No Reply?

I LOVE comments on my blog. I also LOVE replying to those comments. Some people have their blogger accounts set up in such a way to prohibit people from replying. Jodi at Pleasant Home wrote a great post about how to fix that. Rather than reinvent the wheel, I'd like to copy her work. She even created a button to spread the word! You can see it on my sidebar. Thanks Jodi for all your hard work!
Here is what you need to know:

Are you a No-Reply Blogger? This post is a little lengthy but well worth it! 

NO-REPLY ?

What is a NO-REPLY blogger? 

1. Suzie leaves a comment on Jodi's blog asking a question. 

2. Jodi has all her comments sent directly to her email. 

3. Jodi checks her email and reads Suzie's question. Jodi clicks reply. Shazam! Up pops Suzie's name but instead of her email address, it say's NO-REPLY. Argh! 

4. Suzie doesn't have an Email associated with her blogger blog/blogger profile. Which means no one can reply to any of the comments or questions that she leaves. Boo Hoo. 

You may not even know that you are a NO-REPLY blogger. No worries. 

Follow these instructions to see if you are a NO-REPLY blogger: 

Sign in to Blogger and bring up your Dashboard or Profile Page. Click on EDIT PROFILE.
See the third box down (SHOW MY EMAIL ADDRESS) there should be a check mark in it.
and
Scroll down; see the section titled IDENTITY. See the box labeled EMAIL ADDRESS. Your Email address should be in that box. 

If there is no email in that box or if you don't have the Show My Email Address box checked. You are a NO-REPLY blogger. 

#1 ARGUMENT often heard from NO-REPLY bloggers: 

I DON'T want my personal email out there for the whole world to see....

Good News! You don't have to. You can set up a "generic" email address to be associated with your blog. (You just need to remember to check it often) (especially if you leave a comment or ask a question on another blog). 

CLICK HERE to see my profile. Notice below my photo there is a box labeled CONTACT. Just below that you will see a link that say's EMAIL. If you click on this link, you can email me. AND it also means that I have an email associated with my blog,,, so when I leave a comment on another blog, that blogger can email me a reply. (does your profile show an EMAIL link? If not.... You're a NO-REPLY blogger) 

And really the majority of "seasoned" bloggers will agree; It's good blogging etiquette to have an email associated with your blog. Especially if you're going to be blogging, commenting, asking questions, participating in Give Aways, etc. etc. etc. 

Here's your assignment for the day. Check your PROFILE. Are you a NO-REPLY blogger?
Yes? Well I would LoVe it, if you either use the email you already have, or set up a new "generic" email and put it in your profile. 

Use the instructions above to make sure your email is in your profile, and email me with any questions. CEPT! If you are a NO-REPLY. Please remember to put your email address in the body of your email. 

P.S. A new email in your profile WILL NOT CHANGE THE EMAIL ADDRESS YOU USE TO SIGN IN TO YOUR BLOG. 

EDITED: (1/19/2011)
If you do not have a blog, just be sure and leave your email address in your comment. If you're unsure if you are a No-Reply Blogger. Leave a comment with your email, here. Ask me if you're a No Reply. If you don't hear back from me in a few days. Most likely, you are a No-Reply. 

It appears you have to have a blog in order to leave a comment. If you don't want to leave your email in your comments. Then I would suggest you create a dummy blog in blogger, and make sure your email is connected to your profile. I know a few readers who have done this. It's easy and will only take a few minutes. And if you ever decide to start blogging. Your blog will be ready to go. ;o) 

JoAnn Knock Off

I know I have been posting less frequently as of late. I was really sick last week but I missed you all so much that I had to post!! Hope you enjoy!

I found a pretty cool, patriotic sign at JoAnn's shaped like a bottle cap. 

I know what you're thinking, 

"Jenny, that sign is a little busy for your tastes."

I know.

"Jenny, that sign is $14.99! You're too cheap thrifty for that!"

I know.

"Jenny, you're making my head spin!"

I'm sorry; let's end the madness now.

I found a cool, bottle cap shaped sign for $2.50 in (the happiest place on earth) the Target Dollar Section. It is big enough that it will make the perfect door hanging, but I don't need a sign for a tiki bar. 

What's a crafty girl to do?

I cut a 12x12 piece of  paper into a (roughly) 11" circle and Mod Podged it over the whole Tiki thing.

Then, using TMJ's new Silhouette, I cut out the shape of a Route 66 sign.

Finally, using my Cricut, I cut out the words God Bless USA.

Another coat of Mod Podge and voila! Our official door sign for July!

I already owned all the supplies except the sign. So this was a $2.50 project. Saving me...$12.49 compared to the Joann's version. For what it's worth, I like mine better!

Purse Organizers

In case you missed my guest post over at I Heart My Glue Gun...

So, about a year ago I got tired of all the stupid Member Cards and Club Cards that I had to keep on hand to get discounts. I felt like they were taking over my purse and, worst of all, that I could never actually find the one I wanted. Then I had a thought..."I wonder if these cards would fit into my Altoids container?"

I dumped out the mints and started dropping my cards in. Because of the lip on the tin they had to be finagled in but they fit. I was thoroughly pleased with myself.

Then, a month or two ago I got a new purse and I realized I had a similar problem but with new items. I literally planned on going to the store and buying a bunch of Altoids to make new packages. I saw an idea at Running with Glitter where she decorated the tin.  I planned to use that to differentiate between the three tins.

I got to the store and, on a whim, looked at the travel size items and I found a very small first aid kit and a travel box of Q-Tips. Oh my goodness. Yes, Please! The Q-Tip containers came in different colors too, so that made my job easier.

I am using the First Aid kit as it was intended but with a few adjustments. Using a contact lens case, I created storage for pain medication.

I added a spare contact lens, special Band-Aids for blisters, safty pins, and a Midol...cause you know, I'm crazy sometimes!

I started storing all my stupid member savings card things in one of the Q-Tip containers. I'm storing all my gift cards in the other one.

That left me with an empty Altoids Tin. I lined it with some thin padding material. I had intended to use moleskin but Chance placed an order for some photo prints and they were packaged with a thin sheet of padding that I thought was perfect. I cut it and used double sided tape to stick it in the container. Now, my unassuming Altoids tin is the perfect storage container for...

you'll never believe it...

it's brilliant (if I do say so myself)

my iPod and ear buds!

Yeah!

Now my purse has four small containers instead of tons of random crap!

Dining Room Table Redo by I Heart My Glue Gun

Hello friends! As promised I am blog swapping with Janet from I Heart My Glue Gun. I'm really excited about all the knowledge she has to share. I hope you enjoy this post and please check out her blog too see my solution to a messy purse!

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Hey all you An Apple For The Crafter readers!! My name is Janet, and I'm the owner of www.iheartmygluegun.com! I am so honored to be over here at An Apple For The Crafter!

I truly love blogging. I've been blogging since February of this year, and it has just been such a joy! I love getting inspiration from other bloggers out there, and implementing the things I've seen into my home! I'm sure you can relate :)

So since I'm visiting over here, I thought it would only be fitting to bring my best! Today, I'm going to show you my dining room table turned from beastly to beautiful!

As you can see, my dining room table was the cream of the crop in 1978 (like my calendar falling off the wall? That's how we roll). It was given to us by our old neighbors, and they gave me all matching 8 chairs! The table was a huge blessing because at the time we had a 4 person table with one of the chairs only bearing three legs, and we had our youth group coming over once to twice a week so we needed something desperately!

But it's 2011, not 1978. It had burn marks from a hot casserole dish burning through the tablecloth, scratches, cheerios, cup rings...it had definitely seen better days.

So after vigorous sanding, Kilz oil based primer, latex satin black paint on the table and Rustoleum's semi-gloss spray paint on the chairs, and a few coats of Minwax Polycrylic gloss, it was as good as new!

Please excuse the missing chair, she was painted later and was having the 3 day cure I did on the table and chairs.

I love it now! I've been contemplating bringing in different dining room chairs to spice it up a bit, but that costs money and a deep hunt on craigslist. So I'm okay with my extremely low cost renovation to my dining room table for now!

Thanks for having me, and please come over to I HEART My Glue Gun to see the guest posts happening all week!

I'm a lucky girl

I've got a couple of posts coming your way that are actually CRAFTY. Can you believe it? Working full time and crafting? It's a miracle.

It wouldn't be possible without the help and support of great friends and family.

TMJ was at a flea market recently and she bought me this amazing topiary! She is so thoughtful and you won't believe how much she paid...$1!!

Chance saw that someone was giving away this fabric and his first thought was, "Jenny could do something with this!" So he got it for me. I was stumped at first but things are coming to me now.

Plus, in honor of our son, Chance got me an Edible Arrangement. It was delicious! The best part was that he specifically selected this cute watering tin as the vase because he was sure I would want to re-use it for, "something crafty."

He is THE BEST.
He is also playing around with creating a watermark for my pictures. I think with the next batch we will try making them colorless. Nonetheless, he rocks!

Don't forget to check back tomorrow for my blog swap with I Heart My Glue Gun!

Blog Swap

I'm excited to tell you that I will be doing a blog swap this Tuesday with Janet from I <3 My Glue Gun.

Stay tuned for all the fun!

Happy Cinqo de Mayo!

In honor of Cinqo de Mayo I made Sopapilla Cheesecake for the folks in my office and those in Chance's office. It is always a huge hit! I have to give props to my good friend The Playful Professional who first introduced me to the recipe. 

Chance got a picture for me...

Ingredients

·         3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

·         1 1/2 cups white sugar

·         1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

·         2 (8 ounce) cans crescent roll dough

·          

·         1/2 cup melted butter

·         1/2 cup white sugar

·         1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

·         1/4 cup sliced almonds

Directions

1.     Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2.     Beat the cream cheese with 1 1/2 cups of sugar, and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth. Unroll the cans of crescent roll dough, and use a rolling pin to shape the each piece into 9x13 inch rectangles. Press one piece into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the baking dish, then cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough.

3.     Drizzle the melted butter evenly over the top of the cheesecake. Stir the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar together with the cinnamon in a small bowl, and sprinkle over the cheesecake along with the almonds.

4.     Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 45 minutes. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 squares.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/sopapilla-cheesecake-dessert/Detail.aspx

One Giant Leap

Two years ago I was lying in a hospital bed completely unable to move my leg.

One year ago I was asked to participate in a 5K and I couldn't do it. I volunteered to operate the drink stand at the half way point.

Today I am letting everyone know that I have signed up to run in the 2011 Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure!

This is a 5K event that I'll be doing with some friends from the blogosphere: Andi from Jane of All Crafts and Cassie from Primitive and Proper. (I know there are other girls on our team but I don't know their blog info!)

Thanks for all the help and support you have given me to help me reach this point. Wish me luck!

Click the link below to help me reach my fundraising goal!