Frugal Friday Dec. 28, 2012

Frugal Friday

 47 items counting the nativity scene as only one - for $14.35

1- New zip up hoodie for Ty, 3- New wooden fancy birdhouses, 1- metal Santa that holds a wine bottle, 1- purse for Mel, 1- cat spoon holder, 1- red garden hat, 1- Christian Dior tie for my quilt, 1- milk glass lamp for Mel's desk, 1- art set for Cole, 3 - ornaments, 1- neckless for the beads,1- knitting animals slippers book, 3- sweaters... to wear and crafts, 1- mini snow globe for Mel, 1- ty beanie iguana for Cole still has tags, 1- full nativity set like new priced at $44.99, 1- heavy metal and glass solar powered snowman, 10- crocheted flowered sq's, 1- brand new Nerf gun for Ty, 1- like new grave digger for Cole, 1- brand new bah humbug Santa hat, 2- vintage ivy leaf candle holder and sled, 2- vintage painted Santa face mugs, 1- tea light ceramic Santa, 1- pointsettia creamer and 1- matching poinsettia sugar bowl and one cast iron gingerbread house cookie mold. NOT pictured 2- books dinotopia pop up book and cat care book and a Frisbee

The nativity scene is priced at $44.99 all pcs. there and like new! I counted that as only 1 item in the 47.

Warm Cozy Recy-Mittens

Warm Cozy Recy-Mittens

First go to the thrift store or search your closet for either wool or cashmere old sweaters that no longer fit or have a few holes or you just don't like anymore to wear.

Here I choose a pink cashmere cardigan that had a few holes in it and I washed it in hot water and dried it on hot in the drier to shrink it up and make the knit nice and tight to sew. This is called felting.

Step 2-
I made a temp-plate and traced out 2 for the back mitten shapes and 2 for the front mitten shapes. 

Step 3-

I cut out my mitten shape out of the sweater. I chose 2 from the back of the sweater and 2 from the front of the sweater using the pockets in my mitten design for a cute extra special unique boutique look.

Step 4-
Pin the back and the front together matching up edges and placing the outside on the inside. Sew together and turn inside out.

Step 5- 
Turn in side out and cut any threads. Here you see the back hand of my mittens with the pocket from the front of the sweater and the front (palm) of the mittens. 
Note the nice cuff from the edge of the sweater.

Step 6-
I decided I needed a little bling so I hand stitched a few beads using silver metallic thread on the edge of the pocket from my stash I already owned.

Now my mittens are all done and for free! 

Cute and warm and soft. 

I can't wait to enjoy them later today.

Buckets of Spuds!

Today I spent some time thinking and writing out what I need and want to do in the 2013 and trying to decide when it needs to happen.

Don't we all do this?

We always start out the New Year with such high expectation of ourselves and set high goals to achieve.

First thing I need is to build a nice notebook with a 2013 calendar and lots of dividers. This will help big time with keeping track of all the dates, times and little details with record keeping.

One of my biggest goals is to grow lots and lots of food and plan and plant not only for this year but for the future like more fruit trees and perennial batches.

I also want to keep track of the cost I pay to plant and grow and how much I harvest VS. the cost it would have been for me to just buy it in a store. But still nothing beats knowing whats in my food and on it when my children place it in their mouths.

I also realized today while out in the garden that I do not have nearly enough 5 gal. buckets to plant my potato plants in. WHAT? HUH?

I came across this great article awhile ago about planting potato plants in buckets and how it makes the harvesting of the potatoes so much easier because they are all neatly growing in the bucket.

This year I am going to give this method a try! It also claims that the space is way less and the yield of food is greater with this method. I guess we shall see!

Just finished texting my husband who works in the field of construction to not to forget to gather me up those paint/Spackle buckets that are thrown out on the job sites. My favorite cost for supplies FREE!

I am thinking I will need about 30 or so before spring. :-)

But for now I can lay out the plastic to defer weeds and every time I get a bucket place it upside down for now to keep it clean till it's time to fill with earth and potatoes.

How to Build a Rabbit Breeder Hutch @ Little Acorn

This past weeks savings!

Groceries

$86.10 original price.

$46.55 after stores sales.

$29.71 after coupons.

A 56.4% savings

4 Packs of batteries FREE after rebate!

$5 total!!!!

1-sweater set, 1- sweater, 1-how to raise a dog bible, 7- teen belts, 2- pairs of footie socks, 1-embroidered terrycloth robe, 1- Thermos lunchbox, 1-pair of hand knit mitten, 6 - teen bras

Free for my daughter from a friend.

Many many winter and summer shirts and 2 pairs of shorts.

Oct. 17, 2012

It's is a chilly day high in the 50's. The leaves are turning and it's the end of apple season and the beginning of planting garlic season. I was able to get the ground tilled and ready for the cloves. But I have yet to get the cloves in. 

Today I was able to pick up a bag of mixed apples for $10. This bag alone made 20 jars of applesauce.

The jars where given to me from a friend and I got the lids for 50 cents a box in clearance over the winter.

I was also able to purchase the following all for only $5 total.

and thanks to good friends with older kids we given for free the following for my daughter.

I have been hand quilting my quilt and my husband and I estimated about 50 more hours to go till it's totally finished. I WOULD LOVE, to be able to give this quilt to my husband for our 13th Anniversary that is coming up in November but that will be a tough thing to accomplish. I hope you follow along to see if I can get this task done in time for him! <3

I got this square done!