Learn a new craft from home with #Craftsy

This post contains affiliate links. I may receive monetary compensation should you click through the links and purchase an online class or join their referral program. Thank you in advance for your support. 



Have you ever wished there was an easy way to learn a new crafting skill? Every time I go into my local craft supply store I see the sign-up sheets for at least one or two classes I'd love to take but the timing never seems to work out. Now, thanks to my new sponsor Craftsy, I can take a class anytime I want to!

Courtesy: Craftsy.com
         

About Craftsy:

Craftsy is the leading online social crafting platform. We offer full-length, professionally-produced HD video courses in quilting, sewing, knitting, crochet, food, jewelry, paper craft, and more. Custom interactive features allow students to connect directly with each other and with award-winning instructors.

You are see the whole list of classes available by going HERE.  There is a how to on Jam & Marmalade that I have my eye on. And I also want to take a refresher class on sewing, because honestly, my 7th grade home economics class skills leave a little to be desired!

Speaking of sewing, Craftsy offers several free classes like this Free Online Quilting Class! Just do a quick search and I'm sure you will find a free or very affordable class in your area of interest because there are
several classes on sale right now. So go ahead and indulge your desire to learn something new, or perhaps join me on brushing up on a skill that's a little rusty!

Another great feature of Craftsy is the Gift any class feature. 

Courtesy: Craftsy.com

"Want to give someone a Craftsy class, but not sure which one to pick? With our "Gift Any Class" cards, you can buy a loved one any Craftsy class of their choosing for $30! Just fill out the form with their contact information and we'll send them a link to choose whichever Craftsy class they've got their eye on, for free. It has never been easier to give the gift of crafting fun!" 


I think Craftsy has come up with a wonderful solution for us time crunched crafters! I hope you'll visit them soon. Not only do they offer classes and a vibrant community, Craftsy also offers you a way to earn a little money with their referral program. Join Crafty's affiliate program today by clicking HERE.


Are you a crafter? What project are you currently working on? 

Getting the lawn we want with Safer Brand products

I received  free products from Safer Brand to facilitate this review. However, all opinions are 100% my own. 

When a representative from Safer Brands contacted me about possibly doing a review for their organic products I quickly researched the company prior to saying yes. We have had bad experiences with lawn and garden products in the past and I wanted to make sure these products were something beneficial and truly safe to work with. Within 3 minutes of visiting their informative website, I was replying to that email with Yes, please!  Here's what I learned.

About Safer Brand Lawn Care:

Courtesy: Saferbrand.com

Safer Brand's tag line says it all: It's Organic, It's Effective, It's Safer Brand. The website also states: "Safer® Brand carries the natural gardening products you need for your organic garden, lawn and houseplants. Our insecticides and herbicides are all natural, containing no synthetic or man-made chemicals. Whatever your organic gardening needs are, Safer® Brand can help."

That sounded really good to me since we live on a pretty large property and safety of our yard, outside animals and waterways is very important to us. We waited for the arrival of our products. 

Here's what we received:

Safer Brand Restore and Weed Control Step 1 & 2

Safer Brand Lawn Restore Step 3 & 4

Safer Brand Thermometer and Application Calendar

Our products arrived in late April just in time to apply. The only problem was it rained every time we were free to apply the products.  We finally caught a break in the weather and got busy.

Here is a photo of the Restore in our spreader.

And a photo of my wonderful husband spreading Safer Brand Restore on our lawn.

I even added the Weed Prevention Plus product to my flower beds prior to mulching.

I was pleased that the Safer Brand products had no chemical odor. The products smell more grainy than anything. In fact, I saw curious birds coming down to peck and investigate the pellets under a tree. I didn't have to worry about them, my outside kitty, or the lawn! 

So far I am very pleased with the Safer Brand products and will keep you updated with the results as we work through the product application process which happens in July and September. After that I will give my full review. 

I invite you to check out Safer Brand products if you are looking for a safe alternative to harsh chemicals. Visit their website HERE or connect with them on Facebook and Twitter.

Free Blogger Opportunity - Famous Free Samples' Apple TV Giveaway

Famous Free Samples’ Apple TV Giveaway Event

Courtesy:Famous Free Samples

Hi Blogging friends! Are you looking for a free way to increase your social media followers? Then why not join me on TipHero's latest event? You will love the results!

Sign-ups are now open for Famous Free Samples’ latest giveaway event!

• This event is free to join with an announcement post. If you don't wish to post the announcement, please send the $5 non-post fee to tiphero@gmail.com
• You'll receive 1 free link for participating (either Twitter or Pinterest)
• Additional links (RSS/Email, YouTube, Twitter and Pinterest) are available for $5 each
• Sign-ups for this event end on May 20th
• Event runs from May 22 - June 5
• Prize: An Apple TV (in the form of a $100 Apple Gift Card)

Please send all payments to tiphero@gmail.com as a "gift" via PayPal.
Sign up for this event here.

Perk up your kitchen cabinets for less than $10

Welcome to my new series of home improvement, D.I.Y. and housekeeping posts! We are doing projects on a budget, happily applying common sense and a healthy dose of elbow grease.  I hope you’ll stop by often to see what we’ve been up to.  

Kitchen Cabinet Help on a Budget:

Are you tired of your drab kitchen cabinets? Wish you could replace them? That’s where we are too. 

When we bought this house several years ago, it was our plan to update the whole house starting with the kitchen and baths. My husband is a professional cabinet maker/woodworker, so finding the right person for the job isn’t the problem. Time and money is. 

With company coming soon, I decided to do something about my kitchen cabinets.

First I borrowed my husband’s Formby’s Lemon Oil furniture treatment and one of his soft cloths. He said it was the best choice for what I wanted to do. He's the pro, so I knew our cabinets wouldn't get damaged.

As you can tell by the label, this stuff has been used and around for a while. It has a nice, mild lemony scent and isn’t real greasy.

After reading the simple directions, I squeezed a small amount on my cloth and set to work. 

You can barely make out the little yellow spot in this picture.  

This is a before picture of my 1^st cabinet:

As you can see, the cabinet doesn’t look dirty, just a bit drab.

But the cloth after applying the Formby’s on this one cabinet tells a different story: 

I keep a pretty neat and tidy home if I do say so myself, so I wasn’t prepared for this yuckiness! I got back to work, applying a liberal amount of enthusiasm to the task. For me there is just something elemental and comforting about doing a task with my hands that allows my mind to work on other stuff. That’s called being in the zone and I like it.

See how shiny the cabinet door looks?

I am very pleased with my new shiny, clean kitchen cabinets! Formby’s even shined up the hardware without making it greasy to the touch. I smile each time I walk in the kitchen. 

This is such a quick and inexpensive way to brighten up your kitchen.

Total project cost = Zero, because we had the Formby’s on hand. I found several companies selling this product online for less than 10 dollars!

Total project time: To complete 13 upper and lower cabinets, inside and out plus drawers = 2 hours. 

I hope you will try Formby’s on your kitchen cabinets too and stop back by and let me know what you think. I’ll be doing the bathroom cabinets next.

What are you working on around your home? 

Rod Stewart is "Time"less!

I participated in this campaign for One2One Network. I received a free copy of the CD to facilitate my review. By posting, I am eligible for incentives. All opinions stated are my own.

I was hooked on Rod Stewart from the first time I heard his gruff voice on my radio singing 

"Wake up Maggie, I think I got something to say to you". 

So when I got the email from One@One Network saying that his new album Time was available for review, I happily joined the campaign. A big thank you to One2One Network for giving me the opportunity to listen to Rod Stewart's first original content CD released in almost 20 years!

About Time:

Courtesy: One2One Network

• Rod Stewart has spent four decades being a rock star, three being a parent, and has a new album's worth of rollicking stories to tell. Time is his first album of new material in almost 20 years (and his hairstyle hasn't changed one bit!)
• Time, releasing May 7th, 2013, marks Stewart's long-awaited return to his songwriting roots and features 12 tracks, 11 of which he wrote and produced.
• The album was born from a burst of inspiration that came while Rod was reviewing his life for his recent memoir.
•  Rod rediscovered his voice as a songwriter and rekindled his gift for writing the honest, nerve-touching narratives that have been the cornerstone to the first three decades of his career.

Rod on Writing Time: 

Courtesy: One2One Network

• "Suddenly ideas for lyrics were piling up in my head," he says. "Next thing I knew, I had a song called 'It's Over' about divorce and separation. And now I was getting up in the middle of the night and scrambling for a pen to write things down, which has never happened to me. I finished seven or eight songs very quickly and I still wasn't done, and it became apparent that I would eventually have a whole album of material to record."

My Review:

 I believe song placement on an album is very important and I can see why the powers that be started us off with the up-tempo song She Makes Me Happy. It made me happy just listening to it.

Go HERE to listen to the song and then please come back and tell me what you think.   

The frolicking, fun tempo continues on the second track Can't stop me now where Rod sings about his early career days and I loved that he shared when he met Maggie May!

On the next two tracks, Rod gets serious. On It's Over, his song about divorce, I admired him for remembering his children and saying he'd do whatever suits her. You can really feel his heart in this song. 

Then Brighton Beach is written from the loved and lost eye of youth where he asks "Do you ever stop and think about me? So relatable because who among us hasn't wondered if a high school sweet heart still remembers us?

A few of the tracks didn't resonate with me. They were good musically, but being a lover of a great lyric, I wanted more of the writing I'd heard in the first few tracks. I think my favorite songs were the one's in which he wrote about children. 

They touched on such strong emotions that you feel honored to feel his heart through his words.

 Pure Love, the final and best track (in my humble opinion) is a perfect example of that and this song moved me to tears.

My Take Away:

Time was well worth the wait! Rod Stewart invites us into his life over the last couple of decades with his well written and performed songs. He remembers and honors those that have left a mark on his life and heart. He admits to not being perfect and that he's not done living and having fun, just in a more mature way. 

I would highly recommend this CD to any Rod Stewart fan or anybody who loves a good love song! There are several to choose from on this CD. 

To buy Time please visit iTunes, or Amazon and be sure to follow Rod Stewart on Twitter.

You can also catch him on Katie – Airing 5-10-13 at  3pm EST / Check Local Listings on ABC.

I hope you found this review helpful. Are you a Rod Stewart fan? If so, what's your favorite song?

MoGo flavored mouth guard Giveaway

Spring is doing it's best to beat out old man winter all across our great nation and with the warmer weather comes lots of sporting activities. Whether it's you, your son, daughter, or even your hubby out there on the field, the need to protect your mouth and teeth is important. MoGo is here to help.

Welcome to the MoGo Flavored Mouth Guard Event!

Brought to you by:

About MoGo: 

Courtesy: MoGo Sport

Revolutionary flavor technology allows MoGo to add flavor to plastic, creating the world’s first flavored mouth guard. The flavor is not coated or sprayed on the plastic; it is embedded the plastic so the flavor lasts game after game after game…

• Exceptional design allows for maximum comfort, performance, protection & breathability
• The flavor is made from all-natural ingredients
• All flavors and materials are FDA compliant & BPA free
• Quick-release tether included
• $10,000 Dental Warranty
• Made in the USA

The Prizes:

Courtesy: MoGo Sport

The winner will get a pack of FIVE flavored MoGo Sport mouth guards AND an autographed set of Lacrosse Stick and Gloves! Autographs are from Mikey Powell, Matt Gibson and Steve Peyser. The winner will get to choose a friend to pay it forward to with a second set of FIVE flavored MoGo Sport mouth guards.

Winner Keeps: A set of 5 MoGo mouth guards and signed Lacrosse gear

Winner Shares: A set of 5 MoGo mouth guards

How to Enter:

The Giveaway will open up on 5/7 12:01 am EST and Close on 5/10 at 11:59 pm EST. Event is open to U.S. only.

Complete the mandatory entries on the Rafflecopter below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out and Enter our Other Giveaways:

Side note...It's not mandatory to enter all the giveaways at each blog. Those are just great bonus giveaways for you to enter.

Mission Giveaway started with Madame Deals and her $100 story where with $100 several people received the help they needed. We are on a mission to help people help each other! We have gathered a group of bloggers that want to make a difference. Together we are Mission Giveaway!

To ask about becoming a sponsor, please contact Amee or Dawn at madamedealsmedia@yahoo.com for details. Take a look at our Media Kit to see what Mission Giveaway has to offer.

Are you a blogger that would like to participate in Mission Giveaway? Find out how you can join us.

Find our official Terms and Conditions on the Madame Deals Media page.



Disclosure: I was not compensated in any way to share this giveaway. My WAHM Plan is not responsible for the shipping of prizes. All opinions are my own and may differ from yours. 

The Garden Patch Growbox Giveaway

During one of our recent family meetings, we all agreed that we grow our veggies in containers again this year. This frees up some of our summer and gives us a chance to bargain shop for a much needed rototiller and a few other gardening tools we're missing.

Do you container garden as well? Then you are going to love this giveaway! I've partnered with some great bloggers to bring you:

The Garden Patch Growbox Giveaway

Courtesy:TheGrowbox.com

My blogging buddy Colleen at My Vegan Gluten Free Life shares her experience with The Growbox below:

"Garden Patch was having a photo contest. I sent in a photo of the tomato plants that I grow using Garden Patch Growboxes. I put them in my south-facing windows of my home in Homer, AK. To my delight and surprise I was one of the photo winners in The Garden Patch Photo Contest, with your voting help! My picture is in their mailing flier.

Courtesy: My Vegan Gluten Free Life

I just love to Garden and since it's rather difficult in our Alaskan climate I love these Growboxes! I grow cucumbers and green beans also in my house! Of course these Growboxes are used outside but for those of us with challenging growing conditions it is so nice to have one of these inside to grow in! I now have 7 Growboxes & LOVE them!
I LOVE the fact that it has a water reservoir at the bottom of the Growbox. It is large and the access is through the easily seen pour spout. I can leave my home for a week after filling the reservoir, which I do frequently, and when I return the vegetables are in fine shape and condition! The roots grow through the planting media and into the water. It is a fantastic system.
When I received notice from The Garden Patch telling me I had won and they would send me a Growbox, I asked if they would give one as a giveaway instead of sending me one since I use them already. Again to my delight and surprise, The Garden Patch said they would gladly send one as a giveaway prize but also would send me one! Isn't the Garden Patch absolutely fabulous? So one lucky winner will get to have one of these great Growboxes!"

The Garden Patch Growbox Giveaway:

The Garden Patch Growbox comes complete with fertilizer, easy instructions and planting guide. It is made of Tough UV construction lasts a long time! You can see by my picture below. I just hosed off and cleaned my Growboxes getting them ready for use here shortly. Our Alaskan sunshine is lasting at least 12 hours already. All you have to do is just add plants and potting mix. They are a nice 28"L x 14"W x 12"H in size and green or terra-cotta in color. I have the terra-cotta ones. They are USA made.

This Garden Growbox giveaway is open to the US.

Giveaway closes May 31, 2013 at 12:00 AM EST . 

Enter on the Rafflecopter below and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What do you Garden?