10 November 2010

A few weeks ago our printer went kaput. 

At first I thought I could live without it, but it didn't take me long to figure out just how much I really did rely on my printer, especially the copier mode.  Apparently I love making copies! 

After holding off for a while and shopping around, I finally decided to make a dent in my Amazon balance that I've been saving through Swagbucks.  My plan had been to save up for Christmas, which I've been doing faithfully all year.  And since we've made a tradition of giving homemade photo calendars of the kids for all the grandparents, a new printer would be a necessary thing for our Christmas plans.   

I finally decided on this beauty

It is such a wonderful thing to be able to replace an important item in your home for absolutely nothing!  From the Amazon gift cards that I've earned and saved through Swagbucks, this printer did not cost me one single penny.  And we still have a bit left over to splurge on Christmas gifts.

  I don't post about Swagbucks lightly.  It really is a website I believe in and use regularly.  If you are not familiar with Swagbucks, it is primarily a search engine that randomly awards "Swagbucks" which can be redeemed for prizes, one of the best deals being a $5 Amazon gift card for 450 Swagbucks.  These cards can be saved in your Amazon account and used whenever you want to spend them.  There are other ways to earn Swagbucks:  completing special offers, watching videos, finding Swagcodes, and getting referrals.  I have found that just using Swagbucks as a search engine will result in about 2 $5 Amazon cards a month.  So by next Christmas you could have an extra $120 toward your Christmas shopping!

Any other Swagbucks fans out there?

Disclaimer:  the above post does contain affiliate links.

03 November 2010

A Halloween Moral

 After weeks of chaining myself to my sewing machine and neglecting all other household duties, I finally finished this:
And this:

And was very excited to pull this out of a bag of hand-me-downs:

And we were all ready for a trip down the yellow brick road with Dorothy, Glinda, the Good Witch, and the not-so Cowardly Lion.
We had a blast at our church's HUGE Halloween Carnival and hung out with friends at a Halloween party the next night.  But then disaster struck...
Fabric paint for a craft and brand new homemade halloween costumes do NOT mix.
Maybe somewhere over the rainbow there's a land where no stain is permanent.  You think?