QR Codes...It's hip to be Square!

Wow, did I just date myself!  You've seen them...heck, unlike me, you may have had one and used it for a few years now.

What is a QR code? QR stands for Quick Response. Per Wikipedia, it is a type of barcode,  a machine-readable optical label that contains information about the item to which it is attached.  You see them all over the place and I have known, more or less, what their purpose was, but never really put much thought into getting one for my business, since I admittedly came pretty late to the technology party.

This Sunday, I will be vending at my very first show of the year, the Sykesville Art & Wine Festival, here in Maryland...all you locals come on over and see me, ya hear? Since I signed up as sort of a spur of the moment thing, I didn't have time to get any new cards or marketing materials printed, so wanted to create some homemade labels, etc. to add to my existing business cards and for packaging.  I came across some little 1.5 inch square labels I purchased some time ago but never used.  On the package cover was a sheet of labels with neat rows of the ubiquitous black & white squares.  After I "googled" QR codes I chose a code generator.  What the heck!  A few short minutes later, I was the proud owner of a little square of my own!

Yes, it says Melismatic Art Jewelry, can't you tell?!

Okay, all I have to do is print this on those little square labels.  Meh.  They looked sort of boring.  I had decided that I was going to add these to the back of some older business cards I have that just have my Etsy shop, but also wanted to add them to my little kraft paper bags I have been hoarding for shows.

I wanted to fancy it up a bit, so went to PicMonkey and played around with the collage function and added text and some clip art.

I went a step further and made up some other labels for other packaging, just to have on hand.

Just as an FYI, the code generator I used (Smartytags.com) gives you an account and tracks your 1st 500 scans for free.  Not sure if it is a service I want to pay for, but this will give me a chance to see if it boosts sales or traffic.

Of course, then I had to download an app on my iPhone to be able to scan the codes myself.  I needed to be sure mine worked!  It did!

The cute square labels are from Avery, product code 22805.  They also have fun round ones! Avery.com has templates for creating your labels, but I just used MS Word (mailings, labels).

It will be interesting to see if this actually garners any new interest or hits.  I would love to hear from you!  Have you utilized QR codes in your marketing?

***Breaking News!! The winners of Sue Kennedy's gorgeous lampwork beads for the May Component of the Month Challenge are:  Suntsa, Shaiha and Carolyn's Creations! Congrats!***

Melissa Meman
Melismatic Art Jewelry
Art. Life. Love.

Making your own clay cutters

I don't know if I'm the only one, but every time I have an idea for something, it usually involves spending money on new supplies. So wherever possible, I like to save my pennies and come up with alternatives to expensive shop bought products. It's also good for some instant gratification as quite often, by the time something has arrived, I'm off on a new idea and the new tool sits in it's packet until I get back around to it.

Something I use a lot of is cutters. I have lots of favourite shapes and sizes, but sometimes, I either can't find what I need, or it just isn't available in the size I want. So I make my own.

To start, you need a can of fizzy drink. Drink the contents and wash out the can and leave to dry.

Now for the safety side of things...

*Warning... Cutting cans can leave very sharp edges, I recommend you wear gloves if making cutters using this method!

So with your gloves on! Take a sharp knife and carefully cut around the can, removing the top and the bottom. You should be left with a cylinder of metal. Slice down this with scissors so you have a sheet of metal.

Flatten it out and cut in to strips. I make mine between ½ – 1 inch depending on the size of the cutter. If it's going to be a small cutter, don't make it too deep, as you need to be able to poke your clay out to remove it.

Bend the metal in to the shape you want. To make sharp corners, use a pair of flat pliers to bend the metal to whatever angle you need. Don't pinch corners too tightly, as the metal is quite thin, it will split along the edge and spoil your cutter.

Make sure the bottom edges line up, it doesn't matter too much about the top, and use sticky tape to secure them folding it over the top edge. It's a good idea to put tape around the top rim of the cutter too to give your fingers a bit of protection while you're using them.

Use them as you would your normal cutters. They are a little more flimsy than shop bought, and you might need to smooth your clay back in to shape a little bit before drying/baking, but you should get plenty of use out of them before they need replacing!

Happy cutting!

Caroline

http://www.blueberribeads.co.uk