Happy Monday!

This weekend I learned a new skill. Go me. It is a bracelet pattern out of the October 2008 issue of Bead & Button. It was called Web of Silver. My mother’s birthday was on the 7th, and she had seen a version of it in a bead store display near the cash register. So I sat down and learned the pattern. I have to say that the pattern of webbing around gemstones make the bracelet look more expensive then I thought it would. So I am making two versions for her. The first is silver webbing with garnet gems, and the second it silver webbing with fancy jasper.

As a side note to that, I finally found a way to package and mail off my little flower rings. I haven’t figured out a name for the series of rings. But I want to package it like you would find it in a store. I am going to use small clear jewelry bags with a card stock fold over. I am thinking of using the word Blossom in the name.

I also got a new book this weekend. It is called Crafty Superstar. Grace Dobush wrote it. After I read it I am going to give a real review of it. I do think that it is worth picking up and can say that already. So keep an eye out for the full reviews coming soon. I was drawn to this book because of the real way she talks to the reader. The book feels more like a conversation then an instructional guide.

I also looked at picking up Craft Inc. It is a book with similar information. I am going to buy it next. Both books cover the business aspects of running a craft base business. This book is more about legal issues you need to cover while growing your business.

So in my attempt to gather the largest wealth of small business advice for our fellow Etsians, I would like to know more about your experiences. Do you have any advice that has worked for you? Do you have anything that you have tried that hasn't worked? Do you have anything you are trying right now that seems to be going well?