speed: May 2010

Monday, May 31, 2010

Studio Update Video

-Mini health update
-Cupcake swap update
-New product release: Botanical Bath Tea
-News about what's to come next week.

Links mentioned:

Batty's Bath: http://www.battysbath.com
Linket Jewelry Design: http://LinketJewelryDesign.etsy.com
Swap Bot: http://www.swap-bot.com

Validate: the artist's word of the day

I woke up today contemplating how I always have this insatiable need to feel validated in order to feel accomplished, loved, successful, on the right path...or even just to be able to paint! And the validation always seems to need to come from an outside source: a companion, friend, family member, colleague, career success, church, education, teaching, sales, publication...or one of those everyone-loves-you darn chain emails we all love/hate to get. I'm sure everyone has their own version of this list.

Artists in particular, seem to feel this need to be validated most keenly. We work alone and then hope the world will love our work. Often we feel misunderstood...even from another planet. But even when we do feel successful, the problem is, there will always come a time when even that is not enough. Or, suddenly, others don't believe in you, your art or your dreams anymore (enter doubt and fear). Or, heaven forbid, you find yourself alone and without any kind of emotional support and reason for being, and your heart is crying, "Validate me!" Your mind is littered with self-doubt and self-disgust and there's just no way you'll paint today feeling like this! So then what do you do? (Are you smiling at me?)

Well, I decided to look to one source I'd been neglecting for a while. You know, that eternal, divine voice within that some of us refer to as God, the Universe or Infinite Possibility. Not the little nagging voice we all want to shut up...but that quiet, peaceful one that we all wish we knew how to hear more of.

So like the former librarian I am, I did a word search on "validate"...and it was quite remarkable! I noticed that "countenance" came under "validate" which made the following Bible verse very exciting:
"Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance." (Ps. 89: 15)

So, we walk in the light of God's validation, character, condition, presence, blessing, acknowledgment, approval, support, applause, encouragement, confirmation. As a result, we'll have calmness, self-control, composure, presence of mind, a lovely appearance...and a good kisser!? No kidding! (I LOVE dictionary.com!!!)

I then reasoned that God champions you and me. He/She champions us, advises us, argues for us, accepts and affirms our very being. God bolsters us, builds us up, campaigns and promotes us; defends and justifies us. He speaks for us, upholds us, argues for us...even rides shotgun for us! He has your back and mine...we are the very colors of Her character and condition! She gives us Her seal of approval. He legitimizes and legalizes us, esteems and praises us, respects and authenticates us, authorizes and mandates us, confirms and endorses us. God gives us the divine stamp of approval of His/Her nature; gives us the green light; bears witness to us; substantiates us; endorses and corroborates us; vouches for us; verifies us; justifies us; professes us; sustains us; swears by us! Declares and announces us; argues and asserts for us; publishes us; insists and maintains us; brings us forward; sustains us; confirms and proclaims us; conveys us; informs all of us; reaffirms us; demonstrates and manifests you and me.

So, I'm feeling pretty darn substantiated, aren't you? If you need more evidence, just check in with your divine inner voice-- and dictionary.com in the thesaurus section.

You could say that one result of today's word study is that I have removed all the "artist formerly known as..." paintings from my website!!! (A momentous moment!!!)

S'zanne is feeling mighty validated! However, if you should like to confirm and proclaim me further, please leave your compliments below. Otherwise, I'll assume you are glowing with approval! ;-)

Have a happy, validated day!

Q & A with Batty

Q: What's Your Best Advice for New Etsy Sellers?

A: I’ve been around Etsy since 2008 when I opened She's Batty Designs and I’ve learned a lot since then which resulted in the successful launch of my second shop, Batty's Bath.

As a newbie around Etsy there can be a lot to learn! I’m still learning and I don’t consider myself a newbie! Here are some of my most helpful tips to help you start off on the right foot around Etsy.

• Keep up to date about what’s going on in the Etsy community. This can be easily be done by changing Etsy’s blog and by spending some time in the forums. Which brings me to my next point…

• Start digging around the Etsy forums! There is a wealth of information available and if there’s a question to be asked by a newbie, it’s likely already been asked multiple times! Use the forum search to find common topics.

• Head over to Etsy’s blog and read The Etsy Seller Handbook! This resource is not to be missed! Also, once you’re done that read as many articles as you can in the “Selling” section of Etsy’s blog

• Space out your new listings. The reason for this is because each new listing shows up in multiple areas of Etsy so think of it as promoting on Etsy for only 20 cents. You also don’t want to have all your listings in one spot in the category search. You want people to see you on multiple pages for more exposure. Some of the places new listings show up are the time machine, pounce, and categories.

• Post a new listing every day if you can. If you don’t have something new to list, use the “renew” function to get your item back onto the top of the category searches. Renewing costs the same prices as listing but it’s well worth it in my opinion.

• Make sure your pictures are STELLAR! I know you’ve probably read this a thousand times but people say this over and over again for good reasons! Great pictures are more likely to attract buyers to your shop, get your items featured in treasuries, and be featured on blogs. The more exposure you can get the better! If you’re not sure if your pictures make the grade, check out some of the top sellers in your category and see what their pictures look like. Chances are they are pretty good!

• Also check out items that are featured in Etsy’s blog posts. It’s better to spend a lot of time at the beginning perfecting your pictures so you wont waste time promoting items that have pictures that are unappealing – essentially wasting more time and money!

• Figure out who your target audience is and concentrate your marketing efforts there. Find out where you can your products or shop link in front of this audience. This will help narrow down where and how you should be spending your time.

• Keep the creativity going! Once you start to build up a customer base, repeat customers are going to be looking for new and exciting items from you often! This is especially true around holidays and gift giving times. Keep them happy by keeping your creative juices following!

• Promote, Promote, and then promote some more! I spend at least 5 hours a day on the computer doing something business related! I know not everyone has this kind of time but if you’re going to have a successful shop it’s likely that you’re going to have to put a lot of time into it!

There are a few exceptions to this rule of people who become top Etsy sellers with next to no time promoting but this certainly isn’t the norm! Figure out ways to promote such as social networking sites and decide which will work best for your business and your schedule.

And last but not least… Good luck!

Gratitude Keeps Us Current

"Newborn" 5x8" acrylic by S'zanne Reynolds

"That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet."
--Emily Dickinson

A story from "Attitudes of Gratitude" by M.J. Ryan

"Last night I watched my daughter Ana, whom we recently adopted from China, lie on the bed in an ecstatic trance of bottle-sucking. Her eyes closed, her rosebud mouth pursed, her exquisitely long fingers curled around the plastic bottle, she gave herself over to the experience. She wasn't obsessing on past wounds, although perhaps she had a right to. Neglected for over a year, when we got her she had second-degree burns on her buttocks from lying in urine. Nor was she worrying about where future bottles might come from, although she had a right to do that also. Abandoned on Christmas evening on a cold street until someone heard her newborn cries, she had been fed only watered-down milk and seemed to be starving the first few weeks we fed her.

Rather, she was so focused on appreciating the warm milk as it went down her throat that everything else, past and future, simply disappeared. As I looked at her, I realized that this total and complete absorption in the present moment is available to us all when we choose to let gratitude wash over us uninhibitedly.

But many of us have been taught not to give ourselves over so fully to something or someone. As a child, I believed that you couldn't let yourself become totally immersed in an experience, because something bad might be happening as your attention is diverted. My parents used to say that as a child they never saw me asleep; I always had one eye open, alert to disaster.

But if Ana, who has suffered so much in her very short life, can giver herself over to the joy of completely appreciating her bottle, can't i allow myself in this moment to fully appreciate the sweet peas on my desk, the wonder of being able to think and read and write?

As I allow myself to open to the fullness of gratitude, the past and future fade away and I become more alive in the present moment. That's because gratitude is, for the most part, about the here and now. While we can be thankful for past blessings and hope for future ones, when we experience a sense of gratefulness, we are usually contemplating some present circumstance. We are brought up to date with ourselves. Our focus moves away from all that we or others did or failed to do in the past, or what we hope for or worry about in the future, and we find ourselves placed squarely in this precious moment, this experience that will never happen again.

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July pARTy: Flower Power

"Sunny and Clear" 8x10" acrylic by S'zanne Reynolds

Friday, July 23, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Cafe Monet at the Triangle
4700 West Guadalupe, Ste. 11 • Austin, Texas 78751

Flower Power with Monet & Merlot
In July, we'll be painting close-ups of floral faces with Austin artist, S'zanne Reynolds. Discover your flower power as you learn to mix vibrant colors in a rainbow of lights and darks. With a little guidance from S'zanne, you'll take on this happy sunflower or paint from other garden stars like the rose or iris. We'll provide the paint, canvas and photos...you bring the drinks and munchies. (You may also want to bring your favorite floral photos to paint from.)

Best of all, you'll have some fun and bring home a painting for the wall. Be sure to invite friends and family; they won't want to miss this one!

REGISTER IN ADVANCE, as seating is limited:
Call Cafe Monet at 512-906-2200.
$35 per person.

Mark your calendars; see you there!

Sunday, May 30, 2010

June pARTy: Painting on wine goblets

Wine Goblets by S'zanne Reynolds

Friday, June 25, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Cafe Monet at the Triangle
4700 West Guadalupe, Ste. 11 • Austin, Texas 78751

Time to get your creativity on with "Monet & Merlot" night!
Join me for an evening of painting and festivities. Invite your friends or make it a date night. Leave your mark on a pair of wine glasses: paint your own unique vision, or copy one of my designs. It's easy and fun!

REGISTER IN ADVANCE, as seating is limited:
Call Cafe Monet at 512-906-2200.
$35 per person.

The evening will include dishwasher safe glass paints and two wine goblets. Be sure to BYO drinks, snacks or delectables of choice.

Mark your calendars and I'll see you there!

Quick Update: Feeling Better & Looking for Requests

Hey all!

I'm finally starting to feel better! HOORAY!!! :D I'm also back on my nighthawk schedule which makes me feel even better! :)

I'm posting this update for a few reasons....

1) There will be a secret sale in my shop this week that ONLY mailing list subscribers will be in on! To join the mailing list send an email to battysbath@gmail.ca

2) Now that I'm feeling better and have about 3 supply orders to unpack, I'm looking for requests! What would you like to see in my shop? Any items that you DESPERATELY want me to carry that I'm not offering yet? Any items that are out of stock that you'd wish I'd make more of? Let me know so I can make sure my shop is carrying all the products you're looking for :)

3) I have several new products in the works that I'm REALLY excited about but am trying to hold myself back from jumping the gun on them lol. I'm almost ready to release 2 new products that you've NEVER seen from Batty's Bath and I have several other's in the "testing" stage. It's an exciting time in the studio for me and I'll be sure to update you with videos and blog posts in the next few weeks and months.

4) Weekends are filling up FAST! If you'd like to book a sniff and shop party make sure you contact me as soon as possible so you don't have to wait a few months before I'm available. :)

Thank you to each and every one of you for your continued support! I can't thank you enough for all the well wishes and motherly advice I've gotten from all of you over the past week while I've been sick. I have the best group of people rallying around me I could ever ask for :)

Stay clean & creative ;)
-Jamie

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Table Set Up - May 29th 2010

Table Set Up - May 29th 2010, originally uploaded by She's Batty.

Drew's picture from the show at the St.Thomas Lion's Club cruise night. I couldn't be there because I'm still sick so my man stepped in to "man" the table for the night! He's amazing and he did such a good job!!! :D

Lemongrass and Sage Handmade Solid Perfume

If you haven't heard about my Solid Perfumes yet then you're totally missing out! So many people have already fallen in love with them and now it's your turn!

Today I'm featuring Lemongrass & Sage Solid Perfume. This scent is a splendid blend of crisp lemongrass, gently blended with the herbal essence of honey sage. It's a great scent for those looking for something a bit different from your "run of the mill" perfume scents, it's a handmade delight that you can't get at the corner store! Perhaps you're looking to treat yourself or treat someone special, either way, handmade goodies are always the way to go and my Etsy shop is bursting at the seams with these treats!

Friday, May 28, 2010

Cinnamon Buns That are Good for Your Skin

Mmm... Buttery, warm, fresh cinnamon bun scent topped with ooey-gooey vanilla icing is absolutely incredible! Not overly spicy...just a pinch of cinnamon, perfectly blended with the sweet scent of vanilla & butter. This one is sure to make your mouth water for more! Can you say "YUM"?! Head over to Batty's Bath on Etsy to treat yourself to a bar of Cinnamon Bun Olive Oil Handmade Soap.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Honda CR-V

Base MSRP: $20,700
Base Invoice: $19,257
Engine: Gas i4
Fuel: 2.4l/144
MPG City/Highway: 20/27
Transmission: 5-speed a/t
Drive Type: Front Wheel Drive
Doors: 4