The Placemat

Do you have young kids? Do they need helping setting the table? I found this great idea on So You Think You're Crafty. She came up with this great way of having a beautiful placement. Sophisticated enough to leave out on your table all the time!

She put muslin on the top and a stylish cotton fabric on the bottom. She used the stylish fabric to match her decor. She hand stitched the outlines of the dishes. 

Patchwork Camera Strap Tutorial

 

I've never liked my camera straps. Now I dont have to thanks to Crap I've Made and her tutorial!

Chic Pillows

I love these pillows. They could really spruce up my sofa! The DIY Dish has the tutorial AND can you even download a free pattern for the felt flowers!

Paper Cupcakes

Wouldnt these make a great centerpiece for a babyshower or party?? Defiantly I conversation piece! Creativity in Progress has a great tutorial on how to make these.

Simplifying in a Tough Economy

Free Ebook: Thriving on Less – Simplifying in a Tough Economy

A FREE download is available now: Leo Babauta has written a companion to The Power of Less — a free ebook called “THRIVING ON LESS: Simplifying in a Tough Economy“.

Mary Kay Night Cream

Mary Kay Extra Emollient Night Cream is amazing. I use it for my lips, face, and feet. Yes, I said feet. This cream makes my feet so soft. Just before bed, I rub this cream on my feet and put my socks over it. The socks help keep in the moisture and also helps keep your sheets clean.

Personalized Reusable Snack Bag

I love how this bag turned out! It was a gift for my friend who is preggo. Even though her son wont be able to use for a long time, mommy can use it! She can put a pacifier, teething ring, or wipes in the bag to store in her diaper bag. It keeps them all handy so she isnt digging in that black hole!

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The only problem?? I have so much fabric, it was hard to take photos of it all!! 

Buttons, Buttons, and more Buttons

I've never thought of buttons as cute. Right? They just serve a purpose. Not until I found TessaAnn did I change my mind!! She has the best buttons. You could sew with them, make crafts, scrapbooking, you name it! Here is just a few of her very cute buttons!

Tires

I know how excited you were when you read the title of this post. Oh alright, its a pretty boring topic. However, do you know how to determine the age of your tire?? You get new tires so they are new, right?? WRONG!!! 

When it comes to determining the age of a tire, it is easy to identify when a tire was manufactured by reading its Tire Identification Number (often referred to as the tire’s serial number). Unlike vehicle identification numbers (VINs) and the serial numbers used on many other consumer goods (which identify one specific item), Tire Identification Numbers are really batch codes that identify the week and year the tire was produced.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) requires that Tire Identification Numbers be a combination of the letters DOT, followed by ten, eleven or twelve letters and/or numbers that identify the manufacturing location, tire size and manufacturer's code, along with the week and year the tire was manufactured.

In the example above: DOT U2LL LMLR 5107
DOT U2LL LMLR 5107	Manufactured during the 51st week of the year
DOT U2LL LMLR 5107	Manufactured during 2007

So before you drive away from that tire shop, stop and look. You might be surprised to know that bad tires are installed more than you would think.

Soap

I never thought of soap as "fun." However, that was until I found PureHeart Soaps on Etsy!

She has the cutest soaps. My daughter loves them and the best part, they smell soooo good. This one is my favorite. My daughter loved it!

 Check her out today, she has a lot to chose from!

New Bags

I love adding new bags to my shop. That means I've found new fabric. I like I always say, "I love fabric!"

 

  

 

I won!!!

 

When I heard about Hope For Haiti, I had to donate. What a great idea...vendors donate their products or services for a raffle. All money raised went to the Red Cross. They collected $4606!! That is awesome! Well, I made a donation and bought a few raffle tickets for a 3 month ad on Beauty4Moms blog.

My ad is located toward the middle of the page on the right. Ashley has a great blog with fun finds.

Nature Brights Kitchen: Quilted Hot Pads

 

You doesnt need a hot pad?? Why not make them fun? Sew4Home has a great tutorial. 

New Business Cards

I think everything online should be a try me first kinda system. 

 

However, that isnt always the case. Today, this is the case with Moo USA. You can order 10 FREE business cards.  

 

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentines Day! Do you have any special plans? My husband and I've never been a big Valentine couple. However, we always manage to find some goodies to consume!!!

 

  

Nothing Bundt Cakes has THE VERY BEST cakes. The cream cheese frosting is like nothing I've ever tasted. 

How do I know my house has Carbon monoxide?

Carbon monoxide CO is produced when any fuel, such as gas, natural gas, fuel oil, kerosene, wood, and coal, charcoal is burned, and can accumulate rapidly indoors. The fumes may cause headaches, fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea and dizziness – sometimes misdiagnosed as the flu – it can even be fatal within minutes. More than 500 people die each year in the U.S. from carbon monoxide poisoning.

To determine if the indoor air is tainted, you can simply install inexpensive monitors to give you peace of mind and is potentially lifesaving use this check list as a guide:

* Buy a CO Detectors – sold at hardware stores, home improvement centers and online. They cost about forty dollars and are easy to install.
* Place the monitors outside bedrooms, near the fireplace, in each room attached to the chimney, to warn you when CO reaches dangerous levels.
* Maintain the furnace with yearly cleaning and inspections, check and change filters often.
* After a major home improvement project, or when moving into a new home, have the gas company inspect the heating system for proper ventilation.
* If CO levels appear to keep getting higher, immediately open all windows and leave the house. Once outside, contact a recommended professional to make repairs, as soon as possible.

Free purse pattern

Do you love this bag? Want the pattern for free?
Nikki has a cute as pie blog and this was one her projects.

She used Amy Butler's newest collection LOVE Paradise garden in periwinkle and lined it with LOVE Sunspots in turquoise.

For the pattern and tutorial, visit http://artsycraftybabe.typepad.com/tutorials/phoebe_bag.pdf 

Homemade Bubblebath

 

Skip to my Lou has a great recipe for Homemade Bubblebath. This is a great recipe for kids and adults with sensitive and dry skin.

Fun Etsy Finds

PADDED iPhone / iPod POUCH in Carnival Blossom and Chocolate fabric 

 

Black White Bali Pink Boutique Diaper Bag Handbag Tote 

 

Sweetie Tweetie (handmade buttons set of 4) 

 

Claire Twirl Monogram --- Chocolate Swirls --- Peasant Dress

 

 

 

Homemade Marshmallows

 

Ever want to make homemade Marshallows?? Dont these look good?? Below is the recipe. 

Ingredients

Makes 24

• Vegetable oil, for brushing
• 4 envelopes unflavored gelatin (3 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons)
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 cups light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Brush a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with oil. Line with parchment, allowing a 2-inch overhang on the long sides. Brush parchment with oil; set aside.
2. Put granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 3/4 cup water into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Cook, without stirring, until mixture registers 238 degrees.on a candy thermometer, about 9 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, put 3/4 cup cold water into the bowl of an electric mixer; sprinkle with gelatin. Let soften 5 minutes.
4. Attach bowl with gelatin to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. With mixer on low speed, beat hot syrup into gelatin mixture. Gradually raise speed to high; beat until mixture is very stiff, about 12 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Pour into prepared dish, and smooth with an offset spatula. Set aside, uncovered, until firm, about 3 hours.
5. Sift 1 cup confectioners' sugar onto a work surface. Unmold marshmallow onto confectioners' sugar; remove parchment. Lightly brush a sharp knife with oil, then cut marshmallow into 2-inch squares. Sift remaining 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar into a small bowl, and roll each marshmallow in the sugar to coat. Marshmallows can be stored in an airtight container up to 3 days.

 

Ebates

Do you shop online? After having my daughter 4 years ago, I find myself shopping online more and more. It's easy and convienent. You can usually find more of a selection than in the stores and better deals! Remember, I'm all about the deals!! Ebates helps save you even more money on your purchases. Ebates is the pioneer and leader of online Cash Back Shopping. Look around and see what they have to offer. 

Edible Crayons

 

Can you believe these are edible??? Mama & Jen has this great recipe. I think any kid would love to eat these!!

Earth Friendly Products

Looking for eco friendly products for you and your family?? NaturalKidz has a great selection of goodies to chose from. From bags to lunch boxes to water bottles. They have something for everyone!!!

 

Labels

In my perfect world, everything would have a label. In my real world, its a work in progress. Mabel's Labels has labels for just about anything. If you cannot find it, they can make it. I love the cord control labels. 

All of us with kids can use these:

There are many many more labels, check them out!

WIN a Sewing or Embroidery Machine!

The DIY Dish is giving away TWO (yes, TWO!!) dream machines! Someone is going to win the Janome 350e EMBROIDERY machine and a second person is going to win the Janome DC4030 SEWING machine! Now how cool is that?!

So click on over to their site to enter!!

Fabric

FABRIC, FABRIC, FABRIC.....I LOVE FABRIC. What is not to love about bright and bold colors?? My favorite designers are Michael Miller, Amy Butler, and Alexander Henry. 

 

  

 

Do you have a favorite designer?

Simple bags added

I recently added new bags to my store. The two below are my favorite.

Peace Love Mom giveaway

Over at Baby Dickey....GIVEAWAY time!!! 

 

Peace Love Mom has great clothes for mom and baby!! One lucky winner will win this cute top. They are also having a special on free shipping. So check out Baby Dickey for details on how to enter the drawing!

 

Ipod Touch

 

Did you know that there are over 140,000 apps you can download?? It seems there are apps for just about everything. I recently found this site, iStoryTime. They bring children's books to your Ipod!! 

Cute Valentine Craft

 

Wouldnt this make a really cute centerpiece?? I recently found this tutorial and just had to pass it on.