Welcome to eBay’s Price Gap! You have probably noticed that someone can have the exact same item as another and end up with two totally different ending prices. You think FOR SURE an item will make you all kinds of money, only to lose $5.00, break even or not receive even a single bid.

There are many possible reasons for this…

Ultimately, a penny auction is going to draw more bidders & more attention. Many times, when you can draw in a circle of bidders watching and competing for an item, you will have no problem getting a desirable ending price. I recently had an experience where I was liquidating end of season inventory to make room for current season items. I started the auctions at a penny, and a lot of them ended more than what they were listed for in my eBay store! Sweet!

More Preschool Crafts

Heart attack Valentine’s idea

Tissue paper heart sun catchers

Super simple Valentine’s crafts

Radiating heart Valentine card

Hand print valentine card

What You’ll Need to Make these Preschool Crafts

• Pink, Purple or Red Construction Paper
• Pink, Purple or Red Tissue Paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Paint
• Crayons

For more ideas on what to do with your littlest ones, check out these other preschool crafts and Valentines crafts!

For more Valentine’s Day fun, check out all of our Valentine’s Day activities!

So I understand SEO. I can write mean SEO copy. But beyond that, the technical analysis, jargon, etc., I’m just not into. I hear myself in the back of my head right now: “Do what you do well and hire someone else to do the other things.” Okay, okay, point taken.

I was asked by Shimon Sandler, SEO consultant and guru extraordinaire, to share some of the great info he has on his site with you guys. I’ve been approached by so-called SEO experts before, so I was leery. There are some pretty shady ways to get to the top of Google, or at least there used to be.

But Sandler’s on the up and up. His techniques are legit, and help search engines find you organically (the way Google intended it to be). He does what’s called an SEO Audit, which is an in-depth analysis of where you are in terms of keywords and findability, and then he makes recommendations on how you can improve your SEO.

Now, I’m not saying you have to hire an SEO consultant. If you have the budget for SEO Consulting, then do it. It’s well worth the money, because in this economic climate, findability is key. If someone searches for keywords that relate to what you do, you must be in those results. Otherwise you’ll just dry up and blow away, like so many other businesses.

It is possible, if you have the time and energy to learn, to teach yourself SEO tactics. Shimon’s blog is a great place to start. I subscribed to it and plan to catch up on my SEO homework.

Share your thoughts or questions about SEO with us. Do you understand it? Use it? Succeed with it?

And I’m just happy if I remember to buy the kids Valentine’s Day cards in time to pass out in class!

Hello Kitty Hello Kitty Cake Pops	Pillsbury Pops Pillsbury Easy Cookie Pops	Cupcake Pops Valentine Cupcake Pops	Chocolate Cheesecake Pops Bakerella’s Cheesecake Pops
Pink Cake Pops Pink Valentine Cake Pops	Chocolate Cookie Pops Dipped Chocolate Cookie Pops	Cookie Pops Assorted Cookie Pops	Stained Glass Cookie Pops Martha Stewart’s Cookie Pops

Check out more Valentine’s Day crafts and activities while you are here, too!

Olympic Luge Coloring Page	Ski Jump Coloring Page	Olympic Hockey Coloring Page
Ice Dancing Coloring Page	Curling Coloring Page	Figure Skating Coloring Page
Snowboarding Coloring Page	Downhill Skiing Coloring Page	Bobsled Coloring Page

You might also like these football coloring pages, hockey coloring pages, and more winter coloring pages!

Last summer I bought myself a Singer Futura sewing and embroidery machine – a splurge I had been waiting years to make. My old knitting needles haven’t seen the light of day since I got it – but it’s been so long since I’ve done any real sewing that I’m kinda out of practice. So I’ve been finding easy and fast projects to get myself back in the habit.

In the fall I made the prettiest aqua and red pincushion – and then ran out of regular fiberfill as I was stuffing it. So I made up the difference with cotton balls and kleenex – a huge mistake. Did you know that pins won’t go through cotton balls and kleenex? Neither did I.

Anyway, since it’s been too long since I’ve done a 10 Kick Ass Things post, here are 10 kick ass pincushions to make. Just don’t stuff them with cotton balls!

Cute Crochet Tomato Pincushion Pattern

Artsy Cut Flower Pincushion Pattern

Pretty Square Pincushion Pattern

Flower Pincushion Pattern

Martha's Garden Tomato Pincushion Pattern

Vintage Toy Truck Pincushion Pattern

Felted Petals Pincushion Pattern

Gorgeous Fruit Pincushion Pattern ($4)

Simple Wrist Pincushion Pattern

Mouse Pincushion Pattern

Be sure to also check me out at my kids crafts blog on CraftJr.com!

Shoebox	Paper Plates	Large Laundry Box	Cereal Box
Shoebox Valentine Mailboxes	Paper plate Valentine Mailboxes	Large Laundry Detergent Box Valentine Mailbox	Cereal Box Valentine Mailbox
Popsicle Sticks	Construction Paper	Paper Heart	Paper Bags
Popsicle Stick Valentine Box	Cute Hedgehog Construction Paper Valentine’s Day Mailbox	Paper Heart Valentine Baskets	Paper Bag Puppy Valentine Bag

Check out our Valentine’s Day coloring pages and Valentine’s Day printable mazes, too!

Back when I was very little, my grandmother had some shelves in her kitchen with some very kitschy figurines. They were cheap, kinda tacky, and I absolutely loved them. After she passed away, the figurines were so worthless that they were destined as 25¢ garage sale items. But I saved them!!

I only have a few things from my grandparents – but these little figurines are my very favorite thing from her home. Every time I look at them I feel like I am 5 years old, gazing up at them on her wall, and smelling pipe tobacco, fabric softener, and pot roast in the oven. I had two favorites – one I shattered many years ago (and I hunt for a replacement daily on Ebay!). The other one was this charming little zebra.

Lately I’ve been getting a little more obsessed with collecting vintage kitsch. Trying to find the broken figurine has not only become a daily fix, but it means I’m finding a lot more cute, cheap stuff that I can’t resist. Wait till you see the stuff I found at Goodwill over the weekend!

But at least it means I have plenty to blog about for a really long time! Either that or I might end up on Hoarders in a few years.

To process this photo, I used parts of the Pioneer Woman’s Old West Photoshop action, increasing the darkening of the edges, and lightening the warming effects.

The print on the paper in the photo was some leftover scrapbooking paper I had laying around. You can print the box template on the back of any printed/plain/colored paper to make your favor cones look however you want. They are super simple to assemble, but I do highly recommend scoring the folds before you start, because the bottom corner gets awfully tight. After that, just fold, glue the flap, and tie the hearts together on top with some ribbon.

Alternatively print it on blank paper and let the kids decorate it themselves!

Heart Favor Box / Cone	Heart Favor Box / Cone Template Print this GIF file on regular letter size paper.
	Heart Favor Box / Cone Printable PDF Print this PDF if you want to scale the favor cone to a different size.

You might also like our wedding coloring pages or the rest of our Valentine’s Day crafts or Valentine activities from across all the Jr. Network sites.

12 oz. White Wedding Bells Candy $6.99 Trendy and traditional candy makes great fillers for favors and candy dishes at showers weddings and celebrations! [Read more] Store: Joann.com Wedding Candy Stick Climbers: 12CT Box $57.60 Delicious hard candy sticks with decorative icing brides and grooms attached. Each Candy Climber is enclosed in a cellophane bag and tied-off with a nice ribbon.Unit Price ... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com Wedding Conversation Candy Hearts: 1LB Bag $9.50 Celebrate your love with sweet wedding candy hearts in all white!There are approximately 144 pieces per bag. Heart Dimensions (Inches): 1 x 1Phrases include: ""Tr... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com Silver Foil-Wrapped Jordan Almonds Candy: 14-Ounce Bag $19.90 Fresh and delicious Jordan Almonds wrapped with elegant silver foil!Inside each wrapper is a delicious white Jordan Almond candy.Bag contains 14 ounces of Silver Jordan Alm... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com White Jordan Almonds Candy: 5LB Bag $49.50 Gourmet white Jordan Almonds with a higher-quality California almond and a thinner candy shell than other brands.There are approximately 100 pieces per pound.Unit Price = $... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com White Sunbursts Candy Sunflower Seeds: 5LB Bag $29.50 These high-oleic sunflower seeds are wrapped in smooth cocoa, glazed in candy coating, and brought to you in a brilliant white color.Unit Price = $5.90/lb.Bag contains 5 po... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com Jordan Almonds - Select Color: 10LB Case $79.50 According to tradition, Jordan Almonds represent the combination of the bitter and sweet of marriage.There are approximately 110 pieces per pound.Select among 7 color choic... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com Candy Hearts Packets -Bulk: 400CT Case $86.40 Yummy candy hearts with romantic phrases printed on each one!Each packet includes about 15 hearts.Packet Dimensions- Width: 2.5 Inches Height: 4 InchesUnit Price = $0.15/pa... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com Bible Scripture Candy Tarts: 160CT Tub $19.50 Each piece of candy is individually wrapped in scripture. There are over 120 different uplifting, inspirational verses from the King James Version of the Bible. A tasty ass... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com Chocolate Stars Candy: 5LB Box $59.50 These stars shine brightly.... until you gobble them down your throat! Select among the following 5 colors of delicious chocolate stars:Gold, Silver, Red, Blue, or Assorted... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com Crazy Candy Hearts: 5LB Bag $19.50 Oooh how love can make you CRAZY! Celebrate crazy love with these yummy candy hearts in an assortment of bright colors.There are approximately 650 hearts per pound.Unit Pri... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com Crunchy Gummy Hearts Candy: 4.5-Pound Bag $24.75 Delicious gummy hearts coated with dainty candy seeds in an assortment of 6 colors and flavors! Color assortment includesPink, Blue, Yellow, Orange, Green, and Red.There ar... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com Cupid Corn Valentine Candy: 10LB Case $69.50 Mellocreme kernels are fun to nibble when Cupid makes his annual appearance! Smooth, creamy candy corn in Valentine attire!There are approximately 415 pieces per pound.Unit... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com Deluxe Valentine Candy Mix: 10LB Case $79.50 An amazing assortment of yummy romantic candy treats! This gourmet mix begins with Chocolate Dutch Mints and Red Raspberry Hearts. Stirred in next are milk chocolate hearts... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com Red Raspberry Hearts Valentines Candy: 10LB Case $69.50 Tender to the tooth, these full-flavored raspberry gelatine hearts are coated with sweet candy spheres! This European candy recipe has all the tenderness of Pectin combined... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com M&M`s Milk Chocolate Candy in Colors: 7-Ounce Bag $7.00 Classic M&M's candies in your choice of 21 popular colors: Yellow, Cream, Green, Dark Green, Teal, Aqua, Light Blue, Pink, Dark Pink, Maroon, Brown, Red, Orange, Gold, ... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com Flower Nougat Fluffs Taffy Candy: 3LB Bag $29.70 Light and fluffy gourmet nougat taffy candies with exquisite flower designs in elegant colors and fabulous flavors!There are approximately 65 pieces per pound.Unit Price = ... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com French Sea Shells Hard Candy: 5LB Bag $69.50 Delicious hard candy pieces in the shapes of sea shells. Perfect for decorating beach themed parties! Since these sweet mollusks are resistant to melting, they can even be ... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com Leone Mini Hard Candy Purple Violets Flowers: 1 Kilogram Bag $49.50 Delicate hard candy wafers molded into purple flower shapes!Each piece features a unique violet flavor.There are approximately 420 pieces per pound. Flower Width: 5/8 InchU... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com Purple Sugar Plums Jell Candy: 10LB Case $79.50 Candy plums! This intense, plum-flavored/plum-shaped, lightly sugar-sanded jell candy is a virtual vision! A salute to holiday nostalgia, they are plump with a chewy textur... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com Pearl White Mini Milk Chocolate Balls Candy: 5LB Bag $39.50 Delicate milk chocolate spheres coated in a thin candy shell of shimmery white, giving them the appearance of real pearls! From our new Designer Series of candy. These cand... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com Pink Milk Chocolate Hearts Candy: 5LB Box $59.50 Creamy solid milk chocolate hearts, wrapped in two-sided pink foil which eliminates the silver on back.There are approximately 55 pieces per pound. Heart Dimensions (Inches... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com Red Candy Hearts: 5LB Bag $19.50 Delicious little candy hearts in bright red.There are approximately 650 pieces per pound.Unit Price = $3.90/lb.Bag contains 5 pounds of Red Candy Hearts.Shipping Weight ~ 6... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com Pink Raspberry Milk Chocolate Balls Candy: 10LB Case $69.50 A CandyWarehouse.com EXCLUSIVE!Luscious candy spheres of raspberry flavored milk chocolate wrapped in bright pink metallic foils!There are approximately 60 pieces per pound... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com Lovers Mix Hard Candy: 4LB Bag $19.60 The ultimate candy mix for lovers everywhere! ....creme mint candy in pink rose wrappers, hot cinnamon candy in red lips wrappers, and strawberry creme candy in pink cupid ... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com Milk Chocolate Butterfly Candy: 35CT Tub $24.50 Introducing exquisitely detailed, artistically molded milk chocolate butterflies wrapped in colorful foils. The result? A mouthful of true gourmet flavor that will satisfy ... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com Neon Candy Stars: 15LB Case $39.75 Twinkle, twinkle little candy stars! Yummy hard candy sweet tart stars in bright neon colors.There are approximately 800 pieces per pound. Star Width: 1/2 InchUnit Price = ... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com Rock Candy Swizzle Sticks -Unwrapped: 72CT Box $39.60 Classic rock candy on a swizzle stick for easier handling. Perfect as coffee or cocktail drink stirrers! Select between White or Assorted colors.Stick Length: 5.5 Inches. T... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com Valentine Candy Hearts Lil` Lollies: 18CT Box $48.60 Bright red, pink, and white heart-shaped hard candy lollipops, each hand-decorated with sweet icing. Assortment includes the 3 heart designs shown.Unit Price = $2.70/pop.Bo... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com Valentine Candy Hearts Lollipals: 24CT Box $96.00 Delicious cherry heart-shaped lollipops adorned with cute Valentine decorative icing!Unit Price = $4.00/lollipop.Case contains 24 wrapped Valentine Heart Lollipops.Shipping... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com Valentine Cupid`s Candy Hearts Arrows: 12CT Box $19.80 Pierce your tastebuds with the sweet flavors of these Valentine Candy Hearts! Each arrow tube holds conversation candy hearts in an assortment pastel colors.Arrow Length: 1... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com Valentine Candy Bracelets and Heart Puzzle Packs: 12CT Box $24.00 These fun Valentine's Day gift packs include 3 candy bracelets and 1 heart-shaped candy puzzle. Intrigue your heart and mind.... and mouth.... with these curious candy trea... [Read more] Store: CandyWarehouse.com

If you have plans to earn a full time income on eBay, you’ll have to build up your inventory – and savings in order to maintain the volume of sales to get you to the next level.

Take a good look at what is working for you currently. For example, if you’ve been doing this part time for a while, one skill that you may already be excelling in, is selling gently used items from around your home. It could be gently used appliances, clothing, toys..etc.

Have you already developed a well tuned eye for what sells on eBay in the “gently used” department? If so, then expand on it! Use your skills to your advantage to build the inventory in your store to purchase some new hot products that are selling on eBay.

One way you can do this is by helping others. Take their gently used items off their hands and flip it for profits on eBay. You can offer them a set amount for each product or a percentage. Most times, people are just so happy to get things out of the house, and any amount is appreciative. Use your discretion, making sure you take into consideration listing fees and final value fees.

Help friends go through their kids piles of toys and books, writing down each one. Take a day to research them, and break out their items into different piles

Donate– Toys that may not be complete, broken or anything that may not be worth selling after you perform your research.

eBay – Can include complete sets of books, working toys in good condition, gently used clothing, games etc..products you are familiar with selling or anything that you’ve researched giving you a good return on your investment.

Craigslist– Utilize Craigslist for another alternate stream of income. Mostly, for delicate, big and/or heavy items that you really don’t want to risk shipping. The turn around time is usually pretty fast.

Hand-Me-Down – Items that will be donated to schools, family and/or friends.

You can go at your own speed. You can learn as you go.

Offer pick-up for your items or have a secure location where you can drop them off.

 This is just one way to boost your income with little investment.

Happy Selling!

I already told you how amazing Allison Maslan’s book, Blast Off, is but the thing that resonates with me is how she breaks down the goals into tiny manageable tasks. Literally. 5 minutes. Who can’t spend 5 minutes on something? (By the way, if you haven’t entered my giveaway to win her book, enter now because I’m picking a winner this afternoon)

The fact that my husband by talent is a project manager also helps. He helped me create a spreadsheet to keep me on target. So when I say:

“I want to get more fans to my Facebook page.”

He says,

“How many do you want each month? And how will you get them?”

Magic and unicorns is not the appropriate response to this question. Trust me. So we created this spreadsheet where I filled in numbers (ahem, arbitrary numbers) that I thought I could hit. I then go in at the end of the month and fill in actual numbers:

I’m also building plans for how to reach these numbers. Scheduling tweets about my Marketing EggSchool to get the word out. Inviting people to be fans of its page. To remember these tasks, I put them on my Outlook calendar. I hate that “ding” that says “you need to do something” but I’m pretty good about leaving it up until I do it.

I’m just not a numbers person, but I’m learning to be, since it helps me better plan my company’s future.

What about you? How do you stay organized when you’re working on your business? Share tips so we can use them too!

Be sure to check out all of our math worksheets and the rest of our color by number worksheets, too!

Printable Valentine Fraction Math Worksheet

Printable Valentine Math Grouping Worksheet

More Valentine’s Day Printables

Valentine Mad Libs

Valentine's Day Mazes

Printable Valentines for Boys

Over the last year I have created a lot of printable masks for different occasions – Halloween masks, animal masks, Chinese New Year and dragon masks, Greek masks, Thanksgiving masks and Mardi Gras masks. Here they all are in one place!

Animal Masks

These also all come as coloring pages – great for classroom crafts and parties

Dragon Masks	Cat Masks	Monkey Masks
Lion Masks	Bunny Masks	Bear Masks

Halloween Masks

Perfect for Halloween classroom parties and Halloween crafts

Monster Masks

Greek Masks

Great for theater and history lessons

Greek Masks

Chinese Masks

Great for history lessons and Chinese New Year

Chinese Masks

Masquerade Masks

Great for Mardi Gras

Masquerade Masks

Thanksgiving Masks

Great for American history lessons and Thanksgiving crafts

Thanksgiving Masks

Be sure to check out our hundreds of other printables for kids from all Woo! Jr. Network sites!

I recently started a new Momsational group on Flickr as a place to celebrate the extraordinary in the ordinary. What kinds of photos are in the group? Anything beautiful, artistic, or aesthetic – but the subject has to be things from our everyday lives as parents.

I was thrilled that the photographically brilliant Amiee Giese joined up – you may know her as Greeblemonkey. I just had to feature this incredible portrait she added to the group that was “Explored” last summer. LOVELY! I love the blurry bokeh effect on the grass in the foreground, the short blue fingernails, the soft lighting, and the tiny smiles on the children’s faces that make me want to go “awwwww!!!”

I’d love to feature more photos from more people – please feel free to email me or add them on Flickr to our Momsational group!

These crafts and printables would make perfect Pirate party decorations or party activities for the kids!

Check out all of our party craft ideas while you are here!

Pirate Dolls Craft Kit (makes 12) $8.00 Includes paper cups, wood ball head, wiggly eyes, assorted cords and ribbons, assorted felt pieces and fun fur. 3"" tall. S&S [Read more] Store: S&S Worldwide Craft Kit Foam Pirate Hat 12 pc $9.99 Craft Kit Foam Pirate Hat 12 pc , Party Toys. Size: Foam Pirate Hat Craft Kit Adjust to Size with VELCRO Brand Tabs, 13 inch., Assorted Colors and Styles, No Color or Style... [Read more] Store: PrettyPartyPlace.com Pirate Hats Craft Kit (makes 12) $8.23 Includes black printed construction paper hat, white paper swords, crayons and instructions. [Read more] Store: S&S Worldwide Pirate Mask Craft Kit (makes 12) $6.60 Have a Pirate Party! Kids just add elastic and assorted foam pieces like moustache, eye patch, gold earrings and red bandanna to create a fun foam pirate mask! All they nee... [Read more] Store: S&S Worldwide Velvet Pirate Frame Craft Kit (makes 12) $11.49 Exciting scene jumps off the frame! 8"" x 10"", approx. 6-1/2"" x 5-1/2"" photo space. Includes frames and markers. S&S [Read more] Store: S&S Worldwide Color Explosion Black Pirate Activity Kit $12.99 Crayola Color Explosion Black Pirate Activity Kit 6 Color Explosion Black Medium Tip Markers 3 Magic Sparkle Wands (Ruby, Crystal and Gold) Idea Starters and Design Tips Re... [Read more] Store: Crayola.com 8''x10'' My First Color By Number Kit-Pirates $5.99 Finished size: 8''x10''Includes: 2 10''x8'' pre-printed boards ten colored pencils & a pencil sharpenerRecommended for children ages 4 and upThese pencil by number kits... [Read more] Store: Joann.com Perler Bucket Activity Kit-Playful Pirates $14.99 Contains 8500 fuse beads three fun shaped peg boards ironing paper & instructions for a houseful of Playful Pirates ornamentsAll beads are made of LDPE: a food-grade pl... [Read more] Store: Joann.com DARICE 3-D Foam Kit-Pirate Ship $8.99 DARICE-Foamies 3-D Foam Kit: Pirate Ship. These 3-D kits are as easy and they are fun! Use the finished Ship as a room decoration; center piece for a party or a gift. This ... [Read more] Store: Kmart Pirate -Paint Kits $14.69 Painting Kits-PirateLow Monthly Payment. Click here to see what your monthly payment would be with your Sears card. [Read more] Store: Kmart Pirate Party Deluxe Party Kit $39.99 Make your little swashbucklers bash a hit with this kit of musthave party loot, Includes eight 9 dinner plates 7 dessert plates 9oz. paper cups and cutlery sets along with ... [Read more] Store: Target Pirates of the Caribbean Party Favor Kit $3.29 The Pirates of the Caribbean Party Favor Kit for one guest includes: (1) Plastic Treat Bag, (1) Paper Pirate Hat, (1) Pirate Eye Patch, (1) Telescope (1) Temporary Tattoo S... [Read more] Store: BuyCostumes.com

PS Don’t forget to enter to win Allison Maslan’s book, Blast Off!

For this post, I’m supposed to compare my industry to my favorite show. Hands down, that’s Ugly Betty. If you haven’t seen it, it’s about a young woman who is trying to climb her way up the ladder at a fashion magazine. She’s had braces for about 4 years and has pretty bad fashion sense, despite working in fashion.

If you’ve followed the show over the years, you don’t notice many things changing from episode to episode. Like in marketing. It’s hard to see the changes from the micro picture. We’re still sending out press releases and emails with the goal of getting the attention of consumers and media.

But if you look at the larger picture, Betty is slowly evolving. She’s still got the braces, yes, but her clothes are slightly better (still wearing colored socks with heels) and her hair is styled. She has graduated from assistant to assistant editor. Look back over marketing in the past 5 or 10 years, and you see the huge leaps and bounds we’ve had. Social media, for one. Who would have thought we’d be communicating in 140 characters or less with potential customers and business partners?

Ugly Betty is full of interesting characters. There’s her sister, Hilda, who has big dreams and aspirations, but still manages to make mistakes. Or Marc and Amanda, Betty’s so-called friends who live to tease her. Everyone has a story that we love. In marketing, the big players tell their own stories. Take Chris Brogan, the master of the ceremony, without whom we’d be lost in marketing. Or Guy Kawasaki, who gives us an edge when it comes to marketing. There are dozens of others in this sitcom we call Marketing 2.0.

The best part of Ugly Betty is the storyline. From sex changes to jail time, viewers are kept on their toes each week. In marketing, it’s exciting to see what’s just around the corner (and there’s always something).

What about you? What’s your marketing story? What character do you play? For me, I think I’m the lovable marketing geek, ready to spout knowledge on passersby. I’m also the character most likely to trip over a blade of grass. Good for the laugh factor.

It wasn’t until I purchased these from Anthropologie that I realized for the very first time that measuring cups can bring a woman to tears.

Seriously – even this gorgeous photo doesn’t do these things the justice they deserve. I realize $35 is a bit steep for measuring cups. But it is a teensy-tiny price to pay for the decadent feeling I get when I use them every morning. It is a drop in the bucket compared to the sheer joy I feel when I look at the delicate hand painted details. These measuring cups make me want to cook all day long. They make me want to completely remodel my kitchen so that I can feature them prominently to family and friends (ok, I admit I wanted a kitchen remodel before I got these). But they do make me feel like my existing kitchen is nicer than it really is (as long as I am looking at them and not my 30 year old cabinets!).

But for real – this is my absolute favorite indulgent purchase I have made in many, many months. And for $35, it only barely makes it into the ‘indulgent’ category.

Find the Izmir Measuring Cups on Anthropologie

I once wrote about how I used to get SAD – Seasonal Affective Disorder. I’m kind of puzzled now as to why I wrote “used to” in that post, because there are some ok winters and some bad winters – but it happens every winter. I guess this year it isn’t so bad – but this is the worst time of year for it. So I decided to go through my summer photos today to add a shot to The Photoblog in the hopes of it taking my mind off of this.

This photo was a little tricky to play with, because I found the overexposed white area on my son’s neck to be a little distracting. But any attempts at toning it down looked like I colored on the photo with a crayon. So I ended up playing with the levels a tiny bit and brightening up the rest of the shot to deemphasize it. I lowered the white point in the levels so that it became at least less white than my screen. I also put a soft focus on the image, but removed it in that area because the glow was only intensifying the problem. It’s not perfect, but at least you can now see the three absolute best parts of the shot:

The drip of water on his nose

The laughing girl licking up the sprinkler water from her fingers – this was purely accidental bokeh that I swooned over when I discovered it hours later!

The sprinkler spray in front of the hair and shirt – I had to dodge those out a bit more to really make them show through

One of my goals this year is to get more photographs of my kids doing their thing – candid shots when they don’t know I am looking. While I love their goofy grins and prima donna poses – it’s photos like this that really let me hold onto the moments in time that will be gone too soon.

My kids have their own work area, and my littlest daughter is especially antsy to get crafting again. She loves making presents for her teachers, friends, papa and grandma – and me! Once I show her these links she will be busy for hours.

Related Pages: Valentine Mad Libs, Valentine Treat Pops, Valentine Mazes, Printable Valentine Treat Bags

Valentine Crafts for Kids to Give as Presents

Make Realistic Paper Roses via DollarStoreCrafts	Make Crepe Paper Roses	Make Super Easy Paper Roses	Make Origami Roses
Make Paper Heart Bookmarks	Make Ribbon Heart Bookmarks	Make Doily Bookmarks	Make Preschool Bookmark Valentines
Make a Heart Scarf from Recycled Sweaters	Make a Heart Photo Frame (Scroll)	Make a Heart Bouquet Photo Holder	Make a Beaded Heart Necklace

Be sure to check out our dedicated Valentine’s Day Activities page for the whole Woo! Jr. Network.

Printable Dragon Paper Craft

How to Make this Paper Dragon

This craft is so easy that a toddler can do it – they aren’t going to color with fancy-schmancy colored pencils or stay within the lines of course… But they can certainly handle it.

Chinese Dragon Paper Puppet

You will need an additional piece of construction paper to create the accordion dragon body, plus wooden kebab skewers to make it into a ‘puppet’, like this.

Printable Dragon Paper Craft

Then simply click the above image to print out the dragon, color, and fold and glue as shown!

More Dragon Coloring Pages

Chinese Dragon Coloring Pages

Cartoon Dragon Coloring Pages

Celtic Dragon Coloring Pages

More Chinese New Year Printables

Printable Dragon Masks

Chinese Zodiac Coloring Pages

Printable Chinese Masks