What was the first decision you made when you started your business?  Besides deciding on what you're going to sell and how much money you can make...I'd be willing to bet it was the name of your business, I know it was for me.  Why?  Because it's fun, creative and it is the one thing that sets us apart from everyone else.  Some of us choose our own personal name, some choose to simplify it based on the products they sell and then of course some choose something so random you don't know what to make of it.  The truth is, the name is only a piece of the puzzle to successfully branding your business...another important piece is your business identity or logo. Building a brand starts with you and your products, and the first thing the customer is going to see is your logo.  Designing a logo is super easy with several free online resources to choose from like logomaker.com, logoyes.com and logoease.com or if you'd rather have it created for you, 50 Dollar Logo is a good deal for a customized logo.  So, we know it's pretty easy to create a great looking logo, but no matter how easy it is to design your logo, make sure you take your time and consider the design.  It’s very important to choose a design that compliments your business and doesn't distract the customer.  The best rule of thumb is to go with your gut...and if that doesn't work, here are some handy guidelines to follow:  1. Experiment with Placement Be sure to test all the places you may need to use your logo so it works well with the layout.  For example, Etsy requires a 760 wide x100 high pixel banner and if your logo is square, you may run into some obstacles trying to stretch it.  Identifying these different logo styles and layouts will help you in the creation of your perfect logo. 2. Read your Font Is the font in your logo easy to read...is it visible?  If you get too creative with the font in your logo, it may be difficult to read and in turn hard to remember.  The goal is to be remembered so keep it simple and be deliberate with your font style so your customers will remember your name and will be happy to share it with others.  3. Compliment with Color Does your logo have several competing colors?  Sure they grab your attention, but do they do more harm than good?  Sometimes being a little too colorful can distract your audience and possibly even turn them away.  Be creative, be weird, be unique...but please also be strategic.  Understand that too much can distracting and may draw attention away from what really matters...your products, so compliment your products with colors that invite and welcome your customer's attention.  4. Be Professional Is your logo blurry?  Creating a logo with the proper resolution may not sell your products, but having one with low resolution so much that it's blurry will definitely not start you off on the right path.  Make sure you understand the size requirements for your logo so that you have a high quality and clear design.  It gives the impression that you take pride in your business and that's what matters. 5. Make it Relevant Creating a logo that represents your business and your products is a must.  The last thing you want is confusion from your potential customers...for example, creating a logo with flowers and candy probably isn't going to work if your business is handmade wood furniture.  Whether it's just font and colors or creative illustrations and images...make sure it compliments your business. We hope this helps you in designing or redesiging your logo and remember, if you're just starting out or a seasoned professional...your brand is built over time through great experiences with your customers so no matter what your logo design looks like, make sure you strive to provide great customer service and your brand will follow!                                        

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We’ve grown regular grass before, but this year I wanted to try my hand at wheatgrass. It was very easy to grow, needing only a few supplies. Wheatgrass is known for nutritional benefits, but with this beautiful green color, it’s also a perfect Spring display. Supplies for Growing Wheatgrass: hard red winter wheat (found in most health [...]

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When I grew my own wheatgrass, I chose a few festive containers. I wanted to test them out to see which would work the best. Here’s the results for how each container turned out. My favorite wheatgrass container: Terra Cotta Pots. These worked out fabulously. I love how the orange from the pot contrasts so well [...]

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My sons love those baby books that have touchy-feely parts in them, even now that they’re not babies anymore. Here’s a craft for kids that creates a furry shamrock, perfect for St. Patrick’s Day. Kids will enjoy making a little decorative picture, a greeting card for Grandma or maybe even the cover of a notebook, [...]

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You can feel it: Spring is around the corner! Despite Phil the Groundhog’s prediction for a long winter (boy was he right), nature is turning green again. Hurrah! Feel like celebrating? Well you’re in luck (wink! wink!) because Wednesday is St. Patrick’s Day, Ireland’s national feast day.  Parades, street parties, shamrock-spotting and Guinness drinking will be on many countries’ agenda. Did you know that the Chicago river is dyed green each year for Paddy’s Day celebrations? In honor of the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day festivities and to satisfy my Spring lust, I went searching for beautiful and fun handmade products that embody this spirit. Here is what I found on my mighty green quest: 1. "Cheepie" Modern Bird Feeder As a fan and lover of good design, I instantly fell for this amazing bird feeder from Joe Papendick. Smartly thought-out, this feeder can add a nice modern touch to any garden. Make sure you check out his other products at his 1000 Markets shop. 2. Mixed Moss Hanging Bubble Terrarium Terrariums are great at bringing a slice of green into your home but in an original package. This creation from MossTerrariums is so elegant, with just the right touch of whimsy. These should even survive the most uncaring of us since they practically require no attention whatsoever. This is one of many different terrarium designs available on MossTerrarium’s Etsy shop...definitely worth a look. 3. Five Little Speckled Frogs Finger Puppet Set How cute are these! Seeing these green finger puppets reminded me of my childhood and simpler times when 5 decorated fingers could keep you entertained for hours on end. Take these along with your kids on your next venture or for that St. Patrick’s Day parade...they’ll add fun to their day and keep them warm! WeeKnit has many more puppet designs up their sleeves. 4. Gradated Green Droplet Discs 5 lampwork necklace Less is more. Looking at this lampwork necklace from FormFire Glassworks, one has to acknowledge how right Mies van der Rohe’s motto can be. Simpler designs are oftentimes bigger than the sum of their parts. This piece of jewelry is airy and intricate, with beautiful hues of green. Perfect for Spring! There are many variants of this design available on FormFire’s shop. 5. Green Irish Tweed Type Handmade Soap This particular scent, Green Irish Tweed, is one of my all-time favorites. It has enough class for an evening out or for formal occasions while still being casual enough for daily use. As pointed out by the seller, this scent was first developed by the House of Creed, a famous perfume maker that has been around for over a century. This lovely bar of soap encapsulates that scent and spirit into a little shower wonder! Get me five. Oh, and check out other soaps and scents on Forget Me Not Soap shop. 6. Green Valley Beanie Hat In my mind, kelly green is also St. Patrick’s Day green, so when I stumbled upon this knitted beanie, I knew right away I had to make a place for it in this feature. The yarn color mix is gorgeous, ensuring this hat will stand out nicely! For other creative knitting work from Illusions, have a wee browse through her shop here. 7. Green Clover and Aloe Soy Blend Candle Jar Now that your skin smells like glorious Irish tweed, extend that treatment to your home with this clover and aloe soy blend candle. I love soy candles for their environmental virtues and because they tend to last a lot longer than other types of wax candles. I honestly have never smelled a clover-scented candle before so I can’t speak of its olfactive qualities, but I have to say my curiosity has been peaked! There are many more gourmet and intriguing candle flavors to sample in Ozark Scents’ shop. 8. St. Patrick's Day Dress for 18 Inch Doll Last but not least, doll collectors can rejoice thanks to this festive St. Patrick’s Day doll outfit! It is beautifully made with nice sewing details. This makes for a great item to add to your expanding collection. KarensKlassics carries a lot more designs and is well worth a look around! Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Let us know how you intend to celebrate and what is happening in your local area!  And, don't forget to enter your favorite GREEN photo into Meylah's March Photo Contest by uploading your images to Meylah's Flickr Group.                                        

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Starting a business takes time and effort and the reason we all do it is to be successful.  What it takes to become successful can be broken down into a few elements: Creating a product or service that is wanted and/or needed Building awareness of your product or service Developing a reputation of good service and value for your customers Finding ways to do it over and over again with more profitability Creating a product or service is the foundation of any business and it is definitely where everyone starts.  After that, there are several things to do to make your business successful including making sure you develop the best reputation possible as we discussed in 5 Reasons to Respond to Your Customers.  So, how do you get the customers in the first place?  Well, that's all about building awareness and creating a community around you and your business to help spread the word so customers know about you.  Let’s explore how you can spread the word and grow your community. The more people that know about your product or service, the more business it will generate (it's a numbers game).  Up until the last few years advertising had been the most effective medium to spread the word and build awareness for businesses.  Advertising is a very established medium although it can be very costly...it doesn't matter if you're a new company or a seasoned business, it still costs money.  And, typically advertising gets one look for every instance meaning nothing is guaranteed. So, what else can you do to build a community that is connected with you for the long term.  The answer...Social Media!  We have highlighted the importance of social media several times with blog posts such as Social Media: Why We Should Embrace It and 7 Smart Ways to Juggle Social Media.  The goal is to have all of your social media tools connected with a STRATEGY that will enable you to build a community who will support you in the long run.  Here are a few some simple steps that you can use to develop your strategy that will build your community: Set Goals: Setting goals will give you a benchmark to measure how well you are doing according to the plan and they should always be flexible.  An example might be to have 1000 fans on Facebook in one year or maybe publishing 1 blog post per week...it's up to you.  Manage Your Time: Every week a portion of your time should to be set aside specifically to building your community.  You will see steady progress week after week eventually achieving your goal(s). Execute: This is very similar to working out and exercising.  It's so important to be consistent in whatever you do as it will build trust and a following which will turn into a supportive community. And, don't forget that it's important to always compliment your online communication with some human interaction.  Tim Sanders summarized it so well in the article Stay in touch where he talks about how important it is to continue to build your community through a hand shake, a phone call and face to face interactions in addition to your online communications.  Balance is the key to building your community. Starting next week, we will be sharing some tips on building your communities for specific social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter in our Community Building Strategy Series so stay tuned...                                        

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It’s the Luck ‘o’ the Irish this week as we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Here are some fun crafts for your *lucky* weekend! Make a Rainbow Connection by Make and Takes (pictured above) Green Mashed Potatoes by Red Head Recipes Kid’s Embroidery Rainbow by Filth Wizardry Leprechaun Walk Book by Let’s Explore St. Patty Party Ideas by Tip Junkie Leprechaun Treasure [...]

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Twitter is a powerful social networking tool that allows users to send 140-character messages to followers and friends. With more than 5 million Twitter users out there, it's important to stand out – especially if you're using Twitter as a business tool. Customizing your Twitter profile design is one simple way to boost your visibility. It's kind of like sending your message with an elegant letterhead or in a thank-you note, rather than on plain white paper. It takes just a few minutes to paint your Twitter profile background a new color or set your tone with a pattern, like the swirls in the main photo (a free download, courtesy of Social Identities). In a future Byte-Syze learning tutorial, we'll cover how to use your own product shots in your Twitter profile. Description While there are many paid options out there for customizing your Twitter profile design, this tutorial will explain two free ways to do it. Why is it Important? With over 50 million tweets being sent daily, it's essential that you create a unique look for your Twitter profile. Anyone who visits your profile to get a better sense of who you are will be much more likely to visit your website or blog after seeing a profile with thought behind it. Part One: Using a Twitter Theme Step 1: Sign In Go to http://twitter.com and sign in (or sign up). Step 2: Click "Settings" Once you are in the settings area you will notice the word "Account" outlined. Look to the right and click on "Design". Step 3: Select a Theme Twitter has quite a few nice-looking themes, so I decided on one and hit "save changes". Step 4: Edit Colors As you can see below, my new background has taken effect. You can also take your profile design further by selecting the "change design colors" option and then playing around with the color palette for your sidebar, links and text. When you are done, hit "save changes". Step 5: Hit Save Changes Click save changes and now you can see my Twitter profile looks like this.  Part Two:  Using a Custom Background Image Step 1: Find a Background Many sites offer free Twitter profile designs. For this tutorial, I used Social Identities. Step 2: Save to Computer Once you find a background you like, click on it. Then save the full-size image to your computer. Step 3: Sign In Go to http://twitter.com and sign in (or sign up). Step 4: Click Settings Once you are in the settings area you will notice the word "Account" outlined. Look to the right and click on "Design". Step 5: Add your Image Scroll down and click on "change background image", then upload your saved background file. Step 6: Edit Colors Since Twitter offers complimentary colors for their own themes, you should change your design colors to match your new chosen background image (or else it will seriously clash). Step 7: Hit Save Changes Finish up by saving your work and then hit "Profile" to check out your new look!  Here's Mine: Other ways to brand your Twitter account: You can buy custom backgrounds with your own images/product photos (good for building a bigger presence) from graphic designers like Renee @ Thompson Designs or sites like Twitr Backgrounds. Check out Free Twitter Designer, which allows you to create a custom background (with text, images and shapes) in conjunction with Twitter's API. That means once you hit save, your new background will automatically be uploaded to your account. Justine Smith is an Etsy success story who used her experience selling online and turned it into a full-time wholesale business. Her real passion is helping handmade sellers find success marketing their craft products. She offers tips on advertising, branding, social media and growth via email through her blog Handmade Marketer.                                        

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Hey, all you DIY crafters! Yes, I’m talking to you. Get ready for this fabulous crafty giveaway today. Add a Dangle, one of Make and Takes sponsors, is offering a gift certificate to help you stock up on your DIY jewelry supplies. If you’ve been wanting to make some handmade earrings or a necklace, then [...]

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We’re making a fun Easter Bunny Bucket from a recycled frosting tub. This white tub works perfect to cover and contain fun Easter treats. We’re using ours to fill with dirt and grow grass, but you could fill this with yummy Easter treats and snacks. Supplies for Recycled Easter Container: recycled container – this is a frosting [...]

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