New Online Portfolio Launched

Check out my new online portfolio from Carbon made. A great tool for making free online portfolio's for artists.

Art Eye Candy

Here are a few of my favourite Edward Hooper images to delight and inspire.

Getting Local

Here are some snaps of my local park and neighbourhood taken on a Nikon D40 SLR camera. I hope it will encourage you to take some local snaps, sometimes it's the simplest of things that have the most impact.

Great Christmas Gifts for Children

My new baby niece was born just two weeks ago and I wanted to get her something really special for her first Christmas. After a quick google I found a great site for making simply rag dolls. These instructions are easy to follow. A great idea for any young relatives.

Make Baby Stuff . com

Great You Tube Tutorials and How I Acheived my First Oil Landscape

Hello fellow crafters. I would like to share with you a Youtube treat I found. Wilson Bickford was recommended to me by my retired father who has taken up painting in the early morning and just discovered the delights of learning on you tube. I watched Wilson's video on painting convincing clouds to make this oil painting of Blackpool. Enjoy

sorry this is sideways, for some reason blogger won't have it any other way!

Buy One Get One Free Offer

For all your early bird Zuzushop is offering the chance to buy one get one free until November 10th. Get your presents early and at half the price

www.etsy.com/shop/zuzushopuk

Know your boyfriend

I saw this and couldn't help but share these hilarious star sign personality reviews are from the 1961 annual of 'Boyfriend' magazine. Think I may see if I can get these printed up on cups, love em!

6 Things I've learned in 6 moths of selling crafts

Ok so you crafters out this may well empathise with this.

1 # Rome wasn't built in a day

Or a week, or a month. The internet is a huge place and its easy to get over-excited about what you can and will acheive. You may feel like you're ready to conquer the world when you decide to attack SEO, learn photography, become a blogger, a forum regular ... and make a good volume of high quality products to sell. Either you'll wear yourself out doing it or just thinking about it will overwhelm so much it will be a struggle just to turn on the pc. Remember the old adage of one foot in front of the other and small manageable steps. Approach it this way and you'll be amazed ho much you've acheived in how little time, rather than setting your challenges too high and spending your time procrastinating.

2 # Its not personal

Of course you're artwork is personal, its your vision, its your taste its got your personality ingrained in it! So its easy when you're so close to your work to get disheartened when you have no sales, or people don't want to pay your prices. I got in such a slump one time I reduced my prices so they only covered my cost as I decided they weren't good enough. I shared this thought with a kind friend who makes beautiful stain glass art and she said that if it wasn't working I just wasn't getting in front of the right people. It was them, not me and she was right. You really need to be objective and think from the customers point of view, the question you should be asking is not why doesn't nobody want to buy my work but how can I find the people who want to buy my work?

3 # Just do it

Or 'feel the fear and do it anyway'. What are you putting off? Go on you know there is something you don't enjoy as much as the making process. It could be sales, it could be admin, finance, pricing. What is your logic telling you that your heart is resisting. I see these moments like what sprinters call the 'wall' some times I just stop working on my business for a few days making excuse after excuse to avoid getting on with it. I've found when I just sit down and get on with it - sure I may be grumpy and not myself for a couple of hours - but when its done its like the sun coming out and I actually feel prouder of myself than the stuff I love to do. Please once you've finished reading this, do the thing you're putting off.

4 # Be Ruthless /Find your Mr Miyagi

My approach to crafting pretty organic, its experimental its out there and like a lot of creatives I get totally absorbed and excited about my work. Sometimes its hard to see the word for your trees and that your amazing abstract masterpiece may be better as a keeper than a commercial product. Sometimes you spend so long making something its hard not to want to sell it if its not working. You think 'but it's taken me three days!'. This is the point you need your Miyagi, luckily I have a boyfriend who is the perfectionist who loves me enough to tell me the truth about my work. Sure it hurts for a half hour but generally I look later and see he was right. If you're not as lucky as this then you need to develop a critical eye in yourself. Leave your item for a few days and come back after a few days, this tends to freshen your thinking and gives you that little bit of emotional distance.

5 # Its harder for the Jack of All Trades

Marketing people talk about having a USP (Unique Selling Point), something that you and only you do thats memorable, special and has a certain benefit to a customer. By spreading your product range too wide you're diluting you're opportunities for a USP. And no being 'that store that sells everything' is not a USP in itself.Choose a product type, a style, even a colour and stick to it, stand by it and people will start to not only remember you but you'll create a niche for those who love the thing you do.

6# Get out of the Rabbit Hole

Sometimes its all to easy to hide away in the attic or your workshop and not look at the outside world. What is something is doing something similar to you? What if your pricing and ability is way off the mark? What if people see your a novice? We all have fears that stop us from reaching our potential. The best and most seasoned professionals consistanly say that getting out there and seeing what others are doing, colloborating, comparing, listening and most importantly learning from others is the key to success.

I guess a lot of this everyone already knows, so its just a reminder and a iteration that the things listed above are common and normal. The final thing is that you may know all of this but its another thing doing it. I often have an epiphany and my boyfriend says 'I told you that 6 months ago!' Ultimately its up to you to walk the path, follow your own journey and learn by doing. Good luck !

Steph Beever
www.etsy.com/shop/zuzushopuk

Why its so great to do something for others

So I had a commision yesterday for a personalised wedding portrait and I was over the moon. Not just because of the cold, hard cash - if I wanted that I'd get a corporate job - but actually it was the thought of making something for somebody that would potentially last a life time.

I'm pretty nostalgic anyway, and I don't know if you're the same but I have a box with all my old photographs and certificates and cut outs from the newspaper and ever so often I look through it and relive those days and smile to myself.

I realised what I was doing in making personalised gifts was making something to go in somebody's memory box and that's special isn't it? Its a noble purpose and it inspires me to do the best job I can.

Just wanted to share that thought...

Out on the Town in Zuzu wear

I have got into the habit of wearing my resin jewellery out and about as a good way to a) show it off and b) find out what works with which outfits. Its pretty fun to mix and match. I hope to do a weekly outfit to show off each new piece!

Find pieces like this at www.etsy.com/shop/zuzushopuk

Volunteers Wanted for Personalised Pics

So I'm now doing personalised portraits and special occasion stuff because really its just nice to help celebrate someone elses day. I need some voluneteers though to work with on getting some more samples for my etsy site

I would prefer it if we could do a swap so I will spend a half day working on your image in return for something you make/cakes/critiquing some of my stuff?? But failing that I would just love a nice testimonial and to work on your images.

If you're up for it email me at zuzushop@live.co.uk

Good morning, Good Afternoon and Goodnight

I currently run an Etsy store so its odd thinking that most of my customers are browsing while I'm sleeping. To introduce myself I am a writer, artists and craftmaker. There is nothing better than being creative, trying new things, being inspired and just exploring possibilities.

I do three things for all I which I have online shops www.zuzushop.co.uk in the UK and I sell

Resin Jewelry (American spelling - Jewellery for us Brits) here www.etsy.com/shop/zuzushopuk.

I paint and illustrate personalised cards, invites, portraits here: www.etsy.com/shop/sbeever

And I make hand made notebooks currently only available at www.zuzushop.co.uk