How To Create a Cute Pumpkin

Fall means Halloween is just around the corner, with witches, ghosts and monsters galore. I used to love this holiday because I got to make some fun costumes for Belinda and her friends.  You can start getting in the spooky spirit with Halloween totes, pillows and embroidery designs in Thirty One’s Fall Catalog – and this easy DIY pumpkin painting craft that’s perfect for big and little ghouls alike.

What you’ll need:

• Small pumpkins or gourds
• Acrylic paint
• Alphabet craft stickers
• Assorted paintbrushes

• Paper plates
• Newspaper
• Paper towels
• Cups of water

Optional:

• Glitter
• Rhinestones
• Glue

Directions:

Lay down newspaper to keep your table or counter mess-free. Use paper plates as paint palettes and squeeze out the colors of paint you want to use. Then, get painting! When you need to switch to a new paint color, just rinse out your brush in a cup of water and dry it on a paper towel.

These pumpkins can be as simple or as funky as you want! Go for one neutral color palette, or let the kids go to town by choosing the colors for their own personal pumpkins.

Spell out spooky words like “Boo!” or “Trick or treat” by placing letter stickers on your pumpkin before painting it, then peeling them off after the paint dries. Or go for a bedazzled look with glitter and rhinestones attached with glue. Check out Hallmark’s Think. Make. Share. blog for more pumpkin-painting inspiration.

Bonus tip: Opt to paint your pumpkins this year to save on the mess and cleanup of carving! Decorate your windowsill or mantelpiece with mini pumpkins, or use them as a festive Halloween centerpiece on the dining room table. Plus, they stay fresh much longer than carved pumpkins.

Looking for some place to store all of your craft supplies.  Check out Thirty One’s Get Creative line.  The Get Creative Caddy is great for crafts, work, or church. Craft time is any time when you pack up our specially designed shoulder bag with paper crafts, knitting, crochet, scrapbooking, painting and more. The stylish Get Creative Caddy has three compartments and seven pockets to organize and transport crafting and sewing items as well as toiletries, toys and travel essentials. These craft caddies partner beautifully with our Get Creative pouches and cylinders.

The Get Creative Carry-All is my favorite.  I carry craft supplies to show and have plenty of room for lots of “stuff”.  I have home health aides who use this to carry their supplies.  Teachers love it because it is roomy. Don’t leave home without your favorite project in this craft bag or sewing bag! Pack up your yarn, paper crafting and scrapbooking items, art supplies and more in this stylish and sturdy travel craft bag. The structured satchel top stays open for easy access to projects while you work, while eight pockets organize crochet hooks, knitting needles, markers, brushes and more. This craft bag can be personalized to make a distinctive and special gift.

Share your pumpkin creations with us…. Have a blessed day!

Looking For the Good

Thank you Mary Southerland for today’s message…

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works (Ephesians 2:10, NIV).

As an elementary school teacher, I am fairly certain I learned a whole lot more than my students did. My first fulltime teaching position was in a school of 900 students, K3 through second grade.

As I read over the files of my students, I was appalled at the labels that had been attached to these kids by their previous teachers. At the ripe old age of six, these children were described as corrupt, bad, failures, impossible to control … and one child was actually pronounced “stupid.” I was furious! I was also determined to change the way the children saw themselves. I pulled out all the stops to help them understand how special they were, but “Star of the Day” was by far the most successful.

First, I bought a piece of yellow foam board, cut out a huge star, decorated it with glitter, used adhesive letters to write “Star of the Day,” and attached it to my classroom door. I then took a picture of each student in my classroom. Each day, I chose a student to be the Star of the Day and attached his or her photo to the star. I also made a badge that read “Star of the Day” which the student wore all day long. My husband built a special desk, painted it gold, attached dime store jewels and streamers, and mounted the desk to a small platform. The Star of the Day sat on their “throne” all day.

The Star of the Day was my personal assistant, handing out papers, running errands, sharpening pencils … whatever I needed done. The other students watched the Star to see all of the good things he or she did. It could be something as simple as picking up a dropped pencil … or opening the door … or being especially nice to someone who was struggling.

At the end of the day, I gathered all of the children in a circle around the Star of the Day. Each student shared one good thing they had seen the Star do that day. No negative comments were allowed. And every student had to participate. It was amazing to watch the transformation in the students as they learned to look for the good in each other and share it with others.

We need to do the same with the people in our world. We need to look for the good things in each other … not the bad. We need to be quick to draw attention to the worthy things we see each other do and applaud those things.

Our words should be filled with acceptance and approval. We need to be cautious with criticism and liberal with praise.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 “So encourage each other to build each other up.”

People become what we encourage them to be. We need to train our hearts and minds to pass over faults in search of strong points. We should choose to draw the strong qualities of others into the spotlight.

We really can learn to look for reasons in each other to praise God. Everyone needs a cheerleader. When we choose to look for the good in each other, an amazing transformation happens. Our perspective of people changes, but that is not all. The people in our world begin to see themselves differently – the way Jesus sees them, precious and chosen – like a star of the day.

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

March Madness

WOOHOO!  It is Monday morning and I am ready to conquer the world.  Okay, so it may be a slight stretch but I am ready to get into the spirit of March Madness.  No, I am not talking about basketball… I am talking about Thirty One’s March Madness.

If you haven’t heard yet, Thirty One has an AMAZING opportunity for hostesses this month.  Are you ready?

That’s right with a $500 party you get DOUBLE hostess credits so instead of $90 in FREE products you are gong to $180!  Talk about a shopping spree!I know, no time for a party right?  The house is a mess and no time to clean.  No room to have my friends over. None of my friends live close.  Too busy.  No money.  I have heard all of the reasons why you can’t have a party and get FREE stuff BUT for just 31 minutes of your time on Facebook, you could have a party.  Yes, you heard me right.

My new Facebook parties have me LIVE with you and your friends for 31 minutes highlighting all of the products you want to see up close. A personal shopper coming right into your home.  Here is how it works….

• I will send you a hostess packet for our party within the next 14 days.
• You share the catalog with friends and family to gather some outside orders.
• You will send me a guest list of 20 people who you want to attend with their snail mail address.  I will send them a personal paper invite with a treat.  Of those 20, you will pick 10 people who are a must have at your party.  Those individuals will receive a mini  catalog with a bonus option for helping you collect orders.
• Once I have the list, I will set up you Facebook party.
• We will do some posts on the party before it starts
• The day of the LIVE party, I will tell everyone how to earn tickets to win
• We will go live at the designated time for some fun and games.
• We will close your party within 48 hours of the LIVE event

Easy peasy, right?  No fuss. No mess.

The best part is all of the NEW items in March at Thirty One

#1 – March Customer Special…… I LOVE this special.  Some of our most popular bags from the NEW Spring catalog on sale

#2 Close to Home Tray is BACK!  This product sold out in 23 days when it was introduced during the holidays.  It is back with two options for personalization.

#3 – Celebrating Teachers and Nurses.  

#4 – You asked for it, we have it!  The NEW Softball icon..

Can you thing better than being a hostess in March?  Maybe it is starting your own business with one of our Spring Enrollment kits…

  

Not only do you get paid to party BUT you will also have the chance to get up to 4 of these amazing kits for FREE each month for the first four months.

So, who is ready to join in the fun?

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

EveryDay Heros

Another PEAK at what is coming in the Thirty One SUMMER catalog…. well, this won’t be in the catalog since it was JSUT announced on Monday but it will be available during the summer.

Do you know a nurse?  Or were you in the hospital, or sick and had a nurse that touched your heart?  Nurses are special people, they have a caring and compassion that is unmatched for their patients.  There was a time when I thought I wanted to be a nurse.  Okay, so that didn’t last long.  Needles and I don’t get along so that wasn’t going to work.  I remember the nursing staff at both hospitals where Edythe and Elsie were spending their last days and those who tolerated me when Rob was in the hospital.  I think a nurses’ worst nightmare is a Social Worker who has some knowledge – that’s ME!  I would say 95% of the nurses we encountered were caring and compassionate.  They understood how difficult each of the situations were on us as the family.  They are the unsung heroes who spend countless hours taking care of our loved ones when they are too sick to be home for us to take care of them.

Teachers – we have had our share of good ones and bad ones.  I have several that stood out for me growing up.  Then there were the ones that Belinda had in public school as well as Pilgrim.  I believe that when teaching becomes “a job” for some and their passion dies – it is time to give it up and let someone else take over.  I remember Belinda’s kindergarten teacher – Mrs. Eck (yes, that was really her name).  She was past retirement age, had health issues and as the kids said she “wobbles across the floor”.  Remember those weeble wobbles (but they don’t fall down).  She had no patience for these energetic kids who had been in pre-school for 2 years.  Then there was the horrible teacher who tried to label Belinda as a “juvenile delinquent” because she had questions regarding the rules or should I say the interpretation of rules.  This was a difficult year for I was afraid that this label would haunt my daughter through her school years.  Funny, though, that year as one called her a juvenile delinquent another called her smart, polite and was thrilled that she had questions and wanted to learn.  My only concern was “is she disrespectful?” and the answer no matter what was “no”.  I am grateful for the teachers that encouraged the curiosity of my daughter and allowed her to be her own person.  It is with their help that she has developed into an AMAZING advocate for children and underserved populations.

What fond memories do you have of the “every day heroes” in your life?  Share them with us.  Honor them with this bag as a thank you for all that they have done and continue to do each day.

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

Recruiting Prospects

On Sunday, I had the privilege of hosting a Celebrate and Connect – Thirty One’s Summer Premiere.  Thirty-five women came together to hear about the new prints and products that will be available this summer.  During the course of our mini training, I learned that ALOT of Thirty One consultants were teachers.  This made me wonder, what makes teachers such great recruits in the direct sales industry?  Of course I found an article about it and now I am thinking I need to look for some teachers to recruit to grow my team this summer.

So, here are the top 10 reasons teachers make great recruiting prospects as outlined in the article:

1. There is both often a need (and want) for additional income and a propensity toward seeking supplemental income.  With weekends and holiday breaks off from school, many teachers seek a part-time job to supplement their income. FACT!

2. Great teachers are willing to put in time and effort.  They work beyond the scheduled hours and understand that preparation is a necessary part of doing a good job.

3. Effective teachers are lifelong learners.  Teacher will probably take advantage of the training available to help them be successful.

4. A great teacher can “shift-gears” when needed. This ability to read the audience, make adaptations and respond accordingly is a valuable skill to apply when conducting home parties. 

5. Great teachers have presentation skills.  Teachers are used to be out front and up front. They speak in front of groups daily. These are transferable to conducting parties as many people at first are not sure if they can stand and speak in front of a group.

6. Great teachers can manage a classroom.  Anyone who has conducted a party knows that there is a finesse to getting the audience to listen, participate and interact. 

7. The best teachers build rapport.  These people-building skills are critical to direct seller’s success. It is important to be able to bring people who might not know each other together and create a sense of community.

8. Great teachers are consistent.  Regardless of how a teacher feels or what is going on in their personal life, they need to put that aside the best they can when entering a classroom.

9. Teachers have a good command of their content.   Teachers categorically tend to study and gain command of the product knowledge. 

10. Teachers teach accountability and to be effective must be accountable.

I LOVE the idea of suggesting to teachers about doing this for the summer for some extra cash.  What a great way to get them up and running then once they start earning additional income, they won’t want to give it up.  I am now on the prowl for some teachers who might want to give Thirty One a shot for the summer.  What have they got to loose, right?

So talk to the teachers you know. Ask what they are doing this summer for part-time work. Ask if they have ever considered that their skills in the classroom could translate to a home party business outside the classroom.

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!