more jewelry making and my Etsy store is BACK!

I posted in December that Ash and I were crafting again. Well, my little holiday endeavor netted me just enough cash flow for some holiday shopping. :)

Here are some popular samples.

stardust finish initial

initial with a crackle finish

photo pendant

girly pendant necklace

crackle finish

monogram crackle necklaces

more girly pendants

up close of a crackle...the details are very pretty...these kind really shimmer in the light

school spirit...this one is for Warren County Pioneers  woot woot!

some people prefer ribbons to chains

bottlecaps almost finished

new stretch bracelets

pendant trays...photos and crackle initials

a cosmic stardust glitter finish...changes color in the light

If you like what you see I'd be happy to make you a custom item. Visit me on Etsy to place your order.

www.whimsylanecreations.etsy.com

cool ways to earn money online doing what you already do

Getting paid for taking surveys online is nothing new. If you're like me you may not have a lot of free time to work on surveys that just pay pennies, or sign up for trial offers. But if you're like me, someone is always on my computer watching videos, listening to music, playing games, or using social media. How about getting paid to do that stuff that you are already doing?

Sounds great right? I thought so too. I found some ideas on a WAHM blog and thought I'd sign up and try them out since I was off work today anyway. So far I'm trying these nifty little sites: Cash Crate, RadioLoyalty, and Swag Bucks. There are a few more sites I'm checking into and will post about later on.

 If you haven't tried Cash Crate, you should definitely check it out. They have all kinds of ways you can earn money. Same thing with Swagbucks. Lots of ways to earn--and they  each have an awesome referral program-- so if surveys are not your thing, it's ok. Lots of choices. Lots of prizes and cash. Now I can tell you right now I will not grow rich doing this. But I am online already and so are my family members...it just makes sense to utilize these options, even if I earn only a few bucks a week. That's a few bucks I didn't have before for doing what I've been doing for years...FOR FREE. *sigh*

 Do me a favor please. If you get the urge to try Cash Crate, please copy and paste my link here into your browser window:
 http://www.cashcrate.com/5184120

Swag Bucks has been around for a while now. You can try them out at: swagbucks.com/refer/craftymomTN

www.RadioLoyalty.com is an interesting concept. For those of you already familiar with internet radio sites like Pandora and Grooveshark, this is internet radio that you get PAID to listen to. Yep, you get paid. Not a fortune. But a few cents for each ten minutes of song time. After ten minutes of listening you have to enter a  code to continue getting paid and listening. Kind of annoying but understandable. I like to listen to music while I work on homework, blog, or net  surf so it's an idea I'm willing to try.

Thanks and have fun earning some cash! Post your favorite sites in the comments.

Blessings,
Lynn

Glass pendant jewelry and DIY t-shirt scarf

My daughter, Ashleigh "Lil Elf" and I have been busy making all sorts of goodies from Pinterest the last few days and having a blast.

We've tried fringed t-shirt scarves and nail polish pendants. She decided to make a bunch of pendants and sell them to earn Christmas shopping money. Although she did keep one scarf and one pendant for herself.

pendants in crackle or stardust finish, each one hand-made and unique

the gray t-shirt scarf she couldn't part with

 I miss crafting!!!! Being a stay at home mom sure had it's perks, like getting time to do the fun stuff after the work is done. I won't always be a working mom and full-time student; at least that's what I keep telling myself, lol

 Maybe in Heaven there will  be an eternal craft table, endless contemporary Christian karaoke night, and a library that never charges late fees. ;)

A very PINTERESTING evening: the November party

 Today and into the evening, my sisters, mother, daughter, and I held our first-ever Pinterest party. It was such fun we plan to hold one every month and take turns coming up with the evening's schedule.

 The basic idea goes like this:   1. Three sisters see Pinterest.  2. Sisters fall in love with Pinterest and pin thousands of fun ideas between them.  3. Sisters convince their mother Pinterest is a good thing. 4. Sisters decide to try some of the Pinteresting ideas they see...together...in a small kitchen, filled with silliness and fun. Ah, life is good. :)

 Tonight was Emily's turn. She wanted us to make two new dishes she found on Pinterest: Runza casserole and Apple Pie Bread Pudding with caramel rum sauce. She also picked a craft for the evening: decorating mugs and platters with Sharpie markers. So the five of us (plus my husband, who is turning into a real domestic goddess in his own right) set to work in my very teeny kitchen chopping, whisking, stirring, and layering.

 The Runza dish, Em tells us, is popular up in North Dakota. It is a layering of meat, cheeses, onions, and cabbage baked between two layers of cresent rolls. It was very good. We all liked it a lot but we thought it needed more cheese, maybe even some cheese melted on top. My sis says one can substitute mushroom soup for the cheddar called for the in the recipe, and use Swiss cheese in it as well.

Our version of Runza casserole

 The real treat was the Apple Pie Bread pudding with caramel rum sauce. While my mother was watching my sisters mix the bread cubes into the sauce for baking, and sniffing the sweet smells wafting through the air, she couldn't help but express with a dreamy look in her eye, "You can just see the calories dancing off of that!"  lol. My mother; gotta love her.

  But she was right. A million times over I tell you she was! That woman knows dessert and she knew this was a keeper. Oh my goodness...I can't say enough about this rich dessert! (no one else could either as they sat stuffing their faces full of it). It is a wonderful cold weather comfort food, bursting with spices and warmth.And it is even more delicious topped with a dollop of Cool Whip. :)  Move over Pumpkin Pie....I think I found my new Thanksgiving dinner buddy. I am ashamed to say I sit here with my jeans unbuttoned after making a glutton of myself on this stuff. I am disgustingly full. And even with this full stomach and indigestion, my shoulder devil is already telling me to be the first one up in the morning so I can beat the others to the kitchen for another piece. With coffee. Hmmmm, hmmmm.

http://www.keyingredient.com/recipes/68541974/apple-pie-bread-pudding/

 Our stomachs full, we turned our attentions to the craft chosen for the evening. A very simply idea really--grab something ceramic and white, like a serving platter or coffee mug, decorate it with a Sharpie marker, and bake it to make a lasting treasure.

 We thought about writing a family recipe on our platters. Then Emily suggested maybe each of us getting a platter and letting mom write one of her recipes on it in her own handwriting for each of her daughters to keep. I thought that was a really good idea, but for our practice session we chose something easy. Mom went with a quote about chocolate, Emily chose to write her pinings for Mathew Gray-Gubler on her mug, and my baby sister Lonessa let everyone know on her mug that she likes both her coffee---and her men---with an Irish flavor. My daughter made a really cute little plaque with a family quote on it, and I made a coffee mug for my mother-in law, who's own late mother used to say, "Good morning, good morning, good morning" while she drank her coffee. We read some tips on the fine art of decorating mugs with Sharpies over at http://www.diyopolis.com/tips-and-tricks-to-the-diy-sharpie-mug/ which really helped. I just baked them and now they are sitting in the oven cooling slowly. We'll see if they are safe to wash.

 We had such fun that I am already planning the December party.  I would love to hear about YOUR Pinteresting evenings.
Blessings,
Lynn

My Preschool Daze: Awesome October Giveaway: Binder Clips from KuteKl...

My Preschool Daze: Awesome October Giveaway: Binder Clips from KuteKl...:  Congratulations to Diane B. on winning last week's contest for the teacher key chains from The Pink Pouch!  Now for this week's p...

Wizard of Oz Party

My baby girl turned 9 years old today. Ash wanted to have a Wizard of Oz themed party last year but we couldn't due to moving into our new home the same week. So I told her this year we'd do it, and we did, and it was great fun.

I got a lot of inspiration from the movie, of course, and from Pinterest (imagine). And plenty of help from my husband, sisters, mom, and even a co-worker. Theme parties take a lot of work and all who helped or loaned items to me are greatly appreciated. :)

Wish the photos were better quality. Just try to imagine eight or so sugar-hyped little girls in costumes armed with body glitter, sparkle hairspray, and a healthy dose  of imagination, and you have the perfect recipe for silly, giggly, girly fun.

Ash as Dorothy and my sis Em as Glinda (she really is Ash's "Auntie Em")

 

Some of our girls came in costume. Some adults dressed up as well. 

We had every character except the Tin Man.

Jarred playing the Scarecrow was a big hit with not only the girls but the crowds that drove past.

He changed positions when cars went by and freaked out a whole lot of innocent children. lol

Mrs. Amanda became our adult Dorothy thanks to one of our 

daycare moms lending us the costume.

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! No wait, it's just tween girls

waiting to party. :)

"I'll get you my pretty!" 

(thanks to my sister Nessa for playing the role 

of the Wicked Witch of the West)

 I had a lot of fun making the goody bag station, or as I called it, the Munchkin Land Sweet Shoppe.
Since I can't locate my photo (pooh!) I'll have to describe it to you. I placed a green table cloth out and used brightly-colored bowls as containers. I bought Wizard of Oz food party labels that you edit and print yourself from Etsy seller Sassaby and made my own custom labels. Each bowl had a corresponding label on it.

 I set out licorice sticks (Witch Legs), Dum Dum suckers (lolly pops), animal cookies (Lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my!), bubble gum balls (Glinda bubbles), sour rainbow straps (rainbow candy), and Hershey's Kisses (tin man hats). I found some really cute witch leg themed goody bags at Walmart and set them out with a sign that said "Thank you for coming to my party. Love, Ashleigh. Fill up a treat bag to take home."

Instead of a cake from the store, Ash helped me bake 48 cupcakes which we frosted 

and arranged into a rainbow. We used marshmallows for the clouds. I found some super-cute 

Ruby Slipper bookmark/cupcake picks on Ebay.

Thanks to a couple of trips to McDonalds and a few shopping evenings on Ebay 

we had the full Happy Meal toy set of the Wizard.

Our party table was decorated in a Kansas farm picnic theme. I served two kind of sandwiches, plus Kansas Tornados (Bugles), Scarecrow Stuffing (pretzels), and Yellow Bricks from the Road (cheese puffs). We decorated with gingham, baskets, mini straw hats, and signs I printed off the internet.

With the addition of a red-checked napkin this basket became a pretty silverware server. I added in more labels from the ones I ordered from Etsy seller Sassyby.

Thanks to the cute Ebay find high-heel cookie cutter in the top right of the photo, 

we had peanut butter and jelly "Ruby slipper sandwiches".

Ash already had a basket and a Toto toy from our local Goodwill so we used those to decorate the gift table. I also left a white t-shirt and Sharpies on that table for the guests to sign. That shirt became one of Ash's favorite things.

Ding, dong, the witch is dead! We stuffed some stripey tights and used the shoes 

Ash outgrew to make the Wicked Witch of the East.

A Dollar Tree Scarecrow plus a sign printed off the internet points the way to Munchkin Land

 (I kept this as a decoration outside my pre-k classroom door).

My sister drew random bricks on the daycare walkway and left messages such as "Follow the yellow brick road" and "To Oz".

My sweetie, the Scarecrow, who directed traffic into the daycare parking lot.

Dorothy and the Scarecrow.

The party goers played Melt the Witch (with a bucket of ice water and sponges).

Then we went over to the Oz jewelry shop to craft bottlecap necklaces using graphics I got from two Etsy sellers, Pretty as a Pixel and PinkLimeadeD.

And last of all we had fun at Glinda's beauty shop, because goodness, one can't see the Wizard without getting a little mani/pedi/hairstyling. Armed with colored hairspray, face glitter, and nailpolishes in shades such as Glow-in-the-Dark, Ruby Slipper Red, Wicked Emeralds, and Prairie Sky Blue, my sister Emily (aka Glinda) blinged the girls out and made them look FAB-U-LUS!

I really enjoyed pulling this party together. I have always loved themes...themes in my classroom lessons, themes in decorating, and themes in parties. I had as much fun as the girls did.:)

Later on I'll be reviewing past theme parties I've done such as Blues Clues, Hello Kitty, Pink Poodles in Paris, and more, so come back again.

Blessings,

Lynn