FREE On-line Product Printing Resources

There is a whole plethora of on-line printing resources for people to use. However, many of the sources require an upfront fee in order to post posters or other products.

• This most well-know source for printing images of products is Café Press. The nice part of this site is that the link allows users to upload images for free. The MAJOR drawback is that the source only allows one image per store. For an example of this, CLICK HERE. If users want to have multiple images on the same page, they must pay and monthly or yearly fee. As well, as long as the store is posted, the fee is automatically applied to the credit card. To avoid this, the store must be deleted – thus, negating all of the work that was done to create the store. In addition, there are trillions of images uploaded to the site. So, it’s easy for your images to become lost in the mix.

• Another source is Zazzle. It’s a newer site, but I prefer this to the above link because it allows users to upload as many images to the same store as desired. Plus, the link has some fun products, such as keys chains, skateboards, and shoes. To be forwarded to the site, CLICK HERE.

• The final site Image Kind. This site is geared more for photographers, painters, sculpture, or arts who want to sell printable versions of their images. This isn’t a site that is for everyone. However, the site has VERY competitive prices and is extremely easy to work with. Users are able to use ten key words and have two different galleries at no cost. For an example of this, CLICK HERE.

How do these sites make money? Well, whenever a product is sold, they take a percentage or a base price. The nice part is that the user just needs to keep uploading images and revising key words, if needed, to keep the store fresh and active.

Granted, there are MANY more of these types of stores online. If there is another source that would be a great addition to the group, please add a comment at the end of this blog. As well, feel free to comment on sites that you do NOT prefer or should be avoided. (As an aside, I still use all three resources!)

English Pronunciation for ESL, ELL, EFL, or ESOL Students

I just finished another lens. This one is geared to help ESL, ELL, ESOL, and EFL students. All of the specific language information was requested. If there is a language that you would like added to the lens, please feel free to add a comment at the bottom of the page, in the “Reader Feedback” section.  To go to the link, click on the title of this blog or go to http://www.squidoo.com/gw-english-pronunciation.

Sites for Mothers

I’m interested in creating a series about how we – mothers – TRULY look after childbirth. This is a series that will probably take a lifetime to complete because anything besides the Hollywood perfect image is seems to be simply unacceptable in the overall culture. Also, I'm learning how to balance being a mother, working, and all of the other details that have now become of my daily routine ... In the process, I found found a few groups that seem to focus on these areas.

dA Mommies is a group of artists who are mothers. I really like this group because it is a wonderful platform for mothers to share their stories, artworks, and get advice about any of the two.

The Shape of a Mother is a site where mothers share images of how they REALLY look – rather than the nip-and-tucked version that is smeared all over the media. A while ago, I submitted an article called “Beauty, Art and Post-pregnancy” – which the above link will forward you to.

Pregnant & Beautiful is a group of artists who focus on women, their bodies, children, and other images. This is a new group that I just stumbled across …

Does anyone know of other groups that are platforms for mothers? I’m also interested in areas where mothers can network with other artists.

BASIC Vocabulary for Students Learning English

This resource is intended for students who are learned English as an ESL/ELL student in the high school setting, an adult student in a community education program, or a student just beginning to learn English as a Foreign Language. All of the resources included in this link are free! If there is an area that you would like to see expanded, please feel free to leave me a note either just below this blog or in the “Reader Feedback” section of http://www.squidoo.com/english-vocab .

Writing 5-Paragaph Persuasive Essays

For students learning how to structure and write a five-paragraph persuasive essay, http://www.squidoo.com/college_writing is the link to use. The objective of this lens is to provide developing writers with ideas how to structure their persuasive essays as well as explain the various parts of essays, such as introduction, thesis statement, topic sentences, analysis, conclusion, and so forth. Also, if there are questions or you would like more information about a specific topic, please add a comment to this blog or in the "Reader Feedback" section at the bottom of http://www.squidoo.com/college_writing add a comment in the section.

Free Resources for the Online Writing Tutor

Free Resources for the On-line Writing Tutor, at http://www.squidoo.com/online-tutor , include links to citations rules and examples of papers using these methods (such as APA, MLA, Chicago …); links to lists of grammar rules and free online tests; and additional links to different types of writing (such as persuasive essays, memos, business letters …)

Common Writing Errors

The page, http://www.squidoo.com/Teachers_cheat_sheet , is developed to show teachers some new common that developing writers in the college setting make. Even though the lens is geared to the developing college writers, it is still very applicable to teachers working in the middle and high school levels.

In this link, there are examples of various types of errors that developing writers and ESL/ELL students make in the college setting, such as in grammar, identifying plagiarism, and other areas of the writing process. Please, feel free to add to add your advice so that other instructors feel that they have the needed resources.