Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Getting Social

In an effort to expand my social influence across the web, I have joined a site called Empire Avenue. It's a fun way to get social, and spread your sites, blogs, pages, etc. You have a "stock" price, and people invest their EAVES (Empire Avenue money) in your stock. Your web influence (blog posts, Facebook activity, whatever you've linked) affects your price. It's fun to watch your stock value go up.

You also invest in other peoples stocks, and can earn EAVES dividends. There are a lot of Community groups on Empire Avenue which give you a place to talk to other users of similar interests.

The main reason I was interested, is to give myself an idea of how I'm doing with spreading my social influence. Since my stock price is affected by my web presence, the more I do the higher my price. Now, that doesn't mean that I should post a Tweet every 30 seconds, because only so many actions per item count per day. This keeps people from artificially inflating their prices. For me, I'm hoping it helps me learn how often to post, what kind of things are generating interest, what my customers and followers are finding interesting and useful. And of course, what is helping me generate sales.

If you're looking for a way to help you on the road to starting or building on your social media web presence, Empire Avenue is a fun way to get rolling. Not to mention the great information that other people are providing who are or have been in the same place as you are.

So far, the site has encouraged me to be more active on LinkedIn, to start using a Flikr account, to just jump into Blogging and not be so concerned about what I'm doing and what people think, and I'm considering a YouTube account. I think it might be fun for people to see an embroidery project being done, or a crochet item going through the motions. The sky is the limit.


De'Anna

Monday, September 19, 2011

Crocheted Animal Purses

Captive Embroidery is expanding to Captive Embroidery and Crafts. This is to include all the other fun crafty projects I enjoy doing, as well as the things my husband and son contribute.

The first crafty addition to my line is Crocheted Animal Purses. I have 3 different friends ready and a list of others that will be coming soon. Ready now are a pig, bunny and lion. Coming soon are a kitty, puppy, cow, ram, frog (if I can get his legs right), wolf, bear, and possibly a horse and snake.

Is there an animal you'd like to see added to the collection?

You can find them all in the Accessories section of my ArtFire Store.

 

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Ride for Heroes & Patriots' Festival

Today my husband is participating in the Ride for Heroes & Patriots' Festival. We made this custom jersey for him to wear on the 28 mile bike ride around town. From family, friends and the local fire station, he received the names of 9 fallen heroes. These brave men and women lost their lives in the line of duty, protecting our homes, our lives and our freedom.

We are proud to honor all our heroes, those that still serve, those that have retired, and those that have left this life for the next.

Thank you. With deepest gratitude for all you do,



De'Anna

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Welcome

Welcome to the Captive Embroidery and Crafts blog. My name is De'Anna, I am the owner of Captive Embroidery in business since 2010. The world of crafting is about more than just what you can make, there is a very social and community connection. As such, I'd like to share more about who I am and what I do, and even a little of how I do it. In the posts to come, expect to see:
  • Information about Captive Embroidery and what we do ("we" being myself, my husband, and occasionally my son)
  • Games and fun contests
  • Charitable doings that we are involved with
  • and anything else that I feel may interest you
Be sure to visit often. I'm just getting going here, but plan to have a wealth of information coming.

Thank you for visiting!
De'Anna