Contests

I STRONGLY suggest you like me on facebook. :) I've been giving away $10-$50 of gift cards to my store every week. So far the odds have been pretty good. Go check out this weeks super easy contest

https://www.facebook.com/PrettifulDesigns

Becoming a Positive Person - 11 Helpful Steps

For those who know me, they would suggest I'm not suited to write an article on this subject but things have changed. Recently I've consciously turned over a new leaf. I've done a lot of soul searching. I've done some reading and even took a class from the local University. I'm no expert but I think I've learned a few things the last  couple of months that might help someone else. If my ideas help you, please let me know. I love being able to help others and I'd be motivated to share more if I actually knew my thoughts/words/experiences helped someone else. Please excuse my grammar--I'm a scientific/mathematical minded person--not an English major.

1. LEARN TO LIKE YOURSELF
It seems that most people who are negative beat themselves up. Feeling inferior, worthless, and pathetic are habits of a negative person. Feeling frustrated with and constantly acknowledging weaknesses will always keep a negative person from feeling joy and happiness. If you find yourself in this boat, GUESS WHAT?! You don't have to be this way!!! Decide RIGHT NOW to start forgiving yourself. Make a list on paper or mentally of your qualities, talents, positive attributes--c'mon everyone has them. Being around someone who doesn't like you is miserable--especially when that person is YOU!! Do you have some sweet pancake making skills or are you a good listener? Can you run a mile or change a diaper without wrinkling your nose? Did you make someone smile in the last week or do your laundry today? If you can do any one of these things or things like them, then I think you're awesome and now it's your turn to find that out too. The little things really do add up. Appreciate the amazing things you DO do and the qualities you have. When you do this and finally have a clear head, then you can work on ONE weakness or problem area at a time. Focusing on all of your problems at once just causes you to be constantly frustrated and you'll never improve.

2.SPEND TIME BEING GRATEFUL
It's the whole glass half full or empty paradox--either you can think about all the things you don't have (you'll always be severely lacking) OR you can spend time being grateful for what you have (you'll see that for most things you really have enough--if not too much). You choose: Be constantly miserable or ridiculously happy.

3. 4TH QUARTER PEP TALK
No, it's really not the fourth quarter--it's first thing in the morning and you're as tired as if you've played a whole ball game. You've got work in 30 minutes or a crying baby or a 4 year old whom you deeply love but there is simply no mute button! Tell yourself out loud or in your head, "I CAN do this!" I CAN get through today and no matter how tough, I CAN put a smile on my face and enjoy it. If it helps, visualize yourself doing what you need to (with a smile on your face). Believe in yourself. Tell yourself that you ARE awesome. Don't spend your morning fretting about inadequecies or problems or lack of sleep. Buck up and get to it! :) Tell yourself you can and you will.

4.BEST THINGS FIRST
Being positive is sooo much easier if your life is more organized than it is chaotic. One of the best ways to reach that organizational bliss is to figure out the priorities and place them first on your list. Figure out whatever is the most important to you and put your best energy into those. When what is most important to you is being taken care of the stress relief is AMAZING and you will have a significant inclination towards being positive! Try it!

5.AVOID COMPLAINING TRAPS
Have you noticed that there are specific people or venues (i.e. blogs or facebook) where you complain? Do you have a co-worker you always complain to and you find yourself having to find more to complain about to beat their complaints? Look over your recent blog posts and facebook posts? Are they positive and uplifting or negative, sad, or complaining? If negative, try and avoid these people or social networks or make a clear and conscious effort to only be positive when in these situations. I hardly go on facebook anymore. Most of the people on there complain it seems and it is a HUGE waste of time---for the most part. I still check it occasionally, but I've made an effort to only post things that are positive. Follow the advice from Thumper (I think) in Bambi "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."

6.PRAY FOR HELP
Seriously. If you don't believe--no worries. I KNOW He is there and He does listen and answer prayers. Try it. Try and believe. You ARE His child. He will help you. He wants you to enjoy life--not trudge through it!

7. TAKE TIME FOR YOURSELF
You need to do this every day. Even if it is 5 minutes. Take a bubble bath. Go for a walk. Spend some time on Pinterest.:) Read a book. Excercise. Drink a milkshake. Whatever it is that puts you in happy land, do it. If you don't make time to enjoy life regularly, then life will pass you by. Pay yourself a little time each day. You deserve it.

8. WHAT CAN I CONTROL?
When things go bad, ask yourself, "What can I actually control in this situation? For instance, say someone rear ends you. You can get out and go berserk and look like an absolute idiot and make someone else feel bad and then you can dwell on the accident and the costs and possible pain and rant and rave but does any of that change the fact that you were rear-ended? You have no control over that. You do however have the ability to control how you act. How about getting out of your car and seeing if the other person is ok? How about deciding immediately to forgive and nicely passing on your insurance information? In most situations when things go bad, we really have no control. We can't control the mean things someone said about us.  We can't control getting sick or laid off or loosing a loved one. But we can control our thoughts, actions, and emotions. Next time you are about to react, ask yourself, "What can I actually control?"

9.DON'T GO THERE
Most of us have had a conversation in our head about how we think a possible conversation might go with someone--especially someone we don't like. We get worked up thinking how someone is going to say mean things to us (like a boss or family member) and we let them have it. Even though the conversation doesn't really happen, it happened in your head and you see that person differently. "How could they have said that about me?" you might think--even though you are judging someone else and putting words in their mouth. Next time you find yourself doing this say to yourself, "NO, I won't go there!" Put that conversation out. It hurts you and your relationship with whomever you're imaginarily (yes I made this word up) conversing with. You will waste a lot of time, energy, and happiness by having these conversations in your head. Choose today to stop. I think you'll find you get along with people so much better once you do.

10. DO SOMETHING NICE FOR OTHERS
To this day I still have no idea who it was but someone once paid for my fast food at the drive up window. My husband and I got up to the window to pay and the kid was kind of astonished and said that the person  in front of us had paid for our whole meal (or greasy gluttony--whichever way you want to look at it.) :) How nice was that! I felt awesome knowing someone was so kind and generous. Think how awesome the giver felt! Think of how much easier it will be to be positive when you're looking out for little ways to be generous. Stick  some quarters in a vending machine, pick up someone else's tab, help the lady with 3 kids and two carts (one full of kids, the other full of diapers) out to her car--this happened to me this week. THANK YOU! It's great to be on the receiving end but it's even better to be the giver. Think of something you will do today or tomorrow to be nice to others. It's hard to feel down when you're thinking of good.

11. LAST IDEA....
Ok, so no idea if this will help anyone else--please tell me if it does. I was praying a month or two back. I was feeling extremely irritable on a daily basis. I would have lots of "bad days," with an occasional good day in between. I couldn't figure out why I was having such drastic mood changes. It was taking a huge toll on our family and on my happiness. I took it to prayer. I begged and pleaded for help. The answer came as a soft voice whispering in my head - "don't eat late at night." What? Did I just make that up? I believe in inspiration though and I decided to try it. The next night I didn't eat anything after dinnertime--other than drinking water. I was feeling a little hungry but I figured it was better for my body anyway. The next morning I woke up with a clear head and no more crankies! I continued to go without food at night and the difference in my mood and temperament has been astonishing--AMAZING. I have no idea if this will help anyone else. Please let me know if it does. What an easy change with such amazing results. If this doesn't work for you, try praying for a similar miracle!

I hope these ideas can help you in achieving a happier life, full of positive thoughts!!! Let me know your thoughts or suggestions. I'm still on this road to being a positive person but I now know I can be that happy positive person I always hoped I could be!

Vote for me

Please Vote for me in the Leading Mom's in Business competition.
http://www.startupnation.com/leading-moms-in-business/contestant/11950/index.php

:)

Easter Subway Print

There are tons of way cute Easter Subway art prints out there with fun bunny and Easter egg themes.I really wanted one for my house that focused on the religious meaning behind the commercial holiday.
Available in my Printable etsy shop in 5x7, 8x10, 11x13

Like my style? Tell me what other holidays/seasons/events you'd love to see in a subway print.

$5 Gift Card

First to comment and say "I Want It!" Gets a $5 gift card to http://www.prettifuldesigns.com
Happy Wednesday!

Faux Bois Prints

Who's lovin this style????

Make Your Washer Look Like New

8 years is my washers age. When we sold our house in November, the new owners offered us an additional $500 for the washer and dryer. We spent $600 when we bought them new. SCORE. The new owners are using the house as an investment property and since I was having a baby in 2 weeks and we had no where else to go yet, we decided to stay and rent. Baby is happy and healthy and growing and growing and we are still here! The house we are trying to get is...well...a mess but we are still hopeful it will somehow work out. That's another story....maybe I'll post someday on that.
Anyway, I'm particular about A LOT of things and I really want to have this place sparkling whenever the day comes that we get to move out. I like the boy scout motto--something about leaving things better than when you found it. Well that is certainly true for all of the renovations we've put into this place but I want it to be PRISTINE! I saw on pinterest how to clean a washer. I looked at the post and it took the lady several HOT loads, hours of soaking AND still scrubbing on top of that. I didn't feel like wasting that kind of time...so armed with an arsenal of chemicals and natural ingredients I tried to come up with a better solution but honestly--no luck. Then I grabbed a Magic Eraser and woila! Instead GRIME BE GONE. I put in a good 5 minutes of scrubbing the ring around the top and the thingy in the middle. Then I got a little crazy......I used the scrubber shone in the picture ($1 at IKEA--if you don't have one of these gems GET ONE! - you can find them in your local grocery store too. I also use these with a little Fels Naptha on my hubbies white collars and the icky discoloration comes out). The lady in the post I read used Q-Tips to clean all the little areas. I've done that before but have never been able to get everything--and it took forever. I used this scrubber and my the new owners washer looks BRAND NEW. No Joke! I couldn't believe I was able to get all the grime and annoying lint. I spent 30 minutes but I'm a little OCD and I wanted to see if it could really look like new. I cleaned the dryer too. I used the scrubber again and it worked like a charm.

The other tool I used was a crocheted dish rag. LOVE THESE. If you don't know someone who will lovingly make them for you then find one! My Grandma and my Sister both make these and I always think of them when I'm wiping my counters or kids faces.

TIP: So I'm kind of dumb sometimes. The first rinse with my rag I walked all the way across the basement to rinse it out in the bathroom sink. Then I realized--duh! The washer has water. I just pulled the knob anytime I wanted to rinse. Don't make my mistake! :) So if you want to clean off the grime and dust it will take you about 5-10 minutes. If you want to be able to eat off of it, plan for another 20!

I'm Addicted to Prettiful Designs - You can be too!

Get my new button for your blog. I bet you've all been loosing sleep waiting and waiting for this button to come out! :) It's on the right sidebar. Check out my new Moroccan prints too. Oooo and the bugs and the mustaches and....the list feels endless. :)

Oatmeal Pool

Last winter I was trying to help beat the winter boredom blues. I had a one year old who put EVERYTHING in her mouth. Playdough, painting, moon sand and any crafts were out. We were seriously BORED. I was going through my food storage and noticed I had a TON (well, really only about 15) canisters of oatmeal and they all tasted old-ish. I grabbed 4 canisters and the kiddie pool and dumped. 

My kids played for over an hour. I figured clean up would be horrendous. It WASN'T! I took their clothes off right there in the kitchen, poured the oatmeal from the pool back into the canisters and then swept up the rest and threw it away. It took about 3 minutes to clean up. It was worth 1 hour of giggles & smiles. 

Attention Germ-a-phobe Moms: I too am a germ-a-phobe but I realized I had a 1 year old who put EVERYTHING in her mouth (I've found her eating out of the trash can and licking up things off the floor!). I figured this was a heck of a lot better than many of the things she's put in that cute little mouth of hers. She ate oatmeal to her hearts content for about 10 minutes and then played the rest of the time. I actually re-used this oatmeal about 4 times for the same thing. They didn't really eat any the next times--just had tons of fun. Our pool got broken this last summer so we haven't done it since :( . I will be purchasing another pool this summer solely for this purpose:

Easy Dinner Tonight

Dinner Time. Kids and hubby have been sick all week--each with something totally different.I'm exhausted and hungry. We want to eat now. We decided on grilled cheese sandwiches. That sounded a little boring to me and luckily I remembered this little diddy my hubby's grandmother made for me one day when we went by to visit.

Ingredients:
Wheat Bread--white bread seriously doesn't taste as good.
Butter--If I die 5 years earlier because I eat butter vs. margin it will have been well worth it.
Shredded Cheese
Bacon Bits

Turn oven on to broil. Slather some glutonous butter on top. Add cheese--you really don't need that much. Add some bacon bits. Cook for about 5 minutes on cookie sheet.

It doesn't look that amazing but it really does taste great!!!

Our new dinner entertainment--gotta love Bumbos!

Body, Mind, and Soul Organizational To Do list

Someone asked me a while back to share some of my organization tips and tricks. I haven't gotten around to it because honestly I haven't been that organized. With 2-3 showings a week last year before we sold our house and having baby #3, life has been pretty hectic. In an attempt to get my life back in order, I created a new "fancy" to-do list. I previously had been writing out things to do for the week on a notebook page that my 2 year old constantly finds and scribbles on. :)
This new to-do list focuses not on just tangible things but focuses also on one personal goal a day, drinking enough water, and exercising. It also has a box to check if you achieved a 5 minute stretch of quiet to meditate, regroup, or just maintain sanity! My favorite part is a box at the bottom to write down the best thing that happened to you that day in hopes of being more positive and grateful.
Other items include a shopping list, meals (B, L, D), items to defrost (if you aren't a freezer meal maker yet - DO IT! :) ), people to call or email, daily tasks and places to go.
The list comes two to a standard letter sheet so you don't have room to list too many things and become overwhelmed. 
I hope you love my list but please do not redistribute or claim as your own. Please feel free to share this link with others. I hope it helps!!!

Click HERE to download PDF file.

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Cheaper IS better

So I dropped prices on my website so now everything (including Commercial) is now cheaper than my etsy shop!!!

Just thought you and your paypal would like to know. :) 

http://www.prettifuldesigns.com

1000 Sales = Super Sale!!!!

Oodalally!!! We reached 1000 sales tonight! To celebrate, I'm running a buy 3 Get 3 FREE sale now through the end of January!!!

Here's the nitty gritty:
Buy 3 items get 3 items free sale --Free items must be of equal or lesser value. Do not put free items in cart. Mention in notes to seller which items you want for free. Sale runs through end of January. Valid in Etsy shop only.

Want the sale to be even better? Like me on facebook and you'll see how. 

Happy shopping!!!

New Shop

I have a new shop!!!

The big differences between the new shop and my etsy shop are you can now DOWNLOAD IMMEDIATELY and items are separated from personal and commercial use so Personal Use Items are CHEAPER!!! Everything is still the same on etsy. Happy Shopping! http://www.prettifuldesigns.com/

Use coupon code NEWSITE15 for 15% off your entire order on the new website!!! Good through January 9th

How I Do Christmas

My new friend Emily asked me to do a post on how I do Christmas. Most people think I'm crazy and eccentric because all of my Christmas presents have been bought and wrapped for months. WHY??? Why not? I ENJOY the holidays. They aren't stressful. I spend so little on Christmas presents because I know when to shop and I shop all year long for what I think are the best presents. I am able to relax and enjoy all of the holiday festivities with my family. I even have all the craft projects to do with my kids organized in baggies and ready to be made. Sugar cookies are in the freezer all ready to be frosted. So....seeing as it is October, there isn't as much time to get ready but you can still use some of my tips to alleviate some of the stress this year and next year you can make it really easy on yourself.

1. Make a list of EVERYONE you need to shop for (don't forget co-workers, neighbors, old friends, that random relative, etc.)
2. Set a budget of how much you're willing to spend.
3. Divide money between each person/family. You may have to do some adjusting for a while to get it right. We try to focus on one family or person each year to spoil and get them something extra nice. We've also learned that something simple is all that is needed for other people--they'd rather you not go into debt for some present they won't even like. They just want to know you remembered them.
4. Start to list ideas of gifts to give each person (this is the hardest part I think).
5. Now start shopping!
6. Keep a list of how you're doing.
7. Once all presents are purchased--wrap. I love doing this early because I always forget a bunch of what I get my family members and it makes Christmas morning even more fun!
8. Purchase extra non-personal gifts like nice boxes of chocolates or nuts or gift cards for the people you forget (the first few years you do this you'll forget someone!)
9. ENJOY THE HOLIDAYS!

Tips about shopping:
Right after Christmas (when most people don't have any money) are the BEST deals. I can't emphasize this enough. If you budget and plan, you can find the money to shop at this time. EVERYTHING seems to be on sale at rock bottom prices somewhere. I think most things are even better than black friday prices. Shop online or in store. Ask store clerks where clearance sections are. You may be surprised you never saw them before.
Other months I have found seem to have great deals are March (toys the month before Easter are cheaper and if you coupon, you can often find some great coupons) and September (lots of items go on clearance as stores prepare their shelves for Christmas).
 Shop used. Depending on the person and what you'd like to get for them, sometimes you can find AMAZING things used (or even brand new) on places like craigslist, local thrift stores and Yard Sales.  My husband found me a Kitchenaid mixer used only 2-3 times for at least half the price. It is amazing. For Christmas this year I went in with my in-laws on a loving family playhouse with 5-6 room sets and the car and people for probably 1/5 of what it is new and everything looks amazing! My kids will never know.

That's all I can think of right now. I hope this helps someone. The key is to plan ahead and avoid paying the high prices of so called "deals" at Christmastime and guilt purchases. The more you avoid the stores at Christmastime, the less you'll spend. TRUST ME! :) Let me know if you have any questions. My pregnant mind doesn't always make so much sense--even to me! :)