Shop Hop Saturday--What a Busy Week!

Saturday sure came fast this week. It's been an even busier week away from home for me. That with everything I was trying to do at home too.

As a reminder, Ruth, of abitosunshine asked us to make 5 "rock climbing" goals for our online earning efforts.
Here is the list that I've made:
1. Build a new squidoo lens each week as well as update at least 2 others.
2. Post at least 3 things a week to redgage.
3. Post 2 things a week into my etsy store and continue to move other things to my zibbet store.
4. Keep up with the reviews and regular postings to my blog.
5. Sew at least a little bit each day. (this goes with accomplishing goal 3)

I did get a new squidoo lens built again as well as updating at least 2 lenses. I really need to do more on squidoo to make the money there that I need to.

I did not make it in to redgage this past week.

I posted 3 new items to my etsy shop. I also did get a few things moved over to my zibbet store. I really needed to get it all moved over that has expired. I've done well on sales for the season...at least I am happy. Now if I could just sell some of the quilts I've made.
Here are my new listings---one is a repeat of washcloths replacing a set that sold this past week:

Hot Pads--Set of 2 

Cotton Crocheted Washcloths Set of 3 in Potpourri 

Cotton Crocheted Washcloths Set of 3 in Billowing Blues

I am keeping up fine with regular posts here on my blog--it's the reviews that I am having trouble with. I still have many of those to get caught up on.

I have not sewn a little bit each day either. This upsets me. I have been busy with Christmas wrapping and some decorating....and online parties. I joined Quilt Guild here in town and learned how to make the colorful hot pads that you see above. I so look forward to the monthly meetings and learning new things!

The Christmas Celebration online parties were Monday and Friday.  They went well.  We are still building back up after almost 2 years off from doing them.  The next parties are the Sweetheart Celebration and start on January 30.  I will have more information later, but if you sell online and would like more information on being a vendor, please contact me.  These are a great opportunity for just $5 per 1 hour presentation time, to get the word out even more about what you are selling online.

Frugal Friday Link Up--Three Uses for Ketchup

Another month has gone by and Christmas is just around the corner. I've still been picking up a few bargains along the way. I'm in hopes today to get my list made, get all the things I have saved back for gifts sorted, and to start wrapping. I know there are a few more gifts I'm going to have to buy to fill in, but I won't know what for sure until I get what I have looked through.
I fill a tote throughout the year as I get good deals with coupons, on clearance, prize wins, and even things bought at yard sales.

This week in the 99 Cent Solutions book we are up to used for ketchup. There are 3 uses listed in the book:

1. Clean detailed silver patterns. The acids in ketchup will quickly remove every last speck of tarnish from an elaborate silver pattern, leaving it gleaming. Smear a few pieces at a time with ketchup and let them sit for several minutes. Rinse a piece to see how it's coming along. If needed, apply more ketchup, but keep checking so you don't do any damage with the acid. When the silver is shined to your satisfaction, rinse with warm water and buff with a soft, lint-free cloth.

2. Banish chlorine green hair. Too much time in the pool can leave a distinct green cast to any light-colored hair, not to mention the smell of chlorine that also builds up. To return your hair to it's rightful color, massage ketchup into your wet hair while in the shower and leave it in for 10 minutes. Rinse well and shampoo as usual.

3. Brighten the copper. Smear a generous layer of ketchup all over the copper surface you want to clean. The acidic coating quickly works to remove every speck of tarnish. Rinse with warm water and buff to a shine to make your brightwork bright again. (Over the years many times we've soaked pennies to make them look new again....especially ones we've found down in the car seat, out in the street, etc.)

That's it for this week, now it's your turn to share any post that is related to being frugal or saving money! I look forward to being inspired!

Squidoo Hopping--All Those Wishlists!

Wishlists seems to be the in thing right now with Christmas around the corner......and all the lenses of lists for boys, girls, moms, etc etc.
I made my own--Grandma's Christmas Wishlist.  I just updated it to add in 2 more things I remembered last night.   This, is also my goal list as I won't get any of it as gifts.  Ok, so my goal list is where I came up with the list to begin with  LOL   I wonder if any of my choices are on your list?

I also updated Learning About Greece to add in a couple more photos and 2 more books.  I am adding a new picture for each book we finish.  We  still have 5 books to read about Greece so this one will continue to grow.


Homeschool--Books Used For 2011/2012 was at the bottom of the list with a ranking close to 500,000---yikes!  I added another photo there and another book....and a black box module directing to the Learning About Greece lens.  It's somehow moved to a rank of 140,000 which is cool. 

I still can't get the facebook fan page module to work.  I still need to totally re-do my etsy lens.  My etsy store is looking slim since when items expire I am moving them to zibbet instead of paing to re-list them in etsy.  Also, I have been selling things---3 orders in the past 2 days.   I'm going to put in my zibbet banner to direct them there when I update it.  Typing this is making me want to stop everything else and go get that done.  I will make that a to-do for today, definitely!

In the meantime, I do hope to see several link ups this week.  Isn't squidoo great?

Qwikshower Wipes--Review and Giveaway

Sponsored by Tomoson.com

Qwikshower Big Wet Wipes....what a novel idea!
The big wet wipes are intended for those times when you just don't have time for a shower. I had that time a couple mornings ago. I shut off my alarm and went back to sleep. I was woke up by a phone call and needing to rush out to take someone somewhere. My first thought--the perfect time to give one of the Qwikshower Big Wet Wipes a try!

They worked perfectly as intended, and once I got home I was able to get my regular bath. It gave me the confidence while gone that I didn't smell "dirty". They are not sticky and have a pleasant smell. They are a large 10 x 12 inch size, so they work well for your whole body.

Product Description
QwikShower Gym Class Wipes have been a big hit on the internet. Now, for a broader appeal, we've developed QwikShower Big Wet Wipes that will be available everywhere. Freshen up after a walk, a workout a bike ride or a fishing trip. Lunch after morning yoga is better after a QwikShower. These are individually wrapped 10x12 thick moist wipes with a fresh scent and cleaning power. Keep them in your purse, locker car and gym bag to use anytime. These are not little tiny pop up wipes! They're big and thick like a wash cloth.

(Taken from the Qwikshower website:)
QwikShower: The easy, green and affordable solution to Stinky Kids

Easy: QwikShower gym class wipes are large, thick and cloth like (10” x 12”) moist, single-use disposable towels. They even have a scent that teenagers like. (Yes, we tested them.)

Green: Unlike popular body sprays such as Axe, QwikShower wipes are non-aerosol—so there are no fluorocarbon emissions. That also means the scent won’t invade everyone else’s personal space or overwhelm a locker room.

Affordable: You can purchase QwikShower wipes everywhere and they're super cheap. Purchases from their site ship for free.

Pricing is very reasonable. You can buy 1 for $1 or 100 for $49. There are 2 other size options in between. As well as purchasing the Qwikshower Big Wet Wipes from their website you will also find them here:

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

One of my lucky blog readers will win their own set of Qwikshower Big Wet Wipes to try!

WIP Wednesday--I Joined Quilt Guild!

That's my big news for today! I went to the monthly quilt guild meeting here in my town. I had so much fun! They meet the last Monday of the month at 9 am. This past meeting the program was mini-demos. We were taught how to make flying geese squares along with a printed instruction sheet. We were taught how to use a binding tool and given written instructions. We were taught how to make folded hot pads and given written instructions for those as well. The last lady showed us so many things that you can make with the pre-printed panels.
After the meeting I got some one on one instructions for the hot pads. I have made 2 now. They aren't perfect...I am having trouble with the sandwiching and the material slipping---any advice on that? I have materials cut for 2 more as pictured below:

My biggest WIP this past week has been trying to re-claim my craft room. With the granddaughters not sleeping in there anymore, I thought it would just be so easy to box up all their stuff. It wasn't as easy as I imagined as there is still a mess in there. I've been forgetting to talk about this wonderful crafting desk that I bought at a yard sale for just $5!!!! I've been hankering since I bought it Oct. 29 to get to using it. This desk is a dream for me. I've seen similar in blogs. When both leafs are up it measures just under 8 feet long. It just under 2 1/2 ft from front to back. There are 3 drawers on each side and one in the middle, and an additional drawer in the middle on the front side. I have pretty much filled up the drawers now with smaller items. I can't wait now to get the cubby organizers that I want and really put my work room in order. Here is a picture of my craft table with lots of projects on top of it. Projects include the squares I am making for a flower quilt....material to make a table runner....squares for a quilt top I am making for church....bibs that need snaps. (In the picture above you will see that one end of the desk now holds my cutting mat)

Time to be off and see what others are working on. I am linking up with these blogs:

Homeschool Journal--Thanksgiving Week

It was a great Thanksgiving with family all around. So much to be thankful for!
I'm even thankful for the schoolwork that we got done on Monday and Tuesday. Even though those 2 days included 4 videos checked out from the library. Three of the videos were from the Green Matter series. The other video was from the Life Skills series on Financial Fitness.

Here is a photo of Jasmine holding my newest granddaughter, Zelda. It was so great seeing her. She's almost 6 months old. She is growing up too fast already.

And here is a whole gaggle of people for our Thanksgiving feast. (I know of at least 3 others besides myself that is not in the picture)

That's my report for this week :)

I am linking up with:

Mailbox Monday 11/28/11

I would say that I had a very good week this past week. I forgot a few things in the first photo, and my bzzkit is in a picture of it's own, so I have 3 pictures this week.
I received:
2 issues of People
2 issues of Ok!
2 issues of Entertainment Weekly
Businessweek
Sports Illustrated
Time
Redbook
Good Housekeeping
My jingit Visa debit card!!!  (and pout my earnings right on it)  If you haven't signed up for jingit you earn up to $5 a week for watching ads.  For each referral you earn an additional .25 a week up to $10.  You are paid with a Visa debit card.  This referral link is my daughters.  I am trying to help her be able to earn more per week.  https://www.jingit.com/?ref_id=16629&invite_type=DYNAMIC
Jerky Direct autoship (paid for by my downline)
Smiley360 Simply Saline Neti Pot Kit info
cigarette coupons
Private Selections bzzagent campaign kit
Several pieces of hausernet mail
The Christmas items weren't exactly free--I won them on listia for very little points but did have to pay $2 to help with shipping.  However, I'm very pleased with everything that was stuffed in that little box you see in the back of the photo.




In my email this week was an order from my etsy store.

Kroger The truly Awesome homestyle chocolate chip cookies Review

(I originally shared this in a post on gather here.) 



My latest bzz campaign with bzzagent.com is for the Kroger The truly Awesome homestyle chocolate chip cookies.
Cookies.....yum!  I was very excited to be able to get in on this campaign.  I've been wanting to try these cookies, and having sweets in the house, as of late, has been slim.
I was xcited to open the box when the mailman came to the door with it.  Inside I found 2 boxes of the Kroger The truly Awesome homestyle chocolate chip cookies.
It didn't take Jasmine and I long to devour one box by ourselves.



There are 8 large cookies per box.  Oops, only 7 in the photo above.  One was broken in half and I scarfed it down before taking the photo.

The other box we shared with 3 of the grandkids.  They sure got excited when I got out the cups, the milk and the cookies for a bedtime snack the other night.  hhmmm    5 people and 8 cookies.  We each got 1 1/2 cookies with 1/2 a cookie left over that everyone was fighting over.  (Grandma, that's me, won and ate it  he he)
1-2-3 dunk!


Final thoughts:  I think these cookies taste truly awesome as the name says.  They are a hard cookie, over the soft that I prefer.   I found them to have plety of chocolate chips in each cookie.
There are only 8 cookies in a package with a retail price of $2.99.  I find that a little steep in price for myself.  I was sent 5-$1 off coupons to share though and fully intend to share a couple of them with myself.  I will buy them for $1.99.

Further information:  Serving size is 1 cookie.  Per serving there is 120 calories 10 grams of sugar, 125 mg of sodium and 6 grams of total fat.  Each cookies does provide 4% of the recommended daily intake of iron and 4% of vitamin a.
Contains: wheat, milk, soy, and eggs.  May contain peanuts, coconut, pecans, cashews, and macadamia nuts.

Disclaimer:  I rec'd the Kroger The truly Awesome homestyle chocolate chip cookies as part of a bzz campaign with bzzagent.com.  I was not compensated in any other way.  All opinions are my own.

Shop Hop on Sunday for This Gal

Fortunately for me Ruth over at abitosunshine leaves the linky up for a full week for Shop Hop Saturday.
I had something I felt just had to complete before doing this post  :)

As a reminder, here are my current goals:
1. Build a new squidoo lens each week as well as update at least 2 others.
2. Post at least 3 things a week to redgage.
3. Post 2 things a week into my etsy store and continue to move other things to my zibbet store.
4. Keep up with the reviews and regular postings to my blog.
5. Sew at least a little bit each day. (this goes with accomplishing goal 3)

I did build a new squidoo lens and update at least 2 other lenses.
I also did post 3 new photos over on redgage.
I posted a total of 5 items in my etsy store (2 are the same bag):
 

Flannel Toothbrush Rug 

 

Dora the Explorer Fabric Bag 

 

Cotton Crocheted Washcloths Set of 3 in Potpourri 

 

Dora the Explorer Hand Stitched Quilt 

 

As far as my blog...I still have review catching up to do, but I am slowly getting there.

 

I haven't sewn with my sewing machine every day, but I have hand sewn and quilted on the Dora quilt to complete it.

 

I am presenting tomorrow at  7 pm CST.  I hope to see you there!  One of my gather connections is the first up to present after introductions at 2 pm CST.   (I'm heading next to get some etsy expired items moved over to my zibbet store)