Monday, March 3, 2014

Eowyn's Neverland Birthday



Here are some photos from E's 1st birthday party!  Descriptions to come one day!


The pirate and fairy dressing station: The costume chest!

 For the "pirate kids" I made pirate hats, eye patches, binoculars, moving telescopes, and pirate sashes! For the "fairy kids" I made personalized fairy tutus, and wands.  I also gave the boys some dollar store compasses and the girls some face pixie dust.
Pirate fonts were projected, traced and sharpied.

Handmade fairy tutus, pirate hats, eye patches, binoculars, telescopes, sashes and wands with store-bought compasses and fairy face glitter.

A close-up of the pirate hat on my Basset Hound 
Painting those binoculars



In the tree I hung dozens of jute/feather ornaments I made.
Hanging out in Tiger Lily's teepee


You can kind of see the feather ornaments in the tree here. 


Walking the plank.. fun for a girl just learning to walk!



London cityscape silhouette in the window behind the treasure.


Fabric silhouettes I cut out and fray-checked

Opening presents in front of the "Second Star to the right" table.

I made a puzzle game where the kids had to complete each station (like walking the plank, "flying" in the bounce house, etc) in order to get their puzzle piece which in the end would construct a treasure map of the party.
Puzzle hunting sign.

Completed puzzle

Bonus cool map I made with "reveal by fire" lettering!

Saturday, March 1, 2014

The Best Apps to Earn You Some Starbucks (or whatever!) Money

Hello, all! You know I like coffee. A lot. Unfortunately, coffee costs money... of which I do not have! Therefore I've become an expert on finding various ways to earn some extra cash to feed my Starbucks addiction, and I wanted to grace you all with my newfound knowledge!


1) Receipt Hog (The app that gives you money just for spending money… whoa!)

The first great app is Receipt Hog. This is is a fun and rewarding way to turn receipts from everyday grocery shopping into cash - no matter where you shop or what you buy! You just scan your receipts from Vons, Winco, Walmart, Walgreens… basically anywhere that sells groceries or pet store items into the app. Then they award you giftcard points for the dollar amount you spend (not what you buy!). It's the only time you actually smile after spending money you hate to spend!

They also have a fun slot machine that wins you extra points to help you earn gift cards faster. I hate referral links unless they actually benefit YOU, so here's one that will give YOU 5 FREE SPINS if you use it: http://app.receipthog.com/share/f6hjs3dh


2) Ibotta (The app that gives you money for buying specific products)

This apps blows my mind. It's well-designed, it's fun, AND it gives you money for buying things you were going to buy anyways, like milk… and eggs. And not a specific brand of milk or eggs. ANY brand of milk or eggs. WHY?!? I don't understand it, but only my very first shopping trip they already paid me cash. Nice. Again, if it can make me smile after spending money I hate being forced to spend (stupid hunger pains!), I'm all for it.

Again, here's a mutually beneficial referral link: You get 2 DOLLARS in CASH when you scan your first receipt if you use my referral link: http://ibotta.com/r/LQ76w Whoohoo!

3) Mobee (The secret shopping app!)

Okay, so this doesn't help us Fresno peeps…. YET, but, as I love Starbucks and have fantasies about one day doing some mystery shopping there, I am going to hold on to this app until some missions show up here. You basically go to a certain store and answer questions about what you see there (the employees, the cleanliness, etc.)

Sadly, there aren't any jobs in Fresno. BUT Bakersfield, San Jose, Santa Cruz, Modesto, and anywhere else in America (not just California), you should get started now! You folks are missing out on some fun secret shopping!


Annnnd, here's another awesome referral link: We BOTH get $3 when you start using my short and sweet referral code: WQQF

4) BzzAgent (not actually an app, but a website that gives you free products to try out!)


And just in case you were wondering how I get to do all my free product testing, BzzAgent is pretty darn awesome. You try free stuff, and then you fill out short product reviews on them!

So far, I've gotten free $25 Fekkai Shampoo and Conditioner to try, Dr. Scholl's shoe inserts, a large bag of Hill Science Dog Food, A big bag of Kashi Chips, a Full Size Neutrogena foundation, two boxes of Fiber One bars, and more! It's crazy.

No referral link here. Just sign up at https://www.bzzagent.com. It's crazy.

5) TeachersPayTeachers (where other teachers PAY YOU for your lesson plans)


And for my teacher friends, this website has paid for entire vacations of ours! You upload lessons you've created and... People. Buy. Them. I guess SOME people have more money than time. I am not one of those people, but, believe me, there are PLENTY of those people out there because I sell products every week. (Sometimes multiple products a day!) Insane-to-the-membrane!

Again, no referral link, just go there and upload your stuff! http://www.teacherspayteachers.com

Okay, have fun trying out all these apps! You can thank me by using my referral links! :-)