What I would like right now. Give me a holiday please...

Yes, I would love to go on holiday. The fresh smell of the morning dew on a nice sunny day. Going to the seaside and just soaking up the sun and really just chilling out.

Good food, good entertainment and just being really really lazy. Man, that would be fantastic. The one place I miss, is Amanzimtoti. I haven't been there in years, but it would so nice to visit again. Or maybe even Blyderiver.... These places are in South Africa and it's gorgeous anytime of the year.

Well, well, well, it's nice to dream. Some pictures that give you a real sense of what I'm talking about.

Is Marketing easy?

I can only talk from experience here, I have spent years and years in marketing and I still haven't found out all the secrets. I know how to get my website online and seen, but honestly, there is that much competition out there that it just depends on how much effort you are willing to put into it.

And money.... I'm being honest here, money does talk... If you've got a nice fat juicy budget for advertising then your site will be seen first. That doesn't mean it will be in the top 100 of the Search Engines, but in the sponsored links on the side.

A lot of people will go through maybe the first 3 pages of a search engine and then they will finally just rely on the sponsored links. This is what I have noticed after 9 years of Marketing, but if you are willing to have your go at it, then have another look at my previous blog, it will give you the tools to get started.

Why has online marketing become so important in the 21st Century?

That is a question I came across while surfing the net. Since I know a little bit about online marketing, I thought I would have a go at explaining the importance of online marketing.

Everywhere we look these days, there is a site name being advertised. All the top shops have online stores and the reason for that is convenience. The first thing you need to look at is, why do people find it more convenient?

The reason for that is, is because shopping, or browsing online can be done in the comfort of your home. Here is an example. You've been at work all day, you are tired, but you have to go home, cook dinner for the family, get the kids bathed and ready for bed. You probably have to put a load of washing into the washing machine, so that you can hang it out in the morning. You see, if you have a family, it can be really difficult to get out and about and care for your family properly. Thus it is comfortable and convenient.

So we turn to the resource which gives us the option to do our shopping online. This is where businesses have to compete to be seen across the internet. Whilst a lot of businesses can pay for their advertising online, there are smaller companies popping up everywhere that need to get the right formula to be seen.

This is where online marketing experts come into play, they help smaller businesses to get seen, sometimes it costs nothing, other times, it costs a lot. So homebased businesses have to learn the art of online marketing themselves. This can be handed to you on a silver platter, but it does mean that you have to actually spend time at doing it. It all boils down to one thing. Do you have the ambition or stamina to keep going for years without making a great deal? But suddenly, the doors open and you are riding one of the hottest waves there are. It all comes down to you and how much effort you put into it.

If you think, you can just add your site to the search engine and you're finished... I'm sorry to tell you this, but you will be shelved pretty quickly, especially if the search engine spiders don't see a change in your website.

The secret is, to keep working hard on your site, keep submitting your website to the search engines, keep talking about your website.... One of the oldest methods still play a massive role in Marketing, (both online marketing and normal marketing), it is word of mouth.

Yes, it's convenient for buyers online, but it is also convenient for marketers at home. You can sit at your computer comfortably with a cup of coffee and a cigarette if you smoke, but the main thing is, you are comfortable and you are not bound by time bounderies of the office. You will find that you actually work longer hours to get seen, but then again, you could only spend a couple of hours a day. That comes with popularity. The easier it is for you to be seen, the less time you have to spend.

Online marketing is a volitile business to be in, much like the stock brokers, it's a rat race on the internet, but still so so important so that customers and even just browsers can have a look at what you've got. Let me put in a couple of figures here, the internet is made up of over 30 000 000 000 sites. Everyone is competing for a slice of the market. The worlds population comes into account too, Billions of people. So, it is possible to have a slice but you've got to have the skills and stamina to compete. You also may need a little wad of cash too.

It is important to know how to market, it is important to have a website, it is important to be seen.

These are the ingredients for a good online presence. I hope this has helped a few of you.

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How to decide on what crochet items do well at a market.

I came across the question " What type of crochet items are popular at a craft fair?"

The answers I read were quite varied and in some cases pretty good. There was one item that most people settled for and that was Afghans. Although Afghans are time consuming, they give you the opportunity to make interesting designs. It can be fun to do the colour mixtures that you like, but I find that they aren't so popular on a market.

There is one thing I do know about that is Market Research and I went through the market with a fine tooth comb and came up with this information.

There are plenty of people out there that want throws for beds, cots and even the living room settee. Funny enough, they like the traditional style ones, you know the ones that Grandma used to make. All odd colors made up in squares. These are extremely popular in all sizes. Then you find that people want colors to match their decor. So you need to establish what the fad is at the moment and make for the moment.

I found that pet blankets in multicolors do well, throws made up of little 4 inch squares. Traditional style of course and then those with thick multicolored borders. You could be looking at $120 or more for a decent size blanket, or if you are a Brit, £50 or more.

There is one thing to take in mind though, it's the amount of time it takes you to make it. A decent size Afghan for say a Twin Size Bed (Single Bed) will take you better part of 2 weeks constant work. So, be realistic in how much time you want to spend on a blanket. To make things faster, make the squares bigger and brighter.

The best colors to use are red, black, blue, yellow, green, orange and brown. I know, they sound awful put together, but believe me, it can make up a pretty good blend.

I have also found that a lot of people go for making baby crib blankets, or stroller blankets. These are usually adorable and cuddly, but they are hard to get buyers for. I've learnt that one by experience, but then again, go for the crazy mix and you could do well.

The other things that go well is Kitchen Pot Holders. They are quick to make and they go quickly at the market. Again, crazy colors work well.

Food for thought though, go for practical items these days. In this day and age, with the economy the way it is, you would do far better with practical items. Not necessarily the pretty and cute.

I hope this has helped a little bit.

Follow up to the article on the law change.

Well, I did do a little more investigating and found a site that gave me a bit more information on what was going on. I have put this picture up with the link to it, if you would like to know more information and to be of help if you can. I hope this helps.

New Law on homemade childrens products!!!

I've just noticed this that everyone is talking about a new law coming into play. Apparently, you can make childrens toys with undyed natural wool. How absurd is that.... I don't know the full details yet, but wow..... What is going to happen with all the businesses that have chosen that field of work. They are usually small businesses and don't have the funds to get their toys cleared.... hmmmmmm... I think I should investigate this more.

Crochet Madness every once in a while

Today is one of those days where I've got the bug again. I started my partners throw about a month ago, then put it down for a while and I've only just picked it up again to carry on. Sometimes I find myself going all out for getting things done and then I put it down for a little while, only to find that a little while has ended up being weeks, or even months.

I think perhaps, I have too many things to do and I kinda get bogged down with it all. However, I should probably be more disciplined in actually finishing projects that I start before I start a new one. Don't you agree? I'm sure you do. :) Well, we'll see how far I get with this today and maybe tomorrow, hopefully, I might feel I need to complete it by the end of the weekend.

Now that would be nice.

Projects I would like to take on - Patchwork

I am by no means an expert in doing homecrafts, but I have tried my hand at a few things. I am in the middle of making a patchwork playmat. At first I thought it was going to be one hell of a job, but it turned out that it was fairly easy to do.

The only hiccup I have had so far, is that the wadding was difficult to work through with the sewing machine. All I have to do now is put the main material on the back.

My brother came round last weekend and I was not prepared for the response. As soon as they saw it, him and his girlfriend both said wow. I was shocked, but was really chuffed that they actually liked it, because I think I may have to give it to them in the near future.... ;) I'm not saying she is pregnant now, but who knows, they seem pretty tight to me.

Anyway, the patchwork play mat again was a experiment made up of 4 inch squares and sewn together, then the wadding was put to the back of it with some calico, so that I could sew it all in and make like a quilt effect. The final touch to it will be the back of the playmat, I chose a flannel tartan material, purely because it is super soft and if they really need to, they can use the playmat as a quilt too. The wadding was only 2oz, so not too warm for baby and quite safe.

I also have tons of choices of playmats on our website, these however are not homemade, but come from other stores. The stores that I have used on the website are mainly US, our UK store front is being made up at the moment, so unfortunately I can send you to the UK site yet.

I went on to create several more crochet blankets.

Since I started with the white, yellow and lime green blanket, I went onto create a few more of these blankets, I experimented with different colours and then with different patterns.

I have found that there is very little in the way of blue and white baby blankets, so I made a couple of these and they went like hotcakes. Using the same types of materials as the first one I created the middle in white and the edge in pale blue. Like I said, they went like hotcakes.

There is so much in the way of pink and everything sweet and nice, but not so much in the way of boys colours. I even created a khaki camoflage one. That was sold instantly. I did not think it looked good, but someone out there loved it and bought it as soon as they could.

I have watched baby blanket market to see what goes well and what doesn't and to be frank with you. It's not all the nice pretty stuff that sells first, it's the old shabby chic styles that go first. You know, like grandma used to make with off cuts of wool. They are seem to go very well.

I've found that there is so much in the way of style, and colour schemes to choose from, you'll never get bored with trying something new. I'll show you the one I made that I thought it was not so good, but somebody liked it. I couldn't believe it.

When I made my first crochet blanket!

I had no idea just how time consuming it was going to be. It took up most of my day just to achieve a 22" x 22" square. It was yellow, white and lime double knit wool. I used a 3.50 needle. I was so chuffed with making it, I took on a much bigger project which I will tell you about at a later stage.

My white, yellow and lime green blanket was an experiment to say the least. I needed to brush up on my crochet skills and also see if I could achieve my goals. I have this tendency to start something and not quite finish it, so I had to finish it. It was a must... I persevered and I finally finished it with a scallop shell edge.

I decided that that blanket was ideal for a pram blanket or pushchair. So I went onto ebay and tried to sell it.... for the price of the wool. This however did not go so well and it was up there for ages.... Finally, someone decided to buy it. I actually got more for it than I expected and that drove me on to make more than just a pram blanket.

In doing the blanket, I learnt how to do other variations of stitches and patterns, so that I could create something unique. As you can probably guess, my first pattern that I learned by doing the blanket was the scallop edging. I found techniques of this on youtube. The woman that I was watching on the video, I recognised her accent to be South African. That made me smile, because I myself lived in South Africa. I have the same accent.

So for anyone out there that is creative and doesn't really want to compete too much with the commercial sector. I suggest you find yourself a nice quiet hobby which can bring you pleasure, self esteem and confidence. It will also make your bank balance grow, ever so slightly, but just enough to help you buy the next projects' materials.