Kids Consignment Sale Tips

One of my favorite things each spring and fall? A local kids consignment sale - Kids EveryWear. I've been selling and buying clothes, toys, and gear at this bi-annual sale for the last 4 years. It's definitely helped me "keep down the cost of growing up" as their slogan says. I can clear out old stuff from our home and outfit Dylan for an entire season for as little at $60. The average price I pay per item is under $2 and this is offset (sometimes completely covered) by my own sales depending how many items I sell each time.

I typically make at least 90% of the possible highest amount I can return. How do I know this? For starters, I created a spreadsheet that I update as I price my items. It totals up all my prices plus subtracts out the consignment costs (i.e., Kids EveryWear has a single fee of $12 and then return is 65% of your earnings). I've built these amounts into the spreadsheet calculations. This way I can see that my efforts are worth it and have an idea how much money to expect afterwards.

Find my full post on everything from pricing to presentation to get the biggest return possible in kids consignment sales on Mom in Chapel Hill today: Consignment Sale Tips.

Do you shop or sell at consignment sales? Feel free to share any thoughts or tips you have in the comments.

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ProBlogging MiniCon 14 #NCBN14

If you're in North Carolina and a blogger, you will want to know about the new NC Blogger Network. One of the founders is none other than my good friend and blogging partner at Mom in Chapel Hill - Allison Carter - and I'm proud to be part of the Leadership Team. NC Blogger Network (NCBN) is a brand new online community formed to help connect, educate and support bloggers across the state of North Carolina.

The first NCBN event is next month in Durham and features a 1 hour "spark" session where each speaker has 5 minutes to present their topic. There will also be networking and giveaways. It's sure to be a fun night!

Find more information such as the awesome speaker line up and purchase tickets (hurry - early bird ticket price of $15 ends August 22nd) at the NC Blogger Network here.

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Baseball Birthday

Trent's birthday was in early June. Sticking with our tradition of giving memories versus physical gifts, I made baseball themed card for him and enclosed tickets for the 3 of us to see the Durham Bulls & Norfok Tide play on the following Saturday night.

Our seats for the game were directly behind home plate and the weather was absolutely perfect.

Dylan and I took a break mid-game to walk around the stadium and caught a glimpse of the gorgeous sunset. Amazingly, even after a long day in preschool and game start time of 7:05pm, he made it through the entire game. We headed out just as the 9th inning was starting and it was clear the Bulls were going to take home the win.

Supplies: cardstock; Studio G stamp; Stampin' Up ink. Scraplift of Make A Wish Birthday Card for Boys by RCreativeCreations.

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Strawberry Patch

One of my favorite parts of spring? Visiting the strawberry patch to pick fresh berries. Last year we went over Memorial Day weekend and took my mom & brother with us. We filled two buckets full and I'm pretty sure Dylan ate about as many as he picked based on the red stains on his face.

Inspired by Book Boys by Jennifer McQuire.

Supplies: Linen Line No 3 - Fresh papers by Agnes Biro; Strawberry Patch and Summer Picnic kits by Sara Schmutz; One Year Older kit by Karen Funk

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Candy Tasting

I have a sweet tooth. And I appreciate supporting local businesses. That combination led me to joining the focus group for Butterfields Candy - a company whose product I personally like and recommend.

Butterfields Candy has been around since 1924 and is made in Nashville, NC, just northeast of Raleigh. Currently there are 4 flavors of their hard candy available - Lemon Buds (my personal favorite), Peach Buds, Honeybell Buds and Key Lime Buds. I can say firsthand that all 4 are delicious and, if you haven't tried them, you should. They are available at select local stores or online through their website.

If you are in the Triangle Area, Butterfields is still looking for taste testers (no previous experience with their candy required) as they test possible future flavors. Visit their Facebook page for more details.

Disclaimer: this is my personal opinion only. I did receive free candy as part of the Focus Group, but no posts or other social media were required.

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Lego KidsFest 2014: the layout

Two years ago, we had the opportunity to attend our first Lego KidsFest. When we heard it was returning to Raleigh and knowing we had a Lego obsessed son, Trent bought tickets for the 3 of us to attend again. To say Dylan had a blast was an understatement. Just yesterday morning he was once again studying the event pamphlet and talking about the different areas and what he wants to do next. Still trying to help him understand it was a one time event. Unless, of course, he can convince his aunt to take him when it's in Richmond in October...

We didn't take that many photos this time, but it still took some effort to slim down to a few that I thought helped give a good overview of the fun. And, I'm sure if KidsFest comes again in a couple of years, we'll be some of the first to scoop up tickets.

Have you ever attended Lego KidsFest or another kid focused special event? What was your favorite?

Supplies: Leathers: Sugar Frames by Gennifer Bursett; Courier, Legothick and Stencil Std fonts.

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Disney on Ice: Let's Celebrate

Trent surprised me a couple months ago by telling me he bought the three of us tickets to Disney on Ice: Let's Celebrate! We used to love going every year. It was quite often his birthday gift to me. Then we stopped going when Dylan was born and began waiting until we felt he was old enough to sit, watch and enjoy. What we didn't do (unlike our trip to Walt Disney World last May) was tell Dylan until we were in our seats. He was so excited and pretty much captivated the entire show by the performances.

Here's a small taste of what we saw (all photos SOOC) …

A Very Merry Unbirthday with Alice & the Mad Hatter

Halloween fun with Sorcerer Mickey & Jack Skellington along with other Disney villains

Valentine's Day Ball with Disney Princess including Dylan's favorite - Ariel

Eyes focused on the rink and enjoying a new Mickey Mouse glow necklace (Party City $2)

Hawaiian luau with Lilo & Stitch

Chinese New Year celebration with Mulan

Winter Wonderland with Buzz, Woody & Jessie

Grand finale

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Wordless Wednesday: Downtown Durham

Linking up to Wordless Wednesday

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Annual Pumpkin Fun

Not much says fall and Halloween to me like visiting a local pumpkin patch. This year we lucked out and I won 2 tickets to Ganyard Hill Farm in Durham so we headed there a week ago for a morning of family fun.

We took a hayride, enjoyed the corn maze (really more of a corn path, but it was a perfect stroll) where Dylan picked some corn to feed to the goats, plucked a bit of cotton, and of course each picked a pumpkin.

Posing with our 3 pumpkins on the hay bales.

We also explored the weird & exotic patch - quite a fun mix of colors & textures.

To spread out the fun and make sure our pumpkin didn't rot (the weather can be crazy in NC although I think last week was cool enough, it would have survived), we waited until yesterday to carve. Dylan was excited about the old kits I pulled from the Halloween boxes. He wanted to do a ghost design, but our largest pumpkin was too small for it or any of the others. Instead, we encouraged him to do an "old fashioned" jack 'o lantern.

Dylan drew the face design. Then I cut the top so we could scoop out the insides. He helped me separate the seeds for roasting before we scraped the inside and carved the face. Finally, Trent helped him start squeezing out some glitter glue (leftover from one of the old kits that, of course, he had to use once he saw it - honestly amazed this stuff hadn't dried out). So, yes, we have a one of a kind, sparkly jack o' lantern this year.

Freshly picked on the left and with one carved on the right.

We ended our fun with roasted pumpkin seeds, of course. A first for Dylan.

And a bit of a science lesson for our 4 year old - from picking the pumpkin off the vine at the farm, to carving & scooping, to roasting and eating. Fall is off to a fun & festive start here.

What is your favorite fall activity?

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NC State Fair in Photos

Last Friday, we spent the day at the NC State Fair with Trent's aunt, uncle and cousins. We had a blast. Here's a glimpse of our day in photos and proof there is a lot more to the Fair than just food & rides ...

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Friday Freebie: Meet the Pack 2013

In honor of the start of football season tomorrow for our alma mater - I'm sharing a free template this month based on a page I made with photos taken at Meet the Pack day a few weeks ago.

I decided to use a shot of the stadium as the focal point and added lyrics to the school alma mater overtop. The bottom photos were taken during the autograph session and at our house with the sign we picked up for our front yard - This is our State.

The template features 9 layers including photo masks, journaling and the title & outline. It's free for personal use only.

Click here to download Season Opener template

Enjoy!

Have you missed one of my previous digital freebies? Click HERE to find them. And, don't forget to subscribe to my feeds so you won't miss future freebies!

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Fire Truck Parade

Last weekend we headed downtown to see the Fire Truck Parade. It was part of the South Atlantic Fire Rescue Expo that took place at the Convention Center and, while a relatively short parade, it was perfect for a 4 year old in awe of fire trucks and all big vehicles.

Supplies: More or Less collaborative kit from Pixels & Co; A Little Beachy kit and Fly Away with Me elements by Sarah Sullivan; Dude mini kit by Robyn Meierotto; Spring Freebie Collection by Just Jaimee; Sunny Days kit by Karen Funk.

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Where's Waldo?

Last month, Waldo was all over the Triangle as part of Find Waldo Local. We spent a rainy Saturday (and slightly nicer Sunday), visiting local shops in search of Waldo and getting stamps in Dylan's Find Waldo Local Passport. We started at Quail Ridge Books and Great Yarns then headed off to other areas. During our two day adventure ...

We had cupcakes at The Cupcake Shoppe, dinner at NoFo at the Pig and popsicles at Locopops.

We played at the train table at Logan's Trading Co and picked up a few new plants (do you see Waldo in the photo below?).

The nice employees at Unleashed made his day by letting Dylan re-hide Waldo after he found him.

At the end of our searching, we turned in Dylan's Find Waldo Local Passport. He was one of the first 100 and received a coupon toward a Waldo book and an "I Found Waldo" sticker. He was thrilled.

The search continued throughout the month of July and wrapped with a party at Quail Ridge Books on August 1st. We missed the party, but were excited to receive a call that Dylan won a prize - a gift certificate to Mobley's Shoes! It's a local store we've never visited, but definitely will and soon. Many thanks to all the local stops that participated. Our family had a great time exploring some new to us & some favorite shops around Raleigh searching for Waldo. We will be marking our calendars for the next Find Waldo Local in July 2014.

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Indoor Mini Golf

A last minute get together yesterday afternoon equalled lots of fun for Dylan and two friends as we tried out a new indoor golf location. Perfect for an overcast, chilly day (seriously, I've seen the sun once in the last week - crazy!). The boys burned a lot of energy playing all 18 holes multiple times. I definitely see some future playdates here.

Supplies: More or Less collaborative kit from Pixels & Co; Count on Me brushes by Deena Rutter.

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Friday Freebie: Nature Park

Last month the three of us had fun exploring a couple of nature parks. The first was a newer one to the area and the larger of the two - Wilkerson Nature Park. We all had fun playing in the natural playground. Afterward, Dylan selected the lake trail for us to walk. A simple Saturday morning of fun outdoors together.

Supplies: Inspired kit by Tia Hoffman; Happy Camper kit by Sara Schmutz; Gill Sans font.

Similarly, I kept the layout simple to focus on 3 of my favorite photos. The template contains 7 layers including 3 masks for photos or papers, journaling and a leaf stamp. It is free for personal use only.

Click here to download the Nature Park template

Enjoy!

Have you missed one of my previous digital freebies? Click HERE to find them. And, don't forget to subscribe to my feeds so you won't miss future freebies!

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