DIY Address Book

It seems as though I have become the go to girl for all things paper when people can't seem to find exactly what they're looking for in the store; case in point, my Mom's new address book. I had never done anything like this before, in fact, I had to buy a Bind-it-All to get it done; but when she asked I just couldn't resist the challenge. Her specifications were simple: large bold print, three entries per page, a special section for birthdays and an individual section for each letter of the alphabet. She also wanted it BIG! The standard 5.5in x 7.5 in just wasn't cutting it given that she refuses to wear her eyeglasses so my first task was to size it up to a 9in x 9 in square. My supplies were as follows: drawing paper for the pages (thicker and has a nice texture), 110lb cardstock for the dividers, Microsoft Word to create the pages with a few free fonts from dafont.com, a guillotine trimmer to get the pages down to size, 170lb cardstock for the cover that I bought as a sample from Neenahpaper.com (perfect for when you only need a few sheets of specialty paper or cardstock), a large sheet of PS design paper from Paper Source (check out paper-source.com), PVC (a great book making glue), a one inch hole punch, my Circut Create and Fabulous Finds cartridge for the tabs on the side, eyelets and a manual eyelet setter to secure the tabs (I still can't figure out how to use that stinkin Crop-a-dile; I think I didn't get whatever gene you have to have to be able to operate that thing), and of course my Zutter Bind-it-All! Whew!!

It was a long process, but in the end it was worth it; hope you agree!

I Heart I-do-it-yourself.com !!!!! (AND MY ETSY CUSTOMERS TOO!)

I absolutely LOVE www.i-do-it-yourself.com! This is the holy grail of blogs for all paper crafters, scrapbookers, wedding coordinators and anyone else looking to DIY (obviously, lol). There's free downloads, links, and tutorials out the ying-yang. The first day I stumbled upon this site I stayed up until 3am reading archived entries and downloading freebies (really, its like crack it's sooo good!)!!

If you have a wedding, a baby shower, or a party of any kind coming up you HAVE to visit this site!

ANOTHER THING I LOVE; my Etsy Customers! Not only to they buy my stuff and feed my addiction for all things crafty but they have some pretty awesome stores themselves. This week I sold a bunch of lot of little tags to Allie at http://www.alliebeans.etsy.com/ and when I did a little reverse stalking and checked out her store I was one smitten kitten. Maybe, it's because I can't sew anything other than the blanket stitch or because my OCD drives me to want to buy anything that will help me get even the littlest bit more organized, but I love these pouches!! Someone I know is soooo getting one of these for a Birthday or Christmas and I think I'm going to have to splurge on one for myself too! Maybe the pink faux bois one?

Make your Dollar Mean More!

We American's are always looking to get more bang for our buck. Take the fast food industry for instance: Dollar Menu-aire's , Three-fer-nomics, and value menus galore (even Starbucks is getting into the cheap food gig). But is it really worth it? When our paltry dollars are going toward cheap burgers and 2 for 1 apple pies can it really be a good thing? Sure you get to fill your stomach for less than a gallon of gas but think of the consequences? Your body isn't the only thing being destroyed by cheap food! Small farmers lose customers to corporations that are clearing rain forests to create grazing lands for genetically enhanced cows, Mom and Pop Diner's are going belly up, Styrofoam is piling up in land fills, more and more Americans are getting fat causing the costs of health care to sky rocket, and the world becomes a little less nicer place to live all because you refused to pay more than $2.25 for a McChicken and a gigantic sweet tea!

You know you do it; I do it too!

This year, though, I've decided to stop spending my dollars on cheap, unhealthy fast food and start spending them on products whose companies actually use their profits to help make the world a better place. It's actually a lot easier than you think! And before you go calling me a tree hugger or granola cruncher you might want to check out the labels on the back of your groceries because you've probably already been buying these products and not even realizing it!! I was!

Lots of health conscious foods and even fashionable drinks and snacks are being made these days by companies that give back not only to the community but the planet as well. Pedigree, Ethos, Annie's, and Ben and Jerry's just to name a few (yes, even the fat boys are philanthropists).

So, today I start out with the one thing we all need to live, water. Bottled water albeit, but water all the same. Ethos Water (http://www.ethoswater.com/) has been a force for the good from the very beginning, pledging a portion of their profits to help provide clean water to children worldwide (something like 5 cents U.S. for every bottle sold!). Anyone who has ever been to Starbucks has seen a bottle of this upscale looking water and a lot of us have probably walked right by it in grocery stores thinking "great, just what the world needs, another over priced bottle of water," but it's so much more! Instead of pocketing those extra cents it slaps onto the price tag and passing out fat cat bonuses to its higher ups, Ethos and its founder Peter Thum actually take all those extra cents, put 'em all together, and provide hundred of thousands of people worldwide with clean, drinkable water! You feel bad about not spending those extra few cents now don't ya? (Don't worry, I did to when I first found out). The good news is that Ethos is still selling water and still working toward it's goal of donating $10 million in clean water and water technology to the World by 2010. So, next time you're at Starbucks, or the grocery store, or even the gas station, pick up a bottle and do something good for yourself and the World.

FREE STUFF!!! And a V-Day Card whose exsistence actually makes a difference in the world!

Nothing is better than free stuff! Not to mention free printables!!! I recently bought some super cute Valentine's Day printables from this great little shop called E.M. Papers on Etsy.com, and then I visted their website. JACKPOT!!!! Not only do they have an even wider range of printables for great low prices but they have freebies sprinkled in EVERYWHERE on the site. Don't let the thumbnails on the side fool ya! Go through all the links and all the little tabs and you'll find free printables in almost every one.

To top it off the artist whose cards are sold on this site is a good guy...person... woman... human, whatever. All proceeds from the Bike Valentine card (http://www.empapers.com/bike-valentine.html) go to The Emancipation Network or TEN, which works to end global slavery and human trafficking. Much of TEN's work involves reintegrating women who have been slaves in the sex industry by providing therapeutic handicraft work.

Great Valentine's Day card, great cause, and freebies to boot! If there were such a thing as a three-fer I'm pretty sure this would be it!

Happy Valentine's Day Everybody!

How to tell whether or not you're a grown up...

Sad but true, I am officially a grown up. You wanna know how I know? I'm in L-O-V-E with a vacuum; the Dyson Animal to be exact. Sleek, shiny, super sexy, and can suck up a whole dog's worth of fur in a matter of seconds! Oh ya, Baby! That's how mama likes it!

Seriously though, this thing is SWEET! It's like the Mercedes Benz of vacuums! Granted the sticker price is a bit of shocker, but I think I could handle it if they had a payment plan, lol! At the very least I'm gonna have to factor the cost of one of these babies into the mortgage for my house if I ever get one! Check out the website and you'll see for yourself. Btw, if any one's interested, I'm up for going in half-sies. One of us takes it on the weekends, the other Monday through Thursday?

http://www.dyson.com/store/product.asp?product=DC25-ANIMAL

Valentine's Day Cards for Dummies

It's no secret, I love printables!! For anywhere from $3.00 to $8.00 you get a pdf that you can print over and over, and over again. All you need is some cardstock and a printer and you can print out gifts, cards, calenders, tags, and more for yourself or anyone you know for any reason: holiday, birthday, or even just cuz! Thanks to the wonderful sellers on Etsy I have over induldged my love for printables just a lil bit, but every time I come across a new printable with a great design I just can't resist! This week it's the awesome Valentine's Day card printables available at Etsy shop Three Wheels Design. These cards are super cute and if I had school age children they would be such a great buy! Think about it; no more generic Valentine's, no more supporting companies you don't believe in, and if you print these cards on recycled cardstock, it's totally eco-friendly! To top it off you own the file so year after year you can print these cards out and give them again and again; and there's nothing to worry about storing! Just follow the link to check out the cute cards pictured below: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5153451

Smelly Crap: Smencils

If you've seen me on Etsy you know I'm one crafty b-iatch so it's no surprise that my first blog is about pencils; that's right pencils! Smencils to be exact! If you grew up in the 1980's like I did you are no stranger to the notion of smelly writing utensils (be honest, you know you huffed that grape marker just like the rest of us!). There were crayons, markers, colored pencils and let us not forget the stickers and erasers! If you happened to be a straight A making, teacher's pet, like I was in elementary school, then you too probably had your very own little collection of smelly paraphernalia. So in honor of childhood days long gone, but not lost, I give you Smencils!

Made out of recylced newspapers and soaked in essential oils to smell like everything from cherries to marshmallows, these pencils are the BOMB!! You can personalize 'em for holidays or put your name on 'em; they even have mint Smencils they claim help boost school kid's test scores (where the hell were these things when I was taking the SATs?). Anyways, you can check 'em out at http://www.smencils.com/world.html. Happy Smencil smelling!