Todd Oldham is launching a new line of art supplies and art kits called Kid Made Modern that are sure to inspire kids of all ages!  Everything from crazy crayons, neon-printed ducktape, jewelry kits, art papers and more.   The line launches May 20 at Target stores.

photo credit: http://www.vitalnutrients.net

Who doesn’t want to stretch their buck a little further?  The economy isn’t in any shape for consumers to not care how much they are spending on gifts this holiday season.  We are aware of prices, cost, coupons, discounts…every penny counts and every penny matters.

What if…you could spend and get back ?  What if you didn’t even have to think about it…that is just happened when you were buying your regular purchases?  Well, it can and does when you are using an American Express.

I was given the opportunity to see just how 40,000 American Express Membership Rewards points could turn into holiday gifts for my family.

This past year has been a hard year for my family.  Without going into details, giving as much as I can to them means a lot to them and to me.  With 40,000 points I was able to get (3) $50 gift cards to Victoria’s Secret for my mom and 2 sisters, (2) $25 gift cards to Olive Garden for my dad and a $100 American Express gift card so my mom can purchase and wrap gifts to go under their tree.

‘Tis the season to give back!

Here are a few of my favorites bargains of this week.

1. Photo Book, Calendar, Canvas & Holiday Card Discounts Round Up Dec 2011 – Tis the season for photo gifts and cards so I thought I would do a round up of some of the best deals and coupon codes on photo books, Calendars, Canvas, and Holiday cards!
2. 25 Days of Toys Sale with Free Shipping - Target is having a 25 Days of Toys Sale where there is a new toy each day on super special. Today’s toy is the Lalaloopsy Doll with Stove Top Playset marked down from $34.99 to just $19.99 plus it includes FREE shipping. My guess is this will sell out fairly quickly. There is a new toy sale though each day so you will want to check back each day to see whether the toy deal is one you need. Also they are offering free shipping on top toys for the holidays which includes tons of top brands.
3. $30 Klutz Voucher for as low as $12 and FREE Shipping! – Today you can purchase a voucher for $14 for $30 worth of Klutz activity books, crafts, science kits, supplies and more. The orginal price is $14 however new members get $2 worth of credit when they sign up for Eversave so if you are new or have some credit you can buy this voucher for as low as $12! Klutz has won Disney FamilyFun’s Toy of the Year, Parents Choice Award and more honors. It also includes the popular line of Chicken Socks activities geared toward younger kids. If you place your order by 12/17 you can ensure holiday delivery. I just bought the voucher myself and it is immediately available so you can order as early as today!
4. New Markdowns at Hanna Andersson More the Merrier Sale -Hanna Andersson just marked down prices even more as part of their More the Merrier Sale! There is still a fair amount of selection since prices just went down. However, as the sale wears on there will be less and less selection available especially in the popular sizes. There are great prices on Kids & Baby Outerwear. The baby fleece bunting is marked down to just $19!! These adorable best ever baby jackets are marked down from $56 to just $19!!! I love these little jackets so so much. I wish my girls were not too big to where them. However, the Journey’s End Jacket which I LOVE for older girls is marked down from $98 to $39. Sweaters for boys are also quite marked down and start as low as $15 for a sweater vest.
5. FREE and Bargain Holiday/ Christmas Music – How about some Free Holiday/ Christmas Music! Amazon offers a new Free Holiday/ Christmas music download each day. There are available all month so be sure to check out the songs already available plus a new one will be added each day. You might want to bookmark the Free Holiday/ Christmas Music page so you can come back each day for your FREE music!

• Cyber Monday Week and Lighting Deals Still Going on at Amazon – There are tons of sales and lighting deals and more going on. The best lighting deals sell out quickly so be sure to look at the hints now for the lightning deals so you are back and ready to buy when they come online. There are also sales of Children’s books, Best Books of 2011, Cookbooks are more! One of my favorites offers is the Buy 3 books Get 1 Free promotion. You order any four eligible books under $10 and get the lowest-price book free!
• 50% Off Everything at Snapfish & Penny Prints – If any photo gifts are on your holiday list, then you want to check out this offer for 50% Off site-wide at Snapfish! You will need to enter the coupon code at checkout and it is valid through Dec 3. Calendars, Mugs and Photo books are the perfect gifts for grandparents. I make calendars every year for the grandparents and great grandparents and they love them.
• Adorable Hello Kitty Watch for $2.94 Shipped – Perfect Stocking Stuffer – If you are looking for a great a stocking stuffer check out this Adorable Hello Kitty watch for $2.94 with FREE shipping! If you buy 3, the price goes down to $2.37 each and goes down from there if you buy more. You could buy a bunch and be ready for all those birthday parties. There a tons More Hello Kitty items you might be interested in in too! There are all very reasonable priced and most they all have FREE shipping!
• New 30% Off Coupon for Boden & Mini Boden – Boden and Mini Boden are offering a new 30% off Boden & Mini Boden coupon code with Free Shipping at Bodenusa.com.This coupon is good today through December 4. 30% off is a super discount for Boden & Mini Boden!
• Holiday/ Christmas Gift Ideas For Everyone – Kids, Babies, Women & Men -So how are you doing on your holiday gift list? Is there anyone that you need a little inspiration on? Then you should check out Amazon Gift Ideas page. It is updated daily with their most popular products ordered as gifts. Here are just a few of the categories: 100 ideas in games and toys, Gift Ideas in Books, Gift Ideas in Movies and TV, Gift Ideas in Gourmet Gifts, Gift Ideas in Kitchen & Dining, and Gift Ideas in Electronics.

Thank you all for voting for me in the Cheap Sally Bring Home The Bacon contest!!! I am a finalist and now am working hard on saving money on deals to each day in order to win the grand prize.

MOBIBO is a completely free mobile app download that sends its users local deals, discounts, and promotions. The best part is that MOBIBO pays the user .25 cents every time they view those deals on their mobile device. The way the app works is simple. Once it gets downloaded to an iPhone or Android Smartphone, it will use GPS to locate deals from nearby merchants and will then alert you at the ideal time – when you approach the participating business.

We haven’t had a chance to thoroughly explore the app, but it has received very positive reviews in the iTunes store.  You can learn more about how it works by watching this short video.

If getting great deals and getting paid wasn’t good enough already, you’ll be happy to know that For the months of November and December of 2011, MOBIBO will be donating to a local southeast Michigan charity for each copy of the MOBIBO app that is downloaded. Every two weeks, MOBIBO will team up with a new charity. For those two weeks, all downloads of the MOBIBO app will be tracked and .25 cents will be donated to the specified charity for each download. For example, if 1,000 downloads occur, they will donate $250 ($0.25 x 1,000 = $250) to the chosen Michigan charity of that two week span. Downloads are completely FREE, there is no cost associated with the download of the MOBIBO app. There is also no limit to how much MOBIBO will donate, so however many downloads are accumulated in the charities time frame will equal how much is donated! That’s right – free downloads will equal monetary donations!

Here are a few of my favorites bargains of this week.

1. Black Friday Online Coupon Codes & Savings - You can find 100′s of online deal & coupon codes available in this Black Friday Online Coupon Page. It is all in one place saving you the time for digging around for deals. We do the work for you.
2. Black Friday Ads Available – So you do like to shop on Black Friday? I normally do and have some great tips for you. I just need to add a few more details. Until then, check out all the Black Friday ads that have already been leaked. It looks like there are national stores as well as some regional stores. You can check it out and start planning your shopping.
3. 25% Off Boden Coupon & 25% Off Mini Boden Coupon Plus FREE Shipping – I just found a new 25% off Boden coupon and 25% off Mini Boden Coupon!!! Each coupon also has FREE shipping but not FREE returns. If you need free returns, then the 20% off Boden & Mini Boden coupon is still working with includes 20% off and FREE shipping & returns. Plus is it includes a FREE gift when you spend over $150!
4. 20% Off Clothing at Amazon – Did you know that Amazon carries tons brand name clothing at a discount? Plus if you sign up for fashion and news and deals from Amazon, they send you a 20% Off Amazon Clothing Coupon! This is 20% off their already great prices.I know many of my readers are fans of Tea Collection for Girls and Boys. You could use your 20% off Amazon Clothing coupon to get some deals on Tea Collection. They even carry Kids Boutique Clothing and you could get 20% of Desigual Clothing! Many of the Junk Food tees I posted about are still available and would cost under $5 with the 20% off coupon!
5. Amazon Toy Deals Round Up – Snap Circuits, Disney Princess & More – Since we are in the season of Amazon toy bargains. I am going to start doing a Amazon Toy Deal Round ups. Tons of great toy deals to check out!

If you like the deals I share, I would love a vote for the Cheap Sally Bring Home The Bacon contest. There is no sign up just an easy click to vote and you can vote once per day. I really appreciate all votes!!! I made it to round two thanks to all your votes!! Thank you so much! Now the hard part winning the state so please continue voting.

Black Friday – These two words will make the eyes of die-hard bargain hunters shine with delight and hearts leap for joy.  The days leading up to Thanksgiving not only include shopping for and preparing a delicious meal but also spent scouring the Internet for previews of Black Friday ads and mapping out a strategy.

If you’re new to Black Friday shopping, here’s a few tips to help get you started:

1. Research, research, research!:  Prior to Thanksgiving, check out deal sites such as BFAds,  2011 Black Friday Ads, or The Black Friday.  These sites are often post Black Friday ads before the big day arrives.  Find out if there are any deals worth the lines and early wake-up call.
2. Prioritize: It’s not likely you’ll be able to catch all of the door busters.  Decide which deals are most important to you and hit those stores first.
3. Bring a Buddy: Shopping for bargains with a like-minded friend is always fun but on Black Friday, it’s an important strategy too.  Work together in the store; one hits the electronics department for the both of you while the other grabs what they can in the toy aisle.  You’ll have a better chance to scoring more deals this way.
4. Read the Fine Print: Check to see if the items you want are door busters/early bird specials or something that will be available all day and plan your route around this.  Also note if there is a very limited quantity in stock; even though a store may have a great deal on the latest tablet for the entire day, they might only have 10 on hand.

You can also take advantage of your smart phone, when you are out on the bargain-hunting trail.  Handy apps such as these, recommended by Verizon Wireless, for both iPhone and Android devices can help keep your strategy, shopping lists and receipts organized:

	Create your shopping lists with Evernote, an easy to use, free app that allows you to take notes, capture photos, create to-do lists and share them across all the devices you use. Download here.
	Google Shopper is a one-stop shop for everything available online. Check offers nearby that businesses and restaurants have submitted through Google Places, scan the covers of books and media or their barcodes to find the best prices online, and save your history and star your favorites for later. You can even share your finds by posting to Gmail, Facebook, and Twitter, and search products by voice to keep your attention up and focused on task at hand.  Download here.
	The Black Friday App by dealnews.com, Inc. allows you to shop deals by store or category, search products and create shopping lists. Leading up to Black Friday, the app also shows when many stores’ Black Friday deals will be posted.  Download here.
	Shopkick turns shopping into an interactive experience by awarding deals and rewards to shoppers simply for walking into their favorite stores. Open the Shopkick app in the entrance area to collect your kicks™ rewards and unlock exclusive deals at stores like Best Buy, Target, Macy’s, Crate & Barrel and more. Collect additional kicks rewards by scanning barcodes of featured products and redeem kicks™ for things like iTunes gift cards, restaurant vouchers, gift cards, and much more.  Download here.
	Finally, keep track of all of your purchases with CamScanner by IntSig Information Co., Ltd, a PDF creator that uses your phone’s camera to scan your receipts so you can organize, store, and secure all important purchases for easy retrieval. You can even upload the scanned images to any online storage system. iPhone download or Android download

Do you have a great Black Friday tip to share?  What’s the best deal you’ve gotten in the past?

Briarwood Mall invites area kids and parents to kick off the holiday season with Santa at the mall’s annual holiday celebration on Friday, Nov. 11 from 6-8 p.m. Santa’s arrival will feature live reindeer and musical performances by Voices in Harmony and Sweet Adoline’s International.

Briarwood Mall has joined forces with the American Red Cross and Salvation Army this holiday season. The American Red Cross and Briarwood are encouraging families to send heartfelt messages of thanks to service members, their relatives and veterans. Through the Holiday Mail for Heroes program, kids can participate in card-making activities at Briarwood Mall between Nov. 11 and Dec. 11, and Simon mall personnel will take care of the mailing.

Briarwood is also pleased to welcome the Salvation Army’s Beyond Bells. Beyond Bells brings almost 60 hours of entertainment to Briarwood Mall during the holiday seasons in lieu of bell ringers.  Musicians will perform beginning Friday, Nov. 11, at various times in the Macy’s corridor. SAI alumni will fill the halls of Briarwood Mall during two-hour increments to raise funds for the Salvation Army.

And no holiday celebration is complete without Breakfast with Santa. Families can join Santa for a breakfast full of pancakes, sausage, juice or milk on Saturday, Dec. 3 from 8:30- 9:30 a.m.

Here are a few of my favorites bargains of this week.

1. Hot Holiday/ Christmas Toys Lists with Coupons – Are you starting to already get the questions from grandparents and others about what is on your child’s Holiday/ Christmas toy wishlist? Here are a few place to check out that can help you get those list started. Amazon Holiday Toy List, The Great Big Toys R Us Book, Top Toys at Target.com. Plus there are some coupons and FREE shipping on many items.
2. $10 Credit at Plum District – Personalized Disney Books for Just $6 Shipped! Plum Distict is offering new members a $10 credit when they sign up through Monday. This can make for some great deals. My favorite one today would make a great Holiday Gift! Get two Personalized Disney Princess or Cars books for only $22, shipping included. If you are sign up for a new account, you will receive a free $10 credit to use. This makes your total only $12 or just $6 per book! You can put your child’s name, birthday, neighborhood, and friends into the books! There are other offers to check out too!
3. Amazing Holiday Entertaining Guide plus More For Just $1.99! – Looking to enjoy yourself, not just survive, this holiday season, then you need this amazing new Holiday Entertaining ebook. It is written by Erin Chase, the same women who brought you $5 Dollar Dinners. This guide is the antidote to every other holiday entertaining guide out there. And it’s packed with the same help and love you get from $5 Dinners every day.
4. Nordstrom Half-Yearly Women & Kids Sale – So just I love shopping at Nordstorm! I especially love shopping there when the Half Yearly women & Kids Sale starts! I love the selection Nordstrom carries especially on women and kids shoes. Shopping the Half-Yearly Sale is my chance to get bargain prices on high quality items. Did you know that Nordstrom now has FREE shipping and FREE returns? So you can buy as little or as much as you want and not worry about shipping. Also if something doesn’t work out, just return it for FREE! That takes the risk out of clothing and shoe shopping online.
5. Tons of New Printable Coupons - Savings on organics, dvds, toys and more!

If you like the deals I share, I would love a vote for the Cheap Sally Bring Home The Bacon contest. There is no sign up just an easy click to vote and you can vote once per day. I really appreciate all votes!!! I made it to round two thanks to all your votes!! Thank you so much! Now the hard part winning the state so please continue voting.

Left to Right: Christina S., Shannon L., Erin R., Melissa B.

Flirty Fashions, a popular Rochester Hills boutique, recently opened its doors at a brand new location in the Mall at Partridge Creek.

Specializing in fun and trendy clothing in both misses and teen sizes, Flirty Fashions carries casual items, formal and semi-formal wear, accessories and outwear too.

Diane, owner of Flirty Fashions, pulled out all the stops for the Grand Opening event last week. Party-goers sampled champagne and cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and a chocolate fountain.  In addition to the yummy treats, guests indulged in creating their own bath scrubs in ice cream scents such as vanilla mint, strawberry sprinkles and chocolate.  A DJ was in the store, spinning great dance music to keep the party hopping too.

Adding to the Flirty Fashions experience, models were hired to pose as live mannequins in the window and through out the store.  The models changed looks several times over the course of the evenings and introduced guests to the latest looks and trends.

Take a look at the fun & fabulous styles from the Flirty Fashions Grand Opening Event:

While Flirty Fashions is not a large store, it carries a surprisingly large variety of items that will suit just about every taste and every budget.  Whether you need a quick clutch or accessory, a new top & jeans or want to get dressed to the nines, you’re sure to find something here.   Their looks are trendy, but tasteful.  As a mother of two teen girls, not only would I feel comfortable buying a few items for myself, but I feel confident my girls would love to shop here as well.

The Mall at Partridge Creek is an excellent location for the new Flirty Fashions store.  The open, outdoor setting will add to the ambiance of holiday shopping this year.  With the wide selection of shops, beauty salons and restaurants, it’s the perfect destination for some “girl time.”

Win It!

A $50 Flirty Fashions Gift Certificate!

Entry Requirements

Leave a comment below telling us how you’d spend $50 at Flirty Fashions.

The Fine Print

No purchase necessary to enter.  Open to legal residents of the United States, 18 years or older. Winner will be selected randomly through http://random.org. Detroit Mommies writers and contributors are ineligible to participate. Entries that do not follow all of the entry requirements will not be considered. Detroit Mommies is not responsible products shipped from outside vendors or sponsors.  The contest will close on Thursday, November 10, 2011 @ 11:59:59 p.m. EST and winners selected on Friday, November 11, 2011. Winners must respond to Detroit Mommies within 24 hours or an alternate winner will be selected.

***UPDATE***

Thanks to all who entered.  We’d love to have prizes for everyone but, alas, there is only one winner.

Congratulations to Sara H. – winner of the $50 gift card!

Flirty Fashions was kind enough to sponsor the $50 gift card for this sweepstakes and compensate me with a store credit for attending the event and writing this post.  All opinions here are strictly my own.