Tell me if this scene sounds familiar: It’s Christmas time, and  throughout your house, there are grandchildren screaming (joyfully of course!), kitchen timers buzzing, and phones ringing. There are airport trips to make, bathrooms to clean, presents to wrap, and cookies to bake. By the end of the day, you are covered in flour, frizzy-haired, and completely exhausted – then suddenly, “Deck the halls with boughs of holly! Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-laaaa!” You don’t feel like answering the door to carolers… you feel like slamming it in their face and going to bed!

The holidays are a wonderful time of year to be with family, but it’s easy for any host or hostess to feel like they’re drowning in all the joy. Lucky for you, there’s AARP Member Advantages to help out the frazzled grandma or grandpa and make the holidays easier, and more enjoyable. One of our favorite features of AARP Member Advantages is their online shopping deals! If Christmas gets as hectic for you as it does for us, we made a Stay Calm Holiday Gift Guide just for you, featuring our favorite discounts from AARP Member Advantages.

Signing up for AARP Member Advantages is quick and easy. Once you’ve signed up, get ready to enjoy  tons of discounts and services from shopping to travel, dining (our favorite thing to do!) to entertainment. Who doesn’t like that? If you see what you like, just sign up for an AARP membership for $16 a year. That’s like a Christmas gift to yourself! Then make sure to use the codes given for your desired product during check out.

And now, on to our gift guide!

One thing that induces major stress in our lives around holiday season is grocery shopping. Uuuugh… the word “grocery” makes us cringe! You know what we say? Cut grocery shopping out of your life! You don’t need that kind of negativity! Thank goodness for Hello Fresh Meal boxes! It saves you all the stress of grocery shopping with just a couple clicks on the computer. Now until 12/31/16 you can get $50 off Weekly Meal Boxes!

Need a dessert that will make everyone drool? This chocolate mousse cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory is just the thing! You can pick one up at Harry & David at 20% off!

One of the best parts about Christmas is giving gifts to loved ones! We particularly love to give our adult children gift cards to restaurants, which they love to use for date nights!

The holidays are the best time of year to make memories! Try scrapbooking with a Shutterfly photo book and get 20% off with your AARP Membership!

Sometimes, when the house is full of family and little children, you just need a bit of quiet. That’s when movies like Finding Dory become a saving grace!  You can pick up a copy through Every Day Savings Center. 

One of the best parts of the holiday season is being around my family but there are some years that we can’t all get together for Christmas.  It is then that phone calls are what make our holidays special.  I really enjoy talking to my kids but what I really want is to put my grandkids on!  Am I right grandparents?  AARP Member Advantages has a great deal right now to make it easier to talk to YOUR kids and grandkids with this Consumer Cellular special.  Sign up Nov. 15 through Dec. 31, 2016 and as a Member Advantages Member, receive a $20 credit for activating any new line of service with Consumer Cellular.  Plans start at under $10.  Then you can talk away!

When it comes to gift wrapping, AARP Member Advantages has you covered! From wrapping paper to ribbons, you can get it all conveniently delivered to your home. We love the cute wrapping paper designs from Kohl’s where you get can get 15% off a $100 order.

One of our favorite Christmas hacks is making a gift wrapping station. It makes wrapping much quicker and easier. You can start your own gift wrapping station with something like this gift wrapping storage bag that you can add to your Kohl’s cart for 15% off your $100 order! Look at all that organization! We can just feel the stress melting away! Oh yeah!

And don’t forget that you can use your AARP Member Advantages discount to send presents too! Find 15% Off General Products and Services from The UPS Store under the home shopping section.

Still feeling a little overwhelmed? Then, guess what? It’s time for a vacation! You deserve it! Get out of the snow, and head to the nice, warm Caribbean. AARP Member Advantages has some great deals on vacation packages. Oh yeah, now that is stress free!

 Merry Christmas everyone!

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Today I am going to show you how to make these super chic DIY Altoid Gift Tins.

You can make these gift tins with any paper, but in order to get them super chic and this pretty, you will need to get a Minc Foil Applicator from Heidi Swapp.  This machine can be found in your local Michael’s, JoAnn’s and Hobby Lobby Craft Stores.  It is a cinch to use and let me tell you, IT CHANGES EVERYTHING!  I mean seriously, your craft projects will go from drab to fab with this baby!

For my tutorial on how to use this machine, please click HERE.

Items needed for this project:  Heidi Swapp paper, foil and the Minc Foil applicator, razor cutter, scissors, paint brush or foam brush, Mod Podge.  A cutting mat is also nice.

After you have chosen your papers and have applied the foil, you will need to trace the Altoid box onto the backside of your paper.  You will need four paper designs: the outside top, the outside bottom, the inside top and the inside bottom.  They can either be the same paper design or different as you will see on mine later on.

Cut out two of this shape of your patterned paper.  This will be for the outside top and bottom.  Then for the two insides, cut on the inside of your drawn line and try placing them inside of the tin box.  If they do not fit, continue cutting around the box shape until they both fit into the inside of your box.

TIP:  If you are going to make more than one of these boxes, now is  a good time to trace these templates onto your other paper for your other boxes so that you don’t have to keep measuring for every box.

Mod Podge on the top of your tin box:

Place the cut-out of your paper onto the top of the box and press firmly.  It will be a little bumpy because the altoid letters are raised.  Let dry.  After it is dry, place upside down and with a razor cutter, cut any excess paper that is hanging over the edges.  Do this all around your box.

Next, measure and cut for the three strips that you will need.  One for the strip on the lid, one for the strip on the bottom and one for the strip that will go inside your box.

Don’t you just love these papers by Heidi Swapp?  They are preprinted and ready to just insert into the Minc machine to appy the foil.  Easy Peasy.

Again, once you have measured these three strips, if you are making more than one box, mark the widths on the other paper that you are going to use.

I have found it easiest to apply the rest of your paper to the tin box in this order:

1.  Mod Podge around the bottom of the tin and apply the strip for the bottom.  Press firmly around the corner edges so the paper strip does not gap.  I had my strip meet in the back of the tin.

2.  Following the same process, apply the smallest strip around the lid.  You will need to cut around the hinges and you can do that with the razor cutter.

3.  Apply the third strip around the inside of the box.

4.  Now Mod Podge and insert your paper for the bottom inside of the tin and then do the inside top.

5.  Lastly, Mod Podge the outside of the bottom of your tin.  Let dry and then once again,  cut around the edges for any paper that is hanging over.

That’s it!

Here are some photos of the ones that I made.  The papers are all from Heidi Swapp and I loved how they coordinated.

Heidi also has some great embellishments that you can foil and add like this darling butterfly that I added to this one.  Again, her paper embellishments are preprinted and just ready to foil!

You can fill these with SO many things:  jewelry, ear buds, keys, spare coins, etc.  But I chose…Candy! Oh yeah. Look how perfectly these six little Dove chocolates fit inside this box! And the gold foil matches perfectly.

These were super fun and I can’t wait to give them away as gifts.  I hope you are inspired by these (as I was when I saw them on Craftster) and that you will make your own! I promise that you will love them!

This awesome post has been shared with Home Stories A to Z

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Hi to all of the Made From Pinterest Fans! This is Melanie from Artzy Creations again bringing you a very simple and easy DIY project for you for Valentine’s Day. I know what your thinking…Valentine’s Day already?! We just had Christmas and now it’s already on to Valentine’s Day. However, it will be here before you know it. Thanks to my youngest daughter Lily reminding me that Valentine’s Day is only WEEKS away. You would think I was paying her to say it. Lol! So, I wanted to bring you something that was simple, fun, and easy to make. Here’s how to make this Easy DIY Valentine’s Day Votive.

Here’s What You Need:

• Mason Jar
• Heart Stickers
• Pink Spray Paint (Matte Finish)
• Clear Spray Paint (Matte Finish)
• Ribbon, Trim, Scrapbook Pieces (Kaiser Craft) For Embellishment (Optional)
• Tea Light Candle

Step 1: Apply the heart stickers to the Mason Jar.

Step 2: Spray paint the jar and let dry.

Step 3: Very carefully and slowly peel off the heart stickers. If the spray paint happens to become scratched off before you seal it, take the spray paint and apply it to a paint brush and touch up the spot. When taking off the stickers, I found it was easiest to remove them from starting at the bottom and peeling them in a clockwise motion. That way it wouldn’t peel off any excess paint.

Step 4: Seal with the clear spray paint and let dry.

Step 5: Add ribbon or trim. You could even attach a love note!

I love how this turned out! If you have a special loved one that you would like to give a gift to, this would be just perfect. Or teacher’s would just melt, if they were to receive one. Just saying since I’m a teacher.

I love how this votive just radiates warmth and love.

Give your special Valentine something the will cherish and keep for a long time without spending hours laboring over the gift!

Thank you to three wonderful sisters from Made From Pinterest for having me. I hope your readers will hop on over and follow all of the crafty goodness from Artzy Creations.

Here’s wishing you all a wonderful 2015 and I will see you again in February!

You can follow Artzy Creations on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and Google +.

Check out these fun projects too!

Candy Heart Arrows

Candy Heart Arrows

Valentines day Gift Containers

Valentine’s Day Gift Containers

This post has been shared with Living Well Spending Less.

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How many times have you been in the situation of wondering what gift to get for a loved one? Stumped because you need a gift for a co-worker at the office? You finally whittle your options down to two choices, but can’t decide which one would make the perfect gift? How many of you are like me and have a husband who is almost impossible to surprise? Do you have a friend or family member whose tastes are so unique or particular you have absolutely no idea where to begin? Have you ever watched someones face closely when they open a gift you purchased for them hoping the will like it? How many times have you received a well intended gift, acted excited about it while thinking to yourself “what am I going to do with this”? I have one word that solves ALL your gift giving needs……Gifster!

Giftster doesn’t just make purchasing presents quick and easy, it makes it FUN! Let’s be honest it’s just as much fun receiving the perfect gift as it is giving one. Visit Giftster, make your dream gift list and then send it to your family and besties so they know you want that paisley infinity scarf in red not blue!

Giftster is the leading website and phone app for making your gift lists. They even made signing up quick and easy, it’s takes about two minutes to sign up and get your list going. Hmm…did I mention it’s FREE?

Once your lists are complete, it’s easy to share them. Your gift buyers will see the exact item you want, in the right size, color and dimensions. 

Giftster’s platform is available for computers, tablets and smartphones.

Seriously how much easier can this get, their phone interface is so user friendly you can purchase a gift while waiting in line at the grocery store!

Giftster isn’t just for the Christmas season, it’s a lifetime registry where you can give and receive gifts that you will use and love for years to come. No more returns! Use if for birthdays, weddings, Valentines Day, anniversaries, baby showers or just because.

Make life easier for you and your loved ones, head on over to Gifster.com and get stared today because…..

Giftster totally ROCKS!

This post has been sponsored be the wonderful folks at Giftster, all opinions are 100% mine.

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And now, right before your eyes, watch me make my own with some plain old wrapping paper!

Glue your handles on and  Voila!  A gift bag FOR PENNIES!

In the original instructions it suggested to use washi tape to seal instead of gluing but I personally didn’t like the look of the tape on the bag so I decided to glue instead.  And I LOVE the result  {{squeal!}}

Would definitely say that This Pin Rocks!

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