Giveaway! - Printed Goods Are My Favorite

I've posted a little bit on here about how I like to DIY when it comes to design and printed products (see the many wedding posts, the fiesta invites, my Save The Dates, and so on). So it's no surprise that I kind of love designing and printing fun stuff. Which leads me to my next point.... I'm having a giveaway!!

The fine folks at PrintRunner.com are providing today's giveaway! They are an online printing company, that does a little bit of everything: postcards, envelopes, business cards, stickers, etc. If you've never used an online printing company, don't be scared! I have used MANY online printing companies and can assure you that the document submission and proof review process is seamless and quality is top-notch. From personal experience, Print Runner has a great selection of paper weights and types of finishes (matte, gloss, etc). Interested in online postcard printing? The fabulous folks at Print Runner got your back.Which brings me to the details of the giveaway: You have the opportunity to win 100 free postcards!

Product Details: you can find examples and specs here.

Postcard Size : Postcards 5x7

Quantity : 100 (yippee!)

Colors : 4/0 Front Only Printing (full color printing on the front, no printing on the back)

Paper : 14 PT. UV Coating on Front (Excellent heavy weight paper, slick/gloss finish on the front)

Rounded Corners : Yes (OMG- This is going to be really cute)

Proof : None (this means that you get a digital proof, not a printed proof to review. Standard stuff)

Ready to Ship In : 4 Business Days

*Giveaway is open to US Residents only, ages 18 years old and above.

All you have to do to enter to win a set of postcards is leave a comment on this post, telling me what you'd use the postcards for. You have till April 27th (7 days!) to leave a comment. I'll select one at random and your prize will be awarded on the 30th. 

In full disclosure, I will also be receiving a free package of postcards. And I'll give you some ideas on what I'll do with it below. I'll also share some pictures of the whole process so you can see how fun custom printing is :)

See, the hubs and I are renting and we're looking to move into a new rental in May or June. And that is the most perfect time to send a little postcard to your family and friends notifying them of your new address.

How cute would something like this be?

Obviously we're not moving from TX, but I just couldn't resist. I thought this was such a cute concept.

Or, if you have a business, you could send out reminders to order, updates on new stock, etc! Families could print holiday cards on these (I could print pictures of my dog), the options are really endless.

The giveaway is open to US residents, age 18 and over. All you need to do is leave a comment telling me what you would do with free postcards in the comments section. I'll select one comment randomly as the winner. Comment section will close on April 30th. Be sure to leave your email address so I can contact you if you are the winner!


So, start leaving comments and get excited!

Instagram

Also, you may have noticed, I just downloaded Instagram for Android.

It's pretty fun! And so far, I've just been taking pictures of my dog.

Lipstick Miracle!

I don't normally post about beauty products, but I found a new favorite product and I feel like I just have to shout it from the mountain tops. I had a lipstick revelation and I just have to share.

I currently have 8 lip items in my purse. EIGHT! That's crazy talk.

Here's the breakdown from left to right (also in order of most moisturizing, to least moisturizing): Vaseline lip balm, Chapstick, lip balm from Whole Foods that is organic and smells funny, more Chapstick, one Clinique sample size lipstick, L'Oreal lip gloss that is probably 5 years old but I love the color, Mac long wear, and Revlon long wear.

That's 4 items for moisturizing my lips and 4 for providing color, I generally combine one color product with one moisture product.

(I also feel it's important to remember that I live in Denver. Today there is only 20% humidity. Compared to San Antonio, TX, where there is currently a 40% humidity. And Oklahoma City, where there is currently a 35% humidity. My skin is constantly in need of lotion and my lips are constantly chapped due to this dry, dry, dry, dry, dry climate.)

 And I'm proud to announce I discovered a Lipstick Miracle and am now toting around 9 items in my purse. This little gem is the answer to my dry-climate prayers, providing a some shimmer, some shine, SPF15 and moisture.

This little slice of heaven is also known as: L'Oreal Colour Riche Balm.

And it's perfect.

 And no, I'm not getting paid by L'Oreal to post this. I wish! You hear that L'Oreal? I'd love to get paid to talk about your products.

Before - no Colour Riche Balm

After - with Colour Riche Balm. Not a big difference, but that's exactly what I'm going for!

Now Taking Recommendations

I'm thinking about planning a girls trip sometime in the next year. Now that my friends are spread out all over the country, we only see each other at weddings. Or possibly a family trip. We are spread out all over the country and don't get to see each other that much.

Do you have any recommendations on fun cities to visit?

I only have a few requirements:

1. You can enjoy the city on the cheap. This means, you don't have to pay to go see expensive shows, or buy tickets to expensive events to truly enjoy the city. 

2. Walkable, or has good Public Transport.  Can a group of people navigate the city without having a car?

Some cities that I'd recommend visiting if you're looking for a town that fits into those two requirements:

Kansas City, Missouri: (Don't knock it till you've tried it!)
Drove up for a weekend in 2009 with a girlfriend of mine. Totally enjoyed the shopping, the parks and the museums. The weather was beautiful! We visited the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (see giant shuttlecock below), shopped along the Plaza , went to a Royals game, partied in the Power and Lights district and had some great KC BBQ.  All in all, not too expensive, totally fun and gorgeous.

San Fransisco, California:
I mean, enough said, right? My little brother was in SanFran for training for his new job, so my parents and I decided to crash his trip. We went in early October of 2009 and had amazing weather and totally enjoyed exploring the city. Besides meals and the public transportation, we didn't really pay for much. You can walk around, shop, eat delicious food, take in the sights and really enjoy the town for not too much money. The public transportation is way fun too :)

 You can visit Pier 39 - but I hear the sea lions have relocated.

 Check out this old chocolate factory :)

 Walk up the steepest and windiest road you've ever seen.

 Visit the mecca for hippies. And a purple dinosaur on the street.

 Golden Gate bridge

 Alcatraz (this is the only thing we actually paid money to do)

So, do you have any recommendations on fun cities to visit? I'm need suggestions!

DIY: Fiesta Invitations

I recently made some Fiesta themed invitations for a wedding shower. I've received a lot of compliments, so I decided to share the DIY process.

First, I used this as inspiration: Once Wed Fiesta Invitations

However, I needed to save money since I was making about 35 of these. So, I tweaked the design, got thrifty and found a great alternative to share with you.

Tip 1: Find pre-cut, pre-packaged paper and envelopes.  

I found multicolored paper and envelopes at Target. A package of 50 was $19.00 (50 cards and 50 envelopes).

These envelopes are size A4 and the paper is 4-Bar size.  If you need some help figuring out what size paper and envelopes to order, I would suggest this site.

Very important: measure your Papel Picado! My papel picado was 3" wide, so I knew I didn't want a card that was much bigger than that. These cards (4-Bar) are 3.5" wide and 4.5" tall. (And fit into an A1 or a 4-Bar envelope).

Since you need TWO cards per invitation for this project, I needed two packages.  Total Cost for paper and envelopes: $40

Tip 2: Order your papel picado from this site: Teacher's Discovery

It's only $1 for each papel picado. That's right ONE DOLLAR. Since you will be cutting each one in half, order 1/2 as many as the number of invites you are making. Total Cost for Papel Picado: $26 (20 packages of papel picado and $6.00 for shipping). If you do a google search for "mini papel picado" you will find a variety of places to order from. They are all more expensive, however, you do have the choice of ordering just one color.

Tip 3: Print your cards at home

Set your paper size to be the size of your invitations (for whatever reason, my printer was more accepting of 4x6, so that is the size of the word document - I just moved my margins in more to ensure it printed correctly). Make sure you have enough cards to run a few through to make sure it's printing correctly.

Tip 4: Print your own address labels

I'm kind of in love with wrap around address labels. And chevrons. So I created this to share with you (free download!). This is an 8.5"x11" JPG - you should be able to print it out on a full sheet of adhesive and cut out the address labels. I used the 3M full sheet shipping labels (below) and they worked perfectly.

Click on the image and it should open in a new window. From there, right click and save to your computer.

Final Product:

Christmas

I may or may not have mailed off a thank you card today for a Christmas gift.

Better late than never, right?

#PhotoADay #Fail

First, I'd like to start this post with a big fat #fail, and gracefully bow out of the game.

I tried to keep up with the photo-a-day thing, but in the end, life just got in the way.

So here's the last of my attempt at keeping up with the photo-a-day challenge.

Day 13 #sign

Really? Someone actually posted this in the bathroom where I work.

Day 14 #clouds

As seen from my sunroof

 Day #15

Yes, I need gas.

 Day 16 #Sunglasses & Day 17 #Green

St. Patty's Day

 Day 18 #Corner of your Home

That's Lucy's corner. Don't mess with it.

 Day 19 #Funny

These two are funny. And not big fans of each other.

And that's as far as I got with it. :(

New Projects

I have a couple of new projects that I've been thinking about... Now that ski season is over and camping season hasn't quite begun, I'll have a few weekends in the house that I can dedicate to completing these.

Project #1 - Minky Baby Blanket (I'll detail my ideas for project #2 in the next post)

This will be my second attempt at a baby blanket, and I learned a lot from my first attempt. 

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Lessons Learned:

1. Softer is Better for Babies - this is why I'll be using the Minky fabric. If you don't know what Minky is, go touch the softest, plushest stuffed animal you can find, and that's what it feels like.

2. Go Simple - Babies outgrow things. End of story. As my sewing skills are getting better, it still takes me longer than the average bear to make some of this stuff. I am going to stick with what I know and not labor over it for hours and hours. I know the baby and mom will get a few months joy out of it.

3. Go Neutral or Know the Colors: If I want something to be used and loved, it should match the color theme Mom has picked for the baby. Or, go completely neutral.

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So, knowing that, here are my plans for the first project, the Minky Baby Blanket.  A friend of mine in San Antonio is having a baby girl. It's her first!

So, not knowing the colors, here's my "neutral plan", but may change it up once I find out how she's planning on decorating the nursery. (And I purposefully did not choose pink - which Mom may not like, but I like, so I'll have to double/triple check with her before I buy the fabric).

Size: 45" square
Back of blanket: Green and Gray Minky Fabric  - 1.5 yards needed

Photo from: www.xogigifabrics.com

Front of blanket: White and Gray Chevron Quilt

Found on Pinterest via Blue Elephant Stitches

OR (If I remember the Simple is Better lesson from above) a simple gray backing with white leaves. Possibly something like this:1.5 yards needed.

From FashionableFabrics.com

Thoughts? Would you recommend going full on pink on pink for this? Or wait and reveal my plans to Mom and let her choose?

#PhotoADayMarch

I get that this photo challenge is called "a photo a day", but I don't really want to spam my blog with photos every day. So, I'm posting in bulk.

Day 5 #Smile

Sleepy smile and a firm "don't post this" from the hubs.

Day 6 #5pm

 The gym.

Day 7 #Something you wore

A scarf, because it was freezing outside.

Day 8 #Window

Window.
It's broken.
Landlord says "it's double paned, doesn't need to be replaced". Not a battle I really feel like fighting.

Day 9 #Red

Red coat

Day 10 #Loud

We broke out a new game this weekend, Last Word. It was loud and hilarious.

Day 11 #Someone You Spoke To

I spend a lot of time talking to these two. And it's actually a big improvement to have them both on the same bed/in the same room.

Day 12 #Fork

Is this even a fork?