Here are a few new scarves that will be available in the ChocolateDogStudio shop.
This is a lovely wool scarf. It is a long scarf and perfectly suited for winter.
A lovely grey granny stripe scarf.
Thanksgiving has been a wonderful time of friends and family! I must rush off and take care a few things before the college kids head back to school today.
See you later,
Karen
I have finally finished the aqua granny square blanket and the photos were just taken today. You have seen it since the very start. I frogged three rows and started over in the plain Granny Square stitch. I like it much better and it isn’t ruffly like it was starting to be.
42″ square of luscious soft granny square blanket. It is wonderfully soft! I love the soft washable variegated yarn. It changes from a moss green to a lovely aqua and hits almost every shade of blue green in between.
It is finished with a plain racetrack border. It is available in the shop ready to ship! Â https://www.etsy.com/listing/170542725/crochet-blanket-granny-square-blanket
Thanks,
Karen
Chocolate Dog Studio has now been open for five years! It has been a wonderful, exciting, stretching time. I have made many good friends through ChocolateDogStudio and sold many items. The shop has gone from one sale in 2008 to 1369 in 2013. It is time for me to thank the people that have made Chocolate Dog Studio what it is today. So this weekend I am offering Free Shipping on all orders $20 and over, even to the EU! Just use this coupon code 5yrsale  when you  check out. There are no limits to how many times you can use it this weekend.  I am excited with the new direction that the studio is taking and can’t wait for the next years to fly by!
Here are a few of the items I have sold over the years…
A knit and crochet shawl, some gift tags
A set of magnetic clothespins,
A knit child’s purse and a crochet blanket…
Thanks so much for your support! I could not have done this without the support and patience of my family and friends.
Karen Stewart
Myth 1. Read about how to improve your business.
Reading is great but simply reading won’t improve your small business. You need to apply what you read. It is pretty simple. Just pick one thing and work on that.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/120895893/miniature-book-kit-and-tutorial-makes
Myth 2. Find someone successful and watch them.
Watching someone successful will simply show you what they did to become successful. It won’t necessarily give you the answers or help you grow your business. Watching someone else might encourage you and give you some ideas or hints of what to do. It might point you in a direction and give you some ideas, but what really matters is are  you working in your business every day!
https://www.etsy.com/listing/122528488/weekly-business-planner-editable
Myth 3. Focus all your energies into one area of your business, good designs, or incredible artwork. None of this will matter if you can’t get your items shipped on time. You can only keep your business afloat by keeping people happy with your product.
Myth 4. Get Awesome Photographs
Good Photographers are just that; GOOD at what they do. They can make us look magazine worthy but make sure that  your product is as awesome as the photographs say. The flip is also worthy of mentioning. Bad photographs can make any product look shabby when it isn’t.
Myth 5. You can add Packaging costs into Shipping!
People aren’t stupid and charging more than it actually costs to ship the item is wrong. Put the packaging costs into the cost of the product.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/152476224/kraft-tissue-paper-25-sheets
Myth 6. Â Emails don’t matter.
If someone takes the time to e-mail you about an item do your best to respond in a timely manner. The product happiness meter starts running when they first contact you about the product. You have to follow it all the way through to the end of the transaction- when they leave feedback. It is also just plain good manners.
Myth 7. Using Recycled Packaging is a Great Idea!
It is a great idea if your shop is all about recycling and being good to the environment then by all means recycle the packaging. If your shop isn’t into recycling and you don’t tell folks up front when they are ordering, then you probably shouldn’t recycle packaging. Keep it neat and clean looking. Who is your competition and how do they send items? Bottom Line: You need to tell people that you use recycled packaging!
Myth 8. Write your Listing and Post it Quick!
Write your listing and then wait 24 hours and then read it again, this time checking for inaccuracies. I really need to follow this piece of advice for my own shop. I tend to get in a rush to put up new items and forget to let the listing rest, so I can check my grammar, spelling, and all the tags, titles and measurements. This will get you into trouble and tends to look unprofessional.
Myth 9. Find a Great Idea and Do it Again!
Be yourself and follow your own path! Plain and simple, don’t be a copycat. If you are a seller of handmade goods, then make sure that your items are different from everyone else’s in some way. Make your shop stand out!
https://www.etsy.com/listing/127900872/be-who-you-are-awesome-printable-poster
Myth 10. Claw Your Way to the Top!
If someone goes out of their way to be nice to to you, promote your business, do a blog post about your business, give you pointers or point you in a different direction, Write them a thank  you e-mail, or do something nice.  A little kindness can go a long way and they will remember you later. Simply being a nice person goes a long, long way. At some point rising above the crowd, being a person of your word and being kind will come back to you.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/115664072/chalkboard-thank-you-card-printable
I hope these help you. It sure did help me to write these things down.
I am off to work my business.
See you later,
Karen
Inspiration can be as difficult to find as creativity. I think they are so closely linked that it is impossible to separate the two. What inspires you to do the creating that you do? What lights  your creativity? What do you find inspiring?
Sometimes it is nature or the lack of a jingle in my wallet, sometimes it is a blinding illumination when it seems the angels sing, and sometimes it is just a feeling of contentment that I am on the right track. If I were to pick which flash of inspiration I like best, you and I both know that we prefer the blinding flash and angels in a choir above my head. Occaisionally,the creative work can become to feel like drudge work. So how to keep that flash of inspiration coming? How do you keep your creating fresh and new?
I have to take a break from work and get outside for that inspiration to keep coming. I have to be on the hunt for new ideas and color combinations. Like in my Aunt’s needlework from the 70s. I love the wildly bright colors in it. Keeping my eyes open and off of Pinterest can come closer to guaranteeing  that my work is more original and less  “same song, second verse a little bit louder and little bit worse”.
Sometimes my inspiration comes from something as simple as pulling all the yarn out.
Today is a rest day and I have other things to do…which means that I will be inspired everywhere I turn!
I want to know what keeps you inspired and your creativity flowing?
Karen
One day a week a homeschool friend and I trade kids. She teaches mine Algebra 2 and Pre algebra and I get to play in the art supplies with hers.  I know that I have the better end of the deal! Here is what we finished up this week. This is mine in the middle of the work. Yes, it is an artwork off of Pinterest.
Working with her boys is lots of fun. We cleaned the table off with Shaving cream and they loved that. We will water color next week.
See you later,
Karen
I recently read an interesting article on how to be productive which immediately took me back several years (cough, cough) Â to Freshman orientation class at Oklahoma State University. Since I was undecided in my major at that time I was funneled into a study skills class instead of a regular Freshman orientation class. The class spoke a lot about dovetailing work or stacking things that need to be done ie do your laundry and study at the same time. I dovetail work all the time, today it was crocheting while waiting at the orthodontist office.
You can find the article here:Â http://www.alibrown.com/blog/2013/02/21/%E2%80%9Cmy-1-secret-to-productivity-batching%E2%80%9D-by-ali-brown/
The article talks about batching which is a new concept for me. It reminds us to do our work in batches or groups of like items. If you are going to work on email then take make a commitment to check email twice a day instead of all day long. Which will save you time. Work on your paperwork at the same time everyday and so forth. Well, the study skills class spoke about the same kinds of things but added in another wrinkle…dovetailing. Sandwiching your work so that the washer is washing while the dryer is drying and you are doing something entirely different. Now in the crafting or handmade business this is a bit more difficult as we don’t have machines that do the work for us. So how can we dovetail or sandwich our work.
This is what dovetailing and batching looks like for my business ChocolateDogStudio;
While cutting out bibs I will also cut out cozies, and French press cozies. Then I arrange them by the color of thread and item and do all of the sewing requiring white thread at one time, then brown, blue etc…. I will also arrange them by the item. So all bibs requiring white thread, then all cozies needing white thread and so on. 
Here the bibs are all arranged into thread color families. That way I finish multiple items before I need to change thread. I also sew buttons on in this way.
Here are the bibs and cozies all arranged according to color families before I start stitching.
When I package orders I print packing labels and then do all of the shipping at the same time. This saves me time in the long run but also saves me some walking. 
What I really like about Ali’s article is keeping your distance from Social media and being careful about how often you check your email and facebook. Yes, I am guilty as charged. It started when I was worried about every little sale on Etsy and then I got a smart phone and the bad habit got worse. I have been working on disciplining myself to only check email and so forth twice a day or at most three times a day.
So now I am thinking about batching on my blog and writing several blog posts at once and having them post during the week. That way I am reaching my goals of blogging three times a week, without having to think about it every day.
If you run an Etsy shop there are several neat programs that will allow you to schedule your tweets. Â Check the Etsy apps and see which one will work for you. Â What a great time saver! It is time to get those set up again and keep them running. So I could dovetail my tweets and blog posts and then I could do other things during the time that I would normally spend doing those two things every day! Whew, what a time saver and a relief! Â I have felt a little stretched for time and I was wondering how to get it done this Christmas season.
Talk to you later, I’m off to write a couple of blog posts and schedule some posts!
Karen
The Cozy of the Day is a cup sleeve that I pick to be discounted.
Today it is this cute Christmas cozy. I have about three of these left so get them while you can!
Cozy of the Day! $5
https://www.etsy.com/listing/86197917/coffee-cup-cozy-coffee-cup-sleeve-fabric
See you later,
Karen
This beautiful blanket has been finished for quite awhile. I have some great photos to share of it as our oldest son had time in his busy schedule to take some photos for me. It is beautiful shades of grey and purple. The colors vary from deep purple to magenta.
Just gorgeous and 54″ square. A perfect size for a throw on the couch. You can find it in the ChocolateDogStudio etsy shop. The pattern is also available on Craftsy and Etsy so you can make your own.
Talk to you later,
Karen
One of my favorite photographers came by and spent several hours visiting and shooting some photos of my Etsy products. We had a great time drinking coffee and eating some cookies while he worked.
Here is one of the photos he took. This almost represents a whole years worth of blankets I have crocheted. I love the fluffiness of the yarns in this one.
You can almost touch and feel the softness of some of the yarns. Â This photo is missing the red granny square and several other blankets that sold.
Talk to you later,
Karen