Joy's Fun Stuff

What are some ideas for decorating on a budget that don't take a miter saw or a zillion hours to pull off? I'm so glad you asked!

Decorating for a party doesn't have to be expensive. It does take some planning ahead and a little elbow grease, but this Harry Potter party for my 3rd kiddo turned out pretty fun and hardly cost a thing. I know it might seem like I'm a bit obsessed with the Dollar Tree (see here, here, here, and here) and that they must sponsor my life (I wish), but it's just that they have so many great things for so dang cheap. And for the record I actually purchased some of this party stu

Yesterday I got my oil changed, which is not really noteworthy or anything. But Matt kept the kids and I had a whole hour and a half to my lonesome, and THAT was exciting. Being the wild woman I am, I seized the day and walked a block to the Dollar Tree. Carpe diem, baby. Couple Points here: 1) If you're interested in reviewing my somewhat creepy fascination with this store, Part 1 is here. 2) The Dollar Tree is NOT sponsoring this post. I'm not cool enough for that reality.

I love General Conference. I really do. I think it's a mixture of a few things: hearing prophets speak, watching it in my pjs on my couch, eating yummy food. It's really a winner combo. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, LDS/Mormons believe in prophets, both ones who lived thousands of years ago as well as a living one today. Awesome, right?! Well, twice a year our regular Sunday meetings are put on hold and we get 2 fun filled days of listening to the prophet, his c

We have a trickster Leprechaun that comes here every year. He does all sorts of things here while we're asleep and causes mass excitement. Lucky has done some really great tricks through the years, mischief that has endeared him to my kids and helped placed St. Patrick's Day as one of their favorite holidays. The thing he's most famous for with our family are his decorations. This pic is from a few years back at our old house. We called it the Barney Room. Painting the walls

I am kind of a kid's craft supply hoarder, full disclosure. I see googly eyes and alphabet beads and I cannot restrain myself. It's kind of a problem. The nearest Dollar Tree isn’t really close and my local Target has the worst dollar spot I've ever seen. It's like 3 shelves. Horrible. So since we've lived here, I've been really missing my cheap craft fix. I made a little trek to our closest Dollar Tree this week and felt like singing that old song, "Reunited and it feels so

I used to live right by the nicest Dollar Tree. It was so clean and organized and since Target was far away, it became my hangout. They have some great stuff there. They also have a bunch of junk, but we don't buy that. Mostly. And FYI: I'm not embarrassed to say that I am posting my love of the Dollar Tree solely based on my love of the Dollar Tree. They are not sponsoring this post. They do not know I exist. My favorite stuff to get at the Dollar Tree is party supplies and

Thoughtful gifts. Dang. They kill me. And the demand for them is constant. I swear, it is one holiday after another, which is a great thing. But really, how many Perfect Gifts in the world are there?! This memory game was an attempt to create something special for my kids for Christmas. I wanted something sturdy but not just laminated paper, which would totally work too if that floats your boat. I found these wooden dinosaurs at the Dollar Tree. They also had flowers but that

Every year before my birthday Matt takes out the kiddos to the Dollar Tree. He gives them a dollar each and free reign to buy me whatever they think I would love. He has been known to help redirect them away from the plastic toy aisle, reminding them who they are shopping for. Its been adorable to see what they come back with; I've been given my share of beautiful figurines. Each item is specially chosen by a sweet child and given with love. This year they came back with tota