February Deals n’ Steals Tally

My second month of freebies…I decided to revise how I am doing this. Instead of keeping tally of what I sign up for, I am going to keep tally of what arrives in any given month. I will still keep track of what I sign up for, just maybe not so stringently. It is time consuming, and this is supposed to be FUN! 

Pardon the language, but the sentiment is very true.

I got a few BOGO items from coupons, like the Dream water. I bought 4 of each, making 2 of each free. When counting the free, obviously I only count the ones that didn’t cost me anything.I even got into the rebate action a little. My new Brita faucet cost me $16 (lowest cost Brita faucet they had, were out of pitchers of all kinds) and I sent out a rebate for $10 back, making it a sweet deal. What makes it TRULY sweet, is that unlike most of the people who rushed out to get this deal, I already had a filter system from Brita, that was old and needed replacing. I drink a gazillion glasses of water a day, so this really was a good buy for us, if following my guidelines. I also got a brita self filtering water bottle. This was a darn near freebie. Wal-Mart price was $8.88, I had a $2 off coupon and a $5 mail in rebate, making it only $1.88! And since I go through so much water and live in a rural area with horrible well water, this was coupon/rebate heaven for me.

I am also addicted to chapstick, and other forms of lip balm. So when I found a coupon for $2 off any Yes to Carrots product, I grabbed a Melon Yes to Carrots lip balm. It glides on so silky, I love it! And it only cost me .97 cents, a third of the original price!

My Tally for FREE items that came in this month:

full size freebies (like the normal product you buy in the store) $45 
A few highlights- Schick Hydro Silk Razor, Tena pads, Yummy Earth Organic candies, Custom Valentines and cards
sample sized freebies (value average of 10 cents each) $10.20
A few highlights- Invisible glass wipes, Tempur Pedic sample, Duncan Hines Recipe Cards, Unstopables Sample

Savings in the Bank:$20

Not too bad...How did you guys do?

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Painted Cork Memo Board (Tutorial)

I am a compulsive note writer. I am constantly jotting lists or scribbling reminders to myself, only to lose them. I am known to rewrite the same list many times, because I am a scatterbrain! One of my goals this year is to get more organized…so I made a little cork memo board for my kitchen entry way.

Craft Cork Memo Board

Materials Used:

Cheap wood 5x5 frame. This did not have a back so I made one - try to find one with a back!

Craft corks

X-Acto knife or other craft blade

Hot glue gun and glue

Blue spray paint

Office clips

First, cut the craft corks into wafers. I probably should have gone thicker, but whats done is done. 

Craft cork slices

Since the craft frame did not come with a backing, I made one from paint stirrers. I cut them down to size with an X-Acto knife (carefully!) then hot glued them together. Yours may have a backing, in which case just use that one. 

Paint stir backing

Next,  glue the wafers in neat little rows, onto the backing. I lined them all up first to make sure they would fit.Once the glue is dry (2-3 minutes), you can paint. I used some leftover Krylon that I had in the garage, and did a few even coats. I did let just a little of the dark wood frame show through.

a few quick coats

Let dry overnight

Let it dry overnight. I hung it on a stray picture nail that was in the kitchen, but it looked a little naked.

Plain Jane

I had some clip pins left over from my office cubicle days, and I added a few. I LOVE the way this looks in my kitchen, and since it is right near the door…no more excuses not to remember to grab milk! 

GET MILK, WOMAN!

Maybe this will help me not lose the grocery list,hmm?  

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Types of Couponing ~ What Kind of Bargain Hunter are You?

A lot of my (Facebook) friends all over the U.S. have been asking me "How in the world do you find these deals and use coupons to get things FREE?" 

It isn't as hard as it looks, and you can choose how in depth you want to get. There are several types of bargain hunters. This break down will help you decide what kind of bargain hunter you want to be, and what will work best for your family/situation. 

Are you a Generic Groupie, Casual Couponer, Spirited Saver, Crazy Clipper, or an Extreme Everything? What is the difference between a Severe Stockpiler and a Balanced Buyer? Click here to read my article at Little Mom Saves to find out which one you are! I like to think I am a balanced buyer these days.  :)  Where do you fit in?



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Cottage Window Coffee Table Upcycle Project

While I was browsing around our local ReStore (Habitat for Humanity resale shop) I came across their stacks of old windows. They do test for lead paint,which is nice – a lead free guarantee!   I was leaning towards making a coffee table, because we didn't have one…so this was a very nice treasure hunting trip. I LOVE ReStore!

TONS of old windows at ReStore

Materials Used:
8 pane window
4 table legs
light grit sand paper
window calk (I had leftovers)
calk scraper
primer (I had leftovers)
spray paint (I had leftovers)

1. I picked out an eight pane window, and paid a whopping .60 cents for it. On my way out the door I spied a bin of old table legs, and grabbed myself 4 matching ones for .10 cents each.

I've got legs! And I know how to use them! 

2. I had some primer in the garage and I have shelves full of half used spray paint colors…so this is also a stash buster for me.
I picked Aqua Turquoise.

3. I wiped the dirt and grime off the window as much as possible, then scraped the crusty loose calk from the edges of the panes. I did a quick hand sanding, lightly, then wiped the window down again. I calked the edges to even it out as much as possible  but I sort of suck at calking. I let it cure as directed on package.

Messy work

4. Next, I primed the window with one coat of Kilz primer. I used up the last bit I had left. Yay stash busting! Yay excuse to go to the hardware store!  I also sanded the legs and primed them, but somehow didnt end up with a picture of anything wet on the newspaper. I coulda swore I took those pictures, but they are not on the computer or camera anywhere…hmmm….

5. Then, I covered the panes with newspaper and taped them off.  Then I applied several coats of the aqua turquoise paint to everything and let it dry overnight. 

This is the result, my quaint little cottage window coffee table. I think it looks good with my dark blue sofa. It brightens up the room a bit! Now if I could keep my daughter from picking at the calk. She keeps peeling it (she is way beyond the put things in her mouth phase, just a compulsive peeler) so the middle pane divider thingies are not as pretty as I would like. Ah…kids. Aren't they grand? 

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What Does Valentine's Day Mean to You?

Because I love ya!

Valentine’s day has always been more about the little things in our house. Birthdays are a much bigger production. We don’t usually go out for Vday, but I do like to make a special dinner. IF we buy gifts for one another (sometimes we make  them) it is a small token of affection or something that the person needs…this year us adults exchanged t-shirts, and I put  together a small gift basket for Lil’ G that had dollar store manicure stuff in it. We are working on getting her to stop biting  her nails, and I though this might be a fun way. We keep it small and light, no pressure and little money spent.How do  YOU celebrate the day of love? Tell me in the comments!

With all the customize-able freebies this year, everyone in my house got a personalized Valentine from me. I also snagged 30 free personalized Valentines for Lil’ G! They were a HUGE hit, and there was even a few left over for family. This is the one I got, with one of my favorite pictures of my princess! What a smiley happy sunshine baby!

Vista Print Freebie!

 The Valentines (and birthday treats) you send to school here in our rural town are somewhat of a status symbol, and although I do not usually fall into the “Keeping up with the Jones’s” attitude, I was pleased to hear that the Valentines we sent were the HIT of the school party. Even over the ones that had candy!

All together it was a quiet day and a quiet night, filled with smiles and affection. The boys each brought me flowers, which I broke up into little bunches and spread out all over the house. Daisies, a few roses, tulips and carnations…MH even brought Lil’ G her own bouquet of carnations, it really made her day!

Happy Valentine’s day, everyone! And if no one has said it to you yet today…I Love You! 

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Chocolate Pudding Cupcakes with Strawberry Centers

Love at first bite

My family was so happy when I made these treats for them, and oh boy do they deserve it! The cold months are always roughest on us financially, and they get a double whammy with V-Day, and my birthday, all in one month.  They have been working extra hours to get me a present, a memory card for my Nook. They deserve cupcakes, and so much more, for how sweet they both are to me!

Ingredients:

1 package cupcake mix, chocolate

1 package strawberries, cleaned and hulled

1 package pudding, chocolate

Fresh mint sprigs,optional but awesome

Directions:

1. Prepare cupcakes according to package and let cool. Using a paring knife, core out a well down into each cupcake, for your strawberry to fit into. Prepare your pudding according to the package.

2. Stick the strawberry pointy side down into your cupcakes. Top liberally with pudding in lieu of frosting.

3.  Add a sprig of mint if you like.  I think it adds a certain something, and my neighbor had some growing in her kitchen and shared…but don’t go out and buy some.

4. I cut each cupcake in half and set it on a plate, because presentation is everything with these suckers. They are DELICIOUS and super easy!

I love you, *DH and *MF  and *GF 

*kisses and hugs galore*    

Now, eat a cupcake!  *shoves a cupcake into two open mouths*

This post was originally on Little Mom Saves Money. These blogs are written by the same person. This is not a copyright violation.

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Pine Cone Earrings from Toilet Paper Roll

Today I realized I have a big bag full of toilet paper rolls that we have been saving for crafts…and no crafts have come to mind to use them up!  So I pulled out my ol’ jewelry supply tackle box (yep, i keep my supplies in a big tackle box!) and made some pine cone earrings. Later on down the road I will go into more detail, or perhaps post a tutorial…if that interests anyone…but here are a few grainy webcam pictures of me wearing the funky T.P. Pine cone Earrings!

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