M.I.A.

Missing in action is what I have been, because I have been very busy. Not preparing for the holidays because I do not engage in that sort of behavior. But changing the way I eat and eat more raw foods, not meat but fruit, vegetables, grains etc, I hope you get the picture. I have been also researching re mineralization of teeth because I noticed some white spots on my child's teeth. I even found another blog post on the subject of re mineralization of teeth at the Tooth Soap Blog. I went over to Uncle Harry's website and I bought a bunch of product to help with the re mineralization process such as tooth powder for children to brush their teeth , mouth wash, re mineralization powder and some natural deodorant. I have to be careful with the type of deodorant I use because I have gotten huge cysts under my arms from using the deodorants that you find at the drug store. However that is with the exception of Kiss My Face natural deodorant and Toms of Maine brands. The Kiss my Face Deodorant is great I love it, it really works for me I use the unscented kind. My complaint with Tom's of Maine deodorant in calendula is that it did not combat my body odor that well and that's not good! The Kiss My Face liquid rock deodorant has no parabens and it states on the bottle that it 'neutralizes natural body acids in perspiration and it works wonderfully for me. I was browsing on drugstore.com and I found this product and I tried it for 1.49. I really like shopping on drugstore.com they have such a huge variety of products and they have some awesome sales. Shopping online is so enjoyable for me. I can find my products fast and I don't have my kids begging for candy like when I go to Walgreens or CVS and that is a definite plus. The best part is that it is delivered for free with a 25 dollar or more purchase, so it does not cost me a dime to have it come to my door.

Believe me that I did not plan to write a whole post about deodorant and re mineralization of teeth but I did. Bear with me a moment because I did not yet tell you of my favorite purchase which is my Waterpik. I bought the Ultra model and I use the pulsating water jet to do the job of flossing for me. I have a real problem when brushing my 23 months old teeth. He is still nursing and he was in danger of getting bottle cavities so was looking for ways to give him better dental care. You would not believe what I go through to brush his teeth. I use a soft toothbrush, Toms of Maine silly strawberry toothpaste. However he screams bloody murder when I try to brush his teeth, forget about flossing his little teeth he is just not going to have it. Now I got the Waterpik dental irrigator so that I could clean below his gum line because I was not able to clean with the tooth floss, but if you do not know this dental irrigator comes with a load of attachments which include a very small orthodontic brush and also a round toothbrush. Anyway I was using the small irrigator tip to clean under his gum line and I find that my son loves this water shooting in his mouth, he starts to get excited every time I say its time to clean your teeth.

You see what I have been doing is: I put a small amount of toothpaste on his little tooth brush and I get my toothbrush and I start demonstrating to him how to brush his teeth. I have his older brother involved too. We are just brushing away for awhile and then after we are done I get the Waterpik out. My little one is not brushing that well but, because he likes the Waterpik so much my husband suggests that I use the toothbrush attachment to brush his teeth. My 23 month old loves it. He can not get enough of it and I am able to brush his teeth well! His teeth look great Meshallah, I am so excited that I am able to get his teeth clean. My only concern is what will my dentist think about it?

A few things I love

A few things I love by mslovesrain

Man Finds Racial Slur Printed On Receipt

I found the most humorous display of soap humor on Dilbert's Blog. I love a good laugh just as much as I love a good lather of soap. I'm going to dabble in the art of soap making and I came across this post. Have a soapsicle as well from etsy seller Soapylove!

Laga Handbags Hand-Guided Free Motion on Treadle Machines

My new obsession is older Singer sewing machines. I plan to buy a 201-2

Easy Crock Pot Cooking Recipes : How to Cook Candied Nuts In A Crock Pot

Here is another more simpler recipe that I think would be safer for my 4 year old to do with supervision.

Make Roast and Candy Nuts - Cat Cora for Cooking.com

Michelle Obama: Be not afraid

I like Michele Obama so I am going to continue to share my favorite videos of her.

Michelle Obama let's not talk about her dress

I read every article I could get my hands on in various local papers and newsletters. I did not like her dress but, I guess she did that is why she chose it. I am aware that many are looking for the new President and his family to make mistakes and they are looking at them under a microscope. I live here in the USA I want them to be the best that they can be...for us all. I am happy that this country has grown enough that a man of color is able to be elected on his merit, his ability and I know the world is watching. I pray that Almighty God guides him to do what is best and that he will make very few, very minute errors.

mslovesrain does jewelry

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade mslovesrain.etsy.com

Circle Blue Planet

I have been very busy updating my etsy shop and making all sorts of jewelry. I have found it very soothing to sit on the cough with my little baskets of beads and findings and wire and just be creative. You might be wondering about why I chose that red ear display. Actually it is an Earring key chain that I bought on Ebay. The set up is an earring display that I stuck some double sided tape to it so that I could mount the ear on it. I was looking for a cheap earring display online and I found some silicone ones that looked very much like the one I have my earring displayed on except it isn't red. My display cost under 5 bucks as opposed to the one here that cost way more than that. I am very happy to say this. A display of color is a good thing, isn't it? It may distract you from my earring design but I really like the way it looks. I bought a load of mother of pearl jewelry supplies and I have made 3 different pair of earrings. And I used my photo studio from Square Perfect. The light are pretty good I think. My FujiFilms camera is only 3 megapixels so I am in need of an upgrade really soon. I am thinking of purchasing a Canon A590 which is 8 megapixels. The camera I have now is great I just don't feel it picks up the fine detail of my jewelry.

Price Your Jewelry Designs - wikiHow

Figuring out how to price your designs is one of the least glamorous parts of running a successful jewelry design business. Pricing your designs can be tricky, especially if you design one of a kind pieces, but it is an essential step you must take to turn your hobby into a profitable business. Once you understand the costs of your business, and what you expect to profit from your work, creating a formula to price your designs is a simple process.

Steps

1. Keep a "recipe book" to record exactly what was spent to create each design. You will basically need to price each item used in your designs. For example, if you pay $1.50 for a dozen sterling crimp beads, and you used 2 crimps beads in your design, you would divide $1.50 by 12 (12.5¢ per crimp bead), and multiply by 2, totalling 25¢ for the crimp beads in this design. This makes it much easier to calculate the exact cost of each design. The more meticulous you are about calculating expenses, the better your pricing will be. Even the packing materials you use for the design and the shipping costs of the supplies should be accounted for. Keep receipts -- this will also come in handy during tax time, if you want to deduct business expenses. Remember that materials cost is only one aspect of the costs involved in your designs.
   
2. Record your time spent on each design. How quickly can you design and complete your jewelry? Second to quality, speed is a key factor in profitability. If it takes you 30 minutes to recreate a design, you would charge differently than a design that takes 4-5 hours to create. Write your time spent in your recipe book. Decide how much you would need to pay a worker to do your job, and pay yourself at that rate. This is a vital aspect of the costs involved in your designs; don't ignore it! Sooner than you think, you may decide to hire a friend to help you prepare for a show or party. The hourly wage paid to a worker, whether that person is you, or someone you hire, must be built into your price scheme, or you will not be able to remain in business. If you begin by charging $10/hr for your work, and a necklace takes you 2 hours to make, you will add $20 to the materials cost of your necklace for your time. As you become more experienced, you will charge more for your skill and expertise.
   
3. Add Overhead and Profit. *Everyone has a different method of calculating their overhead costs, but there is ALWAYS some overhead. What is overhead? Overhead covers a myriad of "hidden costs" and ignoring it is a fast way to underprice yourself out of business. When you first begin, overhead includes the shipping costs you pay to have your beads shipped to you, the investment you make every time you purchase a new pair of pliers, a work table, storage boxes, or price tags. Overhead includes every bead that rolled under the couch or down the street, and every item dropped in the grass during packing, or (sad, but it happens occassionally) stolen from your booth or table. It covers the cost of gas and insurance when you pick up tools and materials, and it covers all of the materials that get "used up" in the creation of your product, such as glue, solder, string, wire, coatings/finishes, etc. It covers the time and cost of advertising, whether you spend time emailing your customers, or printing and mailing glossy postcards. It covers office expenses like business cards, computer paper and ink, packing slips, receipts, brochures, inventories, and more. Later on, overhead covers more expensive outlay of capital, such as rent, phone, computers, electric, heat, torches, gas, solder, flux, chemicals, and more expensive equipment to build your studio and your business. Profit is what you add to your price to help your business grow. Profit is NOT the same as what you pay for labor. You may own your business and pay someone else to make all of the jewelry. They are paid for their labor, but the business still needs to make a profit, or it can't grow. Profit allows you to lay out the money for 3 strands of beads this week, when you could only afford two last week. Some calculations for profit and overhead can be complicated, but a quick and simple starting point is given below.
   
4. Calculate the price. Using a formula will give you a starting point, and you can tweak the price with the steps that follow. Which formula you use, however, will depend on whether you're selling retail (directly to customers) or wholesale (to stores, for example).
   
   • Wholesale - Take the total cost of your supplies plus your time, multiply by 1.5 (some people multiply by 2). Multiplying by 1.5 - 2 covers your overhead and profit to start with. You may adjust down if you are just starting, and expenses are minimal, or up if you are actively building a larger business. For example, if I am just starting and have low overhead, I may charge $8/hr and take 1 hour to make a bracelet using $5 in materials; my price will be $5(mater.) + $8(time) = $13(cost) x 1.5 (overhd/profit) = $19.50 wholesale price. With more expensive equipment, more experience, and a product that requires a higher level of skill, I may charge $5 + 15/hr, x 2 = $40 wholesale. You can charge less for your jewelry if you're selling wholesale because you spend less time marketing to individual customers (advertising, processing orders, maintaining a shopping cart website, maintaining a store, etc.) and more time actually making jewelry. You should verify that your market can afford a mark-up, using the next few steps. A wholesale operation will be selling your piece for around twice as much as you sell it to them. Many jewelry designers find that selling wholesale allows them to achieve business growth and profitability. When you use the 1.5 factor, you are allowing room for shop owners to sell your designs and even offer sales and discounts on your designs, if a certain design doesn’t sell quickly enough. This may sound like a lot, but make sure that you consider the amount of time and labor you put into developing and creating your pieces as well as the boutique owner's expenses.
     
   • Retail - Take the total cost of your supplies plus your time, multiply it times 3 (or 4), and there’s your retail price. This is the same as wholesale x 2. A spreadsheet is perfect for this step. Simply set up a table of products used, your time, and then a formula to calculate the pricing using the 3 or other multiple. Ex: for the first example given above, I would simply multiply $19.50 (wholesale price) x 2, for a $39 retail price. In the second case, retail might be $40 x 2 + $80. There is a lot of room for adjustment here. If your business has a physical storefront, you have to take into consideration that there are additional costs. Rent, employee pay, utilities, displays and fixtures, and property taxes all need to be considered in your pricing strategy. Even if you sell at a booth at a crafts market, you need to consider your transportation to and from the market, your time spent at the market, and all the supplies involved (tent, tables, food, signs, displays, bags, receipts, etc.). You may find that in your market, you need to price at 3 to 5 times your cost of materials plus time. This price allows you to cover the cost of buying your materials, paying (yourself or someone else) to make the pieces, selling them at wholesale with minimal overhead and profit covered (x 1.5 - 2), and then selling at retail yourself (2x wholesale), where a weekend booth at a moderately high end show may cost $500-$700.
     
   
   
5. Adjust for the cost of your labor. *The difference between a hobby and a business is whether you get a paycheck, so decide how much you want to make per hour, and make sure that your labor is accounted for in the price. Treat yourself as an employee who doesn't work for free. If you have employees, consider the cost of paying them in addition to your own salary. Let's say, for example, the cost of supplies for your design is $10. If you want to pay yourself $10 per hour and you spent 2 hours on this design, then you really need to be charging at least $60 for the piece ($10 supplies, $20 labor, $30 approximate overhead and profit, depending on wholesale or retail). There may be additional costs to consider, such as your storefront, or time spent marketing (e.g. creating a brochure).
   
   • When deciding how much to pay yourself hourly, consider your experience. How long have you been designing jewelry? If you have a long track record, vast expertise, and a portfolio of unique designs, you may find that you can charge more. You may have particular advantages, including contacts, unique designs, high level skills, or ability to work with uncommon materials that allow you to charge more.
     
   • To repeat--just because you enjoy doing the work doesn't mean you shouldn't get paid for it! Make sure you're getting at least minimum wage. If not, you may quickly decide that your time "just isn't worth it".
     
   
   
6. Perform market research. Now that you have an idea of what you want to charge for a design, it's time to dip your toes in the market and see if the piece can be profitable. Generally, it's a good idea to start off with the highest price you think the market will bear, because you can always bring it down. Have you visited craft shows, jewelry parties, and researched the web to see what work similar to yours is selling for?
   
   • Have people offered to buy any of your jewelry designs? This is a good indication of the marketability of your designs. If your coworkers fight over a necklace you made, that may be a good sign that there is a market for your design. Friends and coworkers are also good sounding boards for prices. Ask them how much they think your design is worth, and what they would pay for it.
     
   • Examine past success. Have you already sold any of your jewelry? This is important too in that it gives you concrete information on how much you can sell a design for. You may hear from friends of coworkers that they would pay $XX for a design, but an actual sale is real, concrete evidence.
     
   • Has an experienced designer evaluated your work? Having the opinion of another designer can be valuable in determining the level of quality of your work, and what you can expect to get for it.
     
   
   
7. Re-evaluate the design. If you encountered feedback in the previous step which indicates that the price you arrived at isn't going to fly, you have some thinking to do about this design.
   
   • If you do not find interest for a particular design, you may want to think of changing the design.
     
   • Assess your materials. Do you design using sterling findings and semi-precious beads, or less expensive beads? Higher quality materials will always command a higher price in the market. You may want to consider making designs with both high quality materials, and less expensive materials. This will allow you to attract business from both the high end buyer, and the more budget minded buyer.
     
   • Don't cut yourself short just to "break in" to the market (e.g. selling to customers at wholesale prices). This will only get people used to cheap prices, and it'll be difficult to raise them later on, jeopardizing your chances of ever making your business profitable. It's better to redesign or reject pieces that don't cover their costs as described above. People are often suspicious of products sold at unusually low prices; most of us have internalized the idea that 'you get what you pay for'. Cheap prices are often interpreted as cheap materials and workmanship. If your pieces aren't selling well, try raising your prices. It goes against our intuition, but you may be surprised at the results!
     
   
   

Tips

• As you become more experienced, you'll find which prices cover your unique costs while still generating sales. For example, if you're doing a lot of beadwork and wirework where the supply cost is low but the time spent is high, and you're selling retail only through a website, the following could be a better formula:[1]
  
  • (cost of materials x 2) + (time spent on piece x hourly rate)
    
  • calculate 30% of the previous figure and add it to the previous figure to account for overhead
    
  • multiply the figure by 2 to get the retail price
    
  
  
• Some people use the tactic of setting a retail price just under a whole number ($49.95 rather than $50) to make the price look less intimidating. This may be more suitable for relatively inexpensive pieces[2] but you should experiment to see how your customer base responds.
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Price Your Product
  
• How to Earn Money by Making and Selling Crafts
  
• How to Start a Crafts Business
  
• How to Set Up Credit Card Processing for Your Business
  
• How to Choose Jewelry
  
• How to Make Jewelry
  
• How to Accessorize With Jewelry
  
• How to Clean Birthstone and Mother's Ring Jewelry
  

Sources and Citations

• HHHenterprises.com - Source of information.
  
• Erayo.com - Source of information.
  

1. ↑ http://jewelrymaking.allinfoabout.com/features/pricing.html


2. ↑ http://jewelrymaking.allinfoabout.com/features/pricing.html

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Price Your Jewelry Designs. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Hello everyone, I know I have been gone for a while but I have been catching up on Project Runway Australia. I believe that the designers there are so much more talented than the USA version. However I don't want to talk about that today I shall leave that topic off for now. I have been looking for a wall bookshelf for my two boys. Recently I have been rearranging furniture and continuing my organizing projects that were inspired by Benita the author of the Chez Larson blog. I did a Google search for plate racks because I wanted something low profile to sit up against the wall in front of my sons little table that would not take up a lot of space. Instead of putting plates into the plate rack I plan on putting their workbooks for school and other books and I will place a durable basket to hold more books and I plan to rotate them so that my sons will have something to pique their interest everyday. I am going to post pictures when I get everything set up. Btw the plate rack can be found here for 49,99.

Marlon Brando's Oscar® win for

I never heard of anyone refusing to accept an Oscar. Isn't Youtube great, you can watch videos on just about anything!

Dye Jeans with Coffee, Weird Web Wears, Threadbanger

I hope you like this video, I wanted to do something with an old denim skirt and I had to pass this video along to everyone who visits my blog. This video also features burdastyle.com

Blancucha:: De viaje

Isn't this print amazing, it is from a shop called Blancuchua and inside the shop you will find the cutest prints ever. I am thinking of buying this one for my son's room. When looking for art I have a tendency to go for simplistic prints like this one.

trapeze sweater

trapeze sweater, originally uploaded by Mslovesrain.

I had my eye on this sweater for a while and I just bought it tonight! Yay for me. It was only 9.99 and I bought it in red. It is available in cream but only in a medium. I got this from Alloy and the code for free shipping with a purchase of 75 dollars or more is AHK134N. Alloy is a online clothing retailer that caters to the trendy teenage population. However I shop there all the time. It reminds me of Delia's but I like them a whole lot better. I have a inkling that Alloy and Deli's are linked together somehow because they have some of these same adverts on their sites.

You can pair this sweater up with a long sleeve tee, a camisole, or a tank it is just so cute. I love knitted clothing and those pretty cables are just so dainty to me. It is a feminine sweater which is a quality I like in my clothing. It feels romantic....what do you think?

InboxDollars.com

I just wanted to share a way that you can earn a few bucks while on the internet. In less than a month I have earned almost twenty dollars by reading emails for a penny each and 50 cents to take part in surveys. I saw a feature on this site on Good Morning America but I never got around to joining. You get 5 dollars just for signing up and once you have 30 dollars you can request a check that will receive in about a month's time. If you are a member please leave a comment, I would really like to hear about other peoples experience with this site.

Pack Lightly Jet Setter

I am never bored and that is partly because of Polyvore, you are able to manipulate so many images and all you have to do is click on the image and it will take you to the Polyvore set which will give you the source of where to buy all the awesome buys that make up this set.

Welcome to my studio

Look what I got in the mail yesterday! I have been wanting one of these for about two years. I was thinking of selling on eBay and I wanted to take some great photos of my items. I can remember seeing New Egg advertise a studio in a box pakes for a little bit over a hundred dollars and I also remember not wanting to spend that much at all, I am going to have a bit of fun with this over the weekend and I am going to try and post some pictures. I am so excited!

Solutions to Stop Procrastination

I try to find solutions to do better and I found this information that has been helpful to me . Check out their time Tabulator.

• Recognize that procrastination stems from habit. New habits will be needed, and these take time and commitment to develop.
• Harold Taylor defines procrastination as the intentional and habitual postponement of an important task that should be done now.
• Understand the cause for procrastination, then develop strategies to fix it.
• Recognize the difference between an appropriate decision to delay, and an irrational postponement without justification.
• Fix procrastination by working on a) tasks and b) your environment:

TASK STRATEGIES

Unpleasant tasks

• Unpleasant tasks rarely turn out to be as bad as you think.
• Complete these tasks first. Schedule them for early in the day. Give yourself a reward for doing them.

Complex Projects

• Something looms ahead of you: starting a small business, getting a job, preparing the annual budget. The job is too big or will take too long to do now, so you put it off.
• Break large jobs into smaller, more manageable tasks. Plan and complete a start-up task, no matter how small.

Indecision

• People delay because they can't make up their minds.
• Determine a time for making a decision and the criteria for making it. Share your deadline with someone else.

Fear of failure (lack of self confidence)

• People don't want to face the consequences of failure, so they delay. (Some people suffer from fear of success too!)
• Develop a clear mental picture of the completed task and how you will feel at that time. Maintain a focus on the end result, not just the process. Remind yourself how good you'll feel when you're finished.

Lack of interest

• You are tired or lazy. You're just not very interested in the task.
• Reward yourself for accomplishments. Go out for special lunches when major projects are completed. If you don't earn the reward, don't take it.
• Schedule the task for when you will be at your peak.

Perfectionism

• People delay because they want to get the project perfect.
• Set deadlines for yourself. Tell other people your deadlines and encourage them to check up on you.
• Maintain your high standards, but recognize that sometimes 80% for you may well be 100% for someone else. Don't spend hours conducting a detailed cost breakdown when a rough estimate would suffice.

Hostility towards a boss

• People delay because they don't like the person who assigned the task.
• Review with your boss what exactly is needed. Clarify the expectations.
• Make a game out of unpleasant tasks. Give yourself points, or do a running commentary on yourself as you do the task.

Distraction, lack of focus

• Sometimes losing concentration causes delays.
• Create a to-do list with priorities.
• Block your time for projects.
• As you get distracted from a work project, make a rule that you are not allowed to move out of your chair, make a call, surf the net, pick up a book etc. until you return to your task.
• Complete something. Make a very small task for yourself and finish it. Very small. Then, make another one.

ENVIRONMENT STRATEGIES

• Tailor your environment for work. Close your door, clean up the clutter on your desk.
• Remove distractions such as water coolers, snacks, in-boxes, coffee machines and magazine racks.
• If you work at home, treat your office as an office. Don't go out to lunch before lunchtime or watch television before the end of the day.
• Tell your family that you are not to be disturbed in your home office.

This information was compiled by a company called Pace Productivity and the company provides solutions for the business world and this information can be used individualy as well. You can visit them here.

550 Parachute Bracelet

HOWTO: Make a 550 Cord Bracelet from Jayel Aheram on Vimeo.



I am working on taking better pictures and purchasing a new camera to do my videos on youtube. I have exactly one subscriber and I don't have one single video up! I was looking for some cord supplies and I came across this video. Enjoy!

Minding Prismera

Want to visit a sweet blog filled with tutoriasl and great finds? Visit Prismera, she started her blog in July of 2007. I found her ring tutorial on Youtube and I followed her link to her blog. I love the last line in her first post which exclaims, "The blog starts right now!"

Me at polyvore!

Video #2: Wire Wrap Ring Tutorial

I really enjoy making things and dabbling in all sorts of crafts. Lately I have had a fascination with mother of pearl and other various coin shaped gemstones. I already have in in my head to start making some rings. About a year ago I bought some gold filled wire and also some sterling silver wire from Firemountain Gems. I haven't done anything with it yet but yesterday I went on Youtube and found this great video on how to make rings. That will be my next project to tackle when I find my ring mandrel. My kids use it as a sword, its plastic and it is probably in their toy box or under their beds.

cotton vegan bracelet

Etsy seller Eastern Sky has the cutest bracelets I have ever seen. I particularly like fine metals and stones when it comes to bracelets but these bracelets are so awesome. It will go perfect with my blue topaz ring. It was nice to search for cotton vegan bracelet and have these bracelets show up and the best part is that you can actually pick the colors that you want! She has a list of yarns to choose from. What more can you ask for a mere 12 bucks. This seller is in the UK too btw.

Here is another find at urban outfitter. I want this glass hand to showcase the rings that I have designed. It is my desire to bring my designs out of my sketch book and into my Etsy shoppe. I am finding that I really don't have a lot of time to make things since school started. It might be helpful if I set a goal to make at least 3 items a week, because once I sit down and start creating jewelry pieces I tend to have 4-5 pieces done. But this glass hand would make a great display. What do you think?

Garden pillow

Look at what is on sale at Urban Outfitters! The colors in this pillow are so lovely and that makes me very happy. I now have to decide if I want to shell out the 24.99 to buy it. It was 49.00

You might be wondering where I have been........

I have been a bit busy with my 4 year old who I am homeschooling. I am actually teaching him in the unschooling approach, by having him learn through our everyday routine. Winter will be approaching so I am trying my best to get prepared and get a couple of new comforters and I really want to paint with this awesome paint called "Moonlight." Doesn't that sound wonderful, it looks even better.

Busy is what I have been and I miss posting unique things I find on the internet. I found a great project on Martha Stewart site which involves two bookcases, a bookcase armoire. It is an awesome project that I originally found on apartment therapy and I can't wait to get started on it soon. You can find it here.

I will be posting about a great book I heard about maybe tomorrow, and guess what it is about blogging!

House Rejected Net Neutrality in 2006

What is a Bugaboo?

A friend of mine sent me this video and it is hilarious. There was a time I was harassed like this. At the time I did not find it funny, but in fun it is a comical situation. I will be posting more enjoy!

Notes From The Underbelly - ABC - WC

Unfortunately I missed the window to blog yesterday because I was busy watching a sitcom on abc.com that I thought was cancelled. You can just imagine my surprise when I went to ABC's site and found 7 new episodes that I had not yet seen. This show is so funny, it chronicles the life of Lauren and Andrew who decide to have a baby and it shows the ups and downs as well as all this crazy advice from their friends. It is based upon a book with the same title by Risa Green. If you want a good laugh go here. Once you go to the shows website there will be a link on the left side of the screen that will bring you to the ABC network site where you can watch it online.

Our Artful Life

This post is about a blog that I found and that I absolutely love called Yummy. The lovely woman who authors this blog also has another blog called Our Artful Life, which is one of my favorite blogs to visit now. Martha Stewart is making so much money on keeping house, crafting and entertaining, which is something that I see many women from all over the world doing quite well. I guess that is one of the reasons I like to peer into their homes when I visit their blog. If you look at some of the earlier posts I tried my best to raise awareness to Net Neutrality. At times I wonder what will become of the vast amount of bloggers that I have grown to love and appreciate. This will affect people in the USA and in other places as well. How much it will affect people in other parts of the world I am not sure. I would just like to ask everyone who reads my blog to do something to support Net Neutrality. Write about it on your blog. Raise awareness.

Before I forget she has some amazing photos of her glass art paint project on her Our Artful Life blog. And be sure to check out the sticky bun recipe that she has featured on her Yummy blog....she says they taste pretty similar to Cinnabon.

Polyvore!

Where exactly have I been? I just found out about Polyvore two days ago, I can't quite remember how I stumbled upon it, but I know I was looking for some cuffed trousers. What can I say?!? This site is so awesome. I now have a place to put all my great finds, because not only can you put clothing and accessories you remix your furniture and other interior design purchases. It is so simple to get started save your own images. Have fun with it. Just look at my outfit above. This is exactly my style at its best. From time to time I will be posting my ensemble, you can visit my page here and become my contact and see my other sets.

Salvaged Wood Chair

Here I am once again sharing another wood chair except this time it is made with salvaged wood instead of faux wood laminated as I mentioned in another post. Can you imagine have a chair like this in your possession and watching it age and have it handed down to your children 's children. I must convince my Dh that we need this chair. I like this chair better than the one in my other post, don't you?

Btw it is made by Hudson furniture and it can be found here.

Follow me on Style Hive

I have been on style hive for awhile and I wanted to let you know that only a portion of what I find is on my blog. So if you want to follow me on style hive you can by clicking on the follow me link on the sidebar. Style hive is one of the sources of my wonderful finds on my blog as well as :

1. I use the internet as a treasure hunt, I follow links to links to links which leads me to find awesome items.
2. Style Hive ( i know I already mentioned it)
   
3. Etsy Pounce
4. I read a bunch of blogs it takes me a couple of days to go through my blog list and I find great items on other peoples blog
   
5. I search for things using goggle images. A picture really is worth a thousand words.
   

Save the Internet What you can do.

I got my first treasury on Etsy!!!!!!!!

I have always wanted a treasury on Etsy and today I was able to get one. It was quite a coincidence that a spot opened up soon after my boys fell asleep for the night.

The title of my treasury is Undiscovered Etsians and the link is here.

I wanted to post it on my blog but I failed miserable at achieving that. I hope the sellers get some sells from my treasury. And in case anyone is wondering, no I was not paid to feature them. I tried my best to get good photos and sadly I did not pick a few items because the pictures were not that good. Then I felt a bit guilty because as I looked in my shop I thought, "Wow I really need to retake my jewelry photos and try to complete a few projects because my store looks quite bare right now." I only have 11 items listed. When you know better you will do better and I have this link for new or experienced Etsy sellers who, like me want to do better click here.


I have never posted twice in one day. I just had to tell you about my treasury it will end on Monday. If you know how to put a Treasury snapshot on a blog please email me with the details at mslovesrain@gmail.com

Goodnight internet world, I am a bit sleepy and thirsty from playing with my boys today. Take care.

Bonnie's Blog & My Etsy Find

I don't believe I have mentioned exactly how much I love reading new blogs and finding humor and creativity as I read a new blog. I have been thinking of starting another blog just to list all the great blogs that I find and the undiscovered Etsy shops on pounce. I have decided that writing another blog will take me away from making my jewelry designs and weekly treasure hunts. However from time to time I will write about undiscovered Etsy shops and blogs that I enjoy.

Today I want to tell you about Bonnies Blog. Bonnie writes heartfelt posts about her family and her daily activities. Check out this humorous post that she writes concerning her son here.

And last but certainly not least today I found Etsy seller JamsaBon. This seller sell Shinzi Katoh
sticky tape this one can be found here. My favorite is the polkadot one with the little boy and girl blowing bubblegum bubbles. I really loved blowing bubbles with my gum as a kid, maybe that's why this tape is a favorite of mine. It also reminds me of the vintage Dick and Jane children books. This would be really cute to add to a packaged gift.

I want to say thank you for all the comments that I have been receiving and your emails for technical advice and troubleshooting.

Strada Chair by Twentieth

This chair just takes my breath away. It is called the Strada Chair and it is made of stacked laminate construction. What is that exactly? I love the way this looks but I have a pretty good idea that this chair is very hard. It looks good though but is that enough for the price of 58 hundred dollars? If I did not have my little children or my DH objecting to the purchase I would definitely get it if it was say 51 hundred dollars cheaper. I saw this over at style hive and I had to share it with you. Btw this chair is from Twentieth.

Jewelry Supply Organizer

Lately I have been getting myself in gear by organizing the clutter in my home. I was looking online at different sites to find something to put all my beads wire and findings into. At the present I have my supplies in jewelry trays and in small plastic ziploc bags. It usually takes more than a few moments for me to find what I am looking for and I thought it would be best to find a more adequate storage solution. So I am going to buy a few of these Stack on 39 drawer organizers. You can find them here. The cost is just 18.99 and I will paint them or modge podge them with some cute fabric, wrapping paper or scrapbook paper. Yesterday I went to Lowes and they had an organizer similar to this one but it was about 15 dollars more and was a bit smaller. And this organizer is also available at Kmart for 13.00 but at the present they're out of stock. You can fine it here and they will notify you via email when they have them available again.

I had a great time shopping at Lowes where I bought a sample of this blue paint to experiment with painting my new desk area and I saw some contractors paper that I am going to buy. For those of you who don't know what that is , it is a very large roll of durable brown paper that you put down while you are painting. However I want to use it to plan out an 8 gore skirt that I want to make a pattern of. And I thought that I would make a paper pattern with the contractors paper and at the same time have paper that I could put under my kids while they paint on their easels.

You see I have 3 sewing machines that are a result of shopping at shopgoodwill.com, and ebay. I bought a set of 3 portable sewing machines from shopgoodwill, because they were small and portable and I thought it would be a great idea to have a little sewing machine to take on trips. The other two that I bought on ebay were under 30 dollars each so I had to buy them because the price was so reasonable. If you would like to see a lady who seem to have organization in the bag so to speak check out Benita's blog, Chez Larsson. She is living in Sweden in a small house in a suburb just outside of Stockholm. When I have a chance I will put the other earrings I made up on the blog, goodbye and take care!

Make Your Own Crossword Puzzle

When I was a little girl I loved traveling with my grandma. I was a very talkative child and I asked a lot of questions. I look back and I can remember the patience that my Nana had with me. I love doing puzzles and brain teasers and my grandmother would buy crossword puzzles to occupy me at times. I would get so excited as she pulled a wordsearch puzzle from her purse and inside her purse it smelled of strong peppermint and Doublemint gum. I would sit quietly in my seat and pour over those books with a peppermint in my mouth.

This is one of my most fond memories of my grandmother. You can make your own puzzles by following the link here. Wordsearch puzzles are wonderful aids to increase ones vocabulary and the site is easy to use so go and make a puzzle for the special child or children in your life. I even made a puzzle for my husband to give out to his customers that included many of the fragrances that he sells.

Save The Internet!

Complete Embellishing

Etsy is one of my favorite destinations everyday. There is just so much creativity and inspirational stories on that site. Yesterday was no different The Storque did a feature on Kayte Terry. She has a book out that I am definitely going to buy and guess what she used to be the Visual Manager at Anthropologie for many years. You can read the interview here.

I have a problem

Today is the day that I have decided that I really need to start planning more and setting some realistic goals. I have found that I spend way too much time reading blogs and checking my Etsy store for sales. It is not in my nature to worry because frankly I have too much going on. I buckled down before and I learned how to knit in a couple of hours, I still have not picked up my crochet hook to start on a granny square for Hoppo Bumpo's granny-along. It is only one square I have the yarn, I have the hook and I have the time. What is wrong with you Mona?!?! (that is me yelling at myself) Which leads me to this question: What is exactly your problem? You have no plan when you wake up and you have abandoned your lists. I was once an avid list maker. I have a clipboard with several pens close by but I don't write on it anymore. However I am going to start, right now! You may be wondering what brought me to this realization. I was on Flickr and there is a group that I belong to called Pretty Organized and I saw a photo of an organized group of art supplies. I decided to investigate further into the Flickr member who posted the photo and she had a blog that I visited called Defining my Destiny and she had some wonderful quotes. I am going to share a few with you.

Ignorance is a voluntary tax!" - Unknown

"I can't have a crises next week, my schedule is already full." - Henry Kissinger

"You must act as if it is impossible to fail." - Ashanti Proverb

"This is nothing to me, difficult takes a day, impossible takes a week." - Jay-Z

And my favorite quote of all that she featured on her blog is this one below:

"Clutter is a sign that decisions need to be made."

When I read this quote I was like "Wow" It was definitely an Aha moment for me. I am going to have to find a way to curb the clutter in my home. This is not an easy task when you have 3 people in your home working against you everyday. When I clean my DH feels that I am hiding his things. However I work in my home and the atmosphere now is not conducive to my creativity or my well-being. It is a fact that I am internalizing my real feelings on the state of my home. My home is clean just not as organized as I want and need it to be. In my head it goes back to a quote of mines that I used and developed during my college years.

"Potential means nothing if you don't get off you butt and do something. "

You can have all the potential in the world but if you do not take any action to use your potential it is just a waste. I have a decision to be made and I won't let this clutter hold me back!

Bag Love

How many ways can I say I love this bag it is Moroccan inspired and at the cost of over 200 dollar it better stand up and carry itself a few steps for me.

It reminds me of "Paris in the Springtime"

Yesterday I had so much fun creating new things for my shop and I made one pair of earrings that I had to keep for myself. It is my wish that people will buy my jewelry and enjoy wearing it as much as I do. My children were tearing up my house while I was creating these earrings. Sometimes I just take out my supplies and I play around with different jewelry findings and beads. These earring are the result of my afternoon playtime. I call these earrings Paris in the Springtime.

"Paris in the Springtime" where the flowers are starting to bloom the air is scented with the Spring first blossoms. I showed these to my family and they were quite impressed. The other pair is going into my Etsy shop. I made a total of 4 pairs of earrings today and I will show the other three pair tomorrow after I have taken the pictures and named them.

Kritz 4 Prez

Store Fronts

Store Fronts, originally uploaded by Mslovesrain.

1. The Harley Davidson store on Newbury Street Boston, 2. Old Store Front, 3. kyoto store front, 4. Vintage Store Fronts, 5. store front, 6. store front, 7. The Urban Blossom Store Front, 8. Opera Alley Store Fronts, 9. 1100 Sodu Front store display, 10. Store Front, 11. Danneman's Store Front, 12. OLD STORE FRONT, 13. Danish Bohemia Store Front, 14. Restaurant store front, 15. Punta Gorda Store Front, 16. Store Front, 17. Old Store Fronts - Virginia City, Nevada, 18. cool store front, 19. Old store front ... New Mexico, 20. Store Front - West Village, 21. Store front windows along Rue Laurier, Montreal, 22. Store front windows along Rue Laurier, Montreal, 23. NY - Store Front, 24. Euclid Avenue Store Fronts: East Cleveland, Ohio, 25. Lovely store front, Lille, 26. Red Store Front, Chicago, 27. Flower Shop store front, 28. store front, 29. store front, 30. Decatur Arts Festival 2006 - Store Front, 31. Store front in old town, 32. Carniceria Mexican Grocery Store-front, 33. Store Front Ronda Spain, 34. Store Front with flowers, Cesky Krumlov, 35. Old Hungarian Store Front, 36. Store Front

When I go window shopping it's not just to see the latest fashions but to see the wonderful window displays that are filled with a variety of texture and patina.

I blog everyday I just dont email everyday?!?!

This is one post that is just being made to clear up a few things. First of all I would like everyone who reads my blog everyday to know that for the most part since I started taking blogging more seriously I have tried to have a new post up each and everyday. You see I don't actually write a blog post everyday I just schedule my posts ahead of time so that when people come back to my blog there is something new up to share with all my Internet world buddies. I just had to put that out there because I need to get better at returning my emails and I want everyone to know that just because you see a blog post for that day it does not necessarily mean that I have been online that day. So please don't feel like you have been slighted that is not the case at all and once I fine out how I will put my email address on the sidebar.
(mslovesrain@gmail.com for anyone who wants to know)

I try my best to respond to everyones comments and I will respond at your blog (if you have one) or in the comments section on my blog where you left a comment.

Also my 100th post is coming up and what better way to mark that milestone than to have a GIVEAWAY!!!!! Yes I said it a giveaway. For now what I am giving away is a secret but i will reveal soon I promise. My 1000th visit is coming up too but I think I will wait until my 100,000 visit. Now that would be a milestone to mark!

Re-Ment

Re-Ment, originally uploaded by Mslovesrain.

After seeing so many beautiful miniature setting on Flickr I have decided to collect re-ment miniatures. It is funny that I never thought of myselfas a collector but here I am collecting things that I never thought I would collect.

Wall paper your Fridge?

Check out this link, since I can't buy myself a red Smeg if they even come in that color I'm going to do this. This is one project that is just too cute for words. I tell you I am going crazy now because I need to get to Lowe's!

Want a good laugh?

Yvestown Flickr Favorites

1. Breakfast, 2. Sublime Stitching, 3. Shopping Bags, 4. Just For Show, 5. Done!!, 6. Happy Mother's Day!!, 7. Park Slope, 8. HI, 9. Yvestown Giveaway!, 10. Allsorts Elf Clogs, 11. Real Pink, 12. My New Addiction, 13. Jeu de Paume Books for sale at Yvestown, 14. For Jane, 15. Knitting Stripes, 16. Kitchen Notice Board

The Strobist

Photography has been one of my passions. While I was in high school I carried a 35mm Vivitar camera around with me. I precise remember that the camera was black, it had a self timer on it and a sliding lens cover that I thought was so cool. The cost of that camera was not more than 25 dollars and I really loved that camera. I would take pictures over and over again until I dropped it and all the batteries fell out. The batteries door was broken and I taped it shut until I just gave up on that camera and bought another Vivitar camera with a self timer. Since then I have had every kind of camera imaginable digital and an Slr too. I still want a lomographic camera and I wonder if there is a digital lomographic camera.

It was my intent to write this post about a great blog called the Strobist. However you can just follow the link and visit there yourself. It has quickly became one of my favorite blogs. Visit it and tell him mslovesrain sent you.

Here I go again with another fab find at Fred Flare! This colorful contraption is a USB hub chain. It is full of color which is something I love. You can find it here.

Dreaming to do silkscreen?

I don't know if you have been dreaming about silkscreen, but I know I have. I have a notebook full of ideas. You see I have an obsession with planning things out and I get easily distracted so I have to write things down so that I can go back later and finish what I started. It does not help that I am always multi-tasking. Most of my activities involve breastfeeding, I can not seem to wean my 18 month old off of my breast and he wants to be held while he sleeps. I know, I know I have spoiled him silly, I could not help myself he smells so darn good. and I just love me a good smelling little guy.

As you may have gathered from the picture above this post is supposed to be about a great find I found over at Fred Flare. It is a Silkscreen Workshop DVD by Kingi Carpenter, and let me tell you this: I loved how she got started with her business Peach Beserk and I am getting this pronto. Here interview is here and you can purchase it here.

Net Neutrality

Intoducing HoneypieLiving

1. coming home to your shelter, 2. sucre accroche-coeur, 3. breathing red, 4. vanilla Day, 5. shadows and dust, 6. budding light, 7. nessun dorma, 8. enamored, 9. coffee with that?
The talented blogger at All Things Bright And Beautiful interviewed HoneypieLiving and you can find that interview here. Be sure to look at her photos on Flickr she is amazing you will not be disappointed she has a great eye for small detail.

Bookshelf

My next purchase to store my finished jewelry display and jewelry trays. I am going to try my best to keep things simple and compact. It measures 62.25Hx32.75Wx12.75D"
This can be found at Target here.

GorillaPod

It has recently been my quest to take better pictures and I found out about this GorillaPod tripod. I am definitely going to purchase this, and it is in pink! However for those of you who aren't as fond of pink as I am it is available in grey, red, yellow, blue and green. You can find it here at Amazon.com and it will cost you from 16 to 25 dollars U.S. In my opinion the best feature of this is the bendy/twisty legs of the tripod you can bend those legs around branches, poles, handles etc.

Cosmojetz - Wind-Up Hopping Desk Sculpture

While searching for gadgets on Amazon.com I found this collectible wind up toy. The design is by Chico Bicalho and it is composed of stainless steel with PVC feet, measuring only 2.5" X 2.5" X 2.5". It can be found here. This is just one of many in a series, it is worth a look if you are interested in this sort of gadget, which I would call a toy for grownups.

One of my time wasters

Thank You Dr. Richard Williams

The best advice I got from a college Professor was from my math Professor Dr. Richard Williams. he stated " that anything you want to do in life has probably been done before and someone has written a book about it." I quickly jotted down this tidbit of information and I have pondered over it for years. When I think back to that summer that I decided to take that class was a great experience for me. Dr. Williams cared about his students and he pushed us to excel in his class, he gave us handout on 'The Art of Listening," How to Get Along with the Opposite Sex," The Abc's of Planning," and "Making to Do Lists and Schedules." Throughout my college experience I found that I did not get the attention that I received in his class. Taking this class was a stepping stone for me I did not know that for every hour I was in class I needed to study for two. I was without a plan for my schedule and Dr. Williams gave me the tools and information to take my life to another level. I really appreciated that and being in his class was one of my life altering experiences.

Solutions to problems is something that we all search for on a daily basis. Dr. Williams gave us a formula that not only solved mathematical equations but everyday life problems as well. He gave us an equation to follow which is:

• Problem ________________Fill in the Blank______________
  

• Solution _________________________________________
  

• Step One
• a.
• b.
• c.
• StepTwo
• a.
• b.
• c.

Today I still have the math textbook that he wrote and I love Mathematics, which is something that I dreaded before I took his class. Since then whenever I wanted to try something new I went to the library and I read books on the subject I was interested in. I learned to paint, make jewelry, make books, sew, quilt, make mobiles, woodworking, welding, garden all through the use of reading a book by someone who had already done it before. When I could not afford the 300 plus dollars for my Anatomy and Physiology Text and Lab Book I went to the library every week and I found and studied the appropriate section of anatomy and physiology that my class was focusing on. I refused to give up just because I was without a required text. Determination and perseverance was a part of my personality but because of his class I learned to utilize it. I just wanted to say 'Thank You Dr. Williams for giving me some tools that I can use throughout my life."

Steve Madden Wedges

Right now these are the shoes that I'm feeling right now. This is the first time I am blogging about shoes and to be frankly honest the reason behind this is because I really don't want the item to be sold out before I have a chance to purchase it. Sound greedy huh? Yeah I know but to make up for it I will share with you where I make many of my shoe purchases. CutesyGirl has a great selection of shoes, I can always find something I love when I shop online. They have a huge selection so what I do is I input the style of shoe (i.e flat wedge, sandal, boot etc.) the size and the color and from there I search through the selection provided. If you want to look at some awesome footwear check them out.

Dot Village Lampshade

I was looking for a cute inexpensive gift for my niece Brianna and I came across this cute lampshade at Urban Outfitter. I am not sure if this is her style but I want to buy it so bad. Have you ever just bought a gift for someone just because you wanted to go and visit it and see it being used by the person you bought it for. That is how I feel when I buy things for Brianna. I don't have a daughter and I tend to dote on her. Meticulous is a word that I use to describe how she keeps her bedroom, she takes care of her stuff as she calls it. When a child is responsible and they take care of their belongings I am not afraid to buy them something expensive because I know that they will take care of it. That is why I secretly give her things that I want, then when I go visit her I can come in her room and look at the eye candy all around her room