Free For the New Year

Go visit Freebies 4 Mom today to see here Best of 2009 Freebies.

I already have my Emergen C & Kashi Bar (and I've witnessed other receiving theirs).

Also, she has a link here to sites where you can get free calendars for the new year!

Insomnia

I'm really not tired, but I know I need to go to bed. So I guess I'll be breaking out the iPod so I can go to sleep. Here is a sneak peak of what I will fall asleep to. This is one of my favorite Cocteau Twins songs (Lazy Calm). I've loved this song since high school. Enjoy.

Free Beatles Download

I love love love the Beatles! Here is a free MP3 download from Blackberry.

Thank you, Sean!

Free Sample of Galaxy Granola

I've been waiting to post this free sample, but I was having trouble with the link. I just tried it again and it seems to be working fine and my sample is on it's way! Yahoo! Go here to get your sample!

Save $2 on HoneyNut Cheerios

Yum! Go here to print your coupons for $2 in savings.

Soy Silk - $.75 off coupon

Print a $.75 off coupon for Soy Silk here.
Target has the lowest EVERY DAY price for Soy Silk (our is $2.69 for a 1/2 gallon), but lately it has been on sale and comparable at Safeway. Safeway will double the coupon up to $1 and Target won't so when it is on sale go get it. Our current sale is $2.79, so $1.79 is pretty great.

Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Pasta Coupons

Go here to sign up for the Ronzoni Newsletter and print $1 off coupons (I use these all the time - when couons are available to stock up on healthy pasta at Target).

Thanks, Coupon Dad

Merry Christmas to you all!

Printable Hidden Coupons

Thank you Mommy's Wish List for posting these great hidden coupons. Go here to print several coupons including some great ones from Morning Star and Wholly Guacamole.

Free Itunes Download - Norah Jones

The Itunes iTunes single of the week is from Norah Jones "The Fall". To get this open your iTunes app and go to the iTunes Store. On the front page you will see the link to download "December" by Norah Jones.

RecycleBank - get rewarded for being green!

I'm loving RecycleBank! Register and receive 100 points just for doing that. Once you register you will need to log out and then log back in and you will see your 100 points. I did this the other night and I redeemed 90 of my points for (2) $2 off Cascadian Farms products (this is awesome because my husband LOVES their granola and applying these coupons to a sale price will get me some granola at a great price.) AND (1) FREE bottle of 7th Generation Dish Liquid (LOVE the Lavendar scent). These will be mailed to me and I cannot wait to get them!

Go here to see a list of other great eco-friendly sites.

POWERBAR Blast Free Sample

Go visit My Frugal Adventures to get information on how to order your free PowerBar Energy Blast Sample.

VS Pink Free Tank!

Go here to register at Victoria's Secret Pink Nation and you'll be able to print a coupon for a free tank top with purchase. (while supplies last)

New Samples Arrived Today! Christmas in a Mailbox!

Still loving my samples. My mailbox was full today. (A little shout out to Ang for my pres - you rock and you didn't have to, but I still love it!) I also got two diapers from Costco which I ordered when my son was in diapers but then he decided he wanted to go on the potty so I'm saving these for when my nephew comes over. Always good to have some on hand...just in case. Then I got a sample of Benefiber. Everyone can use a little more fiber in their diet...even if it is just one dose. Tee hee. And finally, MY FAVORITE! I got my Philosophy sample of "the Gingerbread Man" shower gel and bubble bath. I see relaxation in my future!

And here is something free for you! Get $4 in your Amazon account for an on demand movie rental by going here. Follow the instructions and you are set!

SuperPretzel Coupons

Go here to sign up and receive SuperPretzel coupons in the mail. Also, there should be a coupon in the 12/6 Smart Source insert from the Sunday Newspaper.

Finger Puppet Debate

My friend, Angie, sent this to me this morning. You too, can crochet your own presidential finger puppets. Whip these up and keep the debate going (even though the election is WAAAAAAY over).

Barack Pattern

McCain Pattern

Safeway Gift Card Giveaway!

Boy would I love this, but I want you to know about it too! Go here to enter for a $50 Safeway gift card!

Money Saving Mom Has an Awesome Give-away!

MoneySavingMom.com is giving away a $100 gift cards to the store of your choice to 5 people! Go here to get the entry details!

Fiber One Yogurt for about $1

Go here to get a $1 coupon for Fiber One 4 packs of Yogurt (printable twice). (Thank you For the Mommas)

I just used a $1 coupon I already had at Target the other day.

They were priced at $2.04 (could vary by area), so they were $1.04 after coupon

So that makes them a $.26 per yogurt when you break it down.

Coffee Samples

I've already received my Taster's Choice coffee samples...you can get your's too!

Go here to sign up and receive samples in the mail!

Nature Valley Samples

Go here to sign up and receive your free

Nature Valley Granola bar sample and sample of their new Granola Nut Clusters.

More Schtuff For You!

I'm liking this deal! Free sample of Stacy's Pita Chips with subscription for a free trial of All You Magazine. Go here to get this deal and you can read more about it here at Freebies 4 Mom. Also, go here and get a coupon for $1 off a bag of Stacy's. This is a great coupon if you can find them on sale.

Read here about a $10 off $10 purchase at JCPenny.com.

More to come as I see them...

Samples In The Mail!

I'm really starting to love the whole sample thing. So far I've received several samples in the mail and some of them are even full sized...like my Kashi granola bar. Today I received my free samples of Emergen C (three sample packets and a coupon for $1 off!). I also received my free travel sized Arm & Hammer toothpaste. Love it. You can still get some of these.

• Go here for Arm & Hammer toothpaste.
• Go here for Emergen C and click on the little bubble that says FREE SAMPLES.
• Go here for your free Kashi bar.

More samples to come as I see them! Happy sample shopping!

Printable Coupons Today!

Here is one of the coupons I printed today:

Go here for Kikkoman - BOGO.

For more coupons go here. (Thanks Lea Ann from Mommy's Wish List)

$.50 off Daisy Sour Cream

This is one I am really excited about because the dairy eaters in my family (not me - dairy-free-mama) eat A LOT of sour cream. Go visit KS Penny Pinchin' Mama to get instruction on how to get your coupon here.

New Method Coupon $2 off 1

Last month I posted about a really great Method coupon for $1/1 item. Well, this month they are offering $2 off 1 item. Go here to get your coupon (you can print this a max of two times).

Vickie Howell's New Shop

Check out Vickie Howell's (of Knitty Gritty) new online shop.

From Amazon to New Moon

Most of you know that I just saw New Moon last week and I have to say that the soundtrack was really great. I wanted to download it on iTunes, but it is not at the top of my $$ priority right now. So, a fellow blogger sent out a tweet about free MP3 downloads from Amazon today. So, I gave it a try. First you need to login to your Amazon account (or create one if you don't have one yet) then click here and enter the code MP34FREE. If you are logged in, it automatically adds $3 into your account so that you can download songs. Thinking this could be too good to be true and that they would only let me select certain songs I thought I'd give the New Moon soundtrack a try. IT WORKED! They only have three songs available for download (I know...meant to be!), so I snagged them up and now I am listening to them. Yay! One of the songs is even a Death Cab song (double smile).

This promotion ends on the 30th of November, so get your songs soon!

Thank you, Carrie, for posting this great Amazon deal!

Walgreens: $5 off $25!!

What a great deal! If you do some coupon match-ups, you could get A LOT of stuff! Your total needs to be $25 after coupons have been applied though. Go here to print your coupon and read more about this here. (Thanks Mommyswishlist!)

Free Millstone Coffee Sample

Go here to get your free Millstone coffee sample.

Arm and Hammer Coupons

Go here to print up to $15 in Arm and Hammer coupons! (Upper left-hand corner you will see a link to "coupons") I love their Green products.

More coupons here and here.

Friday Finds - Greenworks, Organic Valley and More

It's always nice to find coupons for products you use or even products you want to try. Here are some finds from today.

Organic Valley to get a variety of $1 off coupons go here.

Get $3.50 worth of Green Works coupons here.

Try the new Jennifer Lopez sample. (Thank you Mom Advice)

**Remember - coupon shopping can be like a game. Try to "play" your coupons when products are on sale.**

Method Coupon

I'm out of "Good For Wood" made by Method and I love most of their cleaning products (their window cleaner smells yummy), but "green" products can be so pricey. Great news though! Go here to print a $1 off coupon. FYI - unless you find these on sale (which they are not on sale often), I have found that Target has some of the best prices on these products. Sometimes up to $1 less than other stores.


Happy "GREEN" cleaning!

P.S. If you have trouble opening coupon go here and click on the picture with the fortune cookie.

My Saving Obsession Passed On To You...

So, I've finally given up trying to save money on groceries on my own and I've given myself over to the pros. Most of the "pros" are moms just like me...trying to make it in this tough economy. So what I learn from them, I will now pass on to you.

The first thing I did was sign up for my free four week trial of http://www.thegrocerygame.com/ (thank you, Sharon). Now I really don't like paying for a service but it is very inexpensive when you sit down and look at the numbers. I pay $10 a month for the Safeway "list". Which works out to be about $2.50 a week in a four week month and $2 in a five week month. I save a whole lot more than that just using the list, because they do a lot of the work for me. Also, I have not stopped there - I have a lot of printed coupons from the internet and manufacturer sites, so I have those organized and I check to see if I can "one up" some of the coupons listed on the Grocery Game. By doing just this - I paid $58 for $147 worth of groceries this last Saturday. I'm liking those numbers.

Next, I've started subscribing to blogs that share saving secrets and up to date deals found by moms an other consumers. So here are some of the deals I have for this week.

Walgreens:

Buy 3 Glade Sprays at $0.99 after the in-ad coupon
Use $0.75/2 coupon from the 11/1 SmartSource insert
Stack with the $1/2 from Walgreens November Coupon Booklet
Pay $0.72 plus tax after coupons ($0.24 each)

Then go to SC Johnson to get you $5 rebate form for purchasing three Glade products (you can do this up to 3 times). (Thank you Money Saving Mom)

**Learning moment - I didn't read this properly and forgot my Smart Source coupon...ooops! So, I paid a total of $1.74 including tax. Still not a bad deal, especially when you consider the rebate, but I was a little angry with myself. I have a couple more Walgreens ads here and I'm going to go do this one more time WITH my SS coupon and hopefully I will get great results again!

Target Deals:

Apples -$1/lb (could vary by store)
Use $1/2 lbs here
Final Price = $0.50/lb when you buy 2 lbs

***I purchased 3 pound bag for 1.99 and a 2 pound bag for 1.99 (after 1 coupon for each bag, I paid $.50 a pound for one and $.33 a pound for the other.***

Up & Up Flushable Wipes Refill (48 ct) or Soft Packs of Wipes - $0.98/ea
Use $1/1 Target coupon here or here
Final Price = FREE

Up & Up Baby Wipes (72 ct tub) - $1.57/ea
Use $1/1 Target coupon here or here
Final Price = $0.57/ea

***The store I went had a regular price of $1.55 each, so I paid $.55 each after coupon. Depending on where you live, you price could be slightly different. ***

(Thank you Stretching A Buck)

More deals later..right now one of my "other" jobs is calling me. :)

Happy Veteran's Day

Discount Monday! Even one to honor Breast Cancer Awareness!

I'm getting some great emails today with discounts galore and I thought I'd share them. Hey - we all need new stuff from time to time, but we have to watch our pennies, right? Could this be my new Monday tradition? We'll see...

From Old Navy - 15% off $75; 20% off $100 & 25% off $125. Not bad...

Next is New York and Company - 30% off your online or in store purchase. They have great sales, so this is a good opportunity to double save.

http://www.nyandcompany.com/nyco/index.jsp and use code 2765 or you can try and print this picture (not sure how this would work in the store, though - might be worth a try).

And here is one that benefits Breast Cancer Awareness and Research - Design Her Gals - Save 30% off of all stationary products purchased. This is a really great company and I have purchased their mugs - they are great personalized gifts. They also have tote bags and other great gifts - Christmas shopping alert!

Happy shopping! :)

Basil For Many Reasons

As we approach the end of the gardening season here in CO, I'm trying to use my basil for as many things as possible. A couple weeks ago I realized that the basil plant was doing quite well. In fact, I had an over-abundance of the stuff...but I don't mind! So, I made some pesto (I've done that twice now - I think the DH and I have it down to a science with the ingredients). Yum!

After our trip to CA, I came back and found the basil was taking over the rest of the garden, so I clipped a bunch and put it in a vase.

Instant Arrangement and it smells
awesome! It looked better the other
day, but it is still making things smell
great!

TANGENT ALERT! My cat has an
over-active thyroid problem, which
is causing him to be super picky with
his choices in food.

We've even resorted to giving him fresh salmon!
What is next? Lobster???
Anyway, he will eat a little salmon and then leave the rest. So grossed out this AM, I put the leftover salmon in the garbage disposal. EEEEEEUUWA!

It smelled gross...

OFF TANGENT! I put some basil down the disposal and it took the smell away! Who knew?! I usually put lemon in the disposal when I'm cooking with it and it freshens things up, but basil works great!

I took a peek at the basil/rose bush box today and saw my basil plant still looks pretty good - I'd better cash in on that abundance and make more pesto. :)

Snauserpaus Studios - Coming Soon!

So, my friend, Heather and I, are opening a new shop on Etsy called Snauserpaus Studios (more to come about the name). So far Heather has made some really beautiful "memory" necklaces for the shop and I've started making knit baby hats.

Last year I posted a picture of a hat that Taylor had from the GAP as a baby and how I was going to make and sell them. Well, I couldn't find the hat, so it never happened. Lon (my DH), went on a garage cleaning rampage and guess what I found! I guess I have to thank him for that. Anyway, I've recreated the hat in my own gauge. I need to figure out larger sizes, but for now I have the 3-6 month done. We will be selling these at the shop, but I hope to have a written pattern for sell eventually, also.


Front: Please imagine one more pom pom, as it will have two. :)

Back:

The launch date for Snauserpaus Studios on Etsyis October 15th! So get ready for some handmade Christmas shopping!

They Might Be Giants - Knitwear

Check out the fabulous knitted puppets at the beginning and end of this They Might Be Giants kid podcast!

First Day of School

As of today...I have a third and fourth grader!!!

The only way I can enjoy ocean life...

I love the ocean...I hate the ocean...I love the to watch ocean life...I will not go in the water. And yes, although deathly afraid, I do think that sharks are quite amazing. I just found this over at Loobylu and this is a way that I can enjoy the ocean...without actually being in it. :)

Kuroshio Sea - 2nd largest aquarium tank in the world - (song is Please don't go by Barcelona) from Jon Rawlinson on Vimeo.

More Knitting Help - Cast on and Seaming

For Apes - here is some direction for Casting On (the long tail method):
*Note: she does not start with a slip knot for some reason. You will find it easier to start with a slip knot first and then proceed as she does in the video.

Knitting - Long-Tail Cast-on on Howcast

For Heather - Here is a video showing how to seam a garter stitch edge. This first one is really great (note the awesome accent of the narrator makes it even better - Love IT!). They do not give an option to embed the video, but here is the link. http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to/video/how-to-sew-seams-together-on-a-knitted-garment-159277/

Knitting: How to Bind Off

Knitting: Joining in a new ball of yarn

For years I've winged it when joining in a new ball of yarn. Today I found this video from Knit Picks that explains it quite clearly and in a really easy way. Take a peek:

Blast from the past posting...

I have been scanning iTunes for music all evening with my mother-in-law, which made me start to reminisce about music I listened to way back when... Rivulets and Violets came into my life with their Cocteau Twins vibe back when I was in high school. My sister was later in the band and I found this video. She's the one in red...love it!
Rivulets and Violets - I Hate You

Photoshop Phooling Around...

Thanks to Mike and Heather - my Photoshop HEROES! Mike figured out my mysterious "black screen" and Heather knows everything about making your pics look oh so pretty by using actions. Here are some of my experiments:

Black and White with Frame

Vintage with spatter-edge framing

Several other vintage effects...




This was all I had time to do - I was exhausted last night. I hope to edit some of my landscape pics with a special Ansel Adams "action". Until then...

Finally Home...

On Memorial Day Sunday (also my birthday this year), this video was played at church. It really touched me so I thought that I would share it. Make sure you turn off my playlist in the right hand of my blog page before viewing. :)

Me and My Shadow

My craftiness has come to a temporary hault. Two lines of knit or purl is about all I've been able to accomplish since Monday. This could be due to my "shadow"...my "shadow" follows me around, wants me to play, doesn't like it when I work on my computer and he doesn't like it when I knit. My "shadow" wants my attention.

This is my "shadow"...

...my "shadow" is two. His sisters are in vacation, so I'm his playmate. I have to say that I'm exhausted from constant play and then trying to get my work done at night. This picture is from our first full day playing together...we played in the backyard in the baby-pool. Yesterday we met friends and played at the park. Today we met up with friends to play again and then went to Grandma's house for a hair-cut. My "shadow" keeps me quite busy (and tired), BUT...I wouldn't change a thing! :)

Did you know shadows can talk? Mine can...he's calling me now...

Another Successful Sewing Project...

Taylor's halter top is finished. I used the same fabric as I did for Ashley's top, but in reverse. I'm really happy with the end result.

My mom used to my similar things for my sister and I when we were little, but they were wrap dresses. Hopefully I can figure a way to alter this pattern to make it into a cute dress.

An attempt at sewing...

...well this is not my first attempt. In fact, years ago I was pretty good at it. I've been meaning to make these little halter tops for the girls for their trip to CA, but I've been putting it off. Yesterday I realized that they leave on MONDAY! So, I made Ashley's top and here it is:

I think it is pretty cute - minus the little soccer t-shirt that she is wearing under it. My sewing ventures are going to take some time because I seriously cannot sew a straight line. I'm learning that I need to take my time and slow down a bit.

Hopefully I will only get better with practice.

This is a seriously easy pattern that I bought off of Etsy a few months back. http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=15096321 It took me 4 hours to make, but it should have only taken me 2 hours. I had some issues with my machine and the tension, but once it was fixed it went quite smoothly.

In the end, I'm happy with the final product. :)

Obsession - ob·ses·sion - Compulsive preoccupation with a fixed idea

Ok, so from earlier posts it is quite clear that I have an obsession with fiber and multiple projects going at once. I started pondering the things that make me happy (besides my Dear Husband and Darling Kids, of course :) and equal - my obsessions.

Reading - I'm currently reading Twilight, but it is going a bit slow since I have that looming WIP hanging over my head. Its been about two weeks and I'm only on chapter 3. I'm really enjoying it so far, though.

Craft Blogs - holy moly!!! I read a lot of craft blogs! Look at the list on my blog - YIKES! I do browse these each and every day to see what people are coming up with and I just really find so much inspiration whether I try new projects or not. If your looking for something to get you out of your creative rut, I encourage you take a peek at some of these.

Etsy - this is an avenue for crafters to sell their goods. I'm shopping all the time on their. I wish I was buying all the time, but I do try to search there first before buying a gift. Currently I'm searching for a present for my Grandma's 84th birthday - which is next week! I'm not sure if I have time, but here are a couple things that I've found so far.

This is an adorable hand stitch ready to frame print that would look so cute in my Grandma's new bedroom.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27168938

This is an already framed print that would add a

little modern whimsy to her room. Love it!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25284187

For time sake, I might have to shop locally since I'm running out of time, but we will see.

Take a look at Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/

Correction...

The pinafore pattern that I posted earlier is not the Angel pinafore, but the Baby Pinafore with Ruffles. Here is the link:

http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/baby-pinafore.html

WIP Madness

Today I decided to inventory my WIP (work-in-progress) knitting and crochet stash. I was shocked at what I found! Ok, no I wasn't. I knew I had a problem that needed fixing, but in my defense. I love projects...I'm constantly looking for new ones...AND I need variety. So there it is...I just get plain old BORED when I work on just one project.

Here is the list:

Organic Cotton Baby Sweater

Ok, so this one doesn't count... I technically finished this cutie last night, BUT I need to weave in a few ends. This is called the "5 Hour Sweater" and I did the boy version (basically it omits the eyelet details to make it a little less girly).

http://gailbable.tripod.com/id41.html

Girl Version:

http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/kp3.html

These are triangle "bandanas" for the girls. I just need to finish the ties and block - I needed to do this weeks ago. Poor girls. My goal is to finish before they leave on their trip to CA Monday. I used self patterning yarn and LOVE the way each one turned out different and they came from the same skein!

This is a chunky sweater pattern by Wenlen Chia. I'm stumped which is why I stopped. I've yet to figure out where to go next. This picture shows the body of the sweater, but I also have finished both sleeves. Someday I'll figure out what the heck the pattern is telling me what to do...

Rocker Granny Blanket - this is my first BIG crochet project. I hope to have it finished by winter...no rush on this one...for now.

Laced Sleeve Cardigan - I look forward to posting more about this project. It is the first sweater that I have made for myself. This is the back of the sweater and looks like a big rectangle, but trust me...it only gets better. :)

And Finally!!! This called the "Angel Wings Pinafore" and is for a newborn (a lucky friend will be getting this). I just started this last night, so I'm posting the picture from the website and I'm posting my project - it is in a really cute pink, purpe and cream variegated yarn from Hobby Lobby. http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/angel-wings-pinafore.html

Hopefully the next time I post my WIP stash - there will be new projects...until then...Happy Knitting and Crochet!