MoMo's Bows "Bow of the Month Giveaway"

A fellow member of TeamBluegrass is having a mindblowing blog giveaway, and I just had to share it with you. MoMo's Bows & Flip Flops is giving away a Bow of the Month Prize Package worth over $100 (yes, I said it!).





The little princess in your life will receive one bow in the mail every month, and an extra super duper mega special one in her birth month. I couldn't believe this giveaway when I saw it!




I'm entering for my little niece Chloe B, the Divalicious Bow Wearing Fiend (LOL).

I can just see her in those wonderful MoMo's Bows
now...*daydream sequence wavy fingers* doodly-doot doodly-doot doodly-doot doodly-doot doodly----What?!? There's nothing wrong with visualization! Oprah does it! LOL

So get on over to MoMo's Bows & Flip Flops and get yourself an entry.

Spread the Word! Buy Handmade!

Never in my experience in handmade society have I read a more touching personal account of going into the handmade life as I found in Libby's article on Handmade News about spreading the word to buy handmade. Libby did a wonderful job, you folks should check it out.

Teambluegrass Tuesday - Tree Hugger

I hug trees, so should you!
(Clicking picture takes you directly to the listing)

Wists 101 article on Handmade News

My article, "Wists101: Building a Social Shopping Network" is now live over at Handmade News. It covers the Wists phenomena and how handmade business owners can utilize it to their marketing advantage within the web 2.0 social shopping network. Check it out.

Movin' On Up

As some of you who know me on a personal level, I have hum-hawed for years with my writing, dabbling with getting something small published here and there, but I never really did try to take off with it, mostly because I always felt I wasn't good enough to compete with the "big dogs".

However, after being coaxed (a lot) by a friend (You know who you are Miss Goddess), I applied for a really awesome opportunity to write for one of the largest crafting/handmade communities on the net. I didn't REALLY think I'd get it or else I wouldn't have applied. Weeks and weeks went by and being the pessimist I am, I knew I had been right in thinking I wouldn't get it.

Imagine my surprise when I get hired on as the newest writer in the Marketing Department at www.HandmadeNews.org. I have my own column!

I am a "real" writer now...for real. LOL
Wow, the validation really DOES feel awesome.
I should have jumped on something like this years ago.

And to make things even more awesome, KentuckyHandmade.com was kind enough to post on their blog and share the news and make me blush a lot.

My first article, Guerrilla Marketing and You - Part 1: Traditional vs. Non-traditional Marketing went live on the site this past Sunday.

I'll be publishing two articles a week (maybe more if the marketing muses prove cooperative), and I will be having one feature article per month on the site. If you are a handmade artisan or own a small business, there are a literal TON of articles already on there to help you enhance and attract buyers to your business.

Here's a link to my columnist bio page, I have my default Kellibeans pic up until I can get a more "professional" looking one done. From there you will have a link to every article I will write/have written.

RIP Mamaw Dawn

It's been a rough 10 months for my family, especially my Mother. I've been putting this post off because it hurts to talk about it. My Grandma passed away from lung cancer on July 29th. She was a petite woman with a personality that was anything but small. She raised 7 children on a hope and a prayer, and was married to my Grandpa for 56 years. They grew up next to each other, and she once told me that she couldn't remember a time when he wasn't in her life. She was a mother to so many children who weren't even her own.

This fine woman is where my mother and I got our crafty gene from. She taught me how to crochet and loom when I was very young and every time I pick up a hook these days memories of her keep flooding back in. ...Like this old box of buttons she used to have. She would go through that box ever so often and would tell me exactly where almost every single button came from. The ones from an army uniform, the bubbled buttons she took off an old wool coat she once owned, a sweater here and there. ...Her old convertible and her saying there was nothing better than some wind in your hair. ...She made the best cornbread on the planet. ...Her smile.

She's buried at my brother's feet. She was so comforted knowing she had him close to her in death (as she had in life), she loved him so.

I loved my Grandma so much. The world is less of a wonder without her.

Using Custom Stickers to Enhance Your Brand

Have you ever wondered about using stickers in your promotional efforts for your website? This article, "Say it With Stickers" covers the basics about how to go about acquiring your own custom stickers for your handmade business. Check it out.