(I am trying to get everyone that comes to this blog to also visit the new justhelenscrafts blog…more ideas, less chat!  So if it doubles up for a little while, please bear with me!)  I am a fairly frugal person.  I can be kind of tight when it comes to spending money on paper crafting supplies, mostly because I already have so much that I will never use it all up…EVER!  If I can buy it at Michaels, I will use my 40% off coupon to build my stash.  But I love it when I can find something super cute that and find it in the dollar bins!  I think the key is to find it early, when they first put it into the bins, although if you don't mind using it next year, you can often find it 50% or more off after the current season is over.  But if it comes from the dollar bin, I don't mind splurging!  So this year I found this darling cupid.  On a previous trip to Tall Mouse up in Orange County, I found the little Studio G clear stamp pack that had the phrase on it.  They were a perfect match.  I don't use my chalks very much anymore, but just a little color seemed appropriate for the project.  For a finishing touch, every winged being should have a little sparkle on their

 I got a haircut 2 days ago.  I told Kimberly to cut it so the gray showed…there's a lot of it, but it still tries to hide under the color on top.  I have never, ever colored my hair – my Mom told me, when I was a little girl, that women paid big bucks to try and get my color…strawberry blond or Titian, a color that the artist Titian frequently used in his paintings.  Strawberry blond doesn't sound quite accurate because my hair really isn't the color of strawberries.  Anyway, I am a good girl and have always listened to my Mom…besides, it's easier if I have someone to blame!  So Kimberly took a lot off – it's cute and I'm getting used to it being shorter:)  But you still can't see much of the gray.  I am getting old, but you can't tell much from my hair color unless you happen to catch a glimpse of the underside.  What I have realized is that my eyebrows have a disproportionate amount of white in them.  My eyes aren't as strong as they used to be, so I have moved up the "off the rack, reading glasses strengths" to a 200.  I have been having trouble to see my brows in order to pluck them.  Now I don't know if they'll come back in with color or without color to them. 

At least, most of it!  You all know how hard it is to not miss something!  That Christmas stocking that someone carried into their room, that box of ornaments that got covered by a jacket on an out of the way chair.  Putting away our boxes is such a rush and madness that once they get up in the attic – and this is not a traditional attic with stairs that I can go up into…it's a garage attic that requires a big ladder and some major muscles – if we have "stuff" (more of that collection at my house) that we miss, it may be sitting around until we get the Easter "stuff" down!  Thankfully, that's the next holiday when we have decorations with any major bulk, and the containers are minimal…mostly baskets.  Anyway, I'm making a pile.  Hopefully, as I clean my workroom, I won't find too much more Christmas stuff!  I do keep all my Christmas scrapbooking "stuff" in my workroom all year…who knows when the urge to scrapbook the holiday might come upon me…so it is better if it is all kept together.  But I have work to do, so I must keep cleaning!  Perhaps when it is more organized, so will my brain be…which you can tell that "it" isn't just by my sentence formation!  A couple of days later… It is not a good idea to walk away when you are

Anyone that has a Target in their neighborhood (or on their shopping route) knows all about those dollar bins in the front of the store.  I know that it tends to be that "shiny" thing that distracts us from what we are actually shopping for – mostly really fun junk that we don't need, but heck…for a dollar…we can afford that!  But we don't NEED it.  Anyway, I usually just avoid shopping PERIOD because I really don't need anything.  But yesterday, Megan came home with some fun Valentine stuff from the dollar bins.  So while there's still the possibility of you being able to find some of the products, I'm making REALLY inexpensive Valentines, care of Target and their dollar bins, with a little help from stamps from Michaels dollar stamps!   There are patterned card blanks, 8-count with coordinating envelopes, but no text.  There are also dimensional stickers, die-cut patterned papers, rub-ons (not my favorite), clear and cardstock stickers, even doilies.  Here's just a few ideas! Have fun with your super dollar deal finds!

 Beautiful frilly, lace adorned, romantic versed Valentine cards are great for adults, but all that effort is lost on almost anyone under the legal age for chewing bubble gum.  But that doesn't mean that they must be condemned to receive only cards that are packaged in bulk from those "big box" stores or the corner pharmacy.  You can create fun Valentines for kids as well as those for adults. Inside the skunk card…  What sort of cards appeal to children?  Traditionally, children like funny Valentines, and have easily tickled funny bones.  You can take lead from jokes that are super silly…perfect for kids!  I have a box of cute die cut chipboard shapes from Die Cuts With a View from their Green Stack collection that I have been waiting to use.  When I noticed all those cute little faces looking at me out of the packaging window, I thought "Perfect!"   They then inspired me to go online and look for jokes that included beavers, skunks and squirrels.  I am including them in the download section if you are interested.  But you can choose any sort of pre-made die cuts or make up something of your own.  Then go looking for "clean" jokes – the goofier the better!  They don't have to be Valentine related, but don't forget that important little bit of text under the punchline!  Here are some examples! Aren't making Valentine cards fun?  I will get to

 To a casual passerby, the small pile of what appears to be snow next to our front sidewalk may appear to be remnants of a trip to the mountains, since actual snow in San Diego is HIGHLY unlikely.  To the residents of our house, a once in a blue moon occurrence has happened.  While trying to fit our frozen food purchases in our outside freezer today, it was determined by Meg that this could not be accomplished without first defrosting our 20 plus year old upright freezer.  Megan was the official "defroster", and I was her assistant, carrying big pots of ice chunks and shaved ice outside.  Not really enough to build an actual snowman (5' X 2' by 1'high), but funny to see how many pots it took to carry it out.  While at the grocery store, we were just talking about how little we had actually gotten accomplished today, and now we can end the day with a feeling of success, knowing that there is plenty of room to add more frozen goods to the shelf.  One of these days, we are going to need to get a new freezer, but until then, I am happy with the hand-me-down upright from my MIL, grateful that my husband is clever enough to figure out a way to add a latched lock to it so it doesn't accidentally get left slightly ajar.  This is