We SCOREd!

This evening, Ruth, Gracie and I walked up the steps of the Flamingo Library not knowing what to expect and feeling ill prepared. We had no idea that 15 minutes later we would be shaking the hand of a very helpful and knowledgeable man who gave us some very sound business advice. For free! Have you heard of SCORE ?

"SCORE is a nonprofit association dedicated to educating entrepreneurs and helping small businesses start, grow, and succeed nationwide. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and has been mentoring small business owners for more than forty years."

Ruth and Gracie were told about SCORE's workshops at the Department of Taxation Basic Training class last week. So, we made an appointment and met Dr. Norman Brown. We gave him some basic info about Paper Dolls, our product and where we want to be in a year. He helped us sketch out our timeline a bit, gave us some funding advice (Gulp!), informed us of the entire SCORE schedule of seminars, and even offered to show his son our Etsy shop to get his advice on our niche! We will be meeting Norman again soon.

Its the beginning of another great relationship and we left feeling so grateful that there are so many resources and altruistic people around us that want to help! I guess Goethe was right: "At the moment of commitment, the universe conspires to assist you."


Click here to see the SCORE seminars available in Las Vegas. Happy Wednesday friends, fans and readers! Until next week.

-Lauren

I'm just mad about saffron...

Happy Monday, loyal blog readers and friends!

Paper Dolls has been working on the financials for our business plan and enlisting the help of a lawyer friend of ours who has been very kindly willing to flex his pro bono muscles for some crafty girls in need. Thanks Mike! All that staring at spreadsheets has gotten me feeling a little down and I needed a boost. So, I cleaned up my room and bathroom this weekend while listening to some booty-shaking music and dancing around in my pajamas! Both rooms in my house have a lot of yellow patterns, objects and accents. How can you not smile when you see the perfect pair of yellow shoes, a cheery yellow floral bedspread or soft lemon satin ribbons? So, off we go, a tour of 2 of my favorite rooms in my apartment.
A maize montage of photos, frames, a butter dish I picked up at Anthropologie on clearance, vases, an antique bird, my own painting and an earring organizer from Urban Outfitters. The shelves are from Ikea, of course!

A papaya photo board that hangs above my desk. I covered an old painting with upholstery fabric, wrapped satin ribbons around it and added photos of family, friends and loved ones.



A lemon lighting fixture I crafted with my Dad about 5 years ago. I picked up these plastic, geometric shades, added a light bulb on a wire and asked my super-handy father to fashion a structure out of conduit to screw into the ceiling. The orange doesn't exactly match my room anymore but I love it so much I can't seem to part with it!

My buttercup bedspread - I love, love, love it! I love my bed! Its over 100 degrees in Las Vegas right now and I still won't take my bedspread off. Its a cute yellow and grey floral quilt that goes so well with my grey ruffles waterfall curtains.

Golden Gerbera daisies sprinkled amongst lime and ivory flowers add the perfect amount of cheer and warmth to the area above the towel rack in my bathroom. I picked up the yellow flower hook at Pier 1 at the beginning of the summer for about $8!

More mustard Gerberas cover the push pins I used to hold these porcelain plaques on the wall of my bathroom. They invite you to clean, soak and splash in the sunshine glow of mellow yellow.

Thanks for coming on my tour - enjoy your week! Look for a blog from Ruth on Wednesday.