Being crafty with your money

The ability to make cute crafts has certainly helped save money.  There is something about being able to give someone a home made gift that just feels wonderful.  But there are other ways to save money.  Ways that we don't always hear about.

Freebies: There are tons of websites that give you links for where you can get freebies, samples and coupons.  I've gotten everything from Advil to Vitamins and everything in between.  If you're worried about spam you can always create a special email address just for these offers.

Trade disposable for reusable: We're not just talking diapers here.  Instead of paper towels use an old cut up t-shirt to wipe down the counter.  If you don't have any t-shirts to cut up you can always pick up some inexpensive towels or washcloths at the store.  They last longer then that package of paper towels and cost less.  Just throw them in your regular wash and reuse them again and again. 
Cloth napkins are also great.  I kept going through paper napkins because they'd tear so easily.  Cloth napkins are sturdy and get the dirt and grease off your hands.  My husband calculated we save about $60 a year by using cloth napkins.  Plus you can feel good knowing you're helping the environment while you are helping your wallet.

Grab a circular: Stores like Joann's and Target have circulars every week that tell you what's on sale and often have extra coupons inside.  Joann's has pattern sales every month where patterns that are normally $15 go on sale for $1-$2.

Buy used: I love Craigslist and Freecycle.  You never know what you can find for little or no money.  I snagged a Little Tykes outdoor playground for $20 (they retail for around $150-$200).  On Freecycle I picked up a shopping cart and storage containers.  It's also helped me get rid of things we don't need but couldn't really sell. 

Redeem your cans and bottles: When you buy soda you pay the extra 5 cents so why not get it back?  We keep a basket on the back porch and when it's full we take them to the redemption center.  Even if we're out we save our empty bottles and bring them home.  I'm always surprised to see people who throw out boxes of soda cans.  The money really adds up. 

What other money saving ideas do you use?

It had to happen

Usually I'm the first one on the house to get sick. Last week both my guys were sick.  I was hoping that I might be lucky enough not to get sick this time but last night I got slammed.  (At least I got to enjoy the weekend before I got sick).
Apparently at some point in the early AM I rolled over and asked Ben to stay home and take care of me today.  When I woke up and Ben was still here I asked him what he was doing:
"checking my email"
"Shouldn't you be doing that at work?"
"You asked me to stay home with you"
"oh, I don't remember, thank you"


Ben made me chicken soup.  I know it's Campbell's from the can but I love it anyway.  I grew up with the stuff and it's just comforting to have it when I'm sick.  Of course nothing beats mom's chicken soup  (Ben doesn't like soup so there is no point in making a giant pot of chicken soup that I won't be able to eat myself).

Now Ben is home and trying to take care of all my daily chores so I can rest.  I admit it's nice to really have the day off and have Ben see what I get done in the day while taking care of our son.

Creating your own adorable cork board

I wanted a new cork board for my crafting space.  I thought "Why buy when you can create your own?"
You only need a few things for this project:
A frame, any size you want will work.  It depends on how large you want to make your board.
Some cork board.  You can get this at the craft store or even at Staples. If it's thin you may want to get 2 pieces.
Fabric to cover the board
A Stapler, office or heavy duty will both work.
Scissors or a box cutter

 You can get a frame anywhere.  Try thrift stores to find a unique frame that will only cost a few dollars.  I purchased mine for $6 at Family Dollar. 

Open up the frame and measure the cork board using the back piece of the frame cut the board (or in my case boards) to size.  I cut it on top of a cutting board so I didn't damage my work surface.

 I picked a fun fabric with a blue background to compliment the gold frame.

Take your fabric, if it has creases you can iron it out before hand, and lay the board in the center.  Cut so you have an additional 2 inches of fabric around the border. 

Start stapling the fabric to the board keeping it tight and smooth. Make sure your staples aren't too long.  if they are going through your project then you need to use shorter staples.  I used an office stapler.

Insert into the frame and you're done.   If you'd like you can add a cross hatch of ribbons with buttons (like some store bought versions) so you can put up pictures without using thumbtacks.

I love that this project is simple and you don't need to be able to do anything but cut and staple to make yourself this unique cork board.

Sewing with the new machine

I'm loving the Singer Stylist...which I'm thinking of naming "Zoe" (as in Rachel Zoe).
It's quieter and gives me much more control over my projects. It still doesn't account for my bad sewing but I'm getting better.
Pinning and top stitching are taking some time to get used to. I'm also just generally learning everything as I go along right now because I'm such a newbie. Classes will help with that (just 12 more days).
I finished the envelope I was making for Ben.
I'll get better at cutting and pinning so you don't end up seeing my lining fabric when the item is closed.
I will also remember when it says "right sides facing" to do that. Instead of ending up with an inside out lining.
Then again I wasn't really following the directions because I thought I knew what I was supposed to do.






Okay...did much better when I made a coaster for myself. Getting better at top stitching. My seams are getting a bit better too. The top stitching would have been cleaner on this except that I messed up and had to rip the seams the first time and I guess I didn't get everything out.

Children's Television

Watching Sesame Street with Garrett. It's pretty hilarious. I've laughed out loud a couple time. He like Thomas the Tank Engine as well. yeah, I let me kid watch TV. But if I didn't have something on I'd lose my mind. We still play together and read books and have plenty of other fun stuff we do together. We have a balance that works for us. Because I'm sitting here going "big bird is yellow, he's a yellow bird" and sounding like a dork but I don't care.
Aww, they have a Mariachi band playing and people dancing and Garrett started dancing and clapping.

My husband the hero

According to my husband he's been calling around all day to find the Joann's that has this pretty little number. He's going to exchange the Pixie for a Singer Stylist.

He was talking about getting it for me once I got into sewing a bit more but he decided after I was so upset last night when the machine wouldn't work that I was serious about sewing.
I can't wait!

Review for the Pixie Plus by Singer

I purchased a Pixie Plus 2 weeks ago. I figured it was compact, had basic feature and would be perfect for a beginner. Boy was I wrong. The thread wouldn't catch, the bobbin was difficult to replace and it kept getting jammed.
After a 2 weeks it's just not working. So it's going back to the store to exchange it for a better machine.

I get the feeling Singer doesn't really like having their name on this cheap excuse for a machine because you won't find any information about it on their webpage.
I can't wait to get a better machine and be up and sewing again.