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 *

Happy New Year Bloggers Blogland Website Visitors

Happy New Year Bloggers, Blogland, Website Visitors! 

Welcome to LilacsNDreams, and glad to have you here always. Well, did you all survive Christmas? I know some still celebrate after the day too. Families, Friends, Schedules, and trying to fit everyone in to have time with all. Festivities, and the rush of have everything done. Work so hard for that big day, and like that it goes too, doesn't it? 

End of the year, and trying to get things in order here. Going through files to delete what is no longer needed. Taking products from one store, and adding to another store to be offered for those to buy. Removing maybe a few pieces of inventory, marking the books with all the changes, and prepping for the new year. I still have some products that have been completed that I have not listed yet for those to see, and buy. I still have a few things to complete that I would like to add small items with them, or show for decoration to help with some of those creative ideas too.  Make sure to visit LilacsNDreams at Artfire, and to also visit LilacsNDreams at Ecrater. Between the 2 I will be offereing vintage, collectibles, repurposed, upcycled, altered, and so on. I do still have some things that are listed with LilacsNDreams at Etsy. In fact I made my first purchase of an item from Etsy couple of days ago too. At Etsy I have some vintage pieces listed along with a few of my repurposed items as well. Trying not to keep all the eggs in one basket, but yet not too far spread out that I cannot give the proper attention to the stores, and customers too.

So, now that Christmas is over I hope to try, and work on some of that the next few days, and nights. Hopefully I get something accomplished for this weekend to start offering in the stores. Make sure to visit LilacsNDreams to keep updated on what I am offering, and to make sure you check my LilacsNDreams Store tab at the top. In my store I show pictures, and links to visit to see items being offered. Not only do I show my own products, but I have started showing products of other sellers being offered, and will continue this too.

Hoping everyone had a sweet Christmas, and it was all you wanted it to be. Wishing everyone a Happy New Year with much success, sales, and everything wished for. Take care, and see you again soon everyone. 

 

Facebook Social Media and the New Timeline

Facebook Social Media and New Timeline. 

Hello, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Always glad to have you stopping by to visit with me. How many of you Facebook, use Facebook, have a Fan/Business Page, and so on? There are some people who do not use Facebook, have no desire to, and get along perfectly fine without too. But, for those of you who do use Facebook, spend much time there...sometimes too much, right?:) What do you think of the new Timeline that is coming out? 

Yes, Facebook has yet another change that is, or will soon be taking place as well. They are calling it Timeline. This was being announced back in September, and some were able to sign up, and play around with it then. Since then there have been more who have been able to visit their Timeline, edit with it, play with it a bit, and so on. Once you opt into the new Timeline, your profile page is never going to be the same. This new Timeline reminds me of a diary. With it you will be able to dig back to the time of when you first started with facebook, see things you had noted and posted to everyone, and it attempts to use the data already inside of facebook sort of like a digital scrapbook. 

Once you start the Timeline you will have up to 7 days to play with it, edit it, change this, delete that, and so on. You can then click the button to publish it, or it will automatically publish within the 7 days for you. 

Your cover photo will stand out with this. It will draw attention as it will stretch across the page width of facebook. Your facebook profile photo will then become a smaller square. No new information is shared. Facebook is bringing back the old posts. It has been said that the privacy set with them old posts will still be there as well. If it is to be shared with friends only, it will be that way. The Timeline will try to determine which of your posts were the most read, liked, commented with and expand those for you. If you have a post that you want to bring up, and has not been expanded you will also be able to expand it as well. If there maybe are some posts you want no one else to see, you can make it for "your eyes only" as well. 


Now, how does everyone feel about this? MANY mixed emotions, and thoughts have been shared. There are some who are loving it, enjoying playing with it, and so on. There are others who have dealt with enough changes, and do not want to have another one. Also, they are not in favor of this change, and wish that there was the option to opt out of it too. My understanding is that everyone will eventually have this Timeline, that it will be added. If I read correctly it is to be coming out of beta on December 22, 2011...today:)


So, when visiting Facebook if you have not already had your offer it is coming for the Timeline. See what others have to say about it, and play with it yourself too. You will either like it, not like it, or it will grow on you like any other new change does. Sorry, I was not really impressed with it as it is just another page to me. Another confusion to deal with, and will be an adjustment again. Time will tell with this for me, and for many others as well. As one person did comment this was all the more reason they were going over to Google+.

Thanks for visiting LilacsNDreams! I wish you all well, and MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!! Take care, have fun, enjoy, and be safe everyone. See you when you stop by again. 

Merry Christmas Bloggers Website Visitors Holiday Shoppers

Merry Christmas Bloggers and Website Visitors! Glad to see you at LilacsNDreams, and hope ya'll have been having a great week so far. 

So, how is everyone doing with the Christmas preparations? Got the shopping done? Is the food all bought? If not having your friends, and loved ones in your home will you be traveling. If so, are you preparing for this as well.

I know, so many things to do, and so little time to do them. And, now, the rush will be on to get everything completed by the end of the week before places are closed to enjoy their Christmas as well. How many bought gifts this year? How many are treating those special to you with handmade gifts? Did you know there are a lot of handmade gifts, repurposed and upcycled gifts being given this year as well. Not only the economy, but others are seeing that they can make it more personable by doing so. Sometimes a little bit of this, with a little bit of that, and doing it this way is found to be much better than the store bought items too. 

For those who are still shopping, and maybe doing Christmas on another day....not the traditional one....you will still have time to shop, and to also get your items shipped to you as well. Not only supporting your local stores to find what you need, but also supporting the artisans of all kinds is a great thing to do too.

As we all know with this big Holiday things will be slowing down just a bit with our stores, our blogs, and websites as we ourselves also prepare for this joyous and meaningful holiday. I wanted to stop by, and wish you all well, and thank you again for visiting with LilacsNDreams! I wish you all well. Enjoy your Holidays. May they be merry, fun, happy, and filled with much enjoyment. Take care everyone, and MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU!! 

Repurposed Dressers for Home and Organizing

Repurposed Dressers for Home and Organizing. Remember that Everything Old can be New Again!

Hello, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams! As always glad to see you here. Besides selling online I do a lot of roaming of the internet looking at things, getting ideas, seeing what others are doing, and just LOVE some of the things I see, don't you?! For a very long time now I have been enjoying viewing how things are repurposed, and upcycled. So many things out there, so many things being done, so many creative people, and it is wonderful seeing how everything old becomes new again! 

For a couple of weeks now I have really enjoyed pictures being shared by many on their blogs, websites, pinterest, and so on. Repurposing dressers is sooo neat! Many things that can be done with them. Like anything else...don't throw it away because there is always a way to reimagine it, and find another use. I have seen dressers repurposed, and upcycled for not only in the bedrooms, but also for the kitchens, dining areas, bathrooms, entry ways, for outside with gardens, and so on. Some will take the drawers out from the dressers and use them as shelves on the floor and walls, wall mounts, under bed storage, and for many organizational things too. 

I have seen some dressers, and desks too repurposed into a bathroom vanity. Oh, so neat too! Some have been made into a desk, baby changing tables, planter boxes or containers for the garden, labeled basket storages, a kitchen island, a bench in the entry way, television consoles, and even a place to organize with the kitty litter box containers and supplies too. It's amazing what creative minds can do, and knowing that many of the pieces are from our homes, or things that maybe someone is throwing out too. Don't forget to check your thrift stores, and second hand stores for dressers to have for your re-dos. Sometimes with the condition of them you can get them pretty inexpensive. Then, depending on the condition and what you want done you do a little bit of sanding....and sometimes no sanding I have seen done too. Strip varnish, add some varnish, paint, add tile tops to them, maybe do some mod podge with some adorable paper, maps, materials, and you have something old that is new again. 

 Here is a dresser that was repurposed as an island, or a stand in the kitchen. Pretty neat huh? And, who would have guessed you could do that, right? This is from apartmenttherapy.com.

This one became a bathroom vanity, and is shown by justinetaylor.tumblr.com I have seen some that used the raised, or table top type sinks too. Hmmm.....love it!

Here is showing how you can use the top drawers on your walls for wall decor. I have seen some that use them as shelves for maybe books, and some drawers have been cut and attached to the walls that you could see the front of the drawers giving it a bit more character too. This picture is something that I found on pinterest.com that came from bhg.com

Here is yet another repurposing idea from MakinItHappen found on JunkMarketStyle.com Great way to organize things for the craft room, baby room, and any room in the home. If I remember correctly the top done on this was done with some tile to add to the decor of the dresser too.


There is so much more out there to be seen with the repurposing, and upcycling of dressers. When you can visit pinterest.com to see more, visit the places noted with the pictures, and you can even Google it for Repurpose Dressers to see more too. 

This is definitely something for me to consider to help with some of my organizing projects I have in mind....when the house is back into order again, and the contractors aren't coming in and out:) Hope ya'll enjoyed this, and thanks again for visiting. You are always welcome to share ideas with everyone here, make a comment, and of course....don't forget to say Hi too!:) Thanks for stopping by, and see you again soon.