Celebrating 4K fans over at Kristin's Kreations

Today only (Tuesday, July 9, 2013), get 14% off any ready-to-ship item over at Kristin's Kreations!! Thank you all, and have a wonderful Tuesday!!

Money-makin' Monday: NeoBux

For this week's Money-makin' Monday, I want to introduce you to NeoBux. NeoBux is what is known as a "paid-to-click site", meaning that you are given a certain number of ads, you click the link, then you are paid a certain amount of money. It's pretty simple, which means you will not make a lot of money, but hey, it's extra cash. It's FREE to sign up. You will need some type of payment account in order to receive your payments...either PayPal, Payza, or Neteller. I always use PayPal for everything since I am unfamiliar with the other two. The one thing about NeoBux that you must remember is that if you have referrals, you will not earn from them unless you click ads that same day. HERE is the link for you to sign up for NeoBux. I have also included some screen shots from some of my payouts. These aren't all of them, as the rest are saved to my laptop which is down at the moment. Remember, these types of sites will not make you rich in any sense, but if you are a stay-home mom like myself with a bit of down-time or someone who spends a lot of time at the computer, then this is a good way to make some extra cash. Also, remember to get referrals. Referrals always make you more money!

Check out ALL of my great money-making opportunities right HERE!

Free Pattern Friday: Simple Bow

Today's free pattern comes from Crocheting (and Knitting) the Day Away.

This simple little bow can be used for a number of things from a bowtie, to a headband, or even on a hair clip. For the free pattern, just click HERE.

Happy Independence Day!

I would like to take a moment to wish you all a Happy Independence Day! Today I am having a sale in my Etsy shop. Use coupon code 4TH2013 to get $4.00 off any purchase of $15.00 or more. Also, for today, as we remember those who are still fighting for our freedom, I am donating 4% from all sales to NCPacks4Patriots to help with the costs of shipping care packages to our troops. The 4% will be donated from both Etsy sales and sales from my Facebook page, Kristin's Kreations. Please help make this sale a success by sharing with all of your friends and family!!

*Special photo credit given to Ft. Stewart, GA photographer, Amy Ester Photography for the beautiful picture of the baby above!*

Money-makin' Monday: CashCrate

So awhile back I decided to start a segment of my blog called "Money-makin' Monday". It didn't last very long as I was busy with a baby in the house. Well, I still have kids running all over the place, but I am trying to get back to blogging so that I can share my secrets to making some extra money, as well as other things going on.

Today's money-making opportunity comes from CashCrate. With this site you can make money by completing offers, taking surveys, and shopping online. To begin, click HERE to sign up. As with any of these programs, the more referrals you have, the more money you make. You get paid by check once you make $20.00. One of the easiest ways to earn, is by clicking the "Check In" button each day on the website. Not only do you earn once a day for doing this, but if you click it every single day, you will get a bonus at the end of the month. There is a very high earning potential with CashCrate. Below is an example of one of my checks, as well as a list of all of my earnings. It may not look like a lot of money, but I also don't take as much time on the site like others do. If you visit the Payment Wall on the website, you will see checks that others have received for $100.00 and up. If you have any questions about how the program works, feel free to leave them in the comments.

Have a great Monday...now get out there and start making some money!!

Check out ALL of my great money-making opportunities right HERE!

FREE Pattern Friday

Head over to Adventures of a Subversive Reader to snag this cute Elmo Pencil Case pattern this week!!

FREE Pattern Friday

For today's Free Pattern Friday, head over to Moogly for this great Crocheted Alphabet. These would be great on just about anything and can be done in so many different yarns and with different sized hooks to make them in various sizes. Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Free Pattern Friday

Today's free pattern is so sweet and I will definitely be making a lot of these. They come from Manda Nicole's Crochet Patterns. I have actually found a lot of patterns on her blog that I want to try out, but today you should all head over to see these cute little "Strands of Pearls" Baby Booties.

Free Pattern Friday

So I totally forgot about Free Pattern Friday last week! This week let's celebrate March 1 with a St. Patrick's Day theme! Our free pattern today comes from my friend Michelle over at The Perfect Knot. I actually had the opportunity to test the pattern for her Lucky Shamrocks. This pattern is so versatile because you can use thread or any size yarn to make them and you get the option of a 3-leaf shamrock or a 4-leaf clover.

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Easy Buffalo Chicken Dip

Here's a recipe my mother introduced me to a couple of years ago. My husband loves it so much that every time I send him grocery shopping he comes home with all of the ingredients.

~1 large can of chicken, drained ~8 oz. cream cheese, softened ~1 cup ranch dressing ~hot sauce ~2 cups grated cheese

First of all, you will drain the canned chicken and mix it with the softened cream cheese.


Then you add in 1 cup of ranch dressing. (This also tastes great with bacon ranch.)


Next you add the hot sauce. You can use Texas Pete, Tabasco, Frank's, or whatever hot sauce you like. I added 1/3 cup but you can use more or less to your taste.


The last thing you will add is 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese.


Spray your pan with cooking spray then pour the mixture into the pan.


Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned on top.

Free Pattern Friday

This week's free pattern is a Circular Motif Shawl and comes to us from Red Heart Yarns. Head over and check out this beautiful pattern!

Free Pattern Friday

This week's free pattern comes from this great little blog called Moogly. It is one that all of you techies will love. This pattern is so easy to customize you can make it fit just about any piece of electronics you have. So here it is, The Ultimate Universal Electronics Cozy.

Free Pattern Friday

Today's free pattern comes from Stitch 11. She has a ton of awesome free patterns. The one I've chosen for today is the Sweet Ella Valentine Hat. This hat is so adorable...it is definitely going on my project list!

Free Pattern Friday

Today's Free Pattern Friday comes from Craft & Chocolate. It's a cute little yellow monkey amigurumi called Lemon the Monkey. The pattern is downloadable from her "Patterns in English" section of her page. Head over and check this little cutie out!

If you would like to have a pattern featured on Free Pattern Friday, please email me your pattern at gallardok11@gmail.com. If the pattern is NOT your own, it must be a free pattern. If it is a pattern that you have paid for I will not be able to feature it. If it is a paid pattern then you must be the pattern writer! Thanks!

Coastal Plains Drift

I just wanted to share a few pictures from yesterdays drift practice at Coastal Plains Raceway. A few of my hubby's friends who drift with him in Myrtle Beach have started some practice events at Coastal Plains in Jacksonville, NC. The event may seem small now, but they've only had two of them, therefore it's still growing. The guys that put this on are planning to hold these once a month. So if you are ever in the area, please come by and hang out or if you drift, come join the fun!! Check out a few pics from yesterday:

Free Pattern Friday

Today's free pattern is a scarf that would be great for all of your scrap yarn. It's the Aelwyn Scrappy Scarf and it's found over at CrochetBot3000.

Head over to check out this and other great patterns!!

The Weekly Hook-up

So it's my first Weekly Hook-up post of the year and I am already a day behind on posting it...and there's not much to it. I am going to blame it on the fact that last week was a holiday week. Hopefully this week is more productive so that I can get a start on those resolutions. But for this week's post, here is what I accomplished...

I made a couple of adorable Little Sweetheart hats in a really soft, fuzzy yarn. If you're interested in the pattern for these, it can be found at Melody's Makings. She actually has crochet and knit versions of this pattern available. My hats can be purchased on my Kristin's Kreations Facebook page.

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Last year I bought some really neat t-shirt yarn from Hogg Wild Fibers. I wasn't quite sur what I should do with it, so I made this cute little skinny scarf.

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These cute little snowmen hats were a customer's order...

And that is pretty much it for last week's projects. Make sure you check out the post below this one for a chance to win 1 of 3 issues of Inspired Crochet Magazine. If you crochet, then you don't want to miss out on this!

Thanks and have a great week, everyone!

Kristin's Kreations teams up with Inspired Crochet

I am so excited to announce that I have teamed up with Kristi of RAKJpatterns and Inspired Crochet Magazine to bring you an awesome giveaway! If you LOVE crochet patterns, you are going to love this magazine. I have been a subscriber since the magazine began back in September 2012 and I am so glad that I am. You cannot get this many patterns from so many designers at one time for this low price! Single issues are ONLY $4.29, but you also have the option of subscribing which means an even better savings!! You can subscribe for only $3.99 a month. If you would like to subscribe or buy single issues, just visit InspiredCrochet.com.

Check out the picture below for a peek at some of the great patterns included in the January 2013 issue:

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There are several ways to enter using Rafflecopter below. It will begin on Sunday, January 6, 2013 and will run for 1 whole week!:

MANDATORY ENTRIES:

You must be a fan of Kristin's Kreations on Facebook

You must be a fan of Inspired Crochet Magazine on Facebook

Share this giveaway and link to where you shared it

Optional Entries:

Leave a blog post comment thanking Kristi for this giveaway

Follow Kristin's Kreations on Twitter

Be a fan of my weekly RTS sale group's Facebook page, Prop Till You Drop

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Free Pattern Friday

If I can remember to do it, I'd like to start a weekly blog post showcasing a new free pattern. Of course, I just do the crocheting, so none of these are mine, but I will tell you where you can find them. I hope you enjoy this new little blog segment from me!

This week our free pattern comes from Lion Brand Yarn. It's the Softly Shaded Hat & Scarf. (Picture is courtesy of Lion Brand Yarn)

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I have yet to try this pattern so if you have tried it let me know.

The Weekly Hook-up...and Some New Goals for the New Year

Can you believe that 2013 is literally right around the corner? Where has this year gone?? It has been both a crazy year as well as a fun year. First of all let's start with my most recent projects...

I didn't get much done due to the holidays...I did finish these Clemson hats for a customer:

I was able to make my husband's uncle a Clemson hat also since he is a Tiger fan (at least I'm not the only one in the family...haha):

My hubby's brother and his wife are expecting a baby girl in late April 2013. They are Panthers fans so I made a hat for their little one and gave it to them for Christmas.

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How many of you make New Year's Resolutions? I try to make a few each year but I rarely stick to them past a week. this year I want to make sure I stick to them. Here are mine so far:

1. I definitely need to lose some weight...not just so that I can look and feel better about myself, but so I can look and feel better period. Also, with things like diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol running on both sides of my family, it never hurts to look out for my health. I plan to exercise at least 3 times a week and to start running with my husband again.

2. I originally had said that I want to get at least 1 item done every single day. After thinking about that some more, I decided to factor in life (sick days, kids' sick days, family fun times, days that I need to run errands, etc.). I realized that if I devoted myself to crochet one item a day, I would have no time for all of that or I would end up failing on that goal. So I decided to just set a goal of at least 5 items each week. With this goal, I may get more than one item done in a day then wouldn't feel so bad if I skipped a day. I think 5 items each week is not only realistic, but will help to ensure that I have a lot of items done and ready to ship when necessary. Hopefully this will mean that I can have enough stock to participate in a few craft fairs this year.

3.Now with that being said about wanting to get a certain number of items crocheted each week, I want to make sure all of that crocheting is done on weekdays so that I can devote my weekends solely to my family. My children are getting older which means I won't have this precious time with them forever. I want to make sure that my husband and I are able to do fun stuff with them this year.

4.Of course, I want to stay up-to-date on my blog. I want to make sure I keep up with posts at least once a week. I plan to add a bit more variety. Aside from crochet projects I am hoping to include more recipes, maybe do some blogging about my husband's drift events, and maybe start sharing free patterns from various designers.

5.And lastly, I want to participate with my kids in volunteering at least one day out of each month (maybe 2). My mother-in-law is the director of an organization called NCPacks4Patriots. If you've ever been deployed or know someone who has, chances are you have received a care package from NCP4P. Formerly known as Give2TheTroops of North Carolina, this is an organization that collects donations and packs & sends care packages to our deployed men and women in the military. Please click their name above and check out everything they do for our brave troops. My children and I began the year volunteering on a weekly basis but I am sad to say that I became slack in making sure we went to the center each week so this is something I want to get better with.

So do you make goals each new year? How well do you keep them? What are your resolutions as we enter into 2013? I would love to hear all about what you plan to do in the upcoming year. Maybe by sharing all of mine with you, I will hold myself to them better. I guess we will just have to see.

I wish you all a safe and happy New Year's! :)