Facebook Fan Page Tabs Tutorial

I have seen a few people ask recently how to add a Review and Contact tab on facebook, so I thought I'd write this up to assist anyone that needs it.  I'm also including how to add a Welcome tab just to try and cover all bases :).  Right, before we get started, I want to mention that the Contact and Welcome tab are the ones that I chose to use, but if you do a search through the available apps on facebook, there are several more available.  Ok, here we go!!!

Reviews Tab
1st, do a search for "reviews" in the facebook search bar.  Click on "Reviews" to go to the application page.

2nd, click "Add to my page".

When you do this, a new window opens up and asks you to choose which page you wish to add the application to.  I don't have a picture of the new window as I already have Reviews installed.  After you have clicked to add it to your page, you are done and it should appear in the tabs area under your picture on your fan page.  Whew, 1st one down :).

Contact Tab
So, you can either use your handy-dandy search bar again and put in "ContactMe", or you can just click on this link (yes, I'm helping to encourage laziness).  Follow the instructions on the page and you're good to go!!

Welcome Tab
I had the most fun adding this tab to my fan page, but it was also the trickiest because I had to come up with even MORE ways to describe my shop and what I make.  You can use the search bar again, but you may as well go directly to Pagemodo since their facebook page sends you there anyways.  There are a variety of templates available here, so I won't go into much detail as it's all down to personal preference.  If you don't see the button within the pink box, double check that you're signed into facebook with your personal account.

Woohoo, we're all done!  I hope this has helped you if you were struggling with any of these 3 tabs.  If you discover any errors or anything is unclear, please don't hesitate to contact me on my facebook page or just leave a comment.  Be good!!

~Cecily

I love Paypal!!

In my ever so humble opinion, Paypal has really made life easier for the small/cottage business.  Just think about it...how would I have taken payment in the past?  Cash or cheque only, unless I wanted to pay heaps of money to a credit card company for the use of one of their terminals.  That being said, if I go to a craft fair I'm still only able to accept cash as I won't accept cheques (the whole bouncing thing in payment for a product that I've spent time and love making makes me an unhappy panda).  So nothing has really changed for face-to-face exchanges, but yippee for the internet option available to us!!

N.B.  I suppose with all those smart phones out there, the option to have money sent to your account and verify it's arrived is a possibility for those that still want to utilize Paypal even when in a "cash" environment.

For those of you that don't use Paypal yet, the reason I love it as a seller is that I have the option to send an invoice, refund payments and create shipping labels from within their program, allowing me to receive funds and take the shipping funds straight out of it (helps to keep it separate from my personal finances, if that makes sense).

As a buyer, I love, and have used, the refund option when I didn't receive an item that I have paid for.  You fill out a form with them and they take care of the rest, thus making it much easier to not lose your hard-earned money.

I love Paypal!!  But I suppose the moral of the story is: I love teh interwebs and our ability to sell our wares in the virtual universe.

This Little Blog of Mine...I'm Gonna Let It Shine...

Forgive the title, but that song has been stuck in my head today (with the correct words of course).  I've really been putting in some time on my facebook fan page lately trying to drum up business for my budding WAHM (work at home mom for those not "in the know") business.  Today though, I haven't been scouring "teh interwebs" to find a new person to "like" so that I can get a return "like" and boost my fan numbers, I haven't been marching or cruising to the numerous pages that are promoted through various pages designed just for that task.

Instead I've had a ponderous day (ok, I also went shopping and bought some crafty bits, including a pair of pinking shears that will work for lefties, but that's neither here nor there).  I've remembered how much I loved Irish dancing until being an Irish dance teacher took away some of that love because now it was a business and I was on offer.  I've pondered the vast numbers of crafty-type pages I've come across on facebook in the past few days, many of them selling the same things as me, and I wonder if the economy is partially to blame for people being out of work and trying their hand at home-based businesses.  Mostly, I've pondered if I can make this work...and I think I can.  I recommend this blog post and the links within it to anyone that is getting caught up in the fervor of promoting their pages on facebook as it really helps to point out what should be most important to us.

I will have to remind myself to read this paragraph every now and then when I feel down because I don't have any orders/sales or I don't think my homemade products are as good as the next person's.  Cecily, remember that you love to sew and you make high quality stuff!  This adventure gives you the chance to sew and not fill your house to the brim with the results of your fun!

Sorry it's been so long since I posted, but the hubby hasn't been feeling well for a few weeks, including a couple of days in the hospital for tests (no...they're not back yet *sigh*).  Anyways, I've been trying to keep busy!!
I have finished 2 projects since I last posted: 1) a larger fabric storage basket and 2) a nappy clutch

I 1st made a smaller storage basket, but felt that it might not sell as well or be AS useful as a larger storage basket.  Being a newish mom, I'm always thinking of things that I would like for myself or Little S, which is why I ended up making a larger storage basket with dimensions that would work to store nappies and wipes.  This basket was put up on Folksy.com instead of Etsy to gauge if there's a difference.  So far, the only differences I've noticed are 1) commission is 3.5% at Etsy and 5% at Folksy, 2) people are more familiar with Etsy (in my humble opinion), and 3) I have had more views on my Folksy basket than the Etsy one, but this might be due to colours, picture quality, etc.

I've been trying to find 1 or 2 things that are fun to make and have a good chance of selling as a useful product.  I think I have found my 1st option, but only time will tell, so keep your fingers crossed!

Well, this has been such a serious and business oriented post that it's probably not overly interesting, but oh well, life can't be ALLLL fun and games once you're an adult...well, maybe if you're independently wealthy, but anyways...

Oh yeah, I now have a Facebook fan page for TheCraftyBox and have been steadily gathering "likes" and I'm considering giving away a prize to either my 100th "like" or to the person that generates the most "likes" in a given time period.  Just today I started my 1st contest: to create a catchy name for my nappy clutch.  The winning name gets a free nappy clutch as a reward!

That's all for now, so be well and be good ;-)!

Motivation

I have been feeling very motivated lately, mostly to sew, but nonetheless.  I have just finished my 2nd set of placemats and have listed them on Etsy, but I find myself with a brain full of ideas that just won't shut down and all I want to do is sew/craft.

That being said, I seem to be unable to find enough time to do it in a given day (as most of us do) so I lose motivation.  Then to top it all off, I visit blogs and see how AMAZINGLY productive these people (usually mothers with young children) are and I make the mistake of comparing myself, so I end up just feeling ugh and going and having a cup of tea and some chocolate.

Right, enough moping and pity-me-partying!!  Before I go make a cup of tea and make a quilted coaster, I'll leave with a couple of pictures of my latest creation.

Edit: I updated labels for this post and blogger changed the post date to today (26/6/11), so I've given it a random date to put it back into the order placement it should have, but I can't vouch for the date being correct.

Been far too long....

I just checked and I haven't written something since February....BAD CECILY!!!  As most of you know though, life has a way of taking off and all we can do is try to hold on for dear life as not to be left behind.  Little S is growing leaps and bounds and thoroughly enjoyed all the attention she received on our recent trip to America.  Big S is still searching for a job, but just finished a forklift course, so hopefully that will open up further opportunities.

Since returning from America, it's been on my mind to try and find something that I can do with myself to earn money from home as the thought of leaving Little S to return to work brings tears to my eyes.  My Dad suggested that since I had all that experience making costumes for the Renaissance Faire, that perhaps I could try to find something "sewy" to do, and so, my passion for sewing and crafting has been rekindled.

My friends have been wonderful with coming up with ideas for possible projects, and I've enjoyed wasting FAR too much time on the computer gathering inspiration (plus a few pieces of fabric ala ebay ;-)).  So far, I've started quilting (yes, at 35 I've started this...I always thought of quilting as something that Grandmas did, but oh well).  I've made a set of 4 placemats and sold them, yay, granted it was to my lovely neighbour :).  I've also made a couple of fabric flowers and a bandana for my neighbour's kids (I forgot to get a picture).

In the next few weeks I'm going to try and build up some "stock" of homemade items and pray to the crafting gods that they sell.  I'm not sure how popular etsy is in the UK, but I'll give it a go, but I'll also be putting up items on the folksy, the UK version of etsy, or so I've been told.  So far, I've invested far more than I can earn for some time, but it's keeping me busy and providing a creative outlet.  It's just a shame that my Computer Science degree is getting VERY dusty ;-).

Chinese New Year

My Mom loved Chinese New Year...LOVED!!  We didn't celebrate it every year, but there were a few fun and fabulous years that we went to China Town in Los Angeles.  We watched the martial arts demonstrations along with their lion dancers.  We looked in every trinket and import shop along the main street.  We bought cheap jade, usually in the form of a bracelet (I still have the last one I bought).  Mom would usually buy a gaudy (only to me - she thought it was fabulous) overpriced jade necklace or earrings.  I would try on a chinese silk suit that would never fit because my curves were just too curvy.  We even ate there a couple of years, though I wasn't very adventurous and probably just ate rice and some orangey-looking chicken.

One day, I'll hopefully create a similar memory for Little S (excluding the overpriced jade purchase), but for those of you celebrating today, Gung Hay Fat Choy!!