Etsy Shop: Thank You cards

If you know me at all, you know that I am the biggest sender of cards in general, but especially thank you cards. I send them for everything because it's a big deal to me. I know some people think a text or Facebook comment is enough but for me, I think the fact you took the extra minute to hand write a thank you, put a stamp on it, and get it to the post office is such a simple but nice gesture. Who doesn't love fun mail?

Don't get me started on kid birthday parties where they kids DON'T send a thank you. It rubs me all sorts of wrong.

In anticipation of people sending or bringing baby gifts, food, whatever, I've been trying to stock pile some thank you notes to just have on hand because I know I won't have time to whip them up with a newborn at home. I've gotten some new stamps lately so I'm trying to use some of them (possibly to justify their purchase) and I also have a LOT of pattern paper that I really need to use up.

Isn't this card cute? It's such a simple design so it would be perfect for any kind of thank you and I guess I didn't realize how much I love a chevron background. I ended up making 12 of these cards because I had enough paper, and I'm keeping 6 for myself and have the other 6 in my Etsy shop! Click HERE to see them, purchase them, love them.

Happy shopping, lambs!

Etsy Shop: Back to School Cards

So while we're waiting for Fetus Four to arrive, I've been trying to be crafty and get my Etsy shop going again in the hopes that I can maybe make even a little bit of money to off-set the costs of FOUR children.

I know, every time I say it I feel a little sick to my stomach.

So as I post things in my Etsy shop, I will share them here and feel free to share the post on your Facebook pages, Twitter, wherever. Help me spread the word!

***

It seems silly to some people, but back to school is right around the corner (YAY!!!) and I always give my kids' teacher a card wishing them a great school year but also letting them know they can always reach out should they need to. That's what I'm here for. I also give a fun little back to school gift, and I'll share what I'm doing this year in a few weeks.. I have just a few things left to get in it and I doubt I'll do it before baby comes.

I have a small stack of Back to School themed paper that I've honestly been using for awhile now, but I only ever need small pieces so that $8.99 pad of paper has really gotten a lot of use. And then I found this super cute $1 worm stamp at Michaels so I'm trying him out, too.

Super easy, super simple to put together but it's stinking adorable!  If you aren't one to organize a fun back to school basket for a teacher, perhaps a gift card to a gas station, coffee shop, restaurant, liquor store, whatever is more appropriate? A little something to hopefully start their year off on the right foot?

I have THREE of these cards left in my shop for purchase and you can click HERE to purchase!

Crafty Saturday: Christmas edition

Hello, lambs!

I've been super busy cranking out Christmas cards for my Etsy shop and I have even more in the works right now! Here are some of my listings from this week:

 Bright Snowman - set of 6

I've had this stamp set for awhile and I always forget to use it.  The set is from Stampin' Up and called "It's Snow Time", and comes with 12 stamps. Very versatile, I plan on using this for a few more cards. I know I used this stamp combo a few years ago for our family cards but had sparkly brads to go in the snowballs. What a complete pain in the rear that was. And it ended up costing extra to mail, so probably not going that route again!

 Baby Rudolph - set of 8

I actually got this stamp in my stocking one year, it's just a random single stamp but it's easily one of my favorites. I had a few red gems laying around so I thought I'd add it to the card for a little extra. AND I finally found my blender pens, so I've been playing with those, and shaded his little scarf in with them. I forgot how much I love my little blender pens. The reindeer itself is heat embossed so he has a little shine to him.

Snowflake Dozen

I forgot I had made these this summer after I found a bunch of pieces I had cut out last year and ran out of time to make them! But again, a stamp set from Stampin' Up, but this time the middle snowflake has a little gem in the middle.

 Ornament Dozen

Another set I had basically cut and stamped, but I just hadn't assembled. I wish I had more of that ribbon but alas, that's it. I can't even find it at Michaels or Hobby Lobby, so maybe it's vintage now. HA!

Jumping Reindeer - set of 6

Easily my favorite reindeer stamp. If I had a pet reindeer, I would bet he'd frequently have things tangled in his antlers. But this is actually blank on the inside, so they would work perfectly for thank you cards (because you need to send thank you's for Christmas gifts and for being invited to holiday parties, don't be rude) but you can also use them as emergency Christmas cards. We all send our cards out, then get one from a random person and think- maybe I should send them a card... This set is perfect for that. Also, if you have work exchanges or Secret Santa gatherings, this would be a cute little set to include with your gift! 

Remember to follow me on Bloglovin, Pin/Tweet/Share! As an added thank you, use the code "SARASBLOG" in my Etsy shop for an extra 10% off your order! If you live in Superior, WI, you can use code "FREESHIPSUPERIOR" and I will hand deliver your items and save you the shipping cost. My shop now accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover, along with PayPal. Lots of different options for your convenience! 

Crafty Saturday- the shop is BACK!

So it's been a really long time since I have put any kind of effort into my Etsy shop. I know, you're like, "Wow Sara, I had no idea you had an Etsy shop!". I know, I'm sorry about that. But truthfully, I got a little burnt out, I lost my creative juices and then, got kind of lazy.

But it's back!

Mostly because I have so many supplies here that I could (and should) be using up, and also, if I can generate even a little bit of side income, it would be a good thing. And traditionally, I've always sold more in the fall as people gear up for the holidays, so what better time to start up, right?

You can find my shop at: Scrapin Sara's Gifts

I make handmade cards, pre-made scrapbooks, glitter ornaments, photo frames, and a few other things up my sleeve that will be coming soon. I am a big fan of greeting cards in general, I feel like you should send many and send often. One of my absolute favorite times of year is Christmas, because it's the one time of year I am guaranteed to get a bunch of cards in the mail.

Fun fact: I absolutely HATE photo cards. To me, they are impersonal and they are a waste of time. I really miss the days of a handwritten greeting and even a Christmas letter. I make over 100 cards every year, sign each one, and always include a letter in every one. To me, that's the point. Connect with those you don't get to as often as you'd like over the year, talk about what you've done, and maybe include a photo. Yes, it's time consuming. But to me, it's worth it.

I may or may not have our Christmas card planned out for this year, we'll just have to see. But I currently have these three listed in my shop now!

Seasons's Greeting- Bright

I used Stampin' Up's Berry Merry stamp set from their 2015 Holiday Mini Catalog, some scrap paper I had on hand, and tried a tri-color stamp technique. These are SUPER cute. 

Traditional Joy

Again, same Berry Merry stamp set, but this time the "joy" is heat embossed and I used up the very last of my green glitter ribbon. I'm not typically a fan of this kind of paper, but I only had one piece left and I just happened to have other things out that matched so I put these together quickly. 

Classic Season's Greetings

Oh... this might be my favorite card! It was also the most time consuming card that I made. Same Berry Merry stamp set, but I also used the Boughs & Berries embossing folder. I actually don't own a Sizzix Big Shot, but I do have the original Sizzix die cut machine (but no die cuts for it, odd) and with the system converter I was able to use the embossing folder easily. (Which means I'll be buying more because I love embossing) The "season's greetings" is heat embossed, which means the stamped image looks shiny like on Hallmark cards, basically. The poinsettias are also heat embossed but with some glitter powder I forgot that I had. As time consuming as these were, I really love the look of them. Dare I say.. best card I've ever done? I love it that much. 

I also have a couple of finished photo frames I had on hand and one set of glitter ornaments in my listing. Oh, and a super cute set of reindeer gift tags! I'll be posting more cards every few days so keep your eyes peeled. Shop till you drop and share my shop! 

Crafty while eating macaroni.

Oh lambs, what a weekend. It's been kind of bananas and I still have more to go, but overall it wasn't totally shitastic. Mostly because I did get a lot done despite being exhausted.

I know you don't want to think about it, but it is November and you don't want to wait until the last minute to get your holiday cards! And yes, I'm telling you to not go the route of photo cards because everybody does it. I am telling you to go the route of handmade cards and put a picture in them. Write a hand written note to your friends & family wishing them a Merry Christmas- people really do appreciate that added effort. And lucky for you- I've been a crafty bee this weekend!

 Snowflake Dozen

 Reindeer Dozen

 Ornament Dozen

Snowflake Dozen 2

Not to mention? I have a bunch of other cards that could be put into stockings, used as teacher/neighbor/friend/coworker gifts, a few finished frames, and one set of ornaments. I am going to make some more ornaments if I have time- so if you are wanting a set of glitter ornaments, send me an email (sarastrand9438 (at) hotmail (dot) com) with how many you'd like and what color you'd like. I can do pretty much any color. Message me soon so I can make sure to get what I need quickly! 

But today wasn't just crafting. Matt started putting up our Christmas house lights because it's easier to do that when it's A) not freezing and B) there is no snow on the ground.

 I did get the stink eye from one neighbor when he saw our icicle lights so I said "ho, ho, ho" to him and he looked horrified. Little does he know how much fucking cheer is going up in my yard this year. Because OH YES, I found the two four foot Santa and Penguin guys I forgot I bought last year. 

WIN. 

Also today I made macaroni & cheese in the crockpot. Which was freaking delicious. I've been making it for awhile but some weekends all you want is something probably terrible for you that tastes super good. Luckily I wasn't a complete pig and I have some to bring to work tomorrow for my lunch. So without further ado, here is the recipe I've tweaked to perfection:

Crock pot Macaroni Deliciousness

1 box (16 oz) of pasta- I use elbow macaroni

1 package (16 oz) of Velveeta 

1 package (16 oz) of Colby Jack chunk cheese (you can use a whole bunch of whatever cheese you want)

1/2 stick of butter

about 1/2 cup of milk

salt/pepper to taste

1. Cook your noodles HALF WAY on the stove. 

2. Spray the hell out of your crock pot. I mean it, get crazy with your spray. 

3. Once your noodles are done, dump those into your crock pot. 

4. Make sure all of your cheese and butter are cubed- dump those into crock pot. 

5. Dump in your milk. 

6. Add your salt/pepper. Or don't. It doesn't matter. 

7. Stir it all up. Get excited. 

8. Cook on LOW for 4 hours. You can stir it half way through if you like. 

9. Try not to eat it all in one sitting. 

10. Or do and just don't tell anyone. 

The Nose Piercing Incident

Pretty much everyone knows I have a nose piercing. If you don't, then that means you're blind. Surely you remember my incident detailing where I said it hurt like a bitch and I would never do it again yet I posed my picture looking like I had been crying which I swear I wasn't.

Well that was a year ago. It was healed but I had never changed the piercing stud thingie because Tammy (who has the lowest pain threshold of anyone I know) said changing hers hurt. I was content with my blue little stud. Totally fine with it.

Until....

I got it stuck on my bath towel on Saturday and it pulled totally out of my nose. Now, before you cringe I will say that I didn't even feel it come out until the very end and it didn't hurt. Swearsies. But I am not going to lie, I stood on the bath mat stark naked and freaked the fuck out.

(One thing you should know about me? Is that I don't like needles. I don't like anything that could possibly involve blood. I haven't had a tetanus shot since the 6th grade and well... I'm going to be 30 in March. My cause of death is most likely going to be Lock Jaw or something.)

So I hurried and got dressed. I had a cork screw stud so I figured (wrongly) that I could just pop that bitch back in. After 20 minutes of trying to shove it back in, angling my wrist in weird positions thinking that would help, I decide I'm not giving up. I did what any self respecting 20something does when faced with a problem. I go to the Internet! Specifically YouTube! I watch no less than 28 YouTube videos on how to put a corkscrew nose stud back in. None of them are helpful!

I start looking for more info online and I see that nose piercings can close up within 60 minutes of it not having something in it's hole. Um, fuck. Because at this point? I'm quickly approaching that 60 minutes. So I call Tammy. She of course laughs at me and tells me to keep twisting it in and just shove it through. I try, but I can't because feeling the inside of my nose being poked is making me feel like I might throw up. So I decide to call Matt. At work. And claim it was an emergency. Because, it kind of is. So he comes home. He's super good with tools and small things so I thought he'd breeze through it.

Not so, as it turns out.

So I call Tammy back and she agrees to get dressed (it's almost 10 am) and come over to help me. YAY. Except then I realize that hey- it's almost 10 am and I'm supposed to be at my friend Emily's house to go shopping at 10:30. Oh damn. Thankfully, my super smarts kicked in and I remembered that Tammy and Emily live near each other (kind of) and it would make more sense to drive to Tammy's! So I call Tammy back to tell her my plan and I get into my van and drive off with my corkscrew nose thing in a Ziploc bag. I race like a demon out of hell down the road and the fact I didn't screech going around her corner is a miracle.

After I get there she informs me that my corkscrew is not going back into my nose- it's too big and that my hole is probably closing up, if not already on the inside. Luckily, she had an extra (when you buy them they come in packs of three) and she said that would work. So we trim it, sterilize it, and I try to do it myself. NO GO.

I agree to let Tammy try, but again, NO GO. Finally, her husband Chad offers to do it. Tammy assures me he got hers in so it'll be fine. Right before he does it, they both remind me that you know, we're friends and I'm basically in their dining room on my own accord. Frightening, especially when Chad essentially re-pierces my nose at that very moment with this corkscrew stud. Then because I'm an idiot, I rubbed a Qtip full of rubbing alcohol onto my newly re-pierced nose.

Guess what? That burns. It burns a lot.

Then I left and went shopping. Without makeup. At the mall. I was in a such a state of panic that I left my house to go shopping at a mall with no makeup.

But the follow up is that my nose is still sore. And this morning in the shower, the fucking thing came out AGAIN. Again, folks. This time, I was so pissed that my nose had the fucking audacity to do such a thing that I just shoved it in on my own. And it didn't hurt. Sure, it bled a little but it's fine now. The only downside to this one is that the inside corkscrew isn't much of a corkscrew? It's more of a little hook so I constantly feel like it might fall out? So I think pretty soon I will get another one that's maybe longer? We'll see.
**

In other super fun news- please, please, PLEASE check out my Etsy shop! I have a bunch of stuff on super clearance and I've reduced prices on everything. Some stuff is more than half off! There are a bunch of things that would make cute Christmas gifts so this is a good time to get some good deals. I need to make room for new stuff coming in (I only have a small area to store finished projects) and I need money for new tires. And Halloween costumes. (Speaking of which- this year to get costumes for my kids that aren't flimsy pieces of shit since it's usually like 35 degrees on Halloween and you will freeze your ass off, I might be looking at spending $75 total. ROBBERY.)

I have some Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas cards in there too. The picture frames? $5. STEAL. So go over there and snatch up some goodies.

Winona.

 So on the very last day of my vacation with my friend Amy we hit up Winona. Now, I've only been to Winona briefly for work and never really left my hotel, so I hadn't really seen much of it. But it's a beautiful college town and I'd like to go back and do more of the touristy things sometime. So here are some pics of the area:

 Pretty, huh? I had a good time. The drive home was long. Like... mega long. I know Amy was tired driving from Milwaukee to Rochester and I know I was tired driving from Rochester back to my home, which was another four hours away. I ended up stopping in Hinckley (as usual) to pee and get muffins (and some caffeine) and I ended up getting home shortly after 8pm. It was a long day. I feel asleep half on my bed with my jacket still on while Matt was telling me how the kids were while I was gone. Yikes. :)

So what else.. oh, Olivia graduated 4K. I have pictures and a post coming on that. I've gotten on the couponing bandwagon and am getting so fucking pissed off trying to make a coupon binder. Nothing is really what I want and the fact I'll have to buy stuff online pisses me off. You've failed me, Office Max. FAIL. But this weekend I spent cutting coupons.

 That's only what I got out of newspapers... I have a whole other stack of computer printed ones. Matt says I've gone to the dark side. Maybe I have. But honestly? I'm ok with that. We need to save money on our month to month expenses and if this helps then I'm on board.

Then I spent a good portion of my holiday weekend crafting and putting things in my shop. Which, by the way, I have a lot of new stuff. Not only do I still sell my card sets, but I've decided to sell single cards and duos. It makes sense. Sometimes I only have the supplies to make one or two and so we'll see how that goes. But here is one set I really like, Because Nice Matters:

 And then Flamingo Kisses:

I have a couple of custom orders I'm making sample proofs for so I'm excited about that. I'm hoping I can get a few more sales so I can buy the counter top for my laundry sink. According to Matt we have everything else we need. If you care anything at all about my sanity, you'll buy some stuff. :) BECAUSE I'll take pictures of the mess and trauma that will be the laundry sink project. Oh yes. It will be worth it, babes.

In the meantime I have a ton of book reviews in the works. With some real life stuff thrown in there. And oh yeah- I'm taking a stained glass class starting tomorrow. And we'll talk about the 30/30 list and my alternate items. Oh yes. Lots of stuff is happening and being worked on.

But in the meantime...... don't forget to send me your Dear Sara questions by Thursday evening peeps. Email me at: sarastrand9438(at)hotmail(dot)com and I shall be your bitch. (At least for Friday questions.)

New Stuff... and stuff.

I'm going to promote myself just a bit (because I can and I will) and then tell you about stuff happening.

So today I got a few Etsy shop things done and listed because I hadn't had time the previous week so here they are.



From left to right: The Tangerine Friendship set of 6. I totally love this paper and the flowers so I made a set for myself. I have quite a few notes to write to some friends and so these will be awesome. Then my new thing is doing card duo's, so instead of a set of 6 and the lameness of only buying one... you get TWO cards. So I have my With Sympathy ones because I seem to be using a bunch personally, and then the Easter Duos. I know not everybody is into sending cards for Easter, but I totally am. And the reason I did Easter duos is so I could send Easter pictures of my kids to the grandparents.. genius, huh? I might not get Easter cards to everyone this year but I never forget the grandparents and great grandparents. And $3 for two homemade cards is a steal, people.

So go to my SHOP and buy stuff.

In other news... I have the My Chemical Romance/Neon Trees/the Architects concert happening on Tuesday. I don't know if I'll have a post for you or not since I'm leaving Superior way early. We'll see.

Saturday we had Jackson's birthday party at the Children's Museum, and I'll share pictures of that soon. He had an awesome time. I was kind of bummed out that over half of the people I invited didn't come. Now, on the RSVP I specifically put "regrets only" on there because I know people hate to RSVP. I don't know why because it's RUDE AS FUCK NOT TO (and any person who's ever hosted a party should know that). The other thing was that I am basically paying for these people to get into the museum... so if nothing else, it's a free day for you and your kids. Like... take me up on that offer homies. I don't know. I'm just getting annoyed with people not RSVP'ing. So when I say "regrets only" I assume that you are coming if I don't hear from you. It's just really annoying to plan something and then have people not show up when you think they are.

I mean, the people who came are awesome and they are SO good to my kids and they are great friends of mine. They really are. And I think everyone who came had a great time and I know my kids did so that's all that counts. And my brother took his lunch break at a weird time so he could make a quick appearance- and Jackson was thrilled.

With that being said, yeah. Matt and I spent an HOUR trying to open his new things. He got some new little trucks, this interactive map toy, a cool truck that talks and he can "fix", bug catcher stuff, superhero flying plane thing, and our friends gave him a $15 gift card towards a big boy bike. So yeah. We couldn't afford to get him one (even though I really tried hard.. it just didn't happen) so this will help. I'm hoping in the next payday or two we can swing it.

Um.. what else. Oh. So last week was his 3 year old checkup and I sent Matt because I had to work. Well it turns out he hasn't grown (at all) in the last YEAR. Yeah. Here I was just thinking he's short and little. Um, no. He hasn't grown. He's in the 3rd percentile for height, 4th for weight and nobody knows why. He eats like a little pig for crying out loud. So what is happening is that he is going to the hospital on Thursday for lab work because his doctor wants to make sure that we don't have an underlying problem. So.. I'm sure it's all going to say he's normal and that in fact, he's just a little guy. But then in the back of my head I always worry something else could be happening. I'm sure it's not, but I'm a bit irrational like that.

OK. That's me and my Sunday ramblings. OH! Before I forget- I'm a guest blogger today for Kate and you should check it out.

I conquered Saturday.

LOTS of stuff to just get off of my "blog it" notepad.

1. I was FEATURED! I know. It's a big effing deal. It pretty much means I'm famous. Go HERE to see me all featured. You should go there and tell them that they have increased their awesomeness by recognizing me as their leader.

2. I got my crafty on! Seriously. It's ridiculous how much I got done:

This was meant to be for a Get Sketchy challenge for last week but I forgot to upload it. Whoopsy. But aren't they cute?? You can buy them in my Etsy shop. Like RIGHT NOW.

Sorry- turn your head to the right. Blogger is being a whore about pictures again. But I made these cards for this week's Wee Memories challenge which had a fruit theme. I obviously had to go with apples because this weekend in Bayfield, WI is Apple Fest. I love, love, love Apple Fest but Matt hates it. So I don't get to go. But I hope to next year. You basically eat everything apple and then obviously cheese curds. Nothing in Wisconsin is complete without cheese curds. Om nom nom.. :) But if you love these, you can buy them HERE.

And then I worked on my submission for the Get Sketchy challenge this week. Again, turn your head to the right. *sigh*. Anyways, this sketch was kind of hard for me and I figured the best way to use up scraps was to use my last six round cards, my last six big flowers and the left over paper from the apple cards. I really love these cards and if you agree, buy them HERE.

3. THEN after I got my crafty on all afternoon I had my sister in law come over. She dyed my hair. I'm Cocoa Bean! Are we loving it? It's a darker chocolate like brown with red tint. I actually dig it a lot. I don't think my husband likes it, I got the "it's...nice" response but I love it. I've never dyed all of my hair, only have done blond highlights, but this? Is fabulous. I'm totally loving it. And my eyes DO look bluer/greener in the mirror. (I'm naturally blue eyed, but they will turn green with certain shirts. Kind of cool.) I am HATING the layers in my hair though. Seriously- when I say "I'm growing my hair out" that means "don't put super short layers in stupid". Yet--- I forever end up with layers. Annoying.

So it's Sunday and I'm not only super tired from Jackson being sick and up every hour of the night, but I have a wicked headache. I need to get some housework done and that sucks as well. This week is going to be crazy busy again so be ready. Like super ready. ;)

New Stuff, Piercing

So I got a ton of stuff done this weekend to put into my Etsy shop, so for the next few posts you are going to see me pimping it out. Last night my set went almost immediately, which is awesome, so one of you needs to buy this:

Aren't these cute???? My local scrapbook store is closing (big sad face here) and so I've been going there every few days to grab up what I can on clearance. So I came across this pear stamp which was cute...but then I saw the pear paper. HAD TO GET IT. And I realize...I may never use this stamp again. But that's better than having virgin stamps. Which I totally have and WILL eventually use. So do you love them? Like really love them? Then go and buy them. You know you want to..

Anyways. For the last two weeks, Olivia has been asking to get her ears pierced. I've asked her before and she's always said absolutely not because I'm honest and I told her it would probably hurt. Apparently- she didn't care because there is another girl in preschool who has her ears pierced. And now it's what the cool kids do and she wanted it done. Matt and I talked to her about it, she knew it was going to hurt, etc and I told her fine, she could get it done.

I didn't think she'd actually do it since we have to hold her down for regular shots.

So on Saturday Matt and I took the kids up to the mall and Olivia was beyond excited. So much so that we had to tell her to stop talking about it otherwise we weren't doing it. It was seriously non-stop. We get to Claire's and when I told the sixteen year old girl about needing to get a piercing done she totally looked petrified. Which didn't help. We had to wait 20 minutes for a manager, which was fine.

When it came time, Olivia hopped up into the chair, totally bouncing when she got her ears cleaned, they put the dot on, and I'm filling out paperwork.

She made it clear to the lady she wanted to hold the bear- so there she is, clutching the bear.

We told them we wanted both ears done at the same time, which was just fine. (Thank you to everyone on FB who suggested this- you are wise and awesome) She picked out silver balls and they got everything ready. So you see the two ladies getting ready to pierce her while Matt holds her hand. And then they did it. At first...nothing. As soon as the ladies moved away...

Totally understandable. Tell me that face doesn't break your heart??

But then I kept telling her we were all done and that she needs to look in the mirror...and she was THRILLED. Seriously. Tears instantly stopped and she kept looking from side to side. So while Matt went to pay for them I took her over to the earring carousel and explained to her that if we take good care of them she could get big girl earrings.

She immediately tells me she wants the big balls (the size of quarters) and the huge feathers. Um... fashion diva?? *sigh* She is not wearing those. I couldn't have "dangly" earrings until I was 13 for god sakes.