ShellyT

You are welcome to check out my site at http://www.DIYeStores.com It's a do it yourself website builder but we do offer the service to do all the work for you as well for those that don't want to do it themselves. If you click on Additional Services you will see our rates for website setup. If you have any questions, please feel free to let me know. Thanks and good luck to you!

Thanks! So do they have to be made of wool? Or can it be any material? I'll search online for instructions. Thanks! Shelly T DIYeStores.com

A good one is: http://www.thecountrylife.net and here are a couple more: http://www.snickerdoodledreams.com/ http://www.scribblescraps.com/cart/ Shelly T DIYeStores.com

I have shared this website in a couple other post but thought I would post it in a new topic for everyone. I am not affiliate with them at all but I have bought a couple of their ebooks and just LOVE them! They are mostly boutique crafts but have others too. They have clothing, home decor, jewerly, etc. All kinds of ebooks on how to make stuff. And the books I have bought have step by step instructions with pictures which is really nice as sometimes words just don't explain it right. http://www.youcanmakethis.com Hope you enjoy!! Shelly T DIYeStores.com

Has anyone made a sweater purse before? It's the kind you take a sweater and turn it into a purse? There is a website I have bought some ebooks from and they came out with one to do these sweater purses. I have never made a purse before so am wondering how hard they are. You can see what I am talking about here: http://www.youcanmakethis.com/products/JusSharDesigns/DeconstructedSweaterPurse.htm My daughter has some Gymboree sweaters that she has outgrown and I thought they would be so cute turned into a purse. Just not sure if I can do them! Shelly T DIYeStores.com

chris77, Do you mean bittercreeks? If so, here is the signup form: http://www.candlesupply.com/BCconvention.htm and here is their message boards that has more talk about it: http://boards.bittercreek.com/tool/mb/bittercreek?forum=37101 Shelly T DIYeStores.com

Those are very pretty!! I get some of my beads from Michaels too. I usually use the 40% coupon each week OR wait until they are 50% off. I am finding that it's usually once a month that all their jewelry stuff is 50% off. So it's a Great way to stock up and save some money!! Shelly T DIYeStores.com

I just bought a couple Ebooks on making bracelets and a necklace. They have step by step instructions and pictures and supply resources, etc. It has really helped alot. In this ebook it says to use 6 mm cats eye and swarovski beads, 4 mm bali spaces and 2 mm sterling silver rounds to make the bracelet and necklace. Here are the the ebooks I bought: http://www.youcanmakethis.com/products/SoMuchBoutique/BoutiqueBracelet.htm http://www.youcanmakethis.com/products/LittlePeanutCompany/BottleCapJewelry.htm They have other jewerly ones too! Good luck! It's a Lot of fun! Shelly T DIYeStores.com

Oh those are pretty! I LOVE that last green one! Just beautiful!! Shelly T DIYeStores.com

If you are wanting to do your own thing, you also might want to look into http://www.OptionCart.com That is a basic website builder that connects with Mals. You can purchase it yourself for like $45.00 and then the software is yours and you can install it on any webhost. So if you wanted to use Mals but also wanted a website builder to create the actual website, then it would work for you. Hope this helps! Shelly T DIYeStores.com

Mals is a Great option for those that want a basic shopping cart. It's not a website builder (2 different things). And the company has been around for MANY years! I used Mals when I first got started online about 11 years ago! So it's been around for awhile! If you use Mals you will still need to create a website either by hand with code or a website software like frontpage and insert the shopping cart codes OR you can use a website builder that connects with Mals. So just depending on what you are wanting, it may or may not be the best option for you! Shelly T DIYeStores.com

JustRightCandles, Have you tried their message board? I know there are alot of people there that could help you and you may even be able to find the question already answered there. I know the owner of Mals is in a different country and it does take him awhile to get back to you but as far as I know, he does reply back. But try the message board and that may give you help faster! Also, are you sure you got the premium account with mals? Because it's alot more then $24.00 a year. Maybe you just did the 1st quarter? From Mals site: $8.00 US per month, payable quarterly in advance. You can pay Premium fees by credit card or PayPal. I offer a 10% discount for those who wish to pay on an annual basis, $86.40. Shelly T DIYeStores.com

I think a friend and I will be attending. I am only about 6 hours from Mall of America. It's a Great mall by the way! The only other candle convention I know about is: IGCA 42nd Annual Convention: http://www.igca.net/conventions/index.asp I don't know anything about it tho!!

I have a business resource section on my website that has alot of information on building and promoting an online business including some free ebooks to download. You can find it here: http://www.diyestores.com/businessresources.html I try to update that page on a regular basics so please feel free to bookmark it and check back. Hopefully you can find some of the resources useful to you! Good luck!! Shelly T DIYeStores.com

Thanks I still think as long as the expense is used in developing your business then you should be able to write it off. I did with mine and I know many others that has as well. I'm not a tax expert by any means tho! Your best bet would be to talk to a CPA and let them know your personal situation but I am betting as long as the expense is for your business then you will be able to write it off.

Here is a site that has several different creame like colors to choose : http://www.kraftoutlet.com Shelly T DIYeStores.com

I missed the original post. So not sure what pre-biz expenses you talked about and why you could not deduct them. However I was able to deduct all my expenses used to start up my business. These I guess would be considered pre-biz expenses because I hadn't started it yet but was in the process of starting it. I started working on developing my biz in Dec. of 2001 but didn't launch it until March 2002 and I deducted everything I spent on the biz during that development time. Shelly T DIYeStores.com

I have made the prim tags like that as well. You can either coffee or tea stain them and then put them in the oven to dry. Just make sure you watch them very carefully so they don't burn. And they retain their size, but they do curl up a bit around the edges. If that happens just place something heavy on top of them like a book to flatten them out after you take them out of the oven. Now this is for the prim looking tags only. You won't want to do that if you don't want that aged look. Shelly T DIYeStores.com

SherriLynn, Here is a picture of one of them: http://www.adiscountbeauty.com/media/clearlyfunsoapBags_GoldFish.jpg Shelly T DIYeStores.com

If you use a business card and you want part of it to be a tear off where the price goes, you can take the business card and print on it on half the side and then either leave the other blank for you to add a price later by hand OR print the price off. Then you take your business card (or any size cardstock for that matter) and take a sewing machine with NO thread in it and sew a line down the card. That will create your tear off. Hope this makes sense. It's hard to explain but is actually very easy to do. Shelly T DIYeStores.com

I've never created them before but I have bought them before and my kids just LOVED them! At the last show I did a couple years ago, the booth next to me was selling them (that's where I got mine) and she sold a TON of them that day. All the kids wanted them. I want to say the ones I bought were like $2.50 each. It's been awhile so I can't remember for sure. I just remember she did sell them well tho. Good luck with them! Shelly T DIYeStores.com

Thanks for the recommendation! Our system does come with a built in shopping cart with the option to use real time shipping at No extra charge. I also wanted to point out that Yes althought we do offer the pre-designed templates for customers to use for free! We also give them the option of having a custom created template that will give their website the unqiue look they might be looking for. Here are just a few of our clients that have custom templates. They all are using our DIY Website Builder but as you can see have their own look. http://www.tartshoppe.com http://www.ticklemepinkbathandbody.com/store http://www.the-quilt-cottage.com/store http://www.wixlesscreations.com/store http://www.tclgraphics.com/store http://www.cherryfarmdesigns.com http://www.appleseedprimitives.com http://www.quartzmountaincandleshack.com/store http://www.printcutcreate.com Thank you, Shelly Terrell DIYeStores.com

You are welcome Amanda! Good luck finding some nice photos! Shelly Terrell http://www.DIYeStores.com

This is a really good one. Price start at only $1.00 http://www.istockphoto.com Here are their terms on usage: © Permitted Uses. Subject to the restrictions described under Prohibited Uses below, the following are “Permitted Uses” of Content: advertising and promotional projects, including printed materials, product packaging, presentations, film and video presentations, commercials, catalogues, brochures, promotional greeting cards and promotional postcards (ie. not for resale or license); entertainment applications, such as books and book covers, magazines, newspapers, editorials, newsletters, and video, broadcast and theatrical presentations; on–line or electronic publications, including web pages to a maximum of 800 x 600 pixels; prints, posters (i.e. a hardcopy) and other reproductions for personal use or promotional purposes specified in (1) above, but not for resale, license or other distribution; and any other uses approved in writing by iStockphoto.And you can find full terms here: http://www.istockphoto.com/license.php Also depending on how much money you want to pay you might want to check into purchasing exculsive rights to some photos. It cost more but then no one else can use it. I don't think the site above offers that but you can do a search through google and I am sure find some! Hope this helps! Shelly Terrell http://www.DIYeStores.com

Smart Tart and Vicky, I TOTALLY agree with you! And I am sorry that you and other members have to read this! Trust me, I don't enjoy it either! Why she feels the need to turn a simple post asking a question into something else is beyond me! Perhaps she enjoys causing trouble, I don't know! I don't take Defamation of my company lightly and I have been in contact with my attorney regarding this person. I have records of all post and will continue to monitor this community for any other libel remarks against my company and will seek legal action if need be. Shelly Terrell - Owner http://www.DIYeStores.com