Tell us a bit about yourself.
Hi! I'm April! I am the sole owner/creator behind MooreMagnets. My husband and I have 3 boys, so I also answer to mom, hey you, and various other grunts and mumbles. I spend most of my days in jeans or sweats and tee shirts ... it is a rare day that I dawn a skirt or something that needs to be ironed.
Apart from creating things, what do you do?
I love the beach, mountains, and spending time outside. We spend lots of time making fires in our fire pit, cooking marshmallows, and talking about our next DIY project around the house. I wish that I could tell you that I am an avid scuba diver, as I have been certified since I was 12 years old, but I don't get to go nearly as often as I would like.
What does the typical workday look like for you?
I usually get up around 5:30 or 6 am each morning and my day starts with coffee and getting boys off to school. After that I usually plan my work time around the weather. Since I do lots of my work outside I try to spend the nicest part of the day outdoors, and save inside work for the extremely cold times or extremely hot times in the summer. I love the flexibility that being self-employed allows me.
What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?
I think the biggest piece of advice I would give is to not take any one piece of advice as the gospel. There are tons of things that people told me to try that worked for their shop, but I either wasn't good at it or it didn't work for me. So, I took each piece of advice with a grain of salt, used the pieces that worked the best for me, and continued to be open to different advice until I found what worked best.
How do you promote your work? What do you find to be the most effective?
I promote in a variety of ways and with a variety of methods. I do craft shows locally and I find that the ones that are strictly handmade items work best for me. I also have participated in online reviews and giveaways that I find to be most effective during the gift-giving season. I am also a big believer in targeted online advertising where I have taken the time to think about the aspects of my items that are most useful to certain groups of folks and then I advertise those specific items to that group.
I didn't specifically start MooreMagnets as a business, or because I was particularly talented in a specific craft. Really, I just wanted a cute magnet board for my boys to use and I couldn't find one and decided to make one myself. After that I was asked by friends and family to make one for their home, and the business naturally progressed after that. I offer a lot of products now that were either requested by customers or created to fill my own needs.
What specific steps are you taking to grow your etsy shop?
I am continually trying to come up with new product ideas. I think this has been the biggest thing that has helped me to stay inspired and also attract new customers.
In ten years, where would you like to be?
I honestly hope that I am still doing what I am doing today ... only in a bigger space. I would really like a more dedicated space inside my house to work with paper and fabric, and I would like that space to have a door that can be shut when I am off and spending time with my husband and boys. I'd also be happy underwater on a scuba diving adventure!
Pottery Barn
BHG.com
I then attempted to paint the edges out using a deep, chocolate brown. However, this did not pan out so well--this method produced a lot of brush marks and an uneven tone. Not good; I was really looking for a nice, clean finish. I finally decided on using a piece of cardboard as a reverse stencil for the rectangle. Since my canvases were 11"x14" in perameter, I simply cut the cardboard to 9"x12" size. After laying the card board centered upon each canvas, I then used a deep brown, gloss spray paint to create the "frames." Unfortunately, I do not have a pic for this part, since I had to take a break to prepare dinner for three little ones. 
