Prairie Scraps

Who doesn't love an awesome sale?  Here's the link: OUTLET SALE.   Be sure to go on right away, as sale items are while supplies last!  Thank you so much for supporting my Direct Sales business!

This idea actually came to me several years ago, when my relatives started giving our Christmas gifts away to charity in our name (although they get the tax write-off).  Don't get me wrong, that sounds super warm and fuzzy and honorable to do, if we had everything in the world, and have not needs or wants.  But that's not the case for our family.  Each year when we got the card from the charity organization, I would comment that it would be nice if they gave to the Charity of Us.  (Painfully, we have 5 kids on one income, and one of those Christmases, my husband had been out of work for 6 months.  We were starving and had no gifts for our kids, but some 3rd world family got our Christmas gift of food that year!  Sorry for my lack of excitement!) It occurred to me then that I actually can do the same, but give my own family back that gift.  I started to purchase their gifts from my own direct sales business through out the year...

With five very active kids, I find myself doing about 20 loads of laundry a week, just in clothes.  That doesn't include towels, sheets, and other extras that come along.  As I verge on my 20th year of being a stay-at-home-mom, I thought I'd share some of my tips for getting laundry done quicker.  How to Get Laundry Done Quicker Pick one day a week to devote to laundry!  I shoot for Mondays for my laundry day, and I'll be honest, I can't usually get it all done that day, but I'm usually close at the end of the day.  If you work during the week, you might have to choose Saturdays. Everyone must submit their laundry to get it done and then pick it up after it's finished.  If you don't put your laundry in the laundry room, you don't get laundry services for the week.  (Sounds tough, but it works for the youngest to the oldest member of our family.) All stains should be removed by the person who makes the stain prior to going to the laundry r...

 My very sweet 17 year old daughter saw a ruffled tree skirt at a friend's house and decided that she had to make me one for a Christmas gift this week.  A little background on this first.  My daughter was a reluctant participant in sewing in 4-H for 6 long years!  She is not very detail oriented, so it was a struggle for both of us to get projects done right for the fair each year.  She was more than happy to be finished with that project, and hasn't had an interest in sewing since. Well, this project was quite the project.  She found all the material herself, and even tried to find ruffles she could sew onto this skirt all over town.  When she came up with a dead end on ruffles (she knew she couldn't make her own ruffles), she found bias tape instead!  I personally think that she's a genius!  I've seen these ruffled skirts and love them, but this actually makes my skirt special! Mr. Right even got involved and tried to print the let...

Today is Small Business Saturday!  Consider supporting someone who owns a small business today!  Why not help individuals instead of the big box stores this weekend?  It's easier, no lines, shop from your seat, not your feet!  Of course I'd vote for you to shop with me today!  I'm running a 12 Days of Christmas Sale on my VIP Facegroup page Here.   Join my group for detail.  Here's a direct link to my website , too, if you'd like to shop with me!  The order will go in on December 8th and will be delivered on time for Christmas. I hope you and yours enjoy your Thanksgiving weekend!

I'm not sure if it's a Midwest thing, but it seems that many of my Western friends don't know about freezing zucchini or what to do with all of the zucchini from the garden, like Midwesterners do.  So lately, when I bring a dish to pass at potlucks, my friends are surprised at how good my zucchini recipes are.  You can check out how I freeze zucchini and one of my favorite muffin recipes Over Here. One of my favorite zucchini recipes is this Chocolate Zucchini Cake.  I get a ton of compliments when I bring it as a dish to pass on how moist and delicious this is.  I'm not usually a fan of cake, but this one has a crunchy chocolate chip topping, so no frosting needed!  I love that you don't have to make a separate frosting for it to taste wonderful.   My Mom used to make this when I was young.  I remember how proud she was that she found this recipe and tried to lie to us about it being a real chocolate cake, and yet she had snuck in the much dr...

Hoping you and yours are blessed beyond measure today!    As you begin your holiday shopping, please consider shopping with a direct sales consultant.  Although I don't have a physical store front, every purchase you make directly effects me and my family!  Beginning today, I am having a 12 Days of Christmas sale in my Facebook VIP Group.   Please come check it out!

I've had very few occasions where I have unfriended people on Facebook for any reason.  I've had a couple of scuffles with some people where they were stealing my pictures and content and using it for their own, and in that occasion, I actually block them, rather than unfriend them.  I don't friend people I don't know in the first place. I was recently posting a post on my Facebook wall encouraging my friends and family to consider making their holiday purchases with some of my friends that are direct sellers.  In my effort to tag all of my fellow direct sellers, I noticed that one of them had unfriended me recently.  I messaged her to ask if she was still doing it, and she replied that she still was.  I responded back that I was trying to tag and recommend my friends that are direct sellers and noticed that we aren't friends anymore on Facebook.  Here's the response I received back: " It is nothing personal, about 3-4 times per year I ...

I don't know why I've never thought about this before, but I recently had an aha! moment with tipping.  Drum roll please!  Here it is:  When you leave a tip, leave a mini catalog or flyer with a nice note for the service provider thanking them for their service!  So simple!  I try to be sincere and hand write a note on the back of my mini catalog from my direct sales business as well as leave a generous tip, and that's it.  I haven't yet received a call from one of these, but I've only gone out two times so far where I could leave a tip.  This is a tip that I left for the maid of our hotel room recently.  I'll be honest, I don't always tip in a hotel room, but this room was so fantastic, clean and a free upgrade from management, that I felt like I should give back to the maid.  My husband used to be a hotel man service, and he feels you should always tip too!   I went out to Red Lobster, recently, and left a tip with a no...

I'm new to elderberries.  I don't ever remember seeing them in the Midwest.  I've heard quite a bit about them since moving to the West, but have been really intimidated by the.  The house that we moved to last year has the bushes (or shall I say trees) everywhere on the property.  Several people told me how poisonous they are and how they can cause stomach problems if you don't handle them right.  Last year, I thought about harvesting my many bushes of them all season, but chickened out!     This year, I decided that I wasn't going to use them again, but at least I would try to let people in my friends circle come pick them. So I put up a post on a local Facebook group.  I got a couple of takers.  Of course, the one evening that we could pick together, it was pouring rain and really cold!  While I was helping my friend pick a 5 gallon bucket of elderberries, I got to thinking that maybe it was tim...

My personal love language is gifts, so when I was reading posts about going the extra mile for my hostesses, Happy Mail jumped out at me as a wonderful way to do that!  If you're not familiar with what Happy Mail is, it's sending weird and fun packages in the mail to make the receiver happy.  Let's face it, we all smile when we get something other than a bill in the mail.   I've been trying to send out a Thank you Happy Mail to my hostesses following their party.  Here's what I mailed out for the fall.  I found these cute candy corn gift bags at the Dollar Tree and knew that I could do something with them for Happy Mail.  There were 6 bags in the pack.  I also looked high and low for the Candy Corns in a smaller bag (so it doesn't weigh so much) and found this one at Walgreen's for $1 which is my price range.  I also added in some fake leaves to make it fun! I cut the handles off the bag and put everything in.  Tap...

I'm not really sure about you, but I'm a creature of habit and struggle to change my internal clock to a different time overnight.  On Monday morning after daylight savings, I have to say, I'm going with God sitting up there trying to figure us out and wondering why we've messed with his clock!!  I feel like I have a hangover from Daylight Savings Time. I think it's going to be a long week in recovery around here. I plan to use my two favorite energy helpers today: Ionix Supreme  AND my favorite energy shot, e+ !  What about you?

One of the best things about being in direct sales , is that I get to share with others the products with I love, as well as help pay the bills for my family!  There's no better way to have a job!   This last week, I took my oldest daughter, as well as my two younger daughters on a trip for five days to visit a college!  It was so much fun to spend some girl time and create some new adventures with my daughters!  To top it off, we were packed in the very cutest bags ever, sold by yours truly! Check out how many bags it took four of us to pack in for a five day trip!!  Come on over to my VIP Facebook Page and name those bags and their patterns!!  I also try to let my VIP customers know what is coming up for specials and even do some giveaways here and there!  It's a lot of fun, so I'd love to have you join me!   What about you, do you get to do what you love and do you love your products and share them? 

Last week was a big week around our town -  it was Homecoming Week.  As a part of homecoming week, the athletes in football, volleyball, and cross country, do a Big Brother, Little Sister Exchange.  The volleyball players pick one of the football player's names out to give some school spirit to for the week.  Although we homeschool, my kids have played on the high school teams at the public school, so this has been a fun week for them for the past few years!  The school assigns my kids a locker to use for the week so that it can be used for a drop off place.    As a homeschool, I have to say this has been a really great experience for my kids to not only bond with their teammates, but also feel like they are a part of the community.  My kids go to all the after school event during homecoming, including bonfires, cookouts, and even ride in the parade with their graduating class.   The week begins with decorating each others l...

This last week, I actually had to take time off of homeschooling to get my canning done.  Don't worry, the kids worked on their handwriting, math and grammar workbooks in the kitchen (if you can see all the clutter in the background - that's it!) while I canned away, but I couldn't do our history, bible and read-alouds or my tomatoes would go to waste.    You might wonder where I got so many tomatoes.  I'd love to say I grew them, but that's just not the case!  It is so dry here in the summer, that it's difficult to get tomatoes to grow nicely.  BUT, we have a guy down in Lucille, ID area who's know as Tomato Tom!!! He has tomato growing perfected, and you can pick your own tomatoes for only $.50 a pound!  Why grow your own, when it's so cheap and fresh down the road?  Each year, we run down there on a weekend and pick with the kids about 100 pounds of tomatoes for the winter months.   I like to have enough salsa and ca...

I ran across this quote on Facebook this last week and just had to share.  It's so powerful, and a great reminder to parents everywhere.  In the technological age we are in now, it's very easy to not be present in our children's lives!  With my first child leaving for college this year and my second headed that way next year, I've spent the last few years, really enjoying my kids and the time we have together.  Even that running to and from all the different games and events they have, I try to be present with them.   Here are some ideas for being present with your kids: Talk with your kids in the car when you're taking them places. Ask them questions. Attend as many of your kids events as you can!  Even if you each have to sacrifice other things, or tag team with your spouse. Make eye contact with your kids when they talk to you.  Even if my kids are interrupting a TV show, I pause it and look at them, no matter the subject for the int...

Who wants a FREE apron? Did you know we have these ADORABLE aprons in our holiday line that just came out? Well, to celebrate, I’m giving one away! All you have to do is tell me what YOU would put on an apron.  You can do up to 3 lines with up to 16 characters on each line.  You can enter three different times:  On my  Personal Page ,  on my VIP Group , and on my Business page on Facebook page .  We’re going to vote on my VIP page for the best “saying” and the winner gets their saying on their FREE apron! So…ready…set…who’s the most creative…LOL! Winner will be voted on in my VIP group on Sunday!! I'll announce the winner on Monday!

Ok - I've had enough of  unloving parents these days!  I'm warning you now to that this is all my opinion, and you may not like it.  In fact, I probably won't even respond it you make nasty comments to me about it!  That's my disclaimer! Here's my opinion: What is wrong with parents today that can't wait to get rid of their kids?  They can't wait to send them to school, and can't stand them home from extended breaks!  Here's a post from someone (who will remain anonymous) on my Facebook just this morning that has pushed me over the edge: "Sigh....the first day of the 4 day weekend and I already wanna send them back to school. Geez Louise." What in the world would those kids think if they heard their mother saying that?  Really, four days is too much for you to spend with your own children? Does she really think that by putting that on Facebook, that her kids will never know that she essentially hates them?  Once you put it on the int...

Do you have an overload of zucchini right now?  I have to say, I don't.  For whatever reason, my plants just didn't produce anything this year.  Of course, I really love baked goods with zucchini in them, so I picked up some at a local farm for $.25 each this week, to be sure that I have plenty for the winter.     I shred all of my zucchini, yellow and green with my Kitchen Aid  and my shredder attachment  into my big bowl.   I especially like to shred up those huge, overgrown zucchini's!  Those big seeds get mixed right in.  If the seeds are too big, I'll just take them out and use the flesh only. Then I measure out the shredded zucchini into freezer bags two cups at a time.  I like make all my freezer bags flat for my freezer, so I can stack them neatly and in less room.   I've found that most of my favorite recipes use two cups of shredded zucchini, so I...

It's so easy to feel disappointed when a dream you have doesn't happen.  Whether you are working your own business, trying to lose weight, or really anything in life that you are trying to do!  I found this quote this morning, and thought it fit into what I've been working on myself: a Dream Journal. This last week, I've started a Dream Journal.  I'm trying to be more positive and focused on achieving my dreams.  I've just opened a Word Document on my computer, where I spend most of my time while I'm working, and titled it Dreams and Goals.  Then I put bullets into a list form, and started to add.  Some dreams are very specific, like "Earn $_____ a month."  Others are more vague, but I know I would love to do them, like "Give sports teams food when I want to."  This one came from sitting all day at my daughter's tournament and I enjoyed giving the girls granola bars between matches.  I would just love to be able to do that whenev...

So if you remember, I shared a posting schedule here  that I found, and on Tuesdays it recommends to "Ask a question, share a photo contest or quiz, or post a fill-in-a-blank sentence."  I started trying to come up with a question to post in my groups and couldn't make up my mind!  Then I had a brilliant idea: look it up on the internet!  So cliché, isn't it?  I used bing.com to type in "Ask fun questions."  Low and behold, hundreds of lists of fun questions to ask came up!  Try it!  It works! Take your pick, and you now have a list of interesting and fun questions to ask to captivate your audience on your Facebook groups and Business pages! Here are some of the ideas I came up with to try out on your blog or Facebook page to gain interaction from your audience: What is the last text you wrote in your phone? What is the last picture you took on your phone? What have you always wanted? Did you get it? What is your greatest strength ...

I love nothing better than being able to use leftovers in a new way or even make breakfast from the fruit of our labors.  In this case, I provided a Taco Soup and Corn muffins for the Youth Group at church this week, so had way too many corn muffins left over to eat.  My family doesn't eat "old" breads, since I bake fresh so much, so I knew these corn muffins would go to waste if I couldn't figure out how to use them.  My grandmother used to make bread pudding when she had leftover or old bread.  I've even found a recipe for making bread pudding from leftover donuts that tastes pretty close to my grandmother's bread pudding.  I was thinking about what I could do with my corn muffins and decided to make it into a bread pudding for breakfast!  The best part was, that not only did I have leftover muffins, but a neighbor gave us free milk from her cow, I used huckleberries we picked in the forest, and I was able to use eggs from our own hens!  That ...

I got this posting schedule in a networking group I'm in on Facebook.  I always try to credit my sources, but in this case, it's all over and I can't find the person that created it.  I apologize to whomever made this great schedule, but I want to share it with you. If you have a Facebook group, business, or a blog, I think it's a really great idea to have a schedule or plan for what you post. Along with this post, the first place I saw it, the lady that shared it stated that when you post on Facebook, it should be only 10% promoting your business and the rest personal interactions and developing a relationship.  That really resonated with me, because although I know that many businesses and direct sales people use Facebook and blogs to promote their businesses.   There's nothing worse than only hearing promotion after promotion!  (And I'll be honest - I'm very guilty of this myself.)   I've been trying to use it as a guide ...

As the fall harvest begins, I was finding several different bags of fruit in the freezer from last year that we hadn't used yet.  On top of that, we had an obnoxious amount of rhubarb this spring already!  What started to be a batch of Huckleberry jam, turned into an afternoon of making jam and sauces!    The jams I used from last year's berries were huckleberry, raspberry, strawberry rhubarb and cherry. My favorite recipe book is The Ball Complete Book of Canning, which if you don't have, you should get!  It has every recipe that you could possibly use and more. Only one recipe have we not likde and that was the Cherry Jam, where the optional ingredients we didn't like.  We leave them out and we love it!    I still had over 30 bags of rhubarb in my freezer (what can I say we love rhubarb coffee cake all winter long, but this was a little much!) so was checking out the recipes in my canning book.  I've made...

Sunset courtesy of wildfire smoke I'm really not an alarmist or one of those people that thinks we'll all lose our homes at some point, but with over 200 wildfires going around our area, and threats of lightning storms, I'm starting to worry and plan for the worst.  Being from the Midwest, I've never lived under such threat of fire, so I asked my girlfriends last night for their advice on what to do if we have to be evacuated.  Many of their ideas were actually really great, so I'm going to give you a list of what to do in order of importance, with the idea that your family and children are safely evacuated (or on their way out) and you have some time to load your vehicles to leave. Don't ever put yourself or your family in harms way for things in your home! What to do before an evacuation: Put all important documents in a portable, fire safe file if possible.  Files to gather: Birth certificates, marriage certificates,Medical insurance cards, home and c...