I thought you all might like to know that I'm running a NEW "Linda's How-Do-I Series?" on my "Tips For Crafters On The Web" blog and on my "Testing The Blogs and Helpful Blog Tips" blog.
Why a new series?
Well, I get asked a lot of the time "How do I do this?" or "What's the html code for that?" so I thought it would be better if I just posted the articles on my "Tips For Crafters On The Web" blog and on my "Testing The Blogs and Helpful Blog Tips" blog then everyone could then see how to do it. Plus, it will save me a lot of time as I can just reference the articles versus re-inventing the wheel and creating separate emails.
So, a little sharing and a little self preservation.
In any event, here's the articles I've posted so far:
Linda's How-Do-I Series? How Do I Create A Clickable Product Ad?
Linda's How-Do-I Series? How Do I Draw A Line, Skip A Line, Add A Paragraph, and Underline?
Linda's How-Do-I Series? Why Would I Want To Create Generic Posts?
Linda's How-Do-I Series? What's The Difference Between All Those Picture File Types?
Linda's How-Do-I Series? How Do I Use Margins, Padding, and Borders?
Linda's How-Do-I Series? How Do I Create A Promotion, Copyright or Bio Signature?
Linda's How-Do-I Series? How Do I Add Horizontal Advertising Buttons?
Linda's How-Do-I Series? How Do I Widen My Blog?
Linda's How-Do-I Series? How Do I Add Wallpaper To My Blog?
Linda's How-Do-I Series? How Do I Add Vertical Advertising To My Website?
Linda's How-Do-I Series? How Do I Provide A CLICKABLE Link To Another Section On The page?
Linda's How-Do-I Series? How Do I Create An Email Link?
Linda's How-Do-I Series? How Do I Change My Font Type, Size, and Color?
Linda's How-Do-I Series? How Do I Add A Text Link?
Linda's How-Do-I Series? How Do I Add A Scrolling Banner?
Linda's How-Do-I Series? How Do I Center My Banner, Button, Text or Picture?
Linda's How-Do-I Series? How Do I Make A Clickable Link List?
Linda's How-Do-I Series? How Do I Set-up A FREE .PDF File?
Linda's How-Do-I Series? YIKES! My E-Patterns Files Are Huge!
Linda's How-Do-I Series? Can I Make My Plugboard Bigger?
Linda's How-Do-I Series? How Do I Take A Screenshot Of My Website?
Linda's How-Do-I Series? - How To Set-up Forum Signatures or Siggy's?
Linda's How-Do-I Series? How To Set-Up An Email Signature?
Linda's How-Do-I Series? How Do I Add a Banner Rotation To My Website?
I hope all of the above is helpful to you. There will be many, many more "how-do-I" tips to come. Stay tuned.
Copyright © 2007 - All Rights Reserved - Written By Linda Walsh of Linda Walsh Originals, Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns, and Linda's Blog. Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer. http://lindawalshoriginals.com
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Friday, January 19, 2007
Heartland Marketplace GRAND OPENING
We are soo pleased to announce that we have done a complete redo on our Craft Marketplace Heartland Marketplace! Our site is simply beautiful, easy to navigate and a wonderful advertising opportunity for our crafters!
Stop by and visit our new site and sign up for our newsletter as we will be announcing our Crafters of the month very shortly!
Heartland Marketplace
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries
Ingredients -
1 pkg. (4 oz.) BAKER'S GERMAN'S Sweet Chocolate
16 large strawberries
Preparation -
MICROWAVE chocolate in small microwavable bowl on HIGH 2 minutes or until chocolate is almost melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.
DIP strawberries into chocolate; let excess chocolate drip off.
LET stand at room temperature or refrigerate on wax paper-lined cookie sheet 30 minutes or until chocolate is firm. Drizzle with additional melted chocolate, if desired.
Valentines Creamy JIGGLERS
Ingredients -
2-1/2 cups boiling water
2 pkg. (8-serving size each) Jello Brand Gelatin, any red flavor
1 cup cold 2% reduced fat milk
1 pkg. (4-serving size) Jello Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
Preparation -
STIR boiling water into gelatin in large bowl at least 3 minutes until completely dissolved. Cool 30 minutes at room temperature.
POUR milk into medium bowl. Add pudding mix. Beat with wire whisk 1 minute. Quickly pour into gelatin. Stir with wire whisk until well blended. Pour into 13x9-inch pan.
REFRIGERATE 3 hours or until firm. Dip bottom of pan in warm water about 15 seconds. Cut into decorative shapes with heart-shaped cookie cutters all the way through gelatin. Lift from pan.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Everyday Magic
~*~Living For the Last Time~*~
The Russian poet Anna Akhmatova declared to fate that......"I warn you, I am living for the last time." How does that sound to you? Can you stand up right now and say to yourself that this is your one and only life and that by all means necessary you are going to enjoy it?
I don't know if you believe in past lives, that we are destined to continue to live the same mistakes, the same regrets, over and over again until we get it right. I don't even know if you need a speech like this. But, I know I do. I am at a point in my life where the road forks and I'm standing in the middle, looking from left to right, wondering which way will lead me to my authentic self.
If I've learned anything from my mistakes, from my regrets, it's to be happy. To "seize the day" with everything I have and not let one second go by without acknowledging that it very well could be my last. Do I adhere to this as often as I should? Probably not. Do I have moments where I just feel like quitting and giving into my doubts and fears? Certainly. But to know these things, these miniscule delays in my journey to happiness, makes me even stronger. Helps me carry on, helps me to pick up the pieces and put them back together.
It also helps me to know when those pieces need to stay apart. When some things just can't and don't need to be mended. Because, let's face it, sometimes destiny gets in the way of our plans. Much like the old saying....."God laughs at your plans." When something does fall apart, I've learned that sometimes it's the universe's way of forcing you to come into the light. You go kicking and screaming every inch of the way, but when you finally get there you understand why you're there instead of where you "planned" to be. And as much as I'd like to say that I'm a planner, I am not. Although a year ago I had a very different picture in my head of where I would be right now.
But, guess what.....I understand why I'm here instead of where I thought I would be and I'm happy. Life can throw you lemons but you don't always have to make lemonade. Sometimes it's more fun to throw them away.
"The past is not only that which happened but also that which could have happened but did not." ~Tess Gallagher~
*written by Missy Sue of Whisper Moon
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
What The....Are Plugboards?
It seems like everyone in the online crafting crafting community is getting a plugboard for their website or blog.
A what?
A Plugboard!
What's that?
Well, basically they are FREE remotely hosted boards that you can create using customized HTML code that allow users to add their advertising banner themselves onto the plugboard on your website or blog. Their banners remain on your plugboard until they are bumped off, in which case, they can return and plug their banner again. This creates traffic for your website as the users keep coming back to your website to see if their banner is still there.
Using plugboards is very, very easy. Users just need to enter two pieces of information into the two clickable boxes on the bottom of your plugboard. They enter their button or banner URL and website or blog URL and then click "PLUG". Their banner is then added to your plugboard.
Where can you get a plugboard? At Plug-Board.com
They are easy to use and can host 4 different size banners: 88x31, 88x15, 50x50, and 468x60. Most plugboards house 88x31 size banners. Each plugboard can hold 60 buttons. However, this can be adjusted so your plugboard can hold more or less buttons. You can change the "Buttons per row" and/or "Number of rows" of buttons in your settings. 10 buttons are archived at any point in time so if you need to delete a button then you won't have a blank hole in your plugboard.
Each plugboard can be easily customized and controlled through a simple easy to use control panel that you can access on the plugboard website. You can edit and control who uses your plugboard by deleting buttons you don't want, ban users IP's you don't like, and ban domains. There is also a "Flood control" feature that holds the specified seconds between plugging times to help prevent spammers. You can also set you account up so that you are email notified when someone plugs on your board. You can even decide what background color you'd like to use for your plugboard or make it transparent.
After you establish an account and sign-in you will be brought to your "Posts" page where you will see all the banners on your plugboard. If this is a brand new plugboard they will all be blue in color with the text "Plug Your Site Here." You will also notice that there is a horizontal menu just above plug administration at the top of the page. The menu has the following options: Posts, Settings, Restrictions, HTML Code, Account, and Logout.
Each of these pages allows you to do different things to control your plugboard, which are as follows:
Posts - Here you can delete a banner, ban an IP address, ban a domain, and edit the IP of the button. The latter is useful if someone accidentally enters a URL or a website or banner with a typo and would like you to correct it.
Settings - On this page you can change your plugboards settings. You can change the background colour, disable posting, enter the number of seconds you want for flood control to prevent spammers, change the button size, change the number of buttons per row, change the number of rows, and edit your email notify.
Say for example you want to change your plugboard which uses 88x31 size banners from having 60 buttons set-up as 10 buttons per row and 6 rows to fit the sidebar of your blog. You would change the number of buttons per row to 2 and the number of rows to 30. If you want a really large plugboard on your website you might change the number of buttons per row to 8 and the number of rows to, say, 15 so your plugboard now holds 120 banners.
If you want to change the background field then just type the hex code without the # into the box or leave it blank for transparent.
If you don't want other people to post on your plugboard then click in the disable posting box and it will add a check mark there which will prevent users from posting their banner to your plugboard.
Flood control helps with spammers and contains the number of seconds you want to allow between plugs. Leave the flood control field blank to disable it.
If you want to be notified when someone adds their banner to your plugboard then check the E-mail box.
If you change anything in your settings then you need to click "Update" so your settings are changed.
Restrictions - On this page you are able to remove the ban on multiple IPs or URLs that you may have previously banned. Each row shows either an IP being blocked or a URL being blocked. To add an IP, enter the IP under "IP" and click Update. You do not have to enter a URL to ban an IP or vice versa.
HTML Code - This page contains the customized HTML or Alternate Javascript code you need to add to your website or blog based upon the settings you chose. All you need to do is to copy and paste the HTML code from the first box to wherever you would like your plugboard to be displayed. If you know HTML you can edit the code on your website. For example, the default for the plugboards is "center" alignment. You might want to change the code so the alignment is "left" or right" to better suit your website or blog.
I have found that the HTML code is the best code to use for most websites and blogs. There is an Alternative Javascript code in the second box. I have used this as well. However, I have found that when there is a problem with the plug-board.com website that the Javascript code tends to freeze the plugboard and not allow the rest of a blog to be displayed. If there is a problem on the Plug-board.com website the HTML code will leave the plugboard blank or show an error message.
Account - This page has your plugboard account information on it and it can be edited. Leave the password field blank if you do not want to change it.
Logout - For signing off your plugboard account.
You might be wondering if there are any rules for plugging. Who may or may not plug on your plugboards is entirely up to you. You determine the criteria for plugging and then remove those plugs that don't meet your criteria. Just make sure that your rules are clearly posted near your plugboard. For example, your rules might be as follows:
RULES: Please feel free to plug your website or blog if you are in craft related industry. We are a family-friendly website. Any non family-friendly plugs will be removed. Please only plug once and then wait for your banner to be removed before plugging again. Enjoy the plug.
Plugboards are a lot of fun and I should know. I have 8 of them. So, come on! Start plugging!!!!! You don't want to miss out on all the fun - do you!
Copyright © 2007 - All Rights Reserved - Written By Linda Walsh of Linda Walsh Originals, Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns, and Linda's Blog. Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer. http://lindawalshoriginals.com
A what?
A Plugboard!
What's that?
Well, basically they are FREE remotely hosted boards that you can create using customized HTML code that allow users to add their advertising banner themselves onto the plugboard on your website or blog. Their banners remain on your plugboard until they are bumped off, in which case, they can return and plug their banner again. This creates traffic for your website as the users keep coming back to your website to see if their banner is still there.
Using plugboards is very, very easy. Users just need to enter two pieces of information into the two clickable boxes on the bottom of your plugboard. They enter their button or banner URL and website or blog URL and then click "PLUG". Their banner is then added to your plugboard.
Where can you get a plugboard? At Plug-Board.com
They are easy to use and can host 4 different size banners: 88x31, 88x15, 50x50, and 468x60. Most plugboards house 88x31 size banners. Each plugboard can hold 60 buttons. However, this can be adjusted so your plugboard can hold more or less buttons. You can change the "Buttons per row" and/or "Number of rows" of buttons in your settings. 10 buttons are archived at any point in time so if you need to delete a button then you won't have a blank hole in your plugboard.
Each plugboard can be easily customized and controlled through a simple easy to use control panel that you can access on the plugboard website. You can edit and control who uses your plugboard by deleting buttons you don't want, ban users IP's you don't like, and ban domains. There is also a "Flood control" feature that holds the specified seconds between plugging times to help prevent spammers. You can also set you account up so that you are email notified when someone plugs on your board. You can even decide what background color you'd like to use for your plugboard or make it transparent.
After you establish an account and sign-in you will be brought to your "Posts" page where you will see all the banners on your plugboard. If this is a brand new plugboard they will all be blue in color with the text "Plug Your Site Here." You will also notice that there is a horizontal menu just above plug administration at the top of the page. The menu has the following options: Posts, Settings, Restrictions, HTML Code, Account, and Logout.
Each of these pages allows you to do different things to control your plugboard, which are as follows:
Posts - Here you can delete a banner, ban an IP address, ban a domain, and edit the IP of the button. The latter is useful if someone accidentally enters a URL or a website or banner with a typo and would like you to correct it.
Settings - On this page you can change your plugboards settings. You can change the background colour, disable posting, enter the number of seconds you want for flood control to prevent spammers, change the button size, change the number of buttons per row, change the number of rows, and edit your email notify.
Say for example you want to change your plugboard which uses 88x31 size banners from having 60 buttons set-up as 10 buttons per row and 6 rows to fit the sidebar of your blog. You would change the number of buttons per row to 2 and the number of rows to 30. If you want a really large plugboard on your website you might change the number of buttons per row to 8 and the number of rows to, say, 15 so your plugboard now holds 120 banners.
If you want to change the background field then just type the hex code without the # into the box or leave it blank for transparent.
If you don't want other people to post on your plugboard then click in the disable posting box and it will add a check mark there which will prevent users from posting their banner to your plugboard.
Flood control helps with spammers and contains the number of seconds you want to allow between plugs. Leave the flood control field blank to disable it.
If you want to be notified when someone adds their banner to your plugboard then check the E-mail box.
If you change anything in your settings then you need to click "Update" so your settings are changed.
Restrictions - On this page you are able to remove the ban on multiple IPs or URLs that you may have previously banned. Each row shows either an IP being blocked or a URL being blocked. To add an IP, enter the IP under "IP" and click Update. You do not have to enter a URL to ban an IP or vice versa.
HTML Code - This page contains the customized HTML or Alternate Javascript code you need to add to your website or blog based upon the settings you chose. All you need to do is to copy and paste the HTML code from the first box to wherever you would like your plugboard to be displayed. If you know HTML you can edit the code on your website. For example, the default for the plugboards is "center" alignment. You might want to change the code so the alignment is "left" or right" to better suit your website or blog.
I have found that the HTML code is the best code to use for most websites and blogs. There is an Alternative Javascript code in the second box. I have used this as well. However, I have found that when there is a problem with the plug-board.com website that the Javascript code tends to freeze the plugboard and not allow the rest of a blog to be displayed. If there is a problem on the Plug-board.com website the HTML code will leave the plugboard blank or show an error message.
Account - This page has your plugboard account information on it and it can be edited. Leave the password field blank if you do not want to change it.
Logout - For signing off your plugboard account.
You might be wondering if there are any rules for plugging. Who may or may not plug on your plugboards is entirely up to you. You determine the criteria for plugging and then remove those plugs that don't meet your criteria. Just make sure that your rules are clearly posted near your plugboard. For example, your rules might be as follows:
RULES: Please feel free to plug your website or blog if you are in craft related industry. We are a family-friendly website. Any non family-friendly plugs will be removed. Please only plug once and then wait for your banner to be removed before plugging again. Enjoy the plug.
Plugboards are a lot of fun and I should know. I have 8 of them. So, come on! Start plugging!!!!! You don't want to miss out on all the fun - do you!
Copyright © 2007 - All Rights Reserved - Written By Linda Walsh of Linda Walsh Originals, Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns, and Linda's Blog. Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer. http://lindawalshoriginals.com
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Sweetheart Strawberry Tarts
26 OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, finely crushed
1/3 cup margarine or butter, melted
1 qt. strawberries, divided
1/2 cup water, divided
1/3 cup sugar
1-1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup whipping cream, whipped
MIX crumbs and margarine until well blended; spoon evenly into 12 greased or paper-lined medium muffin cups, adding about 2 rounded tablespoons of the crumb mixture to each cup. Press firmly onto bottom and up side of each prepared cup with back of spoon. Refrigerate while preparing filling.
RESERVE 12 small whole strawberries for garnish. Wash and slice remaining strawberries. Set aside 1 cup of the strawberry slices for glaze; pat remaining strawberry slices dry. Divide evenly among tart shells. Add 1/4 cup of the water to reserved 1 cup strawberry slices in small saucepan; bring to boil on medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, combine sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice in small bowl; stir in remaining 1/4 cup water. Add to saucepan; return to boil. Cook and stir 1 minute or until sauce is clear and thickened. Spoon 1 Tbsp. of the strawberry glaze over berries in each tart shell. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
TOP with whipped cream and reserved whole strawberries just before serving.
Chocolate Bliss Cheescake for Valentines Day
18 OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, finely crushed (about 1-1/2 cups)
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
3 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pkg. (8 squares) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, melted, cooled slightly
3 eggs
PREHEAT oven to 325°F if using a silver 9-inch springform pan (or to 300°F if using a dark nonstick 9-inch springform pan). Mix cookie crumbs and butter; press firmly onto bottom of pan.
BEAT cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add melted chocolate; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Pour over crust.
BAKE 55 min. to 1 hour or until center is almost set. Run knife or metal spatula around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim of pan. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Valentines Day From Fun to Sexy
Valentines Day is right around the corner and it time for love and romance in the air. As I sat pondering about the "Most Romantic Day of the Year" I was trying to think of fun and creative ways you can show your love to your loved one with out breaking the bank. Here are some fun and cute ideas you can use on your loved one.
1-Valentine Card-You do not need to be artistic to create your own Romantic Valentine Card. Gather old newspapers, and Magazines, Vintage Cards and Postcardds. Cut out words and phrases that can be combined to make a romantic , sexy, or funny Valentine Card. To add some texture and color and romance decorate with Roses petals, glitter, buttons, and more!
2-Song-Go back to our high school years and dedicate a romantic song to your loved one.
3-Coupon Book-The old Coupon book of love, Give your sweetie a coupon for a free back rub, or his favorite home cooked meal. Or volunteer to be his love slave for a day or two or even offer to take out trash one week. You could make this as romantic and sexy as you want it.
4- Prolong Valentines Day-Buy 7 small valentine tokens or gifts. Wrap each of them separately along with a special little love note to go with each one about why you love them. Give one to your love every day leading up to the big day!
5-Memory Valentine-Make your valentines extra special by gathering memorabilia of your time together, such a something from the fist place your met, or a first place you kissed, a GFC to your favorite restraunt, A CD of your song together, Pictures of when you first started dating in a scrapbook, and loving note taking him down memory lane.
6-Night of Romance-When you hubby comes home have all the lights out but a small dim light coming from your bedroom, you could even light a trail of rose petals on the floor leading your loved one to the bedroom. Have a hot bubble bath waiting a glass of champagne or have a romantic dinner for two waiting and some soft mood music!
7-Valentine's Scavenger Hunt-Lead your lover on a FUN scavenger hunt leaving clues all around the house until they find their Valentines present. An alternative to this to leave clues one each day for the first 6 days leading up to Valentines day then on the seventh day leave the final clue.
I hope you have enjoyed these fun Valentines Day gift ideas. Remember Valentines day is only day a year, show your loved you love them every day.
Angie
Copyright © 2006 All Rights Reserved - Article Written By Angela
Wenke of Heartland Marketplace
and Heartland Graphics.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Come Visit our NEW Craft Forums
Our Forums offer a great way for us to interact with our readers! You can chat with our editors, suggest ideas for our upcoming issues, Submit a Recipe or Craft Idea or Photo for our Front Cover. You can advertise your sites, Your Top Sites and more! Stop by and visit us at Primitive Times Magazine Forums
Saturday, January 06, 2007
NEW~~~PRODUCT REVIEW FOR YOUR PRODUCTS~~~NEW
Product Reviews
One of the NEW Features on Primitive Times Magazine is we will be offering PRODUCT REVIEWS. On all kind of Prim and Craft related items. What does this mean for you?
Means we will happily review ANY product you want to send our way from Candles, Tarts, Ornies, Baked Goods, Etc. Anything you want review we will do our best to portray a FAIR and HONEST opinion of your product.
We will then send you are review before posting it in our magazine and on our website. Once we receive your approval your review will go up for all to see. We will also send you a small logo to display on your front page stating one of your products was reviewed by Primitive Times Magazine. With the thousands of readers we are generating a month this is wonderful FREE advertising about your product and your site. Please read below if you would like for us to conduct a review:
RULES:
1-You are responsible for shipping the item to the reviewer that is chosen for you.
2-The reviewer will contact you as soon as the product has arrived at their home and will give you an estimated time of when they will have their review ready.
3-We promise to be FAIR and HONEST and impartial in our reviews of your product and you will have a chance to accept or reject our review. If accepted we will post the review along with a photo of the product and link to your site in our next issue of Primitive Times Magazine and also in our Product Review column on our website.
4-We ask that in return you post our small button on your front page and link it to your product review.
Are you ready to get your product reviewed?
Click here to sign up today
Friday, January 05, 2007
Raising Your Family and Your Home Business
Being a working Mom is a tough job, trying to juggle your home life with your work life can be like juggling at times. When you start to feel like you just do not have enough hours in the day to devote to everyone and everything, what do you do?
With a little organizing and time management, you can have that family time that you are struggling to achieve and still have time to keep your business running smoothly. A great key to running your online business is to involve your family in helping run your business. For example your children could help you package boxes, or help you seal envelopes or help you shop for supplies, this allows them to feel important and also gives you extra quality time with your children.
The most important thing to remember while juggling your home life and business life, is you took your online job or business in order to spend more time with your family. As hard as it may be at times to peel yourself away from that computer, your family also need and deserve your attention.
One of the tricks I have used in my household is while my children are in the showers in the morning and getting ready for school I will check my email, for pending orders or questions from customers. After my children are downstairs my time is theirs until they head off to school to catch up on important things they may be doing in school that day, or things going on in their personal life.
Once they are out the door I divide my time from 8:00 am between working on the computers and still getting in that occasional load of laundry or dishes in the sink. You know us mothers always multi tasking lol Next I will stop for a brief lunch and relax with some TV or reading, then I am back to the computer from 1:00 pm till the kiddos come home from school, from the time my children walk in the door until they head off to bed I try very hard not to get on my computer at all. This is family time, time for me to catch up on things happening in school and their lives, and time to catch up with my husband. This is not to say there are not the occasional nights when I am so behind that I have to work on the computer but I always try to wait until they are in bed, then I can get in another two hours or so of work.
Try to keep things in your home running smoothly with a schedule, such as dinner will be served each night between 6-6:30 pm so the children and family are in a routine. Make sure to schedule time to include your daily chores that need to be done in with your work schedule or before you know it you have 10 piles of laundry waiting for you and dust bunnies over running your home.
By including your children in your new online venture and by also allowing them the time they need, your life at home should be a smooth sailing. The key to working from home and balancing a family is to make sure your family comes first, your email will still be there waiting for you in the morning, and if most of your customers will understand and respect you for putting your family first.
With a little organizing and time management, you can have that family time that you are struggling to achieve and still have time to keep your business running smoothly. A great key to running your online business is to involve your family in helping run your business. For example your children could help you package boxes, or help you seal envelopes or help you shop for supplies, this allows them to feel important and also gives you extra quality time with your children.
The most important thing to remember while juggling your home life and business life, is you took your online job or business in order to spend more time with your family. As hard as it may be at times to peel yourself away from that computer, your family also need and deserve your attention.
One of the tricks I have used in my household is while my children are in the showers in the morning and getting ready for school I will check my email, for pending orders or questions from customers. After my children are downstairs my time is theirs until they head off to school to catch up on important things they may be doing in school that day, or things going on in their personal life.
Once they are out the door I divide my time from 8:00 am between working on the computers and still getting in that occasional load of laundry or dishes in the sink. You know us mothers always multi tasking lol Next I will stop for a brief lunch and relax with some TV or reading, then I am back to the computer from 1:00 pm till the kiddos come home from school, from the time my children walk in the door until they head off to bed I try very hard not to get on my computer at all. This is family time, time for me to catch up on things happening in school and their lives, and time to catch up with my husband. This is not to say there are not the occasional nights when I am so behind that I have to work on the computer but I always try to wait until they are in bed, then I can get in another two hours or so of work.
Try to keep things in your home running smoothly with a schedule, such as dinner will be served each night between 6-6:30 pm so the children and family are in a routine. Make sure to schedule time to include your daily chores that need to be done in with your work schedule or before you know it you have 10 piles of laundry waiting for you and dust bunnies over running your home.
By including your children in your new online venture and by also allowing them the time they need, your life at home should be a smooth sailing. The key to working from home and balancing a family is to make sure your family comes first, your email will still be there waiting for you in the morning, and if most of your customers will understand and respect you for putting your family first.
Copyright © 2006 All Rights Reserved - Article Written By Angela
Wenke of Heartland Marketplace
and Heartland Graphics.
Are You Providing Good Customer Service? By Angie Wenke
As with any company or business you are trying to run and be successful at, Good Customer Service is the key to your success. As any new small business owner who is starting out on the internet knows, creating your website and search engine submission is a key role in your success, equally important is how you treat your incoming customers. So the question is you giving your customers the best possible Customer Service?
So often I have ordered from sites that offer handmade products had to wait and extremely long time for my order, with little to no communication from the owner on where my order was. With most Primitive and Country sites you offer handmade products such as handmade dolls, or hand poured candles or ornies or Country signs. All of these take time to create and a lot of them are custom made to your customer, be sure on your site you let your customers know an approximate order time.
To finish this article please stop by our Site and download the NEW issue of Primitive Times Magazine FOR FREE
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Cabin Fever by Dianne
It’s that time again… It’s dark at 5PM, and the sun doesn’t come up till after 7AM. The snow is too deep to do anything outside, and the temperature hovers around zero with the sun hidden behind more snow clouds. Oh dear, I shall be “forced” to spend another day staying inside sipping chocolate by the fire. I debate with myself on the benefits of changing out of my baggy long-underwear and into “real clothes”. It seems a bit too much at this moment…my energy level is on low. Besides, my “jammies” are way too comfy. The Christmas decorations have been put away till next year, the house is now back to “normal”, and my craft room beckons from down the shadowed hallway. Too work, or not to work….that is the question.
To finish this article please stop by our Site and download the NEW issue of Primitive Times Magazine FOR FREE
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More Website Promotion Tips:
In the past two issues of Primitive Times, we have discussed some ways to promote your craft website without spending any money. You will increase your website traffic using the free methods of website promotion discussed in previous articles. However, to increase your likelihood of success, you will also want to invest in some paid advertising. Unfortunately, a tried and true fact of business is that you do have to spend money to make money. Since most crafters are working on a budget, it is very important to spend advertising dollars wisely.
To finish this article please stop by our Site and download the NEW issue of Primitive Times Magazine FOR FREE
Primitive Times Magazine
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Primitive Times Magazine January Issue is Ready FREE Download
Our Latest Issue of Primitive Times Magazine is now available for download
Full of Stuff like:
Free Craft Ideas
Recipes
Business Articles
Inspriational Articles
FREE Graphics
FREE Patterns
And soo much more! Stop by and download your FREE Copy today! And don't forget to grab your ad for our February Issue of our Magazine!
Primitive TImes Magazine
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Primitive Times Magazine Top Sites
We have started a NEW Top Sites for all Crafters in our community to join! We invite you to stop by and join our top sites today for FREE advertising!
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