Giveaway: $35 to CSN stores **CLOSED**

How would a free thirty-five dollars sound to you? How about a $35 gift certificate to any one of CSN's 200+ online stores?

If you haven't yet heard of CSN, they sell everything from children's backpacks to cookware, to furniture! There is literally something for everyone on your Christmas list (or hog it all to yourself, I promise I won't tell!).

Here are just a few of my favorite things that you can get for under $35 at CSN:

Murval Capri Metallic Jute Large Tote in Pink

 

Rachael Ray Bubble and Brown 4 piece Ramekin Set in Yellow

Lazy Susan Ceramic Bud Vase in Marine

Drooling yet? Here's how you can enter:

Please leave a separate comment for each entry! And please include your email address in your comment!

MANDATORY:

You must be a follower of this blog! And..... tell me the best Christmas gift (or Hanukkah gift!) you've ever received!

Extra entries:

+2 Subscribe to this blog via email (upper right hand corner)

+1 Follow me on Twitter

+1 Follow CSN stores on Twitter

+1 Tweet this giveaway (or share on Facebook) using one of the "share" buttons below this post, or you can say something like this:

Enter for a chance to win $35 to CSN stores via @yes_teacher  http://tiny.cc/nbtxg  #giveaway

You can tweet/share this giveaway once daily and leave a comment with the link!

The fine print:

*This giveaway ends Wednesday, Dec. 8th at 11:59 PM. Winner will be drawn and notified via email on Thursday 12/9.

*There may be international shipping charges in the case of Canadian addresses

Mondays with Jack, 17th edition

Welcome to the latest edition of Mondays with Jack! If you want to know what this weekly feature is all about, see here.

 Trash Stasher Bag from EclectiCollection

"Here's a good thing to do if you go to a party and you don't know anybody: First take out the garbage. Then go around and collect any extra garbage that people might have, like a crumpled napkin, and take that out too. Pretty soon people will want to meet the busy garbage guy." --  Jack Handey

Advent Calendars

Are you like me? Do you procrastinate? "Oh, December first is a million miles away; I can think about advent calendars later!"

Well guess what?! It's right around the corner! Below, I've featured some printable advent calendars for all of the other procrastinators out there:

Printable Advent Calendar Treat Cones from Anders Ruff

DIY Advent Calendar from A Million Ideas

 Advent Calendar Garland Kit from Two Sisters Originals



Mod Trees Advent Calendar from Julie Marie

Now we can all enjoy some last minute Advent beauty!!

Black Friday Sale!

Just wanted to let you know that you can use the code BLACKFRIDAYSPREE to get 20% off my entire store! Offer valid until Saturday, 11/27 at 11:59 PM, so hurry!

How to observe Thanksgiving

Count your blessings instead of your crosses;

Count your gains instead of your losses.

Count yoru joys instead of your woes;

Count your friends instead of your foes.

Count your smiles instead of your tears;

Count your courage instead of your fears.

Count your full years instead of your lean;

Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.

Count your health instead of your wealth.

-Author unknown

To die for

That's what this recipe is: TO DIE FOR! Once you taste this pumpkin cheesecake, you'll never want to go  back to plain ol' pumpkin pie.

picture borrowed from All Recipes

You can find the recipe here. I highly recommend the following changes, though:

1. 1 tsp of vanilla instead of just 1/2
2. generous pinch of the spices
3. an extra 2Tbs sugar
4. take 1 cup and 1/3 cup of the cheesecake mix for the bottom layer instead of just 1 cup

Oh, and a homemade graham cracker crust is really easy and tastes much better than store-bought (although I'll never judge you, either way!

Mondays with Jack, 16th edition

Welcome to the latest edition of Mondays with Jack! If you want to know what this weekly feature is all about, see here.

  Traffic Light Vinyl Decal from Elephannie

"As the light changed from red to green to 

yellow and back to red again, I sat there 

thinking about life. Was it nothing more than a 

bunch of honking and yelling? Sometimes it 

seemed that way." -- Jack Handey

On the road again

Hand embroidered state pillow from Uncommon Goods

Today we'll be making the loooooong drive up to Michigan. It'll take about 22 hours and my crazy husband likes to drive straight through. I can hardly complain though, since he does about 98% of the driving. And I'll be totally excited to see my husband's side of the family once we get there!

I just hope that I don't bite into a Skittle and lose a crown like I did the last time we made this drive. I don't want to look like a hillbilly again!

What are your Thanksgiving plans?

Have a Bad Day

Today is Have a Bad Day Day. Yes, there is such a thing! Apparently it started when people got too fed up with shopkeepers saying a superficial "Have a good day!" as customers walk out the door.

Sadly, with Thanksgiving right around the corner, Have a Bad Day Day often gets overlooked by all those.... thankful people. [I hope you can hear the sarcasm!]

So I'm here to give it its' proper due! Below, some etsy-inspired Bad Day finds:

Pinback button by Bay Moon Studio

Orange Bad Day Monster by The Gorgonist

Scrabble Tile Earrings by Jewels Crafty Mama

Good Day Bad Day Pendant by Crimson Clover

Bad Day Necklace by The Pony Conspiracy

I probably should wish you a Bad Day now, but I'm just not that mean!

Craft show

I've never done a craft show before, have you? I would like to at some point in the future, but I think there's a lot I need to do beforehand (can you tell I like to plan ahead?).

First, I need to make sure I have enough products. Then, I need to research how best to display my cards, etc. Those are the things that come immediately to mind, but I'm guessing there are a whole bunch of other variables to consider.

So even though I've never been a seller at a craft show before, I have been a SHOPPER at one. And that doesn't take much talent at all!

I'm really excited about the upcoming Jingle Bash put on by Dallas-based Etsy artists. I went to one last spring and had a ball. There's just something about perusing the works of dozens and dozens talented artists that sets my heart a flutter. 

Plus, the holidays are right around the corner and I'm totally in shopping mode, aren't you?!

Fingers crossed!

Did you know there's a MEGA giveaway going on at the rikrak studio?

Five amazing prize packs totalling $800 in value are up for grabs. My fingers (and my toes!) are crossed! What are you waiting for? Go enter here!

Mondays with Jack, 15th edition

Welcome to the latest edition of Mondays with Jack! If you want to know what this weekly feature is all about, see here.

Chihuahua Super Hero from Pink Baby Mouse

"I hope if dogs ever take over the world, and they chose a king, they don't just go by size, because I bet there are some Chihuahuas with some good ideas."

-- Jack Handey

Handmade with kids

There are a few times a year where teachers are expected to help the children make gifts for their parents. I'm thinking specifically of Christmas and Mother's Day.

Every year, I feel a bit of pressure. What did last year's teacher do? What is easy, inexpensive, and not totally lame?

Thankfully, since I work with special needs kids, I only have six kids to worry about. And fortunately, there are fantastic people like AmberLee Fawson to help me with ideas. She's put together this fantastic Giver's Log for anyone you want to give a handmade gift to, old or young.

I've decided that I'm going to have my kids make these super cute personalized soap bottles pictured here:

You can find the tutorial here.

I think mom and dad will be pleased, don't you?

Slipper Paradise

With dropping temperatures in north Texas and more and more rainy days, I've been thinking about cozy and warm clothes.

Specifically, slippers.

With wood flooring everywhere, my feet tend to get cold. And who wants to wear boring old socks around the house when there are such lovely options out there?

Shaggy MAMA boots from MEandREEKIE's Shop

Women's Slippers - grey birds cage from Cazhoffy

Leather Slippers - mushroom fields in spring from Karmen Sega

Felted Slippers in Orange Rose from ing00te

Sushi Slippers from Sushi Booties

I hope you're staying warm wherever you are!!

Mondays with Jack, 14th edition

Welcome to the latest edition of Mondays with Jack! If you want to know what this weekly feature is all about, see here.

DIY Felt cool handbag, sandwich, potato chips, tomato salad - PDF pattern from Fairy Fox

"I think someone should have had the decency to tell me the luncheon was free. To make someone run out with potato salad in his hand, pretending he's throwing up, is not what I call hospitality." 

-- Jack Handey

My treasures are in treasuries!

I've been blessed this week, friends! My cards have made their way into two fabulous treasuries:

 My set of 3 cards was included in Birds of a feather flock together

My Happy Turkey Day card was included in HGTV Gift guide Fly away if you can

Have a happy weekend, everyone!

National Novel Writing Month

Hey, remember my last post when I was whining about all of those interests and hobbies of mine that I never seem to have time for?

Well one of them is reading and writing novels. I'm a pretty avid reader (well, in the summer that is, when I have enough brain cells to devote to it). And I've recently started writing my own novel as well. I've been pecking away at it since last summer, forty minutes here, an hour there. Mostly on Saturday mornings.

November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). The concept is a bit terrifying: the goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel from Nov. 1st to midnight, Nov. 30th.

I'm intrigued by the whole idea, but I'm not sure yet if I want to sacrifice all of my "me-time" to it. I've missed the boat this year anyway, but I'm researching tips and tricks, just in case I decide to take the plunge next year! I came across this very informative and entertaining piece by Doyce Testerman. If you enjoy writing, I'm sure you'll love reading this as well!

In the meantime, how do you make time for all that you want to do??

My "Meaning-to-do" List

It's both a blessing and a curse to have so many interests and hobbies. Sure, it's great to never feel bored, but it also kinda sucks to feel like you never have time for all that you want to do in the day.

Especially annoying are those things that get in the way of your hobbies like your Day Job, and Running Errands, and Keeping House. (We don't have kids yet, but I'm sure that's another big one that gets in the way of "me-time"!)

So I have this bookmarked list of things that I've been meaning to do. I got my first sewing machine last year (thanks, Santa!) and I've been collecting easy projects that I'd love to try.

I'm hoping that sharing these with you will motivate me to get started!!

First up, I'd love to make my own business card holder. Prudent Baby has a great tutorial here!

This potholder-makeup pouch looks simple enough for a beginner like me (and so much cuter than the plastic bag I usually throw my stuff in when I travel)! Obsessively Stitching shows how to do it here.

I'd love to make a set of these DIY moleskins from Honestly... WTF to give my coworkers as gifts!

I'd love to make a bunch of these (no sew!) to accessorize my wardrobe this season. Check out the tutorial from Make Grow Gather.

I'm lusting over this scarf/bolero/shawl from Happy Find. It looks a bit more complicated, but if I want it bad enough, I can do it.... right?!

So what's on your meaning-to-do list?

Mondays with Jack, 13th edition

Welcome to the latest edition of Mondays with Jack! If you want to know what this weekly feature is all about, see here.

 Karate Key Rack from Knob Creek Metal Arts

"To me, Judo is like a ballet, except there's no music, no choreography, and the dancers knock each other down." -- Jack Handey