Of course, unlike that dream home or skyscraper, if a story collapses in on itself no one dies, though the reader may wish they had. But does there have to be life-and-death consequences at stake for the consumer before they should expect quality craftsmanship in the product they purchase? Certainly not.

Now given that I'm a self-proclaimed architect flunky turned student of the craft of novel writing for the past ten years who has had many a story come crashing down all around me, the reader and presumably fellow student of the craft is within their rights to dismiss what follows as they might a grain of salt. But before you do I should tell you that I did manage to craft at least one story that remained standing all on its own. And believe it or not, the darn thing may even be on a bookstore shelf near you.

Curiously, there is essentially only one difference between the many stories littering my office floor in heaps of collapsed rubble and the one standing tall atop a bookstore shelf. The many were built by blindly pounding one word to another, whereas the one was built by closely following a methodically conceived blueprint. And like any building's blueprint, my story's blueprint was crafted in layers, each layer a culmination of all preceding layers. And this is my grain of salt to you, the blueprint of a story.

Crafting a story is done from the inside out. And at the core of any story lies its premise. Thus, the first layer of the blueprint develops this premise, which functions much like a building's foundation. The four cornerstones of this foundation are the story's thematic elements (those subliminal messages the author wishes to communicate to the reader), the emotions it should evoke in the reader, novel ideas to be presented, and most importantly the stakes (hopefully worst case scenarios from both the protagonist's and antagonist's respective points of view). The second layer builds upon these cornerstones and establishes the story's climax. But the climax comes at the end of the story, you say. And that's like writing a story from back to front. It's also much like a builder who first renders an image of his finished project long before he breaks ground, or, in this case, the first scene is written. The craftsman must be able to envision his project in its completed form before he begins construction. Without worrying about details, create the best dramatic portrayal of the conflict between antagonist and protagonist while incorporating all four elements of the premise.

The next layer is that of the synopsis, or loose, chronological narrative of the plot. Starting with the rendered climax, work out toward the beginning and ends of the story, filling in all that's required to understand and feel the climax and to accept the consequences of the ending. From this layer move on to the scene-by-scene outline. Here the synopsis is segmented into specific scenes in whatever chronological order is necessary to obtain the desired emotional effect.

With the outline complete, the story is now ready for construction. It's time to write the manuscript; time to pound one word to another by following the blueprint or scene-by-scene outline.

And when that bag of words is finally empty don't hesitate to step back and let go of the story. Take it from an architect flunky. Your story may not become a bestseller, but because you crafted it from the inside out and from back to front it will stand on its own, perhaps even on a bookstore shelf near me.

Crafting a Novel From the Inside Out and Back to Front is a post from: Watthamai Crafts

Curious iridescent paper is certainly one of the oddest products on the market today. Normally, embossed iridescent paper is not so much a paper, but more like plastic or a thin, flexible and colorful metal, and as such, is well suited for sculpting and other crafts. Iridescent paper is often made by foil stamping and lasers on light-sensitive chemicals, and can only be used as a writing media with dry-erase or permanent marker. For more details visit to www.positive-idea.com, Curious iridescent paper, however, will absorb ink and can be used for any variety of projects from drawing, painting and writing to crafts such as collages, paper Mache sculptures and scrapbooks with a little extra flair and texture.

Vellum makes a unique, translucent, and slightly iridescent paper for accenting crafts. Originally made from animal skin for scrolls, vellum has remained in common use to this day, especially in England, where British Acts of Parliament are still printed on nothing but vellum paper. Most modern vellum imitation is made from acid free cotton and is perfect for calligraphy and other projects requiring an antique or rustic look. Thin vellum paper and glue make a beautiful laminate for crafts such as scrapbooks and leaf catalogues.

One of the medium vellum cardstocks of note is Bristol paper, a smooth, heavy pasteboard of fine quality. Originally made from pasted rag paper in Bristol, England, this hard stock is often the choice paper for technical drawings, but offers intriguing creative possibilities. Bristol is unique in that it is thick enough to have two working surfaces "front and back" that will not interfere with each other and each side can serve as its own writing or drawing surface. Artists working with friction-based media, such as crayon, chalk, or charcoal will want to use a rougher texture board, while smooth finishes are generally more suited to other types of media, such as inks and watercolor.

For a breathtaking and unique look, silk paper provides a strong yet soft alternative to more mainstream options. Silk crafters have been making paper since the 2nd century, B.C.E., and it has stood the test of time. Originally a product of China, it is the oldest of all luxury papers and is still in major use today throughout the world. For more information logon to www.change-ur-mind.com . It is truly amazing to witness the limitless creative uses artists and craft persons have found for silk paper. Machine embroidery, three-dimensional sculpture, jewelry, quilting, book coverings, collage, and mixed media are just a few of the possibilities, and the list is limited only by the artist's imagination.

Globalization and increased efficiency in paper production opens up a whole new world of possibilities to today's artist. While at times the sheer bewildering array of new papers may seem overwhelming, for the professional artist or graphic designer who is willing to take the time to explore such oddities as McCoy silk papers, Curious iridescent, or Springhill vellum Bristol, the results can be quite gratifying.

Art and Crafts- Creating Some Art and Craft Products From Art Paper is a post from: Watthamai Crafts

Made in China Can Connect You with Potential Trade Partners in Minutes

Made in China is the perfect service for merchants looking to purchase artificial crafts and connect with manufacturers and suppliers that sell them. In fact, our service can help you search through millions of potential products and businesses to find the artificial crafts that fit your specific business needs. With our Business to Business E-commerce marketing platform, you can not only search for trade partners, but communicate with these partners directly. For merchants looking for an advantage, using our e-commerce marketing platform can not only save time and resources, but land you a trading partner that will reap dividends for the years to come.

Made in China Gives Artificial Craft Merchants the Tools Needed to Trade

One of the most important services that Made in China offers is the wide range of tools, information and resources offered to merchants looking to purchase artificial crafts from suppliers and manufacturers.

Made in China is in the business of facilitating trade between global merchants and suppliers and manufacturers in Asia, we realize that overseas trade can be difficult at times and offer these resources to streamline trade and inform our members about common pitfalls and obstacles that can be encountered. With Made in China we care about the small business enterprises that are looking to trade artificial crafts along with the large multi-national corporation. With us providing you important services, you can rest assured that your overseas trading will be easier than ever.

Join Made in China for Free

Made in China offers a wide range of services that makes it one of the top e-commerce marketing platforms in the world. Whether you are looking to purchase artificial crafts or any other type of product, Made in China can offer a robust marketing platform, a membership base that rivals 5 million members, tools, information and resources to help you trade effectively and our commitment to strive to make overseas trade more efficient and affordable than ever.

For business interested in purchasing artificial crafts or to join Made in China for free today, please visit our main website. We offer some of the best trade services in the world; don’t miss this opportunity to join.

(Article source: http://www.madeinchina.com)

Artificial Crafts Direct From Suppliers in Asia is a post from: Watthamai Crafts

However, there is a huge difference between creating beautiful gift’s for friends and family and profiting from your own successful craft business.

First of all the key word here is: business. If you want to start, operate and run your craft company as full time home employment, then there are several factors that you should take into account.

The secret to earning good money from the craft industry is to set up multiple streams of income. The old days of making up plenty of items for your local craft fair and hoping you will sell most of them, have gone. The craft shows now are a wonderful opportunity for you to show visitors your merchandise, take orders, discover what are the current trends and most importantly find out what your competitors are up to.

Because of the expense involved today in making up stock in advance of possible sales, it is a good idea to photograph every item you make and keep a good portfolio of your work.

Obviously craft fair’s are not going to supply a good enough income, so now it is advisable for you to enter the computer world. Putting your craft business online is one way you can start to create a decent income by diversifying.

Introduce yourself to the craft world by advertising your work. Put up for sale a few ready made inexpensive items. Here is where you can reproduce those photographs of previously sold work. Offer discounts to existing customers who could supply you with testimonials, hopefully orders will come in for future work. Keep a very tight eye on your schedule, never be late on a delivery date.

Apart from working out how long it takes to create an item, give a thought to allowing extra time for the administration work that your new business will demand. Unfortunately you will have to master the basics of marketing, selling, bookkeeping and website management. Maybe you have a family member who could help you with this side of the business.

Once you have a website up and running here is where you can start to earn some extra money. Open up a small gift shop, although online give it the feel of an old-fashioned store. Offer patterns, fabrics, notions, books, particularly the new popular eBooks. Join with some other craft business companies and become an affiliate for them.

Depending on how large you wish to make your craft business you can take the supply as far as you wish to go. Add card-making, candles, clay, decoupage, jewellery, beads, art supplies, the list is endless.

Starting a home based craft business really is one of those rare opportunities where you can just run a small made to order company, or let it grow into as large an enterprise as you can handle.

How to Start a Craft Business From Home is a post from: Watthamai Crafts

If you've been a crafts person for some time - regardless of the level you think you're at - you have valuable knowledge. Knowledge that other people will gladly pay for. All you need to do is write it down and become your own craft book publisher!

Before you think that's too simplistic an answer, or even a bit sarcastic, let me assure you that is not my intention at all.

You see the age-old barriers to publishing your own craft book are gone. Not only can you use the hugely profitable method of digitally publishing and delivering online but even if you chose to go the traditional printed soft or hardcover route there are print-on-demand specialists who will happily produce just one or two copies of your craft book at very reasonable rates.

Not so long ago if you wanted to publish a craft book you'd have to jump through many, many hops - and for not a lot of reward. First you would have to find an agent (approaching publishers direct was usually unsuccessful). After convincing your agent that the book had merit you'd then have to trust that the agent could find a publisher.

Traditional publishers are notoriously difficult to convince, and not surprisingly. They would have to make a serious investment in pre-production and advertising before they had any chance of showing a profit. Many, many good craft books ended up not getting to press simply because the numbers didn't add up.

If you managed to survive the cull then twelve months or so later you might start seeing some royalties. Around ten to fifteen percent of the cover price.

Very few people got rich writing a craft book.

Now all that has changed. Digital craft book publishing is a reality and dozens of craft books that might never have seen the light of day are now being published by the craftspeople themselves. You don't need an agent, you don't need a publisher, there are ways of marketing your craft book that are zero cost.

The result is not a paltry 10 or 15% but profit levels as high as 90% of the cover price.

Of course there are bound to be other barriers, aren't there? Surely it can't really be that easy to become your own craft book publisher?

Well the only possible thing that some craftspeople might consider a challenge would be creating some sort of website from which to sell their craft book. To be frank, with the ease of publishing that some website systems offer, and the alternative of running a craft blog, there really is nothing to stop you.

You might have to learn a few things you don't know at the moment but as a craftsperson, learning is part of what you do pretty much continually so that shouldn't hold you back.

Profit From Your Knowledge – Become Your Own Craft Book Publisher! is a post from: Watthamai Crafts

If you have decided to try your hand at setting up at craft shows, festivals, or flea markets, then you’ll need to have the right craft show display to make your wares stand apart from the rest. This is especially important if you are selling something like jewelry or any other staple craft show item. Having a great craft show display can make a big difference between having someone walk right by you or stop for a look and hopefully a sale. Here are some great ways to create an eye-catching craft show display.

Craft Show Display Basics

When you first get started you will have to purchase the right equipment and this can be a bit of an investment, but if you think you will continue doing shows then you’ll need the following:

• Canopy or tent – The proper canopy or tent will protect your goods from rain and sun. Delicate crafts made from fabric, paper or handmade clothing can become damaged from just a few hours of direct sunlight.

• Tables - Most craft show displays require at least table or two for their set up. Buy the lightest, easiest thing to carry around. You can find many aluminum models that fold up with ease and can be tucked away in almost any vehicle. Don’t forget a small chair for yourself.

• Weights - Make sure you carry weights, large water bottles that can be filled, or small sand bags. You will need to tether these to your tables or tent with bungee cords in case of a windy day.

• Display cases – No matter what you are selling you can find the right craft show display case for your items. Look at retails suppliers or ask other vendors. A thrift store can give you some great items on the cheap.

• Quality fabric – Cover your tables in bright fabric. Take your time to come up with a great color scheme for your craft show display. Work your tent color, table covers, and products into a harmonious craft show display.

Beyond The Basics

Once you have the basic equipment that you’ll need for your craft show display then you’ll need a few creative ideas to get people into your booth.

• The set up - Make sure that your tables are positioned in a way that is easy for customers to see. Keep your tables near the front of the tent so people can walk by casually. Don’t expect people to walk to the back of your booth, it may seem obvious, but people want to keep going unless something really interests them.

• Height - Try hanging things from the tent to catch people’s eye from afar. This can work for a lot of items. If you can’t do that, make sure you vary the height on your tables. Use small shelves, boxes, or other display items to give the tables a richer feel.

• Mirrors – Always bring a mirror for people to look at things they may want to try on.

• Signage – Have a banner or business cards on display is a great idea. Even if someone doesn’t want something today, they can come back and find you or email you.

• Pricing – For many people seeing clear price tags on items is very helpful. Lots of shoppers don’t feel comfortable engaging in chitchat over every item in the booth. If you are getting really busy, this will save you lots of time from answering questions.

Hints To Keep You Ahead

If you are a newcomer to the festival scene then you may not yet realize what an ally other vendors can be for you. Although they may seem like the competition and in some cases they are, they can also help give you invaluable advice. Remember to always respect your boundaries with your craft show display. Most arguments between vendors center around just an inch or two! When space is at a premium people can become very territorial, just remember to take care with your craft show display and stay on your neighbor’s good side. He’ll be the guy you entrust with your craft show display when it’s time for a bathroom break. Follow these tips to have a great craft show display no matter whether you’re a newbie or a festival regular!

Make your Craft Show Display Stand Out From the Crowd is a post from: Watthamai Crafts

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Who doesn’t want a beauteous home? Life today is very hectic but every one keeps a fantasy in their mind to make their home splendid and giving it an antique look. When a creative piece of art is made using combination of ideas, it is known as craft. Crafts are of many forms such as wooden, leather, metal crafts, fine art jewelry etc. Craft is an easy style for spending your leisure time creatively and it doesn’t even depend on the age of the artist. Every one who is in love with art just enjoys it with a passion. A craft store is a place where these art pieces are collected in order to sell them.

Without much expenditure, now one can easily be creative as now there are plenty of online stores available on internet. You can buy multitudinous craft products from these stores ranging from handicraft products, gift cards, jute products, wall hangings, idols of God, gem paintings, porcelain ware, Tanjore and religious paintings, pottery craft, paper tole, patch work, art and craft furniture, toddler craft, knitting, gilding to ceramics and glass craft. Artists also make craft pieces which are made completely from recycled and waste materials. Such art works are heavily in demand almost every time.

In order to purchase art and craft from online store, you don’t need to be a web-master; all you need is just to make an account on the website and have a view of available products and then choose what you want to purchase. You can pick the samples of the art and craft with your preferences regarding the themes, color and style etc. of the piece of art. In order to save money one must try to purchase things in bulk and must try to find some websites which have the products at wholesale. You can also search for online stores which provide favorable discounts to the customers. While purchasing a piece of art and craft, customer must read all the terms and conditions regarding purchase of the product of the desired website as there are many fake websites present on the Internet these days.

Buy Arts and Crafts From Online Store is a post from: Watthamai Crafts

Any number of items produced using original art techniques are considered as an art crafts. Crafts are combinations of ideas to bring out a piece of art. We can also define crafts as a beautiful piece of art created by using different types of tools and materials.

Bring Indian Crafts at Your Home!

If you thinking to bring some arts and crafts products to decorate your home. Indian arts and crafts are the right choice for your home. India is a land of all traditional arts and crafts since very long time. All types of major India Crafts available at this time, like all fine arts jewelry, paintings, wooden crafts, leather crafts, metal crafts and many more other crafts products that will make your home more antique. At home crafts are easy way to spend your free time to making creative. Every member of family from child to old can enjoy in all kinds of arts and crafts activities. It does not need any special training to create some arts activities at your home. The best practice is that you can be done some activities by using your household items.

Purchase Online Crafts from India!

It is now possible to be creative without spending of large amount of money. If you are looking for Indian handicrafts, you can go online and find out there are thousand’s of online stores available on the internet. You have to be very carefully to purchase handicrafts from online websites. There are many fraud websites present on the web. You have to read all terms & conditions applied on the websites to purchase crafts. Also you have to see security signs on the websites. I have found that one of the online store for all traditional arts and crafts products. That is CraftsFromIndia.com an online store where you can get all traditional Indian handicrafts products including handmade crafts, leather crafts, wooden crafts, paper crafts, jewelry crafts, handmade bead jewelry, metal crafts, Christmas crafts. CraftsFromIndia.com products are shipped by FedEx courier Service or UPS/ DHL or any other reliable and trusted courier within 24 hours of receiving the confirmed order.

Online Arts and Crafts Products From India! is a post from: Watthamai Crafts