A Very Pinterest Christmas

I LOVE Pinterest. I "pin" all the time. My husband thinks it's crazy and pointless and I'll never do anything useful with my pinned items. However, lately, I have been taking the time to "do" some of the things I have pinned, and I don't think he totally hates them, either! Here are a few of the items I have done with some Pin-spiration:

Christmas Trees:

These trees are made from rolled cereal boxes. The one on the left is unfolded rafia, the one in the center is gold tissue paper rolled into rosettes and glues onto the cone covered in gold tissue paper, and the on on the right is wrapped in silver ribbon. I'm still considering a topper of some sort for one or all of them, but they are finished on my mantle and I love them!

Christmas Photos:

You can see the edge of the backdrop in this photo (I cropped it for our card).

This year for our Christmas card photos I created a string of lights backdrop. I hung a sheet over the french doors to our den. I then hung white lights from the sheet, clipping them up with clothespins. I sat the kids about 10 feet in front of the backdrop and started snapping. The teddy bear is obviously a test shot, but you can see how crudely the lights are hung and in the picture on the bottom you can see how well they look in a "real" photo. This was perfect and looks like we're in a studio somewhere (I think). :)

Dollar Store Christmas gifts from Mallory:

Here is our $1 plate with the center taped off. We then gave her a red Sharpie and then a green one and told her to color. She did a pretty good job, and since she's not quite 2 years old, she doesn't take very long.

We did mugs for one set of grandparents, and a plate for the other. And since, at this point, I have yet to tell any friends or family about this blog, I am totally okay with posting pictures of their gifts!
And look - not a single bit of marker on her!!

I also have one other gift idea that I have yet to complete, but I have all the pieces so I will post about those when they are finished!

Back in the saddle again

So, a month and a half later....we had a baby girl! I was in just as much shock this time as I was last time the doctor said "It's a girl!" and I couldn't be happier. It was very strange in the beginning, because she looks identical to her sister when she sleeps, which totally weirded me out! In many other ways she is very much like her sister - eats well, sleeps well, pretty content - but she has had major gas issues which cause her to screech in pain out of nowhere...not fun, but we've made some adjustments and she is doing much better.

It took some time to get back into diaper changes and how tiny everything is and putting clothes on a person who doesn't help out at all! I love using my Moby wrap again...especially at the grocery store (I have to use it when I have both kids with me). I also love getting to be at home with both my girls again. And now that she's almost 2 months old we have a good routine down. I'm still having to remember to give her tummy time, which I am horrible at remembering, by the way, but other than that I think we're pretty much back on the horse.

Marin Naomi   (Marin is pronounced like Karen)

Marin (almost 2 months) and her big sister Mallory (20 months)

                

Garage sale tips I did and did not follow...

We decided earlier this summer to do a garage sale. We went in on one with a few friends last year and it definitely didn't seem like nearly as much work as this one. Here's some tips I have for an easier garage sale - try to figure out which tip I did NOT follow.

1. Don't tag every clothing item: Putting a general price on shirts or pants, etc. saves lots of time and customers don't have a million tags to look at. Instead, just put tags on the clothing items that you definitely want to be more or less than your "general" price.

2. Price to sell: You don't want the items anymore. You either take the $1 for it, or let it sit in your house another year. While going through the items I had tagged for last year's sale, I couldn't believe some of the prices I had on things. At a consignment shop, yes, I might pay $5.00 for that nice sweater, but at a garage sale, I might question whether I want it or not. This year, I took all the old tags off, and dropped prices like mad! I want it gone!

3. Good signage: Make sure your signs are located well, include dates and times, are clear on how to get there, and clearly legible. If you have several signs, make them all look the same/similar; example: all neon yellow, same title, same format. Also, some realtors give out garage sale signs for free. Check in your area.

4. Do not try to put on a garage sale when you're 7 months pregnant, in August: Simply put - Do not try to put on a garage sale when you're 7 months pregnant, in August. It's too hot, and your back already hurts and will just hurt more. Plus, sitting out in the heat all day will leave you with some awfully swollen feet and ankles.

5. Let's make a deal: Put up a sign on your last day that says something like "Let's Make a Deal!" and cross out prices and mark them down. People always love a good deal but are sometimes reluctant to try and get one.

6. Donate: Whatever you don't sell, donate. Like I said before, if you don't sell it it will sit in your house another year. Remember: The point of a garage sale is to get rid of things (and make a few bucks), so do it. You'll feel better once it's gone.