Whatever Wednesday: Fresh Produce

Maybe this is more like a tip, but either way I love this! I'm one of those people who loves to garden, but lives in an apartment where the only growing done is in small containers. Not exactly ideal for peas, strawberries, apples, etc.

So I found this great company called Click-2-Pick Produce which is a cooperative of family and small farms across California, Nevada, Utah and a few other states. Since they work together, you get super fresh produce at roadstand prices which can be up to 40% off what you'd pay at the grocery store.

They have small baskets if you have 2-3 people in your family, or larger baskets for 4-5 member families. I've gotten grapefruit, avacados, tomatoes, strawberries, baby zuccini, broccoli and even beets. The beets were new to me, but that's another great thing. You get to try new things you might not have bought yourself.

So check it out, they've got pick up spots across several states and you don't have to committ to a plan or anything.

Thursday Treat:4th of July Sparklers

Like most sparklers, these are extinguished after a short while -- with several large bites. I wish I could take credit for this idea, but it came from the fine folks at marthastewart.com. If you're looking for more great 4th of July ideas, i would definitely recommend checking it out!

To make two dozen, place 4 ounces chopped semisweet chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.

Stir occasionally until melted; remove from heat.

Using a pastry brush, coat the upper third of each pretzel rod in chocolate. Cover with sprinkles; stand pretzels upright in a glass.

Place in the refrigerator until firm, about 5 minutes.

Whatever Wednesday : Can I get a woot Woot!

I love woot.com because you never know what's going to be on sale each day. Woot.com offers 1 product each day of the week and sells it until it's gone. I've seen everything from squid power strips, toy cars, micro secure digital cards, memory albums and even cedar planks for grilling!

Prices are great and satisfaction is guaranteed!

Occasionally there will be a woot off where any remainder items are sold at even better prices and since there are low quantities, the site can go through several listings that day.

Woot.com also has a few fun spin off sites, of which my favorite is shirt.woot.com. Independent artists create the designs and enter them into a derby to see which lucky art work will grace a limited run of shirts. The best designs are gone before 11am, so if you want to get in on the fun, do it first thing in the morning :)

Even if you don't plan to make a purchase, i recommend checking it out because a lot of the fun comes just from seeing what kind of item is up for grabs today!

Tuesday Tip: Join a Group!

Are you looking for a way to promote your shop and make friends? It's easy to do when you join a group based on any of a variety of similar interests or circumstances.

Love to knit? Are you a mom with young children? Like to scrapbook? Love to make found objects into something new? Love to cook? Whatever it is there is a group you can join to discuss you passion and get advice not only on the group topic, but other things as well.

Etsy has loads of groups, or you can try flikr, facebook, as well as your email provider. Google and yahoo both have groups you can search to find the right one for you.

A word of advice though. Before jumping right in, take some time to read the posts from the last few days or weeks so you can get a feel for what the group is talking about, points they may have already covered and a general sense of the rules of posting. Then when you join you'll be less likely to be treated as a noobie and more likely to be welcomed.

Thursday Treat: Fresh Lime

Here's a super easy and tasty drink recipe for those hot summer days. You can make it as sweet or tart as you like. I learned the secrets when I worked for a popular local caterer and I love to make it whenever i can.

Fresh Lime

Ingredients:

2 Liters 7-Up - not Sprite!

1 can frozen Limeade concentrate

6 limes

Ice

Start by emptying the limeade into a large pitcher. Then add as much 7-Up to the pitcher as you would water as listed on the limeade mixing instructions. Squeeze the juice from 5 of the limes and add to pitcher. Also add the squeezed limes themselves. Stir all together and take a small taste. It will probably be too tart, so slowly add more 7-Up until it is the right balance of sweet and sour for your palate. Pour over ice in glasses and add lime wedges as a garnish.

It's best if you mix this drink right before you're ready to serve so the soda doesn't loose all it's fizziness.

Whatever Wednesday:Newsies go GaGa

Remember that movie Newsies with super cute Christian Bale before his Batman days? Well here's the classic sieze the day number but remixed to Lady GaGa - this made me smile from ear to ear!

Tuesday Tip: Optimizing Your Shop for Search Engines

A while back the fine people at Etsy came out with a set of VERY helpful hints on how to optimize your shop titles, listings and descriptions to be more attractive to search engines. I tried this on my shop and I saw a lot more hits in the following weeks.

To gage the difference in before and after, you should totally be using Google analytics to see who and where your shop visitors are coming from. To do this, log into your shop and on the left hand side there's the menu of shop areas. Under "shop setup" there's a listing for web analytics and there are directions for what you need to do.

These SEO(search engine optimization) principles can also be applied to blogs or other social media sites to help people on the big wide interwebs find you and what you're trying to say, sell, show - whatever!

Here's a link to the step by step process along with handy photos to help you understand what all that crazy technical jargon means. The techies in your life will be very impressed with what you've learned :)

Monday Make: In Honor of Flag Day

Here's another fun one from the fine people at Good Housekeeping in honor of the Stars and Stripes. Once you make this craft you can keep it up through the 4th of July, and if you live in Utah, the 24th as well.


All you need is a styrofoam wreath form and a ton of flag picks. Just stick them into the form until it looks full enough. How easy is that!? Your door will be the envy of the neighborhood and this a craft even the kids can do.

Overstock.com to help small businesses

Here's an article from KSL.com found by one of our members, Mary. This could be a great opportunity for anyone who's interested in seeing if they're ready for a larger market. Since Overstock.com is based in Utah, maybe your chances will be even better :)

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Overstock.com to help small businesses

June 11th, 2010 @ 5:10pm

By Keith McCord

SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah's Overstock.com is reaching out to small businesses across the country, giving them a huge opportunity to market their products.

The partnership, called "Main Street Revolution" was launched just last week ago, and more than 3,500 products are now being seen by millions of online shoppers.

Overstock President Jonathan Johnson III says, "Our Main Street Revolution … we think it's one of the best ideas we've ever had."

Overstock.com, a Utah-based online retailer, has been selling brand name and specialty merchandise at discount prices for a decade. It's a business model that's worked very well.

"Last quarter, end of the first quarter, we grew our revenues by 40 percent," Johnson says. "We made money, and for a retailer that's always the Holy Grail."

"Main Street Revolution," which you can access from Overstock.com's main web page, is at small mom-and-pop and minority-owned businesses. Even if you are the only employee, company size doesn't matter.

"A lot of businesses may feel that they are too small to be on Overstock.com, but that's not true", says Rosette Keth, Main Street Revolution Buyer. "We are looking for small, homegrown businesses. We'd like you to have 25 employees or less."

"We're looking for a wide range of consumer products. It can be anything --handmade jewelry, clothing, gourmet food that can be shipped of course, furniture, if you make furniture home décor."

Overstock is contacting chambers of commerce in small towns across the country, as well as offices of the small business administration to find small companies. Overstock employees will even wander through a farmers market looking for items that will fit into the "Main Street" program.

"Some of the companies have their own websites, and some don't," Johnson says. "They're just driving around in a van selling to local craft shops and restaurants. Either way we'll take them, because we think it's a great way to expose their product and get customers exposed to great things that people want to buy.

Since the launch, there are 3,500 products from small companies now on the "Main Street Revolution" site. And with 21 million unique visitors coming to Overstock.com each month, it is a huge opportunity for small businesses to grow.

"What we'd like is for some of these small businesses to be the next great manufacturers in America", says Johnson. "Have their sales increase so much that they can't do it out of their garage, so they need warehouses, and hiring people and helping to spur the economy."

You can join Overstock.com's Main Street Revolution by emailing mainstreet@overstock.com.

E-mail: kmccord@ksl.com

Thursday Treat : Baked Beans for Summer BBQs

Here's one of my favorite things to bring to neighborhood and family get-togethers. It's a dish that's easy to make and you'll never have to worry about left overs!

This recipe makes enough for a 9x13 pan. You may want to make a batch to take and one to keep at home :)

Ingredients:
3 Cans pork and beans - discard the "pork" chunk
1 C Ketchup
2 T Mustard
1/2 C Brown Sugar
1/2 Yellow Onion - chopped
1 Green Bell Pepper - chopped
1 Can Pineapple chunks- drained
4 - 5 strips bacon - cooked and crumbled

Mix everything together and bake at 350 for a minimum of 2 hours, stirring occasionally. I like mine super thick, so I usually let them bake for 3 1/2 to 4 hours if I have the time. Mmmmm tastes like summer already!

Whatever Wednesday: What the FARK?

If you love hearing about crazy news stories from across the country or even the world, you'll love FARK.

Drew Curtis collects the wackiest stories from a variety of news sources and compiles them into one handy little site for your enjoyment. There are also nifty little categories and a brief synopsis, do you know what your getting into before you click the link.

Great for a laugh and sometimes a confidence boost, check out FARK.

Tuesday Tip: Build a Better Birthday Party

Here's a few fun and relatively easy ideas to help make your child's upcoming birthday bash more fun!

Cupcake Bar

Great for all ages, but especially for younger kids, this activity is fun and tasty too! All you have to do is bake the cupcakes and let the guests do all the work. Set out cans of frosting, a variety of sprinkles, and other fun toppings like mini-marshmallows, chocolate chips, gummy candies and more!

Photo Booth

Use a sheet or create a fun themed back ground, round up a variety of silly props(boas, sunglasses, hats, etc) and have the kids strike a pose. You can either print the photos and send home with the kids or mail them out later as a way for your child to say thanks for coming.

Fun Favors

Let kids create their own party favors: tie dyed shirts, seedlings in hand painted flower pots, or if the part is a sleep over, pillow cased personalized with fabric markers.

Monday Make:Golf Cake for Dad's Day

Father's day is just a few weeks away, so here's a fun project that'll show your golfing dad you were thinking of him.

What to do:

Ingredients:
•2 (9-inch) round cakes
•1 can (16 ounces) vanilla frosting
•Green food coloring
•Yellow food coloring
•1 ½ cups shredded sweetened coconut
•1 cup ground vanilla wafers
•1 (4-inch) piece of Fruit by the Foot fruit leather
•1 wheat stick (Pringles) or thin pretzel stick•1 large chocolate chip
•3 white gumballs

What you'll need:
•A serving platter
•A bread knife
•1 large resealable plastic bag (Ziploc)

Trimming the cake:
1.Cut a 1 ½-inch-deep oval from the cake (see template). Arrange the cakes on a serving platter.

Frosting the cake:1. Tint the vanilla frosting grass green with the green and yellow food coloring. Spread the green frosting on the top and sides of the cake to cover completely.

To complete the decoration:
1.Place the coconut in a large resealable bag. Add 2 teaspoons warm water and several drops of green and yellow food coloring. Massage the bag until the coconut is tinted bright green. Add more food coloring if desired for a darker color.
2.Sprinkle and press the coconut over the cake as shown in the photo for the fairway. Leave a few areas open for the sand traps and putting green.

3.Pour the ground vanilla wafers onto the open areas for the sand traps.

4.Fold the fruit leather in half over the end of the wheat stick and press together for the flag. Press the wheat stick flag into the putting green area.

5.Press the chocolate chip, pointed end down, in the putting green area for the hole. place a few white gumballs on the cake for the golf balls.

I wish I could take all the credit for this great idea, but i confess, I found it at parenting.com. Check out the site for more fun cakes for birthdays or other celebrations.

Treat Thursday: Old Glory Cookies

This fun recipe comes from the fine folks at Good Housekeeping and they look great as decorations as well as being a tasty treat. You need two star shaped cookie cutters, one large and one small.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C flour

1/8 t baking soda

1/8 t salt

1 stick butter, softened

1/3 C granulated sugar

1 lg egg yolk

1/2 t vanilla

1 1/4 oz hard red candies, crushed

1 1/4 oz hard blue candies, crushed

In one bowl mix together all dry ingredients except candies. In second bowl cream butter and sugar, then add egg and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients into wet a little at a time until the dough comes together. Press dough into disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate 30 mins.

Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment. Roll out dough between two sheets of parchment paper until 1/4 inch thick. Use large cookie cutter to cut out and then use small cutter to take out the centers.

Fill cookie sheet with large stars and bake 7 mins. Remove cookies from oven and fill centers with crushed candies. Replace in oven and bake 5 - 8 more minutes until edges are brown. Remove to wire rack to cool.

Fill cookie sheet with small stars and cook 10 - 12 mins or until golden brown. Remove and cool on racks.

Whatever Wednesday: What a Wreck

Here is one of my most favorite sites to check out whenever I need a pick me up.

It's Cake Wrecks and it's totally hilarious! You laugh yourself out of your chair or gasp in horror as you see all the wreck-tastic cakes that stores have made and thought - yeah that looks good - before they priced and try to sell these things. Unbelievable!!!!!

Check it out, you won't be sorry :)

Tuesday Tip: Essential Social Media

In case you're not up on the latest when it comes to social media, here's an article that can help you understand a little of what they can do for you as you promote your business or yourself.

Granted they don't all work for everyone, but experiment and try them out. You should be able to get a feel for those that are the best and then you can focus on a few, instead of spending all your time trying to do them all.

Some of the highlights include: 5 unique ways to use twitter for business, 8 strategies to engage multicultural consumers, why retention should be a priority in social marketing, and HowTo: add Blogger Outreach to your PR plan.

Check it out and see if there's something that can help you get more traffic to your shop, blog or whatever you're trying to do online.