Can You Please Just be Kind?

So. Here's the deal. Remember how I did my big post about being a "Pollyanna"? Well lately I have come across a few people who have really challenged my "Pollyanna-ness".  

GGGRRRRRR! 

I'm sure you've met them. You know, those "Negative Nellies" in your life that you'd just like to say ... "Can you please just be kind?".  Maybe you have more harsh words, but you get the point. 

No, I am not going to change my outlook because of anyone else, but listen ... Can you help me by spreading the word? I think if we all can change our little corners of the world, maybe those who aren't so nice can get the message. Let's all band together and JUST BE NICE! Do you have a favorite blog? Leave them a nice comment! Do you follow a company on Facebook that you just love? Let them know! Is there a friend you've been meaning to call? PICK UP THE PHONE! Is there someone who has impacted your life? PLEASE let them know!

~Good heavens I sound bossy!~

Together I think we can make a difference! 

While we're on the subject of favorite blogs, I created something for one of my friends who happens to own a creative blog. She is so kind and is always willing to listen when I need to talk. 

I wanted to do a little something for her ... 

So I made her an apron! 

Riley Blake has the cutest apron panels and they're so easy to sew! 

This fabric line is called Verona and was designed by the lovely Emily Taylor. 

Click HERE to see the entire line.

I am also sewing up a bunch for Mother's Day, so if you're a looking for a quick and DARLING gift, you'll want to check these out.

I lined this one, but you don't have to.

 I also added rick rack, fabric flowers and a letter appliqué just to add a little pizzaz.

*I made the flowers using my AccuQuilt Go!Baby and my Sizzix Big Shot. The letter appliqué was created using my Making Memories Fabrique. They were SUPER easy:) 

I'll let you know what she thinks! 

And if you're with me on the Pollyanna thing, please let me know! 

Have a good night my friends and I just want you to know that I am glad you're here! 

XOXOXO

Paige

Sewing MODKID Style GIVEAWAY!~

 One of my very favorite things about the creative industry is the wonderful people you meet. Patty Young is no exception! Not only is she FABULOUSLY talented, she is an absolute joy to be around. As a matter of fact, before we even met in person she found out I had a daughter named Emma and promptly sent me her "Emma"pattern! 

I used it to make my Emma this costume ... 

Not only does Patty make great (and EASY!) patterns, 

she is a talented fabric designer  ... 

{Here's her latest line Lush!}

PLUS she's got a brand new book, Sewing MODKID Style! 

AND GUESS WHAT?

Patty and her publisher Wiley were nice enough to send me a copy!

Let me tell you ...

As someone who is FINALLY ready to start sewing with knits, I was so excited to receive this book!

 When I started sewing, it wasn't really a matter of wanting to sew with them, good quality ready-to-wear knits simply weren't available. It seems that they went out with the 70's when my dear mother-in-law used to make shirts for my husband! In the last few years this has changed. More and more manufactures have added lines of beautiful, and best of all, high quality knits! I spoke with Patty several times about her tips and tricks (and really wanted her to tutor me ... Too bad she lives five states over!), and she assured me that this book would help. Guess what? She was right! Not only are there 20 easy to make patterns, she also has an entire section on how to sew with knits, including helpful tips and finishing tricks!

Look how cute these projects are!

I can't wait to get sewing! 

Now for the best part ... 

YOU CAN WIN YOUR OWN COPY! 

All you need to do is leave me a comment telling me if you sew with knits and why or why not! 

THAT'S IT! 

EASY! 

Also, you'll want to visit these other great blogs on the tour ... 

Sewing MODKID Style Blog Tour

Monday, April 2nd, 2012: Wiley Craft Blog

Wed., April 4th, 2012: A Sewing Journal

Friday, April 6th, 2012: Pink Chalk Studio

Monday, April 9th, 2012: Melanie Dramatic

Wed., April 11th, 2012: Stop Staring and Start Sewing

Friday, April 13th, 2012: Generation Q

Monday, April 16th, 2012: Lil Blue Boo

Wed., April 18th, 2012: True Up

Friday, April 20th, 2012: Paige Hill

Monday, April 23rd, 2012: Boutique Café

Wed., April 25th, 2012: The Long Thread

Friday, April 27th, 2012: Sew Pretty Dresses

Monday, April 30th, 2012: Prudent Baby

Wed., May 2nd, 2012: Our Busy Little Bunch

Friday, May 4th, 2012: Fat Quarterly

Monday, May 7th, 2012: Making It Fun

Wed., May 9th, 2012: MODKID blog

Please take a minute to visit MODKID designs:

 http://modkidboutique.com/

 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Patty-Young-Designs-MODKID/

 https://twitter.com/#!/pattyyoung
~You'll just love her~

I'll leave the comments open until Friday, April 28th at Midnight (MST),
so please leave yours before then:)

~Have a wonderful weekend~

XOXOXO

Paige

Mom It Forward ... Kids Crafts!

Emma and I did some creating last week ... 

It's a TOP secret Project for Grandma Sue's Birthday!  

See what we did over on  Mom It Forward  and please leave a comment. 

I'd love to hear what you think.

Do you create with your kids?

PLAID crafts has LOTS of great products to make it easy and fun! 

Stay tuned to see what else we create with our Paper Flowers:) 

~Have a great night~

5 Fabulous Facebook Marketing Tip for your Creative Business ...

You're a creative person. You have an Etsy shop or a website or maybe both. You want to promote your work online, but you can't afford advertising. Where do you go from here?  Facebook is an EXCELLENT marketing tool that you can use to interact with your customers, network with other creative friends and, of course, promote your business. As the administrator of several fan pages on Facebook, I have five tips I'd like to share ...


1. "Drive by" advertising is not your friend. DBA is when you post on a site as your fan page saying something like "New fan here from (insert fan page)" or  "Come check out my Etsy shop (with a link)". Most large fan pages will simply delete or hide your post and my even block you. Not to mention that Facebook has a filter and will automatically hide posts it sees as spam*. DBA's never come back and interact with the members of the Fan page, they simply leave a link to their page or Etsy shop. Or they do come back several times with the same message or advertising post. Can you see how this is problematic for the Fan page owner? If you have 10 people DBA ing every day, you'll end up with a wall full of advertising that you are hosting on your page. Your legitimate fans are annoyed because when they come to your page, it's full of advertising, not exciting content or information they can use. What do you do? You just want to get your name out and everyone has to start somewhere ... Right?

So how can you legitimately (and nicely!) advertise your brand on Facebook without spending money?

Read on my friends:

2. Follow (as your fan page) other creative pages and interact (again, as your fan page) with these pages. Get to know them. Participate in their posts. Tag them (using the @ sign) in posts that you think may be relevant to their page and yours. For example, say I own a fabric store on Etsy and have just completed a project using Patty Young's fabric and my Accuquilt cutter. I would write a post saying "Hey look at this great project using (@) Modkids new fabric line, Lush and flowers cut from my (@) accuquilt GO!Baby." The tagged fan pages will show up on their walls as well as in your post. Tagging is a great tool with one caveat ... Keep it GENUINE and don't over-use it. Use your best judgement on when it is relevant.


3. CONTESTS are a NO-NO on Facebook unless you run it through an app, which costs money. I was going to type up a big post about it, but then my friend Cheryl found this post. Please read it. Whatever you do, PLEASE don't run a contest on your Facebook wall. It is against their rules and they will shut you down. Plus, it makes the playing field unfair for those who follow the rules.


4. Consider having a "Share" day on your fan page. Make it clear that this day is for your fans to post their shops, fan pages and websites. This is a WONDERFUL way to interact with your fans, PLUS you're introducing new shops/companies/fan pages to your page AND your fans!

5. Get to know your fans by posting relevant content. Interact with them by posting thought-provoking and INTERESTING comments at least five times per week. Also, make sure you answer questions and respond to comments in a timely manner. It is VERY frustrating to fans when a page doesn't respond, especially to a direct question or comment. Make it a habit to check your page a few times a day, maybe every time you check your email. Your customers and fans are important. Show them that they are by responding to them!

 It takes time to build a fan base, but don't focus on the number and get discouraged. In my opinion, it's better to have a smaller number of fans that actually interact with you than 20,000 fans who never respond. I would much rather feel like a member of a community than just a number!

~

 I hope these tips are valuable to you and your business. If you have any comments, please leave them here and I will respond. This is a WONDERFUL creative community and I am more than happy to share what I have learned! 

XOXOXO

 Paige

*NOTE: The "Hidden Post" tab is located directly under your wall tab on the left hand side of your page. Get in the habit of checking it daily. Sometimes posts you DON'T want hidden will end up there and you don't want to hide important posts.

A Period Drama Update ...

Way back in April I posted all about my love for PERIOD DRAMA. I know there are more like me out there. Are you a kindred spirit? Judging from my Facebook timeline, it seems like everyone LOVES Downton Abbey and I am NO exception (Especially since I cheated and watched the ENTIRE second season along with the UK in the fall:), but I need some suggestions. What are your favorites? I'll share my top 5:

1. Pride and Prejudice. 

The BBC version from 1995. 

That's all I have to say~

2.Downton Abbey

I don't think I can put into words how much I love this series. If you haven't seen it yet, go right now and watch it on Netflix. Or PBS. Or online. Just do it. I promise you'll thank me!

3. Bleak House

AMAZING! I loved each and every episode. Plus, it gave me a brand new love for Dickens, which leads me to number 4 ...

4. Little Dorrit

Oh so lovely! I loved the characters, the interaction, the story. FABULOUS!

5. A Room With a View

I watched it for the first time in 1989. I don't think I appreciated the beauty of it until last night when I watched it again. It's STUNNING! And I LOVE Helena Bonham Carter as Lucy.


 I also loved both Cranfords, Every BBC Jane Austen, North and South (not the US Civil War one), Mansfield Park and the last BBC Jane Eyre.


Now it's your turn! What are your favorites?

Please share with me! Let's dish:)

My New Adventure ...

Gather around my friends ... 

So. Here it is. I have been toying with an idea for another blog for more than a year now. I bought the domain, yet I didn't know if I actually wanted to go through with it. I was working so hard at Where Women Create and The Creative Connection, so it didn't make sense to go out on my own. Well my friends, the time is now. Yesterday I made the big step and sent my inquiry on to the designer. The wheels are in motion and there's no backing down ...

~Creative Friends, Crafty Adventures and a Project Here and There~

Who the heck is Cricket Wallace? 

Stay tuned to find out! 

*HUGS* 

And a GREAT BIG THANKS for all of your support! 

XOXO~Paige

Forging your own path ...

How do you decide when to stay in the safe comfort of the footprints of the snow and when to make your own path? How do you make the decision to NOT follow the trail that was made and blaze your own? And if you do make that call, do you just throw on your boots and go for it? What if you fail?

 This month I have struggled with these questions.

 I have bantered back and forth, weighed all of the options, listed all the pros and cons, then I made a tough decision. I will not be continuing with Where Women Create in 2012. The time has come for me to move on ... Try new things and explore other opportunities. Plus, I'd like to actually CREATE something myself. Maybe sew? Maybe paint? I don't know, but it's time! I also want to spend more time working with Riley Blake. They are a FABULOUS company with the best fabric and people behind it! I absolutely love them. Plus, I hope to have another BIG announcement coming at the first of the year which will truly be a dream come true for me and will be just what I need to forge my own trail.

*This pup looks just like my Marley!

I am crossing my fingers that the footprints that I leave in the snow will lead me to bigger and better things! 

 I hope yours do as well ...

I'm pulling on my boots ... Won't you join me?