celebrating early spring

Ever since the weather switched into spring mode, I've been thinking about all things spring.

Early Spring

 And via Pinterest...

Do you have any favorite early spring picks?

March Mid-Month Sponsor Love

I'm celebrating the middle of the month with a shout out to all of my lovely blog sponsors!

Edi of memoriesforlifesb

 Edi has been unrolling lots of fabulous new items lately, including these leaf buttons. Obviously I love them for so many reasons.

Angela of angleah

 Speaking of buttons, Angela turned this incredibly sweet little buttons into earrings.

Valerie of additionsstyle

Valerie never fails to amaze me with her versatile jewelry designs like this bib necklace.

Deb of storybeader

 Deb showed off her newest oil pastels sketch and shared some oil pastel features on her blog for a recent Alphabe Thursday post.

Tiffany of Ribbon Lane Supplies

 Are you crafting for a sports lover for spring or summer? Pick up some of Tiffany's baseball ribbon.

Paige of Little Nostalgia

 Paige shares some great tips for creating a beautiful gallery wall. (Do you see one of my photos up there?)

I hope that you found some useful resources today!

Are you interested in becoming a sponsor? Click here for more information!

What's Up For March

It looks like spring is on the way, doesn't it? I actually took this picture in late February, but March often looks exactly the same in this area.

• Getting back into craft fair mode. I made this one of my bullet points last month, too, which was...optimistic. I make jewelry all year round, but I have a hard time getting motivated to work on show inventory (i.e. my small items that I don't list online) and other show prep like making new price signs and restocking earring cards until I'm up against the deadline. Here we are so now it's crunch time.
• Researching ebook publishing. You may or may not remember that one of my long-term 2014 goals is to increase my passive income. It's actually my biggest goal for this year. I would still like to bring up my HubPages and PDF jewelry pattern earnings, but at this point, there needs to be something else in the mix to reach the numbers that I want. I've been floating a number of ebook ideas in my mind the past year, and I think I've finally settled on one. Now I need to start working on actually making it happen.
• Catching up on photo printing and hanging. I'm sure that you've noticed in some of my recent photos that I have a number of frames sitting around the house. I got most of them for Christmas. I need to print out a bunch of fall and early winter photos, which includes making final decisions about which professional photos to print from my brother's wedding. I finished my photo albums, but I want a few prints for new frames and the fridge, too.
• Keep reading. One of my unofficial goals for 2014 is to get back into reading. This means reading books, not just pulling up photography articles on my phone. Once upon a time, I read for fun all the time. Then I started undergrad. I read so much for school that I didn't feel much like reading during my down time. It's been eight years since I finished undergrad, and I've never really recovered. Last week during my trip to Las Vegas (more on that soon), I brought along a few books and did some real reading for the first time since late 2012 / early 2013 (don't judge). It was amazing. Now I need to stick with it.
• My birthday. My birthday probably definitely does not need its own bullet point in this kind of post, but I love birthdays so it gets one. This year is not a milestone birthday like last year so it will be considerably less eventful. I will still enjoy it. Having a birthday at the end of the month means that I look forward to it all month. I'll post an Etsy birthday wish list next week.

What are you up to this month?

March Top Commenters and April News

I hope that April is starting off well for everyone! It still doesn't really look or feel like spring here, but hopefully that will change over the next couple weeks.

Top Commenters

As always, I really appreciate all of the feedback that I get on this blog. It means a lot that so many people take time to share their insights with me.  Thanks to Jamie of Crafter on a Budget for stopping by and commenting regularly! Check out goodies from some of my other top commenters who are selling their handmade items online.

Anchor Necklace Nautical Signal flat LOVE pendant from StalkingTheWildSnark

Anchor Anniversary Card - 5 Year Anniversary Wood Card - Personalized Engraving by memoriesforlifesb

Floral Harmony Post-it Note Mini Clipboard with pad, 2-sided, pink - blue - green by MisterPenQuin

Lavender Lupine Embroidery Hoop Art by PruittCreations

Shabby Chic Decorative Pink Polka Dot, Floral Hanging Hearts, Ornament, Satin Roses, Valentine, Trio by PeriDotbyDuni

Pink Rhinestone Earrings - spring, girly, Easter, antique brass, vintage inspired, retro by OhNostagliaDesigns

Green and white paper beads by storybeader

Echeveria Plant Art - Flower Magnet - Green Rose Drawing by aquariann

Baby Booties, Size 0-6 months, Baby Blue, Boy, Fleece, Crocheted, Ready To Ship by ChristieCottage

Blog Sponsors and April Advertising

I have an awesome round up of blog sponsors!  These lovely ladies all have Etsy shops and/or blogs.  Check them out on the left hand side of my blog under "Private Sponsors." Would you like to join the them?  It's only $3 per month or $10 for 4 months to advertise with me.  Check out all of the details about it right here.

Out With the Old Sale

I brought back my Out With the Old sale this year for the beginning of 2013. There are a number of older pieces in my shop that I would really like to clear out forever to get my shop more streamlined and reflective of my current lines. Take advantage of these amazing deals while you can right here.

Bring It On April!

• Easter came early this year, which means that so did the end of my Halloween through Easter traffic streak on HubPages. In 2012, April and May were two of my lowest earning months. I have done my best to build spring articles that aren't tied to specific holidays and add more Mother's Day articles this year. Hopefully it'll pay off, and I won't see such a significant traffic drop. I'm trying to stay ahead and brainstorm summer topics as well.
• I had a great first 2013 show last month and am looking forward to a second show at the end of this month. I have a couple new projects in the works for this show that I'll be sharing in the near future. There are also a lot of holiday shows that put up apps this time of year so I'll be working on that as I can throughout the month.
• It has been amazing having such a full calendar this year. It will also be amazing to have a less full calendar as the school year winds down. Easter was a huge milestone to check off the list. I'm looking forward to getting out more during the (hopefully) warmer weather in April to take pictures and explore some new (to me) areas of Milwaukee with some of this unscheduled time.

What is going on with your blog and/or business for April?

Where I Linked Up Today:

Mitchell Park Domes

When my parents were visiting Milwaukee earlier this month, among other things, we went to the Mitchell Park Conservatory or the Domes. It's taken me a while to get through this whole set of photos, but I'm happy to share them with you today. Enjoy.

Hands down, this shot blew me away more than anything else that I took that day. I played up the contrast when I edited it and cannot believe the results. Who knew that black and white flower photography could be so striking?

I'm continuing to challenge myself to play up vivid colors and sharp imagery when I take pictures.

 

I took this picture for the reflection.

The current Mitchell Park special exhibit in their show dome is a train exhibit.

Finally, I put together this edit for the March BBA Challenge: Emerging Foggy Spring. As we still have several inches of snow on the ground here, it wasn't feasible to go out and get a new outdoor photo to fully capture spring... any time thus far this month. Sad. So this is what I have. My digital drawing skills are on par with my regular drawing skills (which are elementary at best), but I learned a lot completing this little project.

What have you been photographing lately?

New articles:
Spring Themes and Units for Preschool, Pre K, and Kindergarten: Lesson Plans, Activities, and Crafts
Empty Wine Bottle Craft Ideas

March Mid-Month Sponsor Love

I'm celebrating the middle of the month with a shout to all of my awesome blog sponsors!

Edi of memoriesforlifesb

Baseball cuff links are great gift idea for baseball fans for the start of the new season.

Jamie of ForLoveofCupcakes

Jamie has another simple, delicious recipe for us this month: Ritz Cracker Chicken.

Linda of PruittCreations

Linda's flower garden pillow is a perfect addition to your home decor this spring.

Angela of AngleAh

Angela's green dangle earrings offer a refreshing pop of color.

Valerie of additionsstyle

I always have a tough time picking just one of Valerie's pieces to feature, but I'm sharing a lot of spring items today so it seemed natural to pick a multicolored necklace.

 

Deb of storybeader

Check out some of Deb's latest postal art creations.

Paige of Little Nostalgia

I'm sure that many of us can relate to Paige's transitional style decisions this time of year.

Kristen of Milo and Molly

Kristen recently had a birthday and had the fun idea of sharing a list of things that she never plans to do in her life instead of the bucket list things that she does want to do.

 

I hope that you found some useful resources today!

Are you interested in advertising with me? Click here!

February Top Commenters and March News

I hope that March has gotten off to a great start for everyone!

Top Commenters

As always, I really appreciate all of the feedback that I get on this blog. It means a lot that so many people take time to share their insights with me.  Thanks to Ann of Ann's Snap Edit Scrap and Jamie of Crafter on a Budget for stopping by and commenting regularly! Check out goodies from some of my other top commenters who are selling their handmade items online.

Owls - Green Beaded Sterling Silver Leverback Earrings by BeadedTail

Crayon Roll-Up Carrier - Pokey Turtle by PruittCreations

Graphic Design Magnets - Engraved Wood - Set of 4 by memoriesforlifesb

Coin Purse, Keychain, Tissue Case: Organize Your Purse Kit in Fern & Cheeta Print by NFallonDesignStudio

Crochet Dishcloths, Washcloths Set of 3 - Key Lime Pie by MagnoliaSurprise

Jewelry bracelet kit - Copper and hand-rolled paper beads by storybeader

St. Patrick's Day Irish Small Green Celtic Knot Earrings Seed Pearls Hypoallergenic Gold by StalkingTheWildSnark

sleepmask. eye mask. millefiori. green. butterflies by PeriDotbyDuni

Blog Sponsors and March Advertising

I have an awesome round up of blog sponsors!  These lovely ladies all have Etsy shops and/or blogs.  Check them out on the left hand side of my blog under "Private Sponsors." Would you like to join the them?  It's only $3 per month or $10 for 4 months to advertise with me.  Check out all of the details about it right here.

Out With the Old Sale

I brought back my Out With the Old sale this year for the beginning of 2013. There are a number of older pieces in my shop that I would really like to clear out forever to get my shop more streamlined and reflective of my current lines. Take advantage of these amazing deals while you can right here.

Bring It On March!

• I'm not sure what to share about my work that I didn't share last month. Last year the HubPages traffic explosion that I had from Valentine's Day helped keep my holiday numbers going through Easter. So far that has been true this year, too. My client work has been pretty steady, which means that I haven't had to do much searching for random freelance jobs.
• I have my first 2013 craft show this coming weekend! How did that come up so quickly? I am absolutely never ready for a show until the morning of the event, but I'm doing pretty well all things considered. I have one more next month and have applied for one in May as well.
• I have a milestone birthday coming up at the end of this month. I have been talking all year about how I want to do something for it and am excited that those plans are finally in the works.
• I am also pretty excited about how many pictures I got to take during the month of February. I didn't let the cold weather slow me down too much. I hope that I'll be able to keep that up in March.

What's going on with your blog and/or business for March?

New article:

St. Patrick's Day in Milwaukee: Parade and Other Irish Events, Festivities, and Celebrations

Where I Linked Up Today: