Random-ness.....

Ok I'm back...well I've been home since Monday night. However I caught a nasty cold from all those sick college kids & am just feeling good enough to actually get stuff done again...phew!  Thought I'd just share some pictures of our trip with you & check in and say HI!

Also thanks to everyone that played along in my fun Paddywax Candle game.....I know you've been waiting so the winner (picked randomly of course) is:

VIVIAN LINDSEY

Congrats!  Please email me at sjdean@smartneighborhood.net with the choice of Paddywax candle from the "Library Collection" you'd like and your mailing address ok!

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In case you didn't know the hubs & I left on Thursday morning last week to spend some time at the Univ of SC with our daughter...who we hadn't seen in 3 months. We came back Monday and now are counting down the days till Thanksgiving when we are all together again.  My son stayed at home because he had other things he preferred doing LOL!

 Me & my mini-me....reunited again!

Friday night was Halloween so Alexa was out with her friends. She was a flapper & her best bud Reid was "2000 Justin Timberlake" LOL!  The hubs & I celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary at Cafe Garibaldi in Columbia, SC (highly recommend it) instead...I had a glass of wine, some yummy food and oh! they MAKE their mozzarella & ricotta cheeses...to die for!

My son & his girlfriend were back at home at a costume party. They dressed up as Squints & Wendy Peffercorn from "The Sandlot" movie. She looks about 12 next to him, not 17 LOL!

Saturday night was the Gamecocks game against Tennessee...my first SEC college game & it didn't disappoint...really fun...minus the 38 deg temps & wind.

This is me freezing my patootie off....I was frozen by half-time. We left at the end of 3rd quarter because it was miserable...oh and we were winning when we left...then they lost...guess I should've stayed huh? LOL!

Here's a little video of the pre-game madness...I particularly love the student section and their choreographed dance LOL! And NO that is not me screaming, I was too cold...the student section is on the right and that stadium holds like 85,000 people and the cement risers were SHAKING. Even with the cold temps it was a sold-out game...craziness like I've never experienced!

The tailgating at SEC games is out of this world...like nothing I've seen before.  Univ of SC has multiple tailgating lots and they were filled with tents, food, tvs, couches...you name it. This is the "Cockaboose" that they have next to stadium and you can rent each one for your pre-game party...insanely cool!

Alexa was at game with her 2 best guy friends in the student section...none of the other girls wanted to come because of the cold. But my daughter is a die-hard football fan like us so she was there...but they left in the 3rd...wimps...hehehe!

Meanwhile back at home, Riley was at the Notre Dame vs Navy game in DC with our neighbor. It was actually warmer at home than in SC...c'mon now. I woke up to SNOW in SC on Saturday....last week my daughter was at the pool....sheesh!

The last night there we took Alexa & her friends out to dinner...with real food apparently...because they are sick of dining hall food.  Although said dining hall food is pretty darn delicious from when I went to school.  But we had a good time, lots of laughs & it was nice to meet her new friends...good kids!

Alexa's Room

her roomie's room

And I'd be remiss if I didn't show you my daughter's dorm apartment...well her and her roomie's bedrooms.  Alexa's wasn't too bad although I know she cleaned before we got there LOL...her roommates room is more what I expect my son's to look like in college. 

Have a wonderful week y'all!

A Spooky Package!!

It's getting close to that time of the month...yup HALLOWEEN!  

I've always loved the holiday and everything that goes along with it...candy, costumes, creepy decorations, candy...did I say candy yet?? LOL!  One of my most favorite memories was of drawing all kinds of fun Haunted Houses & coloring them...ohh I loved to color and draw when I was young...still do, hence the papercrafting & Copics!  I'm usually big into decorating the outside of our house too...fog machine, spooky noises, skeletons, bats...you name it!  

However this year we will be visiting Alexa at UofSC that weekend along with celebrating our wedding anniversary.  So I won't be doing too many decorations this year but I will have a few up...I can't resist!

The kids..ahem teens and I always loved Halloween. We'd rush to get them in their costumes every year, something healthy in their tummies before meeting groups of friends to go Trick-or Treating. When they were younger we'd have big potluck dinners beforehand with neighbors and friends and then the dads would take the kids out to go house-2-house.  I sure do miss those days!  Last year we had a Halloween Party (see HERE) for Alexa and her friends and that was a lot of fun.  Maybe I can talk Riley into having one next year when he's a Senior too..hmmm? 

So I decided that I would put a box of Halloween fun for Alexa & her friends/dorm-mates!  They may be in college but who doesn't like to decorate, eat treats and have some spooktacular fun right?
This was her box all packed up and ready to mail!

I like to call this the Halloween Spooktacular Fun Box...because that's its purpose. To give the kids some smiles and some Halloween fun.  I added more than what I've shown in the pictures but you get the idea of what kind of things are inside.

So what did I pack in the box?
I got some temporary tattoos in all different styles..including some fun mustachio's lol!
I also picked up son fun googly-eye glasses from the Dollar Spot at Target.
And a Martha Stewart Halloween banner to decorate the walls.

I thought the girls would like to have some fun decorating their nails & giving manicures as well.
So I bought some Orange (Essie-Fear of Desire) and Gray Opi-Exactly My Pointe) nail polishes along with fun Halloween Nail Decals.  My BFF Shannon also gave me a set of nail items from Mary Kay to include for the girls...including their awesome Satin Hands set. So these gal's nails should be Boo-tiful!  (yeah couldn't help myself)

And you gotta have the colored hairsprays and gels that last until you wash your hair.
Always fun right?

I also included items for them to have a Sugar-Cookie Decorating Party.  A couple Sugar Cookie mixes, Halloween cookie-cutters and things to decorate them with.  I also included a Brownie box mix...easy things for them to make in their dorm apartment.

Then for Alexa and her roomie Taylor I decided to make up some special tins filled with some of their favorite treats.  These little black tins are from Target's Dollar Spot and they are chalkboard-like so you can write messages on them in chalk.  I added some raffia mix and made fun tags for each of the tins.  I also added a bit of black tulle to the mix...just because I love it and it always adds a creeptastic edge to everything!  Alexa's tin is the one with the pumpkin :)

I apologize for photo quality...I took this with my iPhone and forgot to follow up with my camera.  But this shows them the best...I used a mix of My Minds Eye paper, accents and some fun pearls & buttons.  And you always have to add some Bakers Twine to the mix.  The edges were inked well to age them up a bit.

I also made up a few bags for Alexa to give to friends and tied them off with twine & burlap. I included a couple bags of candy in the box too..gotta have candy right?

3 Halloween Lighted Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkins
I also added these to the mix....cute LED lighted pumpkins.  Safe to use in the dorms and also not use a lot of energy (She's in the Green Quad so they are supposed to conserve & recycle).  And at $13 for all three I thought it was a good bargain too.

And I found this t-shirt at our Target for Disney-obsessed & Mickey loving Alexa lol!
It even glows in the dark...I know she will love it!

Then I packed it all up and added a bunch of foam bats that they can stick to their dorm walls as well.
And I added a fun card that included directions for how the box was to be used....for fun of course!

This was the front of the Halloween card I got Alexa...LOL!  It looks like our fatty cat Winston so I knew she'd get a kick out of it!

Just a fun way to include the kids at college during this Halloween Month!
(and yes I've started planning the Christmas box already)

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Entering in the following Link Parties:

Monday Funday Link Party

That DIY Party

Amaze Me Monday

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

Wow Us Wednesdays

A Touch of Gold

I saw these fabulous jewelry boxes on the web earlier this year at House of Earnest and knew they'd make great high school graduation presents for my daughter's BFFs.  Classy & elegant with gold accents look beautiful on anyone's dresser or nightstand.  I added monograms and polka-dots to mine to make them a bit different.

These are very inexpensive to make and you can customize each one, so they make great Christmas presents for the upcoming holiday season.  I'm actually making one for myself just to keep on my living room table as a pretty accent.

I wanted to add more gold detail other than just lining the top & bottom frames...so I added freehanded gold polka dots just along the bottom of the jewelry box. 

Supplies I Used:

I think the total for my supplies for 2 boxes was under $16...that's with a coupon at Michaels on frames and non-skid pads.  I had the paint pen and vinyl already.

acrylic box frames (I used 5x7) from Michaels

Gold Paint Pen (or any color you choose)

small gold hinges with screws

clear vinyl stick-on non-skid pads

drill & bit

vinyl in any color

Silhouette Cameo
Tutorial by House of Earnest HERE

I used gold vinyl cut with my Cameo and monograms from the Silhouette store to add to the front of each.  I went with a simple one letter monogram with swirls on each side...I liked the look of them.  And the oval around the monogram was done using an oval metal die that I traced around with my gold pen.

**A little tip....while you are drilling cover the frames with tissue paper just to protect them from getting scratched.  Tape it on with some painters or stencil tape and then drill. And use the painters tape to line up where you want your hinges & screws like in the tutorial, it will help**

You could of course buy a pre-made vinyl monogram if you don't have access to a cutting machine like the Cameo.  You can find lots of them for sale on Etsy for under $5 a piece in many colors and fonts.

Along with the jewelry boxes each girl got a pair of Kate Spade signature bow earrings in different colors...a gift that will carry them through college and beyond. Stylish, elegant and classy just like the girls :)

EDITED:  about the screws...I found clear caps at Home Depot that fit over the ends nicely...the screws don't cut well because they are shorter.  If these will be purely decorative and not opened much you could attach hinges with a glue like E6000.  When I post Alexa's you will see a very different take on these with NO screws...so stay tuned.

So pretty and easy to make....if you want larger ones you could go with a larger sized frame too.

And use different paint pens to make colored versions...I'm making a colored one now that I will share later too that's a bit different from these.

I love how the gold catches the light....definitely will be making one for myself soon!

Hope you liked them & want to make a few yourself!!
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Entering into the following Linky Parties:

The 36th Avenue

Wow Us Wednesdays

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

AKA Design + Life

Freedom Fridays with all My Bloggy Friends #45

The DIY Party

Amaze Me Monday

Making Monday #57

Monday Funday

Wow Me Wednesdays/Savvy Southern Style

The Pretty Preppy Party

Wrecks......

Soooooo I'm a bit of a wreck this week..yup yup I am. 

It is beyond crazy with to-do lists and dinners with friends and last minute things as we pack up Alexa to leave for college on Friday.  So I've slacked from the blog to spend time as a family and get all our stuff done before we get on the road. And with Alexa sharing an apartment with 3 other girls we had to outfit her with a lot of things that you wouldn't get for just a dorm room. So we've been busy and its all good busy and spending quality time as a family.

So please bare with me while I get this crazy girl settled at the Univ of South Carolina and muddle through my own emotions. I promise to get some posts up late next week when I'm somewhat back to normal. This has been pretty hard emotionally so I'm struggling as is the hubs...but its all good and we are proud of her and so excited for her new journey the next few years.

But I'm a momma....you know what I mean...its hard.

The Dean 4-pack is shrinking to a 3-pack and I'm not so thrilled about it!

So have a wonderful week & I will get my head screwed back on and butt in gear next week for you all. I have lots of pictures and things to share :)

Laundry Essentials!!

Some Laundry Essentials for College

My daughter is off to college next fall and I am collecting and making gifts for her and her two BFFs to take to college <Read more about that HERE>.  I will put them all in the large Thirty-One totes I got each of them.  My daughter has learned (I say that term loosely ahaha) to do laundry but I am still in charge of laundry in this house...I don't mind but I they are responsible for the put-aways of their clothes/towels/linens.  But I know once she's off to college she will be doing it ALL by herself so I wanted her to have a few essentials that she can take to the laundry room easily. 

PS--I forgot to put the small white scrub brush in the photos but that will be included too.  It was $1 from the Target Dollar spot!

The laundry basket in background is MINE..it is not included ;)

 

Dish Soap, Vinegar and Honest Co. Stain Remover

are the essentials I've taught her to use for stains and "incidents".

Yes white vinegar and dish soap can pair up to clean some mighty stains my friends.

I created pretty labels for each...no surprise...I am a papercrafter at my core and 

I simply cannot help myself!

A small stack of inexpensive white washcloths to dab and blot at stains are essential

in my laundry room and for Alexa's Kit.  I tied them off with a pretty ribbon to match :)

Then momma made her up some Laundry Tip cards...all laminated for the inevitable spills and splashes!

I will link them below for anyone that would like to use them, they are in pretty colors so if you need them for a boy you will need to change text colors :) or ask me to and email them to you if you'd like. They are formatted for a 4x6 card.

I used my printer to create all these tags and then I stamped the teal swirls on each label, then laminated them.  Because I used thick cardstock I sent them through the laminator 3 times...just to be safe..cuz I'm all for safety and longevity ;)  Then hole punched and hooked together.

**I bought a NEW laminator from Target...a Scotch machine for $24 and it worked beautifully.  I had an older Xyron and it broke as I was beginning this project...arghhh*

Laundry tips that I know Alexa may forget or question what she remembered that she either 

attach to her laundry bag easily or keep in the bucket.

At the bottom it reads "WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS USE GOOGLE OR CALL MOM!"

Or in my daughter's case she will probably text me WHILE she's doing laundry LOL!

A tip sheet on how to use white vinegar effectively on stains!

And another Stain Removal Tip Sheet with how to clean off

grease, lipstick, soda, pizza sauce, etc...all those things that may get on

clothes while at college.  And my daughter is the leader in dropping food on herself..so I got it all covered.

This is Alexa's new laundry bag that her grandmother got her to take to college.

Its a Vera Bradley bag and its HUGE, will haul a lot of laundry and has a nice thick strap to carry too.

Inside it has an attached pouch for change but at U of SC (where Alexa hopes to attend) they can use their student ID cards like a swipe card in the laundry room to pay for loads of wash...a little easier to do the task.  Why?  Because when her card is empty of $$$ she simply calls the Bank of Mom & Dad to load it up again LOL!

I made a matching tag to attach to her laundry bag as well just in case.

And cuz' its purrrrtyyyyy :)

 I added some pretty paper to the galvanized bucket (bucket was $3 at Michaels) to match the labels I made and another tag that hooks on the bucket saying "Laundry Essentials".  Just in case you forget ya know! <wink>  And everything fits inside nicely (and the scrub brush which I forgot, arghhh)!

Everything in this bucket including the bucket was approx $18 for all supplies

I will make 2 more of these sets for her friends in their fave colors as well...then they will go in the large tote bags.  So by the time they graduate there will be all kinds of goodies for them to use at college and maybe not feel too homesick.

This is a great idea for a brand new home-owner too...maybe a college grad moving into their first apartment or a young person moving into their first home perhaps.

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Here are links to print the files for my Laundry Tip Cards if you'd like to use them.  They are formatted to print in a 4x6 size on an 8.5 x11 size paper.  They will also print in pretty colors ;) 

Laundry Tip Card 1

Laundry Tip Card 2

Laundry Tip Card 3

Masculine Versions here:  Card 1, Card 2, Card 3

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Linking this to these link parties:

A Bowl Full of Lemons

Savvy Southern Style 

No Minimalist Here 

Not Just a Housewife 

French Country Cottage 

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia 

Funday Monday 

Happy Wash Day to you!