Do you stumble?

So, my latest online adventure is learning the ropes with StumbleUpon. I'm going to be honest, I don't completely get the point. But alas, I do find myself clicking the "Stumble" tool bar when I'm bored to see what pops up. I'm having a hard time refining it to things I love... so far it's things that I kinda like. Maybe I should start using the "thumbs down" too!

I also try my best to send in recommendations... but I never know what to write for the review, or what tags would be best. I guess it's all practice!

How do you use SU?


On an interesting note, here are some stats on SU found on their blog:

• Stumbling increases very quickly in the morning commute hours, and mobile plays a big part in that – during this time, mobile stumbling is 70% higher than the daily mobile stumbling average.
• There is an inverse relationship between what gets stumbled during work hours and what gets stumbled in the evening. Some of the most popular topics during work hours are Cars, Technology, and Health. Some of the most popular topics stumbled at night are Relationships, Philosophy, and Babes.
• There are clear gender differences with many topics on StumbleUpon: e.g., men strongly prefer topics like Babes and Cars, and women strongly prefer topics like Beauty and Fashion.
• Users stumble at work only 20% less than off the clock. But users still stumble once every 3 minutes on average while at work.
• Men stumble later at night than women

There are also some great charts and statistics on the full article if you want to check it out.

Coin Purses

My new venture for my shop is coin purses! I've made four of them for now... I'm still deciding on the right size for them. Here's a little preview of what they look like and I will posting them to my shop in the next week.

How to Care for Your Clutch...

So now you own a lovely Simply Clutch purse… how do you care for it? Let’s start with some common sense...

Everyday care

• Don’t use your clutch when it’s raining outside (unless you will be strictly indoors).
• Avoid leaving your clutch laying on grass, flooring, or even on a table where wine or food can easily spill or splash on it.
• Keep the clutch in the dust bag with the pillow insert so it will keep its form and shape while you are not using it.
• If you take your clutch on a trip and it gets crunched or wrinkled, you can iron it. Set the iron on the silk setting for silk (or cotton) with some distilled water. The steam will help get those wrinkles out. Be gentle when ironing. It might help to open the mouth of the clutch and insert it on the narrow end of the iron so you can steam one side and then the other.

Stains

Oh no! Something stained my clutch! How do I clean it?

• First, empty the contents of the purse.
• If the stain is not too bad, use warm water and a few drops of detergent for delicates (like Woolite® or baby detergents) and dab at the stain gently. Try not to rub the stain as that can cause it to spread and wear down the fibers (especially silk).
• If your clutch it cotton, you can get away with trying a stain remover if it’s a heavy stain. But please be careful! Use just a little and again blot the stain as you go.
• If the stain is heavy, severe, or on light colored silk, consider taking it to a dry cleaner. I would highly encourage you to be mindful as to what dry cleaner you go to. Dry cleaners use a chemical called perchloroethylene or “perc,” which is really bad for the environment (classified as a Toxic Air Contaminant). There are dry cleaners that use a different process (like Hangers Cleaners) that have environmentally safe cleaning technologies (they use carbon dioxide, GreenEarth cleaners, and provide wet cleaning, which is the safest professional cleaning type). Here is more info on the process that Hangers Cleaners uses – try searching for environmentally friendly cleaners near you.

(click on the image to read it)

Here’s an old article from The Wall Street Journal that has other suggestions for cleaners at the end.

Pick Your Outfit...

I'm looking forward to spring... bring on the warm weather!

'4 GREAT complete spring outfits in aqua/red, pink/peach, lilac/silver, and yellow' by lillollipop

4 complete outfits you may love for spring. Each line a different outfit set and color. Enjoy!

teal as folk VeraVague $85.00	Senorita Necklace ElvesGarden $28.00	Handmade frame purse - ... oktak $39.00	UK 7, Handmade leather ... fairysteps $98.00
Simone - Custom Made Dr... LaCostureraSho... $485.00	Spring Green Necklace StudioLaBue $49.00	Soft Pink Leather Ruffl... stacyleigh $375.00	Pink Petal Flower Grace... Fairlyunique $125.00
Japan earhquake and tsu... WORLDLAND $139.00	Lilac and Wisteria Curl... midnightboudoi... $13.00	Purple Silk Clutch with... SimplyClutch $65.00	Bling Bling feesk $80.00
Silk Pleated Collar Dre... amandaarcher $250.00	Flower Statement Neckla... myfaunaflora $98.00	Mustard yellow and char... ChandaHelzer $225.00	Lacey Link Shoe by Kare... karenkell $225.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Rolando Street Fair Fun!

This past weekend I joined up with Mayhem Jane and RAM Designs (Etsy shops still pending) to sell our wares at the Rolando Street Fair. It was a great day and we had so much fun chatting and selling to the locals.

I also had the chance to meet Sarah from Samari Designs! It was great to meet up with a fellow Etsian and another clutch maker. You can also check out her clutches at http://www.samaridesigns.com/. She had some really great information and thoughts, and though we both make clutches, our personalities and styles certainly reflect in our products, making them very unique from each other. I'm looking forward to running into her again!

Here are some fun pictures...



Karina (Simply Clutch) and Emily (Mayhem Jane)





Booth Ambassadors: Perry Pug and Cornelia



Me stringing up some market totes



Eye Candy for this Sunday Morning

My cobalt blue clutch was featured in this treasury, but I really just love all the items. How fantastic is that wrap dress?!

'Into the Deep Blue' by HaynesHerWay

Cobalt Blue Bottom Beach Gla... AlwaysLookDown $29.50	Lighthouse Midnight Blue Sat... CoralieBeatrix $98.99	Recycled Wine Bottle Tray - ... dpholkdesigns $18.00	Prohibition Earrings no.3 - ... soradesigns $26.50
Cobalt - Beaded Flower Hair ... OdodoOriginals $30.00	Stoneware Mixing Bowl with H... virginiawyomin... $72.00	Nejmah KimballPrints $35.00	Butterfly Dress -Blue Cobal... isabelamyo $125.00
blue flowers necklace fakeplastictub... $20.00	Lychee Red Tea Shea Butter B... AubreyEApothec... $10.00	Dora top in blue organic jer... FloremarkShop $70.00	Ginger Jar in Cobalt - Fine ... driftwoodinter... $25.00
Dance Jump Ocean Tide Magnet... keishia $3.00	Summer Beach Paper Flowers B... FlowerThyme $25.00	Cobalt Blue Silk Clutch with... SimplyClutch $70.00	Cobalt Blue Dupioni Silk E... tokyoblues $44.00

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com A/B image testing.

For the Dude in Your Life

I don't know about you, but I usually DREAD having to buy my husband or my dad a present. Perhaps it's the "thoughtful-giver" in me that creates anxiety to find that amazing gift that will blow him away. Basically, how I want to feel when receiving something (no pressure). I know that both are happy with the standard sports jersey, watch, or in my dad's case, war book. I do still love to find the "out of the box" present when possible and thought these were some good finds! How about you? Any awesome "go to" male presents?



Vintage Wooden Racket by Vintage Eye



1935 Military Messenger Bag by Lange Vintage

Green Mario 1-UP Mushroom by Nerd Jerk

Mr. T Mug by Lenny Mudd

Pool Hall Sign by Fun Retro




Fedora by The Vintage Hat Shop