Friday Fragments

Happy Friday! It's time for some Friday Fragments.

Thanks to Mrs. 4444 of Half Past Kissing Time for getting so many incredible bloggers together for some fun and interesting fragments.  Last week I wasn't on my own computer, but this week I am, so watch out!  I've got some fragging to do!

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First up - I found this horrifying dirty mess under the fridges in my rentals.  Now I have vacuumed up down and sideways in those places.  I pull out the fridge and mop under it after each tenant.  I though that the coils were in the back of the unit, but it was completely sealed up.  Then I happened to kick the bottom plastic cover and dust bunnies flew out at me.  OH NO!  Seriously, I was horrified that I didn't realize the coils were underneath the fridge. 

This is a cautionary tale - do not let this happen to you.  Vacuum the coils on your fridge.  It's not good for the mechanics of the fridge to let it look like this! ugh.  I'm hanging my head in shame.  Thankfully, I have remedied the situation and all of my condos now have nice clean coils. :)

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Sometimes it's the simplest ideas that make a huge difference.  I always seem to find interesting things that I want to include in my Friday Fragments posts.  I had a draft in blogger where I would add links, but after a few months it just wasn't working for me.  I couldn't click on the links easily in draft form so I had to write a description of the link when all I really wanted to do was park the link quickly as a possible idea and come back to it later.

So I put a folder in my bookmark toolbar marked FF.  When I see a cool link that I might like to include in a future post, I just drag it to that folder.  It's easy to click, it's all in one location.  i can easily delete the link once I post it in a FF post and since it's in my toolbar, I see it all the time so I don't forget to use it.  I'm now very happy with this solution.

(I have a MAC and I use Firefox as my browser, so this might not be an option for everyone)

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I took this cloud photo the other day.  I absolutely had to - It made me think of a window to the world.  If you squint it looks like a perfect little square was cut right out of the clouds :)

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Free Printables!!!

I have found some new blogs and some fun printables.  Love Obsess Inspire posted a fun find called Parisian Calling Cards.  They are just lovely for writing in your name and phone number and the Eiffel Tower design is truly gorgeous.  It printed out with incredible detail.  A keeper in my book!

One of my favorite things to say is "What a hoot!" and this little owl download is truly a hoot.  It's from the Craftzine website.

Look at these beautiful floral gift tags (Example below - from the website) at Eat Drink Chic.  She's even gone so far to make these blank so you can customize your own summery, gifty message.

Photo from Eat Drink Chic

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I was one of the featured artists in a beach themed Etsy Treasury the other day called "The Only Thing Better than Chocolate."  The photo above, from Zahner Photography, was also featured in that same treasury.  I just loved all of that coral.  I could totally see that photo in my office with the seafoam colored walls.   It truly amazes me to see all of the incredible talent over at Etsy.  Thanks Zahner Photography for allowing me to feature your photo today.

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I posted this late on Thursday so be sure and come back to see who has joined the blog hop on Friday.  I just love reading all of the fragments and the list is going to grow.

Have a great day!
Kristin

Friday Fragments on Sunday

Photo taken in the sculpture garden in Daphne, AL

I have missed several Fridays in a row for my Friday Fragments, so I decided to pull out a few things that I had been saving and do a Sunday Fragments!


I'll start with the current conditions --- It's pouring rain here in Gulf Shores, AL.   I looked at the weather radar hour by hour and one of the hours said 100% chance for rain.  Hmmm, I think we are going to get wet today.  I'd like to take a shower inside before I get soaked outside, but I can't shower when there is a lightning storm, so I'm waiting. 

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Photo taken in the sculpture garden in Daphne, AL

Raise your hand if you are a fan of grilled cheese sandwiches!  me me me!!  I stumbled up on this beauty a few weeks back.  For the true Cheese and Bread only crowd this might be pushing the envelope a bit, but if you like to experiment the Grilled Cheese Academy may be a wonderful adventure! Enjoy!

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My mom has had this quote as her signature in her emails for the past year.  It makes me laugh each and every time!  

"I went to a restaurant that 'served breakfast anytime', so I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance." Stephen Wright

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Can you imagine?!!!

Yellow Curved Fruit

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Free Printable card - Just because... from Suzy Jack via Creature Comforts

Let us lay in the sun - found over at It's Mary Ruffle

Sliding Clock

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Have you ever gone to Amazon.com and looked up something silly or searched for a gift for someone in your household and then when you came back to the site days later the Amazon site gives recommendations based on your last searches???

Maybe you don't want your kids to know what you got them for their birthday and they are on Amazon and see your previous searches.  Well Dave over at Ask Dave Taylor answers the question -- How can I remove that information?  It's something very good to know and really quite easy.

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Have a positively wonderful Sunday or Monday or Tuesday...
Kristin

Friday Fragments

Mrs. 4444, from Half-Past Kissing Time, hosts Friday Fragments each week.    Musings, ideas, photos of flowers and a pet peeve - it's all in here this week!  Thank goodness it's fragment day.  Whew.  I wasn't sure I could keep it all in this week.  Please visit Mrs. 4444's Fragmented post so you can find even more fragmented posters like me.

My cousin is going to a wedding this weekend.  Her friend is the groom and his last name is Deal.  The bride's last name is Good.   So they are going to the Good-Deal wedding.  Cute, huh?



I've been scraping together money to put into my rental condo accounts to pay the bills this month and the upcoming because I've got two of my units unoccupied.  My law of attraction mantra is "I get checks in the mail."  I am truly amazed how often checks come in the mail - sometimes, I have to admit, the check is for a quarter and I have to sign up for something in order to get it, but still, it's a check...even if I don't cash it!  Today, however, I got a check in the mail that was from one of our condo mortgage companies.  It was an escrow refund that was enough to cover one of the mortgages this month.   I get checks in the mail!

Pet Peeve - I dislike pumping my own gas, I really do.  I used to go out of my way when I lived in Lansing, MI to go to the Bay station because there was no self service there - and it was the same price as self service at other places.  Those guys would check your oil and wash the windows.  But anyway, back to my pet peeve.  I really dislike the gas pumps that slow down to a mere trickle if someone on the other side of the pump is also trying to get gas.  As soon as the one person is done the gas flows like mad for the remaining person.  I've actually stopped and allowed the other person to finish before I put any more gas into my vehicle because it's going to take less time to go one at a time.  Most gas stations don't have that problem, but every time I go to one that runs like that, I make a mental note to never ever go back.

I do dishes just so - I wash them by hand, even though I have a working dishwasher, I stack them like a puzzle in the dish drainer and I clean off all of the counters.  I lay my towels out to dry and I make sure the sink is clean.  It's probably an obsession.  When I get up in the morning, as I'm making my breakfast, I put away the dishes and the kitchen is ready for the day.

Speaking of dishes - I made meatloaf the other day and forgot to fill a sink full of hot soapy water before I began. It's just a rule of mine that doing dishes as you cook makes for an easier clean up, but I was already involved in meatloaf making so I didn't fret too much about it.  I put the meatloaf in the oven, set the timer and washed up the dishes.  I kind of laughed when I realized that my clean up (even though I didn't fill the sink before starting dinner) took me less than 5 minutes.

I received some really great book suggestions from last week's FF - I want to Thank You.  I haven't started reading any of the books suggested, because they are for my trip, but I did read reviews and look up each book.  I think there are at least three books that I will be buying for my Kindle.

I promised to post some sunny photos for those with cold toes and/or cold weather.  I hope you have enjoyed the flowers I found today on the Mayo Clinic campus.  I was quite surprised to find these bushes filled with flowers, as the cold weather we've had has killed off a lot of plants.  I guess these are hardy!



Are you looking for some Valentines Day treats?  I found this recipe while stumbling the other day -- I'd say it would be pretty sinful.  The photos are excellent, too!  Chocolate chip cookie dough truffles.

One Pretty Thing had a really nice Valentine Round-up.  There are printables, kids school printable valentines, stained glass box instructions and many others.  Take a peek!  Oh, here's a Kid Specific printable Round-up also from One Pretty Thing.

Have a great weekend!
Kristin

Friday Fragments

Mrs. 4444, from Half-Past Kissing Time, hosts Friday Fragments each week. I have been scribbling little notes all week to add to my fragments post and I have left that note pad in the car.  So this post is going to be really fragmented!  Please visit Mrs. 4444's Fragmented post so you can find even more severely fragmented posters like me.

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 I'm the proud owner of the 75th Anniversary edition of Gone With The Wind.  It came to me wrapped in StarWars wrapping paper with a Santa post it with the name Bob on it.  I'm so excited!  Thanks Bob!!  (My dear friend - we both call each other Bob - sent it to me)  It was a movie that I love dearly, but I don't think I would have ever purchased it.  ...but now that I have it, I've put it on twice!   Bob and I don't normally exchange gifts (or we haven't exchanged gifts in several years), so this was an unexpected delight!

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photo taken by Bob

This same friend is the one who has been wanting to get her paws on green bunny.  I finally gave in and sent it to her.  I loaded up bunny in a box full of cotton balls.   I thought it was only appropriate to do so.  Afterall, bunny does dispense cotton balls from her bunny tail.

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I still have my tree up.  I still have my tree up and have turned the lights on each evening.  I still have my tree up, the lights on and the stockings hung on the door knobs of my entertainment center.  I bet I'll get everything put away in the next week or so, but I have to say that I love the Christmas tree lights so much that I could almost have them up through the entire winter.

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Now that it's the new year I've been thinking about all of the things I'd like to do as a 365 day project or as a 52 week project.  Now it's nearly the 8th and I feel like I can't begin any of these projects because I didn't start on the first.  It's so silly.  I can start at any time, just like I did my blogging.  but I still feel like I've missed out.  Funny, huh?

However - if you are trying to do something several times a week and would like a handy dandy little PDF to mark off your victories - go on over to the The Small Object Steno Pad and grab the free resolution calendar.   I love it!

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My husband, Tom, went to a wedding with a friend in 1974 (or thereabouts.)  On the ride down from Lake Superior State in the Upper Pennisula of Michigan all the way to Gary, Indiana this guy (I think Tom said his name was Cowboy) talked about the band that was going to play at the reception.  He said that the band was going to be famous some day real soon.  So my husband said that he was so very anxious to hear this band and see if his friend was just telling tales.    I just asked him if he actually liked the band and he said not really.  But what does he know.  The band that played at that wedding and who did become famous was Styx and the drummer was the groom's brother.

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I found this incredibly creative anniversary gift that someone made for their spouse.  It involved postage and envelopes - two of my favorite things.   You must click over and see what Emily at Wide Open Spaces did for her husband.  I am truly amazed at the creativity that some people possess.

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I hope that Twenty Ten has started off on the right foot and that the rest of the year is fabulous.  Have a delightful weekend and I hope to see you back here next week if not sooner!  Thanks Mrs. Fours for hosting Friday Fragments each week. 

Have a great day!

Kristin

Friday Fragments

Mrs. 4444, from Half-Past Kissing Time, hosts Friday Fragments each week. This week it's the New Year's Day Fragments.  What a great way to start the new year!   Please visit Mrs. 4444's Fragmented postso you can find even more severely fragmented posters like me.  I hope your New Year is Grand!

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Welcome to 2010!  I was cruising through the channels at 12:17am on this very first morning of the new year and I noticed that one of the shopping channels has organizing products on the menu for the next several hours and the other shopping channel has diet products.  Guess even in 2010 getting organized and losing weight are still tops on the lists of many many people.

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A tad more than a fragment, but funny.

I'm going to tell on my sister, Hillary.  This happened a few years ago, but I thought about it tonight and it made me laugh, so I had to share it.  I called my sister on her cell phone one day and just as it was about to go to voice mail the phone number changed to a new number and it started ringing again.  A guy picked up the phone and I asked for Hillary.  He said that Hillary wasn't there, but it was quite odd that she was getting a surprising number of calls at his place the past few days.

So, I call Hillary's number again and she picks up this time.  I tell her the story and give her the phone number that the call was switched to in the middle of the phone call and she about died right there.

A few days earlier she had called this guy, but just wanted to hear his voice or his answering machine message or something like that and she didn't want him to know it was her calling - so she did one of those fancy Star 69 things with her phone to block her name and number.  I know Star 69 isn't that particular function, but it was the only way I could describe the task.  OK - so instead of blocking her name and number she accidently forwarded all of her calls to that number!

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Found on one of my friend's Status messages on Facebook.  (This has absolutely nothing to do with me - I do not know any Nuns.)

one time years ago we were at your house and you were telling us that there was a party for your sister becoming a "fifty dollar nun" - but you meant to say "fifty year nun" - we thought that was the funniest thing and would be a great band name - [we use] it now for his production "label" when he does videos for people.

Can you imagine?!!  A Fifty Dollar Nun!  Too Funny.

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When I used to rollerskate at Rollerworld in Lansing, MI, I made pom poms for my skates.   I got to be a real expert at making them and making big giant poofs on my skates.  My pom poms were much better than my skating!  Today I found this picture of a pom pom on a wire stem and fell in love.  If you do not know how, or can't remember how to make a pom pom, here is the tutorial which includes how to attach the stem. The lowly poof ball turned into a fabulous gift embellishment.  Then later in the day I found this  second post where Kristen at Domestifluff shows off the free printables she created to go with these pom poms.

The set includes pom pom patterned paper that you can use as gift wrap, invitations, gift tags, and place cards that can also be used for a variety of purposes.  There are three colors to choose from as well - yellow, gray and the pink, shown.  Both of the photos of the pom poms are from the Domestifluff site.

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I don't have too many fragments this week - I think it's because I'm far too fragmented!  But I do hope that you visit the other fabulous fraggers over at Mrs. 4444's place.

Enjoy the newest year.
Kristin

Pie & Calendars

I've been thinking about Thanksgiving and when I think about Thanksgiving I think of pie.   I was talking with my neighbor today and she was telling me that one of the local grocery store chains has run out of canned pumpkin.  Can you believe it?  There's apparently a shortage!

The next few links can help with that pumpkin shortage and if you are so inclined you can make some of these cute looking pies!




Not Martha - How to make tiny pies.  This is the place where I first heard of such a thing.   I bookmarked this page, but totally forgot to say anything about it.

Lloyd and Lauren - Short and Sweet.  These are technically not pies, but they are small frozen treats and they look delicious.

Lolly Chops - the Download and Print page. The first three posts includes the Eat More Pies download and the pie printables in both tree motif and a turkey motif.  They are near the middle/end of each post.

Our Best Bites - Tutorial on how to make single serve pie.  The second picture above is from this site.   It's a really great tutorial and Best Bites and Lolly Chops have gotten together to make the printables and the tutorials.  It looks like a good collaboration!

Here's a list of some printable calendars from Decor8.  Oooh, there are a lot of fun ones in this lot.  These aren't free, but they are very inexpensive and you can print them over and over again.

The photo to the left is from Up Up Creative on Etsy.  This seller has several calendars for sale and even more printable items for sale.  I like these calendars, simple, basic and bold. 


Decor8 has several calendar roundups - Wall calendars, desk calendars, poster calendars, and other kinds of calendars that don't fit into the above categories.

Oh So Beautiful Paper also did a calendar roundup - Part One, Part Two.

Below is the calendar that I just purchased from Lisa Samartino Atelier's site on Etsy.  It's an 8 x 10 print so it will easily fit into a nice frame.  I am totally in love with chandeliers so when I saw those I was pretty much a goner.  I loved all of the large graphics in the calendar set. 

I know this was quite a link fest, but I just couldn't stop myself once I got started.  I think I have about 30 different windows open.  I'm lucky I bought just one item! haha!

Have a wonderful evening.
Kristin

Fun Stuff on Sunday

I've been saving up these lovely items to share with you (and to remind me!) Today is the day to reveal them. All of the printables are free downloads and the photos are all taken from the sites linked.

Enjoy!!
Kristin

Moss Graffiti - found in Kind Over Matter. I don't like the idea of doing this in places that aren't yours - but can you imagine having something in your own backyard growing like this. I love this idea and it looks pretty easy.

Heaven is in Belgium has a wonderful photoblog. I was just overwhelmed by this antique, abandoned doorway that she photographed. I thought you might like it, too. Go HERE to see it.

Olive oil and vinegar labels - from Eat Drink Chic

Birthday and Thank you cards - also from Eat Drink Chic

Circle Dot Box

Some really cool boxes - printable of course! from Don't Eat the Paste.

Hello note cards - Oooh, I really like these! The Daily Etsian.

The Goods

I sent off a bunch of fun printables to my swap partner Liz at My Texas Family. I told her that when she received my package, I would send her the links to all of the fun printables that I included so she could use them again and again if she liked. Well, she received my package and blogged about it! (I think she liked what I sent!)

Some of them I may have mentioned before and some I have recently discovered. The whole reason I sent Liz the printables was because I think it is so wonderful how much really cool free stuff is out there. Not to mention how many truly creative people are out there giving away their artwork/creations for free.

Here is most of the email I sent to Liz describing the printables and giving her the links, with a few additions for the blog.



The 5 Good Things - I found the 5 Good Things chart HERE at Whisker Graphics, which also explains how to use it. I really think it's a fun idea. I think you will like it, too. Here's a great video on how to fold it HERE on Etsy and also another printable. If you really like the Pocket notes, you might like to see the little notebooks that you can customize. HERE. The Pocket Mods are the little notes that I took with me when I went to Ireland and the Isle of Man.



You can read about Happy Tickets - HERE I think this is a real good idea. (I keep wondering if my husband would work for Happy Tickets!)



I printed the house, above, onto sticker paper and used it as my address label. It's a part of the Feed Your Soul art project free download page from IndieFixx. I scaled it down to a postcard size so I could use it as a decoration rather than a 8 x 11. You might be able to find a few fun things on this site - HERE.



The little orange bird card -- found HERE.



The little potted plant - found at Kind Over Matter - HERE. I've printed off this potted plant so many times I can't even begin to count anymore.



The final thing I can remember are the recipe cards. Those weren't free. I got those from a gift pack of printables from Paper&Cake an Etsy Seller. They have some of the greatest downloads and they are so inexpensive. You will have to go and take a look. I paid for the gift pack, just for the recipe cards, I was just so in love with them :) Paper&Cake is located HERE.


I got my package today from Liz. Ooooh, it is so cool. You'll have to come back tomorrow to see what fabulousness she sent me.

Hope you have a great beginning to a wonderful week.
Kristin

Positive Day

It's Positive Day!!

A few weeks ago my blogging friend, Jen from Dust Bunny Hostage, talked about something that her daughter wanted to start when she became president in 2032. It was a day where people reflected on the good in their lives, called Positive Day. She talks about it more in depth here, on her original post....Positive Day.

Today however, there are going to be LOTS of other people joining in the Positive Day festivities, so be sure and go to Dust Bunny Hostage to see the other participants and join in, if you'd like and make today your Positive Day as well!



ºººººIn the transplant community where I tend to spend most of my time outside of the house, we've had a lot of great news. We've had two of our friends receive transplants the past two weeks. We also got the news yesterday that one of our support group friends was finally put on the transplant list after an exhaustive evaluation period. It fills my heart with so much gratitiude to be a part of this community.

ºººººI received a beautiful gift in the mail yesterday that POSITIVELY made my day. It was from a blogging friend of mine, Leigh - Tales from Bloggeritaville, who I've never met in person, but who never fails to bring a smile to my face. Now she's sent me gifts in the mail. Thanks Leigh!! :)

ºººººI'm watching the movie Mamma Mia at this very moment and the ABBA songs are filling my mind with lovely thoughts and fun tunes. I love listening and dancing goofy Kristin dances to ABBA. Oh, they're singing Dancing Queen...see that girl, watch that scene, diggin' the dancing queen.

ºººººIt makes me so happy that my cat, Mocha, loves to be near me. She would prefer to be curled up next to me more than anywhere else.

ºººººI have the best family. I truly do. I love them all so much.

ºººººOne of the most positive things that has happened to me in the past two years has been to find the world of blogging and those in it.

ºººººI am so very grateful for my health, happiness, love, and forgiveness.

ºººººMy 25th High School reunion is coming up and I'm so very grateful to have such a fabulous group to work with on it.


I hope to add more things to this list in the later morning hours. (BELOW)
Have a Fabulous Day!!
Kristin


Since so many of you have commented on the transplant portion of this post, I'll elaborate real quick. My husband had a liver transplant Dec 23, 2005. We were so blessed to have been directed to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL just a month or so after finding out he had a liver problem and within one year from diagnosis he was transplanted. We moved from Daytona Beach to Jacksonville to be closer to Mayo and in doing so we became involved with the support group and the transplant community.

I have just finished a fabulous breakfast of yogurt, Kashi and walnuts. YUM! It's what I have every morning.

I found some fun free printables - they are positively funny & fun & useful!! :) From How About Orange you can download a grocery list, a to do list or a blog topics list.

Kind Over Matter always has great positive thoughts, things and photos - but the latest free printable is for affirmation cards. Go take a look!

Calling Cards

Ask and you shall receive.

I asked last week about free printables - I know, I know, it's all I've been talking about.

Today I found another one!

This one is for calling cards & it's exactly what I would like to take with me on my vacation to Ireland and the Isle of Man - I just wanted my name and my email address, but I didn't want to buy new business cards or spend a lot of effort printing up my own version.
I don't have photoshop or anything, so my cards would have been real lame! I'm clever, but not that clever.

So! Today I found these awesome calling cards on the Cottage Industrialist blog. She has an ETSY shop, but she decided to give away a free download today on her blog. The PDFs are editable, so you can put your own info on it (makes it a real calling card, huh? haha) and you can make each page different. You could have Marcy's Mom and phone number on one set and Karen's Tailoring and email address on another batch. In my case, I'm going to just have my name and email address.

I am so excited.

I think I need to go get another box of ink for the printer.

Kristin

Printable Blocks

I love a great idea & Make Do Monday's hosted by Ann Kroeker is a place where you can certainly find some great ideas on how to make do with what you have. "It’s a carnival you can visit to celebrate creative problem-solving, contentment, patience and ingenuity," says Ann.


I talked about Free Printables on my Works for Me Wednesday post the other day (ummm, that would be Wednesday!) but I found a few more things that are a bunch of fun and they are also Make-Do artwork, joy and fun. The only thing you do need to pay for is the ink and the paper.

I love Paloma's Nest on Etsy. I purchased one of these little blocks for my mother for Christmas. I actually wanted to buy her several of them to make a little display, but for the price, one was perfect. I wanted one too - but once again, at $12 a piece, I really didn't need to spend that money. I kept thinking about those little blocks though. I still wanted one. (or a whole bowl full)

Yesterday I found a a blog that had a free download for these cute little paper blocks that you can print out, cut out, fold and use. FREE. I printed them out and that's when I realized that there were four blocks per page. So for the price of two pieces of cardstock and ink, I printed out these Printable Blocks from Kind Over Matter. I haven't cut them all out yet, since I just found them, so I'll be sure and post the picture of them when I do. (edited 4/6/09 - here is the photo!)

I also like to write letters and one of the things I liked so much as a kid were those cards that when folded turned into the envelope. You can write on one side and fold and tape it up and mail it out. I found an adorable printable agenda that has those envelope letters, ToDo lists, cards and all sorts of great items to print. Well, all of the words are in French, but that's half the fun! I have no idea what this blog says, but I look through it quite a bit. It's called Cachemire & Soie. Just moments ago I realized that I can translate the page into English. Well, I may keep it in French, it was more fun that way.

Please go visit these places to find your own fun printables but also be sure to head back over to Ann Kroeker's place to see what other folks have posted for their Make Do Monday.

Have a wonderful day!
Kristin

WFMW - Free Printables

It's another Works For Me Wednesday. This is a blog carnival where hundreds of folks gather to share their tips for better living.

However, this week we are doing a backwards edition. This is where we ask questions and hope that our dear readers will help with answers.

The backwards edition doesn't happen very often, so it's a nice treat. Please be sure and read my request (and go visit the sites I mentioned to see if you'd like to download some of the free treats) and then go over to We Are THAT Family to see if you can answer other peoples cry for help.



It all started with Indie Fixx a blog that I found very interesting. One day a new idea appeared there, it was called Feed Your Soul and the idea was that a few artists each month would give away their art for free because art feeds our souls. The downloads so far are HERE and I have thoroughly enjoyed them.

I found Print A Day through Indie Fixx and she has some fun downloads, too. Her download section is HERE, if you'd like to see her work.

So my inquiry is ... Do you have a place where you find cool pieces to download interesting art? notepaper? index cards? even calendars.

Do you have a favorite something that you seem to print off again and again? The image of the watering can is one of my new favorites and I've really enjoyed the mushrooms recently. I've used a few of the cool note papers from Print A Day as a beautiful grocery list and also to leave a note on a neighbors door. It's an unexpected treat to a usual day.

I'm always looking for new places that share their work for free. Or even places that share a little bit of their artwork for free as a sample.

If you have a link - you can put it in this format and it will be a clickable link in the comment section - but if not, I'll put it in this post, so we can all use the information.

<a href="http://URL you want to Link to">Name Your Link</a>

Be sure and check back here through the week to see what others have found.

Thanks and have a great day!
Kristin


Here are some free download pieces - thanks to your comments, I have a few new places!

Tangarang
One Pretty Thing
The Vintage Moth
DLTK - Kids Printables
Folding Trees
The Small Object Steno Pad
Kind Over Matter - Peace Blocks

Valentines Day Ideas

I thought I'd post a few links to some valentines ideas I've seen as I've been cruising around blogland.

I've always really enjoyed Valentines Day, but I consider it a family day - not necessarily a couple kind of thing. My parents would give us girls a small gift and we'd all try to find the funniest cards to give each other. We'd usually go out to dinner, too. It was so much fun.

So here are some fun kids valentine ideas and things to do with your kids. I've never tried any of these things, as I don't have any children in the house and my nieces, sadly, live a bit too far away for me to do these projects with them. Let me know ifyou try out any of these ideas.

Lots of Valentine Ideas for you and your kids at Nikki and Danny's blog - she calls it All Out Valentines Day.

"Quite a few years ago, with funds being very low, I
came up with a perfect gift to give my hubby. I
decorated a glass jar with red & white painted hearts.
I decorated the lid with a red and white lace-trimmed
fabric. Inside, I placed 52 little white & red notes with ‘Things I love about you’ or ‘Things I love doing for you.’ Every week he could pick out one to start his week right! To this day, it is his favorite gift and he still pulls a note out every now and then." ~ Linda (posted on Creative Frugality)

Valentines Day printables - Family Fun

Butterflies and suckers make for one sweet valentine - Scribbit
and
"Cheesy Valentines" also from - Scribbit

Valentines Day Clothespins -- Martha
and
heart button covers - Martha
and
crayon hearts - Martha

Hope you had a Fabulous Groundhog Day!
Kristin

PDFs for MACs and Calendars.

I just found this today and have already used it twice - I love it!! If you own a MAC, then you should know about this...It is SO easy!

How can I turn a web page into a PDF? Just Ask Dave Taylor!

Then here's the other stuff I wanted to tell you about...

Calendars!

Have you been thinking about getting a little calendar for your table, or child's room? Here are some really cute free printables.

Zakka Life - miniature community calendar There are twelve little scenes that when put together look like a little community with trees and houses and a Ferris Wheel.

From the Canon website... It's a cow. (I copied off just the first page and put the cow on my bulletin board.) At the bottom of the page are a few other styles, too. But I like the cow best. It prints on 7 pages and is real easy to cut out and tape together.

Schlosser Designs had this as their tutorial for Tuesday - Hexagon Happy. (this is on the side of my fridge right now.) There are two calendars on each 8x11 page. One is is more muted tones and the other has brighter colors. So you can give one to a friend!


I was totally inspired by this persons journal on Flickr - TracyU

Go take a look.

Click on all of the months, go ahead, I'll wait.

I have this large spiral sketch book that has been in my office for a few years, unused, untouched. I usually just look at it and sigh. I WANT to use it!

I've been looking for a calendar for the kitchen for over a month. Nothing clicked. I didn't want anything that I saw. Some were too big to fit on the fridge, others were just too small to write on. Some were so cutesy that I just couldn't look at it all year. So I decided two days ago to use that sketch book, even though it is giant. It's 14 x 11. I think the journal that TracyU uses is 8 x 11. She uses 2" post-its , but all I had were the 3" square ones. So I had to modify Wednesdays. I'll get smaller post-its for next month if this works out for us.

So here is my attempt to make a TracyU inspired calendar.



This is the completed page. Well, sort of - the page will get filled in and will have more fun stuff added - so I guess I should say, this is the beginning of the January calendar.



I placed Post-its on the page, then used just two of my stamp pads and marked all of the white space around each post-it. Since I had used such large post-its, I didn't have enough space for Jan 1,2 & 3 - so I used post-it page markers for those dates. If this works out (and I hope it does), then I'll get smaller post-its so they will all fit on the two pages.

On this last photo you can click on it to give you a larger version.


I'm excited to see if this calendar works for us. It doesn't fit on the fridge, obviously, but it does fit on the countertop that I cleaned off a few weeks ago. That countertop is near the phone, the pen cup (sharpies, too) the post-its and other assorted note taking items. It might just be perfect.

I'll let you know.

So, there's a little random stuff for you today. Enjoy!!

Kristin