Saturday, January 30, 2010

Trying out Ad.ly on Twitter

Get paid for tweeting! Nearly no effort. You just have to approve the ads you want and unapprove those you don't want to run in your account. I'm going to give a shot...who knows?

Let me know if you make money on Twitter?

You can follow me http://www.twitter.com/melanier

Playing in Sleet!

Yeah, I said Sleet! :-) The winter weather began last night as a beautiful fast covering snowfall; however, around 2 a.m. turned into sleet and has pretty much stayed that way all today as well! My son, being the 4 year old that he is, would not rest until he got outside. So, his daddy took him out early this morning to get it out of his system. It only took all of 10-15 minutes and the fun was over. :-) I stayed in due to the fact I am expecting and not a smart idea to risk a potential slip or fall. This is the reason you will notice all but one pic is taken from indoors. (Daddy, pictured first, took one pic.) :-)












Stay warm and have a great day everyone! We'll have to make up the electric bill another month I suppose. :-)

Vanity Seat Update

This is a photo showing the repeated clear protective stains my husband put on the wood part after taking the seat apart. He wanted to insure that the wood would not ever rot. :-) The foam cushion part was in good condition as it was originally covered with a vinyl.

Now I get to pick out the fabric! Yay!

Stay tuned for more updates! :-)

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Love Robeez? Save up to 50% Off! Awesome Deal!

Save up to 50% on baby shoes at Robeez.com!

This is an awesome deal on these shoes! I have heard nothing but great things about these baby shoes. Great for their little feet and helps the feel the ground in order to learn to walk faster/better.

At this price, I may have to (in advance) pick up a pair for my little girl-to-be.

Restoring the Vanity Seat

First stage...
My husband has ripped off the old fabric down to the wood circle. He is going to sand it and stain it so it doesn't rot, etc...

After he finishes the above step...I am going to jump in and upholster a beautiful fabric (I haven't decided yet but have a lot to choose from) over the cushion and the seat part will be done.

The second stage...
We have to decide on a color for the metal part: Silver is my first choice if I can find a good metal looking paint. White second choice for metal paint if the silver looks funny.

I will post pictures as steps are complete or the entire seat is complete. I am still excited about this vanity seat. With waiting for baby and prepping for the arrival at work and home, etc... It is great to have something to be excited about before the baby arrives; otherwise I could get stressed. :-)

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Accidental Find Today at the Thrift Store

The before shots: Story below:






Today we went to drop off some donations at our local Thrift Store. I decided to go inside to find a cheap (hoping to) short bookshelf. No luck on the bookshelf. (Wanted it for my son's books.)

What I did find, I could not pass up. A Vanity seat...the old fashioned kind from the 70's/80's era. I have been wanting one for a while. This one...the only problem...colors. Yuck...white vinyl seat and green metal. It is in good shape and was only $12.00. I had my husband (good man) go inside and take a look (he was dropping off the donations) to see if we could paint it, etc... He said sure. So we are going to repaint the metal another color and reupholster the seat with some nice fabrics I have. I can't wait to tackle this project. My husband is always looking for a project...so he will paint the metal and I will reupholster the cushioned seat. Yay!

Did I mention...I had been hoping for YEARS to run across one of these. So excited! I'll have to take pictures! :-)


Saturday, January 9, 2010

Oh my goodness! Michael's is having a sale this weekend!

Yes, Michael's Arts & Crafts to be exact. I was hoping for a sale somewhere as I need (well need?) some yarn and a new crochet hook! Yay!

Lots of Sales and the BEST part is if you go to their site (or maybe you already subscribe to receive coupons...I do)...there is a 20% off coupon that is good on your ENTIRE PURCHASE and it is for Today and Tomorrow! This includes sale merchandise, clearance and regular! Uhhhh...let me hurry and get ready! :-) My motivation for today!

Trying 1000 Markets for the New Year!

We have three shops now selling our handmade Artwork and Artisan works!

The newest is 1000 Markets...so far I am enjoying this site and their easy set up and no fees until you sell something. Granted...it is just day 3 for the shop but am so excited to have been approved. With 1000 Markets...they check over your photos and work, etc...and are more particular than some sites (not that the others aren't great also). I like that you have to be approved...it gives you a sense of accomplishment and that you know what you are doing. Sometimes, you know, we aren't sure if things look right, etc...but I know that 1000 Markets wouldn't let us have a shop if we didn't have things but a certain way, so I am excited.

Our new shop title is: Claudiu and Melanie

Yeah, I am not so "creative" on naming our shops...luckily my husband's name is unique enough to work. :-)
(P.S. Sidenote: Still haven't found that perfect girl name for a newest little family member due in March.)

Give us a visit to our new shop as they have features like writing wall posts or commenting on the blog feature there. I love it. So easy to use in so many ways. I wanted to let anyone out there know...another great place to shop...another great place to sell handmade! LOVE IT!
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Curious of our other two shops? Curious no more:
Our Etsy Shop (best selling thus far by far) (also...most of our items are here)
Our Artfire Studio

Make it a great weekend!
~Melanie

Monday, January 4, 2010

Girl Baby Name Suggestions Needed

We are having a very hard time finding a name we like for our baby girl due in March! Now since I only have a few months left to go...I am starting to get nervous because we just can't find a name. I am asking for any suggestions from you all out there. Just drop it in the comment section.

We would like a name that is pretty and unique at the same time. We will need help with a middle name as well. We also welcome any nationality of names. My husband is Romanian so we like names from all over. A Romanian name would be nice but so far nothing has shouted that it is the right name yet! So HELP! :-)

Have a terrific week!

Super Cold Days

We have had some super cold weather lately. Unusual here in NC for there to be so many cold days in a row. A little concerned about the electric bill but feel thankful at the same time to stay warm!

One thing we did yesterday was bring out our small oscillating electric heater. That thing is AWESOME! We bought it a couple years ago for the bonus room and have since replaced it with an electric fireplace (awesome by the way) for that room. We are now using the small heater for the living room where we are most of the time downstairs. (Where our son likes to play.) What a world of difference.

My husband went out and bought some inexpensive weather strips for the side and front doors to help seal it even more. All of these simple things have helped already!

We still want a nice storm door for the front...but with a baby on the way...it will have to wait. :-) Good reason!

Curbside Recycling

I was excited when our former waste pickup switched to another company. Most especially when I found out the new company does curbside recycling. Where I live...you would have to haul it somewhere to recycle. I am loving the convenience of the curb. We fill up the bin every week and it only costs an extra $3.20 per quarter for this service. If you are interested...you should call your waste pickup service to see if they have this service in your area....you may be surprised...I was. Usually (in NC) it is the larger cities that have this luxury. It must be expanding.