Tag: etsy shop

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Introducing the Cotton Stripe Pillow

It’s about time for you to see the newest Chocolate Dog Studio crochet pattern: The Cotton Stripe Pillow. It finally took a respite time and incredible boredom for the next pattern to be born. No one said pattern writing was easy, but this is an incredibly easy pillow cover to crochet. There aren’t any fancy stitches or counting that you have to do after the foundation chain. Binge watch your favorite show and create this beautiful home accent.

Cotton Stripe Pillow
A beautiful home accent created with cotton yarn left from the cotton waves baby blanket.

The Cotton Stripe Pillow Pattern Release

The Cotton Stripe Pillow release happens today! Today is your day as I will refund the first five buyers of The Cotton Stripe Pillow pattern if you send me any Etsy message or leave the message at the end of the purchase receipt. This offer does have a time limit of the next five days, 9/16/2022 – 9/21/2022.

You can find the cotton stripe pillow in my Etsy shop. You can shop Here.

There is another new pattern coming out next week. The White Serape Stripe. I can’t wait it is a fun calmer version of The Serape Stripe which you can see here. It has taken even longer for this pattern to come to the shop.

Painting

Painting has been happening nearly every day. It is such a relaxing thing for me to do with no calls or preconceived ideas. I am just wandering where ever my brush takes me. Painting and crochet don’t seem to be good partners so it’s either one or the other these days.

The Cotton Stripe Pillow
Mixed media art flowers
The Cotton Stripe Pillow
watercolor branches and leaves

As you can see a wide variety of art projects from drawing to abstract painting with a little mixed media also. Mixed media seems to be the biggest area of art these days.

Life

If you don’t like reading about life and how things are going feel free to skip this part. We are working on what we call the kids bathroom. Others would call it the hall bath except we really don’t have a hall or at least it’s really short. It is reaching a logical stopping point. Which we did in this case. At least we need to call in someone that knows more to give us advice.

I was remembering back this week about a story from a friend’s social media post about weird things that have happened with animals. We have had a number of weird things but this one is funny to me even now.

We were living in a new house and the living room felt really empty as Hubs was working late and abnormally quiet and all four kids under 9 were in bed. I was alone after a really long day unpacking. Have you ever noticed how noisy a quiet house can be.

I was sitting and enjoying the quiet, listening to the night noises when I hear a thump on the back of the recliner. I could feel it too, I listened and didn’t hear anything else. Did I imagine it?

Just as my heart was returning to normal it happened again.

The thumps were un-nerving.

I wait and just as I decide it was my imagination when it happens twice this time, THUMP, Thump.

I gather my wits and courage, give myself a stern talking to about how the sound was just my imagination and I peek around the edge of the chair, because I am too scared stand up – there it is a little green tree frog.

Whew, I was so relieved….. Just a little frog. We did the catch and release into the back yard.

Why do our minds always run off to the scariest thing We can think of? Surely I am not the only one has weird things happen.

Talk to you later,

Karen Marie

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Organizing New Ideas for Future Crochet Projects

Organizing New Ideas

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Sometimes, when you get new ideas for future crochet projects, you aren’t ready to start working on them right away. You need time to think about them — to refine and perfect them — until you’re ready to begin the project. So, how do you keep those new ideas stored and organized until you are ready to start working on them? I have several things which I do that help me keep new ideas in mind.

(This post has Amazon affiliate links)

1. Take a Photo with My Phone

I will take pictures of things that  inspire me or trigger ideas in my mind. My phone is usually always with me and a photo is worth 1,000 words. The thin and thick stripes in this wrapping paper would make a great crochet blanket, scarf or sweater.

Inspirational stripes

And here’s an example of a striped fabric that caught my eye. I like the colors in this, although they do seem a bit dark. The widths of the various stripes and the color sequence would lend themselves easily to being repeated in an afghan.

Fabric inspires new ideas

This blanket was inspired by the yarns within it since they inspired me to see the Autumn landscape of Oklahoma: the browns of the plowed fields; the golds and rusts of the trees; the blue from the sky and lakes; and the green of the old dried grasses in the pastures.

Inspired by nature

2. Pin It to My Secret Pinterest Inspiration Board

Yes, I do have several secret boards. (Doesn’t everyone?) If it is online, I will pin it to my secret inspiration board which no one else has access to. When you choose to create something based on what someone else has created, you need to be very careful about claiming too much of their work as your own. You can use it as a springboard to a new idea, but downright copying and passing it off as yours is piracy.  While I do have a secret Pinterest board, it isn’t filled with just other’s work — it has photos of color mood boards, stitches that I want to try, and other things that I think will make beautiful projects.

3. Go “Old School” (Paper and Pencil) and Write the New Ideas Down

(Affiliate links are included for the products I use. I will receive a small percentage of any item you purchase, but it will not affect your pricing.)

Often, I will draw out new ideas or write them down. I find this method increasingly hard to manage, though, as papers tend to get shuffled and lost. Here’s an example of a couple of my composition books (link) (which I love!) full of ideas and crochet patterns.

Storing new ideas

I also love the post-it note brand of tabs (link) and Post it note file folder labels (link).  I use them to mark the beginning of each pattern or idea that I put in the composition book. It helps keep the patterns organized and easy to find.

Another thing I use all the time is a legal pad  (Link) and clipboard  (link). I write the pattern and notes furiously and then flip the pages. You can even see the paper sometimes in the background of my photos. Nearly every pattern I write has its beginnings on paper in some form. I always try to date and take progress photos as I work. This helps me keep track of how I put it together as well as document my thought processes. This all translates to detailed patterns, with photos, for you!

Organizing New Ideas

4. Pin It to a Real Life Bulletin Board or Magnet Board

saving new ideas
Check out more cool bulletin boards here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/165564215

Sometimes I’ll see a photo in a magazine I own, or maybe the colors in fabric or yarn in my stash will catch my eye. When that happens, I will actually pin the photo or the materials to a bulletin board. I haven’t been doing this as often as I have been taping them into the composition book. The book is working better for me at this time, since I don’t have a dedicated working space. I often find myself in my chair, at the dining table…basically, working all over the house.

How Do You Save Your New Ideas?

Now that you’ve read about the methods that I am using right now, I’d love to know what you do to keep your ideas organized. Leave a comment below to start the conversation!
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Talk to you later,

Karen

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Sell Your Handmades

Are you thinking about ways to sell your handmades now that you have 100 crochet dishcloths whipped up, and you’ve already given two to everyone you know? Are you thinking about possibly starting an Etsy shop?

There are options other than Etsy or craft shows for selling your handcrafted items which work easier and more efficiently.

Deciding to Sell Your Handmades

When I decided to start selling my handmades, I opened an Etsy shop. My husband was in the process of changing jobs, and I thought selling handmades would be a good way to supplement our income. I designed a cup cozy and started creating a bunch out of stash fabric– I simply used whatever supplies I had on hand as a way to make a profit.

My first year was dismal as far as sales; I didn’t sell a single thing. However, keep in mind that:

  1. The shop opened in November
  2. I had five items
  3. I had no idea what I was doing

Unfortunately, the next year wasn’t much better.  I made $79.50 for the whole year! I will admit that:

  1. My photos were AWFUL! Just horrible.
  2. My listings weren’t much better
  3. My promoting was just BAD

An income of $79.50 for the year is not going to pay my bills. I had to either get better or quit. I chose to get better, and I slowly improved over time.

Consider All Your Alternatives

When I started selling on Etsy in 2008, there weren’t as many other online sales venues. Etsy wasn’t nearly as big as it is now, and it was mostly Mom and Pop shops (not individual sellers). Pinterest and Instagram were just ideas in someone’s head at the time, and selling on Facebook and Twitter was almost non-existent.

As you consider today’s options for ways to sell your handmades, ask yourself these important questions:

  1. Is it worth the cost to pay Etsy 3% of every sale you make?
  2. Do you want to be one of the 1.6 million sellers on Etsy?
  3. Why give Etsy any of your hard earned money when you can use other venues for free?

Sell Your Handmades, www.chocolatedogstudio.com

If you are set on selling your handmades online, either on Etsy or another venue, then it’s time to start thinking of some basic business decisions, such as:

  1. Imagine the worse case scenarios when it comes to buying/selling online and figure out how you will handle each of them. Write your answers out and keep them somewhere safe so you will have them if you run into any of the scenarios.
  2. What will your return policy be? Make sure you put this in writing. You will need it at some point.
  3. Wrap an item for shipping and weigh it. Put this info in writing for easy reference.
  4. Research shipping costs and decide how you will handle long distance returns. (See #2.)
  5. Figure out average shipping costs to various locations in the USA so you can set your shipping prices accordingly. Do you want to ship to Alaska and Hawaii as well? What about other countries? (If not, include this info in your shipping policies.)
  6. Think about custom orders. Are you going to accept them? Will there be special charges for them?

Keep all this info in a safe place. This is part of your business plan. As you make more business decisions (such as how to market your handmades), you will want to keep all of this info together in a place where you can find it easily.

Sell Your Handmades, www.chocolatedogstudio.com

Creating a Business

If, after answering all these questions, you still desire to sell your handmades, then it’s time to get serious– get some business cards made. Business cards are a great way to create a business identity. Tuck one or two into each and every item you sell, hand them out to friends and give one to anyone you speak with who asks for your contact info (doctors, sales clerks, local craft shops, etc). Include a photo of an item that represents your business on the front of the card to boost your identity as a serious business owner.

Take good care of your printer, or buy a sturdy one. It will become a good friend to you as you print out receipts, business cards, invoices, and shipping labels.

Make sure you set up your finances correctly, too:

  1. Write a budget. (And stick to it!)
  2. Open a business checking account. (Never mix business and personal funds.)
  3. Keep track of your expenses. (For tax purposes.)
  4. Get a sales tax permit for your state if you sell to your local friends. (The IRS will find you sooner or later if you don’t.)
  5. Stay out of debt. (If you don’t have funds in your account then don’t buy anything–it’s not a good deal if you don’t have the cash.)

My final piece of advice when you are ready to sell your handmades is simple: have fun, be enthusiastic, and don’t worry. If you take care to make quality items and treat your customers and other sellers well, you will succeed. You may need to make adjustments here and there, but everyone (from Wal-mart on down to the neighbor’s garage sale) does that.

Have you started to sell your handmades yet? Are you still thinking about it? Which social media or other venue have you found to be the most profitable? Leave a comment and let me know!

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

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Work in Progress this week 2/12/2016

There has been so much going on this week that I decided to show you my work in progress. The days seem to run together without slowing down. I have been working on so many different projects this week. I have been painting, framing, crocheting, pattern writing, cleaning, donating and trashing! It has been good but I am also tired tonight. Here are a few  of the highlights.

I have been framing a couple of needlework projects. This one is a cross stitch I finished a couple of years ago. I love the curly frame on this one.

Work in Progress

This fantastic needlework is my Aunt’s. She gave it to my mom, and Mom gave it to me. I love it. It is going to hang in my living room as it has all the colors I love in it.

Work in Progress

I have been crocheting on tons of tiny circles for a new afghan. There isn’t much done yet and no beautiful photos of them for you to see.

I have also been crocheting on this afghan. It doesn’t look like much does it. This is what 120+ flower centers look like.

Work in Progress

I have been writing a pattern for a scarf and it is about ready to go out in the world. It is a beauty and fairly easy for beginners.

Work in Progress

This is part of it. It will stretch you a bit as the border is a bit more complicated than most beginner projects. This pattern will be released on Wednesday to both the craftsy shop and the Etsy shop.

FYI: I’m also an affiliate to various different craft shops and if you click to their shops from this page I get a small percentage.  This is a new step for me and I am trying it on for size. It shouldn’t affect anything I say or do here but I believe in being upfront about such things.

Talk to you later,

Karen

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Autumn blanket pattern

I have just finished writing the Autumn blanket pattern. It is now listed for sale on Etsy. It seemed to take ages to write the pattern but I kept finding more little details that I needed to add to the pattern.

Autumn Blanket Pattern

This is the Autumn blanket. The one that reminds me of Oklahoma in the winter. I love the colors in this blanket and the yarn is wonderfully soft.

Autumn Blanket Pattern

The pattern has step by step photo instructions.

Autumn Blanket Pattern

I have included the beautiful scalloped border in the pattern. You need to know several stitches to crochet this blanket; double crochet, half double crochet, single crochet and slip stitch. The  blanket is generously sized with none of the holes that granny square blankets have.  This is afghan makes a  wonderful gift for the special people in your life.

Autumn Blanket Pattern

 

Autumn Blanket Pattern

You can find this pattern on Etsy at ChocolateDogStudio. I will be adding it to craftsy as well.

It has been a busy week. My Mom is recovering nicely from her knee replacement surgery and hopes to get to her home soon.  It has been nice to spend so much time with her, I just wish she felt much better. She is walking all the time and the therapists are extremely happy with her recovery.

Our daughter is back and college and settled in for the final semester. Everyone else is doing well. There is a bit of remodeling going on in the kitchen. It should be finished fairly quickly and isn’t interfering with the cooking, much at all. I will be making Lemon meringue pies for my Father in law this week. We can’t wait to see him.

Talk to you later,

Karen

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Tips for the Ombre or Temperature blanket

The temperature blanket has had great interest since Repeat Crafter Me on Facebook posted a photo of my blanket. I have had numerous questions as people have needed a few pointers and or had general questions that needed to be answered. Here are a few Q and A’s on the Ombre, Temperature or granny Stripe blanket.

Question: How do I turn from row 2 to row 3 in the temperature blanket, ombre blanket or granny stripe blanket?

A:
I just do the one dc into the turning stitch. Then chain two and turn. I would then follow with two dc into the gap between the 1 dc and the next group of three dc.

Tips and Tricks to the Ombre or Temperature blanket

Here you are getting ready to turn to row three. You have just completed the last group of 3 dc.

Tips and Tricks to the Ombre or Temperature blanket

Do the dc in the top of the last stitch of the last group of 3 dc from the previous row.

Tips and Tricks to the Ombre or Temperature blanket

Chain two and turn. You are now ready for row three!

 

Question: Do the stripes run from side to side or from top to bottom?

A: The stripes run from top to bottom.

 

Question: How do I crochet the granny stripe border?

A: The long sides are simply the granny stripe as you would have crocheted the rest of the blanket.
In the corners
dc three times chain one dc three times in the same stitch.

On the short ends. You crochet the three dc in the chain five space at the end of each row of colors.

Q:  I was wondering if you would be able to tell me the heights of the rows for the two blankets in the subject.

A. The dc rows are about 3/4 of an inch high. She, could of course use a shorter stitch like a sc or hdc stitch instead.

Q: How many different colors does this take?

A. It uses about 12 + colors of yarn. The exact number and a list of colors used are in the pattern.

Q:   What weight of wool do you recommended for the temperature blanket and how large of a skein?

A: The instructions tell what exactly brand of yarn and how much yarn you need to complete the afghan.From that starting point you can figure out how much yarn it will take.

Most afghans take on average 8 -10 skeins of  aran weight yarn. This one uses more colors so that increases the number of skeins you need. It is a DK yarn which is skinnier than aran wool or a yarn like Vanna’s choice from Lion Brand but a bit bigger around than baby yarn. It is a number 4 yarn and takes about a g-h hook

****************************************************************

I apologize for being late on posting this. I have been at the hospital this week with my Mom for a knee replacement. This is the first chance I have had to sit down and write. She is doing much better. Thank you for your prayers and thoughts. I have so much to do today.

The weather is cooperating and making me want to stay in cozy and warm with a crochet hook or sewing machine. I need to do both and can’t wait to sit down and spend some creative time.

Tips and Tricks to the Ombre or Temperature blanket

I have started an email newsletter which will come out at the end of each month. Please sign up as the first free pattern will be a pillow to accompany your temperature blanket!

Thanks,

Karen

You can read about all the great craziness that happened with this pattern here:

http://www.chocolatedogstudio.com/2016/01/02/the-temperature-blanket/

 

You can read about the email newsletter here:

 

http://www.chocolatedogstudio.com/2016/01/03/email-newsletter/

 

 

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The Temperature Blanket

My etsy shop has been blowing up this week due to a little share about the Temperature blanket. I discovered this while I was on the phone with my Mom on New Years eve first thing in the morning. I receive the Etsy cha-ching on my phone when I sell something on Etsy. The phone cha-chingd three times in the space of one 20 minute conversation. That’s odd I thought. Well, it went on all day and then I started receiving requests to make a blanket that I had already sold. (I hardly ever go back and make the same blanket twice.) The blanket patterns kept selling all day long, and all day the next day. My views were off the charts. I have had 27,000 views in the last seven days. Yesterday my views were 12,323. I am blown away. It is a beautiful thing. I searched all through my analytics to figure out where the traffic was coming from with no luck. Finally, I questioned a customer and found where all the traffic was coming from. Here is the photo that was posted on Facebook

The Temperature Blanket

I quickly wrote the pattern for this blanket and posted it. It is doing quite well for pattern sales. I was wanting to sell more crochet patterns and less finished items. It fits better with my life goals and family needs right now. I have found a friend that will be glad to crochet this blanket for you. She is my Etsy friend Christie at Luvncrafts. I am going to stay out of the middle of those negotiations.

All because RepeatCrafterMe shared my blanket photo with the thermometer attached to it. It is such a lovely thing to happen.

The blanket above is not a thermometer blanket. It is just a blanket using the same lovely colors as are pictured in the thermometer. I really appreciate the shout out by Sarah. I know it will be a roller coaster ride that will end pretty soon but it sure is exciting right now.

Thank you Sarah. You have made my day and quite possibly my year.

Thank you to all the lovely people that are buying my blanket pattern. I hope you make a wonderful thermometer blanket that keeps you and your families warm.

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

Here are the links to the two patterns that will work well for this blanket.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/168162461/50-off-blanket-hand-crochet-blanket

https://www.etsy.com/listing/262182198/50-off-crochet-blanket-pattern-ombre

 

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Vacation time

This time of year I take some vacation time to enjoy my family and spend time not connected to a laptop or a project.  I am pretty close to burn out by this time of year and it helps me to spend time with family. We tend to pull in pretty tight as a family unit this time of year. October and November are increasing in intensity and then add in the Christmas season, it is pretty overwhelming.

Vacation time

I have completed the bi-annual gifts for the dogs. I sewed new dog beds up for them. The one photographed above was created for Sebastian, our son and daughter in law’s dog. He is a little smaller than ours and fits quite nicely in his new bed.  Vacation time

It needs some paint but I liked the fact that it was printed with the bulb brand on the front so I left it.

Vacation time

Our dogs loved the new bed as well. Here they are testing the finished product.

My kitchen has been in a semi-useful state the past couple of days as we were changing out the lighting. The old fluorescent fixtures needed changing out as the ballasts were bad and half of the bulbs bad. Here is a photo in a half done state. Vacation time

Removing the ceiling texture is next on our list. It is looking much brighter and I think the LED lights will save us some money.  I was worried that the construction would put me behind on Christmas cooking and baking but I think it will be ok. I worked on some other things that needed to be done. This Christmas is just family and the kids are here to pitch in and help.

We have been watching The Great British Baking Show and I am inspired to try baking some new things. So, baking is in the plans for today.

There are great sales happening in all shops and I will keep them open but they won’t be shipped until after Christmas from the Etsy shop. Vacation time has come and it is sorely needed. The time to putter in the kitchen, clean and decorate just a bit more is badly needed.

I will be back before the New Year with a round up post and then BOOM 2016 will happen. There are wonderful things in the works for next year and I can’t wait to tell you. There are new projects, new plans for both shops, new designs, tons of bright new yarn already waiting for the crochet hook! I pray that your Christmas is merry and bright! May you have the peace and joy of the season, may you renew old friendships and make new ones!
Talk to you later,

Karen

P.S. If you still need to shop you can find the shops here:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChocolateDogStudio

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChocolatesBabyShop

http://www.amazon.com/handmade/chocolate-dog-studio

 

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Today is all about Table Covers

Today is all about table covers as I work to create table cloths for the craft show. I have a wide variety of  fabrics and textures to use and I need to figure out a way to use them creatively without buying anything new. My supplies consist of

  • burlap. real burlap bags that I have washed and dried three times
  • canvas …left over from sewing the slip covers on the couch
  • a white bedskirt that has eyelet ruffles and embroidery all in shades of white
  • white tulle left over from the wedding
  • off white and white muslin left over from a variety of crafts

I just need to figure out the most attractive fabric layout so I can stitch up these table cloths.. That is the challenge for today. We will see how it all goes together.

Today is all about Table Covers

Some bunting or banners would also work well in white and off white colors. We are working with neutral colors. We hope that these colors will stick in the background and all  the items to stand out more. The balance might be off color wise but I can’t tell until I lay out the colors and see.

I really don’t want to buy any more fabric but we will see how it looks when I’m done.

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

 

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A New Sign

This weekend I am working on packaging. It is the little things that count. Packaging, finishing work and tagging all speak for about the quality of your work. All the work that you put into your items should speak through your packaging and style of your booth. So, my booth has been getting an overhaul, I used to have green and white polka dot table covers and a fabric banner for the shop sign. So, it was time for a change. This is a much better sign than the one I had before, though it was good. It is easier to read from a distance and will stand out in a crowded marketplace.

A New Sign

It feels like things are starting to come together. There is a ton of work to do.  I still need to make table covers for the show and they need to look good. I have been searching out ideas via Pinterest and have quite a few ideas for good table covers. There are several with pockets on the back for calculators and small things. That is the style I am thinking about but I’m just not sure what I will end up with.

The trees here are lovely in their orange and red leaves. The oak tree in the yard is dropping all its acorns. The squirrels are trying to evade the dogs in the yard. They seize the minutes when the dogs are in the house to scrounge as many as they can. There is a nip in the air that promises colder weather in the future. Winter seems to have held off longer than normal this year. Friends and family were still getting harvest from their gardens this weekend, but the end is in sight. My rose bush is still blooming and I need to trim it back and harvest the sage and basil. We are busy on fall home improvement projects like caulking and getting the house ready for the winter. I hope that you are enjoying glorious autumn weather at your house.

Talk to you later,

Karen