I would be very grateful if someone knowledgeable could answer the following questions. I just purchased Quickbooks 2011 and I want to set up my books right the first time.

My business does two main things:
It buys antiques, sometimes individually and sometimes in lots of more than one at a time. If I, for example, buy a box of coins, I am not going to sell the coins in the same format (i.e. "the box") in which I bought them.
We bottle our own line of sharpening fluids. This means that I but the components (the fluid, bottles and labels) and sell the finished product.

The business is an LLC with an S-Corp election.

Based on this information, I have several basic accounting questions. Please be gentle...I know nothing about double entry accounting:
When I buy merchandise to resell, into what account do I put the money I spent on the items?
How do I "inventory" items that I buy in a "box" yet sell individually? Keep in mind that I usually do not know how the final sale will be "packaged" until it is made.
When I put money (cash) into the business for operating costs, what account should it go into?
When I purchase the components of the products that I bottle (fluids, bottles, labels) what account does the purchase cost of each component go into?
Does the finished product then become an inventory item? If so, how do I account for and value it?
When I take money out of the corporation to pay personal bills, how do I account for that?

Thank you in advance for taking the time to answer my questions. I hope the answers are basic enough to inform others in my situation.

John