Ashop Commerce

Now, as some of you might have noticed from some of my other posts, one of the storefront sites that I have used for a year to market and sell the "a TAMM creation" line is closing down and I am looking at what to do. One of the options I am looking at is Shopping Cart Software.

Now to use this, I would have to have a seperate website, and that is some setup costs over and above the Shopping Cart, which can be kinda pricey, and with the business only be a little over a year old, I am not sure if I am in the postion to put out that kind of investment. At the moment I have lined up another storefront site to list the line on, but I am still worried about the visablity issue; will anyone find me?

Still, after talking with some friends, I have been researching Shopping Cart Software. One that looks promising to me is Ashop Commerce. After looking at their information on the website, it looks to be well-supported, which I really like, all the fees are listed up-front, and although they seem a little high to me, compared to others they are quite reasonable. It would allow me to accept credit cards, and although I already have a PayPal account, and accept payments including credit cards through them, this would be another option. I still need to look into the difference in the fees on those payments between the two, but at first glance, it seems to be a reasonable and plausible solution.

At this point in the business, I never thought that I would be looking at ecommerce software or anything to do with ecommerce, I still thought I would be learning under someone else. It is scary to take things to another level, but if I want the business to grow, then maybe it is time.

I'm not sure where you are or if you are looking and reading this because of the "a TAMM creation" line and your desire to purchase some or to see more, or if you are in the market to set up your own web-business. And I know that I have links to a number of other people whoe are also selling on the storefront sites, so I want to let you know what I have found. And for those of you that know me well, you already know that I love to share my finds and opinons all the time.

That all being said, if you are in the market for Shopping Cart Software then I suggest that you take a look at http://www.ashopcommerce.com and see what you think. I think it sounds like a well developed and well supported option to allow you to have your own online store.

Bloggy Giveaway Update

Again, I want to thank all of you who have entered my Bloggy Giveaway.

Just as a reminder, the entery deadline in midnight Saturday, February 2nd.

On Sunday February 3rd, I will use the random number generator to pick a winner. I feel that this will be the fairest that I can possibly be to everyone who entered.

I will post the winner on this blog and at the main Bloggy Giveaway site, and I will attempt to contact the winner by email. Please check back after Sunday to see if you are the winner.

Thank you again for taking the time to enter and for all the wonderful comments!

The Sedona Method Leads The Happiness Wave

What is The Sedona Method and why should I be interested?

Do you want happiness ? Who doesn't? Who in this world truly enjoys being sad and depressed? Well, then isn't it time to check out something else? Why not try The Sedona Method ? What have you got to lose except the unhappiness?

How can The Sedona Method help you become truly happy now?
First off The Sedona Method is based on two main premises:
1) Thoughts and feelings aren’t facts and they’re not you.
2) You can let them go.
At your core you already have all the happiness you are seeking, and all you need to do is uncover it, this natural happiness, by letting go of the unhappiness or limitation that appears to be covering or obstructing it.
The Sedona Method teaches you to do this, to let go of the things in life that are binding you to the unhappiness in your life.

Since its creation in the early 1970s, The Sedona Method has been taught to hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. This simple yet elegant Method continues to spread happiness, peace and well-being on all continents, fostering a growing sense of oneness and peace.

We're not talking about some, johnny-come-lately plan, but something that has been out there for over 30 years, somthing that people like Mariel Hemingway, granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway have tried and are raving about! We've all read about the self-doubt and low self-esteem that plagued Mr. Hemingway, and studies have shown how that can be an inherited traint, so for someone like Mariel, who grew up in a family history of this to be finding and endorsing this, well, let's just say for me it leads alot more creditablity to it.

Right now, if you go to their website and sign up for the newsletter, they will send you a FREE DVD or CD. What have tyou got to lose? A little unhappiness? Check it out, see what the FREE DVD and CD are about, it won't hurt.

Thank you all!!

Thank you to all you you who have read through my blog and entered the Giveaway in the below post!

You have all made me feel great! Some of you have left some wonderful comments on what I am giving away, and I just wanted to post a big THANK YOU to all of you!

Thank you for taking time to be part of the Bloggy Giveaway, thank you for taking the time to enter my drawing, and thank you for taking the time to visit my blog! That all means alot to me!!

BloggyGiveaway

So I am surfing through some blogs and found this Bloggy Giveaway.
Hummm.....why not try it!

Rules:
Post a comment to me on this blog on this message to be entered. That's it, it's that easy.

What do you win:
Well....since we are talking Valentine's Day coming up here, how about a pair of Valentine's Beaded Socks! Your choice of size. See the below post for a picture of them!
The cost in materials alone is over $3 and they retail on my store sites for $5.00. Not bad for just leaving a comment!

When:
Now through Saturday February 2nd at midnight.
I will post the winner on Sunday February 3rd from all entries!

Good luck!

http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/reviews/2008/01/bloggy-giveaw-1.html

Listed on EBay

So, I broke down and even listed some Valentine's Beaded Socks on Ebay the other day.


The reason I say, broke down, is because they almost never sale on there. There is some lady who is listing her's for $0.99. How, I pay more than that for the socks alone! Now granted that hers have way, way fewer beads and not as much ruffle as mine, but still. If you see that and then see mine, listed at material costs only of $3.19, which are you going to buy?
These are the Valentine's Beaded Socks that I listed and below are the links to the auctions. There is one for each of the Children's Sizes....so one auction for a pair of socks in extra small, one in small, one in medium, and one in large. I didn't list the adult size.


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150209335788&_trksid=p3907.m32&_trkparms=tab%3DSelling


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150209336853&_trksid=p3907.m32&_trkparms=tab%3DSelling


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150209337288&_trksid=p3907.m32&_trkparms=tab%3DSelling


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150209337503&_trksid=p3907.m32&_trkparms=tab%3DSelling






Check them out and let me know what you think!!!

New Handknitted Scarf - Hot Pink

Well, I got another new scarf done the other day. Finally got my little model to work for me last night and got pictures and then I listed it on the Etsy storefront.

http://atammcreation.etsy.com/



This is a wonderful hot pink color, with flecks of all kinds of other colors interwoven in the yarn, they don't stick out, but from a distance, I really notice the colors in the pattern of the scarf. The hot pink yarn is almost like an angora, in fact I had someone ask if it was while I was working on the scarf, it's not, the yarn is actually 100% nylon.

The yarn is called Moda Vee, and the color was called Vixen. I picked up the yarn on clearance awhile back, wasn't sure what I was going to do with it, but I did this wonderful scarf. This is all the yarn like that I have. There was a little left over, not much, but I will be finishing up some acccessories to match the scarf out of this yarn soon. In fact, two completely new items....an ipod case and an eyeglasses case. They are both almost done, and will have pictures soon!

a TAMM creation at Etsy.com

I think I mentioned before that I found a new place to list the "a TAMM creation" line.

http://www.etsy.com/

It's all handcrafted items, with some supplies, but most of the people on there are selling their own handcrafted items!

http://www.deby0.etsy.com/ has some supplies, and I ordered some new yarn from her the other day. It came in on friday and I can't wait to turn it into something wild!!

http://www.southernnight.etsy.com/ handcrafts her own soaps and tarts. She has Brad's favorite scent for me to wear, Plumeria, so I ordered some wax tarts and goats milk soap from her!! I am so excited about those!! Can't wait till they get here, it should be nice!!

http://www.justaddcharm.etsy.com/ has some hair items, and I ordered some hairclips with fabric covered buttons on them for the girls. Something a little different than what I do, and yet I think the girls will love them.

These are just a few of the places that I have bought from on there, and so I wanted to share. I think I will try to add more information about etsy and where i am buying for you all since I think it is important, and great when we buy handmade! Let's help the little guy(gal) out and buy handmade instead of from the big box store!

Struggling with Mortgage Payments?

Are you struggling with you mortgage payments? In the world today, with the slow economy and the mass of adjustable interest rate loans out there, that are now ballooning way up in the payments, who isn't.

Now might be the time for you to think about refinancing your home. Lower your interest rate, lower your payments, and get out of the hole you feel yourself sinking into.

Florida Refinance
Check out DollarBlvd.com - They let the lenders compete to provide you with the best refinancing rate that fits your needs. Whether you are considering a fixed or adjustable rate mortgage, they might be able help you find more options, and at no obligation.

Isn't it worth the few mintutes to take a look and see? It might just be what you were looking for, but didn't even know it, and it might help you sleep just a little easier tonight.

Brownie Troop 441 - Cookie Booth

Just a reminder that Cookie Sales end on Sunday, Jaunary 20th. Please turn in your Cookie Order forms to me at the Skating Party.

Cookie Booth Sales
I have set up with the council, for us to do two Cookie Booths.
Sunday February 10th from 2pm-4pm at Marsh on West Third Street. This is one of the few indoor booth locations.
Sunday March 1st from 2pm-4pm at Buehler's in Ellettsville. I am not sure where they will have us on this one, but it might be inside, and it might be out front.

I will have sign up sheets at the next meeting for you to sign up to work at the booth. Time slots will be for 30 minutes, and I need TWO girls and TWO adults at the table at all times!

Thank you!!

Diamond Stud Earring Giveaway

What are a girl's best friends? Diamonds, what else! And what could be better than FREE diamonds. Yes, you heard me right, I said FREE diamonds.

The folks at Goldsmith Jewelry are giving away a beautiful pair of 1 carat total weight diamond stud earrings. Why? To help promote the official launch of their website, and one lucky blogger is guaranteed to receive a pair of $1,500 diamond earrings. The earrings normally sell for $1,518 and are 14 karat gold. Each earring is set with a half carat diamond that is graded as I or J color with I1 clarity and an excellent cut. Sounds like my kind of diamonds!
diamond stud earrings

Goldsmith Jewerly has been serving the Orlando market for over 30 years and the viewers of Channel 2 News in Orlando recently selected them as the Favorite Jeweler. So you know they have local quality and a strong name recognition in the market, which makes them a worth the look.
As for the website, they say they have been building and testing its functionality and security for over a year. The site features premium diamond jewelry at extremely competitive prices (perfect for Valentine's Day). Well, if they put this much time and effort into it, isn't it at least worth a look see?

New Model for "a TAMM creation"

Well, I didn't like the way the pictures of the scarves looked....so I got a model to wear them for photos....


And the best thing about this model, she works cheap!!

Take a look at the storefront...

http://www.atammcreation.etsy.com/

Prices can't be beat for these fun new scarves!

Technorati

Okay.....so I am working to get my blog better seen, since I think I have alot to say and what to share it with others, and in that vein....I was directed to this site..

Technorati Profile

Basketball Schedule

Upward Basketball
at Zion Church of the Nazerene

Lady Kanagroos Schedule (Maeve's team)

1/12/08 11:00am
1/19/08 11:00am
1/26/08 11:00am
2/2/08 11:00am
2/9/08 11:00am
2/16/08 11:00am
2/23/08 11:00am
3/1/08 11:00am
3/8/08 11:00am
3/15/08 11:00am

Browine Troop 441

Brownie Troop 441
Regular Meeting 1/14/08 5:30pm
Eagles Landing Room 215

Parents:
I will have a handout for you with information on the upcoming events:
1/20: Cookie Order Forms due
1/20: Ellettsville Service District Skating Party
2/9: Father-Daughter Dance
2/18: Women in Sports day at the IU Women's Basketball Game

I will have permission slips for the skating party that need to be filled out, and will need a number on who thinks they might attend the Women In Sports day, which should be alot of fun!

Also, please be thinking if you might be willing to assit the troop. I really need a co-leader, so if you have been thinking about it, it would be great if you could let me know. Please! Thanks!!

Need new Eyeglasses for 2008?

Great Discovery: www.ZenniOptical.com

Are you like me? Had a baby pulled the arms off your old pair of glasses and your too cheap to spend the $50-$100 it will take to get a new pair! Well,then, I think I have something that you need to check out.


ZenniOptical.com Sells Stylish Prescription Glasses Online.
You will find huge selection of frames, with single vision lens, sunsensor (potochromic)lens, tinted suglasses lens, bifocal lens and progressive lens. The Secret to Zenni’s Low Prices is that they sell only their own manufactured frames direct to the customer, with no middlemen and virtually no advertising budget.
Great Discovery: www.ZenniOptical.com
What more could you want or need? No reason to put off getting a new pair of eyeglasses now! Now, I am off to check them out more, and possibly place an order for a new pair for me! I can't even wear my old ones because after the baby pulled the arms off, I tried to tape them back on, and they are so off balance that it isn't even funny!

Squidoo and Top Momma

Okay, so I was reading some blogs today, and someone mentioned this Squidoo and said that they were getting money for having a link to their blog there. So of course what could I do but check it out!

I went and set up my own page there
http://www.squidoo.com/atammcreation
And so it not only links back to my blog, but it allows me to do some other things. Like I was able to put my favorite new books, the ones I am hoping to purchase soon from Amazon on my page, and you can leave comments and more.

I am just figuring it all out, and I plan to do more and then I will tell you all more and more about it, but since I have it and it is started, then I wanted to tell you about it.

Also, another blog had a link to Top Momma, and you are able to post a picture and then people vote by clicking on it and you get more exposure by the more clicks, which will be great to help build the business, so I put a link on there. Now I haven't got confirmation that they liked my picture, which was of Maeve and Molly dressing up in costumes, but once I do, I will post it so you all can go vote for me as a Top Momma. http://www.topmomma.com/mommas/referal/1439

Showcase

So, to help build my little "a TAMM creation" business, I will be having some items showcased on Etsy today.

You can see my shop at http://www.atammcreation.etsy.com

If you are just on the main Etsy.com site, I will have the Scarves and Hair Barrettes featured in the Accessories Showcase.

I am excited about this, and really hope that it will help to build the business and get my name and products out there to more and more people. Which is probably another reason that I started doing the PayPerPost stuff, to get more traffic to the blog so that more people would see the name and what I do. Which by the way, I got my first payment from PayPerPost for the first blog that I did for them! WOW! It was easy and now that I have that money, I am using it to promote the business. I used part of that payment to pay for the showcase that I have the items listed on today on Etsy.

Another addition to the TAMM creation line

I've been working on more scarves, and I have this one ready to be added to the "a TAMM creation" line. This is the same kind of yarn as the brown confetti one before, but this is in a bright red. It was raining today when I took the picture of it, so the color is a little faded because of how grey it was outside.

This is a close up of the confetti yarn. As you can see, if is a base of the Fun fur with these balls of another yarn intertwined. It really does make a neat looking scarf!

Anyway, I have these added to the two stores that I have right now. I will be updating you all on that in a little bit, but it looks like the oldest (and my favorite co-op website that I had things listed on) is going to be closing. Once I know for sure and more details I will post it and let you know where to find everything. But for right now, you can order through Home Grown Market (link on the bottom of the blog) or Etsy (link on the side).

http://www.homegrownmarket.com/michellelr
http://www.atammcreation.etsy.com

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Today is my Mom's birthday, and I would tell you how old she is, but I probably better not, but just suffice it to say, that this year ends in a zero!

I had flowers delivered to her house today, but my cell phone is low battery, so I haven't been able to check and see if she got them, but I did get email confirmation from the florist that they had been delivered.
I don't seem to have a really good picture of her on my computer, but this was on Thanksgiving this past year, a couple of months ago. She is the one in the middle, in case you were wondering!

UPDATE:
I talked to Mom last night on my way to Weight Watchers, and the flowers arrived and looked wonderful! She was complaining that I shouldn't have spent that much money on her, but it truth I didn't.
I had bought flowers through ProFlowers before and so I got an email with a special, 100 Pervian Blooms in a vase for only $19.99. I mean really, I couldn't walk into the grocery store and buy them for cheaper than that, and they turned out to be in Mom's favorite colors.

Hot New Artist, What do you think?

The hottest thing to hit the art world is here, and everyone is talking about him! Who? Stuart Semple.

www.StuartSemple.com

Stuart is a fresh face at only 27. He is British, which you know, that accent alone makes him worth checking out. Not only that, but he has caught the eye of celebrities like Johnny Depp, Sienna Miller, Boy George and Debbie Harry, who are lining up for his work, which by the way doesn't come quick or cheap! There's a 24 month waiting list for his pictures which can sell for up to quarter of a million dollars.

Okay, so he may be the fresh new face of the art world, but at these prices, he is way out of my league. Of course, once an artist gets noticed by the celebs, it is only a matter of time before the prices of their work jumps out of reach of the masses. Good for him, not so good for the rest of us.

What makes him different, you ask? Well, first off his painting are gigantic. And he has a talent of mixing song lyrics with cartoons and a slick fashion shoot style imagery altogether to make a wonderful new painting. Something different and forward, hip and happening and upand coming in the world.

New Year, New Resolve

Well, it's a New Year and whether I like it or not, I will turn 40 this year, there is nothing I can do about that. As much as I would like to ignore the fact, it will still come and I don't have a time machine to make sure it doesn't come, so what am I going to do about it. Well, one thing I am doing for sure is changing!

I am not happy with things the way they are. I have updated my weight loss blog, http://www.weightlossjourney.blogspot.com and will continue to do so. Weight loss is the first goal. I joined Weight Watchers yesterday and will be attending my first meeting tomorrow, but I have been using the online tools to keep track of what I am eating and how many points it is all worth, and I am happy to report that I stayed within my allowed points yesterday!
I am going to start getting back into my Dieter's Devotional Study and will update my other blog with notes from it, my food log for each day, exercise log (if I can find the time to squeeze that in my day!). I also have another devotional-bible study book that we were going to start, but that fell apart before it ever got off the ground, and I will be using that book too, and noting it on the blog.

The second big change I am making this year deals with Financial Peace. Brad and I are attending Financial Peace University at church. The program is written and formulated by Dave Ramsey. We had our first class last night, and it was great. I know that some of what he is saying is going to be hard to do, but then again, I am tired of feeling like I have no control over my money. I don't think I ever learned the proper ways to budget and manage money as a younger person and so I have never had the savings that I really needed to have, and so when something big comes up it is a crisis, not just another day. I am looking forward to his program, he is a great speaker, and unlike others he has been there, done that. He pulled himself back up after losing everything, so he has lived and is living what he is preaching, which makes it so much more believable. There are eight or nine couples in the class, and I am lookign forward to what it will do for us all.

Happy 2008 to all, and I think with the New reslove to change things in my own life, I may in fact have a Happy 2008 after all!

New Sweatshirts

One of the kids presents from Grandpa David and Leslie were new sweatshirts. Now if you know my household at all, you know that these went over extremely well. All three kids love to wear them, and do all the time!
Here to see Molly. And her sweatshirt was a pullover lilac ADIDAS sweatshirt with satin trims and black sleeves. She has a black polo on under here sweatshirt and it matches her purple crocs. Now, if you don't know, Molly LOVES her crocs! She would wear them everydy, all the time if she could. This pair is a purple pair in the mary jane style, so they look pretty good!
Here is Maeve doing her best model pose in her sweatshirt. Her's in a darker purple in a zip-up style, again from ADIDAS. She loves it. She wears it all the time. In fact it was 60 degrees when the kids left for school this morning, so that is the only jacket she wore.
Now we have Tiernan. What can I say? He had his shirt on and I said, let me take a picture to send to Grandpa David and Leslie, so he promtly took it off, and when I asked he put it back on backwards. Just his sense of humor! So I took the picture anyway, and of course he likes it! His sweatshirt is a blue NIKE pull-over hoodie, and that is probably his favorite type! He wore it almost everyday since he got it!

What more can I say, they look good and grandpa David and Leslie did good!

Just added to the "a TAMM creation" line...

Scarves!!

Handknitted just for you, in the Fancy Fur (shown on the left) or the Fun Fur (shown on the right).

The adult size scarf is about 56 inches in length and 6 inches in width.

The child size scarf is about 42 inches in length and 5 inches in width.

The Fun Fur has a great deal of stretch in the length and width, the Fancy Fur has some stretch.

Currently available: Fancy Fur: in Red Confetti, Chocolate Confetti (as shown above), Bright Blue Confetti and Black Confetti

Fun Fur: in Chocolate (as shown above), Black/Grey/White Striped

Other colors coming soon....special requests welcome!! You need a color to match an outfit, let me know, I may have the yarn in stock or be able to get it quickly!

A bargain at only $12.50 (plus shipping)! Similar items seen in stores for up to $19.95 or more!

UPDATE: I added these to the line on one of the websites at 2pm, and by 4pm had sold both of these two pictured above! WOW! I never expected them to go that fast! So, I still have them available, and have the colors, but right now I am running on a three day delay in shipping, which will give me time to make your order! Yep, right now I am running on a make them as you order them basis! I hope to get back up in stock, but if the orders keep up like this, then it may be a custom-order basis.

Thanks for understanding!

Northern Christmas

Well, one more Christmas on the list to blog about and this one is the Northern-most we went this year, Valprasio IN, about an hour south of Chicago, which was a four hour drive from our house in Southern Indiana. I blogged about the drive up and the pool previously, so now about the actual Christmas.

We went to Aunt Jo's place, which is my mother-in-law's sister, and had Christmas with her and her family.

The kids had a good time, although they were ready to go home soon after presents were opened. It was good to see this side of the family again, since we don't get to spend that much time with them due to the distance.

Protect those new Christmas gadets

So were you like alot of other people and you got new, cool, high tech toys and gadets for Christmas? Well, then you need to check out invisibleSHIELD. It's a great little shield for everything high tech!

ipod case
You all know that I have three kids, so you can imagine what it is like to keep things from getting scratched and dinged and spilled on, so when I saw this website, I was like....okay, but how much. So I checked it out! I was amazed. For a screen shield for my phone, which is just a plain older model LG camera phone, it was only $11.95. Now, I have had my phone for two years, and I love it. I know how to work it, and I just don't want to change it, but it is scratched. I wish I would have known about invisibleSHIELD when I first got the phone! And when you think about the cost of a new phone, well, the cost of the shield is nothing!

So anyway, not only do they have them for the screens on the phones, but full body covers for the phones; which by the way is exactly what I need for Brad's phone. He's a guy and he doesn't like the belt loop phone holders, so her carries his phone in his pants pocket! Now, you all know what all is in a guys pants pocket, so you can probably imagine what his phone looks like. This will be great for him, so that I can help keep his phone a little safer a little longer! Yeah!

Now, I am going back to check in on screens for the kid's new GameBoys, even though they are older model games, it would be great to keep them looking good and in good shape for them.

So, for those of you who got new high tech gadets for Christmas, check out invisibleSHIELD to help protect them long into the New Year!

Girl Scout Cookie Time!

The time has come!!
Girl Scout Cookies in the Ellettsville-Bloomington area go on sale TODAY! Yes, that's right as of January 1, 2008, you can order your Girl Scout Cookies.

Brownie Troop 441 will be taking orders from 1/1/08 through 1/20/08.
Cookies will come in 2/9/08 and be delivered soon after.
Cookie Booths at local stores will run from 2/9/08 through 3/9/08 for those who missed ordering or who need more.
Also, if you miss ordering in Janurat, talk to you local Girl Scout anyway, most will be taking add-on orders until 2/9/08.

Just some facts:
all girl scout cookies have 0 trans fats
there is a new fat-free cookie this year
they freeze wonderfully

According to Girl Scouts of America, I am not allowed to list all the cookie types here, but I encourage you to contact your local girl scout. If you don't have a local girl scout, send me a comment and I will help you get in touch with one or work out a plan to make sure you get your cookies.

Cookies are again only $3 a box, and the local troop keeps $0.50 per box for activities and patches.

Thanks for your support!!