Tantalizing Stitches is the bag maker’s haven for hard to find swivel clips of many sizes, 10mm, 14mm, and 18 mm magnetic snaps (extra thin and invisible sew-in), and more.
a low frequency newsletter full of updates on new products and promotions for the DIY handbag maker
Although you can find TS at various online venues, TS provides the lowest prices on Artfire. There you will find exceptional prices and best of all, 5% of your purchase price goes to animal charity.
If you have any questions, please contact El at el@tantalizingstitches.com. She is fast, friendly, curtious, and always reliable.
There is nothing more annoying than to search through your wallet to find no business cards right in the middle of a great conversation about your hat or necklace that you are wearing. Just this week, I have experienced this three times!
I was at the post office and I had one business card to show the clerk to get my mail so when the customer in line right in front of me commented on my crocheted hat, I had nothhing to give to her – a lost connection!
Then, while waiting for my bf at the hospital, I began speaking with a patient there after she asked what I was doing. What a perfect opportunity to show my business card but!!!! eek….. I had no business card to give as I left them all in the car. What a shame.
Then today, I was at the Tax Collector’s office and the clerk saw my note to visit Modern Mouse (in Alameda, CA) and she asked if I was the owner (I am not but I know the owner). We began talking and she told me she was helping her friend fill out a form to consign his artwork there. So what a perfect person to hand my biz card and again a lost connection.
So, the moral of the story is carry a load of business cards where ever you go as you just never know when you will need them.
So what kind of biz cards should you have and where should you get them? Its all up to you. If you only need a couple and quality is not too important, I suggest purchasing the free cards provided on vistaprint.com . I say purchase because you’ll have to pay shipping and that in its self starts adding up. If you need a 1000 or more I highly suggest gotprint.com as they provide quality cards at a very good price. I purchased 1000 one sided business cards for a total of $25.03 (that includes tax and shipping). The quality was great as well – very thick and sturdy and the colors were brilliant.
As part of a business decision for an online store, one must decide whether to ship internationally. The great things about opening your client base to everyone is the increased number of potential clients and the ability to virtually meet people across the world. These two reasons are my number one reason why I offer international shipping.
Before deciding to ship internationally, I suggest a number of things to consider:
Cost (both cost of shipping and related expenses such as additional time, potential for lost mail, etc.)
Practicality (if you sell small items, its probably practical to send overseas but if you sell large heavy items, it may just cost more to send than the item itself, which often makes it impractical to sell abroad)
It is really exciting to send a package to a country I have never sent before. In fact, I have had the occasion to send packages to countries I did not know even existed.
I’ve also learned (the hard way) how the different countries process mail. For example, when sending to France (I suggest using this precaution all the time), do not use their company or username as the recipient: instead, if the customer fails to provide their name, send them a message or email requesting their full name. In France at least, there are several places where one address is used by many houses so if the name is not recognized, the mail man will not leave it for the residents, which will result in lost mail!
Another tip I suggest is to use the United States Postal Service (USPS) Shipping Assistant when creating labels to adhere onto the packages. The Shipping Assistant will allow you to create both the address label with sender and receiver as well as the customs form that is necessary to ship internationally. This is great so you do not have to go to the post office and spend the time to write on the customs form.
Before the Shipping Assistant, I often had a difficult time determining what was inside the package so that I could write the description and value of the item on the customs form. Often (or rather every time), by the time I get to the post office, the package is sealed along with the packing slip so I would have to guess on the description and value!
In addition to creating a handy shipping label with customs form, if you know the weight of your package, Shipping Assistant will calculate your postage so all you have to do is stick the proper amount of stamps on the package. So, when you arrive at the post office, all you have to do is cut in line and drop off your packages saving you that long wait at the post office.
If you find yourself with many international sales, I suggest purchasing international shipping postage online. The only service that I have found to provide this for First Class International mail is Endicia.com. (If you sign up, please use promotional code 728488 – get one month free.) For $15 a month, you can use their unlimited service to create your shipping labels with or without postage. I find this a valuable tool for several reasons:
It creates International First Class postage along with the customs form.
It also creates all the other postage you need such as domestic first class, priority mail, and express mail.
It will include the electronic delivery confirmation, just like any other online postage service provider.
It keeps a log of your postage purchases and mail sent so you can easily keep track of who you sent to (I find it very difficult to search for mailing sent on Paypal.com).
You can print directly onto smaller envelopes such as 6″x9″ and smaller. I find this perfect for my mailings as most of my packages are 6″x9″. This saves you on time (cutting and adhering labels) and it saves on paper and tape! I’ve found a significant saving in time, paper, and tape since I started using Endicia.com.
I love anything yarn related so when I saw this Frizbee Mars Sock Monkey I just had to share it with everyone. I just love the knit hoodie! You can find many more of the Mars Sock Monkeys at Maribel Made Etsy.
I have been trying several different ways to get the word out about Tantalizing Stitches. There is always advertising on websites but why not advertise on your own car? Many large companies do this by placing their brand on their own delivery trucks so why not place your own brand on your car?
I have convinced both my brother and dad to allow me to do this to their car so I have three cars running around the Bay Area with my brand.
I have found that the best price for large car magnets are offered at 123print.com. I purchased four very large magnets (12″x24″) for a total of $46.16 – this includes shipping and tax. And now, I’ve just received an email for 20% off the medium and large size: just use this link – http://www.123print.com/Car-Magnets?redir=EE943A – Its not an affiliate link; I just thought I’d share the savings!
Today, I randomly met Paula of Crafts by Paula at Starbucks. I was working on business affairs on my computer when Paula sat besides me and asked about my crocheted hats. We began talking when I found out that she too is a crafter as well.
Paula is a seamstress and does all kinds of work but her website features Mei Tai carriers and infant sleep sacks. On her website, she includes a video of how to tie a Mei Tai carrier.
I am glad to have met Paula and hope to see more of her crafts in the future.
Well, these can actually be used for make-up brushes, crayons, etc. but I am a crocheter so my intention is to use it for hooks. The best part is that it closes with d rings, which is hard to come by. Bows are nice and cute but not practical for me.
s part of a business decision for an online store, one must decide whether to ship internationally. The great things about opening your client base to everyone is the increased number of potential clients and the ability to virtually meet people across the world. These two reasons are my number one reason why I offer international shipping.
I have been trying several different ways to get the word out about Tantalizing Stitches. There is always advertising on websites but why not advertise on your own car? Many large companies do this by placing their brand on their own delivery trucks so why not place your own brand on your car?
