Author: Laurie

Business Owner · Reader

My First eBook is Here!

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It’s finally here! After months of soul searching, writing, and editing, I’m finally ready to launch my first e-Book: Moments that Endure are Memories that Matter.

It’s a free and a quick read. It’s also jam-packed with real life experiences as well as tried & true strategies I’ve used for years. We can each turn around what is endured in our lives by embellishing life with fun celebrations and loving memories.

  • Do you ever feel the need to create and you don’t know why?
  • Do you see others lives as more memorable than your own?
  • Would you like some simple ways to combine your talents to save time and create beautiful memories?

I feel like if you know something, you should share it. So that’s my goal. I’m going to expose my simple strategies for making moments that matter for you, your family, and friends.

“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”
– Abraham Lincoln

You see, to me Tip Junkie isn’t just a craft blog, it’s a way to embellish life and to help those little moments endure in our memories forever. Life is tough! My job is to add the glitter. {{wink}}

As a bonus gift in the eBook, the fabulous Amy Locurto has designed a “Girls Night Out” party pack with “Memories that Matter” photo mats just for Tip Junkies! {{squeal in delight}}

To Get the free eBook and printables: 
Subscribe to the Tip Junkie Newsletter

You can also get this coordinating party favor purse over on Amy’s Blog.
Blogger · Business Owner

Fabric Care University with Tim Gunn

Laurie8 Comments

Last week Proctor and Gamble flew me out to attend the Fabric Care University and edu-macated moi on the process of cleaning laundry.

I was stoked! Finally I will get the ins and outs on how to get my whites white and stains out of my boys clothing.  Better late than never!  {{wink}}

Friday night we all met up at a gallery for a little get-to-know-you party and our host was Tim Gunn from Project Runway! {{squeal in delight}}


He was completely delightful and exactly how he is on the show; engaging, kind, and fabulous.  He did a quick introduction of Proctor and Gamble and Tide then surprised us with a challenge.

That’s right, we were divided into groups according to the colors on our name badges and then had 30 minutes to turn a plain white t shirt into something completely different and unexpected only using a few items and a glue gun from a bag on the counter.


The pressure was on people!  I’ve watched every episode of Project Runway and I wasn’t going down with out fight.  Luckily, I had a group who felt exactly the same way and we went to town.


 
Our goal was to use the items in unexpected ways and to eliminate all the white from the shirt.  The blue at the bottom was actually the inside of the bag that all of our supplies were in!  No one else use the bag, and no one else covered the entire t shirt.

As we were preparing to present to Tim Gunn, Daniel suggested that we say that we were inspired by “Tide yellow”.  That dude is brilliant!

The back was crisscross black lace.  It’s not practical by any means but it won us FIRST PLACE, baby!  Yep, that’s right.  Out of all 5 of the contenders Tim Gunn thought our was the best.  {{shoot yeah}

Each member of our team won a $50 gift certificate.

It was such a crazy fun night.  I was able to recconnect with some amazing women I’ve been in the blog conference circuit as well as meet some new fabulous women.


Yes, I had a blast but I also learned SO much!
 

 

Q.  How to get Whites the Whitest:

Did you know that people in different parts of the world have different opinions on what is white?  For instance, we in the US want our whites to have a blue hugh while someone in another country wants a yellow hugh.  Who knew?!?

Well, Proctor and Gamble does.  They can recreate any water condition anywhere on the planet and that’s how they test their products.  They use microscopes to compare their cleaning enzymes with their competitors to make sure that Tide is the best.
A.  Tide power with Bleach
 
If you want your whites to be white with a blue hugh use poweredered Tide with Bleach.  Fill your water and when it’s 1/2 way full, drop in your Tide.  Once it’s full then put in all of your clothing.

{{I don’t have time for that so I’ll have to stick with my method of dump in Tide, let fill a little and then put in my clothes.  Sorry P&G}}



Q.  When & Why do you Use Fabric Softener?

I had no idea the importance of fabric softener.  I actually thought it was a gimmick used to make more money.  HA!

A.  Fabric Softener is used to keep the fibers in your clothing from splitting
which causes fade and wear.  You put it in the fabric softener compartment of your washer and it will distribute during the spin cycle.  OR if you don’t have a dispenser because you threw it away {{like I did}} you can use the Downy Ball.

Why is it important?  Because the nicer your clothes look and feel, the longer you’ll keep them.  It saves you money, honey.

Q.  Why is there so many Tide options these days?

Again, I thought this was a total gimmick to try and make more money with a marketing effort.  {{yes I’m a bit jaded}}But Dude!  You would not believe the science that goes into Tide.  It’s seriously impressive. 

A.  Due to the changes in fabric each season and for different fabrics, the folks over at Tide are constantly evolving as we evolve.  For instance, the coolest thing I learned was about Tide Sport.  You know the Under Armor that takes away your sweat when you work out?  Well that fabric is specifically designed to trap the sweat inside it.

The problem:  Your washing machine doesn’t get the trapped sweat out of the Under Armor!  No ma’am.  That is why certain types of clothing stink even after they are washed.  It’s because all of that grodie mess didn’t get out.   {{yuck!}}  Tide Sport has a special enzyme that opens up the fabric particles that trapped the sweat – then another enzyme that grabs the sweat and traps it so that it is drained into the water in your machine.

Dude.

Yes, it’s that cool.  I learned even more but I’m waiting on some cool materials that they’ll be sending me so I can give it to you straight and not give you my lay-mans rendition.  {{wink}}
Q.  What Did You Walk Away Learning The Most?

A.  You can use just one Tide product and you’ll get by just fine.  It’s designed for that.  Tide is forumated with some cool enzymes that no other product on the market has.  However, if you want really awesome clothes that look great longer, well, then you need to have a couple differnent Tides.

Laurie’s Laundry Suggestions:

Use Tide with Bleach Power for your Whites and White Sheets – wash on hot.
Use regular Tide for colored sheets and towels – was on hot.
Use Tide Sport for Under Armor, Sport Clothes, Mowing the Lawn Clothes, etc.
Use Tide Coldwater for everything else – wash on cold to save money honey!
Must buy a Downy ball.
 
I’m not going to go out and buy them all at once, just over time I’ll start my collection.  I have all boys and doing laundry right is a big deal.  I spend way too much money on new clothes because I don’t wash them correctly and take care of them like I should.

Stay Tuned – More to Come…

Mother of Boys

The Last Day of School Celebrations

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This year I made the boys ‘end of school year’ t-shirts that thank their teachers on the front. I made Davis’ smaller since he’s now in Intermediate School.

I told him he didn’t have to wear it if it would make him uncomfortable. He ended up wearing it under another shirt to school.  During the donut party he took his other shirt off and wore it proudly.  {{giggle}}

On the back of the shirts it said, “Look out 4th grade, here I come!”  I got this idea from Kristy when I featured her on Tip Junkie.

We went to Davis’ donut party.

And Dylan’s game day and Ice Cream party.


I  had the “Welcome to Summer” banner all ready for them when they came home from school.

This little man helped me make it and was terribly bummed that I didn’t have green paint.  {{his favorite color}}

The boys always enjoy running through it to mark a new day of sleeping in, lots of computer games, the pool, and play dates with friends.

Davis went to two end of school year parties at friends houses this year. Needless to say, we ended it with a bang!

Business Owner · Girly Girl

Lisa’s Birthday Party

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This year for Lisa’s birthday I tried to pull out all the stops. It was a crazy week as it was the kids last week of school with all of their events, ceremonies, and traditions. But we made it work.

I cooked Lisa’s birthday luncheon from scratch! This is a huge labor of love since I hate to cook and I’m terrible at it. I wanted to show Lisa how much I appreciate her and our relationship. She’s an amazing sister.

I also made her a birthday board game customized just for her! You can find the tutorial over on Executive Homemaker if you’re interested. We learned a ton about Lisa and laughed so hard.

Her cards and presents were fabulous.  We were in stitches pretty much the entire afternoon.

Lisa got a head messager that gives you the weirdest sensation.  Lisa loved it…

but I couln’t stand it!  I almost smacked poor Elise as it sent tremors down my entire body.  Seriously, they should use that instead of waterboarding to torture people.  I’d say and do anything to make it stop!


It was such a crazy fun lunch with some of the most genuine and hysterical people we know.  Lisa has some amazing people in her life and I couldn’t be more proud of her and the woman she is today.

Business Owner · Mother of Boys

The Best Teachers Ev-ah!

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Since the day I featured these beauties on Tip Junkie; I just knew that one day I would have to make them. Well it finally happened last week!  I printed out this darling apple circle card which comes with a coordinating tag. {{squeal in delight}}

I made the teachers end of the school year appreciation gifts – Crayon Initial Plaques. They were so much fun to make and were really easy.

(I printed their names on textured white paper, cut the crayons, and hot glued them to frames. I took out the glass but you could also use shadow boxes.)


Davis had the best year thanks to this lovely lady!  Seriously, these four angels were brought into our lives at just the right year.  With Jason traveling and getting his MBA this year has been so hard on me.  I took SO much comfort knowing that the boys were in good hands.


Being this was Davis’ first year in Intermediate school – it could have been disastrous.  Instead he said it was amazing!


You can just tell how much these women just adore Davis.  I adore them as well!!



Dylan is so sad to be leaving Christina’s class.  {{She was also Davis’ 3rd grade teacher.}}  Luckily they’ll be seeing her often now that the Bachelorette is back on the tube.  Can you say “Girls Night!”  {{giggle}}

These teachers were deliberately brought into my boys life this year and they made all the difference in the world.  Dylan only missed 2 on the Reading TAKS and Davis only missed 2 on the Math TAKS.  {{total opposites as usual}}  
 
They will both be in Gifted & Talented next year and I believe whole-heartedly it is because they have had the most dedicated and understanding teachers who have pushed when they needed to and have loved them always.  I feel so very blessed to be acquainted with such amazing women.  They are truly teachers who go above and beyond. 

Mother of Boys

E is for Ethics

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The boys and I have been making our way through this book, E is for Ethics. I won it at the Fishful Thinking Booth at Mom 2.0 and the boys love it.

Each chapter is really short maybe 2-3 pages and they focus on one moral dilemma. At the end it asks questions that you can discuss with your kids.  It’s been a really easy way to arm my kids with solutions of difficult situations before they happen.

It’s also been fun to bond with them and snuggle at bedtime.  Now that they’re getting older, I have to find excuses.  {{wink}}

Mother of Boys

We’re Kickin’ It

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I’ve been wanting to get the boys in martial arts for years.  We finally have some free time and some extra dough so I jumped at the opportunity to sign them up.

I’m hoping it will arm them with some new skills, physical discipline, and self-esteem.

So far it’s going great!

Not only do they look uber handsome in their uniforms, they’re taking it seriously and learning a lot.

I can’t tell you how proud of these two I am. They’ve come a long way and are still the best of friends. I’m honored the Lord thought I would have what it takes to raise them. I had serious doubts for many years. The more responsibility I give them – the more they thrive. It’s so fun to see.

Mother of Boys

Lemons into Lemonade

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Somehow we came up 6 pills short of the boys medication this month. {{drat!}}

Luckily we ran out the day of the boys doctors appointment. So, instead of sending them to school unmediated {{unfocused and completely silly}} I decided to embrace the crazy and take all the boys to Chuck E. Cheese.  It was the loudest place I could think of where they wouldn’t stick out, they would blend in.

I was so bummed when we got there and I realized that I had left my camera charging at home.  But we were able to get some fun pictures when we got back.

What could have been a very frustrating day for all of us, turned into a Doctor Ditch Day full of games, tickets, and prizes.  We all had a great time and turned lemons into lemonade.

Business Owner

Tip Junkie Birthday Bash!

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I am hosting the 3rd Annual Birthday Bash June 14th – 19th with fabulous prizes and over 120 birthday party ideas and tutorials.

I’d love for you to be included:

  • Do you have a birthday party file or printable you’d like to share with other mothers?  Submit it so we can all save time and enjoy it too.

YAY!  It’s actually my favorite week out of the year as I feature the most creative and cool parties.  You know how I like a party.  {{wink}}