The Big Move

After a week without internet I am back online. I don't think we realized how much stuff we had until we had to pack it all up for a move across the state. Thank God for help from my family, especially my dad, or else I don't know how we would have done it. We worked 16 hours straight with a short break for lunch and a short break for supper. Then after the day was done my dad returned our U Haul truck 20 minutes away in the middle of the night, with another 2 hours drive home after that. I don't know how he got to work at 8 the next morning because I could hardly get out of bed at 10. 

Soon after moving we drove another 3 hours up north to a park in the middle of nowhere to attend my youngest sister's wedding. (And by the middle of nowhere I mean a 10 mile drive down an all gravel Rustic Road.) The park was beautiful and well worth the drive. Doesn't she make a beautiful bride? 

Now that we are back home we can get back to work getting our house in order. I will be shipping orders as soon as I can get my sewing room set up. I've got most of the house in order so now I can focus on my sewing room. If you ordered from me in the past week or two please be patient for just a few more days. 

As for the looms I've got a few made. I just need to get them set up and packaged into their boxes.

Buy Local

In preparations for my big move I stopped at WhimsiKidz today to check on how well my headbands were selling and to drop some more things off. WhimsiKidz is a kid's only hair salon in Wauwatosa, WI that often make baby's first hair cut extra special. They get to sit and watch cartoons while the stylist cuts their hair. The little ones get to sit in their mom's lap which makes the experience much more comforting for them. While they wait the siblings get to play in the waiting area with the multitude of toys available. Besides being a hair salon they are also a store where locals often shop for baby or Christmas gifts. They carry many local handmade items including my own. Earlier this year I dropped off some of my headbands and have been pleased with the way they handle the sales so I decided to drop a few more things off. Since I am moving I decided to unload a few pillows and baby bibs. So on top of the headbands you can now view in person the star shaped pillows, heart shaped pillows and appliqued baby bibs.

Moving Sale

It's been an emotional roller coaster these last few months for my husband and I. Wanting to leave his old job teaching art at an inner city high school he decided to apply to every full time position in the state. After a couple interviews and mostly getting rejection letters we were beginning to feel a little discouraged. Then the news came he may not even have his old job back at his current school due to the major budget cuts to education implemented by our governor Scott Walker. Our stress hit a new level as we tried to figure out what we would do had he not been accepted to a new position.

Thankfully a couple weeks ago a school in a small town in the middle of the state asked him to drive up for an interview. I waited in the car for an hour (most teacher interviews are 20-30 minutes with a call back later for a possible 2nd interview). He was told he would get a call the week after if they were interested in hiring him. By the time we made it back home we were beginning to get word the principal was already making calls to his references. The principal was so excited about Jeff she called him the next day to tell him he was hired. She said the panel (of about 5 people) unanimously decided he was the perfect fit for their school. Jeff mentioned he felt the same way about this school on the drive home from the interview.

We've only got about a month to plan this major move before his job starts. We are looking to buy our first home so that alone is taking up much of our planning. So with that said I am going to announce a huge moving sale going on in both of my shops. I have many bulky items such as pillows and skirts that if sold would make our move that much easier. Almost everything will be marked up to 40% off. Sale runs until we move but shop early to get the best choice in styles.

Here are both of my shops:
Rock Paper Stitch
Sew Nina

*Weaving kits will remain at full price since I already offer them at the lowest possible price.

How to Cut Your Own Hair: A Hair Story

It's not as difficult or scary as it sounds. In fact it will only take minutes. You'll have people wondering who gave you such a fabulous cut. It's as easy as putting your hair into a pony tail. But first I will give you my hair background.

For most of my life my hair has been long, straight and parted down the middle. A few years ago I decided I needed a change and donated my hair to Locks of Love. I said goodbye to waist length hair and had it cut to my shoulders. It was a plain style and I wasn't too happy with it, but at the time my only goal was to donate my hair to a child with cancer. Then a year later or so I got a cute style I really enjoyed. My first real hair style. Since then the haircuts that followed were a little bland. When I got married last year I decided to try a perm. We had a medieval style wedding so I wanted an old romantic style of long curls. My curls were a bit tighter than I would have liked, but they've held up to now. Since with time they loosen up until they no longer exist I found it difficult to hold onto any real hair style. My hair can change in as little as 2 weeks to the point the layers are no longer visible. Finally I was fed up with the expense of getting my hair cut every few weeks. Not only that I can never seem to get any stylist to not give me something so plain. I guess people don't expect someone who is so quiet to want an edgy cut. I seem to give the impression I am a Plain Jane, however that is very much not the case. 

Having been inspired by a ReadyMade issue. (Which I am sad to say they just announced they are discontinuing this magazine.) I decided to You Tube some videos on how to cut hair when I came across this video:

 

From the video you can tell this will work on straight hair as well as it did on my curly hair. I then searched and viewed various videos on how to cut side swooping bangs. You don't need bangs with this hair cut but I was ready for a drastic change. I have not had bangs since the 7th grade. 

In the end I had a hair style everyone loved and I finally have a hair cut I like that works well with my ever changing curls. I can cut it as often as I need to without costing even a dime. Now that's a good money saving tip.

Baby Steps

"Debt is dumb, cash is king and the paid off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice."

A couple weeks ago in one of my Daily Worth emails a mention was given to Dave Ramsey and his Snowball debt plan. I decided to look into what this was about and discovered he does a daily radio show that anyone can listen to online. I'm always open to financial advice so I thought I'd give it a listen. Since then I've been listening daily. I am hooked on hearing the advice he gives live callers about their money situations, along with the occasional "We're debt free" screams.

He's a little unconventional and at first I disagreed with much of his advice. After a few days he started to make sense. His main goal is to get people off of their dependence on credit cards, pay off the mortgage and begin to build a good retirement plan. He developed a simple plan to meet these goals called his Baby Steps program. It's a simple enough process anyone can do at any income level. You can read about all of the steps on his website but here's an outline:

Baby Step 1: $1,000 to start an emergency fund
Baby Step 2: Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball
Baby Step 3: 3-6 Months living in savings
Baby Step 4: Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRA's and pre-tax retirement
Baby Step 5: College fund for children
Baby Step 6: Pay off home early
Baby Step 7: Build wealth and give

These certainly don't have to be done one step at a time. Many callers say they are working on 2 or 3 at a time. Personally I'd be a little nervous about only having $1,000 in my savings while I work on paying off all of my debts. A unexpected car repair or hospital visit could easily be more than that, but for some people that's more money than they've ever had in their savings.

Listening to Dave has given me a new motivation and a new strategy to work towards my goals of being debt free (something I've been working on ever since my student loans kicked in). Hopefully it can do the same for you. Listen to his radio show here. Weekdays live from 1pm-4pm central or his archives at any time.

*Update (July 26) : Dave just put up a link on Facebook to his Getting Started Guide. A series of 6 emails will help anyone who is not sure where to start.

Getting Paid to Take an Online Survey

You've seen the ads, you get the spam in your email, but this is no "make money from home" scam. Having participated in a few online survey forums I am well aware of which companies are legitimate and which ones will scam you. Today I'd like to talk about my favorite online survey company, American Consumer Opinion. Having been a member for the last 7 years I can tell you this company is the most honest one there is online. You receive real cash for the survey's you take. Most companies give you points to put towards a drawing you'll likely never win, or build up points to earn prizes. The cash payments will by no means provide you an income, not even a secondary income, but some extra cash from time to time makes it worth it. 

Another added bonus is there is a real person behind the computer screen who will answer any questions you have in a very friendly and timely fashion. Her name is Anne and she has been very helpful to me more than once.

Once you sign up you will begin to receive emails telling you to click on a link to begin a screening survey. Once finished you will be entered into a monthly drawing. I have won $5 twice from the random drawings. I have also been selected to participate in a survey to test products and discuss my opinions about certain stores or my shopping habits. If you are selected to participate this is where you can earn anywhere from $4 to more than $100.

If you really don't enjoy survey's I would not recommend joining just for the money. Most survey's if you even qualify will only earn you $4-$7. However, if you enjoy survey's as I do, earning that extra few dollars is worth it. Plus you sometimes get to keep some of the extra test product. 

I highly recommend this company over any other.

Join Today!

Party!!

Recently Etsy removed the limit to the number of treasuries that were allowed to be created. You used to have to wait by your computer and when one became available, you had to click as quickly as possible to be sure you got it. Now with the unlimited number of treasuries allowed on the site I decided it was high time I created one. In honor of my new birthday banners I decided to stick with the party theme and created the Party!!! treasury. Here are a few of the wonderful items included in this lovely list.

Cheeky Monkey... 5 polka dot poms

 

Under The Big Top...Printable Personalized Birthday Party Package

ORIGINAL Cake Bunting CHEYENNE

 

For a look at the complete list of fun party items for any occasion visit the treasury here: http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d9fa25e807a6d91c165333e/party