Month: February 2012

(*Sign-Ups are now Closed.  Please visit our Hop on Feb. 25th!*)

Want to create a piece of jewelry, have fun with other artists and support a great cause?

Join me and my friend Christine of One Kiss Creations Beaded Jewelry as we make bracelets to support the 7000 Bracelets of Hope campaign!  We both met last year during the bracelet hop sponsored by Lori Anderson, and when we received requests from the wonderful folks at the Global Genes Project for more bracelets, we thought we’d team up and see if other people wanted to participate and show off their designs!

What is The Global Genes Project and what are 7000 Bracelets of Hope for?

The Global Genes Project exists to raise awareness and support for the more than 30 million people affected by rare diseases. There are currently over 7,000 rare diseases identified, and 75% of those affected are children.  With the 7000 Bracelets Campaign, the Children’s Rare Disease Network gives artists and crafters an opportunity to lovingly share their creative gifts with families who have a child suffering with a rare disease.  

How can you get involved?

Make a bracelet with a blue/denim theme.  Any materials are fine, and simple, casual designs are perfect.  If possible, make your bracelet adjustable, since we don’t know the wrist size of the recipient (memory wire, stretch bead cord, or adjustable clasps are good options).  Then photograph your bracelet and place it on your blog for the hop on February 25th.

To sign up, leave a comment with your blog address in the comment section at the end of this post (or pop over to Christine’s blog and leave one there).  Make sure your email is activated (read more about that here).  We are accepting sign-ups until Saturday Feb. 11th, and will email you a list of participants to put on your blog post for the reveal on Saturday, Feb. 25th.  Don’t have a blog? That’s OK! Email me your photo and I will be happy to share it here on my post.

After the hop, please mail your bracelet and an encouraging note to:

Children’s Rare Disease Network

24701 La Plaza- Suite 201

Dana Point, CA 92629

Grab this button to share on your blog, and invite your friends to participate!  We’re going to have a ton of fun!

Are you interested in self-publishing? Do you have a unique crafty topic you’d love to share with others and earn some extra income?

I have the great pleasure of reviewing a new Ebook, “Write, Publish, & Sell Your Crafty Ebook” by Diane Gilleland.  This Ebook is a very helpful and thorough guide to get you started in the production of your own digital book.

In case you aren’t familiar with Diane, she is the brilliant creator of CraftyPod, where she hosts an inspiring blog and podcast, and offers informational classes and Ebooks to educate modern crafters on the endless possibilities of our contemporary digital age. I have participated in several of Diane’s courses, including the “Write, Publish & Sell Your Crafty Ebook Online Class.”  Diane consistently delivers detailed information in a well-organized and easy to understand fashion.  I was thrilled to learn she had authored an Ebook on the topic of self-publishing Ebooks!

Who is this book for and what does it offer?

This book is perfect for someone who already has some writing and technical skills and is interested in writing an art or craft related book.  You don’t need to know what your Ebook will be about, though it certainly doesn’t hurt to have a general idea.  Diane does a fabulous job of explaining what an Ebook is, in all of its potential forms.  You don’t need to know all of this before you read her book. However, you do need to know how to write instructional text, and have a basic knowledge of photography and how to create digital documents.  Diane explains the best tools to use to create your Ebook, from software to online hosting resources.  It is also helpful if you already have a bit of an established online presence, but Diane explains all of your marketing options very well.

“Write, Publish & Sell Your Crafty Ebook” astutely outlines all of the steps needed to create your Ebook. Diane guides the reader through evaluating the idea, creating the digital files of the book, calculating costs, hosting, selling and marketing the Ebook.  Throughout the book are helpful links, resources and printable worksheets.

How can you use this book to reach your self-publishing goals?

First, this Ebook reads beautifully on your computer or iPad.  It has full-color photographs and graphs that emphasize the lessons in each particular chapter. From the table of contents, you can simply click on the section of the book you want to read and jump directly to it.  The book includes many hyperlinks to the resources cited, which is extremely helpful during your writing process.

The entire book is formatted in such a way that it is easily printable for offline reading, or you can simply print the particular pages you need, such as the worksheets.  You can also transfer the Ebook between devices, since it is in PDF format.  I have it on my computer, but I also moved it to my Kindle for portable reading.  Though the print is smaller because Kindle doesn’t have better controls for reading PDF’s, I still found it helpful to have access to this book while I was on the go!

Overall, I think this is a highly valuable book to have, and is very reasonable in price (only $29.95).  It offers tremendous guidance and resources for self-publishing your own Ebook.  It is written in a very friendly and informative voice, which is typical for Diane.  “Write, Publish, & Sell Your Own Crafty Ebook” is wonderful on its own, or to complement Diane’s online class. Click here to buy your very own copy!

Are you a fan of Ebooks? Do you have dreams of writing and publishing your own?  I know I do! Did you find this review helpful? I’d love to hear from you!