The Addiction of Clearance Hunting

While tidying up the apartment yesterday, I decided that I would put all the clearance baby and kid clothes inside one of our suitcases because the bags of merchandise were starting to pile up. I don't need any of it until months from now for a baby shower and first birthday, so there's no need to keep it out. I have definitely accumulated a bunch of adorable clothing from the Disney Store, Old Navy, and Target!

I've talked to a few moms or soon-to-be moms who said that stocking up on other items like diapers is more worthwhile because everyone gets clothing. I completely understand that, but some things are necessary, I think. I purchased some onesies, sleep 'n plays, burp cloths, and really nice bibs because the babies DO need those things, and I don't feel bad buying them because I got them 50%-70% off. I've found fleece tops for $0.97 and Disney items for $1.99. Other gift givers may still buy clothing items, but as an aunt, I find that it is my duty to bring any of my nieces and nephews into the Disney sphere, haha. That's why you can see some adorably cute Disney gear!

It seems weird spending the money on things now even when items might be too big in size, but I will continue doing it this way so that when the occasions come up, I don't have to go out to shop. I can just "shop" from this suitcase. I have about 4 toys too put away for the proper time. You know how difficult it can be to search for a gift when it's needed. It's the same as having to find a dress before a party or wedding; it's just so difficult and can get expensive! But because of my feelings of buying things on clearance, I haven't had to do any last minute shopping for either of those things, and in the long run, it saves me money.

Of course, there are some things that are just too cute and so incredibly inexpensive that it's worth saving for little Luke or Leia. I bought two of those Pixar shirts and gifted one of them already, but that other one you see is for me! I will save it for as long as I have to! 

Haul: Bath & Body Works $8 Candles

Last December on the 12th, Bath & Body Works had their $8 candle sale again. It's a sale they have only once a year. They're normally $22 each, which is a crazy price. After coupons, I typically pay $7-8 on each candle after coupons, but since the candles started at $8, I was able to pay $5 each using a $15 off $40 coupon. 

It was still crowded at the store when I went there after work. I wasn't sure if there'd still be a selection available considering this is a huge deal in the BBW world, but I was pretty sure I could grab a few. I had it planned that I'd only get 5 of them, and most of the scents that everyone loves are the ones I actually don't like because they're the sugary scents. An employee gave me a crate when she saw me carrying them in one of their bags, and I went around to smell the new candles with the sparkly lids. I was trying to narrow it down because those were the ones I had wanted, and it worked out well that the scents that were still available were the ones I wanted based on their scent descriptions.

When I grabbed my 5, I went to stand in the long line, but I didn't mind waiting. From what I remember, it was actually longer than the Black Friday line I stood in during 2013! That's kind of crazy, haha. The only difficult part about it is that it requires standing for a while holding candles that aren't the lightest things in the world. When I finally got the counter, the girl asked me if I had to wait a long time, but I said it wasn't too bad and that it was okay by me because it was worth it!

It was even better because the coupon I used was a mailer coupon, which is attached to another coupon that you're allowed to use in the same transaction. I asked the sales associate if I had to spend another $10 to use the free item coupon, and she and another girl said I didn't. So that meant I was able to grab the White Citrus body wash for free without spending anything more out of pocket, yay!

Here is my relatively small haul compared to last year's $8 candle haul:

The "Light up the Room" is the sparkling apple champagne scent. I burned it once already, and Howard and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It took a long time to pool but the throw was so strong form the start, which I appreciated because I hope that means it'll last longer. It smells like apple, of course, but not the apple that's in all the fall candles. It's lighter and sweeter. When it was burning, it smelled a little bit like a Jolly Rancher but not too sweet. 

The "Wine Down" is the pomengranate sangria. I've seen that people have mentioned it's the same as a vineyard scent from the previous year, but I remember smelling it last year and didn't like it. I might just appreciate the smell now, but I think it's still a little different. It's unlike the "mandles" (candles that smell like men's colgne) and citrus scents I already have, so it'll be a nice change in pace. I haven't yet burned it.

The last candle I chose was "Merry Mistletoe" (a flirty and festive blend of cranberries, pears, frosted citrus and a hint of holiday greenery). I don't typically buy these scents, but on that day, it just really reminded me of Christmas! It has the fruity scent to it, but it does smell like Christmas trees too. I figured I could burn it during the vacation. Of course, I ended up breaking the candle! I was upset because I liked the holder although I later learned it was just a packaging wrapped around the glass. Howard salvaged the wax for me by breaking the rest of the glass off and separating it from the wicks. Right now I have it in a Ziploc bag, and in the future, I'll burn it on a warmer after I get one. If anything, I know that it'll last better since the original holder doesn't have a lid, so now the scent is being kept in the baggie and not escaping into the air.

I'm really happy with these candles! I wonder if I'll still feel justified in purchasing candles after we move out of this apartment and don't have to deal with hallway odors or vent smells (someone who is also connected to our vent system smokes, yuck!). I'll probably still buy them once in a while, but at least now, I don't have to worry about feeling guilty about it, haha.

Amazon Haul

Recently I placed an order with Amazon and used my credit card rewards points to pay for it. I was in desperate need of some Tetley green tea, but I couldn't find it any longer at my supermarkets. I finally decided to order it on Amazon since the weather was getting cooler, and I really wanted another option other than black tea. 

I also picked up some Zig 2 Way Glue pens with the chisel tip. I only have the big chunky ones with the jumbo tip, which is really difficult to use for small pieces. I normally get these at Michaels using a 50% off coupon, but they don't have often have that coupon. Plus, the last time I went to get it, they were all out. I figured I'd make it easier on myself and just order it. Plus, since I paid using points, there was no cash out of my pocket for these. It's pretty cool having a pack of 12 so I'm set for a while. Too bad there's no way to refill these yourself. They could sell the glue in a separate squeeze bottle and sell replacement nibs the way Copic markers have refills and nibs.

The last thing I picked up with Biore. I'm sure I could grab a cheaper deal at Target with a sale and a gift card deal, but I don't know if they ever have it deals on it. This was an add-on item, so I just ordered it because I had over $35 already.

The craziest thing is that when I was taking these pictures, one of the Tetley boxes was upside down. When I flipped it around so that the word Tetley was all facing the same way, I realized that that one box didn't have any plastic wrapped around it. Since the tea bags aren't individually packaged, it really threw me off that there was no plastic on the box. I emailed Amazon customer service and asked for a replacement box or the price of one box returned to me, and they replied so quickly and told me they were refunding the entire amount to me because the product wasn't online to send me a new one! I was so surprised that they did that, so I got all my rewards points for the tea credited to my account. They told me I could drink what was there or donate it or discard it. I will toss that open box, but the other 5 are completely fine so yay! It's such perfect timing because with this colder weather (and the fact that I actually have a cold), I'm having a cup of tea every day.

Husband and Wife Couponing

Despite the fact that people know that I coupon at CVS (and mention it in Sunday School, haha), I actually don't go very often any longer unless there's a specific need like a medicine refill or for clearance! I saw on Instagram via #cvsclearance that summer things were on clearance! I was actually looking for a few specific items including little bottles of toothpicks that people were getting for $0.25, and it was 2 in a pack!

I was happy to see that the clearance at my store was also 75% off since it usually takes a little longer for our prices to drop. But considering it was already that low, it wasn't surprising to see that most of the items were gone. That meant no toothpicks for me! That's one of those things that you don't really think about buying, but then there are random times when a toothpick is exactly what you need but you don't have them! Haha, one day I'll get them.

Anyway, I did go in knowing I had to spend my $3 ExtraBucks that was expiring soon, so I was hoping to roll it a little bit and then spend it all so I wouldn't feel obligated to go back. The Playtex tampons were a great deal as they were originally $5.29 for the box, but I had a $3 coupon for it making it $2.29. When I showed up at the store, I got a 25% off tampons/pads coupon from the redbox, so that meant saving another $1.33! So the box would have just been $0.96 out of pocket to get $3 ECB back! That was a pretty good way for me to roll the $3 I already had.

I purchased the summer clearance items in this transaction too just to make it easier. Howard and I decided to pick up two of the Freez Paks for ourselves and then I called my mom to see if she needed any since they were only $0.49 each (originally $1.99). There really should be four in the picture, but I left my mom's two in the car instead of bringing them all the way upstairs. Then we also picked up two of the Tundra Freez Paks for $0.32 (originally $1.29), which would be more useful in my Thirty-One Thermal Pouch or the Picnic Thermal for quick errands or for lunches. Lastly, I saw the 24 oz tumbler and liked that it was much larger than the ones I already have, so I got that for  $1.99 (originally $7.99). Basically, we just had to pay for the ice as the ECB I had paid for the other two things.

The next transaction was the vitamins. Isn't it ridiculous that the regular price cost of the bottle at CVS is $15.79? What?! How is that possible? They were on sale last week for $8.29. I had a $2 manufacturer's coupon as well and used the $3 ECB from the first transaction, so it was $3.29 out of pocket, which I think is decent for vitamins especially since I also got $5 ECB from it too!

The third and final transaction was a spur of the moment purchase. Howard was looking for hydrocortisone for his hand, so we saw that the Neosporin one had an ECB deal. The original price was $10.49, so I used the $5 ECB from the previous transaction meaning it was $5.49 out of pocket, but I got $4 ECB back.

The total was $11.56 out of pocket with another $4 to spend for next time, which is more than what is typically spent at CVS, but it included vitamins and ointment. Considering the regular price of the Neosporin was just about a dollar less than what we spent out of pocket, I think it was pretty good unplanned couponing with my standing in the aisles with pen and paper doing the math to figure out the best deal. It also helped that Howard was there to help with mutliple transactions because as I rang up the next purchase, he was ripping off the ECB from the previous receipt! Husband and wife couponing!

Haul: Couponing at Target for Random Items

I went out to do some errands on Friday because we were in need of groceries, and I wanted to snag some good deals. That included Target because I definitely needed some milk and some hamburger buns. My mom has pointed out to me that getting lactose-free milk at Costco would be cheaper than just picking up the Market Pantry half gallon, but since I use gift cards from Swagbucks, free is always going to beat cheap.

Just missing a half gallon of milk!

Everything in the picture above including the milk that was already open and in the fridge cost just $13.54 including tax. I didn't have to pay a cent out of pocket so I was happy about that as always. Who wouldn't be? I'm particularly excited because the Playtex tampons were $6.99 a box, so already that alone would be $13.98 and I paid less than that for more items. Here are the breakdowns of the items:

• Playtex Sports tampons were $6.99 a box. There were $3 manufacturer's coupons on Red Plum online, so I had those printed out and ready to go. I had looked on the Target website to see how much they cost just in case I needed to price match at customer service, but that wasn't a problem at all.
• I knew I wanted to use the $5 off $15 personal care Target coupon, so I needed just a little over $1. I chose the Oral B Pro-Health Stage toothbrush (4-24 months) with a baby Winnie the Pooh on it for $2.54 because I had printed out a $0.50 coupon for it. It'll be included in the bucket of things I've purchased for my sister-in-law's baby. 
• The Up & Up Sport Sunscreen has been a clearance find on Instagram. People were getting it for super cheap when there was the buy 3 get 1 free promo. I had looked for it earlier in the week but couldn't find any. I just randomly spotted this on an endcap by itself. I scanned it for the price, but nothing came up. At the register, I asked the cashier how much it was, and nothing came up there either. I told her that I had seen others get it on clearance, so she just punched in $2 for me. I had a $1 Target coupon and the 5% Cartwheel, so it was $0.95 for all 3. I think that was a pretty good deal even though it's not a high SPF. I don't know if my dad needs it, but if not, it'll get used by us for Disney trips (I don't usually wear any at all except for on my face) and field day at school, haha. It doesn't expire until 2017, so we have time.
• The Up & Up crayons were $0.39 each, but I had printed out a $1.50 off 3 school supplies coupon when it was still available. Once it got out on Instagram that you could get free things with it, everyone printed it until it was gone. I had only printed out two. I kept procrastinating and didn't do it on Howard's computer or the laptop! Stupid me for waiting because I was able to get 6 boxes of crayons completely free! There was no overage, but I didn't mind at all. These will be used for Operation Christmas Child. I know there's a new mobile coupon for $1 off of 2 school items, so I will hopefully get 2 more boxes (or 4 if I get Howard's mobile coupon too).
• The hamburger buns were $1.13 with the 5% off Cartwheel deducted. Even though the milk isn't pictured, it was $3.17 after the 5% off Cartwheel.
• Lastly, I picked up two containers of Wet Ones. They were originally $2.74, but they were on price cut for $1.99. I had Target coupons for $0.50 off along with a manufacturer's coupon of $1 off of 2, so each one ended up being $0.99. These things are perfect for road trips since sometimes you need to actually clean your hands instead of just use hand sanitizer. I purposely picked the sensitive skin one because it said it was safe for babies. I will put one of them in the bucket for my sister-in-law so they can keep it in their car or something too.

Pretty good deals, wouldn't you say? Target hauls are never spectacular or super interesting, but I do like writing them up every once in a while because I have a record of the prices. I'm so glad we have a Target closer to home. Plus, it's right in the same shopping center as Five Below, but I'm getting ahead of myself!

Haul: Bath & Body Works (FREE candles!)

Despite the fact that I've only completely finished 2 of the 3-wick candles I have purchased, I just bought more. And I'm not making any apologies for it! I know I have mentioned it before, but I really started burning candles more often to cover the smells from the hallway that would travel into our apartment. Once I picked up a few around Black Friday 2013, I've been loving my stops at Bath & Body Works even if I don't actually purchase anything. Sometimes it's just as much fun going in to sniff the new scents that I know I won't like (ex. bakery/dessert scents, floral scents, and pumpkin scents), but the curiosity gets the better of me because I see everyone else loving them. 

At this point, I can pretty much predict which ones I will enjoy since I'm fairly predictable! Citrus scents or musky scents (like "mandles" because they smell like men's cologne) are the ones I typically enjoy. Because I saw that the fall test candles were mainly pumpkin scents and other items that don't look like they're for me, I knew I should grab a last few summer candles and be set for the year. I still have plenty of winter candles from last year (mmm, Sparkling Icicles, Black Tuxedo, and Mahogany Teakwood!), so these would be the last set for a while. I did recently buy 2 Pomelo Grapefruit as backups just in case they don't bring it back next year since it might be my favorite summer candle, but other than that, I haven't bought any in a really long time. 

Now before I get into the actual scents I chose, I'd like to point out that I did not pay ONE CENT for any of these candles! Because of Swagbucks, as usual, I got all 6 candles absolutely FREE! I knew I would want to get some of the Summer Sips candles, so I exchanged 5000 SB for a $50 e-gift card. I used the code on that to purchase an actual gift card online, which I received in the mail to spend in the store!

Howard was with me that day, so these are the ones that we chose together.  

These four are from the Summer Sips line: 

Nectarine Green Tea (Japanese green tea and ripe nectarines): This was the one I was looking forward to getting when I saw the Summer Sips candles online and on Instagram during the testing phase. I adore London Calling (Tea & Lemon) because it's just so calming. I was hoping this tea scent would come through fairly strongly too, but at first sniff, I was actually a little disappointed. I didn't think it was too special because all I could smell at first was the nectarine. Later on, I took another whiff and got some of that green tea. I'm hoping it burns really well too, so I chose to get two of them instead of one of the Pink Apple Punch candles in the same line. That one smelled a lot like Jolly Ranchers to me, so it was just a bit too sweet. 

Sparkling Berry Fizz (sweet elderberry, tart black currants and bubbly spring water): So I don't know what elderberry or black currants are supposed to smell like, but this is a pleasantly sweet candle. I'm okay when candles have a sweet fruity scent, but I don't like sweet bakery scents. This is actually very close to the "almost too sweet" side of things for me. The first whiff smells a bit like candy, but then when I smell it a bit more, I get a deeper berry scent. I was okay just having one of these. I have to say that the wax colors in this line are really pretty!

Peach Cilantro Twist (summer peach, garden cilantro, and a hint of juicy mango): Howard really enjoyed this candle! He really zoned in on the peach aspect of it, but when I smelled it, it was almost all cilantro! If you don't cilantro, steer clear of this one. I feel as if there's no escaping it. I said that it reminded me of fish, haha. It's not that it smells like fish, but my mom used to grow cilantro and use it on whole fish because that along with ginger really takes away fishiness (it's the equivalent of other types of cuisine that use lemon or other acids to remove fishiness). I admit I actually chose this one because he liked it so much. If I were choosing them quickly, I might have chosen a Pink Apple Punch instead. I have a feeling it's going to burn very well though and work very well in our apartment since burning a candle in the apartment means burning it in the bedroom, the computer area, and the kitchen since we're in a studio.

These two are from the Coastal Cool collection, and are in frosted holders without lids: 

Sunset Beach (pineapple, papaya & sugarcane fragrance although the paper lid says "Fruit Pops, Sugarcane, & Sunrays"): First of all, I'm really hoping that this burns well because I did see after the fact that many people had bad experiences with it having no throw. We'll see what happens when I try it out myself. In terms of the cold sniff, it has a fruity scent, but it's very different than the other ones that I already have. It must be the papaya since it has a bit of tropicalness to it. If there are issues with the burn though, it'll have to go back. I do love the colors of these frosted holders though. Haha, that did sway us a bit in terms of narrowing it down. I do wish they had lids though for easier storage and also knowing that the wax is protected from losing all of its scent.

Beach Day (saltwater, lemon leaves and citrus musk): The thing that I think of when I sniff this candle is "summer musk." I do like the musky scents when it gets warmer because when I'm cold, the smell just fills the room and makes it much more inviting. This candle is a much lighter version of the muskier scents from the winter lines, but if you don't like that aspect of candles, this is another you'd have to avoid. I was actually thinking of getting the Coastal Sun one because it was orange and grapefruit, but Howard pointed out that I like it because it's citrus ... just like other candles I already have. He said that the Beach Day is much more unique, and he was absolutely right. I like having quite a large variety instead of having the same ol' same ol'. 

Yesterday I took the time to pull out the two candles I finished from the one Expedit square I have reserved for candles (one Sparkling Icicles and one Flannel), so I could fit the new ones in. Of course, I didn't have enough room, so I had to pull out the ones I had triples of and put them in the big BBW bag I have off to the side with extra lotions and body washes I bought at the last winter semi-annual sale. Do I have a ton of candles now? Yes, I absolutely do! But I know I'm really going to appreciate them even more when it gets cooler out, and I look forward to returning home each day in September and then throughout the winter!

Oh, can I just end by reiterating that I got these new candles for free? Okay, just had to get that out again.

(edit)

I just wanted to add for my own records that the candles were on sale 2 for $22, and RetailMeNot had a coupon for a free 3-wick when spending $20. That meant that each candle was only $7.33 not including tax. We split this up into two transactions (Howard had to pull up the coupon on RetailMeNot on his phone), so that means I still have money left on my gift card too!

Haul: Old Navy ($1 Flip Flop Sale!)

Last Tuesday, I mentioned that I was setting an alarm for Saturday morning so that I could head over to Old Navy to get some $1 flip flops. I'm so excited that it worked out this year! On the website, it said the store opened at 9am, but I knew I had to get there earlier. I had seen that some people who went during previous years had to stand in line outside the store just to get inside. I didn't want to have to wait too long for that. Howard was the one who actually suggested we go extra early because it would be less frustrating waiting before the store opened than waiting later on in the day, so we actually made it to the store a little after 8am!

As we drove into the parking lot, we saw two people standing outside. Then we realized they were actually employees and that the store was already open! That was so exciting because we wouldn't have to deal with crowds at all! I was actually thinking about calling the store the day before to ask if they were opening earlier than the regular time, but I never got around to it. It would definitely pay to find out because when 9am rolled around, there were definitely more people in the store though it wasn't too crazy a little after 9 when we left the store.

The employees out front gave us paper coupons for $5 off $35. I saw that it was in the email ON sent that morning, but it was nice not having to deal with my phone since it wasn't fully charged. I really need to get one of those rechargeable portable batteries! Anyway, I went straight to the back of the store for the flip flops! There were some women back there, but it wasn't difficult at all to access any of it. If anything, I just had to wait a bit to get to the section that had black flip flops.

Along with the ones hanging on the wall, they also had flip flops in boxes organized by the sizes. If it were a mad rush, grabbing 5 from the boxes would probably be the easiest bet just to secure your 5 of any color and then swap them out once you can get to the wall. I did read that some couponers and freebie sites mentioned that if you get there later and they're out of your size, you could just grab 5 of any size and color and exchange them on another day. 

Unfortunately for me, they didn't have any black flip flops in my size! They only had sizes 5 and 6, and later on others asked the employees if there were any in the back, and they said no. Oh well. I would have purchased 3 of my 5 in just black since that's what I wear outdoors, so that means they'd wear out the fastest compared to my home slippers. Regardless of the lack of black, I still purchased 5 of them so that I won't have to go next year either! We checked the baby clearance items too, but we didn't find anything worth getting. Then I figured since we were there early, others should benefit from it too! So Howard texted his sister, and I texted my sister-in-law and brother to ask if they wanted any flip flops. Howard's sister did want 5 of them since company uses them as slippers when they visit (and I'm sure they'll have more visitors soon since it's almost time for the baby to come!).

We were there for maybe 45 minutes browsing. The few times we actually make it to Old Navy, I like scouring the clearance sections especially for baby boys since we're so excited to have a nephew. Howard took some time to browse as well and found this rather awesome Star Wars shirt of the Millennium Falcon! Unfortunately, it was XXL, and that was the only one! He had to make do with just a picture.

He also saw these sharks shorts, but again, there weren't any in his size. It really is difficult being a guy! But I guess to some degree, it's also a bit on the easier side since there isn't a lot of variety so you end up saving money since you already have what you need, haha.

We were at Old Navy for about an hour, but the waiting on line was only a small portion of that, and it's all because of these babies! I thought I was going to purchase colors, but then as I stood there and debated, I ended up sticking with all neutral colors. Haha, I'm really kind of a boring person when it comes to footwear, but that's okay since my tops usually have the color. As I said above, there no black ones, so I only got one black with white straps. I'm not too big of a fan of that look, but I'll deal with it. I initially had one light purple one too, but I knew I'd probably not get as much use out of it, so I switched it for another white pair. I kind of tried it on in store, and they look nice since I always have a pedicure during the spring and summer. My only concern was that they'd get dirty quickly, but I'm not too worried about it. If anything, I can also use a white pair at home for slippers and use the gray ones I have on right now for outdoors. By the way, they did change the gray as the strap portion is shiny in the new ones, but the ones I bought years ago aren't. 

Since I knew that I was getting the flip flops anyway, I considered the coupon to really be $5 off $30 in terms of saving. I know 17% really isn't that big in terms of savings, however, it would make sense to use it in store on things that count as Everyday Steals because percentage savings aren't allowed to be used on those things! I knew for sure that I wanted to get tank tops. If you've EVER seen me in the summer months or if you've EVER seen any of our Disney World vacation pictures, you will know that I wear the same tank top all the time. I just have it in different colors! That's Old Navy for ya! They're my favorite. But I have paid only $2 for each tank, but I haven't seen that price in a while so I figured the $4 price (retail $8.50) was good. However, I didn't want to buy 8 of the tanks since I didn't need that many. I browsed for a while before I found this great buy: $8 shorts (retail $19.94)! I tried on the 3.5 inch length and the 5 inch length thinking I'd prefer the latter. I ended up going with the shorter inseam though since they're a little wide, so the longer ones swallowed me up too much. I grabbed the black pair since my only black shorts are the messy cargo roll-up kind that I LOVE, but I like that these are neater. I decided to get a navy blue pair too. I can see pairing these with a nicer top and wearing them on the occasions when my regular shorts are just a little too messy.

And now here are 3 of the 4 tanks I purchased that day! Years and years ago, I had similar colors, but they were the thicker straps and thicker material. They also shrunk in the wash, so I wear the old ones as pajamas. I also prefer long tanks so that I know it won't ride up on my back; Old Navy tanks are exactly what I like. I don't even bother with other brands because I have purchased a Target tank once, but it wasn't the same. I have to wear those as pajamas too! Anyway, I also have a dark navy blue one too, but I ended up wearing it that day to the zoo! I kept the same shorts on that I wrote to the store, but the blank tank I had was not long enough for me. It's in the wash, so I couldn't include it in the picture. Realistically, I could pay the $8.50 price and get a lot of use out of it, but why do that when there are sales and coupons?

Though it may not be a stylish haul since I'm not the kind of person who really owns currently stylish clothing, I'm very happy with my purchases! Summer, here I come!

Copic Refills Haul

As you can see, I've been doing a lot of crafting lately but mainly focusing on Cricut cuts. I know I STILL have to take out my Silhouette Cameo, but when I have custom orders to fill, I need to use the machine that I know backwards and forwards and not deal with trying to learn a new one. I still save all the free SVG files from certain sites and have even purchased a few as well, but I'm relying heavily on my dear ol' Cricut friend. I haven't even been using digital stamps that often either, but I did come across instances where I definitely needed my Copic markers for the Cricut images.

In certain instances, I've used the Copic markers to color in skin tone since I don't have the right cardstock. I was specifically working on a bunch of cute gnomes (I had to clarify and say cute because I know some gnomes can be creepy!) that Cricut offered as the free cut of the week. I was trying to color in parts of it when my E00 Skin White started fading a lot and getting streaky. It was definitely time to buy some refills.

When I initially bought my Copics from Scrapbook.com and Michaels, I knew that I'd need to buy refills down the road. That's actually one of the reasons why I chose the brand. I liked the idea of it being more environmentally-friendly since there'd be no need to create more garbage by throwing the markers away. Each refill bottle of ink refills a marker several times; it's supposedly 13 times for a Ciao marker (the round ones) and 8-10 for a Sketch marker (the oval ones). I have a mixture of both. 

This was definitely a big splurge for me though as each refill was $6.29! It's a little insane, but I guess if it can be filled many times, it's really only $0.48-$0.63 each time. I didn't buy a bottle for each of my colors but only the ones I really needed. I sat there testing each one out to see which ones were starting to streak and also chose a few extra so I could benefit from free shipping. The majority of this $102.75 order from Blick was covered with what I made from a large 50 card order, so at least I'm taking the money from that and putting it right back into the "business"!

Bath and Body Works Semi Annual Sale Hauls

Yes, it's pluralized.  I did say HAULS.  I've spent a good amount of money there in the last two months even though I've used Christmas money, gift cards from students, and gift cards from credit card reward points. I am definitely stocked up though and do not need to go back until the next semi annual sale in June! With the returning scents that I had actually never smelled before, I wanted to stock up so that I wouldn't be upset if I never see these again. 

The first set was purchased on January 1st. I loved Capri Seaside Citrus and Rome Honeysuckle Amore so much that it was something that I wanted multiples of. I happened to find Citrus Orchid Chill lotion and loved it as well. As you can see, the fruity scents and particularly the citrus ones are my favorites. It doesn't bother me that they seem to be more spring/summer scents as I've been using them now in the middle of winter. In fact, every day before my shower, I choose a new scent to use! That's how much I love them all, and I do switch them up based on my mood.

With my $10 off $30 coupon, I was able to save more. The lotions and gels that were originally $11 were only $1.90-$2.08. Then the Sicilian Lemon Foaming Hand Soap, which were originally $5.50 only cost $2.08.

When I went back on January 15th, I decided to pick up some more White Citrus items because it is our all-time favorite, and these were also really inexpensive because they were in the old packaging. I searched the bins and found them hiding, but when we went to try to get the free spring scent lotion, I saw a new bin FULL of White Citrus products. They really do put out new stuff each day as they keep getting shipments throughout the SAS.

With another $10 off $30 coupon (I used a survey coupon that never expires), I got the White Citrus items for $1.80. The Carried Away items were also $1.80. The foaming hand soap was $1.97. I had to get more Sicilian Lemon. It just smells like a fizzy lemon drink! The hand sanitizer holder was just $0.25 and will be perfect for vacations because I can attach it to my bag and have it easily accessible throughout the day. I chose Heartland Harvest Marmalade, Dancing Waters, and Hippo Berry because those were the ones that were 50%, so with the coupon each was just $0.57. Lastly, the Country Chic triple moisture cream (originally $12.50) was only $2.04! Their TMC is the best for dry hands. I use it pretty much every night right before bed, and Howard even uses the Rainkissed Leaves one that I got in my online order months ago. After purchasing Nivea and Eucerin for his hands, this is the one thing that seems to really be helping his skin! I'm amazed! It's much thicker than the body lotion, so I only use it on my hands. Recently I did major cleaning in the apartment and washed my hands upwards of 30 times that day. The backs of my hands were starting to crack, but after applying some TMC for a day, they healed up nicely.

Since I had the coupon and the 75% sale made everything so cheap, I didn't know if I had the correct amount to use my coupon, so I told the sales associate that I was going to hand them to her little by little so I could watch the prices. She was more than happy to help me out and point out the prices so I could make sure I wasn't spending too much. I decided to take two small tubes of White Citrus lotion out of my order since they were only 50% off and $2.50 each, and I ran to get another soap instead. That's when I picked the Peach Bellini one. We love this scent because peach things are just awesome!

Though it looks like a lot spent, like I said above, I used Christmas money on the first haul and then I used a Visa gift card that I found from a student's gift that covered the cost. Now I must be sure to stay away from BBW! The only thing that will bring me to the store is if they have another free offer.

My Favorite Word: Free

The day Howard and I went to Joann, my main reason for going out was to grab some FREE items! The Dollar Tree and Joann are in the same shopping center, and I had one thing in mind when going to the Dollar Tree. It wasn't really cute boxes of tissues because who wants to pay $1 for tissues when you can get them for much less (even if they do have Disney designs on them)!

Instead, it was boxes of Kraft Recipe Makers! I had seen on Instagram that they were available at Dollar Tree, and I had my fingers crossed that ours would considering the store doesn't often have what I see everyone else purchase with coupons. I was very happy to see them because every time the $1 coupon reset on coupons.com (though I print from Swagbucks even though I haven't yet seen an increase in SB because of using coupons!), I printed them out again. Howard and I tried the Verde Chicken Enchilada one and LOVED it. Target had had them for $2.99, so I used the $1 internet printable and the $1 Target printable to make them $0.99, but FREE is a more beautiful word, isn't it? I went in with 8 coupons because of my printing them out each time and because I printed a set of 2 from Howard's computer as well.

The Dollar Tree coupon policy states that you can only use 4 like coupons at a time, so Howard and I split it into transactions. I think it's amazing that you can use coupons there and walk out with FREE products! Sadly, there were only two boxes of the Verde Chicken Enchilada, but it's definitely better than none at all! I also picked up a pack of plastic hangers because we use them to hang up shirts and such when drying (the dryer function of our combined washer/dryer doesn't work anymore). Howard also likes having his work shirts on the plastic hangers instead of the velvet hangers that I purchased from Costco when we first moved in because it's easier to pull off in the morning. All my clothes slip off hangers very easily, so I prefer the velvet ones.

Considering they were FREE, we decided to pick up two more kinds. Sorry for the blurry photo, but it just wasn't important enough for me to retake it especially after I put the boxes away in the pantry! We chose Asian Fish Tacos, so we'll have to buy some nice fillets or something to try it and also Three Cheese Chicken Florentine, which means we are definitely going to have to recreate the commercial with Rocco DiSpirito and Carla Hall because we already repeat all the lines when it pops up during our Top Chef episodes! "Mmm, getting some parmesan notes." These are the perfect things to keep in your pantry for the nights when you don't want to spend too much time cooking.

After a wonderful splurge at Joann and then spending $1.07 each for the separate transactions above, we were on a roll for getting good deals and FREE things! I wanted to head to the mall next to pick up the FREE lotion from Bath & Body Works as both Howard and I claimed the offer on Facebook. Sadly, they were completely out by Saturday afternoon. I was a little disappointed, but the employees of my BBW have been nothing but nice, so it doesn't bother me as much. The ones I spoke to said that they were out and apologized, and it was if they were sad for me. I'm glad I've always had great experiences in that store. 

By the way, can I just say that I think it's so sad that they now raised their candle prices so that their sale is 2 for $25 instead of $2 for $22? Part of me hopes that customers don't purchase as many across the US so that they might think about lowering it back again. Of course, their candles smell and burn wonderfully. London Calling (Tea and Lemon)? Delish! But I digress.

Of course, you know by now that a stop at the mall means heading to the Disney Store. We browse the cute merchandise (and take pictures) and then we trade.

 

We definitely don't need mugs, but I thought they were super cute so I snapped pictures of each one.

  

 

We didn't purchase anything, but we did wait in line to trade. The CM we see often came over and said hi to us and said that they moved the location of the Vinylmation boxes, but I said, "Thanks! But we only buy them on sale," and she said, "I don't blame you!" There was nothing in the upper portion that we liked, so we asked for the mystery spots and out came a Dot. We already have Dot, but we traded for her anyway since she's from the Pixar series and may have higher trading power. Not exactly a purchase, but somewhat FREE, don't you think?

After the mall, we did go to Bed Bath & Beyond because we needed a new pan and spatula set. I didn't snap a picture of them, but I use two of the 20% coupons and gift cards that I got from students, so those things were technically FREE as well since there was nothing we had to pay out of pocket.

Our final stop was Target. I checked the endcaps for clearance items because you can find such goodies there. We also strolled the toy aisles because I saw they had their 70% clearance sale going on. The one thing I found that I held on to for a while was these Little Mermaid Squinkies. They were originally $9.99, and the price on the sticker was $4.98. I scanned it and saw that it was actually $2.98.

I hemmed and hawed for a while when Howard asked if I wanted it, and he even offered to get it for me. I just have such a love for the new Little Mermaid ride in New Fantasyland, and we watched the show in DHS last year, so seeing this brings back Disney World memories. I was very good though and decided against it. I said, "I have to be an adult." 

  

On the way out of the toy section, I saw this food set for $3.60 and thought it was really cute. The quality doesn't look as good as my Fisher Price food sets from when I was kid. They're at my parents' house, and I can't wait for my kids to play with them whether it's at our house or when they visit the grandparents! I joked that the kids would see this one and go, "We eat that all the time!" Haha, we don't really eat it that often. We maybe have tacos once a month, but we do purchase Old El Paso because they're the ones who put Box Tops on their products!

Okay, our intention of going to Target was to get FREE vitamins, but when we went to check out, the cashier said that she was specifically called out by the manager that she couldn't allow multiples of the same coupon. I pointed out that the coupon policy states that we're allowed to use 4 like coupons, but she said she just got in trouble for that. We asked if we could at least get one more bottle of vitamins if Howard checked out separately, but she said she was told to watch out for that too. Personally, it was really ridiculous to hear that because what if Howard and I were just friends and not married? We can't buy the same items? It wouldn't have made a difference if we checked out in different aisles with separate cashiers. It just really bummed me out. The cashier was extremely nice about it though and kept apologizing, and I told her I didn't want her to get in trouble. I asked if it was the manager who said it because otherwise I would have asked to speak to one. It was late, so I didn't go to the customer service desk either because I know you can request that they show you the "rule" in the coupon policy, and it wouldn't be there. I haven't yet contacted corporate because I happened to see on Instagram that one of the couponers I follow said that Target is about to get stricter with their policy. The people who commit fraud are just so irritating as they ruin it for the rest of us.

Anyway, this was our Target haul. The Nature Made fish oil gummies were on sale for $5, so I used a Target coupon for $2 and a manufacturer's coupon for $3 to get it for FREE. I did get 2 of them earlier in the week, so we have a total of 3 free containers. Too bad I couldn't get the 4 that I should have been allowed to get based on the policy. Oh well.  The small bags of Green Giant Brussels sprouts were $2.79, and I used 2 Target mobile coupons for $1 off $1 or more fresh veggies. Lastly, the Colgate toothbrushes were $1.04, and I used 3 Target mobile coupons for $1 off Colgate oral care/toothbrush/toothpaste items, so they were almost FREE. That meant that my entire purchase was only $3.70. Isn't that awesome? That's why it didn't make sense to get the Little Mermaid squinkies for about $3 when it was just a toy. Priorities!

Howard laughed at me a few weeks ago when I said, "It's FREE ... I can't leave it in the store!" If we can't use it, someone else can and whether we save from paying full price or help someone else from paying full price, it's worth it at the price of FREE.

So Long, Joann! Thanks for the Clearance!

As a couponer and frugal shopper, 50% off is a wonderful thing. That's why I refuse to purchase anything in a craft store unless I'm using a 50% coupon. Thankfully, the stores take competitor coupons, so I've been able to build up a good part of my supply this way. What's even better than 50% off is 75% off though! Unfortunately, that wonderful number came at the price of our Joann store closing. I heard about the closing through my friend Joanna when it was still only half off, but this past Saturday, Howard and I were going to be in the area, so we stopped by to take a look. Once I saw that it had reached that wonderful number and saw what they had left in the store, I was a happy camper! I texted my friend to let her know since she was waiting too.

At the front of the store, they had the cages with Cricut cartridges! I took a look and picked up a few like Winter Frolic and Mini Monsters. I wasn't sure if the deduction was on the $14.99 that was on some of them because that would mean cartridges for $3.75! But then as I stood there, I decided it was better to spend that money on other items since I wasn't dying for those images. The monsters would have been cute to have if I didn't have a Silhoutte where I could ask Howard to maybe design even cuter images! They did have one or two Create a Critter, so that would've been an AMAZING buy because it's one that I use most often. But I decided to focus on the assortment of punches from Fiskars, EK Success, and Martha Stewart. They also had Tim Holtz embossing folders and Cuttlebug folders too! I'm surprised they still had all these options available. It was the perfect time for a new crafter to get some basic materials. 

In fact, as I was around these products, a lady with two young kids came up to me and asked me, "Do you scrapbook?" I told her that I did (I don't really scrapbook, but a lot of the tools are the same as cardmaking). She was asking about the Fiskars templates (the orange stencil on the middle right of the above picture). I actually have some of those and the tool with the blade that goes along with it. It was one of the bigger craft supplies that I bought at AC Moore when I was much younger. She also asked me about the punches and the dies because she didn't know how they were used. She was clearly a new crafter or someone who was interested just by seeing the low prices, and I was more than happy to share with her the knowledge I had. I may not be up to date with what new products were introduced at CHA (other than the new We R Memory Keepers punch board for 3-D flowers ... LOVE!), but I know about a lot of the products in the chain craft stores.  

 

There were tons of options for sewing rulers. If I didn't have my Martha Stewart ruler, I might have purchased one. My MS one is awesome though because I found it in the AC Moore clearance bin, and it has a slightly rubbery material on the bottom so it's not easily shifted when I'm using it to get exact layers. There was some embroidery floss options too. Howard and I both remarked that our moms used this to cross stitch when we were kids. 

 

Though most of the store was empty and some aisles were blocked off to customers browsing the remaining products, there was one aisle that still had plenty of FABULOUS merchandise! Howard had strolled through the entire store while I was still examining the punches and dies, and he said there were still stamps left, so I made a beeline to that aisle. This would be a great time for some new stampers to pick up a little bit of variety because they had some Memento ink pads in Tuxedo Black and Rich Cocoa (I already have them along with the ink refills) and one StazOn pad as well. Behind the sliding doors, you can see they also had plenty of the Versa Magic Dew Drops 4-packs. I had wanted those a few years ago, and I would have purchased them now, but I wasn't sure if they'd dry out quickly. Howard and I examined EVERY row to find some good stamps. I'm very excited about the ones I found.

There were also packs of David Tutera cards and envelopes, which I thought was funny because I feel that serious crafters score and cut their own card bases. In the past, I purchased card packs, and I still have some of the really large ones that I use on special custom orders that need larger die cuts. But then I realized it's so much cheaper to do it myself. That's not to say I don't like the Michaels card packs because those were the most sturdy and would save time. But I just chuckled that David Tutera has his own products as if they're more magical than the regular ones. 

They still had some individual pieces of scrapbook paper. We looked for Disney ones, but the two options they had weren't good enough to warrant even the $0.25 cost. Looking through these aisles required a lot of patience because things were scattered everywhere. There was chalk and embossing powder sets and markers. It was actually easier that a lot of the aisles were empty because it would've required half a day to go through all of them if they were filled with random finds since we were there for over an hour.

We also quickly walked through the aisles that had the remaining material. Though I don't sew, if there was any super cute Disney material, I would have bought it to make pillow cases or something. They only had Finding Nemo fleece material. For those who like to sew, I think there were still some great options left including animal prints and sports teams prints.

The most intriguing section to Howard was the selection of OttLites! I purchased a task lamp when I first started crafting more seriously because it mimics the light of the sun, which makes it easier on the eyes. There was a change in how long I could craft because there wasn't eye strain. I would actually wake up more using my OttLite too. I used it to photograph my cards since my initial photos used to have the yellowish cast, so it was a fabulous $30 investment. A year later, there was a big sale on them, and I bought another for $20. That one is up high on a closet shelf as I haven't yet needed to use it because my original one has lasted for a LONG time! I haven't even had to change the bulb yet, and I use it EVERY DAY when I'm sitting at the desk. 

Well, because of the store closing, some of the floor lamps would be so inexpensive compared to the $209.99 price tag! Howard looked up reviews and stood there debating for quite some time. It was actually super cute. There was one made out of metal that didn't have a price on it, and so he brought it with us to the front to find out the price. It would've been $76, so we put it back because we weren't in desperate need of it.

Despite there only being one person being checked out at the one register that was open, it took quite a long time because the system wasn't scanning properly. The employee had to split the order for the discount to apply. I didn't mind waiting because I felt that it was completely worth my time to get all this amazing stuff! I also texted Joanna to ask her if she was looking for anything in particular in case she couldn't make it there and I could pick it up for her. She replied and said she was there, so I looked for her and saw her browsing! I talked to her for a while and met her friend as well. She told me later that night that she was there for a few hours! I definitely understand!

After filling my basket, I did go through it again and pulled out about 4 items that I chose not to get. I had time to think about the products. Even at such cheap prices, I always think about how I can get entire CVS hauls for so little, so I want to watch the amount that I spend anywhere. My final out of pocket cost was $45.95 including tax. I saved $126.60! It was an amazing score.

Goodbye Joann! I'm sorry that you didn't survive here on the island. I remember when this location used to be Creativity where I purchased some stamp sets as a kid. I wonder what is going to take its place. In the meantime, I'll be enjoying my new crafting goodies! To help keep our apartment neat, I took pictures and immediately opened the packages so I could put the items away.

I picked up foamies sheets because I'm almost entirely out of the foam adhesive that I purchased from Oriental Trading. I don't want to repurchase them because I had some dud sheets where the glue was dry, and I don't like to use the thickest ones. I figured I could purchase foam sheets and just use my ATG to make my things pop off my cards. My intention wasn't to get bright orange, but that was all that they had, and I wasn't going to pass on it for $1.49 a piece. With the liquidation discount, each one was $0.37, which was fine by me because they're really big sheets (12x18in). They had a few more sheets, but they were covered in glitter, and I wasn't about to deal with it when it wasn't from my own project! They also a few white sheets, but it was MUCH thinner, and they were dirty.

Out of all the Fiskars punches, I only chose two of them. I was so delighted to find that they had two different sized hexagon punches! I see so many designs of cards with different hexagon patterns, but I just didn't want to spend the money on them with a 50% off coupon. These were $10.99 and $17.99, so with the sale I only paid $2.75 and $4.50. That's an AMAZING price for these punches. I didn't even care that the larger box was slightly opened. These were designed so that it's easier on your hands to punch (I have a heart one already), but they do take up more space to store. That's what I explained to the lady who was asking me questions about the products. They're perfect though for mass producing cards or when punching out pieces of leftover cardstock/patterned paper.

When I was searching through the supplies, I hadn't even noticed that they had Cuttlebug folders! Howard fond them hanging. They also had one Swiss Dots one, but I already have it. The smaller ones were Juli's Garden and Mr. Maverick, and they cost $5.99 ($1.50 with the sale). The larger one was Honeycomb and cost $7.99 ($2.00). The only disappointing thing was that the mustache one didn't scan, and the cashier scanned the Honeycomb one again instead of Juli's Garden. Oh well, I didn't notice it until we got home. I knew she had to scan some of the same items twice, but I wish she was a bit more careful about what she double scanned because that would've been an extra $0.50 in my pocket. I guess I can't blame her because at this point, she's not necessarily caring as much. The lady in front of us had asked her if she was out of a job, and she said yes.

As you saw in the picture above, there were a good amount of rubber stamps available, but I absolutely wanted the flower stamps. When my mom asks me to make cards for her, she likes a lot of the floral ones because they're basic but can be very colorful too. I had actually seen some great stamp techniques using the tall flower too, so I was ecstatic to be able to grab it. The one on the far left is also one I'm excited to use because I can use some different colors of inks with it. Lastly, that duck was just too cute! The stamps ranged from $5.99 to $9.99, so that meant $1.50 to $2.50 a stamp. If you're a stamper, you know that's a steal for intricate wood mounted, red rubber stamps. I use clear stamps more often these days, but when I do go back to my red rubber stamps, I always ask myself why I don't use them more often because the quality is amazing.

I was incredibly thrilled when I found bottles of Glossy Accents! Originally $6.99, I only paid $1.75 for each one! I already own one bottle, and I've only used it on a few cards because I didn't want to have to purchase more. However, now that I have plenty of them, I'm going to use it even if I have to mass produce cards! For those of you who don't know what it is, you basically squeeze the liquid on the card or image, and it dries with a slightly raised glossy finish. If I had these bottles, I would have used it on the goggles for the swimming bears on the cards for my sister-in-law. Those goggles were big though, and I would have used a LOT of my one bottle. Now I'm looking to see where I can use this! There were 3 bottles in the stamping closet, and I happened to find one more near the register that I snatched.

The last two items are shown below. The balloon punch was with a bunch of other large punches in a random aisle. Howard and I looked through every single one, and if I had the money, I would've purchased more, but this balloon punch was definitely the cutest one! I will have to figure out what I can do to make a simplistic yet amazingly punched card. The Paper Crimper was one that made my eyes widen when I saw it. Years and years ago, I saw this item in my rubber stamping books (you know, before you could just find everything on the internet and still had crafting books as resources!) and was intrigued. Then I went through a phase where I knew it wouldn't be worth it because you don't use crimped paper on many cards. Then I came back to loving the idea of throwing a textured layer (more textured than just embossed) on a card. These items were must haves for just $5 a piece when they were both originally $19.99.

Since I opened all the packages so I could put my new tools away, I tried the crimper and laughed and giggled like a little school girl. I even had Howard try it. Haha, I'm so easily amazed.

New goodies make me a happy crafter, and I can't wait to start incorporating these things into my cardmaking. I'm sorry, Joann, that I got so happy at your expense!