Entrepreneur Group Interview on My Money Blog

A few FTEC members are featured in the "Entrepreneur Group Interview: Etsy.com Shop Sellers" article on

My Money Blog. Check it out!

Susansheehan

Anniehowes

XOhandworks

unkamengifts

Spiderbite

Great reads for indie business owners

In addition to and in support of my own fulltime indie business, I'm continually reading about business, marketing, strategic planning, financial management, and the list goes on. Although I possess years of experience (and education) in the management of financial and administrative resources, my business education is never ending!

I'll be sharing with you all great business reads that I find online (blogs, articles, etc.) at least weekly. If you haven't already done so, developing the habit of continual learning and improvement via reading and practice of new ideas can only help you with your own business.

So without further ado, here are a few great midweek reads:

From Design*Sponge Biz Ladies: Biz parents - balance and time management (anyone can benefit from this post - I'm not a parent and I loved it)

From Crafting an MBA: Copyright, trademarks and patents

From Craft Venture on papernstitch: to hire or not to hire (okay, full disclosure, I write the Craft Venture column!)

From Ittie Biz: Michael / box of crayons (be sure to watch the video - good stuff in there!)

Enjoy - I'd love to hear what you think - and please feel free to share additional great reads in the comments! Image credit: Amazing anatomical brain tea towels from Girls Can Tell

Brenda - Phydeaux Designs

Getting Married? Plan a Handmade Wedding with FTEC!

Written by papercutsbyjoe

Well everyone, it's that time of the year again. Mud season! Okay, seriously though, it's late winter, which means wedding season is around the corner and things are really kicking into high gear. I was there myself three years ago, and I REALLY wish I had known about Etsy as it would have made our wedding planning so much easier. As a proud member of the Full Time Etsy Crafters (FTEC) team, I am happy to present these gift ideas from our members for your enjoyment. As full-timers we take our work VERY seriously and I can assure you a happy experience from these folk. It's nice to work with real people when you're about five seconds from loosing your mind. I hope these gift ideas can take away some of the stress and help check off some of your to-buy list. Because of the broadness of our team's offerings, I have divided this post into several sections in order of when the event occurs: Before the wedding, Wedding Shower Gifts, Bridal Party and Groomsmen Gifts, and THE BIG DAY items.

Before the Wedding You're going to need invitations to the various parties and the main event, so head over to Earmark Gathering for some great shower and wedding invitations.

Wedding Shower Several months before the Big Day, all your friends and family will gather. Here's some great ideas for party favors and gifts for the Married-to-be:

The Prettiest Ring: Diagram Towels by Girlscantell $20

Fringed Throw Blanket by CricketsCreations $195

50 Custom-labeled Guest Soaps by dennisanderson $100

Glycerin Wedding Cake Soap by Daisycakessoap $3

Fork Picture Frame Holder by Monkeysalwayslook $10

Custom Hand-cut Paper Silhouettes from PapercutsByJoe $40

Bridal Party Gifts Here's some great ideas for gifts to give to your bridesmaids.

Sweat Pea Sets (various colors) by MuYinMolly $45-$47

Custom Labeled Eye Shadow by Pink Quartz Minerals $45

Lampwork Charm beads by Susansheehan $8-$35

Nightmare Snatchers and Worry Wollies Notebook/Journals by Spiderbite $20-30

Purses by JPatPurses $7.50

Groomsmen Gifts: As a guy, these would be the items I would like to get. I gave my Best Man art as a gift:

Build your own tinysaur kits by Kfarrell $7-16

Sweet Ride Scooter Diagram Wall Art by girlscantell $16

Keep Calm Parody Matted 8x10 Prints by Earmark $25

Necktie Wallets by Prix-Prix $30 (various designs)

Custom Sterling Silver Map Cufflinks by dlkdesigns $50

THE BIG DAY- Bride What to wear on the day of your wedding:

Elegant Pearl Drop Earrings by UnkamenWeddings $58

Pearl Jewelry by MuYinMolly $10-$92

Pearl and Crystal Bobby Pins by MarlaJDesigns $25

Veils by MarlaJDesigns $20-$60

Vegan Mineral Makeup by PinkQuartzMinerals $3-$14

Classic Pearl Earrings by South Paw Studios $10

Vintage styled Bridal Earrings by Realisationscreations $21

and here are a few ideas for your Something BLUE...

(in order of appearance) Blue Power pearl & Sterling Silver earrings by MuYinMolly $18 Chevrelle Knit Lace Neck Cuff by Phydeaux Finished $80 PDF pattern $5 Stearling Silver Cabochon Earrings in Blue by ElizabethJewelry $13.95 Light Blue crystal drop earrings by southpawstudios $24

THE BIG DAY- Groom Some great items to bring some character to the groom's attire

Create your own cufflinks kit by AnnieHowes $8.50

Vintage Map Sterling Silver Square Cufflinks by dlkdesigns $50

Thanks everyone, I hope this was helpful, and good luck with all your planning!

Tutorial -- How To Pay With Credit Card Through Paypal

(written by Mollie Chen at Mu-Yin Jewelry)

You don't need a paypal account to pay for a paypal invoice. If you receive a paypal invoice but would like to pay with a credit card, here's a step-by-step tutorial.

Your invoice would be a separate email with a subject as "(Vendor's Name) would like to be paid through paypal".Open this email, and click "Pay Now", and you will be prompted to the payment page.

This page describes what you are being charged for.Review the charges and click "continue"

Ignore tha big "log in to paypal" box on right of the next page. Instead, you will see a small link on the left side of the page next to the credit card logos that says "Continue" .Click it.

Here's the page where you fill out all of your credit card info(left side).After you fill out the details,click "Review Order and Continue" to finalize the payment, and you're done!

This is a very secure way to pay for your online purchases.It is more secure than giving your credit card number to the vendor over the phone or in person, because the vendor will not see your credit card info when you pay through this method.Also, even if you have a paypal account, you can still use this method to pay with credit card.

I hope you find this tutorial helpful!

Member Profile- Realisation Creations

Shop name: Realisation Creations (etsy ID: realisationcreations)
Category: jewellery and accessories
Specialty: Natalia of Realisation Creations designs elaborate
wirewrapped jewellery with a distinct luxe, slightly noir, style.

Special offer: please write "FTEC" in the "notes to seller" at checkout for 10% discount, FTEC members are eligible for a further 10% discount.