Halloween "Smell My Feet" Free Printable

Long time no post, eh?!

Well, I'm helping my daughter to put together some little gifts for her friends for Halloween- aren't you SO IMPRESSED that we started out this early???  Well, don't be.  I finally figured out that if I don't start early it doesn't happen.  Like if I don't have dinner started by ten in the morning we're probably eating toast, but I digress.

I was browsing around the store called Tuesday Morning and found these super cute sets of Halloween polish- and it's scented! The polish comes in Halloween colors and they have a gold decal on them of a haunted house, a jack-o-lantern, or a ghost.

I bought some for my daughter and she wanted some more to give to her friends- so, we grabbed another set or two.  She is going to break the sets apart and just give each girl two colors.

She is going to put the nail polish in a little bag and maybe add a few other goodies.  I made this label for her to attach to her nail polish gift bags.  I hope that she'll have lots of fun gifting these to her chums.

Happy Halloween!

 
 

Photo Prop- Cute Rug- nice price

I cruised through the clearance section at my Wal-Mart today.  I'm not sure what they are doing but at the front of our store there is a weird clearance section- it has hunting stuff, Christmas decorations, toys, just odds and ends.  In that section I found this super cute rug that would make a great photo prop for baby girl or for Valentine's photo shoots.  It would add so much texture, etc.  The price is $14.99. The rug is made by "American Kids" and it is 24x40 inches.

These rugs are very easy to make- but they use a surprising amount of fabric and a take great deal of time.  So, I felt like it was a good purchase- I'd love to photograph it on a rustic white floor with a chubby baby girl plopped on top.

Cute Shoes at Ross

About two years ago I had a shopping winning streak (for shoes) going on at Ross.  I found so many cute pairs!  My ritzy friends couldn't believe my stylish footwear ;o)   Then I went through a dry spell- of a year or so- just nothing to write home about..... until last month.

I found some adorable black summer sandal/pumps (not pictured) and then last week I found these cute floral embellished ballet flats- love 'em (and only $14)!  This just may be the year of the shoe.

Ruche Necklaces

I love almost all of the jewelry at Ruche (inexpensive- necklaces start at $12).  Since I just gave them a plug and a link I'm going to swipe a few of their photos:

I did send them an email to see if they object to photo "sharing".... 

If you'd like to personalize your jewelry by making your own  individual fashion statement- read on.....yes, not only do I offer you inspiration- but sources- you gotta have a good deal on the bits and baubles!  Check out diyparadise on etsy.  They have cute & cheap charms, cabochons, and settings.  I can't vouch for their service but I do have an order in....

Wouldn't it be fun to order a bunch of stuff and have a jewelry making night with a few girlfriends???  Each necklace would only be a dollar or two....

More Christmas Craft Ideas

Yesterday was activity day again (for the group of 8-11 year old girls that come over).  I decided to help them make a present for their mom or teacher.  I used this idea that I found on sisters stuff and the instructions are at Kerry's Paper Crafting.  The 4x6" acrylic frames were 1$ at Wal-Mart.  The girls chose their own scrapbook paper from my stash and made their own tags and then we wrapped them so that they could keep their gift a secret. 

I also read them the story The Christmas Miracle of Johnathon Toomey which is one of my favorite children's books.  It is about a mean man that a widow and her son befriend - a very tender book with a sweet message of being kind- even when others are not... something I could remember at this busy time of the year.

One of my new favorite ornaments are these little wooden reindeer with a scrolled center.  They look a bit Scandinavian to me- but they would also look good on a country or glamorous tree (with gold ribbons all around).  They are at Target in the gift wrap section and are sold for 1$ as a gift topper.

How are your decorations coming along?

Christmas Gift Boxes at Target

I was just at Target and they had the cutest Christmas gift boxes in the dollar section.  You could decorate an entire room- just by stacking these cute boxes around---- or hang them on a tree!  You could even glam them up a bit with glitter, scrapbook embellishments, and adorable bows.

My favorites were the Victorian gingerbread house boxes.  Wouldn't it be fun fill it with a family of gingerbread people for the lucky people on your gift list?  You could even use glossy white puff paint to decorate the boxes- just like frosting!  Or use the box as a decoration by putting a fake candle inside so that you could watch it flicker through the tiny windows....  Too cute!

Sorry about the sorry picture-- I've been a bit harried lately.  Today when I tried to call my husband about our lunch date I dialed my zip code by mistake.... ah, well.  I'll be feeling better soon. 

I relaxed last night by reading a good a historical Christian romance (stayed up WAYYYYY past my bedtime)  --now I need a nap!

Home again, Home again, jiggity jig...

Well, I'm home.  I spent about a week near Portland, OR and about five days in and around the Phoenix, AZ area.  I went to the Red, white and blue thrift store and found a cute blouse and a great frame.  They have some very upscale clothes.  It does take time to dig- the clothes are sorted by color but not by size.

I spent some time at Sunset Beach.  The water on this beach isn't safe to swim in- no problem for me.

I'm a sit and listen to the waves kind of gal.  I did take a long walk along the edge of the ocean and while a way a few hours reading a fun book.

I also explored the KinoKuniya Asian bookstore- LOVED it.  So many fascinating things to look at and to imagine trying.  I did come home with two craft books and some great tape-

Best of all I was able to spend time with my wonderful family- gotta love that!

I haven't felt much like crafting lately- I do have a few things in the works.  I did find a nice online bookstore with free shipping- yes, it's called thriftbooks and I found it via the modern hive.  They have several Mary Ellen Edmunds books for $3.95.
                                                                                                        

CUTE baby hats

As I flipped through my favorite blogs I found a link to these adorable baby hats that are only $2.25 -seriously add a big flower and your baby will be stylin'- oh, and they have about ten colors to choose from- and they have sizes for adults, too!

I found the link for this hat at shanty2chic and in their next post they show how to make fabric or ribbon roses using a hot glue gun- extra easy!  Umm, so yeah, for today's post I'm just sending you to another blog!

I am so getting some of these to embellish and use as baby gifts!!!

For Today's Nap

I think for today's nap I'll lounge about here-

I wish!  I found this inspirational website -Cabbage and Roses- through Chez Fifi.  It has a definite Cath Kidston feel- love it! 

I especially love the comfy but feminine clothes....

All the better to drool over- no shopping from this shop for me-these English gems are outrageously expensive....  does anyone know of a cheaper version????

Michaels Office Supplies

I found some fun office supplies in the dollar section at Michaels.  What  I LOVE are the oh-so-cool patterned packaging tapes.  I think I should just get busy and send care packages to everyone I know so that I can play with it.  The other stuff is pretty cute too!

Clarks Shoes

Pinching Your Pennies just sent me an email with the info that Clarks shoes are on sale at 6pm.com They are 70% off! I've heard that they are well made and comfortable shoes. They had quite a selection when I visited the site. Good Luck!

Vacuum Love

Our Eureka vacuum died. Mark wanted to get a nice new vacuum and he was willing to pay for it. But when I read the reviews the Hoover U5140-900 Tempo Widepath Bagged Upright Vacuum on sale last week for $58.99 at Amazon had excellent reviews. We decided to try it- I just use it on carpets not hard floors- it's only been two weeks but I'm still loving it.

More Window Shopping

One of my favorite Scandinavian blogs linked to this catalogue- LOVE it! I wish I could redo my house and choose all of these cheerful color combinations! The international site is called Greengate Goodness.

You really should see what they have! The line is very similar to the Cath Kidston line from England- which is also really cool. Enjoy!

Shopping

There are some fun sales out and about these days.

I should have posted this last week but Ross is having their home decor extravaganza- which means they have a huge inventory of anything to do with your home. I found king size sheet sets, 400 thread count, white, for $17. I am going to use them as quilt backs. They are really comfortable and they get softer the more you wash them. However, they are hot. I only use the bottom sheet on my bed or I end up sweltering.

Ross also has super cool GIANT round clocks (three feet across). They have big thick frames and look wonderful! They are priced from $30 up.

Also, if you have the travel bug. British airways is having a sale to London for $160 each way. For all those related to awesome cousin KayLin she moved to England last year for work and will be there for an additional year and a half- and she welcomes guests!

Have you had any luck shopping lately? (Oh, and these pictures are off of the web).

Online fabric stores

My sister is looking for nursery fabric and can't find any that she loves locally. I know the feeling! My town has a very expensive "decorator" fabric store, an expensive quilt fabric store, WalMart, Hobby Lobby and (thankfully) Hancocks. However it is still very hard to find something that I LOVE. I've tried the following online stores with great success and thought someone out there in blog land might want to check them out.

Fat Quarter Shop great selection- good sales and a wonderful combination of fat quarters, cake layers, jelly rolls, etc.

Another favorite is an eBay store. They have some cute collections and some very nice prices, Quilt Taffy. Check out their Darla and Farmer's Market collections- I like anything designed by Tanya Whelan.

A store called Fabric Shack has some great prices, but there is quite a bit of not so cute stuff to look through-

Hope this helps someone!

Free Christmas Gifts

I think it was Pinching Your Pennies that told me about the Vista Printing site. They are offering free products- truly, all you pay is shipping (if you upload your own pictures they add a small fee). These would make some great Grandma and Grandpa gifts. The list of free products changes periodically. After one order they sent me an email that offered more free products. One item listed as free really wasn't- so, I just deleted it from my cart. But I've ordered ten different items, for free!



OK- get creative! They have car magnets- you know those big magnets people use to advertise their businesses. How about printing one that says "Happy Birthday" and using it when it's your child's birthday and you pick them up from school?

I made a t-shirt that said, Daddy's Best Helper, and had a picture of tools. Maybe make one that says, "World's Best Grandpa"?

Order the free rubber stamp with one of your children's names on it instead of an address. Or have their name printed on top of a notepad.

You can make those cute return labels, with caricatures you personalize of your own family- too cute.




Think outside the box. Clear off those business names and put in funny quotes, family pictures, etc. Change the Christmas cards into Thank you cards. They also offered free calendars, and free magnets- you can really get creative with these- oh, just check it out.

Book Lovers Online Shopping

Our daughter Ceptember suggested this website, sortfloor. She is gathering books for her classroom and ordered several books. One had a bent cover, and the others were in perfect brand new condition. The prices were good.

The site is a little difficult to navigate. I pulled up Amazon and typed in interesting titles that I had found on this site. By doing that I could get a book description, rating and reviews. I found some fun ones and am happily waiting for them to arrive.

Modest Dress Give away

Not that I want to decrease my chances of winning or anything- but I thought you all might want to check out this give away. Just leave a comment saying what your favorite modest women's or girl's dress is (some cute ones) and you're entered for a chance to win.

I'm fighting off the stomach flu- so, yeah I've been surfing.

Christmas Toy Suggestions

I don't know about you but I have Christmas shopping on my mind. Here are a few hits from the past just in case you are in the same boat that I am.
Camera Vtech, We love this tough camera. S (age 4) currently uses his by setting it on the table, turning on the video record and then dancing and singing in front of the camera. After a bit he turns off the record and pushes play to watch his performance. We have never put the pictures onto the computer so fancy quality isn't necessary for us. We just use the camera to watch the movies and look at the pictures.

Doll
Last year the prettiest dolls were at Tuesday Mornings and the prices were GREAT! They carried an American Doll look alike that was very good quality, too. Just checked and our Tuesday Morning doesn't have their dolls out yet, but they were rearranging the toy section,they said the dolls would be in by Nov.10. I might check back this week just in case.

Blocks Every child needs a great set of blocks. These are uniform in size, great quality and very large. Older children might prefer smaller sized blocks. Melissa and Doug 60 piece standard unit blocks





Twist Car, best price I've seen was at Overstock (when they have them, thanks for those that gave me that tip). This toy lasts and gets used tons on our tile. We've never tried it outside, but if you have smooth flooring and lots of room to ride-it's fun.


Tom Chapin CD's, so nice to listen to kids music that is easy on the parents ears, too. His songs are upbeat, with clever lyrics and positive messages. They put a smile on my face.


Dinosaur Puzzle, I couldn't find a picture of the dinosaur puzzle we have. But it was just like this one by Melissa & Doug. It's made of wood and has lasted for a long time. S and I do it together. I think its pretty challenging, but he helps me along. Ross' had it for 8$ last year.

What toys do you like?