BE MY BLOG FOLLOWER ON BLOGGER

I participated in a swap on Swap-bot called Be my blog follower on Blogger.  To sum it up it was a blog swap only for those of us with blogs on Blogger. It was a chance for us to get more blog followers.  There was a total of 29 people to sign-up :) We each got 10 partners that we had to checkout their blogs and follow. Yay, that means 10 more followers for me and 10 more awesome blogs I get to read!! I loved all of the partners I was paired up with.

The first blog I checked out was Kelly's Place. She has lots of crafts on her blog. I'm not sure if I liked the shrink dolls the most or the altered barbies. I mean who would have thought to use drinking straws as hair rollers for dolls? She did! Kudos for that :) Second, I strolled over to Kiwifruit83 page. She had two blogs and I decided to follow both because they were two of my favorite things, food and crafts!! In Search of Exceedingly Good Baked Goods was the first one I looked at. This blog tells about places she has visited and eaten at, things she has cooked, pictures and recipes included (that's always a plus!) and even includes some pictures of some very delicious looking Marzipan Fruits. Her second was a craft blog titled Crafty Carrie. Everyone I would like to say THANK YOU TO CARRIE! I have seen many swaps for stuffies and never knew what they were, because the swaps did not have pictures. There was a blog post on this site entitled Stuffie Swap with cute pictures that you all should see. I make stuffies all of the time I started when my son was a baby. I can now join these swaps thanks to you! Careless in the Care of God was the next blog I visited. She has a great two part list of 101 Things in 1001 Days, reminds me a lot of my post My Bucket List. The list is based on a link that led me to a site called Day Zero. I will have to check it out and write about it in another post :) Next was Emmanem Handmade this site has lots of  handmade goodies. I loved her mail organizer :) She has tutorials and pictures of places she has traveled to. Remember When...Remember Then was the next blog. I love this because it's one of those flash back type blogs. It talks about everything that happened back in the good ole days :) Have Stamps.....Will Craft... was up next! I have to say she's a very crafty lady. She takes the old and makes it into something new, by refurnishing items or turning it into something new with a new purpose altogether! Great creative work June :) Next, was Run Away Maggie May this blog shows all of her fun adventures. All Be To Galore came next I have to say she is a very talented knitter. I hope to become as good as she is one day. However, at this present moment I can somewhat knit. My rows are very neat, they look great, not bunched up at all. The only bad part is if you pull the string everything comes apart and it's NOT suppose to do that. Moving on.....Longanisa Feet. This is a great blog!! More of a journal type in my opinion she talks about her daily adventures, lots of pictures and thoughts. The last blog on my list was *She Scraps* Yep you got it SHE SCRAPS, LOL! Was that cheesy? This blog has lots of pictures and great ideas! My favorite was the altered ribbon tutorial. She has lots of examples of her crop work and scrapbook pages.

I am really looking forward to reading all the new blogs I am now following and I am truly THANKFUL for my new blog followers as well. THANK YOU ALL FOR READING :)

~Bella~

My Recipe & Coupon Trains And How I Run Them!

I figured I would write a post to let those interested know what recipe & coupon trains are and how I run my trains :) I do my trains a little differently than most people. I give each rider a partner & they send them a envelope of recipes or coupons weekly. This way everyone receives a package every week (just contact me if you don't). To me this way is more fun & you get more coupons :) Usually Names & Addresses are listed on a roaster in the order the train will go. The conductor places a certain amount of coupons & the roaster in an envelope & mails it to Person 1. Person 1 then takes out all they like & replaces them w/ the same # they took out. Then mails it to person 2. This continues until the train reaches home, the riders also take out any expired coupons along the way. Problem is sometimes the trains does not make it back home. Getting coupons in the mail every week builds up your supply fast. The best part is you will get coupons you would have no knowledge of, due to the fact they never print in your area. That is really what interested me in trains the most. Different coupons print in different areas. But you do get a lot of the same ones you already have. Having multiple coupons are good for stockpiling & stacking! I assure you that all you need to get started is just 1 cooking magazine or 1 Sunday Paper worth of inserts!!! That is a Guarantee. After all you will be receiving a swap every week and the items you are not interested in you can use to send to your partner.

INTRUCTIONS FOR THE RECIPE TRAIN:

For the recipe train you will send 15 - 20 recipes to your partner weekly by snailmail. You may send more but please check to ensure correct postage. The recipes you send can be handwritten, printed, recipe cards, cutout doesn't matter as long as they are legible & of good quality. Please do not send torn or worn recipes. I receive plenty of cooking magazines. I have tons of recipes left over once I cut out the ones I want (just an idea). U can also pick up recipe cards and recipe booklets from supermarkets, or cut recipes out of newspapers & sales papers. Remember you can always pass on recipes that you are not interested in. Be sure to tape all four sides of your envelope with strong tape.

TO JOIN SEND AN EMAIL TO: JONISRECIPETRAIN@YAHOO.COM type Coupon Train for the subject.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE COUPON TRAIN:

For the coupon train you will pick a minimum of 30 coupons you are willing to pass on to someone else - Sender’s choice. Although you may receive a wishlist with your partners info. it's just to help find coupons they are in search of. The coupons must be for brands that are available across the nation, not local things that won't work somewhere else. Printed coupons are ok as long as they are of good quality and does not make up the bulk of your swap. Internet coupons should be legible and say "Manufacturer Coupon." There should be a valid remit address for the manufacturer and a scannable bar code. Use more Manufacturer's coupons than printed!! Use coupons from the Sunday paper, magazines, blinkies, mailers, etc. These may be extras you have or the ones that you would usually throw away. Make sure that the coupons you send are not expired and the bar codes are in tact. Don't worry if you receive coupons that you can't use in your swap save them & pass them along to someone else. Be sure to tape all four sides of your envelope with strong tape.

TO JOIN SEND AN EMAIL TO: JMCOUPONTRAIN@YMAIL.COM type Recipe Train for the subject.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN JOINING:

What I will need from you is your mailing address, email you would like to use, and if you have a Coupon Wishlist (items you buy on a regular basis or are in search of) & Recipe Wishlist (type of foods or recipes your in search of) you may include these wishlists also. They may help you receive more of the items that you want & need. I hope to add you to one (if not both) of my train(s)! If interested just send your info. to the appropriate email above :)

Hope to add you soon.......

~Bella~