Shauna Brown Expert Guru

For Shauna Brown, writing has been a passion since childhood. In high school, she served as the Editor-in-Chief of the school paper and went on to win a Virginia Press Women Award for a news article she wrote about student perspectives on the Persian Gulf War. Shauna has welcomed the challenge of writing in a variety of disciplines ranging from journalism to technical writing. She has written grant proposals, news bulletins, press releases and articles on topics such as higher education, computers and transportation. She has also written speeches for North Carolina state government officials. Her experience includes work as a Public Information Officer, Grant Writer and Editorial Assistant. As an Adjunct Professor of English for the Virginia Community College System, she utilizes her experience to teach students how to compose their written thoughts. Shauna has a Master of Science degree in Technical Communication and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.

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Poor Man's Gold: The Benefits of Buying Silver Coins

Poor Man’s Gold: The Benefits of Buying Silver Coins
By: Shauna Brown

Did you know that silver coins can be a low-cost savings option with worthwhile potential gains? When you are thinking of diversifying your financial portfolio, you may want to consider silver dollars. Rare metals can provide a useful hedge in the midst of inflation and economic shifts.

An American Silver Eagle worth $16.25 U.S. dollars today could be worth $32 U.S. dollars or more in the future. Your purchasing power increases significantly with that kind of added value.

Buying silver coins can be easy and rewarding. The process may seem intimidating if you haven’t done it before but once you try it you may find that it’s not so daunting afterall. With a few simple steps, you’re on your way to owning silver dollars.

Step 1- Do Your Research
Find out what today’s rate, known as the spot price, is for buying silver. The rates can change on a daily basis so you don’t want to go to a Coin Dealer without knowing the going rate. Reputable coin dealers will generally have a fee between three and five percent for your purchase. If the fee surpasses five percent, you could be overcharged if you don’t know the spot price.

You can go online to sites such as http://www.monex.com/ or http://www.kitco.com or read the ‘Markets Data Metals Futures’ section in a newspaper such as the Wall Street Journal to find out what the current spot price is.

Step 2- Determine What Amount You are Going to Buy
You may decide to buy a little silver with each paycheck or a specific sum with business profits. You might decide to buy a large sum. Whichever approach you choose, make sure that it is realistic for you and plan on setting the silver aside until it gains a predetermined value that you will sell it at.

Step 3- Decide Who You’re Going to Buy Your Silver From
You can purchase your silver online through an organization such as Austin Coins (http://www.austincoins.com/) or through a local Coin Dealer. Coin Dealers may be listed in your local Yellow Pages.

Confirm the credibility of your purchase source. If it is an online source, check for professional references and VeriSign Secured encryption status. Local dealers can also be verified for credibility.

Step 4- Complete the Transaction
You might choose to buy 20 American Silver Eagles or fewer. Whatever your choice, you are a step closer to diversifying your portfolio with a tried and tested savings tool.

Precious metals rarely diminish in value and generally offer stable and profitable returns. Silver coins are a savings opportunity that could give you high yields in the future.

How to Make Your Own Earrings

Making your own jewlry can be fun and rewarding. Pretty, dangling earrings can be a simple and creative process that you can craft with just a few tools. You can get started today by considering the following tips:

First, take a look at your favorite outfits or think about who you would like to make gifts for and determine some color variations that you can make your earrings in. For example, if you enjoy wearing black and red, consider making a pair of earrings that incorporates those colors. If your friend's favorite color is turquiose, make a pair in that color.

After you have thought about a color or color combination, think about whether or not you would like the earrings to be silver or gold and whether or not you would like the earrings to feature jewlry findings that are made of wood, plastic, glass or metal. There are many selections available to you.

Next, you can get out a piece of paper and pencil and sketch a drawing visualizing your earrings. This can help you to narrow down your search when you are looking through the large variety of beads available.

After you have thought about what you would like to do with the beads and tools, it is time to go out and get what you need to create the beautiful jewlry. Select a craft store or go online to order the items. You will need the following: long nose pliers, side cutters, head pins, fish hook-style earring findings and beads. It is a good idea to get a box such as a fishing tackle box to store your assorted beads and other findings in.

Once you have your supplies, find a flat surface to do your crafting on and set out a pair of headpins, fish hook earrings and beads. Next, carefully thread your beads (using your hands) onto your head pin. Add your fish hook earring so that it rests on top of your beads.

Now, take your pliers and bend the top half of your head pin to one side just above your top bead. After you have done this, you may need to cut excess wire off of the edge of your headpin using your cutters. Generally, you will cut no more than an inch of the wire to keep it from being too long so that you can bend it into a hoop. Make sure that both earring head pins have the same amount of wire cut so that they are even when they are dangling from your ears.

If you do not need to cut excessive wire, you are ready to create a hook with the remaining wire of your head pin. You create your hook by first making sure that your fish hook earring is on the bent part of the head pin you bent in one direction. You will now bend the bent wire in the opposite direction with your pliers by flipping your hand in the direction you are forming the loop in until you form a loop that contains the loop of your fish hook earring. You may need to slightly adjust the newly created loop so that it forms a rounded circle that contains your fish hook loop. Repeat this bending procedure with your other earring.

Making earrings can be quick and easy. Have fun expressing your creativity and style!

Breastfeeding After You Return to Work

Through an amazing everyday miracle, human babies have their very own milk produced by their Mothers. This milk supply is available to nurture, protect and hydrate the baby as long as the baby's sucking action regularly removes the milk from the breasts.

Some Mothers may believe that they must discontinue breastfeeding after returning to work full-time. There are several techniques that Mothers can apply that help them to continue to produce milk while they are away from their baby.

Since breastmilk production is based on demand, various types of nipple stimulation help to send the message that milk should continue to be produced. That is why the electronic and manual pumping techniques can be very helpful in continuing supply. When milk is removed, the body gets the message that the baby is taking the milk and needs more milk. Pumping milk every two to three hours can help the body continue to produce milk while a Mother is away from her infant. Pumped milk can be immediately refrigerated and can even be frozen in breastmilk storage bags for several weeks.

Another method of maintaining an adequate milk supply for a growing baby is what is known as the 'Reverse Feeding Schedule'. This method consists of the Mother feeding her older baby (beyond four months old) in the evening after work and throughout the night at times when older babies often don't require as much feeding as they did during their first months of life. This technique is described in the book Breastfeeding Success for Working Mothers by Marilyn Grams and consists of giving the breast nipples the stimulation they would ordinarily experience during the day if the baby were with the Mother.

The night nursing baby generally nurses in her/his sleep since the rooting reflex is natural and the baby's mouth will seek the breast and latch on if it is accessible. If the Mother safely co-sleeps with her baby, she has the option of nursing as both she and the baby rest.

Another technique that can help a Mother maintain or boost her milk supply is what is noted by Grams as a 'Babymoon'; a babymoon is a day when a Mother and her baby have the opportunity to nurse frequently throughout the day because they are home in a restful position. A Mother could babymoon while reading, watching films/tv or napping. The babymoon is often a weekend day or another day when the Mother is off of work.

With the use of creative and practical techniques, breastfeeding can continue after a Mother returns to work. Breastmilk contains numerous nutrients and other components that are worth offering a baby if a Mother chooses to maintain her milk suppy.

How to Make Glycerin Soap Bars

Handmade glycerin soap bars can be a beautiful, inexpensive gift or craft. They can be produced in a variety of shapes, scents and colors.

To create glycerin soap bars, gather your supplies through an arts and crafts store, department or web site. Supplies you will need include vegetable glycerin in solid form, sturdy plastic mold trays or even other objects like aluminum cans, soap/candle liquid coloring, soap scent liquid, a glass measuring cup, a knife, a cutting board and a spoon.

An easy method for making soap bars is to melt your glycerin in the microwave. To do this, you will use your clean knife and cutting board to cut your glycerin up into about 10 chunks that are about the size of square ice cubes. You will then place your chunks in your clean measuring cup and microwave the chunks in increments of 10 seconds until all chunks are melted. You do not want to melt the glycerin to the point that it is boiling so be sure to only microwave it for 10 seconds at a time.

After melting your soap, immediately add several drops of your coloring--a few drops will go a long way to color the entire batch of soap. You can add more drops after you have used your spoon to stir in the first few drops if you think that you want a deeper color.

After adding color you can add fragrance. Four to six drops of fragrance will give your soap a mild scent. More drops will give each bar a stronger fragrance.

Once you have added your fragrance, pour your melted soap into your clean molds or cans. If you notice bubbles, you can use a water spray bottle containing a bit of alcohol to dissipate the surface bubbles. Allow the soap to cool for about an hour before pressing on the mold to remove the bars.

Making soap can be easy and fun. You can add additional features to your soaps as you explore your add-in options. For a lovely gift effect, tie your soap bars with raffia or place them in cellophane bags that are closed with a ribbon or a twist tie.