Bead Soup Blog Party...What I Sent.

Elizabeth finally got the beads I sent her for the BSBP so I thought I would share with you what I sent to her. I can't wait to see what she sends me! From what I gather, she is making some of the beads from polymer clay, i think.

Included in this soup are:

Howlite butterfly

Teardrop Pottery shard pendant

Vintage Lace

Brown/gold glass pearls

Green jade

Salmon stone bead (maybe dyed jade?)

Ivory stone beads

Flower toggle

I think that the beads I sent really complement the colors of the pottery shard pendant.

How is your soup coming along?

Couponing for a Cause

You know those Snickers commercials, where the guy is so hungry that he turns into super diva Aretha Franklin? Then he {Aretha} eats a Snickers and he's back to his old self and life is good again?

Well, there are many people in just this country alone that go hungry every day. This video is funny, but think about what happens to the body when you are hungry: lack of focus, no concentration, grouchy, etc. Imagine being a child in school trying to pay attention in class and that child is hungry because he didn't have breakfast or even dinner from the night before. Maybe your only meal for the day is the free lunch you get at school (Have you even seen what they feed kids at school?!). Or think about the elderly, hungry but afraid to eat what last few items are in the pantry because they don't know where their next bites of food will come from.  (Cue the violin music.) 

But seriously, I write all this to urge you to make a donation to your local food bank. Here in NC, the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC is totally out of food. Below is a pic from their facility.

If you're local (Piedmont Triad, NC) you can make donations at these locations:

Goodwill Stores in Forsyth and Guilford County

BB&T Bank Branches
NewBridge Bank Branches

Lowes Food Stores
Food Lion Stores
Ideal Image

Go here for a list of most needed items from their website. They also need some toiletries which are also listed.

Now, you may be thinking that you really don't have the extra to donate. If you don't, that's fine. But this is where I tell you that if you are not a couponer, you should become one. I know, I know, I'm always trying to convert ya'll. Lol. But you can get so many items for pennies on the dollar, or even free, just by pairing coupons with sales. Here is a great article that I read just today about couponing for a cause.

This week I scored for free:

banana chips

toilet bowl cleaner

Lucky Charms cereal bars (2 boxes)

peanut butter

Gain dishwashing liquid

And for super cheap I got the following:

Concord grape jelly (.27)

4 boxes of name brand cereal ($1.25 each) 

2 boxes of Smart Balance popcorn (.29 for both)

salad dressing ($1.00-I splurged a little, lol)

Nature's Own loaf of bread (.49)

3 pack of Dial soap (.49)

2  4-cup packs of Hunt's Snack pack pudding (.19 for both)

2 boxes of Snackwell fudge cookies (.98 for both)

2 Mccormick taco seasoning mix packets (.25 for both)

2 cans of Chef Boyardee ravioli (1.00 for both)

Aunt Jemima 12-count frozen pancakes (.49)

2 tubs of Country Crock 15 oz. margarine spread (1.00 for both)

2 cartons of eggs (free-i had a coupon that doubled to $1.10 off of two plus an e-vic for free eggs when I bought two margarines. It was also a score that eggs were B1G1 at HT this week.)

Now, I know that you can't just feed your family cookies, grape jelly, and taco seasoning mix for a meal. I know that...but, you can shop smarter and supplement your pantry (or the local food pantry) just by comparing sales and coupons. The key is to use coupons to buy things when they are on sale at rock bottom price, so that you won't have to pay full price when you actually need the item.

If everyone donated just one item to their local food pantry, just think how stocked those shelves would be!

An Introduction and a Sneak Peek

Have you met Elizabeth over here? If not, go on over to her blog and stop in. She's my partner for the fall BSBP that Lori Anderson is hosting.

Below is a sneak peek of what I'm sending to Elizabeth. I know it's a funky pic but it won't be a surprise for her if I show ya'll before she gets her beads!



It's a Baby Shower!

This past weekend we held my cousin's baby shower. I just love how everything turned out! In my past life I must have been an event planner because I just love doing stuff like this! Check out some pics from the event.

Seeing these banners everywhere, I made this banner with the baby's name. It was so easy.

 Diaper Cake made by Melissa. So cute!

 Brownie Pops that I made. My sister asked if they were "the ones from Starbucks". Um, no, they are the ones from my kitchen, lol, but that made me feel really good about my brownie pop making skills...perhaps i should open a brownie pop shop? Also made the platter that they are on from a flower pot and plate. It's hard to see, but trust me, it's really cute!

 Decorative tree made by the dad-to-be and his mom that will also be used in the baby's room.

 Onesie banner that I made. I've seen these made using real onesie's but the mom-to-be already had a lot of baby clothes so I made this one from scrapbook paper and embellishments.

 This was the very first watermelon baby carriage that I've ever made. I watched three videos on the internet and read countless instructions to prep, lol. The hardest part is getting all of the watermelon out. I didn't think I'd ever be finished scooping out melon innards!

 This is how we felt trying to get everything setup before everyone got there. Great demo Melissa!

 Cake made by the dad-to-be. That's right ladies, I said the dad-to-be made this cake! How talented is he?!

 Present Motherload! Girlfriend racked up!!

 Fresh flowers from the farmers market. Aren't they beautiful?



Lightbulb Freebie!

I just love a freebie!

I recently came across this post on Hip2Save for some TOTALLY FREE CFL lightbulbs. If you haven't been to this website you must check it out. It is like the place to be when it comes to freebies, coupons, discounts, giveaways, all that good stuff. 

Anyway,  I ordered my bulbs from here and they just came yesterday. 15 totally free CFL lightbulbs. Do you know how expensive those things are??? Pssst...it did not take the 4-6 weeks that they said it would. :)

On a different note, Harris Teeter is doing another Super Doubles starting August 10!!!!!!

First Friday Indie Market-August 2011

If you're local you can check me and other awesome handmade goods out at the August First Friday Indie Market this Friday, 8/5/11 in Downtown Greensboro.

See ya there!

NKOTBSB Concert Pics!

Yes, I did go to the NKOTBSB concert when the guys came through Greensboro, NC. Really I went for the NKOTB, not so much the BSB, although I'm surprised at the number of Backstreet Boys songs I did know. Regardless, both groups put on an awesome show. Oh, and Mr. Shuester (Matthew Morrison) from Glee opened up the show for them. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised. I gotta get back into Glee, lol.

I still LOVE these guys! It's like I was a little girl all over again at the concert. When the guys came out on the stage, I got that feeling. You know the feeling....right? Butterflies in the stomach because my first crush love is only feet away several rows of hundreds of screaming middle aged women and many big, bulky security guys away....Sigh...My favorite is Donnie, yep, the bad boy. Those bad boys get me every time but that's another post, lol.

My friend, Amber, and I swore that next time we will be front row. I'm maxing out the credit card next time baby! I mean, at least once in my lifetime, I would pay big bucks to be in the front row for these guys. How about you? Who would you max out the credit card to see?

I was sooo upset that my camera battery died two songs in when the guys came on stage. I saw Donnie {insert schoolgirl sigh here} and couldn't help but click, click, click away, lol. Here are some of the pics I did get.

Mr. Shuester rockin' it with one of his backup singers.

Isn't he a cutie petutie?

Opening with all the guys.

Jordan Knight-The ultimate in coolness

Jordan and Jon Knight, Joey McIntyre, and a BSB (Sorry, I don't know your name hun.)

NKOTB rockin' tunes via the circle.

Donnie Wahlberg (swoon!!!) and Joe and some random chicks that I would cut to have their front row seats!!!! I mean, really, that lady in red is not even paying attention to the fabulousness that is right in front of her eyes!

Donnie's got the moves

NKOTB working the circle again

NKOTB fans...Can you guess from the dance moves which song this was??

...And that's all folks. My camera batteries died. :(