Tasha Tudor

These are a few of my favorite books that Tasha Tudor wrote. I love the coffee table books that talk about her life. I've borrowed them from the library many times.  Here's a cookbook, book of verses, board book and story of Pumpkin Moonshine. Over the next few days, I'll share bits and pieces that I can find. If you have any of her works, please feel free to post and share!

                          

                           

  

Free Birthday Card set

It's so nice to have an organized workspace!

Here's my work area after a good session of fun. 

Here's the cleaned up area. What is your favorite thing about having a clean space?

Visit my Facebook Page

Best Deal Ever! 24 hours only!!!!

1. Go to Paperpumpkin.com

2. Select Janine Deckard as Demonstrator

3. Use Promo Code: ONEDAY0717

Pay only 5 dollars for a box of absolute fun! Delivered straight to your front door. 

Video

New Love Today Planner from Stampin Up

How to assemble Love Today Planner    

I am so excited to tell you about this new planner. It's absolutely gorgeous and so versatile! You will  love it. If you need to get more organized, you should totally start using a planner. Keep it with you everywhere. Use sticker, take notes, you'll never forget an appointment if you're always carrying your planner with you. It has everything you need! 

Buy yours today! 

http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/janinedeckard/

May 2017 Paper Pumpkin Alternate Idea: Kawaii

                    Miss Kissy Sprinkles



                               Mr. Sparkles



                     Miss Pinkie Sprinkles    



                        Mr. Fried Pie Guy




                     Miss Envelope



My mom and I had so much fun coming up with ideas for our Paper Pumpkin this month.

If you'd like to learn how to make these, here's the link to the video!  https://youtu.be/YfgxKVRk6AI

If you'd like to join Paper Pumpkin: www.paperpumpkin.com

If you'd like to purchase Stampin' Up products:

http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/janinedeckard/

Find me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paperfuntoyourfrontdoor

Why Paper Pumpkin?

My son gets boxes in the mail full of goodies all the time. He was the one that introduced them to me. I did a makeup one once, but 90% of the stuff in it made me rash and itch. The food boxes are fun and all, but I cook every meal we eat and it gets old whether I shop for it myself or not. 

So when Stampin' Up came out with Paper Pumpkin, I was intrigued! Finally a box for me. Adhesive, stamps, paper, pre-cut embellishments, and all the guesswork done! Even the INK is included. And if I don't want to follow the exact instructions, there are tons of videos on Youtube that allow me to "think outside the box". 

What can you do to make it more fun? Get together with a bunch of crafty friends and drink some wine, eat some goodies and craft until you've laughed so hard your sides ache. 

Sound like fun? Join today. It's only $19.99 and that's with shipping and handling included! There's a sale going on right now so join today.

Why stamping?

 There are so many things in the crafting world and they come and go like hairstyles. One minute you're seeing them everywhere and the next they vanish into thin air. Stamps haven't gone anywhere. I think I'm creative and if push comes to shove, I can draw better than I could in 4th grade, but stamps allow me to create an image that I might not be able to draw.

With Stampin' Up, you get the option with wood-mounted or clear stamps and sometimes you get to use photopolymer. Those are my favorite. They're clear and you can really see what you're doing for accurate placement. The benefit with wood is that you aren't hunting for a block to place your stamp with. You just pick them up, grab the ink and go! And there's something traditional and old-fashioned linking me with past crafters when I grab my wood-mounted stamps.

Kids love them because it takes their art skill up a level and they're basically playing with clip art. You can do this type of crafting anywhere, and without electricity. You don't really need a huge cart of supplies when you do this. Ink, Paper, Scissors, and glue.

I've always loved Stampin' Up's punches. They coordinate perfectly with their stamped images. If you book a party this month, you'll get to use this exact set pictured here in this blog post. It's called Daisy Delight and it isn't even available for sale until June 1st. #party #paperfunforeveryone #paper #stampinup #ordertoday #newcatalog

Stay tuned for this week's videos and pics on my FB page: Janine Deckard, Independent Stampin' Up Demonstrator. Join today, we have contests all the time! #contest

Come visit me!

  

It's going to be a lot of fun! #mothersday  #lastminuteshopping #stampinup

I'm so excited about my first vendor event this year. I've been busy creating beautiful cards to sell and rebranding my business. My friends and family have given me so much encouragement and I'm looking forward to rejoining Toastmasters on Wednesday. I had a little set back this year but I've learned a lot from my mistakes and accomplishments.

This will be my first Stampin' Up booth in a long time. I had an incredibly successful table back during the holidays way over 5 years ago. I made Holiday cards and sold every last one. I'm confident these cards are even more adorable and I know people will want to buy them.

Zee is so close to being finished with his medical journey and we are all ready to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm grateful for the opportunity to stay home and help him on this journey. Many mothers don't have the choice. I'm determined to make this work. Zalman will be starting Kindergarten learning in the fall and we're all looking forward to watching him blossom. Zippy loves her country farm life and I know it will just get better each year.

Earth Day April 22nd, 2017

This year, I want to challenge you to make one simple change. Commit to stop using plastic straws. Plastic straws are not biodegradable. Every straw that has ever been placed in the landfill will remain in the landfill. I have 4 stainless steel straws from Norwex. Each one is dedicated to a member of my family. It's challenging to stay on top and not lose things, but my kids love their straws so much that we've been able to keep them. Norwex thinks of everything and they even have the neatest straw cleaner. So if you do have straws from other drink containers and sippy cups, you can clean them! Visit my site today, and order your own set of straws. www.janinedeckard.norwex.biz 

When I was a kid, you could dig practically anywhere and find something cool. An arrowhead, a fossil, a pottery shard. What will our kids find when they dig? Let's do our part before the world looks like this: 

Minimalism and Norwex

 
Minimalism is all the rage. The people that have embraced this new way of life have covered all the bases, except for one thing. Cleaning supplies. It's vital to keep your place clean for a myriad of reasons. Let's just focus on health.

When my kids had a stomach virus, the choices for cleaners were numerous and most of them made me very sick.  What do traditional cleaners do? The cleaners mix with the germs and create an antibiotic-resistant virus. That's terrifying. How will we ever fight germs if our cleaners are creating Super Bugs?

Norwex uses water and their amazing microfiber to lift 99% of the germs off of the surface, where they can be sanitized by boiling water. We know the efficacy of boiling water. They still use it to sterilize medical tools today. I'd rather use boiling water than chemicals any day.

With this in mind, go back to your cabinets full of chemicals. Imagine getting rid of it all. Can you see how beautiful your cabinets will look full of dishes and holiday items instead? Because you will be able to move all of your Norwex to a drawer and one hanging organizer on the back of your kitchen pantry door (for your mop). Less really is more.

Clean, Dry and Serviceable Guest Post by Cerise Cherry (Mom)

I'm one of the last of a dying breed, I love being a housewife and stay at home, no worky-outside-the-home woman. That doesn't mean I am lazy or even uninvolved with the outside world and I am no moron. I've had two computer user groups, one for Macs and one for PCs and a paper crafter's club. I managed a thriving ministry for my late husband and created and maintained the website for a television network. I've written and published hundreds of newsletters, so as a rule I'm a busy woman.

After my first husband of 34 years passed I knew I wanted to remarry. I love being a housewife and I'm good at it. The man I finally married after being a widow for two years used to say, "I like things clean, dry and serviceable". I always added, "and aesthetically pleasing"! When we dated he showed me the home he had built for his late wife (also married 34 years). It was 5400 square feet of Mission style awesomeness. I thought to myself, "whoever gets this will be one blessed woman". I didn't dream at the time that it would be me. I lived in a 550 square foot barn converted to a bachelor's apartment by it's previous owner. My first husband had made it pretty and liveable for us when our home had to be completely re-plumbed. This huge home my then "boyfriend" built was completed all but the interior finishes. He and his late wife had already purchased the oven, stove, microwave, and they awaited installation in the 1200ft. garage.

After we were married hubby began talking about finishing the "big house". After two years of arguments, compromises and a lot of hard work on his part it was done. We moved in this past March and I've been working to make it "cozy" and our sanctuary. One of the things we compromised on was the floors. He wanted WHITE shiny tile throughout the house. (Back to that "clean, dry and serviceable" thingy.) I imagined myself on my hands and knees trying to keep the floors shiny. He imagined me with a janitor's mop and bucket (which he purchased). Along came my lovely daughter with the Norwex floor cleaning system. I'd never heard of Norwex and was extremely skeptical with it's efficacy. (That's fancy for effective! I learned that from reading some of my daughter's blog posts. I homeschooled her to love learning and she has far surpassed me in a bunch of areas. She is presently homeschooling and raising three kids of her own.  Wild). Anyway, I let her demonstrate the system to me. Shiny floors are a lot of work if one uses the traditional mop and bucket method. Plus, the water here is so hard you can get a concussion in the shower. Hubby purchased a pricey filtering system from a well guru in Florida and we still have hard water, it's just not AS hard as it was!

I began purchasing Norwex products to replace ALL of my old cleaning products. I learned I could dump all the toxic and harsh chemicals I'd been using before. Not only that, but in dumping the poisons I'm also saving money! More importantly, my home can remain "clean, dry and service" for a modicum of labor. I use the Norwex microfiber dust mop first. I can get the entire 4200 square feet of floor in about an hour. Then I do rooms that need scrubbed. I typically use the tile mop head (they are all velcro onto the metal mop head and interchange). It took us a while to figure out the best way to mop. I learned that the best way to deal with shiny floors is to use distilled water in a spray bottle. I use the tile mop (DRY) and spray a few of the 18" tiles at a time. I go over them with the mop and then move on. Because I use distilled water, I am not forced to polish the floors. I don't use wax, the shiny finish is simply there because there are no chemicals, no cleaning products or residue from even vinegar water. Hubby tried to prove that mopping and then rinsing the floors with vinegar laced water would work, "just as good". It left one heck of a mess that the Norwex mop cleaned with 1/10th the effort. He had spilled sweet pickles all over the floor. The janitor mop and soapy mess left a dull film ALL OVER THE FLOOR! I was so unhappy. He has come to the conclusion that I am the housewife and I truly know how to keep things the way he likes them. He's better at NOT HELPING. Probably because I don't like help that isn't help.

I must add that a great deal of Norwex microfiber products are laced with silver making them germ removing wonders. The silver works to inhibit bacterial and microbial growth, so it isn't creating super germs in the cloth itself. Independent clinical tests proved that Norwex Baclock microfiber (1/200th the thickness of a human hair) leaves surfaces 98% germ free. That's far better than the most popular cleaning chemicals on the market. I do NOT get a single penny for sharing this information with you. I am recovering from an autoimmune illness and do everything in my power to stay clear of chemicals that assault my system. If it works for me, it can help others. I am ALL for that.

My home is "clean, dry and serviced" and I like to think aesthetically pleasing. That's amazing considering we usually have four rescued cats, a rescued chihuahua and beagle in the house all day long. Our two male cats are wild as march hares and keep me on my toes like a mother with fourteen toddlers. Keeping footprints, cat hair and spilled food and water up is a daily maintenance job and I wouldn't even try with traditional methods. Norwex even has pet care products and I own those as well! Written by Cerise Cherry

Gift giving... organized

Giving gifts can be overwhelming. Especially when you haven't given it a thought until December 1st and you've seen a million posts about the holidays. Don't sweat it though!

Make a list! Write down everyone's name. If you know for sure what people want, write that down. Make a copy and keep it on your phone or in your wallet so you'll always have it with you.

Some people are harder to shop for. So that's when you start brainstorming. Pinterest is a great place for that. If you are creative, you can make things. I love making things. I crochet, knit, sew and more. I'm sewing this year as I just don't have the time to crochet or knit.

If you can make things, DO IT! It's personal and loving and people love the unique. Especially if you can make something based on their interests. Star Wars themed mug? Dr. Who scarf? Cowboys can coozie?  There are plenty of things that are simple to make, just takes a little bit of thought and time.

If you don't have time, then shopping will be your next bet. Make a list of the things you want to buy and then compare prices. Don't just buy it at the first place you shop. Did you know that you can buy toys at Hobby Lobby or Michaels and you can use a coupon? Joann's takes competitor's coupons and you can stack them! Thinking outside of the box is your best friend. Check out Amazon and Snagshout if you have the time to wait for shipping. If there's a doubt that it will get to you in time, have it sent to the person. They'll be fine without the wrapping paper, I promise.

PS. Snagshout is really real. It works. I've saved ALOT of money. They don't know I'm writing about them. :-)

How do you keep your gift giving organized?

Out With The Old...

If kids understood how easy we have it.

Here's a great website I found about how hard everyone had it: http://www.oldandinteresting.com/history-of-washing-clothes.aspx

We don't have to haul water from a great distance. We turn on a tap.

We don't have to boil water to cook or clean. Well, I do boil water to disinfect my Norwex, but I don't mind at all.

When I was first married, I cleaned my husband's jeans with a scrub board in the bathtub. I remember carrying my son's cloth diapers, a mile to the laundry-mat.

Why? Because I believed deeply in what I was doing. I didn't have a choice.

The media doesn't talk about the generation that is going back to the ways of old. More and more people are bringing chickens to their suburban homes. More and more mom's are breastfeeding. Using cloth diapers, growing their own food, teaching their kids at home. Let's celebrate THAT! Let's embrace the things that work instead of complaining about those that don't.

Junk Mail...

I think most of us know that junk mail belongs in the trash. Yet most of us still have piles of mail to deal with even after culling through the junk. Remember the organizer's favorite rule of thumb, you should only touch it one time. Pull it out of the box and immediately deal with it then and there. If you are in your car, have a bag for trash and deposit it where it belongs. Anything you need to keep, put in your purse or a shopping bag that will come into the house when you get home. Only the most important should actually enter your home. When I have loads of money, I plan on paying the bills the minute I get them in the mail so I don't have to think about it again until the next bill. I love auto-draft, but I can't do that right now. One day...

I still have a couple piles that need my attention, but they're low on my priority list right now. The system I have works well though. I have a planner with a folder just for my monthly bills. As soon as I get that month's bills, I put them in my planner. That way I'm sure to budget and plan for them and pay them on time!

Anything that I need to file and keep for proof of purchase or other government paperwork goes into an expandable file folder. I can take that with me at anytime and I know that all my important stuff is in one place. How do you know it's something you should keep? Well tax-related issues should be kept. Any proof of income like check stubs and such. Keep your resume' up to date too. Keep a copy of that. Rebates, insurance, warranty... you get the drift. If your money is involved, you need some proof. One day I'll have a fire proof safe too.

A shredder is a very nice tool for every home. You can sit and shred as soon as you sit down. Then if you have a firepit or fireplace, you can just use the shreddings for firestarter.

You can limit your junk mail with websites and signing up for paperless billing. Just a special note: if you sign up for paperless billing, please take a moment to print out the necessary hard copy for insurance or book keeping. If you weren't able to print it when you have an emergency, you might be in a pinch.

How do you keep up with mail at your house?

The refrigerator... sigh.

The refrigerator is such a vital piece of equipment for our every day lives. We take it for granted. It is so important to keep it clean. You can spread germs and food will spoil rapidly if we ignore it.

Just like most things, it just takes mind over matter. Get a short chair or stool and grab a trash can. Check the dates on condiments and the leftovers. Pull everything out of the fridge. Set it on the table and then grab a drawer out of the bottom and fill with soapy water. Scrub it with a scrubber or cloth and wipe clean and dry. Extra moisture can lead to faster food spoilage.

My rule of thumb is, if it doesn't get eaten in 24 hours (like leftovers) it gets tossed. We have a compost, so nothing ever really  goes to waste.

If something spills and dries and becomes difficult to clean, I really like using baking soda and vinegar. It really works to break up the molecules. The baking soda is abrasive enough to get the job done yet won't scratch glass or anything.

Life is messy. I need to move the fridge and clean out underneath. I did it around Passover, but it needs to be done again. Ugh. The fridge we're using is very small for four people so it isn't heavy to move. Remember to dust your coils too while you're at it.

And just like dealing with junk mail when you grab a piece of mail you ask why are you keeping this? Ask yourself, why are you putting this in the fridge?. Will anyone actually eat it? Ask your family before you put it away, will you eat this tomorrow? If you don't have any takers, to the compost it goes. If you continually have too much food, cut back your portions or invite more people at your table. And perhaps you can put it in your freezer and use it in something else. Like extra steak could be great in a soup. Now this is turning into a cooking post. You get my drift though. If you buy a dressing and no one likes it, look at using it as a marinade with meat. Don't let it sit unused for six months.

What are your fridge hints?

Doing the Dishes

Doing the dishes used to give me panic attacks. No... seriously.

A huge pile of dishes after every meal.

For most of my adult life, I have not been able to eat out. First it was personal choice and then it was finances. It's just too expensive.

So every single meal (3) each day of the week (7) is 21 meals a week... that's a lot of dishes. I care about my environment and also the expense, I couldn't afford paper plates.

Who washes the dishes? I do. It's the job that is never done. You have to eat. There's no choice about it. I'm teaching my children and they get very excited when the sink is empty. They're learning that a pile of dishes is really lame.

I do my best to wash as we go. It's challenging to do but it really saves time. The food doesn't get stuck on the dish if you wash it as soon as you are finished.

But there are days when the dishes are just piled. We have errands to run, appointments to keep and it just gets pushed down the to-do list.

So I've found the key to happiness! NETFLIX! I'm not kidding. I have an awesome window sill above the kitchen sink. Whether I use my smartphone or my laptop, I watch something just to get through the drudgery of getting them done.

I used to listen to audio books while I did the dishes. I can't seem to keep a cd player working, so streaming video works well too. So whether you have music, a book, or a movie... getting your mind off of the task and multitasking makes doing the dishes less of a pain. I'll do another blog post about ways to actually do the dishes. But I have the whole month of December. :-)

PS. I actually look forward to doing the dishes!

There isn't much that makes me as happy as an empty kitchen sick.

Saving Time with Laundry

Sort laundry: If you have many people in your family, I highly recommend getting multiple dirty clothes hampers. One for each person in the family. Then teach them how to do their own laundry. If a child can pull a laundry basket on a string, they can use a stool and put laundry in the wash. They can turn buttons and they can turn it on. This is a necessary skill that everyone needs!

Consistency: Instead of doing laundry one long horrible day, do laundry a load at a time throughout the week. When I worked full-time outside of the home, I did a laundry load at dinner and put it in the dryer at night. This also helps babies sleep with noise and makes them sleep deeply. (Perks!) In my home, we are all home more than we're away. This allows us to keep laundry going. We have a timer to help remember to get the clothes out of the dryer (it's in a barn outside of the house, so it's easy to forget).

CULL: When the weather changes, I notice that laundry gets to be out of control. Why is this? We have two seasons colliding. It's not quite warm and not quite cold, so you've got short sleeve shirts, sweaters, skirts and whatnot. It can get overwhelming. Sort the clothes that you like but can't wear right now and take them out of your closet. Put them in your attic or somewhere they can't ruin. If clothes don't fit properly or have tears, decide if you can get them fixed within 24hours. If you don't have the time or money to get them fixed, throw them out or repurpose them. (Make warm bedding for stray animals, cut up and use for rags, etc...) Once the season is in full swing, you should only have the necessary clothes for that appropriate time. Don't keep things that you haven't worn in 6 months. If you don't wear it, someone else might. That's why we have thrift stores and clothing closets. This is a great lesson for kids.

Watch this blog for cleaning tips and tricks!

Why Norwex is the future of clean...

We often hear people talk about storing up water, food, and necessities in case of emergency. With Hurricanes and a nervous country, now more than ever, we need to think about preparing for the future. If you don't have money or gas to get to the store, how will you get cleaning supplies? 

Being clean and staying clean will be a priority. I totally believe that with Norwex, we'll be able to clean things without soap or chemicals. 

Body cloths remove dirt, oils, and bacteria with only water. If you can only clean with water, Norwex will work for you. You can rest assured that your surfaces will be clean and that your body will be clean. Order today! 

www,janinedeckard.norwex.biz

I just want a Window Cloth please...

It's an amazing cloth.

You see what it can do and you want to have it, right?

 But it would be like having Robin come and rescue you when you really need Batman.

It's the dynamic duo, but without the Envirocloth, you might be disappointed.

The Envirocloth is like the first volley in a war. The soldiers come and clear the area and prepare for the medics.

If you have a dirty and greasy surface, you need the Envirocloth to come and clean up the mess and THEN the Window cloth can polish and remove streaks.

Is there ever a time you can use a Window Cloth on its own? YES! After a hot shower- it is IDEAL on a foggy mirror.

The Envirocloth can dust. DRY. The static is still there.

The Envirocloth WET- It can remove all dirt from a surface. Bird poop? YES! There is very little that the Envirocloth can't tackle.

But when it comes to removing water streaks, fingerprints, and basic water spots- the WINDOW CLOTH IS KING! It's also called the Polishing Cloth! It is awesome on stainless steel.

So order yours today! ------>Click Here!