Jen's Crafts and Creations

Can a stay at home mom really provide for the family with out an "outside" job???

2014-08-04T07:59:00.000-07:00

This is a question I have suffered with trying to answer for years!! I have always been determined to stay at home with my kids and raise them myself. I have always been against paying someone else to raise my kids while I work and miss all of their "first" and them growing up. For some reason I have not been able thus far to find the perfect solution and feel like I have been able to help supplement the income and still be able to be a full time mom. Maybe I don't have my priorities in line. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be. But I am a person that believes if you want something bad enough it was meant to be you just have to figure out how to make it happen and trust that it will happen. So far every time I think I have it figured out I always end up taking a small part time job to "make some extra money". Well this time I am gonna try a different approach. I have decided that I am going to put all of these money saving tips I have been reading about and all of these life organizing ideas into play and see how that helps.... I plan to keep all of my trial and errors and my progress posted here so that hopefully someone that is struggling with the same problems can be helped and/or inspired by posts. Please feel free to post your suggestions, advice, and support.

So many ideas so little time!! Penguins, puppies, and caterpillars OH MY!!

2011-08-11T19:54:00.000-07:00

I always have so many crafts that I want to make but my hands can never seem to keep up with my ideas! LOL! I am currently working on caterpillars, a penguin design, pumpkins, headbands, owls, and a puppy.

Crochet Diaper cover with button close FREE PATTERN

2011-05-09T08:20:00.000-07:00

Ok.. I am new to writing patterns so bare with me... I am going to give this my best first attempt... Any feedback is greatly appreciated!
This is done with a plastic I hook and worsted weight yarn. ( I used "I LOVE THIS YARN" by Hobby Lobby).
Chain 45
1. Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each sc across, Ch 2 and turn
2. Dc in each sc across, ch 1, turn
3. sc in each sc across, turn
4. sl st in next 10 sts, ch1, hdc in the same st and in the next 25 sts, leave remaining sts unworked, ch1, turn
5. hdc in each sts across, ch 1, turn
6. hdc first 2 sts together, hdc across until only 2 sts remaining, hdc last 2 sts together, ch1, turn
7. hdc across
8. repeat row 6
9. hdc across
10. repeat row 6
11. hdc across
12. hdc across
13 & 14. repeat row 6
15. hdc across
16-27. hdc across
28. hdc across * at the end of this row sc evenly around complete outside, join with sl st and fasten off.
Sew a button in middle of diaper cover and button in row two that was done in DC.
This makes a newborn size diaper cover. Let me know if you need any help or have questions. FYI I tend to crochet a little on the tighter side so it may be necessary to adjust your hook size. The finished cover should measure around 11" across the waist band. Idea* two buttons could be added to make it more adjustable.

Grocery discounts!!!

2011-03-27T09:29:00.000-07:00

So I decided to try out Harris Teeter. I went when they were doing their super double deals where they double coupons up to $1.98. Well... It was well worth it!!!! I got $160 worth of groceries for $75!!! That definately made it worth the extra drive!! They had a lot of items by 2 get 3 free!!! They can be a little pricey when items are not on sale but when they have a sale it can't be beat!!

Spring hats!!

2011-03-21T08:35:00.000-07:00

Owl Hat... Monkey Hat...and matching diaper cover

2011-03-21T08:32:00.000-07:00

These are my latest hats! I am so happy with the way they turned out! They are a owl and a monkey. The monkey has a matching diaper cover!

Great way to make Money for doing what you already do!!!!

2011-03-11T06:06:00.000-08:00

This is a great way to make money doing what you already do!!! You get $5 for signing up and $5 for every friend that signs up!! Last week I bought Daipers at Target.com and got Free Shipping plus saved $20 over the local stores and got 5.6% cash back for going through this shop at home site!!

http://www.shopathome.com/?IAFCG=gVCK/LqTnJncPIbVC5e/FQ==

Please check it out. You will be glad you did!!

Money Saving Tips

2011-02-28T08:18:00.000-08:00

Ok... So times are tough and money is tight, Right?? Well I have decided that I am going to challenge myself and see how cheap I can get our monthly bills and grocery bills. I have my clothes hanging on the line now!! Anybody else wanna get on board and compare each month and see how much of a reduction we can make in our electricity, grocery bill, etc.??? To start I am using my clothes line and crock pot a lot more to save on electricity and trying to utilize every trip in my car to cut down on how much I have to drive. So who wants in?? Please share you ideas and suggestions. I will post an updates of my savings.

Couponing!

2011-02-26T14:37:00.000-08:00

Are any of you into couponing? I always thought it was to much trouble until I took a few extra minutes to clip coupons and match them to the items already on sale. I got $145 worth of groceries for $87!! I was so excited! I can't wait to check out next weeks sales paper and coupons to see how much I can save this time. Some great couponing sites to check out are www.southernsavers.com or http://crazycouponmommy.com/. They are great sites to help you get started and to make it all a lot easier and less confusing. If anyone has any suggestions for me please share as I am just getting started.
Thanks!! Happy Shopping!

My creations for this past week

2011-02-26T14:23:00.000-08:00

These are my creations for the last week. A black hat with red glitter stripes and flower, a red and black brim beanie and a purple brim beanie and a blue shrug!! All of these were new for me. I love experimenting and coming up with new designs.

Weekend Projects

2011-02-15T17:03:00.000-08:00

These are the creations that I came up with last week and over the weekend!! Less than one week into them being created and I have already sold two of the blue hats and 3 of the brown hats!! I am so excited!! I call the blue hat the "Duke" hat. But if you don't like Duke we will just call it blue and white! :-)
The brown hat is a combination of some of my favorite patterns and flowers put together. I hope that they continue to be as much of a success as they have been this far! I Love to see people wear my creations!!

Earflap Hats

2011-02-09T08:29:00.000-08:00

These are some of my latest crochet creations and I must say my favorite. One is an earflap hat! The ones in the picture are for a custom order that I had. It was an infant size and a toddler size to match in Virginia Tech colors. The other pic is Brown and Pink headbands with flowers. The back has a button closure to make them adjustable.

My first blog post

2011-02-08T10:09:00.000-08:00

OK... I know I am years behind but I just started getting into this whole blogging thing. Until just recently I had no idea what it was. I was recently searching for crochet "stuff" online and found a blog that I fell in love with that offered great free patterns and ideas. From there I figured I should give this a try and see what it is all about. Well here I am. Let's see where it takes me..... :-)