I had the opportunity to attend a fun upcycling event hosted by Goodwill.  We visited a couple Goodwill stores and some of the Downtown Sumner Merchants, if you haven’t been to Sumner, WA recently, you need to visit.  It’s such a cute town with so many great shops and restaurants.   Our first stop was a Goodwill store where we had to opportunity to find an item that we could use to upcycle into a planter.

We all were paired up with a professional upcycler. I was paired with the owner of Tarnish & Grace Vintage.  She was so much fun!  She found me THE BEST container for my project!  It’s a wire mesh container with 3 different compartments.  It’s exactly my style and it was only $4.99!  This items retails at World Market for $29.99 right now.  I scored a major deal by shopping at Goodwill!

Next up, we headed down to the Goodwill Blue Boutique in downtown Sumner. The Blue Boutique is an upscale Goodwill. They carry designer clothing, jewelry, shoes, purses, accessories and home items.

Most of the items they sell are gently used, but I even found some items that still had new tags on them. I found Hunter boots, Coach and Dooney & Bourke purses, brand-new Athleta clothing and more.

Once we finished our shopping at the Blue Boutique we stopped by Junker’s Nest where the owners showed us how to put together a fun display by using antiques, found items and even things we may already have around our home.

This Junker’s Nest shop was the cutest! There are so many wonderful things to look at, I could easily spend an hour in the store looking around every nook and cranny.   I plan on visiting again soon since I have an entire new family room to decorate.

Next, our tour took us to Inta Vintage. This is a huge store filled with antiques, vintage items, home decor and more. Inta Vintage rents booths to crafters, upcyclers and antique sellers so you will find something for everyone. This store is a treasure hunters dream, so many amazing things!  Check out the upcoming classes and events at Inta Vintage on their Facebook page.

We learned so many different ways we could upcycle items that can be found at Goodwill.  I came home inspired! In fact, I even stopped at my local Goodwill on my way home to see if I could find a piece of furniture or a cool frame so I could tackle a project myself. Here’s a peek at some of the fun projects the retailers at Inta Vintage shared with us.

We got to see some finished projects of newly painted and upholstered chairs.  I loved the finish on the black chair, it was so pretty!

I love how she was able to take an inexpensive table from Goodwill and turn it into a gorgeous work of art.

This table blew me away!  It is so gorgeous in person.   There was so much time and love that went into refinishing this table.  This was one of my favorite pieces and the price was great too.  If you are in need of a new dining room table run down to Inta Vintage in Sumner and grab this one!

Here is my upcyclers booth at Inta Vintage, she sells decor, jewelry, clothing and accessories.

This mother and daughter duo showed us how they took an old headboard and turned it into a coffee or cocoa station.  So cute and creative!

I loved their booth!  They had some really clever artwork using molding and trim as the background.  Seriously, so cool!

We received lots of tips on painting furniture and nearly everyone said they keep a container of Clorox wipes near to clean up messes or mistakes.  I’m putting this tip to use for sure!

There are so many different options for paint when it comes to refinishing furniture.

I love how she took frames she found at Goodwill and turned them into chalkboards!  This sounds like a project I could tackle.

I love how she shops!  She buys many of the items for her projects at the Goodwill Outlet.  I wasn’t even aware there was a Goodwill Outlet.

Once we were done checking out the shops we headed to Van Lierop Garden Market so we could choose the plants for our planters.   I LOVE THIS PLACE!!

OK, confession time…owning a store like this has always been a dream of mine!  I’d love to own a nursery with a cute gift shop attached to it.  It would be so fun to work side by side with my family.   I love this place, not only for how cute it is, but because they are living my dream.

My finished planter turned out beautiful!  I love it so much.  I have to share some of the fun planters that others made.  It’s so cool, how you can take an everyday average object and turn it into something beautiful.  The folks at Van Lierop are amazing at what they do.

It’s so fun to see the different options everyone came up with for their planters.

We were treated to a lunch at Sorci’s Italian Cafe and Enotica.  The food here was so good.  I am already planning a date with my husband where we stroll the streets of Sumner, look at the fun shops and finish it up with dinner and dessert at Sorci’s.

Lastly, after lunch we got to hear three very inspiring stories of ladies that went through the programs at Goodwill in order to give them training for their current jobs.   They were all at a low place in their lives when they came to Goodwill.   I am so impressed by their determination to make things better for them and their families.  So inspiring!

I loved all of their stories, but I especially loved hearing how Yulie is now the pastry chef at El Gaucho.  How cool is that?

I came away from the day feeling so inspired!  I felt inspired by all the great things Goodwill does to help members of our communities.  I felt inspired by all the creative people we met and by my fellow bloggers.   It really was nice to get out from behind my computer and explore downtown Sumner.  Seriously, if you are a local, make a plan to get down there for a day.  Everyone is so friendly!   The restaurant owner raved about their town so much I was almost ready to move to Sumner.

I would love to hear about any projects you have made by using items you’ve found at Goodwill.  I plan on stalking Goodwill on a regular basis now, so hopefully I will have some projects to share in the future.

The post Upcycling with Goodwill & Downtown Sumner Merchants appeared first on Gather Lemons.

When it comes to gift giving, my favorite type of gifts to give my children (and nieces and nephews) are ones that get them thinking or help them to be creative.  I’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite items that we have gifted over the years.  We personally owned every single one of these items and I can vouch for their awesomeness.  You seriously can’t go wrong with anything on this list.

A received some ThinkFun Games, Magic Stix, and Disney coloring books in exchange for possible inclusion in my gift guide. These are items that we honestly and truly love.  In fact, I was contacted by ThinkFun after they read my road trip post where I raved about our love for their games. I will always be honest and upfront with you when it comes to sharing my opinion. This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

ThinkFun Games – We love the ThinkFun games.  We started with Rush Hour and just kept adding to our collection.  One of the things I love most about these games is that they are solo games, your kids don’t have to wait until a sibling or friend wants to play a game with them, they can play when ever they want.  Many of these games are portable so they are great for traveling or even when you are at a restaurant and your kids are bored.   I mentioned how much we love the ThinkFun games back in my road trip post and ThinkFun reached out to me and sent me few of their new games to try out. When I said we own a ton of these games, I wasn’t kidding!  These are all of the ThinkFun games we own and I can personally recommend each and every one.

• Rush Hour Logic Game
• Gravity Maze
• Sweet Logic Board Game
• Circuit Maze Board Game
• Roller Coaster Challenge Logic & Building Game
• Hoppers Game
• Shape By Shape
• Brick Logic Board Game
• Code Master Programming Logic Game
• Think Fun Math Dice
• Coding Board Game: Rover Control
• ThinkFun Izzi

Perler Beads – My youngest son has so much fun with these.   He will create with them for hours.   He will create images on his own or print out an image from the internet and lay it underneath a big pegboard and fill it in with Perler Beads.    It is so much fun to see him being creative.   We are big fans of Perler Beads at our house.

Kwik Stix and Magic Stix –  I was introduced to Kwik Stix last year and we fell in love with them. Kwik Stix Solid Tempera Paint sticks take the mess out of painting while keeping all the fun! They dry in 90 seconds and the colors are bright and vivid. You can paint on so many surfaces like pape, posterboard, cardboard, wood, and canvas. They recently came out with the new Magic Stix which are just as amazing as the Kwik Stix. These are Washable markers that won’t dry out even if the cap has been left off for 7 days (they even guarantee that)!  This so handy!  I can’t tell you how many pens I have had to throw out over the years for this very reason. I highly recommend these items for your kids that love to draw, color and create.

Snap Circuits – These sets are so much fun for kids.  These help teach your kids about how electronics work and makes it so much fun by helping them to assemble things like a flying saucer, alarms, doorbells and much more.   I don’t know a kid that hasn’t loved these fun sets.  I recommend the Snap Circuits Jr. SC-100 Electronics Discovery Kit as a great place to start.

Klutz Books – The Klutz books have been a big hit at our house for years.  They have so many different varieties of books you are sure to find one that speaks to your kids.  They have craft kits, activity kits and just plain fun and silly books.  Here are just a few of the Klutz books that my kids have enjoyed.

• Klutz LEGO Chain Reactions Craft Kit
• The Encyclopedia of Immaturity
• Klutz Book of Paper Airplanes Craft Kit
• Klutz LEGO Crazy Action Contraptions Craft Kit
• Klutz Juggling for the Complete Klutz Craft Kit
• The Shrinky Dinks Book

LEGO –  LEGOs are probably most loved creative item at our house.  I’m sure we are not alone.  It is interesting to see how each of my kids have played with their LEGOs differently.   My oldest would build a set like it was supposed to be, then almost immediately tear it apart to build something new with his own imagination.   I had another child who would build a set and make sure it stayed complete…forever.   My favorite LEGOS to give as gifts has always been the LEGO Creator sets.  In addition to LEGO sets, there are some great books for LEGO fans that my kids have loved too.

Coloring Books and Colored Pencils – I always loved coloring as a kid. Coloring has gotten even cooler now with all the adult coloring books that are out now.   Kids love these adult coloring books too.  I love the fact that the pages are a little more sturdy and their is so much detail that older kids can really get into coloring again. We highly recommend the Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils. Here are a few coloring book recommendations:

• The Percy Jackson Coloring Book
• Notebook Doodles Super Cute: Coloring & Activity Book
• Pusheen Coloring Book

Here are a few more highly rated items that would be great to spark your kids creative imagination:

Ed Emberly Drawing Books

Magformers

K’nex

Tegu Wooden Blocks

Play-Doh

The post Ultimate Gift Guide for the Creative Child appeared first on Gather Lemons.

Many view credit cards as evil and in some cases I would agree.   I don’t believe in carrying credit card debt, but I do believe in making the credit cards work for me.   We use credit cards to pay for pretty much everything at our house and we pay them off each and every month in full. (in fact the total monthly charge comes out of our checking account each month to ensure they are paid in full).   I am sharing the rewards cards I use on a regular basis and the rewards we are getting from them.   We have been able to do a bunch of traveling previously and especially this year thanks to the perks from these cards.

While some believe that when you use a credit card you may end up buying more than you need, I don’t necessarily think that is true for everyone.  I’m a person that gives serious thought to even my 90% off Target holiday purchases.   I am probably an over thinker, but in the long run I don’t think that is a bad thing.   So, while credit cards my not be for everyone, they work really well for our family and we are happily enjoying the rewards.   I encourage you to decide if some of these options would be good for your family too.   If you currently carry credit card debt, I personally would not recommend adding another card to your wallet.

Disney Visa – This is the coolest credit card for Disney nerds, you can even choose your favorite Disney image for the front of the card.  I currently have Darth Vader and I get comments nearly every time I shop.  I was offered $200 statement credit when I signed up for the card.  There is no fee for the standard card and you will earn the $50 statement credit, if you sign up for the premier card you will earn $200 statement credit if you purchase $500 in the first 3 months.   It’s a super easy way to earn $200 to put towards a Disney vacation.

The is the card I currently use the most.  Almost everything we buy gets paid with this card, like our monthly power bill, cell phone bill, groceries, medical bills, etc.  I have it set up so the full amount due is automatically taken out of my checking account each month.    Here are the perks of this card:

• 1% in reward dollars on all purchases (2% reward dollars with the premier card at gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants and most Disney locations – $49 fee for premier card)
• $10 off $50 purchases at select locations at the Disneyland^® and Walt Disney World^® Resorts
• Disney Character Experience at private Cardmember location at the Disneyland^®and Walt Disney World^® Resorts. You’ll receive downloads of your photos, too!

Target REDcard – I use the card for any purchases I make at Target both online and in-store.  The fact that you get an additional 5% off everything and FREE shipping at Target.com is a huge plus for me.   If you have no interest in getting a credit card, they also offer a debit version of Target REDcard.

Amazon Prime Rewards Visa – Amazon also offers a similar discount to the Target REDcard for those of you that are Prime members.   If you are a Prime member (I am) you can earn 5% back on all your Amazon.com purchases with the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa.   I can’t say no to a 5% discount, especially when I shop Amazon.com regularly.  You can now also get 5% back at Whole Foods Market with the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa.   I was offered a $75 Amazon gift card at the time I opened the account.   You will earn 2% cash back at all restaurants, gas stations and drug stores and 1% back everywhere else.   This card does not have an annual fee.

Alaska Airlines Visa – This is the airline that we fly most of the time, so it made sense for us to go with the Alaska Airlines card for travel benefits.  I primarily signed up for this card for the 30,000 miles and the companion airfare (my husband has this card too, so we already get the benefit of the free checked bags).   I only really use this card for Alaska Airline purchases now.  To give you an idea of what the 30,000 miles can you get you.  We used 30,000 miles to fly one person to Maui Hawaii.   We’ve also used 30,000 miles to fly 4 people from Seattle to LAX (they had a sale of 7500 miles per person).    Here are the perks of the card (love the companion airfare and free checked bags):

• 30,000 bonus miles after you make $1,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days.
• Free checked bag for you and up to six other passengers on your reservation
• Annual companion fare from $121 (USD) ($99 base fare plus taxes and fees from $22) after you make $1,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of your account opening.
• Earn 3 miles for every $1 spent on Alaska Airlines tickets, vacation packages, cargo, and inflight purchases & 1 mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases.

They currently have a limited time offer where you can buy one ticket and get one for just the taxes ($22).

Hyatt Visa – This Hyatt credit card is the most recent card I signed up for and it was again for the sign up bonus.   When I signed up they were offering 2 free nights at any Hyatt hotel or resort worldwide after you make $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening (this offer is no longer valid).  They also offer a free night at a category 1-4 hotel each year after you anniversary date.  We had plans to visit Paris this summer so I signed up for this card in order to get 2 free nights at the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme.  This hotels is a 5-star hotel that retails for roughly $700 a night.  Thanks to the card we got 2 nights free. (My husband also signed up for the card so we got 2 free nights at a different hotel in Paris too).  This card does have an annual fee of $75, but in my opinion you pretty much get that covered with the free hotel stay each year.

Kohl’s Store Card – Kohl’s rewards their card members with discounts.  Since Kohl’s is the main department store where I live, we do a lot of our clothes shopping here.  The additional perks make the card worth it to me.   I get a coupon during my birthday month and I often have access to the 30% off coupons that are only available to Kohl’s cardholders.   They also offer free shipping codes for Kohl’s cardholders too.

Do you have a credit card that you use for rewards?   I love to hear which ones are our favorite.

The post Reward Credit Cards We Use on a Regular Basis appeared first on Gather Lemons.

Me and a couple of my favorite bloggers have teamed up to share 5 of our favorite things we take on a road trip.  With 7 people in our family the words “road trip” bring cheers from some and moans from others.  The moans usually come from the one person that get car sick and the other who thinks it will be boring.   Spending hours crammed in a car together can help your family bond and grow closer together or it can have the opposite effect.   To make sure our road trips and fun and full of family bonding we make sure to bring along a positive attitude, extra patience and these items to help us arrive at our destination safe, sane and entertained.

Waze App – My husband’s car has a GPS but we find we like to use the Waze app for our navigation.  Waze is a community-powered mapping and navigation app that will give you real-time traffic information and road alerts.  Waze even helps you navigate to the cheapest gas station on your route.  Our state recently had a law passed where we cannot use handheld gadgets like phones while driving.  We use this magnetic car mount to keep our phone attached to our dashboard.

Snacks – You can’t take a road trip without having your car fully stocked with snacks.   Our favorite snack to bring on road trips are the Stretch Island Fruit Leather.  They are flat so they are super easy to pack.  They are all natural and each one equals 1/4 cup of fruit.   I throw them all in a Ziploc bag and we are good to go.   I really like the fact that they are convenient to throw in my crossbody bag if we decide to jump out of the car and do some exploring.  Costco sells a big box of 48 for only $10.59.  This is an amazing deal, because the individual packages retail for $.79 at Whole Foods.  You can occasionally find them online at Amazon for a similar price to Costco.   We take these with on nearly every vacation we go on.

Activities – Activities that will keep the kids entertained are a must!  We keep a small plastic bin with fun things in the back seat of the car.   Here are some of the most popular items that we bring along with us on road trips:

First up, ThinkFun Games these single player games are educational, fun and portable.  We own many different versions of these games.  I will admit to playing these on long car rides too.  One of our faves is Rush Hour and Rush Hour Jr. for the younger kids.   We also like to bring along Wikki Stix, if you haven’t seen these before they are basically wax covered yarn that can be bent and twisted into fun shapes.  They are slightly stiff and sticky so they hold their shape.   They can be reused again and again.   We got this small travel pack for around $3 and it has kept our kids entertained for hours.   We also like to bring along a Boogie Board because it makes for mess-free drawing and and easy way to play games like tic-tac-toe and more.

Baby Wipes – We no longer have kids in diapers, but baby wipes always come along with us on long car rides.  You never know when you will need to clean up messes or sticky hands.

Audiobooks – We have a family full of people who love to read, but reading in the car doesn’t work so well (especially for those prone to car sickness).   Bringing along audiobooks is a great way to keep everyone entertained.  I check out some of my audiobooks for FREE from our Library using the Overdrive app.  The only problem when borrowing audiobooks from the library is you can’t always check them out at the exact time you need them.  You may put a book on hold and it won’t come available until after your trip.  I have taken advantage of the two free Audiobooks from Audible when I signed up for free 30-day trial.   I like the fact that the audiobooks are yours to keep through Audible.  One book series my family enjoyed is the Adventure’s Wanted series, the first audiobook Slathbog’s Gold (and several others in the series) are priced super cheap right now, only $4.95.    Here are a few other suggestions for great audiobooks for the whole family:

• The Trials of Apollo
• A Wrinkle in Time
• Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25
• Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
• Rules

Also, if you roll old school likes us and your car doesn’t have bluetooth, you can get this handy device that will allow you to play music and audiobooks from your phone through your autos speakers.  You will need a cassette player, so you have to roll really old school.

Make sure you check out these posts from my friends so you can see the 5 things that they like to take along on their road trips too.

The Coupon Project

Thrifty Northwest Mom

I would love to hear what some of your “must haves” are when it comes to road trips.

Some affiliate links were used in this post, if you make a purchase through the links I will earn a small commission. Thanks!

The post 5 of our Favorite Things for a Road Trip appeared first on Gather Lemons.

Every few months I share 10 of my favorite things, and here are 10 things I am loving right now. I would love for you to leave a comment and tell me some things you are loving right now. It’s always fun to find new things to love! Here are my favorite things for the month of June:

Amazon Echo – Last year I bought the Amazon Echo during Amazon Prime Day and now that I have been using it for nearly a year I am so happy I made the purchase.  My main reason for purchasing it was so I could have a wireless speaker in my kitchen. I use Amazon music so I love that I can just ask it to play the song I want.  I can even ask it to play the new song by (insert artists name) and it will find their most recent song.  This is helpful when  you get old and can’t remember song titles.  : )  I can also listen to my audio books while doing dishes.  One of the features I find I am getting a lot of use out of is the shopping list feature.  Anytime we run out of something, I just tell Alexa to add it to my grocery list. Then when I get to the grocery store I can access the list with my Alexa app. It’s pretty convenient!  If you have been wanting an Amazon Echo and you can hold out another month I recommend waiting until Amazon Prime Day which should happen in July. There should be a nice discount!

Amazon Music Unlimited – I originally signed up for the Amazon Music Unlimited Echo plan for only $3.99 and I loved that I could play any song I wanted.   The rest of my family wanted to have the service for themselves too, so I signed up for the Amazon Music Unlimited Family plan for $149 a year.  It gives us the benefits for 6 family members.  Four of us use it on a daily basis and the other two use it less frequently, but is is still cheaper than if 2 of us signed up for the individual plan.   I have always loved Amazon Music (I am an Apple person, but I have never been a fan of iTunes).  I love this service and I love that I can use it with my Amazon Echo.  Try Amazon Music Unlimited 30-Day Free Trial.   Here is a peek at some of the music I am loving right now too:

• Soundtrack from Finding Neverland (If you get the chance to see this show, do it!)
• Evermore from Beauty and the Beast (My favorite song from the movie)
• What Ifs by Kane Brown feat. Lauren Alaina
• Ring on Every Finger by LoCash
• Better Man by Little Big Town

Haagen-Dazs Pomegranate Dark Chocolate Bar – I love fruit flavors and chocolate mixed together and Pomegranate and chocolate is one of my favorite combinations. These Haagen-Dazs Pomegranate Dark Chocolate Bars are divine! I found them at Fred Meyer (Kroger store).

Sisters Fruit Company Apple Chips – Oh my goodness! I am in LOVE with these yummy apple chips from the Sisters Fruit Company. They are thin, crispy and full of flavor. The Raspberry Apple Chips are my favorite so far, I’ve also tried the cranberry and blackberry too (I honestly love them all).  I bought my first at Fred Meyer and I haven’t been able to find them again.  I finally ordered directly from their website because they have come some what of an addiction for me.  These apple chips are all natural, gluten free, fat free and contain no preservatives.  They are a little on the pricey side because my family and I can easily go through a bag a day. I also love the fact that they are a NW company.  Try these!!  You can check out their store locator to see if you can find some locally or order from them directly.

StarPack Premium Silicone Spatula (Set of 4)– I needed to update my spatulas because mine were pretty old.  I got these StarPack Premium Silicone Spatula (Set of 4) for Christmas and I love them.  I love the fact that they are all one piece, my last set of spatulas the head kept sliding off the handle.  I also really like the fact that they come in a set of 4, one spatula never seems to be enough at our house.

Hallmark Cards at Costco – Back in January I bought a 25 pack of Hallmark cards at Costco and I have been using them like crazy.  It is so convenient to have cards on hand for every occasion.  The best part is the 25-pack only cost me $15.99, so that makes the Hallmark cards only $.64 each. Wow!  If they bring these back, I will totally buy them again.

Shopping Costco through Google Express – I have been getting lots of use out of Google Express, especially when it comes to Costco.  I signed up for the free 3-month trial and I get free shipping when I spend $15.  I love that I can have Costco items that I run out of delivered next-day without having to actually run to Costco.   If you are new to Google Express, you can get a FREE $10 credit when you try it out for the first time.

Disney x Coach – I am in love with the new Coach Disney line available at Coach Outlet stores.  I haven’t made a purchase yet, but I do like to window shop.   This is a limited collection, so I’m fairly certain if I want to make a purchase I’m going to have to do it soon!   Any other Disney fans find a few pieces they would love to own?

Kellogg’s Special K Nourish Apple Raspberry Almond cereal – I seem to have an apple and raspberry theme going right now, don’t I?  First Raspberry Apple chips and now Kellogg’s Special K Nourish Apple Raspberry Almond cereal.   I actually tried this cereal for the first time with a sponsored post I did over at All Things Target and I fell in love with it.  It has now become a staple at our house.  So good!

Home Goods – We recently had a Home Goods open up near us and I am loving all the great deals they have on cool stuff for your home.  I am finding though that if I love something I need to buy it right away because it probably won’t be there next week.  It’s like a treasure hunt every time I stop by.

These are things that I am honestly loving right now. In some cases affiliate links have been used, so I may make a small commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links.

The post My Favorite Things (June 2017) appeared first on Gather Lemons.

Are you ready to hear about his deal?  It pretty much blows my 50% off sock deal out of the water!  He found all of the socks above for 90% off!!!  But wait…it get’s even better.  He bought these during a special time when Kohl’s employees could stack their employee discount with other discounts.  So he got 90% off + and extra 25% off + an extra 25% off + an extra 15% off.  Because he’s a bit of a math nerd (and my son) he figured out that works out to be an additional 52% off.  That means my son scored these socks for 95% off retail price.  Proud mom moment!!

See those 90% off price stickers?  Makes a mom happy (and jealous).   He bought 13 packs of socks and ended up paying $8.40 for $175 worth of socks.  I am not only proud of the deal he scored, but the fact that the first thing he thought to do was call his mom and brag about his deal. He’s been paying attention!

The post My Son’s a Better Shopper than Me appeared first on Gather Lemons.