April Desktop Calendars

I get kind of excited every time a new month rolls around. It means I get to change my computer's desktop calendar!! There are a variety of free calendars available from generous graphic designers. I've compiled a list of my favorites below:

My four favorite options from Smashing Magazine

From Basic Grey

From Leelou Blogs

From Pepper and Buttons

Which one is your favorite?

For New Year's Eve

As far as I can remember, our New Year's Eve plans have been booooooring (yawn!) And this year is no exception.

I'm just not a night owl and we don't live near the kind of friends who are up for partying all night!

The one exception to this was the New Year's Eve of 1999. My whole family took a trip to Egypt that year to visit my best friend (whose family are also missionaries). We rung in the year 2000 on a boat in the Nile river - it was definitely something to remember!!

Are you planning a shindig to celebrate the new year? If so, I found some charming printables you might want to take a look at:

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Happy party planning! I'll be living vicariously through all of you :)

Re-using Your Gift Wrap

Before you go tearing into your gifts this Christmas, think about repurposing all of that lovely gift wrap! Below are some of my favorite ideas:

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The Negligent Housewife

Negligent with household chores? Yep, that's me!

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I'll be honest: once a week I do the very minimum. I sweep the floors and wipe down the kitchen. Bathrooms and laundry every other week.

The other stuff? Forget it! And the other stuff (like the awful piles of dust on the ceiling fan blades) is easy to ignore.... UNTIL. Until my parents and my sister come for a week long stay. And then I'm all: We need to scrub the cat snot off of that wall! Quick! Put away the camping gear we set out to dry on the back porch two months ago! And the windows! Scrub them so we can see through them again!


Please tell me I'm not the only one like this.

Anyway. My family is coming for a week during my Thanksgiving break. Why am I freaking out about it now? Because if they want to unpack their suitcase, we'll have to reorganize all the closets. Plus all that other stuff in italics up there.

I would very much like to stay on top of this cleaning business. I found some organizational tools that might be useful via this lovely site.

And then there's the Fly Lady who walks you through to a clean house in manageable baby steps. (I've heard good things!).

What about you? How do you manage the mess of daily living?

Making the Most out of a Linky Party

Linky parties / Blog hops are a great way to grow your blog readership, discover new blogs to follow, and participate in the fabulous online blogging community.

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Here's a short list of helpful tips to maximize your linky party/blog hop experience:

- Make sure to follow the rules of the link-up.
- Visit other blogs who have linked up - and leave them some comment love!
- If you see a new-to-you blog that you like, don't hesitate to follow!
- Make sure that the post you link up follows the theme (ex: don't link your outfit post to a recipe linky party). This is basic common sense but still needs to be said.
- Update your About Me page ... you may be getting some new traffic - make it easy for them to get to know you!
- If someone comments on the post you linked up, visit their blog and return the favor!
- Leave some comment love for the blogger hosting the link up :)

Did I leave anything out? If you have any other tips or tricks, I'd love to hear them in the comments!

If you're looking for fun linky parties to join, here's a great list. It's a little older so it doesn't include Gussy's Inspiration Workshop or Casey's On My Heart. And of course, don't forget Tickle Me Tuesday! {wink!}

Oh and PS: I have a $25 gift certificate giveaway going on over here! And you can score free set of mini cards over here! Go enter :)

Keeping track of sales

I'll be honest. I did not open up shop because I loved balancing numbers. I've never considered myself business minded. Keeping track of numbers is a bit of a challenge for me! I just like to make pretty things, haha!

But as January rolled around and a new year started, I knew I wanted to keep better track of things. With the help of my super talented husband, I created a spreadsheet to help me do just that! I thought I'd share that here in case any of you were wondering if you've made a profit yet.... (Note: these are all fake numbers I input for this example!)

You might notice a few things:

*All the numbers in red show the money I've spent (fake numbers though, remember?). Excel will do this automatically if you just put a minus sign in front of the number.

*You may or may not want to add a column on the left side for the value of amount of products you've given away for promotional stuff.

*Materials: Save your receipts, or have a little notebook handy to track how much your spending on your materials so you can input that stuff into the spreadsheet later. ALSO!! I don't count materials that I consider as an investment. For me, that would be rubber stamps, because I can reuse those over and over. For you, it might be your rotary cutter. If you want, you could create another column for start up costs.

*The right side of the spreadsheet is for money coming in. I sell advertising on my blog so I have a column for "Blog Sponsors". If you don't do this, don't add it!

*If you have other ways that money is coming in (like craft fairs), add a column for that too.

*Take your total profit (on right) and subtract your total spent (on left). Then try not to weep! Especially if you're in the beginning stages of your business, it will take a while for you to see all of your hard work and investments pay off!

Did I leave anything out? Is there a fool-proof way you track your business related stuff? If so, please enlighten the rest of us!!

Also, if you'd like a copy of this template, just shoot me an email (sarah at yesteachercrafts dot com) and I'll send it to you free of charge. Because I like you!

Success!!

Do you remember when I shared the flower belt tutorial I found on Ruffles and Stuff? I've been meaning to  give it a go for ages now! Well, the three day run of snow days I had this week (did I mention I love being a teacher?) gave me all the time I needed to dust off my sewing machine and try it!

I made three and used some fake flowers that were on sale at the craft store. Don't you love how they turned out? They look so cute around my favorite cardigans!

It's definitely addicting! I'm kicking myself for not having any black grosgrain ribbon on hand. I want to make some with felt flowers next time!

What projects are you up to?

The little crafter that could

Does this ever happen to you? You're browsing along at the mall or online or wherever, and you come across something super cute... like this Full Bloom Belt from DownEast Basics.

And you think to yourself: "Hey, I think I can make that!"

A quick Google search led me to this fabulous tutorial from Ruffles and Stuff for a grosgrain ribbon belt. Check out her final product:

I even found a few great tutorials to make your own felt flowers for the belt! A pretty variety from One Little Minute. A fun and easy one from I Am Momma. And a classy and sophisticated flower from Lu Bird Baby.

I can already tell, these will be my new crafting obsession!

National Novel Writing Month

Hey, remember my last post when I was whining about all of those interests and hobbies of mine that I never seem to have time for?

Well one of them is reading and writing novels. I'm a pretty avid reader (well, in the summer that is, when I have enough brain cells to devote to it). And I've recently started writing my own novel as well. I've been pecking away at it since last summer, forty minutes here, an hour there. Mostly on Saturday mornings.

November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). The concept is a bit terrifying: the goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel from Nov. 1st to midnight, Nov. 30th.

I'm intrigued by the whole idea, but I'm not sure yet if I want to sacrifice all of my "me-time" to it. I've missed the boat this year anyway, but I'm researching tips and tricks, just in case I decide to take the plunge next year! I came across this very informative and entertaining piece by Doyce Testerman. If you enjoy writing, I'm sure you'll love reading this as well!

In the meantime, how do you make time for all that you want to do??

My "Meaning-to-do" List

It's both a blessing and a curse to have so many interests and hobbies. Sure, it's great to never feel bored, but it also kinda sucks to feel like you never have time for all that you want to do in the day.

Especially annoying are those things that get in the way of your hobbies like your Day Job, and Running Errands, and Keeping House. (We don't have kids yet, but I'm sure that's another big one that gets in the way of "me-time"!)

So I have this bookmarked list of things that I've been meaning to do. I got my first sewing machine last year (thanks, Santa!) and I've been collecting easy projects that I'd love to try.

I'm hoping that sharing these with you will motivate me to get started!!

First up, I'd love to make my own business card holder. Prudent Baby has a great tutorial here!

This potholder-makeup pouch looks simple enough for a beginner like me (and so much cuter than the plastic bag I usually throw my stuff in when I travel)! Obsessively Stitching shows how to do it here.

I'd love to make a set of these DIY moleskins from Honestly... WTF to give my coworkers as gifts!

I'd love to make a bunch of these (no sew!) to accessorize my wardrobe this season. Check out the tutorial from Make Grow Gather.

I'm lusting over this scarf/bolero/shawl from Happy Find. It looks a bit more complicated, but if I want it bad enough, I can do it.... right?!

So what's on your meaning-to-do list?

All the cool kids are doing it

I've been meaning to tell you about the latest cool thing to hit the Internet: Etsypreneur.

Etsypreneur is an uplifting and helpful community of Etsy sellers created by the awesome duo Tim and Kim Layton from Everything Etsy.

It's not officially associated with Etsy, it's just a bunch of Etsy sellers supporting each other.

Think of the Etsy Forums, only it's way more fun, personal, and user-friendly!

As a baby business myself (Yes Teacher only opened last April, after all!), I'm finding that Etsypreneur provides a helpful place for me to connect with others, learn more tips and tricks, and become inspired and encouraged.

So what are you waiting for? Go sign up! (It's free!) And then we can chit chat!

Autumn Splendor

Nature is really at her prettiest when the leaves change colors. If you live in a state where you can see this kind of beauty on your doorstep, count yourself lucky! We get a few trees here and there that change colors, but nothing like what we used to see in Michigan...

Thankfully, there are lots of ways to surround yourself with Autumn beauty, no matter where you live!

Scarlet Autumn Photography print from RaceyTay

Orange Harvest Fabric Branches from Jane Joss

Antique Brass Leaves Necklace from Expressions by Cheree

Reversible Fall Napkins from Creative Chic's Home

 

Do all of these lovely autumn goodies inspire you to create something of your own? I came across this fun idea in Disney Family Fun, recently. I think it's a craft for kids, but I'd sure like to try it myself :)

 

You know how I love journaling!!

Bare walls begone!

Last summer, we moved into our house with just four days to spare before school started (for me as a teacher, and for my husband as a grad student!). Although we really wanted to do things like paint and hang up pretty pictures, we were slightly more concerned with, say... getting a refrigerator. Fast food is fun, but a week of it? Not so much.

I thought I would have all the time in the world for my decorating projects since we both have the summers off. But... something happened. Somewhere in between the three trips we took out of state to visit family, and the lounging around in our pajamas, those projects just never seemed to get done!

I can live with the white walls in our living room. But the hallway? The hallway is desperate for something. I stumbled across these free art prints via One Pretty Thing the other day, and I just knew I was going to have to use this one as the focal point for our hallway pictures:

There are lots of other cute ones, too - go snag one for yourself!

Pimp your blog!

You may or may not have noticed, but I've made a few changes around this blog of mine! More organized link lists, and some cute pictures here and there, mainly. But in my search for free blog bling, I came across some cool stuff that I didn't use. So feel free to grab these for yourself!

Teal Bird from the Background Fairy

Hand-drawn Social Icons (scroll down a bit to find them)

Email Me buttons from Oh Hello Friend

Very unique Twitter buttons from Inspired Magazine

Hand-drawn color Social Icons from Haastek

Crafting with kids

Do you have kids? I don't (maybe later!), but I do have a classroom full of kids and most of them love to craft! It's fun to craft with kids because they take such a joy in the PROCESS of creating -- not in the end product. I'm not sure when we start to obsess about the perfection of the object we're creating. I wish I could throw my perfectionism to the wind sometimes and just enjoy the journey more!

If you're looking for inspiration, One Pretty Thing is your best friend! Go to Categories, and search under "Crafts for Kids". You might find this page where there's a link for a fabulous tutorial for a Texture Book.

Texture Book tutorial from b kids

Laurie from Tip Junkie can always be counted on to bring you the best of the ideas from around the Internet. She has a great roundup for summer crafts here. This pom pom garland is my favorite!

Pom Pom garland tutorial from Views from my Window

What crafty sites do you enjoy with your kiddos?