Lovin' TheGoodOleDays

I'm Moving!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 22:41:00 +0000

It's a new year and it's time for me to move on. I've already started setting up a website on WordPress, so it just makes sense to have my blog there, too.

I'd love to have you join me there. My new blog address is lovinthegoodoledays.com.

Still Learning, Still Growing

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 14:40:00 +0000

I know it's been a while since my last post, but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy. Busy is good, right?

Here's what I've been working on...

Craft Fairs

I haven't been in the craft fair scene for a while, but I'm back and making a real effort to create a brand presence. I finally finished my shabby chic ruffled table cover and my upcycled shutter garment rack, plus I replaced my canopy with an Earthy brown one and I made a proper display for my checkbook covers. I plan on adding another garment rack and lining the under-side of the canopy shabby-chic style, but I am pleased with the progress so far.

If you are in Lower Slower Delaware, I have two more upcoming craft fairs before Christmas.

~November 21, Frankford Holiday Expo at the Frankford Fire Hall from 9am-2pm

~December 5, Millville Holiday Market, Millville Town Hall and Millville United Methodist

Church from 10am-2pm

Brand Packaging

I found the perfect mint green tissue paper, dark wine raffia, and matching gift cards at Paper Mart. (This is not a paid endorsement. They just have a great selection and pretty awesome prices.) What do you think?

My first Etsy shop update featuring one of my checkbook covers on its way to a new home

Wordpress Website

I definitely have more work to do on this one, but it's a start. Here's the link it you want to check it out. (I'm also up for advice, if you are a wordpress guru.)

YouTube Channel

So, as if I don't have enough to do, I decided to start my own YouTube channel. So far my videos have all been one-take clips, with me giving my take on life in a mom-kind of way. As I learn editing skills I'll be mixing up the format, unless folks are good with the way I'm doing it now. I'd love it if you'd check out my channel. If you like what you see so far, please like, comment, and/or subscribe.

Here's one of my videos to give you an idea of what my videos are like. As you can tell I hadn't quite figured out how to add a title, but I'm a work in progress. This one is titled, "Wherever You Go, There You Are."

Email Newsletter

I did mention I've been busy, no? Ok, so I finally figured out how to set up and get my newsletter out there. What's the point of having a sign up form at my craft fair events if I don't follow up with genuinely interested folks? (Yeah, that's a no-brainer, I know.) I plan on one every other week, unless something really exciting or urgent comes up, but I know how it is to inundated with emails, so that's not very likely to happen often.

If you'd like to subscribe to my newsletter, that'd be awesome! I share new creations, upcoming events, works in progress, new blog/vlog posts, and special offers for subscribers only. Here's the link if you're interested. Sign up for my newsletter here.

So...what have you been up to? Do you have a new website, email newsletter, storefront or something else you'd love to share?

What Are They Doing That I Can Do?...A Quick Study of Etsy's Top 10 Shops

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 18 Aug 2015 16:37:00 +0000

Successful Etsy Shop Study

Want to be successful? Do what successful people do.

"If you want to be successful, find someone who has achieved the results you want and copy what they do and you'll achieve the same results."

Anthony Robbins

One of the easiest ways to learn how to be successful is to find someone in your field who has figured it out and then see what they do that you could apply to your own situation. For Etsy sellers, Craftcount has made that search as easy as a click away.

Out of curiosity I decided to to do a quick comparison of the top 10 sellers posted yesterday, August 17, 2015 to see what similarities I could find among them. Some results I had expected, but others I found quite surprising.

You can see the original treasury on Etsy here.

1. VintageGypsyRoad
2. The Velvet Acorn
3. ThinkPinkBows
4. Prettygrafikdesign
5. Rivermill Embroidery
6. PoshPeanutKids
7. LayeredAndLong
8. Yellow Paper House
9. Herrington Design
10. Literary Emporium

The Stats:

Shop #Items # Sales Aug Total Sales Date Opened Date 1st Sale Website

1 352 440 30,268 09/27/09 02/06/13 No

2 317 297 148,521 10/14/10 12/28/10 Yes

3 814 178 196,327 09/17/10 02/07/12 No

4 880 177 151,782 08/20/12 08/21/12 Yes

5 1049 162 157,280 04/26/11 06/07/11 No

6 957 159 113,383 02/08/11 05/22/11 Yes

7 180 140 82,554 10/15/12 10/15/12 No

8 85 132 23,852 06/30/14 07/01/14 No

9 530 114 76,347 01/03/07 02.20/08 No

10 99 108 4,005 04/15/12 04/21/12 Yes

Even More Stats:

Shop # of People Outside Mfg # Following #Favs Social Media Sites

1 1 N 31 Private I

2 1 N 138 Private T, FB, P, I

3 16 N 154 Private T, FB, P, I

4 2 N 71 882 T, FB, B

5 2 N 2 Private FB

6 8 N 61 Private T, FB, P, I

7 14 N 67 1481 FB, P, I

8 7 N 14 5 FB

9 1 N 9 143 FB, B

10 1 N 65 Private T, FB, P, I

*Social Media Sites... T (Twitter), FB (Facebook), P (Pinterest), I (Instagram), B (Blog)

My biggest takeaway from this is in the number of people these shops/shop owners are following, or rather NOT following and how many of them have made their favs/treasuries/teams private. I found this very interesting. Of the 3 shops who left their favs public their numbers are quite low. My guess is that they are too busy making goods and promoting their shops to play games on Etsy. Did they play games before they had this level of success? I don't know. Perhaps that would be a good study to conduct at a later date, if they would be willing to share that information.

I was surprised that only 4 out of the 10 shops had a stand-alone website. I expected that number to be higher.

All 10 of the shops make items which are reproducible and their photos, especially of the tangible items, are professionally done and visually appealing. There is a strong shop cohesion between the photos and the items available with all the shops.

I included the date of the first sale because I believe that gives a better idea of how long a shop has been in business than the date the shop opened. That is more accurate of the date joined, even though Etsy does not make that distinction.

I did not include whether or not these shops are selling the same goods as they did when they first opened, but when I come across a shop that catches my eye I like to check out their first sales to see how much they have evolved. More often than not the photos are a very different quality and sometimes the items originally sold are no longer offered. This is the case with some of these shops, as well.

I hope you have found this little study to be interesting and informative. All of these shops are great examples of what to do that is working. If you have the time you can follow the links to the websites and social media sites. Maybe you will get some ideas on how to improve your own shop presence. I know I have.

If you liked this little study and would like to see more posts like this, please let me know in the comments below. Also, if you have any observations that you would like to share about the statistics that I did not bring up, please share that as well.

The Making of My She Shed...The Early Stages

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 20 Jun 2015 22:46:00 +0000

Without going into too much detail, let's just say I prefer not to share the yucky drama of my life. But, things are finally back on track. I've gone from four part-time jobs to one pretty good one, as far as jobs go, and things have settled down in other areas.

I think I take after my mother in that I have what I refer to as a project mentality. My latest project involves turning our shed into my own personal sewing space, which I recently learned is quite popular these days. I was going with "Mom Cave," but when a friend shared a post on "she Sheds," I realized I was smack dab in the middle of a growing trend. My friend also pointed out that men like dark spaces and women tend to like it light. So true and so funny, since I had already asked my husband if he could add a window to let some light in.

Unfortunately I don't have a true representation of the actual before shot. My before picture is relatively neat, but still shed-like.

Neat, but still a shed.

Today I decided to work on my garden planters, finally. I'm all about upcycling when I can, so here is my little tutorial on how to turn a plastic kitty litter bucket into a planter.

Start with two clean kitty litter buckets. These are 35lb buckets, but there are smaller ones. I like these because they have handles so they're relatively easy to move around.

Using a hammer (or a mallet in my case) put some holes in the bottom for drainage.

Now comes the fun part...

I knew those old shower curtains would be useful one day. Using spray paint which can be used on plastic (very important) paint the entire outside, but not the bottom, of the buckets. I actually went back a few times, once to make sure nothing showed through, and then to touch up spots and make sure the handles were all covered. I did not paint the insides because I thought that might not make the plants too happy. One can, just under $4.00, was just enough to do both buckets. I chose Moss Green because I wanted the planters to blend in with the environment, but there's a nice selection of colors to chose from.

All done. (OK, I know the flowers a looking a little sad, but the nursery was going to throw them away, so I got them for free. I'm hoping they pull through.)

Here's the other one. The handle is all but invisible. (This is another rescued plant. It was my mother's and wasn't doing too well. I'm hoping being outside in a bigger container will do the trick.)

Not quite sure what the next post will have in it, but I am in the process of cleaning it out even more.

Do you have a she shed? I'd love to see what you've done with it. Please share you blog posts in the comments below.

Promoted Pins How To; Step By Step in Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 19 Mar 2015 15:56:00 +0000

So, somehow the powers that be in the Pinterest world decided that I am worthy of running promoted ads, as there was an invitation waiting for me when I logged on today. Well, I figured I would have a go at it and add a few items. The first one took a while, as I had to make sure I was doing it right. Then I got to thinking; since this is such a new feature, maybe it would make a good blog post topic. I can't be the only one who likes a good how to, right?

The first thing you'll do if you have a red "promote" button next to your name is click that or accept the offer to promote if that shows up on your page. You can also click on your name, then the settings gadget, then scroll down to "promoted listings."

Now chose a pin to promote. My first campaign was for a sweater dress. This time I chose one of my tank tops.

Once you have chosen which pin to promote you will need to enter in your search terms. I typed in "womens fashion" and this is what showed up. Click on any relevant terms that you want to include. I wanted to add others, so I just entered different words in the search bar until I found enough terms.

I know I said they recommend 20, but since this is pretty much an experimental run, I thought this was enough. I also didn't see how to separate terms with a comma, as they showed up in the right-hand column when I clicked on them.

This next step is where you will narrow down your target even more by choosing your demographics.

Now you will decide on the details of your ad campaign. You will need to decide just how much you want to spend per click, you will double-check that the link is correct, give your campaign a name, set the length of time you want your campaign to run, and set your daily budget. When you're all set hit "Promote This Pin."

Next up, you will enter in your credit card information. Right now PayPal is not an option, but maybe they'll change that in the future.

All along the way you will see "Learn More" next to the step to be completed. It will take you to The Pinterest Help Center page, Create and edit Promoted Pins. Scroll down "Learn How To" and you can click on the topic for more help.

I'll let you know how my campaigns went. If you already have tried this feature I'd love to hear what you think of it.

Thrift Store Bandit

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 16:24:00 +0000

I've learned one very important lesson in marriage...when your husband asks you if you want to go thrift store shopping you say yes! (Of course, that's not the only thing I learned, but it's always a fun time...well, for me it is.)

This Saturday my husband and I went to no less than 5 different thrift stores and it was awesome. I made out like a bandit, just ask my husband. He was on the hunt for a power tool, but I was on the lookout to expand my sweater collection, find sheets for my craft fair both, and maybe even find something for myself.

Stop #1. The ACTS. What can I say? I rarely leave here empty-handed. In my opinion this is the best local thrift store in the area. As you can see, folks like up waiting to get in. I, myself have stood in that very line many times. You just never know what goodies are waiting, and sometimes you need to be quick or they're gone just like that!

A typical day before the doors open at the ACTS. Photo courtesy of The Coastal Point

So, my haul from the ACTS? Four sheets and 5 sweaters! I'm collecting the sheets to make a table cover and side walls and the sweaters get upcycled into new sweater creations.

4 wool sweaters, 1 silk sweater, 4 flat sheets

Next up, The Frankford Presbyterian Church's thrift shop. My prize?

Two beautifully detailed tablecloths (I'm thinking sundresses or skirts)

New, crushed velvet burnout Liz Claiborne blouse
in my favorite color, still with tags attached

After a quick stop at a local gun shop for some browsing and a mini lesson in gun parts we headed up the street to Peddler's Alley; a combination of antiques, crafts, and thrifty treasures. Still no power tools, but I scored big time, again! How often do you find an Ann Taylor sundress for $15, still with the tags?

New Ann Taylor sundress with a
previous thrift store cashmere cardigan treasure

Not done yet. You never know what fun stuff you'll find at the Goodwill. Little Man scored this time with a new-to-him WII Star Wars game. Then on to yet another one...Wohoo! Let's go.

There's a great thrift shop in Millsboro. We found a few books on personal finance and survival skills(?!). Oh, and this Kathy Ireland sweater, also new, with tags.

The faux fur collar is detachable. Nice, plus it's purple!

Last stop, a row of antique shops on Route 113 near Dagsboro. I love looking through these shops. Big ole chairs, vintage advertising, ornate tables and dressers. I was lucky. I had been on the hunt for shutters for my craft booth and we were in luck. Plus, I found a perfect little magazine rack for our growing magazine collection. I still can't believe we fit all this stuff in the car.

These are going to be my clothing rack for
my craft fairs. Scored some poles from
the ACTS a while back and they match perfectly.

$6 for them, priceless for me.

So, my husband never did find that elusive power tool, but he's a little closer to being prepared for the zombie apocalypse and he did find a screwdriver and some jeans. But, I had a fantastic day.

Are you a thrift store enthusiast? Have you written a blog post about some of your fabulous finds? Share them in the comments below.

I Made My Own Social Media Icons

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 17:13:00 +0000

This year one of my goals was to come up with a color scheme and use it pretty much everywhere. After discovering the design seeds website I found exactly what I had been searching for. It's a lot like love at first sight. I just knew this was perfect for me. Aren't these great colors?

fallen hues from design seeds

As you can tell I have changed the look of my blog using these colors and I'm really please with it, so far. I'm still working on tweaking it to really make it all mine.

My latest venture took place last week when I decided it was time to tackle the hodgepodge collection of "follow me" icons. I know they are a necessity for anyone who is looking to build a social media following, but I wanted them to match my color scheme and take up less space in my sidebar. I've seen enough blogs to know it can be done; I just had to figure out how.

I watched several YouTube videos and started working on my buttons. This was my original plan. I had my matching background and all the icons. Since my sidebar is set at 310 pixels wide I made the "Follow Me" banner 10 pixels narrower. I used PicMonkey to create my icon graphic.

I used the rounded square geometric shapes, 55 pixels, evenly spaced, for the buttons. Then I did an overlay for each icon. For bloglovin, Etsy, facebook, google+, and twitter I just found a font that matched the originals. For instagram, networked blogs (which I later removed) and pinterest I found images online. I was quite pleased, but I couldn't figure out how to add this lovely image, with clickability, onto my sidebar.

Yup, once again I had jumped in too soon. It wasn't until I watched How to Install Social Media Icons on Blogger Sidebar - The EASY way! by Emily M I knew what I had to do. The video explained every step clearly enough for non-techies to understand.

The key is to NOT have a background (facepalm). So I went back to pickmonkey and cut out all the little icons and the follow me banner and came back to my blog.

Here's the nitty gritty of how to set this up once you have your icons. (You can also find a plethora of downloadable icons to use if you don't want to make your own.)

Create a new post, titled "Important Do Not Publish or Delete."
Add your first icon image.
Click on the image to add a link. You will need to do this twice ( I don't know why, but you do.)
Enter the website info.
Repeat until you have all your icons added and linked to a site.
In "HTML" mode copy the whole code.
Go to "layout" and click on "Add A Gadget," then click on "HTML/Javascript"
Paste the code you just copied into the content box. Leave the title blank.
Place it in your sidebar.

I had to tweak mine just a bit by adding a space between the images and I originally did not have the "Follow Me" banner, but then I added it before the first icon image. (I also had to resize it because it was just a touch too wide.) Remember, every time you make changes to the code you will need to copy and past the new code into the content box for it to be recognized.

And here's the finished, and clickable, social media icons now...

So, I had to forgo the background, and it pretty much took a whole day, but I didn't have to pay anyone and I like how it turned out. The hint of color on the edges of the buttons reminds me of tea-stained tags. Neat.

A Hotel Review I'd Rather Not Give

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 27 Feb 2015 15:11:00 +0000

The Days Inn Hotel in Wilmington Newark, Photo Courtesy of HotelPlanner.com

So, this past weekend I had to make a trek up to Wilmington for a project. I needed to be there by 7 am Friday and Saturday. It's a good two hours north of me, so I decided to stay overnight so as to not have to leave the house at 4:30 both mornings.

Sure not used to seeing this kind of weather in Delaware

I used my DubLi account to search for a hotel in the area. With my membership I would get 9.8% cash-back from Hotels.com and I found a Days Inn less than 15 minutes from the meeting place. It had a three star rating, plus the room was discounted from $79 down to $59.

The hotel was conveniently located right next to the Concord Mall and there were plenty of places to eat within walking distance. Since it was below freezing, walking anywhere other than to and from my car was out, but it was still good to know.

The front desk clerk was very courteous and helpful and the lobby was clean and inviting. My room was around the side and even though it was just me, I had chosen a room with two beds because it was less than a one-bed room.

The room itself was nice and clean. This was my bed for the night and it was so comfortable. It had been such a long day and all I wanted to do was crawl under the covers with my book.

However, I must have jinxed myself by sending my husband a text message that I was going to get a good night's sleep, because a little before 11 pm I was awakened by loud voices, a door slamming, and the kind of loud, thumping music that makes the walls shake. I was hoping they were either getting settled in or getting ready to go out. But that was not to be the case. About 20 minutes later I called the front desk to let them know what was going on. A few minutes later the phone rang in the next room and I could hear a very angry woman's voice demanding to know who had complained and what she would do to them. They did quiet down, but not for long. Cars pulled up and dropped off even more people and the volume went up yet again. At this point I cranked up the heat in my room to help drown out the noise from the party-goers. Either someone else called the front desk or had enough because suddenly people ran from the room and took off in various directions as someone from inside the room shouted that the state police were on their way. Finally, I could get back to sleep...

But, alas, not long after the police left the party kicked back into high gear. The heat was uncomfortable and I got up several times to turn it down only to hear the party raging on, so I would turn it back up and just deal with it. I needed to get some sleep. I tried it again at 4 am and they were still at it. This time I called the police myself. They did come, and I was sure that would be the end of it...

When my alarm went of at 5:30 I turned down the heat for the last time and surprise or not, they were still up, not that it mattered to me anymore. I got ready for my day and was gone in 30 minutes.

While the hotel itself was nice, the fact that I had to put up with this drama all night was unacceptable. I had booked my room in advance. This could have all been avoided if the hotel had not put us next to each other. I'm sure there were other guest who actually wanted or needed to sleep and it just baffles my mind how, after the noise complaints to the front desk and two visits from the police, that these people were even allowed to stay there. I did consider asking to switch rooms, but it was freezing outside, and the moment I opened my door they would know I was at least one of the people who had complained and I was actually afraid for my own safety. When I left in the morning I left as quietly and quickly as I could, not even waiting for my car to warm up, because I didn't know if they were going to come out when they heard me start my car.

To top off my visit to Wilmington, what should have been a two hour drive home turned into four due to yet even more snow.

This is fun...Not!

Yup, if I have to do another two night stay, I'll either be staying elsewhere or getting up at 4 am, from the peace and quiet of my own home. Sorry Days Inn.

Meeting 2015 Shop Goals By Setting Monthly Goals

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 02 Feb 2015 11:00:00 +0000

Every year folks far and wide make New Years Resolutions or goals. I've done it...and failed right along with countless others. And, just like a lot of them, I'm going for it again this year. But this time I've got a plan. I sat down and wrote out my long term plans for each of my shop goals and then I am breaking down my goals by month. I have them printed out and stuck (right at eye level) next to my computer, so I am constantly reminded of what I need to do and by when.

While January was not a total success, it was not a total loss either. I started a discussion thread with The Etsy D-Listers aka The Dteam (my Etsy family) to help me stay accountable. I ask you, kind reader, to also be my accountability buddy...and if you ask I'd be more than happy to do it for you, too.

This is an embedded Microsoft Office presentation, powered by Office Online.

I'd love to hear you thoughts or advice on my goals so far. i actually have my goals picked out for February, but I'm saving that for another blog post. Would you like me to help you stay focused on your goals? Just leave me a request in the comments below.

Forgotten, But Not Gone

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 14:19:00 +0000

It's true. I've been remiss in my literary duties here. I have been gone, but hopefully not forgotten. However with a new blog color scheme (I hope you like it) and some new blog post ideas in my head just itching to get out into the virtual world, I am ready to get this show back on the road.

This particular blog post is one I have been planning for quite some time actually, and truth be told, I'm not sure it's actually ready to post, but I figured I can save other photos for a follow up post.

"Forgotten, But Not Gone" came to me as I was driving around Lower Slower Delaware, observing the many abandoned structures, just left to decay. What did they look like when they were occupied? Were there giddy children chasing each other up and down the stairs? Did the smell of fresh baked bread draw a hungry family toward the kitchen? Why were they abandoned? And how long ago? How long will it take for them to all but disappear into the surrounding environment that grows around them? Am I the only who mourns their loss?

Labor Day on El Galeon Andalucia

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 03 Sep 2014 10:15:00 +0000

Labor Day. The un-official end of Summer. Quality time with the family. We decided to head down to Ocean City (Maryland) to check out the Spanish ship, El Galeon Adalucia. Monday was the last day it would be there before it set sail once again.

It was a beautiful Summer day; hot, but with a nice breeze. We actually found a free parking spot less than a block away. (If you've ever been to O.C. you know how hard that is to come by.)

And there she was. My pictures don't do her justice. She was really quite grand. It was so neat checking out the different parts of the ship and learning its history. Enjoy the tour.

The Mast overlooking the bay. The bell that I can't believe my son didn't ring.

There were two cannons on the deck and two rows of them down below.

A little history about the ship. The view of the upper deck behind the wheel.

The guys chose some props to make the picture more authentic. I came prepared;)

So, while it was a really neat ship, and we all enjoyed checking it out, especially my history buff husband, I realized that I am much more comfortable on dry land. Bummer, but now I know not to waste my time dreaming of taking a cruise of living on a houseboat!

So happy together <3 Now, that's a view!

Just Slap a Big Ole "L" On Me

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 31 Aug 2014 10:21:00 +0000

If you were to ask how my August goals turned out I would pretty much say this would have been a good month to hang out on the beach. I didn't, but I might as well have. Yup, I'm on the road to Loser City.

So, let's see...my goals for this month... If you want to read the post I wrote at the beginning of the month, you can find it here. And how did I do?

My social media campaign blitz was a bust. As you can see from the post I did about the Week #1 update, I was really giving it my all. So, what happened? Three main things:

Lack of tools to analyze posts. Facebook was the only one I could really track. With Google+ and Twitter I had no data to work with. (Wouldn't you know it, Twitter added analytics at the end of this month.)
Time. It took more time to find and schedule posts than I had anticipated.
The results were pretty dismal. Regardless of the type of post, and the increased frequency, the views and engagement were about the same as they were before.

My second goal was to have 70 items in my shop. Yeah, that did not happen either. Why not?

I did not set a realistic goal for how long it would take me for each piece, or add in the distractions from trying to work out of the home. I was off to a good start, but by the end of the 2nd week I was already behind. Momentum lost.
Family (including the fur babies) always came first, then the paying job, then if there's time left over I could work on my shop.
I did not plan exactly what I was going to make.

My third goal was to retake some of the photos of my aprons, my cloth napkins, and my checkbook covers. There were days early in the month that I could have gotten this done, but I told myself I still had plenty of time. Yup, I am a procrastinator, big time. I know it, and yet I haven't overcome this obstacle I keep putting in front of my self that blocks me from being more productive. (I wrote this blog two days ago, except for this last part. I waited to finish writing this post because I still was hoping to get this one done.) On Friday I ended up running all over doing errands, I worked on Saturday, and today we have plans for the family to spend quality time together.

So, if you've had a goal that you fell short from reaching, how did you handle it? Did you give up the dream? Did you shake it off and set more attainable goals for the next time? Did you stop setting goals?

The Reveal...The Living Room

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 23 Aug 2014 13:18:00 +0000

Well, I knew the hardest thing to do would be to go through my books and papers, so I tackled that first, but once I started it wasn't so painful. One might see my assortment of really important stuff and see me as a hoarder, but for me it is that "What If." What if I need this? What if I want to read this? What if I go back to teaching?

If I needed it that bad, I'd be using it or would have used it in the recent past. If not, it goes.
If I want to read it, I would have by now. Let someone else enjoy it. I can get it at the library if I get around to it later on.
If I ever go back to teaching, well, things change, and whatever I have will have been replaced by then with newer and better methods.

It's time to let go of the what if's that are cluttering my life.

Another thing that really helped me with this project was to look at as if I were moving into a tiny house. Tiny houses do not have room for clutter or what if's. Besides, I feel calmer and work more efficiently when my world around me is not in chaos, but isn't that true for most of us?

What I ended up with was a clean, un-cluttered living room, a full trash can, and a box-load of goodies for a yard sale. And without further ado...

And to remind you of what this room looked like last week, here's the link to my blog post with the before photos. Looking forward to next week's challenge.

I Accepted the 91 Day De-Clutter Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 18 Aug 2014 11:05:00 +0000

I came across the 91 Day De-Clutter Event while browsing on facebook last week. My home could use a "little" de-cluttering and the time frame looks reasonable, so what they hey. I'm in.

As you can see Week #1 focuses on the living room, and yes, mine could use some work. Our biggest problem is a too small home and not enough storage space. This week I am going to find things we don't absolutely need and decide if they will be put aside for our upcoming yard sale or donated to my favorite thrift shop or headed for the trash.

The challenge couldn't be easier. There are two options; a quick de-clutter method or a more thorough detailed method. This week, I'm opting for the detailed approach. To go with this challenge, even though it makes me cringe, I am taking before and after pictures. (To put things in perspective, I have moved A LOT. In my whole adult life I don't think I've lived in any one place longer than three years. I've gotten used to boxes. I do not like it, but it's the truth.)

So, here are my unedited before pics of the areas I will be working on.

(Sophie stays.) The curse of the horizontal surface, plus a recently
re-acquired box of photos. The boxes under the
futon are for work. They have to stay.

I used to have a nice desk The books. This will be hard. A
and I will again. I miss it. bookcase would help a lot.

Wish me luck...I'm going in.

Oh Yum. It's National Creamsicle Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 14 Aug 2014 10:00:00 +0000

May your day be filled with all the sweetness and happiness of an orange creamsicle.

'8/14 National Creamsicle Day' by TheGoodOleDays

It's National Creamsicle Day! Enjoy a sweet treat while you enjoy this sweet treasury.

Abstract art pillow Cover On... ArtPillow $30	Creamsicle, Upcycled Sweater... GypsyKarmaThre... $19	Popsicle Soap Orange Creamsi... SunKidGifts $4.25	Orange Creamsicle Glass seed... spiritbearbead... $5.99
Orange Creamsicle Heart Orna... creationsbyjdb $15	Peach Floral Cameo Vintage L... vintagebeadnut $3	Bowtie for Little Boys Cream... MeandMatilda $22	Orange Blossom Arm Warmers -... ZenAndCoffee $30
Sugar Bowl / Honey Jar in Su... pagepottery $28	Ready To Ship! Creamsicle!!!... HelloSunshineH... $18	Orange Creamsicle Pops (12) TheSugarShackN... $24	80s Iconic Pierre Cardin Swe... madisonavenuev... $65
Orange soda Creamsicle mini ... GreenMntMiniBa... $15.5	Tile Pile in Sunshine by Mic... SewFineFabric $10.25	Silver Creamsicle Bangle EmotionalOasis $24	Handspun Yarn - CREAMSICLE -... KingFisherFibr... $16

Feeding my Fabric Addiction

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 14:54:00 +0000

So, I went to the fabric store to pick up my sewing machine and this happened...

There were so many gorgeous fabrics and it's been so long since I bought any new fabric. These called out to me: their soft, silky texture; their new fabric smell; their potential to turned into something perfect for Christmas. My first thought is to make more "quilted" ornaments, like this one.

Patchwork Christmas ornament from my shop

(To my loving and supportive husband...I did not use your card to feed my fabric addiction this time. I was going to tell you, honestly I was...Surprise!)

August S.M.A.R.T. Goals, Week 1 Update

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 15:49:00 +0000

Social Media Action Plan

August 1st I decided on my shop goals for this month. If you didn't see that post, you can go back and read it here. My next post focused on my social media action plan. You can read all about my plan right here. Today, I am giving an update of how that's going. I will also add the two other goals I had set for myself; retaking photos and adding items to my shop.

First, a recap of my social media campaign blitz. I had planned on sharing one post from each of six categories; humor, me (something from my shop or a blog post), a question or fill in the blank, an informational tidbit or link, an inspirational quote, and an item or blog I came across that I thought others would also like. The sites I am focusing on are my facebook page, twitter, and google+. I also have pinterest, but I am sharing different content there.

Did I mention I'm old school? So here it is in all it's glory.(?) OK, well, at least it's written down and I think I did pretty well with it. I coded the categories with a letter (or symbol) and a number so I could chart them easier. Below are close-ups so you see it better.

I decided to only share the humorous post on my facebook page. I didn't think it was appropriate for google+ or twitter. My facebook page is more casuals, while twitter I tend to focus on helpful informational links and more serious posts, and google+ seems more professional, as well.

So this was my posting schedule, for the most part. I did well with facebook and twitter, but not so much with google+. Until I get my website up, my google+ account is not a business page, so I cannot schedule posts in advance. (If anyone knows of a way to do it, please let me know.) As you can see there is not as much green in my chart, nor are there many S's. I did not schedule those (items and blog posts) because I thought I'd share them as I came across them, but you can see how well that worked...or didn't. I also need to share more about me, which involves writing blog posts in advance, so I can focus more time on sewing. Perhaps my blog should be my focus for September...

The results:

My best post for facebook was a question I posed, with a reach of 59, 2 comments, and 3 clicks (Definitely nothing to brag about, but it is what it is.)
My best post for twitter was an inspirational quote, with 1 favorite and 3 retweets. (I haven't figured out how to find statistical information yet on twitter. If anyone can point me in the right direction, that would be great.)
My best post for google+ was a fill in the blank question with 2 comments. (Since I don't have the business account, I don't have access to any real stats, like reach or views, so all I have to go on are +1's, shares, and comments.)

This week I am working on scheduling shares, but I am sharing different items on facebook and twitter to provide more variety and help more shops get exposure. I am also starting at 6am and not scheduling on the hour. So that's it for the first week. Scheduling does ensure I post more often and planning categories makes me aware of the content I am posting. Stay tuned for next week's update.

70 listings In My Shop

I started the month with 54 items and my goal is to end with 70. This means I need to make 16 items, with a mini-goal of making four new items per week. I made this chart below and have it taped to the wall right next to my computer. Yes, it is basic, and again, old school, but it serves the purpose. I have three columns which I am tracking; Make, Photos, and List. By the end of the month I plan on having the whole chart colored in. I also have a calendar so I can mark off the days. ( I am one of those who works best with a deadline, so seeing the days pass gives me the push I need.)

Color codes...Blue--Make, Pink--Photos, Orange--List

So, I am on my way. I have one more item that I'll be finishing up today and I'll be picking up my sewing machine from the shop this afternoon, so I will once again have that to work with, which will get me moving along faster.

Retake Photos

I know not all of my photos have the same look or feel about them, so I have decided that it's time to just get this over with instead of stewing on it. My apron photos were taken when I lived in a different home, so I will be retaking those so they have the same background as my new photos. I also want to retake photos of my cloth napkins in a table setting and also all folded the same way, and I want to show the checkbook covers in a real use setting. I have not started with this goal yet, as I was focusing on figuring out my social media action plan, but here's the chart, nonetheless, just to prove that it's up and ready to be filled in.

How are your goals coming along? Only 19 more days left this month. (No pressure.)

Please Pass The Mustard

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 10:00:00 +0000

I am so loving the Fall 2014 Pantone color trends. I found a few mustard yellow goodies to share. It's not too early to start thinking about Fall, is it?

Mustard leg warmers Mustard yellow purse

Indonesian beads Mustard and army green dress

My Social Media Action Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 14:31:00 +0000

When it comes to running a business it is very important to have goals. It is equally important to be very clear with your goals in terms of specific details, a means of measuring the success of your goals, and setting up a timeline in which to carry out those goals. Otherwise you might as well wish on the first star you see and hope for the best.

This month I have three goals I will be working on. Today's post focuses on my first goal; creating a social media action plan. I have accounts on facebook, twitter, google+, and pinterest, and I have been posting to each of them, but not consistently and not with a deliberate thought as to the content. As a visual learner, I am all about charts. I am also an old school type of person. I didn't see a template I liked so I grabbed a piece of notebook paper, my trusty ruler, and the all-important colored markers.

For facebook, twitter, and google+ I am starting with six categories for posts; humor, me (something related to my shop), question, informational, quote, and share (blog posts and items by others I like). Below is just the first week. I plan on one post from each category once per day on each of the three sites. I figured out how to schedule posts for facebook and twitter, but not google+ yet (other than blog posts, which will post automatically), so those I will be entering as I do them, or until I learn how to schedule those, as well. The "me" posts and the "share" posts are blank as I haven't planned those yet. I staggered the time and the day for the posts.

I have the quotes written on a separate piece of paper so I can keep track of which ones I have already used and I made a separate bookmark folder to keep track of links for informational posts. The images for my humor posts are saved on my computer.

I will be working on next week's schedule throughout this week, so I am not working into the wee hours on Sunday night, like I did last night. I'm sure this will get easier and more automatic as I go. The plan is to add more posts throughout the day as I get a handle on my new system.

For pinterest I plan on posting three pins in three separate categories per day. (I usually post more, but this is my minimum goal and I will be keeping track of these, as well. I have made a list of my boards, so I know which ones I need to post on for any given day).

Of course, a good plan needs to have some form of measure to judge its success...or failure, so it can be tweaked as needed. Below I have listed my beginning followers/fans for each of the sites, plus I added my Etsy followers and shop likes. At the end of the month I will again record the numbers and take note of any changes. I will also keep track of the best post per site (noting the category, day, and time of day). This may take longer than one month for any definitive results, but I haven't done this yet, so I am curious to see how this turns out.

I would love any comments you may have on my action plan. I'd also love to know how you keep track of your goals. If you have a blog post on this topic, please share your link below.

Setting Goals AND Reaching Them

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 15:45:00 +0000

Like so many others, I have set goals for myself; weight loss goals, organizational goals, financial goals, goals for the New Year, and business goals. In way too many cases, I end come up short of reaching my goals. For me, and maybe for you, too, the problem does not lie with the actual goal(s), but in the execution...i.e. lack of planning.

This month I have decided on three goals to work on, AND exactly what I need to do to reach them. I am a visual learner, so charts and graphs are a must to help me keep on track. I ordered the Work @ Home Business Pack from TidyLadyPrintables on Etsy. It's just what I need, well-organized and colorful.

I especially like the Daily and Weekly Business Planners and What's Going on this Week (weekly scheduler broken down by day and 1/2 hour increments). I put the pages in plastic page protectors and use wipe off markers so i can reuse them over and over.

A bar graph will show my progress for two of the goals and help me stay focused.

I decided on three main goals for this month. (While getting more sales is something every small business owner wants, this is not one I chose, as I can only control what I do, not what others do.) Each of these are written on a S.M.A.R.T. goal chart, so I can track my progress. In case you may not know S.M.A.R.T. goals are Specific (the details; what, why, how), Measurable (How will you know when you've reached your goal?), Attainable (realistic and achievable), Relevant (How does this fit in with your overall business plan?), Time-Bound (set dates/benchmarks).

This month I will be working on making my photos more cohesive, adding items to my shop, and creating a social media plan of action. My next post will focus on my first goal; my social media action plan.

By setting S.M.A.R.T. goals and tracking my progress with graphs and charts, I am confident that this will be a great and productive month.

So, who's with me? Today is the day to set your S.M.A.R.T. goals.

My Wild Backyard...Toad Camo

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 15:20:00 +0000

When I was a kid we went camping every Summer at Seashore State Park on the bay near Virginia Beach. It was the best; no electricity, no cell phones or other electronic gadgets (basically because they didn't exist yet) and we had to hike to the outhouse...with flashlights. The campground was all filled with a maze of paths and overgrown obstacles. One of my favorite memories is hunting for tiny, perfectly camouflaged toads. Of course, I always let them go. The fun was in finding them.

Now I'm all grown up and don't have time for such childish things...yeah right! There's always time for fun and the joy of discovering nature, especially in my own wild backyard.

If I sit very still no one will see me...

You can't see me, right?

Peek a boo...I see you.

Why, hello little one. Aren't you a cutie?

I love exploring in my backyard. I wonder what I'll find next? Do you have any cool critters in your backyard, too?

Now We're Composting!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 07 Jul 2014 13:26:00 +0000

If you consider yourself the least bit "green," "Eco friendly," or are consciously trying to shrink your carbon footprint, then composting is something you should know about and incorporate into your daily life. It's great if you have a big space, but even small areas can be used. When we lived in a townhouse in Philadelphia we had a small compost area in front of our home, right behind our tiny garden.

But now we're in a community that is much more suited for composting. Lower Slower Delaware may be a tourist destination for its beautiful beaches and tax-free outlet shopping, but it is still mostly farm country. Chicken farms and local corn are everywhere. And we now have a yard and a place for a proper compost area, surrounded by lots of trees.

I recently went to a class at the local library on composting by a Delaware master gardener, Carol Kinsey. That is one lady who sure appreciates the value of composting. She was both knowledgeable and enthusiastic. I was already composting, but after that class I changed things up just a bit. So, I thought I'd share what I learned about composting with you, so that you can benefit from it, too.

My husband brought home some pallets just so I could make a compost bin. (Awe, he does love me.) I picked a spot in the yard near the shed, along the tree line. I wanted the bin to be sturdy, but easy to disassemble, so I tied the corners together at the top and bottom with rope. If you have zip ties they work well, too. You will make a box, but with no bottom and no top. The reason you want it to come apart easily is so that you can turn the mixture.

Check out the one I made.

It's best to have pallets that are all the same size, but when you're working with free materials you work with what you've got. I recommend adding chicken wire to the bin to help keep small thing from falling out, or critters from getting in. (I did get some, just need to attach it.)

The next step is to fill it. The ideal ratio when composting is 3:1, 3 parts "brown" to 1 part "green." Your browns are your carbon source. These include leaves, newspaper, wood shavings and sawdust, paper towel. Your greens are the nitrogen source. These include grass clippings, old vegetables, coffee grounds and the filter, tea bags, egg shells and the carton. Manure from animals that do not eat meat is excellent for your compost bin, too. (As for me, the only manure I'm adding comes from our gerbil.)

Here's my little helper adding the bedding from his gerbil's cage. (How cool is that? The bedding, the food, and the manure are all good for the compost bin.)

I keep a large coffee can in the kitchen for coffee grounds and veggie scraps so I am not constantly making trips out to the compost bin. You do not need to cover it; it doesn't smell. It's actually better if you don't. Otherwise it gets real funky real fast. (Just trust me on this one.)

After every time I add compost from the kitchen I shovel enough leaves onto the top to cover everything. This keep the ratio as close to ideal as I can get it, plus it keeps things tidy. Our home is bordered by a vacant lot, so we never have to worry about having enough leaves. See what I mean?

Here's a close up of the compost bin in action.

You will want to keep it moist, so if you're in an area that doesn't get a lot of rain, you'll need to hose it down once in a while. You want it wet, but not saturated. Then just wait. In a few months you'll have the kind of compost your garden will thank you for.

Just remember...

So, what are you waiting for?

The above image is from an informational brochure I was given at the composting class. Click here to see the brochure in its entirety.

My Wild Backyard

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 06 Jun 2014 15:33:00 +0000

I was in my backyard the other day and I happened upon this very interesting little guy. It was on the roof of my shed just about at eye level. I'd say it was a tad bit bigger than an inch long; big enough to make me not want to bug it, but small enough, and so well camouflaged that it could have gone completely unnoticed.

So I googled it and came up with some facts.

It is commonly known as the Eyed Elator, Big-eyed Elater or Eyed Click Beetle.
It is a beneficial insect, meaning it's a good one to find in your yard or garden.
Larva measure up to 2 inches while adults are around 1 1/2 inches.
In the larval stage, they are "ferocious meat-eaters that dine on many other noxious wood-boring larvae, including those of wood-boring beetles." Yum!

This information was obtained from Galveston County master Gardeners, Beneficials In The Garden; Eyed Elator

I wonder what I'll find next.

Don't Pull That Trigger!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 23 May 2014 20:38:00 +0000

So, if you check my last blog post you will notice a rather big chunk of time has elapsed...yet again. Well, I got caught up on my Hustle, then I got caught up on what to write and what pictures to post, and then one day turned into a week, and a week into a month, and by then I had lost my bloggin' mojo.

Well, I did take notes on my Hustle, (yes, I'm one of those), so I thought I'd share the rest of the days, just in case you may want to work on your own Hustle, or you are curious about my story. I would highly recommend you go to Jon Acuff's facebook page and keep an eye out near the end of the month for your opportunity to sign up for the 30 Days of Hustle newsletter and find the facebook group of the same name. By now, there are quite a few sub-groups devoted to specific Hustles.

Days 10 and 11 deal with your triggers, or to put it in other words, those detractors that keep you from working on your goal. I'll be honest. This was not a favorite exercise of mine. Does anyone really like taking a long hard look at themselves and identify those traits that we would just as soon keep hidden? See, you can't make excuses when it's you. You already know the answer(s) if you just let go and get real with yourself.

Day 10's assignment was to identify my triggers. I could have come up with a shopping list full of triggers, but I chose just four, which I think are my biggest detractors:
~ADD behaviors (too many ideas fighting for my attention, unable to focus on one project long enough to finish before another one jumps into the spotlight. I am easily distracted. You could say I suffer from Ooh Shiny Syndrome.)
~Fear of Failure (I'm actually quite good at it, but I still get that sense of foreboding that this is just another thing I'm not going to succeed at, and that is really scary. What if I'm right?)
~ Self-Doubt (What if no one likes my stuff? What if they say my items are not made well or cost too much or are not special enough, or, or, or...?)
~Insecurity (I might as well lump this one with fear of failure and self-doubt. They are all interconnected.)

Day 11...Turn your triggers into an if/then statement. (As if Day 10 wasn't hard enough?)
OK, here goes:
~If I get distracted I will check my To Do list. (This actually works quite well for me.)
~If I am immobilized by too many ideas I will chose one that is ready to go (one that does not require me to go out and buy anything.)
~If I hear my nagging inner voice reminding me that I have failed at everything I have ever tried to do, I will think of all the great quotes on failure. (Robert Kiyosaki, Dave Ramsey, Albert Einstein are my favorites.)
~If self-doubt and insecurity start to take over I will remember the video clip of Stuart Smalley and his famous mantra...

So, if I asked you to identify your triggers, could you? Would you even want to?

Go ahead. Go have a look. What's the worse that could happen...you find something about yourself you don't like? Good, then that's where you start.

See It, Be It

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 09 Jan 2014 17:21:00 +0000

Jon Acuff really has us working hard on this, but I'm thankful for the kick in the butt. Really, have you ever tried to kick yourself in the butt? Not easy and definitely not the same motivation.

So here's the next two days in the challenge:

Day 8...Vision Time. I decided to create an inspiration board using magazine pics and words, plus some pics I got off the net, that will keep me motivated to not give up on my goal. Yeah, I could have done a virtual board, but I'm old fashioned. I like the whole process of hunting for just the right picture or words and moving them all around the board just so.

Day 9...Take your goal and cut it in half. Well, since my goal was to find a full-time job or get my Etsy shop moving in the right direction (not quite sure how to cut that one in half), this is my new goal:
~To find a part-time job and as far as my Etsy shop goes I had planned to get two new product lines going, so I'll focus on just one for now. One involves making wearables from recycled/upcycled clothing and the other involves making new items from large pet food bags. I'm going to work on the clothing line for three main reasons; 1)I'm being over-run by sweaters and my husband will kill me if I buy anymore, 2)I don't have anything from my shop that I can wear, which is a great way to get the word out about what I can do, and 3)I've let my fear of the serger hold me back long enough.

I'm a sucker for finding songs that fit my mood. I just couldn't let this one pass. If you have issues with the Rocky Horror Picture Show or seeing men in women's lingerie then you probably don't want to watch this one ;)

"Don't Dream It, Be It"