New Giveaway!!!!

One winner will get both sets! One is a pink Prehnite bracelet and earrings. The other is a light green Jade bracelet and earrings with freshwater pearls.

There are a few ways to enter and a few ways to be entered more than once.
Here's how:

1. Post here leaving a comment.
2. Tell me what your favorite item in my etsy shop is.
3. Post my giveaway on your blog, facebook, twitter, or other accounts and post the link(s) here.
4. Promote my etsy shop on your blog, facebook, or twitter. (Other than the giveaway announcement.)
5. Follow my blog.
6. Any purchases made in my etsy shop also receives an entry, though purchase is NOT necessary and does not increase your chances of winning.
7. If you already own some of my jewelry and link me to a picture of yourself wearing it you'll get an additional entry.
8. Send a friend to my shop and if they purchase something you'll get an additional entry. (You must let me know who you sent once they make a purchase, so that I know who to give credit to).

I will draw the winning name on July 31st, 2009.
*Make sure you leave your contact information so that I can notify you if you are the winner.*

Ready...Set..................GO! =)

Shop Talk

I need to raise about $200. Along with several other things I'm doing to raise the money I just now slashed prices in my Etsy shop. Yes, I'm taking huge losses but I gotta prioritize right now.

Solid sterling silver earrings. Reduced from $12.82 to $5


Or these gemstone pendants for only $6

If you know of someone that is looking for a birthday, anniversary, or any kind of gift to give please mention my etsy shop to them.

My new quilted rag bag.

These are the fabrics I used to make the rag bag out of. I like how happy the colors are. I am so bad to always chose neutral colors to be "safe", but I wanted to work outside of my comfort zone for a change. I love how it turned out.

Just a shot of the side and bottom. I made it rectangular just like the other one.

A close-up of the fabrics and stitching.

This is what the inside looks like.

Just thought I would share since I finally finished it. The handles on this one look like a butterfly when they come together. This one also has more "rag" edges than my first one did.
What'cha think?

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(¸.·´ (¸.·´★*¨¨*¨☆¨★*☆★*¨¨*☆Kristie★*¨☆¨★*☆★*¨¨*☆

New coupon blog.

I started a new coupon blog called Hip to Clip. I thought it might be better to have the coupon deals all in one place. So if you're at all interested in my boring posts about freebies, cheap deals, and my occasional CVS deals, it would be great if you followed me on it.

I'd also be interested to learn about deals from others as well. It's impossible for one person to find them all. Collectively we could really get some good info.

On other bloggy news, I am feeling kind of under the weather tonight. I hope I am not coming down with anything. I want to go to WM tomorrow and get those pints of Starbucks ice cream so I really hope I feel a lot better by the time I wake up. I should probably drink some pine needle tea in the morning to boost my immune system. It couldn't hurt.

TTYL =)

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(¸.·´ (¸.·´★*¨¨*¨☆¨★*☆★*¨¨*☆Kristie★*¨☆¨★*☆★*¨¨*☆

A post for myself.

All controversy aside, I was a huge fan of Michael Jackson growing up. His music got me through some rough pre-teen and teenage crap.

I begged and pleaded with my parents to get me tickets to go see him in concert when he came within 100 miles of my house.

It was 1984 and he came to Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, TN.
The tickets were $50 a piece back then and our family was dirt poor. Still, somehow my parents scraped the money together and I was able to go. I saw him on August 9th, 1984 during his last of three appearances in Knoxville.

I remember to this day that I was dead center of the floor in row 3. I was 11 and a half years old and I enjoyed the concert immensely. Little did I know then that every other concert I would attend after that, (New Edition, The Jets, just to name a couple) would pale in comparison!

Like a lot of other fans I wallpapered my bedroom with his posters, bought every new song that came out, learned all the words to each and every one. I read every article about him that I could get my hands on. I was the typical die hard giddy girl fan.

After I met Chris I outgrew my obsession with the pop icon and got on with my life. I can't even tell you what happened to all my memorabilia. I suppose my mom threw it all away. Still I was saddened yesterday when I heard he passed away.

I was sad because it just didn't seem like it was his time. Sad because a piece of my childhood is gone forever. Sad for his children, his sisters, brothers, and his parents. Sad that his life ended so suddenly without any chance for a goodbye.

That is why I have chosen the following song to serve as my own personal way to pay my respects and remember the good times. In a way this song seems like a fitting way for him to say goodbye and for his fans to say goodbye to him as well.

You are not alone.

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(¸.·´ (¸.·´★*¨¨*¨☆¨★*☆★*¨¨*☆Kristie★*¨☆¨★*☆★*¨¨*☆

Don't feel pressured to defend yourself.

I'm talking specifically about us hard-n-heavy couponers and stockpilers.

I read on a lot of message boards and other thrifty -deal seeking- blogs.
One thing that comes up again and again is the stockpiler, more often than not, seems to feel a need to justify why they bought so much of "X" product.

Like tonight, I was reading the blog of a friend that posted her loot of 100 boxes of pasta salad that she got for less than $4. Then goes on to say, "Relax they are not all for me. I'm only keeping a few and giving the rest to family and friends."

Same with the message borads. Poster will show a picture of her cupboard. Let's say she has 40 bottles of spaghetti sauce (for example). You know that a few replies down there will be someone that is bitter and jealous, and wants to crucify her over having so much of it. Here's the part where the original poster comes back and tries to defend themselves by saying they DO share with their parents, neighbors, etc.
It's enough to make any hard core couponer afraid to share their stock pictures for fear of being slapped on the writst about it.

Here's what I say. Any one else in their right mind wouldn't turn down free food, first of all. Secondly, if you were investigative enough to find the sale, then paid for the newspapers to get the coupons, or off ebay, or clipping service, or traded for the coupons, then drove on fuel that you paid for to get to the store...then I say you have nothing to apologize for. No reason to defend yourself!!

It's HARD work to keep all this coupon stuff straight. It takes time and a LOT of effort to find the best deals to keep our families fed. If you beat me to the store and take all 40 boxes of WHATEVER, then too bad for me! The early bird...

Chances are there's more than one of that store in town anyway. Maybe you'll luck up at the next one. If not then you have no one to be pissed at but yourself.

I just wish us couponers weren't made to feel like we have to justify buying in bulk. If a store has a great sale on some thing(s) my family uses and I can acquire the coupons to make the items free then you bet your sweet arse I'm gonna go get as much as I can. You don't need to know why I got so much, or tell me I am greedy, or ask me if I am really going to keep all that for myself?
My money, my coupons, my planning, my mileage on my car, MY BUSINESS!

Vent over.

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(¸.·´ (¸.·´★*¨¨*¨☆¨★*☆★*¨¨*☆Kristie★*¨☆¨★*☆★*¨¨*☆

I am in such a good mood today!

Maybe it's because my hubs has been home for a week, (he's leaving soon- BOO!)
Maybe it is because of all the fantastic coupon deals that have surfaced lately.
Maybe it is because I got a couple etsy orders and my shop still has a teeny bit of a pulse left after all. I was about to pronounce it dead!
Most likely it is a combination of everything.

So anyway, I want to share a couple good coupon deals with my coupie buds out here in internet land...
Always Infinity 28, 32, or 36 ct. boxes are only .99/box at CVS right now after coupon.
Now read carefully. This is an unadvertised sale. When you get to CVS the Infinity shelf price still reads $10.79 (give or take depending on your area), but they scan for $4.99. Minus the $4/1 coupon from the previous P&G insert and you get them for only .99!
I have no personal need for these thanks to my precious little operation I had back when I was 21 so I am stocking up on them for my 14 yo. niece. Her mom doesn't coupon shop and typically buys here generics. Which she hates. lol I'm gonna be Aunt of the the year! =)

Starbucks Ice Cream for .58/pint.
If you like Starbucks ice cream and have the $2/1 coupons from this past weekends SmartSource inserts you can take those to Walmart and get each pint for .50-.58 each.
Some report that it is $2.50 at their stores while others report it is $2.58.
Either way .50/.58 is not a bad price. I plan to stock my deep freeze with a few pints for the summer. (IF my coupons ever get here from fee-bay!)

Need dental floss? It's...FREE!
There are $1/1 Reach dental floss coupons out now that do not expire until 5/30/2010. Yes, I said 2010. Walmart sells it for $1 a pack so, FREE!
If we had a free dental clinic around here I'd load up on this deal just to donate it.

So there you go. Grab your cheap pads, have a pint of Starbuck's ice cream and floss for free afterwards. LMBO

It's A Beautiful Life

If you could use a pick-me-up today...

• Beautiful Life by Fisher

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CVS 6/20/09

Over $112 in product for less than $2 cash. Plus I walked out with more ExtraBucks than I went in with!

The Dawn was free because I had a raincheck from when it was on sale for .99 (back in Sept. 08) and I got a $1 home mailer coupon for it last week. Put the two together, free Dawn Hand Renewal.
Also free after coupons were the Buddy Bars, St. Ives facial, and the 7 First Aid kits.

The 4 ThermaCare heat wraps were money makers, but best of all were the Soy Joy bars. We bought 40 of them and got back $20 more in ECBs than we paid with.

The Almay Pure Minerals face powder was $13.99 each and paid out $10 each in ECBs EACH, and I used a $2 coupon on each one. PLUS, I was able to use two $5/30 coupons that CVS emailed to me! (Separate transactions of course!)

After CVS Chris and I went to Walmart where we got over $90 worth of stuff (mostly food items) for only $28 and change. It was a fun night.

Hot!

Super HOT! Scorching hot! The weather, that is! I was trying to put on a little make-up before I head to CVS tonight and since there's no AC in my bathroom I was sweating it off faster than I could apply it. Forget about using any foundation today. Sheesh!

Won't somebody PLEASE turn the winter back on?? =(

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(¸.·´ (¸.·´★*¨¨*¨☆¨★*☆★*¨¨*☆Kristie★*¨☆¨★*☆★*¨¨*☆

It was a simple, yet happy 21st.

So the 19th of June was our 21st wedding anniversary. We kept it very low key. We went shopping at a couple of our favorite places in Sevierville, TN. Had a nice dinner at Cracker Barrel (Chris's favorite resturant, not so much mine), then we went to Starbucks, and last we went and saw a movie before heading back home. I guess it was more of date night thing than an anniversary thing but, oh well. We enjoyed ourselves and that is what matters.

When we first arrived in Sevierville we were thinking we'd rent a cabin for the night. We had even packed our overnight bags and everything. Then we found out it was going to be around $180/night with taxes.
I told Chris that unless he really had his heart set on it I'd rather just see a movie and go back home.
One main reason why I didn't want to drop that much $ on the cabin was because it was already 8pm when we got to it. Checkout time is 11AM.

Maybe I've been couponing so long that I've turned into a real cheapskate, but $180 for 15 hours in a cabin, 8 hours or so spent sleeping...
That leaves only 7 hours awake and lets be real. You can only be "intimate" for so long before even that gets old. Or maybe that's just me. lol
So I figured we'd basically be paying $180 for 8 hours sleep and at least 4 hours of watching TV. And maybe an hour in the hot tub? Not worth it. Not right now.

After 6 long weeks...

After 6 long weeks my hubs is finally headed home!

Actually, make that almost 7 weeks when you factor in that it is an additional 5 day drive from CA to TN.

He's been all over CA, NV, WA and I'm ready to have him back here on the east coast where he belongs! HA. =)

We're going to go camping, just the two of us, for our 21st wedding anniversary. (Which is officially June 19th.)

He bought a bottle of wine and a smoked Salmon - somewhere out west- that we will dine on by the fire. Should be interesting since I only have alcohol once every couple of years and Chris NEVER drinks. lol But he promised me he would try to take at least one sip so I wouldn't be all alone. Come to think of it. For a guy that wants nothing to do with alcohol I'm not exactly sure why he even bothered buying it! lol

Rambling

Did you ever get so bored that you were looking for things to do, but nothing appealed to you?

I could do something crafty. I've got another rag quilt purse started. I could make these cute, cute thank you cards I've been meaning to get around to making.
Or, I could load the dishwasher. Where's the fun in that?
Doesn't seem to matter what I think of though. Nothing is tickling my fancy. If Chris were here I'd like to go on a drive with him just to enjoy the night air and look at the stars.

My letter to CVS corporate was published!

My letter to corporate was published! =) So I went to CVS tonight to do my deal same as I do every Saturday night. As soon as I stepped in the door I was greeted by the manager and another employee (Hey Brook!). They had a book in their hand and were asking me if I heard the news? They told me that a letter I had written to corporate was published in the spring 2009 CVS/Caremark Real Stories book. Brook opens the book to page 17 and sure enough there is just one of the many letters I had written in praise of my store. The manager was beaming and very appreciative. I think I scored some major points when he saw that letter, and I know it made him proud of all his employees as they all got a hearty "Way to go" from management. He talked to me for almost an hour and I think it really helped both of us get to know each other even better. So, write those letters to corporate PRAISING your nice CVS stores. It can make a world of difference. They let me keep a copy of the book. Here's a pic. of it and my letter.

Updated freebie and cheapie list.

More added!

If you know of other deals that are free or really cheap with coupon please let the rest of us know.

mq=manufacturer coupon
WM=WalMart
DG=Dollar General
FD=Family Dollar
Free or cheap

*Tabasco sauce FREE @ Walmart. Cost .98 - 1.00mq

*St. Ives trial size facial product FREE @ CVS. Cost 1.49- 1.50 mq

*AXE trial size body wash FREE @ WM. Cost .97-1.00mq

*Band Aid 30ct. box FREE @ DG. Cost 1.00- 1.00mq

*Band Aid 30ct. box .10 @ FD. Cost 1.10-1.00m

*Johnson's 2 oz. body lotion FREE @ WM. Cost .97 - 1.00 mq

*Johnson's Buddy Bars FREE @ WM. Cost .97 - 1.00mq

*Johnson's trial size first aid kits FREE @ CVS. Cost .99 - 1.00mq

*Angel Soft 4ct. pk. tp FREE @ Kroger. 1.00- .50mq (doubled) **Prices vary by region. My not- so- local Kroger sells them for 1.28

*Cottonelle 4ct. pk. tp @ WM. 1.00pk. X2 packs = 2.00 - .50/on 2 mq= 1.50 for both packs. (OR) - .75/2 mq= 1.25 for both packs, or precisly 62.5 cents per 4 roll pack!

*Eveready flashlights FREE @ DG. Cost 1.00 - 1.00 Energizer battery OR flashlight mq.
(Yes, you read that right. Energizer makes the Eveready flashlights.) I had no idea. Thanks to Lisa for the heads up on this one!

*Febreze Noticables kit .50 @ FD. Cost 4.50 - 4.00mq

*Febreze Noticables kit .75 @ DG. Cost 4.75 - 4.00mq

*Kotex Lightday pantyliners .25/pk @ WM or DG. Cost 1.00- .75mq

*Schick Disposable razors (10ct. + 2 bonus) FREE @ WM. Cost 1.97 - 2.00mq

*Glade Sense & Spray 1.00 @ WM. Cost 5.00 - 4.00mq

*Purina Kitten Chow (small bag) FREE @ WM. Cost 1.87 - free up to 2.19mq

*Glade Lasting Impressions 1.00 @ WM. Cost 5.00 - 4.00mq

*Air Wick I-Motion 1.00 @ WM. Cost 5.00 - 4.00mq

*Kraft salad dressing .08 @ WM. Cost 1.58 - 1.50mq

*Kraft BBQ sauce .23 @ WM. Cost .98 - .75mq

*Evercare lint rollers/refills FREE @ WM. Cost .97 - 1.00 printable mq.
(I found them at my store in the trial bins. 30 sheets to a roll.)

Coupon gurus...

I have heard through the grapevine that, per Walmart's coupon policy, they will accept register rewards from Walgreens.

Has anyone tried this?

I know I need to go ask my store's manager and I have printed out the coupon policy to take with me, but I was hoping to get some feedback from others that asked.

I've read a few other places where people were told they could, no problem. I hope that is the case for me. I've got over $100 in RR and while I could spend them at Wags I think I could make them go a lot father at WM.

Walmart's coupon redemption criteria states that coupons must:
Have a scanable barcode.
An expiration date.
Be a manufacturor coupon.
Clearly state where to send for compensation.

The Wags register rewards meet all these requirements, so I am hopeful.

It is just shy of 4AM

...and the sun will be up in about an hour.
Since I can not sleep I am seriously thinking of going back to Walgreens to see if they stocked any more money making meters. I mean, I'll give them .98 to give me back $10. Why not?

Afterward I could head over to Walmart too. I've collected quite a few printable coupons for freebies over the past couple of days.
Things like ice cream, A-1 sauces, Mac N Cheese, lint rollers, more razors, and I forget what else. I just know there is an envelope in my coupon binder that is now bulging and labeled [Walmart].

We're supposed to have some nasty thunderstorms today so maybe I could get in the shopping early before the storms come, and come home and sleep while it's raining. Sounds like a plan to me!

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(¸.·´ (¸.·´★*¨¨*¨☆¨★*☆★*¨¨*☆Kristie★*¨☆¨★*☆★*¨¨*☆

The most beautiful thing I've ever heard.

Emailed to me today from my hubby...


"I love you very much and will be praying for you."


I have such a wonderful husband! =)