Friday Night Finds: Summer Activities for Kids

Here in Nevada the last day of school is next week. I already enrolled my kids in some summer classes to keep them busy but here are some fun ideas to make with them in the following months:

 DIY Lava Lamps {HERE}

 Indoor Counting Croquet {HERE}

 Painting Pasta {HERE}

 PVC car wash {HERE}

 Jello Cookies {HERE}

Drive-In movie night {HERE}

Wishing you a fun weekend!

Storage Chest Before & After

You probably won't remember THIS chest that I we on Craigslist back in JANUARY!!! It took me forever to finish it and more than forever to blog about it.

It came home with us for $30.

It is all real wood and can hold lots of things.

I sanded, primed and painted all and took out the ugly cushion on top. Note to self: next time get a paint spray gun, so much faster! 

I still had paint from our guest bathroom cabinet {HERE} so I didn't had to spend extra $$.

My idea was to paint it dark blue for Ryan's room but at the very last minute we went with the dark brown so it could be placed in the living room to hold ALL the junk toys that are always laying on the floor 24/7!

(The dog on the left is Rocky, my brother's Boston Terrier, who stayed with us for a few days last week)

And in less than 2 minutes the floors are clear!

And everything looks nice and clean ;)

Linking Up To:
The ArtsyGirl Connection, My Romantic Home, Serenity Now, Truly Lovely

Farm Rich Review & Giveaway

During the weekend I had the chance to try some new snacks! The nice people from Farm Rich contacted me to see if I was interested in reviewing a few of their products. And I immediately said YES!

I heard about them before but never ate their products.

So the other day I went grocery shopping and got: Cheese Sticks & Mozzarella Bites

There is plenty in each bag so I decided to just use half of each. I baked them in the oven and saved the rest for another time.

They were ready in no time and here is Nicole's plate: cheese sticks, mozzarella bites, avocado, tomatoes and black olives.

 The entire family loved it! Even Ryan who is usually a picky eater! The kids liked better the mozzarella bites and my husband the cheese sticks. They both are delicious and definitely will use Farm Rich products as an appetizer at our next party. 

Farm Rich offers 16 easy to prepare snacks sure to please everyone and they can be used for any occasion such as parties, snacks, appetizers, etc...

WIN IT!!

Farm Rich has generously offered to one lucky Life In The Thrifty Lane reader 2 coupons each good for a free product of your choice!

How to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hello Monday!

Hello to my newest thrifty finds!

The new addition to my ceramic pitchers collection (plus it really looks like a mini version of the one from Target, I guess I'll have to give it a second thought and buy that too). Tell me if I'm wrong but I guess that is a card/photo holder right?! I got it because I'll be doing a craft show in August where I will go just with 1 table so I need a lot of vertical displays. I think this will work great for holding hair clips and brooches. And I guess I will take it out also for Christmas!! Double use!! (Only $3).

Hello red tomatoes! 

 Remember last week's photo when they were still yellow/orange? Basically overnight they turned red and Nicole was super excited to pick them up. When she taste them she said: "They taste like real tomatoes"!!! 

Hello chocolate chip scones! 

My first time making them actually! Hello???!!!! Why I never tried them before??!! They are really easy to make and super delicious. Yes I did over baked them a little but still they tasted very good. I found the recipe HERE. And than I used THIS tip to store leftover buttermilk for next time. 

 Hello afternoon at the lake! 

The weather yesterday was perfect, sunny but with a fresh breeze so we decided to go for a walk at Lake Las Vegas.

 Hello having fun in the pool! 

My kids love the pool, especially Nicole. Ryan will only play by the first step. And me? Totally not a pool person. I might go inside in August when the water is warm. 

 Hello donuts!

The other day I was craving for some donuts (nope! not pregnant!) so I made this cute little polymer clay donuts wine glass charms that you can find in the shop HERE

Enjoy your Memorial Day

Linking Up @ Lisa Leonard & Southern Hospitality

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: NADIR FROM STITCH SENSE DESIGNS

Happy Sunday! Hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day weekend so far. I'm happy to introduce you to my newest sponsor: Stitch Sense Designs

Nadir creates lovely handmade cowls, baby cocoons, hair accessories, jewelry and much more . She has became a sweet bloggy friend to me and today she is sharing with us something more about her:

1. Favorite color:  

Any shade of blue, I love the more watery looking hues.

2. Favorite TV show: 

Friends! Hubby bought the entire dvd collection for me, I loooove that show!

3. Favorite restaurant/fast food: 

I really love this authentic Italian restaurant in our town called Castiglia's where hubby & I had our first date. The owners are from Naples, Italy & are SO nice & have the BEST brick oven pizza in town. We go there when we can to reminisce about our first date & even held our wedding rehearsal dinner there.   

4. If they tell you that you won a trip to wherever you want to go for 15 days what destination will you pick? 

Hmmm, this is a toss up between a cruise around the Mediterranean or a trip to all the British Islands. :-)

 5. When did you start crocheting and who taught you how?  

I started crocheting in 6th grade around 12 or 13 years old by learning a basic chain from a friend. Then that summer my older sister came home from college break with a how-to crochet book & some yarn & a hook; her roommate had been teaching her but she was having trouble grasping it because she's left handed. I was intrigued with it & basically took the book & yarn from her & taught myself from the book. I worked on my technique by making patches for *months* & eventually worked my way up to larger projects like scarves, baby blankets & afghans. 

6. I'm really afraid of... 

Spiders, they give me the heebs. I also am a little afraid of our creaky old house at night, it makes all kinds of weird noises. 

7. How do you like to spend your free time?

Besides crocheting, I love to do other crafts like card making, scrap-booking or jewelry making & when I'm not crafting I'm reading a book or hanging with my family or hubby. I love having family time!

8. What book/magazine is on your nightstand right now? 

Haha! I have lots! I have my bible & devotional book which is called Come Away my Beloved by Francis Roberts & then for pleasure reading I have Peony in Love by Lisa See & then I am also reading a Children's Ministry book as I just recently stepped into the Children's Pastor position at my church! :-)

9. What kind of art/technique you would like to learn (sewing/stamping/work with glass.....) 

I'd love to learn how to sew. My great grandmother & he sisters used to be seamstress' & I remember my grandmother sewing clothes for us all the time when I was young, I'd love to learn that someday. 

10. Goals for your Etsy shop in the future:

I'd love to expand my inventory & be able to work through my Etsy shop full time at some point. Its hard to find time to create & keep my shop fully stocked when I work full time outside the home but its a long term goal I'm slowly but steadily working towards. 

11. If you could be someone else for a day you would be....

I would love the be Samantha Brown for a day from the Travel channel & visit all the countries & hotels she's been too. Seems like such a fun job!

Thanks everyone for stopping by & reading a little bit more about me, I hope you come by my blog Stitch Sense Designs to keep up with other things I'm doing & for updates on my shop! 


BLOG - FACEBOOK - TWITTER - SHOP

Friday Night Finds: Lovely Etsy Shops

Hello Everyone! Tonight I'm going to let aside Pinterest and share with you my latest favorite Etsy shops: 

 The Merriweather Council

Embroidered Initial Necklaces, Embroidery hoop wall art. Colorful one of a kind gifts.

 Compelled Craft

Ironing Board Covers, pillow cases and much more

 Specially For U

Personalized Name Jewelry (Thanks Ashley for letting me know about this lovely shop!)

PK Stuff 

I recently purchased a chevron fabric basket from this shop for a birthday gift! So pretty! 

 Klickatat

Lots of great vintage finds. From clothing to furnishing!

Three Bird Nest

Handmade cute head bands, hair bands, head scarves, turban head wraps + infinity scarves, button leg warmers all modernly designed with a nod to vintage style

Have a great weekend!

Sponsor Ads

Want to spread the word about your blog/shop?How about becoming a sponsor of Life In The Thrifty Lane.

 I LOVE to promote other's blogs/shops and will be happy to work with you.

My stats:

as of My 23, 2012

1024 Blog followers

794 Facebook likes

382 Twitter followers

1696 Pinterest followers

Blog's pageviews April 2012: 51,141

Pageviews all time history: 662,066

Your blog/shop button will be on my blog's sidebar. I will make a feature post to introduce you to my readers and will always feature you via FB/Twitter & Pinterest. Usually during weekends I also make posts shouting out all my sponsors! (I recently made one about everyones Pinterest boards HERE).

Giveaways of one of your product or store credit are also appreciated but not mandatory. 

Ads will stat running on the 1st of each month.

You will be billed via Paypal.

(Advertising rates are subjected to change as my blog grows)

1 Month Sponsorship: $5

3 Months Sponsorship $12

For more info and to book your ad space for next month please e-mail at:

lifeinthethriftylane (at) gmail (dot) com