And the winner is.......(drum roll )

Good morning all! Just wanted to share with you who won my Bath and Body Works Scarf!

Congratulations number #10 who is: C's Mamma !!!
thanks so much to C's mamma for following my blog and entering the giveaway! We would love for you to send us a pic sporting the scarf!

I appreicate all of you entering the giveaway and following my blong on google friends ant twitter! Stay tuned for more giveaways and crafty ideas!

Lets talk about... Vinegar!

Hello!! i truly hope you all have had a great christmas and have survived the hustle and bustle. Here at my house we are slowly putting christmas away.... kind of sad really. But as we all know, it will be back! There are alot of things i want to share with you, but i am going to be kind of greedy and share it in stages! So first of all, i have been trying to think of some different ways we all can save a few bucks. And i remembered something a lovely older lady told me.. to clean with vinegar. At the time i though, ewww. We all know vinegar doesnt smell the best, at least not in my book!So i did some reasearch and here is what i came up with:
1. clean your coffee pots with vinegar
2.use vinegar for your windows (quarter cup of vinegar in a quart of water)
also, try drying your windows or mirrors with newspaper- streak free!
3.kitchen counter ( just add some dish soap to vinegar and water)
4.carpets stains (mix vinegar and water in a spray bottle and go at it)
5. use vinegar in your bathroom ( great for soap scum, takes it right off)
These are just a few that i thought would help everyone, there are alot more uses. We have kind of been made to believe that we have to buy a seperate cleaner for everything in our household... not true. Lets think about this this:
Even if you use coupons or buy on sale kitchen cleaner is about $1-$2,carpet cleaner $1-$2, window cleaner $1-$2, tub and tile cleaner $1-$2. AAnd these prices are if you buy the generic stuff, if you buy name brand ,you will definetely pay more. A large jug of vinegar is about $3.00 and you get a lot more of it for that price! so you do the math! obviously using vinegar isnt going to solve all of our money issues, but its a tiny start right? If you do use any of these tip, please please let me know! i hope it works for you!
The next thing i wanted to share with you, i have been keeping under my hat, it was a christmas present for my sister in law. I was afraid she would see it on my blog and blow the suprise of it. Now i made her and my mmother in law beautiful candle holders using old stuff, new stuff, spray paint etc. Here is the before pic!

Here they are finished!

We have a local craft mall that carries antiques, so i went there to scout oout some pretty cups and matching saucers, and of course i found these, that literally took my breath away. The pictures dont do the candle holders justice at all. i put a votive candle in the teacup . I had seen these on a blog over a year ago, and i thought it was genius. I did modify mine a bit, so they are different than the one i saw, but it inspired me!
They were a hit!

I enjoyed making these, but i really enjoyed the looks on their faces when they opened them. Go ahead, make one yourself! Great for mothers day, birthdays! i can guarantee they wont have one like it!! Take care everyone, be safe. Do something insanely nice for someone today, see how it feels. suprise yourself! Mwah!
A LITTLE BIT O INFO: DONT FORGET ABOUT MY GIVEAWAY! RED BATH AND BODY WORKS SCARF! IT ENDS TONIGHT! ALSO, MOST OF YOU MAY KNOW THIS, BUT IF MONEY IS TIGHT AND YOU HAVE THE HANKERIN TO WATCH A MOVIE- HEAD TO YOUR PUBLIC LIBRARY! GET YOUR LIBRARY CARD AND RENT FREE VIDEOS! YOU CANT BEAT THAT CAN YOU? FREE?
ALSO, IF YOU WANT TO GET RID OF YOUR GENTLY USED TOYS.. EVER TRY A TOY SWAP PARTY? YOU AND FRIENDS GET TOGETHER - SWAP TOYS! THIS MAY NOT BE THE BEST TIME RIGHT NOW, BUT ITS GREAT WHEN YOUR KIDS HAVE OUTGROWN THEIR TOYS, OR YOU JUST NEED TO DOWNSIZE. I AM DEFINETELY WANTING TO DO THIS ONE!! HOPE YOU ENJOYED MY BLOG TODAY, IF YOU DID- PLLLEEEAAASSEE BE SO KIND AS TO LET ME KNOW! SEE YA!

One second 2 liter bottles.. the next SNOWMEN!!!

Its almost here!! I cant beleieve it, Christmas is basically here! We are very excited at the mcgraw household...its super chaotic. The kids are on christmas break so its pretty lively here. i am just trying to enjoy it, they are only little once. Any way,so glad you chose to stop by and read my blog, really. Ok so at all of my parties or get togethers i always buy some kind of pop, or soda.. whichever way you prefer to say it. And november and december are two party months for us. I tend to buy 2 liters , they are easier and cheaper. So awhile back i found myself with a multitude of empty 2 liter bottles. i just kind of thought it was a shame to not do something with them.. i had no idea what to do. So i left them out on the counter and stared and stared at them Its like they were taunting me.. because i had zero way in my head to repurpose them, zero way to make them fabulous.. very frustrating. After some research and talking my kids, our 2 liter bottles went from this...

to this...

Here is what we did:
i provided white craft paint and spongey like brushes
after they dried, each child picked out what buttons they wanted to use for the eyes, i cute orange ribbon for the nose. They glued them on along with the buttons going down the tummy. I had a friend give me a whole sack of these scarves. i had them stashed away in the laundry room, waiting for the perfect craft. Each of the kids chose their scarf and we tied it on.I dont know about you guys but i have a basket of socks that i cannot find the mate to. i keep them for reasons i dont know... i guess hoping the other one will make an apearance?So as you probably guessed the hats for the snowmen are our poor mateless socks. But they served a great purpose here!! i also cut the ends off the socks to give it some fringes. Next i cute wire and mittens out of felt and voila!! then my little artists made thier own smiles and other facial features they felt appropriate. Love them!
Here is another inexpensive way to have some fun with your kids on Christmas eve.i must say i am borrowing this idea from my lakens preschool teacher, sue.(love her). Laken brought this home from school and i loved it.

Its Reindeer Food!
Here is all you do:
get some plain dry oats, glitter or confetti, whatever you think will be pretty and mix it all together. And here is the best part, go out with your kids on Christmas eve and together you can drop the food on the ground everywhere. Add this to your cookies you leave out for santa and it will make the Christmas eve a little more magical. And every kid deserves a little magic on Christmas eve , right?
Christmas is a special time of year, lets not forget why. Santa is a fun piece of the season, for the kids and parents, but god is a necessity for all year round.i hope you enjoyed what i have brought to you today. Here something funny i wanted to leave you with:
The stages of life
1. You believe in Santa Claus
2.You dont believe in santa
3. You ARE santa claus
4.You Look like santa!!(lol)
hope it brought a smile to your face. Have a happy and safe Christmas. Hope you get to be with family and friends.Lets remember those who wont have that privilege.
LITTLE BIT O INFO:CHECK OUT THIS SITE... $5DollarDinners.com
THEY HAVE A ARCHIVE OF TASTY RECIPES THAT WILL COSTS $5.00 TO MAKE(HENCE TTHE NAME LOL) ANYWAY, MOST OF US NEED TO FIND A FEW WAYS TO CUT SOME COSTS, WHY NOT START HERE!
DONT FORGET ABOUT MY BATH AND BODY WORKS GIVEAWAY!
HERE IS THE LINK FOR LOWES AND THE WORKSHOP I SPOKE OF IN MY LAST POST:
Home - LowesBuildAndGrow
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lowesbuildandgrow.com%2F&h=ceebc

Christmas Mantle.... super duper cheap! PLUS Bath and Body Works scarf giveaway!!!

Welcome, Welcome! So happy that you took some of your time to stop in.. this blog is becoming really important to me. I hope some of you enjoy it.Ok, so today i wanted to share some of my good finds i found from the local dollar tree! Which i love , by the way. You can find a lot of fun things there and its soooo cheap. I have recently introduced my husband luc to the dollar tree, and i was so excited to see his reaction! Of course after this conversation: luc- "how much is this?" tina-" its a dollar , we are at the dollar tree. everything here is a dollar." luc- "this is only a dollar?" tina- "yep" We must have had this conversation two or three times during our visit. Anyway, on to my pretty finds. THe local dollar tree had these 15in plain wreaths. i liked them so i bought two. the also had 1.5 in wired christmas ribbon so i bought two spools(not sure what color i wanted). Also, i thought it was time our family got stockings, we have never had stockings before- crazy right? They had these fancy satin stockings in different colors so i bought six (one for each of us)

So, i took the wreaths and wrapped the ribbon around them ( i chose the cream and gold) and hot glued them together. Then i had some glitter glue on hand and i wrote all of our names on the stockings. I also added some rhinestones.( i had those on hand as well) I stuck everything up on the mantle , and i think it looks fab!

I do need to point out that i had the garland and the bow from last christmas, but i saw items similar to this at the dollar tree. Or do what i do and hit the Christmas Decoration clearance after christmas is over.So for the stockings and wreaths i paid $9.00. not too shabby eh?
I am having another giveaway!! WOOO HOOO! who doesnt like free stuff? Man i do. Ok so her it is: i am giving away a bright red bath and body works scarf. brand new, never been worn. check it out.

This is a unsponsered giveaway.
To enter this giveaway, all you have to do is follow me on google friend connect and twitter! thats it, super easy.Please dont forget to put your email address with your entry! This giveaway will end on tuesday Dec 28th at midnight!!

A LITTLE BIT O INFO: CHECK OUT YOUR LOCAL LOWES. THEY HAVE WORKSHOPS FOR DADS AND KIDS AND GET THIS... ITS FREE!! HOW FUN DOES THAT SOUND?? MY HUBBY IS EXCITED . I FOUND OUT THIS INFRO FROM MY FRIEND AMBER OVER AT WWW.DRAGONSFLYSWEETNEST.COM

check it out... Popcan Santa ornament!!

Good evening friends!! Hope you are all doing well and staying warm! Ready for Christmas? Noo? Still needing that one gift? Cmon, i know you have that person.. you know, the person you wait to buy for every year? The person you have no idea what to buy? Well, i am here to give a idea. I can pretty much guarentee she doesnt have one of these......

A SANTA POPCAN ORNAMENT!!!! CUTE, RIGHT? Lets look at this little guy.... You know you have a popcan around somewhere. And like i have pointed out before on other projects, you can do alot of different themes with your popcan, really be creative! This is great for teachers, passing party gifts,etc. Let me tell you the history of this santa. My sister in law and i decided a couple of years ago to make each others Christmas gifts instead of buying for each other. Its been a lot of fun , and i think the rest of the family is getting excited to see what we come up with! This santa ornament was my gift from Gennifer last year. I asked Gennifer if she would help me out with a tutorial ... and.. here it is!
Popcan ornament tutorial-
You can pick any aluminum soda can to do this craft. You will need paint and some kind of twine or whatever for a "hanger."
When you first start with the can it must be "crushed" to get the flat surface to paint on. The 2 ends of the can must come towards eachother leaving the bottom of the can and the can tab on the same side.

Once you have shaped the can you can put a Santa face or Snowman face, whatever floats your boat. One of my daughters even painted a snowglobe scene on hers, very cute.
Now at the end of the craft, remember that pop can tab that was left? You slip ribbon, twine or whatever you want to use through that tab and tie it off to hang on the tree.
Put a date on the back and maybe some initials for nostalgia.
THANKS GENNIFER!!
So i am hoping you enjoyed this post and the tutorial that Gennifer supplied. If you did, PLEASE let me know!
Christmas is closing in, folks, lets not forget what the holiday means to us! Pick today to give someone a compliment, hug someone who really needs it, do a good deed. Let me know how your doing out there!Thanks for reading!
A LITTLE BIT O INFO- Check out www.coupons.com, its a great site for printable coupons! If you dont have a newspaper subscription , you can go to coupons.com and print off only the coupons you will use! i did it, and i found it to be quite handy! And you know coupons will help save cash , right??
Ever go to CVS? if you dont, you need to. go soon, get a extra care card, really start looking at whats on sale, and what items will give you ecbucks back.. i am telling you , there is a science to this people, you can score stuff for cheap, and sometimes for free!
A couple of weeks ago, cvs had zhu zhu pets buy one get one for free, my buddie (laura) gave me a link to print off for buy one, get two free.. super confusing... anyway i walked out of cvs with 4 zhu zhu pets and paid for one. crazy right? i am just learning, but its def possible!! good luck!

ICAUGHTSANTA REVIEW!

HEY GOOD EVENING GUYS! I KNOW, I KNOW.. I RARELY BLOG TWICE IN A DAY, BUT I COULDNT WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW TO TELL YOU ABOUT THIS SUPER FUN WEBSITE! I WAS PRESENTED WITH A OPPORTUNITY BY THE LOVELY FOLKS AT http://wwwicaughtsanta.com GET THIS... YOU TAKE A PIC OF YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE ALL DECKED OUT, THEN YOU GO TO THEIR WEBSITE. UPLOAD YOUR PHOTO. PICK FROM SEVERAL SANTAS IN DIFF POSES AND THEN YOU GET TO PUT SANTA ON YOUR PHOTO  OF YOUR TREE!! WHO KNEW?? ITS SOOOO CUTE! I KNOW BECAUSE I DID IT! MY KIDS ARE GOING TO FLIP! THEY ARE GOING TO THINK SANTA WAS TRULY HERE... AFTER ALL SEEING IS BELIEVING , RIGHT?
THIS IS A VERY AFFORDABLE FUN WAY TO PUT A SMILE ON YOUR FAMILIES FACE AND BRING THE JOY OF CHRISTMAS RIGHT INTO YOUR HOME!
AND FOR THE MOST EXCITING NEWS..... I AM GOING TO BE GIVING 5 OF YOU A CHANCE TO TAKE PART IN THE HOLIDAY FUN! THATS RIGHT. I AM HOSTING MY FIRST GIVEAWAY, THANKS TO THE NICE PEOPLE OVER AT ICAUGHTSANTA.  DONT WORRY, IT WILL  EASY PEASY... HERE IS HOW YOU CAN ENTER:
FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER , AND LEAVE A COMMENT
FOLLOW ME ON GFC AND TELL ME WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE ON MY BLOG IN THE FUTURE!!
I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU!


Disclosure: All opinions are my own.
Giveaway will end on wednesday 22nd. I will also end the giveaway at 10:00pm EST. Giveaway is ONLY open to the USA. I will notify the winner by via email within 24 hours of the giveaway ending. I will use random.org to draw the winner. Winner has 48 hours to email me back upon the 48 hours with no message I will draw a new winner.  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. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

Sponsored by Tomoson.com

 

 

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. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

ANOTHER USE FOR A LIGHTBULB... BESIDES LIGHT.

GOOD DAY TO ALL OF MY BLOG READING FRIENDS! I AM EXCITED TO SHOW YOU MY CRAFT FOR TODAY! ITS ALL ABOUT CHEAP, REPURPOSING AND CUTE! LETS GET STARTED!
ALL YOU NEED IS:
ONE LIGHT BULB (NEW OR USED ) BIG OR SMALL
CRAFT PAINT ( I HAD MINE ON HAND)
MARKERS ( ONCE AGAIN, I HAD MINE ON HAND)
BLACK FELT ( I FOUND THIS NICE LITTLE PACKAGE OF DIFF COLORS AT THE DOLLAR TREE)
RIBBON ( YOU KNOW I HAD THIS ON HAND. BUT I FOUND IT AT  THE DOLLAR TREE LAST YEAR AT CHRISTMAS)
GLUE GUN WITH GLUE STICKS
AND AS I AM MAKING THIS LIST OF MATERIALS YOU NEED, MY MIND IS COMING UP WITH ALOT OF DIFF THINGS YOU COULD USE. SO I AM LISTING THESE, BUT YOU CAN DO IT YOUR OWN WAY, IF YOU LIKE.
SO I PAINTED MY BULB WITH MY WHITE CRAFT PAINT, PAINTED THE SILVER PART( THE PART THAT SCREWS IN ) WITH MY BLACK CRAFT PAINT.  THEN I TOOK MY MARKERS AND MADE MY SNOW MAN FACE....

GLUED ON MY RIBBON TO EACH SIDE OF THE SILVER PART(NOW PAINTED BLACK) AND ATTACHED MY BLACK FELT TO MIMIC A HAT! VOILA!! LOOKY THERE- A SNOWMAN LIGHTBULB ORNAMENT!! THIS IS REALLY CUTE AND EASY. I AM A LOT OF THINGS, I DO NOT CLAIM TO BE A ARTIST, SO IF I CAN DO IT, YOU CAN. THINK OF ALL OF THE OTHER CHARCTERS YOU COULD DO.. REINDEER, SANTA, THE GRINCH. PLAY AROUND WITH IT , YOU MAY SUPRISE YOURSELF. SUPER CHEAP AND GREAT GIFT IDEA , RIGHT? YOUR KIDS CAN MAKE THESE FOR TEACHERS AND FAMILY FOR GIFTS, TOTALLY AFFORDABLE AND THE BEST PART IS.. THERE ISNT A WRONG WAY TO DO THIS. BE CREATIVE! IF MONEY IS A LITTLE TIGHT, AND YOU NEED SOMETHING CUTE AND FAST FOR A PASSING PARTY GIFT.. LOOK NO FURTHER!
I AM GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER GREAT CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT IDEA COMING SOON, BE SURE TO WATCH OUT FOR IT! UNTIL THEN,STAY WARM !
A LITTLE BIT O INFO: I HAVE MENTIONED  HOW I HAVE ABSORBED ALOT OF INFO LATELY,AND I HAVE TO THANK MY NEW FRIEND AMBER , SHE HAS HELPED ME LEARN ALOT ABOUT COUPONS AND THE WAY YOU CAN SAVE.  SHE HAS HER OWN SITE DEDICATED TO SHOWING YOU THESE TECHNIQUES AND SHE HAS AWESOME GIVEAWAYS ON HER SITE! FREE STUFF! CHECK HER OUT! http://www.dragonflysweetnest.com/
ALSO, MY FRIENDS LAURA AND MISSY HAVE HELPED ME THROUGH MY FIRST OUTING WITH MY COUPONS.. WHICH WAS A LITTLE SCARY. THESE GIRLS ARE FOUNTAINS OF KNOWLEDGE AND I APPRECIATE YOU GUYS!

Believe it, its a tire!

Hello guys! i have much to share with you! just call me spongegirl, because i have been soaking up info like crazy this past week. its so nice to meet people who are willing to help you out with your goals and want nothing in return, and its even better to catch up with old friends from your past and find a common bond again. sigh... so great to be connected to kind people. so i will start to share this info in short bits as time goes by, i promise! i just have to pace myself! ok so here it is christmas and most of us are getting out the christmas lights and blow up santas and the garlands  etc to put outside , right? well what if i told you that there is another way of decorating that doesnt always involve going to a craft mall or walmart? now first let me state , that there is nothing wrong with those places, believe  me i frequent both!! as a matter of fact Diva Babies sells our products in a local craft mall- they are great! All i am saying is that if you dare to be different, like to save a penny, want to be creative this Christmas season , then you will want to see this!

I have great in-laws, really. i am one of the lucky ones...lololol! anyway, my father in law is super talented and creative. this project i am sharing with you is all him, i am just the messenger. i am sure he wont mind me shaing this with you. He was interested in getting a pretty large wreath for his garage to decorate for Christmas a couple of years ago. A wreath of this size can be a little pricey. So this was what he opted to do inplace of buying a store bought wreath....

Yes , you are seeing a tire! Not just any tire, of course. More like a tire cut in half , painted green, adorned with Christmas lights!! Oh and lets not forget the white bow made from house siding! I love this, and of course i told him so... so this year i recieved my tire wreath! I think its super genius and right up my alley. talk about repurposing!

Christmas is getting closer and closer as we all know. For some of us , things  are piling up... maybe stress, bills, to do lists, etc. Lets try to enjoy the holiday season and not forget what its all about, k? At the risk of sounding like a hallmark card, lets  love our family , friends, and the lord to the best of our abilities and try not to make Christmas so materialistic. Like i say, i love to shop, love even more to find a good deal, but at the end of the day i know what really matters...So that is what i leave you with today, hope you enjoyed it, please let me know if you have any ideas you want to share. I love to learn new things! I hope everyone is staying warm and enjoying the joys that only Christmas can bring. Lets not forget those out there that are not as fortunate as we are. Go out there, repurpose something, make something, find something cool and let me know about it!! Good day!

A LITTIL BIT O INFO.... In my area we have a Dakotas. It is a restaurant similar to a Outback steakhouse(kind of)  anyway in our area on Sundays, kids eat free! it is a certain age limit and they have to order from teh kids meal section. Be sure to call  before making the trip!

Also i have been introduces to a website called http://www.swagbucks.com/  after signing up and creating a account , you can  earn swagbucks through searching the site, reading the blogs, and installing it as your tool bar. these swagbucks add up and you able to cash them in through the swagstore. i am new to this,, but alreaday i have earned 53 swagbucks..  check it out. you may be able to get something free from turning in your swagbucks!!

DIVA BABY BOWS AND THEN SOME...: FIRST RECYCLING SWEATER PROJECT... DONT JUDGE ME

DIVA BABY BOWS AND THEN SOME...: FIRST RECYCLING SWEATER PROJECT... DONT JUDGE ME: "Okay so first let me say hello again! i am really trying to get better at the whole blogging thing, what i need to remember is to start taki..."

FIRST RECYCLING SWEATER PROJECT... DONT JUDGE ME

Okay so first let me say hello again! i am really trying to get better at the whole blogging thing, what i need to remember is to start taking before pics.... and then the after pics. mental note to self. okay so i am hoping everyone had a great and safe weekend, here in ohio its totally freezing!
So i have this sweater, its really pretty, glittery , the whole works. it looks great..... on the hanger. it just doesnt look great on me, not the sweaters fault right? So i didnt want to give up on it right away. after all it hung it my closet for a year. so i have heard all of these wonderful ways to repurpose, or recycle clothing and decided to give it a go. lucky for me my olivia loves dresses and glitter and all things girly. And it was easy peasy. I took the sweater, cut of the sleeves. I wanted to make her leg warmers. I just eyeballed the length of her calf and the measurement around her calf. I pinned it, gave it a quick stitch. Cut off the excess. I didnt sweat the length so much, i had the idea of just rolling it up and putting a cuff in it. pretty cute actually. They fit and she loves them, the great part is they keep her legs warm ( hence the name leg warmers-lol) and she can still wear leggings and dresses with tights in the cold weather! yay!  As for the rest of the sweater, i cut the shoulder seam of the sweaterh folded the material in, to make it shorter around the neck line. perfect dress for olivia!! all she needs is a great long sleeve t , leggings and her leg warmers and she is set!

The picture doesnt really show the glitter , or the cuff in the leg warmers

but you get the idea!

So i am going to consider my first repurposing project a victory! And i have to point out that my daughter has a complete outfit and i didnt have to spend a dime! The sweater was a gift from last christmas. I am positive all of us have that sweater that we love, but just doesnt love us back. Raid your closets, even your hubbys, see what you can find. I dont have a lot of sewing experience , so this is really easy, or trust me , i couldnt have done it! And think what a great Christmas gift this would make some little girl! Its not important how the gift came to be.... right?

If any of you try this, please let me know!  I would love to see what different versions we everyone can come up with!

A LITTLE BIT O INFO: I love a deal, love a good sale, love to pass it on! In our area Gaddyland pizza offers free pizza buffet for children! i think its 12 and under. be sure to call your local gaddys pizza before making the trip... but it would be worth it! go out to eat and keep a little money in your pocket!

Also, vistaprint.com is offering free photo calendars that you make online and all you pay is shipping!! soo cool! perfect, and i mean perfect christmas present! its a easy program and it walks you through it. better hurry to make sure it gets here in time!

Gotta run, laundry and my son is calling my name! Hope you liked this post. Be good to one another ! MWAH!