Best Birthday / Christmas Gifts for Teen Girls

As a mother of a very vocal tween girl, I know what the tweens want most this holiday season.

Musical themed gifts: If their favorite musician is any member of the popular boy band, One Direction, a sure to please gift is a replica of the 1D singer. 12” dolls are available for each band member: Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson,Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik. Choose a collectible that simply looks pretty or one that “sings”.

Is there anyone hotter than Taylor Swift right now? If Swifty is their favorite, purchase gently pre-owned Taylor Swift concert tee shirts online here. Finally, one can’t go wrong with iTunes gift cards.

Musical tooth brushes make tooth brushing fun! Tooth tunes musical tooth brushes are available in a variety of tunes including: Bruno Mars, Black Eyed Peas, One Direction and Hannah Montana.

Clothing: Teens love fashion and that includes anything Aeropostale, Hollister, Victoria's Secret PINK or Abercrombie! Do not pay retail store prices for this designer clothing. Shop online for gently used junior, tween and young woman apparel. Don’t forget the accessories! Coach and Vera Bradley purses, backpacks and lunch boxes are fashion necessities for young teens.

Build a Bear Workshop plush: My daughter still loves her BABW stuffed plush animals. Purchase gently used, often retired and hard-to-find stuffed toys online.

Arts & Crafts: Sew Cool sewing machine, Tapeffiti and anything design related. My teenage daughter spent hours wrecking a book, Wreck This Journal. It is an illustrated book that features a subversive collection of prompts, asking readers to muster up their best mistake and mess-making abilities to fill the pages of the book (and destroy them).

Limited Edition Chapstick: Flavored Chapstick makes a great stocking stuffer! Your choice of flavors available here: Gingerbread Kiss, Cake Batter, Candy Cane, Fruit Punch, Pomegranate Gumdrop, Citrus Jelly Bean, Pumpkin Pie.

Designer Footwear: Ugg Boots, Coach fashion sneakers, Brighton and Toms. Don't pay retail price! Save money on gently pre-owned designer footwear for teenage girls and young women.

Cold hard cash: In gift card or any currency!

Become a Facebook Fan of Piece Of Scrap to keep an eye on what my teen daughter vocalizes next!

What to Sell on eBay: Halloween Costumes

Halloween costumes are a popular item to sell on eBay. Hard to find costumes and hand crafted outfits for men, women, children and groups may fetch a pretty penny on eBay. For example, costumes relating to the hit Disney movie, Frozen, have been sold out in retail stores for weeks prior to Halloween.

Crafty moms (and dads) can create a unique, one-of-kind, queen cape by visiting How to Make a No Sew Princess Elsa Cape. To create the friendliest snowman to walk the mountains above Arendelle, Olaf, follow the instructions available at How to Make an Olaf the Snowman Halloween Costume. Not crafty? No worries … one can purchase the pre-made Princess Elsa and Olaf the Snowman costumes in my eBay store, piece-of-scrap.

Cartoon character costumes including those from video games and animated television series are always popular. Purchase a Mario Bros costume in my eBay store, or hand craft your own by following the instructions How to Make a Mario Bros Halloween Costume. Mickey Mouse and Scooby Doo are other choices popular with young trick or treaters.

Subscribe to my YouTube channel: Piece Of Scrap for more last minute DIY Halloween costume ideas.

Think outside of the box for Thomas the Trains young fanatics. Instead of purchasing the standard Thomas the Train conductor uniform, available here, one can create a very unique Railroad Crossing Halloween costume. Or, create your own little conductor outfit with bib overalls available online.

Making a Halloween costume that is unique is not only creative but can be profitable. One can make these simple costumes for their own children and in the process, make a duplicate to sell on eBay.

Shipping on eBay with Free Insurance using USPS Priority Mail

eBay Top Rated Sellers and Platinum and Titanium PowerSellers who us

e eBay Labels for Priority Mail services will now receive $100 worth of FREE insurance. This is in addition to the special USPS shipping discounts sellers already receive—up to 35%—because of stellar seller status! In addition, FREE Delivery Confirmation is uploaded to My eBay when shipping Priority Mail or Priority Mail Express through eBay Labels.

The United States Postal Service offers free priority mail shipping supplies. These supplies include: priority mail poly mailers, flat rate envelopes, flat rate padded envelopes, boxes of all shapes and sizes. One may pick up these free shipping supplies at your local post office or visit www.usps.com and “order” them online with free delivery to your address.

eBay sellers are not automatically given the $100 worth of free insurance. Users must select to add USPS Insurance to the priority package. To do so, do the following:

From the print shipping label screen in eBay:

1. Select United States Postal Service as the Carrier
2. Select a Priority Mail Service from the dropdown list
3. Enter the weight of the package if necessary (Flat rate service does not require weight)
4. Check the option to “Add Insurance” (the page will refresh with ShipCover insurance selected as the default)
5. In the box that says ShipCover Insurance, change it to “USPS Insurance”
6. Package value will default to the price of the item
7. The page will refresh and you will see that insurance has been added for Free
8. Purchase postage and print label.

Should an item arrive damaged, the insurance provided by the USPS will protect you as an eBay seller. Work with the buyer to receive enough information about the broken item (pictures, if possible). Immediately refund the buyer for the damaged item, then submit an insurance claim online by going to www.USPS.com

Cashmere sells on eBay – even with holes!

Making money selling on eBay is not an easy task. New eBay sellers as well as experienced sellers are constantly seeking advice on what to sell on eBay. As an experienced eBay seller, I know that anything cashmere sells. Cashmere sweaters that are new with tags (NWT) can can sell for nearly $1000 depending on the brand name. Used or preowned apparel can easily fetch $50.

Cashmere sweaters for sale on eBay

But, did you know that cashmere, even with holes, sells as well! I recently sold a Burberry cashmere scarf, with holes from normal wear, for $46.95 shipped. I picked the scarf up at a local church sale for $1.

Holey Burberry scarf - $46.95

I was curious why anyone would be interested in a purchasing a holey cashmere piece and quickly discovered that crafters as well as interior decorators love the softness of this costly material. In fact, Pinterest is full of craft project ideas for recycling cashmere including:

·         iPad covers

·         dog sweaters

·         phone case

·         hair band / ear warmer

·         Christmas stockings

·         pot handle covers

·         infant leggings

·         scarves

·         bookmarks

·         doll dress

Search Pinterest for cashmere craft projects

Martha Stewart has many how-to videos on repurposing cashmere, including these: how to make a cashmere skirt and how to make a cashmere hot water bottle cover.

If you happen to have multiple cashmere sweaters with imperfections, you can group them in a lot to sell on eBay. I have successfully sold a crafters' lot of 6 cashmere sweaters in various sizes and styles. The imperfect lot sold for nearly $50 shipped.

Add anything cashmere to your BOLO (Be On Look Out) list while seeking items to resell on eBay. Mens and Womens Sweaters are often easy to identify simply by touch while shopping at a thrift store. You may also find these clothing items at garage sales, church sales and sometimes even Kohl's department store clearance section.

How to make thrift store shopping fun for kids

Some children, especially girls, enjoy shopping. But, do they enjoy shopping thrift stores? As a single mother of two children (son & daughter), I was challenged with staying home to watch the children, or bringing them along to shop thrift stores for items to resell on eBay. To make thrift store shopping (thrifting) fun for children, try these simple techniques:

1. Give the children a few key items to look for. For example, show them a certain name brand logo or a word on the designer label.

2. While in the thrift store, use code words that only your family knows. Instead of the children asking, “Hey Mom, can you sell this on eBay?” have them ask something unrelated to eBay. For example, “Would Grandma like this?” (even if it is a man's necktie).

3. Never, ever call Goodwill, “Goodwill”. Due to the stigma attached to shopping at Goodwill, refer to it as “Macy’s” or “Nordstrom”.

4. Reward children with prizes. For younger children, reward them with a quarter for each item that they found to resell. Pieces of candy (skittles, M&Ms, etc) may be used instead of quarters.

5. Some children are competitive. My children created the “hunting game” to see who could find the most items to resell. Reward the “winner” with a pick of his/her choice: restaurant for lunch, movie, family activity, etc. We all know that, in the end, Mom is the winner with the great thrift store finds!

6. Allow the older children to bring electronic devices to listen to music. My teenage daughter “works” better while listening/singing her favorite songs.

7. Allow children to push their own shopping cart. Or, as my son likes to do, have them hook the clothing in the back of their own collar.

8. Plot the family's thrift store travels with your own version of Flat Stanley. The Flat Stanley project was created to facilitate youngsters letter-writing by documenting the travels of paper cutout, Flat Stanley. Our "Flat Stanley" is a plush stuffed sock monkey, named Ralph. Whether vacationing or taking a mini road trip, we make it a point to stop at a Goodwill ("Macy's") or local thrift store to photograph Ralph, the sock monkey. We document our thrift store travels with Ralph on the Piece Of Scrap Facebook Fan page.

9. Limit the amount of time in the store. While an avid thrift shopper could spend hours browsing clothing racks and shelves filled with toys and household items, limit the time spent thrift shopping with the children to no more than 2 hours.

Enjoying family time is important … even if family time includes shopping thrift stores! To get started making money and selling on eBay, visit How to get started selling on eBay and making money. To get started shopping on eBay and making money, Starting an eBay Business For Dummies by Marsha Collier is a great read and voted one of the Best Books of the Year So Far by the Amazon.com editorial team.

How to get started selling on eBay and making money

Selling on eBay is an art that requires determination, self-control and perseverance. I started on selling on eBay in 2009 as a means of survival. The company I had worked for almost nearly 4 years was purchased by a larger firm. Due to a mass layoff of nearly 70 employees (some of them who had been with the company for nearly 20 years), I was out of work with limited unemployment compensation. As a single mother raising two small children, I knew that I had to persevere to make ends meet. I began selling things around the house. Much to my surprise, nearly everything I listed sold within a matter of months, some items for more than I would have ever imagined. Until eBay, I was one to avoid the local thrift stores for the stigma involved and the thought of shopping there, made me feel ‘dirty’. One afternoon, I finally psyched myself up to enter the Goodwill store. I quickly looked through the men’s shirts and picked out a couple of plus size polo shirts to list on eBay. I hurried home to list the pair of shirts as a plus size lot. Within a day or two, I had a bid. From that point on, I was hooked … eBay was not just a means of survival, it became an addiction.

Now, I am an eBay Top Rated Power Seller having sold over 12000 items worldwide as a single person operation. My children are older and fully support my passion for eBay. Click here for my techniques in making thrift store shopping fun for kids.

To get started selling on eBay, start by selling things from your home. Recently, I cleaned house and sold a few items that were collecting dust:

- Pinwheel quilt $108

- Holy Bible $36

- Outdated Vtech Learning Laptop $45

- Expired Ink Cartridges $31

Selling items you already own will build your confidence, experience and feedback rating on eBay. Once you feel more comfortable with selling on eBay, seek out items to resell including holey cashmere, coffee mugs and Halloween costumes. Check your area for garage sales, thrift stores and estate auctions.

For further guidance on starting to sell on eBay, eBay for Dummies is a great read for beginners!

How to remove permanent marker from thrift store shoes

While shopping for items to sell on eBay, it is clear that thrift stores tag items differently. For footwear including shoes and boots, many stores have a set price and do not price individual pairs. However, stores that mark up shoes based on a designer brand or condition (new in box), will often write the price with a sharpie permanent marker on the bottom of each sole. 

By accident, I discovered that a used a dryer sheet and nail polish remover works wonders in removing permanent marker stains from rubber and leather soles. This combination not only works well on rubber soles, but also on other items including my kitchen table!

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I have tried numerous techniques to remove the permanent marker label from the soles of shoes including: Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, Goof Off and Goo-Gone. More often than not, these household items will remove the stain, but also leave a mark or residue behind that makes the shoe less than marketable. In fact, Goof Off on rubber soles actually melts the material!

To remove permanent marker stains from leather soles, try fine grit sandpaper. This will rub the writing off making the soles appear slightly worn instead of stained by permanent marker. In my experience, I’ve found that the household materials (even nail polish remover) will take off the permanent stain, but may discolor the leather.

If all else fails and the price is still visible on the bottom of the sole, simply write over the price with permanent marker covering up the thrift store sale price. Then, try to wipe off the fresh permanent marker using nail polish remover. Sometimes, the fresh permanent marker will lift the older permanent marker writing with it and a little elbow grease. If that fails, simply add another digit to the front of the thrift store price to make it appear more expensive. For example, add a 2 to the front of the 4.99 price making it appear 24.99.