being a part of history

There's this thing called The 1940 Census Project.  Have you heard of it yet?  It is mind-blowing amazing.  MIND BLOWING, I tell you.

Basically it goes like this: in the 1940's there was a ginormous census taken.  And it included all sorts of information and pictures and every-day life stuff for the people of that generation.  So there's all this information - but it's just sitting there.

"Why is it just sitting there?" you ask.

Because all the records are on PAPER.  So if you want to see it, you have to see the ACTUAL PAPER.  But all of that is going to change!  yay!

To make the 1940 census records available to the world the files are scanned and then they need indexed, and that's where all the work comes in.  That's also where YOU come in.  You can volunteer your time to help index this amazing information so that everyone can search for it and access it online.  That means you're helping to share important information for the WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD!

It's a huge project, and the amount of information available once it's finished will be astonishing, and with everyone's help the project isn't overwhelming or impossible.  But, best of all, you'll be helping to tell the stories of the 1940's families and lives.  And I can't think of anything more awesome than having those stories brought to life.

Sign up to help with The 1940 Census Project now!

Story @ Home pre-party

Last week we got to attend the Story at Home pre-party!  We got a tour of where the event is being held (I got see rooms in the conference center and Joseph Smith Memorial building that I've never been allowed to see before).  We also got a bunch of details about the conference, which I will tell you now:

1- First and foremost, there are still tickets available.  But they're going fast - so hurry and register!

2- Friday night is going to be especially fun.  At 6:30 the band Lower Lights is going to play a preshow concert, followed by the Story Slam.  Anyone can sign up to participate in the slam, they just need to have a 5 minute family related story - and it has to be funny!  If you can't make it to the conference, but want to come friday night anyway, the tickets are only $7.  So basically, it's cheaper and better than the movie theater.

3- There will be a marketplace open during the conference with awesome stuff to buy (like stuff from Green Jello with Carrots!)

4- During the conference you have the chance to record a 15 minute video using an i-tell booth.  Every registered conference participant can use that time to record family history or memories or any story they want, and then receive a free DVD of the recording or an mp4 (your choice).

5- You will also have a chance to create a Cherish Bound memories book.  Cherish Bound books make recording memories and family history a breeze.  It's so easy.  And if you want to get a print of your finished book, you'll receive a huge discount on the price.  PLUS, you can have Family Search keep the information that you entered in the book stored in their vaults.  That way, your posterity, or far off and unknown relatives, can find that information, helping them with genealogy or just getting to know their family's history.  Which is pretty cool.

6- Box lunches are available both days of the conference.  I made a point of asking where these lunches were actually coming from, because I like good food. :)  The answer was, The Garden.  Which is a super yumtastic restaurant in the Joseph Smith Memorial building.  SUPER YUMTASTIC.  So make sure you go to the Story at Home website and order a couple of those.  (They'll have special speakers while you eat your box lunch, which is also going to be fun.)

I think that's the bulk of it - but if you have any questions just leave a comment and I'll try to answer (if I know the answer....which I should).  And really, hurry and register for a ticket, because you really don't want to miss this!

Freebie Friday: CTR Shields Around the World

This week's freebie is great for Primary or for a fun FHE that promotes the 2012 Primary Theme.


Every language has a way to say "Choose the Right".  You can have a lesson on 12 different languages and shields or play the CTR shield matching game where the kids have to match the labels to the shields, and then everyone gets to have fun trying to correctly pronounce other languages.

Buy one get one free on these products!

Just do this:

1- Put both the CTR Shield Match and CTR Around the World in your cart.

2- Sign all the way in.

3- Enter the code: WORLD

4- Check out.

5- HAVE FUN!

Good Deeds. Great Needs.

I'm always wishing for ways to help the less fortunate.  I may whine and complain about my small house, or only having one car, or the high costs of buying winter coats for 4 kids, but the truth is - I HAVE those things, when a lot of people don't even have a place to call home.

Join with us in helping those who have less than ourselves with a few super simple and quick actions.



Good Deeds: Great Needs is an initiative to provide support for Covenant House, a non-profit organization that provides hearty meals, warm beds, and safe shelter to homeless youth. They are partnering with Gift Card Giver, an Atlanta-based organization that collects unused gift cards and distributes remaining balances to non-profit organizations, who will be donating all gift cards collected through Good Deeds: Great Needs to Covenant House. Also, in support of the initiative, Lionsgate has agreed to make a financial donation in support of Covenant House each time the Good Deeds:Great Needs video is shared through this website: www.gooddeedsgreatneeds.com

There are 4 things you can do participate in the Good Deeds: Great Needs project:

1- Go to  www.gooddeedsgreatneeds.com and watch the preview of Tyler Perry's new movie, Good Deeds.

2- After you watch the preview, use their share buttons to post a link on facebook, twitter, blogger, wordpress, etc.  They haven't quite reached their goal of 1500 shares, so post it everywhere!

3- Make a pledge or commit to help by clicking the link in the sidebar of  www.gooddeedsgreatneeds.com  You just leave your name and email address, letting them know you plan on helping as soon as you have a giftcard ready to give.

4-  Take all of your leftover gift cards (you know, the ones you have a couple bucks just sitting on, because it's not worth going back to the store and finding an item worth $2.37) and write on the back how much is left on it. Put your card in an envelope with a note that say "Good Deeds: Great Needs" and then send to:
Gift Card Giver
PO Box 17920
Atlanta, Georgia 30316

See how easy it is to help?!

And now I'm off to locate all my unwanted giftcards to mail in (because I'm totally on top of things and have already shared the link a few times)!

Freebie Friday: Easter Egg File Folder Game

You can get this Decorate an Easter Egg File Folder Game for FREE when you spend $5 in our shop!

To get this deal, just do this:

1- Put $5 worth of downloadable products in your shopping cart PLUS the Decorate an Easter Egg Game.

2- Sign all the way in.

3- Enter the code: EASTERegg

4- Check out.


Happy weekend!

Week of love: We Love You!

To wrap up our week of love, we want to show everyone how much we love them by having a sitewide 25% off sale!  

That's right, you can get all of our downloadable products for 25% off, just because we love you.  And the sale lasts until Valentine's Day is over (ie. the 14th at midnight)!

AND IT GETS BETTER.

We want you to share the love by telling all your friends about our sale.  If you use a blog, facebook, twitter, pinterest, instagram, etc. to share a link to our site, we'll give you a coupon code worth $5.00!  

After you've posted, just leave a comment on this blog post with a link to where you shared, plus your email address, and we'll send out your coupon code on wednesday February 15th - because you have until the end of 14th to share!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Week of love: Love of Family

Life is so much better, knowing we have a family that loves us.  Moms, Dads, Sons, Daughters, Grandmas, Aunts, Uncles, Grandpas, and even pet dogs - - that's a lot of love.

Today you can get our new stuff FOR FREE with purchase!  Just spend $5 in our shop, and these awesome new products are yours:

To get this deal, just do this:

1- Put $5 worth of downloadable products in your shopping cart PLUS one or all of the following: Family Bingo game, Valentine Bingo game, and Froggy Valentines.

2- Sign all the way in.

3- Enter the code: FAMILYlove

4- Check out.


And remember - we only have one more day of our Week of Love, so don't miss it!!

Week of love: Love your neighbor

Today we want to share our love with the world!  This planet is populated with God's children and we have been commanded to love our neighbors (which pretty much includes everyone, not just the lady across the street who makes excellent cinnamon rolls, although she might get a little extra of my love).

Today you can save 35% on our entire File Folder Game section!  (No code necessary, the discount is already applied.)  And we have some new products to share with you, too:

And don't miss out on these fun little Valentine flags, which are great for parties, cupcakes, sandwiches, rice krispie treats, and, hey look, APPLES.

Now, go and love your neighbors - tell them about our discounted file folder section! 

~OR~

Win them a free ticket to the Story at Home conference - if you register now you'll have a chance at winning a second ticket for FREE!  (Just think about how many good cinnamon rolls THAT would be worth!)

See you tomorrow with our next deal!

Week of love: love and marriage

We can't have a week of love without talking about weddings, right?  Marriage is all about love...in the beginning.  After awhile it's more about who cleaned out the fridge last or have we paid the water bill yet?  But in the beginning - and for brief happy moments throughout time - it's ALL ABOUT LOVE.

For today, you can get all of these brand new products 50% off if you use this code: MARRIAGE

These wedding paper dolls come with a man, a woman, 5 modest wedding dresses, 5 tuxedos, and 10 accessory items.

I printed these and cut out all the pieces so I could take pictures to show everyone.  But the pictures look like barf, and I'll tell you why:  I wanted to print these on cardstock, cover the fronts with clear contact paper, adhere the backs to a magnetic sheet, and then cut them out.  But I couldn't find magnetic sheets at the store, so I had to get printable magnetic paper. So I printed a test image on cardstock, which looked marvelous, then printed the pages onto the magnetic paper.  AND THAT STUFF IS RUBBISH.  Even though I used the same settings on my printer, they came out all sorts of wrong colors and all the shadows (that I spent hours and hours drawing) weren't even visible, AND, they're hardly magnetic at all.  So don't use it - go to a different store and get the magnetic sheets, the kind that have sticky stuff on one side so the printed cardstock will adhere to it nicely.  Because if you repeat what I did, they'll just end up looking like this (bleh):

Also for 50% off you can get this printable about Temple Marriage:

AND

You can get any or all of these brand new Gorgeous Valentiney Lovey Smoochy stuff for 50% off too!


Remember, just use the code: MARRIAGE to get the discount. (And remember to sign in before going to your cart.)


See you tomorrow for our next day of lovely deals!

Week of love: the Love of Learning

Learning is great as an adult, but WAY more fun when you're a kid. (Which is why I like making stuff for my kids to learn from - it brings back a little of the excitement I used to have at their age.)


For today's lovey special you can get all of the products in the Weesmart Learning Section of our shop for 35% off!

And there are some brand new products you can choose from!


These craft stick puzzles are my newest favorite thing to do with my preschoolers, and they're easy to make!

Just print the puzzles on thick paper and cut around the outline on each.  Then cut a piece of clear contact paper to go on the fronts.

Once you have the contact paper stuck to the fronts of the puzzles, slice the pieces on a paper cutter (using the lines on the puzzles as a guide - - speaking of which, if you look closely enough you'll see that I didn't actually cut on the lines.  That is because I was a total doofus when I printed these and had measured wrong for the craft sticks - but DON'T WORRY, I fixed them before uploading the zip files on our site, so they are totally the right size now.)

Glue the strips to large craft sticks.  I used a sponge tip on some Scotch clear glue, and it worked beautifully.

Once it's all dry, it's time to play!  Here are just a few of the puzzles I have put together for my kids using the new files:

Yeah, I really like craft stick puzzles.  And my destructo kids can't ruin the pieces like the paper puzzles I've printed for them before.  YAY.

AND

While you're shopping in the discounted Weesmart Learning Section, don't forget to check out our brand new Valentine Magnet Pairs!

These are 1" discs that you can print, cut and glue to the backs of clear glass craft discs.  Then hot glue a magnet to the back and your kids can play a fun Valentine version of a matching game as they group the words with the corresponding picture.  IT'S FUN!

 (FYI - it's really not very easy taking pictures of clear glass craft discs, because those things are way super reflect-y.)

Now go load up your cart - because tomorrow is going to be a different deal of LOOOOOVE!

Week of Love: The Love of Christ

Welcome to our Week of Love!

All week long we'll be posting super awesome discounts and brand new products - something silly and something a little more spiritual.  So get ready, because HERE WE GO:

Jesus loves you! And me. And those people over there. He is the Good Shepherd and will always find you after you've strayed. For our first day of love, you can get our brand new Good Shepherd File Folder game and our 3 new Scriptural Printables for 50% off!

Just make sure you're signed all the way in before going to your cart, and enter the code: LOVEofCHRIST

With that code you can also get this for 50% off too:

These lovey dovey notes are perfect for telling someone you care - just print, cut, and slip them in a lunchbox, or briefcase, or shoe.  It will brighten someone's day!

And don't forget to come back each day this week to see all our new stuff and get it all on sale! P.S. I forgot to tell you - Congrats to Rachel Sue who won the free Story at Home ticket last week!

Freebie Friday: I can Draw the Creation

We're getting ready for something extra special next week, so this friday we have a deal on something that's been in our shop awhile.  With the I Can Draw the Creation printable book your kids can have tons of fun not only learning about the creation, but also learning how to draw! 

I Can Draw books have step by step instructions that teach even the youngest of artists which shapes to begin with and what lines to add to create a masterpiece.

You can get the I Can Draw the Creation book for FREE when you purchase $5 in our shop!

Here's what to do:

1- Put $5 worth of downloadable products in your shopping cart PLUS the I Can Draw the Creation Book.

2- Sign all the way in.

3- Enter the code: CREATION

4- Check out.

That's it! 


And make sure you check back on the blog next week - our "something extra special" is an entire week of LOVE!  That means new products, great discounts, and just a little bit of expert flirting.