Welcome to my 5-part series of “5 Fantastic Tricks & Tips”. This series shows you some awesome tricks and tips for building your PowerPoint presentations. Posts go up every Wednesday.
Today, I’ll show you all about alignments.
What do I mean by alignments? In terms of PowerPoint, it’s where objects, pictures, and text boxes are located on a slides. It can be on the left or right side, the bottom or top, or in the center. If you like to have all your objects perfectly aligned, this is the tool for you. Making sure everything is straight can be nerve-wrecking, but with a few clicks, everything will be as you like it.
To align objects, first select the objects you wish to align. Next, click on “Format” and choose how you wish to align your objects. There are many options to choose from.
There are several options to choose from. You can align objects to the:
left, center, right
top, middle, bottom
You can also distribute objects so that they are evenly spaced out horizontally and vertically. Simply click on all the object you wish to space out evenly and distribute horizontally or vertically.
Another way to help with alignment is to use guidelines on the slide.
Guidelines can be used to help place clip art and pictures onto a slide. The guidelines will appear on all the slides, but won’t appear when you print out the slides or play the PowerPoint in slideshow mode.
To turn on the guidelines, click on “View” and check the box labeled “Guidelines”. There’s also options for a ruler (similar to the ruler in Microsoft Word) or a guide (1 vertical and 1 horizontal line).
I hope these tips come in handy! They’re a big help when you create product covers, worksheets, games, and other teaching materials. Please share & comment if this was helpful Don’t forget to check out Part 1: Selection Pane and Part 2: Using Sections.
Do you have coupons or reward tickets in your classroom? Here’s a fun way to organize all those coupons and reward tickets you give out to your students in 5 easy steps.
Step 2: Cut it! Cut out each coupon/reward ticket. With my coupons, simply cut on the dotted lines.
Step 3: Organize it! Add whatever coupon/reward tickets you like. Choose the ones that apply to your class. You don’t want a coupon for “Free Smartboard Time” if you don’t have a Smartboard in your classroom! Line up the solid black lines as best you can.
Step 4: Staple it! Staple the book together in the center left-hand side.
Step 5: Perforate it! Here the tricky part! Open the book. Cut about 1 inch into the solid black line on the top AND bottom of each coupon. DO NOT CUT ALL THE WAY THROUGH. There should be about 1 inch of paper still there. Depending on how many coupons/reward tickets you have, you can cut them all at once. You can use the Scrap paper scissors for cool wavy designs.
Create books to give out to your students or create a book of the same coupon and hand them out as you go! You can purchase my coupon book which includes 15 different rewards.
I hope you enjoyed this “Create it” tutorial. This DIY coupon book works for just about any set of coupons you use. Be sure to pin this post to use anytime you need it!
These are a few questions TPTers are asking, especially new sellers. Since the beginning of January, I’ve been keeping up with my sales and it’s been great for me! I’d like to share some tips that help me keep track of my expenses.
Tip #1: Buy an Expandable File Folder!
On a whim (and because it was on clearance), I bought this expandable file folder. There are 12 pockets (13 if you use the front pocket), one for each month of the year. It comes with the monthly tabs for you to insert or if you have OCD, like me, you can create your own. It also comes with letters of the alphabet and blank tabs to create your own label.
Every time I made a purchase, I would place the receipt in the appropriate month. This brings me to my next tip.
Tip #2:
Save every receipt!
Yes, save every receipt from every single purchase made for your store, no matter how little. I make trips to the Dollar Tree, sometimes just for some post-its. I save that receipt and when I get home, I place it on the folder.
Use highlighters to highlight purchases on receipts with multiple purchases or just make a separate purchase (just let the cashier know).
If you have to make a purchase using PayPal, print the sale transaction from Paypal.com. Just make a note about what the purchase it so you’ll know what it was for. Let’s face it. You’re not going to remember every purchase made a year from now.
If you have a PayPal account, get a PayPal business debit card. It’s a MasterCard so it’s used practically everywhere.
If you make a purchase on TPT, print it out and place it in the folder. It will come in handy in the future. Did I mention every purchase for your store is Tax-deductible?
Tip #3:
Invest in a printer, ink, and paper!
If you don’t have a printer, get one! Printing receipts for online purchases as you make them can be critical. Even though you can pull it up online, if the power goes out or the IRS wants a physical proof of a purchase, you’ll already have it. You won’t have to find it and pray that you didn’t delete a purchase from your purchase history.
If you need to buy ink or paper, don’t hesitate to buy it! Since it’s for your business, it’s tax deductible. I bought a wireless printer on Black Friday for $27.
Tip #4:
Keep track of all the giveaways!
If you host a giveaway and include gift cards, save your gift card receipts. If you give away a Shopping Spree to your TPT store, keep a record of it. I write down the name of the giveaway, the name(s) of the winners of the giveaway, the start/end date of the giveaway, and what products they won or want (shopping spree/winner’s choice). I keep this record in my TPT Planner until the end of the month.
If you donate to a giveaway hosted by another seller, keep a record of it. I collect the same information as before and I also include the name of the giveaway and the host. This is also recorded in my TPT Planner. If you donate to Donorschoose or a GoFundme Project, print out a receipt. It may be tax deductible, especially if the donation is from your business. Be sure to check with your tax preparer. It doesn’t hurt to ask!
Tip #5
Use Microsoft Excel!
This is the part I dislike the most. The last few days of the month, I check through all my expenses and type them ALL in a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet. Yes, this can be a tiresome ordeal, butthis will give you an online copy of all your purchases you’ve made and items you’ve donated throughout the month. You can set the spreadsheet to do all the calculations for you and you can include whatever information you choose. I print it out and place it in my file folder as a cover sheet for each month.
My cover sheet is divided into 3 sections:
Monthly Expenses
Giveaway Information
Monthly Income
In the Monthly Expenses section, I include the name of the item or purchase, the date of purchase, and the price. All my TPT purchases are added and placed at the bottom.
In the Giveaway Information section, I include the date, the hosts (even if it was me), products, prices, and the winners.
In the Monthly Income section, I include the number of items sold, the best selling product (and number sold), total sales, and total earnings.
I print it out. I collect all the receipts and paper clip them all together on the top and bottom. For those small in-store receipts, I place them in an envelope and label the envelope whichever month it is.
What does this do in the long run?
Keeping track of my inventory gives me a good reference point. I can check to see what items sold best during certain times of the year. I can decide if I need to cutback on expenses or if I can make more purchases (clip art addict and KG Font addict). It will be even more helpful when it comes Tax Season. I won’t have to search my house for every little receipt. It will all be in the same place all neat and ready to go.
Other things to add to the folder:
Taxes from the Previous year
Idea list for next year
Important emails & forms (like plane tickets and hotel reservations)
End of the Year Statements
Annual Purchase Statement from TPT
Goals Check-List
Anything Busniess or Tax Related
I hope you found this post to be useful. Here’s a few freebies you can use for your file folder.
