Talk to Me Tuesday: Simple Xpressions Personalized!

Happy Tuesday! Today, I am honored to introduce another one of my sponsors: Simple Xpressions Personalized! for Talk to Me Tuesday.
Melissa, owner, does an amazing job customizing vinyl creations. From sports bottles to Easter baskets, she has your custom vinyl needs covered. 

Welcome Melissa!

Tell us about you!

Hi! My name is Melissa. I have 2 boys (age 8 and 4 1/2) who keep me busy! I've been creative my whole life! I love working with paper and have made and sold cards for the last 12 years. I started working with vinyl about 2 years ago and haven't looked back.  

 Tell us about your shop!  

SimpleXpressions-Personalized! came around in the spring of 2012 when I stumbled across a facebook group that worked with vinyl and instantly became addicted. I remember the awesome feeling of having something with my name on it when I was little and wanted my kids to be able to have that too, but knew that they never would have anything that could be bought in the store because their names aren't common. I made water bottles for my son's birthday that year, listed them on Etsy and it quickly took off from there. I specialize in birthday party favors and can make or match pretty much any theme.  

What is your favorite thing to make?

My favorite thing to make is definitely water bottles for birthday parties. I love being able to make someone's birthday special and unique.  

What is the hardest part of owning your own online shop?

Right now I think the hardest part is advertising my shop. I recently moved to Storenvy from Etsy and now have to do my own advertising to get business.   

Do you have any advice to share?

It can be stressful at times! Make sure you make time for life and your family (which I still struggle with sometimes) and don't let yourself get burnt out or it won't be fun anymore.   

Boy is that so true! I know for me, my family is one of the main reasons why Kiser Krafts came to be. And balancing it all out can take some time. Thank you for your words of advice Melissa. Make sure to stop by tell Melissa "hi" and where you found, and follow/like her at her SHOP | FACEBOOK |  PINTEREST | TUMBLR . Thank you so much for visiting and talking with us today, Melissa. 

♥Kelly

Handmade Mania week 21

Happy Monday! Spring has sprung forward with a time change. And boy o' boy, has it messed my toddlers up. They are behind schedule and cranky but there is hope of playing outside today as weather is warming up.

Everyone did an AAa-mazing job sharing last week - 212 views, 40 links, 607 clicks!!! How exciting and awesome is that!! It is super exciting! Thank you everyone!! I am on the edge of my seat to see what #handmadelove links you add! 

Most Viewed: 

Turtle Corner Bookmark by Ingenius Edge

Phoenix Wings in Superwash Merino by Fairytale Knits

 Staff Pick (hubby helped me out): 

Zombie Amigurumi by VGItemShop

Potter Love hoop Art by Gipson Wands

I love all of these featured handmade items! You guys are all super talented! Thank you for joining in and linking up. Now onto this weeks link up!! Remember if you make it with your own hands you can link it up no matter the platform! 

~RULES~

You can link up to two individual products from your shop below for some networking/sharing fun! Select two products from the collection to share via social media using #handmadelove so I can find and share what you have shared. And please share in a comment what two products you share and where. Thank you! ☺

(Do not share to Pinterest without the express permission from the shop owner.) 

By doing this, you'll be able to share EPIC handmade goodness and build shop your network! Also, Please share this link up with someone else. The more people we have join in, the more our items will be shared! I am super excited to share some EPIC Handmade Goodness!! ☺

How to link up:
Click "add your link"
Box 1: add the URL to your individual product
Box 2: add the product description
Box 3: put in your email address
Submit then select a thumbnail photo! ☺

You never know, your item might be the feature of next week’s link up!! ☺

An InLinkz Link-up

♥Kelly

Challenge Round Up

Hi! Here is the first week of March 2014 challenge round ups.

You can read more on Lu & Ed's blog  HERE

You can read more about it on Squshies blog HERE.







Day 1: Relaxing & Lemur

 

 Day 2: Wish & Wombat

Day 3: Mint & Dragon

Day 4: Kindness & Tawny Frog Mouth

Day 5: Big & Rhino

So here is what I have so far...sorry for them being sideways. They did that when I transferred them over.  And I have yet to figure out why and how to fix it. I do apologize.

Remember, you can join in these challenges any time. They are open and for fun!

♥Kelly

Talk to Me Tuesday: Little House of Crafting

Happy Tuesday! Today, I am honored to introduce another one of my sponsors: Little House of Crafting. Toni makes some awesome geekry in the form of pins, magnets, and perlers. She really has a great talent for finding the 'geeky' things around us.

Welcome Toni! 

Tell us about you! 

Hello! I'm Toni, the maker behind Little House of Crafting. I'm a happily married 20-something geek that loves to watch Doctor Who, play video games and of course, craft!

Tell us about your shop! 

Little House of Crafting came about in early 2013 when my friend, Lilly Inverse of Lilly Inverse Designs, began making and selling art in Artist Alleys at anime conventions. I decided to join in the fun and created a line of pinback buttons. Later, I added perler/pixel art (also known as drawing with plastic) and now offer pinback button designs in magnet form!

Each product is made by me in my adorable 650 square-foot home in southeast Michigan. Every fandom and activity featured at Little House of Crafting is dear to my heart. Great pride is taken in ensuring that you are able to share your geekery with the world at large!  

What is your favorite thing to make?

My favorite thing to make is definitely pinback buttons and magnets! I love doing custom orders for others!  

What is the hardest part of owning your own online shop?

I don't think one part of owning an online shop is harder than the other. Each part is difficult in its own time. Some weeks are great for promotions, others are great for stocking the shop. The main thing is to persevere through it all and work with other makers to avoid burnout. Take a break when you need to and remember to have fun!  

Do you have any advice to share?

Owning your own online business can be challenging but if you join a community (Storenvy Community Group on Facebook is a great one!) it definitely makes the challenge easier. With others, you can learn the basics and other tips and tricks to succeed!  

Wonderful advice! Thank you so much Toni for joining us today!! You can find and follow Toni at her SHOP | BLOG | DevianART | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | PINTEREST | TUMBLR. Make sure to stop and tell her 'Hello' and how you found her!!

♥Kelly

 

Handmade Mania week 20

Happy Monday!! Can you believe it? We are at 20 weeks of Handmade Mania! You guys ROCK! Thank you so much for making this weekly link up so much fun! This past week we had over 30 links! WOW! Thank you so much for joining in and sharing with others. The more you share this link up, the more your links get seen.

This weeks Most Viewed:

Clownfish 8bit Magnet by Little House of Crafting

Large Owl Rug by Twisted Thread and Hook

Staff Picks:

Creativity Soy Candle by Playa Blu

Irish fabric Doll by Sew Many Pretties

I love the choices this week! The most viewed had the most views ever of Handmade mania. Which shows, your links are being seen! Makes my crafty heart happy. ☺

Now onto the new link up!! Remember if you make it with your own hands you can link it up no matter the platform! 

~RULES~

You can link up to two individual products from your shop below for some networking/sharing fun! Select two products from the collection to share via social media using #handmadelove so I can find and share what you have shared. And please share in a comment what two products you share and where. Thank you! ☺

(Do not share to Pinterest without the express permission from the shop owner.) 

By doing this, you'll be able to share EPIC handmade goodness and build shop your network! Also, Please share this link up with someone else. The more people we have join in, the more our items will be shared! I am super excited to share some EPIC Handmade Goodness!! ☺

How to link up:
Click "add your link"
Box 1: add the URL to your individual product
Box 2: add the product description
Box 3: put in your email address
Submit then select a thumbnail photo! ☺

You never know, your item might be the feature of next week’s link up!! ☺

An InLinkz Link-up

♥Kelly