WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH YOU GET GOING!

Have you ever experienced discouragement in your business or a slow down in sales? Did you feel discouraged or felt like giving up? Well here are a few tips to help you through those slow times and to keep you going!

Promote: When sales are slow it’s the best time to promote promote promote! research the best and free methods to advertise and promote your business.

Read inspirational books and articles

Anytime i feel discouraged i go on the entrepreneur website and read an article. I also purchase lots of books on my nook! It helps to read about others who are trying just like you.

Seek out success stories

When you read about other ppl’s  achievements and the struggles they themselves went through it is a great motivator. It tells you that they were where you are now and still made it and if they can so can you.

Get out there and sell your business

The best form of advertising till this day is word of mouth. Learn to network! get out there are get around other people in the same business as you are and spread the word about your business or product.

Get business cards and pass them out

Sometimes business gets slow because some people don’t know you exist. get out there and hand out business cards to random people to help spread the word. Remember to research your target market first so you know where to go to hand out cards and attract new customers.

Join groups and forums online that is related to your niche

participate in groups and forums to set an online presence. Talk about what others are talking about and get involved. you don’t have to talk about your business or items just talk about whatever they are talking about. You will gain a following when you put yourself out there and just be you.

Try some of these tips when things are slow and you are discouraged to keep you pushing moving and growing! 

 

Stacie Laurell

StacieLaurellcrafts.com

 

The best Form Of Advertising Is Great Customer Service

Have you ever heard of term under promise over deliver? Well I’ve read it several times before and realized that using that philosophy really works! Whenever I sell online I give more than what i promise. Sometimes if someone orders 1pc of clay I send them 3pcs instead. Once a customer spent over 100 dollars in my store and I stuffed her box with LOTS of arts n crafts extras! She was so happy that she is now a regular customer and shops with us pretty often. Your goal when running a business is to not only acquire new customers but to put in place a plan to keep them. The best form of advertising is word of mouth. Next time try to under promise and over deliver and see if you get an increase in sales.

IF Social Media Doesn’t Bring You Sales You’re Probably Doing It Wrong!

IF you social Media Doesn’t bring in sales you’re probably doing it wrong!

I LOVE the show Shark Tank! i watch it every time and sometimes I watch it again on demand just to see if i missed any
great marketing tips. I’ve noticed that when most of the contestants that has high sales are asked how did you get your name out there
most of them say social media! When i heard that I thought wow! you got thousands of dollars worth of sales through social media??

A few months ago i remember asking my sister who worked in marketing and also works for Pepsi “how do i market my business”
and all she said was social media. Well i thought that response was too vague and so simple. I said come on what else
should I do”? and she said again Social Media! Well after watching so many people say the same thing on shark tank i thought
maybe she was right all along. But if you ask people on forums or blogs “do they promote on social media? most of them
say well i promote on facebook and twitter and it doesn’t work for me. I’m starting to think that they are doing it wrong just
like i was doing it wrong a few months ago. So what are some people doing wrong when it comes to promoting on Social media?

Here are a few tips!

First make sure you have your own business page and do not use your personal page as your promotion page

Some people think it’s not necessary to have a business page but it is. If you want people to take you seriously then you
must look professional. Have a business page for your products. You can even link it to your personal page if you’d like to.

Second Don’t post endless listings of your items! no that is not marketing! what do you mean that’s not marketing you say?
well yeah it’s not. I once saw a lady on twitter post at least 20 to 30 links to her listings every hr on the hr. so much
so that he clogged my feed and all i saw was her listings all over my twitter. I had to delete her immediately and i
didn’t even look at any of what she had to sell because she was just annoying. She clearly had NO IDEA howto market her
business effectively and if i deleted her i’m sure so many others did the same.

If you want to promote your business you can post your listings every once in a while but also post interesting things like
articles and interesting news related to your business. You can also help promote others. like people or businesses that
are related to yours. Join groups! that’s how you properly market your business. And instead of just posting a link to your
store listing how bout you right interesting facts about your products! things that will interest others. you will notice
more people following you and liking your page. If you are unsure how to run a successful social media page look at other established
businesses to see how they organize their page and what kinds of things they post!

and thirdly, be consistent! do this everyday or every other day. don’t just post one week and then come back weeks later.
Keep your pages active so that the search engines will keep up on them!
Following these simple steps for social media promoting will help a great deal! Also don’t expect overnight success!
but if you keep at it you will see sale conversions. I have when i started using social media the right way! 🙂

Stacie Laurell Crafts

https://www.etsy.com/shop/STACIELAURELL?ref=si_shop

Starting and Growing your own business

Have you ever watched the show Shark Tank? Where entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to a bunch of rich investors hoping to strike a deal? I’ve had so many people tell me I should try Shark Tank. I think i’ll pass. Maybe in the near future but not right now. I want the satisfaction of knowing that i grew my business from scratch and dirt and rose to the top with little to no capital or help. But not everyone’s like that, There are some people who would give anything to get that kind of help and “capitol”. What are you doing to grow your business? Social media?, word of mouth?, blogging? I’ve decided that i will do my best to get Stacie Laurell Crafts out there. I love my product and I believe in my business. No matter how far you’ve come or if you’ve just started do what you can to succeed and grow your business and never ever ever give up.

10 Reasons People Love Cold Porcelain Clay over Polymer Clay

 

Share:

                        

1. Cold Porcelain Clay is Soft– Cold Porcelain has a softer & more pliable texture than polymer clay, making it easier to condition and roll with clay roller.
2. Cold Porcelain Air Dries    Unlike polymer clay, cold porcelain clay does not require baking because it air dries.  You won’t have to worry about accidentally burning your clay in the oven because you don’t need one.  (please note: Cold porcelain clay should not be baked however, Stacie Laurell’s Stone Porcelain Clay can be baked as well as air dry)
3. Flaws and imperfections can be fixed with cold porcelain clay  Polymer clay can not be altered much after it has been baked.  So if you make a mistake you’re pretty much stuck with it.  However, cold porcelain clay can be altered or fixed after it has been  dried/cured.  Prior to adding a sealer you can sand, varnish or wet the blemished area and sculpt over it.  Making corrections are possible with cold porcelain clay but not with polymer clay.
4. Cold Porcelain Clay Is Non-toxic- You won’t have to worry about any toxic fumes with cold porcelain because it is made with natural ingredients.  Polymer clay however, releases fumes when over baked.  none of the makers of polymer clay will either confirm nor deny the claims that polymer clay may be toxic under certain circumstances. However non has claimed to be non toxic either.
5. Cold Porcelain can be stretched to thin pieces but polymer clay cannot–  Most artist love cold porcelain and uses it specifically for this added benefit.  They make artificial flowers by stretching the clay into thin pieces allowing them to make delicate and beautiful life like petals.
6. Cold Porcelain texture can be changed- If you want your clay to be firm, you can place your packaged clay or air tight container of clay in the fridge and if you want it to be soft you can place your sealed clay package in a bowl of hot tap water and the clay will immediately soften.  
7. Used by many professional clay artist- Cold porcelain clay originated in Argentina and is a very popular and expensive clay overseas.  This clay is gaining popularity and is being used more by many sculpting artist.
8. Cold Porcelain can be manipulated   This clay can be manipulated to look like glass, marble, porcelain, ceramic and other mediums. Because of it’s special blend of ingredients it has a leg up over polymer clay.
9. Clay can be painted – Cold porcelain can be painted. Because of polymer clay’s plastic like properties, it isn’t as beautiful as cold porcelain when painted.  This clay can be painted, varnished, sanded & more!
10. Stacie Laurell’s Cold Porcelain Clay can be frozen for longer shelf life.  You can place our specially made clay in your fridge or freezer and preserve it for a very long time.  When ready to use just thaw out your clay in warm tap water and condition your clay with our specially formulated clay conditioning lotion and your clay will be back to it’s original state ( please note: Do not place clay directly in water. Always make sure that it is wrapped or sealed in it’s original package or sealed in a ziplock bag or air tight container before submerging in water).

This can only be done with Stacie Laurell Cold Porcelain Clay  http://stores.ebay.com/Stacie-Laurell-crafts

How to use Clay Conditioning Lotion For Cold Porcelain Clay

Stacie Laurell launched a new product called Clay Conditioning Lotion. This lotion is a necessity for clay artists or anyone working with this special type of clay. First I’ll tell you a little more about Cold Porcelain Clay. 
What is air dry cold porcelain? 
Cold Porcelain clay is a special type of clay that many artist around the world use. It is not your average Fimo or Premo clay nor is it play dough or kids craft clay. 
Cold Porcelain is a smooth modeling clay and looks like porcelain when dried. It is not plastic-like as clays like Fimo and Premo that are bought in the stores. Instead, this clay can be manipulated to look like almost any medium such as glass, porcelain China, marble, Pearls, ceramics and more. This particular clay recipe is listed all over the internet and is usually made with regular house hold items, such as cornstarch, water & mineral oil. Although the recipe may seem easy many people have trouble making this clay or mastering the right formula. 

  This clay primarily originated in Argentina and is very popular over there. In fact, it is also becoming rapidly popular in the United States as well. Some are abandoning their love for oven baked polymer clay and flocking towards cold porcelain clay.  One great benefit of porcelain clay is it’s ability to stretch into very thin pieces, allowing artist to make such things as delicate flowers and bouquets that looks life like but last forever. Although it can be stretched to amazing capacity, when dried, the stretched piece is very strong and durable and doesn’t break or tear easily. Some people have tried to sell other clay and market it as cold porcelain clay but it is not. Cold porcelain clay properties are distinctive and if you pay attention to the abilities of this clay, you can compare and see if you’ve purchased real cold porcelain verses the imitation.  Stacie Laurell’s Cold Porcelain clay is made with a special recipe. Our clay’s consistency can be changed or altered by you. If you encourage your clay to be more firm or you can make it as soft or fluid as you would like with our special Clay Conditioning Lotion.  

Our lotion can help with several things such as:

• Conditioning and softening your clay
• changing the texture of your clay
• restore moisture to clay that is old and may be starting to dry out
• can restore clay back to original state after clay has been frozen or placed in the fridge
• Help keeps your clay moist and from drying out while working with it
• help condition your clay to prevent cracks in your finished pieces
• helps to correct flaws and cracks in finished pieces. 
• extends the shelf life of air dry clay

If you are a clay artist or just love working with cold porcelain but sure to stop by our store and pick up a bottle of our clay conditioning lotion 🙂  http://www.ebay.com/itm/Clay-conditioning-Lotion-Stacie-Laurell-/130977065566?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e7ed76a5e

Stacie Laurell 🙂

 

Polymer Clay Flower Cameo Mold

Stacie Laurell Handmade Flower cameo non flexible professional mold for polymer clay craft!

New Stacie Laurell molds Handmade with non toxic clay!
great for cabochons, pendants, brooches, cake toppers designs & more!

size: btw 5-6 cm 1-2inches nice size mold
Nice Flower cameo mold with details.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Polymer-clay-Flower-Cameo-Mold-Professional-non-flexible-polymer-clay-mold-1pc-/131034689840?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e8246b130

NEW Organic Oven Bake Polymer Clay By Stacie Laurell

Stacie Laurell Crafts have launched a new product called Organic Polymer Clay! it’s the only Polymer Clay that can be baked and Air dried. Here are a few facts about Organic Polymer Clay!
Organic Polymer Clay is Polymer clay that can be baked in an oven and air dried.
You can bake it in your oven or toaster oven and a separate toaster oven isn’t needed.
There are not dangerous or cancerous chemicals added to our organic polymer clay.
You won’t have to worry about harsh fumes being released while baking as you would with sculpey, premo and fimo as our clay is made with natural ingredients.
can be sanded and varnished when finished
This clay can also be painted
you can add embelishments, rhinestones and other mediums to clay
dries to a hard durable finish
Can be use for professional use as well as play
Colors can be blended together
Comes in a variety of colors
can be baked at 195 degrees for 30 mins to 1hr
Can be used to make pottery, jewelry, scrapbooking details, miniatures, dolls, caketoppers and more!
Safe and non toxic
To try our new Polymer Clay you can visit our store and purchase some! http://www.ebay.com/itm/Organic-Polymer-Clay-non-toxic-oven-bake-Clay-Polymer-clay-lot-5pcs-1-9-ounce-/141141729248?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20dcb3dfe0

Thank You
Stacie Laurell Crafts

How To Relieve Stress in a Childish Way

Do you remember what it was like to be a kid again? I absolutely loved my childhood and often wish i could go back to it. Two of the things that i totally LOVED to do was swing on swings and color in my coloring book. Believe it or not the things you use to do as a child can still be done now as an adult and can really relieve stress as well as lower your blood pressure. Here is a great article on coloring! Give it a try. Find one of your kids coloring books and crayons or you can buy your own at your local dollar or craft store and get to coloring. You will be surprised how 20 mins of coloring can work wonders and help calm you. 

Coloring books are fun for all ages. These are the beginnings steps to becoming an artist, and it is fun recreation. However, if you want to learn to color a book effectively, follow these steps to make the best of your arty needs. Read More

How To Prevent Your Cold Porcelain Clay From Cracking

Here are a few tips on how to prevent your cold porcelain clay from cracking.  Cold Porcelain Clay is fairly easy to work with. However, There are some steps you need to take to prevent or minimize cracking. First lets talk about what causes cold porcelain clay to crack.  
In some ways, Cold Porcelain Clay is similar to polymer clay such as Sculpey or Fimo. If you remove polymer clay from it’s packaging and don’t condition it, your clay will crack and easily break apart after baking. With Cold Porcelain clay, you need to properly condition your clay before letting it air dry or it may crack. Sometimes I get questions from customers who say their clay keeps cracking and they don’t know why. Well i use the same clay for my creations and my clay never cracks- ever. I the assumed they must be doing something wrong. Here are some rules for your clay:

• First, Always condition your clay- Conditioning your clay means to work the clay with your hands. Doing this will warm up the clay and get it ready for sculpting and it also help get rid of air bubbles. Air bubbles causes cracking.
• Do not try to speed up the drying process- Cold Porcelain clay dries from the outside in. So this means the outside dries first. If you rush the drying process and the outside dries faster than the inside the clay inside will expand and create cracking. Do not blow dry your clay with a hair dryer, do not leave near cold air, open window, or draft and do not place pieces in front of a fan. 
• Do not condition your clay with water. You can condition your clay by hand but if you need for your clay to be more smooth and pliable it’s best to do so with clay conditioning lotion (sold by Stacie Laurell Crafts).  You can use water to help join pieces together but do not use water to condition your clay because the water will create cracks.
• Leave your clay to dry- Do not handle your clay and bother it while it is drying. Let your piece dry on it’s own and in it’s own time.

These are sure ways to prevent cracking. Also know that if you clay does crack you can fix it by adding some clay to the cracked areas and letting it dry then sanding it down. Cracks in your clay are easy to fix but if you don’t want to deal with cracking at all it’s best you follow these tips! 

Happy Crafting 
Stacie Laurell Crafts