Happy Halloween!

Wishing all a safe and Happy Halloween!

Be safe!

soft, crunchy and chewy...

In honor of Halloween being tomorrow lets talk candy. My favorite Halloween candy is 100 Grand bars, and I always indulge at Halloween. I am really looking forward to taking Will trick or treating in his Flash costume!

What is your favorite Halloween candy?

Kiss the Cook!

The Kiss the Cook necklace is a new piece in my shop, and a fun piece since you can wear all charms together or a few at a time or maybe one at time, you pick your utensil! I wanted to create a piece for the foodies! This would make a great conversation piece and perfect gift for the cook that has everything.

The Kiss the Cook is available in my shop Kristen's Custom Creations.

Anticipation....

Anticipation.... is there anything better than waiting for some Haagen-Daz, especially when you are almost 4?

Meet my shipping assistant

Will often helps me w/ shipping orders. And don't worry he is paid very well with all of the goodies and toys he receives, actually probably overpaid. Will tells me that the lever is REALLY, REALLY HEAVY but he has strong muscles.

Happy Wednesday! I am so excited that Halloween is on a Saturday this year, I LOVE Halloween!

Something new....

Just a few new items in the shop. The Java Mama says it all, I can barely survive my day without some coffee, Martha from The Daily Grind suggested that I create a coffee inspired piece so a special thank you to Martha. This piece can also be stamped with Java Junkie if you prefer.

The Dance piece is perfect for the little dancer and instead of Dance can also be customized with a name.

Many more new pieces to come and I am working on a Twilight/New Moon so stay tuned!

Both pieces and many more are available in my shop Kristen's Custom Creations. Custom orders are always welcome!

Schools Pics.... well kinda

Will was scheduled for school pics last week and when it was his turn he decided he wouldn't have any part of it. He did the same thing last year too. Apparently I am the only one allowed to take his picture, I am his personal photographer. So here are the shots he allowed me to take.

How did your kiddos school pictures go this year?

Happy Tuesday, make it a great day!

Featured Reader: Let me introduce you to....

Hello friends,

I hope everyone had a great weekend, where did the weekend go anyways? We celebrated our 12th Wedding Anniversary and to celebrate we went out for burgers with Will since hubby worked most of the weekend and so did I on and off.

Monday's are always fun since I have the great pleasure of introducing you to one of my fab bloggy friends, what is better than sharing some bloggy love? I am very excited to introduce you to Martha of The Daily Grind, Do you know what I love the most about Martha's blog is her amazing pictures, she calls it a hobby but she always seems to capture those special moments, you will have to see for yourself. Martha is also one of my Twitter buddies so be sure to give her a follow HERE. Go ahead and grab a cup of joe and get to know my friend Martha, you won't be sorry!

Name: Martha of The Daily Grind

Family:

I’m a single mom with a 12 ½ yr old daughter Tara. We now live together with my amazing 85 yr old mom, three generations of women in one house! Also Princess the dog, Kovu (aka Bubba) the cat and Oliver the guinea pig

How did you start blogging?

I started blogging to share my photography and our adventures with friends and family. Tara and I lived in Orlando FL from 2003-2009 with no family close by.

What is your parenting philosophy?

My parenting style is very relaxed and laid back. Being a single mom since Tara was an infant (I separated from her dad when she was just 5 mos. old). Sometimes I almost feel like we are two best friends enjoying life. That does get me in trouble sometimes when she does not take me seriously! I pick my battles… and don’t fight the small stuff!

You will never find me without......my camera, IPhone and sunglasses!

Day job:

I am temporarily on “hiatus” from working. After 30 years working in corporate America, I took early retirement (and year’s salary). I have been enjoying for the first time in my adult life being unemployed, and being a stay at home mom. I will be looking for something to supplement my pension, real soon!

Favorite Stuff:

Music: Classic Rock

Food: I love a good white pizza with spinach or a Pudge’s Philly Cheese Steak

Tv/ Movies: Too much TV… crime dramas; Big Bang Theory, Big Brother, Survivor, Desperate Housewives, and the list goes on and on!

Reading: I do not read enough. I buy books and never seem to stay awake long enough once I pick one up to get through them. I do enjoy Patricia Cornwell, Mary Higgins Clark, suspense/mystery type novels. I am currently moving The Lost Symbol from room to room, and house to the car, trying to find uninterrupted time to read!

If you had to wear a T-shirt with your favorite saying on it what would it be? Got Coffee?

Favorite stores to shop? Best Buy and of course Kristen’s shop! (aah too sweet!)

If you could trade with a blogger for the day who would it be?

Wow, there are so many that I admire! I think I will pick one of my first blog friends, Leslie of Jam's Own Reality. We are in the same “season” of life. She has what from all appearances a wonderful life, married to an amazing man for 29 years, with two great kids. She lives in CA where I have never been. Her husband is a great cook! I am a bit envious of those who are living their lives with the companionship of their soul mate. To date (I’m 51) I have not been blessed with finding that person. I am not however complaining about my life. It is a great one!

Other good stuff from Martha:

Photography is the one hobby (passion) that I take time to practice. Tara and I lived near Disney World for six years, and that gave me many photography opportunities. Now that we are living “back home” in Pennsylvania, we are enjoying revisiting our favorite places, and exploring the new. I have two other blogs Daily Photo Blog and New Adventures. You can get to both of these from my main blog. Tara and the cat have their own blogs too!

Tara is attending “virtual” school this year. She is in the 7^th grade. We are having fun learning together, and I am not missing all the “tween” drama that goes hand in hand with middle school. I am totally enjoying the fall. We missed the change in seasons. The changes were very subtle in Florida!

Please be sure to leave some comment love for Martha. If you would like to be a featured reader please send a link of your blog to klacustomcreations@comcast.net.

Happy Anniversary

Anna Maria Island March 2004

Happy 12th Anniversary!

Today is our 12th Wedding Anniversary and can you believe I had to go back 5 years to find a picture of just the two of us! This picture was taken at one of our favorite vacation spots Anna Maria Island, it was one of the last BIG trips, we took before having Will.

Did you know according to tradition you are suppose to give a gift of silk on the 12th anniversary? I have noticed our gifts have changed through the years we exchange small token gifts and this year Will insisted on picking out his Dad's gift so I hope he likes his Flash T-shirt! I still picked something else up too though but it wasn't anything made of silk!

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's ......

Superman! and of course

The Flash

Will kinda has a love for superheroes and has been spending as much time as possible in his Flash costume, which BTW I searched high and low to find for him! I am hoping his costume will hold up until Halloween.

Do you know who The Flash is?

What are your kiddos being for Halloween?

The first field trip...

Apple picking, a hayride, cider and donuts all made for the perfect first field trip. Is there anything better than fresh cinnamon sugar donuts from the cider mill? It was so cold, more like winter than fall but we still had a lot of fun!

Happy Thursday, wishing you a great day!

Something new in the shop....

Just added to the shop the Double Stacked A lot Of Love in fancy script font and the bottom disc has a hammered finish. I created this piece for my Mom, the bottom disc has my name and my brothers and the top disc has Will's name and my nephews name. I think it is a sweet generation piece but would also be perfect for a Grandma or Mom! I have one just like it but the bottom disc says blessed. You can find it in my SHOP.

I have many new designs I will be adding soon, so stay tuned and be sure to come back. If you aren't already please become a fan on Facebook, I run contests and share new designs.

Wordless Wednesday

Will watching Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs at the IMAX. He never took the glasses off and we stayed until the credits were over, you could say he enjoyed the movie.

Have you seen Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs? It isn't anything like the book, which is disappointing:(

Happy Wednesday!

Smelly Washer Review and Giveaway

Smelly Washer, Smelly Washer why are you so smelly? Do your towels stink? I started noticing that even when my towels were right out of the dryer they still smelled, that yucky mildew smell. I tried cleaning my washer with vinegar but guess what the towels smelled like vinegar now. I then received a bottle of Smelly Washer to review and immediately rounded up all of our towels and gave them a spin, and guess what I found that it really works. We no longer have mildew smelling towels! After just one use we now have fresh, clean smelling towels.

Here is what I really like about Smelly Washer:

All natural product
No perfumes or dyes
Guaranteed to eliminate odor
One bottle will last for 24 treatments!!!
Simple to use

How does it work?

You just add one capful to your load of laundry, allow to agitate and then soak for 2 hours. Finish the load and once done rewash with your normal detergent. It is that simple!!!! I may not be Martha Stewart but thanks to Smelly Washer I now have fresh, clean towels that even Martha would approve of!

Smelly Washer is available for purchase for $16.99 HERE. The lovely folks of Smelly Washer have kindly offered a 10% discount at checkout enter code kristenandrews at checkout and they are also offering one of my lucky readers a bottle of Smelly Washer!!!

To enter:

Leave a comment with why you would like to win Smelly Washer

Extra entries: (leave a comment for each extra entry)

Follow my blog (1 extra entry)
Add my blog button to your blog (2 extra entries)
Become a fan of my Facebook page HERE (3 extra entries)
Follow me on Twitter HERE (1 extra entry)
Tweet about this contest (1 extra entry)
Blog about this contest (2 extra entries)
If you have a really smelly washer (1 extra entry just because)

Contest closes on October 30th at 11:59PM and is open to US residents only. Good Luck!

Karen Neuburger PJ winners

Wow 448 entries, that was a lot of entries and thank you to everyone who entered. The winners are......

Winner #1 (Grand prize PJ's and socks!)

Sharon said...

I follow your blog
crochetmama
October 11, 2009 10:25 AM
Sandick Blog

Winner #2

Katie said...

Your button is on my blog http://katieandscotts.blogspot.com

Winner #3

janetfaye said...

2. I am a Facebook Fan - Janet Fri

janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com

October 18, 2009 8:46 PM

Please look for either a comment on your blog or an email from me. Congratulations ladies!

Featured Reader: Let me introduce you to....

Hello friends! I hope everyone had a great weekend, and did something fun. We spent the weekend running errands but did rent Monster's Vs. Aliens. Will and I already saw it but hubby didn't, and I think hubby likes the animated movies just as much as Will does. Hubby also taught Will how to give NUGGIES to me so that is something delightful, I may have to invest in some hats until Will moves on to something new.

Monday's are always fun since I have the great pleasure of introducing you to a fellow blogger and this fellow blogger happens to be from another country... how neat is it that we find friendship all across the world? I am excited to introduce you to Melissa AKA Equidae of The Lotus Pages. Melissa speaks from the heart and happens to believe in the slogan I often say, "If you want something done right, do it yourself". Grab a beverage of choice and get to know my friend Melissa.

Name: Melissa AKA Equidae of The Lotus Pages

Family: its just me, hubby & little Gregory

How did you start blogging? I was at home on maternity leave going through lots of blogs and sites & thought to start one to!

What is your parenting philosophy? parenting philosophy... don't know if you can call it such but, I am a natural person so I use my instinct as much as possible as well as some help from yoga

You will never find me without...... my glasses LOL as I am short sighted

Day job: as of November a SAHM :) am really excited about it as I also have plans for a site dedicated to moms & hopefully creating a community in Malta & a blog that answers mom questions

Favorite Stuff:

Music: Latin & rock

Food: french fries

Tv/ Movies: none I am not a TV/Movie person

Reading: now that....too many though LOL ok books by Paolo Coelho & Dick Francis & on yoga mainly

If you had to wear a T-shirt with your favorite saying on it what would it be? if you want something done right, do it yourself!

If you could trade with a blogger for the day who would it be and please provide the link. Stefanie of Adventures in Babywearing, she was the first blog I read and inspired me to start mine! Her family of 4 kids is fantastic & would love to know first hand what it feels like to nurture 4 kids

Other good stuff from Melissa: As I mentioned I live in Malta that is a very small island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, Europe :) its a nice sunny place most of the time and temp never go below 10 degrees and has lots and lots of history..maybe you'd like to visit me :) as for me, I am in love with nature and try to promote green living on my blog as well. I'd love to meet up other moms and hence my site Mama's Circle, which mainly targets Maltese moms but the articles are good for all moms in the world.

If you would like to be a featured reader please send an email with a link to your blog to klacustomcreations@comcast.net

No Costume... NO CANDY!!!

When are you too old to Trick or Treat or are you never too old?

In my opinion I really don't care how old someone is but a costume is a MUST! We have had teenagers come to the door without costumes and I always ask them where their costumes are, if you ask me the rule should be no costume, no candy!

P.S. It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown happens to be one of my favorite Halloween specials I think I like it more than Will does.

if you would like to view more fun questions please visit islandlife808.com

I don't want to go to school...

"I Don't Want To Go To School" this is what I hear every Tuesday and Thursday. Preschool for Will went great the first week and now he doesn't want to go. I think it has set in that this is going to be a regular occurrence. I drop him off and have to leave him screaming and crying that he doesn't want to stay. The first few days I waited in the hall where he couldn't see me but now after a few minutes I do leave since I know the teachers will call me if I need to come to the rescue. It breaks my heart into a million pieces hearing him plead to go home yet I know that he is safe and needs school. This past Tuesday I had to peel him off of me and hurry out the door, the teacher told me he only cried for a minute, other days it has been for about 30 minutes, progress right? I asked Will why he doesn't want to go and he said because he just wants to go home with me.

I have tried just about everything, reading The Kissing Hand book, bribery, sticker charts and none of this has really helped. But I do know my kiddo and know that only time will ease the sadness, since change is hard even for me. I will continue to reassure Will that he is safe and that I love him. I know that this too shall pass and that one day he will be running into the classroom with a smile on his face. Until that happens inside I will be dreading Tuesdays and Thursdays and will continue to arrive early to peek in at him and see how he is doing. I will continue to put my happy face on and tell him how proud I am of him for going to school even though inside I am sad for him. Separation is hard yet raising your child to be independent is the best gift you can give him. Today we are going to a field trip so today should be a happy, smiley day!

Have you had a similar experience with separation anxiety? Share your thoughts.

Eli's Lid Winner

Congratulations to Heather Brandt, Heather is the winner of the Lid from Eli's Lids.

Heather Brandt said...

I love the surfer for my son :)

Thank you to all who entered!

Please be sure to stop on by and pick up a Lid today!

so ugly yet soooooooooooooooo stinkin cute!

Meet Will's Ugly Dolls, Fea Bea (ugly stick) Big Toe, Turny Burny and Ice Bat and I don't think he is the only one that loves these lil monsters, they are really soft and great to cuddle with, or so I have been told.

You can read the story behind the Ugly Dolls here, I happen to love when things have a story behind them.

ooey, gooey, good.....

Yum!

On Sunday I had a fair amount of work to do but Will and I took a break to bake some chocolate chip cookies. Chocolate Chip Cookies are so good when they are still warm.....ooey, gooey, good! I have to admit when baking chocolate chip cookies I almost always use the Ghirardelli Chocolate Chip mix, to me they are just as good as baking from scratch!

When you bake cookies do you make them from scratch?

Below are a few new necklaces that will be added to the shop, the tags aren't new just a fun batch I created for a customer.

Hand Stamped joie de vivre

Hand Stamped P.S. I love you necklace

If you would like to view my entire collection of hand stamped jewelry please visit Kristen's Custom Creations and custom orders are always welcome!

Featured Reader: Let me introduce you to...

Hello friends! I hope everyone had a great weekend, the sun did FINALLY peek out this weekend after a week of rain, but it is cold, cold, cold! I am not ready for the cold weather and every year ask myself why we live in Michigan??? Be sure to check out the fab giveaways I am hosting right now see the top right hand corner for the links!

Monday's are always fun since I have the great pleasure of introducing you to a fellow blogger. It is my great pleasure to introduce you to Lisa of Moore Minutes. Lisa is a busy Mom to 3 adorable boys and also happens to be very crafty, you will find great inspiration at her blog. Please grab a cup of joe and get to know my friend Lisa.

Name: Lisa of Moore Minutes

Family:

I have been lovingly married for 9 years to my husband, Chris. I am so blessed because he is strongly supportive of who I am and all that I do. We are young parents! We ran head on into "real life" and it has been an exciting adventure. We had three boys by the time we were 21! They are now 9, 7, and 5. Cameron Skyler, our oldest is very serious and a little perfectionist. Dakotah, our middle son has a huge heart and cares about everyone. Titus, our youngest is a little clown who laughs constantly. Life most parents, they are our constant source of joy in life.

How did you start blogging?

My best friend encouraged me to start one and I resisted and procrastinated at first. She knew me well enough to know that I would fall in love with it. I am so thankful that she pushed me and encouraged me to start!

What is your parenting philosophy?

As a parent my main goal is to capture my childrens' hearts. I want them to obey and be responsible simply because they love me as passionately as I love them. I want them to know that I love them unconditionally in the true sense of the word. They don't have to earn my approval and they don't have to meet expectations. I hold their hearts close no matter what.

I encourage them to KNOW who they are and to BE who they are. It is important to build and strengthen their character so that they can withstand anything that their future life may bring. Character building is also imperative so they are capable of helping others who need strength during this journey of life. I hope they soar with success and ambition, but if they fall short of the world's standards, I hope they know that they are still incredible and fully valuable...and that they always will be.

You will never find me without......

shamefully...my cell phone and carmex

Day job:

I home school my oldest son and my younger two attend a private school. The majority of my day is spent teaching and doing all the Mom and Wife stuff. I especially enjoying making my house SO COZY in unique ways. I love entertaining and hosting dinners and parties! So some days are spent planning for those activities. If my laundry pile isn't looking very enticing I like to make mini escapes online to blog!

Favorite Stuff:

Music: I have an eclectic taste in music..the best picks of everything. Mika has been a favorite for awhile! Also, right now I like anything with a playful, charming, and a bit of an odd beat.

Food: Sandwiches and Sees Candy

Tv/ Movies: The Notebook, Rocky, Anne of Green Gables.

I don't have television but I watched Gilmore Girls on dvd and was instantly in love!

Reading: Books are a very important part of my life. My all time favorite book is Gone with the Wind

If you had to wear a T-shirt with your favorite saying on it what would it be?

My favorite saying changes with my moods. But lately i like:

Some people dream of success... while others wake up and work hard at it.

Favorite stores to shop at:

Ballard Designs (catalog), Pottery Barn Kids, Sephora, and unique little boutiques are always treasures!

If you could trade with a blogger for the day who would it be?

Fun question! Without a doubt, Jenn at hostessblog.com I get fresh and moving inspiration with every visit! I admire the success that she has created through her personal loves and the beauty that she displays daily on her blog. Parties and events are passions of mine and Jenn displays only the best, with every detail perfect.

Other good stuff from Lisa:

The key in anything you do is to pursue and spend time on things that energize you rather than drain you! Find what fuels your energy and run with it. Life becomes so vivid and exciting when you do! This sums up why I love blogs. Each blog treasure I find motivates me and propels me to action.

Please be sure to leave Lisa some comment love and head on over to her blog for a dose of inspiration.

If you would like to be a featured reader please send a link of your blog to klacustomcreations@comcast.net