DIY: T-Shirt Tote

I love to recycle whatever I can.  So it only makes sense to recycle your clothing too!  This DIY project is so simple and costs nothing!

Step 1:  Pick out a t-shirt!  Heavy cotton works best since the fabric is more sturdy.

Step 2: Cut off the sleeves.  I left the seems in tact to keep the handles sturdy.

Step 3:  Cut off the collar.  How you cut depends on how you want your tote to look. If you have a logo and want to showcase it, cut above the logo.  

(I cut deep and into the design since I want my tote made inside out.) 

Step 4: Turn your bag inside out.  Sew the bottom (excuse my sewing job, it wasn't until I took this picture that I realized I had my thread threaded incorrectly!)  You're gonna want to go back over your seem once you are finished in order to (once again) ensure that your bottom is sturdy.

Step 5: Turn your bag right side in!

There you go!  My finished tote bag!  I will be using this for my grocery shopping from now on!

What do you think?

DIY: Stick Vase

This isn't a new concept by any means!  However, I have always wanted to try this project!  So today, I picked up some twigs and sticks from the backyard (took forever thanks to the dog!).  I had an old baby food jar that I decided to use.  Now, this project can be used with cans as well.  Also, if you want to use it as a candle holder, use something with a bigger opening.

To make this more natural, I trimmed the sticks to different lengths, but kept them about the same height as the jar.

Glue a few sticks at a time.  Mix textures, colors, and size.  Once they are secure, you can continue.

Viola'!  I liked it, but it needed something more......

RIBBON!

It's January, so I don't have any flowers I can pick....however, I may put some rosemary from my garden (which seems to just keep growing!) in it for now!

Simple, natural, cute, and FREE!  What an awesome way to decorate and be green!  This took me about 10 minutes to complete!

 

 

Yahoo post on DIY Stick Vase

Last Minute Gifts

Every year we make our lists and check them twice.....but we always forget to buy a gift someone!  Or maybe you are looking for a budget friendly, heartfelt gift to give.  Nothing can beat a homemade gift!  Here are a few recipes for some quick and easy gifts:

BAVARIAN MINT FLAVORED COFFEE

1/4 C. Powdered Creamer

1/3 C. Sugar

1/4 C. Instant Coffee

2 T. Powdered Baking Cocoa

2 hard candy Peppermints

Process in a blender on liquefy until well blended.

*Store in an air tight/decorative container such as a mason jar.

*Attach directions to container: Use by tablespoonfuls according to taste.Spoon in cup and add hot water.

SALT DOUGH ORNAMENTS

1 1/4 c. water

1 c. salt

1 1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. whole wheat flour

Heat water and salt together until salt slightly dissolves. Add to flour mixture.

Mix with hands until dough is smooth. Roll out. Cut with cookie cutter. Place on

foil lined baking sheets. Place in 300 degree oven for about 1 hour. Turn often.
Feel free to paint an decorate as you'd like!  This is fun for the kids and makes great gifts for grandparents!

INSTANT PEA SOUP MIX

Mix and pour into jar: -- (makes one soup mix)

1 cup green split pea flour -- (dried split peas ground to a fine flour)

2 tablespoons chicken broth powder

2 tablespoons dried onions

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups non fat dry milk powder

Attach to the jar:

To make soup: In medium saucepan over medium high heat, whisk soup mix into 6 cups

boiling water. Stir about 1 minute until mixture is incorporated. Turn heat to low, cover

and cook 2-5 minutes. Note: if desired, add 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables

(mixed, peas & carrots, or carrots), grated potatoes, minced celery, or ham to

boiling water and proceed as above. This soup thickens upon cooling. To reheat, add

a little milk or water to soup & heat.

Kid Friendly Truffles

During the holiday season, I try to do lots of baking with my kids.  My daughter is 7 this year, so she can start doing a lot more.  This recipe is super easy and cheap to make!  It's so easy that my 7 year old could roll these truffles out herself.

Brownie Truffles
1 box of brownie mix
1/4 cup of water
2 tbs. corn syrup
Your choice of toppings (I like toffee bits and powdered sugar)

-Mix together your brownie mix, water, and corn syrup. This will be a thick, dry looking mixture.
-Pour your toppings into separate bowls.
-Scoop about 1 tbs. of the mixture. Make sure your hands are damp because this will get sticky! Start rolling the scoops into balls then roll the balls into your topping of choice.
-Chill in the refrigerator. Place them on parchment paper to prevent sticking!

Makeup on a Budget

Ok, so most of us saw Cassandra Bankson on Good Morning America, or at least have seen her YouTube videos:

If you don't know, she is the teen who undergoes a remarkable makeup routine everyday to hide her acne.  I was stunned when I saw her video (and so was the hubby!)  What she does is amazing!  However, not everyone can afford to pay $59 for powder, so I compiled a list of less expensive products that I think would work well!  So here ya go!

Products Used:	Price:	Try This:	Price:
Smashbox AntiShine	$27	Sephora "Trick of the Trade" Anti Shine	$18
Hourglass Veil Primer	$17	Revlon Beyond Natural Smoothing Primer	$12.99
Makeup For Ever HD Foundation in 125 and 120	$40/each	Revlon Dream Liquid Mousse	$9.79/each
Mac Studio Finish Concealer NC 30	$17	Revlon Colorstay Blemish Concealer	$9.99
Mac NC5	$23	Covergirl Professional Loose Powder	$5.29
Smashbox Halo in Light	$59	Could not find a substitute.
Makeup For Ever Microfinish Setting Powder	$30	Mehron's Colorset Setting Powder	$8.95
Mac Fix Plus Spray	$10	Really no trade off here!	$10
Total:	$263		$84.80

Holiday Cheer?

Christmas is just a few weeks away!  Holiday songs are playing on the radio, and everyone seems to be full of joy!  As a mom, it's our job to make sure all of our holiday plans go off smoothly.  We plan the get-togethers, cook the food, buy the presents, decorate, and try our very best to keep everyone happy while keeping a smile on our faces!  The most joyous time of year just so happens to be one of the most stressful times of year as well.  We are so focused on making everyone around us happy, that sometimes we forget about ourselves.  And sometimes, we get the feeling that we have been neglected.

Here are some tips to help get you through the holiday season in one piece (emotionally):

*Ask for help!  You are not super-human!  Everyone needs help sometimes!

*Create a holiday budget.  This will help relieve the financial stress.

*Take care of yourself!  Don't forget to eat right and exercise.

*Plan ahead.  You don't want to "over-book" yourself.

*Make sure you have plenty of time to enjoy relaxing with your family.  And don't forget to do some special relaxing with your significant other!

Couponing for Thanksgiving: Part 2

As you know.....my family is on a strict budget in order to keep us as stable as possible in this very unstable economy.  So my plan was to use coupons for Thanksgiving.  I gotta say....it worked better than I thought it would!  So here's how it went:

Originally I was only hosting a small group of people on Thanksgiving....but that changed rather quickly!  Now I am hosting for my husband's entire family!  EEEEK!  Along with getting enough food to feed the masses, I still had to shop for my own household (two weeks worth of shopping to be exact!).

My local store runs a special once a month: $10 off of $50 or more (this sales excludes milk and turkeys, don't know why...but it does!)  Now....since you can only get the $10 off once....I had to make two trips that day.  I stratigically bought items that would result in me getting catalina coupons good for my next trip (which would be about 20 minutes later)!  I would rather not get into details about everything I bought, but to sum it up, my first trip was $70.47 before coupons....after coupons, I only paid $19.78!  A 72% savings!

Now, for my second trip, I had to get the turkey.  I needed to get the biggest bird they had to feed everyone and have leftovers for me!  If you remember, I could not use the turkey with the $10 off deal, which only meant I had to get $50 worth of groceries plus the turkey.  My total before the turkey was $82.15 (no coupons scanned yet).  I got a 21.99 pound bird @ $1.39/lb which cost $30.57.  Now, my store was running a special....the turkey would be $.67/lb if I bought $50 worth of groceries with it!  This dropped $15.83 off of my bird!  Before coupons and before my turkey savings, my total was $96.89.  After the $15.83 turkey savings (biggest coupon EVER!) and my coupons, I only paid $35.47!  A 62% savings!

My store does not double coupons...but if they did....boy....I may have walked out of that store paying almost nothing!

Happy Thanksgiving!