Life Is A Trip Worth Taking: August 2013

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Budgeting: Bringing In Income With Consignment

Clothes, clothes, clothes and more clothes!

This pile is huge, and there are at least 2 more like it!

They don't sell at garage sales like they used to, do they?

At least, not around here.

So, I have bags of kids clothes that I really need to get rid of....and shoes, games, and on and on.

In the past year and half, if you have read this and this, then you know that we are on a quest to save more money which includes ways to bring in more money to add to the budget.

We have no desire to be wealthy by the world's standards, but, wealthy by our own standards.
We have a tremendously loving family and our time that we spend together is one of our top priorities, so we believe that we are rich in the love of our family and our love of Jesus.

Our desire to create a little more room in the family budget leads me to have garage sales, sell on Facebook (occasionally), and now to participate in a community consignment sale for children's clothes. The sale is the week and weekend of September 13th, and lasts for 4 days. I have heard that the crowd that comes is huge!

It is such a great way to sell your gently used children's clothes and even buy a ton of great items, as well.

We don't play these games anymore. Well, I was informed this morning that Battleship had to stay.....

The prep is a little time consuming, but I know it will be worth it.

Here is what I have to do:

Sort all the clothes by size and gender
Check them over for stains and tears and discard those
Put EVERYTHING on hangers
Pin the clothing to the hangers with safety pins
Write a description on an index card and pin the card to the item
Decide my prices
Print barcode labels from the Sale website
Apply each barcode to the index card on the correct item

For shoes/toys, they have to be put in plastic zip baggies and the index card taped to the baggie with packing tape.

Yep, lots of work.

Count 'em. Six pair of brown shoes...and, all of them are very similar. In fact, two are exactly alike!

(My name is Amy, and I have a brown shoe problem.)

I haven't ever done this sale before, but I hear it is awesome.

They hold the sale 2-3 times a year in Tyler, TX, which is only about 40 minutes from my house.

I think that they have done one in my home town, but it wasn't as well advertised.

A really good friend of mine has participated in the sale for years, and the last check that she received was for over $600. That much would certainly help out the Christmas stash!

I'm really excited to see how it goes. I'll show off my completely prepped items when I'm done.

How do you bring in a little extra money around your house?
How about Christmas spending? Is it cash all the way?

Monday, August 26, 2013

DIY: Utensil Artwork

Have your kids started school? Mine started today and we had a great morning!

I made homemade blueberry muffins last night and they started their day with a good breakfast, and it all went as smoothly as it possibly could.

My 2nd grader is growing up, and I realized it when he didn't want to hold my hand when we walked in to the school. **sad face**

He didn't want to hurt Mom's feelings, so he was going to do it, but then I told him it would be okay if he didn't want his friends to see him. He was slightly relieved!

My 9th grader started last week and has already had a ton of homework! And, has a test this week and a project already assigned. He definitely hit the ground running!

I know that the 7th grader will have a great first day, as well. Nothing really ruffles his feathers too much.

About a week ago, I got the itch to add some artwork to the breakfast area, but didn't want to spend any money. I went out to the garage and found two boards that I had purchased at Lowe's for another project that never happened. (!) I racked my brain for about a minute and got busy.

Here's what I came up with:

DIY Utensil Artwork

It was so easy!

1. I started by painting the boards white with a paint and primer combo I had on hand.

2. Then, I found two sets of utensils on The Graphics Fairy: {HERE and HERE}

3. I resized the images on the computer to the size that I wanted then I traced over the image with a pencil.

4. Once I had the images traced, I laid them out on my board and rubbed the pencil lines onto the board.

5. When that was done, I used a black permanent marker to trace out and fill in the rubbed on image.

6. Lastly, I slapped some paint over the image in yellow and aqua; sanded off some paint, and voila!

So simple and quick, and it really adds a lot to the look of the breakfast area.

I am still going to create one more thing to go over the window to really finish off the look.

I have always struggled with decorating around these windows because of the angles on each side of the middle one, but this looks great.

Do you get spur of the moment creative sparks? Do you love to create on the fly? What have you created out of nothing?

Linking up:

Shabby Creek Cottage

House of Hepworths

The 36th Avenue

Design, Dining, and Diapers

Under The Table And Dreaming

Todays Creative
Home Stories AtoZ

The Owl's Skull

The "PIN IT" Party @ Creative Geekery

The Girl Creative Weekly Creative Inspiration

Serenity Now

The Best Blog Recipes
Live Laugh Rowe
Lolly Jane

Chef In Training

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

The Best Birthday Gift!

My birthday was earlier this month and I received an awesome birthday present from my sister.

It was really great. She put a lot of thought into it, and it took time to gather all of it.

Here goes.....I'm going to reveal my age.

I was born in 1971.

I know, you wouldn't have thought I was that young would you.

Mwahahaha!!

All of the items that were included in my gift were from 1971.

First up, a Starbucks gift card.

Starbucks was founded in 1971.

Love me some coffee!

Starbucks began as a coffee roaster in Seattle in 1971

Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory, with Gene Wilder, came out in 1971.

Willie Wonka debuted in 1971

Better Homes and Gardens put out their first cookbook in 1971. This one is a reprint of the original.

I remember my mom's copy of this from when I was a kid.

I'm pretty sure I've had this hair style!

Oh, and this magazine is really thin, not like today's Southern Living.

Southern Living 1971

This magazine is from 3 days after I was born, August 6.

August 6, 1971 Time Magazine

This Woman's Day magazine had all the tips. And, check out the price.

Woman's Day Magazine 1971

Here's a close up of the price! Ah, the good old days....

My sister noted that there are a lot of styles in this Architectural Digest that are back in style.

Architectural Magazine 1971

She, also, included a vintage calendar towel (like these) from 1971 that I plan to frame.

I thought this was such a great gift! I loved it and have gone through the magazines several times. It has been such fun!

Have you ever done this for someone? What did, or would, you include?

Friday, August 16, 2013

My Favorite Curly Fonts!

Everyone loves fonts! We can't get enough of them!

But, seriously, they are so useful and you need a lot of fonts to be able to create the perfect printables or the "just right" effect on your blog or website.

So, here are more of my faves, and this time, they're curly!

Free Curly Fonts

Gigi

Little Lord Fontleroy

Go forth and download happily!

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Budgeting for Today and Tomorrow: School Supplies and Life Insurance

This has been a cray cray busy week for some reason! School is starting soon and we have been taking care of biz'niss, and making some improvements in the family financial situation. Fun times.

Really the budgetary changes have been sorta fun. It's really cool when you all of a sudden find areas where you can save some significant cash.

We are, also, getting some additional life insurance so that our kids could do things, like eat, if anything were to happen to one of us.

Mandi, over at Tidbits From The Tremaynes has been doing the same thing and her post about is huh-larious! Her husband and mine appear to share a condition in which they pass out cold when their blood is drawn. Yippee. Should be fun when it's our turn.

We, also, bought a mountain of school supplies in one stop. I couldn't believe we got it all in one place! That was an exciting day. It doesn't take much to make me ridiculously happy.

Staples was the shopping destination of choice this year. They had it all and I even got about a 10.00 discount because I applied for the rewards card and I got an education discount since I work in that field.

And, the Little Bit got a rockin' backpack and lunch box that he loves. It's all good!

(Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. It just worked out really well!)

Now the kids are all done with camps and the waiting for D-Day begins.

It's about this time of year that I am ready to get back on schedule and not be all over the place. Summer is great and fun, but routine is awesome.

Also, the bedroom makeover has been put on hold for at least a month. Boo.

We are being all responsible with our funds and such, so we felt we needed to put it off just a little longer.

But, it WILL happen! It's our gift to each other for our 10th Anniversary, so it must be done. Plus, my bedroom is sort of hole right now.

I do have a project in mind for this weekend.

via: Zillow Digs

I absolutely lurv this little nook that I found while I was perusing Zillow Digs and I really like the art on the wall. It gave me an idea on how to add some color and interest in my own nook. I'll surprise you with it next week.

If you haven't checked out Zillow Digs, you should. There are some great inspiration photos there. It's sort of like Pinterest, but only homes. And, I do love to look at houses online that are for sale. Is that weird? I want to see how others have their home decorated. And, not just DIY and craft bloggers, but just normal non-blog immersed people. Some have it and some seriously don't.

Via Zillow Digs

I love these pillows. The colors and prints look great together.

So, hopefully, I will have more info on the room makeover for you soon.

Oh, and I'll let you know how the blood drawing escapade goes!

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Bedroom Makeover: I Want You to Help Me!

I thought it might be fun to have a mini version of the Blog Cabin.

I don't have my own television show, but I do have a blog and YOU can help me make some choices!

But, before we do that, don't forget to get your projects linked up at the TGIF Link Party! We wanna see your craftiness!

Ready for some color choices?

This should be fun!

First up, we are deciding on paint colors for the walls and ceiling.

Here is a picture of the current state of affairs, if you don't remember:

Yes, there is much work to be done!

The walls will be a dark grey, with the slanted part of the ceiling being a light grey and the center part will be white. I need dark walls in the bedroom because I have frequent migraines and any sort of light just doesn't work. Lighter colors can reflect even a sliver of sunshine coming through the curtains and it will keep me from being able to rest.

Keep in mind that this is just the first step on a long makeover journey and I hope you will help me all along the way!

I think we will all be amazed at the end of the project!

Here are the two sets of colors that you will be choosing from:

Set 1

Now, on to the poll!

I love both of them. The paint I will be using is Glidden Duo from WalMart in an Eggshell finish. The Duo is the one with paint and primer in one, so hopefully, it will take fewer coats to cover the blue.

(This is not a sponsored post. I am just sharing my plans with you!)

Please take a second and choose your favorite!

And, don't forget to get your projects linked up at the TGIF Party!

Linking up:

Shabby Creek Cottage

House of Hepworths

The 36th Avenue

Design, Dining, and Diapers

Under The Table And Dreaming

The "PIN IT" Party @ Creative Geekery

The Girl Creative Weekly Creative Inspiration

Serenity Now

The Best Blog Recipes
Live Laugh Rowe
Lolly Jane

Thursday, August 8, 2013

TGIF Link Party

Are ready for a fun day of partying?
I know I am!

This week I am co-hosting the TGIF Link Party with some fun ladies that I know you will want to meet.

Let the linking up begin!

Welcome to the TGIF Link Party at

Living Better Together and I Want Crazy!

Meet Your Hosts!

Rebecca from Living Better Together

Kat from I Want Crazy

I'm also excited to introduce our fabulous co-host for this week:

Amy from Life is a Trip Worth Taking

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Features:

Most Viewed

Navajo Tacos with Homemade Scones by Mommy on Demand. These are so intriguing, tacos on fried dough, um... YES PLEASE! Is there any question why these were the most viewed this week? They look absolutely delicious!

Rebecca's Favorites:

Kitchen Canister Revamp by The Koenigs. I love this simple update, they came out great and you have to head over to check out the before photo! I would love to make a set of these for my own country kitchen!

S'more Cookie Bars by Blahnik Baker. These look soooo ooey gooey and delicious! I've been on a S'mores kick lately and these would definitely hit the spot! This is the perfect dessert for summertime!

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough M&M Ice Cream Cake by The Sweet {Tooth} Life. Alright, clearly we love sweets over here at the TGIF Link Party. This would be a great alternative to a birthday cake, and I love all the sweet components that combine to bring this dish together.

Western Dresser by The Weekend Country Girl. This is too cute, I love the detail that was put into this piece and it will really make a statement in her bunk room!

Kat's Favorites!

DIY Vintage Dollar Store Coasters by The Orchard Girls. These are the perfect touch of vintage and something that I get done in a weekend! There are so many possibilities with this project and easily customizable.

Easy DIY Newborn Tutu by Crafty Wife. This is possibly the cutest tutu I've ever seen. Such an easy gift for a baby girl and would make any photo extra adorable.

Biscoff Cinnamon Chip Quick Bread by A Pinch of Glitter. This bread looks incredible! Biscoff spread makes anything spectacular and makes this bread over the top! It looks so moist and decadent.

Cinnamon & Sugar Pretzel Bites by Redfly Creations. Pretzels are my snack weakness. I can't pass up pretzels anywhere! These easily caught my attention and made my mouth water, and the glaze that tops them off makes them look irresistible!

Grab a feature button!

A big thanks to Anyonita over at Anyonita Nibbles for creating our party buttons!
Don't forget to enter the "My Favorite Giveaway Ever" Giveaway for your chance to win some amazing prizes! Click the image below to enter, giveaway closes Saturday at midnight!

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Link up your recipes, projects, tips and tricks, etc. Each week we'll be featuring some great posts from the previous week, so be sure to check back to see if you were featured and to link up again!
If you are interested in co-hosting, email Rebecca at fickrj5@gmail.com. Share this party with your friends, and don't forget to make some new ones while you're here! We all love making new friends, don't we?
Rules:

1. Please follow your hosts and co-hosts in some way! Let us know you did and we'll follow back!

2. If you'd like, grab the party button and tell your friends!

3. No Giveaways or Etsy Shops, please.

4. Please link to a specific post, not your homepage.

5. Get inspired! Visit other links! Spread the word! It is a party after all!

____________________________________________________________________

Thank God it's Friday! Get ready to party!

We'll be pinning all of your links to our TGIF Link Party Board on Pinterest to share with our followers!

Back to School: Safe People and Bullying

Can you believe it is almost time for school to start?

The summer has really flown by, faster than I realized.

My boys will be in the 2nd, 7th, and 9th grades. Yikes!

I have a high schooler. Unbelievable.

And, I must admit, that he is pretty fantastic.

No girlfriend yet, but I am grooming him to be a really good catch.

As school looms ever closer on the horizon, I was thinking about all the things that kids have to be ready to encounter these days, and it's a little overwhelming. The academics are so much more rigorous and testing is an ever present threat. No one likes to hear that word....testing....ick.

But, safety is more in line with my major concerns.

There are a lot of threats to our children in this world and they need to be prepared.

Safe People

Do your children know who the safe people are in your community? At school, any teacher or administrator would be a safe person, but what about on a field trip? I constantly tell my kids to pay attention and stay with the group, if I can't be there. However, I need them to know what to do in the event that they are separated.

We stress that any law enforcement officer is a safe person to go to, or someone in an employees uniform. Children should never allow someone who doesn't appear to be wearing a uniform lead them anywhere, even if they say they are taking them to a police officer. We have told our kids to yell "NO" and run until they see a safe person.

When my oldest son took a school trip to Washington, DC, we told him to stay in one place and look around for a uniformed officer or security guard. That way his group could find him easily and he could tell the officer that his parents had told him an officer could help him if he was lost or separated. Thankfully that didn't happen. I think he was more on his toes because we HAD prepared him.

Bullies

Does your child's school have an anti-bullying program in place? If they don't, encourage them to put one into practice.

All of my children have been victims of bullies and it is heartbreaking to see your child treated that way. We have role-played with all three boys about how to handle bullying situations. Our youngest has a stutter that he is in therapy for and children have made various comments to him. We have talked about how he can handle those comments and that he should always let his teacher know. One of my proudest moments as a parent was when he told me this story:

Little Bit: "Mom, do you know what ________said to me today?"
Me: "What's that, sweetie?"
Little Bit: "He said, 'why are you talking that way?'"
Me: (immediately getting my hackles up) "What did you say?"
Little Bit: "I said, 'Because this is the way that God made me, and I have always talked like this.'"
Me: "That was a perfect answer. What did he say?"
Little Bit: "He just said, 'Oh'."
Me: " I am very proud of you."

I couldn't have been prouder of him right then! I was so glad that he had an answer to give and that we had practiced how to handle that situation.

What are some of your families safety rules? Share and we can all learn form one another.

Monday, August 5, 2013

Master Bedroom: Going from A Mess To A MasterPiece

At least, I hope!

Sometimes, my plans don't come out of my head the way I envision. Ever happen to you? And, if it hasn't, I am sticking my tongue out at you right now.

Last week I shared a little of our inspiration for the room, and now I want to share some of the actual designs we hope to incorporate.

I showed off a barn door and we are planning one for the entrance to the master bath, and here is how I want it to look:

Yellow sliding barn door from Traditionally Modern Designs

I don't think that blog has been updated in a couple of years but the image is on Pinterest.

I have double doors leading into the bathroom, so my door will be wider. And, I think we will use fence pickets to create the door. I don't want perfectly smooth boards and we can sand them down enough to be safe.

If you notice the sign above the bed in the above photo, it is very similar to the "Love" sign that I posted about in this post. I will move the sign into our bedroom, but incorporate it into the gallery wall that I am planning.

Speaking of gallery walls, mine will be in a corner and wrapped around two walls. Like so,

via Design Indulgences

I like the free form style placement of the frames. I am planning to use lighter colors in the frames, but the wall color will be similar to what is seen here.

I hope to get lucky soon and find some bedside tables at a thrift shop or on Craigslist to paint. I want a soft silver look.

Pier1

These from Pier 1 are the perfect look, only I'm thinking I want them to be a little bigger.

I am going to make a padded headboard using black burlap from Hancocks Fabric, and nailheads, I found this one at ZGallerie, but I just want a solid black.

ZGallerie

I have tons of other ideas, including use of some chalkboard paint, a board and batten feature wall, and bedding, so stay tuned for the ongoing updates! It should be fun!

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