Mark Makeup ♥

Hey ladies! I just thought I'd share with y'all that in addition to making jewelry, I'm also a Mark Makeup representative! Mark is a line of makeup and fashion for teens and 20-somethings (or anyone really!) made by Avon. There're new products added every month and they are at great prices! If you'd be interested in learning more about Mark, like out my Facebook fan page for the latest updates and sales. You can also see all of the products for sale at my eBoutique!

Finally made the coupon binder!

I posted a week or so ago about making a coupon binder. I tried to do it but I'm sooo organized that I was having trouble getting it exactly right so I gave up on it for a while. Today I tried it again and this time, I found a YouTube video where a lady showed how she made her coupon binder and what she included in it. I got some great ideas and modified them for my own.

I included a "good prices" list found at Pinching Your Pennies (click on PYP Price List to download the list), sections for the main stores I go to, and a section with categories of manufacturer coupons. Within each of the store sections, I included a copy of the coupon policy for each store, a sheet protector for this week's ad, a paper clip to hold together the coupons I know I'll be using there, and a few baseball card holders for coupons that are from that store but I might not use on this shopping trip. Within the manufacturer coupon section, I found a list of categories and made 21 dividers with several (2-4) baseball card holders for each division. I also included categories for restaurants and retail stores in the back.

If you're interested in making your own coupon binder, it's pretty easy. Here's what you'll need:

• Large binder (mine is 2" but that might be too small)
• Page dividers (I used 21, the ones with pockets on them are good)
• Sheet protectors (for large coupons, coupon policies, store ads, coupon inserts, etc)
• Baseball card holders (mine came from Target; I got 60 and used about 55 of them)
• List of coupon categories (can be found online, modify for what you buy)
• Other considerations: good sales price list, coupon policy for the stores you shop at (in case a cashier needs clarification on something lol), coupon inserts from the newspaper, folder, pen, paper clips (to hold the coupons you plan on using on this shopping trip), scissors, extra sheet protectors and baseball card holders

Happy couponing!

Chocolate Chip Crunchies

I made these great cookies tonight and wanted to share the recipe with you. It's from Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke, which is a good book so far! The original recipe was HUGE so I halved it to make it more manageable. Here's the altered version. Just double the ingredients if you want more.

Chocolate Chip Crunch Cookies 1/2 cup butter (1 stick melted) 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp vanilla 1 beaten egg (beat with fork) 1 1/4 cups flour (not sifted) 1 cups crushed corn flakes 1 cups chocolate chips Melt butter, add the sugars and stir. Add soda, salt, vanilla and beaten eggs. Mix well. Then add flour and stir it in. Add crushed corn flakes and chocolate chips and mix it all thoroughly. Form dough into walnut-sized balls with your fingers and place on a greased cookie sheet, 12 to a standard sheet. Press them down with a floured or greased fork in a crisscross pattern (the same method as peanut butter cookies). Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes and then remove to a wire rack until they're completely cool. (The rack is important -- it makes them crisp).

Notes: My oven cooks hot so I did it at 350 for 10 minutes, checking after 8. Also, 1 cup of chocolate chips is A LOT, so you might want to use 3/4 of a cup instead. I also used parchment paper on the cookie sheet rather than greasing it and I just pressed them with my fingers rather than using a fork. Mine made exactly 36 cookies.