Going Live - Selling Your Crafts Online

By Veronica Scott

Any type of money-making adventure requires a lot of thought and dedication. This is especially true when you are planning to open a business to sell your craft. You might have the greatest product on earth, but if you don't market it correctly, people won't know about it and your product will go nowhere. For those who have already taken the leap and opened a store, you might know this already and you might be ready to explore other venues.

The Internet has taken the world by storm. Nowadays, many consumers spend a majority of their time and money surfing the web. What better way to expand your small business than by starting up your own website?

There are some important aspects to consider that involve more than just taking a course on how to develop your own html link. You have to get a game plan going, an idea of what you want to do and where you want your business to go in the future. Once you have a strong idea established, the rest can easily fall into place.

For starters, know what it is you want to accomplish with your online business. Are you trying to serve a larger customer base or do you want to better accommodate those individuals who already purchase your products? How detailed do you want your website to be? For example, do you want to stay strictly with direct sales or do you want to include chat rooms and customer feedback on your site?

Any business takes up a tremendous amount of time. You have to consider how much extra effort and energy it takes to open up a web-based business. If you are already swamped with orders for your product, consider hiring extra hands to help you out. You also have to realize that the Internet is open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, so you will have to keep up on orders consistently.

What types of websites are you interested in using? There are a slew of options available, ranging anywhere from the cheap to the extremely expensive. If you are just starting out, consider finding a site that offers a free advertisement or an inexpensive one page listing. Be wary of "online malls" that offer paid advertisement listings because the site may not get as much traffic as it claims.

If you are going to pay money for a mention on a website, be sure it receives numerous hits.
Conduct a little research before making your final decision. You can also start your own website for relatively little costs. If you really want to get high-tech, purchase your own domain and have it hosted by a third party. By doing this, your cost will be determined by what kind of service you purchase for your personal web site.

Stating an online business is no more involved than opening up a physical location. Just change your way of thinking and consider different circumstances. Doing so will enable you to become a great success.

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Arts and Crafts for Kids - How to Make a Glasses Case or Purse

By Lyn Bell

Whether you are a camp director, teacher, or parent looking for new arts and crafts for kids, try this idea – it’s sure to be a hit. The glasses case can be used, given as a gift, or converted into a necklace purse. The crafting idea can be used in a group situation or for individual children.

To make the glasses case, you will need some simple materials such as a square of craft foam, plastic or large blunt needles, lanyard lace or thick yarn and a hole punch. In place of needles you could use a bobby pin (hair clip or grip) especially for younger children it is certainly a safe alternative.

Cut two rectangles from the foam, each 9 cm (3-1/2 inches) by 15 cm (6 inches). With the hole punch, make holes on three sides of each rectangle. Be sure to leave one short side un-punched. Make the holes 1.5 cm (1/2 inch) apart and allow at least 1 cm (1/4 inch) between the hole and the edge of the craft foam. The holes need to line up so that the two pieces can be laced together. If you are preparing the craft for small children, you should make the holes yourself.

The young crafters can then cut decorative shapes from other colors of craft foam, or you can buy sets of ready-cut foam shapes. If the craft is being done for a special event, choose shapes that echo the theme of the event. For example for a cowboy theme, you could find boots, cowboy hats, and stars that fit in well. Let the kids choose the shapes they like and glue on as desired. You might also like to provide beads or sequins to glue on as well, especially for older kids.

The kids will then need to thread the plastic needle or bobby pin with the yarn or lanyard lace. Yarn might be a little easier to handle, but lanyard lace is shiny and attractive. If the kids are using a bobby pin, loop the yarn through the opening and use the open end as if it were the point of the needle. The children can now begin to lace the front and back of the glasses case together.

To turn this arts and crafts idea into a necklace purse, simply attach a piece of lanyard lace to each corner making a long handle. Kids will enjoy using this case as a place to store secret notes and small objects. They can even give the glasses case as a gift to a parent, grandparent, or friend who wears glasses. Or they can sell the finished cases at the school fair to make some money for more craft supplies.

Arts and crafts for kids teach the children new fun skills and helps develop imagination or even the budding entrepreneur.

Lyn Bell has been in the finance industry for more than 30 years and is a Certified Financial Planner. Arts and crafts is one of her hobbies which she enjoys sharing with others. For other fun arts and crafts for kids ideas visit http://artsandcraftsforkids.weebly.com/ or http://craftideasforkids.weebly.com/