1/52 - 2015 Edition

All right, I'm going to just straight up admit it. I wrote the last portrait series post in 2014 and then completely forgot about starting the series again. Completely. So, not only is it January 15 and I'm
just now getting to posting...I realized that I had no "real" portraits from the first week of 2015. 

Oh well. I can't keep up with everything. And, it's okay. Andrew and I went through our phones and came up with these photos from the first few days of the year. I say, it totally counts. Right?!

Bear with me as this week you'll be seeing the first THREE weeks of 2015's portraits...gotta get caught up or I'll never keep up for the whole year!

 

 

  "A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2015."

Lincoln - train obsession is still strong.
Addie - she chose the coldest day of the year to start this trick.

 

Linking up at Practising Simplicity.  

 

 

Jamberry Nail Wrap Giveaway {Mama's Got a New Look Hop}

Each new year is a chance to ring in not only a new year...but a new YOU!
Let's celebrate 2015 in style.

Welcome to the [3rd Annual] Mama’s Got a New Look Giveaway Hop Event. A fabulous group of bloggers have come together to give all you special, deserving Mamas a chance at a New Look for the New Year so be sure to hop around to all the blogs participating at the bottom of this post.

I'm so excited to be giving away one of my newest favorite things! Between being a mom, doing a million loads of laundry, writing, selling on Etsy, and teaching drama classes, I really don't ever make a lot of time for myself. People keep telling me I need to make this a priority, but I value the little sleep I get too much at the moment to even take a break for a massage or a manicure. I always trashed my nails within a few days of having them professionally done, anyway.

So when my awesome friend Emily told me about Jamberry Nail Wraps, I said...okay. I don't have much time, but I'll give it a try. And I was so shocked to find that I love having nail wraps on my fingers at all times. For real.

Latest "Jamicure" - a design I earned from hosting a Facebook party in December!

Available in a host of patterns, colors, and special holiday designs, Jamberry truly has something for every occasion. I'm totally obsessed with the "Love Spell" Valentine's Day style.

It did take me a couple of applications to get it just right - my first try only lasted a few days, but now I routinely have nail wraps lasting 7-10 days on my fingers. A lot of people can keep them on for up to 14 days - I'm just naturally hard on my nails. I'm shocked at how well they hold up for me! If you want to try out a nail wrap before you buy, send Emily an email or leave a note on her Facebook page - she'll send you a sample for free!

Emily is currently booking Facebook parties for Jamberry Nail Wraps and is offering an awesome incentive. For every party that is booked, once sales reach $200, the hostess will receive a mini-heater from Emily - on top of their hostess rewards. I have the mini-heater and LOVE it - my nail application improved immensely once I did not have to use a hair dryer! Find out more about hosting your own party here!

Emily's Jamberry parties go above and beyond. I ended up having an amazing time playing games and chatting with friends who had been kind of out of touch. A great Facebook sales party is one that is not over the top demanding that your friends BUY ALL THE THINGS - and Emily's party fits the bill. Let me know if you sign up to host a party because I'd love to come play along with you!

Which nail wrap is your favorite?!

Giveaway

One Director Jewels reader will win a sheet of Jamberry Nail Wraps (excludes collegiate & NAS wraps) and an Application Kit! Total prize value is $27.50. This giveaway will end on January 29 at 11:59pm CST.  This giveaway is open to US readers only.

To enter the giveaway, follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter form below (you may need Javascript enabled to see the form and it may take a moment to load)! Once you complete the first entry, the other options will open up so that you can complete them as well.  All of the "extra entries" are optional - you can do just one, or as many as you want! Winners will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Once you have finished entering my giveaway, hop on over and enter all of the other fantastic giveaways, too!

Disclosure: I received no compensation for posting this contest. Prize will be provided by Emily Wheeler - Independent Jamberry Nails Consultant. So Easy Being Green, Viva Veltoro, the Blogging Mamas Network, and the  Mama's Got a New Look participating bloggers are not responsible for sponsors who do not fulfill prize obligations. All opinions expressed are my own. For more information, you can read my Giveaway Policy and my Disclosure Policy.

Easy Ribbon Storage Solution: Wire Hangers

I am a ribbon hoarder.

It's not a joke. I have hundreds of thousands of yards of ribbon in my house. Between birthday parties and my Etsy shop, I constantly have a ribbon project (or twelve) in progress. It didn't take long for me to realize that I needed a ribbon storage solution. I had boxes and bins overflowing with ribbons of all colors and widths in every crevice of my house. It was getting out of hand. So many crafting supplies are awkwardly sized and present difficulty in storing them in a manageable fashion. I'm excited to share my ribbon storage solution with you - it is so easy!

Goodbye, giant piles of boxes of ribbons and trim! Hello, lovely organized collection of useful supplies in my craft closet!

You may have some old wire hangers lying around, but if not you can try calling a dry cleaner to see if they have extras. I've been given stacks of them several times - for free!

Just untwist the top and you'll be able to thread spools of ribbon onto the hanger!

It's a little bit tricky to re-twist the hanger back together once you have filled it with spools, but with a little practice, it becomes much easier.

I'm actually not willing to show you just how many ribbon-filled hangers I have throughout my house. It's pretty safe to say that I will not run out of ribbon for many years...maybe ever.

Do you have a ribbon storage solution? What do you think of this idea?

I won't lie: it gets to be a tangled up mess if you let all the ribbons become unrolled at once. It's best to secure the ends with tape or a pin to keep the ends from trailing all your crafting area.

That's it! My super simple ribbon storage solution...hope you love it as much as I do!

10 Easy Snowman Crafts to Make With Kids

The high temperature in Kansas City is supposed to be 7 degrees Fahrenheit tomorrow. Yes, 7. There's a little bit of residual snow on the ground outside that my kids keep begging to play in, but I'm not cut out for arctic temperatures, so we're going to be amusing ourselves in other ways until it warms up a little!

Lincoln and Addie both love snowmen, so I gathered up some cute ideas for Snowman Crafts for Kids! Take a peek and see if you're inspired for your next crafty endeavor.

1. Easy DIY Sock Snowman | Director Jewels

2. DIY Hot Chocolate Sharpie Mugs

3. Frugal Flowerpot Snowman | Celeb Baby Laundry

4. Marshmallow Snowman | Taking Time for Mommy

5. Olaf Sock Snowman | One Creative Mommy

6. Pom Pom Snowman | Girlfriends Are Like Shoes

7. Printable Snowman Activity Sheets | MomDot

8. Printable Snowman Garland | Thrifty Jinxy

9. Q-Tip Painting: Snowman Craft | Formula Mom

10. Snowman Tie Dye T-Shirt |

I'm pretty sure if I showed all of these ideas to my kids, they would want to do them all RIGHT NOW. We'll probably just start with one and see how the rest of the day goes!

What are you up to on this frigid day?

I'm Kind Of Over It

*steps up to the microphone* Is this thing on? 

Newsflash. If your kids ever come up to you and say "mom...I think when I'm grown up, I want to be a multi-tasker!" take the opportunity to sit them down and warn them about exhaustion. Chances are, they won't listen, because they'll be too busy planning their next adventure. But that's beside the point. Make them take a nap while they still can.

I don't even know where the last five days (or two weeks? Was Christmas almost two weeks ago?) have gone. I have been up to my eyeballs in Etsy listings and Twitter parties and planning spring drama classes and wiping snot off of little faces and asking my mom to babysit and staying up until 2am to use Shutterfly rewards that I forgot about until the last.possible.second. Suffice it to say: it's been crazy, and I'm over it.

Right now, being over it only means that I might (maybe) give up and go to bed before midnight one night this week. Or I might just watch a movie with the kids tomorrow, instead of frantically working while they are being mindlessly entertained. Or, imagine this, I might ask my mom to babysit just so I can take a nap. I'm pretty sure I'm functioning on like 20% brain capacity right now and that's more than a little frightening.

Also, I hate whiny blog posts where bloggers sob about "me me me" and "I I I" - which is exactly what I'm doing, so let's just cut it out right now. Everyone has better things to do than read nonsense from me. I have real, actual, engaging content in the works for you. I had planned to write a Christmas recap and figure out what my word for 2015 will be and write a post on that, and oh yeah...I still haven't blogged Addie's birthday party that was two months ago. So, I'm going to give myself some grace, admit that it's okay that this is the first time I've accessed the back end of my blog in over a week and take a few days to get some more loose ends tied up before I come crashing back here. You guys will still be here waiting for me...even if it's another week, right?

So, let's make this NOT about me. What's going on in your life? How's 2015 treating you so far?

PS: Trader Joe's brownie mix is THE BOMB OF AWESOMESAUCE. Even when you're not supposed to be eating sugar OR grains because you're trying to cure tooth decay. No excuse. No regret (at least not much). Pass the brownies.