Mommy Chronicles: 1st Birthday on A Budget

 My little turned one at the beginning of the month and I can't be more surprised at how fast a whole year has flown by me. I truly understand the old adage "they grow up so fast" now more than ever. 

I've always been into planning things, being crafty, and finding new and exciting ways to stretch my budget so I was super excited to be able to arrange and execute my son's very first birthday successfully.

Might I warn you that planning a first birthday, or any birthday for that matter, is slightly overwhelming as a single mother.  Since I knew that I was pretty much in this alone, I began planning as early as September-setting deadlines, writing out the menu, thinking of a theme, and creating the invite list. 

I went with a 'Rainbow Theme' full of bright, primary colors in order to eliminate having to search all over for specifics. The invite was customized by Styles With Charm and printed at Office Max. 

The cake was homemade by a local small business owner. (I'm all about supporting small business lately by the way). The same person made the cake for my baby shower last year. You can see that cake here. Let me tell you, this lady puts her whole foot in her cakes. Not only are they beautifully made, but the taste and consistency is perfection. Visit her FB page here if you are local. 

The balloons were a big hit. They brought extra pizazz to the room and my Bubby absolutely loved tugging on them throughout the party. It's amazing how the simplest things can bring so much joy to little ones. 

The balloons actually bring me to my first Budget Party Planning tip: To cut down on expenses, have each of your immediate family members, god mommies, and/or aunties be responsible for bringing an item for the party. This will also cut down on some of the last minute party errands for Mommy. For example, for our party the cutlery, balloons, tablecloths, and a few other items were provided by family members. 

And speaking of budget tips, check out the high chair that my Mother thrifted for 10 bucks at a yard sale. By any means necessary we will remain 'Thrifty and Shameless'!

The gift table was one of my favorites. I decorated it with a Welcome Sign, a fun, personalized one year statistics chart customized by Inky Invite, and a photo from his most recent photo shoot with Erica Nicole Imagery. I decorated it using colorful DIY confetti circles and numbers that I cut using an Ellis machine. The cardstock was actually left over from a DIY project that I did for my baby shower last December. 

Enough of the good stuff. Everything that could go wrong, went ALL THE WAY wrong on the day of the party. For starters, I wasn't given clear instructions on how to gain entrance into the clubhouse that I had rented so I got started with setup super, duper late.  

Budget Party Planning Tip: if you must rent a location for your party make certain to rent a place with a refundable deposit. That way a portion of your monies will be returned to you provided you don't trash the place. 

These girls saved my sanity. You know you have true friends when you don't have to tell them you're in need, they just show up-ready to help, hug, and listen to you vent. I love these two in ways that can't be explained.

Here are some of the other decorations. Everything here was customized by Sweet Scarlet Designs. The candy jars were purchased from Dollar Tree and the rainbow popcorn boxes were $.99 for a pack of 5 at Party City. The Rice Krispie Treats were another DIY project. The treats, candy, and popcorn were free after the coupons that I used.

Bubby absolutely enjoyed every part of the event. He was truly the life of the party. He had a ball getting loved on by everyone, showing his latest dance moves, and playing peek-a-boo with all of us. 

We are so blessed to have such a beautiful family. 

Happy 1st Birthday Bubby. Mommy and Daddy love you!!

I would love to hear from other Mommies about your birthday party experiences. 

Thank You for reading!

XOXOXOXO

Mommy Chronicles: DIY First Aid Kit

Since becoming a Mom, it's been super duper important for me to make sure that I'm fully equipped should my little man and I find ourselves in the midst of a 'boo boo' situation. 

So I was beyond ecstatic to be able to team up with Influenster and create my very own first aid kit using the Neosporin To Go (#NeoReady #contest) product that was included in my #TLCVoxBox.

Neosporin Neo To Go! is a convenient no touch, no sting spray that fits anywhere to give you infection protection, plus pain relief, on the go. It is specially designed for one-handed use and is great for your purse, kitchen, desk, workshop, golf, gym or travel bag.

I love the convenience of this portable antiseptic. Its small, lightweight packaging make it easy for me to attach to my key ring and carry along with me at all times.

Here are some other things that I put in my kit to make it complete. Of course, I'm probably forgetting some of the most important stuff but this will do for now as things can easily be added or taken away at a moments notice. This kit will be kept in my diaper bag/purse so its easily accessible if needed.

If you have any suggestions as to things I may be able to add, please feel free to comment below. And if you're a Mommy on the go who has yet to create your first aid kit-what are you waiting for?

Thanks for reading!!

Savings Cravin': How To Save Money on Printer Ink

So my HP ran slam out of ink right in the middle of printing my coupons for the HT Super Double event last week. Usually I'm able to run out to Office Max to pick up another cartridge but that began to get costly, besides the fact that it was 2AM.  I searched my trusty 'ole Ebay for refill ink and ended up saving myself about $110. This is the best thing since sliced bread IMO.

Here's how you can get your own. 

If you're a fan of Ebay, you can start there, however, I'm sure mass merchants like Amazon will have the same thing if you prefer ordering there. 

You will need to type the exact name of your printer in the search bar along with the words 'refill ink'.  You can then make the best selection to fit your needs. I ordered this 3 pack.  

Each pack will refill my cartridge 3 times. That's 9 cartridges of ink for $7.96!!! The ink that I would have normally purchased is anywhere from $13-$17 per cartridge so you do the math.

My package arrived in 2 days. I was super excited!

And installation was the easiest part of all. The refills came with an 'instruction manual' that was a cinch to read and understand. 

 After about 4 easy steps and 5-10 minutes of my time.....

 I was back up and printing and I didn't even have to leave the comfort of my own home. 

Trust me when I say as long as Ebay is in business, I won't ever buy ink from Office Max again unless they are practically giving it away.

 Let me know if this tip helped. 

And stay tuned for more deals, savings, and thrifty and shameless shenanigans. Please feel free to follow my Instagram as well as Facebook pages for additional info.

Thanks for reading. 

DIY Lunchables: My Balanced Snack with Alpine Lace® Deli Cheese

***This post is sponsored by Alpine Lace®. All opinions and views are my own.***

Happy Tuesday you all!

I haven't been the best blogger friend lately. Honestly, I'm still getting adjusted to life as a Mother-yes, even after almost 4 months I'm still struggling with time management. My lil man is my world so literally every waking moment of my life is about him. Never will I feel guilty or apologize for taking the time to be an awesome Mother.

Being an awesome Mother means that I'm constantly on the go-obviously-because I rarely have the time to blog on a consistent basis anymore!! Being an awesome Mother who nurses means that I have to consume extra calories and remain well hydrated and healthy for the sake of the little life that I have been Chosen to care for.

Let's face it, I've never really been a huge health nut and sometimes I feel like slapping myself for having coffee or a soda-even though they're decaf-because I think they're ruining my little angel and somehow influencing him to develop horrible eating habits already. Even though I'm slim and I've already lost more than what I gained when I was carrying my Bubby, my eating habits are not so stellar! My sweet tooth is absolutely ridiculous and I consume wayyy more cheese than the doctor ordered.

Somehow, I would like to believe that cheese, and any dairy product for that matter, provides me with the fuel that I need to get through life.

 But mainly cheese. 

Seriously, I've been on a cheese kick for a while now. Each week, trying a different type. So far, I've experimented with Swiss, Muenster, and Gouda cheeses-respectively ordered according to my favorites.

I particularly love the Alpine Lace® Deli Cheese.  And the fact that I can make healthy snacks with it. Snacks  like these DIY Lunchables that are perfect for a busy Mom such as myself. 

Most varieties of Alpine Lace® Deli Cheese are reduced fat, perfect for snacking on the go or adding delicious flavor to your favorite sandwich or snack cracker. Its great taste comes from high-quality ingredients, and it provides a good source of protein and calcium.  

Alpine Lace® Deli Cheese helps fuel your busy day, providing you the energy and deliciousness to prepare you for your next adventure. 

I love that these delicious snacks give me and my lil man just what we need to stay energized.

They're the perfect Life Ingredients!!

Share your adventure and life ingredients on your personal Facebook page and be sure to “like” Alpine Lace®.

And again, thanks for reading and sticking in here with me!

Until next time!
XOXOXOXO

Savin' Maven: DIY Photoshoot

As soon as I had my LO, I knew I would be taking lots of pics of him. I'm talking every day lots. If he could talk right now I'm sure he would have a few choice words for me. Mommy snaps pics whenever the urge arises-during sleep, during poops, during nursing, during bath time. I even play dress up with him and have real photo shoots. Because sometimes it's just not financially feasible to take him to the portrait studio. Sometimes you want your photos to look a little less 'planned' with a lot more personality and character.

Last week I shared some tips on how to save money on family portraits in this post. However, if you're super frugal like me and you have somewhat of a knack for photography and creativity this post is just for you.

Since I take pictures of my LO so frequently I wanted to try my hand at some Valentine's Day shots-a little more fun and personable than the family portraits we recently took at JC Penny's and a helluva lot cheaper.

I purchased my LO's outfits from Target just after Christmas. They weren't on sale or clearance but I love the Carter's brand so much that I was willing to pay full price for them.

Next I visited my local Dollar Tree for some cutesie Valentine's Day decor that would make for some decent background props. I ended up with these glittery hearts...

and this heart themed ribbon...

Since my LO isn't quite sitting up on his own yet, I placed him in a little pail that I found on clearance at WalMart a couple of years ago. 

Add the props and the baby and viola...

A super easy and successful photo session for all of 2 bucks. You can visit my Instagram page to see the final product after editing with photo apps. I had a great time doing this with my lil man and I'm sure he enjoyed the bonding time as well. 

I hope this will prove to be resourceful to some of you. 

Thanks for reading! 

XOXOXOXO

Savin' Maven: DIY Valentine's Day Mail

Hello my loves.

Listen, I know I'm late as hell; please forgive me as I'm still trying to get accustomed to life with a newborn. Its like my days are literally stuck on fast forward. Seriously though, every waking moment that I have is spent on my lil one. 

I did however want to stop by today to share a quick,  easy, and fairly inexpensive holiday DIY project with you all. This project can really be done for any occasion bit since my family just recently had Valentine's Day pictures taken we will roll with that. 

Alls you need are some fancy scissors, a few pieces of solid color printing paper, and some washi tape.

I started by searching for a nice quote online and creating a Publisher document that would allow me  to print several of them on one sheet. i decided upon a nice quote about friends and family and since it's Valentine's Day I chose red paper.

Next,  I used the fancy scissors to cut the 'quote cards' out. All of the scissor designs were so pretty.  I ended up going with the 'Sculptured' pair for nice, frilly edge. 

I added washi tape to the outside of the envelopes just for character. After using my coupon the tape was almost free, $.05, from Target. I figured this was a great way to use it.

So there you have it-a quick and easy way to spruce up your holiday mail. By the way,  I love how great our family portraits came out. The JCPenny's portrait studio did an awesome job. See how we saved a ton of money on them by viewing this post. 

Until next time-thanks reading!

XOXOXOXOXO

Savin' Maven Monday: DIY Washi Tape Makeup Jars

Hello and Happy Monday my loves. 

I know it's been a while...(sticks hand out for you to pop)! I've been a horrible blogger but I promise I've been doing productive things.

I've gotten my little man registered at yet another store and I've really been working on preparing for a stockpile yard sale that I will be participating in with my mother this weekend.  I was also able to attend a Baby Expo at my local Convention center over the weekend and I learned a wealth of information so I'm really thankful for that. 

I had mentioned in a previous post that I had my blog business all planned out for the month of September. And, I DID. It's just that life happened and I got a little sidetracked but this is one of the many posts that I had planned for the month.

I've really been in the mood to create and do some DIY projects so today I'm sharing with you just that.

I saw this wonderful DIY on I Spy DIY a while ago and I thought it was soooo fun and creative. 

DIY Washi Tape Votives

Most importantly I knew it would be inexpensive and quick so it was right up my alley.

Over the years, I've really become a hoarder of all things-especially these jars which once held pickles, pasta sauce, etc.
 

I couldn't muster the strength to throw them away because I was convinced that there was something I could use them for.

So when I went into my bathroom and found this underneath my sink, I had the perfect idea.

 

Believe it or not, I'm not even a huge makeup wearer! But I do have a really weird obsession with purchasing lip glosses, lipsticks, lip butters, and the like. I don't know what it is but I can't seem to keep myself away from these things. 

Anywho, I felt that this makeup situation was a little too unorganized and it needed a bit of taming. Besides, these flat bins took up too much of my space. So I came up with what I thought was the perfect idea for up cycling my old jars when I got this washi tape for free while couponing a couple of months ago.

I really loved the great colors that I found. The patterns together with the solid actually made for a great combination. 

I put these together while watching an episode of Oprah's Lifeclass so it didn't take me long to finish at all.

I'm really digging how they turned out too.
 

And even after I filled all 5 of them up to the brim, I still had more makeup left. Needless to say, I will either be hosting another giveaway in the near future or attempting to sell what remains.
 

I'm thoroughly pleased that I was able to take some ordinary materials and create something unique and creative for little to no cost out of pocket. Now I'm scrambling around my house trying to see what other items I can use to craft with.

What types of things do you like to up cycle around your home?

I can't wait to hear from you.

Thanks for being such faithful readers.