Right now Artscow.com is having a sweet deal on stretched canvas prints. On today’s offer you get any stretched canvas up to and including 8” x 10” for a fixed price of just $7.99/each including free worldwide delivery. Choose from six available sizes to suit your pictures.

Link: http://www.artscow.com/photo-gifts/small-stretched-canvases
Coupon Code: 8X10SCNVS
Expires: 2/17/2011

Now, I have never been one for photos on stretched canvas personally, but I do love a good piece of Word Art.


I designed this print in a jiffy. This is a saying my Mother saw once, framed in a home and throughout my childhood it became a mantra in our home. I love it's simple message. Don't wait for something else to come and then be happy. Don't hinge your happiness on more money, more time, more square footage, more anything. Just be happy. Now.

I ordered this on an 8x8" canvas. And you can too!

I just threw this print up in my MOMO PRINTS shop for sale. I am putting it in at a special price....just $5. Choose any color. Then head over to Artscow.com and make a canvas. Viola! A cool piece of Word Art for your home for under $15!

Not feeling my chosen quote? Pick any Word Art from my shop and use the code CANVAS20 to receive 20% off through this Saturday (January 29).

I was so excited when I saw Emily Merritt's Recipe Card Templates for her guest spot yesterday. I already had photos of some of our favorite recipes, so I went to work and made some cards.

Something great about her template is the ability to make slight changes. I changed the fonts and a few small elements and made them just right for my recipe book. I also color coordinated my recipe categories for easy finding.  Can you tell how excited I am to continue with this project!?

Here are a few of my cards...






How do you organize YOUR recipes?

We all have some certain item(s) in our homes that never seem to have a place to stay.  These things usually end up in the "Junk Drawer".  But what if you don't have a Junk Drawer?  We don't.

And so, this year I decided to make a "Junk Box". Although (in behalf of safety pins everywhere)  I resent the term "junk".  So I call mine a "Odds Box".  I keep it on a shelf in our pantry and ever since it was created my life has been easier.

I use a clear school case (oh yes, I love these) for new batteries.  I store postage stamps in a small envelope inside.  Now, let's get to the safety pins and hair elastics.

2. Choose CREATE IT!
3. Create two jpg images in Photoshop (one for the front and one for the back) to illustrate the items you will be storing inside.  Load images as prompted and add to cart.  Then design your second coin purse in the same way.
4. Enter code MCP4FRDS at checkout to get the special low price (note: I am not sure if/when this code expires, so don't wait!)

The top row is the one I created to hold all of my safety-pins. 
The bottom row is the one I designed to hold the tiny, clear hair elastics I use in my girls' hair.

Hey bloggies!

Thanks so much for spreading the word for this event!
I hope you find some tips that help you free up your life for more creativity!

Without further ado...
The True Random Number Generator chose...

TESSA BUYS

Congrats Tessa! 
Please email your name and mailing addy to emiliehandmade (at) comcast (dot) net.

If you didn't win...no worries.
There will be other chances to win this month!

There are certain aspects of parenthood that seem like a never ending cycle. That each time you do the laundry, you know a new load of dirty clothes will appear tomorrow. This goes for tidying up, vacuuming, doing dishes, etc. One area that becomes sheer drudgery for me if I don't plan ahead is cooking meals. Leaving this to the last minute produces panic and, more often than not, ramen noodles.

Over the past few years I have found a plan that works well for me. Using two different printable sheets I can make grocery shopping and meal time MUCH more organized.



Step 1: The first step is writing a document in a word processing program. You are going to save this document for future reference and add to it often. Each family's will be different. It is a MASTER MEAL LIST. This is a list of every single meal your family eats on a regular basis. I separate mine by proteins. You'll want to think about this over the course of a few days and add to it as meals your family makes come to you.

Step 3: Grab your printed GROCERY LIST. Go through each night of your meal plan for the week and write each ingredient you need in the appropriate category. If two different meals need the same ingredient (say onions) than add a tick mark after the ingredient you already wrote down.

Now, hit the grocery store! You'll be sure to save time and not have to double back on any isles because your list is already arranged into sections! And saving time in the grocery store frees up more time to craft...am I right?

Oh, and one more thought about your MASTER MEAL LIST. Once you have this system worked out for monthly meal planning, try adding new meals at regular intervals. Make a goal to try a new recipe once a week or once a month. If it passes the family taste-test...add the recipe to your files (more on that topic later in the month!) and add the meal to your master list. When you see all of the meals on your master list arranged by protein you'll get a great sense of what area of your recipe file can be expanded.

Now, it's your turn to add to this post! 
What works well for you as far as family meal planning? 
Do you have an organized system or wing it?
Please leave a comment.