alankarshilpa

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Tagua bead giveaway

I came to know about an interesting give away from Pearl's blog, my favorite one.

Check it out if you are interested in these unique $40 worth of Tagua beads that resemble ivory beads but are much kinder in spirit!

Do you want to know more about these Ecuadorian Tagua beads ?

I was so intrigued to learn that these beads are made from plants - the tagua trees or plants and there has been quite some work going on to protect these plants and the rain forest too.

These beads, carved from the tagua plants resemble ivory and so I am quite fascinated to these these wonderful beads.

Wouldn't it be nice if more people are conscious of these natural beads, integrated them in their jewelry making and appreciating them? I am very thankful to Pearl and the Ecuador Hands for giving us this give away opportunity.

What should you do? Go to Pearl's blog and the detail instructions are there for you to win.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Bead soup ingredients sent

I am so out of blogging. I went to India and was out of my computer, which taught me some new things. Some of them are good and some not so good. One big disadvantage was I got way behind my blogging schedule. I hate to disappoint my readers who come and keep their kind words in my comment box and they'll find that I have nothing new for them.

I looked at the calendar and felt OMG!!! My soup packet needs to be sent to my partner Iveth. Well, we still do have some time as we are supposed to show our creation on the very last revealing date on April 12, but still she needs to get it, think about her creation and post it.

I remembered her in my India trip and did buy some artisan beads for her, but where are they? I topsy turvy my suitcase that is still not totally unpacked yet.

Yes, here they are.

I added some other beads from my stash remembering now that she loves blue and green.

No, I am not going to show you all that I have sent her before she gets it. But I can give you a quick peek. Here it is:


Bead Soup ingredients peek		So I head to the post office and mailed her packet last Wednesday. Hopefully she has gotten it by now, or who knows, she is probably opening it just this very minute. I am at Washington DC now - couple of thousand miles from my home in California.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Week 7 FOCUS ON LIFE - Flower Power

Flower is the topic of this week's post.

I joined this journey with Sally Russick On Focus on Life and that is what we are focusing on this week.

Somewhere I read that Flowers are Mother Earth's smile

I love that quote. I don't know who said that though.

Flowers are hopes to me. You plant a seed and when you have almost forgotten about it, little flowers crop up and say - Hey, remember once you wished me... Here I am.

It gives me confidence that things will turn out just right when I am least expecting it. It reminds me that the things that are important are:

* taking action - plant the seed
*being consistent in nourishing it - water it
*relaxing - just having some faith.

These I apply in life too.

So, as I take my walk, going on with my life, I remind myself to pause and stoop down to appreciate a smiling flower some times.

There are surprises in each nook and corner .

When I reached home I found that the cymbidium orchid near my door steps are in full bloom now. I love their peridot color and the tiny brown dots inside. What a color combination! I'll have to remember this when I work with my peridot beads.

And I thought it is too cold for orchids to bloom now. I lost all hope and put them outside.

How much do I know! Mother Earth smiled one more time at my ignorance. Here are my cymbidium orchids.

You know what? Today is our anniversary. 38 years of togetherness in the journey of life.

To celebrate that we have bought many things on this very date through out these years. Some are expensive, some not. Now if you ask us we may not remember those things, but do you know what stood the test of time?

The flowering cherry tree we planted on our third anniversary.

Thirty five years every spring it blooms profusely and smells so heavenly that when I look up I remember one more time that it is Mother Earth's way of smiling to me.

Please visit all my other friends' blogs and see what they have shared.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Week 6 - Focus on Life

This week's project is to find LOVE and capture it.

Sally, our friend who has started this fabulous journey on Focus on Life says
" ...since love is in the air ( this is February), breathe in all that love, feel it and capture it in a photo."

Here is mine :

I love this quotation of Emerson - his Definition of Success:

To laugh

often and much,
to win respect of intelligent people

and the affection of children;

to earn the appreciation of honest critics

and endure the betrayal of false friends;

to appreciate beauty;

to find the best in others;

to leave the world a bit better

whether by a healthy child,

a garden patch, or a

redeemed social condition;

to know even one life

has breathed easier

because you have lived. This is to have succeeded

especially, I love the third line... the affection of children.

Please visit all the others who are also in this unique journey of 52 weeks with Focus on Life.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Strategies to boost online business and sales in my Etsy shop

I was thinking about the strategies I should take right now for improving my online business. What should I prioritize in to boost sales in my my Etsy shop?

Researching, I came to know there are lots of things I need to do to boost my online business. There are quite a few good articles and books that talks about how to shine in your online business or improve your Etsy shop. There are so many advertisements, everyone shouting to buy their product, At the end I feel confused and overwhelmed.

So, I decided to start with the very basic strategies.

Do what you do best- make more jewelry: Add new items regularly:

This is crucial we all know, yet quite difficult to accomplish. It involves not only making products, but photographing, editing, writing and marketing too. But it has to be done and I plan to bring at least two new items a week- that is my goal.

As I have about fifty items on my shop I can renew at least one item on a daily basis.

I also came to know that deactivating an item and then activating it with in a short period of time works wonder for the search engine . In an Etsy Team discussion Donna from Classy Lady has suggested doing this. This was quite new to me. What do you think? I'll give it a try.

Be social- have some good karma too :

Regular blogging and taking part in the social sites become absolutely essential for running an online business successfully . As I am not techno savvy at all, I miss a lot in understanding Facebook and Twitter techniques.

One thing I can not stand is when people only talk and show off what they have done. It is like tacky advertisement to me.

I understand that it is necessary to post in Facebook, tweet it and pin it as soon as I post a new item in my store. At the same time I think it is equally important to appreciate other creations , take interests in other peoples thoughts, beliefs and lives and promote other artists in these social net work platforms. That take enormous time.

Writing blogs is not enough, reading and commenting on others' are equally important too.

I don't do that as much as I should. I need to put it in my calendar.

Write right:

Writing excellent articles, not just for my own blog but for other blogs and do that consistently is another thing I need to work on. Chris Guillebeau writes about the importance of guest blogging in his excellent blog 279 Days to Overnight Success

Keep it simple. Simply work consistently

From Chris' blog I came to know about another powerful blogger - Leo Babauta. His Zen Habits clicked with me. I like his minimalist approach on life.

Slow down, remove the clutter around you, with in you and you'll get where you want to go...slowly and steadily. This is what he says in his book - The Power of Less. This is how I want it too.

I have not finished his book, nor am I an affiliate. I am just writing as it helped me in my plans.

Editorial Calendar:

This is the concrete approach of what I was just talking about.

Rena Klingenburg in her excellent e book Jewelry Blogging Success Guide talks about the importance of having an editorial calendar.

Again I am not an affiliate of this product of hers, but I think it's an excellent resource that I have and I own this book but did not incorporate all the tools. What a shame.

This is what I am going to focus on.

Now, I know I did not mention that the banner in my Etsy shop could get a little help, the photos could be redone, writing the descriptions all over to make them SEO happy is a must, and the tags... and all that

. Slowly and steadily I'll get there I hope.

What strategies did you use for your online business and had good results? If you are joining me in this journey, will you give me your feed back, please?

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Focus on Life Week 5 - Where is the heart?

Where do you see the heart? This is the topic of our Focus in Life for week 5

Are you kidding? Twelve days left for the Valentine Day. Hearts are every where. You can't miss them if you enter any drug store...the candy isle will attract you like a strong magnet. Hearts are on every thing from linens to love notes. It's a Hallmark celebration... every item with a heart motif actually screaming BUY ME .

But Sally enthused me to go deeper.

Now I look for heart. I wanted to knit a sweater for a little girl whose birthday is on the Valentine Day. So I really wanted to find a pattern with a heart. I searched it on line and in books and finally I found some thing in a book called The Encyclopedia of Knitting

Here is the pattern if you care. My project is almost finished. May be in the next few days I'll be able to share it with you.

But as I was knitting I was thinking, can hearts really be seen? Diving deeper I remembered something that welled up my eyes. My pattern got blurry.

I'll share that story.

About ten years ago my father came to visit us in USA from India. He used to wear a woolen shawl. Some times I used to wrap myself in it.

One such chilly morning he approached me and said, "Oh there it is. Now why do you have to wear this very one while you have so many of yours?"

I gave it back to him saying " Because it smells...DADDY".

Hmm.

When he left for India I saw him off to the airport, returned to his empty room and found the shawl on top his pillow, neatly folded.

Later, I told him, " You forgot something ... your shawl." He gave me a cute smile squinting one eye. I knew he left it for me on purpose.

He died a couple of years after this.

Some days, when I feel dark and cold and sad, and I don't know why, I wrap myself with this special Kashmiri shawl and my heart fills up. I feel abundance of love. I see hearts everywhere.

Please check out all the other participants who are in this journey with us

Simplicity

Keep it simple - that is all to this blogpost.

Our good friend Tracy inspired me to write a post on a word or phrase that motivates me, challenges me, that should embrace many aspects of my life like spiritual, emotional, physical, financial and social. When I closed my eyes to find that one word - the image that came to my mind is a serene, uncomplicated place...nothing too much... just simple. Yes, the word is - "SIMPLICITY".

There is so much clutter around me, so many things, so many thoughts, too many lists to get done , that I am exhausted.

I close my eyes. Take a deep breath and let my self go that serene place. A three minutes break and I feel energized.

So I decided to embrace this word or the phrase "Keep it simple" as my core value or goal for this year.

I'll need to adjust to incorporate this, make some simple changes in habits and I think it will just lead me to the person who I want to be.

I'll do things with love - small things but with great love. I don't want to feel stressed doing that. That will be my cue to me to take it easy, or even stop , because beyond that it is meaningless.

I will give as much as I can with love, things and lessons that may benefit someone up to the point when I do not feel grumpy and angry and stressed.

If I can I go back to this core value of keeping things simple, my everyday tasks may not seem so frightening.

As I was thinking all these my hands were busy making these book marks.

It is true as the poet Rabindra Nath Tagore says- " It is very simple to be happy but it is very difficult to be simple."

I made several of them indeed. This very last one is made with peridot and garnet gemstones.

This one is for a couple for their anniversary present. See, my friend is an August born, so her birth stone is peridot and her significant other is a January born baby, with garnet as his birthstone. And the mother of pearl heart is to signify their love for each other and my wish - may that love be nourished.

I do not make stamped word jewelry so I hope my jewelry speaks these thoughts ...perhaps whisper to the recipient ...then I'll know my job was well done.

Here is my other friends' posts who have also decided to take this Wellness Words Challenge journey.

http://makebraceletsblog.com/2013/01/05/inspire-change-wellness-words-jewelry-challenge/