Using Decorative Paper for Planning

I recently used decorative paper in my  Erin Condren planner. I got a bunch of orders for altered planner using this pretty black and white decorative paper. I decided to use the scraps like stickers. Here is a quick tutorial on how I did it.

Supplies:

• Decorative Paper: Scraps work well for this. You can use any decorative or scrapbook paper you have.
• Double Sided Adhesive Paper or Tape: I like using tape instead of glue to make them feel more like a sticker. You can also use sticker paper.
• Scissors: You need scissors or a cutting board to cut the paper. A cuffing board will make a straight line easier.
• Ruler: You might also need misc supplies like a ruler and pencil.

Instructiona:

1. First, you will want to cut your decorative paper scraps in to the right size for stickers. You can check the sizes for Erin Condren Weekly Vertical layout here

. If you have questions about other sizes, you can let me know in the comments and I will try to find the sizes for you.

These stickers work best for full size boxes, but if you try other sizes, let me know in the comments.

2. Add strips of the double sided tape to the back of the stickers. I found that two to three strips worked fine for sticking them on. If you are using double sided sticker paper, attach your decorative paper to the sticker paper and cut to the right size.

3. That’s it. You can now use your decorative stickers in your planne.

I only tried this stickers with the black and white paper, but I am sure they will look good with any paper you use. If you try these out, leave a comment or use hashtag #mythreadofthought

Let me know if you want to see other tutorials like how to design planner stickers on the computer and prints. 

Once Upon a Color Story…

Want to get beautiful effects on your photos?

I have been recently using the app A Color Story a lot. A Color Story was created by A Beautiful Mess and focuses on bright colors.

These are some pros:

• Easy to use
• Works well with iPhone photos
• Free to download with options for free and paid filters
• Easy to layer different filters
• Bright color styles make your photos stand out
• Good for blog photos
• Option to save editing steps

I liked a lot of things about this app. The main thing I love is the bright, colorful and modern style of the filters that is different from filters on Instagram and other apps which usually aim to give your photos a more vintage look. The filters are similar to the A Beautiful Mess actions and I love that you can save the steps you took for each filter so you can edit multiple photos with the same filter pattern easily.

These are some of the cons of this app:

• The effects don’t work as well with non iPhone photos
• Could offer more free filters
• Bright color style might not suit everyone

I think the editing and filters fit well on blogs and the web. They might not work as well for other photos. I tried on a couple photos I didn’t take on my phone and I didn’t like the effects of the bright filters as much. Sometimes, it was too much of an overkill. I liked the effects on phone photos and old photos though.

Here are some examples of photos I edited and how they turned out.

I started with a simple photo of a plant.  The first thing I do when working with a photo is to crop it and adjust brightness and contrast.

This is the photo after I played with the color a little. It has a sort of soft look now.

I thought the filters looked a little dark  so I also tried this style where I made it more green. I can’t remember what filters I used, but I like how it turned out. Here is another example: 

I liked this rose photo I took in my

neighborhood. I cropped it and then brightened it and played with colors.

Next time, I would recommend adjusting the filters and colors little by little (instead of turning a filter all the way up, just do it a quarter or a half way). You should also layer filters to get different effects.

Let me know which photo you like the best. Have you ever used A Color Story?

How to Make a Sushi Bowl

Have you ever wanted to make your own sushi bowl? This recipe is easy to make and you can use whatever ingredients you have

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sushi rice
• Nori sheets
• Carrots
• Avocado, chopped
• Salad greens (optional)
• Soy sauce or other toppings

Instructions: 

1. To prepare the ingredients, chop the. vegetables how you like them. I sliced the carrots in to thin strips. You can add other vegetables you have. Cut the nori sheets in to thin strips lengthwise. I also cut my strips in half.

2. Cook the sushi rice. To cook 1 cup sushi rice, boil with 2 cups of water. Reduce the heat to low and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Let the rice sit for 10 minutes and fluff with a fork.

3. To prepare for serving, add the salad greens to a bowl if using greens. Add the nori sheets. Assemble the rest of the vegetables.

4. Top with additional nori sheets and about 2 tablespoons of soy sauce. Add your own favorite sauces or toppings. Enjoy!

The post How to Make a Sushi Bowl appeared first on my thread of thought.

Polies Vegan Nutritional Balls

Polies is a company that sells the original nutrition ball. Nutrition balls are healthy power snacks comprised of seven premium, raw ingredient.

Polies sent me a set of 3 nutrition balls to try not their core flavor. There are many health benefits to these snacks:

• Heart healthy omega 3

• Rich in iron, fiber and vitamin E

• Natural protein

• Nutrient dense

• No preservatives

I really like the idea of polies. I am always trying to eat healthier and I have never tried nutrition balls before. These polies were raw, gluten free and dairy free. The balls were the right size. They are great for being to travel with or snacking on. The polies I got contained flax, sunflower, chia and molasses. They were not too sweet. They had a good molasses flavor. Having just one nutrition ball made me feel good and energized after eating it.

The polies come in a compostable package. A percentage of profits go to support organizations protecting the inborn and their mothers in the US. The polies are made in Texas in the US.

If you want to learn more about Polies, you can visit their Etsy Shop or website

St. Patrick’s Day Greenery

No matter if it’s St. Patrick’s Day inspired or not, you can find green everywhere. Greenery is also Pantone’s color of the year. Here are some of my favorite photos that incorporate green:

How do you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Let me know in the comments.

The post St. Patrick’s Day Greenery appeared first on my thread of thought.

Polies Vegan Nutrition Balls Review

Polies is a company that sells the original nutrition ball. Nutrition balls are healthy power snacks comprised of seven premium, raw ingredient.

Polies sent me a set of 3 nutrition balls to try not their core flavor. There are many health benefits to these snacks:

• Heart healthy omega 3
• Rich in iron, fiber and vitamin E
• Natural protein
• Nutrient dense
• No preservatives

I really like the idea of polies. I am always trying to eat healthier and I have never tried nutrition balls before. These polies were raw, gluten free and dairy free. The balls were the right size. They are great for being to travel with or snacking on. The polies I got contained flax, sunflower, chia and molasses. They were not too sweet. They had a good molasses flavor. Having just one nutrition ball made me feel good and energized after eating it.

The polies come in a compostable package. A percentage of profits go to support organizations protecting the inborn and their mothers in the US. The polies are made in Texas in the US.

If you want to learn more about Polies, you can visit their Etsy Shop.

Why I Didn’t Make Money Online

Have you ever tried making money online? I try out a lot of different methods to make money online. These are a couple reasons I think I was unsuccessful at making money:

I fell for scams.

There are a lot of scams online. It may look good to read how someone made a million dollars online, but is it really a practical method for making money? Did they spend years doing what they are doing to make money before seeing a profit? Also, do not pay for anything unless you know it is legit and try to set a budget on how much to spend if you do pay for a service. One way to check if a site is a scam is to use a site like Better Business Bureau which reviews websites and checks if they are scams.

I wasn’t careful when working with other people.

It can be great to work with other people to make money, but make sure you set guidelines beforehand. I worked with someone selling products on eBay and got scammed twice so be sure to know what you are doing. Use a site like Upwork to work with people so if you ever have problems, they will be held responsible. If a site has an option to review someone after working with them, this is a good feature to have to make sure they don’t scam you. I have good results with Upwork and Fiverr and some problems with finding people to work with on Craigslist. I think the review system helps make sure you are finding real people to work with.

I didn’t invest in myself.

This is there other side of being scammed. Sometimes, investing in your company does pay off when you spend money in the right places. If you really want to take a course, go ahead and sign up for it. If you see a product at wholesale price and have already proven it will sell, it could be  good step for your our business.

.

I didn’t backup my stuff.

I have lost files from not backing up my stuff so always do this. A program like Carbonite works well for your computer. I use Flickr to auto backup photos. Keep stuff on Google Drive and other cloud based services like Dropbox. You should also stay organized and keep track of any money you receive and any money you spend on your business. Consider having a seperate bank account, or even just a credit/debit card, for your business

I was overwhelmed.

Sometimes, it can be overwhelming to figure out what to use to make money. You can try all the methods at one time, but I think it works better to try or one or a couple methods at a time and then move on to another method later. For example, if you want to learn more about monetizing your blog using affiliate marketing, just try that out for a month. If you want to also learn about making money with guest posts, try that out next month. It can also be overwhelming to know which information to use. Do you use eBooks,  videos, classes or articles to get new info? I recommend choosing one to two programs to start with to focus on so you can look at it in a detailed way and then looking for other info.

I didn’t keep a schedule.

A schedule will help keep you organized and productive. On some projects, I never set a deadline so they just went on and on or sat in the background without getting finished. If you are a perfectionist, it can be hard to mark something as finished. Set deadlines for each milestone or project you have. Give yourself breaks also.

What are your best money making tips?

30 Ways to Update Your Etsy Shop

Have an Etsy shop? These are a couple ways to organize your business to make it run smoothly.

1. Get rid of old listings that aren’t selling. If you have Christmas items and they are not selling, save them for later.
2. Do you have sections for your items? Create 10 sections, or however many sections you need.
3. Switch up the photos for items. Use a new photo or angle for products that have been listed for a while.
4. Keep four featured items at the top of your shop and star a couple extra items in case one sells.
5. Organize your products in to collections of 10 with a thene instead of randomly listing items. See my printable here.
6. If you have a bunch of favorites, organize in to sections for easier buying
7. Write an about page and clear policies.
8. Create shipping profiles that will make it easy to add to lsitings
9. Use a similar template for listing titles and descriptions. Write a format or brief guidelines for a writing style you want to use
10. Download a spreadsheet of your orders and listings and keep them backed up on your computer.
11. Have ink and paper ready for shipping labels. Keep shipping supplies in stock for easy and fast shipping. Buy shipping supplies in bulk.
12. Keep all your finished handmade items organized in one place.
13. Label all your products and keep them in a protective covering such as a box or clear sheet.
14. If you have items with imperfections, give them away or use then yoursed
15. Keep enough supplies in stock if you do made to order items.
16. Have a crafting room or place where you do all your crafting
17. Keep craft supplies organized in boxes, bins and baskets.
18. When out get an order from Etsy when buying, keep all business cards and samples in one place.
19. Have enough business card said in stock. Keep a couple business cards in your pocket purse to give out.
20. Save articles about business you like with a tool such as Feedly or Evernote.
21. Use Google Drive or a folder on your computer to save Etsy latest documents such as spreadsheets, worksheets and documents you write.
22. Keep photos organized in folders on your computer. Favorite photos you want to list on Etsy and get rid of duplicates and bad photos.
23. Easily five photos a white background with FotoFuze.
24. Start a mailing list and if you sell wholesale, keep another list for retailers.
25. Create a media kit, press kit or line sheet.
26. Make sure your social media links and website links are accurate on all platforms.
27. Use the same logo and colors across multiple platforms.
28. Carry a notebook with you to jot down creative ideas and inspiration.
29. Have your Etsy items and updates automatically post to social media
30. Get help! Hire a virtual assistant and delegate tasks.

What are are your best Etsy tips? Let me know in the comments.

The post 30 Ways to Update Your Etsy Shop appeared first on my thread of thought.

What Are Your Favorite Desserts?

What are your favorite desserts? I want to try out more vegan dessert recipes. Let me know in the comments your favorite desserts. 

Pancakes and Booze Review

This was my first time going to the Pancakes and Booze Art Show. I went for two days. The show was late night from 8PM-2AM and was held indoors.

The show is an art show, but they also have craft vendors, photographers, bands, and DJ’s. The show features 50-150 local artisans. They also have  live painting, body painting and servings of pancakes. I love that they offered pancakes, but one downside was they did not have any vegan food options so I did not get to try their food.

Pancakes and Booze has shows all across the nation. The Chicago show was held at Reggie’s which is a nice music venue and bar. Reggie’s has three floors, a rooftop bar and a record store. I was on the second floor when I vended. There were not too many other craft vendors, but I did get to check out the other artists.

Overall, the show was a lot of fun. The turnout was pretty good and I liked the energy of the show. The cost was $100 to vend or sell art and I was able to make back the money with items I sold. My mini journals were popular at the show.

I would commend checking out Pancakes and Booze if they are in your area. 

A Beautiful Mess Happy Mail

A Beautiful Mess sent me a couple past kits of their Happy Mail subscription service. Happy Mail ships monthly with fun stationery goodies. The My comes in a cute envelope package.

The kits are mostly filled with paper items. Some items the kits contains include: 

• Cards
• Envelopes
• Postcards
• Art Prints
• Sticker Sheets

I loved opening these kits. I will definitely save the cards for the future. The stickers are great to use for planning. I am going to stick the shopping list in my purse. I love that these items are both cute and functional. Have you tried or any subscription box? 

Interview: Blankets and Knitting Tools from BeCozi

Describe what you sell in your shop and the process of giant knitting.
I sell super chunky Merino wool blanket, DIY Knitting kits, giant needles and luxury Merino wool knits. I knit all my product using my hands. It give giant, 3 inches stitches and a beautiful chunky look to all knits.

Your products are made with Merino wool. You also sell vegan alternatives to Merino wool. Can you describe what Merino wool is? Why did you decide to offer vegan products?
I am selling 100% super chunky Australian Merino wool which made from the wool of Australian Merino sheep. Merino wool is the most amazing wool in the world: it is hypoallergenic, moisture wicking and even antibacterial because the fiber is so fine that bacteria can not attac to it! It is extremely soft, not itchey at all and very gentle to touch.
I also sell super chunky vegan yarn: 100% Acrylic which looks and feels like Merino wool for those who prefers everything vegan or just wans a cheaper alternative.
Some people have such severe wool allergy that even Merino causes it, those love my super chunky vegan yarn.

How would you describe your style?
My style is in the name of my store – BeCozi. Be cozy – is my style and a motto. All my products are made to make you feel cozy and comfrotable.

Describe your studio space. Where do you work?
I work from home. I have a studio with a special custom made table for hand knitting: it is a completely unique product designed by me. Hand knitting is my personal technqiue not used by anybody before. Now you can find people on YouTube who are copying my style but a year and 3 months ago when I started – I created this unqiue style of hand knitting.
I also have a shipping room with all the wool and shipping supplies in my house.

Do you ever have creative blocks?

No. I always have so many ideas and unfortunately not enough time to make them all the reality.
What is your favorite feature on Etsy? Do you use any other websites?
Not sure what is the first part of the question about, sorry.
I do sell on my website www.becozi.net and also on Amazon and Ebay.

How do you package your products?
I package the wool in plastic white mailing envelopes and for all the other products I use special sizes boxes.
Do you use social media?
I do use social media:
http://ift.tt/2lDg1uM
facebook.com/becozi
instagram.com/becozi
http://twitter.com/becoziknits
youtube.com/c/becozi

Do you ever do craft shows or sell wholesale?
I participated in one craft show in my city – Holland, MI in May 2016 for a Tulip time festival Carft show, otherwise I do not really have time to do it. I do offer wholesale for the wool and my items – 15% off from the price on Etsy and website. It is not 50% as wholesale usually works because my retail prices are very reasonable.

Is there anything else you would like to add?
Giant knitting with super chunky Merino wool or super chunky vegan yarn is a lot of fun. It is my passion and joy, I love to do it and I love to share my passion with the world!