professional blogger and biz woman, but also features insight from over 25 design bloggers (hint hint, you might see someone you know!!). :)

with 61 pages, there’s a LOT of awesome advice and know-how just waiting for you to read! head on over to the tip-top pitch kit shop to snag your copy today!

wrap up: {biz} {blogger} {business} {e-book} {kit} {pitch} {promote}