Day 23- Pretty things to look at....

a lemon squeezy home shows off these creative ideas....

can you believe this is hot glue! *brilliant!! 

I just love messy ones like this because it takes nothing but splattering the paint however feels right to the artist! :)

Ruffles & Stuff has a great show me how of this headband with lovely pictures. * a biggie that I love about her site! 

Tater Tots & Jello found another fun way to use up old scrabble tiles! *They even go into detail on a how to.

and again with this stunning wall display......

This is one of the cutest quilts I have ever seen! I know that there is a lot of love in this. It is made by Sandy from Pine Mountain Design.

Talk about machine love....I am in love and where do I get my hands on one of these...any takers to get me one?!!! LOVE IT and any sewer that wouldn't want one of these bad boys, well just isn't....who am I kidding I know that there is no one that wouldn't want one like this!!!! :) 

             Tula Pink has got her mind on something fantastic here!

This pretty chandelier is a remake done by a friend of the family....Delightful to say the least! :)  Pretty by Gauxriginals.....

Re-Nest string art looks fun but I don't think I would try to do one myself, okay okay maybe not this large anyways! 

More how-to from Tater Tots & Jello

Okay so I know the blog is on the bow pillow but I am more curious about the suitcase seat?!!!! LOVE it!!! * if you like you can check out the bow pillow here.

With Luvz,

Day 22- Thrifty Tuesdays

Well since my list disappeared along the way whats better than now to bring it back to life! :) So here is this weeks Thrifty Tuesday find. Hope you ENJOY!

Okay okay so it was a kit (for kids none the less) that I simply put glue in the seams pieced together and hammered nails in the predrilled holes. :) But I put it together myself and thats just adds more fun to the mix.

I decided since the HD logo (seen above) is burnt into the side of the box, I didn't want to take a chance on it showing through paint. And with a stock full of scrapbook paper and modpodge I decided to go that route!

All papered, before modpodge. * You can see that it wasn't perfectly glued prior to the modpodge-Bad idea! I had some bubbles, But since its for me NO biggie! :) 

Used some old buttons in my stash to decorate the border.

This is it! How adorable is that!? I don't know where exactly I will put it but thats okay its done and I like it! But for the best part, I made this entire box for $.50!!! Can you believe it? Oh the wonderful things that you can find at your local Goodwill Store. I love projects that I can create from scratch and its even better when I can do it for extremely cheap! **Okay I have to burst- I bought 3 boxes total so I see more cute creations to come! :) Hope you enjoyed my little box!

~With Luvz, 

Day 21- Yard Sale Bliss!

To some, yard sales are trash you buy from other people, others find them to be treasure troves, I find them to be very profitable but only if you do things that help you make the money. Since I am having my annual yard sale in two weeks I figure now is a better time than ever to make sure I get the most out of mine! There is always tips you can follow and expand what you already got! A few simple things that are always on top of my agenda in preparation for my sale is advertising, merchandise layout and pricing. Some may say duh to these but I can say more times than not they do actually follow through with them when the time comes. So before your next sale think about those simple actions and how far they could take you in profits!
To be just a little more detailed..... Here what I mean by those few things.

#1 Advertising - Think simple and LARGE! I know I am not the only one that has tried to read little letters crammed on the side of a box in tall grass! But I am serious, I am a firm believer and follower of arrow signs. Choose a neon sign with Sale and an arrow and have the simply follow the arrowed signs to your sale! No address needed- more than likely their will be more traffic because they don't have to stop and figure out where to go. YOU have showed them the way. I say LARGE because of location as well. If I am on the opposite corner at a light and I can't read the address to your sale then I probably won't go! Truth hurts but again thats why I say arrowed signs work best. If I cant read that is says SALE or an address I kinda know its a yard sale sign and I can follow without hesitation! A big plus to this type of advertisement! If stores advertise at every corner why can't you?! Posting signs in high traffic areas, entries into neighborhoods, in local grocery community post and even on CL (Craigslist) will help get the word out of your sale!

#2 Merchandise Layout - Once you have the people at your sale, you must sell to them! Even the worst salesman should be able to make money because their sales pitch is not what they buy, the customer is buying the merchandise. Remember this when putting stuff in a yard sale and putting it out on display. When you put stuff in a yard sale remember the "newer" it looks the better it will sell. Keep boxes for old toys, these alone can double the value of the toy at resale! Clean stuff sells faster and better! I cannot stress enough the customer is used to buying new at the store even if they understand its not a new product, it is new to them. So think of it that way; they don't want to take it home and clean it just to use it. Besides just thinking of what to put in because thats easy, think of how you show it to your potential customers. My suggestion is different for different items in a yard sale, so the best way it to group and explain ways to improve the sale of each.

Clothes- These should be clean and easy to look through or else no one will take the time to dig through boxes or you could have a big mess to sort through for the next customer. My thoughts are if it can be hung on anything resembling a clothing rack then hang it! (Its not rude to keep your hangers when sold!) Think of a retail store, everything thats hung up can be easily looked through without much mess. Even streaming along a fence top is a good idea, people can look without making a mess. But then what about kids clothes? These are okay to stack on tables but sort them by size or boy or girl or style even, the further you organize the less mess you should get. Remember the customer is wanting a quick shopping experience! Thats pretty much it for clothes.

Housewares- Organize these as they would be in the home. Entice the customer to buy, by showing them how it could look in their home. (*Again think like a retailer!)

Toys- Every yard salesman is wanting to rid of these as quickly as possible and for as much as possible. My advice is BUNDLING. Place small like items in ziplocs and sell all for good price. Larger toys can be sold at reasonable prices, these are used and if they don't have the original packing forget original prices!! Remember you are trying to make money!! :)

MISC.- Keep with the sorting on display. Think about the shopper- males are driven towards power tools, sporting equipment etc. So don't put this stuff with the extra yarns and dishes! :) Same goes for the women, crafts and such should be with other items that they would be interested in.

Lastly we get to PRICING. This is one of the most frustrating things when shopping at a yard sale for me. If you don't price it and I have to ask I am not going to ask because I figure it will be to expensive or you really don't want to sell it! :) Sorry but thats the truth, so do yourself a favor and spend the extra time pricing all items or at least addressing the pricing issue for all items in your yard sale! If you have a whole lot of items that are say all $1 then put it all on one table and label a sign that says everything on this table is $1 each. This at least tells me the price and I can decide then to buy or not. This is it for pricing because it is up to you and where you live and what you are selling to decide the price. I am just saying let all of your customers know the price as well! :)


So thats it...I believe that if you stick to these you can get more out of every yard sale you have and maybe just maybe the next time your out fishing for your own yard sale adventures you will stop and think just what makes you go to any one yard sale and what enticed you to buy or not buy and then use those answers for your own profits! :)
I hope you enjoyed my little tidbits on yard sales and took a little away to help yourself!

~With Luvz,

DEZ

Heres some more stuff you might be interested in:

http://www.yardsalequeen.com

Yard Sale Checklist

Day 20- Couponing Fun

Yes, I love the show Extreme Couponing but NO, I do not need a mini grocery store in my garage. (Besides that would mean that I would have to kick out the HELLCo (Our 1964 ElCamino, and we all know that would never fly with the hubby!!!) Anyways I do love free stuff and love to get stuff for really cheap. I would say that shopping on the clearance racks is somewhat of my expertise! :) Well since one of our local grocery stores had a Double Coupon event this week I had to try my hand at Extreme Couponing. First and foremost let me say that I have been looking into this for quite sometime and just did not decide over night that I could do this! Lots of hours went into this prior; just like the tv show junkies say: it does take hours to get to that extreme. But I know that I can get what I need for the same deal, just not in an abundance!
I took the time to gather coupons, sort them and READ THE STORES' COUPON POLICY! The last step is crucial and I cannot stress enough to read it and each coupon you want to use! Well I didn't do this alone, I searched through hundreds of testimonials, tips and coupons on the internet before I headed to the store.
You can check out this particular website for anything local and tips of the trade in general. The Money Saving Queen is someone local that has got the buzz going around Tulsa and is my inspiration and educator to all things couponing. Check out her site to see how I got ideas to get started.
I do have to say though I did not use any internet coupons when I went on my shopping adventure because the thought of using all that expensive ink scared me! :) But to get more than one coupon I did take my family on a "paper" dumpster diving drive! We hit up a couple of community schools that have paper retriever bins and sorted thru the mess for our money (Coupons)! This was fun and my kid had a blast finding all the deals, she's a great scavenger hunter! :) All in all I took a little time out of my life to earn some free stuff and get a great deal on my grocery bill. I hope the next time you pay retail for anything you stop and think could I be saving or perhaps getting this FREE?!
 Heres just a glimpse at my first ever shopping trip and what I got free and how I saved.

Free Items:
- French's Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce- On sale for 2/$3, coupon for 75 cents off *doubled makes it FREE!
- KC BBQ sauce- On sale $1.68, coupon for $1 off *doubled makes it FREE!
- Chex Mix- On sale 2/$4, coupon $1 off when you buy 2, * Makes one bag free! :)


Really Cheap stuff
- Hormel Complete Kids meals- Regularly $2.29, coupon for $1 off *Doubled makes them $0.29!!
- Rhoades freezer Breads- Regularly $2.49, coupon for $1 off * Doubled makes them $0.49!!
- BarS Bologna- Regularly $1.19, Coupon for $1 off when you buy 2, * Doubled makes both $0.19!!

This is just somethings that I can remember my savings for. Over all my bill was over $70 and I paid under $35! I couldn't believe that it actually worked. I didn't get the chance to use all of my coupons that I wanted to use because the store had been worked over the day the DC(doubled coupon) event started. In our town evidently its like a Black Friday rush at the one store in town that does this event. *I found out about the chaos on the Money Saving Queen forums. But it was worth it in the end to my pocketbook, pantry and self confidence that it can be done without going to extremes!
So my advice, gather those coupons, find a store that doubles and take a run for you money! :) *Either way you will feel great on how much you saved! Oh yeah I must say this if you even dare try this, DO YOURSELF A BIG FAVOR::: ORGANIZE YOUR COUPONS, dont just take a handful and go, you will waste more time looking through them than getting what you need. *I actually went a purchased pocket page protecters (like for trading cards) and organized my coupons how the store was set up so that I didn't miss any! :) Hope your next couponing adventure earns you some free stuff! :)

~With Luvs,

DEZ

Day 19- Mayfest

Yesterday was the start of the rain and the annual rain fest otherwise known as TULSA'S MAYFEST! We love to go to downtown and walk around, munch on the great food and stroll to the music. Every year there are certain things that my family does while we are downtown and this year was no different, other than the fact that I was constantly taking pictures for this great little blog I got going on here! :) So without hesitation here is my take on the wonderful festivities that can be found in downtown Tulsa from May 19-22. Hope you can enjoy some of it without the rain as we did last night! ENJOY!

WHEN YOU SEE THE KITES YOU ARE AT THE START OF THE LONG LINE OF GOODIES AWAITING YOUR ARRIVAL! THESE ARE ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE HYATT REGENCY BUILDING AT 3RD AND MAIN STREET. 

WHAT AWAITS YOU! :)

SWEET LITTLE ROCK/DUCK FAMILY GREETS YOU AS YOU TURN TO FACE THE MECCA OF ARTISANS AND THEIR EXQUISITE CREATIONS. 

 THESE WERE SOME TRASH TO TREASURE FINDS THAT ARE IRRESISTIBLY CUTE!

ALL CANS!! EVERY WING AND PROPELLER ON THE PLANES MOVED WITH THE WIND~~~ TRULY MAGICAL RECYCLING!!! THE BIRDS WERE ONLY $8 TOO! 

THIS IS FOR MY POPS! :) HE HAS A SIMILAR ONE WITH A POKER SCENE, AND JUST AS I TURNED TO SHOW HIM THIS ONE HE WAS ALREADY OOOHHHING AND AAAAHHHHING! :) TOO FUNNY!!! WOULD HE BUY IT?-NO, BUT IF HE WAS GIVEN IT HE WOULD SURELY EMBARRASS US BY WEARING IT IN PUBLIC! :)

AT THE FOUNTAIN (*NOT SO MUCH A FOUNTAIN THIS YEAR; THANKS TO ALL THE DRIVERS THAT CANT SEEM TO NAVIGATE AROUND INSTEAD OF OVER! LOL)
**AND NO THERE WAS NOTHING SERIOUS WITH THE PARAMEDICS THIS JUST SEEMED TO BE A HUB FOR THEM AnD THE SECURITY! :) NICE FOR ALL THE PEDESTRIANS TO KNOW THAT WE WILL BE HELPED IF NEED BE! 

MUSIC TO MY EARS AND EASY ON THE FEET! :)

NOW ON TO THE FOOD: MY REASON TO GO!!!

THE BEST FOOD EVER (* FOR ME ANYWAYS! ) A BBQ PARFAIT! IT IS BAKED BEANS ON THE BOTTOM, THEN LAYERS OF MASHED POTATOES AND PULLED PORK W/ BBQ SAUCE. OMG IT WAS AWESOME, BEST MEAL I HAVE EVER HAD AT A FESTIVAL!!! :) THIS MIGHT JUST BE MY NEW BBQ PICNIC MEAL I SERVE AT THE LAKE! 

 AND NOW THE BREAD! THIS IS SOMEWHAT OF A TRADITION FOR MY MOM AND I. THIS BREAD IS SOFT AND SWEET AND SPICY ALL AT THE SAME TIME! * IT TAKES THIS SPECIAL LITTLE POT TO BAKE THE BREAD AND LAST YEAR THEY COULDN'T FIND ANY POTS SO THEY DIDN'T SELL THEM AND THIS YEAR WE WERE NOT GOING TO MISS OUT!!! WE EACH BOUGHT ONE AND ENJOYED THE SWEET SENSATIONS! 

THIS IS WHAT YOU GET: THE BREAD, CREAM CHEESE AND JALAPENO PEPPER JELLY! (KINDA RADICALLY PUTTING LIME GREEN JELLY ON MY BREAD BUT OMG WHEN IT TOUCHES THE LIPS!!! MMMMMMMMMMMMMM.....MMMMMM...MMMMMMMM LOVELY!

THE CREAM CHEESE AND JELLY! (THE JELLY ALMOST LOOKS LIKE A LIME JELLO SHOT!)

I HAD TO WAIT UNTIL I GOT HOME TO ENJOY THE FLAVORS TO THE FULLEST AND THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE! :)

SWEET GOODNESS!!! 

BESIDES JUST WANDERING THE TENTS FULL OF CRAFTS, JAMMING OUT TO THE MUSIC OR SCARFING DOWN SOME SOUL FOOD OUR FAMILY ENJOYS THE LITTLE STUFF DOWNTOWN THAT ARE OUTSIDE THE FESTIVITIES. 

 SOMETHING THAT MY KIDDO LOVES TO DO DOWNTOWN THAT IS NOT NECESSARILY A PART OF THE MAYFEST, IS THE 'CENTER OF THE WORLD'. THIS IS FOUND ON 1ST STREET BETWEEN BOSTON AND BOULDER I BELIEVE. THE UNION DEPOT (JAZZ HALL NOW) SITS DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THE BRIDE. 

IF YOU SEE THIS SIGN YOU HAVE FOUND YOUR WAY! 

THIS IS THE KIDDO CHECKING OUT THE CIRCLE. IF YOU STAND EXACTLY IN THE CENTER YOU CAN HEAR YOURSELF ECHO, IF YOU STEP OUTSIDE OF THE CENTER, EVEN STILL ON THE BRICKS YOU CANT HEAR AN ECHO!! THIS IS FUN FOR THE LITTLE ONES TO EXPERIENCE AND I RECOMMEND ANYONE TO TYR IT OUT! :)

THIS WAS OUR EXPERIENCE WITH THE 2011 TULSA MAYFEST. I HOPE YOU HAVE A NON-RAINY CHANCE TO EXPLORE YOURSELVES! :) 

YOU CAN CHECK OUT ALL THE STUFF GOING ON AT THE WEBSITE: http://www.tulsamayfest.org/

OR THE MAP MAY BE HELPFUL:
http://www.tulsamayfest.org/imgul/2011%20Mayfest%20Map.pdf

~WITH LUVZ,

DEZ

Giveways!!!!! EVERYONE CAN WIN!

I love love love freebies and who doesn't?! Well this is a great chance to get some craft goodies!! Check it out and see if you can win!
Here is the link directly to the GIVEAWAY but I will show you what to do and how to try and win! :) But please check out the link because Craft-O-Maniac is a great place to find fun crafts and easy DIY projects!!


Look at all the fun stuff in the giveaway! :)

This is what you can win:

XACTO  retractable knife

XACTO circle cutter

Elmer's Glue Dots

Elmer's Silver Photo Corners

Elmers's Craft Dot Runner

Two Elmer's Glue Sticks

Two small styrofoam balls

Three wood crafting dowels

One sponge brush

Eight wood clothes pins

Cute flower grosgrain ribbon

Cute flower buttons

Sticky Back Velcro

Now for the good part> HOW YOU CAN ENTER AND WIN TOO! :)

{HOW TO ENTER}

#1 entry you *MUST* follow C.O.M. ;) (this is Craft-O-Maniac)

#2 LIKE C.O.M. on FB

#3 Tweet this giveaway.

#4 Blog about this giveaway.

#5 What craft product can you NOT live without? (Comment this on the C.O.M. blog)

I hope you check out the C.O.M. page and enter to win! I know I did! Best of luck to all of us!! :)

~With Luvz,

DEZ

Day 17- 1st Timers Gardening

My kiddo brought home a tomato plant yesterday from school. I love that they are learning to grow their own food and be healthy and what not but however I did not plan on becoming a green thumb. Needless to say I have tried this and killed everything besides a cactus, and that took me leaving it behind at an old house for 2 months before it decided to grow! (Now its a pretty good size and its thriving in our new homes' garden> yes my husband went back when the new people were moving in and got out looking like a crazy with a hammer in hand marching towards the front of the house to dig it up but hey we got it back!) lol Anyways back to the new gardening I am going to have to do now that my kid has started to grow tomatoes!!! Being that my parents live across the street I tried to pawn the plant off on them to add to their already growing abundance of plants! But no they insisted they give me this topsy turvy garden planter to start our own and this is how it all started...... I now have this huge black boxy thing on my back patio with one tiny little 6" plant sprouting from the underside! Now what? Sun and water I know but what else? I figured that we would try and get some additional plants like peppers, jalapenos, and some fresh herbs would be nice. But for now its just our one lonely little plant. Its a start for some old fashioned home made salsa!!! Can't wait... FYI if you know any tips feel free to leave em in the comments! :)

Day 16- Oh Baby! Not for me but You!

Let me make this loud and clear to start with: I like babies just not into having more babies myself. I love to look at baby things and make stuff for babies and lately I am in love with all the little boys and their tie shirts and tuxedo shirts. Too freakin cute I say and I know people with babies so I thought that I would give it a try.
This is how it looked! ENJOY!!

This is what I started with: A piece of fabric ( this one in particular didn't fray easily) and a onesie (Organic, my preference) I purchased from Walmart for $2.

All I did was cut a tie shape from the fabric and stitched it down to the onesie.  

  

I have 3 different sized onesies that I plan on doing another tie on the last one. And the next person that is having a boy will get a custom set of onesies to grow with!

Before I ever started this project I was brainstorming with a friend on what I could do for girls that were similar to these ones for boys and she suggested that I do bikinis....So this will be my next baby adventure!!! I love it when I can spoil little ones that are not mine!!! LOL Hope you enjoyed my lil tyke tie! :) Have a good one!

~With Luvz, 

DEZ

Day 15- Fashion Obsession

My passion is fashion so yes I obsessively look at all the runway clips from anyone and everyone and everywhere. Since I am not partial to any one designer, and more like an admirer of the art of crafting clothes. The complex yet simple operations that come together to mix a palette for the eyes and sensations for the body unlike any other product out there. These simple textile adornments are embedded with memories, have emotional attachments and produce involuntary interactions among the wearer and those in the viewing vicinity. This is just what I'm loving today......


The Jumpsuit: IN OR NMS?

Photo courtesy of NY MAG

The Full Cover Swimsuit: Thankful its back....

By: Michael Kors 

My only question is why the belt? Am I really supposed to swim with that boat anchor?

 By: Mara Hoffman

Loving the Prints!!! :)

By: Zero + Maria Cornejo

  By: J Crew

  By: Norma Kamali

Okay I get that the whole vintage theme is in style for the season but this one is almost too literal for my taste. 

  By: We Are Handsome via Net-a-porter.com

As if having my figure on display wasn't enough lets put it in action! Ride 'em Cowboys!!!! Yeee Hawwwww! lol Sorry I just couldn't help it! And yes that is exactly how I would have reacted in public had I seen this in a store! :) * Perks of being my friend! *

Okay now that I have vented on the dreaded apparel for the summer season on to brighter more figure friendly things I would love to make, own or at least borrow for a stroll on the big stage! :) ENJOY the picture show from Style.com's resource librabry of the latest runway shows from around the fashion world. Its an obsession that makes my wallet weep from emptiness and my heart fill with passion to sew bigger and better. Loving it today...making it tomorrow.

DesignerDez Obsession 101: Checkered is a must for everything me.

 Who better than Alexander McQueen to bring it to hair! Want to try this at some point....hmmmm

 I really like the simplicity of this 3.1 Phillip Lim outfit.

 By: Alexander Wang

There is something about  the peek a boo leggings and the structure of the skirt that I love.. Maybe because of the seducing see through top that gives just a touch of femininity to the otherwise masculine look of the bottom half. 

 By:Alexis Mabille

Cute fun and flirty! :)

 By: Anna Sui

Just feeling a little like a sexy hippie! Shorts are to short for me but oh so super cute on her!

 By: Antonio Berardi

Would love to try to wear this to the office!! :) lol 

I know I got off the swimsuit train earlier but after seeing this I had to share....I Love the mix of color and prints in this suit, it would make any bigger girl smile as it secretly slims the body! 

 By: Antonio Marras

Elegance in simplicity.... By:Azzaro

By: Badgley Mischka

Super Cute! Enough said.

Little WHITE dress anyone? By: Bensoni

 By: Carlos Miele

I like the chic simplicity of this. Its any time of day anywhere ensemble. 

 By: Chado Ralph Rucci

Love the Gloves!

 By: Christian Cota

The jumper is fun.

 By: Collette Dinnigan

A must try for the summer! :)

 By: Costume National

I love the vibrant blue. Never worn a romper but I think I would wear this one.

Okay my eyes are crossing and my arm is going numb from the endless picture show. So this is it for now on my obsession with the fashion world! Be print inspired and dare to bare! Enjoy the summer in chic style.

~With Luvz, 

DEZ