Miss me?

It's been a while since I updated. Since my last update my husband and I have transformed the "junk room" into a real guest bedroom. We've began decorating my son's room and moved my "office" into my craft area/play room. We've always taken on adventures in canning homemade apple butter and baking our own wheat bread. I have to say that I feel very domesticated.

None of the projects are 100% complete. I plan to cut some vinyl wall art for my son's room and the guest room. I also plan on hanging a custom light fixture I made in my son's room.

I promise to take plenty of pictures.

Here's to hopefully posting more regularly!

Party at YOUR House!

I would be lying if I said I loved my day job. I certainly don't dislike it, but I could think of oh 847234298 other things I'd rather do with my time than sit at a desk in the corner all day.

But that's not why I came here today. I came to spread the word about a new website I discovered. It's called House Party. Link: House Party Website



It's basically a site where you can sign up to host a party at your house with goodies from certain vendors. You search the list of upcoming events and choose one that sounds interesting to you. Then you apply to host a party for that event. They'll send you free samples, coupons, and sometimes even goodie bags for you and all of your guests. All that is expected of you is to invite as many people as you can, take pictures, and blog/post about it on your favorite social networking sites.

I've already applied to host two parties for upcoming events. I don't know if I'll be selected, but it doesn't hurt to try. And who's not for having a party with free goodies provided?

Weekend

I had a pretty good weekend this weekend. There wasn't anything really special about it, but I can't complain.

Finally carpeted off an area of the garage and mounted the child gate to the wall. Now my son has a safe place to play in the garage when hubby and I are doing work in there. I forgot to take pictures, but I'll post some later.

I did get to enjoy a nice frozen custard treat from Rita's. I hadn't had frozen custard in years! It was pretty good, but nowhere near as good as Kohr Bros. Oh, South, why don't you have Kohr Bros here?!?!?!

Anyway, here is a picture of me and my son. He doesn't look like that in person, but it's what I have.

CVS Score!

So many of you know, my husband is my Coupon King. He does all the clipping and organizing and planning. Some weeks we don't get that many great deals and some weeks we have really awesome ones.

This week I just had to post about our trip to CVS.

We got all of this which is worth $59.74 for $17.48.

It's a 61% savings. It's not bad considering the zyrtec and the vitamins alone would have been more than $17.48 if we paid full price.

First Transaction:
4 bottles of soda, 2 12 packs of lipton, 4 bottles of right guard body wash

sale: soda was on sale for $0.88/each, body wash on sale for $1.99/each

Coupons used: 2 B1G1 free coupons for right guard body wash

Extra Care Bucks earned: $5.00 for buying $15 worth of pepsico products, $2 for buying the right guard body wash

Second Transaction:
1 5ct pack of Zyrtec, 2 bottles of CVS women's multivitamins, 2 bottles of dawn

sale: multivitamins were on sale for B1G1 (note: could have gotten One-A-Day brand for $0.50 more using coupons which were also B1G1, but why pay the extra $0.50), dawn was on sale for $0.99

Coupons used:$4 off $20 CVS coupon from our email, 2 $0.25 off Dawn coupons, free zyrtec trial pack coupon. $5 ECB from 1st transcation, $2 ECB from 1st transaction

Cute Mother's Day Gift Idea

Baby/Child Footprint Stepping Stones
A good friend of mine is doing this for her mother and mother-in-law this year and I just thought it was the cutest idea. We've all see the DIY footprint/handprint kits at the store in the baby section. They are usually for framing or for decorating a dresser top. But why not make a statement outside in the garden?


Photo credit: Kim Wheaten Ceramics - Facebook Page

You can do this with clay or actual cement. Either method works just fine, though with clay you will have to let bake in the sun or in your over according to the instructions on the package.

Make-baby-stuff.com has a great tutorial for doing cement ones. Check it out here.

Awesome Deal for all you Cricut Owners!

Cricut design studio bonus pack is on sale on amazon today. Usually 89.99, but is 21.35 today. Also qualifies for free shipping when you spend $25 or more.

http://www.amazon.com/Cricut-DesignStudio-Software-Bonus-Pack/dp/B0012NCIPY?SubscriptionId=17ZNWQMWNAY2K2SFHV82&tag=deaoftheday02-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B0012NCIPY

Family Meal Planner and Shopping List

I just finished designing the first of many options for personalized spiral notebooks for the family.

As more designs are created, you will be able to mix and match what you want in your notebook/organizer.

Right now we have a family meal planner/shopping list. It is fully customizable with family name and your choice of colors.

Our nifty design includes one meal planning block for each day of the week as well as an extra block for miscellaneous snacks or party foods you'll need to make. We've stepped it up and also added a detachable shopping list on the side.

You just plan your meals and use it as a guide for your shopping list. When you're done, simply tear off the shopping list on the perforated "tear here" line, and you're ready to go to the store.

These menu planners will come in a personalized spiral notebook with 52 meal planning sheets per book. That's enough to meal plan and grocery shop for an entire year.

Craft Happy

I have been in a very craft mood lately. I made my memory board as shown in my previous post, but I also made a fabric covered magnetic board. Like the memory board, I covered it in fabric and secured with painters tape (making tape will do the trick as well).

Then I hot glued some rubber washers to the back and attached it to the wall using mirror clips you can buy at your local hardware store. The mirror clips hold the sheet metal a little away from the wall, which is why you need the rubber washers.



I also finished up buying supplies to make my notebooks. Now I just need to create my templates in photoshop and print my pages to bind them. I'm very excited about this. I'm going to make a bills/home organizer for my family.

I thought I had taken pictures of the bed my husband and I built for our son, but I can't find them. I'll have to post them later.

New Craft Toy

I seriously need to stop browsing at the craft stores. I always find something new I want to try. Then it eats at me until I get to try it. So yesterday I broke down and bought a Cinch Bindery Tool (using a 40% off coupon of course). It's basically a tool that helps you bind your own wire bound books/calendars/etc.

My friend and I made some journals over the weekend using the twine method with printer paper and cardboard. They turned out pretty great. We decided that we wanted to make more. And I thought that having a bindery tool would help wonders with that and would save so much time. So I bought one.



It punches the holes in your paper, regardless of how big or small your project is. You can disengage individual punches if you want in case a punch would cause a half circle on the edge or your project, or if you wanted more spacing between holes. It has a place to hold the wire so you can easily slide your project on. And it also has the crimp in the back where you press the wire ring closed. It's seriously so simple. It would take less than 3 minutes to bind a project from start to finish. And it's pretty idiot proof!

Fabric Covered Memory Board

When I was younger I had a very pink, very girly fabric memory board. I love memory boards for displaying pictures and I wanted to incorporate one into my craft area. My original one was too childish for that area and I didn't want to spend an arm and a leg on a more adult themed one. So I decided to redo my original one. You can also make them from scratch fairly easily.

Tool List:
ruler
pen/pencil
scissors
screw driver
staple gun
fabric
ribbon


I forgot to take pictures of the decontruction process, but it's pretty easy. I simply ripped off the original ribbon and fabric. I didn't even both to take the original staples out, but you can if you want. I also removed the hanging hooks and kept them to reattach when I was done.

What was left was a square piece of MDF board with foam on the front. I picked out my fabric and ribbon and went to work on recovering the board.

I measured and cut my fabric and ribbon to the proper size.

I did not have a staple gun at the time, so I secured the fabric around the edges using painters tape. It works just fine for the fabric. However, for the ribbon, I had to go purchase a staple gun to make sure it would stay tight over time.



Then I reattached the hanging hardware



I do suggest adding some kind of push pin to some of the intersections of ribbon for added tightness, but once you load it up with pictures, it doesn't matter anyway.

Better Late Than Never: St Patrick's Day

I finally remembered to bring my SD card with me so I can upload some pics from our St Patrick's Day fun.

My husband and I come from Irish lineage. His grandparents are actually first generation Americans. Mine goes back a little further, but we're just as proud nonetheless.

Here is our little lad:


I made good old shepherd's pie for dinner (using beef, not lamb)


For dessert we had shamrock cupcakes:


On one of my most treasured possessions:


Little cupcakes


With green icing, ready to serve:


I got the shamrock cupcake pans from Hobby Lobby. Some of the cupcakes turned out horrible, but once I figured out the trick to getting them out the pan, they were great. You cannot simply pop them out of the silicon mold. You have to pull on the mold in each direction to loosen it up. Otherwise, your cupcakes will stick and fall apart when you pop them out.

I made the green icing with a TON of food coloring and some vanilla frosting. I was too lazy to make my homemade frosting, maybe next St Patrick's Day.

Cricut Dust Cover

Ever since I got my cricut last year, I have been seeing all these beautiful dust covers people have make for them. The cricut really isn't an eye sore, but why leave it plain jane when you can jazz is up with some pretty fabric?

When I first started looking for patterns and tutorials, all I could find were ones you had to pay for. And why pay for something you could get for free or even come up with on your own?

Well last night I finally found a free tutorial. My son went to sleep, and I went to work. It was a very simple project. I tweaked the tutorial and added elastic to the bottom to keep the dust cover in place. It was a simple project, even though I don't have the great confidence in sewing curves.

I am in love with my creation. The coordinating fabrics I used match fabrics I used for my picture frame dry erase board and my fabric covered magnetic board (which I'll show you how to do in a later post)

Here is what I came up with:

Cutest Play Kitchen Ever

I recently discovered a wonderful blog loaded with FREE, yes, you heard it right, FREE, plans for building simple, yet fabulous furniture. The site is ana-white.com. This stay at home mom blogger creates such beautiful pieces and then shares how she created them. It's a DIYer's dream come true.

My husband and I have actually decided to take on a bed frame project for our son. We'll be doing it this weekend and I'll post pictures from our adventures.

But I wanted to share this little gem that I found.


It might just be the cutest thing I've ever seen in my life. I'm hoping I can convince hubby to take it on after we accomplish a few more higher priority tasks around the house. Maybe make it as a Christmas present to our son.

Ana White posted links to the various pieces of this kitchen set at this link.

Veggie Pizza Recipe

My super bowl party went off without a hitch. We had great friends, great drinks, and great food. I ended up not making my game day dip that I posted before. Instead we made chicken wings. What's a super bowl party without wings!

One of my guests brought another appetizer that was DECILIOUS and I just had to share with you all. It's a very simple recipe for veggie pizza. It's not really pizza, but is cool and delicious... and very, very simple.



2 Pkgs Pillsbury Crescent rolls – 1 package per one small cookie sheet. Spread out like dough and bake for about 10min according to instructions on pkg.

Mix below together and spread over cooled crescent pizza crust:
1-8 oz Light Cream Cheese (softened)
1- 16 oz container light sour cream
1 pkg dry hidden valley ranch dressing

Top with assorted chopped up veggies. Your choice of veggies but a lot of people use the follow:
Broccoli
Carrots
Cauliflower
Red, yellow, orange, green pepper

You can also add green onions or shredded cheese if you like

Game Day Dip Recipe

I wanted to share this easy-to-make, yummy dip that our family always makes for game day and get-togethers. I'm not sure what it's called, but it's almost like a taco dip.

Ingredients:
1 Can chili with beans
1 bar of cream cheese (8oz)
1.5 cups shredded cheese
1 cup salsa

Directions:
1. Pour chili into microwave safe bowl and heat for 3 min
2. While chili is heating up, take a microwave safe casserole dish and spread cream cheese on the bottom of the dish in a nice, even layer
3. Pour salsa over cream cheese layer
4. Remove chili from microwave and slowly pour over salsa layer. Spread evenly with fork or spoon
5. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top
6. Put the casserole dish in the microwave and heat for 3 minutes or until cheese is melted

Serve with tortilla chips

Project of the Week (POTW): Wine Glass Charms

Do you like drinking wine with friends but have a hard time remembering whose glass is whose?

Wine glass charms solve this problem. Just attach a unique charm to each person's glass and you'll never get your drinks mixed up again. Not a wine drinker? They work on any stemware. You can get generic ones that are different colors, or ones with a theme, or you can personalize them to your friend's personalities.

This week I made Luck of the Irish themed ones. Pictures are below. They are really crappy because I took them with my phone. I think the kiddo hid my camera. I'll take better ones later.

I'll be making more charms soon that will be available in my shop. I'm holding off on officially opening my shop until I have a bit more of a selection. If you'd like some charms and want a particular theme, comment this entry and I'll let you know if I can get charms for your theme.

Keep on keepin' on,

The Lucky Mom

Getting to know you

The soda cake ended up being perfect. It was a hit at the party. We'll definitely be making cakes like that in the future.

I got my name labels in the mail. I'm still working on the review process, but preliminary results are looking good. They've withstood a couple of washes in the laundry and the dishwasher, depending on what I labeled. We'll see if they continue to hold up. A formal review is coming soon.

I wanted to get to know a little more about my readers. So I have a quick poll for you.

1. Do you have kids? If so, what ages?
2. Do you do any crafting? If so, what medias?
3. Do you coupon?

And for added dynamic...
4. Who is in charge of managing the bills in your house?
5. Who cooks the majority of the time?
6. Who cleans the majority of the time?

I will answer my own questions.
1. I have one son, age 1.
2. I paper craft, I sew, I do modge podge projects, and I repurpose things
3. My family has used coupons for a while but just started really using them for deals in the past couple of months.
4. I have been in charge of managing the bills. All of our money goes into joint accounts (we do not have separate ones) but I'm more organized so it was natural for me to take it over. Now that my husband stays at home with our son, he's starting to take over more of that responsibility just because he has more time to be able to call places and organize the mail.
5. My husband cooks most of the time as well. That's largely due to the fact that I never learned to cook. I've been cooking more recently and we've actually been cooking together a lot as well.
6. My husband and I clean different areas. He's more likely to clean the kitchen and bathrooms. I'm more likely to vacuum and organize the clothes, clean the rooms, and do the laundry. The only time he does that more than I is when I'm working long days and he can accomplish it while our son is napping.

Soda Cake

Need to bring a dish to share to a get-together and don't want to spend a lot and only want to use what you have in your home? Why not bring Soda Cake?

I recently found out that you can bake a cake with literally just the box of mix (which is about $0.50 if you use a coupon) and a can/12oz of soda.

Just mix the 12 oz of soda with your cake mix and pop in the oven according to the directions. Some people say to bake for an additional 5 minutes to make sure all the liquid is absorbed into the cake, but it doesn't really matter.

I have one baking in the over now that I'm taking to a Wii Bowling league get together. Not bad for having to feed several people for less than $1.

Review in Progress

I got my labels in the mail this week from Oliver's Labels. I plan on thoroughly testing them out for the next week.

For those who don't know what it is, Oliver's Labels makes lables to adhere to personal items. You can use them on cups, bottles, eating utensils, shoe soles, clothing, etc. They are reportedly dishwasher and washer/dryer safe. This week I'll be testing them making sure they get plenty of wear so I can report back to you.

Great Deal on Living Social Today

Who doesn't want an Amazon gift card for 50% off?

Today only, Living Social has a $20 Amazon gift card for the purchase price of $10. It's limited to one per customer but if 3 of your friends buy it, your deal is FREE! Sounds like a great deal.

Here's the link:
Living Social Amazon Deal

Not a Living Social subscriber? Go to the link above and sign up. It's FREE and you will get local deals delivered to your inbox.

I've used Living Social and other sites like it to get great deals at my favorite ice cream place, a furniture store, a jewelry store, the aquarium, and MORE! It's worth the extra mail in your inbox to score deals that save 50%-90%!

Update on Coupon Score: figured out the TRICK

So I tried to do my coupon deal again tonight. This time none of the coupons would scan. After dealing with the manager for 10 minutes, I finally figured out that it was because all of my boxes of pasta were for $0.85 whereas the night before I had gotten some that were $1.00 in addition to the ones for $0.85.

Apparently, you have to get at least one box at more than the coupon value otherwise the coupon will give the cashier an error that says the coupon cannot exceed cost of item. The work around is that as long as one item is the same or higher price of the coupon, then all the coupons will work even if the rest of the items are less. And that is how you get your overage.

Needless to say, because the manager was present when we figured this out, she would only let the cashier key in the coupon for $0.85 instead of scanning them for $1.00 (as they were finally scanning at that point).

So the trick is, get 1 pasta at $1.00 or more and then get the rest at the $0.85 and then all of your coupons will scan.

Upcoming Reviews and a Giveaway

We've been approved to review two different products. One is a children's label to meet all of your daycare or camp needs or even if you just want to keep your kids things organized with their own names. The other is for some children's books.

Stayed tuned for the reviews. And one of the items is being given away.

Are you as excited as I am?

- Lo

The Lucky Mom has Lucked Out!

My wonderful hubs and I have been using coupons for years for discounts on items we usually buy. When we moved to SC I met some really frugal ladies at our church who explained how to use coupons to get things FREE and to even make money with them.

I had my first experience with that this week. I have over 100 boxes of pasta in my truck (most of which is being donated to the food pantry) that I didn't pay a single cent for. In fact, at one store we not only got the pasta for free, but the difference in the coupon versus the price actually earned us some of our other groceries for free as well.

I went to http://www.muellerspasta.com and registered my email. Then I went to their coupons and promotions page. From there I printed several $0.55 and $1.00 of one item coupons.

Bi-lo has several types of pasta on sale for $1.00/box so I went there first and got a ton of boxes there. But then I noticed that Ingles had lasagna 5/$5.00 which wasn't one of the ones on sale at Bi-Lo and they had boxes of spaghetti for $0.85.

I bought 10 boxes of the items that were 5/$5 at Ingles and 18 boxes of spaghetti for $0.85 and uses my $1.00 coupons. My 10 items were free and I actually EARNED $0.15 x 18 for my boxes of spaghetti. I had no idea that Ingles allowed you to keep the difference when the coupon is worth more than the item (Bi-lo doesn't). So we ended up getting a few dollars off our other items.

Needless to say I'm goning to be printing more coupons tomorrow and head back to Ingles for more spaghetti. Then maybe I can get some fresh produce for free with the difference!

Finally Settled and Ready to Roll

There have been a lot of changes for my family in the past year. We completely relocated to SC from VA on a hope and a prayer. I started a completely new career path. We bought our own home and moved in 2 weeks before Christmas. We had our son's first Christmas and first birthday party a week apart. We've had several guests come and stay. I've been so busy my head was spinning.

But now comes the calm. And with the calm comes more time to update... and time to dedicate to expanding my page.

I can finally turn this site into what I originally envisioned.

I will continue to do tutorials and showcases of crafts. But I will also transform this into a go-to place for moms and crafters. I will talk more about my family so you can get to know us. I will review products and host giveaways. The giveaways will be of both my own creations and of others. I will try to include some information on my newest adventure: couponing.

I hope you can come and enjoy the ride with us.

Please like us on Facebook at our Lucky Mom Creations Page there.