New with Karlyn 4-29

Posted by karlyn on Apr 29, 2013 in From My Other Sites, Internet | 0 comments

There’s always something new (online) with me each week, but taking the time to get on here and update is my challenge. This week I was busy pulling together a new paper.li page, updating a squidoo page I’d totally forgotten I had, and creating a very personal blog article that included photos and results of my health journey over the last 17 months. Let me show you:

This post, at FromKarlyn.com, was the result of a personal lifestyle change and transformation I experienced over the last – almost year and a half. The changes I made were “drastic” i think some may say, but to me – they were necessary, important and could even have saved my life. I go into great detail of what changes I made and how they affected me, over the last few years. I include a before and after photo too. Writing this post was therapeutic too, as it made me go back and examine some things I hadn’t recalled in some time. Showing and sharing my “before” photo was hard though. The photo still makes me sad, but at the same time, I’m thankful I finally work up from the unhealthy funk I was in for way too long!

I’m a total newb to Paper.li. When I checked out the site for the first time this week; I was intrigued with it’s purpose. The template allows you to create your own online newspaper. Fill it with content from your own sources, a friends, favorite places online, etc. The site pulls content from the URL’s you feed it, including an image. You have control over how you want it displayed and the frequency of your newspaper’s updates. Visitors can subscribe to stay updated with the new content displayed each day, weekly, or whatever. One of the most impressive things I noted right away was now seriously easy the system is to use. There are no complicated controls the newbie will get lost in. Use the handy + Paper.li shortcut for your browser and pin content effortlessly in seconds while you browse the www.

Silly me, but I’d attempted this Squidoo a few years ago and then got side-tracked. So; I took the opportunity this week to spend some quality time with it. My main Squidoo is about Karlyns across the web. The name itself is not too common as you may have guessed, so I shared some info about the different Karlyns I’ve met online since 2004, “Karlyn” products that are featured online, and then of course own sites that feature the name. There’s a poll there and some other fun stuff too. Squidoo’s have been around for a while now. If you are not familiar with the site, it’s a handy tool for people who want to share all kinds of ideas. You can create pages, called “Lenses”, about practically any topic under the sun. There are a lot of layout configurations, addons and widgets you can include along with your basic topic title and description, but it’s not overwhelming. It’s totally free and allows the user a good, quality way to get there content online for all to view.

I do work full time in retail by the way, but when I get home from work, I get busy with my “fun work”, which is my websites, my blogging, my freelance advertising and design work, etc.. I love it. So each week, I continue to update my other websites.. .com’s I’ve had since 2000. The following sites all have some worthwhile updates of their own that I hope you’ll take a moment to check out as well. They may not be featured like my top-three above, but they are nonetheless important to me. They are all my babies.. lol.

New at YeahMom.com – And just in time for the hot summer sun (at least it’s hot out here in So. Cal already!)
Sun Safety For Kids: 4 Ways To Protect Your Kids From The Sun

New at Wahmiam.com – Wahm (work at home Mom) info and resources updated usually twice weekly. This most recent one being about how moms can make money helping other moms.

New at LivePeaceandPassion.com – Are you new to Feng Shui? It was the topic of my last post at LPP (Live Peace and Passion). Feng Shui is an art form and can help promote peace in the home. At LPP this week, you can Learn to Feng Shui

New at WiseNaturally.com – Cholesterol is a topic I bring up at WiseNaturally.com maybe more frequently than other topics.. can you blame me? It seems everyone is battling high cholesterol, but there are so many natural ways to help conquer it which I’ve posted in the past. In one of this week’s articles, I posted what to expect from a life with high cholesterol.

New at WahmBuds.com – I had some fun creating wahm graphics in the past and plan to create more soon, so I was revisiting this topic on a recently post at WahmBuds.com. If you are looing for ways to share your pride in being a work at home mom, check out my newest article at wahm buds titled Work at home? Celebrate your wahm pride.

New at MomsRewards.com Rewards Blog – And just today, I updated my oldest site (established in 2000) with some fresh coupons that mom can use on her next grocery shopping trip. You can see what’s posted there if you follow this link to Fresh coupons for 4-29.

As always, thank you for visiting, reading, commenting, sharing! I appreciate you!

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Sell Your Designs and Crafts! Turning Hobby into Money

Posted by karlyn on Apr 21, 2013 in Graphic Design, marketing, Some How To's | 0 comments

If you enjoy creating and you constantly hear people telling you that you should sell your creations, it may be time to voyage into the world of selling your crafts for money. Like all things, entering the world of selling crafts should be carefully planned out. There are many websites and venues where you can sell your crafts both online and off.

Online venues are a great way to reach customers all over the world. Popular websites like Etsy, Artfire and eBay are great tools that help to reach your targeted customers. Before making the plunge into selling your crafts, be sure to take the time and do some research beforehand. Keep the following questions in mind as you consider the prospect of selling your creations:

* Do I have a design or product that people would want to buy? This is the most important question you have to ask yourself. If there is no target market for your products, you will have a hard time selling your creations and not because your items are not nice, but they may not be in demand.

* Who is my potential target market? This is a continuation of the question above because you need to know who to advertise to and how to successfully draw your target market to your items. It would be a waste of time trying to sell baby clothes, for example, to those who do not have children.

* What will I charge for my creations? Pricing is an important strategy. All too often, people undercharge for their creations forgetting to take into consideration the time and materials that go into a product. Make sure you account for both the cost of the materials as well as the time and effort you put forth to create your goods. Also be sure not to overcharge. You may find that your items do not sell because they are over priced.

* Where will I sell my design or crafting items? Online websites are plentiful when it comes to selling handmade goods. There are websites such as Etsy and Artfire who only allow the sales of handmade goods, along with supplies. EBay is also another popular venue to sell handmade goods. Be aware though, that you will be competing with the other goods that are not handmade and may be cheaper. A good description of the item and its benefits is always a good idea.

If you choose to sell locally, try finding a store that will sell your items on consignment or sign up to exhibit at a local craft show. Both will be good for exposure. If you choose to go the consignment route, be sure to get all terms in writing. Otherwise you run the risk of having your items kept and not paid for.

It is very possible in today’s day and age to make some spending money selling your crafts. Be sure to do your research and follow through your plan by keeping the above questions in mind. Once you have your plan in mind, go ahead and take the plunge. But remember, like anything else, you will get in return what you put forth so make it worth your while.

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Do You Need An Expensive Camera To Get Started With Photography?

Posted by karlyn on Apr 12, 2013 in Photography | 0 comments

More and more people are taking up photography as a hobby, thanks to advancing technology that means it’s easier to get better shots than ever before. It’s clear to see why photography has such a pull; it’s an art form in itself and yet does not require much talent to produce something that can still be considered special. If you want to take this a little more seriously, though, you may be wondering if you need to buy expensive equipment to produce good photographs. The short answer is, no. But there’s a longer answer too…

The Drawbacks of Expensive Equipment

While DSLR cameras provide excellent shots, they can be very pricey. Not only that, for the inexperienced photographer, using a DSLR can be confusing with the many available settings and customizations. As a complete newbie, investing in an expensive DSLR right away may not be the best idea.

In fact, you might even find that shots that would come out fine on a cheap camera can be completely ruined if you mess with the settings the wrong way on a DSLR! Of course, it’s all part of the learning process, but for a complete beginner the sheer range of settings can be very intimidating, and even tedious to consider with every different situation.

It’s also worth considering that if you decide that photography isn’t your hobby of choice after all, a DSLR camera is a very expensive gadget if you never use it!

So What’s the Best Way to Get Started?

The best way to get started in photography is to first get a sense of what it’s about. To do this, you just need to learn how to handle a regular camera first and experiment with basic settings. An inexpensive point and shoot should suffice. Many people nowadays learn the basics on the smartphones! Even without a technically great camera, it’s still possible to learn a lot about what makes good photography.

Start by carrying your point and shoot (or smartphone) with you everywhere, and taking the time to practice your skills whenever you see something even just slightly interesting. Start with the basic settings and think more about the composition of the image. If you have time, make subtle changes to the settings and see what difference it makes.

Photography is about developing the eye first, even before you understand what all the settings on a DSLR camera even means. For this, a cheap camera will work just as well as an expensive one. That’s not to say you should never consider a DSLR camera, however, and it’ll be a fantastic investment once you’re ready. But, for now, just get started with what you have, or what you can easily get your hands on!

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