My Cards Are Featured OnThe Etsy Greetings Blog Today!

EtsyGreetings Handmade Cards: Set of Six Breast Cancer Awareness Note Cards: From Betty at Art by Betty Refour . Sells for $15.00. Click on the image to be taken to the shop!

Breast Cancer Awareness Mousepad from Zazzle.com

Breast Cancer Awareness Mousepad from Zazzle.com

Shameless Self Promotion Sunday: Ain't No Shame To Their Game!

Before you read on I'd like to let everyone know that there's some strong language in this post. Please, don't tweet me, track me down on facebook, google+, stumbleupon, tumblr, pinterest, linkedin or any other platform to complain. I'm letting you know up front there is foul language. If foul language bothers you then please read on. Ooops, I meant don't read any further. Now here goes.....

So one Sunday a few weeks ago I'm sitting at my computer watching Tweet Deck, yes Tweet Deck! I like to read what people are up to, OK! So I'm watching Tweet Deck, and I say watching because the tweets go by so fast you can barely read them. Anyways, watching reading whatever, please don't contact me to correct me OK?! So I see a couple of tweets with the hash tag #SSPS. I'm thinking "#SSPS?! What the heck is that?" So I do a search and start reading the tweets to try and figure it out and I come across this: "Need 2 promote ur shop but hate the dirty ho aftertaste? Let Shameless Self Promotion Sunday help! Tag ur tweets #SSPS & we'll RT 4 u!;). Well I start laughing out loud for real. Non of that fake LOL that people do on social networks. Like, "I'm going to the store, LOL!" Why would you LOL at going to the store?

Anyways, that particular tweet was from @VintageEye. So... I just jump right in because I believe we should all look out for one another. So I start retweeting all the #SSPS tweets I find, I mean come on "dirty ho aftertaste" who wants that right? Well next thing you know all the #SSPS tweeps are retweeting my plain old tweets and adding #SSPS to them! Can you believe that? So after several weeks of shameless tweeting I wanted to know more about how #SSPS started and who was behind it. And here's what I learned:

Shameless Self Promotion Sunday started over a year ago while Kathleen aka @VintageEye was tweeting listings with a few other Etsy sellers, including Denise, aka @WorldVintage, who came up with the name. They added a snarky comment or two and other sellers began retweeting their #SSPS tweets! Spreading the shameless word so to speak and asking others to do the same. It took off from there.

It's a way for people to promote anything....shops, sales, blogs, events, craft fairs, fashion shows....They have participants from Australia and England as well as here in the US.

Kathleen refers to it as kinda' like #FollowFriday only lamer! "It seems to work pretty well", she says and they have been lucky enough to have had Shameless Self Promotion Sunday featured on some fantastic blogs. In turn they use Twitter to promote those folks. It seemed a natural fit since they're on Twitter non stop anyway. They have found that the whole act of self promotion seems less dirty when done tongue in cheek and in large numbers!

a few shameless details about Kathleen:

"I am a retro kitsch mid century modern vintage fanatic! I have a huge soft spot for vintage. That does not, however, translate into a soft spot, or any spot, to keep all my amazing finds! They have taken over two entire rooms in my tiny house. So I ended up setting up shop on Etsy, here, here and here, and on Artfire, Bonanza, Ebay and GroovePress! It's my full time gig now." You can also find Kathleen spreading the shameless word on Facebook.

the shameless details about Denise:

"I started off on Etsy selling my mixed media work, but I had so much fun selling vintage, that I decided to put my energies into that. While I'd love to do it full-time, for now it's a part-time job that I absolutely love. I especially love pop culture kitsch, particularly sci fi." In addition to finding Denise on twitter, you can find her on Etsy, here or here, on Artfire, GroovePress, Bonanza and Facebook.

Please join them today on Twitter as they shamelessly promote other sellers and of course, themselves. If you want to join in on the fun, and it would be shameful not to, please add #SSPS to your tweets.

Have a great day everybody thanks for stopping by.

Noteworthy Crafts: Note Cards, Art and More!: Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Card Of The Day!

Noteworthy Crafts: Note Cards, Art and More!: Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Card Of The Day!: Yesterday was not a really good day for me. Well, I take that back. I had a bad 20 minutes or so. I was in the drug store and got ready to c...

Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah

I'm not a horn tooter. I don't find myself interesting in the least bit. But other people do and for that I'm grateful. I am contacted all the time by people wanting to write about me. Thank goodness because I really don't like writing about myself!

Lately I've been trying to come up with ways to Pay It Forward. And one of the things I've come up with is to blog about other people. People who have been kind enough to blog about me and people I find interesting. So look out world! I'm going to be mixing it up around here!

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Noteworthy Crafts: Note Cards, Art and More!: Card Of The Day!

Noteworthy Crafts: Note Cards, Art and More!: Card Of The Day!: Fall is my favorite time of year! The temperature is just right and I love the color of the leaves. When I'm out and about I often pick up ...

Noteworthy Crafts: Note Cards, Art and More!: Card Of The Day!

Noteworthy Crafts: Note Cards, Art and More!: Card Of The Day!: I didn't start making Ovarian Cancer Awareness cards until a few years ago. A survivor contacted me and asked me "Why does everyone create...

I'm featured today on a stylish little lady blog!

a stylish little lady: feature friday: Thanks for stopping by! It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you Betty, a very talented artist whose artwork supports and helps brin...

I'm The Guest Curator this week for EBSQ Art Of The Day!

Growing up whenever we had family gatherings at our grandparents house we got fruit when we left. It was such a treat for me and at the time I had no idea it was good for us. I just thought they had searched high and low to give us something special. They would say to each of "now this is just for you! you don't have to share it with your parents!" We would all giggle and try to hide it. Those were the days.

So whenever I see paintings of fruit it reminds me of those days......thanks for the memories.

http://www.ebsqart.com/Art-of-the-Day/Thanks-For-The-Memories/423/Fruitbowl/588871/

And The Winner Is.....

Thanks to everyone who entered my Birthday Bash Giveaway! I've decided that everyone who entered will get one of my Fine Art Reproductions. Take a look at my reproductions here and let me know if you would like something besides "Singing The Blues." Your reproduction will come printed by me on matte graphic image paper using archival inks said to have a life of 99 years.

Hope you all enjoy your art!

Birthday Bash Giveaway!

My birthday is on the 22nd so in celebration I'm having a contest!

Here are the rules: You must be 18 or older to enter and live in the US. There are several ways to get entries and please let me know if you have questions.

Here's how to get entries: 1. follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/bettyrefour and let me know you've followed either by leaving a comment here or tweeting me. For an additional entry tweet the contest to your followers.
2. "Like" me on Facebook then tell your friends and ask them to like me as well and tell me you sent them. Let me know when you like me: http://artist.to/artbybettyrefour For each person you send that likes me you get an additional entry. 3. After reading this do something nice for someone or multiple people and ask them to pay it forward. Let me know what you did. This is good for 5 entries. 4. Take a look in my etsy shop and find your favorite item and leave a comment telling me what it is. http://brefour.etsy.com, this is good for one entry.

That's it! Multiple chances to win and the winner gets a Fine Art reproduction of my painting pictured here - Singing the Blues. I'm also having a contest on my card blog at http://noteworthycrafts.blogspot.com so go and enter there as well. Good Luck everyone.

Oh and last but not least the winner will be announced sometime on August 23, 2011 right here in the comments section. Please make sure I have a way to contact you.

BINGO!

One of my sister Roses' favorite things at her program is Bingo. There are times when I forget it's Bingo day and go to pick her up before they've played or during play and she doesn't want to leave. Most of the prizes are donated and I am surprised sometimes at the things people give away. Beautiful heirlooms that I would never part with are donated for prizes.

Rose got this strand of beads as a prize and that day when I arrived to pick her up she handed them to me and said "fix it!" I'm not sure how long they were but they wouldn't fit over her head. We added some chain, jump rings and a bead and they're fixed:) Not the best photo but you get the idea.

Have a great day everybody thanks for stopping by.

Journey

I started drawing geometric shapes on notebook paper when I was about six years old. I was fascinated by color and the visual appeal of different color combination's. I would sit for hours drawing lines, circles, and squares.






I loved fashion and as I got older I started drawing images from magazines. I decided I wanted to be a Fashion Designer but after obtaining a degree in Fashion Design I pursued other interests.




Through the years I did some freelance illustrating, but never painted until I was off work for a year recovering from a back injury. I didn't take a class, I just went out and bought paint and canvas and started to paint. I got commissions almost immediately.

Earlier this year I decided that instead of painting geometric shapes, as is most often the case, I would paint something different. I painted a small canvas with shades of red and waited for ideas to come. But, every idea involved geometric shapes. And so the canvas sat there waiting. One day after Rose was done painting I added the yellow she had left from her palette...still nothing. So there it sat.







Then one day, after days had turned into weeks and weeks had turned into months but before months could turn into years, I painted what I felt in my heart from day one.....geometric shapes. I titled it Journey, in honor of myself and all you other creatives out there who have a tendancy to get in your own way. It was done on
7 x 5 inch wrapped canvas and you can find it for sale in my Etsy shop with a portion of the proceeds benefiting cancer initiatives.


Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

What Happened To Good Customer Service?

Growing up I was fortunate enough to occasionally get the opportunity to shop at high end small boutiques. The four of us would dress up, mom, Rose, grandma Liza and I, and go shopping. I remember how good the Customer Service was. There would sometimes be refreshments but the thing that stood out to me was the great service.

I worked in retail my first summer home from college and I tried to emulate what I remembered from those days. Greeting every customer, suggesting other items, all the things that are a part of good customer service. It earned me high accolades and a glowing letter of recommendation from my manager. After college I worked as a Promotional Model and Product Demonstrator in high end retailers and I was always praised for my Customer Service and Marketing skills. I was often asked to come back again and again, sometimes having more work than I could handle.

These days good Customer Service seems like a thing of the past. I don't understand that given the state of our economy. Retailers should be doing all they can to generate repeat business and I think this is especially important for Indie shops that carry handmade items. Not everyone understands the value of handmade so Indie shops need to go above and beyond to educate, acquire and retain customers.

Yesterday I went into two shops that carry handmade items. At the first shop there was no one inside. I looked around for about 5-10 minutes before she returned and realized she was one of the people I had passed standing outside when I came in. Now if it were me I would have acknowledged someone I saw going into my place of business. I would have immediately ended my conversation or whatever it was that was keeping me outside and came in to provide...Customer Service. When she did come in I barely got an acknowledgement. If it were me I would have apologized for neglecting the customer and then tell the potential Customer something about the items in my shop. Let them know a little about the artists, their process and anything I could think of to help make a sale if not now, in the future. The second shop I went into the person was on the phone and while she did end the conversation I still got no Customer Service.

So listen up! If you want me to Shop Local then when I come into your place of business stop eating, texting or doing anything else that tells me you couldn't care less that I'm there. Greet me with an enthusiastic and genuine greeting. And most importantly, Stand Up! If you're an Indie Boutique tell me a little about the artists featured in your shop. Notice the fact that I am wearing handmade jewelry and see that as an opportunity to sell me something handmade because I apparently, am a fan of handmade. Engage me in conversation.

And furthermore, Indie Shops, don't treat me like a leper on Social Networking sites. When you see someone is in your city and they 'like' you or 'follow' you or 'friend' you, embrace them. Invite them to your store. Find a way to engage them. There is nothing in your shop that I can't make myself or find from an indie artist online so you need to give me a reason to come in, buy, come back, and tell my friends. Start providing good Customer Service and you'll be surprised what happens.

THE ETSY TIMES: MEET ETSY SELLERS AND SISTERS BETTY AND ROSE REFOU...

THE ETSY TIMES: MEET ETSY SELLERS AND SISTERS BETTY AND ROSE REFOU...: "Betty Refour is a contemporary abstract artist and caregiver to her sister Rose, who is also an artist, and who is autistic. This artistic ..."

What Are You Doing This Year?

2010 ended as badly as it started for me but I'm determined to not let it get me down. We had four, yes four deaths in our family between Thanksgiving and the end of the year. I take it especially hard when someone dies of cancer. It seems so unfair. And one of the deaths was due to cancer. But enough about that.

One of the things I wanted to do in the New Year was open an Etsy shop for Rose. She has been in my shadow so to speak and her art deserves it's own space to grow and flourish.

She amazes me how quickly she creates something. I have to look at my work a million times and tweak and change and ponder before I consider it complete. But not Rose. She creates, it's done and she moves on to the next project.

For as long as I can remember she has been obsessed with smoking. Both my maternal grandfather and my uncle, moms' brother smoked and she has always wanted to do so as well. She would grab their cigarettes from the ashtray and run while trying to take a puff before anyone caught her. As a result her drawings often depict smokers. She also loves to draw hearts and flowers and every now and then she will render something abstract. Her art is always happy and cheerful and because she is mostly nonverbal I hope it's a reflection of how she feels.

You can find her shop at http://RoseRefour.etsy.com. I hope you'll visit and come back and tell us what you thought.

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.