ceejaybags

My apologies

noreply@blogger.com (ceejay) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 21:44:00 +0000

Hello, and welcome. If you have linked to ceejaybags from Where Bloggers Create, I apologize for the "Construction Mess". My studio is still not fit for public viewing! I apologize for the inconvenience.

Blog... Interrupted

noreply@blogger.com (ceejay) — Tue, 11 May 2010 16:03:00 +0000

What's that? You thought I was gone? No...

Life, as it is prone to do, has decided to throw me a whole BUNCH of curveballs, all at once. The loss of my full-time job...The end of my beloved Daddy's long fight with emphysema and the pain and struggle of coping with his passing...The challenges of single parenthood...The excitement of a new and beautiful relationship with an amazing man.

But I'm back. Back to blogging, back to creating, back to Life.

The first step I'm taking is a complete revamping of my creative space. I'm claiming the entire (former) dining room as my own, and making it into the Studio that I want...need...DESERVE. And I am so excited to share the experience with all of you! But I can't take credit for the idea. I was looking through the pages of Where Women Create and came across a story about artist Karen Valentine. In the story she mentioned that she had hosted a blog party last year called "Where Bloggers Create", and it was so successful that she is planning another one for June of this year. It featured stories of other creative souls and pictures of the studio spaces where they make all the magic happen. Hmmmm....that sounded pretty interesting! So I hopped over to the blog. One look and I signed up to participate. How cool is that? This was just the kick in the pants I needed to get my studio put together in a real, purposeful way so that I have my own space to create whenever inspiration hits.

So stay tuned. "BEFORE pictures (aka "The Nightmare") will be posted here soon, and I'll be blogging and sharing photos as the transformation takes place. The BIG REVEAL will be June 19th! Can't wait!

We Have A Winner!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (ceejay) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:38:00 +0000

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Alphabet Soup giveaway. It was lots of fun to do! Each of the entries was entered into a random number generator, and out popped # 4! (I can't figure out how to get the little widget thingy to let me copy it for you all to see, but it really does say 4.)
The winner of a $10.00 Gift voucher to my Artfire shop or Etsy shop (your choice) AND Free Shipping for all of your purchases through the month of December is firedupladies on twitter. Congratulations! Please contact me with your email info (either here through my blog comments, or through a Direct Message on twitter.) I'm looking forward to hearing from you!

November Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (ceejay) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:47:00 +0000

Alphabet Soup!

I've spilled my soup all over the internet...letters EVERYWHERE! Can you help me clean them up? If you can find them and unscramble them, you could be a winner! The prize for the November Giveaway is a $10.00 Gift voucher to my Artfire shop or Etsy shop (your choice) AND Free Shipping for all of your purchases through the month of December. Pretty Good Deal, right?

Letters are hidden everywhere that you find ceejaybags online. Here on my blog, on my Facebook Page, and in my online shops ceejaybags Artfire and ceejaybags Etsy. All you have to do is find them. But the soup spilled everywhere! You'll need to look closely to clean up this alphabet mess. When you've found all of the letters (there are eleven of them, by the way) and figured out what the word is, come back here and post your answer in a comment as your Official Entry. I will take all of the entries, stir them into the soup pot and randomly pick one as the WINNER (using random.org). The winner will be announced on Friday November 13, right here.

So you get one entry for commenting with the correct answer. Great! Want to have a better chance of winning? Here's what you can do:

1 EXTRA Entry

Tweet about the giveaway, and leave the link here in Comments (one entry per day)
Become a Fan of ceejaybags on Facebook (comment here when you do. Already a fan? Fabulous, just let me know!)
Share this giveaway on Facebook, and post the link here or on my Facebook page (one entry per day)

5 EXTRA Entries (woohoo!!)

Blog about this Giveaway, with links to ceejaybags on Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Etsy AND Artfire. (Share the post here in Comments to be eligible)
Anyone who makes a purchase from either online shop DURING THE GIVEAWAY (Nov. 8-13, 2009) will be entered 5 times.

Ooooh, almost forgot. Here's a letter, to get you started. Have fun, and Good Luck!

Lessons In Networking: Facebook Page for your Indie Business?

noreply@blogger.com (ceejay) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:43:00 +0000

How can a Facebook Business Page (some call them "Fan Pages") help get the word out about your Handcrafted Items? Think of Facebook as Word of Mouth for the Digital Age. You know the old commercial with the catchy phrase "...and they told two friends, and so on, and so on"? Well, when someone on Facebook becomes a Fan of your Business Page, that information is broadcast out to all of THEIR friends, and so on, and so on.

But where do you start??
Facebook can sometimes be a bit confusing...no worries! Here's a bit of a tutorial to walk you through it.

The easiest place to start is to go to any Business Page on Facebook. Check out the ceejaybags Page here
Go to the bottom left of the page and click "Create a Page for my Business".

Select your Category from the dropdown
Name your page with your business name (BE CAREFUL! Check to be sure you are happy with your name, and your spelling is correct.)
Click on the Create a Page button and there you have it.

(Once you have created it, copy the URL for future reference. You'll need it to promote your new page, as you'll see in a minute.)

TIPS:
If you have a PERSONAL PROFILE on Facebook, edit your profile to include that URL as one of your websites.
Include your Facebook Business Page URL on your business cards, on your online shop pages, and in your email signature.
Make sure YOU become a fan of your page! :-) Then hit "Share" so every one of your friends knows you've created a business page for your creative endeavors.

When you become a fan of someone's page, you will show up as yourself, NOT your Business Page.

Feel free to comment here, or post on my FB Page if you need any help!
Good luck!

noreply@blogger.com (ceejay) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:09:00 +0000

I'm a Winner

noreply@blogger.com (ceejay) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:52:00 +0000

Yay Me!

Lately I've been on a bit of a "Giveaway" hunt, searching for fun, interesting blogs who are hosting giveaways. There are two reasons, really. It's a bit of a research mission, on one level, because I'm thinking of hosting a giveaway here at ceejaybags. Checking out other giveaways is a great way to get ideas. AND, who doesn't love free stuff, right?

So during one of my (...ahem...) missions, I headed over to The Handmade Artist , a brand new blog that features gorgeous handmade items from talented artisans who offer their wares online. It was my great pleasure to have a ceejaybags wristlet featured on The Handmade Artist just a few weeks ago and I wanted to go back and check out the newest features and giveaway.

The giveaway last week was so cute! The sweetest little fairy, just right for tucking on a bookshelf. That would be a very cute teacher present, so I commented on the post, which entered me into the random weekly drawing. Just found out that I won! Yay Me!

To celebrate this little fairy coming to live with me, I thought I'd show you all some of the work of her artist, viridian muse. All of these handmade goodies can be found by visiting viridianmuse on Artfire. Please check her out, and then head over to The Handmade Artist to enter their latest giveaway!

Kids Activities for a Rainy (or sick) day

noreply@blogger.com (ceejay) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:38:00 +0000

Ahhh, tis the season. Between rain, shorter days and the flu, my normally active kids are spending more time stranded in the house with "Nothing to Do". A better-prepared, cooler hipper mom would surely have surfed the net to find just the right indoor activities to keep her little ones happily occupied for hours. Unfortunately that's not me (haha), but let's pretend for a moment that it is...Imagine, if you will, the precious little angels spending their days with these great handmade finds:

lil b designs

lolly bop baby

pretty dreamer

neskita

Or for the very ambitious, why not have all the kids in the neighborhood over for an evening of fun. Check out these supercute Coloring T-shirts - an awesome idea from M & E Graphics and Gifts!!

Inspiration comes from the strangest places (and things!)

noreply@blogger.com (ceejay) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 01:18:00 +0000

Earlier today I was lamenting my lack of inspiration. It's been quite a dry spell for me, creatively speaking, and I was beginning to worry that I'd never create anything ever again! (Please pardon the "woe is me" moment...) So I set out to break out of this rut.

I've been toying with the concept of a new Upcycled bag collection, whereby I rescue beautiful pre-loved fabrics and create something wonderfully new and chic. Today, I thought, was the day to begin this new journey in my creative adventure. I decided to take "before" pictures of all of the amazing treasures that my Mom (aka Mamaramadingdong) has gifted me from her never-ending stash of drapery and home decor textiles, as well as some luscious suede jackets that I came upon. At the very least I would enjoy the gorgeous fall weather, and hopefully have some pix to include when I finally start listing new items in my Artfire shop.

Little did I know that inspiration was hiding in one of the many bags of goodness that I hauled outside! Finally, I felt the familiar creative juices starting to flow through me again. It has been way too long!!

Here's a peek at the "before" life of my soon-to-be created XL Tote:

Ooooohhh...I'm in LOVE with the grommets!!

In the house I went, my head full of ideas. Before I knew it I was cutting and pressing (and turning a deaf ear to the cries of "What's for dinner?") I was so excited that I had to take a few "in progress" pictures, to commemorate the return to my studio.

Who knew that a bag full of drapery samples had the magic ingredient that I was missing?

A Helping Hand

noreply@blogger.com (ceejay) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 16:41:00 +0000

A Helping Hand is all about doing what I can to help friends and fellow artisans who are struggling in this economic uncertainty. I'm hoping that featuring these people and causes here on my blog will get the word out to others who may be able to help in some way.

Huckleberry Arts

I'd like to introduce you to a dear friend and fellow artisan, Annette (aka Huck) from Huckleberry Arts. Huck's story is alot like many of ours, in that she is an artist who chose to use her creative gifts to contribute to her family income.

She, along with her wonderful husband Rod, are the proud parents of 6 amazing children and the driving force behind Blockhead Radio. They've been there for so many artists and musicians, and right now they could use a boost. Here is her story:

Two years ago Rod lost his job due to cutbacks in the Construction Industry in their region of the US. At that point, they also lost the only car that they had and have been doing without one since then. Huck and Rod recently learned of some promising job leads, but the commute would be impossible without a car. They are trying to raise some money through Huck's online shop(s) so they can purchase some form of transportation. That's where you can help! Are you a Halloween lover? Love primitives? Need a website or blog makeover? Annette creates whimsical one-of-a-kind Art Dolls, Primitives and paintings, as well as fabulous computer graphics for blogs and websites. Check out some examples below (she made my ceejaybags banner!).

Stop on over to her blog or Artfire Studio, make a purchase, and lend A Helping Hand.

"Put On a Happy Face"

noreply@blogger.com (ceejay) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:20:00 +0000

Growing up, that was my Mom's favorite phrase. I finally know what she means.

My daughter and I had a late night discussion recently, which centered around all the things that she feels are NOT going right in her 13 yr old world. Now keep in mind, this child is amazingly optimistic. Always upbeat. The one who all the OTHER angst-filled 13 yr old girls go to when they need a little shot of encouragement. To see her sitting on my studio floor, looking up at me with tears in her eyes broke my heart.

My Angelface has been a “journaler” for a while. She doesn’t write in traditional “Dear Diary” form, but writing has always been her method of figuring things out. So, as usual, I encouraged her to pick up her pen and write. Although that seemed like the obvious solution, she wasn’t convinced. The questions she posed brought me to tears. I’ve paraphrased the ones that hit home:

If you’re writing about problems, aren’t you giving them more attention than they deserve?
How does that inspire positive thinking?
How can that energy be used more effectively, to help you feel better?

She was absolutely right. Shouldn’t we be focusing our energy on the good stuff?

This was the birth of our Family Gratitude Journal. Every night at dinner, we each share one thing for which we are grateful, and write it down. It’s a time for us, as a family, to celebrate the things in our lives that bring a smile.

Do you have ways to stay positive? What puts a smile on your face? Please feel free to post your comments here, and join me in celebrating the little things in life.

Fall - A New Beginning?

noreply@blogger.com (ceejay) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 12:39:00 +0000

What are the things that are most important in my life?

That's been my question for the past several months. I somehow lost sight of my path, or at least took a few dead-end detours. But now as fall begins, I've been re-evaluating , and making some positive changes. My priorities are clearer now than they've ever been. From "Make Dinner time Important Again" to "Create something every day", I've drawn a clear trail map to follow. Will you join me on my journey?

Vote For ceejaybags!

noreply@blogger.com (ceejay) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:38:00 +0000

Hi!
I'm so excited! See the bag in the photo? I entered it in the Artisan's Challenge over at Blockhead Radio. (see separate post for the details of the challenge HERE)

This week is the grand relaunch of the challenge, and my entry is in the line-up! How cool is that? So please stop over to Blockhead Radio Live and cast your vote!
Go to www.blockheadradiolive.com/artisanschallenge Scroll down and click on the Clothing/Bags/Accessories category. This will take you to the voting poll. Pictures of each entry are scrolling above the poll. Click on the picture to zoom in for a closer look if you'd like, and then click the VOTE button for my Handprinted Linen Bag!

Artisan's Challenge on Blockhead Radio

noreply@blogger.com (ceejay) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 01:00:00 +0000

Have you heard about the Artisan's Challenge?

Formerly known as the Etsy Challenge (the name was change to protect the innocent...) and then renamed as the Artisan's Challenge because there are soooo many great venues out there for selling handmade, the Artisan's Challenge is a great weekly art contest on Blockhead Radio. Haven't visited Blockhead Radio yet?? Why NoT?? Stop by on any given evening, and you'll hear discussions on art promotion, online selling, coffee (yum) and you may even hear a thing or two you've never heard before...and EVERY day you'll hear some really great music by indie artists.

For those who may have never heard of the Artisan's Challenge, let me explain. There are 12 different categories with 60 different artisans every week (5 submissions in each category). The winner's of each of the categories from the previous week then face off against each other in a weekly challenge!

So head on over, read the rules and enter your submissions now! You'll be notified when it's your week in the challenge. Then its up to you to tell your friends... your family... your neighbors... the people in the checkout line at the grocery store... to go vote for you in the

Artisan's Challenge!

What's in it for you? Besides lots of people seeing your item when they vote? Besides FREE publicity for your artwork? Besides all the fun????

It just so happens that the winner of the weekly challenge will now win a audio commercial (with a clickable graphic banner) to play the entire following week on Blockhead Radio! That's even MORE FREE publicity for your handmade shop!

Remember, this contest is available to artisans from ANY selling venue! Entries are being accepted now so hurry and get your submission in. Click HERE for Blockhead Radio, and HERE to go directly to the Artisan's Challenge. What are you waiting for?

And The Winner Is...

noreply@blogger.com (ceejay) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 22:51:00 +0000

Hi...just a quick note.

The Giveaway Winner over on 10oneworld has been announced, and... (drum role please) the lucky entrant is Miki!
Her entry comment was so sweet... "I am in LOVE with this printed linen bag: (click here) The color, the bag size & shape everything! Great shop!" and her response when she found out she had won was great! "Oh my gosh, I’m sooo excited!!! Thank you so much Jen!!! ... Thanks again and I can’t wait to show off that adorable, fun colored wristlet!"

Stop on over at her blog here to congratulate her!

Congratulations, Miki. I hope you enjoy your ceejaybags original!

TWO great blog features, TWO new giveaways

noreply@blogger.com (ceejay) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 16:35:00 +0000

It's an honor to be featured this week on not ONE but TWO fantastic Indie blogs!

Back in December I was offered the opportunity to be featured on LoveEtsyFeedback, a great blog that features relatively new Etsy shops. The great thing about this blog is the way that they tie in feedback from the featured shop's customers. ceejaybags will be the featured shop beginning March 4. Along with the write-up, there will be a one week wristlet giveaway. (see photo below)

Also this week, 10OneWorld will be reviewing ceejaybags. I love that blogger Jen includes a little interview, and posts items that she likes from the she is reviewing. The review and interview, as well as a wristlet giveaway will begin March 3 and runs for one week. (see photo below)
Be sure to read the entry rules on both blogs, as they are different.
Please stop by and show me some love, and enter for your chance to win a ceejaybags original.

I'm back

noreply@blogger.com (ceejay) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 21:08:00 +0000

Oh my gosh it's been an extremely hectic month! But I'm back to my blog and I have very exciting news!
ceejaybags will be featured on two great blogs next month, and both will be offering a giveaway. Two different wristlets will be given way, so don't miss this opportunity to own a ceejaybags original!
I'll be posting the links as soon as the features go live, so be sure to check back on the 3rd!

A quick note...

noreply@blogger.com (ceejay) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 17:38:00 +0000

Sometimes, I surprise myself...and this is one of those times. Here goes...
I actually did it! I submitted a few things to Thursday Sweet Treat, that are inspired by the theme "Sublime Sunset". It was so much fun to play and create, and I'm so glad I "took the challenge". If you'd like to check out the results of my playdate, click here.

Can't wait to see what this week's theme is!!

A Day of Creative Play

noreply@blogger.com (ceejay) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 13:28:00 +0000

I love to work in Mixed Media. I'm not an "artiste", by any means, but dabbling in collage, paint, dye, pens and more makes me happy. It's been quite some time since I've had the art supplies out! I've been so busy working, creating handbags, and living my daily life! I've truly felt uninspired and felt that a day of creative play may get me out of my slump. So I decided to take the challenge presented by Thursday Sweet Treats (see previous post). It was such fun getting my hands dirty, getting into the zone and enjoying the process! Not sure if I'm brave enough to share my pieces of experimentation here, but I'll be sending a few to Natasha over at Thursday Sweet Treat in the next few days. Maybe I'll post some pictures here later this week, too.

Handmadeology

noreply@blogger.com (ceejay) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 20:31:00 +0000

If you sell your art online, you no doubt know the name Tim Adam: brilliant designer, on-line shop owner, and business coach extraordinaire! As inspiring as he is talented, Tim's been sharing his success strategies with online indie shop owners for some time now through his blog, Etsy forum presence, and many other online venues.

Well, here's some awesome news! Tim's at it again! Beginning on Monday January 26th, he will be sharing his knowledge and expertise as a class on his all new "Handmadeology" site. Come and join thousands of other online shop owners to "learn the formula for selling online".

ceejaybags has been blogged about!

noreply@blogger.com (ceejay) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:13:00 +0000

How wonderful to learn that someone likes a ceejaybags handbag so much that they blog about it! It's always exciting! My black and white toile handbag caught the eye of blogger Alicia, who took a moment to feature it on her blog.

If you get a moment, stop on over to the cutest shops online where you can check out the nice things that Alicia had to say about ceejaybags and me!

A fantastic new creative blog - Thursday Sweet Treat

noreply@blogger.com (ceejay) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 19:53:00 +0000

Today on the Etsy forum, I was pleased to meet Natasha, Etsy shop owner (DoodleStar) and new Blogger. This great new blog, Thursday Sweet Treat, was created to help motivate artists to create based on a weekly Theme. What a terrific way to get a creative jumpstart, and then share your artwork with other creative souls.

This week's theme is "Explosive Celebration", and asks "What would your inner celebration look like if it exploded right out into the world?" Go, create your own interpretation of the theme...and most of all, enjoy the process!

Sisterhood Award!

noreply@blogger.com (ceejay) — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 05:01:00 +0000

Hey! Check this out! I have received the best award ever...from my dear friend Witchy over at The Copper Cauldron. I met Witchy through Blockhead Radio, and immediately knew I liked her! She's spunky and sassy and full of life...and she brightens up my life (and the airways) with her wit and infectious laughter. I'm so lucky to count her among my friends! Look out, Bourbon Street, here we come!

The Sisterhood award is inspired by the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and was created by Diana to be given to your best bloggy girlfriend(s). You give them the award to thank them for their special friendship. So Thank You Witchy, for being so awesome, and for bestowing this terrific award on me. It's even better than a tiara!

And now I get to pass the award on to two of my favorite ladies...

Krystal, from SolSisters Studio : Carried Away Bag Team's fearless leader, fellow bag designer, and graphic artist extraordinaire. You're the best!

and

Amy, from Mamas Little Monkeys: Luv ya! So full of energy and enthusiasm, and the best dang PR girl out there. And if I was the folks who sponsored CPSIA, I'd run for cover...Amy's not taking any prisoners. Go Mama!

OK, girls...now it's your turn. Share this award with some of your BBFFs (best blogfriends forever!) It'll make their day!

Lessons in Networking: The good, bad and ugly of promoting ceejaybags

noreply@blogger.com (ceejay) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 01:15:00 +0000

In the past few months, I've learned of so many different ways to network and get the word out about ceejaybags. The options are endless!

Etsy forums blogging twitter facebook indie smiles craftster kaboodle thisnext street teams googlebase email newsletters word-of-mouth guerilla marketing

I've tried them all, but until recently I had no way of knowing what, if anything, was working. Was all of this tweeting, posting, discussing, and link-dropping actually driving any traffic to my new shop, or was I simply spending precious hours of my day on the computer when I should have been creating?
Just last week, Etsy administrators pointed me to a tool that could help. Thanks to Google Analytics, I'm starting to get a feel for who is visiting ceejaybags, and perhaps more importantly, how they're finding me in the sea of internet handbag designers. The preliminary results have surprised me, and have really helped me to focus my energies on what seems to be my most active networks. In the next few posts, I'll be discussing what's worked and what hasn't for me. And in the process, perhaps give you some new ideas on where and how to promote your online venue.

Stay tuned!

E-A-G-L-E-S!!!! GO BIRDS!

noreply@blogger.com (ceejay) — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 22:53:00 +0000

Ok, I'll take a win however it's won! Go Defense.... Crazy how the Giants offense was able to read BWestbrook, but it's ok... GO BIRDS!!! Check it out on Comcast
http://www.comcast.net/articles/sports-nfl/20090111/20090111221458890000101/