Memorial Day Weekend

For me the Memorial Day Weekend does not mean that much. I just remember the first time I was in the US for the memorial day. I was living in Detroit Lakes, a small town in north-west Minnesota, at the time doing an exchange year during my Junior year in high school. The year was 1998 and I was 18 years old.

I remember driving by a cemetery with my host dad (or American dad as I call him, he was actually the one walking me down the isle at my wedding so he is just not a 'host dad' to me) and I could see all these flags everywhere. I had gotten used to seeing the American flag on a daily basis but not like that! That was just crazy - it was beautiful in some way...

Today when I think about it I have more compassion... I realize that most of these people died young, in another country without their loved ones because they wanted to do something good for their country, or the world... It is hard to think that they will never be able to tell their story, the story beyond the media, the story beyond the war...

Bless those many lost souls...

Summertime

Summer time is around the corner and I start to think about Sweden. I love Sweden in the summer. It is my place to relax and be myself. Hang out with friends, listen to how the language sound, look at the new fashion trends that will come to the US within a year or two, eat things I can't get here, walk in parks and enjoy people watching, see my family, enjoy watching all red cottages, see more blonds in a day then anywhere else, enjoy the sense of style in men, dance at my favorite club, walk in grocery stores and being able to trust the labels, stay up all night because it never gets dark, laugh until I cannot laugh anymore...

Yes, I miss my Sweden!

Going back to Dermalogica

I have given up hope on AHAVA products right now. I still like the bar soap but I am not seeing any improvements at all by using it or any of the other products that I have from the same brand. After my facial on Thursday I received some tester bags and as I kept using them my face kept improving. But over the weekend I used a lot of them up and now I am back to using my ahava moisturizer and my face is back to looking as a teenager.

I don't think that it is the ahava products that are bad, they are just not what my face need right now. I need to get something stronger for my acne, or for my skin infections as they are truthfully... I know; it sounds so much worse but that is what it is, no point in lying to yourself!

I saw incredible impact in using the 'Dermal Clay Cleanser' - it was a bit uncomfortable on my skin, but it really made an impact. I also am looking into getting the 'Active Moist' day cream and the 'Overnight Clearing Gel' I just feel that I am spending so much money on it... but if it works I really have no other choice... And I rather spend some money than look the way I do right now.

What is your favorite brand?

Lights went out

Yesterday I was goooone... I had my morning meeting with my elliptical at 5 in the morning and then off to work. I was so bored at work that I ended up leaving a little bit early... I was just thinking about everything else I needed to get done that sitting in my cube was driving me crazy... Then there was the highlight of the day - FACIAL time. I have had issues with acne for maybe four months now and I am trying to find the right products and the right way to take care of it without taking any drugs. It is a very slow process and I am not sure what to do next except having facials. They do make me look a ton better but it only last for so long.

Those 60 minutes of pampering makes me so relaxed and by the time I got home and had dinner I was out! It was only the 3rd inning of the Phillies game and I fell asleep on my hubby's chest... I woke up and it was the 7th inning.. I moved to the other sofa and tried really hard to watch the game but out I went...

Hubby woke me up a little later and off to bed we went. I don't know what happened after that but off I went again! When my alarm rang this morning at 4:50 am I turned it off and fell back asleep again. I was just completely wiped out!

I have been having some horrible cramps and feeling almost like I have had a fever so maybe I needed some extra sleep... I would say that by now I should be rested.

Last day of teaching dance classes tonight, feels strange but nice. I need the break, or I need the time I spend on that on other things for now.

Model found

Reaching out on Facebook is a good thing! A friend of a friend is letting me take pictures of her baby in my clothes - it is going to be so exciting!! I hope to get it done on Saturday.

My weekend is pretty much booked up, but I will make room for this! On Sunday I have the dance recital for NAC where I have been teaching dance since September last year. It is finally time for the recital. All the kids are so excited for it - not all might be ready, but they are excited!

I am even going to be on stage dancing. It has been a while but I am sure I still got the touch... after all I LOVE being on stage!

On a hunt...

I actually kept my promise. I finished the dresses that I was supposed to finish this weekend. As I am sure you have already noticed; I am not a girly-girl when it comes to my baby girl outfits - I like retro and I like to combine what I see in fashion magazine into something that fits a baby or kid. Now, that doesn't mean that I won't throw in a pink muffin dress with whipped cream on top every now and then - but that is not where I am at for the moment. Right now I am all about polka dots and down to earth... what I am tomorrow is another story ;)

So here is the dresses I finished: My "Olivia's Garden" Baby dresses:

100% Cotton (except for ribbon, zipper, and flowers) available in three baby sizes (S, M, L). I have not uploaded this to my Etsy.com shop yet and I don't know if I should, at least not yet. I so want this dress to come out great in the pictures and I feel that a little baby girl would make it look even better. What do you guys think? Does it matter if I have a baby model or not?

Do you know of any baby girls 6-18 months that would look adorable in this dress that would want to be my model?

Any comments are welcome!

Making a commitment

Ok - tonight I WILL finish one more dress!! I promise! I am not stopping until it is done!

Just so you know - even though Phillies are going to play the whole day and night... I will find the time to do it! Go Phillies... or wait - Go Sewing!!

Focus on the Red Thing

I am a bull that sees red sometimes, but it is not a bad thing necessarily. It is just that when I see red I have a hard time focusing on something else but this red thing!

My red thing for the moment is to learn as much as I can about Real Estate Investing. I am consumed by it. I can't think about anything else. I look at real estate for sale all over when I have a moment over. I try to play the game Rich Dad Cashflow for an hour before I go to bed and I read about real estate investing while on the elliptical, watching TV, and whenever I have a moment over. I am so focused on it!

But I also have my little business that I want to excel in and get more sales from, not because I think I can make Candie Ink to anything big, but I like doing it and I think I can learn from that experience! For the moment I have a hard time taking time to finish some items I have laying around. I have this awesome dress that I love that I just need to finish... but when I sit there or when I get ready to sew I just think about Real Estate. I can juggle tennis balls, but I have a hard time having two bowling balls in the air at the same time; they are a little heavy! And especially when I intend for my real estate ball to grow into something larger than myself one day.

But with you all here - let's do this: If I don't have at least one more item in my little online shop by next weekend you have to promise to NEVER buy anything from me, promise!

Second Sale

Things are going slow with my Etsy shop but I finally got a second sale and this one was my favorite - the 'I Love Shoes' printed hot pink toddler t-shirt!!

I have been a little slow in my makings too, I have had so much other stuff going on that I haven't talked to the people that have said I can use their kids as models or even finishing up the dresses I was supposed to finish 3 weeks ago. No rush I guess, we are still going into summer and not going out of it.

Life is full of surprises

Fearless girls ... I'm in the middle

I am still amazed on how everything has just tumbled upon me - it truly feels like it has. I haven't been looking for it because I had no idea what to look for or where. Donald Trump to me just a few weeks ago was one of those 'rich ignorant guys' - how wrong I was!!

How can I learn to be rich, or at least a little bit more financial stable, from someone that is still going to work every day, maybe even two jobs??? On what planet does that makes sense??? Apparently on this one! Why don't we learn from the best, from the people that have done it, tried it and have succeeded from basically nothing?? When you ask it like that it is pretty obvious but do people in general think about that stuff?? I don't think so, at least I didn't. But I do now...

I went to this workshop yesterday presented by Rich Dad Education and I was literally bubbling of excitement. It wasn't like all other workshops where you find the sales pitch in every sentence (yes it was a great sales pitch going on but it was beyond the point) this sales pitch made so much sense to me and it felt like it hit me right in the heart. All I wanted to do was to stand up and scream, that is how excited I was. I so know I am capable of doing this, I truly am. Yeah sure, some seconds here and there I get these fear attacks and think to myself 'who the heck do I think I am' but the excitement takes right over... And there is a drive inside of me that I almost can't manage.

It off course helps that every night when I come home I found a sad hubby from disliking his job, feeling that he is worth so much more. Yesterday I whispered to him 'I will get you out of this'... and I truly mean it, I truly believe that it will happen!! And it will happen in probably less than one year.

Fear not the fear itself but what will happen if you do not try!

I want it even more now!

Last week was a "sit-back-and-think" week. I was thinking about changes; that it was time for some changes for me (yeah I don't like getting to comfortable - I want MORE). First I planed my changes to be just taking charge of my horrible weight gain since coming off the pill. But for some reason Faith had more in storage for me. It was like I needed something bigger not to get bored.

On our way home from Florida over a week ago when our flight got delayed I fount this book 'Why we want you to be rich' and it made me think bigger. I am still not done with the book but it has opened my eyes already to what is out there for me to grab a hold of and never let go. I want it so badly now and I am willing to work hard to get there. I realize that it is not a walk in the park but I think I can get there, I really do.

Anyway after a lot of thinking I came up with a whole bunch of bullets and motivational things to keep me motivated and they all boiled down to this short vision and dream:
My dream is to one day be able to teach others how I made my dreams come true. I want to teach them why I was able to pay off my student loan with one single check, I want to show them why I now call multiple houses my home, I want to show them why I no longer fly commercial but private, I want to show them how they can also have their name on a building, I want to show them the difference between security and freedom, I want to show them the real meaning of what leverage is, I want to show them how they can accomplish the exact same thing over and over again no matter who they are or how much money they already have.

And then like a star in the sky I get to see it... I even get to touch it... I got to touch my dream for a little bit. 
I can't get a better teaser than this:

  A little piece of my future...

Camera giving me an attitude

I am so, so mad at my camera - not that it is something new to me, but I haven't mentioned it here before... I hate my camera, in fact I hate all 3 cameras I have...

One camera I bought when I just turned 25, that is 5 years ago now - and A LOT have happened in the industry of digital cameras since then... the colors are horrible and it looks like a brick, but back then it was pretty good. And I used it over Christmas while we were in Sweden and Norway snowboarding and it started to fall apart on me in the cold... the battery only lasted a few hours and so on...

The the second camera I have, isn't even mine but it takes better pictures than mine so I have been using it. And that is the camera I brought with me to Florida. Last night when I was going to download all pictures from the trip to my computer about half of them had an [ERROR] message on them. This has happened before but only on maybe one or two pictures out of a 100. This time it was probably 20 out of 40 pictures. What makes me even more mad about it is that I have seen the pictures!!! They were ALL in there and completely OK when I looked them through on Sunday... but now they are not! In fact they are considered GONE... Off course one is with me standing in front of the Universal Globe at Universal Studios...

My third camera is in fact amazing! It is a professional camera, it takes GREAT pictures and I love using it... but it is not a digital camera. So the whole process of being limited to 24 or 36 pictures per roll is simply not working for me. And to not be able to see the picture I just took on a little screen is also frustrating - how spoiled I have become!

I realized a long time ago that I need a new one, but hubby doesn't see the need as I do - he sees it as a 'want' and he might be right... but I don't want to listen to that! I WANT and NEED a new camera!!! Any suggestion on arguments?

New things

I just realized that instead of using www.etsy.com/shop/CandieInk to direct people to my online store I can use www.candieink.etsy.com... and I just got my business cards...

At least I know until next time... but man, I wish I would have known that before!!!

But I guess the idea of business cards is so people don't even have to worry about remembering...

But I do feel a little stupid!

Bella Giraffe Baby Girl Onesie

I don't think I ever listed my Bella Giraffe Onesie here...I think it was because I didn't really know what to say. You see 'Bella the Giraffe' is like a cartoon version of Me. She is tall for one and then she is curious; want to hear and know everything what is going around her... just like me. I didn't intended for her to be a cartoon 'me' it just happened, and to tell you the truth I didn't even realize it until just a few weeks ago. Even more funny is that I named her Bella - my by far favorite name for girls!

So she is special to me - as you can see she is already the face of Candie Ink, and always was!

As I always wanted to get Bella on canvas in full color - this is a step in that direction. I plan to buy a printer that can do all that when I have earned some money in this new business of mine - and then that will all happen!!! But I couldn't wait to launch her - this is the first Bella the Giraffe creation for SALE - grab it while you can! 

 

To get a Bella Giraffe Onesie for your little baby girl click this link: Bella Giraffe Baby Girl Onesie

Where to measure

rdering clothes online, especially for a baby that grows a little bit every day can be hard.

Here is a picture to guide you if you have a hard time figuring out what measurement I am referring to in my adds so you can get the size that fits the best, just remember the measurements are the actual measurements of the garment meaning that the body measurements should be a little bit smaller:

 

Head is running WILD!

It feels like I am on fire... No, I am not hot or anything like that. But I have that panic feeling... like there is a fire somewhere but I don't know where so I don't know where to run first, or if I should run to put it out or to run for safety...

I know... I have been described as crazy many times. ;)

There is just so much on my mind right now - things I want to do, things I need to accomplish; and I want to start them RIGHT NOW, all of them. But I have decided to actually plan this out a little bit better than what I normally do. Normally I just jump in there heads first and then stop half-way into it cause I got lost... this time I PLAN to see them all through.

Yesterday I started to write down a list of 'Why I Do It'. It is almost like a list of goals but a little bit more than that... I also explain to myself why. I plan to have a copy of this list at home and at work. At home it is going to sit on my bathroom mirror so I can read it every morning when I wake up and wonder why the heck I am up at 5am. And I should probably have one on the refrigerator so I can read it before grabbing something I shouldn't eat. But on the other hand - I shouldn't even buy things I am not allowed to eat.

Even though I know it, I sometimes forget that that ice cream doesn't come with a pack of happiness - the people I love and the things I accomplish do!

And getting smarter doesn't happen because I bought the book or dream about doing something - I actually have to read and do!

And then the hardest part - the exercise. I feel so much better about myself when I do it - but to actually doing it and thinking of doing it is a leap for me many days. But I truly think my little 'why I do it' list will help me in my mind game.

Florida was Great

Yeah... definitely a great vacation state. I have no idea if I would like to live there all year long, I like having 4 different seasons but for a visit now and then when it is a bit too cold up here is a YES!

We visited Universal Studios and Adventure Island - It was a blast!! Hubby wasn't as excited as I was, but I think he enjoyed it secretly anyway. I was disappointed that the Harry Potter thing wasn't open yet 'cause I love Harry Potter and it would have been so fun to see it all. But maybe now I have an excuse to go again...

We also spent some time playing golf - two rounds of 18 holes and one 9:ers... I actually enjoyed it! I mean I wish a full round was around 12 holes and not 18, but it wasn't as bad - and I got my FIRST PAR ever!! It was on a Par-3 so it wasn't as great as if it would have been on a Par-4, but still... (Yeah I know, I just admitted I am pretty bad at golfing). And my body sure got a fair share of some sun! I now have those great 'golf tan' lines... you know from socks and tees... it is so ugly! But I can't show them off anyway - it is pretty cold back in PA now.

The trip back home was a trip to remember... all I can say for now is that we were supposed to be home by 8pm on Sunday and we ended up coming home at 3.30 am on Monday morning... Life is full of surprises! :D

Florida Baby!

Man... I have been so off these last few days.

I think it is because I started to believe I was prego.. I have been on the DAY with my cycle for the past 4 months and when it didn't show on the day I though it was going to; I started to wonder.. and when it wasn't here 5 days later I was going NUTS! But today it finally made an appearance!

But it wasn't just me being late. I had all that skin issue that I couldn't find a reason to... I was tired all the time from being so full of energy to just drained... My mind was for sure spinning!




At least I can put that behind me as I am going to FLORIDA tomorrow!!! YEAH! Haven't been there since 2006. Me and hubby are going there to visit a friend and also to just relax. We need a time away from home.

He has requested at least 3 golf outings... we will see about that. Unfortunately I do not share his great passion about golf, I told him I will give him 1!.. I don't even know if I can fit into my golf clothes anymore... And I have had NO time what so ever to plan for this trip. But that is usually how we do things. 'Do you want to go?' 'yeah, do you?' 'ok - let's do it!' And off we go!

No matter what we end up doing I am going to enjoy the sun until I can't stand it!

Tori Spelling

I follow Tori on my Twitter account - I love her. She is such a wonderful and loving person and I wish I could be even a little bit like her... anyway.

She liked my 'I love shoes' t-shirt!!! She actually MADE a comment about it!!! :D

"Torianddean @misspkm OMG! That's Geniys! That's Stella's motto! Yes!"

Guess who is proud now?!?

I wonder if I can send one to her daughter Stella??

What NOT to do

This is what experienced Etsy sellers have said about what NOT to do when just getting started:

• Don't buy shipping supplies at retail (I just got my U-Line shipping catalog)
• Have great pictures - they can always get better
• Bookkeeping 
• Do not waste money on etsy showcases
• List more items (New) instead of renew them
• Don't underprice
• Only accept custom orders if they fit into your own collection
• Don't use Etsy as your only venture, try to sell on fairs and shows too
• Download Etsy hacks (I did - they are great - get yours at www.etsyhacks.com)
• Try to answer the question: "Why would anyone buy from me" 
• Be specific in the item description (I probably need to work on this one)
• USPS pick up service if your orders are getting out of hand (Yeah, I am not there yet)
• Be prepared for Xmas! (How exciting)
• Manage your inventory (This is hard when you have no idea what and how much people are going to buy from you)
• PayPal shipping - (So far I have only don't the Click-N-Ship with USPS and it works great!)
• Moo Cards (don't even know what that is)
• Join a etsy team... (still on my to do list)

Some great TIPS!! I am trying all I can - all I am missing is the sales I am looking for.

Printing my own Biz Cards

And it is not working at all! The print out will just not match the already made marks for the cards, they are all over the place. I have probably printed 100 cards without anyone of them coming out right.

I just changed some settings and I am trying again. NOPE!!! I am getting very frustrated. I should have just ordered my biz cards right away from overnightprints.com - They have great prices and the cards are so thick and sturdy, nothing like these homemade ones.

Ahhhh... what to do?? Did I just waste $20 on creating more trash???

Love it

As I am probably breaking some of the "do not" newbie rules of selling on Etsy by logging in to see if I have made a sale and to see how many views each item has received since last time I checked about 10 times a day; I cannot stop. And when I do I also spend some time looking at what other people put up there. And there is truly a world of amazing artists out there!

I found this Navy Jane Toddler dress one that I think is absolutely adorable!! The dress is great and the picture makes it look like a million $.

The shop is: Noah and Lilah and the dress you can find by clicking here

Honestly WHO can say no to this dress at only $34??? I wish I knew a little girl that could were it I would get it asap.

Does it come in my size???

Sherri - I love it!

Denim Baby Romper

Just realize I haven't added any pictures of the romper I made.

I originally made it thinking it was going to be a unisex romper, even though my hubby strongly pointed out that it was a girls romper ONLY. I didn't see it until I actually got to see the romper live on a baby - it is for a girl. How on earth was he able to see that and I wasn't???

Anyway here it is:

Click on link to get to the shop to order one: www.etsy.com/shop/CandieInk

I have been getting so many great comments from my friends from Sweden about how much they adore this piece, but the American friends are not feeling as strong about it as the Swedes. Is that a difference in taste? Maybe most girls clothes here have to be all pink and cute?? I don't know - any comments?? Well it doesn't really matter if someone in Europe buy it - as long as someone buy it. They don't do any good to anyone here...

Dermalogica Cleansing Facial

Had my facial this morning - it is so relaxing, I was enjoying it even more this time than the first time I went about 2 months ago. Maybe I was more tuned in today.

But it sounds like I have to go with my dry skin and "adult acne" for a little bit longer. That is by far the worst combination ever!!! You can't use products that would dry you out and you can't use products that put too much nutrients into the bad pores... I guess I will try to let my skin just relax at least over the weekend and then we will see.

On my way home I stopped to pick up some business card paper. Not the perforated ones - that is just not professional looking. Will let you know how it worked out.

Biz Cards

I am sure there are millions tutorials out there on how to make great biz cards in a creative and personal way. But I am just looking for the basics - I just want to know what paper to use!

I just need to be able to hand whomever I am speaking to about my business a business cards. How else are they going to remember www.etsy.com/shop/CandieInk with capital letters and all that... tooooo long and complicated. And to write it down on a piece of paper just seems like it will end up in the bottom of the bag and that is it. A business card might also just end up at the bottom of your purse, but by the time you clean up your bag (yes I have to do that sometimes) you will find it and you will probably remember what it is for.

So tomorrow I am going to look for some business cards paper. Have Staples around down the road from where I live so they will receive my business yet again. They are so lucky I am a 'ready-fire-aim' person, I don't really plan for things like that, off course making it more expensive in the long run, but who has time to plan everything in life!!

You would just end up being disappointed about failing to stay on schedule.

I don't know anymore

Have been trying AHAVA now since Saturday and I must say that it is WORKING - it is working too good probably. MY FACE IS LIKE A DRY SHELL now.

Yesterday I even dipped my own face in oil - I punctured a capsule with Vitamin E and one with Evening Primerose oil and put it all over my face to try to smooth out the dry spots. When I woke up I was just as dry... Tried some Aloe Gel but that stuff just make me blush so much.

Tomorrow I have a new facial appointment - hopefully she can help me!

But sometimes I wonder that maybe I have done too much to my face lately. Just before getting the ahava I was so frustrated and itchy that I basically scrubbed my skin down on my chin - so it might have been too sensitive for the new products. I haven't been able to use the Dermalogica products since Wednesday 'cause that is just too much or my face right now.

So I really can't say if this stuff is working yet or not. I am just confused and have never been this dry before, not even if sunburned!

I think he loves me...

Yup, I am still going strong with my 5 am wake-up time. I have to say that I was tempted to stay in bed today tough but I didn't. And I got things done - had to finish up some dance moves for my classes tonight (I know I am a last minute kind of person) I cut out some new pieces for some baby dresses, will start sewing them tomorrow morning probably.

My husband is really loving my little change. He get's to go to bed with me, and when he wakes up I am awake and even happy, haha! And today I even served him some eggs and bacon. ~ Hope he doesn't expect me to do that every morning now.

Uploaded a denim romper today - I have been getting a lot of comments from friends about it, but no sale so far. We will see, it is bit expensive but I honestly can't price it lower because of all detail work it has with visible jean stitches. And I can't underestimate my own work - that would just be wrong!

Can you guys believe it is Friday tomorrow.. 

It's working

So far I have been able to wake up early in the mornings to do some work... but I truly means SOME work - I can do the little stuff, like sew on a button, attach a tag, iron, and all that - but today I was first going to finish the one order I received with getting the print on it, attaching the tags, and then all shipping... I managed! After that I was planning to start my next project, but I ended up on my yoga mat and took a looong stretching session instead. It did me good - but now I might have to break my new tradition and do some stuff tonight, at least cut out some pieces.

The Phillies are on, so while we watch it I can do some cutting too!

I Love Shoes

Seriously, who doesn't love shoes?!?!?!

I don't buy that many shoes these days as I am trying not to do too much spending on things I don't really need... but off course someone could ALWAYS argue a need for a pair of new shoes... and to tell you the truth I do NEED probably 2 or 3 pairs by now. :D

Anyway... In honoring the constant need for shoes I made this little toddler tee... I really love it, but it might just be me..

I did it!

I almost cannot believe it, but I sold my first onesie after only 24 hours on Etsy.com!!! I had to go back and check about 10 times before I really believed it. I was so confused, hahaa...

I know that I love my items, or I wouldn't have made them... but it is so very personal to me. Every little design I do means something to me. It is so overwhelmingly wonderful to actually have someone else appreciate them too!

So today I am walking in the clouds! :D