I've Opened a Coffee Shop

 

Hello, my lovelies. I know it's been some time since I was last here, but I've had a lot going on. I have opened my own coffee shop. Okay, it's not a traditional, brick-and-mortar shop. I've opened my own KoFi shop.

I've mentioned in the past about creating AI images. I have so much fun making those images, but I realized I had a lot of images on my computer. To date, I have just under 20,000 images downloaded. I've put a few of them on my Pinterest page and am currently sitting at around 450K views this month. How flippin' cool is that?

My KoFi shop is called Mom Graves Creations, and I'm trying to turn it into a brand. I've created a header/banner and a logo to the site, as well as my Pinterest page, my Instagram page, my NightCafe Studio page, and my X account. 

I like the way KoFi is set up. I can upload images and/or packages to sell or offer for free. I can also upload some of my images to a gallery simply to show off. I'm still working on the gallery, but the whole site is still a work-in-progress.

I tried the tiers for a couple of months, but I'm not happy with them. I think it's easier to just offer certain items for sale and allow patrons to either pay a monthly subscription fee or simply leave a tip. I'm still working on how to market my site, but I can't let myself get that too deep into my head, or else I'll just quit.

Since ditching the tiers, I've been working on getting the shop itself up and going. I had made some phone wallpapers, some junk journal ephemera, and a few other printables to add to the tiers. Those are all now simply for sale in the shop. I also have some St. Patrick's Day clip art for free.

One of the coolest things about my KoFi shop is that I can sell my Amazon books without having to do a lot of work. All I have to do is add the Amazon link from my shop, and it leads from the shop straight to my Amazon titles. I'm pretty sure I could do the same with some of my Redbubble items, but I haven't tried.

In an attempt to bring in a few more followers, I've decided to go back to my tried-and-true: writing prompts. As always, those will be on the site for free. I've been doing writing prompts for my fellow writers since the mid-90s, and I've always tried to make them available to everyone. 

I haven't done a lot of writing in the past few months, mostly because my real-world job has dominated my life. I can't complain, though. I've got food in the cupboards, and my bills are paid. That's more important. 

I know I'll have a lot more to do with this site, but I'm having a good time putting it together. My goal is to make it a virtual coffee shop. A play where you can bring your coffee, find a nice story to curl up with or find some ideas to write about yourself. Take a stroll through the museum gallery, then stop by the gift shop on your way out. If you're going to dream, dream big.

Thanks for stopping by and let me know if you stop by the shop. I'd love to say hi. 

Until next time,
Miss Chris

Creating a Newsletter I Can Be Proud Of

 

Hey Y'all!!! 

Thanks for stopping by. I hope the new year is being good to you all. I'm having a blast right now. 

I've been in the process of revamping my Substack newsletter and it's coming together. I have a real plan in place, though I do still have a few kinks to work out.

I'm planning on doing both a free and a paid subscription. For the free subscription, I'm going to do two issues per month. Each issue will have links for any new posts I've added to each of my blogs (including my Medium.com account). I will also have links to any new items listed at my online shops and links to any new literary releases I might have.

Another thing I'm planning on adding to the free issues are links to other creatives around the web and reviews of sites I think y'all might like. I don't want the free issue to simply be about my stuff. I still want you all to find something of use to you.

As for the paid subscription, I have quite a bit planned. I'm going to open an artists' chat for all paid subscribers, as well as working on doing a few podcasts and/or videos. I'm planning on having a few writing contests and possibly some artistic contests. 

I won't lie. I'm still working out all the details, but I am working on it. By this time next year, I'd really like to see this become a wonderful resource for creatives of all types. There are a lot of sites out there geared toward creative writers, as well as several places made especially for artists. I want to bring all those sites together in one place. 

Though I've been writing for more than 30 years, I'd never thought of myself as an artist. One of my best friends in high school was an amazing artist. She could sit down and draw just about anything and it was just gorgeous. I was so jealous. It wasn't until here just recently that I began to understand that my crafty side was a form of artistry. I may not be able to draw or paint beautiful images, but I create unique gift tags and greeting cards that are all one-of-a-kind items. I built a miniature diorama of an old saloon. It was really cool.

I was pretty proud of this one. It took me like three months to put it together. It was 10"x10"x12", and made mostly of balsa wood, popsicle sticks, leather, and cardstock. 

This was the piece that made me believe that some of the stuff I created could be considered art. And if it took me that long to figure out that what I did was art, how many others out there feel the same? My goal is to find a way to bring some of those quiet voices to the forefront. 

Though I have a lot of plans, I also know I have to take a step back and do this the right way. I don't want to overwhelm myself and burnout before I even get started. I want to make this newsletter something that everyone looks forward to receiving. 

I've already sent out Issue 1, and Issue 2 should come out around the 15th. I don't want to overwhelm my subscribers and I really don't have enough stuff to send out to warrant sending more than 2 issues a month. 

If you're a writer or an artist and would like to see this journey come to light, I invite you to become a subscriber. I won't lie, as of right now, I don't have a lot put together for the paid subscriptions, but I will have something put together by the next issue. And if you'd rather opt for the free subscription, just to see how things roll for a while, I totally get it. I don't blame you either. 

Thank you for stopping by. I very much appreciate it. 

Until next time,
Stay Creative!!!

~~~~~~~~~

Christine Graves has been writing online for nearly 30 years. She has written everything from fiction and poetry to reviews and ad campaigns. She runs three other blogs. Graves Publications, Library of the Mystic Realms, and Collected Keepsakes. She also writes for a platform called Medium.com  where she runs several publications. 

Christine is an avid collector of vintage anything and an arts-and-crafts kinda gal. She is a sucker for a garage/yard sale, secondhand stores, and auctions. Because of this, she's opened her first real online shop called Prairied Treasures and another that showcases her AI artwork called Pathways through the Past. 

Be sure to sign up for the Graves Publications newsletter to stay up with all the latest news. 

Happy New Year to You and Yours

 

Happy 2025 to you, one and all. I hope this year brings you all happiness and prosperity in whatever it is you do. I'll be honest. I'm so glad 2024 is over. It wasn't a horrible year, but I did get to a point where I felt like "Oh, this is what we're doing now? Okay." 

I have a lot of ideas for 2025. I've spent most of my Christmas vacation working on making some stuff to put in my online shop. I've been making handmade gift tags and greeting cards. I also make a lot of embellishments for people who make junk journals. I'm hoping to get that up off the ground and bring in a little extra money.

2024 was a trying year for me. I got divorced from my husband of 10 years (hubby #2). We're still friends, we just suck at being married. I was in a minor accident and had no choice but to get a new car. I needed it, don't get me wrong. My previous vehicle was on its last leg anyway. I just wasn't ready to put myself into that much debt.

I did have some high moments as well. I was celebrated by the company I work for as I hit the "10-year employee" milestone. Might not sound like much, but it was a major pat on the back for me. I got to rekindle a relationship with my youngest granddaughter. She's been through a lot in her short 9 years of life. Please keep her in your prayers. And I got to meet my online bestie, face to face. She's even more amazing than I ever dreamed.

Throughout the entire year, I've learned a lot about myself. I'm 56. I didn't think there was any more I could learn about myself. Turns out I'm a lot stronger than I gave myself credit for being. Last New Year's, I was figuring out how to support myself and a granddaughter (my oldest granddaughter lives with me). I was dealing with a failed marriage, juggling my finances, and a lot of low self-esteem issues. Here it is a year later and I've learned that I can do this on my own, I just need to remember who I am.

I'm not making any New Year's resolutions. The last time I made a resolution, it was that I'd never make another New Year's resolution, and to date, it's the only one I've ever succeeded at. I won't say "I'm going to do this", but will wait a bit so I can say, "I did that". I have a plan, I just have to make sure I've got the gumption. (Yes, I still use words like that, I'm old).

I pray you all find love and prosperity in the coming year. Thank you to those who have stopped by and read any of my posts. You make me smile. I hope I'm doing the same for you. One of the things I'm hoping to do is get my newsletter up and running again so you can be notified of new posts. Wish me luck. For some reason, I really suck at newsletters. LOL

So, if you've read this far, Happy New Year. Just knowing you were here means my year is already a success. 

Blessings to you and yours,
Miss Chris

~~~~~~~~~~

Christine Graves has been writing online for nearly 30 years. She has written everything from fiction and poetry to reviews and ad campaigns. She runs two blogs, Graves Publications and Collected Keepsakes, and currently writes for a platform called Medium.com  where she runs several publications. 

Christine is an avid collector of vintage anything and an arts-and-crafts kinda gal. She is a sucker for a garage/yard sale, secondhand stores, and auctions. Because of this, she's opened her first real online shop called Prairied Treasures and another that showcases her AI artwork called Pathways through the Past. 

Be sure to sign up for the Graves Publications newsletter to stay up with all the latest news. 

Shameless Self Promotion

 

I spend a lot of time on Twitter. It's where I find a lot of the sites I review for my blogs. I'm finding that the best way to find these sites is by visiting any #WriterLIft or #ShamelessSelfPromotion list. I have a really hard time promoting my own work, but as I watch others, I'm finding just how useful it could be.

I was raised to believe that you didn't boast about your own work. You gave credit to everyone else for the wonderful things they did, but you never brought attention to yourself. Even after I learned more about the online writing community, it's been horribly hard for me to say, "Hey, look at me. I did this and I want you all to see it." I know, not gonna help me in the long run. I get it and I'm working to fix it.

While cruising through Twitter this morning, I came across one of those #ShamelessSelfPromotion lists, started by a gentleman by the name of Danny Garvin, creator of the Paranormal Campfire Stories blog. I dig this guy's blog as it's filled with true stories of paranormal events that have happened to people from all over. I'm currently working on my own story to send to Danny. 

I decided to look through the list to see what kind of things other people were self-promoting. I wasn't surprised to see so many books, that's what it's all about. I did see a couple of websites that I can't wait to visit and a few other things I might look into a little further to either write about or to add to my newsletter. I'm always looking for new sites to add to the newsletter.

As I went along, I found another list created by author J.G. MacLeod. It's still all about #Self-Promotion, but there were a lot of different sites than the first list. I found a couple of sites that I'll be adding to my next newsletter coming out the 15th. I'm kind of excited. LOL

Yes, I added links to my stuff on those lists. It felt weird, but I did it. I posted a link to my newsletter on Danny's list and a link to my book of writing prompts on J.G.'s list. Will I get any hits from it? Maybe. But I'm actually more excited about how many new places I can find to talk about on my blogs. LOL. 

What about you? How do you self-promote? Leave me a comment and let me know. I might even come by and see your site. I'm always on the lookout for new sites. Yours could be next. 

~~~*~~~*~~~

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay  

Teaching Myself to do a Newsletter

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay 

So I'm about to embark on a whole new writing endeavor. I'm about to work on putting together a newsletter for one of my publications at Medium.com. The problem is that I'm not sure what I'm doing and I've got myself kind of freaked out over it.

I did a newsletter many, many years ago for another website I ran. But that was back in the day when everything was text-based and not so much visual-based. The good thing is that I don't think Medium newsletters are set up for images, so that's one good thing.

My fear is that I won't have anything interesting to say. I've got a few ideas, but my inner critic keeps telling me that I'm an idiot and no one is going to want to read it. I know I'm just psyching myself out, but every time I get set to write, nothing comes out.

The site I'm going to do the newsletter for is Enticing the Muse. It's a site to provide writing prompts for other writers, but I'm feeling stale. I need to get a new post up on the site before I do a newsletter inviting people to stop by and see what I've got going.

I have a few ideas for the newsletter, including adding links to a few of my other works, a section for Must See publications, and a Meet the Author page. I think that would be a great thing to do for the many writers who've helped me along my Medium journey.

The sad part is that I can't post anything about this site or any of my outside Medium writings. Totally bums me out, but I'll figure something else out. I can still post about anything or anyone I like here. Maybe I'll start doing author bios and book reviews here. We'll see. I do want to give a shout out to the many men and women out there that have made me the writer I am today.

So, here I go. Off to try and put together a newsletter, though I'm not at all sure about how to do it. Wish me luck. Got any ideas? I'm all ears. I would love to see some ideas. Leave them in the comments. I'll be forever grateful.

Until next time,
Happy writing.

~~*~~*~~

© Christine Graves 2020