Last minute holiday shipping for retro gifts

There is still time for last minute holiday shipping at Desiredsimplicity!  Find vintage jewelry, wallets, purses, and other fun colectible items for you or someone you love! 

10% off every item in shop...some items ship free
desiredsimplicity.etsy.com

                                                          Vintage 80s rhinestone stretch ring

http://www.etsy.com/listing/116407801/vintage-80s-rhinestone-stretch-ring

 



 

Vintage Vera acetate scarf 1960s

 

http://www.etsy.com/listing/116245259/vintage-vera-acetate-scarf-1960s?ref=v1_other_1

 

Vintage 80s uno card game

http://www.etsy.com/listing/116409411/vintage-80s-uno-card-game

 

Vintage red leather wallet with coin change purse - SALE

http://www.etsy.com/listing/116630294/vintage-red-leather-wallet-with-coin

 

Vintage Trifari clip on earrings

http://www.etsy.com/listing/89784706/vintage-trifari-clip-on-earrings-cyber

 

Vintage beaded handbag clutch / seed bead purse / evening bag

http://www.etsy.com/listing/114483092/sale-vintage-beaded-handbag-clutch-seed

 

For more last minute christmas gifts, many on sale visit desiredsimplicity.etsy.com

Black Friday Sale 2012

Vintage jewelry, purses and collectibles all on sale for

Black Friday and Cyber Monday!

All vintage items in my shop, desiredsimplicity.etsy.com will be on sale now through the holidays.  Every item is 10% off with the use of my coupon code: HOLIDAY2012SALE

Want to save more money?  Many items are also discounted for the sale and the coupon code can be used on top of those savings!

Purchase with confidence...open since 2009 and 100% positive feedback

Here are some examples of what you can find from the comfort of your home!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/115540645/vintage-sexton-metal-gold-skeleton-key

 

http://www.etsy.com/listing/104505673/vintage-rhinestone-cluster-necklace-sale

 

 

http://www.etsy.com/listing/114888319/vintage-brown-leather-patchwork-purse

http://www.etsy.com/listing/114888023/sale-vintage-womens-gold-mesh-stretch

http://www.etsy.com/listing/114576938/vintage-60s-monet-gold-tone-bangle

http://www.etsy.com/listing/80771063/vintage-woven-earrings-pendant-silver

 

 

http://www.etsy.com/listing/111937475/monet-gold-tone-hoop-earrings

 

http://www.etsy.com/listing/114802764/vintage-80s-green-lucite-hoop-earrings

 

http://www.etsy.com/listing/111851490/vintage-russian-nesting-dolls-set-of-7

 

For more great items to view vist  desiredsimplicity.etsy.com 

 

 

Recycle and Upcycle Christmas Gifts

Upcycle for Christmas
 

Upcycling or recycling items for gifts will keep life simple and creative for the holidays.  

What is upcycling?  Upcycling is taking an item and creating it into a new item. This kind of creativity for your gifts will surely bring smiles and may even save you some money! 

Here are some fun ideas

Brooch gift bow: 

Simply take a vintage brooch and pin it onto you gift ribbon.  You just upcycled your ribbon!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/111937237/vintage-christmas-rhinestone-bell-brooch

Vintage bow tie box ribbon:

Find a unique mens bow tie and turn it into a ribbon!  What fun it will be to open that present and play dress up with the bow tie after.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/111235725/vintage-bow-tie-polka-dot-tie

Bookmark gift card:

For those hard to buy for individuals that you just end up buying a gift card for, try jazzing up their gift.  For example if you purchase a  book store gift card, attach a beautiful vintage bookmark to the card or attach it to the outside ribbon on the gift box.  This simple idea adds so much thought to your gift.  

http://www.etsy.com/listing/111954808/vintage-brighton-heart-bookmark

Jewelry box:

Find an old vintage box, jewelry box or box with lid at a craft store and add some old vintage earrings or buttons to the outside.  Get creative and have fun with your decorating.  Use the box to place your jewelry gift inside.


http://www.etsy.com/listing/110506847/vintage-tear-drop-necklace

These few ideas should get you started on your road to gifting through upcycling!  

For more simple gifts visit my store

desiredsimplicity.etsy.com

 

Buying tips for the consumer

Buyers are liars is the old saying.  I used to offended by this statement until I realized it is often true.  Why is it true?  Well I think through the times buyers have been taken advantage of or feel that they have been taken advantage of. The result is we become dishonest in our buying habits.  We shop companies, reveal competitor quotes, expect companies to reduce their prices and say we are coming back when we know we won't be.  So what...who cares...but guess what.  Our dishonesty is hurting companies.  Companies that have families just like us.  

How can we stop this behavior and become an honest buyer?  

First we need to realize most companies offer reasonable prices.  I used to think these companies just pocketed my hard earned cash and ran off giggling to the bank at my expense.  What they are actually doing with this cash is paying for the merchandise you bought, paying employee payroll, rent, lights, heat, advertising, internet, office supplies, trash, government taxes, medical and the list can go on and on.  Sometimes the actual owner doesn't even get a paycheck!  

Second we need to realize that this business we are at is entitled to a profit for their product.  Just like we are entitled to a paycheck from our job after a long week of hard work.  Most likely if a company was overcharging they would not be in business for very long.

Third we are entitled to shop around.  We are not entitled to show competitors quotes just to get a lower price.  It's dishonest and can really hurt the company that was nice enough to give you that quote in the first place.  Remember they have families!   And personally I want the best price up front and I have no respect for companies that under cut their price to get your business.

Fourth if you know you are shopping around don't take up a great deal of that companies time.  Time is money for that company so get the necessary details and then be on your way.  Remember time is money, this individual you are meeting with probably thinks you are buying from them and when you get up and leave without buying it hurts, especially when they could have been meeting with a buyer.  

Last, don't say you will be back if you are unsure.  I think we feel uncomfortable  when we know we are shopping and need to end our shopping trip with empty promises.

In the end just be honest.  We definitely need to be smart consumers but we don't have to be dishonest ones.

Live life simple

Be careful of referrals

Being a consumer means you need to be always on guard.  No one wants to be taken advantage of.  But often times we are taken advantage of with something as simple as a referral.  A referral I had always thought was golden and would reduce my shopping time in half.  Not always so!  

A referral to be golden in my eyes needs to be given knowing they will not gain a dime! I will get right to the point.  If a business recommends a company for me to purchase an item  and then after i buy gets an additional 10 to 20 percent for referring me, then thanks but no thanks!  That in my eyes is not a true referral.  

So next time you are referred to another company, look that individual in the eyes and ask if they are getting a referral fee.  Because most likely if they are getting a referral fee (money) it is probably coming out of your pocket in the long run.  

Live life simple  

Waffle Maker for my Dairy Intolerance

Recently I have determined with the help of my allergist that I have a problem digesting dairy.  I can no longer digest lactose or most dairy products without getting horrible stomach pains and looking like I am 6 months pregnant!  I am also allergic to nuts so when you combine these two problems there is not much to eat in the world of processed food.  Everything good and processed to eat seems to have milk or nuts in their ingredients or may have shared a line with milk or nuts!  So I found myself on a quest to find some simple foods that I can eat and do not have to pay a ton for!

My first success on this quest has been solving my waffle problem.  I have tried to find dairy and nut free waffles but have not been able to find any brand that does not make me sick.  So I asked for a waffle maker for my birthday.  When my birthday arrived guess what I got ... a waffle maker.  The first thing I thought was what in the world was I thinking!  Where am I going to store this huge thing and how in the world am I going to make homemade waffles ... it looks difficult! 

I actually stared at this thing for a week before gathering the courage to try it out.  I wiped off the dust, pulled it out of the box and followed the instructions for first time use.  Thankfully it came with a recipe book.  I found the most simple recipe and mixed up the batter.  The batter looked horrible and way too thick and I started to think "great I just wasted a bunch of ingredients"!

I then scooped the batter onto the griddle and shut the lid.  When the timer rang guess what .... I opened the unit up and found four tasty looking waffles looking at me!  The best part about this whole experience is they tasted great and I did not get sick!  When I shared my waffles, everyone agreed they no longer wanted store bought waffles.  Homemade waffles are definitely more filling, tasty, fast and easy to make. 

I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am to be able to bring another food back into my diet.  I can even make a ton of these guys and freeze them for later.  I now have something I can grab on the go!  I am even looking forward to finding more waffle recipes!  I hope my story helps those of you with dairy problems!

Coupon Clipping step 3 to saving money

Now I have you clipping traditional coupons, clipping e-coupons, utilizing a coupon book and saving money.  Are you ready to save even more money?  If the answer is yes then it's time to talk about buying groups or lots of the same coupon on e-bay.  Sounds crazy but sometimes you have to spend money to make money!

Buying coupons on e-bay is very easy and can save you a ton of money if you are disciplined in your planning and buying.  The first step is to pull up e-bay food coupons http://home.shop.ebay.com/Food-Coupons-/57742/i.html?_catref=1 I supplied the direct link but you can also find it under home and garden. 

Then next step is to go through the store ad and start entering in the search bar the different products you like that are on sale.  When you find a coupon make sure you are finding a good one.  I personally like the .75 cent off coupons because my store will double them.  When I find a coupon I like I try to find the cheapest price, closest shipping location, and check the expiration date.  This is where you need to be careful....I make sure I apply the store savings and make sure I am getting a good enough deal to make it worth my spending money to buy the coupons.  Now please note coupons usually come in lots of 10 or 20.  If you think about buying 20 because it's such a great deal please give it some more thought.  Can you store these items and will you eat all these items before they expire?   I then buy the coupons and use paypal to pay for the item.  Make sure you buy your coupons as soon as your store ad comes out because there is nothing worse then getting coupons late and having your store sale end.

It's that easy! Here is an example of some cereal I am buying this week.  I bought coupons that were .75 cents off and .70 cents off.  Let me just give you the following example of the .75 cent coupons I used.  My 20 coupons are for .75 cents off and they cost me about $2.79.  The sale is for 4 for $10.  When I use my coupons the price per box of cereal will be $1.  So I will get 20 boxes of cereal for $20.  With no coupons I would pay $50 for 20 boxes.  This is a great deal and makes spending money to buy these coupons worth it.  Now to make the deal even better I will get 20 cents off per gallon of fuel with each purchase of four boxes!  What do I do with all this money I saved?  Once again I invest it into my online store http://www.etsy.com/shop/DesiredSimplicity and make more money!  Right now it is important that I save as much money as I can from my groceries so that I can find vintage items for my store.  This way I am sure to have a nice selection for the Christmas holiday season soon to come.

The next question is what in the world am I going to do with 20 boxes of cereal?  Well we eat them of course for breakfast and snacks!  I also find recipes to make cereal bars,  muffins and rice crispy treats.  It's a little work but I just make sure I plan my purchases into a  menu to ensure we eat what we buy.  I also make sure to keep an eye on the expiration date and donate if we do not seem to be eating an item quick enough.   

Good luck with your new knowledge.  I hope you save tons of money!