Friday Roundup

I've searched the web over, and I'm bringin' you some linky love:

• Adventures of a Twenty Something Mother introduced me to Swango - the only online clothing swap where everything is 99 cents!

• If you haven't discovered the Ideal Bite yet, you need to check it out. Ideal Bite delivers easy, eco-living tips to your in box daily. The tips are short, sassy and practical.

• My friend at The Ferret Online has found some hip and stylish reusable bags for us to use.

• In the mood for a game? Click here to find out if you're living a sustainable life.

• GreenStyle Mom is having a Sigg baby and adult water bottle giveaway. To enter, just go on over and visit GreenStyle Mom and leave a comment. The contest runs through February 20th.

• Doodlebug Designs is having a great giveaway to celebrate their Grand Opening! Go over and check out the details. You could win a FREE completely customized blog design for a blogger blog!

• Our Blessed Arrows is offering a giveaway for a pair of pedoodles.

This Sunday, Gray Matters will be featured on 5 Minutes Around The Blogoshpere sponsored by 5 Minutes for Mom.

5 Minutes for Mom is a great resource for all moms. You can submit your own blog or read what other mom's are blogging about. Susan and Janice are two moms that have their hands full! Along with running the 5 Minutes for Mom site, they run two toy stores: A Rocking Horse To Love and Pedal Cars & Retro Collectibles.

Check here to see previous Friday Round-Up Posts

Three R Thursday - Recycling Valentine's Day Cards

13 WAYS TO RECYCLE VALENTINE’S DAY CARDS

This is a combination post. In addition to my regular 3 R Thursday post, I am also participating in my first Thursday Thirteen.

By the end of today you may find an abundance of festive Valentine's Day Cards on your kitchen counter. Never fear. Here are 13 ideas to help turn those cards into meaningful projects for your family. If you are not feeling all that crafty, make sure you check out #13 for ideas on where to send your cards to be recycled for good causes.

I also have a giveaway going on - please check details above!

Sewing Cards – Using the front of the card, hole punch around the edges about an inch apart. You could even use some of the fancy shaped hole punchers available now. Let your children use a yarn or shoelace to weave around the card.

Puzzles – With just a few simple supplies you can turn your card into a puzzle the kids will love putting together. Use these instructions to help you create your puzzles.

Gift Tags – Cut out certain parts of the cards or cut them into different shapes. Punch a hole and store them away so they are ready the next time you wrap a gift.

Magnets – Cut out various shapes and glue onto pre-made magnets for instant fridge art.

Placemats – Make a set of customizable placemats for your next family dinner. Use these directions from Kaboose to help you create one of a kind placemats.

Gift Boxes – Use these step-by-step directions from CraftyPod to turn your card into a sweet little gift box.

Bookmarks – Cut them into strips and use them for hip bookmarks. Use different style scissors to cut the edges and laminate for longer use. You can also write special quotations or make notes from the book you are reading.

Mini Journals – Cut the fronts off of 2 favorite cards. Cut lined or unlined paper to size and add a few sheets between cards. You can use a stapler or hole punch and yarn to join all pieces together.

Gift Bags – Cut out different shapes or pictures from your cards. Glue to plain white/brown paper bags to create an instant original gift bag.

Make Confetti – Use different types of hole punchers to punch out various colors and shapes. Store your confetti for the next time you need to decorate a special occasion table. This activity has the potential to keep children entertained for hours!

Postcards - Collect large index cards or use the fronts of cards received and turn them into postcards. The postmaster-friendly postcard size is a minimum of 5 inches by 3.5 inches - maximum of 6 inches by 4.25 inches. Glue or tape valentines to one side or create a collage with lots of different paper bits. Write a special message on the back and send this thoughtful postcard to someone you love.

Scrapbooking – Save your money on cardstock shapes. Use your cards to cut out different shapes for your scrapbooking needs.

Recycle them – Not feeling very crafty? Simply recycle your cards. Better yet, collect cards from all your children’s classrooms and neighbors and recycle them also.

I found two sources for donating your cards to be recycled:

CardsDirect provides a useful and beneficial service for disposing of greeting cards that are no longer needed at the end of the season. Place all unused cards (without personalization), and/or cards being considered for disposal, in a box or envelope.

Address the box or envelope and mail to: CardsDirect 2007/2008 Card Recycling and Re-Use Program 200 Chisholm Place, Suite 220 Plano, TX 75075 866.700.5030

St. Jude’s Ranch for Children also has a recycled card program. The children precision cut the card fronts and glue them to pre-printed card stock. The children receive fifteen cents per each acceptable card made which is divided between their savings and college fund, their cottage fund for special group outings, and to provide the kids with extra pocket money.

WFMW: My iGoogle Homepage

Do you crave organization - a fun way to check on all your favorite blogs, figure out if you need to bundle up before you go outside, think deeply with the quote of the day, or laugh out loud with jokes and cartoons? If so, you should check out iGoogle, it offers all of these features and more. (Editor's note: I am in no way affiliated with Google, just a little bit of a dork who sometimes likes gadgety things.)

I love my iGoogle Homepage. iGoogle simply means interactive google. It's a customizable homepage giving you the capability and flexibility to add great features. It's a wonderful way to stay organized and updated.

It's quick and easy to set up an iGoogle Homepage. Just select a theme to decorate your homepage and drag and drop individual sections to rearrange the page however you'd like.

Some of the features include gadgets, tabbed pages, and themes.

Gadgets allow you to display specific content on your homepage. You also have the ability to create your own gadgets including:

• Framed Photo- display a series of photos to share
  
• GoogleGram - create special daily messages
• Daily Me – share a little of your daily thoughts and feelings
• Free Form- input text and an image of your own choosing
• YouTube Channel- display videos from your own YouTube channel
• Personal List - create a list of items from a To-Do List to your very own Top 10 List
• Countdown – share a countdown timer for a special event

You can create an unlimited number of tabs. Tabs allow you to organize your gadgets only showing you certain gadgets at any time.

There are tons of themes to choose from, some even animated. The themes can change throughout the day as the time passes – for you very tech savvy folks – you can now design your own theme.

iGoogle is free to anyone. If you are already using any of Google’s services that require a sign-in you can create an account with that information.

Be sure to check out other helpful tips at Works for Me Wednesday.

Previous Works for Me Wednesday posts

Tackle It Tuesday #5 - Dining Room Table & Updates

All that stuff from the Study/Guest Room
had to go somewhere. What better place for it to end up than on my dining room table. Thankfully, most of it will eventually have a home (away from this home). Thanks to Goodwill, Craig's List and Freecycle it will hopefully be gone by next week.

Shelves Syndrome Update - 2 down - 1 to go. Thank you for all of your great suggestions. I have found several things I like - who knew it would be so tough to find something less than 4" deep. I'll keep looking . . .



Check out an update on our guest room below.

Guest Room Conversion Update

Before


Week 1


Week 2

• Obviously, clear out the room. Everything from computer pieces to bike parts. I am told all these various parts will eventually turn into a bicycle. I made a little progress clearing things out but still have some work to do.
  

Still clearing out . . .

• Order window coverings. I ordered 3 of these from Target.
  
• Order bedding. I ordered this organic duvet and pillows for the bed. I also order this blanket. I have a thing for pillows: I ordered this one in the sandlewood, this one in the khaki, this one in the ivory, and this organic one. Told you I had a thing for pillows. Can you tell I am going for a natural/neutral look with this room.
• Order lamps. I decided to re-purpose lamps from another room so no need to order new ones. Never mind, I picked one up at Pier 1 for less than $30.
  
• Install window treatments.Two out of Three hung ain't bad!
• Buy comforter for duvet cover.
• Buy mattress - Bob is doing this tomorrow
  
• Come up with something for the walls. I found something I love - a little tribute to my husband. I figured if I won't let him have the real thing stored in here . . . .
  

Thanks to the 5 Minutes for Moms, Susan and Janice for hosting Tackle It Tuesday. Go and check out more Tackle It Tuesday participants.

Previous Tackle It Tuesday Posts:
Empty Shelves Syndrome
Guest Room Conversion
My Thoughts
Coat Closet

Warning: Blogging May Make You Feel Like Your in Middle School Again

When I started blogging a few months ago I had know idea insecurities from my past would raise their ugly heads. In some ways I feel like I'm in middle school again. Thankfully, I know how the story ends. I will eventually grow up and realize things I think are so important now won't be in just a little while. Oh, the joys of maturation!

• Then, I anxiously waited for the cheerleading try-out list to be posted. Now, I anxiously wait to see when I'll be added to someone's blogroll.

• Then, I checked my locker on a regular basis to see if anyone left a note. Now, I check my inbox on a regular basis to see if anyone left a comment.

• Then, I wondered if I had on the right pair of jeans. Now, I wonder if my design and template are fashionable.

• Then, I nervously waited to see if I would be asked to the Spring Fling dance. Now, I nervously wait to see if I'll be tagged for a meme.
  

• Then, I thought every other girl was prettier and smarter than I was. Now, I know there will always be prettier and smarter blogs out there.
  

But in the end all the growing pains were well worth it. I made friends with a wonderful group of girls and gained the security and confidence needed to go on to bigger and better things.

I have a feeling the same will be true for my blogging experience.

Big Bloggy Move!

Today I am participating in the Big Bloggy Move over with Christy and Megan. There are some great new looks and giveaways you should check out this week.

Although I am still located at the same address, I did get a totally new look. Thank you to Jen at Blue Yonder Designs.

I have a giveaway starting this week.

All you need to do is leave a comment on this post. I will randomly draw a winner on Friday. Please leave your contact information in the comment so I can let you know if you're the winner.

The Giveaway: For all you bloggers I am offering a little "Bloggy Bling". Blue Yonder Design will design a button or graphic for you to add to your new diggs!

Don't worry. If you don't have a blog, I have another awesome giveaway starting Thursday. A set of custom eco-friendly Wink 'n Curtsy note cards from The Stubby Pencil Studio. Be sure to check back on Thursday for the details.

Pillow Talk

Pillow Talk . . . . private conversations, endearments, or confidences exchanged in bed or in intimate circumstances.

Yeah, right! At 8 months pregnant, the only pillow talk going on in our bedroom is "it's your turn to get up with the kids" and "please get me some Tums".

I'm talking about a little obsession that occurred after an innocent stroll through this store. I love pillows! The first step is admitting you have a problem, right?

It wouldn't be so bad if I was the one sewing the pillows. I have my dear friend, Chris to thank for these beauties!