Sometimes social media gets a bad rap because there are those who abuse it, but I believe it is a fantastic medium to help artists and crafters nuture relationships and become more efficient in their businesses.  It can be used for both personal and professional growth as well as a wonderful tool to benefit the community.  It's all about the lens you choose to look from and Seth Godin describes it perfectly in the reason social media is so difficult for most organizations when he says "it's a process, not an event."  Rajesh Setty also has a great description of social media in the 7 kinds of relationships to social media starting with those who despise it at one end of the spectrum and then those who dance with it at the other end.   Just as Seth Godin describes it, social media is a process...it's just like building any great relationship, it takes time, effort, passion and honesty.  An event is a single moment in time which fizzles away quickly.  I'm sure everyone of us would love to have success overnight, but most of the time it just isn't that easy.  Success is built with dedication and passion and although we may see overnight success, a long term approach is usually more effective. Let's take a second and look at how we traditionally build relationships...some prefer to interact face-to-face, some prefer phone calls, and some like letters.  Social media introduces a new way to interact with each other...allowing you to connect with anyone from anywhere at anytime, making communication much more efficient.  For example, rather than search the classifieds for jobs, get started on LinkedIn and connect with potential employers directly through your network.  They always say it's because of somebody you know so share your experience and expertise on LinkedIn, an online professional networking site, and you may just make that contact you always dreamed of.   Several mediums like this have emerged over the past few years to help us in building not only professional relationships, but personal relationships as well.  Facebook, Twitter and Flickr are some of the most common mediums today, although it seems there are more and more popping up every week.  Whether you want to be more efficient in your creative business, develop new relationships with fellow artists, or just share more regularly with your family and friends, let me show you a SIMPLE way to build your social media presence for long term success. Start Slow: Start slow and get used to one medium at a time...get comfortable first and find your rhythm Inform with Good Content: Use the communication channel to be useful to others - sharing only the weather will not add significant value Make it Short and Sweet: Long explanations will not get attention so summarize and get to the point quickly  Promote Others: Find ways to share and talk about others that provide value to your audience Listen and Respond:  Keep the channels of communication always humming Ensure Consistency and Honesty:  Consistency builds networks and honesty will always win in the long run We sincerely hope this information will help take some of the edge off the social media confusion.  Once you get started with social media, make sure you read the 7 smart ways to juggle social media and we will keep posting information on how everyone can use social media to build their networks and prosper in the long run.  Your feedback is most important to us, so please share your comments and pass this along to others.                                        

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Have you ever taken a step back to consider what draws you to the places you love to shop and why you always want to go back for more?  Here are some ideas you may want to incorporate into your handmade creative business to keep your customers happy and coming back for more. 1. Free Gift Wrapping Many people love to shop, but hate to wrap!  If you know a customer is buying your product as a gift, offering a courtesy gift wrap is such a nice bonus.  It makes your customer’s life a little easier.  Little extra touches like these go a long way to building a loyal customer base.  If you’re challenged when it comes to gift wrapping, go visit Hideous! Dreadful! Stinky’s Gift Wrapping Tutorial for a refresher. 2. Thank You Notes Showing appreciation for your customers makes them appreciate you!  If you have the time, handmade thank you’s will surely delight.  If you don’t have the time to make handmade thank you’s or to write a personalized note, a simple handwritten “thank you” on their receipt lets them know that you care.  I even like it when waiters do this! 3. Promotions or Giveaways Give customers a discount for a future purchase or throw a little extra something in to show your gratitude for their purchase.  This gives them obvious incentive to come back for more.  4. Custom Requests Listen to what your customers are asking for and if you have the capacity, allow for them to place custom requests.  If it makes it easier for you, you can build some parameters around the type of custom requests people can make.  Dave and Chiyo do this exceptionally well on Etsy with customizable clutches by identifying the styles, colors, and frames that customers can choose from along with instructions on how order them.  5. Care in Packaging Give your package some TLC!  This goes from the display of the product itself to shipping.   In your rush to get a product order out the door, remember that your packaging is also a reflection of you and your business.   Many people spend more on packaging than the product itself!   It’s your first opportunity to impress your customer, so take advantage of it!  Make sure that anything fragile is safe, wrap everything tastefully, and remember to brand yourself through your packaging.  Great packaging can transform your business, especially if you want to distinguish yourself from your competitors.  For some great inspiration, check out this blog post by Paperie Boutique! 6. Accurate Representation Make sure your photos and product description accurately reflect what you’re selling.  When it comes to the product a customer is purchasing, make sure that what they see is what they get.  7. Provide Extra Information Help your customers visualize uses for your product. (i.e.- My handmade soap makes the perfect gift for the smelly fisherman, made with olive oil and shea butter with extracts of citrus,  once used, it’s sure to leave the stench behind). 8. Share your Story Show your customers who you are by telling them a little about yourself and why you’re passionate about your products.  One great way to do so is by writing a great personal profile.  9. Provide a Money Back Guarantee The confidence you have in your products will carry over to your customers.  By providing a personal guarantee, your customers will know they are buying from someone who stands by their products (It’s ok to set some limitations on this, like setting your guarantee for a reasonable amount of time or offering repairs in lieu of returning money if an item is damaged). 10. Quick Turnaround Whether it’s getting an order shipped or responding to an email or phone inquiry, replying quickly is a sure way to please. I hope these tips help to bring smiles to your customers’ faces.  What other techniques do you use to make your customers happy?  Or what makes you a happy customer?                                         

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You may have seen my blog post about Picnik: Photo Editing Made Easy from a few days ago expressing my excitement over the services they provide!  Here is a Byte-Syze Learning to show you just how easy it is to use Picnik to perfect your images. Description: Picnik is a web based photo editing service that you can access from any computer with Internet access.  The basic service is free, but they also have a premium account available for $24.95 annually if you want all the bells and whistles! Why is it Important? Creating great product shots can be such a challenge, so anything that makes that process a little easier is a welcomed resource (especially when it’s free).   Picnik makes editing your photos EASY and it takes the intimidation away!  You aren’t required to download anything to access it and you are able to pull your images from pretty much anywhere, such as your computer, your Flickr, Facebook, or Myspace accounts, as well as various other places.)  So in addition to being able to easily edit your photos, you have the freedom to work on them from anywhere with an Internet connection. Step 1: Get Started Go to www.picnik.com and click the ‘Get Started Now’ button on the welcome page. Step 2: Begin Registration (Optional) You are not required to register with Picnik in order to use their services, but I recommend creating an account since it will allow you to store recent images you’ve been working on and refer back to them when you login in the future. Step 3: Begin the process to Upload Photos Click the ‘Upload Photos’ button (If you prefer to test out the system first without using a personal image, you can open a demo photo to practice with by clicking on one of the available images they provide).    Step 4: Select the Image(s) to Edit  From your computer, select the image(s) you would like to modify. (Picnik’s free account allows you to upload up to 5 images at a time from your system.  With the premium account, you can upload up to 100 images at a time for you to work on).  At this time, I’m only selecting one image to work on. Step 5: Begin Editing your Image Within the edit tab, you have a series of options for you to modify your image, such as rotating, cropping, resizing, adjusting the exposure of your image, etc.  I recommend working from left to right through the edit features until you are comfortable with each tool and satisfied with the modifications to your image. Rotate: You can rotate the image by 90 degree angles by clicking on the ‘Left’ or ‘Right’ buttons or rotate your image more slightly by sliding the straighten bar.  Click the ‘OK’ button once you satisfied with any rotation changes.  Exposure: You can ‘Auto-Fix’ your image or scroll right to left on the ‘Exposure’ and ‘Contrast’ bars until you are satisfied.  Click the ‘OK’ button once you satisfied with any changes you’ve made to the exposure. Colors: Again, with this feature you can select ‘Auto Colors’ or ‘Neutral Picker’ where Picnik’s system will automatically modify your image for you or you can also scroll up and down the ‘Saturation’ and ‘Temperature’ bars to make adjustments.  Click the ‘OK’ button once you are satisfied with any changes you’ve made to the colors. Step 6:  Continue Modifying your Image using 'Create' There are additional functions within the ‘Create’ tab which allow you to add effects, stickers, text, frames, etc. to your images.  Again, I would recommend working from left to right through the available features until you are satisfied with your image.  Within the ‘Create’ tab, I most frequently use ‘Effects, Text and Frames’ tools.  Text: Add any text you would like to include in the image & select the font and color of the text you desire. Frames: Select a frame, if desired.  In this case, I selected the ‘Rounded Edges’ frame.  Step 7:  Save & Share Once you’re finished editing your image, select the ‘Save & Share’ tab and click where you would like to save your image. (i.e. – Save to your computer, Flickr, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) In this case, I chose to save my image to my Flickr account.  If you are not already connected with Flickr, you will be prompted to provide your login credentials for Flickr.  Follow the instructions to add a title, description and tags to the image and click the ‘Save Photo’ button. Step 8: Close your Photo Select the ‘Close photo’ button if you are satisfied with your changes or ‘Continue editing’ if you need to make additional modifications. Step 9: Manage your Photos within your Library As you edit and save images they will be stored within your library.  If you want to access the images for any reason, (i.e.: further editing, to delete the image, rename, etc.) scroll under the image and a toolbar will appear with your available options. Step 10: Using Flickr If you have selected to save your image within Flickr, you can access the web page for that image.  Select the ‘Open web page’ button to see your image within Flickr. And voilà, you will see that your image has been posted within your Flickr account and keep in mind, these same features are available within a range of other types of accounts, like Facebook, Photobucket, Picasa, etc.  It’s your choice depending on your preference. Here is my image with a before and after to show you the difference!  Let us know how Picnik works out for you and what tricks you found using it!                                        

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Last week I wrote about Nuturing Creativity in your Children and I was moved by the support and feedback we received.  Being part of the creative community, I often get exposed to fantastic work by inspiring artists.  Recently, I had the opportunity to see the work of Shunny Binai, a teenage photographer who lives in Seattle area.  What caught my eye was not just her photography, but what she does with these images to express her passion.  I connected with her to understand how she got started and why she enjoys photography so much. Meylah: How did you get inspired to try photography versus other forms of art?  Did any particular experience influence you? Shunny: I'm not completely sure how I got inspired to do photography, I think it really started when I installed Photoshop onto my computer and began using it.  I've always liked taking pictures, but when I found a couple good ones in my album I thought maybe I should be taking some more to work with. I've always enjoyed most forms of art; drawing, painting, writing and other types as well, but I've never been good at most of them. When I started taking good pictures and editing them, I thought maybe this can be the art that can be mine and that I'm actually good at. So I kept taking pictures and looking at others to improve. Meylah: What kind of camera equipment do you use and what equipment would you like to have?  How do you plan to use it? Shunny: For my 13th  birthday my friends pooled money together and bought me a camera cause they noticed how much I loved taking pictures on my phone, even though it had a crappy camera.  I love that camera a lot but my 4 year old sister broke it, and that’s when I started using my dad’s big manual zoom cannon camera.  I used that camera for a while and I loved the zoom and focus that I can adjust by myself to what I want, so by the time I got my camera fixed I was able to use the large camera pretty well.  Now, I use both interchangeably depending on what I’m shooting. Editing wise, I have Adobe Photoshop 7.0 and I would like to try out some of the newer versions to see what things are updated, but I like the options on this version, and I have a lot still to discover. Meylah: Do you take any classes and do you have any mentors/experts that support you?  Shunny: I’ve never taken any classes, so I pretty much teach myself.  When I can, I ask my dad things about his camera and he usually knows the answers to my questions.  When I need to know how to Photoshop something, I look it up on YouTube and usually find good tutorials that I can learn. The first day I installed Photoshop I explored it and watched dozens of YouTube tutorials, and I’m still exploring all the possibilities. I follow some Photographers on Flickr, and their work inspires new ideas for me to try.  I do plan on taking classes on Photography and Computer Graphics all through high school, and I’m lucky the school I’m going to has those classes to offer. I get a lot of support from my friends on Facebook, many of which are artists too.  I post my pictures and get comments that encourage me and suggest tips to help me. Meylah: What ways do you think that you can use your passion in photography to help your class/school or community? Shunny: Mostly my Photography is just for art and entertainment, but when I feel there are issues that need to be addressed, I try to help however I can. For example, to support Haiti after the earthquake I made an image and at the bottom of it explained an easy way to donate money through texting (i.e. text HAITI to 90999 and you can donate $10 from your phone bill).  I plan on continuing to advertise things such as this whenever I can because I believe it can make a huge difference if people are more aware, and people can become more aware through art forms such as photography. Thank you Shunny for truly inspiring all of us!  It's nice to see family, friends and a community supportive of children and their passions.  We hope that Shunny becomes the resident photographer for Creative Children for Charity and motivates other children to get involved.  We certainly look forward to seeing Shunny continue her photography development by taking classes and sharing her work in her community and online.  If you have any suggestions or comments for Shunny, please share them!                                        

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...and sore muscles.

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At Meylah, we love getting feedback from our readers. A few weeks ago, I posted a Byte-Syze Learning on how to make unique packaging for your products, and one of our readers, Amie, asked if we had any ideas on packaging flat items like photos and cards.  Since Amie was wondering about flat packaging ideas, we figured there might be more of you out there who would be interested in a Byte Syze Learning post – so here it is! Description: It’s difficult to find packaging for flat items. Usually there's a choice between different types of envelopes, but that gets a little boring – no matter how fancy the envelope is. This tutorial will show you how to make a quick, easy and lovely, handmade package for any flat items you might have – postcards, photograph prints, thin booklets or fabric. Anything flat! Why is it important? As we discussed here, packaging is an important part of branding – and branding should always remain consistent – even for your flat products.   What you will need: Scissors Ruler Pen/Pencil One sheet of solid color cardstock A ribbon of your color choice Step 1: Cut your Cardstock Depending on the size of the item you wish to package, cut your cardstock to a size that will cover the front and back of your item.  In my situation, my product is a set of note cards that are 4 x 4 inches square, so I am cutting my cardstock to 10 x 10 inches. That way it will more than adequately cover the front and back of these cards.  Step 2: Create the Casing Take this cut cardstock and fold it in half.  Inside this folder is where your item will sit. Step 3: Add your Cut Points Take your ruler and mark half-way points on each side of the front of this folder.  Folded in half, my piece is now 5 x 5 inches, so I marked on each edge the 2.5 inch mark.  This indicates where the ribbon will wrap around when putting the finishing touches on your package.  Then, depending on the width of your ribbon, measure out the width of the ribbon centered on that mark.  My ribbon is ¼ inch, so centered on that 2.5 inch mark, I added two other markers to show where the edge of my ¼-inch ribbon would sit.  Step 4: Cut your Marks Go around each of the four sides and cut out little squares at your cut points.  Make sure to cut through both halves of your folder.  This will create little divots on each side that the ribbon will slide into.  This will keep the ribbon centered and secure when wrapped. Step 5: Weave your Ribbon Weave the 15-inch length of ribbon in and out of the slits you just cut in the cardstock band. Step 6: Insert your Product Take the items you wish to package and place it inside the folder.  Make sure that it is centered. Step 7: Cut your Ribbon Cut your ribbon to a length that is long enough to wrap around your package twice and still leave room for a bow.  For my 5 x 5 folded package, I cut mine to about 36 inches. Step 8: Wrap your Package Next, take your ribbon and wrap it over the front of your package around to the back, then cross the ribbons over each other at the back and then bring them back towards the front (like how you would wrap a parcel).  Make sure that the ribbons are sitting in the divots that you cut.  Then tie a lovely bow at the front.  You can also string on a product tag like the ones we created in previous Byte Syze tutorial. Step 9:  Your Package is Now Complete!  A simple packaging idea that uses minimal materials, and won’t add too much bulk to your item when mailing.  The perfect blend of pretty and practical! Dionne Christiansen is a graphic designer based in Houston, TX.  She is the face behind the Etsy store City of Dionne and writes at her blog Notes From Dionne.                                        

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New Author Series Contributor

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Telling your life stories through an oral history.

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It’s been a long time since I’ve been so excited about something that I couldn’t sleep, but that’s exactly what’s happening to me right now.  The clock just struck 12:44 AM and I finally just gave up and pulled myself out of bed because I knew there would be no chance for shuteye until I released a little of my excitement. Thank you, thank you, thank you (did I put enough emphasis on that?) Amber Naslund for introducing me to my new favorite toy, Picnik.com in your article 8 Apps I Use and Love.  If you can’t tell, I’m absolutely thrilled.  Enough blabbering about my excitement though - let me tell you about what Picnik actually does (gosh, I’m already back to the excitement again). Picnik is a online photo editing site, which may not sound all that thrilling, that is UNTIL you use it yourself.  I’ve always admired the way images are presented on blogs like City of Dionne and have frequently wondered how the heck she is able to make them look so good, but I never figured I could actually do it myself without spending a lot of money or going through some sort of formal training to make it happen.  Well, it has happened!  And guess what?  It’s FREE to use!  Take a look at a before and after shot of a pair of my earrings... The days of pestering my husband to help edit my images are no more!  I’m putting on my big girl shoes and diving into Picnik head first.  There are a ton of incredible options out there to edit your images, but this one has some unique tools and it’s so easy to use, even a novice like me got the hang of it on my first try.  I’ve only had a few minor struggles with the product and I’m hopeful those will go away as I get more experience under my belt. I believe that taking good product shots is one the biggest struggles creative entrepreneurs face with getting their work online.  Services like Picnik make it feasible for folks to easily enhance their images without a ton of frustration.  It’s a huge benefit for the creative community and I’m so happy to see that Picnik is based out of my hometown of Seattle.  It makes me want to go knock on their door and thank them.  One aspect I especially love about Picnik is that it is integrated with just about everything, from Flickr to Facebook to Picasa as well as many other sites where you may have your images stored.  I’m just disappointed that I didn’t come across Picnik sooner.  It’s been around since 2005! Here's another sample of one of my before and after shots... Let me know what you think.  I encourage you to go try Picnik out for yourself to play around with your product shots, and it’s also great for just managing your everyday photos!  Alright, now it’s time for bed, AGAIN!  You probably guessed it - I’ve been playing on Picnik for quite a while now. Keep your eye out for my Byte-Syze Learning tutorial on how to edit an image with Picnik later this week and let me know if you've come across any online photo editing tools that you can't resist!                                        

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Planning a wedding often gets wayyyyyy out of hand. And pocket! It's easy to get reeled into the buy-now-pay-later "dream wedding", and not easy to have family members chiming in on everything from traditions to toenail polish. No wonder indie weddings have become a popular option. Weddings should reflect the spirit and quirks of the bride and groom, so here are eight handmade, personalized and non-traditional elements for the big day. 1. Lovebird placecards perched on wine glasses make a beautiful addition to the table. Timeless Paper has created them in various shapes, including butterflies, dragonflies, and – for those jetting off on their honeymoons – airplanes. 2. These wooden cake toppers from Dandelionland can be personalized with features like those of the bride and groom: eye colour, hair color, and glasses are just some of the elements that can be customized. 3. This cake serving set, decorated with pearl, crystal and other white beads, makes a classic wedding gift. If you prefer something funkier, Jbox also makes these sets with different-colored beads. 4. For couples that like the vintage look, these "Save the date" wedding cards save the day. Letterpunch Design also offers the option of DIY printing – if you're on a tight budget, you can buy the design and take care of printing yourself. 5. These bud vase/thank-you cards make a great little take-away for wedding guests. Plus, 10 per cent of LamaWorks's proceeds go toward supporting the American Cancer Society. 6. Gold is boring. Platinum is expensive. So, instead of going blah or broke, go for titanium wedding bands, with a beautiful wood inlay. The wood in these wedding bands, designed by Minter and Richter, is made of Hawaiian Koa wood. 7. With its blue dupioni silk bow, this clutch from Davie and Chiyo makes a glamorous finishing touch for the bride. Cross "something blue" off the list. 8. This one goes out to all those guys who would be happier getting married in a Star Wars T-shirt than in a boxy tux. We found a great compromise: Yoda cuff links from BellaModaArtist. May the force be with you! Hope these give you some great ideas and inspire more handmade wedding products...what are your favorite handmade wedding products?                                        

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