10% Discount on Fashion Boutique Handmade Jewellery

HEALTHY FRUIT & VEGETABLES

The health specialist advises everyone to eat more vegetables and fruit as part of our staple diet. But to do that we all must understand the yearly season they are available and understand the dilemma that the farmer goes through to deliver your fruit and vegetables to your store. Knowing the seasonal plan of availability of fruit and vegetables also helps with your shopping menu plan as the health authorities insist that we must consume 5 a day fruit and veg.

Tips

• Consider making tomato sauce using left over tomatoes
• Berries

For berries like strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries, bag them in a freezer bag, recipe use them in smoothies, jams, or serve them in ice cream, or fresh yoghurt

• Herbs

One way to preserve to use is to blend them all together and place in a container into the freezer. Apply mixture as a marinade sauces, and dressings with your next cooked dish.

• Apples

That go off, you could shred them and add to salads them into salads and part of coleslaws.

• Bananas

A couple of cooking applications can be smoothies or banana bread

• Cucumbers, Peppers, Radishes, and Carrots

Better the freshness of the better the results, when pickling

WHAT IS PICKLING?

In pickling, the process is about adding acid (vinegar or lemon juice) to a low-acid food to lower its pH to 4.6 or lower. (Measure with pH Strips)

Acid foods include all fruits, tomatoes, fermented and pickled vegetables, relishes, jams, jellies, and marmalades.

Quick Pickling of Vegetables

• Slice them thin
• Pour the vinegar and water into a measuring cup, add the salt and sugar.
• Microwave for two minutes.
• Place vegetables & garlic in a bowl then pour the hot vinegar mixture.
• Leave to cool and then serve or chill in the fridge

The seasons

Spring - March, April and May

Summer - June, July and August

Autumn - September, October and November

Winter - December, January and February

How Crop Rotation Works

Crop rotation is used by farmers to control pests and diseases that can become established in the soil over time. The changing of crops in a sequence decreases the population level of pests by:-

·       Breaking pest life cycles

·       Disturbing pest habitat.

·       Prevent the spread of plant disease

·       Reduce insect infestations

·       Nutrient Enhancement by certain plants that produce free organic soil conditioning

By rotating the crop you will also lessen the chance of the land becoming tired and drained of nutrients because of continual use of the same crops in the same place, hence the popular use of crop rotation.

 Fruits and vegetables preservation and storing methods

• Store fruits and vegetables separately
• Root vegetables and onions stored together spoil more quickly
• Trimming vegetables, remove rotten ends, leaving an inch to keep the vegetable from drying out.
• Ventilate the bags of the veggies stored also, pack veggies and fruits loosely, whether in the refrigerator, as the closer they are to each other, the more quickly they will rot.
• Almost all fruits and vegetables can be stored in the freezer, in small pieces on sheet trays, or in airtight containers, this includes herbs.
• Garlic, onions: store at room temperature in a well-ventilated area
• Cucumbers: store above 50°F, If refrigeration is necessary, limit to 1-3 days before eating.
• Spinach: store as quickly as possible, Spinach likes the cold. 4 days
• Potatoes: store in a cool (45°F to 50°F) and dark place, using perhaps a brown paper bag, so as to prevent the spuds from sprouting.
• Bell peppers: refrigerate, as they will only deteriorate if left out of the refrigerator.

• Carrots: snip the carrot greens to keep them from sapping nutrients from the carrot roots. Note, there is the option of storing the greens separately. Place carrots in a closed container with plenty of moisture, either wrapped in a damp towel, or dunk them in cold water every couple of days. 2 weeks
• Tomatoes: store unwashed at room temperature in a well-ventilated area. A few days
• Plums, peaches, and pears: store at room temperature. Ripening can be accelerated in a brown bag.
• Apples: can be stored in the refrigerator or a cool, dark location.

BOUTIQUE | What is a Fashion Boutique ?

         Fashion Boutique for Women

To answer the question what is a fashion boutique?

Womens Fashion Boutique SovaCollection has emulated the style and fashion from the meaning coined from the French word “Boutique” (shop), which represents the small business shop that curates the products of fashion stylish designer clothing and handmade jewellery created and showcased to offer a touch of unusual pieces of quality made Jewellery and exudes the passion of something different in the fashion market place..

Our passion is part of the past designers fashion mind set, to innovate and emancipate the freedom of abstract art in fashion designing. Just as the shops of the 1960’s did in London, Carnaby Street and Kings Road, which were the centre piece of  media attention that witnessed the transition of a new fashion generation era of fashionable stores of our time. 

The Boutique is the fashion Mecca for new ideas, just as the fashion stylist movement for progressive ideas was started by Mary Quant who defined targeting marketing products such as the famous mini skirt, hot pants and thigh length boots, which she dominated in the Independent sector of fashion.

With Boutiques you culture the freedom of graduate young fashion designers to create avant-garde pieces to challenge mainstream fashion. Boutiques that are the platform for innovation and creativity,

Otherwise assimilated retail high street mainstream fashion tends to stifle young talented fashion designers from being imaginative and creative in thought and ideas for the next big thing.

The sixties symbolised liberalism and freedom of expression. We need to carry this tradition on and to help keep nurture individual innovation that Mary Quant and many other boutique styles in fashion created.

Boutique shops are positioned in the Independent sector market place, they specializes in small quantity one of garments, hand-made items; accessory crafted unique products, art crafted produced unusual T-shirts, stickers, and other Fashion Accessories.

Retail High Street Clothing stores are marketed differently to Fashion Boutiques, Retail stores are larger and their volume of stock are mass produced, compared to a Fashion Boutique that intentionally set-up their Boutique shops differently from mainstream high street shops, to create a unique niche in the market.

There shops are distinct in size and the clothes line and accessories they sell are special edition (one-off) designed and the volume of stock invariably limited due to the designer creativity being either from a collection or a one off line fashion line.

Either way for the shopper, this is the store to find clothing that is not on the high street, or part of the mainstream trend. It’s an Aladdin’s cave full of unusual styles for the discerning wearer to evolve a new style trend and to stand out from the crowd.

A Boutique displays prized garments that have been fashioned by the designer with the intention to convert those shoppers seeking the next big thing, with the benefit to the customer having the full attention from either the designer who created those beautiful pieces of art.

Although Fashion Boutiques are on the decline on the high street, just as the 60’s wave of Boutiques graced the streets of London, the few Boutiques that are out there still survives on the Independent Market, not competing against the big high street retailers, but by providing a clear market niche of what the customers want and provides a close relationship with customers.

Survival in the current market is positively assured, testament to this are seen in this news article I came across Independent Retailers (By Sean Hargrave).

PAYPAL PHISHING SCAM BEWARE

There has been an increase of late on the internet of criminal phishing activity of spoof emails targeting PayPal customers.

The email contains a link to a fake PayPal log-in website which obtains the customer details using a data capture program, including your username / password and security answer to questions, to enable access to your account. They are feeding of customer’s uncertainty when being approached by such emails. An example of such a phishing email is below:-

Although there is an official PayPal logo, tell-tale signs can be seen by the way the email starts with “Important we’re concerned that someone” and then the email leads you to take action by clicking on   Log in to confirm your account, all to get you to open there the link that is a Trojan horse key logger program which will then install on your computer in order to gain access to your personal information from your PayPal account.

PayPal will never ask customers to disclose information by an email; all communication will always take place on the official website platform for PayPal and ONLY via a secure SSL (green padlock) connection and only when you are safely logged in, that any communication will take place. Other than that best advice is do not interact with a suspicious email and take the following action below-:

·       At all cost DO NOT OPEN THAT LINK YOU SHOULD report it immediately by forwarding the whole email to the address below:-

• Report suspicious emails to PayPal’s department spoof@paypal.com
• More information about PayPal Community help Forum - http://bit.ly/2eorWMh

How to wash| Occasion Dresses |Embellished Dresses

Wash care

Always check the garment's care label instructions before starting. Remember that delicate items are usually less soiled than heavier-duty garments and require a minimum of handling during the washing process.

Hand washing may feel foreign to many of us as we are so used to having the use of a washing machine, although it still maybe the case with some people who do not have a washing machine, otherwise  the instructions are still the same.

When it comes to our valued garments, wash care of garments can be can be somewhat confusing but the first place to find out is your local dry cleaner who can advise on your care label washing recommendation.

Dry Cleaning

A rule of the thumb that I use is that your treasured garments should generally be dry cleaned.

When you take an item to the dry cleaner, you need to be specific about your concerns and ask how the cleaner plans to approach cleaning your garment. As an extra precaution get them to test your garment before commencing.

To further calm your doubts, ask your dry cleaner if he has insurance, to cover reimbursement for damage or offers a guarantee. If not, you may later feel uncomfortable asking a small-business owner to re-reimburse £2,000 to replace your ruined expensive garment.

5 Steps | To Hand Washing your Evening Dress

Prepare Your Clothes for Washing

Prior to washing your garment, you will need the following items to wash and dry your garment.

Step 1

The bath is large enough to fit your evening dress or garment. Run a bath of cold/lukewarm water. Add a small amount of non-biological liquid detergent. Stir the water to dissolve the detergent until bubbles can be seen.

Step 2

Submerge the evening dress into water and gently stir it around to loosen any dirt. Hand-wash your garment lightly and do not let it stay in the water for a long period of more than a couple of minutes. Do not twist or wring the embellished garment.

Step 3

Drain the soapy water and refill with clean cold water. Gently stir the evening dress around to remove the soap. Repeat until the dress is free from soap residue. Embellishment can get tangled up with delicate fabric during washing, therefore try not to stir the dress around too much

Step 4

The best method to dry your dress is to air dry it. Zip up the dress and close all the hooks and buttons. Do not place it in direct sunlight because your clothing might fade and the sunlight will decrease the adhesive that your embellishment is attached to. Carefully turn the evening dress inside out and place in shady and breezy area flat on a clothes dryer.

Step 5

Keep your embellished garment in a place in your closet (wardrobe) where it won't rub against other articles of clothing.

It’s best to use a plastic cover over your garment to keep it safe from dust and to protect the embellished stones.

Keep the item separate from the rest of your clothes in order to keep it looking nice.

Spot cleaning Tip

• Soft damp cloth
• Tough stain or oil based then use a laundry detergent
• Gently dab the area with the stain with your soft clean cloth, apply more detergent by rinsing cloth for tougher stains
• Once the stain is removed place the garment on a towel to dry

IRONING an Embellished Dress

About ironing embellished clothing; “NEVER LET THE IRON COME IN DIRECT CONTACT WITH STONES OR THE FABRIC AROUND THEM”.

• Before ironing, you will need to use a piece of cotton fabric that you place between the iron and the garment, to stop overheating and burning the garment denoted by a shiny surface.
• Move the cotton cloth with the iron.
• Keep your iron on medium heat and do not let the fabric or the stones get to hot...It will melt the adhesive and the stone will reposition itself and leave a not fixable glue smear.
• Its best to iron the fabric as directed, but do it a section at a time. You will iron the front and before moving the fabric to iron the next area, let it sit for 5 minutes and cool down. This way you can be assured the glue if it did start to melt won't run or smear when the item is moved. If your embellishments are large do not put the iron on them even with the cotton fabric. You will have to go around them with the iron.

I hope you now have a better understanding how to care for your embellished evening dresses. When you give all the attention it needs, you’ll be rewarded with an investment that last a long time. Make your embellished evening dress worth it!

Summary

Never throw rhinestone embellished clothing in the washing machine, they may or may not survive. 

• Wash them by hand in cold water mild detergent
•  Rinse well
• Don't twist or wring the item.
• After washing place the dress on a clothes dryer and air dry (as illustrated).
• Dry cleaning is not usually recommended for rhinestone embellished clothing. Check with your local dry cleaner some items may be able to be cleaned. 

Style and Fashion Wearing a Mini Skirt

                

Mini Skirts and Mini Dresses

1.A-Line skirt
2.pencil skirt
3.mini skirt
4.micro mini skirt
5.maxi skirt

Alot is said that wearing miniskirts and their lengths is related to the age you are as to whether you look good or bad in them, you can’t put age on fashion, the media drum up surveys and decide that a section of supposed people have voted that women over the certain age should not wear miniskirts as it’s immoral. If women are confidant and feel happy to wear it, then the question is answered to the critics out there.

With all clothes, it's about wearing the clothes according to your body shape is what it's all about, make no bones about it, you still can be very young and still not have the shape to carry off wearing a mini or micro mini skirt.

It's knowing the balance of your body shape and dressing accordingly to show off your best attributes. Alot of times women get it right anyway.

But with a little subtlety, you can carry it off, such as wearing midi skirt; by wearing a skirt length just over the knees will accentuate your leg length especially if you are not confident with exposing your knees. If you have the calves shape them with a pencil skirt

A mini-skirt hemline is well above the knees no longer than 10 cm (4 in) below the buttocks

A mini dress is a dress with the same hemline as the mini skirt

A micro-mini skirt or micro skirt hemline is at the upper thigh level or just below crotch level.

Etsy are Allowing Mass Manufacturers to set up shop vs Handcraft Artisans

Since July 2005, Etsy was founded and is a peer-to-peer e-commerce website focused on handmade or vintage items and supplies, as well as unique factory-manufactured items. 

These items cover a wide range, including art, photography, clothing, jewellery, food, bath and beauty products, quilts, knick-knacks, and toys. Many sellers also sell craft supplies such as beads, wire and jewellery-making tools. 

All vintage items must be at least 20 years old. The site follows in the tradition of open craft fairs, giving sellers personal store fronts to showcase and sell their products.
For the past 2 or 3 years Etsy has been toying around changing the principle word of Handmade, by trying to sell the idea to prospective art craft people that they need to re-define the meaning of this to try and accommodate a bigger market share by bringing in the big money pocket manufacturers. 

We all know how the wheel was built; trying to convince re-making the wheel by justifying working methods of the past is to my thinking a little lame.
We are finding more and more that pressure is being applied to companies that need to fulfil the company boards pockets every year as the market share from other competitive companies get more popular. 

There has been a great increase year by year of long standing online store holders of Etsy deciding to up-sticks and leave, due to the increasing take over in the most popular Handmade Item store online by manufacturers (Asia Companies), flooding the stores with items that have been mass produced and holding superior stock holdings to slowly take over the store front and to force out the Handmade craft artists.

I would like to advocate for the Handmade Designer Jewellery artists out there because for what they are doing it's amazing and they deserve a higher platform to showcase their work for everyone to see. 

Yes Etsy has been a great advocate for the handmade artisans, for the past few years, but I'm afraid they are turning to the bigger conglomerate and discarding the principle that they began their platform and abandoning the handmade fraternity.

It’s very strange, but many people may rebuff my comments, but why is it that the likes of Amazon have recently started to create a separate Market Place on their site dedicated to TRUE Handicraft artists.

HANDCRAFTED JEWELLERY

By SOVAJKJEWELLERY HANDMADE JEWELLERY