Woman against laptop

I tried to put a Palm Tx that Todd gave me onto my computer and I did something wrong and the whole thing went wacky. I could not go online, every time I hit the web button an error would pop up. It said windows was gone and that I had no restore button or access. I am not very knowledgeable in this area and so frustrated I started playing around and I think I really screwed up. I got all my pictures and files I wanted onto disks and I figured I would just put in the restart discs and things would be good. Not true, I have loaded all the Cd's that came with the laptop and I still can't get the Internet working. This is Heathers computer I am working on because I have been trying to fix mine for three days and I am very frustrated. I want to just trow it out and get a new one. I know this is ridiculous but it is the way I feel. My blood pressure is soaring and my head hurts. To top it off everything is in giant font and I can't seem to change that. I had a few articles written in word but I lost those. I haven't been able to create because I have been working on fixing this problem. It is amazing how long you can sit there and try things.
Last night I was up till one and when I finally got to sleep a toy started talking and I jumped up. I stopped to listen and it talked again. I thought maybe Toy Story had come to life in our room. My grandson sleeps in the bunk above me. Maybe the toy was with him. I searched but found nothing. I layed back down and it spoke again. This time I answered, " I wasn't sleeping yet and they could not get up." I finally feel asleep but I do need to find the toy so he can go elsewhere. It is weird having someone start talking in a weird voice in the middle of the night. Today I asked my grandson what toy talked and he said Optumus Prime and that he was in the toy box. Tonight he shall sleep somewhere else.

Craft Display

My daughter and I built this craft display for the many shows we hope to put together for our business. We had a very good time but at many points we did not understand what the other was talking about. We had tried to enlist the help of her husband but he has this new fascination with motorcycles and redoing them. He had no time. Time was running out so we just started planning and building. Out first trip to the hardware store was $107.00. That bought us 4 4x8’ pieces of tag board and 24 pieces of 1x2” pine strips for backing. We looked at hinges but could not decide which ones to get so we decided to wait and talk to hubby. We had the hardware store cut the wood for us into 2x6 foot lengths so that we could carry them ourselves at the fairs without a lot of struggle. We thought at some point we might be alone and need to do this ourselves. We did not want a lot of weight. When we got home we had many discussions so Heather just went out and put one together to show me what she meant. Great idea so we built all the panels in a few hours. The nail gun really helped. I love it, it makes building such a breeze and fun. We then needed to figure out the hinges, they need to go both ways and be easy to put together. Heather again came up with a great idea. “Let’s use eye hooks”, she said, “ and put bolts and nuts threw them.” Again brilliant idea and it worked great and very easy to assemble and take down. We set it up in the living room to see how it would work and look. We were both very pleased and we started hanging items. The first show is going to be Heather’s art with our cards in Stanwood, Wa. April 2. Then after that we are going to play with my sisters in Birch Bay for the weekend. What a wonderful busy weekend. After this show we are going to paint the display to go with our “Chic Boutique” line of cards. We have picked up some great props. I will share that picture when we get done.

Still Learning

I think one of the hardest things about blogging is thinking of the titles. This always stumps me. Sometimes I have to just walk away until I come up with something.
I have been doing research this weekend from my library and have reserved many good books on paper crafting and doing business. I can't wait till they come to my library for pick up.
I had a friend over last night and we made a card for her to take home and to show her the cabin. We had a very good time and she had some very good ideas about where to sell my business. I stayed up last night way past bedtime thinking about them. My brain would not shut down. When I finally got to sleep my grandson came in in a panic saying his head really hurt and his stomach was upset and he needed to be with me. I tried to comfort him but ended up getting mom. She has the magic touch and they both went back to bed. He woke up later in the morning feeling much better. He was worried about missing school. He has not missed a day yet and he wants to keep it that way.
Anyhow, back to business. Today in the Bellingham Herald there was an article by Kim Komando on technology and she wrote about making a page for your business on Facebook. I am going to do that when I finish writing this. It sounds pretty easy but I won't know till I try it. I have not been very creative this weekend. We decided to take a rest and my daughter and husband took their bikes for a ride on this glorious sunny day. I went out and worked in the yard.

Senior Discounts

I checked this great book out at the library called "Discounts,Deals&Steals" by Readers Digest and it was published in 2011 so you know they are still good suggestions. I found great recipes and ideas for saving money and to ask everywhere if they have a senior discount. They can only say no. It even suggested you ask at the supermarket about senior discounts and what days. It even tells you where to get help being an entrepreneur. I also decided I would keep a gallon of white vinegar around, it seems to be good for everything including our environment and cleaning. The great thing is it is cheap. Rubbing alcohol works on getting rid of ants and it is going to be that time soon. It even tells you where to get more education free and places to volunteer in your area. Just lots of good info. Here is their Early Bird Mantra
" I will strive to unearth every discount I deserve, in every part of my life.
I will proudly ask for senior discounts, in the knowledge that those who offer them want and need my patronage today and in the future.
I will be a savvy consumer not only because having extra money is useful, but also because I believe in the values of simple, frugal, clever living.
I will enjoy the spectacular rewards of being over 50 and share my Early Bird wisdom with others.
I will understand that part of being an Early Bird is being lighthearted and joyful about everyday life, and that the pursuit of savings is a game I will always win!"
I love this, Thank you Readers Digest

Get Mail

Today I got a letter from the Employment Security Department and it was great news. Things are going to be good and I can now give my full attention to making Gwynns Gifts a success. This is going to be fun and exciting. Ideas just keep going threw my head about what to make next. I think I shall carry a pencil and pad around my neck. I can never find one when I want it and I keep reaching for a new one and then I have notes everywhere. Now I stress about getting the notes organized. Ah yes organized. That would be great and a good dream. Our craft cabin is the closest to organized as I have gotten so far and it is not done. I love looking at pretty organized things and drew l over the pictures in the magazines and wish I could have that. I will get the right system yet and until then I shall just keep trying. I am a collector. Of what I am not sure but paper is a close runner up. I just keep reading about doing one thing at a time and it will all fall in place. Sometimes I wish I could wiggle my nose and have that happen. Bewitched was one of my favorite shows. That and I Dream of Jennie. Now it is NCIS on DVD's. We have no cable,(by choice) we can watch what we want on the computers if need be. Everyone have a great evening and visit soon and check out the shop.

Posting on Etsy

Wow, how exciting to be able to do this myself. It took me several hours but when I was done I was thrilled to hit finish. It only takes my daughter about 10 minutes and someday I will be that fast. Thinking of how to describe your product is the hardest. You have to be able to think of something catchy. When you are always writing about the same thing this gets harder to do. Sure they are different but not always that different. You can cut and paste(which is really cool) or Etsy has a button that says copy. This is real easy but you still have to be careful and read it over. The title is what catches people in the first place and then the description of your product. There is a category next for materials used and then what category you want it listed in and then sub-categories and tags. All these words are becoming familiar now thank goodness. The price is also hard to figure because you can't really count your time, at least not all of it or you might never sell anything. I do it because I love to but some cards take me hours and some just come quickly. The paper and its color influence me a lot on my choices of what to make. All of this great selling opportunity is only twenty cents a posting. Pretty cheap I think. My goal is to list at least one item a day and fill up our shop with at least one hundred choices for our customers. Oh you also get to upload 5 pictures for this price. This is such fun.

The Final Cut

Thank you girls for all the confidence you gave me today at work. It made me feel great. I turned in my badge, the final cut from the cooperate world I used to know. I went home and signed up for unemployment. I guess there is no more office, just online or by phone. I wanted to talk to a person but I guess that is not an option.
I have been listening to this awesome CD in my car and it is very inspiring. It is all about being positive and how this influences things that happen to you daily. I am going to use it in my business practice. I am pretty much a positive person all the time anyhow. The name of the book and CD are "Excuse Me, Your Life Is Waiting" by Lynn Grabhorn. She is very uplifting and she really gets you inspired. It was good listening material, especially for today since I was feeling a little negative.
I have been studying how to use my computer for business but I am having trouble understanding some of my choices. It just seems when I read something in order to understand it I have to go somewhere else and learn that term and then I am off somewhere I don't even recognize and have forgotten my original quest. I think I shall keep a pencil and paper beside me and write down what I started with and see where it ends up. That in itself should be time consuming. Hours fly by at the computer. I am now beginning to understand members of my family. I was just holding out, for what I do not know.

cooking, cookies and cards

Ok, today I was lazy about learning to further my craft. I did make corn beef and cabbage, made oatmeal raisin cookies, made spagetti sauce from scratch with Italian sausage, and made meatballs to add later. This is all for the freezer for the next week or so. I am nervous about going into my old job tomorrow and I like to cook when I have no control over other things. I have to turn in my badge and sign paperwork I think.

I did try making a card like a quilt pattern and I sewed the paper on. It turned out ok but probably not very practical for selling because of the time it took. I did enjoy doing it though. This is a not such great picture. My camera broke and I am not familiar with this one. That is something I am going to have to replace. It just stopped focusing one day. I wrote to Kodak about what to do but I have no answer yet.

I tried posting something last night and it got put on my daughters facebook instead. Then I tried to move it but that didn't work I guess I have more studying to do. I have been reading "How to Sell Your Art,Music,photographs,and handmade crafts online" by Lee Rowley. It is so full of good information and has given me much encouragement and courage to make this work. I love the cards we make and I love being home. Now I love doing this. I just can't spend all my time on the computer instead of creating and selling. I want to sell to local stores and shops around Whatcom County. I was looking at Etsy lastnight and found a help article on selling and it was also full of information.http://etsy.com. I shall keep learning and reading and posting..

Teach Parents Tech

I waited around all day to get the answer about my job interview. I hate waiting, but during my wait period I learned something from reading my AARP magazine. There is a web sight called http://www.teachparentstech.org/. I checked it out and it was great. The tutorials were very helpful and easy to understand. I learned quite a bit and it was very cute the way they set it up. There is so much to learn about the web and my computer. One of the things it told me about was that from my gmail I could create a document that showed my expenses for what ever and I could share it with anyone or no one and it could be added to from anywhere. That is so great. My daughter has a droid phone and while we are traveling to shows she can keep track of what we spend at each moment. This should keep us right on top of our money.

They say I'm eliminated and done but I'm not dead.

I am currently not unemployed but am waiting for the phone call to tell me I am. My job was eliminated last week and I was given a choice to apply for another job within the company so I did. I picked the one closest to my salary and applied and went for an interview. They said they would call and let me know. I have mentally made the decision to become unemployed and follow my dream to create cards and make a success of selling them.
I am not one who talks well to people and I hate selling but in order for this to be a success I have to get over this fear. My mother tried to accomplish this by having my sisters and I tell stories in front of people each month at the library in our home town. Every time I got up there I was petrified. It didn't bother my sisters at all and they all some way or another got into sales. I like being the person behind the scene. I have been reading and learning about promoting yourself and your product. I love my product and think it is unique so selling it should be easy. It is just getting the nerve to do this. My daughter and I are in this together and she is a great go getter. Together we should be able to accomplish this. I now know why artist people have others manage their work. But to get to this point you have to sell.