Everyone loves a mystery and we are particularly fond of the mystical realms. Around here, there are no secrets. Everything gets laid bare. Stay tuned to the blog if you're into learning about CSS & xHTML, design in general, grabbing an occasional freeby, and learning more about the technologies that go into this site. There will also be whimsical meanderings about a wide variety of yet-to-be-determined topics. Stay tuned to find out what's on my mind.

Fair Web Design Rates for Clients & Designers

I would say that in my experience as a web designer and developer, deciding on what is a “fair rate” to charge for my work ranks as one of the most difficult aspects that has taken me a long time to get a handle on.

I wanted to post a little discussion on the topic of “fair rates” for web design. It is my hope that this video is a help to web designers who are just starting out and also people who are currently shopping for a web designer and are unsure of what to look for and what to expect in terms of skill, price, and a number of other factors. Hope it helps!

A discussion of fair rates…

Romantic Veils Workshop with Sarah Skinner – Delaware

Greetings Dancers! The rumors are true, Sarah Skinner will not only be joining us for Shimmies for the Cure Part 2, but she will be teaching a workshop on Romantic Veils just in time for Valentine’s Day. Come out and treat yourself to a fun and exciting workshop that will sure to please your special someone on Valentine’s Day the following weekend!

Register Now

Romantic Veils Workshop with Sarah Skinner - Veil dance is one of the most glamorous and visually stunning genres of belly Dance. Its expressive language conveys a wide range of moods - mysterious, romantic, celebratory, spiritual, meditative. Sarah Skinner, creator of Belly Dance with Veil DVD and Seven Veils DVD, shares her secrets in this workshop. Open-level program teaching the technique of veil dance from the basics of veil manipulation to the nuances of carriage, body lines, and tips for achieving an effortless, flawless performance. Detailed description of fabric and how to chose the right veil for you will be discussed. Please bring a 3yard (or longer) veil. Veils will be available for purchase. Location to be provided soon.  Cost: $45

The workshop will be held at Kirkwood Fitness & Racquetball Clubs (1750 Kirkwood Highway, Newark, DE 19711) in Newark, Delaware area (45 minutes South of Philadelphia and 45 minutes North of Baltimore) just minutes from I-95. View on Map.

View Larger Map

Register Now

ENCORE: Shimmies for the Cure Part 2 – 2/7/2010

Due to overwhelming response to Shimmies for the Cure, we’re doing an encore presentation, the exciting thing is that we will have the lovely Sarah Skinner joining us to help raise money for the Cure.

Join the dance community, friends, family and fans as we celebrate LIFE with an extravagant evening of belly dance performance and a scrumptious three-course Middle-Eastern dinner at Casablanca Restaurant in New Castle, DE.

You and all your family and friends are cordially invited to join us for this rockin’ celebration! Anyone who wants to go even further in helping our cause, please don’t hesitate to purchase VIP seating, closer to the stage. The additional money is going to a great cause!

Purchase Tickets Now!

Encore: Shimmies for the Cure with Sarah Skinner

Featuring performances by
Sarah Skinner and…

Shimmies for the Cure 10/25/09 at 5:00pm

Join the dance community, friends, family and fans as we celebrate LIFE with an extravagant evening of belly dance performance and a scrumptious three-course Middle-Eastern dinner at Casablanca Restaurant in New Castle, DE.

You and all your family and friends are cordially invited to join us for this rockin’ celebration! Anyone who wants to go even further in helping our cause, please don’t hesitate to purchase VIP seating, closer to the stage. The additional money is going to a great cause!

Purchase Tickets Now!

Shimmies for the Cure 2009

Featuring performances by: Shahrzad, Alimah Amani, Julissa, and Many Other Lovely Dancers!

This 2 1/2 hour performance is a benefit for Breast Cancer Research. All proceeds will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Fund and all guests, dancers, family, and…

FREE Magento Dark Icon Set for e-Commerce

This Magento DARK (black) Icon Set is free for personal and commercial projects. You may also use them without attribution, though linking back to http://dreamstarstudios.net is very much appreciated where possible, but I understand how that can go on commercial projects.

The following stipulations apply: the Magento Dark Icon Set may not be resold, sub-licensed, shared, rented, transferred or otherwise made available for use. If you love them, please show some love and link back to them if you want to share them with someone else.

If I had known when I started designing this site that the result would be hours and hours of re-creating .GIF images with ugly white fringe pixels I just might have done something different. I searched high…

Twitter Confessions