Halloween Costume: Black Cat

For an outfit, use any black clothes you have. A black dress works. You can also use black pants or a black shirt with a black top. Use any black accessories you have such as earrings or bracelets. You can buy a tail and cat ears to complete the accessories.

For your nails, use black nail polish to look like claws. For eye makeup, you can use black eyeliner or face paint to fill in your nose black. You can add a bit of white eye shadow to the tip of your nose to add dimension. Add whiskers with black eyeliner or face paint. A dark color lipstick works well for the lips. For eye shadow, do a smokey eye look with gray and black eye shadow. Winged eyeliner also works well.

This look also works well for other cat or animal costumes. For example, if you want to be a leopard, you can switch the black dress for a leopard print dress and add leopard ears and a tail.

1. Asymmetric Chiffon Spliced Black Dress, MayKool, $39.99
2.Black Cat Dress Up Set, Claire's, $9.50
3. Colorful Eyeshadow in Black Lace, Sephora, $12
4. OPI Nail Lacquer in Black Onyx, Macy's, $9.50

Makeup Ideas for Halloween

You can be really fun and creative with makeup for Halloween. Makeup palettes, like eye shadow ones from Coastal Scents, are good for Halloween because they have a variety of colors. Having a good eyeliner, such as a black pencil or liquid eyeliner, is good for drawing on details. Here's some ideas I've found online:

If you want step by step videos on how to do makeup, makeup gurus on YouTube are a good place to look. They always have creative ideas for makeup for halloween. Here are some of my favorite videos. Just press play to watch them:







Check back soon for nail ideas.

How to Promote Your Business for Halloween

How can you promote your business or Etsy shop for Halloween? Here are a couple ideas;

• If you use a logo, find ways to make it Halloween theme. For example, you can add a pumpkin to your logo or add a witch hat to a logo character. 
• Offer some products ir items in your shop that are Halloween themed. For example, I have offered Halloween cards in the past in my Etsy shop. Orange and black colors work good for colors. Halloween is a good time to sell any type of costumes such as fashion costumes, masks, accessories or pet costumes. Treats or trick or treat bags are also good to sel. 
• Consider having a sale for Halloween. Offer a discount code for buyers to get a percentage off or free shipping. 
• Have a giveaway for Halloween. You can host a giveaway on your blog or social media.
• Change your social media graphics to fit a Halloween theme. Make some posts related to Halloween and repost/reblog/pin Halloween items.
• The winter holiday season is just around the corner so consider starting to offer Christmas and winter holiday themed items when Halloween ends.

What are your best business tips for Halloween?

How to Meal Prep + Free Meal Plan Printable

 

Do you meal prep? Meal prep is a method of preparing meals on bulk ahead of time. 

Plan Ahead

Keep a meal plan so you can plan ahead. You can find free meal plan printable at the bottom of this post. Also keep a grocery list for when you go shopping. Use apps like Yummly to help you find recipes in advance. I like that Yummly allows you to find recipes on different blogs and add ingredients to a shopping list the makes it easy to grocery shop. 

 

Prepare in Batches 

When you cook, try making your meals all at once in batches. You can chose a day of the week to make your meals for that week, such as Sunday. If you make a meal, make it on bulk so you can split it up throughout the week. For example, many soups and bean dishes are good to make in bulk in advance. Cut up vegetables and other items in advance. For example, carrots can be chopped up and saved to snack on. 

Store Food

You can store meals in tubberware, such as 20 piece sets you can find. Check how long certain foods last for and if you can freeze certain meals. Some foods will store better than others.

I sometimes try to meal prep if I am on a busy schedule. I like preparing my meals in advance to save time. It also a good way to know exactly what you are eating and eat healthy.

Click here to download a free meal plan just for blog readers. I would also appreciate if you share on social media. To use, print out for each day you want to meal plan and fill in recipe ideas or recipes for each day. 

 

Do you meal prep? 

How to Price Your Handmade Products

 

If you want to sell items on Etsy, it's important to have a good product pricing strategy. You want to make sure you cover all your costs. You also want a consistent pricing formula throughout your items. People are usually willing to pay more for handmade items so don't be afraid to price a little higher than you think you should. 

Use this selling price formula as a guide for pricing your handmade work. See what price you come up with for each type of item you sell.

 

Materials 

The most important thing you want to cover in pricing is the materials you use to make your item. If your item price costs less than the materials you used to make it, you are losing money. 

Save all your receipts for Etsy related shopping trips and materials. Keep these in a folder or some other way to keep them organized like through the online service Shoeboxed  You will also use your receipts, especially ones for smaller and non material expenses, to calculate expenses. 

When you calculate your materials price, you should consider how much material you use for each item. I like measuring items like fabric or decorative paper in square inches. You can use the method of measurement that works for you. For example, find out how many square inches are in the full size of a product you bought. Then find how many square inches of a material you use in your item and use it to calculate the approximate price of the material you used. If you buy a roll of decorative paper that has 100 square inches and costs $4, a measurement of 25 square inches of decorative paper you use in a product would cost about $1. 

You only want to include the main materials you use in a product. Don't include smaller materials like thread or glue in your materials price. These go in to the expenses price. 

Expenses

What are expenses? Expenses are those hidden materials and costs. Hidden materials are things such as glue, measuring tape, scissors, thread and needle and other materials you use multiple times to make your products. 

Your packaging supplies and any materials you use to ship things are also expenses. Think of mailing envelopes, packages, bubble wrap, tissue paper and computer paper and ink to print out shipping labels. 

Materials you use multiple times and other things you pay for in your business can count as expenses. Your laptop and studio space are considered expenses. For bigger items, you should calculate the monthly price of them by thinking of how many months the expense will last and dividing it in to the total cost of the item. For example, if a $1200 laptop lasts for 12 months, the monthly cost is $100. 

Think about online expenses. Did you purchase web hosting or a domain? Do you pay for any Etsy related applications or services or computer software? This counts as an expense.

As you can see, the cost of expenses can add up. Every time you think of an expense, jot it down. 

So how do you figure out your "expenses" cost in the pricing formula? Add up all the expenses you thought of. How many items do you think you will sell in a month? Divide that number in to the total expenses costs. If you don't like the price you came up with, try altering what expenses you think you should include in your cost and play with the number of items you think you will sell in a month. 

Labor 

How do you find a fair labor to give yourself? Start by looking at the minimum wage in your state. If you don't want your price to be too expensive, start with the minimum wage. 

However, you should take in to consideration what is actually a fair price to pay yourself. Research what artists are paid per hour. Think about the skills you do. Do they require a lot of work? Is your talent unique? Do you do a skill not a lot of other people know how to do? Take all these things in to consideration.

To find your labor cost per item, time yourself or estimate how long it takes to make each item. For example, it may take you to 1 1/2 hours to make an item. Don't count drying or waiting times in to your timing. 

Now just multiple the hourly wage you gave yourself by the number of hours you worked. If you pay yourself $10/hour and it takes you 1 1/2 hours to make an item, your labor cost would be $15. 

Profit

Last, but not least is profit. Profit is how much you want to make per item. You can make this whatever you feel the item is worth. You want your hard work to pay off. You may tweak the profit depending on what your final price is. 

Wholesale Price

Add up everything in the formula sofar. This is your wholesale price. Where do you use your wholesale price? If you sell items in bulk or wholesale (such as to shops that want to sell your item), you should use this price. List your wholesale price on your line sheet if you have one. If you don't sell items in bulk or wholesale, your can just keep the price in mind if you have to use it later. 

Retail Price

Retail is twice your wholesale price. Retail is the price most customers will see. Use your retail price for your Etsy items. If you have a discount or sale on an item, just calculate the percentage off for the retail price. You can list your retail price as MSRP or manufacturer's suggested retail price, or list price, on your line sheet. 

I like using this formula to calculate my prices for each type of item I sell. Try plugging in the formula again for a different type of product. You may find using an exact formula works for your item or you may prefer to use the formula as a guide and come up with your own price. Other things you should consider are market trends and competition for similar items. You don't want a price that is completely different from other similar products being sold. Do what works for you and your business.

Want more tips on how to run an Etsy shop? Check out my new eBook, Needle and Thread. This eBook is all about running a creative handmade business on Etsy including pricing tips and how to grow your business. 

What pricing tips do you have? Let me know in the comments. 

Waldeinsamkeit: Forest Solitude

Did you know the word waldeinsamkeit is a German word that means the feeling of being alone in the words? It describes the feeling of being alone and also connected with nature. These are some images inspired by the word and defintion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have you had the feeling of waldeinsamkeit? Let me know what words inspire you in the comments. 

How I Went Vegan

I have been as vegan for several years. A vegan avoids all animal products for health, animal rights or environmental reasons.

My interest and love for animals started when I was little. I had lots of pets growing up and I loved horse back riding. I thought animals were just like people.

I became interested in animal rights in junior high. I discovered the PETA website and started learning about animal rights. I also read the book Fast Food Nation which talks about the fast food industry. I became cegetarian. 

 

In college, I volunteered for Mercy for Animals in New York City. I also worked at a local farm near my campus. I made a switch to a full vegan shortly after. I also read the book Skinny Bitch and became interested in veganism for health reasons as well as animal rights. 

I love being vegan because it benefits animals, my health and the environment. I also like experimenting with different vegan foods and recipes. 

You can check out my eBook, Vegan Made Easy  all about going vegan here. It contains recipes, nutrition tips and more. I think I am going to write another eBook about living.a vegan lifestyle. It will have more tips about going vegan such as where to find vegan beauty products, how to deal with social situations and more.  

If you are vegetarian or vegan, let me know in the comments. 

Universe Inspiration

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are some photos of the universe I liked. I love how abstract the universe looks and I think it is interesting to see all that is out there. What images interest you? 

What Goals Do You Have for September?

 

What goals do you have for this month? I love setting goals at the start of the month so I can see what I accomplish. I think it is a good idea to set monthly goals to get an overall focus on what you want to accomplish. Here are a couple of my goals for my business (as well as one personal one): 

• Promote my new eBook, 
• Make enough money to pay off my debt 
• Move my blog over to WordPress 
• Grow my mailing list
• Wake up earlier 

Let me know in the comments or use the hashtag #myseptgoals on social media. 

How to Write a Letter to Yourself

Have you ever written a letter to yourself? I will sometimes write letters to myself and read them in the future. Writing a letter to yourself in the past or future can help you reflect on your life.

Supplies:

• Art journal
• Piece of paper
• Pen or writing supplies
• Watercolor paint (optional)
• Decorations such as stickers or glitter (optional)
• Envelope (optional)

Instructions: 

 

1. If you wish, decorate the background of your page with watercolor or other decorations. I like using a layer of watercolor paint in a few different colors as a background.

2. Once the background is dry, write your letter. You can write to your past or future self. Date the letter and use the format of a traditional letter. Here are some ideas on what to write about:

• Write about what you are doing in your life now and what problems you are having. Writing can help you work through problems. 
• Ask your future self questions. See how you answer the questions when you open the letter in the future.
• If you are writing to your past self, write what you would have changed or done differently. Give advice to your younger self.
• Write what goals you have for the future. See if you have completed these goals. 
• Write what your current interests are, who your friends are and other details of your life you might not remember.

 

3.  You may choose to or your note in an envelope. You can gue in an envelope in your art journal or have the envelope separately. Address the letter to yourself and decorate and stamp the envelope. This is an envelope a decorate with gold letters. 

Have you ever written a letter to yourself? 

Review: Amy's Single Serve Non-Dairy Rice Crust Cheeze Pizza

One brand I like a lot for vegan foods is Amy's. They offer a variety of frozen foods that are vegetarian and vegan. I have been trying out different vegan pizzas so I decided to try this Single Serve Non-Dairy Rice Crust Cheeze Pizza that is dairy and gluten free. 

This pizza is a single serve for one person so I thought it was a good size. You don't have to cut it and it is easy to prepare. You can cook it in the oven or microwave. I think it tastes better if you use the oven, but it is faster in the microwave. 

The pizza uses a rice crust that is gluten free. It is topped with dairy-free, soy-based mozzarella cheeze. The tomato sauce on the pizza uses organic sub ripened tomatoes with a blend of herbs. 

Overall, this pizza was just okay to me. The taste was alright. I liked the sauce because I thought the flavoring was pretty good. I did not like the taste of the cheese. It did not melt well and I did not like the texture. I have had better vegan cheese before. I also did not prefer the texture or taste of the gluten free crust. It had a kind of cardboard texture to me. 

I would eat the pizza again, but would not buy it. It was easy to prepare, but the taste wasn't worth it to me. One suggestion on Amy's website is to top the pizza with your favorite toppings so I might try this next time. Overall, I prefer other meals by Amy's better and this was more of a miss than a hit for me.

Tell me in the comments what vegan pizza brands you like. 

Do you have a vegan company or product? Let me know and I will review your product.

14,000 to Be Happy About Book Review

What makes you happy?

14,000 Things to Be Happy About by Barbara Ann Kipfer is a book that makes you remember the little things in life that make you happy. The author recorded one line phrases of things that made them happy for 20 years. This book is just a list collection of the 14,000 things. There is no order to the list. The book is small enough that you can carry it around with you. 

These are some items in the book I starred as well as a few of my own:

• Doing your own thing
• Lying on your back in a snowy field; making an angel by moving your arms in arcs
• The first week of school
• Working on a project
• Horse show ribbons on the wall
• Running down a beach
• Falling in love again
• Reading all the books you never had time for 
• Farm fresh food
• Getting your hair washed
• The first day of spring
• Getting a gift
• Spending the morning in bed, watching old movies
• The wonder of life 

I love the idea of writing down things that make you happy. The book is the author's personal list, but the items might help you remember happy moments in your life. Whether you keep a notebook or a journal on the computer, just jotting down a phrase or couple words of something that makes you happy each day will make you remember those little moments that are worth remembering and practice gratitude. You can also look through the pages on bad days and use it as a journal to record your memories. 

I encourage you to write your own list or daily journal of things that make you happy. Let me know what makes you happy in the comments. 

No Chill Vegan Molasses Cookies Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon clove

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 cups brown sugar 

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce

2 tablespoons molasses

3 tablespoons sugar, for rolling

Note: If you want to make sure these are vegan, use vegan sugar and molasses. 

Instructions:

 

 

1. 1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F or 165 degrees Celsius.
2. 2. In a large mixing bowl, sift flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt.
4. 3. In a medium sized bowl, combine brown sugar, vegetable oil, molasses, vanilla and apple sauce.
5.  
6. 4. Combine dry and wet mixture to form the dough. Stir until just combined.
7.  
8. 5. Using a tablespoon measure, scoop up dough and form round cookie balls. Roll the doughs of balls in to sugar (I forgot to do this step so they turn out okay either way; they just won't be as sweet without the sugar). 
9.  
10. 6. On an ungreased cookie sheet, add the dough balls. Press them down slightly with your fingers. 
11.  
12. 7. Bake for 13-16 minutes in the oven. Let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 
13.  
14. Overall, these cookies came out pretty good. They were not my favorite cookie ever, but they were pretty good. I think I will try rolling them in sugar next time. The texture was good and I liked the flavoring. I also like that you don't have to chill the dough so they were easy to make.
15. What kind of cookies do you like to make? Let me know in the comments.

I love the flavor of gingerbread and molasses. I made these Vegan Molasses Cookies from Food.com. They are pretty easy to make and take about 20 minutes.

Custom Items and Mailing List E-Mail Courses

I have some shop updates. In my Etsy shop, Move the Needle  I changed the decorative paper for custom items. Before, I had a bunch of listings for each topic of decorative paper (maps, watercolor, etc.), but I thought it would be easier to make it all one listing. If you want a different decorative paper other than the one listed, you can just contact me. I also added different colored card stock for greeting cards.

 

 

I think I will add some Halloween items in my shop soon. I do not think it is too early to list Halloween items. I am going to do custom items so I will just make items to order.

I am also working on a couple e-mail courses that will be free. I started a new mailing list under my name, Anna Leehey, where you will get updates on all my projects including my shops and blog. The reason I started a new mailing list is because I use different names for my shop and blog and I thought that would make it easier. You can sign up for my mailing list on the right side of this page. 

I think I will have one course for my craft shop, Move the Needle, where I give art journaling tips. The course for my new mailing list will be on how to start and grow a handmade business on Etsy. Let me know what courses you think I should do in the comments. 

What is Your Favorite Way to Make Money?

What is your favorite way to make money online?

There are many ways to make money online. With all the different options, it can sometimes be confusing what works and what doesn't. I have been experimenting with different ways to make money online. I often post reviews and different thins I have tried on this blog. I am curious what your favorite way to make money online is.

My favorite way to make money online right now is to do freelance work for other people. I have found it is a good way to make money quickly and also lets you connect with other businesses. Another way I like to make money online is to sell things. I sell things through my Etsy shops, Move the Needle and Printables and Things. I also like to use eBay to sell used items and things for other people.

Let me know in the comments what your current favorite way to make money online is and what works for you.

Desserts

 

Planner Inspiration

With the school year approaching, now is the perfect time to buy a planner. Here is some planner photography inspiration:

Do you like to decorate your planner?