Squidoo Hopping 12/26/13

I hope that everyone had a very Merry Christmas!   Here's also to a Happy New Year.

I read a post on bubblews yesterday and the person was pretty much making fun of those of us who make goals for the new year.  She wanted to know why we can't work on goals all year, or why can't we start now?
I commented that it just seems appropriate-new year, new you, but that I do try to work on my goals all year, and make new ones throughout the year.  And, that I have already started on the goals that I have written down.

Do you have any goals with squidoo that you would like to share?
Mine is the same as always-----to be more active.   I'm sure willing to give it a couple of months and see how things go anyway.  By a couple of months I mean a couple of months of payments, and I won't see for my efforts in January until March and for February in April.

I am going to share in the linky this week a couple of lenses that are down at the bottom on my lensranking.  

Happy Hopping!

 

Silly on Sunday with Everything Susan

Everything Susan has a new Sunday blog hop with linky called Silly on Sundays.
You can check our her post here: http://everythingsusanandmore.blogspot.ca/2013/12/silly-on-sundays-ttot.html   and link up your own Silly on Sunday post.


Yesterday my daughters and I got pretty silly while we were having our Confection Day. 

One time we all laughed because I was measuring out the brown sugar and Liz was rolling her peanut butter balls.  Next thing we know, I was rolling the brown sugar in to a ball instead of measuring it.

Another time, 7 of the 8 children were being super loud.  Liz started teasing them that if they didn't settle down she was going to have to give them the "smack down"....just as she was saying that, Ariel had walked up to the table and asked "Can I do it?"
I said, "What, give the kids the smack down?"    
She actually meant could she help roll the balls, but the smack down became a running joke the rest of the time we baked.

It was fun to be silly while we were making Christmas goodies.  Laughter really is good for your soul....and your health.

If you would like to see pictures, you can check out my bubblews post if you like.  http://www.bubblews.com/news/1872739-confection-making

Frugal Friday With Marsha 12/20/13

5 more day until Christmas.....are you ready?   I'm not.
Tomorrow my daughters, and possibly my mom, will be over for confection making day.  I look forward to it.  Hubby has promised to buy my goodie making ingredients for me this evening.

I think that I only need to buy the gift for the exchange at my brother's and one other gift......like I said, I think!
I set up my wrapping station last night and got some of the gifts wrapped and started putting together my Christmas sacks.

I thought to myself----I really don't think it's much, but if I got as much as I am giving to EACH person from everyone put together, I would feel really blessed.

Call me crazy, but I already have my plan and a start on next years Christmas.   I plan to use points once a month from gsn.com to get something.  I used some of my points from neilson home scanner and got a DVD too.    I have solid plans on things to make for gifts as well that I plan on starting on ASAP.

I can't let myself get into this boat again next year.  We are sacrificing on groceries in order to buy gifts!  In a way it's ok as it's forced us to use those leftovers that have been in the freezer as well as get creative with our meals from what is in the cupboard.

If you would like to see some of the gifts that I have made, you can check out my WIP Wednesday post from this week.

I look forward to seeing what you link up this week and how your Christmas is going.

 

Squidoo Hopping 12/19/13

Christmas is right around the corner! 
How are you doing on having your gifts ready?
I am making a lot of the gifts that I am giving, but not as many as I should have been making.
I didn't get started soon enough.  I hope that 2014 brings a lot more craft time for me.

I also hope that next year I am able to do some online shopping.  I do mean shopping throughout the year, not just in December!

I've not spent too much time in squidoo this past week.   I plan on working it a lot more in 2014.  I will know more on that in March and April as we see pay then for January and February.

Choose 1 or 2 of  your lenses to share with us this week, plus any blog posts you have done about squidoo.   I think this week I will choose 2 of my lenses that are at the bottom of my lensrank scale.

 

 

WIP Wednesday 12/18/13

I am still in the process of knitting scarves for Christmas gifts.
I have the one in the picture to finish yet, then make one with the brown skein.

 I've not made anymore progress with my QAL of the Penny Patch quilt.
Sadly I have had to put that aside until I get all of my Christmas crafts made.  Yep, that's what I get for getting such a late start on them.

Forgive me for showing you pictures of things that I have completed over this past week:

A cute cat and a bed for her.  I wrote a review of the book this is out of if you would like to check it out:  Fill Your House With These Crafty Creatures.

 Pillowcases for my son and his girlfriend.  I am picking up fabric today at the quilt shop when I am at the needlers group this afternoon.  I still need to make a set for my oldest daughter and her boyfriend.

 This wall hanging I bought as an unfinished project from the member's booth at our guild's quilt show last July.   I have now finished it and it will be a gift for my mom.
OMG!  This is the best job I've done on binding corners.  They look awesome.

 I have worked here and there this week on getting projects in to their own bags.  Once I get that done, I am going to make a written list for my bulletin board and then also list those projects each week here on my blog as well.   

I am linking up with the following blogs:
 

Yellow Pages Prize Pack Giveaway

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One lucky Marsha's Spot reader will win the awesome Yellow Pages Prize Pack pictured below. Just enter using the rafflecopter form.



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Frugal Friday With Marsha 12/13/13 Linky Party

I am late getting this post up today. First my daughter was sick so I had to take the grandkids to school. While I was out I knew I better get my merchandising job done at Walmart and a little shopping....plus scanning with my checkpoints and shopkick apps.
I then went to the bank. I had money in my account from selling books at half.com that I didn't realize.
My bank is next door to Target so I stopped on in to scan with the apps there too. I should have cashed in my points to pay for most of the cat litter that I bought, but decided to wait and just pay the cash.
I then headed to Walgreen's.

Walgreens is where my morning went awry. I wanted to go ahead and get some stocking stuffers and such and use the $5 Jingle Cash we had gotten before.
Sigh---it's not like last year when it was just $5 off period, it's $5 off $30. I was ok with that as I had my $10 gift card that I redeemed from mypoints to also help me pay.
What I didn't know is that the $30 is before coupons.
I didn't read the fine print ahead of time to know that, but I have now read it. It states: Walgreen's Jingle Cash can only be redeemed on a total qualifying purchase of $30 or more. Only one Jingle Cash coupon redeemed per transaction. Jingle Cash can not be redeemed for cash. Jingle Cash is earned after all applicable discounts and before any manufacturer's coupons or taxes are imposed.
In other words, it doesn't tell you what a total purchase of $30 or more is!! It should state $30 after all discounts and manufacturer's coupons.
Oh well, lesson learned.
To be honest, if I had known it was going to be $5 off $30 anyway, I wouldn't have worked to get up to that first $30 last week anyway! Again, I am guilty of not reading the whole thing....just assumed it would be the same as last year.

I am still happy with my purchases as I got candy for my Christmas sacks, coloring books for the children's sacks, a couple of nail polishes for my teenagers sack, toys for my youngest grandchildren, and a gift for my teenager too.

I really should keep all receipts for anything that I buy for gifts so that at the end of the year I know just how much I have really spent. I know it would be WAY above what I think I am spending, even though I am a frugal type person.

God willing, this evening I will be at the quilt shop for 4 hours of sit n' sew. I will buy my son and hid girlfriend pillows and I am making them pillowcases. I spent $14 on the fabric. I bought it from the clearance fabrics. I only spent $4 and some change as I had a $10 gift card that I won. Also, I bought about a yard more fabric than I needed.
Now my oldest daughter said that her and her bf could use the same gifts.
I also ran across an unfinished wall hanging that I had bought at the member's booth of our quilt show for 50 cents. I am finishing it up to give to my mom.

I bought what I think is the last skein of yarn for the scarves that I am knitting for gifts.

I still have what feels like many gifts to think about and get! How are you coming along? I can't believe that Christmas is only 12 days away!

Squidoo Hopping 12/12/13

Less than 2 weeks until Christmas!  How are your Christmas sales?
I'm confused on sales.  I am showing 11 games bought from one of my lenses and showing $2.97 commission on the dashboard, but they aren't shown in my activity under sales.
Does anyone know why this is?

Otherwise a week ago I show 3 sales in another lens.  This is also confusing it as it was 5 sales, then it showed 4, today it shows 3.

Maybe one of these years at this time of year I can get the kinds of sales that some of the rest of you do!

I can't wait to see what is linked up this week  :)

 

WIP Wednesday 12/11/13

Here we are with Christmas day only 2 weeks away!  I have so many projects that I yet need to get sewn up for gifts!

On the Penny Patch quilt for the QAL, I do have it sandwiched and pinned.  Now I need to see if I can figure out how to do the dogwood quilting.  I sure like that that looks.

This is not a current picture but I am still working on knitting scarves for Christmas gifts.  Since taking this picture a couple of days ago I have finished the one with the skein on yarn laying there and started on the other one with the teal yarn.

 Yesterday was the monthly sewing day at church.  This is the progress on the quilt that I am currently working on.  I am actually going to finish this one all by myself because I am doing it in quilt as you go.  I hope to have it finished by the end of next month's sewing day.

 I was able to get some work done on making my yo-yo's while my youngest daughter was at the doctor and while we visited my middle daughter this past week.  Unfortunately I left my yo-yo box at my middle daughter's house.  I don't think I would have taken another picture though as I am still just making them with the fabric in my box and then will start putting the table runner together.

I didn't get any applique bunnies done this past few weeks at home, but I do have stitch group this afternoon.  I had hoped to have them done and to get to spend this afternoon squaring up the blocks.  Such is life though!  I will applique on them today and then next Wednesday and hopefully then next month to start squaring them up.

This past week I did a review lens on on Squidoo for a book called Crafty Creatures.  You can click to check it out if you would like.  It will open in a new window:  Fill Your Home With These Crafty Creatures.  I will be making the cat's bed, along with the cat, that I show at the bottom of my lens for my 2 yr old granddaughter.  She's going to love it!  I hope to make lots of of the projects in the book as well.

I am linking up with the following blogs:
 

Color-Glide Pro Brushless Painting Review and Giveaway!

With the Color-Glide Brushless painting system you will have space and have long term storage.
These are pretty darn cool!
Each tube comes with a pump.  In this picture I am pumping paint from the can and into the tube.  Very easy.

Each tube has space to fill out the color, brand of the paint, which room you used it in, what project etc.

The top is a soft felt applicator.  Here I am starting to work on painting the stairwell to our basement.  The paint goes on easily with the applicator.   What I really like is that there is no mess on the edges.  I didn't have a need to tape and tape to avoid going over the edge.

Each tube comes with it's own pump.  I did wash my pump out so that I could re-fill the tube, but I am not sure it's intended to do so.
I need to fill my other tubes to empty the paint can----and finish my painting, of course.

My next project that I want to use the brushless painting with is to paint the shelves in my craft room and my daughter's bedroom.


You will find more instructions below and you can also visit http://www.ColorGlidePro.com as well.

 One lucky Marsha's Spot winner will receive a 4 pack of the brushless painting tubes as shown below!  Enter using the rafflecopter form below.

 
Disclosure:  I was sent product to use and give my opinion on as well as information to share.  I was not compensated in any other way, and all opinions are my own.   Sponsor also provided the prize for me to giveaway.





a Rafflecopter giveaway