Freebie: Organize Your Life

I am someone that likes to make lists.

In fact, I love them.. and honestly what girl doesn't?

I will make lists and think that I'm going to do everything on them and then half of the time I maybe get one thing done. Something really weird is that if I make a list and don't like my handwriting or something isn't just right, then I will re-write the entire thing. In a perfect world I would get everything done, but let's face it.. it's not going to happen, at least not today.

So in an attempt to set some goals for myself, I have decided to create a couple of sheets that I can set goals for each month.

My main sheet that I made is for my shop. I set goals of how much I hope to make from the shop each month, how many items I'll add into it each month, and then a spot to mark how much I actually made. I wanted to add that last part because I think it's important to know if you have reached your goal or not, and then come up with ways to help you for the next month. While I expect that some months will be slow, I also hope that other months will exceed what I want to sell. I have set some months with a $30 profit, some with $20, two months with $50, and one with $60. 

I have already exceeded this months sales and the amount of items that I'll add into the shop, but it will allow me to get through February with the hopes of not adding any new products.

I'm really excited to give this a shot to see if it's something that I can follow (weight chart) and something that I can achieve (shop chart).

I've also printed this two other times in hopes of setting weight loss goals and then another with personal goals. I also made a weekly sheet for the weight loss, so that when I do work out for 5 days straight then I will allow myself to reward myself for actually making it through. My reward? I have a credit of $170 wrapped up in iTunes that I've had since September (I clearly have an issue with spending free money). So with reaching goals each week I'm going to allow myself one download per week.

With the hopes that maybe someone else might like to try this, I've added a printable for you to use.

Just open the image in another window and then print. Make sure the picture is scaled to full size.

And here's a weekly printable:

  

I'd love to hear if you're going to try this.

I think it would also be good to use with planning meals or even as a food journal (weekly).

Pinned It, Made It: Beaded Bobbypin

Oh Pinterest, you never fail to make me want to make something that I found on your site.

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My version:

Bright Packaging

Sometimes you just have to send some really cute bright packaging with striped wrapped orders inside.

Tutorial coming soon!

Major Shop Update

I just wanted to quickly pop in to share some of the new items that have hit the shop within the past couple of weeks. These bracelets below were just added today.

Shop Sweet November

it snowed then melted

It snowed here last week.

And then it melted.

I can deal with that.

My Memories Winner!

The winner for the My Memories giveaway is..

KARA!

Congrats!

Please contact me before Wednesday.

smtornow@yahoo.com

The Vow

If there's any movie that I'm looking forward to, it's this one..

Here's the two trailers so you can have something to look forward to as well.

I have a feeling I might cry during the movie.

And can we please talk about how stunning her dress is for their European press tour.

I can't even talk about how good looking he is..

Two Special Deliveries and a Mailing Swap?

Two really great things came in the mail today. I was so excited to see packages between the doors today and to find out the both of them were mine was pretty amazing.

The first one are these sweet earrings from Along for the Ride! 

I recently did some design work for Laura, and in exchange she sent a couple of earrings.

I only asked for two but this lady just spoils!

Thanks Laura!!

P.S. Laura's trying to get rid of her cabochon jewelry (like below) and if you use the code 'cab10' you get 10% off those pieces! So get shopping!

The second thing that came was even more special.. not that I don't love my earrings, because you better be sure I'll be rockin' them all next week, but this made things official.. I'm really a college graduate!

Let's be honest here, I did run around the house yelling that my diploma came.. Seriously, it's been months that I've been waiting for this thing!

It really makes the whole graduating thing more official now that I have the real thing in my hands.

Question:

There have been a couple of mailing swaps going around blogland and I am considering doing one on the blog here. What is it you wonder? Well you simply enter with your name & address, share a couple things that you like, I match you up with someone, and you swap gifts.. tah dah!!

I'd love to know if you guys would be into doing something like that. 

Let me know below!

Music Love

There's one artist out there that is not really known yet, but it's one that I keep coming back to.

I first found this group on YouTube, you know, my go to place to listen to music. I'm not really sure how I came across the group, but I'm thinking it was a video that was on the side that I might have clicked on. Not only do they do their own music, but they also do really great covers. I really can't even begin to explain how much I love this guys voice. It makes me so relaxed, which is why I love to listen to it before bed.

One of my favorite covers that they've done is Fix You by Coldplay:

Definitely check out the rest of their channel for more amazing music.

Earring Sale: TODAY ONLY!

TODAY ONLY: Flower Earrings $1.

Use code Earrings50 at checkout!

SHOP!

Giveaway Reminder

This giveaway ends today!

A winner will be picked tomorrow!

Shop Update

Welcoming another new addition to the shop!

And these beauties are also added into the shop!

SHOP

All listed under HOME.

BEST. VIDEO. EVER.

Probably because it's so true.

"Maybe she's born with it."

"Uh, no. I'm pretty sure it's Fotoshop."

Hilarious!

Shop Update: Herringbone Mug in Bright Pink

I've added my first mug to the shop tonight!

These new listings will be under the HOME section of the shop.

Check out the mug here.

Currently Snacking On..

I love with these little snacks!

Have you tried these before?

I've never tried an everything bagel, but I'm really have an obsession with these.

Sneak Peek!

I'm getting ready to launch a couple of new products to the Sweet November shop within the next couple of weeks. I wanted to give you guys a sneak peak at a couple of the items and to find out what you think, so let me know in the comments below!

Can you tell I'm obsessed with the herringbone pattern right now?

DIY: Photo Booth Instagram Photos

I love Instagram. Usually I take pictures of what I'm eating, doing, or seeing at the time so my pictures really don't have any people in them, but I feel like it makes these little photo booth style strips even more fun to look at.

Here's how you can make your own:

1. I used Illustrator to create mine, but you can easily set this up at Picnik. I took my images from Instagrid and then just added them to a template that I made. You can easily add in four images to your strip, but I wanted mine to be large enough to see from a distance, so I worked with three to a sheet. I also grouped my black and white images, the food / drink photos, etc. 

2. I printed mine on the traditional 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper. With this project I also used photo paper that had a very little gloss to it. Then I took my photo paper and trimmed around the markings that I made.

And that's it!

A super easy project that can be hung anywhere or stored in a box for memories.

How I Curl My Hair

So some of you had emailed me before to see how I curl my hair to look like this:

So I thought I would quickly share with you how I do it. It doesn't take very long to do and I also find that curling my hair like this lasts longer than it does by curling it with the actual barrel being wrapped in my hair.

To start I section my hair off.. I typically start with the bottom and then work my way up, but sometimes I even skip the bottom because it doesn't show.

I then take the curling iron and while keeping the handle part closed, I tuck it behind my hair and wrap the remaining section around it. This allows the curl to move away from your face. After each section is done and before pulling the next section down, spray your hair with a light holding hair spray.

And that's it! Just keep doing that around your entire head. When you get to the other side, make sure to switch the curl so that the opposite side also moves away from your face.

MyMemories Review and Giveaway

A couple weeks ago I received an email asking if I would like to review the MyMemories Digital Scrapbooking Software. Of course I said yes, but the best thing about it is that they've also offered to give one away to one of you!

One of the main things that I liked about this software was that it didn't take a lot of work to get the design that you want. With my first page I used one of the templates, Sweet Baby Girl, that was provided in the software.

You can also make up your own template and save it for later use, or even purchase a template from many of the categories that they have. I love the option of purchasing the kits, there's even some free kits that you can download from the site. With the kits you can add as much or as little as you want to get the right design. There's even small pieces like bows or buttons that you can add to the pages as well.

I made this next page with a template that was on the software, adding the image into each frame and then matching them up to create this unique blocked photograph page.

There are so many other things that you can make with this program and I think that it's perfect for bloggers who are looking to take their images to the next level.

I'm still even playing around with it to make my own little album.. and I can even go and get it professionally printed or even do it at home, it's that simple. It's a great way to be able to get all of the memories down without having to pick up all of the mess at the end of the day. 

During this giveaway time (or even after), if you decide that you would like to purchase the MyMemories Suite V3 Scrapbook Software, you can receive $10 off and it comes with a $10 coupon for you to download whatever you want (kits, etc.)

Share this code with friends, family, co-workers, on your blog, or with anyone that you think would fall in love with this product.

CODE: STMMMS33518

MyMemories Suite

So you want to win your own Software?

(You really do, because it's pretty amazing!)

Here's how you can win:

(please leave a separate comment for each thing you do)

Mandatory:

1:

You must be following the Sweet November blog through GFC.

2.

Head on over to the MyMemories site and then come back here to let us know what your favorite digital paper pack or layout is.

Extra Entries:

Follow the MyMemories: 

1.

Blog- http://blog.mymemories.com/

2.

Facebook- http://www.facebook.com/pages/MyMemories/140359372717593

3.

Twitter- http://twitter.com/#!/mymemoriessuite

4.

Post about this giveaway on your blog, Facebook, or Twitter.

5.

Share the discount code on your blog, Facebook, or Twitter

Please don't forget to leave a comment for each thing that you do!

Giveaway ends January 18th!

Which One?

I am woking on the About me page, along with a little side column for the blog, but I am undecided on which image to use.

Thoughts?

Sleep Tight Munchkin!

It's barely 9:30 PM and I'm ready for bed.

Hair up. Makeup Removed. PJ's on.

I was hopeful that I would be able to crank out some blog posts for the rest of this week and the next couple weeks, but I am worn out. Today was filled with putting out applications, which is stressful in itself. But on top of it I had to explain to a lot of companies this minor issue on my application:

Reason for leaving (previous job): I was never paid for the work I completed.

With reply's like: "Oh that sucks." "What kind of person fails to pay their employee?" "What a jerk."

Check. Check. And check.

I agree with all of those statements.

Thankfully, I didn't have to explain how royally gypped I was from this employer.

Don't you worry, there will be a post all about that later..

There will be a pretty amazing giveaway tomorrow, as long as I can get the post done!

Sleep tight munchkin!

..And hopefully there will be a blog post tomorrow!

20% off!

SHOP

What I Made: Starburst Mirror

So I had talked before in a post that I was working on a project that was taking me about 5 days to complete. Five days for a project seems pretty intense and let me tell you, it was. There was so much work that went into this, but I'm extremely happy with how it turned out. The entire thing is about 30" in diameter which is pretty big.. and believe it or not, the entire thing cost me under $4.

My favorite thing, other than the way it looks straight on, is the way it looks from the sides. It really has that 3D type of feel the way it comes out from the wall. It's definitely a statement piece, which is also something I really love about it. 

I'm considering selling this in the shop, but I wouldn't make it until an order has been placed, just like with the onesies. And considering it takes a hell of a long time to make, it wouldn't just cost $4. I am also considering selling a PDF version of this that would be sold for you to print off and make your own, it would contain tutorial type instructions with pictures, and it would cost much less than buying the actual product from me.

I'd love to know what you guys think.

Would you buy something like this or buy a PDF version to make your own?

Please don't forget to vote on the poll to let me know what things you would like to see more of on the blog.

Poll: Two Little Questions

Hope you don't mind, but I'm trying to gather my thoughts on what you would like to see more of on the blog and in the shop. If you'll take the time to quickly answer these two questions it would help out so much.
**If there's more than one thing that you want to vote on, votes can only be entered once a day, so you'll have to keep coming back.

What would you like to see more of on the blog?
	DIY / Tutorials
	Workspace
	Personal
	Blog / Shop Features
	Fashion
	Beauty
	Design Work
	Before and Afters
	Freebies
	Other (leave comment below)

What new items would you like to see in the shop?
	Headbands
	Onesies
	Home Decor
	Prints
	Jewelry
	Cards
	PDF Projects
	Other (leave comment below)

Earring Sale!

Earrings are now only $2 in the shop!

Did you know we also ship Internationally now too?

So Excited!

Update

I've been gone from the blogging world for just over a week and it's really felt great not having to worry about posting or even checking in every day to see what's going on.. It was really quite relaxing and I suggest trying it once!

While I was away though there were plenty of things that have been going on around here..

Of course I celebrated Christmas with my family. My brother came home and brought his dog with him. The last time I seen my brother was at my graduation in September, so it was great to have him home for the Holiday.

I applied for a Graphic Design position that was open at the casino that is opening in April. I was really counting on getting the job.. there were two people that I was going against (both had graduated from my school as well) and the people I interviewed with really liked that I was only 10 minutes away from the casino and actually living in Ohio, which the other two were not. I found out last Friday that I didn't get the job. After counting on getting it, it was a complete shock and disappointment. To be honest I even cried about it because I thought that after not hearing from them for two weeks that I was the one they wanted. 

So to make up for it.. 

I bought a lot of Bath & Body Works things that were 75% off and treated myself to a "Luxury Bath".

I made my first purchase through Etsy.

And I've been working on a project that's working that has been lasting five days, although, by the time you're reading this it will hopefully be completed with a post in the works.

To top off my little blog break, my wheezing has started back up again. As you might know, this whole breathing issue started back in April of 2011 when I had Pneumonia and Bronchitis. I'm really hoping that this year isn't going to be a repeat of what I went through last year.. although at this point it's looking like it will be. I think this time I am a little more prepared with my Advair and Albuterol for my breathing treatments. Which is the real reason that I'm writing this post.. it's 1:50 on Tuesday and I can't sleep because of the wheezing, so I'm waiting for the Advair to kick in so that I can get some sleep.

Welcome back to the drama, have you missed me?

Welcome Back!

The blog and shop are officially back in business.

Please make sure to stop by the shop to check out the new items!