I've got my snowman teacher and sports ornaments on sale. Let me know you saw this post and I'll include a free set of hand painted clips with your order!
Visit my Etsy shop now!
Friday, November 27, 2009
Etsy Holiday Sale - November 27-30
Happy Friday! Did you know Etsy is having a sale? Yup - search "EtsyFreeShipping" or "EtsyHolidaySale" (yes, all one word) - to find the best deals.
I've got my snowman teacher and sports ornaments on sale. Let me know you saw this post and I'll include a free set of hand painted clips with your order!
Visit my Etsy shop now!
I've got my snowman teacher and sports ornaments on sale. Let me know you saw this post and I'll include a free set of hand painted clips with your order!
Visit my Etsy shop now!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Quick, easy and "cheep" holiday gift tags
A quick and easy tag for your holiday packages - I used these beautiful silver bird stickers I bought from Elizabeth Craft Designs and my large hang tag punch. Mine are very simple but you can embellish these in so many ways. Get some creative inspiration off the website's Gallery. There are a TON of other gorgeous stickers to choose from - so get your creative groove on!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
How do I make sure my new knobs will fit my cabinets?
People ask me a variation of this question all the time: "What if the knobs/pulls I want won't fit or line up with the holes in my cabinets?"
Answer (with help from December's Workbench magazine Vol. 65, No. 6, Issue #316 - Alyssa McNab): ... if the hardware you want just won't match up, you do have a number of options for concealing the old holes. The method you choose will depend on the cabinet's finish.
If you have painted wood cabinets, you can simply fill the old holes and then paint over them. Use wood putty to fill them, and then sand the filler. Paint over the patched holes with matching paint. To ensure an accurate match, take one of your cabinet doors to the paint store for reference, so they can mix the color.
For stained wood cabinets, you can fill holes with colored wood putty. Some companies produce wood putty in colors that match their stain colors.
No matter what finish your cabinets have, you should conceal the old holes before you drill new ones. That way, if the patched holes are too noticeable, you can re-drill the old holes and find different hardward.
Hope this helps - and remember, you do not have to get new knobs that are the same size as your existing knobs! The larger the knob, the more impact the colors and design will have in the space.
I carry 3 different sizes of mushroom knobs, 3 sizes of british knobs, 4 sizes of ball knobs and 3" drawer pulls. For the most "bang for your buck", go for the largest size that will fit your cabinets.
Answer (with help from December's Workbench magazine Vol. 65, No. 6, Issue #316 - Alyssa McNab): ... if the hardware you want just won't match up, you do have a number of options for concealing the old holes. The method you choose will depend on the cabinet's finish.
If you have painted wood cabinets, you can simply fill the old holes and then paint over them. Use wood putty to fill them, and then sand the filler. Paint over the patched holes with matching paint. To ensure an accurate match, take one of your cabinet doors to the paint store for reference, so they can mix the color.
For stained wood cabinets, you can fill holes with colored wood putty. Some companies produce wood putty in colors that match their stain colors.
No matter what finish your cabinets have, you should conceal the old holes before you drill new ones. That way, if the patched holes are too noticeable, you can re-drill the old holes and find different hardward.
Hope this helps - and remember, you do not have to get new knobs that are the same size as your existing knobs! The larger the knob, the more impact the colors and design will have in the space.
I carry 3 different sizes of mushroom knobs, 3 sizes of british knobs, 4 sizes of ball knobs and 3" drawer pulls. For the most "bang for your buck", go for the largest size that will fit your cabinets.
Mushroom knobs... lined up against the largest British knob for comparison.
L to R: 1 3/4" british knob, 2" mushroom knob, 1 3/4" mk, 1 1/2" mk
British knobs
Finally, I carry 4 sizes of ball knobs:
small - 1 1/4" in diameter
medium - 1 1/2" in diameter
large - 1 3/4" in diameter - perfect for large drawers or armoires!
Extra large - 2 1/4" - for those looking to make a real impact!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Facebook Giveaway!
Doodle Pad Designs has a Facebook business page! I've found it easier to update than my blog, so I've been posting pictures and hosting giveaways over there - yes! I said "giveaways"! Every week during the month of October, I'll be giving away a free ornament of your choice from my online store! (US/Canada shipping only)
All you have to do to enter this week's giveaway is become a fan and post a comment! OR if you're already a fan, invite a friend to join and have them post a comment (with your name in it) and both of you will be entered to win!
But hurry because this week's drawing takes place at 10pm est on Wednesday! So far only 4 people have entered so your chances of winning are pretty good!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Boundaries with Kids - part 2
Well, the summer flew by - in fact, my kids just came home with their first progress report!
So I thought I'd better post a follow-up to the whole "allowance experiment".
Here's how it worked: the kids would get "paid" on Saturdays - and Saturdays only. If we went to Target on Friday and they saw something they wanted to use their allowance on, they would just have to wait - I wouldn't spot them (what boss gives paychecks early just so their employee can go shopping?!). Once they got their money, they would have to put 10% aside for their tithe and 10% for savings. The rest was theirs to spend as they wished.
Here's how it went: the oldest spent hers almost as soon as she got it. Lots of little stuff. The boy saw something on TV he wanted - it was on the expensive side - so he had to save all his money if he wanted to buy it at the end of the summer. He enlisted our help in keeping him from spending his money on other things - there were a couple of times he would have blown it all, so that was a smart move on his part. A couple of weeks ago, he finally had enough saved up to buy the item - what an exciting day that was for him! (and us too!) It was such a great financial lesson, not just for him, but for his siblings as well: you want something, save up your money and pay cash!
On the flip side: we had to remind the kids several times that their allowance was not something we OWED them. It was a gift. A gift that could be taken away or reduced if their behavior or attitudes were lacking or if their chores were not done. For example, not making their beds in the morning would cost them 50 cents. Whining or tattling would also cost 50 cents. As you can imagine, some weeks we didn't have much money to give out!
All in all, it's been a great experience for our family. It's given us more insight into the personalities of our children (savers versus spenders) and helped us curb some unwanted behaviors. It's also been a self-esteem builder for the "saver", while the "spender" got to witness first-hand the joys of self-discipline. If I was to give the "allowance experiment" a grade, it would definitely be an A+!
So I thought I'd better post a follow-up to the whole "allowance experiment".
Here's how it worked: the kids would get "paid" on Saturdays - and Saturdays only. If we went to Target on Friday and they saw something they wanted to use their allowance on, they would just have to wait - I wouldn't spot them (what boss gives paychecks early just so their employee can go shopping?!). Once they got their money, they would have to put 10% aside for their tithe and 10% for savings. The rest was theirs to spend as they wished.
Here's how it went: the oldest spent hers almost as soon as she got it. Lots of little stuff. The boy saw something on TV he wanted - it was on the expensive side - so he had to save all his money if he wanted to buy it at the end of the summer. He enlisted our help in keeping him from spending his money on other things - there were a couple of times he would have blown it all, so that was a smart move on his part. A couple of weeks ago, he finally had enough saved up to buy the item - what an exciting day that was for him! (and us too!) It was such a great financial lesson, not just for him, but for his siblings as well: you want something, save up your money and pay cash!
On the flip side: we had to remind the kids several times that their allowance was not something we OWED them. It was a gift. A gift that could be taken away or reduced if their behavior or attitudes were lacking or if their chores were not done. For example, not making their beds in the morning would cost them 50 cents. Whining or tattling would also cost 50 cents. As you can imagine, some weeks we didn't have much money to give out!
All in all, it's been a great experience for our family. It's given us more insight into the personalities of our children (savers versus spenders) and helped us curb some unwanted behaviors. It's also been a self-esteem builder for the "saver", while the "spender" got to witness first-hand the joys of self-discipline. If I was to give the "allowance experiment" a grade, it would definitely be an A+!
Friday, June 12, 2009
Recent Custom Orders
One of my favorite things is to create custom orders! Some of my best, most popular designs have come from client ideas! For the Caden Lane bedding above, the client requested a blend of new designs along with some she saw in my store. The result? A fun blend of pink and brown whimsy! Linda, on the other hand, wanted to customize designs she already noticed for sale in my store. She just wanted them in colors to match her decor. Not a problem! You can see how they turned out - so sweet!!
Monday, June 1, 2009
Boundaries with Kids - Episode 1
Today is the first official day of summer vacation... sort of. It's the first day that my kids are home instead of at school, so in my eyes, this is the first real day. So today was the day to start teaching my children about rewards and consequences - part of the topic in chapter 4 of the Boundaries with Kids book by Cloud and Townsend. The chapter is entitled "What Will Happen If I Do This?".
I love this chapter because it pulls up several illustrations of how parents can sabotage their own rules. You know... we all do it. We say "Billy, you won't be able to go to the pool with us if you don't get your chores done"... and then Billy doesn't get the chores done, but somehow we end up letting him come anyways because it would have been completely inconvenient to us for him not to have come or we just would have felt too sad for Billy if he had missed out. And sometimes we even go so far as to do his chores for him - or get the other kids to help him!! Of course, we make him feel totally guilty for not doing the chores or remind him over and over of how "full of grace" we are being for allowing him to come anyways and in so doing, feel like we are somehow punishing him. I've seen people do this - and have probably even done it myself in the past week or so.
Well, this summer is going to be different! The 2 older kids are going to get an allowance (the 3 year old is not privy to this!). Whether they get all of that allowance will depend on whether they keep up with some age-appropriate requirements. Now, I sat them down this morning and we came up with a list together. This list includes: making their beds, putting away their own laundry, and cleaning up after themselves. It's a little more detailed, but I don't want to bore you with all of that. At the end of the week, they will get "paid". From that money, they will have to put 10% in savings and 10% will be given to God (now, if you are not a Christ-follower, you could decide to put that money towards the charity of your choice. In any case, I believe the principle of giving back is an important one).
Also - just to make things more complicated (HA!), we have a list of "negatives". Those include things like whining, fighting, disobedience, and lying (again, they helped come up with the list). Every time they do one of those things, they will get a "strike" against them. Three strikes during the week means they will not be allowed to participate in a fun Friday activity. They will reap the consequences of their behavior and hopefully learn to avoid being excluded from the fun by choosing to act in appropriate ways.
So - if this all seems a bit jumbled, it's because I'm hurriedly trying to jot this down before I take the little monkeys out for the afternoon to swim at a friend's pool. I'd love to hear what any of you think about this - or even if you've tried to do something similar with your kids!
Have a great week everyone!
I love this chapter because it pulls up several illustrations of how parents can sabotage their own rules. You know... we all do it. We say "Billy, you won't be able to go to the pool with us if you don't get your chores done"... and then Billy doesn't get the chores done, but somehow we end up letting him come anyways because it would have been completely inconvenient to us for him not to have come or we just would have felt too sad for Billy if he had missed out. And sometimes we even go so far as to do his chores for him - or get the other kids to help him!! Of course, we make him feel totally guilty for not doing the chores or remind him over and over of how "full of grace" we are being for allowing him to come anyways and in so doing, feel like we are somehow punishing him. I've seen people do this - and have probably even done it myself in the past week or so.
Well, this summer is going to be different! The 2 older kids are going to get an allowance (the 3 year old is not privy to this!). Whether they get all of that allowance will depend on whether they keep up with some age-appropriate requirements. Now, I sat them down this morning and we came up with a list together. This list includes: making their beds, putting away their own laundry, and cleaning up after themselves. It's a little more detailed, but I don't want to bore you with all of that. At the end of the week, they will get "paid". From that money, they will have to put 10% in savings and 10% will be given to God (now, if you are not a Christ-follower, you could decide to put that money towards the charity of your choice. In any case, I believe the principle of giving back is an important one).
Also - just to make things more complicated (HA!), we have a list of "negatives". Those include things like whining, fighting, disobedience, and lying (again, they helped come up with the list). Every time they do one of those things, they will get a "strike" against them. Three strikes during the week means they will not be allowed to participate in a fun Friday activity. They will reap the consequences of their behavior and hopefully learn to avoid being excluded from the fun by choosing to act in appropriate ways.
So - if this all seems a bit jumbled, it's because I'm hurriedly trying to jot this down before I take the little monkeys out for the afternoon to swim at a friend's pool. I'd love to hear what any of you think about this - or even if you've tried to do something similar with your kids!
Have a great week everyone!
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