About Me

My photo
LaFayette, Georgia, United States
Hi! I'm Emily, your crafty go to girl. I love all things crafty! I enjoy sewing, scrapbooking, photography, card making, DIY projects, home decor, photo projects, personalized gifts, stamping, jewelry making and just about anything that involves creativity. I run a small Etsy shop called paperpixie crafts. I also have my products in several local shops. I am slowly but surely extending my line of products. My goal is to start filling up my Etsy shop and then eventually open a local boutique. Luckily, I have a wonderful husband who can tolerate my craft obsession, and a great family who is always supportive of my goals. This blog is a sneak peek in to my life and my creative thoughts. I'll be sure to keep you posted with all the cool stuff I see along my crafty journey. Thanks for reading!

Saturday, April 30, 2011

The story of the Ugly Chair.

Don't forget to check out yesterday's Extreme Couponing review and enter your shopping savings for a chance to win a free coupon binder!
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There once was an ugly chair that landed on the curb when our old neighbors moved out. The chair was ugly, dirty, and no one claimed him. He was destined for the dump. Enter ME. I spotted this ugly chair and seen potential in it's rounded back and lightly worn cushioning. I help the ugly chair make it's way to my front porch where he was scrubbed, vacuumed, and disinfected. Enter my husband, and his disbelief that I've brought home yet another curb side find.
I was determined to make this chair a little less ugly so that I could bring it in the house without catching too much grief. It remained on the porch covered with a sheet while I contemplated recovering it for weeks, but every upholstery tutorial I ran across looked complicated. Now Enter Trixie, our new puppy, who quickly became an "outside dog" after chewing up my favorite dress shoes. Trixie decided to pull the sheet off the chair and chew a big hole in it. *Sigh* As I was getting ready to throw away the sheet, I thought: Hey! I might as try to make a slip cover from this fabric. After all... if it was a project fail, I hadn't really wasted any supplies. So off I went... on a crafty slipcover adventure.
Wew! This project took so much longer than I planned. I had never made a slip cover, had no clue where to start, and the chair had an odd shape to pattern. I traced off each section of fabric from the chair and made my own pattern. I wanted the cover to fit kind of tight around the chair so I only left about an inch seam allowance... bad idea! 3 hours in to the project, just when I was seeing light at the end of the tunnel, I put the finished cover on the chair, just to see that it was too small! *sigh* I decided to split the cover down the center and add in some accent fabric. I love that Micheal Miller fabric and had enough in my stash to add an accent stripe as well as trim the T cushion and make a pillow. As for the back of the chair... I added a pleated panel that ties like a drape with coordinating ribbon from the accent pillow. Sorry there's no picture of the back of the chair. And just for those who are wondering why I choose the blue ribbon ties... it's hard to tell from the photos, but there is a touch of blue in the Micheal Miller fabric, and I'm also incorporating the blue in to some of my spring wall art. (=
The chair and cover looked a lot better before yesterday when Trixie struck again and managed to sneak inside the house to put her muddy little paws all over my new slip cover. *huff* I pulled the cover off and threw it in the washer. The fabric puckered at the seams when I washed it and I had to mend a few places. *Note: I recommended pre washing BOTH fabrics that you plan to slip cover with. SO you don't end up in a pickle when you wash your finished project.
Live and learn... so I've got a few puckers in my fabric... it's ok. I still think the "Ugly Chair" has a pretty good new life.
The chair is by no means perfect, and there are tons of projects out there that look a 100x better than this, but for a first attempt at slip covering, I'm proud of the results. AND... it just so happens that the new chair is one of the doubtful husband's favorite new spots. ( =
RIP Ugly Chair & Welcome my cute comfy chair. ( =

Have you ever made slip covers? How about re-upholstery projects?
I would love to see your projects. Link us up below:

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

RainieDawn Sundries Soap give away winner.

Don't forget to check out yesterday's Extreme Couponing review and enter your shopping savings for a chance to win a free coupon binder!
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Winner Winner! Sweet smellin soaps are headed your way Terry. 
Random.org says comment 50, Terry is our yummy smelling handmade soap winner.
Terry- Message me within 48 hours to claim your prize. Everyone else... stay tuned. I'm about to announce another giveaway. 

Monday, April 25, 2011

Extreme Couponing on TLC review/experiences & Win a custom coupon Binder!

Have you seen TLC's new Extreme Couponing? I found out about the show when Rachel Ray did a short interview segment with some of the ladies from the show. Rachel sent them out to purchase items for the dinner that she would be making. Yes, the results were amazing with both ladies returning with several baskets full for less than $10, and another for $0, actually  one of the ladies GOT BACK money to take her purchases out of the store! So- I had to find out what the catch was. I skipped on over to the trusty tivo and added the series to my list.
I've watched 3 episodes now and at first I was really excited... thinking wow! I could do this too.I could save tons of money and even donate some of my finds. But the more I watched, I realized that these ladies are spending the precious time they have been giving with their families, to cut out a million coupons, plan shopping trips, and find room to stash 900 mustard bottles. It saddened me to see how their passion for saving has taken over their home. Also I've noticed that the "extreme couponers' are not buying everything that they need for a meal plan in one shopping trip.Their buggys are filled with 52 yougurts and 92 cans of pasta sauce.  I have yet to see fresh meat and produce coupons, have you? Yes, I can "save 90%" why I got buy 35 cans of cat food (when I don't own a cat) but your are still spending that 10% on something that you wouldn't normally buy. So In my opinion, your actually loosing that 10%. Also- These couponers claim to be saving around 40K per year. Really $40000? Keep in mind that they are still spending SOME money on these shopping trips, so they are basically telling us that they would normally spending 40K + whatever they are actually spending on the trips, in one year, to feed (in some cases) a family of 2. That's crazy! I think the issue is is a warped definition of savings.
I'm not trying to make it sound all bad, because some people are really doing great things with their "stock piles" (that phrase makes me cringe and invision walls of pasta). Kudos to the people who are sending food to the troops, supporting food banks, and less fortunates. Sure, I've clipped a coupon here or there, and really scrounged for a good deal on a tight budget, but I've never, nor do I hope to ever be like some of these extreme couponers.
SO in efforts to stick to my "Don't knock it, till you try it" motto, I set out on my own extreme coupon experiment.
After watching all the TLC episodes, I headed to the net to see what I could save. I didn't know whether to start with my actual grocery list, or if I should search for highest value coupons. I know, I know, I just ranted about how the ladies on the show buy things they wouldn't normally have on their list, but then I went straight for high value coupons. ) = I get excited when I see a coupon for more than $1.00 off, it's hard to pass them up. So yes, I gave in and printed off some high value coupons for some instant gratification.
Here's what I came up with from my trip to the family dollar:

$1 -Large Lysol wipes
coupon for $1 off any lysol wipes product. store had twin packs on sale for $4, I used the coupon on each of the containers in the twin pack, saving $2, which means I got the large containers of lysol wipes for $1 each.
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$.25 big packs of five gum
coupon for $1 off when you buy 2 packs. packs on sale for 75 cents each. I got 2 packs for 50 cents.
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$1.70 6 pack clorox cleaning wand starter kit
coupon for $3 off any starter kit, store had marked down in clearance bins for $4.70, and the package had a pill off coupon for a $5 mail in rebate. so I spent $1.70 on the purchase and they are sending me a rebate for 5 bucks. Looks like I made $4.30 to take that item out of the store. ( =
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$.35 ajax dishsoap
.25/1 coupon, cracked nozzle bottle marked 60cents (I put mine in a glass bottle anyway)
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PROS: I got -2 Lysol wipes, -2 packs of gum, -a clorox cleaning system, - and dish soap
All for $3.30 + tax out of pocket. If you count the $5 mail in rebate... I MADE $1.70
CONS: I spent about 2 hours fishing thought websites and my total without the coupons would have been $10.80 based on the killer sales I found, so REALLY I only saved $7.50 (if you don't count the rebate)
So, Did I really save anything by trading my time for $3.75 per hour savings?
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Another Experiment with Multi stores:
I received a Home Made Simple coupon book in the mail with some really great deals, and decided that maybe I do need a little cleaning "Stock pile" (cringe). So Heres the summary of my trip:
Store..... Spent..... Saved
cvs         18.42      22.15
Bilo         39.04      44.64
$ General 25.04    10.75
Freds       25.32     8.00
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total $107.82 spent
total saved $84.54 (78.4% SAVINGS)
Without coupons my bill would have been: $192.36. I PAID: $107.82 ( = ( = ( =
We never made it to Walmart because my little car was bursting with cheap finds. We didn't have a bit of room for anything else.
Heres what my trip looked like:
This was my first big trip, and I'm just a beginner, so I'm sure some of you extreme clippers out there probably think this is a small haul, but for me, it was decent savings for the time spend on the project.

I did take some extra time to check on some store policies in my area. I found that our home town shop rite types each coupon in at face value, while Bi-lo scans and doubles coupons up to $.60. Walmart does not price match BOGO Free offers and only allows 1 coupon per item. Dollar General computer will only accept one coupon per item, even if the coupon is on the package, and you brought one in too. Family dollar won't allow you to get anything for "free." I tried to buy 4 Reach toothbrushes at $1 each and use 2 coupons for $2 off any 2 reach products, and the computer wouldn't take the coupon. They will not override it. I'll be using those coupons at Walmart and getting the brushes for FREE. If your a fan of the Dollar General or Save A Lot, they both offer a $5 off of $25 coupon. SAL has it printable on their website when you sign up for their newsletter while the DG offers it in random sell papers.
 I also learned that shop rite, bilo, savealot, ingles, cvs, walmart, both dollar stores, and freds have online circulars and coupons available. The more I check in to coupon policies, the more limits per transaction, per person, per day restrictions I see. Maybe this is the store's efforts to keep people like extreme couponers from cleaning them out and getting a payday all at once? I'm not the first one to notice that my store policies are stricter than those of these extreme couponers. Jenny at Southern Savers says:
"...stores view this as press, and they are willingly and knowingly breaking their own policies so that you will see how much you can save if you shop with them. "
She also points out that:
Stores aren't going to let you hold up the check out for 5 hours, many are ending the double coupon offer because of neglect like we see on the show, there are usually a limit on the number of coupons you can use on one item or even a limit on the number of coupons per transaction.

So whats the point I'm trying to make? Yes, you can save money, yes, you will buy things that you usually wouldn't, and yes, this will take a huge chunk of your free time. Is it worth it? I'll let you decide. Maybe you would like to conduct your own extreme coupon experiment? If so, please enter your trip summary in this month's contest. I would love to see what kind of deals you can come up with!

Win a custom coupon binder made by me. These binders are invaluable to couponers.  WINNER will receive a FREE* binder, tab dividers, and clear coupon organizer inserts for your binder, as well as important buy list and sale cycle info, and coupon policies for your favorite stores. It's everything you need to get couponing.
Go ahead, enter. What do you have to loose? 
Save some money, and win a binder (Over $50 Value) to keep you clipping. ( =
*S&H may apply, depending on location.

Giveaway contest.
To enter you must be a public follower of this blog.
How to enter:
-Visit sites like Southern Savers, Redplum, Coupons.com, coupon network, and smart source to find coupons for your shopping trip. Save your receipt and post your trip summary on this comment to enter.
Trip summary must include:
Store name, date, total spent, total saved, percent saved. (See my family dollar experiment in the beginning of this post.)
Winner will be announced 5/31/11 
Please note: This contest is for those who are NEW to couponing, if you are a long time pro, or own a coupon blog/website, please refrain from entering.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter. I'm still around. I have been so busy crafting up a storm, and working on some really exciting offers for you, so hang in there, I plan to back in the full swing of things within a few days.
Some things to look for coming up...
-Announcement of last Giveaway winners.
-CSN store Giveaway.
-Ugly chair upholstery reveal.
- Spring wall art and printable
-Mini Vaci photos
-Extreme coupon review
-New puppy pictures
-Engagement Photo shoot
-A new line of children's dolls from a dear friend.
-Spring dresses, hair bows, and goodies.
-Craft room Progress.
-Lazy gardening
-Camp New Dawn tour
-Water for Elephants review
-Confessions of a... review
-Continuing the 30 day challenge.
-Featured on...
-Easter holiday (Silk Tie egg dieing)
& More...
So hang in there. I'm on my way.... but for now, i'm headed to Easter Dinner with the family.(= Hope you all have a beautiful Easter Sunday. (=

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Love from our Etsy Friends.

I love Etsy and our little community. Other sellers have always been so kind and respectful to me. I've met a ton of great clients along the way too. I was disappointed when Etsy took down the Alchemy feature, and I hope that It will be back again soon. In the mean time my faithful returning customers are keeping me busy. In attempts to regenerate some of the clients that I usually gain for Etsy Alchemy, I created a small Artfire account to see what all the Jazz was about. I haven't been to happy with the seller interface or the low amount of traffic I'm tracking there. Etsy is just my little home for now.
And ... speaking of Etsy Love... Earlier this month, Paperpixiecrafts' Hoot shirt was featured by User: Ruxed in a "Luv the Owl" Treasury. (= Check out the treasury here.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Are you making an positive impact on someones life?

Day 17 - a picture of someone that has made a huge impact on your life recently.


I'm sure you are tired of reading about my fabulous husband, but once again he is the topic of today's post. He has made a HUGE impact on my life in the past 4 years. I can't even remember what my life was like with out him. 
I have watched him grow so much as a person since I've met him. He has became a wonderful husband and provider, and I'm lucky to have him in my life. I hope that he is as happy with me as I am with him. I strive to be a good wife and hope that I impact his life in the positive ways influences mine. 
Since Dylan and  I live alone again, and basically revolve around his new work schedule, I'm always looking for ways to make the most out of the time that we do get to spend together. We take mini-getaways, and hit the town often, but sometimes it's nice to hangout at home. I was thrilled to run across a cute blog that is sure to help me come up with some really cute dates. So those of you who haven't discovered the Dating Divas yet, click  HERE  and check out their awesome date night ideas, and for Dylan- Thank you for being a bright spot in my life! I LOVE you! 

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

25% off at Paperpixiecrafts.etsy.com

Heres your chance to save 25% on your purchases from my shop. All orders placed this week (by 4/9/11) will receive a coupon code in your shipment for 25% off your next order of $50 or more. You'll save at LEAST $12.50.
So- Head on over and check out my shop. Spring holidays are just around the corner, let me create a beautiful outfit for your little one, some spring jewelry for someone special, or maybe you need an awesome custom gift? Custom Easter baskets are also available- so take advantage of this special coupon now. ( =