Craft Tips for Newbies No 9

Low cost curtain linings: Use budget polycotton bed sheets in co-ordinating colour, lots of fabric for low price, try supermarkets or charity shops or even the back of your linen cupboard.

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Are we becoming waterproof!

Rain, this is one soggy summer but we have noticed something odd.  It has not been cold so people seem to have given up with brollies.  If it is warm and nice when they set out they are leaving the coats, brollies and rain hats at home it seems.  Suddenly struck us when we had some visitors over from Switzerland, who commented how odd it seemed that everyone was walking around in the rain unprotected and so they were.  Have you given up and started to embrace the rain? 

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© Alena Ozerova - Fotolia.com

Craft Tips for Newbies No 8

Cotton thread, you get what you pay for. Cheap is often rough & breaks easily, quality is smooth & strong.

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Thinking ahead, take the summer into winter

Want something different for your winter wedding invites, Christmas cards or festive decorations.  Little early you say but no, now is the time to press flowers which can be stored away carefully to create totally unique cards to send or give in the depths of winter.

Flower presses are easy to come by or you could rely on two sheets of paper with the flower sandwiched between and pressed by the weight of a book.  Flowers need to be at their best, dry when picked (no rain droplets or dew on them) and pressed as soon after picking as possible.  The process takes time to let them dry out so be patient.

We think that this site is just great for information on how to so check it out http://www.wikihow.com/Press-Flowers-and-Leaves

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Craft Tips for Newbies No 7

Dressmaking is like Chinese cooking, preparation is everything, care cutting out & time taken fitting each stage, is key.

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How to capture more customers at craft & trade shows.

We often attend trade shows, many are huge and time is limited. If we venture past a stand and it is too busy, literature nowhere to be seen, sadly we often have to walk on and the stand is soon forgotten.  Remember you are unlikely to be the only stand selling your type of product or service.

QR codes might be one answer.  More and more have phones with NFC (near field communication) on them and so they can scan a QR code.  If on the back of your stall, there was a large QR code displayed, with a caption to tell you what it will link to, you might not lose so many passers-by when busy or away from the stand.  The QR code can be linked either to your site, contact details or a special web page just for the show. The QR code can be captured by the passers phone and saved to use later.  We know many exhibitors purposefully do not have literature in easy to take spots, as you want to engage, but you do not want to miss out altogether.

Do not get talked into expensive QR codes production, you can create them yourself for free on the net but ALWAYS check they work, especially when shrunken into a small adverts or on business cards, check before printing or publishing. Always keep a copy of the original full size. Keep the art work changes to a minimum, closer to the original QR code you remain the more chance it will work on the largest number of phones.  Being too clever will leave you, most certainly, with egg on your face.

We were lucky enough to work with Wolverhampton University to learn about QR codes and to create our site QR code, so we had experts telling what we could do and could not do.  Below a few free sites where you can create QR codes. 

·                     http://www.qrcode.kaywa.com/

·                     http://www.zxing.appspot.com/generator/

·                     http://www.qrstuff.com/

·                     http://www.goqr.me/

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Craft Tips for Newbies No 6

Knitting needles come in bamboo, plastic, metal, even milk based. Bamboo is flexi so good for newbies. Metal last a long time and milk is good for those with stiff hands but not recommended for newbies as need special handling. http://ow.ly/c5zR0

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