Thursday Thoughts

Hello there! It's Thursday and it's time for another Thursday Thoughts. So here we go...

• Today was my son's Sneak-a-Peek (aka Open House) at his school today. I'm super happy that he is going to have the same teacher. She's awesome!

• We finished school shopping today and got a ton of errands as well as to dos checked off my list.

• Hobby Lobby and Michaels are like my two favorite stores now. Seriously I go to Hobby Lobby just a tad bit too much. I'm starting to like Tuesday Morning a little bit. They don't have a ton of scrapbooking/crafting supplies, but I always find something that is awesome. 

• I found some binding rings and a really cute 6x6 paper pad by We R Memory Keepers (Bewitched) at Tuesday Morning and plan to make a mini album.

• Speaking of mini albums, I really want to make several of them. I need to look up what kind of covers I would like to use...maybe some chipboard? 

• I applied to be on the Xyron Design Team and I'm hoping that I get picked for one of their spots. It sounds like it would be a lot of fun.

• I'm thinking about making a big change in the next few months/year...and I'm feeling a little bit anxious about it.

• I just made a Pinterest and I'm trying to learn how it works. So once the boys go to bed, I think I'm going to work on that.

That's it for me. How has your Thursday been so far? What are your Thursday Thoughts?

Until next time...

Currently List #15

Hello there! It's Tuesday and you know what that means...it's Currently List time!

Watching: I needed to catch up on some tv shows and one of those shows was Love & Hip Hop Atlanta.

Reading: I didn't get to finish my copy of the Scrap365 so I've been catching up on it today. I think I may just have to subscribe to this magazine. I'm impressed with the stuff that I find in the magazine.

Listening: I have this song on repeat...like no joke. I love this song. 

Making: School will be starting soon and although I'm almost done with back to school shopping for my son, there are still a few things that I need to get. Plus I need to make my grocery list as well. I need to make sure that I write everything down...it's unbelievable how much I forget to add on the list. 

Feeling: That nap only made me even sleepier than what I was before I took the nap. How in the world does that happen?

Planning: I have been loving making cards and I want to make some more soon. I wanted to make some more last week, but I didn't get a chance to. So I will definitely try to do that this week.

Loving: I have been using different Xyron cartridges like the laminate and the laminate/permanent cartridge (for my Xyron 5" Creative Station) as well as the Xyron magnet tape and I'm loving it! There are just so many things that you can make using the cartridges! I've made some stickers, mini dashboards for my planner, and a mini dashboard for the fridge. You can read more about it here.

What's on your currently list? Feel free to share!

Until next time...

Crafting Projects Using Xyron Products

Hello everyone! Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend. The past few days, I have been busy getting some new crafting supplies. I think I'm set for the time being. I found lots of great goodies and have been spending the morning using the stuff to make things.

So what new products did I purchase? Xyron products!

I already have the Xyron 5" creative station and the permanent adhesive, but I also purchased the laminate cartridge and the laminate/permanent adhesive. I even bought the magnet tape since I did not find the magnet cartridge.

Today, I made three different projects. I made some mini dashboards for my planner, some stickers, and I made magnetic dashboard for the fridge.

Mini Dashboards

Front

Back

Supplies Used:

• Project Life (Planner)
• Xyron 5" Creative Station
• Xyron Laminate

Step 1: Gather the cards you want

Step 2: Put your cards in the creative station. Make sure that it is lined up neatly.

Step 3: Once you see the entire card, use the blade and cut.

Step 4: Cut the extra laminate off.

And then you have your own mini dashboard! You can punch some holes so that you can snap the card into your planner. Or you can just tape or add any other adhesive and stick it in your planner.

DIY Stickers

Supplies Used:

• Patterned Paper (I used the Paper Studio Four Seasons paper)
• Punch of your choice (Scallop)
• Xyron 5" Creative Station
• Xyron Permanent Adhesive

Step 1: Use your punch and start punching the patterned paper

Step 2: Put the punched paper into the slot of the Creative Station and run it through the machine

Step 3: Once the paper, is on the other side of the machine, run the blade/cutter across.

Step 4: Peel the film off and you have your sheet of stickers.

Magnetic Dashboard

Supplies Used:

• Xyron 5" Creative Station
• Xyron Laminate/Permanent 
• Xyron Magnet Tape
• Mambi Mason Jar Sticker

Step 1: Run the mason jar stickers through the Creative Station.

Step 2: Once you see the entire card on the other side then you can run the blade across.

Step 3: Trim the excess laminate off.

Step 4: Turn the card to the side with the permanent side (the non laminate side).

Step 5: Pull and tear magnet tape from the magnet tape dispenser.

Step 6: Apply the tape to the mini dashboard.

Step 7: Place your mini dashboard on a magnetic surface (I used my fridge).

So those are the three projects that I just completed today. I plan to use my stickers and my mini dashboards for my planner. I plan to use my mini magnetic dashboard to write notes to my husband and put some other reminder like where we need to go or important reminders on them. I love that there are so many things that you can do with the 5" Creative Station and that I can use other Xyron products in addition to the Creative Station.

Let me know what you think.

Until next time...

Thursday Thoughts

Hello there! It's Thursday and it's time for another Thursday Thoughts. So here we go...

• I've been going to Hobby Lobby and Michael's a lot. I got most of the stuff that I need for now except for a memory tray.

• I'm getting even more excited for all the projects that I plan to make in the next few weeks.

• I'm still trying to decide on whether or not to keep my Conscious Box subscription. I'm going to look into some other subscription boxes like Urthbox and Love with Food.

• I wonder if I should let my youngest son have a big boy bed soon. 

• I'm working on my wish list.

• I need to get started on my July assignment for One Little Word. The month is almost and I want to get this assignment done soon.

• Why is meal planning so hard? I need to find a better way to meal plan.

That's it for me. How is your Thursday going? What are your Thursday Thoughts?

Until next time...

July 2014 Conscious Box

Hello there! I'm super excited to share my review on the July 2014 Conscious Box. This is supposed to be my free box due to the small issues that I had with my second box. I still have to make my decision on whether or not to continue my subscription with Conscious Box before the month is over. But for now...let's get to the good stuff.

 Here's my review:

July 2014

The box was a little beat up, but nothing was damaged inside.

I love the wrapper and the little card that they always include

First look at the goods

Everly: Drink Mix

So I'm excited about this. It's an energizing drink mix and I could always use extra energy. It's in Peach Mango and sounds delicious. Plus when you purchase this, you help children with waterborne diseases.

Truvia: Sweetener

I've never tried Truvia before and very rarely actually use sugar except if I have to bake something. Truvia is natural and comes from the leaves of the stevia plant.

Buddy Fruits: Coconut Milk & Fruit

So my kids and I have tried different brands of pouches and loved them, but have never tried this brand. It's made from pure blended fruit and coconut milk.

Annie's: Homegrown Bunnies

I've heard about this brand before and have seen some of their products. I really like that it's made with organic wheat and whole grains. I'm sure they are super delicious.

Partners Free For All Kitchen: GF Crackers: Olive Oil & Sea Salt

I've never heard of this brand before. These are gluten-free and are made with cassava flour and five ancient grains. I may end up giving this to my husband to try.

Manitoba Harvest: Hemp Hearts

I keep hearing about hemp seeds. I'm amazed that you can put this in cereal, yogurt, and salads. I might have to try this with yogurt. 

Sotru: Chocoslim

This is a weight management product that has chocamine which is a patented extract from chocolate. It does not have sugar or fat. This can also help with mood and energy. 

Environne: Fruit & Vegetable Wash

I think this is pretty cool and was a little excited to receive this. We buy lots of produce and I have been wanting to try a fruit and vegetable wash. This has been proven to remove waxes, chemicals, and pesticides and it is an award winning product.

Izze: Sparkling Juice (Blackberry)

I was also excited to receive this. I think I have seen this before. There are no refined sugars, caffeine or artificial ingredients. It's just fruit and sparkling water. 

Natralia: Heel Balm

I have received this brand in two of the other boxes. I think I received this one in my June box. This contains rosemary oil and shea butter. This will be going into my travel bag.

Natralia: Anti-Itch Soothing Cream

This is another Natralia product.  This product contains oatmeal, Canadian willowherb, and menthol. This will be going into my travel bag as well.

Live Your True Nature: Bookmark

I like that I received a bookmark because now I don't have to go out and buy one. I have so many books that I need to read and was going to buy a bookmark (or two) so this came at a good time.

Coupons

Conscious Box always include coupons for some of the products that are in the box which is always nice. 

I did not get a chance to try most of the products in this box so I'll be sure to include what I thought in the next day or two. I'm not sure how to feel about this box. There were a few things that I loved that was in the box like the drink and the snack crackers, but I was hoping not to receive anymore of the lotions and creams since I already received some in other boxes. 

So that is my review.

Do you subscribe to Conscious Box or any other subscription box company? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Until next time...

Currently List #14

Hello there! It's Tuesday and you know what that means...it's Currently List time! I absolutely love filling these little cards out and putting them in my Project Life album. As you know, I fill them out weekly and sometimes even fill out more than one in a week.

Watching: I love this show so much. It seriously gets better every week.

Reading: I really like this magazine, but it is so hard to find in bookstores here in the US. I know I can subscribe to it and have it in digital format, but it just doesn't feel the same in digital format. I can deal with subscribing to other magazines in digital format like the Food Network magazine, Every Day with Rachel Ray, and Cosmopolitan, but it's just not the same with scrapbooking and crafting magazines for some reason.

Listening: I heard this song on Finding Carter and immediately had to download it on iTunes. This song is awesome and I love finding new songs.

Making: I have been catching up on my Project Life album. I seriously needed to get like at least 3 weeks of journaling done. I only have last week to do and will be officially caught up.

Feeling: I am so sick. I only got about 3 hours of sleep last night and probably the same amount the night before. My husband was so sweet and took the boys to play downstairs so that I can try to get some more sleep and rest.

Planning: I am planning on making some more cards. I have been in crafting mode and have been obsessed with making cards and stickers.

Loving: I love chicken noodle soup and I especially love it when I am sick.

What's on your currently list? Feel free to share!

Until next time...

Me & My Big Ideas (MAMBI) Cards

Hello! Hello! Happy Sunday everyone! I hope you are all having a wonderful Sunday. I've been having a great day today with my family. Today is one my year wedding anniversary and I still can't believe that a year has already passed since the wedding. I feel so lucky to have my husband. He is just the best.

A while ago, I won a MAMBI giveaway from Ali Edwards that included a whole bunch of the themed cards, embellished and specialty cards. Plus I also received some page protectors which was awesome because I had just started Project Life about a month before winning. However, lately I have been purchasing quite a few Me & My Big Ideas (MAMBI) products that I did not receive in the giveaway. Michael's has a lot of their stuff on clearance so I've been purchasing several of the themed packs, specialty cards, and embellished cards. I plan to use most of the cards that I purchased to make handmade cards.

I actually took some time today and created two cards.

There are so many people that I know that are having babies especially baby boys. I plan to make some more baby boy cards. I used Pebbles Basics Cardmaking Pad 1 and a Mambi embellished card (Baby Boy). It was super simple to make, but I do plan on fixing the string...I want it to come down a bit.

I also made this Halloween card. Can you tell that I'm super excited for Fall especially Halloween? I seriously can't wait. For this Halloween card, I used Pebbles Basics Cardmaking Pad 2 and a Mambi Soft Spoken Halloween embellishment.

I will definitely be making some more cards and will post some more up when I get them done.

How's your Sunday? What have you been making?

Until next time...

Thursday Thoughts

Hello there! It's Thursday and it's time for another Thursday Thoughts.

• I received Michael's rest/nap mat for school. I was surprised at how fast the product shipped and arrived. 

• I'm planning on making some cards this weekend with all of the MAMBI cards that I bought in the past week.

• I love Zaxby's. Sure it's unhealthy, but my gosh it's so delicious!

• I'm getting even more excited about 30 Days of Lists and have a few more things to get done for this project. 

• I know it's kind of early, but I am going to start Christmas shopping early. And by early, I mean like starting this month. I just want to get done before the end of November.

• We already know what we are going to dress the boys up for Halloween! Can you tell that I am excited for Fall and Christmas?

• I really want to order my Erin Condren planner, but I want to wait a little longer. I need to read more reviews about the covers. Plus I keep hearing about orders getting messed up or arriving too late so I want to wait until everything dies down a bit.  

That's it for me! How has your Thursday been? What are you Thursday Thoughts?

Until next time...

Currently List #13

Hello there! It's Tuesday and you know what that means...it's Currently List time!

Watching: I just started watching a new novela. I already love it!

Reading: Ugh don't you just hate car issues? Hoping it's an easy fix.

Listening: I am in love with Alien by Britney Spears. This song is just awesome. What's not awesome is that I heard that someone leaked an version of the song without pitch correction or something like that. 

Making: I am making plans and am currently working on some stuff for the blog. I'm hoping that I can get a lot of this stuff done this week.

Feeling: I'm a little stressed out and I have a headache. I think I'm trying to do too much in a short amount of time.

Planning: I really want to make a mini album soon. Maybe I'll make one for the upcoming 30 Days of Lists.

Loving: I just got my hair done today at the salon and I love it! 

What's on your currently list? Feel free to share!

Until next time...

Monday Morning Thoughts

Hello! Hello! Happy Monday! I hope you all had an amazing weekend. We had a blast yesterday at Champion Kids. The boys played so much and we also watched Brave for the first time. I absolutely love that movie!

Source

• I have been spending the morning working on the blog so if you happened to stop by then you may have noticed that the blog was kind of weird. So don't worry...it was just me trying to figure out some stuff. 

• It's going to be a somewhat busy week and I'm actually looking forward to it! Got a couple of errands and appointments. And I need to organize some stuff.

• Two of my major goals this week is to organize some closets and work some more on blog.

• I'm going to try and stop drinking soda again for a month and I'm hoping that I can possibly keep it up for more than a month...we shall see how that goes. 

How is your Monday going? Do you have any goals that you are trying to accomplish?

Thursday Thoughts

Hello! Hello! Hola mi gente!!! It's time for Thursday Thoughts. And here we go...

• I had a ton of errands today and got most of my to-dos done already. I'm feeling very accomplished at the moment because of all the stuff I got done in such a short amount of time.

• I am getting really irritated with USPS. They are constantly losing mail. It's freaking ridiculous!!!!

• Also I am not sure what is going on with the Project Life journaling pens. Every time I purchase a new pack, they immediately dry up. I just bought a third pack not too long ago (and barely use them) and after they are all dried up. I think I'm just going to stop purchasing them and stick with my Sharpie fine point pens.

• I have caught up with One Little Word and plan to start working on this month's prompt this weekend.

• I'm super excited because I am going to be a sponsor for 30 Days of List. I seriously can't wait! I need to decide whether to use one of the many daybooks that I have or make a mini album/daybook for this round of lists.

• I wonder when the fourth book in The Books of Abarat series is going to come out. I will probably have to reread all of the other books in order to remember what happened though. Plus I still have a ton of other books I need to read as well (yes...I know I keep saying that).

• I wish laundry could just fold itself. I swear laundry has got to be the worst chore ever.

• I am getting excited seeing all of the school supply sections being set up and I'm not even in school.

• I really want to go to this new Dominican bar/restaurant that is nearby. Maybe we'll go for our anniversary?

• I also really, really, really want to go see Deliver Us Evil. I seriously need to make time to go see this.

That's it for me! How is your Thursday going? What are your Thursday Thoughts?

Until next time...

Emi

Currently List #12

Happy Tuesday! It's that time again...for Currently List!

Watching: I caught up on some shows like Teen Wolf and Mistresses today. I love those two shows.

Reading: I've also been catching up on reading several blog posts. I love reading the posts over at Ramblings of a Suburban Mom.

Listening: I've been listening (and dancing) to Me Tengo Que Ir over and over again. 

Making: I've been on a sticker making frenzy. I need to buy a small basket or container to put them all in.

Feeling: That nap was so so so so so needed! I feel really relaxed and well rested.

Planning: I'm planning on posting some blog posts. I also have a ton of other blog related stuff to plan and get done.

Loving: I am loving this huge bag of jolly ranchers that I bought. Green Apple is my absolute favorite flavor.

What's on your currently list? Feel free to share!

Until next time...

Emi

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July everyone! I hope everyone has a great day and be safe out there! Don't drink and drive and please be safe if you're firing off fireworks.

I didn't have a ton of plans for today, but I've been having a nice and quiet 4th of July. I made some ribs, mac and cheese, and mashed potatoes.  I also made some brownies and plan to have some ice cream with it. The boys are having a great time playing and watching cartoons. Once my husband comes home from work, we will probably watch a movie or something.

The Hands that Built America by U2

I've played this song several times already today. I just love it. I think we should all take the time today to reflect on how this country came to be. And remember those who helped build this country and protect this country. Thank you to all of those who served in the military and those who are currently serving this country. 

God Bless America.

Until next time...

Emi

Thursday Thoughts

Hello there! It's Thursday and it's time for another Thursday Thoughts!

• I can't believe it's already July and that tomorrow is 4th of July! This year is going by quick!

• Going to Hobby Lobby and seeing the employees put up all of the Fall items is making me even more excited for Fall.

• I'm already loving this season of Teen Wolf.

• I can't wait for the Walking Dead and Supernatural to finally come back on.

• I seriously need to go see Deliver Us From Evil.

• My boys and husband are just super awesome!

• It's my mom's birthday! Happy Birthday mami!

• I want to work on my blog some more (i.e. designs and such).

• I finally organized my craft supplies in my new Recollections desktop carousel and organized my craftsman tote. My desk looks some much more organized.

• It seems like school is starting earlier every year! I can't believe kids will be going back to school in a month.

How has your Thursday been? What are your Thursday Thoughts?

Until next time...

Emi

Currently List #11

Hello! Hello! It's Tuesday and you know what that means...it's Currently List time. Here's my list for today...

Watching: Have I mentioned how much I love this novela? Seriously...it's going to suck when the show is over. 

Reading: I still need to catch up with June's assignment for One Little Word, but I read July's assignment. I'm excited to get started with this assignment.

Listening: I heard this song on Teen Wolf...and I love it. I've been dancing to this ever since.

Making: I'm making some PL cards with the tons of card stock that I have. I'm thinking of selling some of the cards as well as giving them away as RAKs.

Feeling: I'm feeling happy and peaceful. It's been a great day.

Planning: I'm working on some blog posts and I hope to work on my blog this week.

Loving: I found some Studio Calico die cut wood veneers at Hobby Lobby and bought a pack of the little people pack. They have some other designs as well which I will be getting soon. 

What's on your currently list? Feel free to share!

Until next time...

Emi