Daisy Craft

5 Reasons Why To Buy Hand-made Gifts

2009-12-09T20:35:00.000-08:00

There are ENDLESS reasons why you should buy hand-made; however, I am listing my top 5 today.

1. Hand-crafted products are made carefully by crafters who are passionate about their products and pay close attention to detail that machines and robots could never produce.

2. Hand-crafted products are made with better materials than mass-produced items and generally last longer in return.

3. You help support true small businesses when you purchase hand-made items.

4. You most likely will have a one-of-a-kind product when you buy hand-made.

5. People who will be on the receiving end will LOVE the hand-made item so much more!

What are some of your reasons you buy or make hand-made items?!

Share with us!

Button & Blinkee Sale!!!

2009-08-15T22:21:00.000-07:00

Marketing Button Sale~

The value of placing these small marketing buttons on your blogs, e-mails, store pages are HUGE!! It is the easiest, quickest way to advertise your store as well as driving traffic directly to your store. The buttons not only include our AWESOME designs, but we will also add the customized HTML code so that your buttons will link directly to your store page! This offer is for both Daisy Craft shops and non-Daisy Craft shops!! If you have always wanted a button--- get it now while the sale lasts!

New Premium Store---

2009-08-10T22:10:00.001-07:00

We have a new Premium Store on Daisy Craft! We are currently creating her customized store page-- and have posted the three banners we've created for her.

Which banner is your favorite?

A. Retro flower banner

B. Simplified banner

C. Sage green with flowers

Be sure to check back soon for Cindy's Creative Corner as she builds her product inventory on Daisy Craft! She has amazingly affordable and adorable paper products that you can use for yourself or for gifts!

What do you get with a Premium Store?

Premium Shop~

The quickest way to kick-off your online store! This store option is packed with a bundle of perks that will surely boost your business from the beginning. The benefits offered to Premium store owners are incalculable.
Listing fee: Free!
Transaction fee: 7% purchase price
Premium store fee: $64.95/ year (Over $450 value)
Premium store perks:
1. Customized store page with ad banner and matching buttons. The custom look will include background color, custom ad banner, custom ad button to use anywhere, custom text on your page and product listings.* ($150 value)
2. Three additional ad banner changes during the year. Great for special promos, sales or holiday events. ($45 value)
3. Five additional ad buttons per year that will be customized to link directly to your online store. Perfect for easy advertising on blogs and other sites. Also the code will be available for others to post your buttons on their blogs and sites as well. ($25 value)
4. Feature seller rotation ($75 value) *
5. Recently Listed Items rotation on the Home Page. Perfect for showing off your items each time you list! ($75 value)
6. Unlimited marketing give-aways a year. This is a great way to help boost your business. Give-aways will be done on Daisy Craft and other Web sites where we advertise. More advertising bang for your buck! (Only one give-away per month)

Go to "Open a Store" now and open your Premium Shop today!

New commission fee rates

2009-06-24T22:17:00.000-07:00

It's probably the last thing you want to see happen, but seriously, it's pennies to you, but keeps us in the positive.

We have increased our commission fees to make sure our costs are covered. Several times, we've actually lost money on transactions and that just won't keep things going here.

We offer FREE listings and we want to keep it that way. It's just easier on us, plus you don't have to feel limited for what you want to list while sticking to your budget.

So, while the fees are being raised, it really isn't that much out of your pocket... just a few cents to help us cover the PayPal fees that we are charged.

The commission fees are as follows:

Hand-made shops~
Premium: 7%
Standard: 7%
Free: 10%

Merchant shops~
Gold: 7%
Silver: 8.5%
Bronze: 10%

Let us know if you have any questions! We appreciate your understanding in helping us cover our costs to keep a place for you to sell online!

June/July Service Project---

2009-06-16T23:17:00.001-07:00

Daisy Craft Monthly Community Service Event~

June/July: Adopt-A-School

During this month, it would be great for us to adopt-a-school. Students are out of school and there is a lot of preparation and cleaning, repainting and so forth that needs to be done. Everyone is experiencing budget-crunches... what better way to give back to your community than giving back to its future--- the children.

We have come up with a fun, easy way to give back. You can choose from a few different ways to give back- or be even more creative and make your own twist to a service opportunity.

How you can give back:

Contact your local school district offices and find out where you or a group can help make a difference. Perhaps you'll be able to do some painting... you might be able to add a mural if you're artistically inclined. You might find that the kindergarten rooms need a new quilt or blanket and so forth. It'll be fun to get into the community schools and help prepare them for the new school year. Better yet, your materials would be covered from the school district, all you'd have to donate is your time and talents!

Be sure to check here for the monthly Daisy Craft community service project. We will announce ideas that the World Wide Daisy Craft community can participate in--regardless of your location. We look forward to hearing about your experiences in the Community Forum.

Wedding book tutorial

2009-06-15T22:46:00.001-07:00

I am currently working on an AWESOME tutorial to teach you how to create the most adorable wedding guest books ever!

I used to make these for all my close friends as wedding gifts (cuz, it can get spendy with all the paper, the book and embellishments). Everyone that saw them, LOVED them and even offered to pay me to make them.

I never had time to persue that as a business, but I can show you how.

It is super easy, super fun and FREAKIN' ADORABLE!!!

The Wedding Book Tutorial is COMING SOON.... by next week... so stay tuned. I'll announce it on Twitter first... so be sure you're following us there!!!

Summer vacations

2009-05-25T21:08:00.000-07:00

Summer is finally here and boy did it come quickly this year! We know that with school getting out and the summer vacation plans scheduled, you may be out of town for a certain amount of time. If you are headed out and not able to fill your orders, please post the dates you will be gone on your store page.
We will look there before notifying you of orders as well as it will be great for customers to know their orders may be delayed until you're back from vacation (or any other event that may take you away from your business).
If you have any questions, just let us know!

We hope that each of you have a fantastic summer!!!

In the meantime, remember to take full advantage of our Business Scholarship Contest (see previous post). It's going to be AWESOME earning money for your business. It's easy to participate!!

Contact us with any questions, comments or concerns or just plain nice kind words.

Daisy Craft Business Scholarship Contest

2009-05-06T23:37:00.000-07:00

What is the scholarship? The Daisy Craft Business Scholarship was developed with the intent to do two things:

1. Help shops achieve success by increasing sales

and developing marketing strategies.

2. Offering a reward for those efforts.

How do you qualify for the scholarship contest? You must have an active shop (either hand-made or merchant) on Daisy Craft for the next six months. It does not matter which level of store you operate. Each shop owner who follows the rules for the scholarship will be qualified. The winners are chosen by the amount of points they have, not by the level of store they operate.

How do you enter the contest? You must notify us by e-mailing us at promo@daisycraft.com and let us know that you want to participate. We will send you a confirmation e-mail and then we will begin tracking your points from that date. You can join the contest at any point—but, the sooner, the better!

Deadline for the contest: We are running this scholarship contest for the next six months and will announce the two winners on our Web site on Nov. 7, 2009 when we have our One-Year Anniversary Celebration.

Rules & Guidelines for the contest: Each guideline will have an assigned point value. As you meet each guideline, we will add the assigned points to your shop. For example, if you list the minimum 10 items a month, you will receive 200 points per month you achieve this goal.

1. Maintain an active Daisy Craft account throughout the contest. Active accounts are defined by those that regularly list items. We define regularly listing items as posting or re-posting at least 10 items a month. (Please note, the ten items can be either new items or re-listed items… it just needs to be at least 10 a month). This will help keep your items fresh and if you have the recently listed items feature, it’ll keep your products on the Home page regularly which is vital to increasing sales. 200 points each month this goal is met.

2. Qualified sales of your products (meaning, don’t buy your own). Each time an item of yours is sold, you will receive 50 points. The two shops that have the most sales by Nov. 1, 2009 will receive 1000 bonus points.

3. Provide excellent customer service for your customers! If we receive any negative feedback from buyers, we will deduct 50 points from your shop’s total. Of course, we will work closely with you and the customers to make sure they are legitimate problems so that you’re not docked points because someone was having a bad day or that their mailman was sick for a week and your package was delayed. (It is 50 points per legitimate complaint)

Bonus Points:

Maintain an organized store page that includes all the important information that your customers should and would like to know. For example, “About Us,” “Returns/Shipping/Exchange policies,” Product Listings, Button and so on. –50 points

Purchasing marketing tools: 15 points per item

Purchasing marketing products: 30 points/Bronze, 40 points/Silver and 50 points/Gold

Upgrade your existing store:

Handmade: Standard & Premium: 100 points

Merchant: Bronze: 50 points Silver: 100 points Gold: 150 points

Provide a craft tutorial: 200 points Tutorials must have detailed instructions as well as photos showing the process. Look on the Craft Tips page for examples. They can be 5 minute projects or 2 hour projects… just as long as the tutorial is good quality.

Provide proof of your own marketing efforts: Various points available.

Example, if you post a You Tube video and talk about or link to your Daisy Craft shop—send us the link and we’ll check it out. We will reward your great efforts accordingly! Be creative—after all, that’s what crafters are all about!

Referrals: If you refer someone to Daisy Craft and they open a store, you will receive points according to the level of store they open. They must let us know when they open their new store, they must let us know your Daisy Craft shop name and that you referred them to receive the credit.

Both the new store and the referring store will receive the points as listed below:

Handmade referrals~

Free store: 10 points Standard Store: 100 points Premium Store: 100 points

Merchant referrals~

Bronze store: 50 points Silver store: 100 points Gold: 150 points

What is the scholarship prize? The scholarship prize will start off at $100 dollars per store. We say start off, because as you grow your stores on Daisy Craft and as we grow—we will increase the prize amount. There are no limits on how high the final prize amount will be. It will be up to the growth of the site—which is based on the growth of your stores.

We are starting our contest in the Spring so that we can help you cultivate and plant the seeds of your online business and we’ll help you continue to grow it over the next several months and harvest the rewards this fall.

How will the winner be determined? We will have two winners. We will keep a tally of your points and the shops with the highest points will be selected. If there are multiple shops that have the same score, Daisy Craft team members will look at the quality of products, store pages, marketing techniques and customer satisfaction to make the final determination of the two winners.

Why should I participate in the business scholarship contest? This contest is a total win-win for every participant! If you decide to participate, you are telling yourself you are serious about increasing your store’s success. Even though you may not win, your sales and online branding of your business will surely increase during this process, which is the ultimate goal!

FREE Shop Give-away!!!

2009-04-30T22:40:00.000-07:00

Yes, we said FREE SHOP GIVE-AWAY!!

See, we told you more great promos and specials were coming!!

Now you have a chance to WIN a FREE Premium Shop or a Silver Merchant Account.

If you make hand-made crafts, you'll want the Premium Shop.

If you sell craft supplies, you'll want the Silver Merchant Account.

Both shops appear on Daisy Craft!

Here's how to Enter to Win:

*Your comments on this post are your entry ballots.*

1. Tell us why you'd like one of these FREE shops, then tell us which type you want if you were to win! (Premium or Merchant)

2. Tell us three things you like about Daisy Craft
and three things we can do better-- or-- list three craft tutorial
ideas you'd like to see on Crafting Tips.

3. Take a guess at what our HUGE announcement is going to be on May 7.

4. Tweet this Give-Away and copy the tweet on the comment entry.

5. Blog about this give-away and leave the blog URL.

*Each of these items counts as one entry--just leave one comment per item you complete. We will use a random number generator to obtain the two winners.

Free Shop Give-Away Ends: May 6

Then, be sure to mark your calendars for May 7-- for our HUGE announcement!

Wednesday Promo:

2009-04-29T12:46:00.000-07:00

ZERO COMMISSION FEES TODAY THRUOGH MAY 1ST!!

Yes, you read that right! Zero commission fees-- we're not only putting more money in your pockets, but eating the PayPal costs ourselves for these few days.

PROMOTE YOUR STORES DURING

THIS LIMITED TIME OFFER!!

Contact everyone you know and remind them

Mother's Day is just a little over a week away.

Be sure to check back for more promos and

our HUGE announcement on May 7.

Tuesday Only Special

2009-04-27T23:42:00.000-07:00

Daisy Craft Anniversary Marathon Continues...

Tuesday: Follow us on this blog, then leave a comment letting us know and we will get you & your store in our
Feature Seller Rotation!!

Plus, we've extending the Marketing Promo through today,
we are offering
50% OFF
all Marketing Tools & Packages

You now have the PERFECT chance for jump-starting your new online shop or expanding your marketing efforts for half-the-cost.

It's a win-win for you.

This offer ends Tuesday, April 28 at 11:59 p.m. (MST).

What's the Anniversary Marathon?!

We are fast approaching our 6-month anniversary on Daisy Craft and will be offering great offers & give-aways until that day...which is May 7.

On May 7, we will have an
HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT!!!
You won't want to miss this one for sure!

Monday offer--

2009-04-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

Daisy Craft Anniversary Marathon Starts Today!

Monday: Today only, we are offering 50% off
all Marketing Tools & Packages

You now have the PERFECT chance for jump-starting your new online shop or expanding your marketing efforts for half-the-cost.

It's a win-win for you.

This offer ends Monday, April 27 at 11:59 p.m. (MST).

What's the Anniversary Marathon?!

We are fast approaching our 6-month anniversary on Daisy Craft and will be offering great offers & give-aways until that day...which is May 7.

On May 7, we will have an HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT!!!
You won't want to miss this one for sure!

Big Promos coming to Daisy Craft...

2009-04-23T23:40:00.000-07:00

We're fast approaching our 6 MONTH ANNIVERSARY of being in operation.

I can't believe it's been that long... it seems like yesterday that we went live. However, all the endless nights of working to improve the sites to help the shops and meeting all the wonderful shop owners and seeing your AMAZING talents has been an incredible journey.

I am putting together some GREAT promotional deals for new & current shops. You won't want to miss this!!

Watch the Web site and our blogs starting next week for more information.

Be sure that you're also following us on Twitter for up-to-date site announcements, quick help for your online stores, give-aways and a chance to just to get to know one another.

Our 6-month anniversary is on May 7.

$10 Framed Magnet Boards

2009-04-06T21:40:00.001-07:00

I just posted the new Framed Magnet Board tutorial on Craft Tips! Be sure to check it out.

If you're looking for last minute Easter gifts or planning ahead for Mother's Day... these will make the perfect gift and are extremely budget friendly!

I created my magnet board, shown in the picture, for under $10! That is a savings of $20-$40 bucks if bought in stores!

Learn the basics and then add your own flare! Be sure to let me know what you think of the tutorial!

If you have crafting tips or craft tutorials you would like to share, send them to craftingtips@daisycraft.com.

Happy Crafting!!

New craft tutorial...

2009-04-04T22:51:00.000-07:00

I am working on a really super cute craft tutorial to add to the Web site!!

Do you like MAGNET BOARDS??!?! But, don't have the extra $50 to buy one or $35 to make your own?!?

No worries.... I have come up with an inexpensive way to make the same adorable magnet boards you see in the stores or craft shops for $1o!!

Yes, you read that right! $10 US dollars!!!

I am working on finishing the final touches right now and will load the pics, materials list and the how-to instructions within the next few days!!

Not only is this project super cheap, but it is SUPER easy!!

I am also working on a second option for the same project.

You're going to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this----- I hope!!

Do you have a craft you know how to make? Send us your craft tutorials and we'll post them on Daisy Craft!

Have any suggestions for craft tips or tutorials you'd like to see on the site? E-mail us at craftingtips@daisycraft.com and we'll get working on it!!

Great new opportunity...

2009-03-26T12:06:00.000-07:00

So, we had a fabulous give-away on our blog with two winners receiving some incredible information on how to build and publize their onlines businesses!

Now, it's my turn to enter the Give-Away and I am also sharing the news on how to enter with you.

Crissy, owner of IndieBizChicks.com is having a Power of Publicity Give-Away where the winner will work closely with her to develop and implement a new marketing and publicity plan within 6 weeks. This is an $85 value!

I must win this!! Here's why:

I run Daisy Craft by myself. My husband is my business partner, but he's super busy with working full-time and going to school part-time-- plus numerous other commitments besides being a fantastic hubby and dad.

I don't have a large team of computer-wizards working each day on my site, nor do I have a staff you can do customer service, handle orders and promote the Web site. Each of the responsibilites of running a Web site company are mine. I enjoy helping all the men and women get their online stores in order tremendously and I'd give anything to devote more time to just helping them all succeed; however, a LOT of my time is spent marketing the company to keep it growing.

I feel like I am at a plateau and could really, really, really use this Publicity Make-Over!! Plus, the price of FREE fits my incredibly limited budget perfectly!

I would also share the ideas I learn and pass on to aid my stores in marketing themselves better. I believe in giving back, and if I would receive such an AMAZING gift, I would help others and Crissy with giving back.

Cross your fingers for me and for Daisy Craft!!

Also, we are currently working on re-vamping the store category page. We hope to have the new look and function up and running soon! It's going to be FANTASTIC!!

For more information about these services, click here.

Congrats to our TWO winners...

2009-03-22T23:02:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the TWO winners from this FANTASTIC Give-Away!

Winner of "How to Get Great Press":

Jill said...

Posted a tweet about yuor contest. Here's number entry three.

I'll get number 4 and 5 in when I update my blog!Thanks for the opportunity!

Winner of "How to Give Good Blog":

Untypically Jia said...

I am now following you on Twitter!

Your information is being sent to Crissy at IndieBizChicks.com who sponsored this Give-Away. She will send you the links for the prizes!! I know you'll get A TON out of them!

We will have another FANTASTIC announcement and NEW GIVE-AWAY in April!!

Stay tuned... You don't want to miss this next give-away!!!

Product Give-Aways & Reviews--

2009-03-12T21:09:00.001-07:00

I have been asked to review two new products by IndieBizChicks.com.

Product Review #1:

The first is an online booklet called, "How to Get Great Press." It provides valuable information on how to construct and write a press release and then how to distribute it effectively.

As a professional journalist, I have received and written countless press releases. I know first-hand of their immense value and importance in getting your product or service out to the media. Media companies are always in search of great content. Press releases provide a quick, easy and fast way to draw attention to your business. Knowing how to write one that will actually get noticed is extremely important because media agencies receive myriad press releases a day.

The IndieBizChicks book, "How to Get Great Press" is an essential tool for those looking to increase the awareness of their business. It is written in a simple, easy-to-understand language and covers all the important aspects in constructing a press release. All the details of the release are covered along with giving you templates to work from as well.

Also included is a list of Web sites to submit your press release to. They've already done the research for you! They also offer great advice on building your media contact lists.

In addition to the instructions on how to write a press release, they also have included valuable information on how to assemble a Press Kit and why you should have these and whom you should send them to.

Please, take my word for it! This is a GREAT value and they make it extremely affordable at $14.95.

However, we are GIVING AWAY one "How to Get Great Press" Workbook to one of our lucky readers! (Including the audio press release class and a Bonus Workbook, "15 Tips for Building Buzz Around Your Business")

**See the bottom of the post on how to enter for both Give-Aways!**

Click below to Get your own copy!

Product Review #2:

The second product I was asked to review was, "How to Give Good Blog."

WOW!!! This is a must-have for anyone that has a blog that promotes their business or products.

Crissy at IndieBizChicks has put together a list of some incredible tips that are each detailed on how to implement the ideas to help boost your blog's traffic and business. If you're unfamiliar with blogging or how that could benefit your business, IndieBizChicks has provided all the answers you'll need.

Blogging is essential in online businesses. There are millions of blogs and millions of blog businesses, so how do you get yours to stand out?

I operate a couple of blogs and started as a blog business and know the value and hard work it takes to get your blog promoted. I did all the research and hard work with trial-and-error and WISH I would have had access to these 50 tips (from the bonus workbook, "50 Ways to Promote Your Blog") when I started.

You will see an increase of traffic just after implementing a few of these tips.

An increase of traffic will increase sales. You also will learn ways to make even more money with your blog.

In addition to the workbook, you'll also receive access to audio elements from the expert herself!

You definitely don't want to delay in getting this online workbook of a wealth of knowledge. Your investment will be well worth it and will reap great returns!

This is also available for $14.95.

However, we are GIVING AWAY one "How to Give Good Blog" Workbook to one of our lucky readers! (Including the workbook and audio elements to 50 Ways to Promote Your Blog)

How to Enter these Two Give-Aways:

One Entry~ Leave a comment below about this post.

Two Entries~ Leave a comment below and Tweet about this Give-Away on Twitter.

Three Entries~ Leave a comment below, tweet about this Give-Away and follow us on Twitter.

Four Entries~ Leave a comment, tweet about the Give-Away, follow us on Twitter, post about this Give-Away on your blog and let us know you've done so in one of the entries.

Five Entries~ Leave a comment, tweet about the Give-Away, follow us on Twitter, post about the Give-Away on your blog and invite people to come and enter the Give-Away. For each person you come that enters, you can enter once more per person. The referral must say in one of their posts that they were referred by you.

You have 5 or more chances to WIN!!

Each entry is one comment to this post. If you do all five items, that means you'll have five seperate comments on this post. We will choose two winners randomly from all the posts.

Give-Away ends March 22nd. Winners will be announced here on Mar. 23!

Good luck!! Don't forget--one referral is one more entry!!

Craft Tips has a new look!

2009-03-12T17:24:00.000-07:00

We just reformatted our Craft Tips page to make finding the tips or tutorials you want a little easier!

We are seeking new contributors to provide some great tips or tutorials to our site! We would provide a link to your Daisy Craft store for each tip or tutorial that you provide!!

If you're interested, please contact us for details!!

Congrats to our TWO winners... and more!!

2009-03-10T23:51:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to our TWO winners for a Premium Store. Yes, we decided to give away an additional subscription. (Amy & Hoosier Homemade-- e-mail us at promo@daisycraft.com for details!!)

Everyone else who participated in our Give-Away will also receive 20% off any marketing items that you order for your Daisy Craft store. Just send let us know your blog name and we'll refund your 20% from your order.

We are going to be having some more Give-Aways coming soon.... stay tuned!

Premium Store Give-Away!!

2009-03-02T14:39:00.000-08:00

We're giving away a FREE Premium Store subscription to one lucky person who leaves a comment here on our blog!

This is a $65 value!!!

Here's how to enter:

1. Go to Daisy Craft and pick out your favorite item that is listed.

2. Leave a comment here on our blog and list the item's URL you like the most! (Copy and paste the URL in the comment section)

How to earn extra entries:

1. Follow us on our blog and leave an additional comment

2. Become our friend on Facebook and leave a comment that you've done so.

3. Follow us on Twitter and leave a comment that you're now following us!

4. Twit this Give-away and leave a comment that you've done so!

You have 5 easy chances to win an amazing offer!!

Give-away ends March 10!

We will choose someone from the comments left as our lucky receipient of a FREE PREMIUM STORE on Daisy Craft!

Good luck!!

Home-made cleaning products tutorial~

2009-02-17T13:11:00.001-08:00

Home-made Cleaning Products Tutorial

It's no secret that everyone across the globe is tightening their purse strings. We're making more of our own items, buying from those who can produce products that we want or need for less than the stores. We wanted to share with you some of the great, easy and extremely budget-friendly tips we've found on how to create your own cleaning products for dirt cheap! Every budget can afford this and we hope it helps you save a little extra money. Some of the tips are from our friends, some from other sources. From Amanda~ For all general cleaning (ceramic, tile, bathroom and kitchen fixtures) I use a 1/2 and 1/2 combo of white vinegar and water that I keep in a spray bottle. For tougher spots (like sink basins or tubs) you can sprinkle baking soda on the surface then pour straight white vinegar on it to make a magical scrubbing potion. I get my baking soda from my left over fridge/freezer inserts so when its time to change them out, I just dump the leftover soda into a container. To this point, I've never run out of available soda from that source and it helps me remember to change them out. To disinfect sink drains, its similar: pour the baking soda down the drain, follow with vinegar, then hot water. For your floors~ For an economical and environmentally friendly floor cleaner, mix a solution of 3 drops dishwashing liquid to 1/3 part white distilled vinegar, 1/3 part alcohol, and 1/3 part water. Spray sparingly and mop for a fast clean-up. Some carpet stains can be removed with a paste of 2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar and 1/4 cup salt or baking soda. Rub into the carpet stain and let dry. Vacuum up the residue the next day. (Always test on an out-of-sight part of the carpet first). Bring out the color in carpet by brushing it with a solution of 1 cup white distilled vinegar for every gallon of water. (Always test on an out-of-sight part of the carpet beforehand). Floor cleaning tips are from vinegartips.com For your dishes~ Soap for the Dishwasher: 1 Tablespoon Borax 1 Tablespoon Baking soda (this amount is for one load of dishes) Some people have also added a tiny amount of their regular dishwashing soap or vinegar to help with the dishes. See what works best for your machine and dishes. Also, try sticking to the correct amounts listed on the boxes. Sometimes we tend to over-soap, thinking it'll get cleaner that way, but we're actually adding more soap gunk and wasting money. Do you have any cleaning products that you make at home? Share your cleaning recipes and ideas with us in the Community Forum. We will watch for some great tips and add them to our list here! Happy Cleaning!!

Showing the love...

2009-02-12T14:59:00.000-08:00

We are offering a Valentine's Weekend special starting today!!

The next 25 new stores on Daisy Craft will receive a FREE matching banner and button for their Daisy Craft store. That's a retail value of $25 per store!!

Hurry, offer ends Feb. 16!!

If you're a current store, you can qualify for the same promo offer by referring a new Daisy Craft account. Simply, e-mail us the name of the person/store you recommended.

Happy Crafting!!

Give-Away goin on now through Thurs...

2009-02-09T13:41:00.000-08:00

Come check out the virtual baby shower here-- Leelou Blogs.

We have some of our stores participating in the give-away! Come check out their fantastic products AND enter to win some of the prizes!!

Don't delay. The give-away contest ends Thursday!!

Big Hearts, Small Checking Account Service Month

2009-02-02T21:16:00.000-08:00

Daisy Craft Monthly Community Service Event:

Big Hearts, Small Checking Accounts Month
During this month, we have the opportunity to have a day that we focus on sharing and showing our love for others. Although, these acts are mainly done on the 14th, Valentine's Day, we'd like to extend the love for the entire month. We've come up with the "Big Hearts, Small Checking Account" theme because we know there's lots of love to give, but sometimes not a lot of means by which to give it.

We have added two families blogs below who have very ill babies in the NICU. We hope that you'll take the time to read about these families and babies, get some warm fuzzes and find it within you to give someway, somehow. You may not be able to donate monetarily to these families, or are able to make products to donate them that they could use-- but, there's someone somewhere you can use whatever talents you can offer. Find someone who can use some extra love this month and give until it hurts. We promise, it'll come back to you ten fold.

How you can give back:
Think about several different ways to give love this month. Challenge yourself to donate your talents--whatever they are-- to someone else. If you make a scarf--- find someone's neck and donate it to them. If you take pictures, find a family who can't afford portraits on their own and offer your free services. And so on.

During the month of February, we will donate half of the proceeds from the Standard and Premium store new subscriptions to the Baby Kaleigh and Baby Mia.

Give-aways start Feb. 9---

2009-01-23T09:58:00.000-08:00

We are so excited to be participating in this Leelou Blogs Give-Away that starts on Feb. 9.

We have some of our Daisy Craft stores participating and hope that you'll come and enter the give-aways!! There will be lots of prizes and fun!

It's a virtual baby shower!

Pass the word via your blogs and e-mails!!

Give Aways!!

2009-01-20T14:01:00.000-08:00

We are currently organizing two give-aways for our Daisy Craft stores.

Give-Aways are one of the top ways to advertise and market on the Internet today. It provides TONS of traffic in a short amount of time and gets hundreds and thousands of people looking at your products and provides a perfect introduction to your business.

People LOVE, LOVE, LOVE free stuff!!

You can't go wrong in participating in a give-away.

At Daisy Craft, we provide the opportunities for our Standard and Premium stores to participate in these give-aways throughout the year. We help organize and coordinate the events with some of the sites that we advertise on. We pay for the advertising, our stores get the benefits!

If you would like to participate in the upcoming Give-Aways, please follow these three simple steps:

1. "Open A Store"~ Click on the icon on the Home Page (or the link we provided) and follow the instructions. We are offering the give-away option to all stores through Jan. 24.

2. Create an account on Daisy Craft.

3. E-mail promo@daisycraft.com and let us know you'd like to participate. We will send you more information.

*It is important that you have your stores up and products listed prior to participating in the give aways. We link directly to your store pages and you want to be sure to make a great first impression!

Happy Crafting...

Join our Yahoo Group...

2009-01-14T15:16:00.000-08:00

We have just organized a free craft tutorial group on Yahoo.

We hope that you'll join us there and get ready to learn! We also hope that you'll post your own craft tips or tutorials on the group.

We will feature people from our group and list tutorials and tips on our Web site.

Join us now at Daisy Craft-Tips group today!!

Free tutorials...

2009-01-08T23:11:00.001-08:00

Want to learn how to make crafts?

Check out Daisy Craft's FREE Craft Tips for amazing tutorials!

If you'd like to contribute your own tutorials, contact us.

We request that the tutorials have simple text and photos to show the steps. The tutorials must be your own.

As a Thank-You for providing free tutorials, we will link directly to your Daisy Craft store or personal blog.

Contact us at craftingtips{at}daisycraft.com

2nd Month birthday Promo!!

2009-01-06T21:45:00.000-08:00

We are celebrating our second month of being in operation by offering a special promotion that you will not want to miss out on.

You can participate in the Recently Listed Items feature that promotes your products on the Home page. The majority of the shoppers that come to Daisy Craft purchase items that they see on the Home page. That is online window shopping at it's best!

We are offering this feature for only $35 for the life of your Daisy Craft account. It is regularly $75 and a feature for our Standard and Premium stores. We want to offer this to you during this week only as a way to help all of our online stores who are growing with us at Daisy Craft.

This will be the only time we offer this promotion at this price and for the life of your account. DO NOT DELAY!

To take advantage of this promotion, e-mail us a promo@daisycraft.com with "Birthday Promo" in the subject line. Please include your PayPal e-mail address in the e-mail and we will send you an invoice promptly.

We will be anxious to see your products on the Home page soon!

Offer ends Jan. 10, 5 p.m. (MST).

Our gift to you...

2008-12-26T16:26:00.000-08:00

As we inch our way closer to the beginning of a new year, you may or may not have begun to plan out your New Year's Resolutions for personal and business goals. However, here at Daisy Craft, we have already set into motion some really exciting changes that we hope will help our store owners in the coming year.

We look forward to saying good-bye to a year that has had some bad economic happenings across the nation and look forward to throwing ourselves into making 2009 a very successful year for each of you.

We have revamped our perks for our online stores to offer more to each of you while keeping the same prices. We know that these changes will better serve our current and future crafters.

Please take a look the new perks lists below! If you currently have a Premium or Standard store, these changes go into effect immediately. The previous perks also apply for current craft stores only who opened Premium and Standard stores prior to 12.22.08. New stores will only receive the newly listed perks.

Premium Stores:

The quickest way to kick-off your online store! This store option is packed with a bundle of perks that will surely boost your business from the beginning. The benefits offered to Premium store owners are incalculable.
Listing fee: Free!
Transaction fee: 5% purchase price
Premium store fee: $64.95/ year (Over $450 value)
Premium store perks:
1. Customized store page with ad banner and matching buttons. The custom look will include background color, custom ad banner, custom ad button to use anywhere, custom text on your page and product listing links.* ($150 value)
2. Three additional ad banner changes during the year. Great for special promos, sales or holiday events. ($45 value)
3. Five additional ad buttons per year that will be customized to link directly to your online store. Perfect for easy advertising on blogs and other sites. Also the code will be available for others to post your buttons on their blogs and sites as well. ($25 value)
4. Feature seller rotation ($75 value) *
5. Recently Listed Items rotation on the Home Page. Perfect for showing off your items each time you list! ($75 value)
6. Four marketing give-aways a year. This is a great way to help boost your business. Give-aways will be done on Daisy Craft and other Web sites where we advertise. More advertising bang for your buck! ($150 value)

Standard Stores:
The perfect store option if you want to grow your business over time. At an affordable price with perks not available for free stores, you can jump-start your online business without a lot of up-front costs.
Listing fee: Free!
Transaction fee: 5% purchase price
Standard store fee: $5.95/ month (Over $300 value)
Standard store perks:
1. Customized store page with ad banner and matching button. The custom look will include background color, custom ad banner, custom ad button to use anywhere. Text not included.* ($105 value)
2. Two additional ad banner changes during one year. Great for special promos, sales or holiday events. ($30 value)*
3. Three additional ad buttons per year that will be customized to link directly to your online store. Perfect for easy advertising on blogs and other sites. Also the code will be available for others to post your buttons on their blogs and sites as well. ($15 value)*
4. Recently Listed Items rotation on the Home Page. Perfect for showing off your items each time you list! ($75 value)*
5. Two marketing give-aways a year. This is a great way to help boost your business. Give-aways will be done on Daisy Craft and other Web sites where we advertise. More advertising bang for your buck! ($75 value)*

*Please note that in order to receive these listed perks, your account must remain active and current. The Standard Store perks are only available throughout the year and cannot be received all in one month (with the exception of perk #1). To be eligible for the Recently Listed Items feature, your account must remain active. Sorry, no refunds are available.

We are so excited to help small business like yours take off in the New Year. We are doubling our advertising and taking part in some exciting events that will help you get the online presence that will equate to greater sales!

We've also added "Marketing" to the site to help you promote your online store at a very, low cost. We are now offering marketing buttons for only $5 each. These buttons are great for posting on your blogs and other sites that can link directly to your Daisy Craft store page. These buttons normally cost about $20 dollars for others to make, but we want you to have the same benefits for a more affordable price!

Don't forget to take part in our Daisy Craft community where you can share ideas, crafting tips, announce your craft events and so on!

New Feature

2008-12-08T15:33:00.000-08:00

Have you seen the new feature on Daisy Craft?

We are so excited to offer "Recent Products" as a way to boost the sales of our store owners. The most recently listed products of our Standard and Premium Store owners will be automatically listed on the Home Page!

The product listings have a direct link to your products and store!!

It's fantastic!

If you'd like to get started today, go to our Web site, click on "Open A Store" and choose either the "Standard" or "Premium" store.

Be sure to follow the two step process to get started on Daisy Craft!

Holiday Gift Ideas...

2008-12-01T15:14:00.000-08:00

Christmas is just around the corner!! Get into the hand-made gift fever!

It's hard to believe that this year is almost over~it just seems like we welcomed in 2008. Now that I am used to writing 2008 or 08 on checks, cards and every other place I have to add the date-- it switches on me. I guess things could be worse like figuring out what gifts to give and deciding on a gift budget!

The holidays are fast approaching and what a great time to start thinking about giving hand-made, hand-crafted gifts! There's nothing better than giving something that you've made yourself, or that is a unique gift hand-made by someone else.

Here are some reasons to give hand-made gifts this year:

Hand-crafted gifts say that you put thought into purchasing a gift for the receiver. You've thought about them and found a unique gift just as unique as they are.
Hand-crafted gifts are usually the highest-quality gifts, too. Not only do you find one-of-a-kind treasures, but you also know that the crafter has put their special skills to perfect use. They love making their products and usually make sure that every item is crafted to their best ability. That's something that can't be purchased in a store from items that are mass produced!
Support small businesses by purchasing great products from individuals!
Hand-crafted gifts can usually be customized to meet color schemes and other variables to suit your gift needs! That's the great thing about handmade gifts--- they are generally made-to-order!
Great gifts for any holiday budget!

Be sure to check out the beautiful hand-crafted items and don't forget to order your holiday cards! All available on Daisy Craft!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-26T11:41:00.000-08:00

We just wanted to take this time to wish YOU a very Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope that you have the opportunity to enjoy quality time with family, friends and that you fill your bellies with delicious foods.

I hope that each of you also take time out to ponder and hopefully express to others what you're thankful for.

It's one of the greatest holidays that we have to only reflect on all the positive in our lives.

We're thankful that you're with us here at Daisy Craft and look forward to a fantastic rest of the year and an even BIGGER year in 2009!

Holiday shopping stressing you out?

2008-11-18T12:19:00.000-08:00

Holiday Shopping Made Easy Easier!

I am not even close to beginning to think about the upcoming holidays. I know that Thanksgiving is next week and that just boggles my mind? I don't even know what happened to the previous 10 months, but I don't think we experienced all 10 of them. I think Father Time is playing some might cruel jokes on us these days.

I can handle getting the details together for next week's Thanksgiving Day events--- which really only include; sleeping in, cooking, eating, watching football, cleaning the kitchen, eating more, more football, eating pie and drifting off to sleep.

What I can't handle is the stresses of holiday shopping. I am not a huge fan of crowds. I like to get in, get what I need and check out in a reasonable amount of time. However, this year, I don't even know what I am getting anyone (except my son, he's easy to shop for.)

Do you hate waiting in long lines? Fighting crowded stores? Seeing your items "out of stock?" Or are you the type of person who thrives on planning out their Black Friday shopping trips down to the very minute, noting what they're purchasing at each store and making a game plan to go in teams, split up and grab enough sale items to split between people? (Yes, I know some of these people).

Well, there is a great trend emerging for those of us looking for the hand-made touch for holiday gifts and these events are being held in neighborhoods all over the U.S.

What are these events called? Boutiques

These events are organized mostly by women who are into crafting and selling various products. They gather in one location and create a mini-shopping mall in neighborhoods, homes, club houses, hotels and so on.

I am pleased as punch to have started a forum to advertise for these great events! I think the best gifts are those that are made by hand. They're unique, quality is high and I know that I am supporting small businesses!

Visit Community Forums: Crafting Events for the events going on now! If you know of others, please feel free to contact us and have your event listed on our site.

I hope that we each remember to take time as we think about what "gifts" we're giving, to give back to our communities. Our food drive is still going on. It's easy to do. Just contact your local food bank, find out their needs and collect away!

Open for business!

2008-11-10T14:54:00.001-08:00

Did you think the day would ever come where I would finally announce, "We're open for business?"

Me, either.

It's been a long, daunting process with countless hours of stress, worry, planning, testing, thinking, strategizing, confusion, doubt and on and on.However, it has totally been worth it. Although there was really only one other site that would be my competitor when I started this project, now the Web is full of similar sites--but, I am NOT discouraged.

I know many of you make wonderful hand-crafted and produce many hand-made items that will sell on Daisy Craft. This is my personal invitation to each of you to open a store on Daisy Craft. Listing your products for sell is FREE!! You can't beat that deal!

So tell your wives, your friends, your neighbors and the whole wide world!! We do have some really adorable buttons available for you to post on your blogs to help us get the word out. Visit Marketing and grab your button!

Thanks for all the support and feedback that I've received in this process!

~Happy Crafting!

Nov 7th Daisy Craft Launch Date!

2008-11-05T20:13:00.000-08:00

Join us as we kick-off the start of Daisy Craft!

We will be having a Launch Promotion & Referral Give-away!! You don't want to miss out!

We also have a HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT we're so excited to share with everyone--- we can barely contain ourselves from spilling the beans now!

We'll see you live on Nov. 7 at daisycraft.com!

Which store is for you?

2008-10-14T15:45:00.000-07:00

Here are the store options available for Daisy Craft. We will be announcing a "site launch promotion" as well as our first community service project for our first month of operation. Stay tuned!

Look over the store options, contact us with any questions at info@daisycraft.com. In the meantime, build up your product inventory!!

Store Biz

There are three ways to sell on the site. You can create a free store, standard store or open a premium store. Daisy Craft’s mission is to provide the best resources for our clients. Part of our mission is to help you reach your personal financial goals. As part of owning a Standard or Premium store, you will receive a variety of “perks.” The perks will change periodically to meet the needs of the store owners.

Three types of stores to choose from:

Free stores: A great way to list your products. If you have more than one variety, color and so on—creating a store would give you a head start in building your online business.

Listing fee: Free

Transaction fee: 5% purchase price

Standard Store: The perfect store option if you want to grow your business over time. At an affordable price with perks not available for free stores, you can jump-start your online business without a lot of up-front costs.

Listing fee: Free

Transaction fee: 5% purchase price

Standard store fee: $5.95/ month

Standard store perks:

1. $5-off your first Daisy Craft Marketing Kit purchase.

2. 250 business cards ($30 value) OR 100 Postcards ($40 value) with online store information.

3. $10-off Professional Press Release about your online store.

4. Free marketing on other sites! Daisy Craft is partnered with other large shopping sites and will post some of your products to increase your online presence and traffic to your Daisy Craft store. We will periodically post 15 of your products on other sites that link back to your Daisy Craft store throughout the year.*

Premium stores: The quickest way to kick-off your online store! This store option is packed with a bundle of perks that will surely boost your business from the beginning. The benefits offered to Premium store owners are incalculable.

Listing fee: Free

Transaction fee: 5% purchase price

Premium store fee: $64.95/ year

Premium store perks:

1.Professionally-written press release ($100 value)

The press release will be featured in our new business page for six months. This added advertisement for your store will produce additional traffic to your site. In addition, you can use the press release to send to local newspapers to announce your new business.*

2. 250 business cards ($30 value) OR 100 Postcards ($40 value) with online store information.

3. Feature seller rotation ($75 value) *

4. $10-off your first marketing kit purchase

5. Free marketing on other sites (Priceless!).

Daisy Craft is partnered with other large shopping sites and will post some of your products to increase your online presence and traffic to your Daisy Craft store. We will periodically post 30 of your products on other sites that link back to your Daisy Craft store throughout the year.*

*Accounts for Standard and Premium stores must remain in active status to receive outlined perks, such as discounts, free marketing, feature seller rotation and others as listed or that may be listed in the future. A minimum active status on Daisy Craft is signing into your account every 30 days or less and having at least five items actively listed for sale.

Logo design completed

2008-10-07T11:48:00.000-07:00

We finally have the logo design completed for Daisy Craft. It is just one more step that had to be completed as we go forward with the launch of the site.

The site should be completed mid-October and that should give me enough time to get all the other business items in order to meet my goal of the Oct. 31st launch date!!

If you'd like more information regarding the site and what it's all about, e-mail us at info@daisycraft.com.

Happy Crafting!!!

Launch date to be announced...

2008-09-23T13:57:00.000-07:00

What a ride this has been----trying to start a business in the middle of a nation-wide financial crisis is either completely insane or brilliant. Either way it turns out--- it has taken a battle that I intend to keep winning!!

I have a launch date of Oct. 31, 2008!!!

I will be meeting with the Web developing firm starting tomorrow to have the site designed and they will begin building it immediately. I am realistic in knowing that my desired launch date may not be met---but, I will remain optimistic that it will be.

I look forward to keep you updated as the site progresses. In the meantime, I hope that you continue to build your product inventory to sell, sell, sell!!!

Web site coming soon...

2008-07-26T16:57:00.000-07:00

Daisy Craft's site, daisycraft.com will be available Fall 2008!! For more information regarding the features that will be available on the site-- such as creating your own online craft store-- e-mail daisycraft@gmail.com.