Dr. Suess Baby Shower

Oh my word! One day when I have lots of money, I will throw a party like this! Seriously, this is amazing! check out all the details over at Design Dazzle. It really is amazing!

Scallop Envelope Box

One day when I buy the scallop envelope die cut, I will make this darling box. I found it on Stampin' Pretty. She has a great tutorial on her site.

Apparently I have been doing a no-no in coping and pasting (called hot-linking)from people's blogs. I always give them credit but i guess when you copy and paste, it uses there bandwidth for you all to view their info even if it is on my site. I am a big dummy when it comes to how you are all viewing this stuff. I just know it works...somehow. So I am sorry to those of you that I have copied and pasted your info. I just really like your work. Hopefully this is the correct way to do it.

Child Frendly Nativity Sets

Since I can't find the Me and my big ideas nativity stickers to make these, I thought I would share this idea that I found on The Creative Crate:

How many of us have those non-child friendly Nativity Sets that we set out every year... and HOPE... that they won't get dropped or broken in some way??? Yes...I am SURE they are very BEAUTIFUL...but wouldn't it be FUN to have one that your children or grandchildren can play with and really learn from?!!

Check out what Mckay from SayItOnTheWall came up with!!! I think these are AbSoLuTelY AdOrABLe!!! Not to mention their functionality. How FuN would these be for your kids:

9 PIECE NATIVITY SET:

The nativity story block is a neat idea because it has a different picture of the Christmas Story on each of the 6 sides. It's a great tool for both teaching and telling the story. Mckay says that her kids have been loving looking at each side... and telling that part of the story!

NATIVITY STORY CUBE :

Also...here are pics of two of her most popular products:

TILE CLOCK :

GLASS BLOCK NATIVITY :
I LoVE them!!!
Wouldn't any one of these make a great Super Saturday project!!!
If you would like to order...or check out more FuN projects and ideas... with awesome prices......CLICK the banner below!!

AND...

FOR ALL OF MY AWESOME READERS...

YOU WILL RECEIVE...

10% OFF YOUR ORDER...

BY USING THE CODE:

"CRATE"

at CHECK OUT!!!

THANKS a bunch Mckay!!!



Happy Crafting!!

Bookmarks

More from Kerry's Paper Crafts:

sooo I got a laminating machine. And I was all inspired to use it - and I thought what better use than these bookmarks?

(Random Craft Fair Tip: the best selling items are bookmarks, and other $1 items - especially when you gear them towards little kids!!)

I went a little nuts creating a LOT of bookmarks and laminating them. They are just so much more sturdy & durable when they are laminated. I am hoping to sell these bookmarks at my fairs for $2 each. What do you think?

Supplies: LOTS of different stuff! Mostly SU! Cardstock. Wild About You Stamp Set, October Afternoon Stamps & DP, We R Memory Keepers Animal Stickers, SU! & Other Various Ribbon. (there is more I know, but I can’t think of it! If you have a specific question on any of the above just leave me a comment. thanks!)

Post It Note Holders

Reallly cute post it note idea from Kerry's Paper Crafts:

I’m a big fan of making post-it note holders. They are cute, useful - and they actually sell REALLY well at all my craft fairs. They just make nice little gifts for anyone - Teachers, Friends, Co-workers…etc.

I saw this video on Dawn’s Blog and loved how she made use of these Acryllic Frames! So off to the Christmas Tree Shop I went - and stocked up on some of the 4″x6″ sized ones. They were only 89 cents a piece. Score!

Here are a few that I whipped up. They didn’t take long at all and I think they came out super cute. The good thing about these sized ones is that I had enough room for some ribbon at the top.

Supplies: Acryllic 4″x6″ Frames, SU! Hawaiian Papaya, Good Morning Sunshine DP, Cheep Talk, Darling Dots Stamp Sets, Kiwi Kiss Ribbon, Old Olive, Tangerine Tango, Choc. Chip, Pacific Point Cardstock. Pacific Point Ink. Colorbox Chalk Ink - Chestnut Roan.

Summer Tips

More great ideas from Parent Hacks. This time it is Summer Tips:

While my search-and-browse system isn't the best (for now! for now!), you can find lots of great hacks to keep your summer going smoothly. Here are a few to get you started. And don't forget the piles of family travel tips in the Travel/Going Out archive, including our series of family camping tips.

Instant s'mores

Clean summer toenails with a toothbrush

Tape combination to padlock so it won't be forgotten over the summer

Fill baby's high chair tray with water for warm weather splashing

Coffee sleeve makes frozen drinks easier to handle

Washing the water table is almost as fun as playing with it

Bath toys gain new life as pool toys

Old-fashioned ice crusher makes a perfect hot weather distraction

Frozen yogurt tubes stand in for ice cream treats

Baby food stains come clean in a sunbath

Put toddler girls into boys' swim trunks for extra sun and knee protection

Turn the Pack n' Play into a shady hangout for baby

Talk amongst yourselves: favorite sunscreen? (This conversation could use some updating as sunscreens have changed so much in recent years -- click through and comment!)

Apply sunscreen to kids' faces with a makeup brush

Sunscreen as face paint

Nightlight on a timer tells early risers when it's morning wakeup time

Financial Planning

Here are some great tips from Parent Hacks. I know this one seems boring but it is something we have been thinking about and trying to complete. We just finished getting life insurance. Now we need to do our will:

Last weekend, there was a sudden death in my extended family. He was young, he was healthy, he was the father of two.

As I sit with my family marveling at how instantly life can change, I'm also watching one of my dearest relatives struggle with the financial realities of this terrible event. We always say we'll plan for the eventualities...we'll get the will together, we'll make sure the life insurance is up-to-date, we'll pay attention to where our money's going, we'll clean up the filing cabinet...but life tends to get in the way. The urgent pulls our attention away from the important. We get busy. Usually, it all works out.

But sometimes it doesn't.

My cousin's friend, a retired financial planner and stock broker, is helping her through this by tackling the unopened statements and unanswered questions and hopefully making sense of it all. In the process, we've been talking about simple preventative measures everyone should take to avoid such a mess themselves.

Share the responsibility for financial matters. The simplest, most important thing you can do is to talk to each other about your money. If one person is responsible for the bill paying and record keeping (or the insurance levels, or the investment plans, etc.), imagine what would happen if that person suddenly went away?

Sit down together (possibly with a glass of wine) and talk about where you are financially and where you want to go. Each of you should have a sense of how much is in the various accounts, how much you pay for utilities, and how much you owe on your credit cards. If necessary, hire a financial planner to help you have these conversations. Things sometimes go more smoothly while sitting a nice office in the presence of a objective party.

Put recurring payments on autopay. There is no reason to ever forget an insurance or mortgage payment. Set up automatic payment of those bills, either via direct withdrawal from your bank, or through autopay via your online banking system. Last resort: pay your bills automatically using your credit card. If cash flow is an issue (you're not sure if you have enough in your account every month to pay all of the bills), at least put your life, disability, and car insurance on autopay. The consequences of letting them lapse are dire.

Buy life insurance. Everyone with a family needs life insurance. Term life insurance is CHEAP. Get some and put it on autopay. Your financial planner will help you with amounts. If the main breadwinner were to die, the surviving family would rest a lot easier knowing the house/the debt/college/whatever were paid off. If the person responsible for most of the child care were to die, the surviving family could pay for good-quality day care and (if necessary) housekeeping and gardening help. If breadwinning and child care are shared, life insurance makes sure that a death in the family doesn't also mean a massive shift in lifestyle.

Get a will. Everyone needs one. Pay a lawyer or a paralegal a few hundred bucks to do it for you, or use software such as Nolo Press Willmaker. Get it done now.

Co-sign on the safe deposit box so each spouse can access it. If you've been putting off this 10-minute job, do it on Monday. Consider putting a third trusted signer on the list in case you both die at the same time.

Consolidate your financial records. Spend 15 minutes a day cleaning up your file system. Create a master list of contact and account numbers so anyone can have it all at their fingertips. The master list should contain:

• Account numbers for all bank accounts, investment accounts, and retirement accounts.
• Account numbers for all credit cards and loans.
• Account numbers for all insurance policies.
• Contact information for all financial and legal advisors.
• Contact information for each person's workplace benefits department.
• Social security numbers for everyone in the family.
• Location of the safe deposit box.
• Passwords, maiden names, mailing addresses and other secret keys to accessing information about these accounts on the phone or online.

Keep copies of this list in sealed envelopes in the safe deposit box, in a locked file, and with a trusted family member (ideally the executor of your will), and update it as details change. Be careful to keep this list accessible but secure -- it's a crib sheet for identity theft.

Update beneficiary information. Whenever there is a birth or death in your family, update the beneficiary information on your accounts and investments. If you have a will or trust, check with your lawyer; in some cases, the primary or contingent beneficiary should be "estate."

Don't put off the conversation. If there's anything this last week has shown me, it's that everything can change instantly. Set aside time this week to get started on these steps, whether with your spouse, your parents, or on your own.

By the way, we're talking about the death of a spouse, but this list works just as well for the loss of a job or any other sudden life change. It takes much less than a death to knock you off your rational feet for a while, and knowing the money matters are squared away removes an incredible amount of stress.

Have I missed anything? Any other financial housekeeping suggestions to offer? I know this stuff can be uncomfortable, but once it's done, it's done. You owe yourself and your family that peace of mind.