Whack an Egg

Hey all!

Easter festivities started this weekend.The kids had their annual egg hunt at my dad's lodge. They have a brunch there, with some crafts, then the kids do an egg hunt out in the yard. There weren't a lot of people this year, but the kids still had fun anyway.

While we were there, the kids were able to do these things they were calling Stomp eggs. You stomp on this foiled wrapper and a balloon inside expands. Pretty cool. But the guy didn't know where his wife got them.

After that, we took our weekly trip to Dollar Tree, and guess what we found??!!!! Whack and Egg. We bought a few packs, because we were supposed to have others kids over that night, but those plans fell through. So we got to play with them all.

Below is a quick one take we did on how these things work. They are pretty cool and can be fun too. I plan to get a bunch more for their Easter Baskets.

Whack and Egg video

Pretty Easter baskets on a budget

Hey all!

For some of us, Easter may be a bit of a money sucker, along the likes of Christmas.  We have to get the outfits and the shoes to go with the outfits, and the eggs and dye and baskets and goodies for inside the baskets. And it seems to me now, that kids expect real gifts on Easter as well. When did that happen???
But not all of us can afford that. My kids wanted these $10 character baskets, that they will grow out of and maybe not even like next year. So we decided to take some lower cost plain ones, and jazz them up, to make them look more extravagant.

I purchased these baskets below for about $3 each at FiveBelow.  (I did jump the gun on that purchase, I wish I spent less)

Then we bought these foam initial letters from ACMoore for $1.99 each, and I had a 50% off coupon. It was just me there, so I was only able to use 1 coupon, which made these $5.00 for 3. (If you play your cards right and take people with you, you could use 1 coupon per letter and get them for $1 each)

Next, I hit the DollarTree. We picked out some silk flower bundles and some butterfly bundles. 5 bundles for $5.00.

Use a little hot glue and some creativity and voila! Each basket ended up costing about $7.00 a piece. And now my girls have their own personalized Easter baskets for years to come!!!

If this idea is still a little too steep for your budget, check out my post from last year to see what type of "basket" I used for the girls, and what low cost items I placed inside of them. Link below.
Hope this helps inspire you to have a creative Easter as well!

Easter basket ideas 2014

Bingo is NO joke

 

Hey all!

This weekend, I ventured out to my first ever Bingo game!!!Wow...that's all I can say. Those ladies are NO JOKE. WOW  People were there with pizza's and hoagie trays and drinks and, well pretty much parties at their tables. A lot of women were playing more then 5 boards per game. Seriousness was up in there.

The schools in our town all got together and put this Coach Bag bingo together to help raise money for the schools. I wasn't too sure about it, but then my aunt text me and said she got tickets for her and my two cousins. So I called my friend/cousin-in-law and got her to go with me. 

We were running late because...well....it wasn't MY fault. But anyway, we got there about 20 minutes early and there was a line out the building. We get inside, and the room was FULL. There had to be about 400 people there. WHOA! 

There were 16 games, and each one had a different pattern. That part I did not like. I just wanted straight Bingo, but apparently, its like that everywhere. About 3 games in, Lauren wins one of the bags I wanted. Woo Hoo!!! So she is not picky and had agreed to easily exchange bags with me, if I won one I didn't really like. I don't get nice things that Coach Bags...well..EVER.   As games continued, my aunt won bag AND a wristlet.

They also had about 60 baskets they were giving away too, and a 50/50 that was at about $1000. 

I WON NOTHING!!!!!!!  NADA, ZIP ZILCH ZERO!!!!     16 bingo games, 3 sheets of baskets tickets, and a roll of 50/50 tickets.....and i walked out empty handed. WTF?????? 

Needless to say, I probably won't do that again. I am not the kind to throw money away like that. I don't like that almost $60 was spent fro NOTHING.  But I have to say, it was a experience and I did do a lot of laughing so...it must have been worth it!!!

Shoprite Deals for the week ending 3/21/15

Hey all!

I know I might be a little late, so please take this as more of a lesson, then a "hurry up go get these deals" type of post.
I hit my local Shoprite last night and scored some pretty good deals, that I wanted to share with you.
However, I'll admit, it wasn't easy. The prep took me a few hours stretched over a few days, to find as many as I could find.  I pretty much compared all of my digital coupons, the sales circular, and then I went through each coupon I had printed, on the stores website, to see if it was worth a deal or not. But it was soooo worth it!

Now, I didn't post and list every single deal because, it was after 8pm when I got home and took care of dinner. These are just the best deals that I was excited about.

#1 --The Suave shampoo and the Lady Speedstick deodorant were the same price and same type of deal. Reg. price -- $1.99

*Used  (4) Suave coupons for $.50 off one bottle (for Dollar General), which doubles to $1.00 at my store = $.99 each
*Used (2) Coupons.com printables for $1.00 off one Lady Speedstick == $.99 each
TOTAL:  $5.94 out of pocket
------- ----------- ----------- -------- -------- ----------- ---------- ----------- -------- ---------


 #2 -- Glade products were on sale 4/$7.96, and  you did not HAVE to buy 4, so they were basically $1.99 ea.

*Used (4) $1.00 off any one Glade product == $1.00 ea. for the sprays
*Used (4) $1.00 off  one Glade wax melts == $1.00 ea. for the wax melts
*Used (3) $.50 off one Glade candle, which doubles to $1.00 == $1.00 ea. for the candles
AND I got a surprise at check out --- a $3.00 off my next shopping order as a Thanks from Glade.
TOTAL: $11 out of pocket - $3 back cpn == $8.00 for 11 glade products i.e. $.72 for each.
--------- ----------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ------------- ---------- ------- ------ -------- ------ -------

#3 --Schick disposable razors, on sale for $3.99:

*Used (2) $5.00 off 2  Coupons.com printable == 2/$2.98 aka 4/$5.96

*Used (1) $2.00 off 1 Coupons.com printable == $1.99
*The mens Hydro 5 line, had "Save Now" coupons on the packages for $3.00 off 1, so I used those instead of the coupons I had, which made each of those $.99.
TOTAL:  8/$10.92 aka $1.37 ea.
-------- ---------- ---------- --------- ------------- ---------- ------------- ---------- -------- --------- ---------

#4 - Canada Dry/7Up soda products were on sale 4/$4.00 aka $1.00 ea. (I believe for this deal you DID HAVE to purchase 4, but I'm not sure, so check your local store for details)

*Used (2) $1.00 off one 7UP Coupons.com printables ==  2 FREE
*Used (1) $1.00 off 2 Canada Dry products = 2/$1.00
TOTAL:  4/$1.00 aka $.25 ea.


As I said, there were some other deals that I got as well. I went in there with about $50 in paper coupons, and maybe about $10.00 in digital coupons saved on my card.
I hope this inspires you all to find those deals!!!

Monograms & Anchors

Hey all!

I just completed a couple more pieces, that are newly posted to our Etsy shop.


This one I made for our livingroom, but can customize to a different letter and colors. Can even be done on solid strips.

I kind of really like how this one came out. Silver and teal stripes with navy blue anchors. This would look really cute in a bathroom or porch. 

If you see what you like, please visit our Etsy shop and share the love! Have a great day!

3LadybugCrafts on Etsy

Check Check Checkin' In

Hey all!

Its been a while and I know I haven't blogged about much on the day to day life we are experiencing here. That's because there isn't much to report.

This winter was pretty un-eventful. Although our little area was spared from the major snow storms, it was still pretty frigid and cold and just BLAH. We did get hit just last week, with about 10 inches of snow, and then the temps soared to 40-60 degree days, so its all gone now. Just how I like it!!
(Snow = not a fan)

The girls are still doing to their dance an acro classes and loving every moment. I can't wait to see Madison's full dance, on stage!! And Isabel is actually getting a costume this year - yay! She is still just having a cute little "routine" at the school, and not at the yearly recital. Acro is new to their class line-up, so I think they are still trying to really figure out how to work it all.

I did have to have to talk with the girls, about possible not being able to do dance next year.  I felt sooo bad and....it kinda makes me wanna cry. But we need to be upfront and honest with them. There could be a very good chance we won't be able to afford it next year.

Although, Brian's child support has finally stopped - YAY - we are not rollin in the money at all. We are not benefiting from it at all, as we hoped we would be. Ya know, life happened. Our household has actually taken some money cuts from paycheck, on both sides.  First off, we bought the car last year, with the intent of having the extra child support money to pay that bill. Then in December Brian had to demote himself from manager and go to part time work. This also caused him to take a pay cut. 
Along with that, I put him on my medical insurance, which caused me to have a pay cut as well, due to us going to a full family plan.
So yeah, we have 2 pay cuts, and an extra decently sized bill.  We are making it work somehow, but...I feel very unsettled with it all. I fear that its only going to get worse. Brian's MS flares up with heat...summer time is coming, and I fear he is going to get worse, again, and won't be able to work at all. He has definitely progressed more since last summer, so...I'm expecting the worse. I know i shouldn't but...I am real with myself. Expect the worse and you won't be caught off guard,  right?

However, instead of freaking about it all, I am trying to do what I can. I have started an Etsy shop with some art work I have done, and I am continuing to do more. Please feel free to check it out and share with your social media friends and family as well. 
Etsy shop for 3LadybugCrafts

As for what is to come in the blog.....

Seasons are changing and happening again, so there will be more 'decorating on the cheap' blogs. I will be posting all of the new art projects I do for my Etsy shop as well.   In a couple of weeks, Nickelodeon will be having their Kids Choice Awards show, and we plan on having a little KCAs party for the kids, which I will blog all about.
I also have been  hitting Dollar Tree a lot more, and making it a major part of my weekly necessity stops, so I will be posting more hauls from there, as well.  And of course,spring is coming, so there will be more outdoor adventures as well!

I hope you all decide to stay with us and follow along in our journey I call life! See you soon!

Chicken and Brocolli at home

Hey all!

Last night I whipped up an easy meal, to help cure my craving for Chinese food. I personally don't think it turned out too bad either. My daughter even loved it. I'm not going to bore with a pre-story, let's just get right to it the recipe for Chicken & broccoli made at home.

This recipe fed about 3 of us. You can alter as needed. My measurements are not precise anyhow  ;)

Ingredients:
*3 large chicken breasts (about 1 breast per person)
*teryaki marinade/sauce (for this recipe I used about half the 12.5 oz. bottle)
*garlic salt
*ginger
*white rice (I typically use 10 minute boil in bag, but you can use what you like)
*2 bunches of fresh broccoli

Prep:
1 - Chop chicken into bite size pieces and place in a bowl with 1/2 cup of teryaki marinade, and set aside while you prepare the broccoli. 

2 - Chop broccoli and boil in pot (covered), filled  about 1/2 way with water, for about 10 minutes.This should steam the broccoli without getting mushy. One done, drain and set aside.

3 - Get a pot of water ready for the rice, per the instructions on the box.

Directions:
1 - Pour the chicken with marinade, into a pan with about 2 tbsp of oil. (your choice of what kind)  Sprinkle about 1 tbsp of ginger and 1 tbsp of garlic salt over chicken. you can also add more marinade/sauce if needed, while cooking.
Saute until chicken is almost thoroughly cooked & looks to be about 3/4 of the way done. Lower the heat and place lid over the chicken, and let it finish cooking while you...

2 -Get the water for the rice to a boil. Once the rice is good &  cooking....

3 - Add the broccoli to the chicken. Increase the heat to medium and saute until completed.

Serve chicken & broccoli over a bed of rice and dinner is done!
Happy Eating.

 *****This is just an extra pic, to show the marinade/sauce type that I used.

HOME

Went to visit my parents this weekend. They still live in the town I grew up in.

The weather was gorgeous! Temps were warming up, but there was still snow on the ground, to go along with the blue bright skies.

I don't know why, but on nice days, I love driving around where I grew up. So I  ran a few errands in my old neighborhood.

I decided to take my familiar route to my moms house, along Copper River. I love driving this road on nice days and taking in the Weather Scenery.

These photos are ...HOME.

Etsy Shop is LIVE

Hey all!

Its official. Our Etsy shop is now LIVE and open. I'm nervous and excited all at the same time.

There are only 2 items listed right now, and one more to post today. There are also about 2 more in the works. It's hand painted abstract type of art. Soon, I will also be doing some type of front door decorations for the change in seasons. Below is one of the pieces I did that is posted.

Again, I am doing this to help support my daughters love of their dance classes. So please pass the word and share this post, as it would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!


3LadybugCrafts shop on Etsy

New way to make some extra income??

Hey all!


Lately, I have been trying to think of some things I can do while I am at home, to keep me occupied. Keep me calm as well, maybe?

While browsing Pintrest and other craft sites I have seen a lot of variations of art that is done on canvas. Art that is simple.

I personally like geometric designs and pops of color. So I went for it. I came up with a design for a piece for our living room.

While doing this, I was thinking of a bunch of other creative things I could come up with that can be done on canvas. And I got to thinking...maybe I should try to sell these. Maybe I should open up an Etsy shop.

So that is the plan for now. I will be working on getting a bunch of simple art work done, and researching the How To's on having an Etsy shop.

Since my husband had to cut back his hours at work, due to his MS, I have been trying to think of things HE can do to help out and keep himself occupied. And then in all reality last week, it hit me that we are living too tight of a budget and the girls might not be able to do dance classes next year. I had a talk with them and although they understood, I could hear the heartbreak in their voices.
I really don't want to take that away from them. There are not many kids in our neighborhood their ages, so I look at dance as a way for them to socialize as well.  But after school sports don't mesh well with my working schedule, and my husbands schedule (although only part time) changes from week to week, sometimes even on a whim.  I just really would like to help my daughters continue with their dance classes for years to come.

All in all, I just wanted to put this out there, to see if anyone out there would at all be interested in buying items like this? I also will be doing some front door decorations. Also, if anyone out there has an Etsy shop and is willing to share any tips they have, that would be greatly appreciated.

I look forward to sharing all of our artwork with you!