BBlonski Designs

My Journey to Becoming a Culinary Cutie

2012-01-25T12:58:00.003-05:00

Hi All! I know it's been quite a bit of time, but I've been quite the busy girl. Back in October, I went to the doctor for my regular check up. My cholesterol results came back...not good. Then it got me thinking...I'm going to be 30 in just a few months, and I'm way fatter than when I started my 20's. Thus my weightloss journey. But it doesn't stop there. To get myself through the weightloss journey, I figured out, I really need to stop eating out and start cooking more. So here I am, 17 lbs down, 43 lbs to go and cooking more than ever.

That being the case..I though I'd share one of my favorite EASY recipes :)

Easy Pita Pizza

What you need:
1 sahara whole wheat pita
salt, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano
tomatoes
hunts low sodium tomato sauce
part skim mozzarella cheese
grated parmesean cheese

1. pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. place foil over cookie sheet for easy clean up
3. place one pita on the cookie sheet (to save calories split it in half)
4. put two tablespoons of sauce on the pita
5. chop up tomato and put half of it on pita
6. season to taste with salt, garlic powder, onion powder and oregano
7. add parmesean and mozzarella cheese
8. bake until cheese is melted

Each pita pizza is 295 calories. That's way less than making frozen :)

Artist Feature - Braggin Rights Bath

2011-08-01T12:03:00.002-04:00

This weeks featured artisan is Tracy - Braggin' Rights Bath!

Yummy treats to indulge yourself with! You can find

Braggin' Rights Bath on:

Pride of Ownership

2011-05-19T11:30:00.004-04:00

So when I was a kid (and now that I think about it, as a grown up too) I used to love to hang out with my Grandma, Tessie. Tessie was such a fun fun lady, a real "firecracker." Back in her glory days (back before I was even a twinkle in anyone's eye), she used to roller skate and dance and have fun...truly innocent fun (compared to today). She didn't tie herself down to one guy and she hung out with her girl friends. She had a huge family. She was one of 9 kids, and adored each of her siblings. When I knew her as "grandma" she bowled and went to her senior's club once a week, had to go to every grocery store just to get the best price (a habit she picked up from the Depression, no doubt) and would do anything for those she loved. She went to some of my brother's book signings and actually told people they couldn't have the cookies we brought to pass out, unless they bought a book (I kid you not). Her words were "no book, no cookie." And she really would get offended if someone picked up Daniel's book, but didn't make the purchase. She was truly a great person.

And as fun as she was, back when I was a kid, there were some things I just didn't understand about her. For example, she used to sweep her driveway. That's right. She took out her broom (yup, the kitchen broom) and swept her driveway which was the length of her entire property. I used ask her why sweeping the driveway was on her list of chores (who would do that every week?) And her response would be, "pride of ownership." But sadly seven-year-old me, did not understand the meaning of pride of ownership.

Then my husband and I bought a house. And a few weeks ago, I found myself outside sweeping the driveway (with a heavy duty broom, not a kitchen one). It was a lightbulb moment...here I was, sweeping my driveway like Tessie had done so many times in front of her own home. And it actually made sense....I was tending to the home I love, thinking of my beloved Tessbabe and I smiled and said "pride of ownership." Sounds silly I'm sure, but something about it seemed so theraputic. And now, it makes perfect sense why she used to sweep that long driveway, week after week. :)

Brandy's Chubby Kitty Diet

2011-03-15T14:54:00.003-04:00

So you know that recently, I lost my beloved Psycho (aka AngelPuss, BoojieWoojie, and other creative names I have come up with) to cancer. I really took it to heart and did a LOT of research on what could have caused it, how it came upon us so fast (she had recently had some extensive tests not showing anything to worry about, besides the diabetes which we were already treating her for), and how to prevent our other furry babies from meeting the same fate.

The first thing I noticed, was that Brandy was starting to follow the same health pattern as Psycho. When we adopted Psycho, she was a little bit overweight and the vet told us to keep an eye on it. She progressively got fatter (hey, we feed our cats well, don't judge) Then a few years later she started acting funny: missing the litter box, drinking an insane amount of water, looking real thin. So she a three night stay at the vet, just to find out she was a diabetic. Fast forward to today...Brandy was a little on the chubby side, and about the same age as the vet told us to really watch Psycho's weight, we got the same report for Brandy. She was one chunky monkey. So she had to go on a diet and weightloss plan.

Now I thought, how the heck do you get a CAT to exercise and eat properly. I can't even get hubby to do that and he's much less stubborn than our cats. It was a lot of hard work (for both me and Brandy). I changed our cats over to eating better food (I really had no idea how bad most manufactured pet foods are). I switched them over to entirely wet food to start. I've been feeding them Soulistic wet food. When you look at it, it really is what the food claims to be: if it is supposed to be tuna and shrimp, you really can see shrimp in there, same thing with chicken, there's shredded chicken it it. I really wanted to put them on an entirely RAW diet, but it just isn't cost effective. Then I found some grain free, low carbohydrate dry food (they're a big fan of Nature's Variety - Rabbit and Innova Evo - Herring and Salmon) to supplement them with to keep their tummy's full and making feeding easier, when we need someone to take care of them while we're away.

All the cats have seen an improvement from their menu change. Dumbledore's dry skin has cleared up, Minerva's sensitive tummy really seems to like the new food (she's actually keeping food down), Mia had ear allergies and constantly scratched at them before the new food, but that has now cleared up, and Brandy lost 2 pounds (that's like 20 people pounds)! She's finally in her optimal weight range, on the high side of it, but hey, she's doing great and I'm so proud of her. They're all very active and chase each other all over the place and don't seem as lazy or like they get tired as quickly anymore.

So if you can swing it, I highly recommend doing the same for your cats. Apparently they should really only be eating protein, as they are carnivores in nature, and the mass market cat food companies load the food down with potatoes (what cat hunts potatoes in the wild?), wheat, and crazy by products that just aren't good for them.

Much luck!

xoxo,
BB

I'm Seeing a Pattern

2011-01-29T23:11:00.002-05:00

So I don't know if I've mentioned, but very recently I've taken up reading again. I used to read like crazy in my teens...seriously, I couldn't get enough books when I was younger. Then when I got to college and then bought my first business, reading kind of got put on the wayside. After my grandma passed away this summer, I picked up a book, and just couldn't stop reading. I've been reading at least a book per week. Now I'm trading books with my mom the way I remember mom and grandma tessie doing for many years.

But anyway, I use this application on Facebook called Goodreads (if you look to the right, you can take a peek at some of the books I've already read, and if you use goodreads too, I'd love to be your friend :) ). So I started looking at my list of to-read books to decide which I'm going to pick up next. And ya know, I noticed a pattern. I must really love food (I mean, I've always been pretty sure that I love food, but now I'm convinced). The majority of the books on my to-read list has some type of food in the title. Funny huh? I wonder why.....

Ever have one of those weeks?

2011-01-19T13:12:00.001-05:00

Have you ever had one of those weeks? You know...the week from hell. Let me tell you about my week, then we'll compare notes (misery loves company right?).

Last Tuesday (jan 11) my main computer that I do most of my film transfer orders on wouldn't boot up. Now I was a little worried, but not super worried, I mean I do live with a computer genius. He, of course tells me not to worry, what parts to buy (he even sent me the links to the places that had the best prices, not just the sites, but the actual listings themselves), and to bring the computer home and he'd take care of it.

The parts arrive on Thursday. The hubby starts backing everything up, just to be on the safe side...and OMG, it took days just to back up the computer. So since I couldn't use that computer, I saved myself some time and worked from home on Friday. Now, like I said, I live with a computer genious. He's got our home network, networked to my office network, so I can access stuff at work from my home computers, and vice versa, which makes me do a happy dance. But not on Friday....on Friday, the office network went down (or so I thought).

So I come in over the weekend to check out the situation after hubs does some diagnostics and figures out the problem is from the modem to outside the building, nothing actually in our office. I call my cable company, and they're like "oh sorry, can't send somebody out until Wednesday to look at it"...well that just isn't going to fly with me. I mean, I own a business, no internet, means no phone, and no way to process credit cards. So I make a stink and the guy is like, "okay, i put you on this expedited list, so you'll get a call within the next hour to set up an earlier appointment."

No such call ever occurred. I scoot into the office early on Monday to wreak havoc on the cable company. I call up and tell them that since i can't do any of my work, I'm going to call them every hour until they get somebody here to fix my cable. Low and behold, an appointment opens up and they show up at 11:15 to fix it. And what a surprise, the problem was outside, where they could have fixed it without me being here to wait for them.

So that's the cable problem taken care of. In the meantime, I slice my finger open on a piece of film...OUCH...and bled all over my office, LOVELY. Had to work on my landlord to fix the broken pipe outside causing a huge ice patch that I've almost broken my butt on multiple times this week, and hubby still didn't have the computer fixed. Apparently his idea of dropping it off at lunch time on Monday, meant 4pm....which i OBVIOUSLY should have just known.

Tuesday rolls around, and we have an ice storm. I go out in pelting ice and rain, clean my car off (it was blocking his car in), clean his car off, and shovel a path to the cars (along with throwing down salt) so he won't fall and re-sprain his healing ankle. What thanks do I get? He get mad at me because he got into a warm car with water on the seat....wtf? Then he comes home sick and wants me to care for him....ummm...NO

Today, I woke up late, had to shuffle our cars around in the driveway to get to work, just to come in to...you guessed it, a broken down computer....AGAIN....so I ask you... IS IT FRIDAY YET?

It's here! It's here!

2011-01-14T11:17:00.001-05:00

Finally...after much craziness...my new website is here! (check it out at www.bblonskidesigns.com) It was designed entirely by me, put together entirely by me, posted, entirely by me....you get the idea. It is 100% beffers :)

And look! You can now shop directly on my site...now that's progress. It's not completely finished, as I'll be adding to the shop for a bit (maybe I offer too much stuff?)...Rome wasn't built in a day right? Hope you all like it and would help spread the word.

xoxo,
BB

Death of a Cemetery

2010-11-10T09:01:00.000-05:00

Can you believe a home owner's association knocked down tombstones over 300 years old (without permission) just because?

The Hendricks-Hendrickson Family Cemetery
Holmdel, NJ

Featured Artist - Elly's Creations

2010-10-12T11:16:00.000-04:00

This weeks Featured Artisan is Elly's Creations! Beautiful creations!

You can find Elly's Creations at:

Featured Artist - Tina's Treasures

2010-10-05T12:15:00.001-04:00

This weeks Featured Artisan is Tina's Treasures! Tina has a wide

variety of handmade creations in her shop! Stop by and see them all!

You can find Tina's Treasures on:

Etsy

Blog

Facebook

Featured Artist - My Helping Hands

2010-09-28T10:35:00.001-04:00

This weeks Featured Shop is My Helping Hands Graphic Design. Custom Avatars, Banners and Ads!

You can find My Helping Hands Graphic Design at:

Featured Artist - KP Designs

2010-09-20T14:38:00.000-04:00

This weeks Featured Artisan on Share the Love.. Blogger's Unite is KP Designs! Kathy has wonderful creations. You can find KP Designs at:

Madeitmyself

The">http://thegiftshophandmade.com/JewerlyTheGiftShopHandmadeDirectory.aspx">The Gift Shop Handmade

Facebook

Twitter

On">http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=114453101935100">On Fire for Handmade

Blog

Featured Artist - Dean Designs

2010-09-14T11:32:00.000-04:00

This weeks Featured Artisan is Deans Designs.

Beautiful creations by a very talented artisan! You can find Deans Designs at:

Etsy

Facebook

Blog

Artist Feature - Gabs Bags

2010-09-05T08:45:00.000-04:00

Beautiful One of a Kind bags to Jazz up your wardrobe with!You can find Gabs Bags at
Shop URL
http://www.gabsbags.artfire.com/

2nd Shop URL
http://www.gabsbags.etsy.com/

Website URL
http://www.gabsbags.net/

Twitter Page
http://www.twitter.com/gabsbags

Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Austin-TX/GabsBags/194470116610?ref=ts

Blog
http://www.gabsbags.net/category/news
The Gift Shop Handmade http://thegiftshophandmade.com/FashionShopsonTheGiftShopHandmadeDirectory.aspx

Featured Artist - Moonsong Ranch

2010-08-22T11:05:00.001-04:00

This weeks Featured Artisan is MoonSong Ranch! Beautiful Creations by a very talented Artisan!

Moonsong Ranch Handmade Alpaca Fashion products include felt nuno scarves, western style hats, purses, cases, knitted scarves and many other unique gift items

You can Find MoonSong Ranch at:

Shops:
: http://www.MoonsongRanch.Etsy.com
http://www.CreationsbyMoonlight.Etsy.com
Facebook Page:
: http://www.facebook.com/MoonsongRanch

Time Flies

2010-08-20T10:33:00.000-04:00

I don't know if you've noticed...but it's already nearing the end of August. Yup, take a look at your calendar. It'll show I speak the truth. Here it is, almost 8 months complete in 2010, 4 months to go.

But where did the time go? I'm pretty sure I must have missed most of the year, because I haven't accomplished nearly as much as I had planned. I wanted to finish my kitchen, but well that doesn't seem to be working out. Though we did replace the floor and get it painted...I doubt we're going to get the counter top replaced by the end of the year, cause let's face it...by the end of the week, after working like crazy, me and the hubby don't feel like working on the house (which btw, we bought a fixer upper...that was probably a bad idea). We'd rather be laying around with the cats watching tv...or stuffing our faces. yeah we like to eat...no...we LOVE to eat.

(my new kitchen floor)

I also wanted to have my christmas shopping started...that has also not worked out so well. I'm still working on buying all of the presents for my family members who were born in August. Seriously, we have one huge party to cover everybody who was born in August so we don't have to go party hopping all month long.

I had thought by now I'd have lost more weight (i'm down 13.5 lbs though), but with it being a rough year, I'm now surprised I lost anything. I just can't seem to fit in as much exercise as I probably should be getting.

So what have I done this year, you ask. I have done a lot of soul searching, and I think I'm finally figuring out what I WANT. yay! it's been really difficult these past few years walking around with no clue of what i want to do with myself. it's still a bit of a ways away yet, but i at least have an idea.....

xoxo,
bb

Artist Feature - Julia Hutchins

2010-08-16T10:17:00.001-04:00

This weeks featured artisan is Julia Hutchins Designs

You can find Julia at:

Shop URL:
http://www.juliahutchins.com

2nd Shop URL:
http://www.artfire.com/users/juhutch

Website URL:
http://www.juliahutchins.com

Twitter Page:
http://www.twitter.com/juliahutchins

Facebook :
http://www.facebook.com/juliahutchinsdesigns

Blog:
http://www.juliahutchins.com/blog1/

Behind the Camera

2010-08-15T18:38:00.000-04:00

{Kyra}

It seems as I get older, there are more and more things to do, and less and less time left in the day (or in this case, weekend) for anything fun or relaxing. With my grammy having been sick for months and going between the hospital and rehab, my family and I had even less time to go out and have a good time. But since her passing a month ago (today), I can say I have finally gotten a chance to go out and have a lil fun.

Tessie (my gram) always did tell me to stop working so hard and make sure to take some time out for fun. I can remember her telling me when I was younger to make sure to take a few minutes out of the day and just sit outside in the fresh air. Well, since her stroke in April, I've actually consciously been making the effort to do just that. I take one evening a week (usually whatever day I choose to come home from the office early) and sit outside waiting for my hubby to get home from work. I sit and think, possibly meditating, and breathe in the fresh air. I don't do anything else, until the hubby gets home and it's time for us to make dinner. :)

This past (okay, it's sunday, so i'll say current) weekend, my niece (technically my second cousin, but she calls me "aunt beth") stayed with my aunt for the whole weekend. Kyra, her sister Danielle (my god baby) and their parents live in south jersey, while the rest of us live in central jersey, so we don't see them very often. So since she was having this sleepover at my aunt's, we all got together for a fun day of Kyra time...and boy, did we have a blast. We had a nice little cook out then the whole crew went over to Keansburg (an amusement park on the shore) to play games, ride the rides, walk the beach, etc. I can honestly say, I thought I grew out of going to Keansburg as, Darryl and I haven't been there since 2002, but having a kid with us made all the difference in the world. I have not smiled so much or laughed so hard in I don't know how long. And if Tessie were still here, she would have been there with us having a ball (and probably having more energy than any of us) and showing us what fun you can have at any age. I know she was there in spirit with us...looking down...loving how much fun we were having together as a family....family means everything to her. :)

RIP my beautiful Tessbabe, I miss you every day.

xoxo,
bb

Trials and Tribulations of an "Artist"

2010-08-12T10:12:00.000-04:00

Sorry to those who feel like I'm a whiner... but I'm having an issue that I'm hoping putting down on "paper" will finally go away (well, at the very least will leave my head).

I recently started signing up for some local events, to sell my photography, stationery, invitations, and clothing made from my graphic designs. I got in contact with an art gallery in South Jersey who was thrilled to have me at one of their events, as they had mostly jewelers contact them, so my work was completely different for them. My mom then suggested, why not trying to get a table at our home town's special community day. Though I don't still live there, she does, and she goes to the event every year. So I thought, what the heck, let's do it. Maybe I'll see some people I know.

I got in contact with the director of the event. I explained that I'm originally from the town, am trying to really get my art career off the ground, yada yada, and would love to participate in the event, if she could possibly guide me in the right direction as to how to become involved, it'd be wonderful. The director emailed over an application along with due dates for the application, payment, etc. A few hours later, she sends me a one line email, "Oh, and by the way, you do not count as an artist or crafter," meaning I had to pay $60 for a corporate table if I wanted to participate, rather than the $25 they charge artists/crafters.

So I inquire, why is my photography and hand crafted stationery not considered an art/craft. The reply, "it's not handmade." So I reiterate...though I do not make the actual paper or ink used to create my pieces, I do design everything myself, I hand cut each card as most are custom sizes, I hand print everything myself, as well as package everything myself (yes, this includes photography and stationery), so I don't understand why I'm being considered corporate, when it's little ol me doing everything by hand. (isn't that the definition of handmade?) Her response...."sorry, you just don't qualify."

So I'm confused here. Isn't my purchasing paper and ink the same as a crocheter, knitter, or needleworker, purchasing the yarn/wool/floss to make their products? And since when is photography considered to NOT be an art? Am I wrong here? Did I just miss something? My personal feeling is that she wants to charge me more since I'm not a resident of the town. And if she had said that non-residents pay a higher fee, I could live with that, as I've done other events where that was a stipulation.

In some ways I'd like to write her a nice little letter (maybe on my "not" handmade stationery) telling her where she can put that space where my table would be...yup, right up her keester. Or that the next time her town comes to me in desperate need of work to be done...but on a budget, that they will no longer be receiving a discount for me having grown up in that town, being as they could not return the favor.

I don't know...any thoughts out there?

Featured Artist - NaLa

2010-08-09T13:45:00.000-04:00

This weeks Featured Artisan is Jewelry by NaLa!

Unique, handmade fashion jewelry featuring Czech glass, Swarovski crystals, semiprecious stones, freshwater pearls, antiqued metals, sterling silver and other fine materials. Enjoy browsing, and stop by her Etsy Shop often ... new designs are being added all the time.

You can Find Jewelry by NaLa @:

Shop URL:
http://jewelrybyNaLa.etsy.com

2nd Shop URL:
http://jewelrybyNaLa.artfire.com

Website URL:
http://NaLa.goods.officelive.com

Twitter Page:
http://www.twitter.com/jewelrybyNaLa

Facebook :
http://www.facebook.com/jewelrybyNaLa

Blog:
http://jewelrybyNaLa.blogspot.com

Artist Feature - Little Sistah

2010-08-02T09:47:00.000-04:00

This weeks featured artisan is Little Sistah Studio!

Little Sistah Studio makes the paper, makes the adornments, makes the cards! She creates the art! Welcome to Her world of creativity!

You can find Little Sistah Studio@

Website

Etsy

Facebook">http://www.facebook.com/LittleSistahStudio">Facebook Fan Page

Blog

Click HERE for code

Artist Feature - VA Beach Quilter

2010-08-02T09:43:00.000-04:00

This weeks featured artisan is Va Beach Quilter!

Kim makes lovely quilts, table runners, coupon organizers, wallets, purses and more! A truly talented

lady offering a wide variety of creations! All make wonderful gifts!

You can find Va Beach Quilter @

Facebook Fan Page">Facebook'>Facebook

Blognull ">http://vabeachquilter.blogspot.com">Blog ~ With monthly giveaaways!

Click HERE for code

On the Other Side of the Camera

2010-07-31T23:10:00.000-04:00

So i spend all this time behind the camera.....i rarely get in front of one. Well, I went out shooting with my assistant on Friday to get the last batch of pictures for my upcoming exhibit, and he helped me out by taking a picture of me, doing what i do best. :) So here it is...meet the girl behind the camera...

*Photo taken by Skyler Lutz

Busy Little Bee

2010-07-26T16:36:00.001-04:00

Hi Everybody! I've been so so busy lately. Firstly, I'm sad to say, my Grammy Tessie passed away last week, so I spent a great deal of time working on a photo montage for her funeral, as well as attending services. I'm part of a huge Italian family (you wouldn't know it by my honey colored hair and green eyes, but it's true), so when someone dies, we eat for like five days straight, as well as have multiple days of viewings before the actual funeral.

Anyway, that was a bit off topic, except for the fact that that alone kept me busy for over a week. I'm now currently working on a leather custom photo book for a couple that lives in Uptown Manhatten, as well as designing some business cards for some new clients on Etsy. Thought maybe you'd like to take a little peek at them. :)

Those two cards are samples I just sent over to SassySoaps1184. Hope she likes them. :)

Here's another I've been working on. This one is actually a double sided one (front-top, back-bottom)

The Silver Lining

2010-06-07T11:05:00.000-04:00

Sorry I've been so absent. Things have been...well...insane around here. My 86 year old grandma (Tessie) had a stroke back in April. She was healthier than a horse up to that point, so it was a complete shock. The stroke occurred in her cerebellum (the back part) the part that controls movement. She was in a coma for 3.5 weeks and is very slowly coming out of it. She now moves most of the right side of her body, but she has a trache in, so she can't talk. She's going to need extensive rehab, and still the possibility of her returning home looks very grim right now. So i've been visiting her a lot.

Well then, i got sick. Not once, not twice, but three times in a six week period of time. First a sinus infection, then strep throat, then an upper respiratory infection. I'm hoping I'm finally done with being sick.

Two weeks ago, my dad, stepmom and half sister came out for a visit and stayed with us for a few days. They helped us do some major renovations on our house. Our yucky kitchen floor is no more, and we're 3/4 of the way done with the brand new one.

No sooner did my family leave, when my best friend and her daughter arrived to stay with us for several days.

And the most recent of devastating news...my beloved Psycho had to be put to sleep this past Thursday. I came home from work to her barely breathing. I rushed her to the closest vet, they did everything they could, but it turns out after x-rays and ultrasounds...she had cancer on her heart (causing it to begin to fail) and stomach, and possibly her pancreas which caused her diabetes. Sadly, she is now in kitty heaven. :(

So the past two months, I've really taken a beating...physically and emotionally. But there is a silver lining....some good news...I was asked to display my photography at a gallery in Scotch Plains. :) So i need to get my act together, and get 9 more flower shots to bring with me...oh yeah and i need to get them framed. I will be posting the event to my blog wall shortly for anyone who would like to attend.

until later....

xoxo and thanks for listening...

bb

Jules Jewelry

2010-04-07T10:27:00.000-04:00

So as you probably already know (even if you've only taken a little peek at my etsy shop, www.bbdesigns.etsy.com) that I enjoy helping other shops/small businesses spread the word about their great products. I help them with branding, marketing, you name it, i probably do it. My most recent addition to helping these small businesses is for a nominal fee, tweeting about their store and their fabulous products (sales too, if they ask).

This has seriously become my number one service in the past few weeks! :) And i'm glad, cause it has helped me find some really great shops!

That's where Jules Jewelry comes in. If you're looking for some fab (and affordable) mother's day gifts (let's face it, with this economy, who isn't looking for a steal?) Jules Jewelry is THE place to go. This fab little online store offers great jewelry any mom would look great in. They carry all kinds of cool earrings, necklaces, necklaces, and more that you can personalize with your name, as well as those of your siblings, or even your birthstones. What mom wouldn't want to wear their babies close to their heart? I know mine sure would like it. :)

Best of all, Jules is offering 10% off to my readers who use promo code BBD! Can't beat that, now can ya? Check her out! http://www.julesjewelry.com/

Here are some images of some of my personal faves on the site:

A little birdie told me.....

2010-03-22T12:02:00.000-04:00

A little birdie told me that you don't have much time. You want to advertise and market your product, but there is only 24 hours in the day. Let me help!

I have a large following on twitter...some people tweet about their products and get 2 or 3 new views...i get upwards of 50 in one tweet. Can you imagine what 50 new views of your product could do for your business? Now multiply that by 24 (1 tweet per hour) and there are 1200 potential views in one day!

Want to buy this service? Go here!

Meet the Kitties!

2010-03-19T07:34:00.000-04:00

I have four cats...I simply adore them.

The oldest is Psycho (left). Darryl (that's the hubby)'s sister had had a baby who didn't get along with Psycho, so instead of her going to a shelter, we took her in. Psycho is 10 now (her birthday is in May) and is a diabetic...always fun giving her insulin injections...let me tell ya (she's not named Psycho for nothin, oh and btw, we did not name her). As you can see, she's very photogenic and has become accustomed to my camera always being in her face.
Then there's Dumbledore (right)...or as we usually refer to him Dumbles, or The Boy. He's our only male. Dumbles is 22lbs of fluff...seriously he weighs 22lbs and he's not fat...he's a Norwegian Forest cat...and apparently they get REALLY big. He's the biggest marshmellow...loves to cuddle, is afraid of everything from oven mitts to the doorbell, to a vase of flowers...don't know why, but he's just so darn cute. We found him abandoned on the side of the road at about 15 weeks old. So we took him in.

And here's Minerva (left), also referred to as Moo, or Moo Moo. We found her in the same place as Dumbles 2 weeks to the day. And the vet estimated her to be 17 weeks old. She and Dumbles have the same birthmark and look rather similar, so we're pretty sure they came from the same litter. Moo was starving when we picked her up, she looked horrible, but I completely fell in love with her, and we ended up keeping her too. :) Moo is an awesome little huntress...when we play she's not fooled by my tactics of making the little fishie on the fishing pole disappear, no sir. She catches that fish every time. And look at those bright eyes, so pretty...love her eyes, they're always so bright and vibrant.

And last, but certainly not least, is our youngest, Brandy (on the right) aka The Devil Kitty...she's the devil wrapped up in a cute fuzzy little package. :) I found Brandy two months after Darryl and I got married, in 2007 (got her 7-7-07, it was fate) at a pet store. She was there with some girls from an animal shelter. Apparently her family had abandoned her and her littler of kittens when they moved...they left her locked in a basement with no food. :( Her kittens had all been adopted and she was the only one left, but since she had been there for almost a year, she was going to be put to sleep if she wasn't adopted in the next 2 months. Well, she wouldn't come out of her cage for anybody except me...so I came back day after day to visit, and just fell in love, so I adopted her and brought her home....it's a good thing the hubby loves me. :) She's very snuggly and lovable with people, but not too fond of the other cats....we're working on that though.

So these are my babies, a rather large part of my life. I'd be lost without them.

xoxo,
BB

No More Dragon Breath

2010-03-18T14:28:00.000-04:00

So I told you I started a publishing company back in August. Well, I'm putting the finishing touches on my very first children's book! Yippy!

It's called No More Dragon Breath. Here's the description:

A charming story about a boy named Christopher and the big purple dragon
he befriends. Together they have fun and ultimately make a surprising
discovery!

No More Dragon Breath is a clever way to teach your children the importance
of brushing their teeth.

check it out and order copies at www.ultramediapublications.com/shop

it will be appearing on Amazon very shortly!

xoxo,
BB

Little Known About da Beffers

2010-03-17T19:59:00.000-04:00

Useless knowledge about me, but hey you get to know who the writer/photographer is. :)

*Yep, I'm da Beffers. That's my nickname. I always wanted to start a company called Beffertography (obviously selling my photography). Silly, I know, but I'm a fan of the nickname since those nearest and dearest to my heart are the ones that call me that. and i find photography as a way to get myself to relax...so thought the name would be perfect, two things i love combined into one word :)

*I worked in a photo lab from age 16 to 21. It started as a holiday job, ended up being pretty permanent. I went from being a lowly counter person, to printing the photos, to tinkering with a computer to learn how to restore photos (a service which the company had not offered until my tinkering), to collections agent...crazy right? was i the manager, assistant manager? i'll never know, but they were like a second family to me.

*I started my first company at age 10..my friends and i sold friendship bracelets..that's the same year i met my best friend, kristen (aka the sweetpea - you'll probably know her as well as i do by the time i'm done with ya) - that picture is of me and the sweetpea

*After leaving the photo lab, i began working for the company that i currently own (well one of them)...and after a year and a half of working there....i bought it...check it out www.ultramedialabs.com. i transfer home movies to dvd

*Last August, I expanded the company...that's right....I now offer Print on Demand Publishing...another story in itself on how that came about. So i have a separate website for that....www.ultramediapublications.com

*more to come :)

What's some of the fascinating info about you? I'd love to learn more about my online friends :)

xoxo,
BB

Did you know???

2010-03-11T07:44:00.000-05:00

I offer basically all kinds of marketing material for your etsy shop. If you're a jewelry maker/designer you want to build your brand with earring and necklace cards, especially at shows. You might not have a buyer at the show (or they might buy one of your inexpensive items) but if you have a business card or contact info on your jewelry, it will help the buyer (potential buyer) find you again. And at Christmas/Hanukah or Mother's Day time, that could make or break your sales.

I also offer gift cards that you can sell not only in your shop, but also at your shows. Maybe someone isn't sure about which item they'd like to buy. They have two items they just can't decide between (hey, i'm indecisive...i know how it goes) so maybe the purchase of a gift certificate at the show, will help bring that person to your shop when they finally pick which one...and hey, maybe you'll luck out and they'll just buy both...i know i've done that multiple times. I figure well, i can't decide between them so i'll just get them both (i like them both anyway right?).

What i'm saying is, in a world of big businesses like Walmart, you need to make a name for yourself, you have to build your brand (or nobody is gonna know who you are). Your logo should be on EVERYTHING. And it is helpful for everything to match, your stationary, your address labels, your business cards, jewelry cards, your shop banner and avatar...EVERYTHING. If it all matches, people will recognize the logo when they see it again. It makes a huge difference....so go out there and make your little business look big!

xoxo,
BB

New Card for my First Show

2010-03-05T16:01:00.000-05:00

So as we all know....I will be doing my very first show tomorrow. :) I thought that perhaps for the occasion, I should make a new card. Above is the blue poppies personalized card (the card is just the white part, i made a green frame so you could see where the card begins and where the background ends). I looked up the most popular female names and made a set of cards for each of the top ten to bring with me.

Boy, I hope they sell...I have no idea what to do with notecards that say "lisa" on them. tee hee :) I also made up a set that "hello" and another set that say "thank you" and i think, if my memory serves me correctly a set that says "just a note"...same picture, just different words...you get the idea.

So, what do you think of the new card for the first show? Silly to make a new card for an event I've never tried? Clever? Weird?

xoxo,
BB

Oak Tree Elementary School Craft Fair

2010-03-04T20:24:00.000-05:00

This Saturday, I'll be selling my cards at Oak Tree Elementary School in Monroe Township (NJ), alongside my brother who will be selling copies of his books, The Heritage of Terra: The Endeavor and The Heritage of Terra: The Obligation: Shadows of a Threat. I'm so excited! It's my first show selling my cards. Anybody have any advice for a craft fair newbie? I always book Daniel for events like this, but none for myself...so as much as I'd like to say I know what to expect, I really don't. I'm never the seller, just the promoter. :)

Anywho, hope to see you all there. You can contact me at info@bblonskidesigns.com, if you'd like the address of the event.

xoxo,
BB

Up and Running

2010-03-02T21:50:00.001-05:00

Well, here we go...welcome! I've had this page so long and have done absolutely nothing with it. Doh! But I'm up and running, learning how to use blogger, for one uber important reason. Yep...I've started designing graphics for other Etsy Seller Blogs. Well, how am I supposed to know the specs if I don't know how to use the blogger myself? So here I am tinkering away...learning as I go.

My first mission was to create button to link the World Wide Etsy Sellers blog. Hubby taught me the ropes, and we (more him than me) successfully created a button. Take a look over there on the right, you'll see it. And check out the page too, you'll find some great artists there. Well, I must get back to designing..but I shall return!

xoxo,
BB