Fun Stuff — Page 22

{Father’s Day} Crafts, Coupon Codes, Ideas, and More!

I’m quite a bit behind schedule today.

My baby girl wearing her daddy's hat, looks just like him here.

Baby’s surgery:

My baby girl had surgery yesterday. It was a minor procedure; she had a blocked tear duct that needed to be opened, but it required general anesthesia which scared the heck outta me. But it went great {I’m going to share a bit about it in a post later} and she’s home and looking good. But today is catch-up day!

While going through my {totally overflowing!!} email inbox, I saw tons of great Father’s Day ideas, so I’m going to share a round up here of some favorites!

Father’s Day Ideas:

HolidaysCentral: Tons of great ideas here for every holiday! Enter to win their Father’s Day Giveaway, and check out some of their super fun Dad’s Day Craft Ideas too!
Pure Wow: Shares some ideas for “Indoor Dads”, since many gifts are targeted towards outdoor activities, “But what about the man who prefers air conditioning and hardwood floors to summer breezes and dusty trails?” Funny. Click Here to check it out; first enter your email to get their updates, then hit skip to pass the details, and then click the big Pure Wow logo pic up top, and you’ll be able to see these super cool ideas in a tab called Home Boys in the bottom left. Super fun stuff, this is one of my favorite weekly emails :)
Parenting: Sweet article with 5 ways to make Father’s Day special. Read here. My daughters dad has two older daughters, so this isn’t HIS first Father’s Day, but it’s the first one for me and baby to celebrate with him, so I loved reading these ideas!
Vistaprint: Get 6 FREE photo products. You can upload your photos from Picasa, Flickr or Facebook, use them to create cool personalized stuff like a mouse pad, t-shirt, calendar and more, get them all FREE + shipping, and give dad some really cool and unique presents. I use this all the time, the quality is great, and everyone loves these as gifts. Get started here . One of my favorites are their mini-photo books!
Open Sky: This is a cool site I’ve told you about before. Pick a few favorite celebrities and designers to follow. They will send you a weekly pick from that category that you will probably love. So far, I’ve had some amazing ideas sent to me! And the sign up only takes a second. Todays idea is from Alicia Silverstone: “sonic ties” that are hand-woven from recycled audio cassette tapes and and fabric. Each one is an individual work of art and believe it or not–they actually play music! For those of you that still have cassette players–if you run a tape head over the fabric, you’ll hear a sound collage. So cool. Check out Open Sky Click Here, sign up for categories, and pick who to follow! Easy peasy.
Dinner Out: Pick up some gift certificates at Restaurant.com and save up to 80% off. I do this a few times a year, and stock up on a bunch of certificates for places that we’ll be visiting in the next few months. This is such an amazing value, so check it out and see what they have in your town. Click Here, search by area, then pick all of the certificates your family can use to save! Think of any other holidays coming up so you can go out for all of them without spending a ton.
Zazzle: So so so many fun and personalized gifts for any dad in your life! I have gotten some of the coolest and funniest gifts I’ve given from Zazzle! Check out this one I’m getting for my brother- Click Here, and use code SHIP4FATHERS on any order over $50 today only to get FREE 2 DAY SHIPPING!
Tiny Prints: Get a FREE Father’s Day card, tons to choose from. Click here, Tiny Prints and use code FREEFD at check out!
Paper Snaps: Another FREE Father’s Day card option, from a super cool company I’d never heard of before! Click Here and follow the directions. Looks really awesome!
PrizeNote: Kind of off topic, but it’s so cool I had to include it :) Do the super cool sign up at PrizeNote here, and you’re automatically entered to win their daily prizes! Then, do a quick sign up for the dad in your life too. Then, if HE wins, YOU win too! It’s a SUPER cool site, and maybe you can win dad a freeebie!
Chili’s: If dad is a big fan of Chili’s, take him to dinner on Father’s Day using the Buy One Get One FREE coupon here.
JibJab: The. Funnest. Site. Ever. The kids are ALWAYS asking me to show them our JibJab videos!! If you’ve never used this site, oh my heck friend, go check it out! You can buy credits, but we’ve used this forever and just mostly use the FREE options. Super fun, check out the Father’s Day JibJab options available now.
Burt’s Bees: One of my favorite brands. Check out the Mens Grab Bag deal right now, add a few other goodies for you too, use code FATHER11 at check out, and get a specialized Dopp Kit just for dad for FREE with $40 purchase!
Celebrations.com: Check out their fun idea for Father’s Day here! So so many ideas and cool stuff, you’ll LOVE it!

Share YOUR ideas!

I’ll be sharing new Father’s Day ideas every day, so if you have a great one, please share in the comments so I can include yours in anther post!

If you are a crafter or have a business, share a link to a great deal or product for dad. If you are a blogger with a fun dads day idea, share a link to your post!

If you’re a reader that just has a cool tradition or neat idea, I’d love to hear them!

Dad’s Rock.

Posted by Meagan Paullin on June 9, 2011 Filed Under: Contests, Deals and Coupon Codes, Freebies, Shopping, Fun Stuff | No Comments

{Digitwirl} 7 Ways To Extend Your Smartphone Battery Life

Wherever there’s a Twirler in need, The Digitwirl Girls will be there to help. So when Lauren wanted to know how to extend her Smartphone battery life when she’s out and about we dug deep into our tech vault and came up with 7 simple ways to make sure your phone’s battery lasts as long as your day does.

Watch this week’s Twirl and you’ll learn more nifty tips than just dimming your screen and taming your Angry Bird addiction, you’ll also learn how shopping for dog treats really brings out the animal in Carley.

So, what do you guys think? Awesome, right?

The more of these Digitwirl videos that I watch, the bigger fan I become! I am pretty technically challenged, but their videos always make new gadgets and apps so easy for me to “get”. Love it.

Right now, I’m a stay at home momma, so keeping my phone charged is not usually a problem for me… I have lots of plug-ins at the house :) But when we’re out for the day, I’ve definitely had this problem, since I rely on my phone for EVERYthing: calendar and schedule, memos and to-do lists, wild and constant texting, videos, camera, and more.

Here are the tips that Carley covers in the video:

Turn off Bluetooth.
Use Wi-fi when you can.
Dim the screen.
Avoid games.
Turn off vibrate.
Avoid overheating.
Shut down your phone.

All super easy, right?

I had no idea that having the phone set to vibrate would run it down so quickly… But it makes sense, since it must take a lot of power for that little phone to shake itself silly for me at every phone call and text.

Share your thoughts in the comments…. Were this tips all new to you too, or did you know some of these already? Are you lovin’ these easy and fun Digitwirl weekly videos as much as I am?

Hey, Twirlers–do what Lauren did, send us a video with your computer quandaries and tech troubles. Nothing fancy, all you need is a webcam and a question… post it here, on our Facebook page.

Digitwirl is the weekly web show that offers simple solutions to modern day problems. In 3-minutes, Digitwirl brings busy women the very best time, money, and sanity-saving technology, and then teaches them how to use it, step-by-step. Digitwirl was created by technology lifestyle expert Carley Knobloch, who uses lots of technology to manage her busy life as mom of two and entrepreneur. Become a subscriber to get weekly show alerts and exclusive deals at Digitwirl.com, or follow Digitwirl on Twitter at @digitwirl.

Posted by Meagan Paullin on June 5, 2011 Filed Under: Fun Stuff | No Comments

Free Book: Recyling Crafts!

Get it FREE!

Get this FREE eBook with really fun and creative ways to re-use the stuff around the house that you would normally throw away. I’m such a big fan of “up-cycling” and am planning to do a weeklong Thrifty Trash Crafts series of posts on it soon!

Until then, check out this fun book:

Free Green Crafts eBook: 42 Ways to Recycle with craft projects for paper, plastic, metal, glass and more. Save money, enjoy a favorite hobby and reduce your household waste with these green craft projects.

Recycle old clothing and even light fixtures into functional and decorative items for the home. Turn 1-liter plastic bottles into Halloween Luminaries (pg. 46), junk mail into pretty Rolled Paper Beads (pg. 7) and old jeans into functional Potholders (pg. 80).

Click Here to get it free today! This can give you some great ideas for almost free activities for the kids… Summer break is almost here!!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on June 1, 2011 Filed Under: Green Living, Freebies, Fun Stuff | No Comments

Your Daily Bit of Sunshine…

GRATITUDE

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” – Melody Beattie, Author.

I really love this one. I think that this is really the key to happiness… Being able to be happy wherever you are, with whatever you have.

It’s ok to have goals, and to want more. It is wonderful to stretch your imagination, and dream big dreams.

But it is so important to remember that what you have right now is always enough to make you happy. Do you have a home? A family? Meals to eat each morning and night? Do you have friends that make you happy? Then you have enough.

Take a moment each day to think of the things that you are grateful for, big and small. It will make a big difference in your outlook, and make you smile daily. Promise.

What are you grateful for? Share with my in the comments. And if you love this quote, feel free to share it with the tweet or facebook buttons….

Posted by Meagan Paullin on May 31, 2011 Filed Under: Fun Stuff | No Comments

Memorial Day: Foods that are easy, yummy, and guilt free!

LearnVest has some super amazing recipes today for you weekend BBQ plans!

Here is one of my favorites:

PITA CHIPS

Makes: 96 chips

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp sesame seeds
½ tsp coarse salt
½ cup olive oil
6 round whole wheat pita pockets

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Combine sesame seeds, salt, and olive oil. Cut the pitas in half and then cut each half into four triangles. Tear each triangle at the seam. Place pitas rough side up on a baking sheet, and brush each piece with oil mixture. Bake until brown, about 10 minutes.

Super yummy, super easy. Love it.

Find the rest of the recipes at LearnVest! And sign up for their daily emails to get tons of other great tips each day. They’re all about living life to the fullest, while living on a budget.

Posted by Meagan Paullin on May 26, 2011 Filed Under: Fun Stuff | No Comments

{Digitwirl} Back That Thing Up!

Or… How to get “Set-it-and-forget-it Computer Backup!”

Read more about this weeks Twirl:

If you thought the wails of anguish that emanate from a gazelle being attacked by a lion were horrific, that’s nothing compared to the wails of anguish that will escape your lips if your computer dies and takes everything with it.

A lifetime of photos and videos, countless files, a music library that spans the decades. Gone. Caput. The solution to this worst case scenario is simple– Carbonite.

Carbonite is a secure online backup system for your entire computer that, should disaster strike, can restore all your files onto your repaired, or new computer. We checked out a few services like this, but we think Carbonite is the best online backup system, because it has unlimited data storage for a flat rate of $59 per year. That’s right, no matter how many pictures of your daughter’s third birthday, complete with a pony-riding princess you may have Carbonite will store it all safely.

And, Carbonite backups are far from out of sight out of mind, you can access any of your files from your computer or Smartphone any time. So watch this Twirl to see how you can avoid distraught howls in favor of set-it-and-forget-it peace of mind.

So, what do you think?

If, like me, you are totally technically challenged, I bet you’re feeling a big weight lifted off of your shoulders after watching this video! Like a, “Finally an easy way to make sure I don’t lose all of my important stuff if I make a huge mistake one day and totally screw up my computer” type of feeling :) Right?

Back that thing up…

Backing up my information is one of those things that pops into my head from time to time, but since I had no idea where to start, and it seemed like something that would be way to complicated for me to figure out, I tried to ignore the whole thing.

Technology Tragedy.

About 6 months ago, the kids were all playing around in the office, and somehow {none of them will really admit to doing ANYTHING, of course} they completely fried the hard drive in my boyfriends computer. Like, everything gone. All of his photos, his work files, his programs, music, all. of. it. gone. Forever.

That made me realize how easy it can be for something to happen, and how extremely valuable the content on my computer is! What if something happened, and I lost all of my little one’s baby picture files?

Just do it.

So, this has been on my mind for awhile, which means I was SUPER EXCITED to learn about Carbonite in this video today! Just set up an account, and someone ELSE will do the work, and backup everything for me, and keep it all safe? And for only $59 a year?? Easy peasy, and I’m in!!

I’m going to be signing up for this today, and am so glad that Digitwirl shares such awesome products, services, and companies with me in short, easy to understand video presentations. Finally, I can upgrade some of my technology, because with Digitwirl, I “get” it!!

Love it? What more great tips?

Carley's Byline Pic Check out Digitwirl today!