I'm not into scrapbooking (I'm not creative and really don't have the patience) but I know many people are. My sister-in-law even travelled to Provo, Utah for a scrapbooking mecca. She seriously works magic with her scrapping stuff and her end product looks absolutely incredible. I sadly know that even if I tried, my scrapping would never look as good as hers'.

Since I'm far too scared of the commitment of a Kaboodle full of expensive scrapping supplies, I've briefly dabbled in digital scrapping. I have discovered a site where you can digitally scrap even if you have the creative abilities of a skunk - just like me. It's called Scrap Blog and I used it to create my blog headers.

There are tons of different themes or you can start from scratch. When you're done, you can publish it to their site or download a jpeg file so you can later print it out. It's super easy and actually pretty addicting once you get going. The best part about the whole thing is that it's free - no glue needed, no cutesy scissors or stamps - my kind of scrapping.

Posted by Mommazilla at 08:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Check here for the latest ads.

Posted by Mommazilla at 03:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

The Children's Place is having a great Labor Day sale on selected items. I was able to get each of the kids five long sleeved shirts for just a little over $4 an item. If you shop online, use code FA78 for an extra 15% off. Shipping is only $5, so I'd just do the online shopping rather than battling the lines at your store.

If you do Ebates, you can get 3% back on your purchase.

www.childrensplace.com

Happy shopping!

Posted by Mommazilla at 03:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Amazon.com currently has Photoshop Elements 6 as their "Deal of the Day." They have it on sale for $59.99 with an additional $20 mail-in rebate for those with previous versions. I use PSE6 for all my photo editing because it's simple to use and produces great results. Trust me, I don't think you'll find it any cheaper (about six months ago, I bought my copy for about $120).

Here's the link:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/goldbox/ref=cs_top_nav_gb27

Posted by Mommazilla at 01:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Children's Place is having their annual Monster Sale. All of their clearance items are an additional 50% off. If you order online (only $5 to ship and less hassle than dealing with the crowds) you can Google for an additional coupon code. I already had a 15% off code due to being a Place Perks member, so in essence, I got 65% off my items. I bought the following for $135 and some change (shipping and taxes included):

11 girls size 8 shirts
3 girls size 8 pairs of denim cargo shorts
2 girls size 8 pairs of bootcut jeans
3 cute pairs of girls shoes
4 3T toddler shirts
3 3T denim cargo shorts
2 3T pairs of carpenter jeans
3 awesome pairs of boy shoes for C-dub

31 items for an average of less than $4.50 a piece! The Eureka store still had a pretty good selection when I went today but I hate dealing with crowds and I had three angry, hungry kids in tow so I really didn't get to look that well. Please have patience with the site because it is getting hit HARD. Also, if you have Ebates, you can get an additional 3% back. Happy shopping!

Posted by Mommazilla at 10:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Do you order online prints? Do you like to make creations out of your favorite photos? Do you have tons of CD's and camera memory cards with pictures you've never printed? If you said yes to any of those questions, check out artscow.com. I recently heard about this site through one of my photography boards and I'm getting ready to make my own order. They are fairly new to the printing world so they are offering some pretty powerful deals to establish a strong customer base. Right now, if you sign up for an account on their website, they're offering 400 free prints and all you do is pay shipping. I did hear that shipping can be high since the prints are shipped from Hong Kong although their business offices are in Texas.

Here's what I think about them after doing some research:

Pros:

* Cheap prices
* Lots of freebies
* Decent quality for the price
* You can pay with your PayPal account which adds some protection

Cons:

* Expensive shipping
* Takes a bit longer to receive due to where it's shipped from
* The paper is reported to be on the thin side but it is Fuji paper
* The photo uploading on their site can be a bit tedious
* Some of the site's grammar is a bit off but I think it's a language issue

I've googled the crap out of this site and overall, the reviews are on the positive side. It is a little scary to be ordering items from Hong Kong, especially in this day and age, and I strongly suggest you do your own research before placing an order. Also, try to use some sort of account (such as PayPal) that will offer added protection and security of your credit card number. I'm no expert, but I do like good deals without the hassle of identity theft.

On a side note, if you do need prints and you want professional quality, check out mpix.com. I typically use mpix on my very good prints. They have this awesome metallic paper that will really make your pictures "pop" and the prices are not too bad. Their shipping is super fast and reasonable, usually less than $5 on any order. I have been extremely happy with every order I've placed through them.

Good luck and happy picture taking!

Posted by Mommazilla at 08:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

If you shop at Gap, you might want to stop by tomorrow. I heard a rumor that all of their clearance will be marked down an extra 25% off tomorrow. Not sure if it's true or not but wanted to pass it along...

Posted by Mommazilla at 09:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I don't consider myself to be a girly girl, but I do love my make-up. Up until last year, I had never really found a make-up that I really liked and considered buying over and over again. I'd tried tradional concealers and foundations, but my face was so oily that everything looked gooey by the end of the day. Plus, I had super sensitive eyelids and some eyeshadow formulations made me peel like an orange. My mom suggested that I try bareMinerals and ever since then, I've been hooked. It's all powder based but does so well with my oily skin and cavernous pores, TMI - I know! The stuff is just awesome and I'm getting ready to re-order for the third time.

Bare Escentuals (which sells bareMinerals) currently has a "Friends and Family" sale going from June 19th to June 22nd. If you use coupon code FRIEND8, you'll receive 20% off your total purchase, plus free shipping on orders over $75.

The stuff runs on the pricey side but will last you a really long time. Good luck and happy shopping!

Posted by Mommazilla at 10:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

The Children's Place is having a great sale in their online outlet. Their outlet clothes are at least 50% off and if you use code S1A48, you can get an additional 15% off. Shipping is only $5 and their selection was great as of this morning. I paid about $122 and got 32 items for my three kiddos. You may be able to find some deals in-store as well. Happy shopping!

Posted by Mommazilla at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I know this may sound weird, but you can get some really good grocery bargains on the internet. Amazon.com is one such place that offers outstanding sales on some grocery items. Here's what I found today:

Amazon.com is offering great deals on certain products, plus free shipping if you spend over $25.00. It averages out to about 42% off the sale price of the product. I used this website to help me figure out what was on sale and the best deals (it has the Amazon list at the very top left of the first page):

Grocery Smarts (www.grocerysmarts.com)

I placed two different orders because I couldn't get two different coupon codes to go through. Ultimately, this is what I got for just about $92:

1 of: Crystal Light Fruit Punch On-The-Go, .9 Ounce Unit (Pack of 6)
1 of: Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Sponge Bob Square Pants Shapes, 5.5-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 24)
1 of: Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks, 12-Ounce Bags (Pack of 12)
1 of: Betty Crocker Deluxe Loaded Au Gratin Potatoes, 7.7-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 12)
1 of: General Mills Cereal Breakfast Pack, 1.14-Ounce Boxes in 8-Count Packages (Pack of 5)
1 of: Betty Crocker Complete Meals, Chicken & Buttermilk Biscuits, 27-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 3)

Any other good deals out there? Walmart.com was having a decent toy sale with .97 cent shipping. Feel free to add!

Posted by Mommazilla at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Were you one of the lucky buggers to get a Wii for Christmas? If so, you know how stinkin' expensive their games are. Amazon.com has several popular Wii games on sale right now, with free shipping to top it all off. Here's the games on sale:

* Thrillville: Off the rails $33
* Victorious Boxers: Revolution $30
* Dragon Blade: Wrath Of Fire $30
* Manhunt 2: $27

The Thrillville: Off the rails is supposed to be a really fun game and has great reviews. I'm not sure about the other three due to the subject matter not necessarily being too cohesive for my brood. Happy shopping!

Posted by Mommazilla at 09:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Do you love grab bags? Do you love wild purses and backpacks? Do you love bargains? I'm a sucker for all three, so each year I visit Yak Pak (www.yakpak.com) when they're having their 3/$10 deal. Pay $10, with $5.50 to ship, and they will send you three random bags of their choice. One year, I got three cool Skip Hop diaper bags (real value is over $50) and the rest of my orders have been random purses and backpacks (mainly Dickies). They come in all sorts of colors, textures and fabrics. At Taterbug's last birthday party, I passed out a bunch of the purses as party favors - they were a total hit! If you'd like ideas of what kind of stuff they sell, checkout their site or e-Bay. Happy bargain hunting!

Posted by Mommazilla at 05:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)