One thing I have learned from creating sublimation products and designs is that there is so much to learn.

Yes, even after doing this gig for almost 5 years now, I have grown from a little vinyl shop to now offering sublimation on apparel, products, cups and more.

There is so much to learn and with the ever changing technology these days there is always learning and growing as a business to be had.

Having said that... I have been growing so much since my last post. Check out all the new items in my ETSY SHOP: LOVINTHEBLINGDESIGNS  you can find all of these in my ETSY SHOP. 

        

        

                 

It's been way too long since my last post. Things have been crazy. My Etsy Shop has been going great. Selling items and adding new items all the time.

It is now August so now is the time to get into gear on Fall holiday events. I have some in mind for November I just haven't paid registration for them yet.

Participating in events is not cheap. Even the small $30 - $45 event fees add up. Then you have to consider your stock!! hmmm do I have enough for all the events, what if I run out of stock before the event?... those are things to consider.

I have ordered more stock just in case and various items as well such as picture frames, koozies, mugs, cups, puzzles and things like that. Going to also be getting some key chains and flags in soon.

With the sublimation business it's hard to know just what to have at an event. I usually take a variety of my work and some already on hand (made) items. I try to do a few inspirational, funny quotes on items. Like my cutting boards I have cute sayings. Those usually sell well. Same for my beer mugs.

The other items I usually have to display only and it give me the opportunity to explain all the products I can make.

My husband is my best PR person. He loves to talk and usually knows most or not everything there is to know about the sublimation business and products. I am usually right there to answer any other questions or take orders.

He leaves the pricing and actually designing and technique up to me.

Our sublimation/shop business has been a journey for the last 5+ yrs. From starting our a fairly inexpensive clamshell heat press and cameo silhouette cutter to now several machines and a new heat press but my little silhouette cameo has done the job ever since we started out and it's still going strong. I see now that silhouette has come out with a new Silhouette Cameo 3... wow.. I think I still have the first one.

Regarding heat presses. I would highly, no, I wouldn't get anything but an adjustable heat press if you are starting out. It is so much better in the long run to spend the extra $500 or more on the regular non clamshell press. Also best to get a large size one, atleast 15x15 or larger.


Same goes for the sublimation printer. If you are willing to spend the money, get an Sawgrass 800. At Least a wide format printer that can be converted to sublimation ink.
I recommend the SG800 only because you do not have to mess with the ink. You will need to also purchase the bypass try to print larger format size paper.

See the difference in size. The smaller one is an Sawgrass 400. It is a great machine but can only print of to 8..5x11 and with a bypass tray, larger in length but not bigger than 8.5"

The SG800 is wider so can printer up to 13" x  21" (with a bypass tray). The bypass tray is an extra cost but well worth it especially if you are going to want to press larger items such as lunch totes, tote bags, and flags with full ink bleeds.

It's been some time since my last post. My vending event went very well, I made a lot of new contacts and I even had another event in December which was a little slow but ended up having a lot of order for customized mugs, and keychains. So it was a win win!

Also the best thing is I got my name out there and am ready for another year of events.

Been so busy in December and it has kind of slowed down in January but now picking back up again.

Not only is my shirt business doing well, I have began a new adventure in the direct selling market again with Nu Skin AP-24 Teeth Whitening Toothpaste. I found a friend who was selling it in OK and wanted to try it out so I thought I would just start selling it myself.

The best part is, it's totally free to join, no silly requirements or minimum orders to place and not only does the company, Nu Skin, offer the toothpaste but they offer a full oral health line of products as well as beautify ad products like wrinkle creams, masks and even hair growth/repair products.

The possibilities are endless with all the awesome products that I can market. I plan on placing my first order tonight for the toothpaste and may order some wrinkle cream or other products just so I can try them out first.
I am super excited about the toothpaste though. The main reason I wanted to start selling it.
I have been looking for an inexpensive way to whiten my teeth but also without the harsh chemicals and burning sensation other teeth whiteners usually give.

I am really excited to try AP-24 since it provides fluoride and also can be used on kids as young at 6. My son so needs his teeth whiter.




If this sounds awesome to you... you need a work from home job..... make money from your computer or phone.... Nu Skin is for you!  The best thing is there is no cost to you so you have nothing to loose!!!!

Contact me today to sign up and join my team. lovinthebling@hotmail.com

New listing on Etsy http://ift.tt/2euT6lq out the new design from out store and webite... http://ift.tt/1L7AmSx http://ift.tt/2euWahg

New listing on Etsy http://ift.tt/2eFUP4O New listing on Etsy http://ift.tt/2eFUP4O Check these new items out.

I have been wanting to try my hand at sublimated Key Fobs/wrist bands for some time now and finally have gotten the materials to try this out.

What you will need:

*Sublimation printer

*Heat Press

*100% Poly Lanyard webbing

I found mine on Amazon. I have found since I purchased, the vendor has raised the price slightly. So you may find it less expensive with a different vendor online. What you are looking for is 100% Poly heat printable webbing.

*You will also need lanyard key fob hardware.

I also found the hardware on Amazon from this same vendor. 

*Lastly, you will need a special pair of pliers to secure the hardware onto the lanyard.

You can use regular pliers you just to ensure you have some painters tape around the teeth of the pliers not to scratch the fob hardware

if you do not want to invest this much qty to your project, all of these items are found at your local Hobby Lobby or Michael's store. HOWEVER, it may be cost effective to just purchase in bulk.

With the lanyard and hardware I purchased, I can make at least 50 fobs

DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO MAKE KEY FOBS

You will want to print your design from your design program you have with your sublimation printer. I personally use Corel Draw as my design program. 

I made sure my design was a little over 1" wide and choose to make it 10" long (FOLDED OVER WOULD BE AROUND 2.5" ON EITHER SIDE)

Making the design a little over 1" wide ensure that your design will completely cover side to side of the lanyard. 

Your heat press should be set a 400 degrees for 40 seconds 

Pre-press the lanyard for 3 sec at 305 degrees

On a side table lay the design (design face up) and place the lanyard over the design, use heat press tape to make sure the lanyard stays in place

Place your sheet of heat protector paper over your heat press pad and place the lanyard with design on that, cover with another piece of heat protection paper

Heat press for 40 seconds 

When complete, remove the lanyard and remove the design paper. 

Repeat the steps for the other side of the lanyard.

There is a great video by Conde Video creating Key Fobs.

You can also search YouTube for other amazon key fob tutorials.

Here are my creations I plan on giving to my family.

The fobs that I will be selling will be posted on my website store soon! They will range from $7 on up depending the design detail and customization. 

These key fobs can be created with just the sublimated design like pictured or a decorated ribbon can be sewn or heat bonded in the middle over the sublimation. That decorated ribbon is made of grosgrain poly which can also be sublimated upon. 

The design options are really endless. 

If you do not have a sublimation printer... no problem. you can sew all the items and make your key fob. There are also videos on YouTube for non sewing and sewing key fob tutorials

I also plan on looking into bracelet hardware to make bracelets out of the lanyard as well. 

So, I found this adorable DIY candy jar on Pinterest! My second home, as my husband would call it. 

I thought this was so cute and thought I would make this myself. 

You will need the following materials

1 - Small pottery plant container

1 - Small pottery plant base

1 - Glass small fish bowl or small round vase (proportionate to our planter size)

Ribbon of your choice

1 - cabinet knob

Glue gun and stick

Black spray paint or acrylic paint and brush

Candy Corn candy or any candy of your choice

1.) Lay the pottery items on newspaper and get ready to start painting or if you are using spray paint take it in a well ventilated area and start painting the pottery and cabinet knob. 

provided by iheartnaptime.blogsopt.com

Let the paint dry completely. 

Now it's time to hot glue the bowl.

Turn the planter upside down

Set the glass bowl on top (open side up) and center. 

Remove the bowl and place a large amount of hot glue on the bottom of the painter as well as the bottom of the bowl and put the bowl back on the painter. 

Let dry!

While that is drying, take the planter dish and turn it upside down

hot glue the painted cabinet knob to the bottom of the planter dish making sure it is

centered and in the middle. 

Let dry!

Now its time for the candy..... I love me some candy corn and with autumn quickly approaching this cut candy dish will be a great feature in my dinning room or entry way. 

Add your choice of ribbon around the center right below the glass bowl. 

I did not secure the ribbon as I wish to change out the ribbon during the season. 

Here is my final piece. I did purchase the planter base for a larger planter so the lid is a little too big and next time I make, this will use a larger glass bowl.

The glass bowl I used was a small flower bowl from Dollar Tree. 

Planter, base, ribbon, knob and candy all from Walmart.

Below are some more pics of various other candy dishes using this same concept.

Day 7 with my new 365 Happy Planner and I am loving it. 

Ok... so have this planner for a few days now, and I already want to put more in it. I run a side business along with working a full time corporate job and have a busy home life with kids and errands and appointments, I can already tell I need to add more to my planner to have everything in one location. 

SOOOO... for those that want to purchase everything new! 365 Happy Planner has a wonderful hole punch just made for your Happy Planner. You can find the hole punch at any neighborhood craft store. Michael's still has a sale on their planner items and the hole punch is now 40% OFF.  The punch for the mid size planner is regularly $29.99

But, if you are the creative and thrifty type of gal like I am, you can easily adjust the pages you want to put in your planner and create the holes yourself. 

You just need the following items

 Scissors

Single regular hand held hole punch

Follow this great video to see how you can add your own items to your planner. 

You can also find fabulous FREE insert pages for your planner. There are lots of them online, be careful some say FREE but then they direct you to an Etsy store or some other store and are not absolutely free. I do not see why I would pay for one unless I just can't make it using word or excel. 

The one product that I may purchase this weekend is additional dividers. BUT am going to try to make these with card stock I have on hand. Will post my experience with this DIY idea in a later post. 

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The first thing I did with my planner was remove the month that have already passed. Those were June, July and Aug. This wasn't so bad as the planner has June 2016 - Dec 2017 in it. 

Then I began personalizing it, adding my name in areas and important dates.

Basically that is all I have done. Once I add my personalized inserts I will have much more to add. 

Here is a great site on how to use your planner and planner tips.

Here is another video on how to make some cute planner extras

Planner Pockets DIY

I plan on posting in the future my personalized inserts and how I made them :)