Well I can't believe this past month just flew by! August is gone, September is upon us and the smell of fall is in the air.

I have neglected my daily writing and feel badly for those who have started to follow my daily updates and were looking forward to the jewelry talk. My daily writing schedule will resume next week :)

I have been extremely fortunate to have been able to squeeze in a little R&R while working remotely. Technology is so fab! How much better can it get to be able to maintain your online shops, keep in touch with customers and be looking at this ...The creativity goes crazy here !! I love working in this environment, it is so inspiring .. The contrast between the fluid moving, clear, water and the solid, hard rocks is so incredible .. The textures that you can draw out of nature are wonderful. Not to mention all the colors that seem to blend in a perfect way .. I have some very unusual pieces that will be listed in my shop in the coming weeks :)
Hope everyone has had a wonderful summer season, got in a little R&R and is energized for the fall madness ;)
- Cheers!

Time Management ..

Today's thoughts are about time management :) As you can see I have not written in over a week now and my intention is to write every day! With the opening of my latest online shops, blogging, twittering, facebooking, my time needs to be managed even more than ever. Each of these take time and throw in; designing, photographing, writing your listings, shipping, bookkeeping, emailing .. the list goes on and on! Not to mention outside selling, marketing and calling on retail customers.

I have always been a to do/goals list type of person. I thought that it was a given that I would write my blog everyday so no need to put it down on my list. Well, it's amazing how things don't get done if they don't make it on that list! I have always loved that great feeling of crossing things off, a real sense of accomplishment, getting things done.

Prioritizing and scheduling are two things that I am now doing with my goals and to do list. Keeping to a timeline will be a bit of a challenge, so I need to be a little flexible. My day will now end with 15 minutes to a half hour to prepare my next days to do list with priorities and the schedule. I have also made the change, as I had no intention of writing on the weekend, that I am now going to use some of that time to prepare for the upcoming weeks blog articles.

There are some great courses and websites on time management;
~ Dale Carnegie being a very popular one http://www.dalecarnegie.com/
~ I came accross this site and it is just chocker block filled with great info not only on time management but on all small business topics .. check it out http://www.powerhomebiz.com/leadership/time.htm

I would love to hear any tips on how you manage your busy small business schedule ..

I recently made a treasury on Etsy called "initial this" , where I included all kinds of lettering options. It got me thinking of different ways to personalize my jewelry designs. I have been selling vintage initial pins & broochs and when one customer mentioned they were for a scrap booking cover, I thought what a brilliant idea!
I have some intial stick pins and thought that maybe they were limited in use, so I clipped off the pin to about 1 inch, made a double loop and converted it into a button style, easy to add to anything .

So no matter what your craft is, think outside that jewelry box, and add that special touch ... journal, hat, scarf, coffee cozie .. what can you think of ?
Here are a few from that treasury that I love ..