And, sometimes it takes a few tries (over a few years) to really hit it out of the ballpark. At least it usually does for me.

The tricky part is, if you have two or ten blogs. Unless you learn how to tweak your headers yourself, you have to pay every time you want to change even one word. Then you have to know how to load up the new header to your site. And, if you're smart, you're going to want to update your Facebook and Twitter graphics to match.

That can cost a bundle. UNLESS – you learn how to do it yourself.

The good news is that my friend, Angela Wills, is going to be teaching monthly DIY workshops all about taking control of your WordPress websites.

And she's starting from the top. Headers.

When we brainstormed about it, I also asked her if she could include training about Facebook covers and the new Twitter graphics as well, and she said “Sure!”

Here's a quick Q&A with some common questions you might have about WordPress Headers.

How to Update your Own WordPress Headers
by Angela Wills

1. What's a website header?

You know that graphics across the top of most websites, the first thing you see when you get there? That's the header graphic. The header itself is usually defined as whatever is above the website navigation and main site content. It usually has the name of the site and some other images that visually suggest what you'll find on that website.Headers often have pictures of the website owner in them or business logos and taglines. A good website header connects with your target marketing immediately, draws them in and invites them to learn more. That's a big job for one graphic, but it's totally do-able.

2. What's the difference between a header and a logo?

A logo is more of an ‘official' branding piece for your business. In most cases a logo never changes. You know the golden arches, right? If they suddenly were green wouldn't you freak out and wonder what's happening at McDonald's head office, and if someone had lost their mind? That's because the logo is ingrained in your mind as an identification of the company, just as the company name itself identifies it.

A header on the other hand can change. You want your header to definitely represent your brand but it can be something that changes are your business focus shifts and you define your target market more clearly. In most cases you don't want your header to be just a logo unless you're trying to look ‘corporate'. These days it's not necessary to try to make your company look like a big operation to get the trust and business you deserve, so get creative with your header and let it shine with personality that gets you more business!

3. How do I get a new header for my website?

You can hire someone, that's definitely an option. You might be surprised to learn that you can also make your own headers with a free program called Gimp and a few simple graphics techniques.

For example:

• grab a beautiful stock photo from DepositPhoto.com (or Nicole's favorite Big Stock Photo),
• open it in Gimp,
• add your website name in a nice-looking font,
• save it and you've got yourself a header.

Sometimes simple really is best.

4. I want to make matching branded cover graphics for my social media sites too, can I do that with Gimp?

Oh for sure! Once you've got a source file for your website header you can then copy parts of that over to new images that you make for your facebook timeline cover and your new twitter cover, too. This will create great consistency in your branding across all of your marketing and allow people to recognize your business a lot faster. That's a very good thing.

5. Really? Me? I can make a website header? Even if I've never done any graphics in my life?

Really you can. If you can move your mouse around you really can learn some simple techniques that include you clicking some buttons and getting some stuff done. Look, I'm not going to try to convince you that you'll be winning awards for your graphical design skills or anything in the first week of opening the program. I can promise you that it is possible to master enough techniques to make simple, clean and professional-looking headers and other designs (those are my favorite kind).

Here's the link again to my new 3 hour workshops PLUS Q&A calls:  Click here to Get Ongoing WordPress Training

Cool Photo Edits For Your Website

Awhile back, Angela did a surprise guest blog post for me where she demonstrated some of the cool things that you can do once you understand how to use Gimp.

Here are those graphics, dug up from my archives. Cute eh?

Blast from the past. Angela surprised me with these in a guest blog post a year ago.

I decided to have a little fun with Nicole’s picture to use as an example of what you can do. Here’s the picture I swiped from the header here:

And let’s jump right to the results, shall we? Have a look at what I made Nicole say. The last photo edit is my favorite! (hehe)…

Here's the scoop with Angela's new program.

If you want to take control of your own WordPress sites or your clients', this may be for you.

Each month, you'll get:

• Pre-Workshop Materials Checklist
• A Monthly Three Hour Workshop Session
• Follow-Up Q&A and Catch-Up Session (One week after Workshop)
• Recordings of all sessions.

If that sounds like something you can use, be sure to check  out Angela's program here:

Click here to Get Ongoing WordPress Training

You can get just the header workshop on that page or sign up for all of the ongoing training.  She's got the introductory price of the ongoing training set really low to build her members' base. The price will increase at the end of the  month.

Got questions? Please ask. I'll have Angela swing by and answer them here.

Thanks for reading!

Warmly,
Nicole

PS. If you don't have a graphics editing program, be sure to download Gimp – a FREE Program to Create and Edit Graphics.

Click here -> To learn How to Download Gimp for free.

So, what to say? How to proceed?

The Rules.

Here are the rules if you choose to read this blog post.

1. I will explain what happened.

2. I will also still be mama bear and will protect my girl.

So, please, if you choose to comment, understand this –

• Latvia is a beautiful country of proud, hard-working people. The language, food, and scenery are all amazing and wonderful. Their history is inspiring. Yes, their economy is suffering, but it is a country with rich culture and I love it.
• Our girl lives in a safe Children's Home. (The words Children's Home translates to “Bernu Nams” if you're curious). It's in a VERY small town west of Riga.
• She's smart, beautiful, strong, and also a bit stubborn. I love her dearly and always will.
• Any comments that don't support her in every way will be deleted.

The Background Story.

Last December, we hosted a 15 year old girl from Latvia through a mission organization New Horizons for Children.

The purpose of New Horizons is this…

We are a Christian based, international hosting program, which brings over orphaned children from Eastern Europe twice each year to share with them the love of God and the love of a family. NHFC is the largest, faith-based host program, facilitating orphan hosting nationwide.

The Sad Facts…

Without intervention, upon leaving the orphanage, 60% of girls will end up in prostitution, 70% of boys will be on the streets or in jail, and 15% will commit suicide within the first two years on their own.

One person can revolutionize the life of an abandoned child.

My friend, Steph, introduced me to NHFC.

It was getting close to the deadline for Winter Hosting and there were many kids left who had not been claimed yet. Always so many kids, and the little ones always get chosen first. So, I printed out the list of available children (several pages long) and handed it to my husband and said “pick one”.  I didn't ask if he wanted to host a child. I just gave him the papers and asked him to choose. That's how we roll.

I sat down with the papers myself after he went to work. I was going through the photos of one amazingly beautiful delightful child after another, and my heart stopped when I saw her. It was like I already knew her. If you can believe in such things.

Joe came home, and I asked while holding my breath “Which one?” He pointed right to her.

So, we started on this journey to host a child and nothing more. We looked at it as just having a guest for a bit. A fun adventure for her. A fun adventure for us and the kids.

We'd always been open to adoption, but weren't by any stretch actively pursuing it. Plus, we didn't even think it was an option as she was so close to 16 – so we thought that window was closed.

That is, until in walks this sweet, funny, brave girl right into our hearts. And everything changed.

Four Weeks in our Home. (Dec. 2011 – Jan. 2012)

We knew we were in trouble the second night. My Joe was a little afraid to talk to her as he is as he says “big and scary” at 6'3″ and didn't know what her history was. We assumed there was probably some trauma with all of these kids or they wouldn't be in the Children's Home in the first place.

So, he wasn't really talking to her much or making direct eye contact. He'd talk through me (like I speak Latvian or something???) lol.

Anyway, Ivita was in her jammies and socks and she was at the other end of the hallway. Joe asked me to ask her something. I said “no, ask her yourself”.

Ivita said “what?” and I said “Joe wants to say something but he's scared of you.”

She ran dow the hallway, slid on her sockie feet up to the island, looked him straight in the face and said “what you want to say with me?”

Joe laughed, but then he turned and looked right into my soul and I saw it in his eyes “Nik, holy shit, we are in serious trouble… ”

He knew. We both knew at that moment she just fit. We were in for a bigger adventure than we realized.

There are so many amazing memories from those four weeks that she was in our  home. Too many to recount here.

I took over 400 pictures and it was easily the best Christmas of my life to date.

Here is one of my favorite pictures from that month together…

She said she was afraid of dogs. But, that didn't last long when she met my wrinkly Luke.

And, here's a pretty picture of her at the beach.

My favorite memories are too many to count.

I adored watching her English improve so quickly – simply because it allowed us to talk, and talk, and talk.

It was really thousands of tiny moments that added together. For instance, I remembering hearing her giggle and yell “In my pants, I has sand!” when we were at the beach.  It still makes me laugh.

We all enjoyed our time together, but the departure date was looming like a dark cloud in the distance.

As we got closer, Joe and I started to panic. “What if we never see her again? What are we sending her back to? How can we just let her go? Will she be safe? What about when she is sick? Will she be cared for? Will she be warm? Where will she live when she ages out of the Children's Home?”

It's also the time we both started to hear the whisper in our ears louder. “Mine”.

She felt like she was ours and we were absolutely in love with this child.

Legally of course, we couldn't just keep her. Charges of International Kidnapping were not on our wish list.

The day came. I won't tell you how horrible that day was for Joe and I. We'll just say we managed to keep our stuff together to get her on the plane but not a second longer. We drove 5 hours back home in total silence.

To Adopt or Not? That Was the Question.

So at this point, we had to very quickly decide whether to pursue adoption or not.

The problem was threefold.

1. We didn't know if she even wanted to be adopted.
2. We didn't know if she could be.
3. Even if she did and she could be, we had only 3 months until she turned 16 – which was the date she would no longer be able to be referred to us for adoption. We were told that it would be next to impossible to get the referral from Latvia in time to even be ABLE to adopt her unless we moved some serious mountains.

We asked her if she wanted to be part of our family, and while it was a difficult decision to leave her friends and her language and culture behind, she said “Yes”.

We started pushing mountains – I had Congressmen and Senators on standby, I begged and cried at the Biometrics Office in New Orleans to please let us in early (they did not). Joe grayed. A lot.

Those of you who saw me at the February 2012 NAMS, I apologize. I was a mess. We were in the middle of our  home study and I was tears on feet. So, if you were at NAMS and walked by me in tears more than once, this was why.

BUT… with a whole lot of massive action and mountains of paperwork overnighted all over the place, we got her referral just 2 days before her birthday.

Our Trip to Latvia. (June 2012)

When adopting from Latvia, you go on three trips overseas. Our first trip started June 3rd and was a few weeks long. We brought our kids with us, so the four of us headed off on our adventure.

When we showed up at the Children's Home, Ivita squealed and jumped into our arms. We're not sure if she was that happy to see us or shocked that we actually came. Either way, we were thrilled to see her again. We scooped her up and took her to our apartment in Riga.

But she looked skinny. Too skinny. The stress of being in limbo – stuck between two worlds was a lot on her. Heck, the stress was a lot on us. And we weren't the ones uprooting our lives. So, we were concerned. For her. For the odds of our success of bringing her home and being a family. For all of it.

Here are the kiddos in front of the Latvian Freedom Monument. It's basically their Statue of Liberty. (Look at how blue the sky is!)

Joe and I agreed to push down our worries and focus on the time we had together.

We quickly got back into family mode and we had the best little translator in Latvia showing us around.

Funny side note. We went into a shop to get Ivita's Visa pictures taken. I watched Ivita and the lady talking and Ivita was looking frustrated. I was confused, so I just waited. We turned and walked out with no pictures. I said “What happened? Can she do the pictures?” Ivita looked at me with exacerbation and said “I don't know. She speak Russian!” lol. I almost fell over, I was laughing so hard. I just thought she had a really weird angry Latvian accent. Ivita does speak some Russian, but apparently the two were not in sync.

During our time in Latvia, we did a ton of stuff. One of my favorite things to do was to hop on the train and go to Jurmala – which is an adorable beach town near Riga. Jurmala is on the Bay of Riga, which is part of the Baltic Sea. On one of my favorite days, we rented bikes and rode all over town.

Here's a picture from Old Riga that I just love.

Oh, and a picture of the infamous “Cat House” building. The builder designed it to point the catt's butt at the building behind it to prove a point.

Anyway, suffice it to say, the three weeks in Latvia were life altering in many ways, and Ivita was a huge part of the best summer of our lives. We fell even more in love with our girl.

The last day we went to “Orphan Court”, where Ivita signed the papers stating that she did, indeed, want to be adopted.

The entire time we were there, we kept saying “we will see you in a few weeks”. That was, we thought, the plan. A few weeks. She could make it a few weeks. And then we'd be back.

But — on the drive to take Ivita back, the adoption coordinator mentioned that our  next court date in Latvia was scheduled for October 5th. FOUR MONTHS.

It was like an episode of Quantum Leap. When the adoption coordinator said that, Joe and I locked eyes in the back seat of the car and we both knew to make this good-bye a good one. The odds were shrinking rapidly that we'd finish the adoption, let alone see her again. I saw Joe's eyes fill with tears, and I was holding back my own. I just kept reminding myself that this was 1000 times harder on her than it was on us. And it was So. Damned. Hard.

The Wait.

So, basically, we had nearly four months between trips. This is obviously not good when dealing with a teen who can let fear and doubt build in her mind.

And, that's exactly what happened.

To protect Ivita's privacy, I won't get into details here, but at this point, we knew that she was having serious doubts about coming. It wasn't because of us. We know she loves us dearly. It is the whole picture of leaving what's safe and small and known – for a big city, big schools, and a difficult path.

While we were waiting to hear what was going on, I was posting in a private Facebook group that I have for our closest family and friends.

Here are a few things that my Joe and I had posted as we were waiting to hear…

And, my husband posted.

As we were going through the waiting stage, several friends told us that it would happen as it was meant to be. Which to be fair, is a saying that I despise, especially when I'm hurting. Because I think it's a pretty crappy thing to say to someone who is hurting.

But my husband is more gracious.

This was his response.

August 2012.

We found out for sure that our adoption is over.

My opinion is this.

1. She is in a safe place now and has a good life… now.
2. If she had come here, she would have had to struggle now, but would have probably had an easier life as an adult – with a much bigger safety net, having a large family behind her.

She's 16. She chose now over later.

Regardless, the adoption process was over.

The Aftermath.

We are ok.

The Positives:

• She's not dead. She's just 5000 miles away in Latvia.
• She loves us. We know that for sure.
• She wants to still have a relationship with us.
• It gives us an excuse to go to Latvia and see her – and see her older brother and sister who we have come to love dearly, too.

Negatives (There are Too many to count.):

• No keeping her safe.
• No making sure she has pineapple juice in the fridge. (Her favorite.)
• No big big hugs.
• No cooking and baking together.
• No painting her ticklish “feet fingernails” (There's no word for “toes” in Latvian, if you didn't know. There are just hand fingers and feet fingers.)
• No watching her swim in the pool when it's too freaking cold for me to think of getting in.
• No taking care of her when she's sick. I can't make her soup or bring her a blanket or sockies if she's cold.
• No Christmas morning together by the tree.
• No Birthdays or Latvian “Name Days” spent together.
• I don't get to bring her up to Wisconsin and introduce her to all of the people who have been waiting to meet our girl and who already love her.
• I really really wanted to be Mother of the Bride at her wedding and to be Gramma to her beautiful Latvian babies someday.

ok. Well, that all sucks, but I guess it's good. I just love my girl so darned much. Part of what I adore about her, though, is her bravery, optimism, and stubbornness… which is part of what's put us in this position. She's optimistic about her future and she loves Latvia.

The good things to come of this is because we chose to host her and pursue the adoption…

1. she got to come to the United States, see the ocean, fly on an airplane, try new foods, and experience tons of new things. Her world view has expanded.
2. her english is ROCKING. Lots and lots of practice.
3. she was “chosen” to come and got to feel special when she went back.
4. she knows she's loved because some crazy Americans spent months doing paperwork and got on an airplane to see her.

The gifts through this process were…

• I met many incredibly remarkable friends through the adoptions groups who inspire me to be a better person.
• I am a completely different person than I was earlier this year. I have a new-found sense of peace, learning through this experience to let go of things outside of my control.
• I am so thankful that I didn't do fundraising so it's only our money that we're losing. I would feel awful if others had contributed to our adoption. Thankfully no one else had.
• This experience has brought my husband and I closer together. He has jumped through hoops, sweated blood, and done everything asked of him to bring our girl home.  He is my personal hero. And he is our glue.

And, most importantly…

• If she hadn't said yes, we would have missed out on the BEST summer vacation of our lives – with the best little translator in Latvia.

Regardless, I wouldn't trade this experience for anything.

ok. Enough rambling. I'd better get to work and let you, as well.

I would also like to personally thank  everyone who prayed for us and sent lots of love to us. (Please direct those prayers to the 178 million orphans on the planet. They need the prayers more than I do.)

Thank you for reading.

Hugs,
Nicole

Eddie was afraid of cameras, so I got very few pictures of him in his short life.

Here's a few of the rare pics we have of him –

Thanks for cheering him on on the last two months that he was ill. It means so much to me to have such a fabulous online family – and that you’re part of that.

Hugs and thank you for reading – and caring.
Nicole

Actually my entire blog is under major construction behind the scenes. I've been motivated by the latest challenge over at Lynn Terry's Elite Mastermind Group that I belong to. The challenge this month involves getting ranked in the top 3 for a search term of our choosing. This has been really pushing me to reassess my SEO efforts which is something that I haven't looked at in awhile. So, wish me luck!

If you'd like to learn more about why I consider being in a mastermind group a non-negotiable essential part of my online success, here's a post that I wrote on the topic, with picture:

The Benefits of Online Mastermind Groups for your Internet Business

ok. On to Weird Website Wednesday.

This week, I found this site: Men Who Look Like Kenny Rogers

Check out this screenshot of the site:

LOVE it? I do! It even gives you tips for looking more like Kenny and includes advice for spotting Kenny. (Be sure to click through and check it out.)

The more I looked through the pictures of Men who looked like Kenny Rogers, the more I kept thinking of one particular Internet Marketer who's on my mind quite a bit these days – the awesome, kind, and generous – Dr. David Perdew who created the NAMS Conference in Atlanta.

David Perdew, NAMS

What do you think? Kenny Rogers-ish? Yes? No? Needs to work on his “Kenny” look more?

David is a GREAT guy and he puts on an even better event. (Hey, he has ME as a speaker. He must be pretty darned smart, if you know what I mean!) 

On that note, if you are interested in meeting all of the following people at NAMS in January 2010, I highly encourage you to check out the event. It'll be great fun. Personally, I can't wait!

The list of speakers is on the site, but I'll post it here, too:

• Willie Crawford
• Kathleen Gage
• Jimmy D. Brown
• Lynn Terry
• David Preston
• Jeff Herring
• Kevin Riley
• Bob “The Teacher” Jenkins
• Maritza Parra
• Aileen Bennett
• Ellen Britt
• Nicole Dean
• Dr. Ron Capps
• Mary Wilhite
• Denise Wakeman
• Sid Hale
• Joey Smith
• Scott Tousignant
• David Perdew
• Tawnya Sutherland

If you'd like to hang with us, eat meals with us, and have a drink with us – you've gotta come to Atlanta in January. It's worth it. (Heck, I'd be paying for my own ticket again if I wasn't getting in free as a presenter. I guarantee it!)

To join us, go to this link: Learn More About Niche Affiliate Marketing System Workshop .

Hope to see you there!

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

PS. If you'd like to see pictures and a read my review (both positives and negatives) of the last NAMS, here's my blog post: Review of NAMS Workshop in Atlanta.

Please note that the ticket is 100% refundable if you can not attend. David is a person with integrity and will honor your request if you are ill or can not make it any reason.

It's the day to celebrate those with shiny heads.

BUT – as my husband, father, and grandfathers – and our Scott Tousignant of Fat Loss Quickie fame knows — sometimes you want or need to cover your head.

It could be for many reasons:
– Cold weather.
– Sun damage.

Or maybe just for a new look. Hey, if we get to change our hair color and hair styless all the time, maybe the baldies should have the same rights.

Enter – the Flair Hair Visor!

Yes, you can have your visor and hair, too. To see it in real life, though, you have to check out these sites.

The Original Flair Hair Site.
Buy Flair Hair.

But, don't forget about RE-niching your product after it's created.

What about all those fabulous bald babies who dream of the spiky hair that they'll once have?

Yes, you can get Flair Hair for Babies.

There is a lesson to be learned here. I had to go to SEVERAL shops that I wanted to post links to before finding one. Very few of them had graphics with pictures of actual people on them.  The main Flair Hair site does (including customer images which is cool) – but there is not retail shopping there, so you couldn't buy them if you wanted one.

Always, always (and did I mention always) include pictures of people using your products whenever possible, especially if they are to be worn! I mean, that picture of the baby? Priceless!

So, there are a few lessons to be learned here about business.

But, as always, I want to hear your thoughts first before I come back and pipe in with the rest of mine.

And, of course, thanks for reading. I hope that I made you smile.

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

The focus of NAMS is all about building your online business, growing it, and experiencing the kind of lifestyle you're working towards.

Guess what? I'll be leading some of the workshops next year. (Yay me!)

If you're interested, be sure to grab your spot now for the January 31st event.  There's a huge discount that you can save a ton of money on the ticket. (Plus, it's 100% fully refundable if something comes up and you can't attend.)

Click here to learn more about NAMS.

Here are some pics from the event:

That's me and Lynn Terry. Don't you just love her shirt?!
You can order that shirt “I’m Blogging This” at Think Geek.

That's Susanne (The Hillbilly Housewife), Tracy Roberts (Love Impossible), and me.

ok. The full scoop.

What I really liked about NAMS:

1. One of the things that I really loved about the event was the fact that it was a workshop, not just lectures. I saw a lot of attendees actually making progress and trying new things while they were at the event. Usually at these types of events, people take a bunch of notes, go home and then do nothing because they either forget the details or they get overwhelmed. So, this type of setting really pushes you to make progress.

2. Another aspect that I liked was that the workshops were broken down by skill level. After our big pep talk in the morning, we broke into smaller rooms of beginners, intermediate, and advanced. I was in the advanced room, which was a pretty intense, serious business masterminding experience. Intense but with serious results. I popped into the intermediate room to hear one of Willie Crawford's talks (about arranging JV partners) – and those were a lot more relaxed. The beginner room was a lot of fun.

3. I also enjoyed the fact that we ended each day in the same big room again as a group. It allowed David Perdew to wrap up the day, give away some goodies, and let us know what we were in for the next day. Then, we all left the room together and headed out to dinner and drinks and discussion. It kept us from becoming too segmented and made sure that the beginners and intermediates walked out of the room with the people who could help them.

4. Good people. I was thrilled at the level of helpfulness and overall goodwill at the event. Some events feel “closed” and this was like family. In fact, David's lovely bride (an Opera singer) sang “Amazing Grace” on Sunday morning and brought tears to the eyes of many of the people in the room.

5. Mostly Pitch-free Weekend. At many seminars you feel slimy at the end of every presentation because it's nothing but a sales pitch – no real value. This was not that way at all. The entire weekend was packed with actionable content and only one or two product/coaching suggestions tossed in, which I didn't mind one bit.

What could be improved for next time?

I've already said all of this to David, and he's really receptive to feedback so I'm happy to share my thoughts in public here.

1. The theme of the weekend got a bit confusing. Although the event was called “Niche Affiliate Marketing” the lectures/workshops included all kinds of info-product creation, too. While this was fine for the advanced group, I think it confused some of the newer marketers.

2. I would have liked to see the beginners & intermediates have more list-marketing workshops. My lists are my livelihood and I think that really should have been included.

3. The hotel had WONDERFUL staff and they went above and beyond on every front except for one minor thing. The internet was not reliable, which becomes a big thing when you've got 100 plus people all trying to be online at the same time. Not good. I understand that the event will be at a different location in January, which is unfortunate, since the staff was fabulous. However, an internet marketing workshop really needs internet access.

4. I wasn't crazy that the beginner group started off with Ning and Cagora. I felt that they should have addressed getting their first WordPress blog up and running first. However, I did discuss this with Lynn Terry on Friday night of the workshop and she made a point to find the attendees that had zero internet real estate of their own and get them started with a blog during the weekend.

Wrap up.

I can't even begin to tell you how cool it is to sit and talk with Willie Crawford, Jeff Herring, Kathleen Gage, and the rest of the brilliant people that were there. And, leaving was like the end of summer camp. I had tears when I hugged people good-bye. But, don't let that worry you. It wasn't cliquish at all. It was my first time attending, so it's not like being the new kid trying to get in with the others at all.

But – there are only a few days left to grab the hugely discounted NAMS tickets. If you even  *think* you might like to hang out with me, Willie Crawford, Bob the Teacher, and Lynn Terry in person and share a meal, a drink, and a conversation – then grab a 100% fully refundable spot (Three day workshop).

Here's the scoop: Click here to learn more about NAMS.

It's a fantastic event with wonderful people who truly care. If  you can swing it, I highly recommend attending.

Thanks so much for putting your trust in me. I appreciate it greatly!

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

PS. Granted, I'm  speaking so I don't have to pay for this one other than my airplane ticket and hotel expenses, but I DID pay to attend earlier this month and I would again if I wasn't a speaker. So, I put my money where my mouth is.

And, just for fun, some more pics:

Loretta Oliver, me, Mary Blackburn, Gail Richardson.

Click here if you'd like to join us at NAMS.

Me having breakfast between Jeff Herring and Lynn Terry. Guess whose head is on the left side? Willie Crawford.

Me and a bunch of great people from this Masterminding Group.

Thanks for reading. I can't wait to hear your comments. And, I'd love to chat with you in person at NAMS.

Scrapbooking is a favorite hobby of many. It involves displaying one's favorite photographs in a unique and beautiful way. Scrapbooking supply stores have opened in many cities and towns, making it easy to find beautiful embellishments for our memories.

Lots of people love the look of scrapbooks, but some do not have the time or skill required to make their own. Scrapbooking can be somewhat time-consuming, especially to novices. Creating beautiful scrapbooks for others can provide you with a lucrative and fun home business opportunity.

Getting Started with Your Scrapbooking Business

To create scrapbooks, you will need albums, paper, page protectors, adhesives, and decorative accents. Scrapbooking supplies can be found at many craft stores and specialty shops. They are also available online. If you can find them in bulk, you can get a better price on them, lowering the cost of your creations.

You can save money by having your customers purchase their own albums, or by purchasing them as you go. You will recover your costs once the scrapbook is paid for, but when you're getting started buying a lot of albums may not be feasible. Another way to save money in the beginning is to buy only basic supplies at first. You can always buy more embellishments as needed. Another option is to join a Direct Sales company that sells scrapbook supplies or rubber stamps and use those supplies as the foundation for your business.

Promoting Your Business

Promotion of your scrapbooking business can be done in many ways. You could place ads in newspapers and other print publications. Fliers showing pictures of some of your favorite creations can be placed in various locations. You could even set up a portfolio website so that potential customers can browse numerous samples of your previous work.

Craft fairs and festivals provide great opportunities to promote a scrapbooking business. They give you the opportunity to show entire albums that you've done. They also allow you to speak face-to-face with interested parties. You can answer any questions they might have, explain techniques, and show some of the materials you use.

Scrapbooking is a passion for many. If you eat, sleep, and breathe scrapbooking, creating scrapbooks for others and making money doing so could be a dream come true. Many people's busy lives do not allow them much time for hobbies, and they would gladly pay someone to make a beautiful album featuring their treasured pictures. Offering this service can provide you with a steady income while allowing you to spend more time doing something you enjoy.

As someone with very little time and patience, I would definitely hire someone to do my scrapbooking for me — in a heartbeat!

My friend, Dawn, has put together a complete course on Scrapbooking for Profit. So, if you LOVE Scrapbooking, find out how to turn that into cash (or more cash if you're already a Consultant for a Scrap company).

Click here to check it out.

Warmly,

Nicole

Anyway, we ran down to the beach a few days ago to snap some pictures and I think this one turned out pretty darned cute, if I do say so myself.

Puppy Update: After posting the picture of my rotten puppy a few months back, several of you have asked for updates. My puppy is still rotten as ever. He eats acorns like they're candy, which wouldn't be bad, except that the live oak in our backyard has dropped like 10,000 of them and he's snarfing them up like a vacuum. I guess he's getting a little fiber, which is a good thing? I would post a picture, but you may recall that he's terrified of the camera. Freak. lol.

Anyway, that's my little family. (All three of my babies.)

More coming soon. Back to work and holiday preparations here…

Nicole

Well, last month, Jimmy posted pictures of his office — with a bunch of amazing tips for being more productive. His office is … GORGEOUS. I can't spill the beans — (you'd have to join to see all the fun stuff) — but, I've got to say I think I could LIVE in his office!

Since Jimmy knows I just think the world of him, and that I'm not *quite* as organized as he is, here's my Homfice (Home Office) for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

How Not to Set up a Productive Office
by Nicole Dean

I set out to share with you how I've set up my homfice. The first thing I did was grab my trusty new little digital camera that I LOVE! (My other one stopped working after the kids took pictures of me doing flip turns in the swimming pool — I'm wondering if the effort of taking pictures of me in my swim suit was just too much for the poor little camera and it just rolled over dead from the effort? Anyway, here's my new camera –> Canon PowerShot SD1000 7.1MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Black).)

The first picture is of my office chair…

Yes, the dog ate my chair.

So, then I was going to show you a picture of my dog. I got my trusty little camera and called him… “Come here, Eddie! Come on good boy!” and he hid under the desk.

Being intuitively-challenged, I kept calling him, grabbed his squeaky ball, tried to coax him out from under my desk with no luck. (Picture me laying on the floor, still in my jammies holding a squeaky ball and a camera. The things I do for my blog readers!)

After struggling with no luck, I called my 10 year old son into the room to help. My son looks at me like I'm daft and says “You know he's afraid of the camera, right?”

Obviously I didn't.

So, like a good blogger, I go back to the task at hand. I asked my son to pet the dog so I could get a picture of my naughty puppy.

Here you go.. the stinker dog with my sweetie boy!

He's awfully cute considering he's eaten a portion of my office chair, a chunk from my exercise bike seat, several book cases, every Barbie shoe in the house, a few boxes of crayons, and many other things I'm embarrassed to admit. But, he's getting better all the time! (You know I'm talking about the dog, right?)

More soon on this topic. But, I would love to see pictures of YOUR office, too! Please blog about your office and comment with the link below.

UPDATE: The report isn't available at ListandTrafficNow.com anymore but you can still get it. So, if you're nosy like I am, then run over to HomepreneurHabits.com to peek inside Jimmy's office. I know you want to!

Looking forward to reading your thoughts. And, I'm taking more embarrassing pictures that I'll post soon.

Nicole

In June, we celebrated our 10 year anniversary by renewing our vows.

Can you tell I love this man?! I told him I'd marry him 100 times if he let me. He said “Sweetie, 2 is plenty.” lol.

I wrote a little article about putting together a Marriage Vow renewal. Marriage Vows

Thanks for letting me share my “why”. Please share your stories of romance. I love hearing them.
Nicole

PS. Enough chit-chat. Get back to work.