Creating Free iPhone Wallpaper from Pinterest

I love having a picture of my family on my iPhone lock screen, but I hate having a picture as my home screen. Inevitably, the best part of the picture is covered by icons or folders and it just ends up looking silly.

I was playing around on Pinterest while killing time before preschool pick up and found an easy way to make a cute wallpaper using Pinterest.

First, click on a pin you would like as your wallpaper. Take a picture of your screen by hitting the power button and home button at the same time. The picture would look like the left one below. But, you don't want all that top and bottom junk on your home screen. You want the clean image on the right.

Next, open your photos icon where you look at past pictures taken. Click on the Pinterest photo you just took and zoom into it using your fingers on the screen. (I assume you know this... start with fingers together touching the screen and spread them further apart). Then, take another picture with your power button and home button pushed simultaneously.

Your picture would now look like the one on the right and you can select to save it as your home screen, lock screen or both as your would a photo you took of your family. This happens with the box and right facing arrow after the picture is taken.

Zoe Pearn is one of my favorite digital scrapbookers and she pins beautiful things that make great wallpapers! Happy Pinning and Wallpapering! :)

Valentine Giveaway- My Favorite Things

I think it is time for a giveaway! In honor of Valentine's Day, I collected a few of my favorite things that I will mail to the winner! These items are either made or purchased by me :)

One lucky winner will received a love birds kitchen towel, Sugar and French Kiss scentsy, Fancy perfume by Jessica Simpson, a set of bracelets from my Etsy store, and homemade LOVE blocks.

Follow the Rafflecopter directions below to win! Contest ends on February 8th. Don't miss out!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Resolution 2013: Get Organized with Apps

My iPhone is slowly becoming a bigger part of my life. It is always with me, so the more I have on it that manages my life, the better! If you are hoping 2013 is the year you become more organized, have you thought about how your phone can help? I recently found two great apps for organizing my family!

While at a MOPS meeting recently, another Mom mentioned the free Cozi app and with her simple explanation I was sold. Your family (spouse, grandparents, older kids) all have the apps on their phones and share the same information. The Cozi app includes a family calendar, to do list, shopping list and more! Each person in your family is given a color to keep it all organized within the app. 

So many times I have had to remind my husband of family activities- don't forget we are going here tonight... remember, I won't be home tomorrow because of this, etc. With Cozi, I entered activities so that he can see our schedules when making work commitments or wondering what we are doing this weekend.

With the shopping list feature, I can continuously jot down things we need as I think of them and if he happens to stop at Target to get me flowers, he can grab more gallon size baggies and vitamins :) It works both ways because I am always at Target and it would be great to see he is out of contact solution and AA batteries! 

My daughter is 4 and she comes home with art every day! I display it for a few weeks on the large shutter in our kitchen and then when it gets full I often throw it away. She has been known to pull art out of the trash because it is "special". I love her art work and keep everything with special meaning or hand and foot prints, but I can't keep it all. Enter Artkive!

With this app, you take a picture of your child's artwork on your phone and following their directions tag it with their name, age and the date of the artwork. When you are ready, you can use the app's software to turn their art into a book, coffee mug for Grandpa or mousepad for Dad. How smart is that!

The app costs $2.99 is an only on iOS (iPhone/iPad) for now. Their website says an Android version is coming this year.

I know iPhones today can be such a distraction, but they can also enhance family life! I recommend both of these apps from my own use to help you get more organized in 2013! For more resolutions, click on the Resolutions 2013 button on the left.

Resolution 2013: Get Organized with Calendars

I consider myself pretty tech savvy, but when it comes to being organized with a calendar, I am old school and proud of it! My planner tracks my meetings, Abby's school function, swim and gymnastics lessons, birthdays, my to do list, bills due, you name it! I couldn't survive without it. 

If you are looking to get more organized this year, try a paper planner or calendar to help you. 

Last year and this year, I will be staying organized with my Erin Condren Life Planner. I love the personalization of her planners, the bright colors, the life saving pocket in the back, and I just love her story! They cost around $50, but are well made and look great all year long. I also have photo gift labels from her that I love and got an iPhone case from her for Christmas. Big fan here! 

I just recently discovered May Books and I am sold! They are small books with a hand sewn binding and has the most fabulous cover designs available! They are completely customizable- covers, insides, monogram, fonts, etc. Plus, they are under $20! I gave these as gifts this year and received them! I have the notebook and meal planner.

In just a few clicks, you can make a one page calendar of the entire year and add a favorite family photo on Shutterfly. This would be great with a magnet on the back on the fridge or hanging on a bulletin board in your office. Shutterfly has tons of other calendar options and my experience with them has always been positive.

If you are into digital scrapbooking and want to make your own family calendar, check out these cute kits from Sweet Shoppe Designs. I made calendars for grandparents a few years ago for Christmas. They make a great gift!

Another great digital idea that is free, download this cute calendar from another blogger and print directly onto 8.5x11 cardstock! I just printed mine and placed it on the fridge to remind me when we are out when grocery meal planning. 

Resolution 2013: Waste Less Groceries

This month I am dedicating all of my posts to common New Year's Resolutions! 

One of my resolutions this year is to eat the food we buy. I hate having the trash can full of food from cleaning out the fridge, pantry and freezer before grocery shopping. We have done so much better about not eating out in 2012 and I want to be even smarter with my groceries in 2013.

One of the ways I plan to do that, is by knowing exactly what I put into our second freezer. We have an old refrigerator/freezer in the garage and while the fridge is mostly drinks, I rarely look in the freezer. I plan to use it to store more leftovers in 2013. Thus, I needed a little cheat sheet to place on the freezer door.

Get your free copy here.  

Now, when I make a big serving and decide to freezer half of it for a future meal, I'll know just what I have on hand and what container to look for. I plan to list things like, "Red-Round" for my red lidded round tupperware" or "baggie w/label" for items wrapped in foil and placed in a baggie. 

When we eat the meal, we'll just draw a line through the meal and know that it isn't in the freezer anymore. I've unfortunately thrown out a few meals because I just don't remember what is in the freezer or how long it has been sitting in the back.

With this free printable, you should get more organized and save money by eating more of what you buy! See more 2013 resolutions here!

My Free Mommy Cards from Minted

I read on another blog about Minted offering free "Mommy" cards on their site and dropped everything to get myself a set. They arrived and I love them!

I had to blur out some of my information, but hopefully you get the gist of them!

25 cards are free or you can get $25 off if you order a larger quantity provided you agree (after the design step) to have their logo printed on the back. Sign me up, right!

They have lots of beautiful color combinations and options. Since you pick each line of text, these can be more than Mommy cards. They can be personal cards, small business cards, you name it! They even allow you to upload a logo or family photo.

They came in this super cute little box that you could carry in your purse.

I put mine in a green houndstooth case I had just waiting for something cute!

For the record, Minted has no idea who I am. I just took advantage of their great deal and wanted to share. Enjoy your free cards, too!

Yo Gabba Gabba Flashcards

It is all Yo Gabba Gabba all the time in our household. We watch the show, have a Plex shirt, Toodee shoes, finger puppets, bath toys, etc. Gabba madness!

My husband and I were curious if our child is old enough to start playing memory games, so I whipped up some YGG flashcards to use for a homemade memory game.

There are 7 total cards to be flipped down when playing, they can be found here and here. The back side of those cards is the group photo which can be found here. Just print the individual sheets twice and the group photo sheet 4 times and glue a group photo to the back of each individual photo. They will print on standard 8.5x11 paper and are sized 3" x 4" each. You can also laminate them if you'd like!

Enjoy!