Beach: Sand and Shell Frame

I want to share this with you guys BEFORE everyone goes on their beach trip this year. So tell me, pretty much everyone goes on some sort of beach trip in the summer, right? Ok, if not every summer, at some point in your life you will go to the beach!! Family trips, honeymoon, etc. Well, I have a neat inexpensive souvineor!

While at the beach this summer, all week long I collected shells. Pretty shells: different sizes, shapes, textures....ones with character. I also collected some sand from the beach. My idea....to use the sand and shells to create a frame for my mom for christmas. Upon arriving home, I went to Michael's (one of my 3 fav stores along with Joann's and Hobby Lobby). I bought one of the unfininshed square wooden frames for about $1.00. Other supplies I used were Mod Podge and craft paint. I painted one coat of blue paint on the frame. Then, I painted Mod Podge on top. While it was still wet, I sprinkled sand all over the frame. This created a great beach feel. I had also purchased a pre-painted beach umbrella for the side of the frame. After the mod podge and sand dried. I hot glued the umbrella cut out and all of my collected shells around the painted frame. And voilà! See my masterpiece below! Of course, I couldn't just make one for my mom....I wanted one too!! The picture below is of mine. My mom's frame had a big group picture of the entire family. Now, you will have something to do with all those shells you collect at the beach ;-) Think Mother's Day or Christmas present.

Happy crafting!

Lisa

Click other sites to give too!

So, my post yesterday was about The Breast Cancer Site. Once you are on that site, look at the top tabs. There are also sites for Hunger, Child Health, Literacy, Rainforest and Animal Rescue. They all also have click to give buttons. If you are taking the time to click to give mammograms, take a few extra seconds and click on all those tabs as well....

You will...

Help pay for cups of food...

Help pay for child healthcare...

Help pay for books...

Help pay to protect endangered habitat...

Help pay for food and care for animals...

Now, wouldn't you like to help others.....I know I would love to give to charities, but the funds just aren't available right now, so I feel that I am helping in a small way by clicking...

Who will you CLICK for??

I was forwarded an email a couple of weeks ago asking me to take a minute to go to The Breast Cancer Site and "click" to give a free mammogram. I followed the link and found a great site. The Breast Cancer Site

Words from the site: "Your click on the "Click Here to Give - it's FREE" button helps fund free mammograms for women in need — low-income, inner-city and minority women whose awareness of breast cancer and opportunity for help is often limited. Your click is paid for by site sponsors, and mammogram funding is provided to clinics throughout the U.S. through the efforts of the National Breast Cancer Foundation."

WOW, what a great way to help and support this cause.....and it's FREE for you to click. You can go back daily and give one everyday. To make it easier, they have made a "reminder" email sent out to you everyday so you don't forget. I signed up for this email and I know that without a reminder everyday I would forget. It is usually in my inbox when I wake up in the morning, so as I'm checking emails, I follow the link and click away.

Click here to sign up for the reminder emails (for signing up you get a free pink ribbon pin....doesn't include the cost of shipping)

1. You click daily. 2. Sponsors pay for mammograms. 3. Shop the store and give more. 100% of the sponsor money goes to charity.

Your clicks count!! In 2009, visitor clicks funded 2,808 mammograms. Purchases at The Breast Cancer Site Store funded an additional 4,178.

I am clicking for my Mawmaw (Willie Beatrice Lusk-passed away when I was 1 year old) and for my Grandmama (Carolyn Isabelle Robinson - currently fighting the battle)

Who will you click for??

Another Freebie :) Busy Mom's Bible

This is a great freebie!! The first 5,000 people to register will get a free copy of The Busy Mom’s Bible. It will ask for your mailing address and for you to upload a picture of your family to qualify. After you receive your Bible you can come back and write a review for them and win more prizes.

The first time I tried to sign up I got an error message, but the 2nd time I tried, it confirmed I did sign up. I got the message that once my information is verified, they will mail my free copy of "the Busy Mom’s Bible". Once I spend some time with it, they ask you to be sure to submit a link to your online review by March 26, 2010 and be entered to win a personal assistant’s service compliments of Zondervan.

Now, I know I would love a personal assitant!! Wouldn't you ;-)

(Thanks Southern Savers!)

Pink Nation?? Freebie :)

Are you a member of Victoria Secret's Pink Nation?? Head on over to http://www.vspink.com/ and sign up. They have lots of great coupons and right now, they have a FREE Deluxe Fragrance Sampler. If you are already a member, just log in to get your coupon or sign up. Just print and take in to any VS store. No purchase necessary. I got mine yesterday. It includes 3 sample fragrances.

Happy Shopping!

Lisa

More blogging to come - Santa Fe Soup

So, I have had some requests from friends to blog about my recipes and such. So I'll give it a shot! I plan to blog about recipes, crafts and little tidbits that make my life a little more organized/simpler/ etc.

I love to cook and am a sucker for easy one pot dinners. Today, I'll share a recipe called "Santa Fe Soup". I found this recipe on one of the many craft blogs I visit. The soup is super easy and SOOOO good. My father-in-law had a bowl for lunch one day and went home and made it the next night. Daryl loved it, but requested more beans next time, so that's why you'll see 1-2 cans of beans listed in the recipe. Tailor it to your family's desires! Hope you all enjoy!! I'd love to hear how it turned out and if your family liked it as much as mine.

Until then....happy cooking!!

Lisa

Santa Fe Soup
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef/ turkey/ whatever/ browned and drained
1-2 can(s) kidney beans
2 cans Ro-tel
1 can stewed Mexican style tomatoes (cut up the tomatoes)
1 can corn (drained)
2 Tbs. taco seasoning
16 0z. Velveeta cubed

Directions:

Put everything in your crock pot. Stir.

Cook on high for three hours.
Stir once halfway. And its done!

Couponing

So, after going to a "Cents-ible" shopping (ways to feed your family) at church. I wanted to attempt couponing. I have done it for 2 weeks and I see how it could become addicting at trying to save money....lol. Each week, trying to out do yourself with the next. I find my deals at http://www.southernsavers.com/. I stay up after everyone is asleep and to at it. Here are details from

My first week:

Publix: spent $4.58, saved $8.40

Kroger: spent $11.26, saved $20.48

Ingles: spent $7.02, saved $28.22

Total: spent $22.86, saved $57.10 (72% savings overall)

At the 3 stores I got, 10 cans Delmonte vegetables, 1 box wheat thins, 2 boxes of jello, 3 easy mac cups, 2 packs of oscar myer hotdogs, 2 digorno pizzas, 1 box honey bunches of oats, 1 16 oz box elbow macaroni, 1 16 oz box of spaghetti noodles, 3 tuna pouches, 3 brown cow yogurt cups, airwick air freshener, glass plus, 2 green giant steam fresh bags of veggies, and a pack of kaiser rolls. All that for $22.86!! I felt accomplished.

2nd week:

Publix: spent $40.56, saved $51.43

Ingles: spent $35.75, saved $30.86

Total: spent $76.31, saved $82.29 (52% savings)

At the 2 stores I got, 2 Tyson whole chickens, pack of 3 beef cube steak, 1 Tropicana Trop 50 Juice, 2 Green Giant Sauced Vegetables, 2 Freshetta pizzas, 4 boxes of Kellogs mini wheats, 1 Mccormick chili powder, 1 pack of huggies pull ups, 2 cans carnation evap milk, 1 Lloyd's BBQ meats, 2 Juicy Juice 64 oz bottles, 2 Ragu Pasta sauce 45 oz, 3 hamburger helper, 1 lb ground beef, 1 Nestle Toll House Refrigerated Dough, 2 bags Lay's potato chips, 1 pack dial bar soap (3 bars), 10 jars Earth's best organic baby food, 1 pack crunch pak apple slices, 1 pack pillsbury crescent rolls, 2 pillsbury grands biscuits, 1 stouffer's lasagna, 1 chex mis, 3 idahoan mashed potatoes, 1 purex complete 3 in 1 detergent, cottonelle double rolle bath tissue (12 rolls), and 2 resuable publix shopping bags (both free). All this for $76.31 (I felt accomplished again, b/c I got detergent, pull ups and toilet paper)

Our church is having the Centsible night again on, October 11th from 6-8:30 in the Kidz worship center. www.firstconyers.com