A New Gig

Hello all!

No posting the past week due to the commencement of a new job! I'll be tutoring at the nearby elementary school after school three days a week. On Wednesdays I'll be teaching two art enrichment classes for Kindergarden through Fifth Graders. (Lucky for them I won't be teaching any math. They need a fellow like the one above for that.) Very excited and feeling very humbled by the way the universe just plopped this opportunity at my feet via a little light conversation at a Christmas Cocktail party.

The school is high up on a hill overlooking the town. It's foggy and cooler up there, and lush with coffee farms where world famous Kona coffee is grown. Many of the kids I'm tutoring have parents who work on the farms picking, roasting and packing beans. When the kids have quieted down to study, you can sometimes hear roosters crowing. It's wonderful.

Have you had any great moments of serendipity lately? P.S) Did you know "serendipity" is one of the top five most difficult English words to translate?

Six Miss B-isms

Many thanks to my friend Nick for this tag. I went ahead and altered the rules a bit- after all, what fun is a game of telephone without those mischevious little changes?

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
2. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
3. Name 6 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
4. Nominate 6 Bloggers.
5. Post links to the 6 blogs you nominate.
6. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated.

Here are six Miss B isms- one for each of the wacky ladies in the illustration above. (The sixties must have been a trip, eh?)

1) Most recent purchase: A shocking chartreuse green cardigan. It is fantastico.

2) Fantasy vacation destination lately is St. Petersburg.

3) All the press for Nine inspired me to watch Fellini's 8 1/2 and La Dolce Vita. Can't believe how much fashion photography borrows from his work!

4) Can't pack light to save my life. Luggage weight restrictions and fees are the bane of my existence.

5) Best recent recipe tweak? Adding marshmellows and chopped almonds to chocolate chip cookie dough. It's like rocky road in warm gooey cookie form!

6) I'm definitely on Team Conan.

Tagging the following peeps:

Simply Sarah

A Year in the Southern Minnesota Triangle

Love Plus One

The Big Cactus

Jennyfur's Sketchbook

Little Miss Deb

Happy blogging!

Starting a Blog for my Etsy Shop: Sellers Asssisting Sellers Q&A with Becky Kazana

Here is another question I've received as a member of Sellers Assisting Sellers. I hope you are enjoying this new feature on The Fab Miss B! Please do add your own comments and suggestions in the comments. You know I love hearing from y'all!

(Today print by Maejane)

Q) I'm new to Etsy and new to Blogging. I would really like to learn more about how to blog to build my professional network, Etsy community, and Etsy business. I hardly know where to start. Can you help me get on my feet?

A) Blogging is a great way to get involved in the crafting community, meet like minded folks and develop a following for your product. But, it's also a lot of work. You need to decide how much time you are willing to spend on your blog and what your goals are from the outset.

The Etsy Storque has a great article on this (and is a great resource for both new and seasoned sellers!) Here's one of my own posts about blogging too. Spend some time browsing blogs to see which you like and dislike and think about why. Here's a list of great design blogs to get you going. Do your favorite bloggers use lots of pictures or lots of words? Are they sarcastic or sweet? Are they funny or serious?

(Cassete Tape Laptop Decal by beepart)

I think the best advice is to blog about things you find FUN. That way you will enjoy the process of keeping a blog. If it is drudgery, odds are good that you won't stick with it, and then you'll never find your audience. Trust me, the dialog with others is what makes blogging rewarding.

Keep it short. No one reads long rambling posts (she said in her long rambling post!) Also, make sure to vary your content. If your posts are always about your own products, people will quickly lose interest. Show them what inspires and interests you and you will build a loyal group of followers.
(Jack Russel Terrier on a Laptop print by lulunjay)

Consider joining a team like the Etsy Bloggers Street Team. They have monthly blog carnivals that will help motivate you to create new content and meet other sellers, bloggers, and of course, customers!

Good Luck and Happy Blogging!

Becky

New Year, New Blog, New Life!

Gentle Readers-

Drum roll please! I've begun a new blog! One of my favorite things about blogging has been sharing things I'd love to own with all of you. Sometimes the simple act of blogging dissipates my desire for the object I'm writing about. Conversely, I end up seeking out objects to share with you. This is problematic when it inhibits my creativity rather than stimulating it. I'm conducting an experiment, which may ramp up considerably! My new blog, "I want Nothing" will remind me to:

-Enjoy the queenly array of splendid things I already own.
-Use ingenuity to re-invent and re-purpose.
-Be more thoughtful about what I buy and why.
-Make room for creativity by simplifying.
-Consider how little one needs to be happy.

Just right for the new year, don't you think? Won't you please join me?

Making Prints for Sale on Etsy: Sellers Assisting Sellers Q&A with Becky Kazana

To welcome the new year, I thought it might be fun to share some of the questions I receive as a member of Sellers Assisting Sellers. I'll include my answers and hope that all of you will share your advice and experiences as well. Whaddya say we start today?

(A beautiful photographic print from Ninainvrom)

Q)Do you have advice about making prints of my work? I am super confused about what type of paper, ink, printing method, printer, archival quality, etc I need to have for my prints. Can you offer some suggestions?


A) There are lots of ways to go about making prints of your work. I have invested in a very nice Epson printer and scanner so that I can print images and cards as needed. After my watercolors are complete, I scan them, color correct them in Photoshop and then format them to fit on an 8.5 x 11 piece of acid free 100 lb paper.

(An Epson Printed Greeting Card by yours truly, BeckyKazana)

If you are just beginning, I would suggest having some prints made at your local print shop. They will be very knowledgeable about paper types and printing techniques and you can see the difference in quality and make the value judgment about what you want to offer on Etsy.

(Frida print on polycanvas by AFancifulTwist)

Another fun way to answer these questions is to go shopping! Poke around on Etsy and look carefully at the work of an artist you admire. Pay special attention to how they describe their prints. Look at artists that are selling lots and lots of prints- that's the goal after all! Also, look at sellers who are making the same kind of work as you are and how they are printing it.

(Gocco printed greeting card from TwoGuitars)

Try searching for key words that you use frequently in your own listings and see what other shops come up. If you like what they are doing, poke around their shop. In the right hand corner of their shop you can see how many sales they have. Read through their listings, see how they are describing things and what their store policies are. Strike up a conversation with them and ask if they have any suggestions or advice for newbies! The best thing about Etsy is the community.

Check out the forums and the pounce tool for more fun ways to meet and learn from successful sellers.

Good Luck and Happy Etsying!

Becky

The Pursuit of Happiness

Speaking of savoring the moment, Ms. Kalman made her final Pursuit of Happiness post on New Years Day. Go take a peek. She's a master of observing and relishing the beauty of our wide wonderful world!

Insomnia in Parisian Cafes

A recent bout of insomnia had me poking through my monstrous blog feed and Sally Jane led me to these vintage photos from Parisian cafes. Aren't they divine? I especially love this lady's massive cocktail ring and the smudge of powder she hasn't quite rubbed into her cheek. And the wonderful white ruffle collar and coral fingernails on the woman eating a big bite of chocolate cake. Now that's what I call living.

What do you do when you can't sleep? I love to make tapioca pudding and eat it while it's still warm, cuddled up on the sofa underneath my favorite silk throw. Then I crawl back to bed and snuggle up next to E.

Alessandra Colombo via The Sartorialist

Here is another fabulous style profile over on the Sartorialist. (According to him, Alessandra Colombo is a fashion designer, but I can't seem to find her line or who she works for. Do any of you know? I did find another interview with her here.) I love how her look is part Amelia Earhardt, part 60's British invasion, super clean and really architectural. I received Sart's bookfor Christmas (Merci Momma D!) and have been absolutely pouring over every page. The man definitely has an eye for the personal details and quirks that make fashion so revealing and such fun.

A Vintage Inspired Wedding Party!

Joan Holloway is my favorite character on Mad Men- (she's so capable and confident!) So it was great to see some snaps from actress Christina Hendrick's recent wedding. I especially loved the way her bridesmaids were styled to coordinate without matching. Their hats are whimsical without looking too costumey- no small feat! See more photos here.

A New Years Toast

Well my dears,

I am late in wishing you a Happy New Year (I'm behind schedule on all sorts of things lately!) but I hope yours began with a bang.

There are the obvious changes one hopes to make in a New Year- taking better care of the body one lives in, attempting to slow down or ward off mortality, tidying up loose ends, breaking bad habits.

But there are other, less cliched hopes too. Being kinder to oneself. Laying aside criticism and judgement of oneself and others. More reading (I've had a devil of a time finishing anything but magazine articles lately, ashamed to admit!) and more journaling. (I just want to jot down a few thoughts each night before bed and at least one beautiful moment for which I am grateful. ) I've got a whole slew of beautiful journals just waiting on the shelf to be filled with thoughts and ideas.

But most of all, instead of endlessly making plans for what could be, this year I want to practice enjoying the moment that is. We watched "Sideways" again last night for the hundredth time and the scene where Maya and Miles discuss their mutual love of wine moved me to tears. Of course, their conversation is a metaphor for savoring our deliciously brief time on earth. When he asks why she is into wine, she tells him:

"I like to think about the life of wine, how it's a living thing.

I like to think about what was going on the year the grapes were growing, how the sun was shining that summer or if it rained... what the weather was like. I think about all the people who tended and picked the grapes, and if it's an old wine, how many of them must be dead by now.

I love how wine continues to evolve, how every time I open a bottle it's going to taste different than if I had opened it on any other day. Because a bottle of wine is actually alive --it's constantly evolving and gaining complexity. That is, until it peaks --like your '61 --and it begins its steady, inevitable decline.

And it tastes so fucking good."

That's a lot more inspiring to me than weight loss or a clean basement. Wishing you a New Year to savour and relish.