Guest Post - Kristine from J&M's Eye Candy

Hello! Kristine here from J&M's Eye Candy Blog and Shoppe!

This is my first ever guest post (YIPPEE!), and I'm so excited and thankful to Ashley for having me!!


A little about {us}: My SIL Britney and I created our blog as a place where we can collectively archive our projects and share it with others like you. We started some fun linky parties on our blog to start up a community, one is taking place today! It's called "Help a Momma Out," and it's held every Tuesday, and runs thru Friday. This is a great place for us to share our experiences, our advice, our latest momma invention. We would love for you to party with us and link up!


We opened up our Etsy store, JandMsEyeCandyShoppe, 
where we offer an eclectic mix of handmade sweetness for ladies, sprouts, and decor for your home. We continue to add new items to the shoppe weekly. Custom Orders are our specialty, so please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions. We look forward to working with you!

My Sweet M sporting a Custom Ordered "Hair Pretty" I made, the client wanted a sneak peek so she modeled it :)

We also offer fun, one of a kind Eye Candy for your neck

Eye Candy anyone? Yes, please!

We hope that you are taking the time and enjoying crafting, whether it's during nap time, after work, and/or late at night like we do.

Finding time to craft is hard. Heck, finding time to take a shower some days is hard. As a first time Momma to an almost 11 month old "baby girl" M, I know that balance is key (so corny but it's true).

Have you ever tried balancing on a pumpkin before? It takes skills (wink wink). The hubs and I last fall.

 I've been applying a "system" to our weekly routines since M has joined our family, to make sure things actually get done around here. Tuesdays and Thursdays, I've allowed myself "me" days. Meaning when M is down for a nap, I do whatever I want to do. Crafting, computer time, simply watch "adult" TV - aka anything other than Sprout or Nick Jr. On the other week days I use nap time up for cleaning the house, paying bills, etc. That way at the end of each week, I don't have a tornado of a house to clean, I don't have a fear of the electricity getting shut off, PLUS I get some me time in. Woot woot! Of course not everything goes smoothly every second of everyday, regardless if I have a plan or not, but this allows for some structure. Some kind of stability. It has made the overwhelming not so overwhelming at times. That is my secret weapon to keeping our little family organized and sane. What do you do to keep your life more organized, more sane? I would love to hear!


To boot, I've got a fun easy tutorial for you today to help with some organization!

Weekly at-a-glance Calendar

With the hubs managing two different stores now (yes a promotion, woot woot!), keeping track of his ever changing schedule has put a damper on my organization. So to help myself out, I made a weekly, at a glance, calendar that sits atop our counter and helps keep me sane.

Gather supplies: Clear standing 8x10 frame from the local Dollar Store, scraps of paper, adhesive, scissors, Sharpie, and magic erase marker. Optional: paper trimmer and stickers.

8x10 piece of paper for the base of the project. Inserted it into the frame, so you can see the frame better.

Cut seven pieces of paper to correspond with each day of the week. Top three are 4x3.3 inches. Bottom four are 4x2.5 inches. I used coordinating circle stickers for the days of the week. I used a Sharpie marker to hand write the abbreviations of the days on each circle. Since the hubs usually has Sundays off I hand drew and cut the letter F for that space, since you all know I adore Monograms (sigh).

I inserted the whole page into the frame.

And using my magic erase marker I'm able to change the times and our activities weekly, very easily.

Totally love that I can view our whole week at a glance! If this is helpful to you and you create one, please share, I would love to see it!! Feel free to send your project to me at jandmseyecandy@hotmail.com. If you blog about it, please email me so I can view what you created. I would love to feature you! Thanks in advance. Happy Creating!


Sweet M is napping, and since today is one of "my" days I am off to attempt a unique jewelry holder. I see it in my mind only, so hopefully it comes together. My lovely necklaces aren't getting enough wiggle room stuffed in our bathroom drawer. Wish me luck! I'll be posting a tutorial for it on our blog within the next couple of weeks, so check back often.


Thanks SO much for letting me come on over today Ashley, you rock!


P.S. To celebrate our first guest blog post, we are offering a FREE red rosette bobby pin with every order we receive in our shop starting tomorrow, Wednesday, June 22nd thru Sunday the 26th!! No coupon code is required, just place your order within the time frame and your order qualifies. Happy Shopping!