Monday, January 30, 2012

Boring Lamp Shade-No More

I like this lamp, because It's re-purposed but I've never been crazy about the shade.
Again, I was inspired by Pinterest... and got o work.
I received some Lotta Jansdotter and Orla Kiely fabric fat-quarters for Christmas (I requested), but was not sure what to do with them. They were too small for any big projects, I've embellished a few towels, and some canvas bags so far, but nothing else. So I decide to use some of those fabrics as well as lots from my "projects past" fabric stash.

Anything colorful was cut into strips.
And tied, and tied and tied
I like my new shade a lot better, and the colors go so well with the map on the wall. And it fits the Boho phase I'm going through right now quite nicely.
This was a really fun project, and I'm in the process of writing a tutorial for it. It's no sew, no glue just cut and tie, and tie and tie and tie.



Thursday, January 26, 2012

Favorite Old Pair of Jeans-Made new again

You know you have them, A favorite pair of jeans.
Cut right, fit right, length right, everything right. And then the manufacturer goes and discontinues them and you are stuck, with just one pair.

Just one pair of the perfect jeans.

Then it happens, One little mishap and rip... your jeans are ruined. Or are they?

Inspired by this photo on pinterest.



And this one



I pulled out my trusty box of scrap fabric, and decided to really rip them up.


Well actually I just added the two holes on the other leg. The knee rip is the accidental one (you should have seen my knee) I still have a scar.


I did do some stitching around the holes and I may add some more holes but this is a start.

I was a bit timid to put a huge rip in them, but I think I need a bit more, and maybe an orange color fabric as well.
What do you think?
I always enjoy your opinions.

This really wasn't that hard. A little Stitch Witchery, some scrap fabric scissors and heavy duty thread in contrasting colors and voila.




Monday, January 23, 2012

Wedding Centerpieces-mock ups on my kitchen table

Last year I had the privileged of decorating a wedding reception area for a friend. I learned a lot on that journey, and one thing I learned is the value of mockups.
Sorry for the bad photo's all taken with my iphone.
As you may or may not know, my Son is getting married in April. We love his bride and I'm so happy that she is including me in the decoration process. She throws me her ideas, and I hunt the stuff down and try to make her vision come to life.
(project alert, decopage vintage doilies onto glass containers as vases and candle holders)

Table centerpieces are so important to a reception and she has some great ideas. So I pulled out all my stuff and began making various mock ups for her. I send the pics from my iphone, and get her opinion as I'm working.
She liked them all, but my Son had some definite opinions and went for...
This one

Sweet and simple. Of course real flowers will be added. Each table will have either a vintage camera or a lantern or both with soda bottle vases and candles and books as lifts. As a girl I like the one with the frame, but he nixed that idea and definitely didn't like the doilies.

So now on "the day" we are all on the same page and know exactly what look we are going for and will save precious decorating time. We also have a better idea of what we need to buy or find.
Mock-ups are sooooo important.


Now accepting pre order for the Spring issue of


The Spring 2012 issue will be available soon. Order yours today here

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Hard to Part with...Frogs, Mushrooms, Roadrounners, and Flowers

You all know I love a good vintage handbag, but not just any bag, it's gotta speak to me. Imagine my glee when I found these 2 vintage Collins bags at the same location. I think they are both unused.
I haven't decided if I'll be listing them yet, I'm a sucker for Collins bags.

And take a look at this beauty, It's shell is plastic, stitched with thin yarn, I think it might have been a kit.
And look at this great retro fabric inside. It also looks to be in unused condition.
Frogs and mushrooms.
Happy Dance!!!!!

Have you ordered the new Spring issue of Flea Market Style yet???
Details here




Thursday, January 12, 2012

Flea Market Style Spring 2012 Pre Orders now available

By popular Demand, I'm opening up pre-orders a little early for the Spring 2012 issue of Flea market Style.



I've been inundated with emails asking about ordering the Spring issue so I've decided to start the pre-orders a bit early. The magazine is due to be in my hands sometime in February, In stores late February. I will be shipping within a week of receiving the magazines, so you'll be getting yours early without spending valuable gas money hunting all over town. I also ship internationally.

go here for ordering information

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Important Note: All past issues are out of print and unavailable

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

The Forms-Pay unto Caesar what is Caesar's




This is part 2 of my Tax posts, See 2 posts down for part 1 and remember, I'm not an expert so consult a tax professional with any questions.

I'm writing these posts to help those of us who JUNK as a business.

The T*a*x form you fill out for your business is the S*ch*ed*ule C as seen above.
It will be a separate page of your 1040 long form. As long as you are not incorporated this is the form you use to pay the taxes on your business.

Don't let the form scare you, there is a line to put your income, A line to put your product purchases, a line for car usage, supplies and other things you might have spent money on that are business related. Note that not all your meals and not all your travel is deductible (this is why a CPA is important) they can help with the nuances of this form.

Line 31 is your Profit or Loss and this number is then transferred to your 1040 page 1 form on line 12. You want this amount to be as low as possible, so be sure you figure in your automotive mileage and every other possible legitimate expense you can find. You will pay taxes based on this number.

Now here is an important detail. For your business income you will not only pay income t*ax*es but you have to pay the so*ci*al sec*urity/Med*ica*re as well.
Normally these are taken from your paycheck... but because you don't have a paycheck you are responsible for paying this amount directly. Here's the kicker, it's almost twice what you pay as an employee. Yep that's right as a self employed person you pay twice the SS/Med that an employee pays. This is Sc*hed*ule SE and it is a separate page. It's also called the Self Empl*oyment T*a*x.

Here's the other thing. You really should pay your taxes throughout the year. This is called an es*tim*ated t*a*x payment and there is a form (1040es coupon) that your CPA will prepare for you that needs to be sent in 4x each year. This will save you from unnecessary penalties at the end of the year and also relieve the burden of paying the whole amount at one time.
Note the *** are there to keep my blog post from being flagged and also note, that I am not a CPA or an expert and none of my advise should be taken without consulting a CPA first. As they say with medication, "consult your doctor before starting any treatment plan :)"


Thursday, January 5, 2012

I've got Drawers

Last week I got out to Winnie & Tulula's to take down all the Christmas and re-fluff for the New year. I seem to have accumulated a lot of drawers. It's always fun to display things in groups and I decided to put them all together, for a "get organized" theme for the New Year.


And here is a fabulous find...
But it's just a portable card table you say...



Think again.

I thought that is what it was when I bought it, and was so surprised when I opened it up, to find a whole table and chairs.

Currently available on my Etsy store.

I'm going to take a short blogging break while I play catch-up from the Holidays.
But I'll be back, and remember the Spring issue of Flea Market Style will be available soon, hopefully.




Sunday, January 1, 2012

It's a new year, time to think about t*x*s

As a small business owner for almost 30 years I've learned a thing or two about
T* a*x *e* s and record keeping. I hear lots of questions about this subject while I'm out and about, and so I thought I'd take a moment to share what I know (which is only a little bit of what there is to know, about the subject).




It is so important to have good records for any business, and one of the only ways to know how you are doing throughout the year. As a bookkeeper by day, with a wonderful Mom, who is a CPA, I have some unique advise on this subject. So please bear with me, I'll make it all as simple as possible.

Having been A*u*dit*ed twice, I can tell you that good records are a must and being truthful is absolutely necessary.
(BTW I came out great both times due to excellent records.)


My motto is "be truthful, keep records, and when you get the a*u**di*t letter, you'll have nothing to worry about".

You need to keep track of your sales, and your expenses, That's it in a nutshell.
Your profit is your Sales minus your expenses. That is what you pay tax on.
I could go on here about Cash accounting versus Accrual account but I don't want to bore you. Most small businesses like ours, use the Cash accounting method, and that is what I'm explaining here. Note: unsold inventory is not an expense until it is sold.

How best to do this? There are several ways depending on how computer savvy you are.




The simplest way is a paper journal. Every time you sell... write it down, every time you spend money... write it down.
Have separate columns for product purchases, supplies, advertising etc.

Keep a continuous total of each column so you know how you are doing throughout the year.

(Note: Not all your product purchases are deductible as an expense. They are only deductible after you sell them or write them off. This is where a professional can be of great help.)

Having this information will help you to make business decisions as well. When to buy, when to sell, when to have a sale and even when to re-arrange your booth space to generate sales.


If you want to get a little more sophisticated you could use an XL spreadsheet (learning XL changed my life) or even a computer program like QuickBooks to keep your records (they have an online program available that is very affordable.)




At the end of the year you will provide these numbers to your accountant for your t*a*x return. I strongly encourage you to hire a CPA to do your t*a*x*es. Get a good one, they are worth their weight in gold. If you decide to fill out your own return you'll need to use a Sc*he**du**le C for you business income.

We'll talk about the Sc*he**du**le C next .
Now see that wasn't so painful.

Note the *** are there to keep my blog post from being flagged and also note, that I am not a CPA or an expert and none of my advise should be taken without consulting a CPA first. As they say with medication, "consult your doctor before starting any treatment plan :)"
Blog Widget by LinkWithin