Celebrating Breast Cancer Awareness Early

I have blogged already about my reason for being such a breast cancer awareness advocate. I donate to the cause whenever I can. I volunteer for the Making Strides Walk in NJ in October and help my mom in the survivor tent where she promotes the Look Good Feel Better Program. A truly amazing program that teaches women how to look good and feel better while undergoing treatment to help with side effects such as hair loss.

Well this year I am starting early in my etsy shop!! Starting September 1st through October 31st, I will donate 20% of sales to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, in memory of my dear friend Jessica Quinn. I will also send a free crocheted pink breast cancer awareness ribbon with orders purchased during those dates. I'm looking forward to this little promotion and am trying to build up as much of an inventory as possible during that time.

http://www.darlingdazzlesbowtique.etsy.com/

A GREAT Way to Keep Track of your Etsy Profits/Expenses!!

So I have been thinking a lot lately about what I need to do for my business. I knew that I needed to get some sort of excel spreadsheet in order. I just had to take the time to sit down and do it. First I decided to post a forum and ask my fellow etsians how they go about organizing their shop's profits/expenses to have everything in one place for tax time (as this is a huge fear of mine, not having this correct by the time I go to the accountant). Here is the forum link I originally posted: http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6251981

Then someone with the shop name of AccountingSpot (http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7127134) not only helped me, but in turn helped many others. And based off of everyone's comments on the thread and on her blog, it made me so glad to have started that topic of discussion. So today I finally sat down to check out AccountingSpot's FREE.... yes, I did say that..... FREE worksheet to calculate profits/expenses. The link for this free download and AccountingSpot's blog is here: http://www.accountingspotonline.com/2009/07/free-download-simple-profit-loss.html.

I think any etsy shop owner will greatly appreciate the effort that was put into this form for us to be able to use for free... Especially beginning etsians! Happy Financing!

Juicy Watermelon!!

Nothing is better than a nice, cold slice of juicy watermelon on a hot, humid summer day. I went on a search for anything juicy to see what I could find! Enjoy!

Watermelon Coulis -- Olive Oil Soap by savor ($5.25)

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5358303

Watermelon Bouquet Beanie Skull Hat ($12.99)
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5727001

Gathered hobo shoulder bag, diaper bag, knitting bag in P. Kaufman Watermelon Paisley with six large pockets and pencil pocket inside, and key fob ($69.00)

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5746897

Baby Watermelon Costume for Halloween with Blanket ($50.00)

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6086061

Juicy Watermelon Onesie and Ruffle Bloomer Set ($30.00)

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6790143

First Big Cheerleading Bow Order is Complete!!!

So I've been working very diligently over the last week. And last night I FINALLY completed my first big order! This was a large cheerleading bow order. It was made for resale, so unfortunately, I'm not making as much on all of them as I would have if I sold them to the actual team myself. But I'm ok with that for my first one. I found that the bows themselves are easy to make per say, however tedious in the sense of trying to get them all to look exactly alike. I found that I would get too flustered if I was trying to perfect it all too much. So I did the best that I could and tried to keep all measurements the same (width of bow, length of tails, etc.). For my first batch of cheerleading bows, I think they came out quite nice! I hope the person I made them for to sell thinks the same!

Forty altogether were made. This picture is my first batch getting ready to be starched.

How to turn the Negative into positive.

I've come to realize that I am somone who constantly uses negative self talk. I have the tendancy to let all of my negative feelings overpower my thoughts and overall self. I noticed this last week. Something I've wanted so badly and have prayed for months about still hasn't happened. I let these negative feelings about it all completely take over how I'm feeling. I know that is not healthy. And am determined to turn that around. So on Friday, I googled "How to let positive thinking overpower the negative." I got back some great articles from E-Zine articles. The link is here and leads to other very informative quick read articles within the same website. This is where I started: http://ezinearticles.com/?Positive-Thinking-Tips---6-Tips-to-Practice-Positive-Thinking&id=2680234 and what I will share with you today... I have copied and pasted this straight from the actual article. The author of the article is Carolyn Anderson. I started at this link on Friday, and printed several other articles linked to this one at the bottom of the site's page. Friday night I sat down in a quiet place and read through these quick articles. It was very enlightening, and I am truly going to give this all the effort I have to turn all of my negatives into positives. Then.... perhaps. That thing I want so badly will happen for me.

Positive Thinking Tips: 6 Tips to Practice Positive Thinking


It is indeed refreshing to be positive in life. We all have lots of things going on in our lives - from our demanding careers, to family concerns, to health issues - indeed, what we encounter day to day requires the right attitude to be able to make our lives happier and our goals easier to reach. Maybe all you need are little positive thinking tips to get you started.
(1) Be thankful. Most often, we always look at what we do not have in life. We can right then and there identify what is lacking in our lives but it is hard for us to be grateful of what we have. There are a lot of things to be thankful for. If you did not get the promotion, be thankful you still have a job. Be thankful to the challenges in life, as it will help you live stronger. Being grateful, indeed, can turn the negative into positive - somehow it just a matter of looking at life a little differently.
(2) Believe in yourself. Events and situations in life may not be the way you want them to be and some people may put you down and disappoint you, that is why you have to believe in yourself. Cultivate the attitude to be able to tell yourself confidently that everything will get better. Eliminating self-doubt will help you reach your goals whatever challenges may come to you.
(3) Write positive affirmations to yourself and keep them. Positive affirmations are powerful positive thinking tips that you can adopt in your life. You can write them into a paper and keep them. For some, you can watch it on video every morning or you can tell it to yourself every time you wake up. This way, you are overpowering and slowly eliminating the many negative thoughts that have been buried in your subconscious for many years.
(4) Write all negative attitudes you have and burn them. If you have a bad habit of saying negative things to your self or if you often have negative thoughts about something, write it down and burn them.
(5) Give yourself positive affirmations in front of the mirror. One of the many positive thinking tips you can do is to do positive affirmation in front of the mirror. Tell yourself statements that will help you think positively about yourself. If you have a specific goal in mind, like you want to attract a good man in your life, or you want to attract good health, there are also affirmations that are specific into those subjects.
(6) Don't let negative people influence your thoughts. These people will pull you down and tell you that you cannot do this or that. If not, they will tell you of problems that will soon happen to you. They will only discourage you with negative statements that will only push you to doubt yourself. Your choice then is to avoid these kinds of people or do not let their discouraging words put you down. Go with people who are positive about life and you will also be positive about life. These attitudes are contagious, thus be careful who you are going with.
So if you want to change the way you look at things and live life positively, you can start with these positive thinking tips. By learning how to be positive with your thoughts, you will eventually realize how good it is to think positively and live life positively.

Celebrating One Year of Marriage!

One year ago today(8/2/08), I married my best friend. We had a long engagement, and that day couldn't have been more amazing! It was great to get to see my 2 years of planning culminate into one day. There isn't anything I wouldn't change about it (except for the fact that I would've given anything to have our two friends that had passed away that year there with us). I remember in the morning... These very dark, black clouds filled the sky while we were getting our hair and make up done. All I could do was pray to my angels and ask them to bring us sunshine. Literally by the time we were dressed and ready to go take pictures, the sun was working it's way out and the ground had already started to dry(thank you Jessica and Ryan). By the time we got to church, the sky was blue and the weather was beautiful!! We had an amazing mass and reception surrounded by everyone we love. Today we celebrate by going to brunch at Perona Farms, where our reception was held. Although we won't be in the same room, and it's raining out so we won't be able to walk the grounds, it will still be nice to be THERE.

At PreCana last year, we had to write letters to each other that would be mailed to us by the church for our one year wedding anniversary. After mass this morning, we opened those letters. My eyes immediately filled with tears as I read the first paragraph he wrote to me. It was about certain frustrations I've been experiencing over the last several months. And it was nice to see his words of love. He's not a very mushy, sentimental, emotional person. Whereas I am completely the opposite! lol. But that's why we balance each other out SO well. I am a very lucky woman and have the best husband in the world. We have two pups that we love so very much, and each other. Hopefully soon God will fit children into our plan in life. Unfortunately that's something out of our control.

On this day, I remember.... being 20 pounds lighter (haha...hopefully I can get rid of that again), my beautiful dress, the look on my father's face when he saw me, seeing Ed up at the altar, saying our vows, enjoying our rolls royce ride to the reception and chatting, all the pictures, our AMAZING reception.... and every fun, sad, frustrating moment after that. This year has flown by, and I pray that God gives us many, many more years together to celebrate. I am so thankful for what I've got and who I've got in my life.

I thank Ed for his constant support, and willingness to always make me happy. He truly is an amazing person and I love spending my life with him.

Ed and Bobbi one year later:

This seller is fantastic! Stop by and check her out!

I purchased this necklace from Jamie at http://www.jayval.etsy.com/ on July 30th and received the necklace today, two days later! She really creates beautiful pieces and I will definitely be buying from her again in the future! There's a starfish necklace I've been eyeing up for quite some time now! Jamie is a pleasure to do business with! Her package came with an adorable bow and rose bud on it. The best part is it's all reusable, so it's earth friendly!

I hope you will take a moment to stop by and check out her shop! Tell her Bobbi from Darling Dazzles Bowtique sent ya!

Have a great weekend!!