The Bagster bag and a giveaway.

I don't know if you remember, but I recently talked about doing a clean up at my "farm" property in Georgia. Okay, it's not officially a farm, but it is two acres and it's zoned agricultural. It's a big space!

I also don't know if you remember that I had a garage on the back of the property filled with junk as well as the basement, and that I needed a solution for getting it cleaned up. The renters have stuff they need to move so I had to get stuff out:

Luckily Waste Management contacted me, the company who makes the Bagster Bag. They ask me if I'd like to try their service, so I went out and purchased one of these puppies:

And then I filled it:

I wasn't quite sure how difficult it would be to get this thing collected, but I left it out on the side of the house near the curb and they came the next day! Standard turn around is 1 - 3 days, which was cool because I could get the trash out of my life immediately.

And you'll be pleased to know that with my coupon, the pickup was $79 - add the $30 for the Bagster bag, and it was $109 to get rid of a whole bunch of junk. I've rented a dumpster once before and it was 5 times as expensive - making the Bagster bag an awesomely affordable solution for homeowners.

Another nice thing about the Bagster bag? I had to take a few trips up to my property to get it filled, but since I owned the bag, I could do it on my own schedule. That was awesome. The whole process gets two thumbs up from me. If you have a household/DIY/construction mess that you need gone, I highly recommend the Bagster bag. It's so great!

Because Waste Management is so nice, they are sponsoring a giveaway for a Mod Podge Rocks reader - a $100 American Express gift card. Simply follow the instructions below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: Waste Management partnered with bloggers such as me to participate in its The Bagster® Bag Blogger Challenge. As part of this program, I received compensation to cover the cost of the Bagster bag and pick-up as well as my time. They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about the products used for the The Bagster® Bag Blogger Challenge. Waste Management believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. Waste Management’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.

Read More

Gardening as a hobby.

This post brought to you by Miracle-Gro. All opinions are 100% mine.

Did you know that gardening is the #1 hobby in America? I have a feeling I know why (because I love it too). It's so relaxing, and with our busy and stressed out lives these days, it's nice to have an easy and fun way to unwind . . . and see the visible fruits of your labor (sometimes literally!).

I am a gardening buff, and am excited because it's the first time I've had an apartment in awhile that I have space to "do something" with outside. Albeit it's a balcony, but it's long and goes the length of my apartment, so I have quite a bit of area to place chairs and a table as well as to grow plants.

Miracle-Gro® recently launched a new site called Gardenieres, which features hand-picked green thumbs led by master gardener, William Moss. They’re real-life gardening enthusiasts with real-world experience when it comes to growing, anything. The Gardenieres will be covering the country, inspiring us all to get out and garden - they'll be facing unique growing challenges as well as meeting those of us with only slightly green thumbs online to help with issues.

I'm most inspired to do a rooftop style garden just like Pamela Reed. I won't be able to have as many containers since it will be on the balcony, but I'd love to include some veggies as well as flowers - I'm a huge veggie fan. I love broccoli, green beans, peas and kale!

For this project, I'd use Miracle-Gro® potting mix, which feeds plants up to six months with continuous release plant food. I'd also use Miracle-Gro® LiquaFeed® as well while watering, so that my plants would grow up to be green and delicious!

So what gardening project have the Gardenieres inspired you to try?

Don't forget to like the Miracle-Gro Facebook page - you can also talk to fellow gardeners, get tips and share stories. See you there!

Read More

Candy corn un-welcome Halloween sign.

Hello Mod Podge fans! I’m so excited to be here today sharing a fun project using RIT Dye. But first, let me introduce myself.

I’m Vanessa from Our Thrifty Ideas. I blog about my family, crafts, and being thrifty. I am a play at home Mommy of 2 littles and a wife to an amazing and hard working handy man husband! I am living the life, and love being able to share it with those out in the www.!

Today I’m going to show you how I made the fun Candy Corn un-welcome Halloween sign using RIT Dye product!

Supplies:
Wood – whatever shape you choose
Orange Paint
White Cotton Fabric
RIT Dye in Orange and Yellow
Paper Letters
Mod Podge – Matte Finish

This was my first time using RIT Dye. I am loving every bit of it, and dying everything within reach! And plus, it is so easy.

Following the directions on the bottle, I just mixed 8 cups of really hot water with 1 tablespoon dye and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mixing continuously to avoid uneven coloring, soak your fabric for 10 minutes. Then rinse in warm (then gradually getting colder) water until the water runs clear.

Run the dyed fabric thru a regular cycle of laundry (wash and dry) to prevent any dye bleeding. Repeat these steps for the orange dye.

Cut the dyed fabric, and some of the white, into 1 inch strips. The number of strips will depend on the size of your wood. I made the mistake of cutting my strips and THEN dying it, causing my fabric to fray and become messy in the finished product.

Ok, so now that we have the fabric dyed you will want to prep your wood. I painted the sides and the back incase you see it while it’s hanging up!

Then Mod Podge strips of the fabric onto the wood in a candy corn pattern; white, yellow, orange. I left long strips of fabric on the edges to create a hanger.

Once this is dry (or a little tacky) place your wording onto the fabric and Mod Podge them on.  Let dry.

Cut the excess fabric off the ends, except the 3 left and 3 right ones on the top of your sign. Braid these and tie them together at the ends to create a hanger.

Hang on your front door or an entryway for the Halloween season!

Make sure to check out all the RIT Dye products on their website. And of course, follow them via social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Thanks so much for having me over here at Mod Podge Rocks. I’m so honored to be able to hang out with you guys for the day!

You can also check out some other fun seasonal projects made with the products from some great bloggers.

Find the post disclosure here.

Read More

Enhancing your home with nice smells.

I recently moved into a new loft (mid-August) and it's all concrete floors and high ceilings. I LOVE it. What I don't love is the smell that is in the hallway, and the property manager can't figure out what it is. There's nothing visible, but the smell is musty and unpleasant. I don't want it creeping into my entryway, so I've been using air fresheners in my place to make it nice when I walk in the door.

I haven't been pleased with most that I've tried, and they aren't exactly attractive, so I was thrilled to give the Glade Expressions collection a try. I bought two things - the room spray in Cotton and Italian Mandarin and the oil diffuser in Pineapple and Mangosteen.

After a few days of having these scents around, I'm quite pleased. They actually enhance my apartment, and I like how the oil diffuser actually blends in with the decor (as you can see from the picture). I leave the spray in the kitchen for after cooking, and it's great - keeps the smell from going into the rest of my open loft. What do I love about them? Both scents are great and not overwhelming. I am picky about my smells: I don't like things that are too overwhelming or don't release enough scent - these are just right!

How do you enhance your home with nice smells?

Glade Expressions® Fragrance Mist comes in a stylish holder that releases a longer- lasting, finer mist of fragrance. The gentle mist creates layers of true-to-life fragrance that opens up note by note. The artfully designed holder blends with your décor for a burst of fragrance that’s always out and available. Just squeeze to spray; then refill the holder with your favorite fragrance.

Glade Expressions® Oil Diffuser releases a long-lasting fragrance for up to 30 without the hassle of electricity. The spill-proof oil diffuser infuses layers of true-to-life scents throughout even the most open living spaces. The trendy holder matches décor perfectly, making it a convenient and stylish home-fragrancing option.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Glade via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Glade.

Read More

Making strides against breast cancer.

Do you remember the post I did recently about breast cancer? I was touched by everyone's comments, and it's a great reminder that so many people are affected by this disease - people have had cancer themselves or know someone who has. I'd like to let you know more about the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walks that are in your area this October. Since Making Strides began 20 years ago, breast cancer death rates have declined more than 32 percent.

This is a picture of my Grandma Bev - I'll be walking for her. I've also known a few friends and co-workers who have had scary experiences with breast cancer, or have had family members pass away. I'll be walking for them too.

You can visit the website and search for a local walk - there are two in my area. One starts at 9am and lasts two hours, while the other is a 5k that starts at 8am. So you can find an event close to you that most closely fits your fitness level. Just a few hours out of your day is all you need to give to support this worthy cause. Here's what to expect at a walk. The online tools make it easy to participate and collect donations if you are so inclined. Let's fight breast cancer together!

Will you join me in a walk this October?

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer is the American Cancer Society's nationwide series of walking events to raise funds and awareness to end breast cancer.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by the American Cancer Society (ACS) via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of the American Cancer Society (ACS).

Read More

A crafter's gift list.

This is a sponsored post, I am a Kmart Layaway blogger, though all opinions are my own.

Have you started thinking about holiday shopping yet? I've started browsing around for myself - and found a few holiday gifts that you fellow crafters might be interested in. One thing that is #1 on my mind these days is craft storage. I have a one room loft now, so I have to be very "crafty" (heh heh) about how I organize everything. I need the space to appear like two rooms and not get too crowded. I like this six-drawer shelf because it's colorful yet it conceals stuff. And that is exactly what I need.
I found this shelf and some other crafty items on Kmart.com, where I also learned more about their free layaway program. Layaway is great for a few reasons: if you can't store a large gift, the store can hold it for you as you pay on it. You can also make payments on something a little bit out of your price range in one sitting, but that you don't want to put on your credit card and accrue interest charges on.

Here are some other items I'd love for the holidays:

The Martha Stewart craft station. An all-in-one system for tracing, lining things up, cutting and embossing? Sign me up.

I have always wanted Copic markers. I'd make the crap out of some cards.

I have a few Ott Lites, but I'm a little greedy I guess - this one is so elegant looking and would be perfect on my desk.

You didn't know I was a knitter, did you? Yes, and winding yarn balls is for the birds. I would love an yarn ball winder to do it for me.

Kmart has free layaway, but how does that stack up to other retailers? My friend Heather from Dollar Store Mom put together a great resource post on layaway. You can also see comparisons to retailers such as Best Buy in the chart below. A lot of other programs charge while Kmart does not!

You should also know that they are having a giveaway - the Kmart's Big Layaway Giveaway!

At every single store, every single week, one person who does layaway will get their balance paid off (from 9/9/12 through 11/17/12.* Cool, huh? Now's the time to place those gifts you've been eying on layaway and also get the chance to win some great prizes at Kmart!

* NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Ends 11/17/12. For Official Rules, visit a participating Kmart location or www.kmart.com/layawaygiveaway.

Read More

My Colortopia: Show Your Colors.

I'm a HUGE fan of playing with color - and I imagine most of you are too. I also can't resist a fresh coat of paint on my walls. Awhile back I talked about My Colortopia and their tool that helps you select color palettes for home decorating and painting projects. They have released a new tools called Show Your Colors that I think you are going to like . . . especially if you are like me and you love to share your projects with the world.

Show Your Colors allows you to submit your "before and afters" of your home painting projects. Did you recently re-do a room? Share it! I love the site because it's an awesome place to get color inspiration and to see what others are doing to revamp their living spaces.

My friend Brittany from Pretty Handy Girl recently re-did her laundry room in the most lovely shade of blue and posted about it on Show Your Colors. What I love about this tool is that right below Brittany's photo, there is a link that says "Get colors from this photo."

You can select a portion of the photo and the My Image Inspiration tool chooses colors that are related - and then you can get to a wall color you like based on those recommendations. I'd like to paint my bathroom a color similar to Brittany's laundry room, so this is pretty helpful.

Are you ready to learn more? Take a peek at the interactive widget below. You can browse before and after photos of recent renovations and room redo’s, click through to submit your own photos or read My Colortopia blog posts. Enjoy!



Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for My Colortopia. I have been sponsored by Glidden® brand paint to write this post but the thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Read More

Curbside Chaos and the yard makeover.

This post brought to you by Bulbs. Dig, Drop, Done.. All opinions are 100% mine.

Awhile ago I did a post about Curbside Chaos (a site all about gardening) and their $5,000 yard makeover. The results are in! Watch the video below of Taniya Nayak and the lucky winner doing the makeover. I'm inspired because I've got some major cleaning up to do at my house in north Georgia, including the yard.

One tool I intend to use from Curbside Chaos site is the Garden Guru Tool, which will help you figure out which bulbs to plant in your area of the country and when.

 

Step 1: Pick your country and then your state. I'm in the south (finally getting cool around here!).
 

Step 2: Pick when you want your flowers to bloom.
 

Step 3: Pick your "fluers."

Step 4: It will give you the planting guide that tells you everything you need to do for that particular bulb!
 

And if you aren't sure how to plant bulbs, there a site called Dig. Drop. Done. that will show you how easy it is to plant bulbs and make your yard or home pretty without much effort - visit www.digdropdone.com to learn more.

Bulbs aren't just for your garden. They are great for giving as gifts (after they bloom, of course. No one wants a bag of dirty bulbs. Do they?). From a DIY perspective, spring is a great time to decorate a pot with Mod Podge, plant some flowers and then give them to the recipient and let them bloom. I also love bulbs in interior design and home decor - like those plant holders on the front of doors. Those are super cool.
 

Dig. Drop. Done. has put together a fun campaign to get you engaged in planting bulbs and beautifying your life. Meet Marcy the supermom, Juliana the fashionista and Evelyn the empty nester. The characters are so hilarious and the videos are really cute. You'd think I'm the most like Juliana because she's single and livin' the city life. She also has great tips for planting bulbs when living in an apartment. BUT I'm a lot like Evelyn in personality. She's kind of wacky!

I hope you enjoy the Dig. Drop. Done. and Curbside Chaos sites. One last note. With every share on Twitter with the hashtag #CurbsideChaos, "Bulbs. Dig, Drop, Done." will donate $1.00 to Rebuilding Together - the nation’s leading nonprofit, working to preserve affordable homeownership and revitalize communities. Cool huh? Now get your winter gardening on!

Read More

Cleaning up with the Bagster bag.

I don't know if many of you remember, because I've only shared it a few times, but I own a house north of Atlanta. It's in a rural part of the metropolitan area, in fact, I don't even know if it can be considered part of the metro area of Atlanta. It's zoned agricultural and I used to live in it (for five years). Then it became too much for me to take care of (and it's far away from work stuff), so I rent it out and live in an apartment.

The property, which I call "the farm," is great because there is so much storage. In fact, you can see the back garage in the photo above - and this is in addition to the garage attached to the house AND the basement. This seems great, but not for a sort of hoarder. Basements and garages are meant to be filled, don't you think? Anyhoo, my renters actually want to bring in some additional stuff for their own business to store in the house, so it's time to finally tackle the beast that lies beneath:

I looked into renting a dumpster, but the price isn't exactly right, especially for someone who works freelance. It just so happened that around the time I was thinking about what to do, I received an e-mail from Waste Management, the company who makes the Bagster Bag. They asked if I'd like to try a Bagster bag for any of my home renovation projects.

When you have piles of stuff like this to get gone, it's hard to resist. I hadn't heard of them before, so I did a little research to learn more about the Bagster bag and how it works.

The Bagster bag is a highly durable, woven bag designed for disposing as much as 3,300 pounds of debris and is big enough to hold full sheets of plywood, doors and even a bathtub. Not only that, but Bagster bags cost just $29.95 and the flat rate collection fee ranges from $79 to $249 per bag, depending on your area – 50 to 70 percent less than a dumpster rental.

So basically, you put all your crap into one of these large green bags that you can buy at a variety of locations (got mine at Ace Hardware). What I love is that you can use the bag for as long as you like, then schedule a collection when the bag is full. This is perfect because I need a bit of extra time considering that it's a long drive up to Cumming (I had to do it over a few weekends).

Are you curious to see what I got into my Bagster bag? I'm posting about it in the next week - AND I'm doing a giveaway to celebrate! Come back and visit, and in the meantime, visit here to learn more about the Bagster bag and how you can use it for your home improvement projects.

See you then!

Disclosure: Waste Management partnered with bloggers such as me to participate in its The Bagster® Bag Blogger Challenge. As part of this program, I received compensation to cover the cost of the Bagster bag and pick-up as well as my time. They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about the products used for the The Bagster® Bag Blogger Challenge. Waste Management believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. Waste Management’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.

Read More

Breast cancer and its impact on my life.

Do you have any family members you've lost to cancer? I do - several of them. One is my grandmother, Beverly, pictured above with my mom (left) and Aunt Suzi. We lost her at age 57 to breast cancer. My family history with cancer is not good, especially on my mother's side. Most of our relatives have died of this terrible disease, and my mom had cancerous growths removed from her colon in her early 50s.

This is another picture of my Grandma Bev, holding me when I was born. Sadly I never knew her that well because of her untimely death. I hadn't even turned 12 when she died.

I haven't said anything on my blog about this, but recently I had a cancer scare. A breast cancer scare. I was terrified when I found a lump in my right breast during a home examination, so I headed the doctor. It was during that visit that the doctor gave me her own exam, but also asked me about my family history, and I told her all of it. The doc actually found THREE lumps. Two on the right, one on the left. She was obviously concerned (especially given my family history), so immediately had me schedule an appointment for a mammogram.

It was a few weeks between that appointment and the mammogram, and I was nervous the entire time (did a lot of praying). But I was also thankful that whatever it was had been found, and that we could figure out how to deal with it. I finally went to the mammogram, got it done (um, those aren't fun) and a few things looked inconclusive, so they did an ultrasound. I was thrilled to find out that the lumps were benign, and everything was okay. Whew!

It made me think a lot about what all of us can do to prevent cancer. There are the obvious things like regular check ups, but we can also support organizations that work hard to fight breast cancer. American Cancer Society (ACS) is doing this with their Making Strides initiative. This nationwide breast cancer walk is striving to support those that have been affected, empower others, and cheer on survivors, all while fighting to end this disease. There is hope, especially if we all contribute our time to efforts like this.

How has your life been affected by breast cancer?

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer is the American Cancer Society's nationwide series of walking events to raise funds and awareness to end breast cancer.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by the American Cancer Society (ACS) via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of the American Cancer Society (ACS).

Read More