This is the last day for the May Scrapbooking special (did you know that Word Play is on sale for $29.37(w) Pg. 147)? You can still purchase what you need from that special by clicking on the Order Online link in the upper right hand corner. DO IT TODAY!
Until Demonstrators get a sneak peek at the NEW stamp sets, NEW in colors and new products!
Until Demonstrators get to order all the cool sneak peek items!
Until Demonstrators can order the new catalog!
Have you noticed that being a Stampin'Up! Demonstrator has tons of perks? What are you waiting for? If you are an ambitious individual, that loves the thought of being your own boss and starting your own business, let's talk! I can give you more information on becoming a demonstrator - I shouldn't be the only one having this much fun at work!
If you don't have a demonstrator and you would like a catalog, please e-mail me, I will be happy to provide you one, however, I ask that my non-local friends pay the postage. I haven't checked that yet, but I estimate somewhere between $5 and $10.
Are you on my mailing list? My June newsletter goes out tomorrow, June 1st. In addition to all the free information and samples I am offering a June special for everyone on my Newsletter Email list. Click on the link in the upper left hand corner.
SIGN UP TODAY!
Stay tuned for more announcements and events coming soon!.
Many Americans have the day off and have many different traditons for their celebrations. After reading this brief review of MEMORIAL DAY, please leave a comment telling me how you celebrate. Above all, have a fun day!
Memorial Day, which falls on the last Monday of May, honors the men and women who died while serving in the American military. Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Many Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings and participating in parades. Unofficially, at least, it marks the beginning of summer. In 2011, Memorial Day is observed on Monday, May 30.
Hi Friends: If you have never used our sweet treat cups, you are in for a treat! (sorry, could not help myself!) Sweet Treat Cups are not just for giving out treats, you can also give them with your invitations! Check out this video from Stampin' Up! showing you a great new way to use our Sweet Treat Cups.
I get this question a lot. My customers want to know...how do I do it?
I have to confess that I'm not all that original. Okay, now you know! Boy, what a relief to have that out in the open. I do have an "original" idea from time to time. For the most part my creations start with an inspiration.
1. Online Stamping Communities One of my favorite online community sites is Stampin' Connection. This is an exclusive site for Stampin' Up! demonstrators. As a Demonstrator I can visit daily to find hundreds of ideas for my business. Not just creative ideas, but business tips as well. Stampin' Up! demonstrators are the friendliest and most helpful groups around.
2. Friends My downline and demonstrator friends near and far -- I'm ever inspired to CASE (copy and share everything) and learn new papercrafting techniques. You'll often see cards I received from swaps, friends and downline shared on my blog. I frequently share these creations with you.
3. Other sources include advertising I see on TV, catalogs and magazines. Nature itself provides tons of inspiration. And, of course, the Stampin'Up website which is loaded with ideas and samples.
So, with that knowledge - What are you waiting for. This is a great time to start your own business. With tons of resources for ideas and inspiration you do not have to be concerned about the creative part of the business. I am here to help you with that aspect of the business, as well as the business part ot it. Call me today to find out more.
Hi Friends: In the next few days I will be showing you samples made with stamp sets available in the wonderful SUMMER MINI CATALOG. The first sample is using the FLOWER FEST stamp set (pg. 20 - 122278-W, or 122280-C). This is one of the projects we made at our Upline's meeting a week ago. We practised the Rock & Roll technique. It was really fun and so easy. Ink your stamp with a lighter color first and then roll the edges of the stamp in a darker shade. The result is a beautiful shaded image.
If you did not get your SUMMER MINI CATALOG, either call me or email your name, phone number and address. I will send one right away.
Here is another idea for a scrapbook page or even for an entire THEMED album. Family recipes are definitely keepers! The article below gives you some ideas on what to keep and why it is important to do so. I plan to find more samples for you during National Scrapbooking Month.
As you can see these suggestions are from Creating Keepsakes. Always find fun stuff in their magazines.
We made this project at my Upline's meeting last weekend. This die is such a favorite of soooo many people, and I love how she turned the Petal Cone Dieinto a box. This would make a beautiful Wedding Party Favor, Birthday Party Favor, and so on. The possibilities are endless.
The card stock used for the box is Baja Breeze. The Designer Series Paper is Paisley Petals topped off with our beautiful 5/8" White Satin Ribbon. We cut off the bottom of the die cut so that it would sit flat and create a box.
This beautiful new Designer Series Paper is perfect for wedding projects. It is the preview that was offered for a limited time last month. Check back tommorw to see another way that I used it. Bet you can't wait to purchase this in the new catalog! I have a couple more samples to show you in the next few days from our meeting. Thanks for stopping by today. See you tomorrow.
There are many schools of thought about saving money/earning more money, etc. My husband pointed this article out to me after a few discussions on how we can improve our situation. This was very thought provoking for me -- especially after our discussion about getting rid of our hard line phone and using only our cell phones. This is rather long, but I advise that you read to the end. It could have an impact on the way you have assessed your finances.
FORGET FRUGALITY -- FOCUS ON EARNING MORE
By: Ramit Sithi
Sunday, May 1 , 1022 Provided by THE NEW YORK TIMES
Think of the last 10 pieces of personal finance advice you've read. Do any of these sound familiar?
• Cut back on lattes! • The world's top 10 coupons • Don't go on vacation this year!
If you boil all the advice down, there are just two ways to improve your financial situation: earn more or cut costs. So why don't more personal finance experts talk about earning more? Because most of them don't know how.
And so we get lectures on frugality, giving us obscure advice like how to save on paper towels. With each tip, we get diminishing returns. And we start to believe that personal finance is about "No, No, No!" No, you can't spend money on lattes. No, you can't go on vacation. No, you can't buy those ans.
It's no wonder that most Americans simply ignore their finances. We don't want someone constantly lecturing us on what we can't do.
I believe personal finance should be about saying "Yes."
Yes, you can afford that extravagant coat, or iPhone or even a trip to the Bahamas. In fact, I believe in conscious spending, or spending extravagantly on the things you love -- as long as you cut costs mercilessly on the things you don't.
Once you've cut on the basics, the single best way to live a rich life is to earn more money.
The Myth of Frugality
Let's take a look at a typical person who tries to cut back to save money.
Jack has to cut back on a lot of things in order to save significant amounts of money.
What he does
Monthly amount saved
Drink 1 less latte per week
$20
Buy groceries in bulk
$30
Go out 4 fewer nights per month
$200
Cancel cable
$50
Eat out five times a month instead of eight
$100
Total:
$400
Not bad. $400 saved. But at what cost? Each morning, Jack has to decide if can buy that latte. He has to consciously cancel his cable. He has to decide if he can afford that dinner out. On and on -- and he has to do this every month.
Jill can focus on one thing to get the same result:
Action
Amount Earned Per Month
Finds an area she likes, spend five hours each weekend and charge $20/hour
$400
Total:
$400
Let's say you're paying off a $10,000 credit card debt at 15 percent interest and want to add that $500 to your payment.
Jill found something she was good at, turned it into a small side business, charged a reasonable amount and found a client willing to pay.
Cutting back may be easier for the first month. But it's likely unsustainable. After all, there's a limit to how much you can save. But there's no limit to how much you can earn.
Earning More: The Numbers
Let's consider three goals for your personal finances. If you could charge $25/hour for your services and work enough hours each month to generate an extra $500/month after taxes, what could that additional money do for you?
If your monthly payment isÂ
You'll pay this much interest
Over this time period
The minimum
$11,979
35 years and 4 months
The minimum + $500/month
$1,085
Only 16 months
That's over $10,000 in savings on interest alone.
Invest the Extra Money
When you earn more and invest the extra money, the results are incredibly powerful. Here's what extra income can do for your investments.
Additional income
Value if invested for 40 years with a 6 percent annual return
$100 / month
$156,122
$300 / month
$468,367
$1,000 / month
$1.5 million
Pay off a mortgage
Putting even $100 extra per month toward your mortgage can dramatically decrease the amount of time it will take you to pay it off.
Additional monthly mortgage payment
Mortgage will be reduced byÂ
$100 / month
3 years, 8 months
$300 / month
8 years, 8 months
$1,000 / month
16 years, 11 months
*Based on a 5 percent, $300,000, 30-year fixed rate mortgage.
How to Earn More Money
The simplest way to earn money on the side is to turn your existing skills into side income. Nearly everyone has skills that others would pay for. Can you play an instrument? Consider being a music instructor. Are you obsessed with personal organizing? Hire your services out as a personal organizer. Do you have expertise in Excel, Web analytics or even free-lance writing? Many employers would love to hire you as a free-lancer.
This is a new way of thinking, and it makes many people uncomfortable. "That's ridiculous," they say. "Nobody would pay me $25 per hour."
To them, I say two things:
1. You already pay service providers for things you could do yourself. Have you ever eaten at a restaurant? Changed oil? Gotten your hair cut? We all pay others for their services. Now, I want you to flip this around and charge for your own services. People will pay -- as you already pay others.
2. You don't know if your offer of services will work until you test it.
Twelve months ago, I declared it the year of earning more money and wrote a series of postson the topic. I then launched an online course on earning money, in which I took hundreds of people from around the world and taught them how to turn their skills into side income.
Dean Soto was one of them. He has a wife, two children and a demanding full-time job. How could he find enough time to earn money on the side? Dean went through several exercises to determine which of his skills would be profitable. He realized that the information technology skills he used at his day job could also earn him money on the side -- if he found the right clients. But his side income needed to be worth giving up his scarce time with his family.
Once he figured out a potential idea, he used his network to meet people and ask what their needs were. He found his first client by accident. When he heard Dean's asking rate -- $30/hour -- he scoffed and insisted Dean charge more.
To account for his busy schedule, Dean used a clever retainer technique, which lets him work flexibly as long as he gets the work done. "I come home from work around 5 p.m.," he said. "Then I spend time with my family until about 9 p.m. and spend about an hour a day on my side work."
"I never thought I could do something like this," he said. "Now I'm like a boxer, looking to take little jabs and see where there's an opening."
Last year, Dean earned $22,700 on the side. He raised his hourly rate from $30 to $60 and then $150 per hour. The best part? "My wife loves it," he said. "She's able to stay home, which is her dream, and my kids have their mother all day."
There's nothing unique about Dean. But he is remarkable for taking action instead of being blinded by the frugality brigade that so permeates personal finance.
Frugality is important -- to a point. But after we cut back to a reasonable level, our biggest win will come from earning more money.
So, did you find this interesting? I would love to hear your comments. Post them here!
Here is a list of the basics (from Creating Keepsakes) that you would find helpful to begin Scrapbooking. My daughter and I have so much fun every Thursday with our friends who love to preserve their family memories. You really do not need a lot to start off, mainly select the pictures you want to work with and some card stock. A paper cutter and some adhesives and you are ready to go! This sample covers what I have talked about and a few more things. Contact me for help with this. Don't put it off any longer!
