Big PIF sale on Etsy

Lovely Bel (indirectly) reminded me about PIFs on Etsy (ie 'Pay It Forwards') where you sell your stuff at 20p only, with cheap or free postage. I have inactive listings, so I made them all into greeting card PIFS!

A random card picked for 20p, and postage is the same no matter how many you buy.

Fill your boots!

Card makers?

Do any of you do card parties at friend's houses? I'm thinking of doing this, but just wondered if anyone else does it, and if so, how you go about it? Eg tax, national insurance etc.

So far I've made posters and invites to send to friends to give out to their guests. And that's as far as I've got. I'm not business minded at all...

Doohlong the Weinerarmer

I'm not sure either of those are spelt right, but I finally sold my lovely painting on Etsy - it's going to be a birthday present too, so I'm going to wrap it and stick in a gift card.

Goodbye old friend!

In progress - mum

First painting in oils since I gave up on them at A level. Infuriating!!

Strange Things Afoot at the Circle P

I had my hair cut last night, and the usual thing happened - Vic was after some cards, so I part-paid for my haircut in cards.

My friends are more business minded about my work than I am, and we discussed how I probably wasn't going to do Partylite as I don't feel I can be a good seller of something I haven't made. Katie mentioned Phoenix Cards, which is a similar party night thing, andVic suggested I did card parties with my own cards instead, and it was like another lightbulb moment. Why haven't I done card parties yet??

So both Katie and Vic have booked a card party in the next couple of months. I'm going to give them a free gift as a thank you, and offer another party nearer Christmas. Whenever people see my cards they seem to buy 10, so if I see a couple of their friends I can hopefully clear a bit of stock.

Kaie also said that she'll show people the personalised paintings I did for her children, and I might be able to get commissions on one of those - if I do, I'll give Katie a percentage.

So if these two parties go well, it could be a possible outlet for my cards - going to people's houses, showing them the cards, selling them for a tiny profit, and perhaps getting some sort of business going. I'll need to see a small business advisor, but I'll wait and see how at least one goes.

First illustration for collaboration with Katie

Remember the cupcake cookies and chocolate turtles?

Karma is alive and well in Leeds - writing about how wonderful sweeties are and then wondering if they would make it through the post might sound like begging, but I really didn't expect to get two lovely parcels of treats.

I feel I'm doing the chocolate turtle lady a disservice as I didn't get any photos - this is because I ate them all before I even thought about it. They were too delicious. Luckily I remembered this, and took photos of the cupcake cookies before I ate more than one.

Adorable Cupcake Cookies by TabbyCat13





They're just as beautiful in real life (even if I'm not, sheesh look at my eye bags...) - soft and buttery shortbread, not too sweet icing, and they lasted all of, oh two minutes?

Chewy Vanilla Caramel Pretzel Twisted Turtles by BlissCandies



Not my photo of the turtles obviously, but they did stay intact through the post. American chocolate isn't quite as sweet as ours, so on its own I'm not a huge fan - but stick something salty in it and it's perfect. Why don't they make chocolate pretzels in England? The combination of the caramel and the pretzel with the chocolate is really like nothing else you can get in the UK, and has caused me to think about experimenting with my usual peanut butter recipe.

Think this new table is big enough!

Rise Above Bakery

I got a delivery from Emma of Rise Above Bakery the other day, from my friend Sam. Emma bakes delicious cupcakes, and they're vegan! Whilst I'm not vegan myself, our carer is, and I can never give him anything I've cooked - even when I made a thai vegetable curry and thought I could let him have some, I remembered I'd added fish sauce!

Anyway, these cupcakes are beautiful, not only to look at, but the sponge is so moist, and the creamy inside is addictive. The way they came wrapped in tinfoil, it felt a little bit exciting and naughty (like an illegal drug) and I'll definitely be getting more in the future.

Order at http://riseabovebakery.livejournal.com

Greedy Pig

Smug Sprout

Has a new home! Darren from Big Paw Gifts sold him today at The Stalls craft fair at the town hall in Leeds. We went there on a whim (long story) and it was great seeing all the fantastic artists in Leeds. Darren even had an extra table with a lot of my paintings on it!

Apologies

I wanted to apologise for the amount of advertising I've added to my site. Unfortunately earning 50p at a craft fair here and there, and selling a couple of cards every week to Claudia, doesn't really put food on the table.

I've only added things I believe are truly useful - for example, my brother is a regular subscriber to eMusic, and I used their free trial, and found it great for picking up obscure things.

I'll be monitoring what gets put on the site closely, and removing anything I consider to be out of order. Please let me know if you see anything which concerns you.

Win a Painting! 5 entries available!

Yes, it's another competition!! This time entry is completely free.

This time, all you have to do is become a fan on my Facebook page. The competition ends on July 31st.

Click here to join - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lifes-Big-Canvas-Chloe-McGenn/54354552143

If you're already a fan, then firstly THANK YOU - secondly, you can still enter by the following means

1. write a blogpost about this competition and leave a message for me linking me to the blog post - if I haven't already written about you, this also means I will probably do a blog post to help promote your blog or shop

2. recommend me to a friend, and leave me their name here

You can also get extra entries by the following

1. following me on twitter - I follow everyone back who adds me on my business account

http://twitter.com/lifesbigcanvas

2. making me a contact on flickr and/or making one of my photos a fave - this is another way that I may blog about you, as I often feature my favourite photos on flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/peskychloe/

So that's a possible 5 entries per person :)

Yes, it's shameless self-promotion, but I'll repay the favour, and you could win a painting out of it, so hopefully everyone's happy. Also, every entrant to the raffle received freebies in the post, so I might be able to do this again as well!

Terms -

The painting won is one already painted, or a mixed media canvas already made - postage is free. If you do not like any of the art already available, then I will paint/make an 8" square canvas for you, but you will have to pay postage.

Winner will be picked at random from all facebook fans not currently joined, with entries given to current fans who blog about Life's Big Canvas, or who recommend us to a friend (please leave a comment here with either a link to your blog post, or your friend's name)