Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Birthday and Thank You cards

I made a set of cards for my SIL for Christmas.  She wanted cards for all occasions.  Here are two of the cards that went into the set.

I used stamps from Taylored Expressions for both of these cards.  The candles in this card are from the set For the Love of Cupcakes.  I am not sure what stamp set the sentiment comes from, but I am pretty sure it is from the same company.

The Dragonfly and flowers in this card come from Discover your Wings  The design for this card comes from my friend Jami.  She made a set of cards like this with different colors for her niece.



Sunday, December 26, 2010

Merry Christmas!

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas yesterday.  I was far away from family in terms of physical location, but that didn't stop me from joining in on the festivities.   I am so thankful for SKYPE.  My family had "me" on a laptop and moved the laptop to let me see everyone open their gifts.  It felt like I was there with them.  They even took a family picture with me in it!

Does anyone else use SKYPE to talk to family or friends?  I think it is one of the best inventions ever (and it is free)!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Book Review: Under the Overpass by Mike Yankoski

I had the wonderful opportunity to choose a book to read and review.  I chose Under the Overpass by Mike Yankoski.

I debated reading this book because I knew it would be challenging to read...not challenging in an educational way, but spiritually challenging. I knew going in that I wouldn't be able to just read this book and quickly move on. I was right, but I am so glad that I made the choice to be challenged.

The book is about two college students who decided to challenge themselves to live out their faith by becoming homeless for 5 months in 6 different cities. The author, Mike, realized it was easy to claim Christ as his everything, but he had never had to put that claim to the test while living his middle class life and attending a Christian college. He decided to really live out his faith and step out in a radical way.  Mike shares his experiences, thoughts, and emotions of those 5 months Sam and he lived on the streets. I love the deepness and honesty of this book through the laughter and tears, the good and downright awful, the beautiful,ugly and sometimes very stinky.

Don't read this book unless you are willing to be changed, willing to DO something whether what you do to live out your faith has to do with homelessness or not.  If you are willing to do that, then this is a must read. :)

If you are interested you can download the first chapter of the book to check it out.
I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. The review is my honest opinion of the book.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Best Toffee Ever

I decided to make a few batches of toffee for my tenants at the apartments as a way to say "Merry Christmas." The recipe is adapted from allrecipes.com.  I really like the recipes on that site and this one called, Best Toffee Ever, was definitely a winner!  My changes to the recipe and comments are in italics

For this recipe you need:


2 cups butter (My dad recently taught me that you get unsalted for baking and then you add your own salt and this keeps the recipe consistent--thanks dad!)
2 cups white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used 1 1/2 cups)
1 cup finely chopped almonds (for me 1/2 cup was plenty)

Directions:
1.In a large heavy bottomed saucepan, combine the butter, sugar and salt.  Cook over medium heat, stirring until the butter is melted. (For the 2nd batch I partially melted the butter before adding the sugar and salt and liked how that worked) Allow to come to a boil, and cook until the mixture becomes a dark amber color, and the temperature has reached 285 degrees F (137 degrees C). Stir occasionally.
2.While the toffee is cooking, cover a large baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper.



3.As soon as the toffee reaches the proper temperature, pour it out onto the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the chocolate over the top, and let it set for a minute or two to soften. Spread the chocolate into a thin even layer once it is melted. Sprinkle the nuts over the chocolate, and press in slightly. Putting a plastic bag over your hand will minimize the mess.

4.Place the toffee in the refrigerator to chill until set. Break into pieces, and store in an airtight container.


Package up and you are ready to go!

Saturday, November 06, 2010

A Card Maker's Confession

     I love making my own cards.  I haven't had the chance to stamp as often as I would like in the past few years, but if given a choice I would much rather send a homemade birthday card to someone than send a store bought one.  However, this does not apply to Christmas cards.  I have tried to make all of my own Christmas cards, but there are just too many to make...and then pictures and a letter to print out...I get stressed out and end up not sending out any.  Solution?   Shutterfly!  Shutterfly has a great selection of holiday cards in many different styles.  I love the ease of just choosing a design and adding my choice of picture(s) to it! Click here to check out their Holiday Photo card selection.
 I think my favorite card design is "Simple Memories."  Those of you who know me know that I love my cards simple and to the point :)  I like that the card fits 4 different photos on it.









They also have designs available where you can print your Christmas letter right on the card.  Seeing as my printer always seems to have issues when I NEED to get something done, it would be really nice to have the letter right on the card--no extra printing needed!

Or if simple is more your thing, this card  leaves 9 spots for short sentences to share what happened throughout the year. If I can think of nine sentences I might use this one!

If you aren't into cards they also have different photo calendars. I haven't gotten a calendar yet because I just think that photo calendars are much cuter when you have kids. :)

So head on over to Shutterfly and then come back and tell me which design you like.


Disclaimer:  I wrote this post as a part of the Shutterfly Holiday Card promotion and will receive free holiday cards, but all opinions are my own.  I only promote products/companies that I like and trust.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Saving Money

I have a lot of time on my hands lately and not a lot of cash so I have been doing what I can to save money and still buy the things I need.  A few friends and family members have been asking me to share a  money saving tips/how to get free stuff!

1.  Swagbucks
Swagbucks is a search engine that gives you swagbucks (points) just for searching.  You can redeem those swagbucks for prizes or gift cards.  I think that the amazon gift card is the best deal--$5 gift card for 450 swagbucks.  I have redeemed two of these gift cards so far since signing up--which comes in handy since I am involved in a book club and get the books from amazon.  If you sign up don't get frustrated if you aren't earning a lot of swagbucks right away.  Just use the site like you would google and slowly you will see things adding up--it really does work!   Click here to check out Swagbucks and sign up.

2. Before I go shopping or out to eat I do an online search (usually through swagbucks :) ) to see if where I am going is offering any deals or has coupons available.  Yesterday I decided to use a gift card I had from Bath and Body Works so I went and checked (just put in a search for "Bath and Body Works coupons") and found a coupon for a free travel size lotion with any purchase.  I was going to make a purchase anyways so for me it was a great deal!

3.Ebates
This site is great if you do a lot of online shopping.  You get a percentage back for shopping online--% varies by store. They also share deals/coupons that the stores have for online shopping.  Plus you get a $5 sign up bonus when you make your first purchase.  I don't do a ton of online shopping so for me earning money on this site has been slow going, but I still think it is worth it.  I have heard of many people who love it and earn quite a bit through ebates. With Christmas coming up it might be useful.  Click here to check it out.

4. Coupons--Matching coupons to sale prices and deals is a great way to save money or get free items. You don't even need to get the Sunday Paper coupons to score deals, although that is helpful.  I get most of my coupons online.  I don't have time to search out all the good deals so I depend on others to do that. :)  Here are a few websites I like  She Saved,  Coupon Geek   and   Penny Pinchin' Mom   (If you are interested let me know and I can share a few more websites/blogs like these.)  I don't think any of these ladies live in my area, but I still have gotten some great deals by reading their blogs and ones like them...including the free full size bottle of shampoo that I got yesterday :)

Hope this helps. :)

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