When Online Sales Are Made and Completed

When Online Sales Are Made and Completed.


Hello, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Glad to have you stopping by. 


Every Seller does things differently when it comes to the completion of a sale made. How do you handle things yourself as a seller? What kind of routine, or system do you have set up? I myself have a routine of once a sale is made I like to send a note to the customer thanking them for their purchase, and to please notify me if there are any changes with their mailing address so that I can note it. Sometimes a customer will already have paid right away once they have made their purchase too. That is always good too. If they do this, then I send a note thanking them for their purchase, and their quick payment they made. Once I have delivered the box to the post office I will then notify the Buyer that their box has been shipped, and I will also include the tracking information for them at that time. I ship everything Priority Mail including insurance, and the tracking number is always included with this method. Other methods of shipping are done upon request. Keep in mind not all sellers will use priority mail. It depends on the items bought, and if they offer other methods. 

That is a smooth, and fun sale when things can go like that. Sometimes there is the issue of a purchase made, but it is unpaid. How do you then treat this? How long do you wait before you relist the item for sale again if this happens? I always allow up to 7 days for payments to be made. So, by this time if I have not received payment I am generally listing it for sale right away. Prior to that I have generally gotten a response from a Buyer, and correspondence has been shared. This is helpful with making a sale. Sometimes you have Buyers who do not respond, but still pay quickly, and things are good. Then, there are those who do not respond at all during this 7 day period that I myself allow for payments to be made. Keep in mind there might be explainable reasons for this too. Something might have come up, there has been an unforeseen emergency, and so on. Generally if I have not heard anything within 3 days from the Buyer I do send a small reminder asking if they received the invoice ok, asking if there is a problem, etc. More than likely I will hear from the Buyer. Then...there are those that do not respond at all. They have changed their minds, decided they do not want the item, and do not respond. This is not fun to work with, but a part of doing sales too. 

The biggest thing that all parties can do is Communicate. Having Communication is one of the best things to have with the procedure of sales online. I know that sometimes the notes I email to customers might be a repeat from what the systems from some of the market places themselves are already sending out automatically. I don't mean to spam anyone, and it is not my intentions of doing of upsetting anyone with this procedure. But, sometimes the systems have glitches with things being sent in a timely fashion to the customers, and I have no way of knowing this. So, to be safe, and more secure I still send my minor notes to the customer just to make sure we are connecting.

Something I like to remind customers about is if you have any questions, or any problems to please contact me. I am friendly, and easy to work with:) Hope this helps some of you understand a little bit of my procedures I use for when the sale is made. There is more, but this is one of the steps of the process. I have never been taught a true correct way, or told if there is a right or wrong way that is a rule to follow. In my mind Communication is the biggest thing that should be shared, and this I am a firm believer with when doing Online Sales.

Thanks for visiting with LilacsNDreams, and see you again soon! You are Welcome to share, and comment with this subject. I always like hearing from everyone, and enjoy the things you share too. Make sure to say Hi when visiting so I can come visit you as well too. Take care everyone till the next time. Have a super weekend!:)

     

Picnik Photo Enchancing Site is Now Picmonkey

Picnik Photo Enhancing Site is Now Picmonkey!


Hello Everyone, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Always happy to see you here. I am excited, and hope that others will be when hearing this too. How many of you like using Picnik for your photo editing, and enhancing? The ease of it, the simplicity, no sign in or registration, but just hop on in to do what you needed with your pictures and then be on your way. I have adored Picnik, and was heart broken when I heard that they would be closing by April 19. What to do, What to do? There are many many programs out there, many of them have their own things to use, but many many of them did not have the simplicity of Picnik which was actually very popular, and used by many people too. I seen someone in the forums at Etsy announce that Picnik is now Picmonkey, and it is now active too! I know I had read something about this earlier, and the site was not fully functional at that time. But, I have popped on over to the site tonight, and played with one picture there. It all worked, no problems, very simple, and Whew! What a relief too! So, now I do not have to worry at all. Picmonkey will now be replacing Picnik for me, and I also have found that I like BeFunky to use for photo editing too. They also have many qualification as Picnik had.

So, when you get a chance hop on over to Picmonkey to see what it can do for you, enjoy the simplicity of the photo enhancing site, and see if this maybe is the site for you to replace Picnik's closing with. Hey, thanks for stopping by to visit with me everyone!:) Remember, you are always welcome to share, leave a comment, and of course.....Please say Hi also so that I know you visited, and can come visit with you too!:) Take care everyone, and see you again soon. Later..........

 

Solar Flares Knocking Out Electronics on Thursday

Solar Flares Knocking Out Electronics on Thursday


Hello, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams! I had another post in mind, but thought I would share this instead with everyone. Just in case you did not see the news, or hear about it. On Thursday, March 8th, if you find all of your electronics of sorts . . . internet, cell phones, cable, and any electronics is acting kind of funky, there is a reason for it. On the news tonight they gave notice of this, and what the results could be from some Solar Flares that will be happening. This is something that happens every so many years, and our time is coming to see some of it tomorrow. If you are in the right location you might also be able to see some Northern Lights displays too. 


So, remember....if there are any issues with your electronics of sorts that you use there is a reason for them flickering, coming in and out, and so on. Our Solar Flares from above will be rippling things for us a bit down here:)


Thanks for stopping by LilacsNDreams, and hope ya'll survive the Solar Flares on Thursday. Take care, and see you again soon. 

Pinterest is Good Useful Sharing Learning and With Copyrights

Pinterest is Good Useful Sharing Learning and With Copyrights.

Hello everyone, and as always Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Pinterest . . . We have all heard of it, or most of us have heard of it. It is a growing Social Network that has intrigued many people to join with them. It has been a pass time, place to share, place to learn, is useful for many reasons, and has been very addictive for many people too. What you do at Pinterest is you pin items that you have found on the internet that are creative ideas for you, maybe you would like to follow a website or a blog, make a list of items for weddings ideas, and etc. This is the place to do all of these organizational things for yourself. Whenever you pin something, that item when clicked on by someone else visiting your boards, will take them to the original place, or link of where the picture came from that you found it at.

Copyright issues with things like this? Visit ddkportraits.com to read what this person has done, and about her phone call with Pinterest Founder Ben Silbermann. Get an idea and feel for what was discussed, and what is being done by Pinterest with this issue raised by many people of copyrights. I know many of the issues have been from photographers, and some of their concerns are very understandable too.  Also, see the Pinterest - Copyright as they have it at this time.

I think Pinterest is fabulous, and has been a great source of seeing or meeting people, and new products too. Because of Pinterest I have been able to visit many other Websites, Blogs, Online Stores and Market Places by Sellers, and have seen some things that I would have not otherwise seen myself. With the issues at hand of concerned discussions, I do believe things will work themselves out too. 

When you have a chance, come visit with Pinterest, and you are more than Welcome to start with boards that I myself have started at Pinterest. All of them under LilacsNDreams of course. Always organizing, and rearranging things with items I wish to view later, keep in mind, and etc. Always welcome to visit with me there too!:)

Nice to see ya'll again, and hope you enjoyed your visit with LilacsNDreams. Remember, you are always welcome to share things with us here....keep it clean, and no arguing please, and remember everyone is very much entitled to their own opinions. Also, don't forget to say Hi so that I can hop on over to visit with you too!:) Take care everyone, and see you again soon!:)

Use Search Engines in Searching For Products and Stores

Use Search Engines in Searching For Products and Stores. 

Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Glad to have you visiting here. I was thinking of something the other day, and thought maybe it might be helpful to share this thought with you as well. When you are searching for treasures you want online, how are you searching? You go to the computer, sit down, and what do you type into the keyboard to look first when searching for items to buy? I think many people assume they should just go straight to Ebay. There is much more out there to see. People, Buyers, and Shoppers should also learn to go to the search engines when you are shopping, or searching for things. Your common search engines to use are Google.com and Bing.com. Sometimes searches are done with Yahoo, and actually other small places too. 

When you have a specific item that you are looking for use the search engines to shop with. By using the search engines you will get a nice variety of things to choose from, and you will see and realize the other market places that are available to shop with too. Sometimes prices can be better because a fee structure for a seller is so much better than what is offered to them with Ebay, and other places too. Also, you will find different payment platforms that can be offered for you to pay with. Not all places are Paypal only. For instance, with Artfire I offer Paypal, and Amazon Payments, and try to note that I can invoice you with Google Checkout at Artfire too. Some of the other sellers there also offer pro-pay with their stores too. At Ecrater I offer Paypal, and Google Checkout. Remember, I can also invoice with these places if you would like to contact me separately from the market places to purchase too. You know, like if you seen something of interest in my LilacsNDreams Shoppe page. 

With search engines if you know the name of the shop, or store you wish to look for you can also connect with that name too. Once the pages with that name come up you will see all the places they are associated with, and sell with. Give it a try. Google, or Bing my name of LilacsNDreams. You will see my blogs, my stores, along with different places I am also associated with too.

Hope this little tid bit of information was found to be helpful to all you reading, visiting, and stopping by LilacsNDreams. You have any questions, don't hesitate to ask them. You are more than welcome to comment, and share here too. Don't forget to say Hi so that I know you visited, and I can hop over to see you as well. 

Thanks for dropping by everyone, and see ya'll again real soon. Take care, and have a wonderful Day/Evening!:)

 

Buying Searching Junking and Preparing For ReSelling

Buying Searching Junking and Preparing For Reselling.

Hello, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams! I was curious about something. Once treasures found are brought home with you, what do you do next? I am sure we all have different ways of doing things, and we all do what we feel to be best for our sales.  Of course the wonderful decisions of are we keeping it, or will we sell it?...LOL:)

I love shopping Thrift Stores, Yard Sales, Auctions, Estate Sales, Flea Markets, and Yes! Junking too! Once I get items home I set all the pieces out, and I make my notes of the items bought, where bought from, dates bought, and prices I paid for things too. Then...comes the fun part. Gently washing, and cleaning all the items to the best of my abilities. I always worry about damaging things so I am careful with all pieces, do them one by one, and take my time with them. Since they are pieces that will be resold as is, or used in repurposing I still thoroughly look all the pieces over carefully. During this time I will note any faults, knicks, markings and stamps of brands, and so on. Once I have completed this I will then get out my notebook, and start my research on pieces to see how many others are also being offered. I like to get an idea of average sale prices that are offered, and what they have sold for as well. Some of these treasures may also be researched with different books to learn some of their history, and values for in today's market too.

Doesn't seem like much of a procedure with this step of preparations, but it can be time consuming. I enjoy it as I learn the pieces, and connect with them by better viewing them in a different way from their purchase. 

Hey, if you have something to add with this, or would like to share something please know that you are welcome to do so. Just hit the old comment button below, and share with us all. Love hearing from all of you, and I even enjoy seeing ya'll say Hi to me too!:)

Thanks so much for visiting with LilacsNDreams! Take care, and see you all again soon!:)

  

Stay Connected Google Friend Connect Leaves Use Linky Followers

Stay Connected Google Friend Connect Leaves Use Linky. 
Hello, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams everyone! I know I have mentioned this recently, but I wanted to add another note, or a reminder of this situation. 

Google Friend Connect is going away on March 1st, 2012. Hate to see it, but Google has been removing some of their applications over time, and Google Friend Connect is one of them. So that I do not lose friends, or those who are connected to follow along with posts, any kind of notices, and etc....I have added Linky Followers. You will see this box in my right side bar, and right under the Google Friend Connect box too. Linky Followers is also Free...I like that!:) So, if you would like to stay connected please sign up with Linky Followers. 

Thanks for visiting everyone, and I look forward to many more posts being shared with you too. Take care, and have a super Sunday!:)

UPDATE:  I enjoy my followers with LilacsNDreams, and I know some of you like to have certain ways of following, and keeping in touch with some of your favorite blogs too. I suggest visiting SewCalGal with her blog, and seeing what she has to offer with this issue. And...read some of the comments left by others to maybe give some insights to this situation too. There is a good chance that the blogspot bloggers will not be effected with this change, but we will have to wait to see for sure. If you know of anything, or have some suggestions....Please feel free to share them with all of us here at LilacsNDreams. Thanks for stopping by everyone!:)

Happy Valentines Day From LilacsNDreams Treasures of Vintage, Collectibles, Repurposed

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY from LilacsNDreams! Am wishing all of you a splendid day, and a great evening too. 

So, anyone have any big plans for today, or tonight? Sorry, not me....hubby is out of state with work, so am on my own this year. Hmm....maybe I will treat myself tonight since I will be home alone...what should I eat, what should I buy....Hmmm.....LOL:)

Some might receive gifts today, and some will have gifts on their way yet too. If shopping for someone special, and it is hard to know what to get them. Remember, it does not always have to be red, does not always have to have hearts on it, but that it is something special they have been looking for, have wanted, and something to say....Just Because:)

Stop by to visit my stores to see if there would be something of interest whether it is big, small, vintage, collectibles, or repurposed treasures. Lil bit of something for everyone. Artfire ~ Ecrater ~ Etsy ~ I ship everything priority mail with insurance included with shipping for a more secure delivery. 

Thanks for stopping by LilacsNDreams Everyone. I wish you all well, and have a beautiful day!!:)

 

Google Friend Connect and Linky Followers

Google Friend Connect and Linky Followers. Welcome back to LilacsNDreams! I promise I won't keep you all long with this posting. But, I got an email that was informing me with all the changes of Google that the Google Friend Connect would soon be phased out as well. Has anyone else heard of this? I know Google is making changes....like with picnik closing, and a few of their other programs they have. I never did get a full list of what other programs they will be closing, so was questioning about the Google Friend Connect. IF that is true, and that is another program that Google will be ridding of.....those people in your Google Friend Connect will be lost. There is no way for you to transfer them over to another service. Unless they come up with something to help out, there will be no way to transfer your friends to another program that you might wish to use. 


So, in the right hand column, right below the Google Friends Connect that I have you will see another box that friends can connect with, and follow with too. That one is called Linky Followers. It is Free, and Linky does get used with quite a few blogs I have noticed too. For those who have already signed with Google Friend Connect, if you will be so kind as to sign in with the Linky Followers I would appreciate it. Just in case there is some truth to this issue I would rather be safe, then sorry. If for some reason, or other it does not happen I will remove the secondary box. Until then I will keep both boxes for signing up to follow with until I can get confirmation for such actions.


Thanks for visiting LilacsNDreams, and working with me everyone, I appreciate it. Take care, and have a great week!:) See ya later.........

Optimizing Blogger Blog and Achieving Traffic

Optimizing Blogger Blog and Achieving Traffic. Welcome back to LilacsNDreams, and glad to have you here! I started a post last week as a refresher of what I had done about Blogs, Blogging, Platforms to choose from, etc. Today will be about what to do with your blogs to better help you with traffic which can also help in making some money if that is what you are choosing to do. 

1) Blog Title is an important part of applying proper SEO techniques. A reminder that SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. Choose a title that will use keywords other might use to search with, and make sure it reflects on what your top will be at that time too. 

2) Blog Description is a significant part of a blog for Search Engine Optimization, or also known as SEO. You want your description to be appealing to visitors, and at the same time using keywords that you are targetting in search engines. Remember, the keywords will vary for everyone because it depends on what you topic is at hand. Some keywords that I try to use for things that pertain to my blogs, what I blog about, what I sell, and what I discuss would be like vintage, collectibles, handmade, homemade, hand altered, repurposed, upcycled, glassware, and things like that.  

3)  Comments is something that you would like to allow with all your blog posts. Allowing comments can help enhance value of your blog post, and it also helps to update your content as well too. Along with this it will assist in helping to improve your search engine rankings. 

4)  Quality Content is a must for your blog success. When you can, or able to post quality content that people like to read this in turn will help improve your traffic to your blog. What you have started your blog for in regards to topics, themes, business, etc...If you can stay within some kind of a rythmn of it that people will be interested in they will stop to visit you, read with you, and hopefully comment and share things too. 

5)  Submit Blog to Search Engines and Directories. Submitting your blog to these things will give you a better search engine rankings as well too. When I myself submit my blogs I submit my domains that are directed to them, but I also submit their blogspot url addresses they have too. It helps since people will use both url addresses to come visit with you. 

6)  Use Keywords in the Anchor Text of Links. Using keywords in the anchor text of links is of vital importance to get some of your best SEO results with. Use your primary, and secondary keywords in anchor texting of links. Again, words I generally use for me are vintage, collectibles, handmade, homemade, repurposed, upcycled, altered, and things like that. When clicking on these different keywords you will be directed to 1 of the 3 stores I have items listed with. Also, keep in mind not to over due it too. Google, or the search engines see it being over done, or an over kill of it they will ignore you. It then will become considered spam, and that is something all search engines try to avoid.


I hope this little bit has helped some of you with things you do with your blogs. It also works for your websites, and can work with where you list your items for sale too. I can honestly say by doing some of the things I have noted for you over time, it does help your views with your blogs, and when I check my Google Analytics I am seeing results there too. I honestly can get more views with my Blog than I do with my stores. My long term goals...I hope it keeps working this way for me too:)


Thanks so much for visiting with LilacsNDreams, and wishing you all a Happy Hump Day! You take care now, and see you again soon. Later . . . . . 

Blog Blogger Blogging Social Media Networking of Today

Blog Blogger Blogging Social Media Networking of Today.

Hello, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Happy to see you here, and everyone is always Welcomed to visit with LilacsNDreams too. 

I came in here today with an idea in mind to discuss with all of you, but along the way changed my thinking and thoughts. Ever happen to you? Heck, I can even walk across a room sometimes, and either forget what I was going for, or also change my thought along the way there too...LOL:) I know I have talked a little bit before about Blogging, and Social Media or Social Networking. I have decided to cover this a little bit again for everyone, and touch base with it a bit. Why? Social Media, and Networking is growing fast, and is still predicted to be something good to use with all that you do with online sales, marketing, your brick and mortar stores, and etc. 

So, the question is Why Blog? Many reasons for it. I'll try not to bore you all, and keep it simple. 1) Social Media or Networking is one reason for it. Blogging is another form of Social Media like Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and so on. 2) Another reason to Blog is it gets you published. How you ask? By working with certain things in mind in regards to your SEO you will get noticed in search engine rankings, and etc. 3) Another reason to Blog is that you get your message out that you would like to share with others. There is no right, or wrong message to put out there. It is up to you what you wish to share, and what the message is that you would like others to relate to. 4) Blogging is another way to share tips, tutorials, questions, and answers too. 5) This has become a great way for Teachers and Students to share work, class notes, pictures, and etc. 

Blogging is not just for one form of profession, but for many and all forms. Online Sellers, Brick and Mortar Store Owners, Big Companies, Small Companies, Journalists, Photographers, Publishers, Writers, and many many people are turning to the forms of Blogging as the Social Media Networking area grows. 

Choosing the right platform is a task that you yourself will have to cover, and determine. Your main, and popular platforms are with Blogger.com and also with Wordpress.com. Another growing platform is also with Tumblr.com. Choosing the platform that works for you depends on what you want to do with your blog.

1) Tumblr is a platform for Social Networking of simple, and quick posts. Some themes are free, some are paid for premium themes. No plugins are used to add additional features onto your blog. This is a nice place to use for the casual internet presence. 

2) Word Press is a more serious professional blogging used. There are 2 forms with Word Press which is WordPress.org, and with WordPress.com. The .com of word press is the hosted service of software, and has your basic features for free. It displays ads on your blog unless you want to purchase ad-free upgrade. The .org is the home of software. You get complete control, and flexibility here. You can download the software that must be installed on a web hosting server to work like Blue Host, Go Daddy, and etc.

3) Blogger of course is another free service used by many. You do not have to have certain plugins to do different things. You are allowed up to 10 pages with them, and those are static pages. You can have as many blogs, or blog urls as you wish....up to 100 I believe is the limit there. Like Word Press it has pros and cons to using it as well. 

Well, as you can see....I use Blogger, and love it here! I do have a blog at Word Press, but do not use it as often. I am use to blogger with the ease of use of things here, find it easier to navigate around here, and if I work things right I can make it show with the search engines as word press shows too. That will be the next discussion for you with optimizing your blogger blog. 

Here we are going into the weekend everyone. I wish you well, have fun, enjoy, and please be safe too. Enjoy it, and see you all again soon LilacsNDreams. Remember, you are always welcome to leave a comment, share something you know to contribute with this, and of course most of all....Please say Hi so that I can come visit with you too. Take care, and see you again soon everyone. 

 

Buying Handmade Homemade Hand Altered Online and Local

Buying Handmade Homemade Hand Altered Online and Local. 

Hello everyone, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Glad to have you here, and that you stopped by. Thought I was ready with my topic, but I did a little bit more research, and it is amazing what everyone says, trying to find definitions to help with the meanings of words, and etc. 

Why buy Handmade Homemade? After researching a bit I will use both of these words. Handmade is considered made, or prepared by hand rather than by machine. Made by hand, or a hand process, and made by people using their hands. Individual pieces, or materials that compromise a finished item. Paint, wire, pieces combined to create a final item. Projects with a lot of hand work.

Hand Altered seem to have a little bit more suggested for it. Glued, nailed, screwed, sewn, whittled, affixed, stapled, embroidered, mixed, inscribed, painted, drawn, photographed, etc. Any alteration, or embellishment to an item by hand, or by machine controlled by hand, or via traditional art or craft method. Hand Altered is also referred to as hand embellished, or hand assembled.

Homemade can be referred to pieces that are repurposed. I also found made, or prepared in the home, made by oneself, and crudely or simply made. Creative touches, quality supplies, ingredients.

So, why buy pieces like this?

1) Find something unique. You are not wearing what everyone else is wearing. If maybe you like to keep up with the trends you can fix it up with a one of a kind accent piece. 


2) Super Craftsmanship. Handmade items get individual care, special attention, focused with details, quality control, and etc. Also, there is no assembly line with unskilled workers. 


3) Putting money into good hands. When you pay an artist, or craftsman for their work, they are actually getting the profit from it. You are not paying a CEO of a major company, their over head, and so on. You can also improve the economy, and make a difference by shopping this way with Handmade, Homemade, and Hand Altered.


4) Better Customer Service. Oh, yeah! That is something we all really love to have. Buying this way you get individual attention from the Seller. When you receive your products you might have a hand written note, thank yous, and sometimes some will give a freebie tucked with your item too. If you have a problem with some kind of mix up, lost or damaged in shipping, maybe item received was faulty, it is almost always taken care of effectively. Buying this way you will have a better chance with a refund, replacement, or sometimes a return too. These sort of issues though happen less frequently due to the care, and the concern Sellers strive for in having Happy Customers. 


5) End Slavery. I am not saying this in a bad way, or no punt intended with this please. What I am referring to is buying this way you are not supporting industries of sweatshops, child labor, and some of the different industries like those in China.  People are not factories.


6) Go Green. Smaller scale operations will produce less waste, use recycled materials, found objects, industrial salvage pieces, etc. All items that could have gone to the landfills, but with these techniques of Sellers they are spared and used. 


7) Get Custom Items and Alterations. It's great having things made just for you. It's a pleasure to receive one of a king items, and maybe to help complete a vision you might have of something not out there yet. Also, if you don't have the skill to make it yourself, there is someone out there who does. 


8) Make Somebody's Dream Come True. Many of us dream about quitting the day job, becoming your own boss, and doing what you love to do all day, and everyday. Whether it is for you, or helping someone else with this, it is very inspiring.


               "Do What You Love, and the World Will Follow . . . ."


There are many categories that fall under these topics I have mentioned. Jewelry, clothing, accessories, home decor, housewares, vintage, used, soaps, lotions, bath products, but they all have something in common. Start from scratch, or connect things or pieces making something for you. 


So, there you have what I have been reading about, and researched a little bit for this. There are some wonderful sellers out there doing all kinds of work. They take much pride in what they do, and like many others work very hard at what they do to make their items to be offered to you. When shopping please don't forget about them, and I would suggest if you have not already bought something like this . . . give it a try. You will be very surprised at what you get, and will want more. It's addictive!:) Artfire is one of the market places online that has sellers selling such items. Another place to also visit would be with Etsy as they are offering the same things within their market place too.


Thanks for visiting with LilacsNDreams, and hope you all enjoyed it. Take care, and see you again soon.

LilacsNDreams Vintage Collectibles Repurposed Upcycled Altered

LilacsNDreams Vintage Collectibles Repurposed Upcycled Altered Informational, and sharing Blog. 

Welcome to LilacsNDreams, and as always glad to have you visiting with me! I apologize to everyone in blogland, this has been one of them off weeks for me. I have slowly been working on things to list in my stores, and to show with my page here too. But, by the time the day passes with other things I have been dealing with I seem to have lost a little of my spit, and fire that keeps me going at night. Hopefully this weekend I get things moving a little bit more again...that is a goal I am setting for me to do.

It is almost 3 a.m. my time, and I am going to finish my late night with this blog to start your weekend. I have a renewal that is due soon with one of my domains that I have. I honestly have never really liked the domain using that .co. Sorry, but to me it is too close to the .com, and I sometimes feel it is confusing. Don't you think? So, this week I have thought about things, made some notes, and finally decided it was time to do it. Gonna make a few minor changes, or adjustments if you will. Gonna see if maybe I can get things rolling a bit more for me with the changes, and have it work to my advantage. 

You will notice at the top of this page the tabs I have for other pages that come from this blog. Of course my 2 main pages are first this main blog page of LilacsNDreams for ya'll to come to, and that you are now visiting. My other one is what I am now calling LilacsNDreams Shoppe page. From this main page it is your choice if you wish to read more by visiting those pages. Also, remember you can always leave comments, and say Hi to me when visiting any of my pages so that I can come visit you too:) Ok, the minor change I have made, (if you have visited the page before you will see the change made) is with my other LilacsNDreams page which is now called LilacsNDreams Shoppe. If you can remember it was LilacsNDreams Store. Sorry, besides the change of the domain with the .co I did, using that 'store' word was just not jiving with me. Just felt a little blah for me. So, the page  is now called LilacsNDreams Shoppe. I also have a new blog address for that page which is LilacsNDreamsShoppe.blogspot.com AND the new domain which should now be working is LilacsNDreamsShoppe.com.

With this Shoppe/Store page I had the .net domain directed to it. But, again, a minor change I have made:) I will be dropping the .co for my website, and directing my .net to my website instead. Makes more sense to me, and hopefully not so confusing with a more well known domain used for the website. 

Ok, I honestly hope this all makes sense with my babbling everyone....Please forgive me. It is getting late, and I know I love to talk, but I need to give it a rest for the night too. Thanks so much again for visiting with LilacsNDreams! Make sure to say Hi so that I can come visit with you too. Hey, comments are also welcome here too!:) Take care everyone, and see you again soon!:)

   

Picnik Announces Closure Petition to Stop This With Google

Picnik Announces Closure Petition to Stop This With Google!

Hello, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Glad you are visiting again, that you stopped by, and that you found me too! 

Checking my emails today, and I got a very sad announcement. I know we all have our preferences for photo editing programs, and softwares that we use. I myself, for a very long time now, have used Picnik. It was always free, did not have to sign in to use it, could do simple editing without having to first understand the software program, and it was just so easy to use it. They do have a premium fee that could be paid for you to get more tools to use of course. I know of many people who do photography that would use this program as some of the editing tools, and have paid fees too. So, this announcement is quite disturbing to receive. They are refunding all fees back to everyone...even if you only have 1 day left with the premium they still intend to refund the full fee. That is nice, but still does not fix the issue at hand. Now where do I...along with many others go? What program could work in place of this with such an easy, no complications, no hassles, and was actually enjoyable to use because of its ease?

I remember when Google took over Picnik, and it was scarey to see what changes would come. Things still went along smoothly with no hitches. Now, everything is being converted to Google+, you are being referred to that service, and etc. I have clicked the link to take me there to use the Google+ services, check it out, see if I can adapt to it, and actually really get no where with it. I am assuming it is Picasa they have you using? I don't know, it is not telling me much, or taking me anywhere with the announcement of this change. That is Google, right? I enjoy Google+, have adapted with it well, but do not consider them a photo editing program for me to us, and feel like Google+ is being pushed at you more now too. So very very sad. I have to apologize for this being so long today, but I wanted to copy the announcement from my email to you. Actually, I wanted to put the widget here for the petition to sign, and try to stop this....but the google blog is not working fully for me to do this...imagine that, right? So, please, give it a read below, and if you will....please sign the petition to this as well. Thanks so much everyone! I hope ya'll have a super weekend with lots of fun, enjoyment, and of course as I always ask....Please be safe!:) Till the next time everyone....see you soon!:)

	Official Announcement: Picnik is closing Since joining Google in 2010, we have been creating editing magic in Google  products while continuing to keep Picnik awesome. But now we get to focus  on even awesomer things. Picnik will be closing on April 19, 2012.  Your photos liberated Amazing photos are created in Picnik, so we have launched a new  feature, Picnik Takeout, that easily downloads your photos to your desktop  in convenient zip files. You may also elect to copy your photos to Google+  where you can store and share your creations. You may request your  photos at any time and use this handy tool as many times as you like  until our closing date of April 19, 2012. Learn more. Premium Refunds To our primo Picnik Premium members, we'll begin processing a full  refund of your current membership fee within a week of this announcement.  By "in full" we mean the whole darn thing. Yep, this means even if you  are on your very last day of an annual membership, we will refund you  the entire $24.95. Just because we want to say thanks. Now the Good News - Free Premium for ALL! To express our gratitude for your support over the past 5 years, Picnik Premium  is free for everyone! Use Picnik in all of its premium glory, for free, from  now until our actual closing day. Touch-up, Textures, Advanced, and more are  all free for you to use! We have been incredibly proud of building a product that is used and  eloved by so many of you. We continue to be amazed and humbled by the photos you create and we are immensely grateful for all of your support,  creativity, and passion. We are excited by the photo-editing fun we have already brought to  Google products, like Google+, where you can find many of your favorite  Picnik effects in Creative Kit. We encourage you to visit Google+  and give it a whirl. Please visit the Help Hub for more information on our wind down, and  check the Picnik blog for updated information on our April closure. It's been awesome, Team Picnik

Pinterest the Virtual Pinboard That is Addictive

Pinterest the Virtual Pinboard That is Addictive!

Welcome to LilacsNDreams, and always glad to see you here. Enjoy the visits, and remember..don't forget to say Hi so I can come visit with you too!

Pinterest, what is it? What do you do? Oh, another place. Is it worth being involved? Many questions, and hopefully I can give you a few ideas of what it is, and then let you decide about it. 

Pinterest is a Virtual Pinboard that is done online, and allows you to organize and share things that you find on the web with everyone. You just add a Pin It button in your address bar, and when you see something you like or want to share, click the Pin It button, and take it from there. Many people will use the pin boards to find recipes...and there are many good ones out there. Also, to find things you like with home decor, vintage items, DIY items, and just whatever your interests are. Best of all, you can browse pinboards of other people to see what they are sharing, and to discover some new and intriguing ideas by many other people. 

What can you do with Pinterest? You could redecorate your home with different pins that you collect, and get ideas from all of them. Some like to use Pinterest to help plan their weddings for themselves, or for family members and friends too. People like to use Pinterest so that they can share their style with others who might have some of the same likes, and interests too. This is a great way to save inspirations that you might find along the way. As mentioned earlier, excellent way to get some really yummy recipes too!

Pinterest is a way for everyone in the world to connect with things that they find of interest. Shared tastes, and interests is bringing many pins to the site every week. 

To get started with Pinterest you need to request an invite. Doesn't take long, and you will have a response with your acceptance into Pinterest. Once you have access to setting things up you can start making boards for yourself. Name them whatever you want, be creative, and have fun with it too. The pins that you add to the boards are credited back to the people/place that you got the pictures from...which is good for many people. One important thing....Pinterest asks that you not use the sight as a self promoting tool. It is ok to pin things you are proud of, that you have, but not to overload in self promoting is requested of them.

Stop by to see my Pinterest Boards sometime. I either am adding boards, or sometimes will change the name of the boards too. It sure is fun, and I get to see different things, meet different people, and get some wonderful ideas of things too!

Thanks so much for visiting with LilacsNDreams, and hope you enjoyed your visit! If you haven't visited with Pinterest yet, make sure you get by there to give it a look. Take care everyone, and see you again soon. 

 

Vintage Collectibles Repurpsoed Upcycled Altered

Vintage Collectibles Repurposed Upcycled Altered are things I enjoy, and am passionate about. I wanted to stop by, and leave you all a small note. A reminder that you all are Welcome to visit with my tabs I have above that would interest you as I try really hard to post with some of my others pages here too. When visiting make sure to say Hi so that I can come visit with you too. Also, make sure to visit my LilacsNDreams Store page tab above too. On that page is where I will share items of interest with the online world of selling. I will show pictures for items of mine, where they are offered, I sometimes will feature another seller with some of their items, and etc. Along with the pictures I show I will share the links to the items being offered. Remember, if you see something you like, have questions about, want to know more...visit the link provided. If you are interested in buying it, and do not want to visit the site contact me to invoice you separately myself. 

I hope all of you are going into having a great weekend. Thanks again for stopping by. Take care, have fun, enjoy, and best of luck with all you do. See you again soon.

 

USPS Postal Increases Coming Soon

USPS Postal Increases Coming Soon!


Welcome to LilacsNDreams, and as always glad to have you visiting with Me. We have pretty much gotten through our 1st 2 weeks of the year, and time is just rolling don't you think? With this month speeding by us I wanted to give you a quick note here, and a reminder about our Postal Services shipping increases coming to us. Effective January 22, 2012 the postal rates will be increasing. A stamp that costs .44 now will then cost .45. Boxes for over night delivery will be to anywhere in the country for 1 price regardless of the weight. Of course that weight is up to 70 lbs. Express Mail Flat Rate box will be debuting on January 22 as well. Flat rates for Priority Mail will be as such: Small boxes $5.35, Medium Boxes $11.35, and Large Boxes will be $15.45.  There is going to be a flat rate box that will ship over night, anywhere in the country, regardless of the weight...up to 70 lbs.


As for the regular postal rates for Priority Mail...since that is generally how my items are shipped I cannot seem to get in to find an updated chart, or the prices for this change. Will have to keep watching for it. If you would like to read a bit more about this, see more prices, and to better understand the changes visit the USPS Postal Site for this, or Google it for some answers too.

I will be going through my stores of vintage, collectibles, repurposed, upcycled, and making the corrected adjustments for the shipping I have quoted. I use priority mail which also includes the insurance. Till I can get some definite prices for these I will have to leave them as they are, but hopefully will soon have these changes made for the price changes that go into effect on January 22, 2012.

* * * Also....on Monday, January 16, 2012 the United States Post Office will be closed for Martin Luther King Jr. birthday. Make notes to yourself about this everyone. * * * 

Hope everyone has had a great week. Tomorrow is Friday....the 13th....Hmm. I am not superstitious about this, but know that others might be. Just another reminder of what day it is. Well, time for me to call it a night. Get up tomorrow, and hopefully be more productive getting things done since I will be home, and no scheduled appointments. 


Thanks for stopping by, and visiting with LilacsNDreams everyone! Make sure to say Hi so that I can come visit with you too! Take care, and see you again soon.

After Holidays Organizing Cleaning Inventory Control

After Holidays, Organizing, Cleaning, and Inventory Control. 


Welcome to LilacsNDreams everyone, and happy to have you here. Well, here we are into our second week of the new 2012 year already! Holidays are over, cleaning has been done, things put back into their places for decorations, and now we are moving onto catching up on the computers, and with our online stores. I LOVE selling online, meeting other people, learning from others, sharing thoughts and ideas with others, and all of that wonderful stuff. 


Over Christmas I was able to spend a few hours with a very good friend of mine. MaryLouLavender*s. If you visited my LilacsNDreams Store page here with my blog you would have seen some of the items she had listed with her ebay store recently. It was great seeing her, and as always never enough time to go over everything, share everything, and cover all we would like to do, see, and talk about.

During our conversations we were discussing blogs, things we sell, ideas, and just all that sharing that feels good to do. The idea of organized inventory was brought up. How do you organize everything? What works, what doesn't work, and where do you begin? I know this is something many many of us struggle with in our homes to organize for our online stores, and also for just around the home too. How do you organize this, how do you organize that, what is the best way, and so on. 

You know, these are good questions and thoughts to be asking. As we grow with our online businesses our inventory becomes more, and there has to be a neutral way that is acceptable, and workable to keep organized, and to keep peace of mind with ourselves. Having it organized makes it so much easier to locate for when items sell, for when we list, doing inventory, and etc. I decided to look around a little, and see what others had to offer of what they do, and how they do things. Keep in mind, some of these ways do not always work for everyone as all of us have different kinds of inventory, and things that we sell. 


One of the popular ways I am seeing is to use tubs, and some shelves for each category, and items. Some use this sort of system for each month as they list. Some of the shelving was done with wire racks that are bought from Costco. Some found things with their home to repurpose, and use. The tubs could be colored, or some will use see through ones which enables them to better see what is inside the tub too.  Some mentioned that they used boxes as well.


On the top of the shelves some will use by putting their bubble wrap there, envelopes, USPS boxes, their supplies. It is best to keep enough in supplies for what is needed to help in organizing, and controling your system you have. On the tubs some will use removable address labels as stickers to notify what is in the tubs, or using a numbering system. Item tags are used on some with a bin number system. Along with the bin numbers some will also note the price paid for the item. Then, some will note the tubs with the item title along with the listing number too. Some will use print outs...like an inventory sheet for each tub notifying what is in it. Some sellers will choose to keep their items together by brand, and in alphabetical order. Then there are some who will mark their tubs, or their boxes with dates of when they listed items too.Yet another thing that was mentioned was to put a picture with each tub of what is in there also. Many many ways, and this is something for us all to find our way that works for us.

When placing the boxes, or the tubs on the shelves many noted to keep the spacing right between each one so that it was easier to slide the containers out like drawers when they had to be accessed. I did find that some who had large amounts of inventory would use storage units. They would use units that had set access times to them, video surveillance cameras on the property, tall chain link fences, and some have an access code you have to use to get through the gates to the units too. With the units they not only kept their inventory there, but would also have the tables set out with shipping supplies there for them to box, wrap, package too. Interesting, isn't it?

Many did mention having an inventory spreadsheet for their inventory too. Some would map their inventory from organizing, and labeling. Interesting, huh? When you bring more products home it is best to group items together, and then to organize them. 

Organizing our inventory, and having control with it is an everyday task. Can give us a headache too. Hopefully some of the methods mentioned will help you with your thoughts of what will work for you, and organizing your inventory. It is always nice to get some ideas of what others do to help you in organizing what will work for you. 

Good Luck with all your organizing everyone! Thanks for visiting with LilacsNDreams, and I hope your new year is treating you well so far. Take care, and see you again soon!

 

Happy Monday Bloggers and Blogland Visitors From LilacsNDreams

Happy Monday Bloggers and Blogland Visitors! Welcome to LilacsNDreams, and happy to see you stopping by to see me. Sorry, been MIA again here. Kept busy over weekend with moving things from upstairs to the downstairs, making room for workers, loading car to donate items, and just when I think it will calm down...I change my mind, and decide to donate a few more items. Hopefully this week the plumber gets his part done so then the rest of the bathroom can be completed. 

The weather has been great here! Not a normal winter for us northerners at all! But, I will take it, and enjoy it as much as I can. Sorry to say I did not have much to cover in this posting to all of you wonderful readers. I have some notes made, have a topic in mind, but have not gotten any further with it. So, wanted to stop by here, and say Hello to all of you passing through. Wishing you all a super Monday, and a beautiful week! Thanks so much for visiting, and see you again soon. Take care. 

A Year in Review in Blogland Bloggers Websites Market Places

A Year in Review in Blogland Bloggers Websites Market Places, and etc. 

Hello, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Always glad to have you stop by. Make sure you say Hi so I know to come visit you as well, okay?

As usual a slow day, should be doing this, should be doing that, and here I am at the computer and doing things in between my internet roaming. As I am doing this I was thinking about how all of us each have reflections of some kind of what the year was for us, what it was all about, and of course what we would like to see with this New Year. Many set goals, make plans, and will set forth things to do for the year. Me? I don't really do that anymore. When the end of the year comes I don't want to be sad, disappointed in me, or upset because I did not achieve everything. Life happens sometimes. I like to feel good, and be happy about the New Year, and accept it openly and ready for good things to come. 

I have been traveling around Blogland a little bit today, and have seen many showing their beautiful and great projects that were done for 2011. There have been many accomplishments, and many things shared by everyone. Made me think, and reflect a little bit on what I had done. I do not have Big projects to show you all. I guess I can say small things were completed with reading things on the internet, learning, becoming a little bit more knowledgable with some things, many notes taken, thrifting, junking, repurposing, collecting, and just roaming and taking in things from everyone else. Course now and then a little dream, making some notes with those dreams for the next year to come, and so on.

I can say that one of my accomplishments this year has been with my Blog. I have enjoyed working with it, changing things, learning to add things like pages, how to do my own background, making my banners and own buttons, and just learning some things with it too. I have also enjoyed sharing things with all of you that I myself know, have learned, heard from over here, and heard from over there. Just sharing A lil bit here, and a lil bit there, and I have enjoyed it all! I love seeing everyone stop by, leaving me a note, sending me an email, visiting and reading all of your posts, and I want to Thank You for sharing with Me...LilacsNDreams.

As we start this new year I want to wish you all the very very best in 2012. May it be all that you wish it to be. May you all just be "Happy to Be" Remember to "Let the beauty of what you love be what you do" Jalal Ad-din Rumi

                              * Simplify * Dream * Create *