And the Winner Is...

Stephanie!

CONGRATULATIONS!

I hope you enjoy your beautiful candle.

Thanks to everyone who entered. I am so glad you all stopped by my blog and shop.

Blessed be.

-Lainie

New Etsy Shop

Hi, everyone!
I've just opened an Etsy shop and want to give something away!

All you have to do to enter the Giveaway Contest is visit my shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/LaJava?ref=si_shop and then leave a comment here listing which item is your favorite. The winner will be chosen by random.org on Thursday, June 23, 2011 and your chosen item will be sent to you. (The item you choose as your favorite has no bearing on whether or not you will be chosen. All results are totally random.) Please comment only once.

And remember to check my Etsy shop periodically as I have plans to add Crocheted Fingerless Gloves, Sock Monkeys, and maybe some handmade journals before October.

Good luck!
-Lainie

The Easiest Cheapest Ouchie Pillow

My original ouchie pillow was a sewn pillow with rice inside. It froze very well, and was comfortable to use (rather than the plastic guys that freeze you and "burn"). But when Lyliana hurt her mouth, the ouchie pillow got wet and was ruined.

Here is my solution:

Take a new clean sock, fill with rice, tie off with a hair-tie or rubber band. And put it in the freezer. {You can also heat in the oven or microwave for hot therapy.}

I love it. If it gets wet, I can open it, dump out the wet rice, wash and dry it, and start over. It is so simple and easy. And cheap because I already had these things in the house.

Beach Cheap! ;)

More Garden Pictures

Too high to be picked, I can now enjoy my petunias.

;)

A brocolli.

Pretty pretty hanging pots.

Two types of rosemary (green and clay pots) and my favorite herb ever, thyme.

Pansies in the sunshine.

My Beach Cheap Garden - year 2

I grew cauliflower this year. Successfully. My daughter and I enjoyed picking it from the plant and munching on it right there in the backyard.

To be Beach Cheap, use everything! This old toy bucket had a crack in the bottom. So now it has been resurrected as a brocolli planter.

A little spray paint makes an old rusted planter look like new.

A packet of lettuce seeds kept us in salads for the entire season. ($2.00)

I learned that if I put some hanging pots on the fence, out of toddler-reach, I would have plenty of pretty flowers to look at.

She's busy on the swings anyway.

And I suggest getting free pickle buckets from your local fast food restaurant. They just throw them away. Drill some holes in the bottom, and they make great planters. I have a mulberry tree in one, sweet potatoes in another.

Happy Springtime!

:)

Crocheted Soap Savers

Here is a crocheted soap saver I made while watching a movie last night. It's quick and simple. And, because I had free (here-take-this-I-don't-crochet-anymore) yarn, it only cost me the time.

I make my own soap, and that makes it pretty valuable to me. I hate to see small pieces wash down the drain or dissolve before their time. Now, I put the broken pieces into the soap saver. They last longer, and I am happy.

No, I'm not cheap... I'm Beach Cheap!

An Important but Random Thought

A man was bartering with Satan.
All the man wanted in the whole wide world was a life free from financial stress with health and long lives for his loved ones.
All Satan wanted was his soul.
He was about to sign in blood when he was struck with a sudden fear,
“Wait!” He said, “Satan, can you guarantee that my death will be painless?”
Satan laughed.
“You mortals… you amuse me... How can you fret over some insignificant thing, and freely sell that one thing that is of utmost importance?”

We on earth become confused easily, and the enemy uses this against us. We are so very concerned with money, health, safety and pain, but we are ignorant of true value.
For what would you sell your soul?
Money… Beauty… Fame… Adoration…Power… Sex…
All of these things are readily available. “Not to you,” you say? Yes, indeed. Any of you can have any of these things if you work hard enough.
But we have only one soul. One life. One eternity.
Where will you spend yours? What is truly of utmost importance to you?