Connecting the Gaps

I joined an online program called Connecting the Gaps which has life and business advice and inspiration. It has free spreadsheets on things like working out and monthly goals:

It's free to join. You just have to enter your email. Have you found any interesting websites lately?

New Updated Photos

I updated photos for some items in my shop:

Iridescent Pink Collage Birthday Greeting Card



Mini Math Journal



Orange and Red Flowers Greeting Card

You can also see updated photos on my Flickr and Facebook.

10 Things I'm Loving

These are ten things I'm currently loving:

1.) Online workouts from Pinterest - I always see workouts on Pinterest, but I never tried them until recently. I've been doing a full body workout I found almost every day. It's pretty hard, but it doesn't take that long to do. You can search "workout" on Pinterest or Tumblr to find at home workouts to do.

2.) Slice the Pie - Slice the Pie is a music website where you can make some extra money by reviewing music. You listen to a clip of a song, write a paragraph about what you think and then you get paid about $0.15-0.30 for each review you do. Sofar, I've made over $50 doing it.

3.) eBooks - I've been in to eBooks lately, both reading and writing them. I like finding free eBooks on the web to download. I'm working on eBooks on a few different topics like running an Etsy, art journaling and veganism. They are a good way to use old blog entries and expand on them.

4.) Evernote - I've been using Evernote to organize my projects and ideas. I didn't understand Evernote at first, but now I really like. For example, if I find an article about Etsy I like, I will save it to Evernote in my Etsy folder and then I can look through all the articles and other things I saved later.

5.) Pasta - I have been cooking a lot of pasta lately with different types of sauces. I made vegan alfredo the other day and also made fresh raw tomato sauce. What are your favorite pasta sauces?

6.) Google Play - I've been using a lot of cloud services lately. I'm not using my main computer right now so it's nice to use sites like Google Play where I have all my music saved. I usually listen on iTunes and Google Play is sort of similar, but it's all online. I also use Google Drive to backup and work on documents when I'm not on my main computer.

7.) Glasses of Water - I found this new site called Glasses of Water where you can track how many glasses of water you drink per day. It's an interesting site because you an follow other pople and see how youa re doing long term.

8.) Craigslist - I like looking on Craigslist to find gigs, events and items to buy. They have a "free stuff" section where people give away things for free if you are the first one to pick it up. You can also find Etsy or craft related events there. I also do a post where I promote my Etsy every once in a while.

9.) Freelance - I've been trying out freelancing recently. I use oDesk and eLance. I'm trying to find simple jobs I can do online like helping someone with their blog or social media or doing data entry. I'm also going to outsource some jobs I need done for my Etsy like hiring someone to help find me places I can advertise on.

10.) Gardening - I like gardening during the summer and growing fresh herbs and food to use while I cook.

What have you been loving lately?

Alex Beadon Business Tips and Photography

I found this photographer's website, Alex Beadon, which has videos on business and photography tips.
You can see her website here and Flickr here.



Here are some of her videos:





What videos do you like to watch on the internet?

New Mini Journals

I recently updated my shop with 3 new mini journals:

 Turquoise and Black Paisley Mini Journal



This horizontal mini journal uses a pretty turquoise decorative paper with black and gold details.

Songwriter's White Ship Mini Moleskine



This mini journal is an altered pocket sized Moleskine. The inside has blank music note paper.

Pink Flower Collage Coptic Stitch Mini Journal



This journal uses pink decorative paper of flowers used in a collage technique and is stitched together using the coptic stitch method.

Which is your favorite?

Christmas in July Treasuries I've Made

Here is a treasury I made to help promote the annual Christmas in July sale on Etsy. All shops featured in this treasury currently have discounts and sales in their shop:

You can comment and favorite my treasury here.

Christmas in July 2013

Christmas in July is an annual Etsy community driven sale where you can find great discounts in Etsy stores. Christmas in July is from July 11th - 21st this year.

To get involved, either search for items with the tags “christmasinjuly” or “CIJ" on Etsy to see shops participating or tag your own items. You can help the event by buying items from shops participating in the sale, making treasuries with tagged items or tagging your own items.

You can get free shipping on any purchase you make in my shop during the Christmas in July sale. The sale is for all items, but to see Christmas themed items in my shop, see the Christmas in July section I made. These are some Christmas items in my shop:

Holiday Reindeer Greeting Card



Silver Snowflakes and Leaves Holiday Greeting Card



Wavy Iridescent Green Christmas Greeting Card

Check back all this week for Christmas in July entries.

Healthy Foods

I've been interested in eating healthier lately. Here are some interesting graphics and information I found on Pinterest.

Blueberries are rich in antioxidants, prevent cancer and reduces heart problems.

Pomegranates give you healthy skin, lower blood pressure and prevents cell damage.

Cayenne pepper is a spice that helps in hair growth, helps your heart and prevents blood pressure.  -

Watercress soup can cleanse your lungs of toxins.

Rose hips have a high content of vitamin C, vitamin A, calcium and iron. Rose hips can be used to make teas, syrups and jellies.

How do you like to stay healthy?

Pet Sitting on DogVacay

I recently pet sat for a dog, Pepper, through the dog sitting website DogVacay. Here are some photos I took of him in my backyard:







Have you ever pet sat before?

My Thread of Thought Blog Anniversary

Happy Fourth of July! If you missed the Fourth of July special, click here. It's also My Thread of Thought's anniversary today. These are some of my favorite and most popular posts since My Thread of Thought's anniversary last year:

Tutorials

I did a lot of tutorials this year which are probably my favorite posts. These are some of them. Feel free to pin them on Pinterest or try them out if you like them. Also, let me know in the comments what other tutorials you'd like to see on my blog.

Bookbinding Tutorial



Editing Photos Tutorial



Glitter Sandals Tutorial


Product Reviews

I did a product review on a purchase I made on Etsy. I bought some nail polish from Madison Street Beauty. You can get a 20% discount from their store if you enter the code "MOVETHENEEDLE" at checkout. What else would you like to see me review?

Product Review: Madison Nail Polish



Advertising

I started accepting ads on my blog using Passionfruit which gave me a lot more ads on my blog. It also allowed me to swap ads so ads for my blog and Etsy shop are also on other blogs.

New April Sponsors

Art Books
I listed some art books for the first time on Move the Needle and made some posts about them here. Since you only have a limited number of photos when listing items on Etsy, I used my blog to showcase the items more and let people see the inside of the books.

Extra Big Book of Abstract Patterns

Moon and Stars Illustrated Mini Book



Inspiration

I do an inspiration post every week where I post photos related to a particular topic. These are some of my favorite inspiration entries from the past year.

Inspiring Concert Posters




Color Inspiration


Holiday Specials

I do holiday specials for every major holiday and these are some of my favorite entries for them.

Valentine's Day Desserts

Hanukkah Crafts

New Year's Giveaway



Personal
These were some entries that were more personal this year. I like sharing entries for my art journal and posting photos I've taken.

Personal Sketchbook



Morning Glory Flower Photos



Birthday Wishlist (Handmade)



I think this year was a really good year of blogging for me because I tried a lot of new things in my blog. I also updated my layout this year which I didn't really do a lot of before.

Get 10% off any order if you enter the coupon code "THREAD" at checkout. This code works any time of year and is just for my blog readers.

Fourth of July Food

Fourth of July is a great time to make festive food. Here are some ideas:



This star spangled apple pie is a unique way to include star shapes in your food. It would be great for a Fourth of July party.

Corn on the cob is a simple meal everyone can enjoy. This corn on the cob recipe uses Parmesan cheese and parsley. 

These Firecracker Ice Pops use strawberries, blueberries and yogurt to make a festive treat.

What do you like to cook for Fourth of July?

Fourth of July Fashion Ideas

Fourth of July is the perfect time to dress up in red, white and blue. Here are some ideas:

1. This striped top from Jimmy Jazz has red and white stripes that you can add to your outfit to give it a more Fourth of July feel.
2. This Current/Elliott denim jacket with stars on it is a great way to add a casual Fourth of July touch to an outfit.

3. This pretty scarf with an American flag can make any outfit ready for Fourth of July.
4. I love these patriotic shorts.
5. These shoes are patriotic and fun.

6. Items with stars, like this bracelet, are a great way to make something feel Fourth of July inspired.

This Fourth of July inspired makeup is a fun way to dress up for the holiday. Use reds and blues in your makeup to make it feel Fourth of July inspired.

I love cute Fourth of July nail art for the photo above. Use stripes and stars to make your nail art resemble an American flag. For more nail art ideas, check this blog.

What do you like to wear for Fourth of July?