Mason Jars

While I cannot claim to be a true Southerner, there are certain things from the South that I just adore. Some of these loves are pecan pie, pearls, seersucker, sweet tea, and good ol' Southern hospitality. Another such item is the Mason jar. An iconic glass jar, the Mason jar was originally designed for canning food. Of course, what's old becomes new again, and clever new functions for these jars are thought up.

I was in Williamsburg, VA recently, having dinner outside at Berret's Seafood Restaurant and Taphouse Grill. I ordered a drink that was essentially sweet tea vodka with lemonade. This is usually my go-to summer drink but what made the drink 10 times better was the fact that it was served in a Mason jar.

Since then, I've been trying to come up with ways to incorporate the Mason jar more often into my everyday life. Lucky for me, my fellow Pinterest members have provided me with some ideas:

Cake in a Mason jar

Mason jar wall planter

Mason jar hanging lights

Mason jar sewing kit



Mason jar wall storage



Does anyone have other Mason jar-inspired ideas?

Cheers for Cupcake Coasters!

Inspired by recent sightings of these DIY owl plushies with big eyes (instructions on how to make the little guy below at Toad's Treasures blog), I desired to create my own big-eyed character.

But, in keeping true to myself, of course I decided to do this in cupcake form. And instead of a plushie, I went the two-dimensional approach. And there we have it...cupcake coasters!

Cupcake coasters available at my Etsy shop

They remind me somewhat of the eyes of the South Park characters. You know, these guys?

My cupcakes are just as cute, but with less foul language :)

New Merch!

Freshly baked: Just posted new fabric-covered bobby pins (in cupcake and candy corn printed fabric) to C-Squared Cupcake. Yum!

Fabric Mania

I can already see it. I'm going to be one of those women. One with the craft room spilling over into every other room, overflowing storage bins, and closets that won't quite shut. Basically, one step away from being on TLC's Hoarding: Buried Alive. And it's all because of my love for fabrics. While I've traditionally done all my fabric shopping in brick-and-mortar stores, I've recently discovered new amazing online places to shop.

Spoonflower is a haven for the shopper and the designer alike. You can custom design and print your own fabrics or else shop the unique designs of others. While a little more on the pricey side, there are some adorable prints too difficult to resist.

My favorites include those from the Heidi Kenney collection:



And this adorable elephant print from Katharina Hirsch:



A great site for more general fabrics is Fabric.com. I'm particularly a fan of the inspired Amy Butler prints such as the Bali Gate print:



and the Lotus Wall Flower Cherry:



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Business 101 - Business Cards

One of the first things every craftsperson should do when they start their business, after creating their initial product line, is to make business cards. After all, how will potential customers know about your amazing wares without a little self-promotion on your part?

When I first started, I took the cost-effective approach and designed business cards in Word and printed them out on business card paper from the local office supplies store. But I soon realized I needed to step up my game and get some professional help to make me something a little more flashy.

I soon found out about two online card printers, and have been very pleased with the results.

The first printer I used was Moo, being initially drawn to their offer of a free sample pack of 10 cards. I found the site to be very user friendly, and liked that photos were easy to upload from my computer, Etsy, Facebook, or Picasa. I was so impressed by the paper and photo quality that I subsequently ordered a pack of mini cards.

Here's the front:

 And the back:

I opened another Etsy site, Ring Bling, a little later on.



As I needed business cards for Ring Bling as well, I found a new printer, Vistaprint. I found the site to be a little less user friendly and a little more cluttered than Moo. However, while lacking in certain areas, Vistaprint more than made up for this in price. These are the cards (one-sided) I purchased:

In the end, my number one tip for whichever printer you decide to go with is to sign up for their email lists before making your purchase. You'll often get sent a discount code to use. And for the newbie craft business owner, each little savings goes a long way.

My New Obsession

My friend Kimberly recently sent me an invite to Pinterest, a site at which I'm now a complete addict. Pinterest lets you accumulate all the beautiful things you come across on the web (a virtual pinboard if you will), and organize and share them with your network. That way, you can find inspiration and ideas from others.

My favorite section to browse? The "DIY & Crafts" section, of course! Through my Pinterest perusing, I found this amazing DIY arrow belt that I can't wait to make. Check it out:

Hello World!

It feels to me that an indie craft revival has taken hold in the past few years and is gaining fast momentum. No longer is crafting limited to this image of grandma's Christmas sweaters. After all, would you expect ol' granny knit this special tea cozy?

Just a few years ago, I remember seeing an ad for the Crafty Bastards Arts & Crafts fair in Washington, DC and marking the date as a must-do on my calendar. That day, as I strolled the many booths, not wanting to miss a single item, I realized: I want to do this too. That very night, I drew out my first sketches of what would eventually become the characters of C-Squared Cupcake.

You can see some of my items from Etsy here:




Just the other day, I featured in my very first craft show (more on this later). Of all the people I met that day, I particularly remember two girls who expressed an interest in starting their own crafty businesses and were looking to find their start. Two girls after my own heart! I'm by no means an expert in this area, but through this blog, I'm hoping to be able to impart lessons learned from my personal experiences. And I'm sure there will be many more lessons to come, so hopefully this way be a way to track these items and remind myself what NOT to do again.

A few of the things I hope to share:

1. Lessons learned in starting a crafting business
2. DIY ideas and inspiration
3. Current craft obsessions

My tip #1: Above all else, LOVE what you do. Though I thrive on the challenges of starting a business and getting it off the ground, the greatest pleasure I derive is from taking an idea and, through craft, transforming it into something tangible.