July Sponsor Love

It's an end of the month instead of a mid-month sponsor love post this month! Please take a few minutes to check out these awesome blogs, shops, and products.

Edi of memoriesforlifesb

 Edi's mason jar wedding guest book is so sweet and simple.

Angela of AngleAh

 Angela's zipper jewelry kills me. This multicolored zipper necklace is so much fun.

Valerie of additionsstyle

 Valerie has some fabulous new post earrings in her shop like these hardware pearl posts.

Deb of storybeader

 I always enjoy reading about Deb's latest reading selections. This alphabet book sounds right up my alley.

Tiffany of Ribbon Lane Supplies

 If you're not ready to be done with crafting in bright rainbow colors for summer, pick up this chevron owl ribbon for a few final projects.

Kristen of Milo and Molly

  If there is one thing that drives me crazy online, it's people who engage in this sort of behavior. Kristen shares my thoughts on proper grammar, but this is ridiculous.

Paige of Little Nostalgia

 Do you love decorating your home with neutrals? Check out Paige's newest neutral Room Kits.

I hope that you found some useful resources here today!

Are you interested in advertising with me? Click here for more information!

J is for July

Are you ready for another round of Alphabe Thursday? Let's go!

Since the letter J fell in July this time around, it seemed only natural to share just a few of the quintessential aspects of my July.

Celebrating Jake's birthday

Watching fireworks on the 4th of July

Spending time with family

Attending the Renaissance Fair

Going to our friends' annual backyard lobster boil

Grilling

Attending Summerfest

Going to the zoo

Going to numerous other events in the Milwaukee area

Finding the time to check out some new local destinations

Taking as many pictures as possible wherever and whenever

And of course spending lots of time with my boys...because that's a given, right?

Check out what the other Alphabe Thursday participants posted for the letter J this week right here!

July Mid-Month Sponsor Love

I'm celebrating the middle of the month with a shout out to all of my wonderful blog sponsors!

Edi of memoriesforlifesb

 Edi has a great new wedding gift item in her shop: a wedding cutting board.

Jamie of ForLoveofCupcakes

 Jamie shared a delicious recipe last week for slow cooker lasagna.

Linda of PruittCreations

 Linda has some adorable new pillows in her shop including this green plaid pillow.

Angela of AngleAh

Angela's yellow purse is such a cheerful piece for the summer.

Valerie of additionsstyle

 Valerie's simple chain bracelet is so versatile.

Deb of storybeader

 It's comforting to know that I'm not the only one who saves lots of magazine clippings for future projects. Check out what Deb did with some of her clippings over here.

Tiffany of Ribbon Lane Supplies

 Tiffany's bright ribbon is perfect for summer crafting.

Paige of Little Nostalgia

 Those of you who enjoy thrifting will love Paige's thrifting tips.

Kristen of Milo and Molly

 Kristen has a great tutorial for making decoupage canvases with fabric.

I hope that you found some useful resources today!

Are you interested in advertising with me? Click here!

June Top Commenters and July News

This summer is going way too fast, but I'm doing my best to enjoy every minute of it!

Christmas in July

....is coming soon! How's that for an exciting way to start off a monthly post? It is a huge amount of work getting a big group of new sales items up and running on Etsy, and I haven't been able to make it my top priority this week. But I'm slowly pushing ahead on it and will have more details for you soon. This is the only time you'll be able to get these kind of discounts until the 2013 holiday seasons so get them while you can.

 

Top Commenters

It means so much to me that so many people take the time to stop by and leave their feedback, insight, and questions for me everyday. These lovely ladies all have handmade shops that you need to check out.

Summer Garden password notebook with index tabs, mini, 100 Web sites, spiral bound, tangerine blue pink green by MisterPenQuin

Wooden Post Earring Studs - Sunburst Design by memoriesforlifesb

Orange Sunset Artisan Lampwork Glass and Crystal Sterling Silver Earrings - Fall Sunset by BeadedTail

Romantic Floral Infinity Scarf. Circle Scarf. Women's Scarf. Spring. Pink rose print. Fresh green. by PeriDotbyDuni

Handmade Artist Notebook - Childhood Circles by storybeader

Nautical Sailor LOVE Signal Flag Resin Pendant Swallow Charm Necklace Silver by StalkingTheWildSnark

Color Block Necklace - neon, coral, mint, yellow, statement necklace by OhNostalgiaDesigns

Red Leaves Greeting Card by Pictimilitude

 

Blog Sponsors

I have an awesome round of blog sponsors! These lovely ladies all have Etsy shops and/or blogs. Check them out on the left hand side of my blog under "Private Sponsors." Would you like to join them? It's only $3 per month or $10 for 4 months to advertise with me. Check out all of the details about it right here.

 

Bring It On July!

• A lot of people in my family have early-mid summer birthdays, and I get to help celebrate with them in various Midwest locations the first week of July.
• There is so much amazing stuff that takes place during the summer! I always think that it will be a great time to get ahead on show inventory for the holidays and catch up on things around the house, but the weekends are way too busy for that. It's a good problem. There is plenty of time for those other activities during the cooler fall months.
• My freelance client loads have been so big lately that I haven't found much energy to get over to HubPages during my spare writing minutes on the computer. This is another good problem. June is the first month that I published less than 4 articles on HubPages since I started writing there over 2 years ago. I don't feel like I owe anyone any apologies. It will still be there when I do have the time to add new content.
• I put together an ambitious set of June through September goals for myself related to selling photography. Aside from not uploading on SmugMug as much as I wanted (largely because the uploads really slow down the internet so I have to remember to set them up while I won't be online), I did well with my June goals. I've been making some changes to my online routine so I can make this a bigger priority for the remainder of the year.
• June was an amazing month of getting out and taking pictures. I had a number of planned excursions as well as some completely unexpected opportunities, which was a great mix. I'm hoping for the same in July.
   

What is going on with your blog and/or business for July?

July Top Droppers and Commenters and August News

As I'm not teaching right now, I didn't think that I would be so excited about summer, but school schedule or not, summer is still the best.  It's hard to believe that we only have a month of it left.  We're going to do our best to enjoy it as much as we can.

TOP DROPPERS:

Here are the top 10 for July.  Thanks so much to those of you who also take the time to leave me comments!

TOP COMMENTERS:
If you're new to this blog, you can check out my Top Commenters widget on the right side of my blog.  It's under my blog roll.  I will feature an item or give a shout out to everyone on that list in this monthly post.  I really appreciate those of you who take the time to leave me feedback!

Thanks to Sandee of Comedy Plus and Awww...Mondays and for stopping by and commenting regularly!  Here are some lovely items from the ladies on my list who have Etsy shops.

1) Purple Swirl Polymer Clay and Swarovski Crystal Sterling Silver Earrings by BeadedTail
2) Mother's Day Photo Album Scrapbook - MOTHER by memoriesforlifesb

3) Wedding Wrist Corsage. Fabric Pom Pom. Fairytale Bride. Pink. Prom. Tulle and Lace. Shabby Chic by PeriDotbyDuni
4) Original ACEO OOAK Set of Three - Sunset Triptych - Watercolor Paintings by tapestry316
5) Handmade Blank Journal - Purple Petals by storybeader
6) Personalized Journal Follow Your Dreams Custom LINED Journal Choose Cover Color by ArtfulRising
7) Original ACEO Boy Portrait Male Leaf by clockworkghOst
8) Post-it Note Clipboard with pad, mini, 2-sided, purple floral, blue floral by MisterPenQuin
9) Fine Art Print Watercolor Reproduction - Sketchbook Series - Haunted By the Left Unsaid. by NFallonDesignStudio

SALE...or not?
I'm still in the process of clearing out my Christmas in July sale items and haven't made up my mind what kind of sale I want to run next.   If there is something that you want to see, let me know!  Otherwise I may give it a rest for a few months and then gear up again for the holidays.

Blog Sponsors and July Advertising:
I have an awesome round up of blog sponsors!  These lovely ladies all have Etsy shops and/or blogs.  Check them out on the left hand side of my blog under "Private Sponsors."

Would you like to join them?  It's only $3 per month or $10 for 4 months to advertise with me.  Check out all of the details about it right here.

Bring it on August!

• The HubPages Apprenticeship program is continuing to go well.  I'm getting in a better groove with my revamped writing style for the program and reached my goal of writing 24 HubPages articles for July.  I usually average 10-15 articles per month there so this was a stretch.  We'll see if I can meet it again this month. I had second article chosen for Hub of the Day this month, Button Craft Project Ideas: How to Make Easy Crafts with Buttons, on July 30 so that was a great way to end the month.
• It was every bit as amazing as I thought it would be having Jake on a M-F schedule and getting to revamp my own schedule to match that this past month.  We did so many fun social things in July.  August will be a little less busy, which is fine.  We still have some great plans in the works.  I'll be posting more about that as it develops.
• I'm not planning to do any more shows until October and am not planning any big promotions on Etsy until then so I'm putting some of my shop agenda on the back burner for a couple months.  I will still be creating and listing at least one new item on Etsy every week, but I'm not setting much of a schedule otherwise.  I am still trying to stay ahead with card making, but there's no reason to stress out or burn out on making other show items at this point
• I've picked up a couple new writing clients and another new writing opportunity this past month.  Those of you who do freelance work know how nice it is to have regular work every week, which cuts down on some of the constant work searching that you have to do.

What's going on with your business and/or blog for July?

Newest articles:

Cold Orzo Pasta Salad Recipe With Tomatoes and Feta
Collage Ideas
Easy Rice Dishes Recipes
How to Make Your Own Rubber Stamps

Treasury Round Up - 7/29/12

It's been another great week of treasuries!  Please help me thank the curators who featured my work this past week by visiting their shops and checking out their treasuries.

Linda (PruittDesign) included my Beaded Dangle Earrings - Pink Glass Triangles in her Plum Tickled Pink treasury.  Linda puts together some of the best color combinations!  A lot of the shops featured in this treasury have Christmas in July sales.  Check out them while you still can.  Also, check out Linda's Purple Drop Zipper Pull.

LeAnn (pasqueflower) included my Beaded Cuff Bracelet - Embellished - Blue and Beach Charms - Set of 2 - One Glass Charm, One Metal Flip Flop Charm in her Rhapsody in Blue treasury.  This is a great name for a collection.  The blues are a nice contrast to all of the heat that so much of the country, Wisconsin included, has had lately.  Check out LeAnn's Oven Mitts 1 Pair Man-Sized Blue Mitts.

Alice (PipingHotPapers) included my Button Charm Bracelet - Red in her Cool vs Hot treasury.  This is a gorgeous collection.  I love what Alice wrote about it, too: "Doesn't matter...I love them both."  Check out Alice's Fridge Magnets / fits magnabilities / 5 one inch fridge magnets / turquoise, black, and vanilla / Asian inspired silhouettes.

Kathy (tapestry316) included my Button Charm Bracelet - Two-Hole Explosion in her Pass me a lemonade, please! treasury.  This is such a bright, fun collection.  Check out Kathy's ACEO original watercolor and ink painting of Toys and Games Pieces - 7 Card Draw.

Kaili (clockworkghOst) included my Beaded Cuff Bracelet - Skinny Fringed - Black and Pink in her Pink & Brown treasury.  Kaili also puts together some of the best color combinations.  Check out her Hibiscus Flower Dew Drop 4x6 Print Nature Photography Pink Yellow.

Pamela (ForHerEarsOnly) included my Beaded Cuff Bracelet - Easter Morning in her Forget Me Not treasury.  I love all of the turquoise here.  Check out Pamela's Peacock Blue.

Erika (ArtfulRising) included my Beaded Cuff Bracelet - Skinny Wrapped - Blue in her blue skies smiling on me... treasury.  Erika puts together some of the most whimsical, inspiring collections ever.  Check out her Beautiful Butterfly Magnets.

I also curated my own treasury this week.  I took the opposite approach of LeAnn and went for a bright red collection to match the heat.

July is RED HOT!

Thanks to those who linked up with me last week!  Here are a few of the items that they featured last week.  Click on the photos to check out the product listings.

I am really touched by all the people who I have inspired to start their own treasury round ups with awesome shop features and write ups!  Please link up with me and grab a button for your own post.  I know that not everyone posts these rounds ups on Sundays, which is fine.  I will leave this link up open all week.  The most current post is now linked at the top of my blog, just under my header so you can find it easily at any time during the week.

If you link up, take the time to visit and comment on at least one other post.  No one benefits from linking up if we don't all support each other.  Thanks!

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