Pumpkin Spice Latte

I thought I would change it up and bit and for the next couple of weeks all my posts will be about Fall and all the goodness that comes with it. That said, I found this great recipe for a Pumpkin Spice Latte that sounds yummy. I can't wait to try it and I have the canned pumpkin in my pantry. Check out The Kitchen's blog HERE. Enjoy!

A New Look

I just updated this blog look today. Still not sure I like it. It is cleaner, but I was really wanting a 3 column vs. 2 and blogger doesn't have a template for that yet. The other problem I'm having is that I created the header on my desktop computer which has a large wide screen and now I'm posting on my little net book. Header is so large that you can't even read it but all the other text is okay. So, now what to do. Do I squeeze it back to the standard size or leave it stretched so that it looks good on a wide screen? I guess I'll live with it for a few days and see how it feels.

I've been marketing this blog and my danasjewelrydesign blog like crazy the past couple of days along with my facebook fan page. Hopefully it will pay off with more fans and higher sales in the long run on my web sites. More exposure has to help. So, I've been using Entrecard.com and leaving my card on lots of blogs. I'll let you know next week if readership has increased due to that exposure. At the top right you can see other bloggers who use Entrecard. Visit their site and let them know how you like it.

I'm always looking for great tutorials and ideas to post her on my craft blog, so if you have a crafty idea and have written instructions and want to share them, I would love to post them.

To get you in the creative or maybe holiday shopping mood, here are a few wonderful artists from 1000 Markets.

Stained Glass Star - LA Glass

Lotus Teapot - New Moon Studio

Clutch - Briana E

Wire and Gemstone Necklace

Fabric ACEO - Sojourn Quilts

Embroidery Cuff - Waterrose Handcrafted

Make A Booklet

I posted about my origami booklets a while back, but I found this post on Art Mind on how to make a really little booklet out of scrap paper. Re-use those bits and pieces of paper from your computer printer or scrapbooking. I think her idea of creating them with your business card on top and then giving them as gifts is a great idea and wonderful marketing.

So, check out Art Mind's blog HERE and while you are there look up some of their other cool tutorials.

I Love Boxes

Okay, I just love containers of any kind. If it will hold something else then I usually want to make it or buy it. With that in mind, I have started making paper origami boxes for my jewelry and now I ran across some boxes that you can fold a little easier. There is a puffy box, take out box and a pyramid box. I love the puffy box and got the idea to put my logo on the paper prior to printing then use it for jewelry purchases. So today, I'm including the template below that I found on Paper and More's web site HERE.

Just save the picture image to your computer, resize or use as is.

Autumn Gift Tag

Well now that Fall is officially here, it is time to start thinking about the holidays. I know it seems early, but for crafters this is probably late. Here is a great video tutorial on how to make this tree gift tag. Lots of possibilities here with an Autumn theme or even a Winter theme. I can certainly see this made into a snowflake for holiday gift giving. But start now so you have time to make several. This video is by Patricia Zapata over at A Little Hut blog.

DIY Wooden Wax Seal

I've always wanted a wax seal for sending special letters or cards, but have never found a seal that I really liked. They were all so similar and blah, but now Rage Haus has written instructions for us to create our own seal out of a wooden dowel. Brilliant!! I already know I have all the supplies except for the sealing wax, but I'm sure I can find that at a craft store.

Head on over to Rage Haus for the complete instructions. I must warn you that you will probably want to make one with something other than your initials.

Tea Soap

Cucumbersome has a great idea on how to use tea in a new way. She created soap and then wrapped the soap to look like a tea bag.

I love tea and the aroma of tea and can just imagine that Ginger Peach tea or Red Zinger as a soap and how wonderful it would smell in the shower or bath. Her directions are simple enough for anyone and she even includes instructions on how to wrap the bars and the tea tag.

I think these would make wonderful holiday gifts and would make a great addition to a gift basket.