A Valentine's Outfit

This weekend I got to work on a Valentines outfit for S.R. to wear...unfortunately, she will be wearing it at home:o( She had a really bad weekend, and after two doctor's visits, it was confirmed that baby girl has strep throat:o( This is a first in our household. Thankfully E is already on antibiotics for a double ear infection, so his chances of getting it are slim-to-none...the hubs and I?? Only time will tell:o/

Anyway, while perusing Pinterest the other day, I came across two different tutorials for little girl's skirts. You can find them HERE & HERE.

                                         I kind of used little tidbits from both, and came up with this.

 I wanted the shirt to have the skirt fabric tied in, so I cut out little hearts in the shirt itself, and added the strawberry fabric in behind...just "heat-bonded" it and stitched. Easy peasy:o)

This outfit was made possible by the abilities of my friend Stephanie's sewing machine...mine is still on the fritz & will need to be taken in for repairs...

Thanks Stephanie!!! 

We will be having our own little Valentines party at home tomorrow while E is at preschool, and that way she will still get to wear her new outfit. 

This shirt/skirt combo will be perfect for when spring & summer role around too.

Here's my sweet little sickly today...this is after her dose of Motrin...all smiles:o) Gotta love modern meds!!

Words That Really Matter

1 John 4:7

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

This is one of S.R.'s favorite's songs. This song was inspired from the above verse.

We Have a Winner!!

The winner of the My Memories Scrapbooking Software is:

Jessica!!

who said:

"How fun! Maybe I would actually do something with my photos if I had this...."

Congrats to you Jessica! You will be receiving an email from me shortly!!

3-D Valentines Cards and an Apron

Well I found out what was wrong with my neck...severe muscle spasms...I have no idea why it happened, but I am ever so thankful for modern medicine!

So now that I am almost back to normal, I was able to get a few crafty things done today.

The kids and I assembled their Valentines Day cards.

A few weeks ago I found 

THIS

idea out in blog-land and pinned it.

A few days later, Snapfish ran a deal on prints..99 prints for 99cents total. That's when I knew exactly what the kids' V-day cards would be:o)

I did a little finagling & added the "Be Mine" on Picnik..

so bummed that they are shutting that site down:o( 

And this is how E's turned out

The "Be Mine" on S.R.'s somehow was cut off during printing, so I just completely cut the words off..but hers still looks cute:o) 

Pretty fantastic & super cheap & easy.

I am also slowly preparing for S.R.'s 4th birthday party(which is in 3 1/2 weeks..ahhh!). We are doing the Wizard of Oz as the theme.

I started making these aprons today..started being the operative word. My machine is being nasty and refusing to function properly.

 The lines of the apron were looking a little too masculine, so I added some eyelet trim with a little red satin ribbon through it.

These aprons are really easy to make and will look cute on all of the little girls. Now I just need my  machine to play nice, so that everyone can have one:o)

For those of you who haven't entered the My Memories Scrapbooking Digital Software giveaway,

you can enter

HERE.

Today is your last shot at winning some great software!

I will announce the winner tomorrow..have a fab rest of the day!

Protect your passwords, protect your business

Managing your business, even if it's a real-world store with a physical address, is increasingly moving into the online space. With that comes the need to maintain good online security practices to protect both your own information and that of your customers. Behind your password lies a wealth of data that can be very interesting to your competitors and criminals. You should see this data as a commodity, just like the product you are selling. And just like your product, you don’t want it to fall into the wrong hands.

Here’s what you can do to help protect your business online:

Use strong, unique passwords. Cyber-criminals use sophisticated tools that can rapidly decipher passwords. Did you know that one of the most common passwords is actually ‘password’? It’s recommended to use a password with a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols. Create a unique password that's unrelated to your personal information. For example if you sell flowers, don’t have ‘flowers’ in your password.

Memorize your passwords or keep them secret. Would you leave the key to your office in the door when you leave? Obviously not. Yet many people leave notes by their desks with their most used passwords or leave their screens unlocked. This leaves the door to your systems available to be unlocked by anyone who discovers its passwords. If you have to write down your passwords, keep them in a secret place. If you have to save your passwords on your computer, avoid giving the file an obvious name, such as ‘my passwords.’

Don't re-use passwords for important accounts, especially important accounts like email and online banking. Re-using passwords is risky: if someone figures out your password for one service, that person could potentially gain access to your private email, address, and even your money.

Add extra security. If you have a Google Account, you can install 2-step verification which will add an extra layer of security by requiring you to have access to your phone--as well as your username and password--when you sign in. This means that if someone steals or guesses your password, the potential hijacker still can't sign in to your account because they don't have your phone.

Run regular anti-virus scans. If you get malware on your system, it may be programmed to look for passwords either typed in or saved. And it doesn’t hurt to change your passwords every once in awhile too.

Share these resources with your colleagues to help keep them safe and secure online:

• Online security videos:
• Strong Passwords (also earlier in this post)
• Social Engineering
• Understanding Phishing
  
• Read these tips for staying more secure on the web, including:
• Phishing
• Malware
• Secure sites
• Safe networks
• Mobile security
• Locking your screen
• Google’s security tools

Posted by Katrina Blake Buffini, Risk Analyst

Menu Board Update

My menu board is the most "pinned" item on my blog.

I have had several people ask questions about dimensions, paint colors, wood type, and even if I would make another one to sell. I have gotten comments and emails of which I never responded to, and I am SORRY! I am such a loser when it comes to following up. Sad, I know.

So anyway, I decided to do a quick post for all of you out there who were wanting to know how this thing was constructed.

The dimensions of: 

This menu board:

40"x40"

The chalkboard squares:

12"x12"

The large vinyl letters:

3"

The small vinyl letters:

2"

 Here is a shot of the back of the board. You can see that the frame is made from 

1x2's and it's a 1/4" thick plywood board.

And that's it...

 I think I covered all of the questions that have been asked as of lately. If you have anymore questions about this menu board, you may not get a quick response...just warning you;o)

Another thing I wanted to show you...

I wanted to share how we are able to stick with our Bible verse memorization.

I made this chalkboard out of a yard sale mirror. I taped the edges and sprayed a few coats of chalkboard paint on it. Easy-peasy.

It's in the living room, so it's constantly catching my eye...reminding me that I need to say it with the kids.

It's a fantastic tool.

I hope you all have a fantastic Tuesday...keep me in your prayers...I have been experiencing a tremendous amount of pain in my neck...no it's not the hubs or the kids;o)

It's real pain, and there is a possibility of a bulging disc...I go to the doc tomorrow, so hopefully I'll have some answers.

So there won't be a whole lot of crafting going on around here, not for a bit, at least.

Online Customer Retention—Handling customer complaints-Part 2

Saying that 80% of the customer complaints come from very few of the customers, it is interesting to note that many of the customers never voice their opinions even if they are not satisfied with the experience your business provides them. Point being, there is a huge chance that you can save your customer and retain the customer by making necessary adjustments. How Exactly?

1) Communicate

2) Listen

3) Act

4) Go the Extra Mile

Result: You will win your customer for life. 

Happy and returning customer through online customer retention

Communication is the key. Initiating the conversation is even better. Do not wait for the customer to complain in case you know that there was a mistake from your side. The best way to do it is to keep in touch with the customer from the day 1.  If the customer does have any concerns or problems, you can easily control the situation and avoid further damage that may occur (in the form of losing the customer, offline word of mouth, online word of mouth).

2) Listen to what your customer has to say. It is as important to listen after the sale as it is important to listen after the sale (trust me you will save more time and energy in the long run if you do this). Listening not only allows the customer to vent (which is half the problem already solved!), but it is also important so that you can fix the problem in an efficient way without using too many of your resources.

3) The next step is clear—Act. Take time to fix the problem, provide quick fix if needed, schedule the delivery again, and follow the first two steps in case there is a problem again. Your prompt action and attention is the quickest way to customer retention—will hold true no matter what kind of business you are offering.

4) Going the extra mile is the difference between keeping the customer for life as opposed to having a one-time customer (or 1 more return at the most!). Treat the customer like a star, and see the difference (you might even get away providing average service (please don’t quote thisJ). Point being, if you really want the customer for life, handle the customer in the same way and show the customer how valuable his/her business is.

Here's some customer retention facts that you might find useful to get more loyal customers.