Dec 5, 2010

The End! ( and a new beginning)

I will be blogging from a new location online. Foreverfruitful.net will be my new blog. Feel free to stop by there and check out what I am doing. The new site expands on what I have done here and will be more interactive as time goes by. See you there!

Sep 4, 2010

Improve your business (or get it off the ground)


Are you starting your own business?  Want to improve on the one you already have? Or maybe you want to expand your business to the next level. Either way, you will need some advice, mentoring, and encouragement along the way. I have found a few resources have proven very helpful to me.

Small business Association- this is a wealth of information for small businesses and freelancers alike. Freelancing 911 also offers priceless information to freelancers as well. Also, it is a good idea to get involved in groups in your area for small businesses.
the switchboards offer a wealth of information in their forums.
As far as social media,  bloggingtips and freelancereview offer some great information. Lastly there is always the  secret to success. For reals!
I hope some of you found this info helpful. I will share what I can with you, and you can let me know about some helpful information too!

Sep 3, 2010

Blue Skies Ahead


 I am new to the blogging thing, but I catch on quick, so WATCH OUT! (lol)

My Name- I came up with this after looking through my moleskine notebook from my college capstone project. I thought it was lost until a few weeks ago. I had a creative burst that I recorded in that journal and I flipped out when I could not find it. I was journaling constantly, and any idea that came to mind during that year was in one of 2 books. I am sure glad I found that one! I went to school for graphic design, and I have my BA. I do design parttime, but I felt I needed another outlet to get me off the computer. (I am one to make many hobbies) After looking through my recently found journal, I found it! and with the help of etsy.com, ForeverFruitful was born! I sell handmade items there. Right now it is crochet/knit items and jewelry. More to come! Whew!
I decided to call the shop ForeverFruitful because I want to make my place in the world as a creative who is constantly growing and producing fruit. I want my creative ideas and endeavors  to live, and not die in the pages of old moleskine notebooks....

Aug 24, 2010

Design Inspired Contact Cards

I come from a design background, and I have plenty of intrests. My etsy shop is a way for me to explore more areas of art and design.

 I will have contact cards soon in my shop. I have been doing crochet, and I even have a few sewn items that need to be photographed and placed in my shop, but my first love is design, and I had been neglecting that part of me while I was exploring other areas. I am glad to be doing more design work again. I am very excited about this new chapter of foreverfruitful!

I did say that foreverfruitful was a work in progress. We will see where it takes me!

Aug 8, 2010

A little this, A little that

A beautiful dress, in a beautiful color. I have been drawn to this peachy pink color lately, I am actually working on what to make of some fabric in the same color.

A mens shirt refashion worth noting. Makes me want to search the back of my closet for something with refashion potential.

A great site to pass time. (try not to do this at work!)

A set of photos I could not stop staring at.

Aug 3, 2010

Revitalize your business





Hello All!
 I have just posted (or reposted) some items on etsy again. In the beginning, I was pregnant and bored, with a bunch of time on my hands. I was under the impression that I could continue producing new items and promoting my shop after having the baby. (Well, we all know how that played out.) My baby is a toddler now, and I feel like I need to move forward with my creative endeavors not only for myself, but for her. I want her to see that she can do anything through my example. But enough about me, here are some tips I came across that helped me get motivated, and can probably help you!

*ReFocus  Meditate. This has really helped me to focus in on some things I was sweeping under the rug, and it can also spark your creativity.

*ReMix your line  Take a look at the products you are selling. What can you do to improve them? Have you received any negative feedback about them? Also try adding a few new things to the line, something that you might have thought about but never completed or started.

*ReBrand  Maybe your logo just is not working for the products you offer. Make it work so that you don't need to explain what your product is. Your branding should really speak for itself (This is something I am working on in my own shop)

*ReThink  You must always speak positive things into existence. Do not say things that are negative, and remember that your past business mistakes are in the past. They happened, and you learned from them (hopefully)!) and now its time to speak your business goals out loud each day. Negative thoughts find their way into everything, and you don't want negatives in business!

I hope these tips helped or encouraged some of you. Happy Selling!

Jul 14, 2010

Floral Inspiration


Hope fully these beautiful floral arrangements inspire someone else but me!
There was a bonus with this link too! Past Domino Magazine articles have made their way to this site!

Jan 20, 2010

How to make a T-shirt scrap baby quilt




Do you have an abundance of old t-shirts that you can't bear to throw away? I did.  I decided to give them new life as a blanket for my daughter. Here is how I did it.

Grab a bunch of t-shirts and cut out different sized pieces. The goal is to create a mosaic-like appearance.


Cut two pieces of fabric to the desired blanket size. As a shortcut, I used a receiving blanket for one side and some grey leftover fabric from my stash.

Cut a piece of batting and sandwich it between the two pieces of fabric.


Arrange your t-shirt pieces and pin everything together. Topstitch the pieces around all edges.
(If you are making a reversible quilt, stitch your collage pieces only to front side of fabric. THEN you can pin the batting and back piece of fabric and baste all around for a more uniform look.)




Almost done!  Now this is the point where you get extra creative. Add ribbon or bias tape to the edges. Add fringe to the edges. You could embroider to decorate the top. You can write a name, anything you want! Make it your own and post a link so I can see them!

Happy Sewing!

Jan 1, 2010

Cool Reversible Laptop sleeve



I made this really awesome laptop sleeve out of some corduroy fabric I got on sale. Not bad for under five bucks! This is my first sewing project, and I am super excited about it! Let me know what you think!