Sewing Business Blog

Quick And Easy Ways To Store Cookies

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With the Holiday Season is upon us, we all tend to get a little bit “frazzled” with all the things that have to be done. I have found an excellent article that has already helped me with my Holiday baking and I think you’ll want to not only read the article, but print it and keep it in your recipe book for future reference!!

Quick And Easy Ways To Store Cookies

By S. Denise Hoyle

Whether baking cookies for the Holidays, family reunions, or for bake sales, it is sometimes more convenient to “bake ahead” rather than feel the stress and pressure of trying to get it all done the day before the big event. We will give you a variety of ways you can get all your cookies made stress-free!!

When cookies are stored, make sure soft cookies remain soft, crisp cookies keep crisp. The two types cannot be stored together!

Store soft cookies in a container with a tight cover. Bar cookies may be stored right in the baking pan, tightly covered. Tuck in an apple wedge if they begin drying out.

Crisp cookies should be stored in a container with a loose-fitting cover. If they soften – as they tend to do in humid weather, pop them in a pre-heated 300 degree over for five minutes before serving.

Most cookies freeze well, either baked or unbaked, but freezing the dough is considered simpler and requires less freezer space. You can get more cookies “made” if you just make the cookie dough for several different kinds of cookies today and stick them in the freezer. You can then more easily bring out one batch at a time to bake while you’re doing other household chores.

BAKED COOKIES: Bake as usual, cool quickly and freeze before packaging. Pack in frozen food containers, separating layers with a double thickness of freezer paper, overwrap the container;label and freeze. To serve, thaw cookies at room temperature 10 to 15 minutes.

ROLLED COOKIE DOUGH: Roll out and cut the dough into shapes. Stack the cut-outs in cartons with a double thickness of freezer paper between the layers. Over-wrap the carton, label and freeze. Bake without thawing.

UNROLLED COOKIE DOUGH: Form the dough into long rolls, wrap in freezer paper and freeze. Thaw just enough to be able to cut into thin slices. Bake on greased baking pan.

DROP COOKIE DOUGH: Drop dough on baking sheet as if you were going to bake the cookies. Freeze the cookies on the sheet, then pack the frozen drops of dough in cartons with a double thickness of freezer paper between the layers. To bake, place the frozen drops on greased baking sheets and bake without thawing.

BAR COOKIES: Freeze dough in baking pan. Go straight from the freezer to the oven, without thawing, and bake as usual.

MOLDED OR PRESSED COOKIES: Freeze the dough in an airtight container after labeling. When ready to bake, thaw dough until it is soft enough to form the cookies.

This method of making your family favorites ahead of time on a day that you have a little extra time, will certainly be worth the extra effort. Not only during Holidays or big events, these “made ahead” cookies are great for desserts for drop-in company, treats for the children after school, etc.

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S. Denise Hoyle is author of the “Busy Person’s Cookbook” as seen on http://BusyPersonsCookbook.com. “We never have enough hours in the day, but everybody gets hungry.” “Busy Person’s Cookbook” is full of time saving recipes and hints for family meals as well as for parties.

Six Creative Marketing Techniques

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Home sewing / crafting entrepreneurs are always on the look-out for new ways to promote their products or services.  It makes no difference if your business is just a local one or an online venture, advertising is a MUST in order to keep our names in front of potential customers.

Some of the following ideas have been used by us for years, and I would hardly consider them “new”, but I’m amazed at the number of people who say “I would never have thought of that!”  Whether you choose one or a combination of the following ways to promote your business, the most successful methods can be incorporated into your year-round promotional strategies.

1.  MAKE “MINI-FLYERS” – One of my personal favorites are “mini-flyers” that contain advertising messages about your products or services.  Mini-Flyers are made 6 or 10 to a page (depending on what size you want them) and contain basic information such as a catchy phrase about your product or service, followed by “FREE information” or “FREE catalog”, a website address if you have one, and your name and address.  The “mini-flyers” can be made easily in Microsoft Publisher, or similar software, that can be saved and reprinted as needed, as in the following example:

miniFlyer
We make our mini-flyers 10 to a page and use the Publisher format for Avery labels.  The mini-flyers can then be made on the labels or printed on regular paper to be cut apart and used.

The first thing to do with your mini-flyers that have been printed on regular paper is to put one in every bill you pay (electric bill, gas bill, newspaper bill, telephone bill, credit card bills, etc).  Remember that the clerks who open these envelopes must surely get bored with the job, and when they open your envelope and the mini-flyer falls out, you can be assured that it will be read.  It will probably also be passed around to others working in the same area.   The mini-flyers that are on labels can be stuck to every package you mail out – right next to the mailing label.  These will catch the eye of some of the postal employees along the way who will make a mental note of the website address, etc and perhaps check it out later.

2. REBATES.  Almost any business you can think of can benefit from giving rebates.  Rebates are usually associated with large purchases such as automobiles, computers, etc, but can easily be adapted to smaller businesses.  We’ve had great success with offering a “rebate” to customers who refer their friends to us.  When one of the customer’s friends makes a “first time purchase” from us, the customer receives a rebate certificate that can be used as a discount on their next purchase.

3.  GROUP RATES AND DISCOUNTS can be used by many businesses.  For example, a seamstress can contract with a community theater to do all of the alterations for an entire season, and give a 10% or 15% discount on alll the work.  School cheerleader alterations, repair work and sewing could be handled in the same way.

4.  HOLD FREE SEMINARS, workshops or lectures for people interested in your type of product or service.  If you’re in the crafts business, you could teach interested people how to make one or more of your craft items.  After the “mini-class” you could have a table of crafts, projects and/or books for sale.  Women’s clubs, sewing clubs or home extension clubs would be great places to start – they’re always looking for “program” ideas for their meetings.

5.  SUBMIT A PRODUCT, PATTERN OR YOUR WEBSITE to individual websites, such as this one, for “review”.  Naturally you’re not guaranteed that every site will do a review, but the ones that do will be putting your name and website name on the review, which will then be a permanent link to you, which could be read by potentially thousands or millions of people who may be interested in what you have to offer.  Remember, if you don’t ask (or submit your item) your answer is already a “no” — so do yourself a favor and do some submitting.

6.  MAGNETIC CAR SIGNS can be a wonderful way to increase your business.  For “local” sewing / craft businesses, be sure to do the sign with a catchy phrase about your business – “Cathy’s Quick Turn Around Alteration Service” and your phone number.  If you do the majority, or even a little, of your business online put your website address on the sign — http://SewWithSarah.com   — and you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the increased traffic to your site.  Also, don’t forget – if you’re taking a vacation, be sure your magnetic sign is on the car.  It’s amazing how many people along the travel route will see your sign and check out the website.

For additional information and books to help you get started in a business or push it forward faster, visit our “Business Book” shelf and see for yourself the many ways you can make additional money with your business/website.

 

4 Reasons to Sell Your Crafts on Etsy

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Craft fairs are a wonderful way to both market and sell your crafts—but some people simply do not have the time or the money to put up a booth at such fairs. More and more entrepreneurs are beginning to sell their items online. One website very popular among small businesses and hobbyists is Etsy.com.

Here are some reasons why, like other crafters, you too might want to sell your items on Etsy:

1) Etsy is a marketplace for all things handmade.

Unlike other online marketplaces, you won’t find mobile phones, DVDs or various retail items for sale on this website. Etsy.com is a website specifically for both buyers and sellers of handmade items, vintage items, and all sorts of craft supplies.

2) You are catering to your target market.

There’s no guarantee that you’ll make a sale on Etsy—but you can at least be assured that people who browse Etsy love crafts and all things handmade and vintage just as much as you do.

3) Buying and selling on Etsy is easy.

It only takes a few minutes to set up your Etsy shop. You can even choose to customize your online store with your profile and a banner image. Uploading your product descriptions and images are easy and will not take up a lot of time.

4) You are joining a community.

By choosing to sell your items on Etsy, you are not creating just another account, but are joining a community, as well. You can ask for feedback or suggestions from other knowledgeable sellers on the Etsy forums, or even collaborate with other people on Etsy whose style or products complement your style or items.

Similarly, purchasing items on Etsy is also easy. Prices of items appear in the buyer’s local currency, making shopping convenient, fun and quick. Thousands of people shop on Etsy on a daily basis because it is the go-to online marketplace for all things handmade. If you want to start selling your crafts on the Internet, Etsy is truly the best place to start.

The above information is an excerpt from our book “How To Sell Your Handmade Items” – this book is full of information on HOW and WHERE to sell your handmade items!  We have some wonderful places to sell your products that I’ll bet you’ve NEVER heard of — and they are some great places to sell!