So I downloaded a SVG file… now what?!

This tutorial shows you how to convert an SVG file to one that you can use with your Silhouette Cameo. I will be directing you to another blog, as well as showing you screenshots of the process on here.

{FiRST}

Search Pinterest for “free SVG”

Click one that you like, and download it

{SECOND}

Before we go any further, locate your “Downloads” folder. ((To access mine, I simply click the folder on the task bar. On the left side menu, I find the Downloads folder and then find the SVG file. )) Find your SVG file, and right click it. Then click “Extract all”.

When the dialog opens, click extract.

Note: This particular design that I downloaded requires a password. It is located on the page where you originally downloaded the SVG from. Just enter it, and you are all set.

Now in your downloads folder, there is a zipped file and an unzipped file. Go ahead and delete the zipped file. You don’t need it.

Now we are going to move the SVG file for easier access. Click and drag it to the desktop for now. 

You can move the file to a different location later.

{THiRD}

Google “how to open svg in silhouette studio” and click the first link.

Follow the directions on THIS blog. She gives a step by step tutorial on how to download the program you need to convert the file.

Basically, here are the steps she describes:

Download and Open Inkscape. (I do not have screen shots of how to download the program… it is pretty self- explanatory.)

Once the program is open, click  “File > Open” to locate your SVG that you just downloaded. It should be easy to locate right on the desktop.

Then click “File> SAVE AS”

And choose “Desktop Cutting Plotter” from the drop down menu and click save.

A box will pop up, and you want to choose the box that says “use ROBO- master type of spline output” and click okay.

Then you can exit Inkscape. (It might ask you to resave, but I just click exit without saving again.)

{FOURTH}

Open your Studio software library and also the SVG file on your desktop. Click and drag the file with the DXF extension into your library, and you are finished! Now you will be able to cut as usual.

{Product Review} Venus(R) Embrace Sensitive

An acquaintance of mine told me about a site called Influenster, and invited me to join. It is pretty cool! My first product that I received to try out and review was the Gillette Venus Embrace Sensitive razor. (It was complimentary for testing purposes.)

Ever since I first began shaving, I would always nick my legs reallllly bad. It was soon discovered that I couldn't shave with a cheap-o three blade razor. I had to use a 5 blade. I've tried a couple different brands (both razors for ladies and gents) and Venus is by far the best. I love the strip of aloe, it really makes my legs feel that much smoother.

My legs also itch like crazy starting a day or so after shaving. It's the worst! I think that the Embrace Sensitive helped with that a little as well.

Another thing I like specifically about the Embrace is that I did not get bumps under my arms after using it!

I recommend this product to anyone, especially those with sensitive skin!

PS: I used this product with Pure Romance's Coochy shaving cream on my under arms and my legs. I prefer Coochy over any shaving cream I have used.

Here are some pictures of the Venus Embrace Sensitive:

^ The gel handle allows you to have a great no slip grip while in the shower

^ Comes with two blades!

^ I can only use 5 blade razors on my skin.

Comes with a suction holder which also works well in the shower!

Canvas Art

Today's post is how to make canvas art! It's easy, really. Find a canvas, any size, in your craft supplies. Choose 2 or 3 or more colors of paint, and completely cover the canvas. Let it dry for awhile. I let mine dry in the window overnight, but a few hours should work too. Then choose a word or saying. Using stickers, arrange them on your canvas. Then cover it with a solid color. I used black. Let it dry again. Once dry, peel your stickers off and you have beautiful canvas art!

I used tempura paint because that's what I had. I'm sure you can use anything. Also, I used two different kinds of stickers. The foam ones stuck to the canvas when I peeled them, but whatever :)

Chocolate Muffins

This recipe in this post came from HERE. She calls them "No Egg, No Oil Bisquick Muffins".

One morning I was pretty hungry and I wanted muffins for breakfast. We were out of Jiffy mix  so I couldn't have blueberry muffins :( Instead, I searched Pinterest for chocolate chip muffins, and came up with these!

The recipe is delicious. Everything that went wrong was kinda my fault or ... I blame the oven! (Recently we discovered that when it is set to 450, the real temp is actually well over 550!!!!!) I didn't know that at the time, so my cooking temperature and time was all messed up.

I poured the batter in the cups almost to the brim! I know you aren't supposed to because it expands... but I was thinking that if they overflowed, they would be like those super big muffin top muffins that you buy in stores. I was right, the form was what I was going for. Unfortunately, the underside of the muffin top burned because it was directly touching the pan (which was heated to over 500!) Alsooo, I forgot to mix the chocolate chips IN the batter before I poured it into the cups. So, I added them on top! When they finished, they looked pretty, but the chips burned :(

Nevertheless, the INSIDES turned out delicious! And I'm sure they would have been tasty all around if everything went smoothly :)

Recipe/ Directions: (Straight from Little Pieces of Lovely)

Ingredients:

2 ¼ cups Bisquick

1 ¾ cups milk

1 box chocolate pudding (5.9 oz.)

½ cup granulated sugar

¾ cup peanut butter

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

OR

½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and ½ cup peanut butter chips

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.

Mix all ingredients together except chocolate chips until well blended.  Batter should be thick.

Stir in chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups or liners.

Bake for 12-18 minutes at 450 degrees.

Homemade Tortillas

Recipe:
3C flour
1TSP salt
1/3C oil
1C water

Mix all the ingredients together

Then divide into balls, about 1 inch in diameter

Then use a rolling pin to roll out each ball

Then put each tortilla on a pan using medium heat

You will know when each side is done because the top starts bubbling, and the bottom starts to get brown spots. Then flip it.

TA DA, tortillas :) I got fancy, and added some cinnamon sugar to the last few balls. When they finished cooking, I wrapped up some cream cheese and apple slices. YUM.

Mom2Mom Sale Tips

Mom2Mom Sale Tips {Sellers and Shoppers}

I've helped my mom set up and sell at several of these this past fall, so I have a lot of good tips for both sellers and shoppers. I will add more pictures to this post as soon as we do our next sale :) But for now, I hope this is useful!

In case you don’t know what a Mom2Mom sale is, let me explain. Usually an organization (such as a school PTO, etc.) organizes a sale to raise some money. They do this by renting tables to moms in the community to sell their stuff. The organization may have other money making options at the sale, such as a bake sale.

Sellers rent tables and set up their stuff, like clothes, toys, books, games, baby gear, and maternity clothes… virtually anything related to raising kids! Usually there is a big item room, where larger items such as strollers, outdoor toys, large baby gear, etc. are sold. Prices on tables vary anywhere between $10- $20 each, depending on size. Large items are usually charged $1 each to reserve space in the large item room.

Sellers are in charge of their own tables, making change, and all that fun stuff! There is event staff in charge of the large item room, so you don’t have to worry about that during the sale. The way the big item room works is you will get a sheet where you will list all your items (name, description) and the price you want for it, and the lowest you will take for it. The staff will then organize the room, and keep track of which item belongs to whom, and how much money it sold for. At the end of the sale… either you sold your items and get your money in an envelope, or you get to take your unsold items home with you.

So in a nutshell, that is a Mom2Mom sale!

Now let’s move on to tips for SHOPPERS.

- Bring a reusable shopping bag, or two, or three. It’s always nice to have your own bags as some sellers do not provide them. On the other hand, it is nice to shove all your purchases into one bag rather than hauling along a million crinkly shopping bags!

- If possible, leave the kids at home. 99% of the time, Mom2Mom sales are very cramped. It is hard maneuvering a stroller in and out of people, and they take up space when someone is trying to look at a table. More often than not, you won’t be able to try clothes or shoes on your child then and there. Lastly, it’s nice to be able to focus your attention on your shopping and not your child for a few hours!

- Shop with a mission. Bring a list of what you are going to look for, and try to stick to it. If you don’t you WILL end up spending more than you intended to, or buying things you don’t really need. The amount of stuff at Mom2Mom sales can be overwhelming!

- Make offers. During the last hour of the sale, many sellers just want their items gone and are willing to lower their prices! Don’t be afraid to make an offer.

- Shop with a friend. Talk to each other about what you are going to look for, and you will get through more tables a lot faster! Have cell phones on you so that if you need to call your friend over to a table for a potential sale, you can do so.

Now let’s move on to a lot of tips for SELLERS. I divided the tips into three categories: Pre Sale, During the Sale, and Post Sale.

PRE SALE TIPS:

- Do your research and find local sales. The site we use is Mom2MomList. It lists many of the sales in southeastern Michigan.

- We like to sell at the larger sales. Usually, sales with 100+ tables attract more buyers, and you have a better chance of selling your things. Also, keep an eye on the area of town that the sale is located. In a wealthier part of town, shoppers will be more likely to buy at your asking price as opposed to shopping for dirt cheap items.

- Gather up EVERYTHING you want to sell, such as clothes, toys, books, large items, etc.

- Split clothes up by gender, size, and season. For us, we had boy clothes and girl clothes in sizes NB to teens! So we had girls 2T and boy’s 2T pile for both summer AND winter. We did this by using Rubbermaid tubs for each pile.

- Make sure everything is in good condition. Clothes should be free of stains, rips and tears, and missing buttons and broken zippers. Toys should be in working condition and not be missing pieces, etc.

- Next, work on pricing your items. We made a general pricing chart (which you can see below) and tried to stick to it. Buyers will often make bargains with you, so it is up to you if you want to bargain with them. (You WILL sell more if you do!)

 

- A price tagging gun works really well for tagging each thing individually. We used this to tag all of our clothes. For things you can’t tag, you can write on masking tape or a sticker and that works just as well. (One tip if you do that: Write the item NAME on the tape too, just in case someone tried to swap price tags!)

- Do some research for fair pricing. Look on Amazon to see how much your item is in NEW condition, and price it accordingly. You can also look on Craigslist for a general idea of what to price toys and baby gear at.

- Look and see how much stuff you have and that will help you determine how much table and rack space you need to rent at a sale. Tables can cost anywhere between $15 to $25 each, and rack space is about $5, so you don’t want to go overboard and buy too much (this will eat away at your profits). At the same time, you don’t want to rent too little space… or you won’t have anywhere to put all your items.

- A general rule is about 4-5 tubs will fit on top of a 6 foot table, and about 5 to 6 tubs fit on an 8 foot table. Plus keep in mind you have space under the table too.

- Pack tablecloths for the tables during the sale. I've been to a sale or two where the tables were grimy and I didn't want my clothes to touch that!

- If you’re renting more than one table, I definitely recommend having a second person there with you. It is very hard keeping track of two tables when people are looking AND you are trying to make change for someone else. Plus you don’t want to risk having anything stolen. If you have to leave for the bathroom or to get food or look around, a second person manning the table is always nice!

- If you have more than one person at your table, request an extra chair, or bring your own. Many sales only provide one chair and it sucks having to stand for hours!

- Bring a LOT of change, especially ones and fives. Most people shop at the beginning of the sale with larger bills, so you will need to make change.

- Find out before you attend the sale if there is going to be concessions or not. If not, pack plenty of things to drink and snack on, especially if you are going to be by yourself. If you have another person, one of you can drive to get food.

- Sales are usually pretty long, around 4 hours! They tend to get slow and boring at times, so bring something to keep you occupied in the meantime such as a tablet or book.

- If you have a lot of dresses or coats and other things that need hung up, invest in a rack. They are pretty cheap, around $20 at Target, and they work great for Mom2Mom sales!

- Set up the night before, if offered by your sale! Most sales offer several hours the night before or about an hour the morning of the sale for setting up. Usually, the time allotted the morning of the sale is NOT enough time.

- Bring the following things with you to the sale: pens, paper, lots of change, something to store your change in, markers, tape, scissors, tagging gun, and plastic shopping bags to put purchases in.

DURING THE SALE:

- If your sale offers a “pre-shopping” time for sellers before the actual sale opens to the public, TAKE ADVANTAGE! You’ll never know what you will find regardless if you have kids or not. I like looking for movies, and those are often sold by the end of the sale.

- Keep your table organized!! People don’t like shopping at cluttered tables. Often, people will dig through your nice, folded piles and not leave your table in a nice, orderly condition. You will want to constantly refold and organize your table to attract more shoppers.

- Make signs for the front of your table indicating the sizes of clothing in certain piles. It makes it much easier for shoppers to target exactly what they are looking for, and they are more likely to stop at your table. (Below you can see the size signs that I made. I printed them out on bright cardstock, and them laminated them so they we can reuse them!)

- Be friendly and always greet shoppers stopping by your table. Ask how they are doing, what they are looking for, and if you can help them find anything.

- Make sure everything is clearly labeled, or people will constantly be asking you how much this and that is. If you don’t label everything individually, then make general signs saying “All clothes $1 each, Outfits $3, unless marked” or something along those lines.

- Keep the main things you want to sell near the top. If you have brand name or nicer clothes, keep them at the tops of the piles. If you have bigger items, but they are not large enough to go in the large item room, you can store them under your table to save table top space. Some people don’t really look under the tables, so just be wary about what you put down there.

- If an article of clothing doesn’t have a size on it, you can always tell the shopper how old your child was when s/he wore it.

- During the last hour of the sale, expect people to make bargains with you. This is a great time to sell things in bulk, especially if you don’t want to take it home again! A little money is better than no money after all.

POST SALE:

- Pack your stuff up nicely at the end of the sale so that it is easier to set up during your next sale.

I hope you find these tips helpful! Feel free to post any comments or other tips and suggestions below. Good luck to both shoppers and sellers!