Monday, February 22, 2010

Vintage Jars Giveaway



Well, Monday is almost over. Jayme had all last week off of school, that's how they do it West Coast style! I don't remember ever being so lucky to have a whole week off of school in the middle of February growing up in NJ. I just had to wear my pj's inside out every night & hope for lots of snow in the morning so that school would be canceled! Anyone else ever do that?! :)
It's always a little tough for me to get back into the groove and back on schedule with the little ones, but today wasn't so bad, thank goodness! Now if I can only get to the gym at some point today, it would be a great Monday!
I was browsing one of my favorite blogs Shabby Nest and stumbled upon a giveaway going on over at her blog! All you have to do is leave a comment on her blog post to be entered in the contest to win this set of 3 gorgeous Blue Vintage Jars. You have until 11:59pm Tuesday, February 23rd to enter.

GOOD LUCK! If I don't win, I hope that I helped someone else win them!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Valentine's Gift idea for Your Man



There's nothing like a barber shop shave, or so I've heard :p Word on the street is that this way of shaving helps put a stop to razor burn, irritation, and gives a closer shave. Looking at the total cost of the products may seem like quite a bit all at once, but just think about how much disposable blades cost! The blades for a safety razor are way cheaper to replace, $16 gets you 60 blades. The shaving cream is about $22-$25 a tub, but it will last a lot longer than the brands that you buy at your grocery store or Target & Walmart. One tub should last 6 months easily because when you shave with a badger hair brush, you don't need as much cream to get a lather going. Why do I know so much about shaving you ask!? Well, this Christmas I bought my husband the complete set up for a barber shop shave at home, also called a wet shave, and I found all of these products at Amazon.com. Before you read on, or purchase anything, I strongly suggest you read this article to get some additional background information. Reading this article is what gave me the idea to transition my husband into this new wet shaving routine.

Here are the items that I purchased:




A safety razor: Merkur 1904 Gillette Pattern Safety Razor #41 + 10 blades $30

100% Badger Shaving Brush: Tweezerman Men's Shaving Brush $13.50

Razor& Brush Stand: Colonel Conk Evernice Model 775 Chrome Safety Razor Stand $27.25

Shaving Cream: The Art of Shaving Essential Oil Shaving Cream in Lavender 5.3 oz $19.80



Pre-Shave Oil: The Art of Shaving Pre-Shave Oil in Lavender $14-22

Razor Blades: 60 Assorted Double Edge Razor Blades $16.00


Along with all the items, I printed some directions. Here are the directions for Wet Shaving 101 ready to print.




I printed it on 2 pieces of standard size cardstock cut in half equalling 4 half pages. I punched a hole in the corner and tied a bow out of ribbon to make a little book.

If you have any questions, or if you are pressed for time as far as shipping goes, go visit The Art of Shaving store near you. They can answer all your questions and carry a complete kit to get your man started. I purchased everything you see here except for the pre-shave oil (all on Amazon).

After the first couple months of wetshaving, my husband was still getting razor burn on his neck, so we stopped into The Art of Shaving store and the man there pointed us in the direction of the pre shave oil. He gave my husband a sample, and low and behold, the razor burn began to heal. So this shave oil is on the top of my list for gifts for him :) Such a great gift for Valentine's Day or any holiday. Who wouldn't want their man to start their day off in luxury!?

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Valentine's Day Craft



Moms, are you looking for a "snow day" craft? This is the perfect idea for valentine's for the girls in your child's class, and for your little princess too! Who doesn't LOVE a homemade valentine?! A princess who likes to read as much as Belle does can always use a pretty bookmark. With long pipe cleaner stems that tuck neatly between the pages, these bookmark roses are made out of pretty paper hearts.

You'll need:

Heart Template
Scrapbook paper
Glue dots
Green pipe cleaners
Ribbon

Instructions:

1. Print out the Heart Template and cut out the heart.


2. For each rose, cut out four hearts from scrapbook paper using the heart template.

3. Turn one of the hearts upside down to resemble one of the center petals of a rose bud, and use a glue dot to stick the top of a pipe cleaner stem in place, as shown. Place a second heart on top of the first, matching up all the edges and pressing down firmly to adhere it to the glue dot. Use your fingertips to curl the tips of the hearts.


4. Fold each of the remaining two hearts in half vertically. Fold back the rounded sides of the hearts, as shown, and then fold down the tips.

5. Sandwich the sides of the center petals between the folded hearts, using glue dots to hold them in place.


6. Take the ribbon and tie it around the stem right under the rose with a bow, or just a double knot to let the ribbon hang down like streamers.


Brandtastic Sale

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Awesome Calligraphy

Head over to Etsy to see Primele for your next important event invitiations. So whimsical and breath taking. This Calligraphy style would look amazing on pretty much any envelope with anything inside it!! How special would wedding invitations be if they came looking like this!? I only wish I discovered Primele when I was planning my wedding 5 1/2 years ago! Gosh, if only I could write like that, I would write on everything I own, including the walls!

80's Barbies


Some good friends of mine, who happen to be twins, just passed down all of their old Barbie dolls to my daughter. I have no idea where mine are (I'm going to have to ask my mom about that one!) So seeing all of theirs made me reminisce, some look pretty familiar. As my daughter and I unpacked the box *full* of Barbies, we noticed that some of the legs had gotten a little sticky. So, I went ahead and washed them with some soap and water with a regular kitchen sponge. I dried a couple with a towel and noticed they are still sticky! So I got in touch with the google gods...where else would I turn!? And this is what I found.


This experience is totally normal with some dolls from the 70s & 80s – some even develop splotching (especially on their legs) depending on the composition of the plastic/vinyl.



Wash the dolls in a mild soapy water then lightly dust the effected area with talcolm powder to limit the sticky effect.

One of the most important things is to try and keep the dolls separate from each other when stored – the plastics can actually interact off each other.

I dusted some powder on all the legs, and it worked like a charm! My daughter is having a blast with alllll these Barbies. I think we are going to need some more Barbie clothes ASAP! :o)

Friday, February 5, 2010

Scrapping a Desktop Wallpaper

I just love downloading Shabby Princess Blog's monthly desktop AND for FREE! I think February's is my all time favorite so far. As soon as the beginning of the new month comes, I excitedly pop over to this blog and download the new design for the new month. Basically it's a calendar background image that you can use as your desktop wallpaper. You open it up in a program like Photoshop after you download it. Then all you do is insert your favorite pictures and write in a font of your choice in the blank spaces. VoilĂ ! Save it as a JPG and your all set!

Here is what mine looks like!


I think tomorrow morning I will be making these awesome looking Cinnamon Nutmeg Waffles.




I'm going to make the pancake version because I have *yet* to buy a waffle maker! While you're over at Amanada's blog, I know you will be clicking on those waffles because they sound sooo delish, check out her free fonts! They will work well with your free monthly desktop from Shabby Princess. Did I mention it's all free?! :o)
Happy Scrapping and have a great weekend!