Finding The Perfect Christmas Ornament Crafts

I'm a sentimental gal. When Christmas rolls around I love to pull out the Christmas ornament crafts and reminisce about each one. My boys are still in elementary school, but our tree is full of little crafts we did when they were younger. (... I can't imagine what it will look like years from now?!) I might have to get another tree!

There's something special about Christmas tree ornaments. Maybe it's the fact that they get displayed on our tree for everyone to see. Whatever it is, I love it. I started making ornaments right after the boys were born. Each year the boys and I, together, make a new ornament. Some years the boys get a little wild and 'creative', but for the most part only one ornament gets to make it on the tree.

I have a lot of friends that say they love making crafts but just don't have the time. Non-sense! It's very easy to take a few minutes to sit down and make something simple. Ornaments don't have to be perfect or expensive - just from the heart. Let me show you.

Here are a few Christmas ornament crafts ideas we have done in the recent years.

Candy Cane Frame
Candy canes are always readily available and can be purchased in bulk very inexpensively around Christmas. Get some colorful light gauge cardboard paper, cut in a fun shape and glue the candy canes around the border. Paste your favorite Christmas photo in the middle and you have a great ornament for the tree!

Glittery Pine Cone
Speaking of inexpensive - try picking up some pinecones under the pine tree in your backyard and using them for a craft! Add a touch of glue to the pine cone and sprinkle it with glitter. Glue a ribbon loop to the top and hang these sparkling decorations all over.

What Craft Beer Can Teach Us About Marketing a Small Business

I love craft beer. My friends and family would call it an obsession. It's no secret around the office that I want to eventually be an entrepreneur, creating and selling my own beer for a living. And like any good entrepreneur, I've been doing my homework.

It's so much more than just drinking beer though. In fact, that really isn't a part of it. If you just love beer, it's a lot easier to go find a six-pack and drink that than to make some on your own... which is infinitely easier than trying to do that for a living.

Five Basic Craft Skills for Children to Develop

Many kids enjoy working on craft projects because at the end of the process they have something that they can show off to others or even present as a gift. While craft kits provide kids with the supplies they need in a product-oriented format (pre-cut shapes, coordinated colors), this limits kids' creativity. The following skills are transferrable to any number of craft projects. They also share the benefit of using inexpensive materials that can be used for multiple projects.

Skill #1: Tracing Shapes In a craft store you'll find paper, wood, craft foam and other materials in handy pre-cut shapes. So, why bother teaching your children to trace shapes that they'd then have to cut out (particularly since it won't look as neat as a machine-cut shape)?

This process works on developing fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. It also allows kids to create their own designs or saves them from waiting to go to the craft store to purchase supplies (and saves you from hearing the request for a ride to the store a dozen times). Use cardboard or plastic stencils or even cookie cutters as the base of your shapes.

Skill #2: Using Scissors Show your child how to fit the scissors onto their fingers. Give a demonstration of cutting straight strips as well as cutting rounded or angular shapes. Draw shapes or lines onto colored photocopy or construction paper and have kids follow the lines.

Writing Craft: Great Battle Scenes

Here are some techniques for creating powerful, exciting, realistic battle scenes.

The biggest challenge in writing a battle scene is the point of view. To make the experience exciting and moving, it's best to stick to the perspective of a single fighter. However, the individual soldier can't see what goes on a few feet from him, let alone what's happening at the other end of the battlefield or how the sun dyes the horizon bloody red.

Here's a possible solution: Show the terrain before the fight begins, and have the general give a pep talk explaining the overall strategy. Once the fighting is over, show the battlefield and have your point of view character talk with his comrades about the implications.

Do you want to involve the reader's emotions? Stack the odds against your heroes. The readers' natural sympathies lie with the smaller army. The greater you can make the numerical difference, the better. The evil overlord's army is bigger than the hero's, and it is much better equipped, too.

Have you heard of the battle of Thermopylae (480 BC), when three hundred Spartans defended Greece against thousands of invading Persians? The Spartans knew they were going to die, and fought anyway, to gain time for their homeland to prepare further defences. Since then, thousands of battles have been fought - and forgotten. Thermopylae is remembered. The story has been retold in many novels, non-fiction books, and films. The incredible bravery against overwhelming odds still rouses audiences' emotions. When writing your own battle scenes, use Thermopylae as your inspiration.

Selling Crafts - How to Get Involved in Craft Shows

Do your research. Not all craft shows are created equally so you want to make sure you ask around to get suggestions from other vendors and enquire with the organizer of the craft show. Some questions you may want to ask are:

Is this an annual craft show and if so, what's the traffic generally like? It's always nice to know that a craft show has a proven track record, there's less risk for you this way.

Is this a juried event? Although these can be more difficult to get into, they work in your favor and they generally only accept one or two vendors in each category. This means you wont be competing with multiple vendors selling the same items as you. If it isn't a juried event, make sure you ask them the other type of vendors are participating, look for a good variety.

How do you advertise the event? If they don't have a good answer for you, you may want to consider choosing a different craft show. A lot of effort goes into creating a successful event so you should make sure they've set up social media accounts for the craft show and have plans to either advertise it or get some media coverage.

How much is a table? Craft shows can cost anywhere from $25 to $500 and up for the bigger shows. Consider the price of your items and how many you'll need to sell to cover the cost for the show and make a profit. If a table or booth is out of your price range but you really want to participate in the event, ask if they offer half tables or booths that you could share with another vendor. Make sure you're prepared. Once you've chosen a craft sale to be a part of, you'll want to leave yourself enough time to get ready for it. Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Start with your end goal and work backwards. How much money would you like to make at the craft show to cover your costs and make a nice profit? Once you have that number, figure out how many of your products you would need to sell to reach that goal and then get started.
• If this is your first craft show, you'll need to consider how you're going to display your products. You'll have limited space so you'll need to get creative when thinking of ways to optimize it.
• Make sure you ask what's included with your space. You may be responsible for bringing things such as a tablecloth and chairs.
• Leave enough time to tag and price all your products, create signage for your table and pack them up for transportation. You want to make it easy for people to shop your table and recognize who you are.
• Make sure you have all the necessities; bags, business cards, cash to make change, food, water, something to keep track of your sales and an emergency kit to make any last minute fixes. Enjoy the day and try to find some time to walk around and meet some of the other vendors either before or after the show.