Do you Polyvore?

in , , , , by Linda A Kinsman, Monday, March 19, 2012
Image courtesy of polyvore.com


Some of you in the fashion, beauty & crafts industry might be saying Yes, yes I do, but I’m betting most of us haven’t heard of this site yet.

 As an avid reader of blogs and Google + updates, my inbox was loaded with things to read, places to go, links to click this morning, but I was unprepared for the discovery of Polyvore.

Oh my! There are simply not enough hours in my day! Still, I thought this might be helpful to some, so I wanted to share this site with you dear readers.


Here’s what their about page says:

What is Polyvore?

Polyvore is the web's largest fashion community site, where users are empowered to discover their style and set trends around the world. With over 15 million monthly unique visitors, Polyvore's global community has created over 44 million sets that are shared across the web. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Polyvore is funded by Benchmark Capital, Matrix Partners, DAG Ventures, Goldman Sachs, and Vivi Nevo (NV Investments).


So how can a style and fashion community be useful to a blogger/beauty consultant?
At first it would appear to be the perfect place for me to highlight my company’s color, trends and style… as per the Google+ headline that led to my clicking in the 1st place.

 But visions of deleting my boards at Pinterest quickly pop into my mind,

I read these carefully and decide that Polyvore might not be right for my JAFRA business at this point. JAFRA is very liberal in allowing us consultants to use and distribute material, but I don’t think Polyvore is an approved site.

This is probably a blessing in disguise. My schedule cannot handle any more online socializing. However, I do think Polyvore would be perfect for all the Etsy shop owners and crafters out there!

What do you think? Would you use Polyvore as a business tool?

Paper Trails

in , , , , by Linda A Kinsman, Wednesday, March 14, 2012




I am surrounded by paper of one sort or another. Each day I set out to follow the Golden Rule of organization: Touch the item only once. Make a decision and put it in its home. 

This has always been tricky for me in our his & mine small business family. Some weeks its tough enough to handle the barrage of mail, school papers, appointments, coupons, invitations, etc. that makes up our family paper trail.  

Today as I set down at my laptop (which resides in my office, which is the dining room table). I have to move piles of paper. I’m covered up with note pads, planners and pens.  So that’s why my hubby couldn’t find a pen last night! Oops.

 I am an old school note taker and have notepads strategically placed throughout the house. Except for the bathrooms and our bedroom. Some rooms are work and call free zones.

Clearly, I have broken the Golden Rule. Several times in fact.  And, I’m teaching my girls to be awesome notepad users as well.  

 I started the frustrating task of clearing my work station; and un-earth notes from the girls.  One note says “I love you Mama, what’s for dinner?  Ah, I love the little hearts and cute little furry-baby! My oldest is so artistic.   

Another note says “Can I watch TV?” This one has highly decorated yes or no boxes for me to make my choice. This one is from my youngest. Again, my heart squeezes with that special Mom love feeling.

  I try to think back to what I was doing that made them write to me rather than talk with me.  I swallow my Mom Guilt and decide to save these notes to put in their memento books.

Which are,  of course, labeled and filed in their forever home with only one touch.

Not.

How do you handle your paper trail?

What is your paper style? Are you a stacker, a filer, a tosser?

Please share your thoughts.  







Think before you Pin It

in , , , by Linda A Kinsman, Friday, March 02, 2012
Logo courtesy of Pinterest


I've only been on Pinterest a short time, but I can certainly see the allure of pinning. I usually like and re-pin more than adding my own content.  I allot myself 15 minutes a few days a week so I don't get sucked into the Pinterest vortex.


 I've been seeing alot of chatter online about using Pinterest to marketing your brand/blog/business and while I think of Pinterest as a fun, down time place,  I listened to the Pro's and added a JAFRA board.






Which was promptly copied, or re-pinned by another JAFRA consultant.  Hmm... I did the work, and her business may grow from it?  Well, that doesn't seem right, does it?
 But guess what? She didn't break one single rule.  Nothing I could do about it but learn and move on.


Which got me thinking:

What about Copyrights and plagiarism?  Can I get in trouble for all my likes and re-pins and subsequent sharing on Facebook and Twitter I've been doing? The answer, or at least help in making my own decisions came in the form of a informative blog post about this over at Blogging with Amy.

I love how Amy has her hand on the pulse of the blogging community and freely offers up her opinion and advise.  I highly recommend you follow her blog if you don't already.

If you have questions about this topic, I invite you to read Amy's very helpful post at: http://bloggingwithamy.com/pinterest-legal/

I for one and going to be alot more careful on Pinterest from now on.

Happy Friday!



* 3/8/12: Update:

The legalities of using Pinterest is gaining in popularity around the blogosphere. Here is another very insightful article on this topic written by TJ McCue.  http://www.openforum.com/articles/3-ways-pinterest-can-damage-your-small-business 

As special thank you to my blogging buddy Nancy Ortiz at the http://www.thefrugaldietitian.com for sharing this with us on Facebook.

I will continue to update this post and share articles as I read them. If you have an article that you think would be helpful and you'd like for me to incude it here, just contact me.  Thanks!

Wordless Wednesday

in , , by Linda A Kinsman, Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Our Pear Trees in bloom 3/16/11

The wait is almost over. Only 19 days until Spring officially arrives! I wonder if I'll get blooms like this again?

Presidents Day

in , , , , by Linda A Kinsman, Monday, February 20, 2012
Source
I am proud to be an American, but have never considered myself a History buff. As I was planning for today, I realized that my recall of the facts surrounding this holiday were a bit rusty. Sure, I remembered it is to honor Presidents Washington and Lincoln, but other facts, like dates, escaped me.

Do you need a refresher too?

I found a great, to the point article over at dosomething.org. Here's the link:

Why Do We Celebrate Presidents' Day?




Source

I also found a fun quiz from FamilyEducation.com called Positively Presidential.

I am going to take it first, to test my knowledge prior to showing this to my smarties ( who will probably know more than me)!

Want to test your Presidential knowledge too? Go Here to take the quiz.


So what are your plans for today? Do you have the day off from work? Are your kids out of school too?

For us, hubby is working, I'm working hard on getting my JAFRA business launched from home while spending time with my girls.

The one thing I won't be doing is shopping any sales. But I will enjoy this relaxing day and pray for our President and all those who lead our wonderful country.

I hope you and yours have a wonderful day!

Dear Stomach Bug… Thanks

in , , , , by Linda A Kinsman, Tuesday, February 07, 2012
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Good Tuesday morning dear readers! I have been wanting to post for several days, but honestly didn’t feel well enough to string coherent sentences together, let along remember to spell check.  I am so happy I woke up feeling great this morning!
I have been recovering from a nasty stomach bug.  My abs still cinch up just thinking about last Monday night… and the better part of Tuesday, when finally the tossing of my cookies portion of this sickness subsided.
 Speaking of abs, you never know how strong ( or not) they are until you are using them while praying you will be able to stop and catch your breath before you pass out! I had that panicky feeling in the wee small hours of Tuesday, but thankfully, blessedly, my best forever friend, my husband was right by my side. 
All week long he and my daughters nursed me back to health. I have been loved and doted upon and simply made to feel treasured and revered in a way that I’ll not soon forget. 
See, I had been feeling just a bit, oh, I don’t know… taken for granted? Okay, a lot a bit!  Like I was just the maid, like my voice didn’t matter, like I was Charlie Brown’s teacher;  all incoherent blah, blah, blahs and nags.
 Don’t forget the nagging. The endless: hang up your coat, rinse your dish, put away the brush, and do your homework, nit-picky stuff.  
Ever felt like that? Sort of resentful that all the drudge and “grunt” work is on your plate? Oh, yeah I had a bad case of the “nobody appreciates what I do around” here-isms! 
Then, I got sick. Really  sick.
Not just a head cold and I can press on sick, but down for the count sick and that’s when my sweet family stepped up, stepped in and showed me by thought and deed that all my hard work is appreciated, that I do matter most assuredly and that yes, they do listen, even if they choose to act like they aren’t sometimes.  
So, thanks stomach bug for laying me low, I needed it! And the 8 pound weight loss? Just another blessing in disguise, although I wouldn’t recommend this particular weight loss method to anyone!

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