Hello!

It has been a long time since my last post, I have been busy creating a new business, an extension of Crystal's Crafty Creations.  It is an event planning business, Precision Celebrations!!  I am very excited about this new venture.  I have so many great ideas I hope to get to share with other people.

After much research into other event planning companies, I have discovered most charge about 20% of the total event cost, which comes out to be about $25/hour.  That seems crazy to me!  So, I decided with Precision Celebrations to go a lower cost route of about 10% or $15/hour.  Which of course, based on budget can always be adjusted :).  Seeing as I am the sole employee and have no overhead, I can adjust my prices as I see fit.

In addition, I am a certified cake decorator:

 

I can bake and decorate your cake, cupcake, and cookies for a fraction of the cost of a bakery if you are booking a party with me.

I also make custom invitations.  For a limited time, book a paid party with Precision Celebrations and receive 2 free hand painted or etched glasses PLUS 25 invitations. 

In addition to all of that, the first hour of face-to-face consultation is always free!  That way, ideas can be presented and you can decide if you want to book your party with me. 

Don't need a party planner but still want to take advantage of the cake, cookies, invitations, or glasses?!  I offer cake and cookie making, still at a lower cost than bakeries, invitations for almost half the cost of retail stores, and my glasses are always around $5 each!  (Glass prices vary based on type and design).

Cake, cookie, and invitation prices will vary based on designs.  Booking with Precision Celebrations, I will always discount merchandise ordered.  Not only are my costs for service less, but you are getting a great deal on the cake, cookies, invitations, and even some decorations!! 

In addition, as if there could be more?!?!  I have a 20 year caterer on call who charges less than any other caterer in the area.  I am also working on a deal with a local DJ.  Need a florist?  I have several to choose form, or bring your own recommendations!!

For any event, birthday, wedding, business meeting, and more, Precision Celebrations is the way to go!!  Although my Master Degree is in Biology, my business management skills, organization, and party planning details and creativity are a passion and you will always receive the highest quality of products and services at great prices!!  I can work with any budget!

Make sure to check out my website and my facebook page for more information.  Links are also available through my Crystal's Crafty Creations sites!!

Thank you for reading and I hope you keep me in mind for your next event, you won't be disappointed!!

Happy Blogging and Pinning!!

Christmas in July

Hand Painted Horse Plate

Hand Painted Tulip Wine Glass

It is Christmas in July at CrystalsCraftyCreations.weebly.com!!  Buy 1 glass get the 2nd glass free!!  Or buy $12 worth of product and get $6 off!  Use coupon code "CIJ" at checkout.  Hurry, this offer ends Tuesday, July 16, 2013!

Plus, sign up for the mailing list and receive a coupon for $5 off that can be applied to the same order.  That is getting 2 hand painted glasses for $1!! 



Etched Wedding Glasses
 

*Shipping charges still apply.  Valid online only.

Don't see something you like?  Buy a gift certificate and apply the coupons or email me with a special order and I will apply the coupon!!  Coupons can be used towards any products offered!  Some shown are hand painted plates, hand painted glasses, etched glasses, car magnets, window clings, and bracelets.  More products available on the website.

$5 off coupon

Sign up for the mailing list at CrystalsCraftyCreations.weebly.com and receive a coupon for $5 off valid online only.

With most glasses being $6, you are getting a hand painted, custom glass for $1! (Plus shipping or local pickup).

You choose the design to be painted on your glass. Other products include etched glass, spa baskets, plates, flower pots, vases, paracord survival bracelets, magnets, window clings, and more!!

Don't see something you like? Make a suggestion. Or buy a gift certificate with your coupon for a friend!

Just go to CrystalsCraftyCreations.weebly.com, click on the mailing list tab, fill out the information and receive your coupon!

As always, Happy Blogging and Pinning!

New DEALS being offered!!

Looking for that perfect wedding gift?  How about a Bride/Groom Wine glass set?  Also available in plates, candle holders, champagne glasses, beer mugs, etc.  Prices may vary.  Wine glass set just $10!  Can't beat that and it is perfect for use at the wedding!! 

Etched glasses available for a small amount more, still a great deal!  Different designs available.  Contact for pricing and designs!!

Starting today: Buy a set (2) of glasses, plates, etc and get a card for $.50!  You always need a card to go with that gift!!  What a better way to say what you need than with a homemade card?!

Father's Day is quickly approaching.  Get your "World's Best Dad" painted or etched glass today!  Have endless image possibilities, too.  I know my husband is hoping to get the deer/ducks beer mug I painted ($6)!  Currently in stock along with wolf 12oz glasses and 2 square 10" plates(Contact for pricing).  Can take any special orders, also!!

 

 

Look for a Memorial Day contest, rules to be posted later, but a sneak peak-buy $5 or more of Crystal's Crafty Creations products, in store, online, or special order, receive a ticket to be entered into a drawing to win 2 free hand painted glasses!


*Pricing may vary depending on glass type, design, and etching.  MOST painted designs are around $5, some are $5-$7, plates are more and etching is more-always contact for pricing.  Thanks!!

Swagbucks=Free Stuff

As a stay-at-home mother of two and a low income, I am always looking for ways to win and earn free things.  Last night I discovered Swagbucks!  I have tried survey sites and other "earn free money" sites, and they are all a bust.  I was doing surveys for a while and every time I would log on, I would fill out this 15 minute questionnaire that I thought was the survey to find out that I "didn't qualify for this survey" and I would earn nothing.  Are you kidding me?!  Most of those survey sites are a waste of time.

I was perusing the web last night and came upon a post about Swagbucks, so I figured I would try it out and see.  You do certain things to earn points.  Later, you can cash your points in for gift cards and such.  One woman bought a Mac computer with gift cards just after a few months.  Do I think this is the norm?  NO!  However, after only being on for about 2 hours, I have already accumulated 53 points just from doing simple things., including filling out my profile!

Let me warn you, I think this site is for patient people, so if you are not a patient person, don't bother!  It is going to take a while to get a gift card, however, any little bit helps.

 

1. USE SWAGBUCKS TO SEARCH

     If you are online a lot searching, earn points for it!  Instead of using Google (or Bing), search through Swagbucks.  This can be frustrating because you can search all day and not win any points, but then there could be days where every search gets you points.  If you are going to be searching anyway, you might as well be trying to earn points.

2. INSTALL THE SWAGBUCKS TOOLBAR

     Not only will the toolbar remind you to use Swagbucks to search, but it is handy.  It keeps track of your current Swagbucks, checks for the random Swagbucks codes that they put out each day, and you can access video watching.  Plus, installing it earns you points!

3. SHOP THROUGH SWAGBUCKS

     I do a lot of online shopping, especially for Christmas gifts.  Not only do I find better deals online, but it is easier with 2 very little ones to have things delivered to my door instead of having to get them ready and in the car, drag them out to the store, and then find room in the cart (or get 2 carts) to do my shopping.  Swagbucks offers points if you shop through them.  It is only the stores found on Swagbucks, but that includes big stores like Walmart, Sears, Kohls, Amazon, and many, many others!

4. FIND SWAG CODES

     Swag codes are released once a day and can be found on Swagbucks.com, the newsletter, any Swagbucks search&win site, Swagbucks blog, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and affiliated partner sites.  This seems like too much work.  Remember that toolbar?  It has the nifty little button "Check for Swag Code", so you don't have to search all of those sites!

5. VOTE IN THE DAILY POLLS

     I already did this!  Every day there is a new poll question.  It is 1 question, quick answer, and you earn 1 Swagbuck.  It literally takes about 3 seconds!

6. REFER FRIENDS

     You can find your referral code under your account.  Here is mine!  If you sign up, click "mine" and it will take you to sign up with my code. When you share your code with your friends, make sure they use the link you send them with your code. You are given matching Swag Bucks (points) only for the Bucks they win while searching (up to a total 1,000).

7. USE SWAGBUCKS ON FRIDAYS

     So you don't have time to use Swagbucks throughout the week.  Make sure you use it on Fridays! You get more swag points on Fridays than any other day of the week.

8. BIG ONLINE GAMER?

     Sitting around at work or home and playing solitaire on your computer?  Why not earn points for playing.  That's right, if you just play games on Swagbucks, you can earn from 1-5 points just for playing.  You can earn more points by buying into the tournaments.  For tournaments, you risk a small amount of your Swagbucks, but get larger rewards for winning.  For more information on tournaments and games, visit the Swagbucks blog.

9. USE STORE COUPONS

     Along the lines of being frugal to begin with is using coupons when you shop.  Now, save money AND earn points.  There is a coupon option through Swagbucks.  For every coupon you redeem, you earn 10 points!  I am using coupons anyway, might as well use them to get points, too.  You must be registered through coupons.com BUT make sure to go through the Swagbucks site to find and print your coupons so you get the points.  If you just go through coupons.com, you are not going to get the points.  I would keep track of what coupons you use through Swagbucks, but I am paranoid, because it says can take up to 12 weeks for points to be added to your account. 

Earn twice as many points by using a coupon code through one of the online Swagbucks shopping sites!!

That's it.  That simple!  I hope it works as well for you as it already is for me.
Happy Blogging and Happy Pinning!

Chicken Tacos (chicos as my 2 year old calls them)

Need an easy, fast dinner?  Too busy to stand over the stove and cook?

Here is your solution: Chicken tacos.  They are DELICIOUS!

When you ask my 2 year old what she wants for dinner, her response is almost always "Chicos!"

I usually make these on nights I have other things to do because they are quick and easy. 

I use Giant Eagle brand frozen boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins.  Any chicken will work.

1. Preheat oven according to instructions, in this case 400 degrees.
2. Bake chicken, I bake for 30 minutes.  In this time, I go do whatever it is I need to do.  To feed my family of now 4 I use 10-12 tenderloins and we usually have some left over.
3. When the chicken is cooked through, but not over done to where it is dry, take out and cut into small chunks.  If I have time, I shred the chicken, either way works.
4. Add chicken to a skillet.
5. Add 3/4 cup water and a packet of Ortega taco seasoning. (This is enough for 10-12 tenderloins; about 1 pound of meat, adjust for more.)

 

 

6. Cook on medium-high heat and stir until sauce thickens, takes about 10-15 minutes.
7. Remove from heat.

Now comes the fun part-putting the tacos together!

You can use soft or hard shells.  I use Chi-Chi's Wheat wraps found in the same location as the taco seasoning and other wraps.

1. Put the chicken in the shell.  I keep our wraps in the refrigerator so they are still cold at this point.

2. Add toppings: I use Kraft Mexican Four Cheese (if it's on sale) or I buy a 16oz block of the Colby Jack cheese and shred it myself-more economical.

*I add ranch to mine.  It really adds tang to the taco and tastes great!  My kids do not like it, so they just get cheese.  My husband adds taco sauce, found with the other taco products.
3. Pop them in the microwave for about 10-30 seconds depending on how many I have on the plate at once.  Again this is because I put our wraps in the refrigerator.
4. Fold in the ends, fold over one side and roll.  I would probably be fired from Taco Bell before I even started, I am bad at wrapping.

Enjoy!  Refrigerate leftovers if you have any.  This reheats great!  My husband who never reheats anything and hates leftovers, will reheat this!

Happy Blogging and Pinning!

Easy Peasy Homemade Chicken Strips

This is my mother's recipe and I LOVE these chicken strips.  I decided to make them last night for the first time.  It was a quick, easy dinner and something my husband would actually eat.

In the bustle of getting everyone fed, I forgot to take a picture of my final product, so I stole one off of google images, but it very closely represents what mine looked like.

What you need:
Chicken strips, thawed (I use Giant Eagle boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins from the freezer section.  I get these because I use them in a variety of dishes and they are the easiest to work with and you can cook them frozen and they still come out delicious!)
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flour (approximately)
1/2 cup bread crumbs (approximately)
vegetable oil
frying pan skillet

1. Pour enough vegetable oil in the frying pan to cover the bottom.
2. Heat to medium-high heat. (My stove knob goes to 8 then High so I set it at 7.)
3. Mix the egg and milk together, it should be thin.
4. Mix the flour and bread crumbs in a separate bowl.  I used Market District bread crumbs and they worked great!
5. Dip chicken strips, one at a time, into the egg mixture, then the bread crumb mixture, and place in hot oil in the pan.
6. Fry until brown, flip over, fry until brown. (This took about 5-7 minutes on each side about 8 strips fit in my pan at once.   I cut open a few to make sure they were cooked through before pulling them out.)
7. Pull out of pan when done and place on plate covered with paper towel, to absorb the extra oil.

With the above recipe, I made 10 chicken strips and with a "starving" husband and 2 small children it fed all of us.  I made Bob Evans Family Size Macaroni and Cheese as a side.  It is about $7 at Giant Eagle, but we don't get it often and to us is well worth it.  It is delicious and super easy, just pop it in the microwave for 7 minutes and you have a quick dinner side.  The flour and bread crumbs are approximate, just use about a 50/50 mixture.  I put in a little more bread crumbs because I like my strips crunchy.

 

 

Let me know what you think of them!

Happy Blogging and Happy Pinning!

Gypsy owners

All gypsy owners....check your cricut.com account! You have a free $20 credit to use and it must be used by May 18. I happened upon a post saying this and checked my account and there it was. Cricut did not notify me. So go use your $20!

 

Happy blogging and pinning :).

Carrabba's Sogno Di Cioccolata (Chocolate Dream)

Hello blog followers :)

This is my all-time FAVORITE dessert.....ever.  I live where there used to be no Carrabba's
:(.  The closest used to be 2 hours away.  Luckily my sister lived near by that one.  Every birthday through middle school and high school she would ask what I wanted and my response was always the same "Chocolate Dream, please!"  The great sister she was, she ALWAYS got it for me.  Well, she moved and I no longer had my chocolate dream connection.  So, I found this copycat recipe a few years ago.  You would never believe, it tastes just like the real thing and is SUPER easy to make!  It takes a while, but is easy!  It is a HUGE hit at parties and summer barbecues!

Here's what you need:

2-1lb 5.2oz (or close) boxes of Duncan Hines Fudge Brownie mix
         -Use the 2 egg recipe and milk instead of water
4C chocolate mousse (I make my own and included that recipe)
1/8C Kahlua
4C whipped cream, whipped (from 2C heavy cream)
2oz. semi-sweet chocolate, shaved

1. Preheat oven to 325*.

2. Mix brownies using 2 eggs recipe and milk not water.

3. Line 2- 13x9" pans with wax paper.  Grease bottom with oil or spray.

4. Pour batter into pans and bake for 24-26 minutes.

5. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean. **DO NOT OVER COOK**

6. Allow to cool completely.  Remove one brownie, in one piece, from one pan.

7. Turn the brownie upside down and return to pan.  Brush the brownie with Kahlua.

8. Spread 2 cups of the mousse (approximately) evenly over the brownie, then spread 2 cups (approximately) whipped cream over the mousse.

9. Shave chocolate, then sprinkle top evenly with shavings.

10. Remove second brownie from the other pan, brush with remaining Kahlua, and place on top of the first brownie. (This will cause a layer of the mousse and whipped cream to be in the middle of the two brownie slices).

11. Repeat layers, first spreading the remaining mousse, then the remaining whipped cream and shavings.  (Shavings can be replaced with chocolate drizzle as shown in the picture)

12. Eat to your hearts content! Refrigerate to store, if there is any left.



To make the whipped cream:

I use 1-2 pints heavy whipping cream (depending on how much you want).  I beat according to directions on container adding 2 TBSP sugar while beating to sweeten.  Beat until peaks form, this sometimes takes awhile.



To make EASY chocolate mousse:

1-3.9oz package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 1/2C milk
1-16oz COOL WHIP

1. Prepare pudding using 1 1/2C milk not 2.
2. Fold into cool whip until blended. Refrigerate.


This dessert is extremely rich, but DELICIOUS!!  Please let me know how you like it!

Thanks-Happy Blogging and Happy Pinning!

Going viral

I was sitting here wondering "how can I get my items to go viral" while pinning on no other than Pinterest :). Lucky me I had just the pin to solve the problem. Beth from unskinnyboppy.com posted an article on 2012 titled "HOW TO GO VIRAL ON PINTEREST (AND OTHER PINNABLE TIPS)". http://unskinnyboppy.com/2012/08/how-to-go-viral-on-pinterest-and-other-pinnable-tips.  She lists some great tips on her blog, not just on how to make your pins viral. Although, that was my main concern.

 

I am trying to draw more traffic in to my Facebook page (WWW.Facebook.com/CrystalsCraftyCreations) where I sell hand painted and etched glass, paint parties, party planning, graphic design, bulletin boards, and much more. I am a walking job with many talents :). Unfortunately in this day and age, it is almost impossible to find a steady job. I just graduated with my Master of Science degree in Biology, I am a stay-at-home mom of 2 beautiful babies and we are struggling.

 

Pinterest has really helped me out in giving me so many helpful ideas for cheap recipes and crafts as well as birthday parties on a budget! It helps that I took 2 cake decorating classes and am certified to be a cake decorator :). That does not necessarily mean I decorate like a professional yet, but I am getting there.

 

Being my first real post I wanted to give you some insight into my life and let you know that I will be posting many more helpful hints and tips I find along the way to help others that are in the same or similar positions. Or those that just want to live frugally.

 

Speaking of being frugal....one of my favorite blogs and a group I follow on pinterest is thefrugalgirls.com. Check them out-i swear they made their website just for me! They have Sooo many good tips and tricks to living with a budget.

 

I hope you have stuck around this far and choose to continue :) I will have much more information to come!!

BIRTHDAY SPECIAL SNEAK PEAK!

 

 

 

 

It's my birthday, so I want you to celebrate too!!  Starting March 13 and running through March 23 ALL 10" plates will be BUY 3 GET 1 FREE!!  Stop by www.facebook.com/CrystalsCraftyCreations to view samples of what some plates look like.  Any design available.  You get FOUR plates for $30 (plus shipping or FREE local pickup)!!  All plates are hand painted, there may be variations in color, style, and design.  They are all dishwasher safe, but hand washing is recommended for a longer last.  Check them out and be sure to watch for new Spring designs and more upcoming specials, promotions, and contests!!