Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Blog Templates That Work With Blogger

Before we started this blog we wanted a different template than what Blogger provided. We searched for days to find just the right one. We finally found a 3 column template that would be great for our purpose. We thought we would share a few links we found that have free templates that work with Blogger. It doesn't take much work to change the templates to your colors and add your own logo and etc.

http://www.freetemplates.blogspot.com/ The one we used for this template was "lonely."

Their website is http://www.isnaini.com/

A few other links we found that had great templates are:
http://bloggertemplatesbycaz.blogspot.com/
http://thrbrtemplates.blogspot.com/
http://blog-templates.ravasthi.name/






Thursday, August 24, 2006

Featured Crafter Added

Nancy Huhn has been added as our featured crafter of the month. Please visit her featured ad
by visiting this link: Featured Crafter

Other News: We revamped our In The Out House Blog! It looks so much more organized. We also added a plug board to it.

If you haven't visited In The Out House, it is a fictional story of a young women named America Day. She was born in Missouri in 1822. You will journey back in thyme with her to 1843. She is married to Abram and they will soon depart on the long journey west to the Oregon Territory.
So come along and enjoy a journey back and forth through thyme with America Day!

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

We Need More Of You To Join Our Topsite!

We would love to have more of you join our topsite! Thank you to all that have already joined!
http://oldevillagedepot.gotop100.com/

We also still need articles, tips, and recipes. Remember if you have a website we will add your link with your article or tip! I know a lot of you crafters are getting ready for craft shows and it would be nice to have some craft booth tips and or pictures of your craft booths to share. We all
enjoy new inspiration!

Friday, August 18, 2006

Primitive Topsite Added

We just got our primitive topsite up. All craft or craft related businesses allowed. Come and add your banners at http://oldevillagedepot.gotop100.com/.

Monday, August 14, 2006

Articles Added

We have added 4 articles written by Angela Wenke. She is owner of Heartland Marketplace.
One of her articles is listed under Blogging Tips and 3 are listed under Marketing Tips.
Thank you Angie for the great articles!

Everyone, we still need more articles!

Friday, August 11, 2006

Crafters We Need Articles & Tips

Fellow Crafters,

We need articles and tips for our blog, newsletter and website. We want this site to be interactive! We will accept any article as long as it is family friendly, craft related or related to running a craft related business. We also will accept household tips and recipes for our blog and newsletter. If you submit an article and have an online store we will add a link to your site.
If you submit an article to the Olde Village Depot website you will receive your link listed in 3 categories for 3 months and banner rotation on our homepage for 3 months. You will also be listed in the Olde Village Depot Shoppes on the blog and in the newsletter. Visit this link if you would like more information about submitting an article to our website. http://www.oldevillagedepot.com/advertise.html

If you would like to submit an article or tip to be listed in the blog or newsletter please email me,
villagedepot@cebridge.net

So everyone get out your pencils and get to writing so you will receive free advertising!

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Launching Olde Village Depot

We are ready to launch our new website "Olde Village Depot." We will be offering several advertising options for Primitive Craft Sites. We have tried to design a site that looks and feels different than all the other primitive marketing sites. We have went more toward colonial primitive. We do still like extreme primitive but choose to look a bit different, hoping to stand out amongst all the other primitive shoppes.

We will also be adding links to the shoppes listed in the "Olde Village Depot Shoppes" here on the blog. The featured crafter of the month will also be featured here for added exposure. Please come visit the Olde Village Depot to check out our advertising options.

If you have a craft related business and would like to submit an article, craft tip, marketing tip, tips on craft shows, or recipes please email me at villagedepot@cebridge.net . I will add them here on the blog or in our newsletter, "The Olde Village Press." I will add your website url with your article or tip. This is a great way to get free advertising.

If you would like to write an article to be placed on our website you will receive free advertising on the Olde Village Depot website. This is a great way to get lots of free advertising. Click on this link to get more information. http://www.oldevillagedepot.com/advertise.html

We also have free link exchange at the Olde Village Depot. If you would be interested in exchanging links go here: http://www.oldevillagedepot.com/linkdept/

You will want to be sure you sign up for our newsletter to receive even more information.

We feel that this blog and our newsletter "The Olde Village Press" will be a great asset to the website. Here and in the newsletter we will have them both loaded with information for the shopper and the shoppe owner alike. If you have any suggestions on what you would like to see please leave comments here or email us at villagedepot@cebridge.net.



The Old Glory Company would like to share this free pattern with our readers. Please visit their site for more wonderful grungy patterns. They are also having a Trick or Treat Giveaway going on and have new Fall Patterns available.
To access the Grungy Pumpkin Head Scarecrow click on this link.

The Grubby Doll Look

The Grubby Doll Look


“Grubby” is the word I kept hearing around the craft circuit. To me grubby meant grimy. So I decided to get to the bottom of this and find out the big deal with grubbing a doll and what it really meant in crafters terms. So I decided to ask a fellow crafter “What Is Grubby? To my surprise I found out that it’s another word for aged or old and that it gives your dolls that dirty look. Now at first I thought to myself “Why would I want to make my dolls look dirty”. Then I did a few of my dolls and realized they are not really dirty looking but a bit more primitive.


So to get “The Grubby Doll Look”, you can use a tea mixture, coffee or Walnut Ink. I decided to go with Walnut Ink, since I seem to drink too much coffee or tea to keep any left over for my dolls.


Where do you purchase Walnut Ink? Try various craft sites and also E-bay sells them. Now this does not mean to go out and make all your dolls look grubby, has you may or may not like the look. Trust me; I was skeptical in the beginning so it’s best to start out with 1-2 dolls at a time.


Once you have grubbed up a few dolls, try selling them at your next craft show. This is a great way to introduce a new doll to your customers and also find out if they are acceptable. It is always good to test your market before going overboard with a new product.


Now of course I don’t listen to my own advice and have done well with making these sort of dolls. I even sold a few on Ebay. So if you decide to jump in and just go nuts with making grubby dolls, remember I warned you.


Also know that each target market area is different and some people may not know what grubby is so be prepared to answer the question “What is Grubby”.


Author: Talena Bacon tdsewcutedoll@gmail.com


Bio: © 2008 –All Rights Reserved~~~Talena Bacon is the owner of Sew Cute Dolls & More and Mulberry Creek Mercantile She is a doll maker, pattern designer and advertising specialist. Talena specializes in Primitive/Country dolls, home décor and low-cost advertising for all businesses. http://www.sewcutedolls.com http://www.mulberrycreekmercantile.com


You have permission to publish this article electronically, in print, your e-books or on your web site, free of charge, as long as the author byline above is included. Copy and Paste the article including authors byline to use this article.


Digi Scrap Kits - Trina Clark Designs!



Primitive Country Clipart, MySpace Layouts, Printables (labels, hang tags, & gift tags), Digi Scrapbook Papers/Kits, & More - All for Immediate Download! Use my primitive country graphics to create many different types of crafts, web graphics or desktop publishing projects for personal and commercial use - all without any extra commercial fees!
Go Shopping Now!

Linda's E-Books

I get asked a LOT - "How do you design a doll e-pattern?" So, a few months ago I wrote a FREE 4-part series of articles on "How to Create A Print Pattern and E-Pattern" and thought that maybe all of you might like it if I created a FREE .PDF E-Book from that series of articles. So, I did. Now everyone who wants to try and design their own doll or craft patterns or e-patterns can find out how to do it. I hope you enjoy my FREE Linda's How-Do-I Series? How To Create A Print Pattern and E-Pattern E-Book and hope it motivates you to create your own e-patterns. Linda

Old Fashioned Rag Balls

by Mary Roberson

Ragballs are fun and easy to make! They look great displayed in Mason Jars or in Baskets, Bowls and Small Buckets. Add them inside a Glass Mason Jar Lamp instead of Rosehips, or in addition to your Fixins, for a unique twist!

Click here for directions on making Old Fashion Rag Balls.