Fabulous Fridays...The Interview ~ Elibead

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone! Have a lovely day today and eat a lot of chocolate - we are joking of course..or not?

Anyway Friday is here and we have come back with another interview: Elibead

Let's meet her:

1) Tell us a bit about yourself/ introduce yourself. Besides crafting what else do you love doing?

My name is Heather Cowell. I am a special needs teacher. I like dancing, cycling and walking my dog. I like learning anything new and am interested in History, particularly Social History.

2) How did you start crafting and how long have you been doing it?

I started crafting after spending some time with my mother looking through her jewellery box. I was looking for anything with diamonds for a party. She found a necklace (not real diamonds!) but it was broken so I went in search of mending it myself. I worked out how to do it using magazines and wore it to the party. That got me hooked and I started making my own. The sheer joy of using my hands and producing something creative of my own was wonderful. Also the total 'in the moment time', I call it my 'being time' was relaxing. I have been doing it for a year.

3. What are the problems you faced as a crafter until now? Do you have any advice for someone who is thinking to start or is new to the crafting business?

The problems I faced were wasting a lot of materials and making mistakes! My advice would be to start with some cheap bits and pieces , but invest in good tools and practise the techniques a lot. Dont be afraid to ' have a go!

4. What's your favourite crafting category? Do you have in mind to start crafting something else (besides your usual crafting category)?

My favourite crafting activity is jewellery making. At the moment bracelets and necklaces. There are so many techniques in jewellery making to learn and try, so at the moment I am doing that. However I do like the idea of card making too so maybe I will try that sometime.

5. What is your main source of inspiration? How do you propel your creativity?

My main source of inspiration is coming from what I see works and what people are wearing. When I go in search for my beads, chains etc I just see what I feel like making. I am just about to make another Shamballa bracelet this week. The technique is enjoyable to do and they are very popular. I am planning to get more creative now that I am improving! I get a lot of my beads and findings from Thebeadboutique in Long Melford, Suffolk.

6. Tell us about your crafting space. Do you have a favourite material and tool?

I use the dining room table and my favourite tool are my crimping pliers because they are essential to the tying and I wouldn't be without them.

7. So your crafting space transmutes to an online shop. How do you promote your e-shop, which social media you use? 

Well the on line shop I am using is just Misi. I am Elibead at misi.co.uk and from that I use twitter Elisaheath and pinterest.

8. Where do you see your business in 10 years from now?

I have no idea. I am just doing it because I just love it now!

9. How did you find MISI? What else would you like to see being added to the site?

I found Misi on a page in a beading magazine. The misi site is excellent and a great way to get started without having your own website.

We would like to thank Heather for the time she took to answer our questions and giving us this exciting interview.

Visit Elibead's Shop

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Valentine's Day: 1 Day ~ 6 Interesting Facts about Love Day

Love it or hate it, Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Whether you’re steadfastly single or joyfully coupled up, chances are you have a thing or two to learn about love. Read on for surprising stats and unexpected info about the holiday.

1. It is believed that the tradition of giving red roses for Valentine’s Day has to with the Greek Mythology Goddess Aphrodite. Aphrodite is the goddess of love, beauty and pleasure. In Roman Mythology Venus is the goddess of love.

2. Each color of rose sent on Valentine’s day have some meaning e.g. red rose means love and respect, pink says, “I am having sweet thoughts about you” and white rose stands for purity and states, “I am worthy of you”. Also the number of roses also counts for instance, 1 stands for love at first sight, 12 is to say, “I love you”, 108 recommended for marriage proposals and 999 means “we’ll always be together.”

3. People who buy flowers on this day are 73 % men and only 27 % women. Out of this minimal number of 27% there are 15% of women who buy flowers only for themselves. A number of women also buy flowers for their mothers and daughters on Valentine’s Day.

4. “Wearing your heart on your sleeve” is more than just a phrase. In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names to see who their Valentine would be. They would wear the name pinned to their sleeve for one week so that everyone would know their supposed true feelings.

5. The most fantastic gift of love is the Taj Mahal in India. It was built by Mughal Emperor Shahjahan as a memorial to his wife.

6. In Shakespeare’s play  Romeo and Juliet it is said that they lived in Verona Italy.  Every year thousands of Valentine’s Day cards at sent to Verona addressed to Juliet.

7. Approximately 8 billion candy hearts are manufactured each year for Valentine’s Day; this means there are enough candies to be stretched 20 times from Italy to Arizona back and forth.

sources: womansday.com, factslist.net

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5 Ways to Increase Fan Page Engagement With Facebook Games ~ Part 1

Want to increase your Facebook fan engagement?

Have you considered adding games to your Facebook page?

Facebook games engage people’s competitive nature and can grow your brand’s reach.

This article shows you how to use games in your Facebook marketing.

#1: Fan Photo of the Week

If you want to get people interested in your fan page, make your fans a part of your social marketing strategy. People love to see their names in lights, so give them that chance with a Facebook photo of the week contest.

The great thing about this type of contest is that it’s easy to implement. Just ask your fans to submit a picture based on a theme you choose, then judge the photos and select a winner. When you’ve chosen a winner, showcase the fan and his or her picture on your cover image or highlight the photo in a status update.

The winner gets bragging rights and will probably want to share the excitement with friends. When the winner shares with his or her friends, your page goes out into their news feed and introduces you to a new audience. That can lead to a jump in viral reach.

Walmart is particularly good at this. They ask fans to submit a photo via a tab on their Facebook page, which means fans have to go to the Walmart Facebook page and engage by clicking through to the app.

Walmart rewards fans by showcasing them on the cover image.

The app form is quick and easy to fill out, so fans are more likely to enter. After they enter, Walmart judges the pictures and chooses a winner. The fan who wins is featured in the Walmart Facebook cover photo.

Walmart could add more incentive by offering small rewards or discounts based on how many times a person has entered the contest.

Tips to make your own fan photo of the week contest: 

• Add a more competitive level to the contest by letting the public vote for their favorite photo to win. This encourages even more people to engage with your Facebook page.
• Set up levels of fan photo achievements, like a badge, to reward the most active participants and encourage repeat entries.
• Give a shout-out to contest winners by profiling their images, names and stories as an update. It’s very likely the winner will share it with friends and create an even larger viral reach for your page.
• Use a third-party app on Facebook to make voting easy (and to collect more data from entrants).

#2: Fan Photo Showdowns

Photo showdowns are similar to fan photos of the week. Both ask fans to submit photos, but the difference is that showdowns allow other fans and friends to vote. The winners move on to the next level.

Amazon hosted a Gladiator Showdown on Facebook where entrants competed for a 10-day trip to Italy to run in the Rome Marathon.

Amazon created a gladiator-themed photo showdown to encourage consistent fan page engagement.

Each day, fans uploaded their best gladiator-themed photos and Amazon chose the winner to move to the next round. When the final 16 entries had been chosen, fans and friends had one week to vote for their favorite photo.

Amazon chose 16 finalists for the elimination round, then public voting began.

Tips to make your own fan photo showdown:

• Create a fun, competitive theme with elimination levels.
• Make your contest time-sensitive to encourage fans to come back regularly to check their progress.
• Capitalize on popular events such as March Madness, Wimbledon and the Super Bowl.
• Host the contest directly on Facebook, and cross-promote it through all of your social and traditional marketing channels.

Source

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Valentine's Day: 2 Days ~ Last-Minute DIY Cute Cards

Any of these last-minute Valentine's Day cards is likely to be appreciated by your significant other -- and he or she will never have to know that you waited until the last minute to pick them up.

1. Easy Doily Valentines

Create a little romance this month with inexpensive paper doilies. Their pretty cutwork is just right for lending a touch of nostalgia to Valentine's Day. Read more

2. Easy Peasy Valentine Cards

These DIY Valentine Cards are so simple to make, and can be personalized in a million different ways. You can choose to use the template with the pre-printed brackets or use your favorite patterned paper to make custom brackets, and you can use pretty much anything shaped like a heart to embellish the center of each card. Read more

3. Heart Print Card

Not only is it easy, but it’s adorable. We know that we would be thrilled to receive this free Valentine’s Card. Read more

4. Valentine Fortune Cookies

These fortune cookie Valentines are super easy to put together and a pretty cute spin on traditional cards. Read more

5. DIY “You’re a star”  Card

These are easy – so there’s still time to put them together before the big day.  Read more


And if you don't feel crafty, visit our Handmade Valentine's Day Gift Guide!

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Tutorial: DIY Jewelry Organizer with Plastic Canvas

Tutorial: DIY Jewelry Organizer with Plastic Canvas

It's a great and easy DIY for Valentine's Day and not only! You can use different canvas/frames for different occasion or just any design you like and use it everyday as your organizer (hang keys, notes, accessories, jewelery, etc.)

Project estimate:

• Heart Frame, 
• Paint, on hand
• Dimensional Magic, on hand or about 
• Plastic Canvas, on hand or 
• Glue, on hand

Step one:  Paint the wood heart frame.

Step two:  Cut the plastic canvas to fit the frame and spray paint it.

Step three:  Apply Dimensional Magic to the heart frame.

Step four:  When everything is dry, glue the plastic canvas onto the back of the frame.

You could add pegs or hooks to the frame to be able to hang jewelry, keys o anything you might think of if you want to.  

Happy crafting! :)

Source: lilluna

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Valentine's Day: 3 Days ~ Romantic Menu for Two

Skip the crowded restaurant this year, and make your own cozy Valentine's Day dinner at home. 

This menu makes clever use of readily available ingredients: 

Wonton wrappers stand in for homemade pasta, and a whole chicken is used not just for the main course but also for the pasta filling and a flavorful stock. The spinach is ready in minutes. 

For dessert, whip up individual Pavlovas, cloudlike meringues tinted raspberry pink and topped with berry curd and cream.

1. Appetizer: Stuffed-Noodle Soup

This recipe makes four ravioli, but you can serve the soup with one or two in each bowl. If you don't have time to make the stock and ravioli, substitute 4 cups low-sodium store-bought chicken stock and fresh ravioli and start at step 8. Read more

2. Main: Radicchio and Mushroom Chicken Roulade

If you aren't using a whole chicken for the Stuffed-Noodle Soup or if you are serving the roulade without the soup, you can use two boneless, skinless chicken breast halves and low-sodium store-bought chicken stock. Ask your butcher for a chicken liver. Read more

3. Side: Simple Steamed Spinach

This simple side dish works well alongside Radicchio and Mushroom Roulade. Read more

4. Dessert: Raspberry-Cream Pavlovas

This dessert is perfect for a pair or for a dinner party. Unfilled Pavlovas can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to two days, and any leftovers can be assembled just before serving. Raspberry curd will keep for up to a day in the refrigerator. Read more

Bon Appetit!

source: marthastewart.com

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5 Things that you can do *right now* to increase your sales

Have things slowed down more than you would like?

These 5 steps may turn things around for you.

1. Update.  That’s right, check out your pictures, your descriptions, your tags, your categorizing and change it up a bit.  The way things are right now, just isn’t working, so maybe something different will.

2. Renew/List new products.  Recently listed products are going to show up *first* on searches.  How many pages do you think a potential customer is going to go through before deciding what he/she wants to buy?  Maybe 4.  Listing new items every couple of days (some people will argue that you need to do this every day), will increase the likelihood that someone will find your shop.  I have discovered that when I renew a sold order, I get more views on EVERYTHING, not just that one listing.  Also, having more products will give your potential customer more options to choose from.

3. Be patient.  Depending on the time of year you started up, things might naturally slow down a bit.  I started my shop in November…with Christmas right around the corner.  I got so many orders in December that I had to turn down a few of them (it probably didn’t help that I was also giving birth right around that time).

4. Advertise.  There are lots of ways that you can advertise for free. If you have the resources, go ahead and buy some professional advertising.  There isn’t anything wrong with that.  However, if your reading this post, chances are you don’t have the resources, I’d suggest going to free route…at least for now.

5. Tell people. Online revenues, webpages, facebooks, and the numerous other outlets.  If you don’t tell people that you are there, how are they going to just find, or just stumble upon your store?

So, there you have it.  Five relatively easy ways to change things around.  You might get results within a few hours, or it might take a day, or maybe a week.  However, I can be 95% sure that if you do these five things you will see an improvement within a week.

(FamilyBugs)

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Valentine's Day: 4 Days ~ Top 10 Romantic Movies

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, it's time to figure out what special movie you will be watching later that night. Some of the movies listed below have stood the test of time as some of the greatest romantic movies ever, some are screw-ball comedies and others you've probably never have seen.

Here are 10 (in NO particular order) romantic movies guaranteed to be perfect for February 14th.

1. Moulin Rouge

A poet falls for a beautiful courtesan whom a jealous duke covets in this stylish musical, with music drawn from familiar 20th century sources.

2. Breakfast at Tiffany's

A young New York socialite becomes interested in a young man who has moved into her apartment building.

3. When Harry Met Sally...

Harry and Sally have known each other for years, and are very good friends, but they fear sex would ruin the friendship.

4. Bridget Jones's Diary

A British woman is determined to improve herself while she looks for love in a year in which she keeps a personal diary.

5. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Brick, an alcoholic ex-football player, drinks his days away and resists the affections of his wife, Maggie. His reunion with his father, Big Daddy, who is dying of cancer, jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.

6. Titanic

A seventeen-year-old aristocrat, expecting to be married to a rich claimant by her mother, falls in love with a kind but poor artist aboard the luxurious, ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic.

7. The Notebook

A poor and passionate young man falls in love with a rich young woman and gives her a sense of freedom. They soon are separated by their social differences.

8. Shakespeare in Love 

A young Shakespeare, out of ideas and short of cash, meets his ideal woman and is inspired to write one of his most famous plays.

9. Love Actually

Follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely and interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.

10. P.S. I Love You

A young widow discovers that her late husband has left her 10 messages intended to help ease her pain and start a new life.

Happy Valentine's Day!

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How to Remove Followers on Twitter

Strangers, spammers, or stalkers. There are some odd Twitter users out there who may begin following you. If you don't want to make your Twitter profile private, or if you have done so but wish to remove followers from your Twitter account, here's what to do to move them out of your following.

Method 1 of 2: From Your Desktop

1. 
   1
   Log into your Twitter account. Click on your profile, then click on "Followers" in the top-left sidebar.
   • You will see a list of all your followers.
2. 
   2
   Scroll down until you find the follower you wish to remove. Click on the Profile icon to bring up a menu. From the list, select "Block @[username]"
3. 
   3
   Verify that have blocked the user. You will not receive a confirmation from Twitter that your block has been successful, but as soon as they're blocked you should see that the "Follow" button is now replaced by a "Blocked" button.
4. 
   4
   Unblock a previously-blocked user. You can unblock them at any time by scrolling over the "Blocked" button and clicking on it.
5. 5
   Understand blocking. Per Twitter, blocked users cannot:
   • Add your Twitter account to their lists.
   • Have their @replies or mentions show in your mentions tab (though those Tweets may appear in search)
   • Follow you.
   • See your profile picture on their profile page or in their timeline.
   • Note: if your tweets are public, they will still be visible on your profile page to anybody—including the blocked person.
   • They will receive no notice that you have blocked them.

Method 2 of 2: From Your Mobile App

1. 1
   Load your Twitter app. Tap your "Profile button," (the small profile silhouette) then below your Twitter header image, to the right, tap the "Following" button to get a list of your followers.
2. 
   2
   Block the follower. Scroll down the list of followers until you find your target, then tap their icon to open up their profile page.
3. 
   3
   Tap their profile icon. From the popup button list, select Block.
   • You will see that the user is no longer follows you, and cannot until such time as you unblock them.

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Valentine's Day: 7 Days ~ 5 Heart-Shaped Crafts

Spread the love with these simple and oh-so-sweet do-it-yourself crafts.

1. Heart-Shaped Soap

Stamped soaps, inspired by candy conversation hearts, are great gifts for friends. Read more

2. Heart-Shaped Bookmarks

Making one takes about 5 minutes and is a nifty way to mark your page in your favourite book. I even give them as additional goodies when I gift books to friends and family! Read more

3. Paper Garland Strands

The kids might be sick of making paper snowflakes, but they're sure to rally behind these new shapes and colors. Read more

4. Heart-Shaped Yarn Basket

This one is definitely manageable for older kids, and it’s all supplies you probably have on-hand as well, which makes it a win in our book. Read more

5. Sunkissed Heart Wreath

This has got to be one of the neatest wreaths we've ever seen.  And even better...think of the variety of wreaths that could be created with this technique.  But for now, we'll settle on Valentine's Day... Read more

And If you don't feel crafty, here is our Valentine's Day Gift Guide

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